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THI    ULTIMATE    OUIDI    TO   ALTMNATIVB    MUSIC 


ED1TID    BY    IRA   A.   ROBBINS 


„  11,111  Jl 

^33054=3  3 


THE 

TROUSER  PRESS 

RECORD  GUIDE 


Fourth  Edition 


DATE  DUE 


781.64  T861  1991 


The  Trouser  Press  record 
guide  / 
1991. 


THE 

RECORD  GUIDE 

Fourth  Edition 

IRA  A.  ROBBINS,  Editor 


COLLIER  BOOKS 

Macmillan  Publishing  Company  •  New  York 

Maxwell  Macmillan  Canada  *  Toronto 

Maxwell  Macmillan  International 

New  York  *  Oxford  •  Singapore  •  Sydney 


Copyright  ©  1985,  1989  by  Ira  A.  Robbins 
Copyright  ©  1983  by  Trans-Oceanic  Trouser  Press,  Inc. 

Copyright  ©  1991  by  Ira  A.  Robbins 

All  rights  reserved.  No  part  of  this  book  may  be  reproduced  or 
transmitted  in  any  form  or  by  any  means,  electronic  or 
mechanical,  including  photocopying,  recording,  or  by  any 
information  storage  and  retrieval  system,  without  permission  in 
writing  from  the  Publisher. 

Collier  Books  Maxwell  MacmiSlan  Canada,  Inc. 

Macmillan  Publishing  Company  1200  Eglinton  Avenue  East 

866  Third  Avenue  Suite  200 

New  York,  NY  10022  Don  Mills,  Ontario  M3C  3N1 

Macmillan  Publishing  Company  is  part  of  the  Maxwell  Communication 
Group  of  Companies. 

Library  of  Congress  Cataloging-in-Publication  Data 
The  Trouser  Press  record  guide/Ira  A.  Robbins,  editor. — 4th  ed., 
1st  Collier  Books  ed. 

p.    cm. 

Rev.  ed.  of:  The  New  Trouser  Press  record  guide.  3rd  ed.,  Rev.  ed. 
c!989. 

Includes  bibliographical  references. 
ISBN  0-02-036361-3 

1 .  Popular  music — Discography.    2.  Sound  recordings — Reviews. 
I.  Robbins,  Ira  A.    II.  New  Trouser  Press  record  guide. 
ML156.4.P6T76    1991  91-18564    CIP 

016.78164'026'6— dc20  MN 

Revised  edition  of  The  Trouser  Press  Guide  to  New  Wave  Records  and  The  New 
Trouser  Press  Record  Guide 

Macmillan  books  are  available  at  special  discounts  for  bulk 
purchases  for  sales  promotions,  premiums,  fund-raising,  or 
educational  use.  For  details,  contact: 

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First  Collier  Books  Edition  1991 
10    987654321 
Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Preface 

Introduction 

Acknowledgments 

Bands 

Sources 


VIS 

xs 

XV 

1 

761 


This  book  began  as  an  almost-successful  attempt  to  review  all  of  the  significant  albums  with 
a  direct  connection  to  new  wave  music — records  that  either  directly  led  to  or  resulted  from 
the  1976-*77  upheaval  spearheaded  by  the  Sex  Pistols,  Clash,  Ramones,  Television, 
Blondie,  etc.  (Although  it  came  to  be — and  remains — a  derisive  designation  for  watered- 
down  bands  who  affected  hip  style  but  were  bland  enough  for  American  pop  radio,  "new 
wave"  was  originally  a  general  and  non-judgmental  description  of  bands  upsetting  the  norm 
in  the  late  '70s.) 

The  first  edition,  published  by  Scribners  in  1983  as  The  Trouser  Press  Guide  to  New 
Wave  Records,  was  a  logical  outgrowth  of  Trouser  Press  magazine.  Armed  with  a  well- 
established  anti-mainstream  editorial  stance,  it  was  easy  to  map  out  the  book's  contents  by 
simply  including  anything  that  was  adventurous,  rebellious,  esoteric  or  simply  uncommer- 
cial, in  any  idiom  that  could  be  considered  rock-based.  As  a  result,  the  original  book  was 
fairly  parochial  in  scope,  essentially  reviewing  every  American  or  imported  rock  album  we 
could  get  ahold  of  that  had  some  connection — even  plainly  superficial  or  fraudulent — to  a 
genre  that  was  then  fairly  well  circumscribed  and  not  that  densely  populated. 

The  first  book  was  fine  for  what  it  was,  but  the  ceaseless  development  and  cross- 
fertilization  of  styles  (not  to  mention  the  proliferation  of  independent  label  releases)  quickly 
rendered  the  focus  unduly  narrow  and  the  central  theme  rather  outdated.  By  the  time  of  the 
second  edition,  times  had  changed.  For  one  thing,  Trouser  Press  had  ceased  publishing.  For 
another,  the  music  that  had  once  been  considered  anti-commercial  in  this  country  was  being 
given  enormous  exposure  by  MTV,  where  a  colorful  image  and  a  good  spiel  was  all  it  took 
to  reach  a  new  and  growing  "new  music"  audience. 

The  second  edition  (Scribners,  1985)  broadened  the  essential  concept  and  abandoned  the 
by-then-outmoded  notion  of  new  wave  for  a  more  general  slice  of  the  musical  hemisphere, 
one  that  extrapolated  stylistically  (and  genealogically)  from  the  groups  covered  in  the  orig- 
inal book.  This  book  was  bigger  and  more  far-reaching,  but  it  lacked  an  easily  definable 
aesthetic  basis.  (It  also  lacked,  for  reasons  of  space,  the  compilation  section  that  had 
appeared  in  the  first  edition.  An  effort  to  include  it  in  the  third  edition  was  fruitless  as  well; 
by  this  point  it's  almost  a  book  in  and  of  itself.)  As  no  better  title  emerged,  the  book  was 
published  as  The  New  Trouser  Press  Record  Guide. 

A  revised  version  of  the  book  was  published  in  the  United  Kingdom  in  late  1987  as  The 
New  Music  Record  &  Tape  Guide  (Omnibus).  It  updated  and  expanded  on  the  1985  edition, 
but  deleted  a  lot  of  internationally  obscure  bands  on  American  independent  labels.  In  ex- 
change, substantial  coverage  of  reggae,  rap,  hardcore  and  African  artists  was  added.  That 
edition  has  never  been  distributed  in  the  US  and  isn't  counted  in  the  American  numbering. 

Building  on  all  of  the  previous  versions,  the  book's  third  edition  (Collier,  February  1989) 
caught  up  with  new  releases  through  the  spring  of  1988  while  increasing  and  extending  the 
scope  of  bands  and  records  covered.  Most  of  what  was  excised  for  the  British  book  was 
restored,  and  a  smattering  of  indie  metal  records  and  new  folk  music  was  added,  resulting 
in  an  eclectic  654-page  volume.  For  the  first  time,  information  on  compact  discs  was 
included. 

By  both  plan  and  circumstances,  this  fourth  edition  (for  statisticians,  the  final  count  is 

vii 


1,600  entries  covering  2,500  artists  and  about  9,500  records)  wound  up  being  very  different 
from  the  others.  There  were  several  goals  at  the  outset:  to  add  entries  on  a  number  of  really 
major  artists  of  quality  and  influence,  to  improve  or  replace  existing  entries  where  needed, 
to  deepen  the  coverage  of  obscure  but  significant  bands  and  to  cope  with  rap's  format  shift 
from  12-inch  singles  (which  are  outside  the  book's  scope)  to  full-length  albums.  A  major 
effort  was  made  to  rectify  past  shortcomings  by  covering  relevant  bands  that  had  been 
overlooked,  adding  EPs  to  both  discographies  and  text,  reviewing  records  that  had  previously 
been  listed  but  not  covered  and  correcting  errors  both  tiny  and  glaring.  Although  it  meant 
accepting  a  varied  set  of  critical  sensibilities,  a  passel  of  new  writers  with  expertise  in 
specific  areas  were  invited  to  provide  more  informed  and  artistically  sympathetic  coverage  of 
genres — metal,  industrial,  goth,  dance,  hardcore — that  had  previously  been  given  short 
aesthetic  shrift.  (While  it  would  have  been  great  to  include  substantial  world  music  coverage, 
that  idea  proved  to  be  logistically  out  of  the  question.)  Writers  were  encouraged  to  be  as 
detailed  as  possible,  to  suggest  and  cover  bands  they  felt  were  essential  and  to  follow  family 
trees  through  solo  projects  and  offshoots.  Compounding  such  journalist  profligacy  with  the 
unexpectedly  huge  number  of  records  released  over  the  past  three  years  that  had  to  be 
reviewed  as  updates,  the  net  result  was  a  text  that  initially  came  in  around  800,000  words, 
roughly  double  the  size  of  the  last  edition  and  about  a  hundred  pages  beyond  what  was 
publishable. 

That  meant  a  lot  had  to  come  out.  This  edition  cuts  a  number  of  old  entries  that  would 
have  simply  been  repeated  unchanged  from  the  1989  book.  On  the  principle  that  new 
material  is  better  than  old,  I  took  the  opportunity  to  prune  entries  that  now  seem  trivial  or 
hopelessly  irrelevant,  and  to  excise  those  in  which  I  felt  the  writing,  coverage  and/or 
discographies  were  substandard.  It  was  a  difficult  decision-making  process,  but  I  don't  think 
many  of  the  deleted  entries  will  be  much  missed,  and  then  only  by  those  who  can  refer  to  the 
previous  edition. 

The  new  entries  on  George  Clinton,  Faust,  Bob  Marley,  Sky  Saxon,  Tom  Waits,  and 
Neil  Young  were  overdue;  for  reasons  beyond  our  control,  planned  coverage  of  Frank  Zappa 
and  John  Zom  didn't  happen.  (As  a  pre-emptive  reply  to  those  who  can't  understand 
omissions  of  clearly  deserving  artists,  the  following  would  have  been  included  had  circum- 
stances (meaning  records,  writers,  knowledge  and  time)  allowed:  African  Head  Charge  And 
Also  the  Trees,  Band  of  Holy  Joy,  Cassandra  Complex,  Chrysanthemums,  Death  in  June, 
Deep  Freeze  Mice,  Drowning  Pool,  Etron  Fou,  Fourwaycross,  Front  Line  Assembly,  Lemon 
Kittens,  Magma,  Youssou  N'Dour,  Rhythm  Pigs,  Rose  of  Avalanche,  Salt'n'Pepa,  7  Sec- 
onds, Peter  Stampfel  and  the  Bottlecaps,  Subhumans,  Tail  Gators,  Theatre  of  Hate, 
3  Mustaphas  3.  Oh  well.) 

Although  opinion  will  undoubtedly  be  split  on  the  subject,  I  think  rap  music  folly  fits  the 
book's  context  and  criteria.  In  this  edition,  I've  attempted  to  cover  as  many  noteworthy  rap 
(but  not  other  African-American  pop  styles,  like  new  jack  swing  or  house)  artists  as  possible, 
omitting  the  blandest  and  least  distinguished  figures  but  including  a  couple  of  commercial 
titans  whose  work  demands  critical  examination.  Following  the  classic  rebel  template  of  an 
autonomous  and  self-willed  form  created  by  and  for  a  young,  alienated  segment  of  society, 
the  hip-hop  explosion  is  one  of  pop  music's  most  profound  upheavals  and  very  much  a 
conceptual  echo  of  the  late  '70s  punk/new  wave  era.  Despite  a  difference  of  social  and 
cultural  values,  there  are  a  lot  of  points  at  which  the  only  essential  difference  between 
hip-hop  and  rock  records  is  the  beat. 

While  dance  music  has,  in  the  past,  fallen  outside  the  stylistic  framework  of  this  book, 
there's  no  getting  around  its  current  dominance — so  much  more  so  now  than  during  the  disco 
era — of  the  pop  life.  In  light  of  the  Manchester  rave  scene,  the  rise  of  DJ/performers, 


Vlll 


industrial  music  and,  of  course,  flip-hop,  the  '80s  proved  that  rock'n'roll  and  dance  music 
can't  escape  each  other.  Following  the  disco-sucks  era  when  bitter  rock  fans  felt  disenfran- 
chised by  the  commercial  dominance  of  unpalatable  records  that  denied  the  primacy  of  song 
and  artist,  musical  innovators  set  about  crafting  hybrids  that  would  make  disco — in  all  its 
crass,  simplistic,  dance-oriented  glory — enticing  to  a  wider  musical  audience  by  appealing 
to  familiar  sensibilities.  "New  romantics"  recycled  glam-rock  sensibilities  and  art-rock 
trappings;  industrial  noise  purveyors  harnessed  punk's  brutality  to  danceable  rhythms; 
techno-pop  got  heavier  and  funkier  and  moved  from  rock  clubs  to  dance  clubs.  Ultimately, 
it  became  obvious  that  too  much  criss-crossing  of  stylistic  boundaries  is  going  on  to  count 
bands  in  or  out  solely  on  the  basis  of  a  rhythm. 

Partially  as  a  result  of  that  development,  the  book's  longstanding  (I  can't  bring  myself 
to  claim  tradition  at  this  early  juncture)  criteria — bands  and  artists  who  favor  experimenta- 
tion, radicalism,  innovation  and  self-expression,  those  who  embrace  music  as  something 
beyond  its  potential  financial  or  ego-massaging  rewards — don't  really  apply  to  some  of  the 
bands  here.  Finding  myself  out  on  this  stylistic  limb,  I  tried  to  concoct  some  editorial 
guidelines  as  I  went  along,  but  wound  up  just  winging  it. 

Looking  over  this  edition,  I  think  the  heart  of  what  the  book  now  covers  is  eccentricity: 
from  mild  intellectual  dabblings  to  bizarre  religious  statements  to  full-blown  screeching 
insanity.  If  that  means  pop  with  a  twist,  rock  with  a  different  kind  of  roll,  ear-splitting  noise, 
amateurish  home-brew  dabblings  or  bizarre  tape  manipulations,  it's  all  part  of  a  shared  belief 
that  music  need  not  be  ordinary,  and  that — despite  what  the  charts  say — defiance  of  the 
established  order  is  still  a  highly  prized  element  to  many  music  lovers.  As  long  as  The 
Trouser  Press  Record  Guide  can  help  support  and  encourage  risk-taking  and  rule-breaking 
in  a  wide  variety  of  styles,  it  will  uphold  the  spirit  that  originally  inspired  its  creation. 


IX 


The  format  is  straightforward:  entries  are  arranged  purely  alphabetically  by  the  last  name  of 
individuals  and  the  first  word  of  group  names,  with  no  precedence  given  to  acronyms, 
abbreviations,  numerals,  etc.  Groups  who  have  taken  their  collective  name  from  an  actual 
member  (even  a  pseudonymous  one)  are  alphabetized  as  if  an  individual;  fabricated  group 
names  that  don't  refer  to  a  person  within  the  group  are  treated  as  band  names.  (For  Instance: 
Brinsley  Schwarz  is  In  "S"  and  Ed  Hail  is  in  44E.") 

Articles  are  ignored  and  omitted  from  headings  unless  considered  an  actual  and  essential 
part  of  a  name.  Bands  that  get  to  keep  their  articles  are  alphabetized  by  them  (A  Flock  of 
Seagulls,  Thee  Hypnotics,  The  Scene  Is  Now).  English-language  groups  with  non-English 
names  (Das  Damen,  Die  Kreuzen)  are  alphabetized  by  their  articles;  groups  who  use  their 
own  language  (Die  Haut,  Les  Thugs)  aren't.  One-letter  surnames  are  ignored  in  favor  of  first 
names  (Simon  F  is  under  S),  and  rappers  are  filed  by  first  letter  (including  titular  designations 
like  MC,  DJ  or  Queen)  unless  there's  a  clearly  understood  surname  (Big  Daddy  Kane  is 
under  K)  that  suggests  a  more  appropriate  location. 

Groups  that  have  gone  under  more  than  one  name  (including  solo  efforts  and  side 
projects)  are  listed  under  all  the  recording  names  (and  cross-referenced  as  such),  but  alpha- 
betized under  the  most  recent  and/or  significant.  This  edition  does  more  ganging  up  of  related 
families,  with  location  being  a  compromise  between  chronological  comprehension  and  best- 
known  name.  Every  attempt  has  been  made  to  make  it  easy  and  logical  to  find  things  quickly, 
but  if  an  artist  isn't  listed  where  you  where  you  expect,  keep  looking. 

Each  heading  includes  as-complete-as-possible  album  listings  (US,  UK  or  whatever  else 
applies  without  being  redundant;  general  geographical  precedence  is  domestic,  British  and 
then  everywhere  else)  through  March  1991,  with  a  smattering  of  listings  of  scheduled 
releases  as  late  as  June.  Reviews  run  up  through  early-'91  releases  (the  end  of  '90  for 
imports),  with  the  absolute  cut-off  being  the  end  of  April.  Some  records  that  were  received 
too  late — or  not  located  at  all — are  merely  listed  in  the  headings  without  being  discussed  in 
the  text.  Discographies  do  not  reflect  current  availability  of  records  (i.e.,  deletions  are  not 
deleted)  and  indicate  cassette  releases  only  when  other  formats  are  not  available. 

In  the  interests  of  reference  completeness,  disco  graphics  occasionally  include  second- 
hand information  gleaned  from  catalogue  listings,  reviews  or  advertising.  Those  records  are, 
of  course,  not  reviewed  in  this  work,  merely  listed  and  mentioned  in  the  text  if  there's 
reliable  info  regarding  content  (compilations,  concerts,  outtakes,  etc.).  However,  release 
dates  and  exact  titles  of  such  records  are  sometimes  impossible  to  determine  or  confirm.  In 
cases  of  severe  dubiousness,  listings  are  omitted  to  avoid  sending  fans  on  wild-goose  chases; 
in  the  absence  of  a  firm  release  date,  a  "c. "  indication  precedes  the  year  to  acknowledge  the 
possibility  of  error.  Every  effort  was  made  to  resolve  such  questions,  but  in  some  cases  we 
were  unable  to  do  so.  Any  corrections  brought  to  our  attention  will  be  incorporated  into  the 
next  edition. 

Albums  that  have  been  released  on  compact  disc  are  noted  with  a  bullet  (•)  at  the  end 
of  the  heading  line.  However,  the  a  indication  does  not  mean  that  a  domestic  (US)  CD  exists 
or  that  the  CD  was  issued  by  the  record's  original  album  label,  merely  that  the  title  has  been 
issued  somewhere  by  someone  in  the  format.  (Admittedly,  coverage  of  Japanese  CD  releases 

xi 


is  very  sketchy,  and  there  are  undoubtedly  records  that  have  been  issued  on  CD  there  and  not 
acknowledged  here.)  Differences  between  US,  UK,  European  and  Pacific  CD  releases  are 
covered  when  such  information  is  available,  but  don't  assume  that  the  lack  of  such  discussion 
means  they're  all  the  same.  Every  effort  has  been  made  to  note  differences  between  album, 
CD  and  cassette  releases,  although  there  are  undoubtedly  plenty  that  were  overlooked. 

CD-only  releases  are  indicated  as  [CD]  between  title  and  label;  for  consistent  scannabil- 
ity,  a  •  follows  such  listings  as  well.  In  cases  where  one  CD  incorporates  another  listed  piece 
of  vinyl,  both  are  marked  •  regardless  of  whether  a  compact  disc  was  issued  under  that  title: 
if  it's  on  CD,  it's  on  CD,  (The  exception  to  that  rale  is  when  a  CD  issued  under  a  unique 
title  includes  several  records;  it  would  be  too  confusing  if  the  individual  records  were  also 
marked  •.) 

The  increasing  unavailability  of  vinyl  has  complicated  format  matters  considerably. 
While  the  new  4>  designation  indicates  that  a  record  was  released  only  on  tape  and  CD,  that 
doesn't  quite  nail  down  this  hellishly  confusing  situation.  As  of  1991,  most  British  and 
European  record  companies  continue  to  issue  vinyl  on  a  lot  of  releases,  and  some  American 
labels  who  don't  still  do  limited  vinyl  runs  for  college  radio.  With  the  legal  roadblocks  to 
imports  preventing  a  British  band's  vinyl  from  being  distributed  in  America  even  if  the 
group's  American  label  has  decided  against  a  three-format  release,  it's  fairly  pointless  to 
acknowledge  foreign  vinyl  issue.  As  a  result,  records  marked  <}>  may  indeed  be  available 
somewhere — but  not,  most  likely,  in  your  local  record  store — on  vinyl.  And  with  retail 
distribution  making  it  nearly  impossible  to  find  vinyl  releases  even  when  they  exist,  such 
knowledge  may  be  virtually  useless  to  traditionalists. 

Records  that  have  been  issued  in  the  US  will  note  only  the  US  label.  UK  releases  are 
given  as  (nr/Label).  However,  records  issued  in  different  countries  under  alternate  titles  or 
with  substantially  different  contents  may  be  listed  twice.  Records  that  have  not  been  released 
in  the  US  or  the  UK  include  a  country  of  origin  before  the  label  name:  (Fr.  New  Rose),  ( Aus. 
Au-go-go).  One  exception:  Canadian  releases  sometimes  take  precedence  over  British,  so  a 
Canadian  label  may  be  indicated  on  a  record  that  indeed  has  had  a  British  release.  Label 
names  are  given  as  accurately  as  possible,  although  several  space-saving  adaptations  must  be 
noted:  IRS  is  listed  without  periods,  Les  Disques  du  Crepuscule  is  reduced  to  Crepuscule, 
and  the  words  International  and  Communications  are  abbreviated. 

In  previous  editions,  the  year  given  in  headings  was  the  earliest  release  date  the  album 
was  originally  issued,  anywhere.  An  effort  was  made  to  note  both  American  release  dates 
and  foreign  releases  in  a  prior  year  for  records  added  to  this  edition,  but  it  was  generally 
impossible  to  go  back  and  correct  this  for  earlier  releases.  (This  occasionally  results  in 
confusing  anomalies.  A  record  released  in  the  UK  in  1985  and  in  the  US  a  year  later  will  have 
the  US  company  but  the  UK  date.  An  effort  has  been  made  to  treat  lengthy  gaps  as  reissues, 
but  consistency  in  this  regard  is  not  guaranteed.) 

Succeeding  issues  and  reissues  are  noted  by  a  second  date  (and  new  label  information, 
for  those  records  not  reissued  by  the  original  label).  CD  releases  of  old  records  are  not 
considered  reissues  and  the  *  CD  notation  does  not  indicate  a  year  of  such  release.  Reissues 
that  don't  improve  on  geographical  precedence  are  excluded  unless  the  reissue  is  far  more 
likely  to  be  found  or  there  are  notable  differences  from  the  original 

The  "[tape]"  notation  signifies  a  cassette-only  release.  (Tapes  listed  without  label  in- 
formation are  home-brew  self-releases  that  are/were  commercially  available  to  some  degree 
but  don't  carry  a  company  name.)  The  "EP"  designation  covers  everything  from  a  three- 
song  7-inch  to  a  six -song  mini-album,  regardless  of  how  a  record  is  billed.  There  are  a  few 
exceptions.  Albums  with  six  or  fewer  long  tracks  that  are  clearly  full-length  LPs  are  con- 
sidered as  such;  7-inches  with  eight  or  ten  tracks  are,  by  the  same  logic,  not  albums. 

xii 


Otherwise,  anything  with  six  or  fewer  tracks  is  an  EP  here;  a  12-inch  record  or  a  CD  with 
seven  or  more  is  an  album.  CD  singles  are  ignored  unless  they  contain  four  different  songs 
(remixes  excluded),  but  the  converse  is  not  necessarily  true.  A  major  effort  was  made  to 
expand  the  book's  EP  coverage  this  time,  and  a  lot  more  items  were  reviewed  and/or  listed, 
including  many  from  the  mid- '80s. 

With  one  or  two  exceptions,  promo-only  releases,  bootlegs  and  interview  records  are 
omitted.  Although  every  effort  has  been  made  to  precisely  list  record  titles  as  they  appear — 
with  all  weird  spellings,  made-up  words  and  odd  punctuation  preserved — quotation  marks 
around  complete  titles  are  generally  removed  in  order  to  minimize  confusion  with  the  handful 
of  singles  that  are  listed.  The  final  right  to  resolve  inconsistencies  (when  the  front  cover, 
spine  and  label  don't  agree)  rests  with  the  judges. 

Confusion  of  another  sort  may  be  unavoidable:  In  the  spring  of  1990,  a  Warner  Bros.- 
related  record  company  named  Giant  was  launched  and  the  company  that  had  been  called 
Giant  up  till  then  switched  its  name  to  Rockville;  the  discographies  have  not  been  retroac- 
tively corrected.  Furthermore,  England  and  America  each  has  unaffiliated  labels  called 
Jungle  and  Link. 

Because  many  entries  have  been  updated  or  revised  by  people  other  than  the  original 
reviewers,  there  are  multiple  bylines.  (Bylines  appear  as  lower-case  initials  in  brackets  at  the 
end  of  each  entry.  Refer  to  the  list  of  contributors  to  decode  names. )  Cross-references  at  the 
bottom  of  entries  (greatly  expanded  this  time)  provide  direction  to  other  related  entries  of 
interest  that  may  not  be  obvious;  the  text  of  an  entry  may  suggest  other  artists  worth 
investigating. 

Political  note:  Music  critics  often  refer  to  "black  music"  and  "white  music"  as  if  skin 
color  determined  the  sound  of  music  one  is  obliged  to  make.  In  the  hopes  of  avoiding  the 
patent  racism  inherent  in  such  simpleminded  generalizing,  when  those  phrases  are  used  here, 
they're  in  quotes  to  stress  that  a  musical  style,  not  a  performer's  race,  is  being  addressed. 

Comments,  criticisms,  corrections,  quibbles,  quarrels  and  kudos  are  gladly  accepted. 
Please  address  all  correspondence  to: 

The  Trouser  Press  Record  Guide 
c/o  Collier  Books— 21st  floor 
866  Third  Avenue 
New  York  NY  10022 


xm 


This  book  could  not  have  been  created  without  the  enthusiasm  and  efforts  of  many  people. 
First  and  foremost,  my  thanks  go  to  all  the  contributors  (past  and  present),  who  did  great 
work  for  lousy  money,  some  coming  through  with  fine  work  despite  major  life-type  obsta- 
cles. Special  mention  goes  to  those  who  shouldered  more  than  their  part  of  the  undertaking 
and  those  who  did  much  more  than  just  what  was  asked  of  them:  Jem  Aswad,  Art  Black, 
Doug  Brod,  Harold  DeMuir,  Greg  Fasolino,  Glenn  Kenny,  Jack  Rabid,  Andrea  'Enthal, 
Dave  Sprague  and  Wif  Stenger.  The  official  Trouser  Press  cabal — Jim  Green,  Dave  Schulps 
and  Scott  Isler — and  honorary  member  David  Sheridan  not  only  contributed  reviews,  but 
provided  significant  input  to  the  direction  of  this  edition. 

Many  people  provided  records  and  information,  but  Alan  Fielding  set  new  standards  for 
being  really  fantastic  and  assisted  in  hundreds  of  ways  for  which  he  will  never  be  adequately 
compensated.  Ron  Decker  was  amazingly  helpful  on  a  number  of  fronts,  as  were  many  other 
publicists  and  friends:  Bill  Ashton,  Gary  Baker,  Ron  Bally,  Rich  Bauer,  Danny  Beard,  Beth 
Bellis,  Debbie  Bennet,  Janet  Billig,  Mark  Brennan,  Joanne  Brown,  Sophia  Chang,  Irwin 
Chusid,  Jason  Cohen,  Ron  Coleman,  Neil  Cooper,  Tom  Cording,  Crypt,  Nick  Gucci,  Steve 
Daly,  Joshua  Davis,  Nick  DeBenedetto,  Monica  Dee,  Fran  DeFeo,  Fred  Dellar,  Sue  Drew, 
Brace  Dulf ,  Alan  Duffy,  Andy  Dunkley,  Alvin  Eng,  Lisa  Fancher,  Delores  Fernandez,  Jill 
Fonaas,  Pete  Frame,  Jack  Frank,  Kathy  Gillis,  Scott  Givens,  Kenn  Goodman,  Milhan 
Gorkey,  Lisa  Gotthiel,  Huw  Gower,  Michelle  Gutenstein,  Robert  Haber,  Daniel  Haesen, 
Michael  Hafitz,  Chryste  Hall,  Dave  Hall,  Lisa  Hayes,  Jerry  Jaffe,  Chris  Kamatani,  Steve 
Karas,  Kenyatta,  Peter  Koepke,  Kramer,  Michael  Krumper,  Maggie  Krupka,  Arthur  Levy, 
Miriam  Linna,  Marilyn  Lipsius,  Sharon  Liveten,  Jocelynn  Loebl,  Marty  Maidenberg,  Mary 
Marcus,  Sue  Marcus,  Lisa  Markowitz,  J.D.  Martignon,  Steve  Martin,  Patrick  Mathe,  Jill 
McLean,  Mary  Melia,  Joe  Metcalfe,  Brett  Milano,  Billy  Miller,  Tracey  Miller,  Luigia  Min- 
ichiello,  Andrea  Mulrain,  Pat  Naylor,  Bo  Orloff,  Deborah  Orr,  Dino  Ostacinni,  Dino  Pare- 
des,  Sue  Patel,  Anne  Patteson,  Robert  Perlman,  Lisa  Pollan,  Jonathan  Poneman,  Albert 
Ragusa,  Cindy  Redmond,  Bettina  Richards,  Raymond  Rodriguez,  Melani  Rogers,  Scott 
Schinder,  Andy  Schwartz,  Camille  Sciara,  Kevin  Sharp,  Greg  Shaw,  John  Silva,  Gary 
Stewart,  Carrie  Ann  Svingen,  Tom  Timony,  Eileen  Treacy,  Leyla  Turkkan,  Michel  Vidal, 
Robert  Vodicka,  Ken  Weinstein,  Meryl  Wheeler,  Vicky  Wheeler,  Peter  Wright,  Howard 
Wuelfing,  Lauren  Zelisko. 

I'd  also  like  to  acknowledge  the  publications  that  yielded  the  largest  amounts  of  essential 
discographical  and  background  information:  Option,  CMJ  New  Music  Report,  Bucketfull  of 
Brains,  Q,  New  Musical  Express,  Melody  Maker,  Billboard,  Spin,  Forced  Exposure,  Cat- 
alogue, Entertainment  Weekly,  The  Music  Master  Record  Catalogue,  Schwann  Spectrum, 
The  Random  House  Dictionary,  The  Essential  Guide  to  Rock  Records,  Christgau's  Record 
Guide,  Rolling  Stone  Record  Guide,  Pete  Frame's  Rock  Family  Trees,  International  Dis- 
cography  of  the  New  Wave,  New  Rock  Record,  The  Rolling  Stone  Encyclopedia  of  Rock  & 
Roll,  The  New  Rock' n' Roll,  The  Illustrated  Encyclopedia  of  Black  Music,  Harmony  Illus- 
trated Encyclopedia  of  Rock,  Hachette  Guide  to  Great  Britain,  Rock  Movers  &  Shakers  and 
The  Guinness  Book  of  British  Hit  Albums.  And  kudos  to  Maxum  computers  and  Xy  write 
word  processing,  both  of  which  smoothed  the  technical  path  this  time. 

xv 


Thanks  to  everyone — especially  Robert  Christgau  and  Greg  Sandow — whose  generous 
and  encouraging  comments  originally  helped  me  undertake  another  edition  and  who  stayed 
in  my  thoughts  throughout  the  project,  providing  a  jolt  of  resolve  when  my  own  wavered.  I'd 
also  like  to  acknowledge  the  unique  contributions  of  Wendy  Harte  on  behalf  of  the  last 
edition  as  well  as  this  one. 

Most  of  all,  Pd  like  to  express  my  deepest  gratitude  to  my  wife,  Regina  Joskow,  for  her 
role  in  this  enterprise.  I  have  no  doubt  that  I  could  not  (and  most  assuredly  would  not)  have 
done  it  without  her. 

I  dedicate  this  book  to  my  extraordinary  parents,  Louis  and  Estelle  Robbins,  who  pro- 
vided me  with  all  the  tools  anyone  ever  needed  for  a  successful  life,  are  always  there  when 
the  going  gets  rough  and  have  never  asked  me  when  I'm  going  to  get  a  real  job. 

Ira  A.  Robbies 
New  York  City 
1  May  1991 


xvi 


THE 

TROUSER  PRESS 

RECORD  GUIDE 

Fourth  Edition 


THE  CONTRIBUTORS 


ABBREVIATIONS 


ab  Art  Black 

ag  Altricia  Gethers 

aw  Amy  Wachtel 

be  Byron  Coley 

bk  Bud  Kliment 

cpl  Charles  P.  Lamey 

db  Doug  Brod 

df  David  Fricke 

dgs  David  Sheridan 

ds  Dave  Schulps 

dss  David  Sptague 

*e  Andrea  'Enthal 

ep  Elizabeth  Phillip 

gef  Greg  Fasolioo 

gf  Graham  Flashner 

gk  Glenn  Kenny 

hd  Harold  DeMuir 

i  Ira  Robbins 

icm  Ian  McCaleb 

ja  Jem  Aswad 

jg  Jim  Green 

jl  John  Leland 

jr  Jack  Rabid 

jw  John  Walker 

jy  Joe  Young 

kfa  Katfay  Haight 

kl  Kate  Lewis 

ks  Karen  Schlosberg 

kss  Karen  Schoemer 

mf  Mark  Fleischmann 

mg  Marlene  Goldman 

mp  Michael  Pietsch 

pn  Paul  Nash 

rg  Richard  Gehr 

rj  Regina  Joskow 

rnp  Robert  Payes 

rs  Rich  Shupe 

sg  Steven  Grant 

si  Scott  Isler 

sk  Steve  Kort6 

si  Scott  Lewis 

sm  Scott  McCaughey 

tf  Tony  Fletcher 

tr  Teny  Rompers 

wk  Wayne  King 

ws  Wif  Stenger 


•:  available  on  compact  disc 
<!>:  available  only  on  CD  and  cassette 
[CD]:  CD-only  release 
[tape]:  cassette-only  release 
EP:  maxi-single,  extended-play  single,  mini- 
album  (up  to  six  songs) 
nr:  not  released 
c.:  circa 

DIY:  do-it-yourself 
aka:  also  known  as 
b/w:  backed  with 
Comm.:  Communications 
Int'l:  International 
Aus.:  Australian 
Bel.:  Belgian 
Braz.:  Brazilian 
Can.:  Canadian 
Dan.:  Danish 
Fin.:  Finnish 
Fr.:  French 
Ger.:  German 
Gr.:  Greek 
Hoi:  Dutch 
Ice.:  Icelandic 
It.:  Italian 
Jam.:  Jamaican 
Jap.:  Japanese 
Nor.:  Norwegian 
NZ:  New  Zealand 
Port.:  Portuguese 
Sp.:  Spanish 
Sw.:  Swiss 
Swed.:  Swedish 
UK:  British 
US:  American 


ABC 

The  Lexicon  of  Love  (Mercury)  1 982  • 

Beauty  Stab  (Mercury)  1983  © 

How  to  Be  a  ...  Zillionaire!  (Mercury)  1 985  © 

Alphabet  City  (Mercury)  1 987  • 

King  Without  a  Crown  EP  (or/Neutron)  1988  ® 

The  Real  Thing  EP  (nr/Neotron)  1 989  • 

Up  (Mercury)  1989® 

Absolutely  (Mercury)  1 990  4> 

ABC  revolves  around  the  talented  but  often  mis- 
guided Martin  Fry,  a  onetime  fanzine  editor  whose  de- 
tailed notions  of  style  include,  on  the  Sheffield  band's 
first  album,  setting  his  own  Ferry/Bowiesque  vocals  in 
lustrous  pop  production  (by  Trevor  Horn)  laden  with 
keyboards  and  strings,  mostly  to  a  supple  techno-soul 
disco  pulse.  He  succeeds  admirably  with  "Poison  Ar- 
row" and  "The  Look  of  Love,"  but  an  entire  album  on 
the  same  subject — Fry  is  stuck  in  the  lexicon's  lack-of/ 
ioss-of  love  section — can  be  a  strain.  Taken  in  toto,  the 
melodies  seem  like  retreads,  and  his  attempts  at  urbane 
metaphoric  wit  seem  forced. 

Fry  unexpectedly  converted  ABC  into  a  rock  band 
for  Beauty  Stab,  making  guitar  the  main  instrument  on 
most  tracks.  Fielding  the  same  core  lineup  as  latter-day 
Roxy  Music  (vocals,  guitar,  sax)  and,  coincidentally 
(?),  joined  by  the  session  bassist  and  drummer  (Alan 
Spenner  and  Andy  Newmark)  used  on  Flesh  -I-  Blood, 
ABC  offers  a  remarkable  impression  (discounting  Fry's 
usual  howler  lyrics)  of  that  band  on  "That  Was  Then 
but  This  Is  Now."  ABC  makes  additional  overtures 
towards  Roxyish  guitar  rock  but  with  little  aptitude  in 
direction,  identity  or  grace.  Quotes  from  Bo  Diddley, 
the  Move  and  other  rock  icons  abound,  but  ABC  has  no 
idea  how  to  use  them. 

By  then  reduced  to  a  duo  of  Fry  and  guitarist/ 
keyboardist  Mark  White,  ABC  took  a  long  hiatus  as  Fry 
overcame  a  serious  illness.  In  '85,  the  group  re-emerged 
with  Zillionaire!,  a  mixed  bag  of  sarcasm  ("So  Hip  It 
Hurts,"  "Vanity  Kills,"  "How  to  Be  a  Millionaire") 
and  sweetness  ("Be  Near  Me")  on  which  the  prime 
new  influence  is  American  hip-hop.  (Sugar  Hill  techno- 
rhythm  vet  Keith  LeBlanc  figures  prominently  on  the 
record.) 

ABC  returned  to  its  (adopted)  roots  on  Alphabet 
City,  a  confident  modem  soul  record  which  draws  from 
various  contemporary  genres  but  basks  from  start  to 
finish  in  a  soothing  wash  of  strings,  horns  and  heavenly 
background  vocals.  Fry  and  White  have  clearly  ma- 
tured, dropping  the  arch  lyrical  humor  and  selfconscious 
stylistic  adventures  to  concentrate  on  painstaking  pop 
craft.  The  clear  highlight  is  "When  Smokey  Sings,"  a 
touching  and  slyly  tributary  ode  to  William  Robinson, 
but  the  remainder  of  the  record  is  as  easily  enjoyable. 

If  Alphabet  City  put  the  band  back  on  track,  Up 
sent  ABC  down  the  home  stretch,  completing  the  sty- 
listic oval  interrupted  by  the  second  album.  Returning  to 


glibly  clever  techno-soul  with  a  prominent  and  persis- 
tent beat,  Fry  and  White  use  the  peppy  dance  rhythms 
and  irritating  lyrics  of  their  youth,  lending  the 
economical-sounding  LP  a  similarity  to  Bowie's  Phila- 
delphia period.  Fry's  singing  is  deeper  and  more  sin- 
cerely emotional  than  ever  before;  if  the  idealistically 
romantic  songwriting  wasn't  so  overdone,  the  likable 
Up  would  have  been  a  dandy. 

Absolutely  samples  the  band's  five  albums  for  such 
ABC  essentials  as  "Poison  Arrow,"  "The  Look  of 
Love,"  "That  Was  Then  but  This  Is  Now,"  "Be  Near 
Me"  and  "When  Smokey  Sings."  The  CD  and  tape 
contain  bonus  tracks.  fjg/i] 

A-BONES 

See  Zantees. 

ABOVE  THE  LAW 

Livin'  Like  Hustlers  (Ruthless-Epic)  1 990  • 

Over  handsome  tracks  constructed  from  '70s  soul 
classics  as  well  as  live  guitar,  bass  and  keyboards,  these 
belligerent  (in  content,  not  delivery)  self-styled  LA 
hustlers— Cold  187um  (Gregory  Hutchinson),  KM.G 
the  Illustrator  (Kevin  Dulley),  Go  Mack  (Arthur  Good- 
man) and  Total  K-oss  (Anthony  Stewart)— rhyme  about 
cold-blooded  violence  on  the  Mega  Side  and  cold- 
hearted  sex  (and  other  topics)  on  the  Ranching  Side. 
Capable  but  not  especially  clever  and  certainly  not  en- 
tertaining, these  would-be  gangsters  (joined,  on  *'The 
Last  Song,"  by  label  boss  Eazy-E)  are  less  intimidating 
than  unpleasant.  [i] 

Green  House  (Earring)  1984  (Midnight)  1986 

What  Remains  (Midnight)  1 986 

Painted  Post  EP  (Midnight)  1987 

A  Journey  Thru  the  Past  (Greek  Di-Di  Musk)  1 988 

Sand  Down  the  Moon  (Greek  Di-Di  Music)  1 989 

PAT  THOMAS 

Pat  Thomas  (Heyday)  1 988 

Long  before  self-reflective  female  singers  became 
the  hip  trend  on  the  alternative  music  scene,  Beth  Brown 
of  Rochester,  NY's  Absolute  Grey  was  writing  and  sing- 
ing about  loneliness  and  the  challenge  of  independence. 
What  Brown  lacked  in  vocal  range,  she  more  than  made 
up  for  in  guts  and  naked  emotion.  Green  House  (six 
studio  tracks  and  a  pair  of  live  numbers,  including  the 
Velvet  Underground's  "Beginning  to  See  the  Light") 
defines  the  quartet's  garage-pop  approach,  with  the  bass 
carrying  most  of  the  melodies  and  the  guitar  adding 
color  with  Peter  Buck-ish  arpeggios. 

The  denser,  darker  What  Remains,  produced  by 
Tim  Lee  of  the  Windbreakers,  is  a  humble  masterpiece 
in  which  Brown  alternately  deplores  her  weakness  and 


1 


musters  up  strength  in  the  face  of  a  failing  relationship, 
The  performances  are  crude,  and  drummer  Pat  Thomas 
sometimes  sounds  as  though  he's  being  piped  in  from  a 
different  state,  but  neither  can  suffocate  the  album's 
intrinsic  dignity. 

Absolute  Grey  pared  down  to  a  two-piece  for  most 
of  the  Painted  Post  EP;  the  four  songs  on  which  Brown 
is  accompanied  only  by  Mitch  Rasor  on  bass  and  acous- 
tic guitar  are  fnghteningly  beautiful.  Without  the  com- 
petition of  a  fail  rhythm  section,  her  voice  can  be  softer 
and  more  expressive,  and  her  lyrics  articulate  pain  with- 
out ever  stooping  to  self-pity.  "Closer  Apart," 
"Sylvia"  and  "Abandon  Waltz"  are  touching  little  ad- 
ventures into  her  soul. 

A  Journey  Tfeni  the  Past  is  a  live  album  (recorded 
in  Rochester  in  1984)  containing  all  previously  unre- 
leased  material.  In  the  summer  of  *87,  all  four  original 
members  reformed  briefly  and  cut  another  studio  record, 
Sand  Down  the  Moon.  Thomas'  solo  album  finds  the 
drummer  instead  singing  and  playing  acoustic  guitar. 

[kss] 

ACCELERATORS 

Leave  My  Heart  f  Dolphin)  1 983 
The  Accelerators  (Profile)  1987  ® 
Dream  Train  (Profile)  1991  <f> 

One  of  numerous  Southeastern  bands  nurtured  in  the 
Mitch  Easter/Don  Dixon  pop  bosom  (both  play  on  the 
quartet's  first  album;  Dixon  produced  the  first  and  two 
cuts  on  the  second),  North  Carolina's  Accelerators 
blend  crisp,  energetic,  well-mannered  rock  with  a  little 
'billy  and  some  mild  R&B  to  give  Leave  My  Heart  just 
enough  grit  and  soul  to  make  it  both  memorable  and 
charming.  Guitarist/songwriter  Gerald  Duncan  sings 
pleasantly  enough  (although  more  spunk  would  be  an 
asset);  simplicity  and  restraint  make  Doug  Welchel's 
drumming  noticeably  good. 

There's  even  better-sounding  guitar  rock  on  The 
Accelerators*  dozen  uneven  cuts,  including  a  remake  of 
the  tuneful  "Two  Girls  in  Love"  from  Leave  My 
Heart.  Duncan  and  Welchel  are  the  lineup's  only  hold- 
overs; new  lead  guitarist  Brad  Rice  adds  excitement  and 
extra  vocals  to  strong,  melodic  numbers  like  " Radio," 
"(Why  You)  Hang  Up  on  Me"  and  "Tears."  Unfor- 
tunately, the  band's  lyrics  are  often  simpleminded,  and 
a  fiery  guitar  solo  can't  salvage  the  ill-conceived  funeral- 
speed  cover  of  "Black  Slacks."  (A  version  of  the  Box 
Tops'  "The  Letter"  flies  at  a  brisk  clip,  but  gets  them 
nowhere.)  The  Accelerators  has  its  fine  qualities,  but 
still  leaves  plenty  of  room  for  improvement.  [i] 

A  CERTAIN  RATIO 

The  Graveyard  and  the  Ballroom  [tapej  (nr/Factory) 

1979  +  1985 

DotheDu  EP  (Factory)  1980 
Blown  Away  EP  (nr/Factory)  1 980 
To  Each  . . .  (nr/Factory)  1 981 
Sextet  (nr/Factory)  1 981 
I'd  Like  to  See  You  Again  (nr/Factory)  1 982 
The  Old  and  the  New  (nr/Factory)  1 985 
Force  (nr/Factory)  1 986  ® 

A  Certain  Ratio— Live  in  America  (nr/Dojo)  1 986  * 
Good  Together  (nr/A&M)  1 989  • 
MCR(nr/A&M)  1990® 


Manchester's  A  Certain  Ratio  (ACR)  were  one  of 
the  first  new  wave-era  outfits  to  use  horns  and  other 
instruments  to  play  a  soulful  brand  of  contemporary 
music  that  defied  prevalent  trends  but  proved  signifi- 
cantly influential.  The  Graveyard  cassette  compiles  *79 
material — half  studio  work  produced  by  Martin  Han- 
nett,  the  rest  live  from  their  hometown's  famed  Electric 
Ballroom.  With  the  subsequent  D®  the  Da,  an  exciting 
and  original  post-punk  dance  record  that  does  ACR 
proud  (check  out  "Shack  Up"  for  the  decay  of  modem 
social  values),  it  seemed  certain  that  ACR  would 
quickly  join  Public  Image  in  the  vanguard  of  the  new 
rock  left. 

The  studied  tedium  of  To  Each  .  .  .  ,  however, 
snuffed  the  early  promise,  as  the  band  buried  itself  in 
dreary  rhythms  and  astonishing  self-indulgence.  Leader 
Simon  Topping — he  of  the  free-form  trumpet  that 
stamped  songs  like  "The  Fox"  (here  on  a  subdued  re- 
make from  Do  the  DM) — evidently  believed  that  ACR 
would  fill  the  gap  left  by  Joy  Division.  Unfortunately, 
while  Joy  Division  was  at  least  lyrical  in  its  despair,  A 
Certain  Ratio  is  merely  monotonous.  Blown  Away  is  a 
three-song  12-inch  of  non-LP  blasts  of  horns  and 
rhythms. 

ACR  relocated  their  energy  on  Sextet,  but  didn't 
apply  it  in  the  right  places.  There's  no  real  focus  to  the 
discoid  beats  and  wailing  female  vocals  (Martha  Til- 
son);  ACR  don't  seem  especially  motivated  by  the  mu- 
sic they're  making.  I'd  Like  to  See  You  Again  suffers 
from  Tilson's  absence,  and  stumbles  about,  evincing 
self-consciousness  and  conservatism  in  place  of  the  pre- 
viously aggressive  experimental  attitude. 

The  Old  and  the  New  is  a  compilation,  originally 
released  with  a  bonus  45  of  "Shack  Up." 

ACR  maintained  a  low  profile  after  the  early  '80s, 
but  continued  releasing  new  records.  Force  follows  in 
the  footsteps  of  I'd  Like  to  See  You  Again,  abandoning 
the  raw,  stark  and  chilling  sound  of  the  band's  seminal 
work.  Professionally  executed  but  completely  boring 
and  devoid  of  spontaneity,  there's  little  here  that  Chuck 
Mangione  fans  might  not  enjoy.  Occasional  sonic  ex- 
perimentation isn't  enough;  the  backwards  bass  on 
"Bootsy"  and  the  odd  drones  of  "Take  Me  Down" 
can't  mask  the  fact  that  the  songs  go  nowhere. 

Live  in  America  is  a  basic  greatest-hits  run-through. 
The  sound  quality  is  amazingly  good,  but  it  has  all  the 
soul  of  a  conservatory  jazz  ensemble  playing  from  sheet 
music.  The  inclusion  of  cuts  that  sounded  so  great  just 
half  a  decade  earlier  ("Shack  Up,"  "Knife  Slits  Wa- 
ter") now  only  serves  to  degrade  ACR's  reputation  even 
further.  Yawn.  [gf/dgs] 

A  CONFEDERACY  OF  DUNCES 

Tsk  Tsk  Tsk  [CD]  (Old  School)  1 989  • 

Although  its  name  comes  from  a  novel  about  New 
Orleans,  this  charming  Queens,  New  York  pop  quartet 
takes  its  basic  stylistic  cues  from  Village  Green-era 
Kinks.  Singing  in  a  plain  but  pleasant  voice,  John  Dun- 
bar  (also  the  band's  songwriter,  guitarist  and  pianist) 
displays  a  keen  traditional  melodic  sense  (hindered  a  bit 
by  imperfectly  pitched  background  vocals)  and  a 
pointed  ear  for  social  observation  that  makes  him  some- 
thing of  an  American  Glenn  Tilbrook.  From  a  rueful 
critique  of  modern  music  ("The  Filler  Years")  to  well- 


draw* n  portraits  of  common  people  I  "Live  for  Lotto," 
"She  Hates  Good  Looking  Guys,"  "Ophelia"),  Dun- 
bar  and  the  Dunces  bong  a  realistic  modem  outlook  to 
old-fashioned  musical  virtues.  [i] 

ACOUSTINAUTS 

Inhale  Einstein  (PopLlama  Products)  1987 

If  s  easy  to  imagine  this  offbeat  quartet,  guitars  in 
hand,  striding  through  the  streets  of  Seattle,  regaling  the 
local  folks — even  those  backing  away  in  confused 
fear — with  their  intelligently  loopy  songs.  Keeping 
things  light  and  folky,  the  vocal  foursome  comes  on  like 
Devo's  hick  cousins  on  the  semi-amusing  Inhale  Ein- 
stein, playing  unaffected  country  (* 'Don't  You  Dare 
Walk  Out  of  My  Life  (Without  Me),"  "Strangers  When 
We  Met")  and  singing  about  weird  science  ("Inhale 
Einstein"),  weird  religion  ("Children  of  Macedonia") 
and  weird  romance  ("Big  Sexin' ").  [i] 

ACT 

Too  Late  at  20  (Hannibal)  1981 

Impeccable  production  gives  singer/songwriter  Nick 
Laird-Clowes'  controlled  passion  and  the  band's  tight, 
tasteful  playing  a  clearly  deserved  chance  to  be  heard. 
Elvis  Costello  and  Tom  Petty  appear  to  be  the  Act's 
major  influences  (there  are  also  nods  to  the  Byrds  and 
Springsteen)  but  the  quartet  rises  above  derivation,  giv- 
ing such  songs  as  "Touch  and  Go"  and  "The  Long 
Island  Sound"  indelible  emotional  authenticity,  [mf] 

See  also  Dream  Academy. 

ADAM  AND  THE  ANTS 

Dirk  Wears  White  Socb  (nr/Do  It)  1 979  (Epic)  1 983 

Kings  of  the  Wild  Frontier  (Epic)  1 980  • 

Prince  Charming  (Epic)  1981  * 

Antmusic  EP  (nr/Do  It)  1982 

Peel  Sessions  (Strange  Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1 991  4> 

ADAM  ANT 

Friend  or  Foe  (Epic)  1 982  * 

Strip  (Epic)  1983* 

Vivele  Rock  (Epic)  1985* 

Hits(nr/CBS)  1986* 

Manners  &  Physique  (MCA)  1 989  • 

Antics  in  the  Forbidden  Zone  (Epic)  1 990  4> 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Jubilee  (nr/Polydor)  1978 

When  London  art-school  escapee  Adam  (Stuart 
Goddard)  turned  up  with  the  Ants  on  the  awful  Jubilee 
movie  soundtrack  in  1978,  you'd  never  have  guessed 
he'd  amount  to  anything.  Like  much  of  the  record,  his 
two  cuts  were  just  ordinary  meatgrinder  punk.  Nor  was 
the  ambitious  Dirk  Wears  White  Socks  all  that  encour- 
aging, despite  the  considerable  effort  Adam  obviously 
expended  on  it.  The  self-produced  LP's  word-heavy 
tunes  examine  sexual  excess  ("Cleopatra"),  bizarre  vi- 
sions ("Day  I  Met  God"),  alienation  ("Digital  Tender- 
ness") and  the  like.  Adam's  dour,  uncomfortable  vocals 
find  compatible  backing  from  his  band,  which  sounds 
nearly  dead  and  far  too  slow.  It's  as  if  the  nastiest  por- 
tion of  Ziggy  Stardust  had  come  to  life  full-blown. 
After  he'd  made  it  big,  Adam  obtained  the  rights  to  the 
record,  remixed  and  resequenced  the  tracks — replacing 


"Catholic  Day*'  and k  *Da>  I  Met  God"  I  is  there  a  theme 
to  this  revisionism?)  with  "" Zeros "  and  "Kick"  I  from 
45s)  and  exchanging  the  album's  "Caitrouble  « Parts  ! 
&  21"  for  the  far  better  second  version — and  had  it 
reissued  with  a  new  cover. 

Adam's  old  Ants  subsequently  left  for  the  employ  of 
Malcolm  McLaren,  transmuting  ( more  or  less)  into  Bow 
Wow  Wow.  In  their  place,  Adam  teamed  up  with  gui- 
tarist Marco  Pirroni  (who  proved  to  be  a  significant 
collaborator)  and  recruited  drummer/producer  Chns 
Hughes  (aka  Merrick).  A  re-recorded  single  of  Dirk's 
"Cartroubie"  b/w  "Kick"  got  Adam's  new  era  off  the 
ground  in  the  mid-'8G.  (The  exploitatively  titled  Ant- 
music  EP,  issued  by  Do  It  to  cash  in  on  Adam's  success 
elsewhere,  contains  remixes  of  the  original  two-part 
"Cartroiible,"  an  outtake  of  "Kick"  and  two  other  early 
rarities.) 

Adam  found  his  groove  with  Kings  of  the  Wild 
Frontier.  Goodbye  heaviness  and  failure,  hello  hit  pa- 
rade. Dressed  in  flamboyant  pirate  gear,  Adam  and  his 
merry  crew  bounce  through  a  delightful  program  of 
modern  bubblegum  with  shrewd  underpinnings.  "Dog 
Eat  Dog"  uses  the  rampaging  pseudo-tribal  drums 
Adam  picked  up  from  McLaren.  "Antmusic"  shame- 
lessly self-promotes  (as  do  many  of  Adam's  early  lyr- 
ics) to  the  accompaniment  of  an  irresistible  stop-start 
melody.  The  sourness  of  Dirk  survives  on  Kings,  but 
there's  so  much  exuberant  fun  on  the  surface  that  it's 
hard  not  to  have  a  good  time. 

Prince  Charming  is  a  letdown.  "Stand  and  De- 
liver" offers  more  percussive  entertainment  a  la  "Dog 
Eat  Dog,"  and  the  title  track  is  florid  melodrama,  but 
much  of  the  LP  seems  forced,  ill-tempered  and  silly. 
Adam  hits  bottom  on  "Ant  Rap,"  an  embarrassing  stab 
at  rap  filled  with  braggadocio. 

After  dumping  all  the  Ants  except  for  Marco,  Adam 
went  solo  and  came  up  with  the  neat  Friend  or  Foe,  an 
LP  with  energy  and  plenty  of  variety.  Adam  and  Marco 
try  a  little  of  everything — soul,  rockabilly,  his  usual 
weightless  pop — with  convincingly  joyful  results.  High- 
lights include  "Goody  Two  Shoes"  (a  spirited,  cheeky 
self-defense)  and  the  Doors'  "Hello,  I  Love  You."  This 
may  be  junk,  but  it's  classy  junk. 

After  that  triumph,  time  for  another  bad  album?  No 
problem!  Strip  is  pathetic.  Adam's  attempt  to  grow  up 
was  recorded  at  Abba's  state-of-the-art  studio  in  Stock- 
holm and  features  two  cuts  produced  by  Phil  Collins. 
(Richard  Burgess,  Adam  and  Marco  co-produced  the 
remainder.)  By  taking  a  less  sensational  approach, 
Adam  exposes  the  weakness  of  his  melodies  and  the 
inherent  silliness  of  his  sleazoid  attitudes.  Best  suited 
for  emotionally  stunted  Playboy  readers. 

Adam  pulled  in  his  horns  and,  with  the  production 
suss  of  Tony  Visconti,  made  a  big-league  pop  album 
even  a  mother  could  endure.  Vive  le  Rock's  spirited 
title  track  is  a  perfect  send-up  of  ELO's  Dave  Edmunds 
phase;  "Rip  Down"  likewise  recalls  Marc  Bolan.  Other 
songs  ("Razor  Keen,"  "Miss  Thing")  proffer  Bo- 
lanesque  lyrics  but  suffer  from  characterless  backing. 
"Apollo  9,"  a  wonderfully  gimmicky  single  (also  in- 
cluded in  an  a  cappella  version),  proves  that  the  old 
boy's  still  got  it,  whatever  it  may  be.  "Yabba  yabba 
ding  ding,"  indeed! 

Monsieur  Ant  spent  a  few  years  concentrating  his 


energies  on  an  acting  career.  His  best  role  was  in  !987's 
stylish  Slamdance,  tot  he  also  appeared  In  Trust  Me 
( 1989)  and  Nomads  ( 1986)  as  well  as  on  television  and 
in  the  theater.  In  the  meantime,  his  British  label  issued 
Hits*  a  compilation  of  Ms  biggest  singles,  from  "Kings 
of  the  Wild  Frontier"  through  "Vive  le  Rock." 

In  19%,  Adam  resurfaced  in  Los  Angeles  with  the 
confident  and  entertaining  Manners  &  Physique,  div- 
ing into  electronic  dance  music  without  drowning  in 
synthesized  rubbish.  Marco  contributed  to  the  songwrit- 
ing  (as  did  ex-Dexys  leader  Kevin  Rowland,  surpris- 
ingly enough)  and  plays  guitar;  prodacer/co- writer 
Andi6  Cymoiie  did  everything  else  but  sing.  Walloping 
techno  beats  and  monotonous  fank-rock  grooves  occa- 
sionally dislocate  the  album's  pop  spine,  but  Adam's 
melodic  vocals  and  ridiculous  lyncs  remain  a  reassuring 
constant. 

Drawing  five  tracks  from  Kings  of  the  Wild  Fron- 
tier and  selecting  notable  tracks  from  each  of  Adam's 
group  and  solo  albums  prior  to  Manners  &  Physique 
(plus  "Beat  My  Guest,"  from  the  B-side  of  ** Stand  and 
Deliver"),  Antics  in  the  Forbidden  Zone  compiles  21 
tones  with  few  serious  lapses  in  taste.  ( Four  songs  from 
the  American  Dirk  is,  however,  at  least  two  too  many.) 

Historically  interesting  if  not  exactly  entertaining, 
the  ten-song  Peel  Sessions  documents  the  Dirk-era  band 
(which  included  future  Monochrome  Set  bassist  Andy 
Warren)  in  January  and  Inly  of  1978  and  March  1979, 
doing  "Animals  and  Men"  and  "Never  Trust  a  Man 
(With  Egg  on  His  Face)"  from  the  LP,  along  with  "Ze- 
rox,"  **You're  So  Physical*'  (later  a  B-side)  and  oth- 
erwise tin  waxed  material.  [jy/i/kl] 

See  also  Bow  Wow  Wow,  Monochrome  Set,  Wide 
Boy  Awake,  Wolfgang  Press. 

liveandired  (MCA)  1989® 

Doctor  Adamstci's  Musical  Pharmacy  (MCA)  1 990  <J> 

At  a  time  when  it  seemed  Britain's  "rave"  culture 
of  vast  warehouse  and  outdoor  acid  house  parties  might 
cultivate  a  generation  oblivious  to  the  concept  of  live 
performance,  the  then-teenage  Adamski  hauled  his  syn- 
thesizers up  onstage  alongside  the  star  DJs  and  reintro- 
duced  the  notion.  This  novel  approach  made  him  an 
overnight  star,  the  catchy  debut  single  "N-R-G"  imme- 
diately became  an  anthem  and  his  debut  album,  recorded 
live  at  various  raves  and  full  of  short,  sharp  snippets  of 
interchangeable  acid  melodies  and  techno  beats,  serves 
as  a  valuable  souvenir  of  an  important  flashpoint  in  Brit- 
ish musical  history.  While  it  may  not  improve  with  age, 
Liveandirect  will  hold  up  better  than  the  efforts  of  such 
Adamski  imitators  as  Guru  Josh. 

Adamski's  good  fortunes  continued  when  a  young 
vocalist  called  Seal  added  a  melancholic  plea  for  racial 
harmony  to  an  otherwise  unspectacular  instrumental, 
and  the  resulting  "Killer"  took  up  residence  at  the  top 
of  the  UK  singles  charts.  Adamski  ran  off  to  Los  An- 
geles to  record  the  rest  of  Doctor  Adamski's  Musical 
Pharmacy,  and  it's  been  downhill  from  there.  "Killer" 
and  the  occasional  serviceable  instrumental  fail  to  re- 
deem his  efforts  as  a  vocalist,  particularly  on  the  disas- 
trous cover  versions  of  "All  Shook  Up"  (reworked  as 
*  *  Space  Jungle " )  and  "Soul  Kitchen . ' '  [tf  ] 


OLETA  ADAMS 

See  Tears  for  Fears, 

The  Man  with  the  Golden  Arm  EP  (nr/Mute)  1 988  © 
Moss  Side  Story  f  Mute-Restless)  1989  * 
The  Taming  of  the  Shrewd  EP  (nr/Mute)  1989  © 
Delusion  (Mute)  1 991  4> 

Best  known  for  his  tenures  in  Magazine  and  the  Bad 
Seeds,  bassist  Adamson  proves  himself  an  adept  com- 
poser and  arranger  on  his  own  records,  which  are  more 
orchestra!  works  than  conventional  solo  discs.  Beatniky 
jazz,  surf-rock  and  industrial  sturm  und  drang  are  just  a 
few  of  the  manifold  genres  he  enters  to  produce  rich 
aural  tableaus. 

4 'Directed  and  produced  by  Barry  Adamson,"  the 
54-minute  Moss  Side  Story  is  an  exquisite  soundtrack 
to  a  nonexistent  film  nok.  Sampled  newscasts,  period 
sound  effects  and  a  great,  throbbing  version  of  Elmer 
Bernstein's  "The  Man  with  the  Golden  Arm"  (pre- 
viewed on  a  four-song  1988  EP)  imbue  the  album  with 
a  strong  aura  of  '60s  mod  London.  A  stellar  cast  of 
performers  (including  the  Fall's  Marcia  Schofield,  pos- 
sessed diva  Diamanda  Galas  and  assorted  Bad  Seeds) 
contribute  to  this  odd  and  inventive  project,  which 
surely  has  no  correlative  in  most  * 'alternative"  record 
collections.  (Perhaps  as  a  result,  Adamson  got  the  nod 
to  score  a  real  film,  the  thriller  Delusion,  in  1991.) 

Limited  to  EP  length,  the  four  fascinating  new  pieces 
on  Taming  of  the  Shrewd  are  nowhere  near  as  cohesive 
or  satisfying  as  the  LP.  With  twangy  guitar  and  thick 
poiyrhythms  dominating  one  side  and  full-bodied  bebop 
on  the  other,  Adamson  teases  with  stylistic  complexity 
that  deserves  to  be  fleshed  out  in  a  full-length  effort. 

[db] 

ADE  AND  HIS 

Juju  Music  (Mango)  1982  * 

Synchro  System  (Mango)  1 983  * 

Aura  (Island)  1984® 

The  Return  of  the  Juju  King  (Mercury)  1 988  ® 

Live  Live  Juju  (Rykodisc)  1988  • 

Following  a  decade  spent  establishing  himself  as 
one  of  Africa's  most  prolific  and  successful  pop  artists, 
Nigeria's  King  Sunny  Ad£  (Sunday  Adeniyi)  came  to 
prominence  in  Europe  and  the  US  in  1982.  Almost  unan- 
imously embraced  by  critics  (if  not  consumers),  he  plays 
juju,  a  flowing,  sonorous  musical  style  which  has  its 
origins  in  the  Yoruba  people  of  Nigeria.  Ade"  has  made 
around  50  albums;  only  a  handful  have  been  released  in 
the  US. 

The  music  is  almost  as  formulaic  as  it  is  intoxicat- 
ing; Ad€'s  long  songs  (often  filling  an  entire  side  on 
African  releases)  contain  some  of  the  most  irresistible 
grooves  anywhere.  As  many  as  a  half-dozen  guitarists 
and  an  equal  number  of  percussionists  playing  simple 
figures  collectively  weave  an  intricate  web  that  serves  as 
background  for  call-and-response  vocals.  Within  this 
framework,  Ade* — borrowing  from  many  other 
cultures — adds  his  own  touches.  Juju  Music,  culled 
from  several  prior  LPs,  relies  heavily  on  synthesizers, 


Hawaiian  slee!  guitars  and  reggae  dub  techniques.  It  is 
the  densest  of  the  first  three  domestic  releases*  ghostlike 
guitars  float  through  one  another  with  near-vocal  tex- 
tures for  perhaps  as  organic  a  sound  as  can  be  produced 
with  electric  instruments. 

Synchro  System  Is  more  melodicaily  stripped- 
down.  Percussion  dominates,  especially  the  bubbling 
sound  of  the  talking  dram,  an  African  instrument  of 
variable  pitch.  On  Aura,  Ade  sets  his  pan-cultural  sights 
even  further,  and  the  rhythm  tracks  are  almost  pure 
beatbox  in  style  The  vocal  harmonies  in  his  work  have 
a  distinctive  Latin  feel. 

After  it  became  clear  that  Ade  was  not  to  inherit  the 
late  Bob  Marley's  role  as  preeminent  Third  World 
musical/cultural  ambassador,  he  returned  to  being  just  a 
Nigerian  national  treasure.  The  Return  of  the  Juje 
King  compiles  tracks  from  three  mid- '80s  albums  re- 
leased on  his  own  Atom  Park  label.  Shaking  off  his 
failure  to  win  Western  hearts,  Ade  sounds  like  a  happy 
man  again;  the  joyous  juju  reaffirms  his  status  as  one  of 
the  most  captivating  and  important  musical  talents  any- 
where in  the  world  today. 

As  it  turns  out,  Ad6*s  major  contribution  in  the  West 
has  been  to  open  doors  for  others.  Not  having  appeared 
on  records  by  platinum-selling  yuppie  faves  (as  Yous- 
sou  N'Dour  and  Ladysmith  Black  Mambazo  have),  Ade* 
has  had  to  watch  as  "world  beat"  became  a  hip  way  for 
white  people  to  assuage  their  guilt  and/or  impress  their 
friends.  Regardless,  he  has  continued  to  produce  quality 
work;  one  noteworthy  release  is  Live  Live  Jiiju,  re- 
corded in  Seattle  in  1987. 

As  much  as  Ade's  music  flows  in  the  studio,  it  is 
really  meant  to  be  heard  live.  Songs  are  allowed  to  go 
on  longer,  and  the  interaction  between  his  many  band 
members  (and  the  audience)  is  far  more  playful  and 
intricate.  In  concert,  the  emphasis  is  shifted  away  from 
the  synthesizers  and  steel  guitars  and  towards  the  real 
roots  of  juju:  drums,  rhythm  guitars  and  massed  voices. 
Live  Live  Juju  reprises  material  from  previous  US  al- 
bums, but  most  of  the  songs  are  new  (or  at  least  previ- 
ously unissued  in  the  US).  The  recording  quality  is 
excellent,  and  the  liner  notes,  concerning  Ad6  as  well  as 
the  social  and  cultural  history  of  Nigerian  pop  music, 
are  very  informative.  [dgs] 

HASIL  ADKiNS 

Out  to  Hunch  (Norton)  1986 

The  Wild  Man  (Norton)  1 987 

Peanut  Butter  Rock  and  Roll  (Norton)  1 990 

Moon  Over  Madison  (Norton)  1990 

Granted  that  rockabilly  is  a  musical  form  with  few 
rules,  Hasil  Adkins  still  comes  on  like  a  crazed  lunatic; 
by  comparison,  Gene  Vincent  resembles  Herbert  von 
Karajan.  Then  again,  West  Virginian  Adkins  has  rarely 
played  by  the  rules.  His  recordings — the  bulk  of  them 
dating  from  the  late  '50s/early  '60s — are  homemade  one- 
man-band  affairs,  originally  released,  if  at  all,  as  singles 
on  tiny  and/or  private  labels.  With  literally  no  one  to 
answer  to,  he  has  created  one  of  the  most  idiosyncratic 
soundscapes  to  be  shoehorned  into  the  category  of  "pop- 
ular music":  a  Bizarro-world  of  uncertain  meters, 
irregular  phrases,  grungy  guitar  and  wacked-out,  over- 
modulated  vocals  on  even  more  wacked-out  songs. 


Out  to  Hunch  collects  Adkins'  best-known « if  that's 

the  ngfat  term  >  songs"  "She  Said"  I  later  recorded  by  the 
Cramps  I,  two  not-quite-dance-crazes  ("The  Hunch" 
and  "Chicken  Walk" ),  the  grisiv  "N"o  More  Hot  Dogs" 

and  its  Guignohsh  spinoffs  "We  Got  a  Dale"  and  "I 
Need  Your  Head."  But  with  genius  of  this  sort,  inspi- 
ration can  strike  anywhere.  "Come  on  Along"  (on  Pea- 
net  Butter  Rock  and  Roll  features  a  chirping  female 
voice  mindlessly  repeating  the  title  phrase  in  the  back- 
ground. Moon  Over  Madison,  a  concept  album  spot- 
lighting Adkins'  quieter  side,  displays  his  authentic 
vocal  twang  on  some  affecting,  moody  originals. 

But  for  the  title  track  on  Moon  Over  Madison, 
those  three  albums  were  all  assembled  from  vintage  re- 
cordings. The  WMd  Man,  recorded  in  1986,  finds  the 
49-year-old  as  vital  as  ever.  Whether  exhorting  hordes 
to  "Do  the  Scalp"  or  turning  wistful  on  "Still  Missing 
You,"  Adkins — and  a  truly  inimitable  electric  guitar — 
confirms  that  he's  an  American  original.  You'll  never 
wrench  these  sounds  from  a  synthesizer.  [si] 


ADOLESCENTS 

Adolescents  (Frontier)  1 981  • 
Brats  in  Battalions  (S.O.S.)  1 987  © 
Balboa  Fun*Zone  (Triple  X)  1988  • 
Live  1 981  and  1 986  (Triple  X)  1 989  ® 

All  by  Myself  (Frontier)  1982 

RiKK  YARD  SALE 

Emotional  Vomit  (Triple  X)  1 990  * 

Adolescents  is  one  of  the  better  longplayers  to  corne 
out  of  the  early  Southern  -  California  hardcore  punk 
scene.  With  the  legendary  Rikk  Agnew  on  guitar,  the 
first  album  by  this  high-energy  Orange  County  quintet 
(drawing  some  of  its  teenaged  membership  from  Agent 
Orange  and  Social  Distortion)  has  a  crisp,  metallic  gui- 
tar sound  and  clear,  comprehensible  vocals. 

The  group  fell  apart  soon  after  the  first  album,  but 
Rikk,  singer  Tony  Montana  (ne*  Cadena)  and  bassist 
Steve  Soto  put  it  back  together  in  1986,  leading  the  first 
of  several  revolving  lineups.  The  self-released  Brats  in 
Battalions,  a  hard-hitting  but  sloppy  rush  of  punk,  rock, 
demi-metal  and  speedskating  near-core,  credits  six 
members  (including  guitarist  Aifie  Agnew  standing  in 
for  his  older  brother,  Frank)  and  contains  covers  of 
"House  of  the  Rising  Sun"  and  "I  Got  a  Right/'  (The 
fragmentary  "Do  the  Freddy,"  however,  is  an  origi- 
nal.) 

With  Montana  and  two  Agnew  siblings  gone,  Rikk 
and  Soto  co-wrote  the  songs  and  share  the  vocals  on 
Balboa  Fun*Zone,  a  lyrically  provocative  rock  record 
of  substantial  merit.  Agnew  sings  "Alone  Against  the 
World,"  a  strongly  cautionary  tale  about  heroin  addic- 
tion; Soto  takes  charge  on  "It's  Tattoo  Time,"  a  paean 
to  the  epidermal  art.  Even  an  uncalled-for  version  of 
"Instant  Karma"  receives  reverent,  intelligent  treat- 
ment. Topped  off  with  crisp  production  of  the  quartet's 
thick  guitar  sound,  the  green- vinyl  Balboa  is  an  impres- 
sively mature  record.  (The  cassette  appends  "Surf 
Yogi";  the  CD  adds  that  song  plus  two  more.) 

The  crappy-sounding  but  nonetheless  exciting  Live 
1981  and  1986  (apparently  a  side  of  each,  although  the 


notes  don't  specify  who-where-when)  features  three  dif- 
ferent Agnews  singing  and  playing  guitar  in  classic  ga- 
rage thrash.  The  sixteen  cuts  (eighteen  on  cassette;  21 
OB  CD)  cover  most  of  the  first  album's  material,  giving 
such  high-school  concerns  as  **L.A.  Girl,"  "No 
Friends'1*  and  "Word  Attack1*  fall-throttle  stagings  com- 
plete with  bratty  joke  introductions.  ("Hi,  we're  the 
Bangles  .  .  ,  ") 

Between  the  Adolescents'  two  lives  (and  a  stint  in 
Christian  Death),  Rikk  Agnew  made  a  nifty  one-man 
solo  album  of  enjoyable  loud  pop  and  demi-punk  songs 
played  with  spunk  and  variety.  Despite  clumsy  lyrics 
and  rudimentary  production,  AH  by  Myself  proves  that 
Agnew' s  budding  abilities  were  not  likely  to  be  re- 
strained by  any  simple  genre  formula. 

Following  the  Adolescents'  final  (?)  farewell  in  *89, 
Agnew  began  the  new  decade  with  another  solo  outing. 
Except  that  yesterday's  punk  now  favors  mildly  metal- 
ized  hard  rock  and  has  access  to  better  production. 
Emotional  Vomit  has  many  of  the  same  qualities  as  AH 
by  Myself.  Brothers  Alfie  and  Frank  are  among  the  few 
guests  on  this  uneven  collection  of  originals  (plus  a 
steely  cover  of  Depeche  Mode's  "Never  Let  Me  Down 
Again"),  [cpl/i] 

See  also  Christian  Death. 

Lefs  Barbeque  with  Adrenalin  O.D.  EP  (Buy  Our)  1983 
The  Wacky  Hi-Jinks  of ...  Adrenalin  O.D.  (Buy  Our) 

1984® 

Humungousfungusamongus  (Buy  Our)  1986  * 
Cmisin'  with  Elvis  in  BIgfoofs  U.F.O.  (Buy  Our)  1 988 
Ishtar  (Restless)  1 990  4> 

4  Bands  That  Could  Change  the  World!  (Gasatanka) 

1987 

It's  always  nice  to  encounter  punks  with  a  sense  of 
humor.  Although  A. O.D.  got  off  to  a  slow  start  on  Let's 
Barbeque — six  songs  on  seven  inches  recorded  in  fif- 
teen minutes — these  New  Jerseyites  have  grown  into  a 
far  better  band.  The  first  record's  sound  is  barrel- 
bottom,  but  the  playing  has  a  nice  industrial  buzz;  cre- 
ative use  of  spoken  and  shouted  vocals  punctuates  the 
drone. 

"Middle-aged  Whore"  on  Wacky  HI- Jinks  was,  as 
noted  on  the  back  cover,  "recorded  in  our  underwear.'* 
Musically,  however,  A. O.D.  is  no  joke,  a  fact  imme- 
diately apparent  from  "A.O.D.  vs  Godzilla,"  the  killer 
stun-guitar  instrumental  that  opens  the  album.  Unfortu- 
nately, muddy  production  buries  mediocre  vocals  spew- 
ing funny,  satiric  lyrics  in  fuzzy  speedrock,  leaving 
incisive  numbers  like  "White  Hassle"  (alienation  at  the 
Castle)  and  the  sketchy  "Rock  &  Roll  Gas  Station"  half 
of  what  they  might  have  been. 

The  improved  studio  sound  of  Humungousfungusa- 
ntongus,  which  opens  with  another  monster  movie  in- 
strumental ("A.O.D.  vs.  Son  of  Godzilla"),  allows  the 
warp-speed  quartet  to  vent  their  wits  and  expanding  mu- 
sical imagination  with  greater  clarity  than  ever  before. 
"Fishin'  Musician,"  "Pope  on  a  Rope,"  "Bugs"  and 
"The  Nice  Song  (In  the  Key  of  D)"  all  put  a  full-frontal 
guitar  assault  to  semi-clever  lyrics.  But  A.O.D.  has 
other  ideas:  "Masterpiece"  gives  punks  their  own  ver- 
sion of  the  theme  music  from  PBS's  Masterpiece  The- 


atre (composed  in  1729  by  J.J.  Mouret!),  while  "Pizza- 
n-Beer"  changes  gears  entirely  for  all-percussion 
instrumentation.  Above-average  hardcore  for  suburban 
smartasses.  I  The  CD  also  contains  Wacky  Hi-Jinks.) 

On  4  Bands  That  Could  Change  the  World,  a 
goofy  concept  platter  shared  with  7  Seconds,  White  Flag 
and  F,  A.O.D.  whips  off  three  rockingly  entertaining 
covers  (Bay  City  Rollers,  Sex  Pistols  and  Kiss)  and 
"Rock  &  Roll  Gas  Station." 

Teaming  up  with  guitarist/producer  Daniel  Rey 
(Shrapnel,  Ramones),  A.O.D.  then  made  an  enormous 
musical  leap  into  the  punk-pop  mainstream.  A  neat 
pre-LP  12-inch  ("Theme  from  an  Imaginary  Midget 
Western"  b/w  "Coffin  Cruiser"  and  Kiss'  "Detroit 
Rock  City")  revealed  the  band's  new  direction — 
towards  clear,  medium-speed  rock'n'roll — with  convic- 
tion. Well-played  and  almost  tuneful,  the  post-hardcore 
Cniisin*  with  ESvis  contains  "Theme"  and  other 
deadly  potshots  ("Something  About .  .  .  Amy  Carter," 
"Bulemic  Food  Fight,"  "Hipside  Unclassified")  that 
thunder  along  with  concise  energy  and  the  group's  typ- 
ical whimsy. 

Despite  a  change  of  label  and  producer  (Andy  Sher- 
noff,  the  ex-Dictator  now  in  Manitoba's  Wild  King- 
dom), A.O.D.  are  still  their  jocular  rocking  selves  on 
Ishtar.  Unfortunately,  they're  running  low  on  inspira- 
tion; the  mildly  sarcastic  lyrics  aren't  very  clever  and 
the  music  is  utterly  routine.  After  an  auspicious  begin- 
ning with  the  brief  "My  Achin'  Back"  and  "Twenty 
Dollar  Bill'  *  (a  melodic  tune  about  finding  money  on  the 
street),  Ishtar  downshifts  into  a  terrible  rendition  of 
Queen's  "Sheer  Heart  Attack"  and  slides  sideways 
from  there.  Better  luck  next  time.  [i] 


ADULT  NET 

Take  Me  EP  (nr/Fontana)  1989  • 

The  Honey  Tangle  (Fontana-PolyGram)  1989  • 

American  guitarist/singer  Brix  Smith  originally 
formed  the  Adult  Net  in  1985  as  a  flower-powery  side 
project  to  the  Fall,  recording  singles  with  a  flexible 
lineup  drawn  from  past/present  members  of  the  Fall  and 
Smiths.  Take  Me  has  a  great  rendition  of  the  Straw- 
berry Alarm  Clock's  "Incense  and  Peppermints"  and 
three  originals,  two  of  which  take  a  pointless  country 
turn. 

Having  ended  her  marriage  to  Mark  E.  in  early  '89, 
Brix  left  the  Fall  shortly  after  the  release  of  The  Honey 
Tangle  that  summer.  Ex-Blondie  drummer  Clem  Burke, 
erstwhile  Smiths  guitarist  Craig  Gannon  and  bassist 
James  Eller  back  her  on  this  catchy  power-folk-pop  col- 
lection that  sounds  like  a  flashback  to  1981  Los  Ange- 
les. Polished  by  Craig  Leon's  mild  paisley  production, 
Smith's  songs  (plus  a  joyous  cover  of  P.F.  Sloan's 
"Where  Were  You  (When  I  Needed  You)")  and  wispy 
vocals  recycle  classic  styles  to  no  special  effect,  but  the 
familiar  setting  helps  sell  the  tuneful  material.  The 
American  CD  and  cassette  include  four  bonus  tracks, 
including  "Incense  and  Peppermints."  [i] 

See  also  Fall. 

ADVENTURES 

Theodore  and  Friends  (nr/Chrysalis)  1985  • 
The  Adventures  (Chrysalis)  1 985 


The  Sea  of  love  f  Eleidra)  1 988  • 

Trading  Secrets  with  the  Moon  fnr/Elektra)  1989  fEiektral 

1990® 

Vocalist  Terry  Stiarpe  and  guitarist  Pat  Gribben  be- 
gan the  sophisticated  harmony-pop  Adventures  in  Lon- 
don after  their  former  group,  Belfast's  spunky  Starjets, 
split  up  in  1980.  On  its  classy  if  overproduced  debut* 
the  quintet — boasting  three  singers  { including  Gribben' s 
wife,  Eileen)  and  no  on-board  drummer — crafts  crisp, 
commercial  guitar/keyboards  music  distinguished  by  at- 
tractive melodies  and  striking  harmonies.  Slickly  main- 
stream without  being  hollow  or  obnoxious  (despite  a 
stack  of  guest  synthesists),  Theodore  and  Friends  (is- 
sued in  the  US  as  The  Adventures)  has  a  couple  of 
great  songs — the  sweeping  "Send  My  Heart'*  (which 
sounds  like  it  was  written  for  a  synth-pop  band)  and  the 
falsetto-sung  African-accented  "Another  Silent  Day" — 
plus  pleasantly  diverting  also-rans. 

Adding  a  drummer  and  adopting  a  warmer,  semi- 
acoustic  adult-rock  sound,  the  Adventures  essayed  The 
Sea  of  Love  with  less  artistic  success.  The  songs  aren't 
as  good  ( Gribben' s  lyrical  pretensions  are  such  that  he 
can  base  a  song  here  on  The  Trip  to  Bountiful},  and  the 
performances  lack  the  first  LP's  instrumental  sparkle. 

Stemming  a  drift  towards  becoming  a  bookish  Abba, 
the  agam-drummerless  Adventures  engaged  producers 
Clive  Langer  and  Alan  Winstanley,  who  gave  Trading 
Secrets  with  the  Moon  an  intimate  sound  colored  with 
bits  of  fiddle,  organ,  horns,  pedal  steel  and  traditional 
Irish  instruments.  Unfortunately,  the  tasteful  arrange- 
ments also  minimize  the  band's  backing  vocals,  leaving 
Gribben  alone  in  the  spotlight  to  sing  his  bland  poetry. 
Lloyd  Cole  co-wrote  one  song,  the  countryish  "Desert 
Rose."  [i] 

ADVERTISING 

Jingles  (nr/EM!)  1978 

Britain's  Advertising  was  a  clever  young  pop  quartet 
with  a  penchant  for  quirky  but  catchy  tunes,  punny  teen- 
ager lyrics  and  the  color  pink.  They  had  a  near  brush 
with  UK  chart  success  via  a  45  called  "Lipstick"  (in- 
cluded on  Jingles);  failure  to  win  a  large  following 
caused  an  early  breakup.  This  album  (produced  sepa- 
rately by  Andy  Arthurs  and  Kenny  Laguna)  is  chock- 
a-block  with  engaging  numbers,  cheery  vocals  and 
snappy,  clean  playing;  the  songs  (written  by  guitarists 
Tot  Taylor  and  Simon  Boswell)  are  literate  and  charm- 
ing. Since  leaving  Advertising,  Tot  Taylor  has  recorded 
under  his  own  name,  while  Boswell  became  a  producer 
and  formed  Live  Wire.  [i] 

See  also  Live  Wire,  Tot  Taylor. 

ADVERTS 

Crossing  the  Red  Sea  with  the  Adverts  (nr/Bright)  1 978 

(nr/Butt)  1982  (nr/Link  Classics)  1990  • 
Cast  of  Thousands  (nr/RCA)  1 979 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 
Live  at  the  Roxy  Club  (nr/Receiver)  1 990  « 

When  the  four  Adverts  (including  female  bassist 
Gaye  Advert)  debuted  on  a  1977  Stiff  45  with  "One 
Chord  Wonders,"  the  young  Londoners  could  barely 
play  their  instruments,  but  that  didn't  keep  vocalist  Tim 
(T.V.)  Smith's  song  from  offering  a  witty  commentary 


OE  earnest  incompetence.  By  the  time  thev  re-recorded 
the  tune  for  their  first  LP,  the  Adverts*  had  acquired  just 
enough  proficienc\  to  make  a  positive  difference. 

In  its  cwn  wa> ,  Red  Sea  is  the  equal  of  the  first  Sex 
Pistols  or  Clash  LP,  a  hasty  statement  that  captures  an 
exciting  time.  Smith's  tunes  almost  all  offer  a  new  wrin- 
kle on  issues  of  the  da> ,  when  they  fall  into  a  rat,  as  in 
"Bored  Teenagers/'  his  breathy,  urgent  vocals  com- 
pensate. It's  too  bad  the  original  alburn  didn't  include 
the  ghoulishly  funny  "Gary  Gilraore's  Eyes,"  a  wicked 
single  about  a  blind  person  who  receives  a  transplant 
from  you-know-(but-inay-not-remember)-who.  (That 
omission  was  rectified  on  the  1982  reissue  but  then  re- 
peated when  a  pressing  boo-boo  left  it  off  the  vinyl 
version  of  the  '90  reissue.  The  CD,  however,  does  con- 
tain that  tricky  little  item. ) 

Oddly,  Cast  ©f  Thousands  is  as  feeble  as  Red  Sea 
is  vital.  Fatigue  and  depression  permeate  the  LP,  sug- 
gesting that  Smith's  muse  had  made  a  hasty  exit.  One 
need  only  read  the  back-cover  quote  from  1  John  2:15  to 
get  the  picture:  "Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things 
that  are  in  the  world."  Pretty  punky,  huh? 

The  Adverts'  John  Peel  broadcast  session  EP  was 
recorded  in  early  1977  and  contains  live-in-the-studio 
run-throughs  of  all  the  aforementioned  songs  plus  two 
others.  For  a  full-length  live  Adverts  album,  try  the 
Roxy  record,  a  *77  show  that  reviews  the  group's  rep- 
ertoire with  appropriately  raunchy  sound.  [jy/i] 

See  also  T.V.  Smith's  Explorers. 


AFGHAN  WHIGS 

Big  Top  Halloween  (Uitrasuede)  1988 
Up  in  It  (Sub  Pop)  1990 

There's  a  surprising  amount  of  subtlety — 
sophistication,  even — rustling  beneath  the  boozy, 
gutter-rat  surface  of  this  Cincinnati  quartet's  debut. 
While  Greg  Dulli's  desperate,  breathless  rasp  recalls 
Hootenanny-era  Paul  Westerberg  (as  does  his  uncom- 
mon wordsmithery:  check  out  the  bittersweet  "Here 
Comes  Jesus"),  the  rest  of  the  band  stirs  '70s  rock — 
from  punk  to  pomp — into  an  aural  hurricane  with  one 
hypnotic  eye.  An  altogether  terrific  debut. 

Typically  gauzy  Jack  Endino  production  instantly 
brands  Up  in  It  as  a  Sub  Pop  issue.  And  while  the 
increased  volume  (and  hair  length)  are  requisite,  the 
Whigs  still  wax  more  lyrical  than  their  thrash'n'burn 
labelmates.  There's  more  implied  in  the  affecting  "I 
Know  Your  Little  Secret"  and  the  disjointed  country 
swing  of  "Son  of  the  South"  than  mere  sonic  overkill, 
an  effect  somewhat  reflected  in  the  sleeve  art's  under- 
stated creepiness.  Repeated  listens  reveal  a  creeping 
Heartbreakers  (as  in  J.  Thunders)  fixation,  which  might 
not  be  a  bad  thing  to  cultivate,  [dss] 


A  FLOCK  OF  SEAGULLS 

Modern  Love  Is  Automatic/Telecommunication  EP 

(Jive-Arista)  1981 

A  Flock  of  Seagulls  (Jive-Arista)  1 982  (Jive-RCA)  1 986  • 
Listen  (Jive-Arista)  1983  (Jive-RCA)  1986 
The  Story  of  a  Young  Heart  (Jive-Arista)  1 984  « 
Dream  Come  True  (Jive-Arista)  1 986  (Jive-RCA)  1 986 
Best  of  A  Flock  of  Seagulls  (Jive-RCA)  1 987  • 


Amid  all  the  talented  and  adventurous  bands  of  the 
second  Liverpool  explosion,  A  Flock  of  Seagulls  was 
ironically  the  first  to  snag  a  gold  record  in  the  US.  Led 
by  singer/keyboardist* guitarist  Mike  Score  the  of  the 
ludicrous  hairdo)  and  including  his  brother  All  on 
drums,  the  quartet':*  first  break  came  when  Bill  Nelson 
produced  a  single  for  them  and  released  it  on  his  Coc- 
teau  label. 

The  five-song  Telecommunication  EP  has  a  catchy 
rune  or  two,  but  it  wasn't  until  AFOS  entered  the  studio 
to  make  A  Flock  of  Seagulls  with  producer  Mike 
Hewlett  that  they  developed  a  style  of  their  own.  Rely- 
ing on  guitarist  Paul  Reynolds1  in-influenced  textual 
wash,  distended  strains  of  synthesizer  and  some  fancy 
studio  maneuvers,  the  band's  inadequacies  (mainly 
dumb  iyncs  and  limited  conceptual  range )  fade  into  the 
background  on  their  debut  LPf  overtaken  by  listenable, 
danceable  techno-rock  that  proved  to  have  broad  com- 
mercial appeal. 

Attempting  to  follow  that  hugely  successful  album, 
the  Seagulls  recorded  Listen  with  Hewlett  (except  for 
one  cut)  and  hit  some  real  highs.  Retreating  from  gim- 
micky sci-fi  themes  (notwithstanding  the  circuit-board 
cover),  they  found  an  affecting  path  in  the  lushly  pretty, 
languid  "Wishing  ( If  I  Had  a  Photograph  of  You)"  and 
the  understated  "Nightmares,"  but  fouled  out  on  sev- 
eral boring  tracks  and  "What  Am  I  Supposed  to  Do," 
which  starts  well  but  winds  up  repeating  the  title  end- 
lessly. Score  does  the  same  thing  on  "(It's  Not  Me) 
Talking,"  but  a  propulsive  synth-dance-beat  and  some 
neat  sonic  maneuvers  keep  it  exciting. 

Made  without  Howlett,  The  Story  of  a  Young 
Heart  is  decidedly  inferior.  The  bland  romantic  ballads 
on  the  first  side  lack  character,  have  tedious  vocals  and 
point  up  the  group's  finite  songwriting  skill  '  'The  More 
You  Live,  The  More  You  Love"  comes  closest  to  cre- 
ative merit  but  is  plodding  and  forgettable.  The  rockier 
songs  on  the  flipside  are  marginally  better,  but  can't 
carry  the  record  alone.  A  vain  attempt  at  artistic  matu- 
rity and  sophistication,  the  real  story  here  is  one  of 
ambition  at  odds  with  ability. 

Reynolds  left  and  AFOS  made  their  next  record  as  a 
trio  (augmented  by  half  a  dozen  different  guitarists), 
with  Mike  Score  in  charge  of  production.  Although 
somewhat  short  on  personality,  the  almost  modestly  ap- 
pointed Dream  Come  True  is  reasonably  listenable,  a 
collection  of  simpleminded  romantic  numbers  led  by 
* '  Heartbeat  Like  a  Drum . ' ' 

The  ten-song  compilation  leans  heavily  on  the  first 
("Telecommunication,"  "Space  Age  Love  Song,"  the 
Top  10  "I  Ran")  and  second  ("Wishing,"  "Night- 
mares," "(It's  Not  Me)  Talking")  albums,  with  noth- 
ing later  than  1985's  "Who's  That  Girl  (She's  Got  It)." 
The  CD  adds  a  nine-minute  remix  of  "Wishing"  and 
the  third  LP's  title  track. 

In  1989,  a  new  version  of  AFOS — with  only  Mike 
Score  remaining  from  the  original  band — launched  a 
vain  comeback  try,  touring  the  US  in  support  of  a  hope- 
less new  single,  "Magic. "  [i] 

Music  to  Kill  By  (Iron  Cross)  1 977 

God  Ifs  Them  Again!  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 987 


Fielding  a  five-man  wedge  of  rhythm  guitarists,  the 
Afrika  Korps  was  a  casually  constituted  underground 
supergroup  whose  fifteen-person  lineup  included  fan- 
zine writers,  Slickee  Boys  and  other  assorted  Washing- 
ton DC-area  garagepunks.  Music  to  Kill  By  boasts  22 
songs  (including  the  Slickee  Boys'  "Jailbait  Janet," 
covers  of  the  Kinks  and  Yardbirds,  and  such  culturally 
profound  outpourings  as  "Iggy,"  "Death  to  Disko!" 
and  "N.Y.  Punk.").  Although  badly  recorded  and 
mastered — the  guitar  army  often  sounds  more  like  one 
kid  playing  through  a  Pignose  amp—the  band's  un- 
flinching musical  integrity  and  enthusiasm  make  this  a 
significant  memento  of  punk's  early  independent  label 
surge. 

Reuniting  on  a  smaller  scale  five  years  later,  the 
Korps  roared  back  into  action  with  a  punchy  second 
album.  Solomon  Gruberger  (who  does  a  pretty  good 
Joey  Ramone  imitation  on  "Tonight")  shares  lead  vo- 
cal duties  on  the  half-dozen  songs  with  ex-Slickee  Boys 
singer  Martha  Hull  and  SB  guitarist  Kim  Kane.  The 
clear  production  is  certainly  welcome,  but  the  energetic 
performances  are  squandered  on  weak  original  material. 

See  also  Slickee  Boys.  [i] 


AFROS 

See  Run-DMC. 

AGENT  ORANGE 

Living  in  Darkness  (Posh  Boy)  1981  • 

Bitchin'  Summer  EP  (Posh  Boy)  1982  • 

When  You  Least  Expect  It . . .  EP  (Enigma)  1 984 

(Aoki-Restless)  1 987  • 
This  Is  the  Voice  (Enigma)  1 986  • 

Picture  a  band  that  combines  the  best  elements  of  the 
Sex  Pistols,  the  Ventures  and  early  Blue  Oyster  Cult. 
Got  that?  Then  you've  got  Agent  Orange,  a  Fullerton, 
California  tno  who  hybridized  surf-twang  sounds, 
smart-metal  chops  and  punky  drive.  Living  in  Dark- 
ness is  a  short,  concise  collection  of  seven  originals 
(like  "Bloodstains")  plus  an  appropriate  memory- 
tweaker:  the  instrumental  classic  "Miserlou."  Bitchiit' 
Summer  contains  three  previously  released  guitar  in- 
strumentals  and  a  new  song.  (Both  records  are  con- 
tained on  one  CD.) 

The  four  songs  on  the  1984  EP  display  relative  re- 
straint, subordinating  Mike  Palm's  guitar  in  favor  of  his 
echoed  vocals  on  the  pop  "It's  Up  to  Me  and  You." 
The  two  instrumentals  are  likewise  less  inflamed,  al- 
though that  doesn't  stop  "Out  of  Limits"  from  being 
great.  A  tepid  cover  of  the  Jefferson  Airplane's  "Some- 
body to  Love,"  however,  is  a  total  mistake. 

Established  high  enough  in  the  skate-rock  pantheon 
to  offer  an  official  band  board  for  sale,  Agent  Orange 
issued  This  Is  the  Voice,  a  dynamic  collection  of  high- 
energy  vocal  numbers  that  benefit  greatly  from  (ex- 
Berlin)  Daniel  Van  Patten's  crisp  electric  production. 
The  echo  on  Palm's  strong  voice,  the  lush  guitar  roar 
and  the  stiff-backed  power  drumming  collectively  sug- 
gest a  slight  '60s/ '80s  mod  influence,  but  this  impres- 
sive outing  has  a  sound  all  its  own.  The  record  steers 
clear  of  punk  overdrive  to  stand  as  Agent  Orange's  fin- 
est and  most  popular-sounding  release.  [rnp/i] 


AGE  OF  CHANCE 

Crush  Collision  EP  f Virgin}  1987 

One  Thousand  Years  of  Trouble  f  Virgin}  1 987  • 

Mecca  f  Charisma)  1 990  * 

Age  of  Chance  dresses  up  harsh  British  beatbox- 
meta!-pop  with  colorful,  vaguely  apocalyptic  sloganeer- 
ing Despite  all  the  shouting,  the  Leeds  quartet's  biggest 
problem  is  the  lack  of  a  cohesive  identity  to  match  their 
records'  careening  sonic  stew.  The  six-track  Crush 
Collision  is  generally  shrill  and  undistinguished,  but  it 
does  include  a  pretty  decent  cover  of  Ponce's  **Kiss" 
(as  well  as  a  really  awful  one  of  the  Trammps'  "Disco 
Inferno"). 

One  Thousand  Years  of  Trouble  benefits  from  be- 
ing more  gimmicky  and  over-the-top,  with  lots  more 
sampling;  even  so,  an  album's  worth  of  this  stuff  is 
pretty  grating.  You'd  be  better  off  going  no  further  than 
Side  Two,  song  one:  the  insistent  "Who's  Afraid  of  the 
Big  Bad  Noise?,"  which  was  a  small  UK  hit. 

With  a  fairly  soulful  new  singer  (Charles  Hutchin- 
son)  and  more  polished  songwriting,  Mecca  is  a  better 
focused,  more  listenable  album  which,  in  its  own  mod- 
est way,  comes  closer  than  its  predecessors  to  realizing 
Age  of  Chance's  idealized  sonic  melting  pot.  A  more 
conventional  effort,  but  a  more  enjoyable  one.  [hd] 

AGITPOP 

Feast  of  the  Sunfish  (Community  3)  1 985  • 

Back  at  the  Plain  of  Jars  (Community  3-Rough  Trade) 

1986® 

Open  Seasons  (Twin/Tone)  1 988 
Stick  St!  (Twin/Tone)  1989® 
Po-Town  Tea  Party  EP  (Twin/Tone)  1 989 
The  Comm3  Sessions  [CD]  (Community  3)  1 990  ® 

For  the  past  seven  years,  this  Poughkeepsie,  NY- 
spawned  trio  has  been  hacking  up  exceedingly  dense 
hairballs  of  frat-boy-CMm-trade-unionist  fusion-punk. 
Heavily  indebted  to,  if  slightly  to  the  right  of  (aesthet- 
ically) the  Minutemen  and  Gang  of  Four,  Agitpop  op- 
erates on  the  age-old  principle  of  "free  your  ass  and 
your  mind  will  follow. "  The  thing  is,  unlike  the  bulk  of 
their  boho  brethren,  Agitpop  navigate  those  hip  joints  as 
though  they  were  doctors  of  chiropractic. 

Feast  of  the  Sunfish  makes  the  most  of  the  band's 
strengths;  a  love  of  open  space,  an  aggressively  jazzy 
rhythm  section  and  a  frontman,  John  DeVries,  who's 
not  altogether  crazy  about  being  in  the  spotlight. 
DeVries  is  choosy  about  where  to  spray  his  terse,  atonal 
guitar  leads  (rhythm  is  almost  totally  absent)  and  he 
buries  his  pointed  lyrics  with  the  glee  of  someone  send- 
ing pals  off  on  a  killer  scavenger  hunt.  Make  particular 
effort  to  exhume  the  contents  of  * 'Loaded  with  Blanks" 
and  the  chilling  (no  pun  intended)  "Icicles." 

Back  at  the  Plain  of  Jars  is  palpably  riper.  The 
sympathetically  austere  production  (by  Comm3  honcho 
Albert  Garzon)  adds  a  sinister  edge  to  the  odd  instru- 
ments (wind  chimes,  squeeze  toys,  kiddie  xylophones) 
all  three  members  wield  with  exponentially  increased 
dexterity.  Not  as  twee  as  Pianosaurus,  songs  like 
"Snowdrift  Over  4  Feet  Tall"  and  the  clever  anti- 
Reagan  jab  *  'His  Worst  Movie  Ever' '  verge  on  the  sweet 
bad-seed  menace  of  The  Little  Girl  Who  Lives  Down  the 
Lane. 


For  some  reason,  inking  to  Minneapolis' 
label  invested  Agitpop  with  a  >en  for  janglepop — after 
a  fashion.  Open  Seasons  grafts  more  florid  playing  onto 
their  stolid  Minutemen  roots  and  ends  up  making  you 
pine  for  what  flREHOSE  could  have  been  had  the  ngfat 
third  hand  stirred  the  soup  It,  unfortunately, 

could  be  fROMOfflO  outtakes;  a  monotonous  land- 
scape (most  obviously  the  flat  remake  of  Siinfish's  **On 
the  Hudson1')  with  precious  few  surprises,  although 
"Crack  in  Her  Heart"  is  a  spry  mod  nugget. 

The  four-song  Po-Town  Tea  Party  contains  a  brac- 
ing cover  of  Gang  of  Four's  **Not  Great  Men"  and  a 
rather  hazy  take  on  Cream's  *4Badge."  The  Coimn3 
Sessions  combines  the  first  two  LPs  on  a  single  CD, 
adding  a  pair  of  extra  tracks.  Agitpop  broke  up  in  late 
'90.  [dss] 

See  Adolescents. 

Victim  in  Pain  (RatCage)  1984  {Combat  Com)  1986  • 
Cause  for  Alarm  (Combat  Core)  1 986  ® 
Liberty  &  Justice  For  ...  (Combat)  1 987  ® 
Live  at  CBGB  (In  Effect-Relativity)  1989  ® 

Ball  of  Destruction  EP  (In  Effect-Relativity)  1989 

This  pioneering  skinhead  outfit  which  has  been  on 
the  New  York  hardcore  scene  since  the  early  '80s  de- 
buted (following  a  1982  EP  entitled  United  Blood)  with 
an  album  of  standard-issue  punk — fast  and  blurry,  but 
not  absurdly  so — and  well-intentioned,  if  simple- 
minded,  lyrics  about  unity,  authority  and  justice.  Roger 
Miret  is  an  adequate  run-of-the-mill  shouter;  like  him, 
little  about  Victim  in  Pain,  beyond  its  embossed  all- 
black  cover,  is  especially  distinguished.  (Remastering 
the  LP  for  its  1986  reissue  doesn't  clear  things  up  much; 
one  CD  contains  both  Victim  in  Fain  and  Cause  for 
Alarm.) 

Agnostic  Front's  demi-metal  second  album  has  a 
relentless  kick-dram  sound  and  a  pernicious  right-wing 
outlook.  Songs  about  Bemhard  Goetz  ("Shoot  His 
Load")  and  racist  resentment  of  welfare  recipients 
("Public  Assistance")  join  typical  bonehead  musings 
about  killing,  war,  youth  and  the  failings  of  the  public 
education  system.  The  one  random  moment  of  lucidity 
is  "Toxic  Shock,"  a  protest  against  dioxin  pollution. 

A  lineup  change  that  retained  only  Miret  and  gui- 
tarist Vinnie  Stigma  then  enlarged  the  quartet  into  a 
five-piece.  With  drums  and  guitars  filling  up  every  nano- 
second, Liberty  &  Justice  is  a  dull,  onrushing  storm  of 
flailing  limbs  and  incinerating  transistors.  Bottom-heavy 
and  routine  to  the  max,  the  music  is  utterly  disposable; 
Miret' s  vocals  dissolve  in  an  incomprehensible  hyster- 
ical gurgle.  Even  worse  are  the  vague  religious  refer- 
ences. 

The  live  record,  cut  with  a  new  bassist  in  August 
1988,  strikes  a  balance  between  the  energy  and  disci- 
pline of  punk  to  deliver  a  taut,  clear  rock  barrage  that 
gallops  and  moshes  along  in  close  formation.  The 
nineteen-song  selection  pretty  much  covers  AF's  high 
(and  low)  career  points;  the  strangest  moment  is  when 


Viiret  leads  the  audience  in  reciting  the  Pledge  of  Alle- 
giance, 

Madbail  is  a  side  project  in  which  members  of  Ag- 
nostic Front  back  Roger's  kid  brother,  Freddie.  OB  the 
7-inch  Ball  of  Destruction,  the  younger  Miret  barks  out 
eight  indistinguishable  shardcore  tunes  in  under  a 
minute  each.  You'd  never  know  it  from  listening  to  this 
overcompressed  buzz,  but  the  program  includes  a  cou- 
ple of  AF  songs  and  the  Animals*  *lt's  My  Life."  [i] 

A 

On  Our  Big  Fat  Merry-Go-Round  {Sire-Reprise}  1 988  • 
I  Want  Too  Much  (Sire-Reprise]  1 990  • 

Ireland's  A  House  will  probably  never  attain  the 
stadium  status  of  U2,  nor  influence  as  many  bands  as  the 
Undertones.  But  that's  not  to  say  the  Dublin  quartet's 
contribution  to  the  history  of  shamrock'n'roll  will  be 
insubstantial.  The  first  LP  is  a  sprightly  collection  of 
literate  guitar  rock,  made  all  the  more  endearing  by 
Dave  Couse's  melodramatic  (and  often  hilariously  off- 
key)  vocals.  The  joyous,  charging  "Call  Me  Blue"  and 
the  torchy  "My  Little  Lighthouse"  introduce  an  idea- 
filled  band  that  isn't  afraid  to  wear  its  heart  (among 
other  organs)  on  its  sleeve. 

I  Want  Too  Much  inadvertently  answers  the  bum- 
ing  musical  question,  "What  if  the  Violent  Femmes 
aspired  to  be  an  honest-to-goodness  electric  rock  group 
and  not  a  jumped-up  jug  band?"  An  oversimplification, 
perhaps,  but  this  is  one  amazing  record.  From  the  gentle 
folky  strum  of  the  opening  "13  Wonderful  Love  Songs" 
to  the  thesaurus-busting  "Small  Talk,"  1  Want  Too 
Much  reveals  a  band  with  an  uncanny  knack  for  writing 
witty  pop  tunes  that  actually  mean  something.  Songs 
like  "The  Patron  Saint  of  Mediocrity"  and  "I  Think 
I'm  Going  Mad"  provide  a  fair  idea  of  the  mindset  at 
work  here,  [db] 

JANE  AIRE  AND  THE 
BELVEDERES 

Jane  Aire  and  the  Belvederes  (nr/Virgin)  1 979 

EDGE 

Square  One  (nr/Humcane)  1980 

Complete  Works  of  the  Edge  (nr/Preset)  1987 

Another  talented  singer  from  Akron,  Ohio  whose 
career  really  got  started  outside  her  homeland.  Accom- 
panied here  by  a  sharp  four-piece  English  band  other- 
wise known  as  the  Edge,  Aire  works  confidently  through 
a  solid  set  of  tunes  that  includes  the  oft-recorded 
"Breaking  Down  the  Walls  of  Heartache,"  Pearl  Har- 
bor's "Driving,"  Holland-Dozier-Holland's  "Come 
See  About  Me,"  plus  some  of  producer  Liam  Stern- 
berg's  better  original  compositions. 

The  Edge  (the  group)  came  about  when  guitarist  Lu 
Edmonds  and  drummer  Jon  Moss  (formerly  of  punk 
slouches  London)  left  a  brief  and  unrecorded  incarnation 
of  the  Damned  in  1 978 .  With  the  addition  of  keyboardist 
Gavin  Povey  (who  had  played  with  Lew  Lewis)  and 
bassist  Glyn  Havard  (whose  long  career  has  included 
stints  with  the  Yachts  and,  er,  Jade  Warrior),  the  Edge 
fell  together.  They  played  behind  Jane  Aire  as  the  Belve- 
deres on  her  LP  and  appeared,  nearly  intact,  on  Kirsty 
MacColl's  first  album.  Subsequent  to  the  Edge,  Lu  has 


worked  in  a  number  of  bands,  including  Shriekback,  the 
Spizzles  and  Public  Image  Ltd. ,  while  Jon  Moss  went  on 
to  temporary  fame  and  fortune  in  Culture  Club.  Povey 
has  done  some  additional  recording  with  MacColI. 

Oh  >eah — about  the  music  on  Square  One.  Never 
quite  blending  into  any  particular  style,  the  Edge's 
eclectic,  melodic  rock  has  flashes  of  the  Jam,  Boom- 
town  Rats,  Deep  Purple,  Police  and  Stranglers — all 
united  by  the  satirical  outlook  of  amusing  lyrics  [i] 


Mind  the  Gap  EP  fWax  TraxS)  1 989 
One  World  EP  (Wax  TraxS)  1 990 
Ajax  ( Wax  Trax!)  1990® 

Among  the  bands  who  purvey  industrial  house  mu- 
sic, this  New  York  trio  goes  about  it  with  a  lighter,  more 
accessible  sensibility  than  most.  Rather  than  concentrat- 
ing on  noisy  ways  to  overpower  a  synthesized  beat, 
Ajax  uses  natural-sounding  percussion,  open-air  pro- 
duction (by  Ajax  and  bigtime  DJ  Mark  Kamins),  busy 
bass  lines  and  intriguing  stylistic  ingredients  to  dress  up 
its  starkly  functional  dance  accompaniment.  Unfortu- 
nately, numbingly  monotonous  repetition,  routine 
found-sound  samples  and  the  songs'  skimpy  content  ren- 
der Ajax's  records  pretty  useless  outside  title  club  envi- 
ronment. 

The  title  tracks  of  the  two  12-inch  EPs  (which  oth- 
erwise contain  remixes  and  filler)  both  appear  on  the 
band's  full-length  album,  alongside  several  similar 
rhythmic  workouts  and  a  couple  of  genuine  song-type 
things.  While  Mitchel  (who's  generally  prone  to  shouts) 
does  a  bit  of  wispy  singing  in  "Fast  Cars,"  she  really 
goes  to  town  on  "Haze"  and  "B  Box,"  which  actually 
boast  lyrics  (!)  and  melodies  (!!).  More  promising  than 
genuinely  entertaining,  Ajax  suggests  the  group  won't 
stay  in  the  limited  move'n'groove  world  forever.  (Qual- 
ity control  footnotes:  One  World  is  marked  as  33  but 
plays  at  45  rpm,  and  Ajax's  track  listing  is  completely 
out  of  order  on  the  cover  and  inner  sleeve.)  [i] 

ALARM 

The  Alarm  EP  (IRS)  1983« 

Declaration  (IRS)  1984* 

Strength  (IRS)  1 985  « 

Eye  of  the  Hurricane  (IRS)  1 987  • 

Presence  of  Love  EP  (nr/IRS)  1988 

Compact  Hits  EP  [CD]  (A&M)  1988  « 

Electric  Folklore  Live  EP  (IRS)  1988  « 

Change.  (IRS)  1 989  • 

Newid.  (nr/IRS)  1989* 

A  New  South  Wales  EP  (nr/IRS)  1 989  • 

Standards  (IRS)  1 990  <t> 

Raw  (IRS)  1991  <f> 

If  these  four  young  Welshmen  weren't  so  studiedly 
intense,  the  Alarm  might  be  able  to  drop  the  Clash/U2 
pretensions  and  use  their  evident  talent  to  make  enjoy- 
able records.  Singer  Mike  Peters  and  bassist  Eddie  Mac- 
Donald  write  catchy,  anthemic  songs,  but  the  tireless 
exhortations  are  tiring  and,  worse,  can  become  ludi- 
crous. 

The  Alarm  compiles  pre-LP  UK  singles:  "The 
Stand,"  the  first  (but  not  last)  pop  song  based  on  a 


10 


Stephen  King  novel,  "Marching  On"  and  three  more 
slices  of  reraghed-up  folk-rock.  Declaration  further  ex- 
ploits the  pose  (and  the  big  haircuts)  with  a  batch  of 
memorable  tunes  ( **Sixty  Eight  Guns,"  "Blaze  of  Glo- 
ry," "Where  Were  You  Hiding  When  the  Storm 
Broke?"),  all  smeared  with  Peters'  melodramatic  bawl- 
ing. The  Alarm's  got  an  excess  of  passion,  what  they 
lack  is  the  subtlety  that  keeps  U2  from  becoming  his- 
trionic. 

Mike  Hewlett  produced  Strength  and  managed  to 
rein  in  some  of  the  Alarm's  brassiness,  slowing  them 
down,  focusing  Peters'  vocals  and  opening  up  the  sound 
with  dynamics  and  silence.  Keyboards  and  stronger 
songs  also  contribute  to  the  overall  improvement,  but 
it's  still  an  Alarm  LP.  Highlights:  the  title  track,  which 
nps  off  Billy  Idol  to  amusing  effect,  and  "Spirit  of 
'76,"  a  Springsteenish  crypto-ballad  about  the  group's 
punk  roots.  Other  tracks  sound  like  old  Gen  X  and  Mott 
the  Hoople.  Weird  but  encouraging. 

U2's  ascendancy  to  global  domination  did  not  pass 
unnoticed  in  the  Alarm  camp,  and  the  dull  and  disap- 
pointing Eye  of  the  Hurricane  has  its  share  of  echoed 
guitars  and  sweeping  vocal  theatrics.  (Although,  to  be 
fair,  most  of  the  songs  have  too  little  personality — of 
any  sort — to  warrant  comparison.)  "Rain  in  the  Sum- 
mertime," an  energetic  dance-rocker  with  a  catchy  mel- 
ody, is  the  album's  standout;  the  oddest  piece  of  inanity 
here  is  "Shelter,"  which  mixes  Pete  Townshend's  riff 
from  "The  Good's  Gone"  with  lyrics  lifted  (in  part) 
from  various  Stones  songs. 

The  six-song,  42-minute  Electric  Folklore  Live  (in 
Boston,  April  '88)  captures  the  most  sanctimonious  ex- 
cesses of  the  Alarm's  live  show,  not  to  mention  those  of 
the  band's  unaccountably  fawning  devotees.  The  overall 
effect  is  a  bit  ghoulish. 

The  Tony  Visconti-produced  Change,  was  suppos- 
edly intended  as  a  poignant  lament  on  the  dying  Welsh 
language,  but  the  Alarm  lacks  the  lyrical  subtlety  or 
musical  finesse  to  pull  off  such  an  ambitious  conceit. 
Instead,  the  band  sounds  more  desperately  derivative 
than  ever,  taking  half-cocked  stabs  at  techno-glam 
("Sold  Me  Down  the  River"),  blue-collar  wisdom 
("Devolution  Worldn'  Man  Blues")  and  power- 
balladry  ("Love  Don't  Come  Easy")  amidst  the  usual 
barrage  of  mock-messianic  boot-stomping.  Oddly, 
Change. 's  only  affecting  track  is  also  its  most  over-the- 
top:  the  heartfelt  chok-and-orchestra-accompanied  "A 
New  South  Wales."  (In  a  commendably  unusual  move, 
the  Alarm  also  released  Newid.,  a  complete  Welsh- 
language  version  of  the  album. ) 

The  pompously  titled  Standards  collects  thirteen 
(fifteen  on  the  CD)  of  the  band's  near-hits  plus  three 
new  recordings:  the  self-aggrandizing  and  self- 
explanatory  "The  Road,"  a  slick  remake  of  an  early 
single  ("Unsafe  Building")  and  a  pointless  run-through 
of  John  Lennon's  "Happy  Christmas  (War  Is  Over)." 
The  CD  bonus  tracks  are  "Marching  On"  and  "Blaze 
of  Glory."  [i/hd] 

WILLIE  ALEXANDER  AND  THE 
BOOM  BOOM  BAND 

Willie  Alexander  and  the  Boom  Boom  Band  (MCA)  1 978 
Meanwhile  . . .  Back  in  the  States  (MCA)  1 979 


Solo  Loco  (BompI)  1981 

Tap  Dancing  on  My  Piano  (Fr.  New  Rose}  1986 

WILLIE  LOCO  ALEXANDER  & 
THE  CONFESSIONS 

Autre  Chose  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1982 
A  Girl  Like  You  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 982 

WILLIE  "LOCO"  ALEXANDER 

Taxi-Stand  Drane  EP  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1984 

Greatest  Hits  for/New  Rose)  1985 

The  Dragons  Are  Still  Out  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 988 

LoBg-time  Boston  scene  patriarch  Alexander  Is  an 
intriguing  figure  whose  redoubtable  three-decade  re"- 
sume'  includes  such  groups  as  the  Lost,  Bagatelle,  Grass 
Menagerie — even  a  stint  in  the  post-Lou  Reed  Velvet 
Underground.  With  countless  club  gigs  under  his  belt, 
Alexander's  credentials  are  impressive;  unfortunately, 
his  inconsistent  records  aren't  (The  appellation  is  a 
tribute  to  Latin  pianist  Joe  Loco.) 

Willie  Alexander  and  the  Boom  Boom  Band  is 
dedicated  to  Jack  Kerouac,  and  includes  Alexander's 
tributary  *  'Kerouac,"  a  cult  hit  when  it  first  appeared  on 
a  1975  independent  single.  The  song's  a  heartfelt  stand- 
out; the  rest  of  the  record  is  routine  bar-band  rubbish, 
wanting  for  both  songs  and  style.  Meanwhile  follows 
the  same  path,  but  is  notably  better,  thanks  to  Alex- 
ander's looser  singing.  For  him,  sloppiness  is  definitely 
an  asset. 

Willie  left  the  Boom  Boom  Band  behind  for  Solo 
Loco,  relying  instead  on  his  own  keyboards  and  per- 
cussion, with  some  outside  guitar  assistance.  The  record 
is  a  real  departure,  using  occasional  synthesizers  to  sup- 
port extended,  moody  numbers  that  refer  back  to  his 
earliest  recorded  work,  and  a  voice  that  seems  at  once 
weary  and  sanguine.  The  material  is  uneven;  when  it's 
good,  the  record  shines  brightly.  (Solo  Loco  was  orig- 
inally released  on  French  New  Rose;  the  American  ver- 
sion is  slightly  different. ) 

Autre  Chose — two  disques  of  live  Willie — was  re- 
corded in  France  during  a  March/ April  1982  tour  with  a 
new  backing  trio.  The  choice  of  material  is  eclectic, 
beginning  with  "Tennesse  [sic]  Waltz"  performed  a 
cappella  and  including  all  of  his  best( -known)  songs, 
plus  some  new  things. 

The  Confessions  on  A  Girl  Like  You  (recorded  in 
an  American  studio  but  unreleased  outside  France)  in- 
clude a  saxophonist,  the  same  bassist  and  guitarist  from 
the  live  LP,  but  no  drummer;  Willie  (a  qualified  per- 
cussion practitioner)  picks  up  the  sticks  for  this  Effort. 
Like  a  low-key  version  of  a  '70s  Rolling  Stones  album, 
there's  a  little  rock'n'roll,  a  blues  number,  lots  of  sex, 
a  few  choice  covers  and  some  good  times.  A  career 
high-water  mark,  A  Girl  Like  You  (dedicated  to  The- 
lonious  Monk)  shows  various  sides  of  this  mature — if 
limited — performer. 

Continuing  along  his  odd  Boston-and-Paris  path,  Al- 
exander recorded  a  spare  album  that  excludes  guitar  and 
rock  in  favor  of  keyboards  for  a  bluesy,  late-night  sound: 
Tap  Dancing  on  My  Piano  has  the  loose,  funky  feel  of 
old  friends  tinkering  in  the  studio.  Basically,  Willie  ac- 
companies himself  on  piano  with  varying  amounts  of 
harmonica,  sax  and  drums  thrown  in  for  accent.  There's 
nothing  here  you  would  call  arranged:  even  the  busiest 


11 


tracks  sound  like  a  first  rehearsal.  The  boozy,  seemingly 

extemporaneous  *Tm  So  Lonesome  I  Could  Cry"  is  a 
heartwarming  highlight;  the  rest  varies  from  Rand> 

Newmanesque  ("The  Ballad  of  Boby  Bear/'  named 
after  a  drummer  of  Willie's  acquaintance  who  does  spell 
it  that  way )  to  the  bizarre  I  "Me  &  Stravinsky  Now" ). 
A  modest  and  appealing  slice  of  sincerity. 

The  Dragons  Are  Still  Out  finds  Alexander  back  to 
rocking  with  a  full-strength  rock  trio,  horns,  co- 
producer/co-writer  Erik  Lindgren  on  keyboards  and 
even  a  cellist.  Fearlessly  covering  a  wide  range  of 
styles — from  a  unique  interpretation  of  "Slippin'  and 
Slidin' "  to  the  improvised  weird-piano  autobiography 
of  "Me  and  Dick  V."  and  the  inadvisable  (but  not 
completely  embarrassing)  '*WA  Rap" — as  well  as  more 
typical  (and  more  exotic)  fare,  The  Dragons  proves 
that  this  old-timer  is  neither  out  of  touch  nor  out  of 
tricks.  [i] 


ALGEBRA  SUICIDE 

Algebra  Suicide  EP  f  Buzzerama)  1 982 

An  Explanation  for  That  Flock  of  Crows  EP  (Buzzerama} 

1984 

Big  Sta'n  ftapej  (Cause  &  Effect!  1986  (Buzzerama)  1988 
The  Secret  Like  Crazy  (RRR-DOM)  1 988 
Real  Numbers  fCD]  (Ger.  Pursuit  of  Market  Share) 

1989® 
Alpha  Cue  |BeL  Body)  1990 

Of  the  many  vocalist/instrumentalist  duos  to  emerge 
in  and  around  the  new  wave,  this  Chicago  team  is  quite 
unique,  a  fascinating  marriage  of  Don  Hedeker's  music 
and  Lydia  Tomkiw's  poetry.  Over  the  course  of  its  ca- 
reer, Algebra  Suicide  has  flirted  with  pop  forms  and 
occasionally  shared  stylistic  ground  with  both  Laurie 
Anderson  and  the  Velvet  Underground  but  never  wa- 
vered from  its  own  individual  path. 

The  eponymous  debut — a  four-song  7-inch — puts  a 
sketchy  but  atmospheric  mix  of  guitar  and  rhythm  box 
behind  Tomkiw's  coolly  intoned  short  texts,  which  in- 
clude the  haunting  "True  Romance  at  the  World's 
Fair."  That  Flock  of  Crows,  also  a  7-inch  EP,  adds 
bass,  better  sound  and  new  vocal  inflections  (Torakiw 
nearly  sings  "Tonight1')  to  the  recitation  of  four  more 
pieces  made  accessible — even  catchy — through  tangi- 
ble, occasionally  narrative  ideas  and  strong  internal  tem- 
pos. Algebra  Suicide  isn't  rock'n'roll,  but  even  those 
with  an  aversion  to  poetry  should  try  the  pair's  concise 
records. 

Issued  on  cassette  with  a  lyric  booklet,  Big  Skin 
introduces  piano  and  simple  synthesizers  to  Hedeker's 
increasingly  complex  and  dynamic  musical  contribu- 
tions. The  duo  stumbles  hi  several  efforts  to  synchronize 
the  verbal/instrumental  rhythms,  but  both  the  song-form 
music  and  the  lyrical  content  (like  a  fascinating,  wry 
discussion  of  death  entitled  "Little  Dead  Body  Poem," 
also  released  on  a  contemporaneous  single  with  two 
other  Big  Skin  selections)  are  typically  engrossing. 

The  Secret  Like  Crazy  is  a  generous  compilation, 
containing  three  tracks  from  each  EP,  half  of  Big  Skin 
and  four  items  from  various  sources  and  three  new  cuts. 
The  German  CD-only  Real  Numbers  is  a  convivial  live 
album,  recorded  (with  tapes  supplementing  Hedeker's 
onstage  guitar  work)  in  Chicago  in  April  1988.  Premier- 
ing  new  material  and  revisiting  more  than  a  dozen  oldies 


(all  with  the  benefit  of  new  backings/ presentations  and 
Tomkiw's  brief  introductions),  Real  Numbers  is  a  sig- 
nificant addition  to  the  Algebra  Suicide  catalogue. 

The  couple's  first  fuil-fledged  studio  album,  Alpha 
Cue,  is  their  most  ambitious  production  to  date  (And 
the  first  to  employ  a  guest  musician,  who  plays  bass  and 
piano  on  two  numbers.)  Except  for  the  robotic  elec- 
tronic drumming,  Hedeker's  carefully  formed  tracks 
have  a  credible  band  sound  and  enough  chorda!  struc- 
ture lo  easily  support  melodies;  additionally,  some  of 
Tomkiw's  multi-tracked  vocals  resemble  tune-shy  sing- 
ing a  lot  more  than  recitation.  Is  Algebra  Suicide  on  the 
verge  of  finding  a  way  to  infiltrate  the  pop  mainstream? 


Donut  Comes  ASSve  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 988 
Bucketfuffs  of  Sickness  and  Horror  in  an  Otherwise 

Meaningless  Life  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 989 
Mule  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 990  • 
Revenge  Fantasies  of  the  Impotent  (Alternative  Tentacles) 

1991  • 

Although  this  New  York  quintet  writes  and  plays 
punky  junk-culture  pop  with  considerable  skill,  singer 
Tomas  Antona  has  one  of  those  hate-it-or-leave-it 
voices,  an  obnoxious  high-register  wheedle  that  could 
earn  him  the  understudy  role  in  Jane's  Addiction.  (The 
writer  who  described  his  singing  as  Jello  Biafra  on  he- 
lium pretty  much  nailed  it.)  A  belated  East  Coast  re- 
sponse to  the  Dickies  and  Redd  Kross,  the  crude  but 
funny  Donwt  Conies  Alive  boasts  mean-spirited  songs 
about  Tipper  Gore,  three  different  child  stars  (Linda 
Blair,  Mason  Reese  and  Joan  of  Arc)  and  a  noisy  re- 
write of  Donovan's  "Sunshine  Superman." 

When  the  inconsistent  production  of  Bucketfulls  of 
Sickness  and  Horror  falters,  the  sloppy  guitar  smear 
obscures  everything  but  Antona's  voice.  (As  on  the  first 
LP,  bassist  Ted  Houghton  sings  a  couple  of  numbers, 
but  his  inoffensive  strivings  in  that  department  aren't 
much  of  an  improvement. )  Rather  than  target  specific 
icons  (with  the  exception  of  the  intelligently  critical 
"Sinead  O'Connor  on  MTV"),  the  lyrics  take  broader 
aim  at  groups  like  celebrities,  jocks,  shoppers,  etc. 

With  Mule,  Alice  Donut  sheds  its  juvenile  skin  to 
reveal  tight,  bracing  musical  intricacy  and  intelligently 
incisive  social  commentary.  Tomas*  discovery  of  more 
listenable  ways  to  express  himself,  coupled  with  the 
band's  vastly  improved  playing,  makes  the  record  chal- 
lenging and  invigorating.  The  dark  vision  running 
through  provocative  songs  about  death,  religion,  menial 
labor,  urban  anomie  and  man-induced  genetic  plague  is 
powerful  stuff,  and  the  sturdy  music  backs  it  up  with 
authority.  [i] 

ALICE  IN  CHAINS 

Facelift  (Columbia)  19904> 

Alice  in  Chains  might  as  well  be  Seattle's  999,  a 
second-wave  also-ran  in  the  mighty  Northwest's  late- 
'80s  surge  of  grungy,  woolly  bands.  While  the  scene 
was  pretty  well  along  by  the  time  of  Facelift,  Alice  in 
Chains'  clever  combination  of  balls  and  hooks  adds  a 
distinct  twist  to  the  genre.  Although  the  songs  do  tend  to 
sound  similar,  Dave  Jerden's  excellent  production  and 


12 


the  quartet's  ability  to  loft  lasting  melodies  abo\e  the 
craggy  power-crunch  riffs  make  Facelift  I  and  especially 

the  single  "We  Die  Young")  one  of  the  better  in  its 
breed.  Ija] 


SEX 

Who's  Been  Sleeping  in  My  Brain?  (Relativity}  1 983  • 
Acid  Bath  f  Epitaph)  1984  f Chameleon)  1988  • 
Liquid  Head  in  Tokyo  (nr/Anagram)  1985 
Maximum  Security  f  nr/Anagram)  1985 
1  Walk  the  Line  EP  (nr/Flicknife}  1 986 
"If  the  Album  (nr/Pf ague-Anagram)  1986 
"If  the  Album/Maximum  Security  [tape] 

(nr/Piague-Anagram)  1 986 
The  Impossible  Mission  Mini  LP.  (PVC)  1987 
Here  Cum  Germs  (PVC)  1987  • 
The  First  A.S.F.  CD  [CD]  (nr/Piague-Anagram)  1987  © 
All  Our  Yesterdays  (nr/PSague-Anagram)  1 988  • 
Another  Planet  (Caroline)  1 988  • 
Too  Much  Acid?  (nr/Pfague-Anagram)  1989  • 
A.S.F.  Box  (nr/Plague-Anagram-Windsong)  1 990 
Curse  (Sinclair)  1990® 

Although  they  came  out  of  England's  early- '80s  Bat- 
cave  movement,  Alien  Sex  Fiend  were  (and  are)  a  far 
cry  from  the  era's  typical  gothicism.  "Ignore  the  Ma- 
chine," the  band's  debut  single,  established  their  unique 
sound,  as  ghoulish  frontman  Nik  Fiend's  creepy 
Cockney-accented  ravings  meld  to  the  pulsing  cosmic 
keyboards  of  his  consort,  Mrs.  Fiend;  Johnny  Ha-Ha's 
drums  are  integrated  with  a  burbling  rhythm  box,  while 
Yaxi  High-rizer  spins  off  primitive  Link  Wray-via-the- 
Cramps  guitar  riffs.  Neither  did  they  fit  into  the  deca- 
dent glam  image  propagated  by  Specimen:  theatrical 
enough  to  be  their  own  horror  movie,  Nik's  Herman 
Munster/ Alice  Cooper  synthesis  is  an  original  and  en- 
joyable musical  persona. 

Undisturbed  by  mainstream  trends,  the  Fiends  have 
made  a  lunatic  career  out  of  a  comic-book  aesthetic  and 
their  own  hallucinogenic  strain  of  humor;  through  a  long 
string  of  releases,  the  only  thing  they  ever  seem  to  take 
seriously  is  having  a  freaky  old  time. 

The  first  LP  is  a  charming  collection  of  punky 
psycho-tunes  like  "Wish  I  Woz  a  Dog"  and  "Wild 
Women."  The  most  concise  ASF  record,  it's  like  a  '50s 
monster-movie  soundtrack  returned  from  the  dead.  The 
US  edition  subtracts  one  tune  in  favor  of  the  catchy  and 
audacious  B-side  "Drive  My  Rocket  (Up  Uranus)";  a 
live  track  and  "Crazee"  were  added  to  the  later  CD. 

The  less  guitar-driven  production  emphasizes  Mrs. 
Fiend's  gloriously  spooky  synth  blips  on  Acid  Bath,  an 
inspired  dose  of  mesmerizing,  brain-frying  insanity.  The 
spacey  "E.S.T.  (Trip  to  the  Moon)"  and  "Attack!"  (a 
surging  rocker)  lead  the  pack  of  cool  cuts.  (The  CD 
adds  a  psychobilly  B-side,  "Boneshaker  Baby,"  a  live 
cut  and  a  dub  mix.) 

The  lack  of  a  substantial  repertoire  at  that  point 
makes  Liquid  Head,  recorded  live  in  Tokyo,  pretty 
unnecessary,  although  completists  will  want  it  for  the 
otherwise  unrecorded  "Back  to  the  Egg." 

Maximum  Security  is  a  big  departure  from  the  first 
two  albums,  and  the  least  of  all  Fiend  works.  Bleak  and 
predominantly  slow,  the  material  is  based  heavily 
around  drum  machine  beats  (replacing  Ha-Ha's  human 
touch)  and  suffers  from  a  somewhat  monotonous  same- 


ness. The  title  track  f  also  released  as  a  45 1  is  a  notable 
exception. 

The  Fiends  came  ngfat  back,  though t  "with  1  Walk 
the  Line,  a  robust  four-song  12-Inch  which  struck  a  new 
singles  mold  for  the  band:  danceable  rhythms  overlaid 
by  aerodynamic  guitar  riffs.  I  The  EP  also  contains  a 
smoking  Fiendization  of  the  Coop's  *% School's  Out  ") 
This  set  the  stage  for  "It"  the  Album,  unquestionably 
the  group's  most  creative,  mind-expanding  undertaking. 
The  sound  is  far  looser  and  more  organic  ( ""Get  into  It' ' 
is  a  particularly  loopy  example  K  and  many  of  the 
songs — like  the  entrancing  "  Manic  Depression" — are 
stretched  to  psychedelic  lengths.  The  cassette  version 
pairs  it  with  Maximum  Security. 

The  Impossible  Mission  Mini  L.P.  combines  "The 
Impossible  Mission"  45  (a  groovy  instrumental )  and  its 
fuzzbuster  Cramps-like  B-side,  "My  Brain  Is  in  the 
Cupboard  Above  the  Kitchen  Sink,"  with  two  previous 
singles — the  driving  "Smells Like  ..."  (also  on  "It*') 
and  a  cover  of  Red  Crayola's  "Hurricane  Fighter 
Plane" — and  their  B-sides,  seven  tracks  in  all.  The  sub- 
sequent Here  Cum  Germs  (which  also  contains  both 
sides  of  the  "Impossible  Mission"  single)  is  a  good 
album,  but  increasing  friction  with  guitarist  Yaxi  led  to 
a  somewhat  thrown-together,  incomplete  feel.  Nonethe- 
less, the  title  cut,  the  acoustic-flavored  "Isolation"  (the 
closest  they've  come  to  a  ballad)  and  the  epic  "Boots 
On!"  are  high  spots. 

Yaxi  departed  after  Germs,  leading  to  All  Our  Yes- 
terdays, a  consistently  high-quality  end-of-an-era  sin- 
gles compilation  that  should  definitely  be  the  first  choice 
for  those  new  to  Fiendom.  The  First  A.S.F.  CD  is  just 
Maximum  Security  with  a  lot  of  extra  stuff  tacked  on: 
"E.S.T.,"  "Attack!,"  a  different  version  of  "Bone- 
shaker Baby"  and  a  remix  of  "Ignore  the  Machine." 

Another  Planet  is  an  Alien  Sex  Fiend  watershed; 
the  revitalized  duo  (and  some  capable  new  cohorts) 
come  up  with  their  most  entertaining  album  to  date.  The 
wacky,  sample-based  "Bun-Ho!"  sits  among  such  grip- 
ping, streamlined  rockers  as  "Sample  My  Sausage," 
"Nightmare  Zone"  and  "Everybody's  Dream."  Mean- 
while, studio  pranks  like  "Wild  Green  Fiendy  Liquid" 
and  "Instant  Karma  Sutra"  add  to  the  overall  psy- 
chotronic  aura.  (The  CD  version  adds  a  searing  cover  of 
Hawkwind's  "Silver  Machine"  and  the  Stones'  "Sat- 
isfaction.") 

Too  Much  Acid?  is  a  splendid  double-live  album 
from  a  spring  '89  European  jaunt.  The  reconstituted 
band  (the  Fiends  are  joined  officially  by  Rat  Fink  Jr.  and 
Doctor  Milton,  who  both  play  various  permutations  of 
guitar,  drums  and  keyboards)  is  a  boon,  and  it's  great  to 
hear  the  material — mainly  singles,  including  the  then- 
current  45  "Haunted  House"  (a  Fiends-on-45  medley 
set  to  house  beats) — flow  with  such  free-form  elasticity. 
The  A.S.F.  Box  contains  a  fun  mixture  of  previously 
issued  material:  three  12-inches,  the  R.I.P.  10-inch  EP 
and  an  11-inch  historical  cuno  (the  E.S.T.  EP).  There's 
also  a  booklet,  a  poster,  a  T-shirt  and,  last  (but  certainly 
not  least),  a  plastic  turd. 

Returning  to  the  more  experimental  "It"  mold, 
Curse  emphasizes  longer  tracks  like  the  monstrous 
three-part  masterpiece  "Katch  22,"  whose  creeping, 
neo-orchestral  bounce  suggests  Laibach  on  acid.  Such 
hypnotics  as  "Ain't  Got  Time  to  Bleed"  and  the  bug- 
eyed-boogie  single  "Now  I'm  Feeling  Zombiefied"  al- 


13 


temate  with  faster,  maniacal  blasts  like  "Eat!  Eat!  Eat!" 
and  "Burger  Bar  Baby."  The  CD  and  cassette  add  five, 
including  a  Cramps  semi-cover,  "Mad  Daddy  Drives  a 
UF.O.,"1  and  an  Insane  gig  announcement,  "Radio 
Jimi  "  fgefl 


ALL 

Allroy  Sez....  (Cruz)  1988* 

Allroy  for  Prez  EP  (Cruz)  1 988  • 
Allroy's  Revenge  (Cruz)  1 989  © 
Traliblozer  (Cruz)  1 990  • 
AlSroy  Saves  f  Cmz)  1 990  • 

In  1987,  the  Descendants  parted  ways  with  singer 
Milo  Aukerman,  bringing  ex-Dag  Nasty  singer  Dave 
Smalley  in  to  take  over,  and  transmuted  into  All,  drum- 
mer Bill  Stevenson's  Song-brewing  caffeine  concept 
quartet.  Whether  or  not  anyone  actually  knows  what  the 
concept  is,  AH  puts  a  melodic  spin  and  a  goofy  lyrical 
twist  on  punky,  clear  guitar  rock.  At  the  first  LP's  sil- 
liest, All  sings  a  Dickiesish  ode  to  "Alfredo's,"  a 
crummy  Mexican  fast  food  joint,  in  the  hopes  of  getting 
free  food.  But  All's  no  joke,  "Just  Perfect,"  "#10 
(Wet)'"  and  "Hooidge"  have  killer  hooks  and  a  beach- 
blanket  sound  energized  by  unexpected  hardcore- 
derived  moves.  At  once  summarizing  and  surpassing  the 
Descendants,  All  offers  a  spunky,  electric  post-punk 
alternative  for  those  who  miss  Generation  X  and  despise 
Billy  Idol.  Totally  excellent. 

Allroy  for  Prez  dispenses  with  the  humor  for  a  half- 
dozen  rocking  love  songs  written  individually  by  all  the 
Alls.  The  playing  and  production  are  killer,  but  the  ma- 
terial doesn't  consistently  connect  with  equal  potency. 
From  Smalley 's  bitter  "Wrong  Again"  through  bassist/ 
cover  artist  Karl  Alvarez's  cynical  "I  Hate  to  Love," 
the  record  gains  melodic  momentum,  peaking  on  "Post- 
age," an  overdriven  Shoes-like  power  pop  hummer 
penned  by  Stevenson.  The  CD  and  cassette  add  a  new 
version  of  "Just  Perfect"  and  "Wishing  Well,"  both 
from  a  prior  12-inch  single. 

Scott  Reynolds  replaced  Smalley  in  time  for  A1I- 
roy's  Revenge,  a  speedy,  punkier-sounding  album  of 
broadening  artistic  ambition  that  lacks  the  production 
clarity,  melodic  strength  and  carefree  demeanor  of  All's 
best  work.  Existential  anxieties  and  problems  with 
women  (even  " Copping  Z,"  an  intriguingly  syncopated 
number  about  sleeping  late,  asks  "What  can  I  expect 
from  the  years  ahead?")  set  a  serious  tone  that  is  hardly 
leavened  by  the  hard-edged  music.  (The  delightful 
"She's  My  Ex,"  which  puts  romantic  regrets  to  a  tune- 
ful bop,  is  the  exception  that  best  demonstrates  the  prob- 
lem.) A  snappy  rendition  of  "Hot  Rod  Lincoln"  (one  of 
two  CD/tape  bonus  tracks)  proves  that  All  hasn't  lost  its 
taste  for  fun,  but  this  powerful,  occasionally  enlighten- 
ing record  should  have  been  made  by  another  band. 

In  a  nice  bit  of  continuity,  the  live  Traiib3azer, 
recorded  at  New  York's  CBGB  on  a  Tuesday  night  in 
July  1989,  opens  with  the  same  song  that  closes  the 
Revenge  CD.  Named  after  a  portable  toilet  that  (ac- 
cording to  the  stomach-turning  liner  notes)  vastly  im- 
proved All's  quality  of  life  on  the  road,  Trailblazer 
draws  more  than  half  of  its  fourteen  songs  from  Re- 
venge. An  adequate  but  unessential  document,  the 
sound  is  mushy  and  flat,  and  the  performances  are  noth- 
ing special. 


The  pursuit  of  the  mythic  All  has  most  recently 
brought  the  group  to  Allroy  Saves,  a  complex  and  so- 
phisticated album  that  trades  in  difficult  rhythms  and 
intricate  guitar  figures,  as  we!!  as  pop  melodies  and 
thoughtful  iyncs.  With  Reynolds  taking  the  lead  writing 
role,  conversational  narratives  about  losers,  fools,  cops 
and  frogs  make  Saves  fascinating  and  provocative,  the 
rough  music  alternates  All-some  catchiness  ( as  on  Milo 
Aukerman's  Gen  X-y  "Just  Like  Them")  with  a  chal- 
lenging attack  that  approaches  an  unpretentious  punk 
Police.  [i] 

See  also  Dag  Nasty,  Descendents,  DYS,  Last. 

ALL  EYE 

AH  About  Eve  (Mercury)  1 988  • 

Scarlet  and  Other  Stories  (Mercury)  1 989  • 

This  London  quartet  features  the  rather  lovely  (and 
often  multi-tracked)  voice  of  Coventry-bom  Julianne 
Regan  (an  early  bassist  in  Gene  Loves  Jezebel!)  and 
utilizes,  of  all  people,  former  Yardbird  bassist  Paul 
Samwell-Smith  in  the  producer's  chair.  With  dreamy- 
looking  cover  art  and  songs  about  children,  angels  and 
clouds,  one  might  expect  lots  of  wispy,  ethereal  music, 
but  1988's  All  About  Eve  mostly  offers  up  mainstream, 
big-guitar  rockers.  Even  the  quieter  moments,  such  as 
"Like  Emily"  and  "Shelter  from  the  Rain"  (with 
Wayne  Hussey  of  the  Mission  adding  vocals),  sound 
like  arena  fare  by  some  U2  support  act.  (The  CD  adds 
three.) 

Samwell-Smith  gives  Scarlet  and  Other  Stones  a 
much  lighter,  more  acoustic  sound.  This  setting  is  better 
suited  to  Regan's  voice,  but  the  LP  drags  along  labori- 
ously; the  softer  spots  come  dangerously  close  to  resem- 
bling Renaissance.  In  comparison  to  this,  the  debut's 
variety  is  a  real  asset. 

Guitarist  Tim  Bricheno  left  in  '90  and  resurfaced 
later  that  year  in  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  [dgs] 

See  also  Sisters  of  Mercy. 

ALLEY  CATS 

Nightmare  City  (Time  Coast)  1 981 
Escape  from  the  Planet  Earth  (MCA)  1 982 

ZARKONS 

Riders  in  the  Long  Black  Parade  (Time  Coast-Enigma) 

1985 
Between  the  Idea  and  the  Reality  . . .  Falls  the  Shadow 

(Atlantic)  1988* 

The  Alley  Cats— -Dianne  Chai  (bass/vocals),  Randy 
Stodola  (guitar/vocals)  and  John  McCarthy  (drums)— 
were  an  early  fixture  on  the  Los  Angeles  punk  scene, 
churning  out  loudhardsemifast  rock  with  awful,  predict- 
able lyrics.  Proceeding  from  independent  label  land  to 
the  majors,  the  group's  two  LPs  show  some  progress — 
i.e.,  Nightmare  City  is  more  samey  and  less  imagina- 
tively produced  than  Escape  from  Planet  Earth. 

Parting  company  with  both  MCA  and  their  original 
name,  the  trio  reappeared  in  1985  as  the  Zarkons.  The 
diabolical  production  on  the  eight-song  Riders  in  the 
Long  Black  Parade  sinks  the  heavily  echoed  vocals 
deep  into  the  wall  behind  your  speakers;  although  nearly 
inaudible,  Chai's  reasonably  dramatic  rendition  of 
Grace  Slick's  "White  Rabbit"  (in  march-time,  no  less) 
is  the  album's  only  sign  of  life. 


14 


Joined  by  two  new  sidepersoBS  (a  female  vocalist 
and  a  different  drummer ),  Stodola  and  Chai  then  raised 
their  pretensions  tenfold.  Between  the  Idea  and  the 

Reality  (title  courtesy  of  T.S,  Eliot) — a  slick  and  vapid 
radio  wannabe — begins  by  raining  the  Yardbirds* 
*4Heait  Full  of  SouP  with  synth  dmms  and  a  noxious 
sax  solo  and  then  proceeds  to  desecrate  the  memory  of 
Dylan  Thomas,  setting  one  of  his  poems  ( "The  Hunch- 
back in  the  Park" )  to  atrocious  fake  folk  music.  Beyond 
contempt.  [i] 


GG  ALLIN  AND  THE  JABBERS 

Always  Was,  Is,  and  Always  Shall  Be  (Orange)  1 980 

(Black  &  Blue)  1988 
Public  Animal  #1  EP  (Orange)  1 982 
No  Rules  EP  (Orange)  1983 
Banned  in  Boston  (Black  &  Blue)  1 989  <j> 

GG  THE 

Eat  My  Fuc  (Blood)  1 984  (Black  &  Blue)  1 988 

Hard  Candy  Cock  EP  (Blood)  1 984 

I  Wanna  Fuck  Your  Brains  Out  EP  (Blood)  1 985 

GG  ALLIN  AND  THE 
SCUMFUCS/ARTLESS 

GG  ASSin  and  the  Scumfucs/Artiess  (Ger.  Starving 
Missle-Holy  War)  1985 

GG  ALLIN 

Live  Fast,  Die  Fast  EP  (Black  &  Blue)  1984  +  1987 
Hated  in  the  Nation  [tape]  (ROIR)  1987 
Freaks,  Faggots,  Drunks  &  Junkies  (Homestead)  1 988 
Doctrine  of  Mayhem  (Black  &  Blue)  1 990 

GG  ALLIN  AND  THE  HOLY  MEN 

You  Give  Love  a  Bad  Name  (Homestead)  1 987 

For  better  or  worse,  GG  Allin  is  a  legend.  This 
self-immolating  jockstrap-clad  mace-spraying  dung- 
heaving  aberration  has  somehow  survived  his  own  ber- 
serk reputation  (not  to  mention  his  recklessly  self- 
destructive  instincts)  to  become  the  worst  nightmare  the 
Dead  Boys  and  Iggy  never  had,  a  relentlessly  obnox- 
ious, coarse  and  lewd  extremist  who  can  send  even  the 
most  generous-minded  liberal  over  the  edge.  His  cata- 
logue is  a  juggernaut  of  puerile  mania,  demented  con- 
cupiscence and  Hustler-ltvel  humor. 

All  moral  and  artistic  judgment  aside,  Allin  is  due 
some  credit  for  managing  to  do  what  he's  done  with  so 
much  conviction  for  so  long.  GG's  long  and  storied 
career  began  in  1978,  deep  within  New  Hampshire's 
rolling  hills,  when  somebody  foolishly  fronted  this 
Hookset,  NH  kook  some  green  to  press  an  LP.  A  decent 
though  badly  produced  record,  Always  Was,  Is,  and 
Always  Shall  Be  (which  sold  like  hotcakes  in  Sweden) 
mixes  a  variety  of  influences — most  notably  the  Stooges 
and  the  Dolls,  but  also  1980-vintage  punk  and  new  wave 
pop — into  a  fairly  appealing  rock  sound.  But  Allin  has 
a  fatal  weakness  for  extremely  vulgar  lyrics.  How  can  a 
relatively  straight  song  like  * 'Unpredictable"  be  taken 
seriously  in  the  vicinity  of  "Beat,  Beat,  Beat"  and  the 
fatuous  "Pussy  Summit  Meeting"?  Allin  clinched  his 
commercial  fate  with  unwavering  offense,  and  whatever 
promise  flashed  on  the  first  LP  faded  on  subsequent 
releases. 

David  Peel's  Orange  Records  saw  fit  to  add  to  the 
GG  Allin  and  the  Jabbers  library  in  1982  and  '83,  is- 


suing two  7-inch  EPs,  Public  Animal  #1  and  No 
Rules  The  former  mere!)  consists  of  three  album 
tracks  plus  "You  Hate  Me  arid  !  Hate  You,"  a  new 
cut  which  sounds  like  a  small-town  guesstimate  of  big- 
city  hardcore.  No  Rules,  however,  isn't  all  that  bad. 
Gone  for  a  fleeting  three-song  moment  are  the  sod- 
omic  and  anatomical  references,  replaced  by  the  apt 
punk  strains  of  "No  Rules,"  "New  York  "City  To- 
night" and  "Up  Against  the  Wail."  (GG  regains  his 
vile  composure  on  "A  Fuckup,"  but  it's  a  good- 
humored  rant.)  The  Jabbers  disbanded  soon  after,  but 
GG  reunited  with  two  of  them  in  '84  for  the  Live 
Fast,  Die  Fast  EP. 

After  a  brief  ran  as  froetman  of  Manchester,  NH's 
Cedar  Street  Sluts,  Allin  organized  the  Scumfucs,  a 
trashy  trio  indeed.  The  pairing's  three  releases  on  Blood 
are  among  the  most  intensely  unlistenable  offerings  ever 
spewed  into  the  rock  underground.  As  Eat  My  Fuc 
(co-produced  by — get  this — Dick  Unne)  captures  the 
totally  skill-less  Scumfocs  in  flat  and  murky  sound,  it 
becomes  apparent  that  GG's  lyrics  have  taken  a  consid- 
erable turn  towards  true  derangement — where  they  have 
since  remained. 

Although  the  music  is  a  little  more  interesting.  Hard 
Candy  Cock  tenders  five  more  songs  of  similar  caliber 
and  mentality.  Only  "Convulsions*1 — an  interesting 
rhythmic  departure  from  GG's  usual  invective  pattern — 
strays  from  the  profane  path.  I  Wanna  Fuck  Your 
Brains  Out  continues  the  scatological  tirade,  and  merits 
no  descriptive  amplification. 

Allin  laid  low  for  a  while,  but  1987  brought  a  sud- 
den surge  in  his  hip  credibility,  and  a  few  independent 
labels  saw  fit  to  encourage  him  into  further  ignobility 
and  profligacy.  ROIR  issued  Mated  in  the  Nation,  a 
tape  which  collects  some  prior  EPs  and  singles,  includ- 
ing "Hard  Candy,"  "Drink,  Fuck  and  Fight"  and 
"Gimme  Some  Head"  (a  1981  45  on  which  GG  is 
accompanied  by  two  ex-members  of  the  MC5).  The 
cassette  includes  some  live  stuff,  sessions  with  "the 
New  York  Superscum"  (which  includes  J  Mascis  of 
Dinosaur  Jr.)  as  well  as  a  few  of  the  more  articulate 
messages  left  on  GG's  answering  machine. 

Homestead  endured  GG  for  two  offerings,  and  label 
head  Gerard  Cosloy  even  played  guitar  on  the  Holy  Men 
LP,  You  Give  Love  a  Bad  Name.  Whatever  vestiges  of 
a  singing  voice  Allin  once  had  are  lost  to  the  ravages  of 
self-abuse;  his  raspy  whinuigs  are  blanketed  over  the 
usual  backdrop  of  punk-cwm-grunge  metal.  "Tough 
Fuckin'  Shit* '  is  a  sure-fire  original  winner,  as  are  cov- 
ers of  Bad  Tuna  Experience's  "Beer  Picnic"  and 
Charles  Manson's  "Garbage  Dump."  (Be  sure  to  check 
out  the  liner  notes  detailing  GG's  sexual  exploits.)  Al- 
though he  is  joined  by  different  sidemen  on  Freaks, 
Faggots,  Drunks  &  Junkies,  the  album  is  virtually  a 
carbon  copy  of  Love. 

With  Allin  languishing  in  a  Michigan  jail  after  one 
of  his  excesses  got  way  too  excessive,  his  recording 
career  has  been  on  ice  of  late.  But  a  number  of  reissues, 
retrospectives  and  compilations  have  appeared  recently. 
Banned  in  Boston,  for  one,  consists  of  early  studio 
cuts,  '82  live  matter  and  radio  interviews.  [icm] 


STEVE  ALMAAS 

See  Beat  Rodeo. 


15 


MARC  ALMOND  AND  THE 
WILLING  SINNERS 

Vermin  in  Ermine  f  nr/Some  BizzareJ  1 984  • 

Tenderness  Is  a  Weakness  EP  ( nr/Some  BSzzaref  1984 

Stories  of  Johnny  (nr/Sonne  BizzareJ  1 985  • 

Stories  of  Johnny  EP  ( nr/Some  BizzareJ  1 985  • 

The  House  Is  Haunted  EP  f  nr/Some  Blzzare-VSrgin)  1986 

Melancholy  Rose  EP  for/Some  Btzzare-Virgin)  1987 
Mother  Fist . . .  and  Her  Five  Daughters  f  nr/Some 
Btzzare-Virgin)  1 987  • 

Singles  1984-1987  for/Some  Bizzare-Virgin)  1987  ® 
The  Stare  We  Are  (Some  Bizzare-CapitoI)  1 988  • 
Jacques  ( nr/Some  BizzareJ  1 989  • 
Enchanted  {Some  BIzzare-Capifof]  1 990  • 

THE 

Unfilled'  for/Some  Blzzare)  1 983 

Torment  and  Toreros  f  nr/Some  Bizzare}  1 983 

Leaving  the  eiident  confines  of  Soft  Cell  behind — 
during,  and  subsequent  to  the  dissolution  of,  his  partner- 
ship vnth  Dave  Ball — singer  Marc  Almond  assembled 
various  associates  to  be  the  Mambas  on  his  first  two  solo 
albums,  *Untitled*  (an  LP  plus  a  three-song  12-inch)  is 
a  swell  hodgepodge  of  originals,  covers,  collaborations 
and  excesses,  all  sung  in  Almond's  appealing  but  pitch- 
poor  voice.  With  Annie  Hogan  and  Matt  (the  The) 
Johnson  as  his  mam  collaborators,  Almond  ventures  into 
summery  soul  (" Angels"),  ambient  balladry  ("Big 
Louise")  and  obvious  source  material  (Lou  Reed's 
"Caroline  Says,"  Syd  Barrett's  "Terrapin,"  Jacques 
BreKs  "If  You  Go  Away"),  covering  phenomenally  var- 
ied terrain.  More  an  audio  sketchbook  than  a  coordinated 
album,  *UntitSed*  is  nonetheless  a  fine  excursion  outside 
the  techno-pop  corridors  of  Soft  Cell. 

Torment  and  Toreros,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  vile 
and  pathetic  attempt  to  ape  '30s  German  cabaret  deca- 
dence with  mostly  piano/orchestral  backing  and 
calculated-to-shock  vulgar  lyrics.  A  sleazy  two-record 
drag. 

That  digression  over  and  done  with,  Almond  moved 
on  to  the  Willing  Sinners,  and  began  a  far  more  enter- 
taining segment  of  his  career.  Playing  his  campy  gutter 
queen  persona  to  the  hilt,  he  is  pictured  on  the  cover  of 
Vermin  in  Ermine  perched  on  a  garbage  can,  wearing 
devil's  horns  and  a  spangled  jacket  he  could  only  have 
borrowed  from  Liza  MinnellL  While  the  songs  typically 
reflect  Almond's  seamy,  negativist  taste  ("Ugly  Head," 
"Tenderness  Is  a  Weakness,"  "Crime  Sublime," 
"Shining  Sinners,"  etc.),  the  Sinners  and  sidemen  pro- 
vide theatrical,  often  sarcastically  caricatured  music  to 
accompany  his  stylized  singing.  Vermin  isn't  all  that 
involving — the  jolly  presentation  works  against  the 
grangy  intent,  leaving  a  sense  of  aimlessness  rather  than 
artistic  tension.  (The  cassette  and  CD  have  three  extra 
cuts.) 

Stories  of  Johnny  is  more  on  track,  matching 
moody,  sometimes  pretty  atmospherics  with  Almond's 
disconsolate  (but  brightening)  outlook.  The  backing 
sporadically  includes  slick  synthesizer  maneuvers, 
bringing  him  full  circle,  demonstrating  once  again  just 
how  important  Soft  Cell  was  to  earning  that  instrument 
its  place  in  pop  music.  The  title  track  (a  deserving  Brit- 
ish hit)  is  a  foil-scale  Spectorized  production  number 
with  excellent  singing. 


Presaged  b>  a  double  7-inch  of  the  album's  "Mel- 
ancholy Rose,"  Mother  Fist  (dedicated  to  Truman  Ca- 
pote, whose  v-ork  provided  the  LP's  title)  finds  Almond 
reflecting  on  pleasure  and  pain  in  charactensiica!!} 
graphic  fashion  The  generallv  sparse  and  often  pleasant 
arrangements  co-exist  uneasilv  with  Almond's  decadent 
balladry  but,  given  his  outlook,  that's  as  it  should  be. 
The  one  total  downer  is  the  somber  "Saint  Judy"  (as  in 
Garland),  which  ends  with  a  chilling  minor-key  refrain 
of  "Get  Happy"  la  song  she  originally  sang  in  1950's 
Summer  Stock}  interlaced  with  Almond's  own  doleful 
refrain.  Amid  the  record's  lighter- weight  fare,  it's  a 
powerful  centerpiece.  Not  for  the  fainthearted,  Mother 
Fist  is  both  rewarding  and  disturbing. 

The  singles  compilation  offers  a  solid  non-Cell 
A-side  retrospective:  ten  songs,  including  "Stories  of 
Johnny,"  "Mother  Fist/*  "Tenderness  Is  a  Weakness" 
and  "The  House  Is  Haunted." 

Panng  the  Willing  Sinners  down  from  a  sextet  to  a 
trio  (and  renaming  the  group  La  Magia),  Almond  re- 
corded The  Stars  We  Are,  a  sensual,  romantic  antidote 
to  Mother  Fist's  bleak  earthiness,  lush  with  synthesized 
strings  and  horns.  This  is  an  essential  album  for  those 
looking  for  insights  into  the  Almond  persona:  "These 
My  Dreams  Are  Yours"  and  "Bittersweet"  both  serve 
as  apologias  of  sorts.  A  duet  with  Nico  on  "Your  Kisses 
Bum"  and  an  emotional  rendition  of  Gene  Pitney's 
"Something's  Gotten  Hold  of  My  Heart"  are  also  high- 
lights. 

Jacques  is  a  tribute  to  Jacques  Brel,  the  Belgian 
singer/poet  whose  influence  pervades  Almond's  work. 
Mostly  recorded  with  an  augmented  Willing  Sinners 
lineup  back  in  '86  (some  tracks  are  as  recent  as  '89),  it's 
a  real  showcase  for  his  abilities  as  an  interpretive  singer, 
especially  as  the  vocals  are  mixed  way  up  front  over 
spare  backgrounds.  Regardless  of  how  you  feel  about 
Almond  or  Brei — although  it  does  help  to  appreciate 
both  here — Jacques  is  an  ambitious  undertaking  by  an 
increasingly  confident  and  always  adventurous  artist. 

Almond  made  Enchanted  without  longtime  key- 
boardist Annie  Hogan  or  a  live  drummer;  the  use  of  both 
Fairlight  synthesizer  and  an  orchestra  (not  to  mention 
guest  brass  players)  creates  a  not  entirely  attractive  ten- 
sion between  sterility  and  warmth.  Lacking  a  strong 
stylistic  hand,  the  arrangements  (by  Almond  and  stal- 
wart keyboardist/bassist  Billy  McGee)  are  hit-and-miss, 
too  often  overzealous  when  a  little  bit  of  restraint  would 
have  done  the  trick.  Almond's  singing  and  writing,  how- 
ever, are  unpretentiously  entertaining,  uniting  past  no- 
tions with  subtle  cohesion  and  as  little  overt  camp  as  the 
listener  cares  to  enjoy.  Best  track:  the  faux-Balkan 
bounce  of  the  satanic  "Deaths  Diary."  [i/ds] 

ALPHAVILLE 

Forever  Young  (Atlantic)  1 984  • 
Afternoons  in  Utopia  (Atlantic)  1 986  • 
The  Singles  Collection  (Atlantic)  1 988  • 
The  Breathtaking  Blue  (Atlantic)  1 989  • 

Berlin's  Alphaville  plays  simpleminded,  obnoxious 
synthesizer  rock.  On  Forever  Young,  the  trio's  slickly 
polished  songs  and  vapid  English  lyrics  ("Big  in  Ja- 
pan," "The  Jet  Set")  are  at  best  inconsequential  but 
often  overbearingly  dumb.  The  self-importance  of 
singer  Marian  Gold's  overdramatic  delivery  only  con- 


16 


tnbutes  to  the  band's  absurdit>  White  the  title  track 
comes  within  hailing  range  of  a  be^itchingly  textured 
Ultravox  sound,  the  album  is  otherwise  insipid 

Whether  it's  a  language  banner  or  a  lack  of  talent, 
the  idealistic  science-fiction  concept  of  Afternoons  In 
Utopia  (which  credits  31  musicians  and  vocalists  in 
addition  to  the  group  itself — wasn't  technology  sup- 
posed to  make  humans  more  self-reliant  and  efficient?) 
falls  apart  In  a  jumble  of  vague,  frequently  comical  non 
sequiturs.  While  their  imagination  may  be  sailing  off  to 
Mars,  Alphaville's  music  (notably  improved  over  the 
first  LP,  possibly  the  result  of  lineup  changes  and  a  new 
producer)  remains  firmly  planted  in  a  simple,  tuneful 
generic  dance  idiom. 

The  Singles  Collection  assembles  two  mixes  each 
of  two  tracks  each  from  the  trio's  two  albums.  (That 
means  eight  all  together.)  If  you  need  to  hear  ten  min- 
utes (each)  of  "Forever  Young,"  "Red  Rose,"  "Big  in 
Japan"  or  "Dance  with  Me,"  help  yourself. 

Ttie  Breathtaking  Blue,  co-produced  by  the  ven- 
erable Klaus  Schulze  (Tangerine  Dream),  introduces  a 
new,  suavely  continental  aspect  to  Alphaville's  music. 
Gold's  attempts  to  ape  and  mix  Bryan  Ferry,  Freddie 
Mercury  and  David  Bowie  are  appalling;  the  band's 
concomitant  efforts  to  swing  on  a  jazzy  acoustic  tree 
prove  equally  futile  Typical  of  Alphaville's  hapless- 
ness,  the  album's  best  track  ("Ariana")  is  an  utter 
anachronism,  a  giddy  echo  of  Abba-styled  new  wave 
pop.  (For  those  equipped  with  the  proper  equipment, 
the  CD  is  graphics-encoded  with  hundreds  of  still  pho- 
tographs and  illustrations.)  [i] 

ALTER  BOYS 

Soul  Desire  (Big  Time)  1987  • 

Former  Dictator  Andy  Shernoff  may  have  produced 
the  only  LP  by  New  York's  Alter  Boys,  but  the  group's 
roots  seem  closer  to  two  other  great  erstwhile  Gotham 
bands — Television  and  the  Velvet  Underground.  The 
two  guitarists  seem  promising  enough,  but  they  often 
seem  held  back  by  the  relatively  stiff  rhythm  section;  the 
band  sounds  most  comfortable  on  its  best  (and  most 
Television-like)  number,  "One  Eye  Only,"  and  "Sweet 
Blossom  Mary,"  which  borrows  its  chorus  from  "An- 
archy in  the  UK."  Depressives  may  enjoy  the  more 
VU-oriented  gloom-and-doom  of  numbers  like  "Mid- 
Winter  Deathtrip"  and  "Dry-Out  Center."  [ds] 


ALTERED  IMAGES 

Happy  Birthday  (Portrait)  1981  (Epic)  1990  • 

Pinky  Blue  (Portrait)  1982 

Bite  (Portrait)  1983 

Collected  Images  (nr/Epic)  1984 

Led  by  baby-voiced  singer  Claire  Grogan,  this 
twinky  Scottish  nuevo  pop  quintet  hit  high  in  the  British 
singles  charts  with  catchy,  uncomplicated  tunes  like 
"Happy  Birthday"  and  "Dead  Pop  Stars."  Grogan' s 
cutesy-poo  vocals,  however,  were  not  universally  ap- 
preciated; many  found  the  group  more  precious  than 
charming.  Four  different  producers  are  credited  on  the 
three  original  albums;  they  clearly  wielded  powerful  in- 
fluence on  these  impressionable  youngsters. 

Except  for  the  Martin  Rushent-produced  title  track, 
the  first  LP  (otherwise  produced  mainly  by  Banshees 


bassist  Steve  Sevenni  shorn  s  no  signs  of  life  The  songs 
drag  along,  refusing  to  make  anv  instrumental  impres- 
sion, reiving  on  the  singing,  which  jest  isn't  enough. 

Rushent  produced  all  of  JPink%  Blue,  revealing  Al- 
tered Images  to  be  a  clever  dance-pop  force.  With 
gleaming,  bouncy  sound,  the  songs  jump  out  in  classic 
hit  single  fashion — "See  Those  E>es"  and  "I  Could  Be 
Happy"  especially  provide  the  joyous  setting  thai  Gro- 
gan's  voice  needs  to  succeed  I  The  cover  of  Neil  Dia- 
mond's cloying  *kSong  Sung  Blue,"  however,  should 
have  been  nixed,  j 

Bite  is  something  of  a  departure.  From  the  mature- 
young-sophisticate  photo  of  Grogan  on  the  front  cover 
to  the  lush  disco  sound — strings,  chorus,  sax,  wan- wall 
guitar,  the  works — of  ** Bring  Me  Closer,"  the  album 
foolishly  attempts  to  haul  Altered  Images  out  of  their 
adolescent  innocence  and  make  them  a  Scottish  Bioodie. 
Worse,  the  equal  division  of  production  responsibilities 
between  Tony  Visconti  and  Mike  Chapman  leaves  the 
record  with  a  wicked  case  of  schizophrenia.  Visconti's 
tracks  are  basically  heartless  dance  numbers — Abba 
gone  funky.  While  Chapman's  also  trespass  in  the  same 
terrain,  "Change  of  Heart,"  "Another  Lost  Look"  and 
the  memorable  "Don't  Talk  to  Me  About  Love'*  are 
attractive  pop  tunes  that  retain  some  of  the  band's  win- 
some charm.  (The  English  cassette  has  extra  tracks  and 
bonus  remixes. )  Collected  Images  is  a  reasonable  post- 
humous compilation. 

After  the  band's  end,  members  formed  Hipsway  and 
Texas.  Grogan  released  a  single  (the  only  public  results 
of  a  shelved  solo  album)  and  acted  on  film,  stage  and 
TV.  Her  new  band  is  called  Universal  Love  School. 

See  also  Texas.  [i] 

ALTER  NATIVES 

Hold  Your  Tongue  (SST)  1986 
Group  Therapy  (SST}  1 988  • 
Buzz  (SST)  1989* 

The  Alter  Natives  are  a  frantic,  improv-minded 
combo  from  Richmond,  Virginia's  hop-crazed  art  com- 
munity. During  SST's  expansionist  days  of  '86,  their 
all-instrumental,  sax-lead  spazz-attack  was  among  the 
most  promising  noise  the  label  released.  The  band's  first 
two  LPs,  recorded  as  a  quartet,  feature  sax  and  flute- 
playing  (Eric  Ungar)  of  a  remarkably  non-fusionoid 
stripe;  by  the  tame  of  the  third  LP,  however,  the  con- 
figuration was  rock-basic  (guitar/bass/drums),  and  Buzz 
is  an  excellent  album  of  aggressive  space  Hunch,  [be] 

ALTERNATIVE  TV 

The  Image  Has  Cracked  (nr/Deptford  Fun  City)  1978 
Vibing  Up  the  Senile  Man  (Part  One)  (nr/Deptford  Fun 

City)  1979 

Live  at  the  Rat  Club  77  (nr/Crystal-Red)  1 979 
Action  Time  Vision  (nr/Deptford  Fun  City)  1 980 
Strange  Kicb  (IRS)  1981 
Peep  Show  (nr/Anagram)  1 987 
Splitting  in  2  (nr/Anagram)  1 989 
SolEP(nr/Chapter22)1990 
Dragon  Love  (nr/Chapter  22)  1 990 

HERE  &  NOW/ALTERNATIVE  TV 

What  You  See  ...  Is  What  You  Are  (nr/Deptford  Fun  Gty) 
1978 


17 


GOOD  MISSIONARIES 

Fire  from  Heaven  (nr/DepHbrd  Fun  City)  1 979 

MARK  PERRY 

Snappy  Toms  fnr/Deptford  Fun  City)  1981 

The  hipness  and  success  of  London  punk-explosion 
photocopy  fanzine  Sniffin*  Glue  was  almost  entirely  due 
to  the  irreverent,  pugnacious  sincerity  of  its  founder/ 
sparkplug  Mark  Pierry ).  That  Perry  should  form  a  band 
seemed  a  natural  progression;  that  It  was  any  good  at  all 
a  surprise;  that  it  maintained  a  stance  utterly  disdainful 
of  compromise  a  small  miracle.  Unfortunately,  this  mu- 
sical Diogenes  had  neither  adequate  vision  nor  foresight 
to  avoid  the  pitfalls  of  Striving  for  Artistic  Expression. 

Live  at  the  Rat  Club  '77  ( an  authorized  bootleg ) 
consists  of  messy -sounding  live  material  taped  before 
co-founder/guitarist  Alex  Fergusson.  split.  (Temporarily 
replaced  by  the  Police's  then-road  manager  Kim  Turner, 
Fergusson  rejoined  in  time  for  Strange  Kicks. )  By  The 
Image  Has  Cracked,  Perry's  urge  to  experiment  was 
taking  intriguing  turns  (e.g.,  a  half-studio,  half-live  at- 
tempt at  meaningful  audience  participation).  Although 
the  abstract  stuff  doesn't  hold  up  so  well,  it's  still  an 
amazing  document  of  a  time  and  place.  The  straighter 
efforts  are  better:  an  early  Buzzcocks/Clash  sock  is  well- 
exercised  on  the  band's  rousing  manifesto,  ** Action 
Time  Vision."  It's  also  why  the  compilation  of  the  same 
name,  including  non-LP  singles  sides  (through  '79)  on 
which  Perry's  righteously  vented  spleen  is  effectively 
displayed,  works  better  than  Image  as  entertainment  if 
not  artifact. 

What  You  See  ...  Is  What  You  Are  is  also  live 
(from  the  summer  of  '78),  but  shared  half-and-half  with 
tour  partners  Here  &  Now,  a  homd  hippie  offshoot  of 
Gong.  Worse  (even  discounting  the  tinny  sound)  still, 
such  disillusion  had  set  in  that  Perry  remade  his  song  as 
"Action  Time  Lemon"  in  sheer  disgust.  While  a  move 
towards  edge  music  could  be  seen  coming — further 
spurred  by  Mick  Linehan  (later  in  the  Lines)  replacing 
Kim  Turner — ATV  here  sounds  aimless  and  desperate. 
Vtbing  Up  the  Senile  Man  was  made  by  Perry  and 
stalwart  bassist  Dennis  Burns;  while  some  of  the  lyrics 
are  eloquently  impassioned,  Perry's  tuneless  vocals  ride 
atop  music  that's  up  the  pseudo-avant  creek  without  a 
paddle. 

Come  1981,  Perry,  Bums  and  the  more  pop-minded 
Fergusson  reunited  (adding  a  drummer  and  a  keyboard 
player)  for  Strange  Kicks,  an  album  that's  a  different 
proposition  altogether.  The  one-time  quasi-nihilist  says, 
"What  the  hey!1'  and  rattles  off  smart,  vernacular  hu- 
mor, easygoing  if  still  reasonably  cynical,  thereby  uni- 
fying ATV's  snappy  romp  through  an  assortment  of 
styles  (ska,  pop-punk,  even  electro-dance),  produced 
by  Richard  Mazda.  Still,  "There  must  be  more  to  life 
than  a  heading  in  a  record  store." 

Perry  launched  the  Good  Missionaries — who  were, 
unfortunately,  nothing  special—during  one  period  of 
ATV's  dissolution.  This  band  recalls  Frank  Zappa  at  his 
most  pointless;  the  music  meanders  without  form  or 
reason.  Creating  this  chaos  may  have  been  enjoyable  for 
the  people  involved  (including  Henry  Badowski),  but 
that  doesn't  justify  its  release.  Perry's  subsequent  solo 
outing  belies  its  title  by  dishing  up  more  of  his  semi- 
tortured  recitation  of  what-a-bloody-world-it-is  to  the 
tune  of  ...  well,  no  recognizable  tune  at  all. 


What  a  surprise  that,  come  1987,  a  new  lineup  of 
ATV  should  nse  up  again  with  Peep  Show  From  the 
back  cover:  "It's  happening  again/The  angels  and  de- 
mons have  dragged  me  out."  Yes,  folks,  it's  back  to  the 
bile  and  the  same  old  semi-anarchic  self-indulgence  that 
characterized  much  of  ATV's  non-Fergusson  work  Yet 
if  you  can  bear  with  him,  Perry  still  strikes  a  few  chords 
and  touches  a  few  nerves;  his  increased  knowledge  of 
musical  forms  and  formats  enables  him  to  vary  the 
tempo  and  style,  adding  horns  and  keyboards  to  good 
effect.  Fans  of  the  first  ATV  LP  will  probably  enjoy  this 
one,  too. 

By  Sol,  ATV  had  changed  again  (just  Perry  and  one 
James  Kyllo),  so  forget  musical  progress  or  even  con- 
tinuity. Pius,  the  sound  stinks.  "Every  Day"  is  a  decent 
enough  number  rendered  nearly  unlistenable  by  strange 
guitar  distortion  ( like  an  uncorrectable  technical  glitch); 
a  similar  problem  mars  "The  Word."  The  most  succinct 
and  catchy  track,  "Pain  Barrier,"  is  undercut  by  cymbal 
echo.  The  sound  of  "Affecting  People"  is  merely  me- 
diocre but,  as  with  the  other  three,  the  all-important 
words  just  aren't  clear.  For  fans  only. 

Offering  five  tracks  from  the  first  LP  plus  eight  sides 
from  non-LP  singles,  Splitting  in  2  is  an  excellent  col- 
lection. (But  it  should  have  included  "Life  After 
Life.")  [cpl/jg] 

See  also  Psychic  TV. 

Every  Night  About  This  Time  (nr/Demon)  1 987 
Romeo's  Escape  (Epic)  1987  ® 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Border  Radio  (Enigma)  1987 

Following  his  long  tenure  as  the  Blasters'  guitar- 
slinging  songwriter  and  a  brief  stay  with  X,  Dave  Alvin 
struck  out  on  his  own  with  the  very  fine  Romeo's  Es- 
cape LP  (originally  released  in  the  UK,  titled  after  an- 
other one  of  its  songs).  His  first  try  as  a  lead  singer 
won't  win  Dave  any  awards,  but  his  hoarse  delivery  is 
more  expressive  than  many  technically  superior  vocal- 
ists. The  contents  are  familiar  roots  rock  and  country, 
ranging  from  scorching  boogie  ("New  Tattoo")  to  the 
weary  testimony  of  a  union  man  ("Brother  on  the 
Line").  Other  highlights  include  gritty  versions  of  tunes 
first  recorded  by  the  Blasters  ("Long  White  Cadillac") 
and  X  ("Fourth  of  July").  They're  less  polished  here, 
and  plenty  persuasive. 

The  Border  Radio  soundtrack  is  a  decent  bunch  of 
odds'n'ends  featuring  Alvin,  Chris  D.,  Green  on  Red 
and  members  of  X  and  Los  Lobos.  Tony  Kinman  of 
Rank  and  File  delivers  a  nice,  lazy  version  of  Dave's 
title  track  (originally  on  Alvin' s  own  LP);  Alvin  and 
Steve  Berlin  contribute  ambient  instrumentals.  Mainly 
for  completists.  jjy] 

See  also  Blasters,  X. 

PHIL  ALVIN 

Un"Sung"  Stories  (Slash)  1 986 

Without  brother  Dave's  stirring  songs,  what  on  earth 
will  Blasters  frontman  Phil  Alvin  sing?  Not  to  worry, 
'cause  this  traditional  music  buff  assembles  an  enticing 
lineup  of  blues,  jazz  and  gospel  goodies  on  his  solo 
debut.  Good  ol'  Phil  wraps  his  homey  vocals  around 


18 


such  \enerable  delights  as  Cab  Galloway's  "Minnie  the 
Moocher"  and  "Brother,  Can  You  Spare  a  Dime?"  in 
this  engaging  tour  of  classic  stjles,  making  €n44Suiig" 
Stories  a  delightful  history  lesson  Sun  Ra  and  the 
Arkestraeven  guest  on  three,  nicely  complementing  Phil 
with  their  own  loopy  charm  [jy] 

See  also  Blasters. 

ERIC  AMBEL 

See  Del -Lords. 

AMBITIOUS  LOVERS 

See  Arto  Lindsay. 

The  Restless  Stranger  (Grifter)  1 986 
Engine  (Grifter-Frontier)  1987  ® 
California  (Grifter-Frontier)  1988  • 
United  Kingdom  (or/Demon)  1990  • 

Rock'n'roll,  especially  the  fxingier  areas  thereof,  has 
always  been  awash  with  beautiful  losers.  Maybe  that's 
why  AMC  mastermind  Mark  Eitzel  is  so  refreshing.  His 
desperate  confessional  songs  reveal  a  man  with  little 
doubt  that  he's  a  loser,  but  can't  for  the  life  of  him  see 
any  beauty  in  said  condition.  With  a  no-frills  Bay  Area 
aggregation  providing  bare-bones  backing,  Eitzel's 
pointedly  non-metaphorical  writing  sails  past  self- 
revelation  on  its  way  to  self-evisceration. 

The  singer's  unipolar,  Ian  Curtis-like  vocal  drone 
dominates  The  Restless  Stranger's  tales  of  solitude  and 
delirium  tremens  to  perhaps  too  great  a  degree.  That 
affectation,  and  occasionally  ponderous  arrangements 
(he's  cited,  without  irony,  early  Yes  as  an  influence), 
blunt  some  of  the  songs'  impact,  though  "Room  Above 
the  Bar"  and  **$  1,000,000  Song"  bull  through. 

A  lineup  juggle  that  preceded  Engine  (producer 
Tom  Mallon  stepped  in  to  handle  bass — and,  more  im- 
portantly, arranging — chores)  nudges  the  band  towards 
stark  but  gently  applied  folk-rock  structure.  On  "Out- 
side This  Bar,"  a  Bukowski-like  attempt  to  maintain  the 
hermetic  seal  around  the  singer's  world,  Eitzel  wails 
almost  unaccompanied;  in  this  context,  when  the  back- 
ing grows  more  strident  (as  on  the  harrowing  "Art  of 
Love"),  the  edge  becomes  even  sharper. 

Like  a  particularly  cruel  maze,  California  is  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  enter  and  all  but  impossible  to 
extricate  oneself  from.  Though  it  incongruously  con- 
tains the  spitting  brawler  "Bad  Liquor,"  California  is 
even  more  austere  than  previous  AMC  efforts.  The  cu- 
mulative emotional  overload  (particularly  on  "Laugh- 
ingstock") is  positively  anesthetizing. 

Dispensing  with  its  predecessors'  vague  adherence 
to  folk-rock  structure,  United  Kingdom  lacks  obvious 
songs  and  melodies  as  such  and,  in  its  starkness,  recalls 
nothing  so  much  as  Big  Star's  Sister  Lovers.  Perhaps 
the  most  interesting  thing  (besides  the  fact  that  the  three 
live  tracks  lack  any  standard  concert-album  evidence  of 
an  audience's  presence)  is  "The  Hula  Maiden,"  the  first 
recording  of  Eitzel's  occasional  stage  retreat  into  the 
safe  harbor  of  broad  Vegas  schmaltz.  With  its  wild 
mood  swings — from  morose  to  mocking — United 
Kingdom  is  the  best  microcosmic  document  yet  of  an 
erratic,  invigorating  and  frightening  band.  [dss] 


DANNY  AMIS 

See  Raybeais 

ANARCHY  6 

See  Red  Cross. 
See  MX-80  Sound. 

ET  AL 

You're  the  Guy  I  Want  to  Share  My  Money  With  (Gsomo 
Poetry  Systems)  1981 

LAURIE  ANDERSON 

Big  Science  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982  • 
Mister  Heartbreak  (Warner  Bros.)  1984  • 
The  United  States  Live  fWamer  Bros.)  1984  • 
Home  of  the  Brave  (Warner  Bros.)  1 986  • 
Strange  Angels  (Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

Balanced  on  a  high-wire  above  performance  art  and 
art  pop,  Laurie  Anderson's  Big  Science  is  perhaps  the 
most  brilliant  chunk  of  psychedelia  since  Sgt.  Pepper. 
She  combines  singsong  narrative  (often  electronically 
treated)  with  a  strong  musical  base  that  evokes,  yet 
postdates,  traditional  musical  forms.  Big  Science,  fea- 
turing the  surprise  answenng-machine  hit  single,  "0 
Superman,"  is  a  most  enjoyable  work  of  genius. 
(Anderson  had  previously  appeared  on  several  compi- 
lation albums,  the  most  prominent  being  You're  the 
Guy  I  Want  to  Stiare  My  Money  With,  a  two-record 
set  also  featuring  John  Giomo  and  William  S.  Bur- 
roughs,) 

With  the  help  of  co-producers  Bill  Laswell,  Roma 
Baran  and  Peter  Gabriel  (who  sings  on  "his**  cut), 
Anderson  continues  merging  not-readily-identifiable 
morsels  of  '60s  psychedelia  and  '70s  progressivism  into 
a  blinding  studio-perfect  maelstrom  of  oddity  on  Mister 
Heartbreak,  an  excellent  LP  that  was  overshadowed  in 
the  year  of  its  release  by  the  five-record  (!)  United 
States  Live,  a  summation  of  the  state  of  Anderson's 
bewildering  but  popular  performance  art.  Anderson  and 
crew  performed  United  States  whole  in  London,  Zurich 
and  New  York,  where  the  Brooklyn  Academy  of  Music, 
which  commissioned  the  last  of  its  four  parts,  provided 
the  site  (in  February  1983)  for  recording  the  whole  kit 
and  kaboodle.  Perhaps  better  suited  for  videotape,  the 
album  mixes  spoken- word  monologues,  music  and  noise 
(in  that  order)  with  snippets  of  film,  slides,  lighting  and 
other  visual  effects  that  are  inevitably  lost  here.  Ander- 
son's impressionistic  multimedia  portrait  of  the  USA 
makes  a  good  case  for  her  talents  as  standup  comedian 
("There  are  ten  million  stories  in  the  naked  city,  but 
nobody  can  remember  which  is  theirs"),  yet  reveals  its 
miscellany  of  truths  slowly  and  coolly.  Although  it's  a 
little  like  having  an  artsy  friend  over  who  always  talks 
at,  rather  than  to,  you,  United  States  Live  remains  a 
definitive  statement  of  what  a  clever  artist  can  get  away 
with — and  that's  a  compliment.  (Years  later,  the  set  was 
reissued  as  a  four-CD  box.) 

Home  of  the  Brave  is  the  digitally  recorded  sound- 
track to  Anderson's  performance  film.  Joined  by  an  all- 
star  collection  of  players  (Adrian  Belew,  David  Van 
Tieghem,  Nile  Rodgers,  Bill  Laswell),  she  proffers 
technically  exquisite  versions  of  familiar  items  as  well 


19 


as  new  compositions,  all  imbued  with  her  usual  blend  of 
dadaist  humor  and  bemused  social  criticism. 

Besides  demonstrating  Anderson's  future  as  an  ur- 
ban Judy  Collins  (check  the  title  track  K  Strange  Angels 
goes  to  a  lot  of  trouble— and  uses  such  sidepersoBs  as 
the  Roches,  Bobby  McFemn,  Anton  Fier  and  Van 
Tiegfaem — to  uncover  its  few  gems:  "Baby  Doll/"  in 
which  a  bossy  brain  orders  the  protagonist  around  via 
scribbled  notes,  the  wittily  feminist  "Beautiful  Red 
Dress"  and  "The  Day  the  Devil."  It  would  be  nice  to 
say  that  Anderson  doesn't  need  theatrical  vocal  inflec- 
tions or  intellectual  songwriting  gimmicks  to  make 
memorable,  significant  music,  but  she  does.  Despite  the 
unfailingly  high  level  of  craft  and  taste,  songs  without 
meaty  hooks  glide  right  by  without  leaving  a  trace. 

[jw/mf/i] 

AN 

An  Emotional  Fish  (Affontic)  1990  <fr 

If  there  are  any  young  rock  bands  in  Dublin  that  don't 
want  to  be  U2,  you'd  never  know  it  from  some  of  the  ones 
who  have  debuted  recently.  The  only  glimmers  of  per- 
sonality on  this  quartet's  first  album  are  patently  deriv- 
ative; except  for  the  lead-off  track,  a  building  drone  (with 
hooks)  entitled  "Celebrate,"  An  Emotional  Fish  proves 
incapable  of  weaving  anything  remotely  engaging  from 
Its  borrowings.  The  CD  adds  a  bonus  track.  [pn] 

ANGELIC  UPSTARTS 

Teenage  Warning  (nrAVamer  Bros.)  1 979 

We  Gotta  Get  Out  of  This  Place  (nr/WEA)  1 980 

2,000,000  Voices  (nr/EMI)  1981 

live  (nr/EMI)  1981 

Still  from  the  Heart  (nr/EMi)  1 982 

Reason  Why?  (nr/Anagram)  1 983 

Angel  Dust  (The  Collected  Highs  1 978-1 983) 

(or/Anagram)  1983  ® 
Last  Tango  in  Moscow  (nr/Picasso)  1984  (nr/Razor) 

1988 

Power  of  the  Press  (nr/Gas)  1 986  (nr/Link  Classics)  1 990 
Bootlegs  and  Rarities  (nr/Dojo)  1 986 
Blood  on  the  Terraces  {nr/Link)  1 987 
Brighton  Bomb  (Chameleon)  1 987 
Live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1 988 
England's  Alive  EP  (nr/Skunx)  1988 

With  the  commanding  Mensi  (Tommy  Mensforth) 
as  singer  and  spokesperson,  the  Angelic  Upstarts  came 
down  from  Newcastle  in  1978 — after  self-releasing  a 
powerful  and  controversial  protest  single,  "The  Murder 
of  Liddle  Towers" — and  found  a  patron  in  Sham  69' s 
Jimmy  Pursey,  who  produced  their  first  album.  As  one 
of  the  groups  responsible  for  the  continued  strength  of 
'70s  punk  in  England,  it  is  to  the  Upstarts'  credit  that 
they  have  avoided  the  demagogic  stupidity  of  other  skin- 
head bands  by  maintaining  a  progressive  attitude  and 
speaking  out  against  racism  and  fascism. 

Through  shifting  lineups  (several  of  which  included 
ex-Roxy  Music  drummer  Paul  Thompson),  the  band's 
early  albums — effectively  culled  on  the  excellent  Angel 
Dust  compilation — are  classic/standard  working-class 
thrash,  a  predictable  and  hardly  timeless  jolt  of  accented 
electric  rabble-rousing,  but  no  less  effective  for  it. 
Reason  Why?  is  the  Upstarts'  great  leap  forward,  a 


blend  of  angry  socio-political  lyrics  with  a  controlled 
and  melodic  rock  attack  (broken  on  the  title  track  with 
a  reggae  digression  and  on  the  a  cappelia  folk  ballad, 
"Geordies  Wife")  that  is  punky  only  in  Mensi's  un- 
polished bellow  and  the  band's  gang-shouted  backing 
vocals.  Otherwise,  the  guitars  build  an  attractive  base — 
like  the  Clash  on  Give  *Em  Enough  Rope — that  is 
embellished  by  guest  sax  and  keyboards.  The  songs  are 
competent  enough  and  the  production,  by  guitarist 
Moiid,  captures  it  all  with  clarity  and  energy.  A  surpris- 
ingly good  record  for  all  rock  tastes. 

The  (old)  Clash  comparison  carries  through  on  the 
equally  Mstenable  Brighton  Bomb  (the  American  equiv- 
alent of  Power  of  the  Press),  which  actually  contains  a 
song  addressed  specifically  to  Strummer:  "Joe  Where 
Are  You  Now?"  quotes  assorted  Clash  tunes  to  make  its 
point  about  punk  traditionalism.  As  modern  electric 
foiksingers,  the  Upstarts'  unprepossessing  but  palatable 
musical  approach  may  be  excused  in  consideration  of 
the  lyrics'  good  intentions:  simplicity  is  in  direct  pro- 
portion to  the  sincerity.  Two  appropriate  non-originals 
("Soldier"  and  Eric  Bogle's  "Greenfields  of  France") 
show  a  healthy  broadening  of  scope  and  a  fearless  re- 
spect for  folk  music  in  all  its  many  variants. 

The  picture  of  Mensi  on  the  back  cover  of  Blood  on 
the  Terraces  (the  title  track  is  about  football  hooligan- 
ism) shows  him  smiling  and  short-haired  (not  crew-cut) 
in  a  Nike  T-shirt,  looking  for  all  the  world  like  a  cheer- 
ful suburban  brother-in-law.  Typical  of  the  increasingly 
diverse  and  intelligent  quartet  (which  here  includes 
Splodgenessabounds'  Max  Splodge  on  drums),  the  al- 
bum includes  a  reggae  tune  ("It's  Your  Life"),  a 
punked-out  Mel  Tiilis  cover  ("Ruby"),  a  rejection  of 
cold  war  mythology  ("I  Don't  Wanna  Fight  the  So- 
viet") and  a  touching  prison  drama  ("Four  Grey 
Walls").  [i] 

ANGRY  SAMOANS 

Inside  My  Brain  EP  (Bad  Trip)  1980  (PVC)  1987  (Triple  X) 

1990* 
Back  from  Samoa  (Bad  Trip)  1982  (PVC)  1987  (Triple  X) 

1990® 
Yesterday  Started  Tomorrow  EP  (PVC)  1 987  (Triple  X) 

1990* 

Gimme  Samoa:  31  Garbage-Pit  Hits  [CD]  (PVC)  1987  ® 
STP  Not  LSD  (PVC)  1 988  (Triple  X)  1 990  * 
Live  at  Rhino  Records  (Triple  X)  1990  • 
Return  to  Samoa  (nr/Shakin'  Street)  1990 

METAL  MIKE 

Plays  the  Hits  of  the  90's  EP  (Triple  X)  1 991  « 

Hypothetically  following  in  the  Richard  Meltzer/ 
early  Dictators  tradition  at  first,  this  Los  Angeles  quintet 
led  by  erstwhile  rock  critics  Metal  Mike  Saunders  and 
Gregg  Turner  (both  vocals/guitar)  mucks  around  in  the 
self-conscious  gutter  of  conceptual  punk  satire.  Unfor- 
tunately, besides  being  off-brand  musicians,  the  Sarno- 
ans  aren't  very  funny.  The  six-song  Inside  My  Brain 
manages  to  spit  out  some  snickering  lyrics  on  "Get  off 
the  Air,"  a  vituperative  attack  on  DJ  Rodney  Bingen- 
heimer,  but  otherwise  offers  nothing  to  get  excited 
about.  The  brief,  well-played  songs  on  Back  from  Sa- 
moa have  cool  titles  ("My  Old  Man's  a  Fatso,"  "Tuna 
Taco,"  "They  Saved  Hitler's  Cock,"  etc,),  but  the  lyr- 
ics are  rarely  as  clever. 


20 


Yesterday  Started  Tomorrow  adds  another  half- 
dozen  terse  items  to  the  catalogue,  neither  the  vtords  nor 
the  plain-issue  rock  tracks  evince  effort  or  imagination 
beyond  the  bare  essentials.  Hardly  amateurish,  this  im- 
personal recording  is  adequate  only  IE  a  technical  sense 

The  Gimme  Samoa  CD  consolidates  the  entire  31- 
track  contents  of  the  band's  first  three  records  on  one 
disc. 

Proceeding  from  there,  STP  Not  LSD  has  great 
snarly  guitar  tone  arid  utterly  competent  playing,  but 
Saunders  and  bassist  Todd  Homer  stiii  sing  the  dumb- 
ass  lyrics  like  they're  reading  them  upside  down  in  a 
mirror.  Although  these  guys  are  obviously  intelligent 
junk  culture  junkies,  their  inability  to  follow  the  prime 
directive — garbage  in,  garbage  out — remains  an  insur- 
mountable obstacle. 

Those  who  just  can't  get  enough  of  the  Samoans' 
magic  will  probably  be  anxious  to  own  the  band's  live 
album,  an  atrociously  bad  sounding  document  of  a  short 
1979  (f)  show  before  an  audience  of— judging  by  the 
uncontrollable  applause — five  or  six.  Playing  standard- 
issue  mid-tempo  punk,  the  quintet  thrashes  its  way 
through  "My  Old  Man's  a  Fatso,"  *Tm  in  Love  with 
Your  Mom"  (co-written  by  Meltzer),  the  Ramones' 
"Commando"  and  six  more. 

The  archival  Return  to  Samoa  consists  of  eight 
previously  unissued  studio  tracks  originally  recorded  for 
Back  from  Samoa,  with  Jeff  Dahl  doing  the  vocals. 
(He  joined  after  Saunders  had  left  the  band.  The  group 
cut  the  LP,  Saunders  returned  and  redid  the  vocals, 
leaving  only  Dahl's  bass  playing  on  one  Back  from 
Samoa  song.)  Return  also  contains  eight  live  tracks 
recorded  in  New  York  City  in  1981. 

In  early  *91 ,  Metal  Mike  Saunders  issued  a  six-song 
solo  debut.  [i] 

See  also  Jeff  Dahl  Group. 


ANGST 

Angst  EP  (Happy  Squid)  1983  (SST)  1986 
Lite  Life  (SST)  1985 
Mending  Wall  (SST)  1986 
Mystery  Spot  (SST)  1987 
Cry  for  Happy  (SST)  1988« 

This  Denver-to~San  Francisco  artpunk  trio  of  broth- 
ers Joe  Pope  (bass/vocals)  and  Jon  E.  Risk  (guitar/ 
vocals)  plus  drummer  Michael  Hursey  serves  up 
uncompromising,  driving  music  in  a  number  of  direc- 
tions on  their  debut  EP.  They  get  funky  on  "Pig,"  a 
heartwarmingly  old-fashioned  song  about  the  law,  drone 
on  the  junked-out  "Another  Day"  and  drive  straight 
ahead  on  a  would-be  political  anthem,  "Die  Fighting." 
Throughout,  Angst  manage  to  stay  just  one  step  ahead 
of  their  pretensions.  Credit  a  sense  of  humor,  exercised 
at  the  expense  of  some  great  Americans:  "Neil  Arm- 
strong" is  a  goofy  look  at  a  space  cadet;  "Nancy"  asks, 
chanting  over  a  drum  beat,  "Does  Nancy  perform  acts 
of  oral  copulation?" 

The  articulate  lyrics  on  Lite  Life  again  prove 
Angst's  prowess  for  turning  politically  informed  ideas 
into  mature  and  witty  tunes.  Plain  sound  and  no-frills 
arrangements  underscore  the  preeminence  of  function 
over  form.  "Glad  Fm  Not  in  Russia,"  delivered  as 
dustbowl  country-rock,  is  a  fairly  incisive  comment  on 
the  cultural  divisions  between  the  superpowers;  the  skit- 


tish and  busy  dance-funk  of  "This  Gaffs  for  You" 
mixes  up  se\era!  topics  but  stays  sharp;  personal  emo- 
tional issues  r*Fnends/"  4*Tum  Awa>/"  "Never  Go- 
ing to  Apologize"  8  receive  the  same  coklK  objective 
analysis . 

Stylistic  variety  also  underpins  Mending  Wall,  an- 
other dose  of  Angst's  tense  and  rough-edged  musical 
simplicity,  enhanced  this  time  with  noticeably  stronger 
vocal  harmonies  by  Risk  and  Pope  The  Syncs  are  less 
specific  and  more  thoughtful,  individual  alienation,  con- 
fusion and  anomie  are  transformed  into  powerful, 
uniquely  directed  songs.  A  cover  of  Paul  Simon's 
"Richard  Cory/'  however,  goes  wrong,  pruning  the 
melody  and  bare-bonesing  it  into  an  ugly  ghost  of  the 
original. 

Angst  took  a  calculated  risk  on  Mystery  Spot,  en- 
gaging producer  Vitus  Matare  to  help  flesh  out  and  up- 
grade the  sound.  It  almost  worked.  Multi-tracked 
guitars  and  dynamic  arrangements  bring  the  songs  into 
near-pop  focus,  with  unprecedented  melody,  sensitiv- 
ity, structure  and  vocal  appeal,  but  atrocious  recording 
quality  (and/or  a  heinously  bungled  mix)  buries  them 
in  a  flat,  muddy  swamp.  Pope  and  Risk  continue  to 
reveal  themselves  in  emotionally  resonant  songs — 
too  bad  their  ambitious  effort  was  spoiled  by  a  tech- 
nicality. 

With  Andy  Kaps  replacing  Hursey,  Angst  and  Ma- 
tare  continued  working  in  the  same  vein  on  Cry  for 
Happy,  a  fine-sounding  (except  for  the  drums)  record 
that  encompasses  semi-acoustic  countryish  pop,  nervous 
rock  funk,  boogie,  desolate  electric  blues  ("Motherless 
Child")  and  straight  Angst-rock  with  pretty  harmonies. 
With  lyrics  of  loneliness  and  joy  that  are  as  emotionally 
ambivalent  as  the  album  title,  Cry  for  Happy  brings 
Angst  out  into  the  open  as  never  before.  [jl/i] 

ANIMAL  LOGIC 

See  Stewart  Copeland. 

ANNABELLA 

See  Bow  Wow  Wow. 

ADAM  ANT 

See  Adam  and  the  Ants. 

ANTHRAX 

Fistful  of  Metal  (Megaforce)  1 984  • 

Armed  and  Dangerous  EP  (Megaforce)  1 985  • 

Spreading  the  Disease  (Megaforce  Worldwide-Island) 

1985* 

Among  the  Living  (Megaforce  Worldwide-Island)  1987  • 
Km  the  Man  EP  (Megaforce  Worldwide-Island)  1 987  • 
State  of  Euphoria  (Megaforce  Worldwide-Island)  1 988  • 
Persistence  of  Time  (Megaforce  Worldwide-Island) 

1990* 

Disproving  the  fantasy  that  New  York  bands  were 
too  cool  to  play  heavy  metal,  Anthrax  abandoned  the 
hardcore  scene  early  enough  to  get  in  on  the  ground 
floor  of  the  underground  movement  that  eventually 
spawned  such  estimable  headbanging  ensembles  as 
Megadeth  and  Metallica.  The  quintet's  debut,  Fistful  of 
Metal  is  fast  and  furious,  but  not  overbearingly  so, 


21 


holding  to  a  near-rock  sound  punctuated  by  dizzying 
guitar  solos.  Singer  Neil  Turbin  has  a  good  strong  voice 
but  lets  fly  with  stereotypical  falsetto  howls  far  too  often 
for  adult  audio  comfort, 

Turbin  and  bassist  Dan  Liiker  were  subsequently 
replaced  in  what  became  Anthrax's  permanent  lineup. 
(Liiker  went  on  to  form  Nuclear  Assault. )  The  Armed 
and  Dangerous  mini-LP  unveiled  the  new  lineup  on 
five  unassuming  cuts:  a  pair  of  studio  previews  for 
Spreading  the  Disease,  two  live  renditions  of  songs 
from  the  previous  LP  and  a  reverent,  hard-hitting  ver- 
sion of  "God  Save  the  Queen."  The  album  that  fol- 
lowed is,  all  things  considered,  much  better,  a 
scalding  assault  that  reasserts  the  band's  punk  bearings 
with  chunky  chords,  varying  tempos  and  searing  vo- 
cals. 

The  back  cover  of  Among  the  Living,  co-produced 
by  Eddie  Kramer,  shows  Anthrax  looking  relaxed  in  a 
New  York  subway  station,  wearing  sneakers,  jeans  and 
leather  jackets.  The  album  focuses  the  band's  sound  and 
attitude  to  arena-scale,  replacing  old-fashioned  metal 
cliches  with  a  derni-hardcore  approach — shifting  tem- 
pos, gang  vocals — that  translated  well  to  larger  venues. 
Besides  **Caught  in  a  Mosh,"  two  songs  based  on 
Stephen  King  prose  and  one  inspired  by  a  British  comic 
character,  Anthrax  trots  out  a  bit  of  common  Bronx 
street  slang  to  humorous  effect  in  "Efilnikufesin 
(N.F.L.V  while  using  the  word  "dissin"  in  "Indi- 
ans." An  entirely  different  sort  of  post-metal  record  that 
is  uniquely  New  York. 

Anthrax's  merry  cross-cultural  adventure  stretches 
even  further  afield  on  I'm  the  Man,  a  six-cut  EP  with 
three  versions — "Censored/*  "Def  Uncensored"  and 
''Extremely  Def  111  Uncensored" — of  the  hysterical 
Beasties-styled  rap-rocking  title  track.  The  EP  also  con- 
tains live  takes  of  ** Caught  in  a  Mosh"  and  "I  Am  the 
Law/'  plus  a  convincing  rendition  of  "Sabbath  Bloody 
Sabbath." 

By  1988,  however,  the  Mad  magazine-style  band 
portrait  on  State  of  Euphoria's  back  cover  wasn't  An- 
thrax's only  cartoonish  element.  Although  the  album 
went  gold  faster  than  any  of  its  predecessors  and 
showed  a  reasonable  amount  of  progression  (especially 
in  the  lyrics:  "Who  Cares  Wins"  is  a  hard-hitting  de- 
piction of  Manhattan's  homeless),  the  riffs  bounce 
around  on  pogo  sticks,  and  the  band  sounds  aware 
that,  stylistically,  they  were  moshing  themselves  into  a 
corner. 

Anthrax  took  some  time  off  before  returning  with 
the  bruising  Persistence  of  Time;  a  leaner,  tougher  band 
attacks  the  revitalized  songs  with  more  energy  than  any 
effort  since  Spreading  the  Disease.  The  self-parodic 
element  remains,  but  Anthrax  fights  it  with  a  roaring 
second  wind,  confronting  the  real  world  (family  abuse, 
racism)  with  music  as  tough  as  the  subject  matter.  And 
if  you  really  want  to  know  what  time  it  is  as  far  as  the 
post-punk  world  goes,  they  cover  Joe  Jackson's  "Got 
the  Time"  (from  his  first  album)  as  if  it  were  a  hard- 
rock  classic. 

Like  all  movements,  the  trash-metal  thing  was  done 
within  three  years,  leaving  five  (or  so)  first-class  bands 
and  hundreds  of  mediocre  ones.  Anthrax  is  unquestion- 
ably one  of  the  best,  adding  a  sense  of  fun  and  humor  to 
a  genre  that  far  too  often  tried  to  be  scary  and  succeeded 
only  in  being  ridiculous.  [i/ja] 


ANT1ETAM 

Antietam  f  Homestead)  1985 
Music  from  Elba  (Homestead}  1986 
Burgoo  (Triple  X)  1 990  • 
Everywhere  Outside  (Triple  X)  1991  ® 

Although  the  genealogical  successor  to  Louisville, 
Kentucky's  Babylon  Dance  Band,  Antietam — named  af- 
ter an  1 862  Civil  War  battle — actually  came  together  in 
New  York.  The  first  album  rushes  madly  through  art- 
lessly raucous  neo-pop;  guitarist  Tara  Key's  stndent 
voice  clashes  with  her  three  male  bandmates'  (every- 
body sings),  obliterating  intelligent  lyrics  and  poten- 
tially nice  melodies  in  the  fray.  Michael  Weinert's 
clumsy  time-keeping  never  locks  into  the  beat;  flashes 
of  mellifluous  invention  teasingly  suggest  what  Antie- 
tam might  accomplish  if  they  practiced. 

The  improvements  on  Musk  from  Elba  can  be 
traced  to  a  new  drummer,  more  coordinated  playing  and 
wisely  moderated  tempos.  Still,  the  discordant  dual  vo- 
cals by  Key  and  husband/bassist  Tim  Harris  (shades  of 
X)  and  their  dull  song  writing  limits  the  LP's  appeal  to 
those  immune  to  bad  singing.  Danna  Pentes  of  Fetchin 
Bones  guests  on  violin. 

With  production  by  Yo  La  Tengo's  Ira  Kaplan  and 
Georgia  Hubley,  Key  and  Harris  made  the  gently  grat- 
ing Burgoo  (pressed  on  clear  blue  vinyl  for  those  old- 
fashioned  enough  to  notice),  removing  any  lingering 
doubt  about  their  inclination  or  ability  to  progress.  The 
songs  hold  more  water  than  before  but,  after  all  this 
time,  Key  is  no  closer  to  singing  in  tune,  their  playing 
is  still  one-take  amateurish  and  Charles  Schultz's  un- 
steady drumming  is  as  helpful  to  the  songs  as  a  rusty 
threshing  machine.  If  10,000  Maniacs  had  younger  sib- 
lings, they  might  sound  like  Antietam.  [i] 

ANTi-NOWHERE  LEAGUE 

Anti-Nowhere  League  EP  (WXYZ)  1982 

We  Are  ...  the  League  (WXYZ)  1 982  (nr/ID)  1 984 

Live  in  Yugoslavia  (nr/ID)  1983 

Long  Live  the  League  (nr/ABC)  1 985  ® 

The  Perfect  Crime  (GWR-Profile)  1987 

Live  &  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1990 

Fuck  Around  the  Clock  EP  (nr/Link)  1 990 

At  first,  it  was  awfully  hard  to  take  this  cartoonish 
punk  quartet  from  Tunbridge  Wells  seriously.  The  song- 
writing  team  of  Animal  (Nick  Karmer)  and  Magoo 
penned  irate  diatribes  aimed  at  what  they  called  the 
"nowheres"  of  the  world:  straights,  nine-to-fives,  etc. 
Although  one  can't  doubt  them  when  they  spit  "I  Hate 
.  .  .  People, ' '  they  do  manage  to  inject  a  sense  of  humor 
on  the  first  album,  which  can  soften  even  the  most  po- 
tentially offensive  song,  such  as  the  ragingly  misogynist 
"Woman."  And  anyone  who  doubts  their  ingenuity 
should  listen  to  the  blazing  (but  surprisingly  appropri- 
ate) treatment  of  Ralph  McTell's  folkie  chestnut, 
"Streets  of  London. "  (That  number  also  appears  on  the 
prior  American  EP,  joined  by  two  other  tunes  from  the 
album  and  a  bonus  cut.) 

The  live  album  was  indeed  recorded  in  Tito-land 
(April  1983)  and  features  a  full  airing  of  the  band's 
repertoire,  including  "I  Hate  People,"  '* Woman," 
"We  Are  the  League,"  "Streets  of  London"  and  * 'Let's 
Break  the  Law."  The  Zagreb  audience  is  surprisingly 
enthusiastic  as  the  quartet  puts  on  a  no-holds-barred 


22 


rock  show,  captured  in  trebly  but  adequately  clear 
sound.  Long  Live  the  League  is  a  compilation,  con- 
taining outtakes  and  remixes. 

Four  years  on,  the  League  evidently  decided  to  try  a 
new  approach — or  ten.  Like  an  '80s  rock  jukebox  gone 
out  of  control,  tracks  on  The  Perfect  Crime  imitate  Big 
Country,  the  Stranglers,  Alarm,  Buzzcocks  and  others, 
with  surprisingly  good  results.  "(I  Don't  Believe)  This 
Is  My  England,"  which  actually  doesn't  sound  like  any- 
body, is  a  totichingly  anthemic  folk  ballad  that  couldn't 
be  further  from  dumb  punk.  Overall,  the  album  boasts 
reasonably  sturdy  melodies,  plus  intelligent  and 
positive-minded  political  lyrics — a  likable  new  chapter 
in  this  unlikely  saga. 

The  public,  used  to  a  far  less  respectable  League, 
didn't  take  to  the  LP,  and  the  group  split  up  in  1988. 
The  following  year,  however,  a  one-off  reunion  gig  in 
the  band's  hometown  was  recorded  and  released  as  Live 
&  Loud!!  The  three  Perfect  Crime  songs  get  first- 
album  treatment  (no  synthesizers),  and  the  album  rocks 
in  the  band's  old  style  from  start  to  finish.  Kicking  off 
with  the  classic  "For  You,"  the  League's  characteristic 
humor,  insouciance  and  gusto  are  in  full  effect,  partic- 
ularly on  a  version  of  Eddie  Cochran's  "Something 
Else"  copied  from  the  Sex  Pistols'  version,  "We  Are 
the  League"  and  "Streets  of  London."  A  worthy  finale, 
bidding  adieu  with  a  loud  belch  rather  than  a  whimper. 

[ks/i/jr] 

ANY  THREE  INITIALS 

See  Flipper. 

ANY  TROUBLE 

Where  Are  All  the  Nice  Girls?  (Stiff)  1 980 
Live  at  the  Venue  (nr/Stiff)  1 980  • 
Wheels  in  Motion  (Stiff)  1981 
Any  Trouble  (EMI  America)  1 983 
Wrong  End  of  the  Race  (EMI  America)  1 984 

Stiff  Records  had  great  commercial  hopes  for  this 
Manchester  quartet,  led  by  balding,  bespectacled  singer/ 
guitarist/pianist  Clive  Gregson,  whose  songs — mostly 
about  the  unhappy  side  of  love — have  always  shown 
real  talent.  It  unfortunately  took  the  group  a  long  time  to 
escape  their  basic  facelessness  and  locate  a  sound,  a 
slow  start  that  may  be  why  Any  Trouble  ended  without 
ever  receiving  the  acclaim  they  deserved. 

The  first  LP  suffers  from  (reasonable)  comparisons 
to  early  Elvis  Costello,  and  shows  Any  Trouble  to  be  a 
pub  band  five  years  after  the  end  of  that  era,  playing 
competent,  melodic  rock  with  no  special  character.  Only 
"The  Hurt"  and  the  stunningly  derivative  "Second 
Choice"  (a  retread  of  "Less  than  Zero")  leave  any 
lasting  impression  beyond  overall  nice-guy  swellness. 

Live  at  the  Venue,  recorded  onstage  in  London  in 
May  '80,  includes  performances  of  both  aforementioned 
songs  (and  five  more  from  the  first  album),  plus  a  ren- 
dition of  Springsteen's  "Growing  Up"  (shades  of  Greg 
Kihn).  The  band  shows  a  helpful  increase  in  spunk  and 
velocity,  but  still  falls  short  of  being  exciting.  (Although 
Live  at  the  Venue  never  came  out  in  America  as  such, 
six  selections  were  issued  as  the  promo-only  Live  and 
Alive  12-inch.) 

Wheels  in  Motion,  produced  by  Mike  Hewlett  (lat- 
er a  hitmaker  for  A  Flock  of  Seagulls),  evinces  further 


improvement,  adding  impressive  intricacy  and  dynam- 
ics to  the  arrangements.  Gregson "s  growing  confidence 
as  a  singer  helps  put  across  Ms  pessimistic  (but  not 
cynical)  lyrics  on  songs  like  "Trouble  with  Love,'" 
"Another  Heartache"  and  the  outstanding  "Walking  in 
Chans."  Wheels  in  Motion  still  isn't  a  record  to  make 
you  stop  in  your  tracks,  but  an  extremely  likable  col- 
lection of  intelligently  written  rock  songs  performed 
ably  and  without  pretense. 

Any  Trouble,  by  a  half-new  lineup,  is  the  band's 
first  great  album,  a  wonderful  new  blend  of  sou!  and  pop 
strengthened  by  Gregson' s  sharpening  melodic  sense 
and  lightening  lyrical  outlook.  "Please  Don't  Stop," 
"Man  of  the  Moment,'*  "Northern  Soul"  and  other 
tracks  resemble  a  non-obnoxious  Hall  and  Gates  crossed 
with  Costello  and  recorded  in  Motown;  production  by 
David  Kershenbaum  provides  the  sonic  variety  and  so- 
phistication previously  lacking.  Gregson's  development 
into  a  powerful,  sensitive  singer  is  merely  the  icing  on 
the  cake. 

The  group  inexplicably  re-recorded  three  early 
(and  not  timeless)  songs  for  Wrong  End  of  the  Race, 
adding  a  rousing  cover  of  the  Foundations*  "Baby 
Now  That  I've  Found  You,"  and  a  bunch  of  new 
Gregson  compositions.  (The  US  edition  deletes 
"Lucky  Day"  and  "Yesterday's  Love,"  a  reprise  of 
the  group's  first  single,  to  make  way  for  three  tracks 
not  on  the  UK  version. )  Featuring  an  illustrious  cast  of 
guests  (Richard  Thompson,  Billy  Bremner,  Geoff 
Muldaur),  the  LP  is  less  stylized  than  its  remarkable 
predecessor,  but  bristles  with  renewed  vigor  and  rich 
horn-and-vocal-filled  arrangements.  Without  fanfare, 
that  was  the  end  of  Any  Trouble.  Gregson  carried  on, 
making  a  solo  album,  working  closely  with  Richard 
Thompson  and  forming  a  remarkably  fruitful  partner- 
ship with  Christine  Collister.  [i] 

See  also  Clive  Gregson. 

APACHE  DANCERS 

War  Stories  (Happy  Hermit-IRS)  1990  • 

Bernadette  Colomine  has  one  of  those  ooh-la-la 
French  accents  that  can  make  grown  men  blush;  guitar- 
ist Tom  Durbin  sings  in  the  lonesome  voice  of  someone 
who  wishes  he  were  raised  on  a  strict  diet  of  Hank 
Williams.  That  wild  cultural  contrast  is  what  makes  this 
LA-based  cowboy-rock  quartet  (which  includes  Rank 
and  File's  old  drummer)  so  uncommon  and,  in  one  spot, 
uncommonly  good:  "You're  the  Reason,"  the  non- 
original  duet  which  opens  War  Stories,  is  a  left-field 
country-rock  grabber.  Unfortunately,  most  of  the  album 
(haphazardly  co-produced  by  Earle  Mankey)  is  an 
either/or  proposition,  offering  Colomine' s  unsteady 
pitch  (in  English  and  French)  without  Durbin' s  rugged 
resonance  (his  melodic  skills  are  only  a  little  better)  or 
vice  versa.  Additionally  impaired  by  Durbin' s  terrible 
guitar  playing  and  dumb-ass  lyrics,  Apache  Dancers  can 
be  as  incomprehensible  and  off-putting  as  their  name- 
sakes, [i] 

APB 

Something  to  Believe  In  (Link)  1985  • 
Cure  for  the  Blues  (Link)  1 986 
Missing  You  Already  EP  (Link)  1986 


23 


A  popular  member  of  Scotland's  neo-fank  move- 
ment, this  Aberdeen  group  found  a  friend  in  American 
college  radio,  where  the  quintet's  pressurized  dance- 
rock  was  very  well-received.  The  ten  1981-'85  singles 
compiled  on  Something  to  Believe  In  are  either  effec- 
tively claustrophobic  and  offbeat  ( *' Shoot  You  Down" ) 
or  trite  and  obnoxious  (* 'Rainy  Day").  The  CD  has 
bonus  tracks. 

Cure  for  the  Blues  is  a  fine  album  of  new  tunes,  not 
a!!  of  which  follow  the  band's  basic  pattern — "Part  of 
the  Deal"  is  light  pop  that  resembles  Aztec  Camera. 
Iain  Slater's  intense  bass  playing  and  mildly  adenoidal 
(if  pleasantly  accented)  vocals  drive  the  songs,  leaving 
the  rest  of  the  band  in  a  subsidiary  role. 

Slater  switched  instruments  with  guitarist  Glenn 
Roberts  in  time  for  the  four-track  Missing  You  Already 
12-inch „  nicely  evening  out  the  sound  and  providing 
more  variety  in  the  stylistic  mix.  While  half  the  tunes 
are  pretty  routine,  "Best  of  Our  Love"  uses  piano  and 
strong  rhythm  guitar  to  propel  the  beat  into  a  soulful 
shake.  [i] 


A  HISTORY  OF 

A  Popular  History  of  Signs  EP  {Wax  Trax!)  1 984 

Comrades  (nr/Jungle)  1 985 

Taste  fnr/Jungle)  1987 

England  in  the  Rain  EP  (nr/Jungie)  1988 

Led  by  singer/bassist/keyboardist  Andrew  Jarman 
(vocally  something  of  a  David  Byrne  student),  this  Lon- 
don quartet  drifts  between  arty  synth-dance  and  lightly 
played  mood  music.  Using  dinky  electronic  percussion 
rather  than  a  drummer  in  the  early  days,  the  enigmatic 
group's  records  alternately  wax  chilly,  funky,  humor- 
less and  clever. 

Save  for  a  few  exceptions  on  Side  Two,  the  poorly 
structured  songs  on  Comrades  typically  work  one 
groove  for  several  minutes  and  then  fade  out  with  the 
vocals  still  going.  Despite  the  nicely  spare  arrange- 
ments, provocative  subject  matter  ("Lenin,"  for  in- 
stance), crystalline  production  and  flawless  playing,  this 
is  a  mighty  boring  way  to  spend  an  afternoon. 

Ministry's  Al  Jourgensen  remixed  "Ladder  Jack" 
and  "House"  for  the  eponymous  American  12-inch,  a 
four-song  sampling  of  the  band's  pre-Comrades  45s. 
Both  of  those  remixes  also  appear  on  Taste,  a  1980-' 87 
singles  compilation  that  presents  an  absurdly  bloodless 
trashing  of  Lou  Reed's  *  'Rock  &  Roll' '  and  adds  two  pre- 
viously unreleased  items,  including  an  awfully  strange 
cover  of  John  Fogerty's  "Run  Through  the  Jungle/' 

Fielding  a  solid  five-man  lineup,  APHOS  comes  out 
of  the  woods  on  the  obviously  commercial  England  in 
the  Rain.  Unlike  its  previous  unpredictable  self- 
indulgences,  the  band  now  reveals  a  clear-cut  focus:  the 
half-dozen  peppy  songs  are  all  standard  stylish  modern 
dance  rock  that  compares  favorably  to  Wang  Chung  and 
that  whole  post-Ultravox  ilk.  If  Jarman  weren't  such  a 
duff  singer,  these  attractively  produced  tracks  might  be 
really  appealing.  [i] 

AQUANETTAS 

Love  with  the  Perfect  Stranger  (Nettwerk-IRS)  1 990  « 

A  cross  between  Josie  and  the  Pussycats  and  the 
Replacements,  this  all-female  New  York  outfit's  debut 


album  (named  after  a  Natalie  Wood  movie)  offers  a 
better  peek  into  girlworld  than  a  hundred  issues  of 
Vogue.  "Faults"  teaches  a  lesson  in  how  to  blow  off  a 
bad  date;  "15  Men"  iterates  a  hilarious  catalogue  of 
conquests.  With  guitarist  Jill  Richmond  tossing  off  some 
mean  leads,  the  music  is  a  slightly  glossed-up  version  of 
garage  rock,  with  hints  of  surf.  Although  the  album 
turns  predictable  by  the  middle  of  Side  Two,  laconic 
putdowns  like  "Larry  and  Pete  are  just  typical  guys/ 
Blasting  their  music  and  watching  the  thighs"  make 
Love  a  rewarding  affair.  [kss] 

ARABIAN  PRINCE 

SeeAT.lV.A. 

ARCADIA 

See  Duran  Duran, 

Sixty  Nine  (Rough  Trade)  1 988  • 
"i"  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 989  • 
rem'i'xes  EP  {nr/Rough  Trade)  1990  • 

Rising  to  prominence  in  1987  as  Colourbox's  col- 
laborators on  M/A/R/R/S's  surprise  club  hit  "Pump  Up 
the  Volume,"  Britain's  A  R  Kane — Alex  and  Rudi — 
have  lived  up  to  their  apt  name,  which  is  not  just  a  cute 
pun  but  an  accurate  summation  of  everything  about  the 
enigmatic  duo.  The  only  musical  influence  they  cop  to  is 
Miles  Davis,  but  you  can  be  sure  they're  not  referring  to 
any  of  his  famous  quintets:  A  R  Kane  harks  back  to  the 
deep  atmospherics  and  funk  noise  of  Davis'  mid-to-late- 
'70s  work.  Co-produced  with  Ray  Shulman,  Sixty  Nine 
is,  as  one  might  surmise,  mostly  concerned  with  sensu- 
ality, but  an  enervated  sensuality — the  grooves  here  are 
submerged,  the  singing  like  some  strange  male  siren 
calling  from  a  cave.  The  sense  of  desperate  menace 
hidden  amid  calm  recalls  another  singular  work,  Robert 
Wyatt's  Rock  Bottom. 

Mixing  sixteen  proper  songs  with  ten  sound  snip- 
pets, "i"  runs  a  wider  gamut  of  song  genres  than  the 
debut.  While  "Love  from  Outer  Space"  seems  like  a 
conventional  techno-dance  number,  "Crack  Up"  offers 
some  amusing  off-kilter  piano  and  "Snow  Joke"  serves 
up  Philly  soul  strings.  Deeper  into  the  record,  though, 
the  music  turns  harsher,  then  downright  hostile,  al- 
though the  vocals  remain  implacable  and  drained  of  per- 
sonality. 

Five  "i"  songs  appear  in  new  versions  ( "Crack  Up" 
gets  two  makeovers)  on  rem*i'xes,  an  EP  which  further 
demonstrates  the  band's  enjoyable  willfulness:  remixes 
are  generally  intended  to  pep  up  the  originals  for  better 
dance-floor  consumption,  but  most  of  the  songs  are  more 
restive  here  than  they  were  on  "i".  (Robin  Guthrie  of 
the  Cocteau  Twins  did  half  the  honors;  the  band  did  the 
rest  themselves.)  Unfortunately,  a  few  numbers  sound 
more  weak-kneed  than  stripped-down,  and  their  removal 
from  the  album's  context  doesn't  help.  [gk] 

JOAN 

Whatever^  for  Us  (nr/Cube)  1 972  (A&M)  1 973  • 
Back  to  the  Night  (A&M)  1975  « 
Joan  Armatrading  (A&M)  1 976  • 


24 


Show  Some  Emotion  f  A&MJ  1 977  • 

To  the  limit  f  A&MJ  1978® 

Steppin'  Out  {A&M)  1979 

How  Cruel  EP  f  A&M)  1979 

Me  Myself  I  f A&MJ  1980® 

Walk  Under  Laddere  fA&M)  1 981  • 

The  Key  (A&M)  1983© 

Track  Record  {A&M}  1983  • 

Secret  Secrets  {A&M}  1 985  • 

Sleight  of  Hand  fA&M)  1986  • 

The  Shouting  Stage  {A&M)  1 988  • 

Compact  Hits  EP  [GDI  fnr/A&M)  1988  © 

Hearts  and  Flowers  fA&M}  1990  • 

The  Very  Best  of  Joan  Armatradsng  (nr/A&M)  1 991  • 

For  two  decades,  singer/guitarist/songwriter  Joan 
Armatradiiig — bom  in  the  West  Indies  and  raised  in 
Birmingham,  England — has  been  making  records  of 
warm,  emotionally  resonant  music  that  has  earned  her  a 
devoted  following  on  at  least  two  continents.  Despite 
brushes  with  chart  stardom,  Armatrading  remains  an 
independent-minded  cult  star  whose  remarkable  and  in- 
dividual voice,  regardless  of  her  albums*  assorted  set- 
tings, never  wavers.  In  recent  years,  newcomers  like 
Suzanne  Vega  (the  two  share  a  label)  and  Tracy  Chap- 
man (the  two  seemingly  share  one  voice)  have  found 
success  holding  to  much  the  same  folk-based  traditions 
as  Armatrading,  underlining  her  achievements  by  fol- 
lowing in  their  path. 

Whatever's  for  Us,  produced  between  Elton  John  al- 
bums by  Gus  Dudgeon,  was  a  collaborative  effort  with 
lyricist  Pam  Nestor;  on  her  own,  with  Dada/ Vinegar  Joe 
member  Pete  Gage  at  the  helm,  Back  to  the  Night 
proved  equally  uncommercial.  She  then  teamed  up  with 
Glyn  Johns,  who  brought  in  ex-members  of  Fairport 
Convention  as  backing  musicians  for  Joan  Armatrad- 
ing,  an  extraordinarily  thoughtful  and  moving  album  that 
contains  "Down  to  Zero"  and  "Love  and  Affection," 
two  of  her  most  enduring  and  powerful  compositions. 

The  intimate,  upbeat  Show  Some  Emotion  is  warm 
and  lovely,  an  unaffected,  casual-sounding  album  of 
songs  that,  if  not  among  her  best,  are  more  than  pre- 
sentable and  occasionally  captivating.  Continuing  with 
Johns,  Armatrading  made  the  harder-rocking  To  the 
Limit,  a  slightly  dated-sounding  collection  of  strong 
songs  (which  includes  the  notable  "Bottom  to  the  Top," 
set  to  a  gentle  reggae  beat)  played  by  a  small  electric 
band  that,  at  its  most  exuberant,  resembles  a  modest 
Mad  Dogs  and  Englishmen.  Johns  also  produced  Step- 
pin*  Out,  a  live  document  drawn  from  American  per- 
formances: backed  by  a  five-piece  band,  Armatrading 
delivers  nine  songs,  including  "Love  and  Affection" 
and  "Cool  Blue  Stole  My  Heart."  How  Cruel  is  a 
four-song  12-inch  containing  some  non-LP  material. 

Me  Myself  I  was  produced  by  Richard  Gottehrer 
and  performed  by  a  stellar  cast  of  Anglo-American  rock 
musicians  (including  Chris  Spedding,  Clarence  dem- 
ons, Danny  Federici  and  three  members  of  David  Let- 
terman's  band).  Even  in  this  all-electric  setting, 
Armatrading  and  her  songs  hold  up  nicely.  "Me  Myself 
I"  is  brilliant,  a  chillingly  beautiful  declaration  of  in- 
dependence with  a  memorable  pop  melody;  the  rest  of 
the  record  explores  the  vagaries  of  love  and  percolates 
with  energy,  grace  and  sensitivity. 

Steve  Lillywhite  took  the  production  reins  for  Walk 
Under  Ladders,  engaging  a  fascinating  selection  of 


players — XTCs  Andy  Partridge,  King  Crim&omtes 
Tony  Levin  and  Mel  Collins,  Sly  and  Robbie  and 
Thomas  Dolby.  Although  the  snlized  results  short- 
change Joan's  personality  a  bit,  successful  numbers  like 
"I  Wanna  Hold  You"  and  "At  the  Hop"'  affirm  her 
courageous  desire  to  explore  uncharted  areas. 

The  Key  is  a  slick  package  that  employs  many  of 
the  same  players  as  Walk  Under  Ladders  to  recapture 
the  potent  melodic  pop  elements  of  Me  Myself  I.  "(I 
Love  It  When  You !  Call  Me  Names' '  is  a  should-have- 
been-a-hit  single  with  spectacular  multi-tracked  harmo- 
nies and  a  hair-raising  Adrian  Belew  guitar  solo.  "The 
Game  of  Love"  has  an  Edge-like  echoed  guitar  sound 
and  a  memorable  chorus.  Motels  starmaker  Val  Garay 
produced  the  bristling  "Drop  the  Pilot"  (Lillywhite  did 
all  but  one  other  track)  with  loud  power  chords  and  a 
stomping  backbeat;  although  spoiled  by  ill-advised 
synths,  "I  Love  My  Baby"  ends  the  record  with  a  ten- 
der lullaby. 

Track  Record  basically  compiles  Armatrading' s 
most  popular  songs  from  six  of  her  prior  albums,  but 
also  includes  a  pair  of  otherwise  non-LP  items  ("Frus- 
tration" and  "Heaven")  and  a  track  from  How  Cruel 

Secret  Secrets  is  Armatrading's  admission  of  pain 
and  suffering.  In  "Persona  Grata"  she  announces,  "I'm 
your  whipping  boy,"  adding  "I'm  in  love  with  you"  in 
a  resigned,  grim  tone.  "Love  by  You"  and  "Friends 
Not  Lovers"  mourn  the  end  of  a  relationship  with  tragic 
depth.  In  "Strange,"  she  realizes  "I  am  not  missing 
you";  other  songs  ("Moves,"  "One  Night")  allow 
more  hope  to  shine  through  the  tears.  Pino  Palladino's 
inimitable  iretless  bass  provides  the  most  notable  instru- 
mental character;  other  than  on  "Moves,"  the  sophis- 
ticated modem  backing  is  rather  faceless. 

Armatrading  produced  Sleight  of  Hand,  using  just  a 
drummer,  bassist  and  keyboardist  (with  a  few  minor 
guest  contributions).  She  acquits  herself  well,  both  on 
guitar  and  behind  the  board,  with  songs  that  suggest 
more  personal  happiness  and  stability  than  Secret  Se- 
crets. Without  falling  into  any  easily  identifiable  musi- 
cal department,  Sleight  of  Hand  has  only  fascinating 
sounds,  able  songwriting  and  the  peerless  performing 
talents  of  Ms.  Armatrading  to  recommend  it.  Not  bad. 

Served  up  on  a  sensuous  plate  dominated  by  horns, 
Palladino's  bass  and  flashy  guitar  work  by  Phil  Palmer 
and  Mark  Knopfler,  The  Shouting  Stage — another  self- 
production,  this  time  in  a  smooth  and  jazzy  adult  con- 
temporary vein — explores  romance  from  both  ends  of  the 
emotional  spectrum.  The  rapture  of  "Did  I  Make  You 
Up"  and  "Watch  Your  Step"  quickly  gives  way  to 
"Words"  and  culminates  in  "The  Shouting  Stage."  Al- 
though decent  and  tasteful,  this  anxious-sounding  effort 
is  not  among  Armatrading' s  most  musically  compelling. 

The  Compact  Hits  EP  features  a  non-representative 
quartet  of  tracks  ("Love  and  Affection,"  "Willow," 
etc.),  none  of  which  were  actually  big  hits. 

Armatrading  selected  another  one  of  England's  most 
expressive  bassists,  Mick  Kara,  to  play  on  Hearts  and 
Flowers,  a  handsomely  slick  and  modern  realization  of 
her  traditional  artistic  values.  After  announcing  that 
there's  "More  Than  One  Kind  of  Love"  and  overtly 
expressing  her  spiritual  awakening  in  "Promise  Land," 
Armatrading  uses  intentionally  ambiguous  lyrics  to  con- 
vey deep  adoration  that  could  just  as  easily  be  for  a 
person  as  for  a  deity.  [i] 


25 


ARMOURY  SHOW 

See  Richard  J&bsm. 

ARSENAL 

See  Big  Black. 

ART  &  LANGUAGE 

See  Red  Crayola 

ART  BEARS 

See  Henry  Cow, 

ARTICLES  OF  FAITH 

Give  Thanks  (Reflex)  1 984 

In  This  life  f Can.  Lone  Wolf)  1 987 

VIC 

The  Ghost  Dance  (Wishing  Well)  1988 

Words  and  Days  (Hawker}  1989  * 

Articles  of  Faith  gave  singer/guitarist  Vic  Bondi — a 
Chicago  punk  luminary  and  an  articulate  thinker  more 
than  willing  to  speak  his  mind — a  podiom  from  which  to 
spout  Ms  vision,  and  spout  he  does  on  the  Bob  Mould- 
produced  (and  released)  Give  Thanks.  The  quintet 
wastes  no  time  in  cutting  to  the  core  of  its  anger;  each 
song  is  masterfully  crafted,  from  the  pounding  and 
ironic  "Give  Thanks,'*  the  finger-pointing  "In  Your 
Suit/'  and  the  embittered  "American  Dreams"  to  the 
tragically  tender  "Everyman  for  Himself/*  Though 
AOF  played  hardcore,  the  songs  are  fully  developed, 
and  occasionally  run  well  over  the  genre's  usual  time 
limits,  AOF  consistently  demonstrates  superior  talent, 
exploring  various  branches  from  the  punk  mainstream 
without  stepping  across  the  line  to  either  pop  or  heavy 
metal. 

Mould  produced  AOF's  second  LP  in  1985,  but  it 
wasn't  released  until  early  '87;  parts  of  it  sound  a  lot 
like  contemporaneous  Soul  Asylum.  Some  songs  scale 
back  the  percussion;  an  acoustic  guitar  is  added  to 
strengthen  songs  like  "Nowhere";  the  vocals  are  Imag- 
inatively layered  on  all  thirteen  tracks.  Highbrow  hard- 
core? 

After  AOF's  demise,  Bondi — by  then  a  University 
of  Massachusetts  history  instructor — returned  with  a 
surprising,  dry-as-dust  solo  album.  Strumming  an 
acoustic  guitar  (with  overdubbed  electric  accents  on  a 
few  songs)  and  singing  in  a  hoarse,  unmusical  voice,  he 
fills  The  Ghost  Dance  with  plaintive,  obliquely  poetic 
songs  about  relationships,  in  settings  like  "Montana," 
"Cambridge"  and  "Abilene  Sunset."  Proceeding  from 
the  album  title  (a  carefully  explained  reference  to  a  Na- 
tive American  religious  movement  of  the  late  1800s), 
"Mister  Noon"  is  a  striking  piece  of  evocative  prose 
that  doesn't  work  as  a  song. 

Joining  up  with  a  powerful  rhythm  section,  Bondi 
formed  Jones  Very  (named  after  a  19th-century  Unitar- 
ian minister)  and  cut  the  impressive  but  uneven  Words 
and  Days,  a  loudly  textured  rock  album  with  intelli- 
gently sophisticated  lyrics.  Bondi  occasionally  un- 
leashes a  frightening  guttural  shriek,  making  several 
songs  unlistenably  harsh.  But  when  he  and  bassist  Jeff 
Goddard  jam  (as  on  "Cut")  or  harmonize  on  tuneful 


material  (like  the  excellent  title  track),  Jones  Ver>  turns 
into  an  exciting,  invigorating  proposition,  a  taut  bundle 
of  hyped-up  melodic  rock  that  packs  a  serious  headkick. 

[icm/i] 

ART  OF 

into  Battle  with  the  Art  of  Noise  EP  (ZFT-Island)  1 983 
(Who's  Afraid  Of?)  The  Art  of  Noise!  (ZTT-island)  ]  984  ® 
In  Visible  Silence  (China-Chrysalis)  1986 

fChtna-PafyGram)  1989  • 
Re-works  of  Art  of  Noise  f  China-Chrysalis)  1 986  © 
In  No  Sense?  Nonsense!  (China-Chrysalis)  1 987 

(Chsna-PofyGram)  1989  • 

The  Best  of  the  Art  of  Noise  (China-Polydor)  1988  • 
Below  the  Waste  (China-Polydor)  1 989  ® 
The  Ambient  Collection  (China-Polydor)  1 990  <f> 

Originally  a  pop  producer's  idea  of  nouveau  hip-hop 
instramentals,  the  Art  of  Noise — a  brilliant  post-rock 
meld  of  studio/tape  wizardry,  floor-shaking  dance  per- 
cussion and  adventurous  audio  experimentation — has 
turned  into  a  hardy,  self-sufficient  organization  with  a 
distinctive  creative  outlook.  The  group  began  as  a  semi- 
anonymous  studio  band  directed  by  Trevor  Horn,  who 
issued  the  records  as  an  art  statement  on  his  Zang  Tuum 
Tumb  label.  Into  Battle  has  the  aptly  named  ''Beat 
Box,"  with  choral  vocals  and  crazy  effects  (including, 
repeatedly,  a  car  starting)  punctuating  typically  boom- 
ing electronic  drams.  But  it  also  has  far  lighter  essays. 
"The  Army  Now,"  with  cut-up  Andrews  Sisters-style 
vocals,  and  "Moments  in  Love,"  an  obsequious,  lush 
backing  track  (for  Barry  White,  perhaps?)  that  goes 
nowhere  for  an  unconscionably  long  time.  Produced  to 
some  incomprehensible  blueprint,  bits  from  one  track 
often  turn  up  in  the  midst  of  another. 

The  full-length  Who's  Afraid  Of?  album  contains 
some  of  the  same  cuts,  but  most  notably  adds  the  bril- 
liant "Close  (to  the  Edit)/*  a  funous  and  unforgettable 
march  of  highly  organized  rhythm,  effects  and  jagged 
musical/vocal  ejaculations.  Elsewhere,  spoken- word 
collages  mingle  with  the  disjointed  assemblages  to  cre- 
ate newsreei-inflected  dance  music  of  enormous  vitality 
and  originality.  Remarkable  and  significant,  with  an 
electronic  language  all  its  own. 

Proving  their  autonomy,  the  heart  of  Art  of  Noise — 
Anne  Dudley,  J.J.  Jeczalik  and  producer  Gary 
Langan — split  from  Horn  and  ZTT  in  1985.  Forming 
the  China  label,  the  group  issued  the  "Legs"  single, 
revealing  a  desire  to  invade  the  pop  market  by  locating 
a  functional  compromise  with  it.  A  full  new  album,  In 
Visible  Silence,  followed  several  months  later.  Al- 
though no  individual  track  is  as  gripping  as  "Close  (to 
the  Edit),"  a  semi-straight  version  of  "Peter  Gunn," 
with  twang  legend  Duane  Eddy  playing  the  unforgetta- 
ble guitar  line,  became  a  substantial  international  hit; 
the  rest  is  typically  intriguing,  aggravating  and  enter- 
taining. 

A  long  12-inch  mix  of  "Peter  Gunn,"  joined  by  two 
other  previously  issued  45s — "Legacy"  (a  drastic  vari- 
ation on  "Legs")  and  "Paranoimia,"  recorded  with  the 
voice  of  Max  Headroom  breaking  the  usual  vocal 
silence — comprise  one  side  of  Re-works.  The  rest  of 
the  long  mini-album  documents  Art  of  Noise  onstage  in 
London,  playing  "Legs,"  "Paranoimia"  and  the  ten- 
minute  "Hammersmith  to  Tokyo  and  Back."  The  con- 


26 


cert  format  has  its  obvious  hazards  for  a  painstaking 
group  which  is  so  reliant  on  the  studio,  but  the  results 
are  more  unsatisfying  than  disappointing.  In  any  case, 
the  ability  to  put  this  stuff  over  in  front  of  an  audience 
is  noteworthy. 

Shelving  their  pop  ambitions,  Art  of  Noise  outfoxed 
themselves  on  In  No  Sense?  Nonsense!,  an  overreach- 
ing undertaking  that  incorporates  an  orchestra,  choir, 
horn  section  and  guest  rock  musicians  The  flaccid 
tracks  are  short  on  rhythmic  power  and  wander  at!  over 
the  stylistic  map  with  little  logic  or  focus.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  this  indeed  makes  no  sense.  The  handful  of  num- 
bers which  indifferently  plunder  past  adventures  man- 
age to  be  dull  even  when  they  resemble  things  that  were 
exciting.  Sonic  quality  is  shortchanged  by  the  technical 
considerations  of  recording  so  many  musicians:  aban- 
doning modem  high-tech  claustrophobia  for  the  inap- 
propriately warm,  open  ambience  of  a  cathedral  ranks  as 
a  gross  creative  mistake. 

The  Best  of  the  Art  of  Noise  is  a  fine  compilation, 
covering  all  of  the  band's  high  points — alone  ("Beat 
Box,"  "Close  (to  the  Edit),"  "Legacy,"  "Dragnet 
'88")  and  in  collaboration  with  Max  Headroom,  Duane 
Eddy  (a  different  mix  than  appears  on  Me- works)  and 
Tom  Jones  (an  endless  rendition  of  Prince's  "Kiss"  of 
more  conceptual  than  musical  merit).  Although  some  of 
the  tracks  run  on  way  too  long,  this  colorful  resume 
offers  a  fine  summary  of  the  band's  unique  experimen- 
tation. (The  vinyl  edition  contains  7-inch  mixes;  the  CD 
and  cassette  contain  12-inch  versions.) 

Below  the  Waste  dabbles  with  world  music  (using 
South  African  vocal  group  Mahlathini  and  the  Mahotella 
Queens  on  several  songs)  and  a  Western  orchestra,  but 
the  material  simply  doesn't  meet  the  challenge  and  suc- 
cumbs to  frequent  film-score  dullness.  Beyond  one  en- 
ergetically rhythmic  hybrid  ("Chain  Gang"),  this  weak 
album  shortchanges  Ait  of  Noise's  audio  personality  and 
fails  to  supplant  it  with  anything  equally  potent. 

Already  covered  by  a  half-remixes  album  and  a 
greatest  hits  collection,  Art  of  Noise  undertook  a  more 
radical  recycling  program  on  The  Ambient  Collection, 
opening  their  tape  library  to  producer  Youth  (ex-Killing 
Joke/Brilliant)  who,  to  paraphrase  the  liner  notes, 
"compiled,  defiled  and  remixed"  a  selection  of  the 
band's  gentlest  efforts  (mostly  from  In  No  Sense?  Non- 
sense! and  In  Visible  Silence)  into  an  album  of  new  age 
wallpaper.  The  process  involves  editing  tracks,  either  to 
brief  snippets  or  lengthy  loops,  and  adding  real-world 
sounds  (the  word  atmospheric  has  literal  significance 
here)  and  other  ephemera.  [i] 

A'S 

The  A's  (Arista)  1979 

A  Woman's  Got  the  Power  (Arista)  1 981 

Four  Dances  EP  (Straight  A's)  1 982 

One  of  the  first  bands  on  Philadelphia's  new  wave 
club  scene  to  sign  with  a  major  label,  the  A's  made  their 
reputation  through  an  energetic  stage  show  which  fea- 
tured singer  Richard  Bush's  Jerry  Lewis-like  antics.  On 
the  group's  first  album,  Bush  shows  an  equal  aptitude 
for  playing  the  comedian  ("Teenage  Jerk  Off,"  an  af- 
fectionately tongue-in-cheek  nod  to  punk)  and  the 
straight  man  (the  outstanding  "After  Last  Night").  If 
anything,  The  A's  resembles  the  Boomtown  Rats' 


Tonic  for  the  Troops  in  the  way  it  combines  wit,  street 
savvy  and  re!ati\eiy  intricate  hard-pop  arrangements. 
On  A  Woman's  Got  the  Power,  the  group's 

and  material  changed  drastically,  and  not  for  the  better: 

The  album  is  an  exercise  in  misplaced  bombast.  Bush's 
occasional  excesses  are  charming  on  the  first  outing,  bat 
here  he  consistently  o\er-emotes,  imbuing  the  songs 
with  angst  they  don't  really  merit.  While  the  big  sound 
works  well  enough  for  the  first  couple  of  tracks  (the 
soulful  title  tone  and  the  pretty  "Electricity"  I,  the  blus- 
ter then  begins  to  grate;  there  isn't  another  listenable  cut 
on  the  album. 

Back  on  their  own,  the  A's  pulled  in  their  horns  with 
a  12-inch  of  four  modestly  presented  rock  songs.  On  the 
plus  side,  the  likable  "Do  the  Dance"  sounds  like  a 
techno-pop  club  tune  without  the  electronics,  while 
"Girl  That  I  Love"  is  cnsp  skinny  tie  Beatle-pop.  But 
when  "Ain't  No  Secret"  devolves  into  a  blithering  jam 
of  arena  guitars  and  synthesizer  riffing,  it's  time  for  the 
B's.  [ds/i] 

See  Love  and  Rockets. 


A 

Ballistic  Statues  (Bel  AntSer)  1 987  • 

A  Split-Second  EP  (Wax  Traxll  1988  • 

. . .  From  the  Inside  (Wax  Traxl)  1 988  • 

Another  Violent  Breed  EP  (Bel.  Antler)  1989  • 

Rrewalker  EP  (Caroline)  1990  • 

Kiss  of  Fury  (Antler-Subway-CaroSIne)  1990  ® 

The  Belgian  duo  of  Mark  Ickx  (ex-Extraballe)  and 
Chrismar  Chayell  first  emerged  in  1986  with  an  imagi- 
natively upbeat  instrumental  dance  track,  "Flesh,"  De- 
spite the  promise  of  a  bright  future  in  that  vein,  A  Split- 
Second  wanted  desperately  to  be  perceived  as  a  band, 
and  on  their  next  record  ("Rigor  Mortis")  introduced 
deep,  morbid  vocals  to  prove  the  point.  By  the  time 
Wax  Trax!  in  America  compiled  these  initial  efforts  into 
a  six-track  EP,  A  Split-Second  had  already  issued  an 
album  (Ballistic  Statues)  that  indicated  a  determination 
to  match  body  music  with  song  structure. 

Ickx  and  Chayell  have  gradually  honed  a  studio 
sound  built  upon  electronic  drums,  fleshed  out  with 
prominent  synthesizer  melodies,  caustic  guitars  and  vo- 
cals alternating  unevenly  between  the  bass-heavy  growls 
favored  by  many  Euro  rockers  and  conventional  pop 
choruses.  Still  capable  of  enticing  grooves  when  the 
mood  is  right,  the  best  moments  on  From  the  Inside  are 
its  dance  singles — "Scandinavian  Bellydance"  (also  in- 
cluded on  A  Split-Second)  and  "The  Colosseum 
Crash' ' — although  the  torchy '  'Last  Wave' '  and  the  gen- 
tle title  track  indicate  some  songwriting  ability. 

Following  a  live  EP  (Another  Violent  Breed),  Kiss 
of  Fury  shows  AS-S  pushing  towards  conventionality; 
the  opening  "Backlash"  is  its  most  commercial  offering 
to  date.  A  fascination  with  the  darker  side  is  maintained, 
however,  in  the  moody  vocals,  visual  imagery  and  a 
continuing  obsession  with  erotica  ("Crash  Course  in 
Seduction").  Awkwardly  juggling  gothic  rock,  indus- 
trial and  pop-dance,  A  Split-Second  doesn't  quite  excel 
in  any  of  those  arenas.  [tf] 

See  also  Extraballe. 


27 


ASSOCIATES 

The  Affectionate  Punch  (nr/FicHon)  1980  +  1982 

Fourth  Drawer  Down  (nr/SHuafion  Two)  1981 

fnr/Beggars  Banquet)  1982 
Sulk  (Sire)  1 982  • 
PcA-ops  fnr/Assoclates-WEA)  1985 
Take  Me  to  the  Girl  EP  (nr/AssocIates-WEA)  1 985 
Heart  of  Glass  EP  (nr/WEA)  1 989  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  f  nr/5tronge  Fruit)  1 989  • 
Wild  and  Lonely  (Grca-Chansma)  1990  * 
Popera:  The  Singles  Collection  (Sire-Warner  Bros.) 

19904) 

The  Day  the  World  Became  Her  Age  (Bel.  Crepuscuie) 

1986® 

She  Loves  Me  Not  (or/Virgin)  1 987  • 
The  Big  Picture  Socb  (Bel.  Crepuscufe)  1 989  • 

The  Associates — Billy  Mackenzie  (most  words  and 
all  vocals,  eventually  everything)  and  Alan  Ranklne 
(most  music  and  ail  instruments  except  drams) — once 
attempted  brilliance,  but  later  settled  for  playing  at  be- 
ing clever.  The  Affectionate  Punch  boldly  tried  to  stake 
a  claim  for  some  of  the  no-man's  land  between  Bowie's 
theatrical,  tuneful  rock  and  Talking  Heads'  semi- 
abstract,  intellectual  dance  approach,  with  a  slight  fla- 
voring of  the  pair's  native  Scottish  traditional  music. 
Not  fully  mature,  and  sometimes  almost  burying  its  own 
best  points,  the  band  seemed  a  promise  of  riches  to 
come. 

Unfortunately,  the  Edinburgh-based  duo  veered  off 
in  a  more  art-conscious — at  times  willfully  obscure — 
direction,  with  harsh  musical  textures  often  dominating 
the  melodies.  Fourth  Drawer  Down,  a  compilation  of 
singles,  gives  the  somewhat  redeeming  impression  of 
determined  experimentation  that  is,  however,  lessened 
by  the  exclusion  of  certain  B-sides  in  favor  of  later 
tracks  which  reveal  Mackenzie's  growing  preference  for 
pose  over  accomplishment. 

By  Sulk,  such  talent  as  comes  through  seems 
strained  under  the  weight  of  Mackenzie's  selfconscious- 
ness.  Rankine's  emphasis  on  keyboards  over  guitar  is 
symptomatic  of  the  defection  away  from  rock  and  to- 
wards a  sort  of  neo-pop,  but  the  melodies  are  hindered 
by  tinny  sound,  arrangements  that  muddle  rather  than 
clarify  and  vocal  excesses  that  make  Bowie's  worst 
sound  tame.  The  US  edition  subtracts  three  cuts,  insert- 
ing instead  a  pair  from  Fourth  Drawer  Down  and  two 
subsequent  singles.  Net  result:  Associates  (no  article) 
are  a  shrill,  non-synth  Human  League  for  emotional 
infants.  The  title's  all  too  accurate — Mackenzie  comes 
across  as  a  callow,  shallow  poseur.  On  the  eve  of  its  first 
major  British  tour,  the  band  splintered. 

Putting  the  article  back  in  the  name,  Mackenzie 
completed  an  album  with  Martin  Rushent  that  WEA 
rejected  in  1983;  some  of  it  emerged  two  years  later  on 
Perhaps.  To  write  it  off  with  a  snide  "perhaps  not" 
would  be  a  cheap  shot,  but  more  than  generous.  Mac- 
kenzie has  many  associates  here,  including  guitarist 
Steve  Reid — who  co-wrote  half  the  songs — but  whether 
any  given  track  was  produced  by  Heaven  17's  Martyn 
Ware,  Martin  Rushent  or  the  team  of  Mackenzie  and 
Dave  Allen,  it  all  sounds  like  Heaven  17  or  the  Human 
League — with  synths,  now — making  undanceable  dance 


music  with  a  few  ho-hum  twists.  The  lyrics  include 
strange,  gratuitous,  incomprehensible  non  sequiturs;  the 
music  is  at  best  uninvolving,  even  if  you  listen  for  sheer 
sound  and  ignore  the  pose.  At  seven  minutes,  the  one 
all-around  good  track  (''Waiting  for  the  Loveboat*1) 
overstays  its  welcome  by  half;  the  cassette  edition  need- 
lessly adds  instrumental  versions  of  four  album  cuts. 

A  surprisingly  strong  new  single,  'Take  Me  to  the 
Girl,"  emerged  later  in  the  year,  and — shortly  after  it 
flopped — was  re-released  on  a  five-track  10-inch,  com- 
bined with  a  remix  of  * 'Perhaps*'  and  three  live  cuts 
recorded  in  London  that  find  Mackenzie  crooning  heart- 
felt if  histrionic  versions  of  songs  like  "God  Bless  the 
Child"  and  (ulp)  "The  Little  Boy  That  Santa  Glaus 
Forgot." 

Four  years  and  another  rejected  LP  (The  Glamour 
Chase)  later,  Mackenzie  re-emerged  with  a  non-LP  EP 
and,  the  following  year,  a  garish  Eurodisco  album,  Wild 
and  Lonely.  While  the  songs  reprise  the  moods  and 
melodies  (not  to  mention  the  keyboardist)  of  Perhaps, 
producer  Julian  Mendelsohn  straps  on  a  similarly  dated 
saccharine  straitjacket.  (Have  these  guys  been  living  on 
Mars?)  Still,  Mackenzie's  voice  occasionally  shines 
through  the  marzipan,  particularly  on  the  atmospheric 
title  cut. 

The  five-track  Peel  Sessions  EP  (from  April  '81) 
contains  rougher,  rock-oriented  versions  of  *  81-' 82  ma- 
terial and  would  be  highly  recommended  if  it  actually 
included  "Me,  Myself  and  the  Tragic  Story"  (which  is 
listed)  instead  of  the  far  inferior  "Arrogance  Gave  Him 
Up"  (which  isn't). 

Pojpera  compiles  nearly  all  of  the  essential  material 
(including  a  track  from  The  Glamour  Chase  and  a  song 
recorded  with  Yello)  from  the  Associates*  seemingly 
deliberate  anti-career,  resulting  in  the  group's  most  sat- 
isfying and  wildly  schizoid  release  ever.  (That  nothing 
from  Wild  and  Lonely  appears  is  no  loss. ) 

Since  leaving  the  band  in  1982,  Alan  Rankine  has 
been  living  in  Brussels,  working  extensively  with  Paul 
Haig  and  releasing  solo  albums.  She  Loves  Me  Not,  the 
only  one  of  his  efforts  to  be  issued  outside  of  Belgium, 
offers  clever  dance-pop  and  impressively  sung  balladry, 
a  smooth  and  appealing  concoction  akin  to  mid-period 
Thompson  Twins  but  dolled  up  with  a  bit  of  continental 
suaveness.  [jg/ja] 

See  also  Paul  Haig,  Holger  Hiller,  Yello. 


VIRGINIA  ASTLEY 

Love's  a  Lonely  Place  to  Be  EP  (nr/Why  Fi)  1982 
From  Gardens  Where  We  Feel  Secure  (nr/Happy 

Valley-Rough  Trade)  1983 
Promise  Nothing  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 983 
Hope  In  a  Darkened  Heart  (Geffen)  1 986  • 

A  classically  trained  pianist  and  flautist  less  known 
for  her  own  work  than  for  the  illustrious  company  she 
keeps,  Astley  has  played  sessions  for  Siouxsie  and  the 
Banshees,  Richard  Jobson  and  Troy  Tate,  among  oth- 
ers. Her  father,  Ted  Astley,  is  an  accomplished  com- 
poser best  known  for  television  themes;  her  brother  is 
artist/producer  Jon  Astley;  her  brother-in-law  is  Pete 
Townshend.  (She  played  piano  on  his  "Slit  Skirts.") 
Her  late- '70s  band,  the  three- woman  Ravishing  Beau- 
ties, included  Nicky  Holland,  later  known  for  her  work 


28 


with  Tears  for  Fears  and  Ryuichi  Sakamoto,  Ho^e\er, 
Astley '$  own  pastoral  and  tranquil  records  are  markedly 
different  from  those  of  family  and  friends. 

Evoking  images  of  summer  afternoons  in  the  coun- 
tryside. From  Gardens  Where  We  Feel  Secure  is, 
superficially  at  least,  soothing  sonic  wallpaper  Except 
for  a  few  syllables,  it's  entirely  instrumental,  consisting 
basically  of  piano,  flute,  clarinet  and  tape  loops.  Upon 
closer  scrutiny,  the  tapes  (animal  sounds,  church  bells, 
etc.)  build  subliminal  tension;  there's  more  to  Ms.  Ast- 
ley  than  initially  meets  the  ear. 

Promise  Nothing  is  a  compilation,  including  cuts 
from  Gardens  and  various  singles.  The  orchestration  on 
the  earlier  work  is  thicker — synthesizers,  sax  and  per- 
cussion place  the  material  more  in  the  rock  realm — but 
her  choir-boy  soprano  keeps  things  from  getting  too 
raucous.  Standouts:  the  irresistible  "Love's  a  Lonely 
Place  to  Be"  and  "Arctic  Death/'  as  haunting  as  any 
John  Cale  effort.  An  impressive  record  from  an 
intriguing  artist. 

In  1985,  Astley  signed  to  Elektra  in  the  United  King- 
dom and  released  a  pair  of  singles,  neither  of  which 
broke  any  new  musical  ground  for  her.  Hope  in  a  Dark- 
ened Heart,  her  US  debut,  was  mostly  produced  by 
Sakamoto,  who  adds  more  synths  and  drum  machines. 
David  Sylvian  sings  on  the  opening  "Some  Small 
Hope."  While  it's  still  very  pretty,  there's  more  sub- 
stance, as  well.  The  angry  lyrics  by  this  single  mother 
(the  baby's  father  left  Astley  during  her  pregnancy)  are 
made  even  more  effective  by  the  charm  of  her  voice  and 
the  delicacy  of  the  music.  I  wouldn't  want  to  be  the  guy 
to  whom  "A  Father"  or  "So  Like  Dorian"  are  directed. 
Remixes  of  earlier  tracks,  including  "Love's  a  Lonely 
Place  to  Be,"  round  out  Side  Two. 

She  may  never  be  prolific  or  commercially  popular, 
but  Virginia  Astley  is  one  of  the  most  unique  talents 
around  these  days.  [dgs] 

ASWAD 

Aswad  (Mango)  1976® 

Huiet  (nr/Grove)  1978  (nr/Grove-lsland)  1979  (Mango) 

1990* 

Showcase  (nr/Grove-lsiand)  1981  (Mango)  1990  • 
New  Chapter  (nr/CBS)  1981 
Not  Satisfied  (nr/CBS)  1982  • 
A  New  Chapter  of  Dub  (Mango)  1 982  • 
Live  and  Direct  (Mango)  1 983  • 
Rebel  Souls  (Mango)  1 984  • 
To  the  Top  (nr/Simba)  1986  (Mango)  1990  • 
Distant  Thunder  (Mango)  1 988  • 
Renaissance  (nr/Siylus)  1988  « 
Crucial  Tracb  (Best  of  Aswad)  (Mango)  1 989  • 
Too  Wicked  (Mango)  1 990  • 

Though  they've  never  really  caught  on  in  the  States, 
Aswad  is  one  of  Britain's  best  and  most  popular  reggae 
bands.  The  trio's  work  is  characterized  by  consistently 
excellent  musicianship  ( Aswad' s  adjunct  hom  section  is 
superlative)  and  a  sound  that  is  modem  yet  authentic. 
(Although  it's  become  less  so  as  the  group  has  become 
increasingly  oriented  to  the  pop  mainstream.)  Their 
easygoing  groove  may  resemble  UB40*s,  but  Aswad  is 
thoroughly  unique;  after  fifteen  years,  their  continued 
growth  and  versatility  are  remarkable.  Along  with 


Linton  Kuesi  Johnson  and  Dennis  Bo\e!i,  Aswad  rep- 
resents the  fiowenng  of  British  Their  recording 
history ,  however,  is  disjointed  and  reflects  shifts  in  per- 
sonnel, musical  direction  and  labels. 

The  debut  album  I  with  "Back  to  Africa"  >  is  of 
mixed  quality,  but  showcases  the  band's  styh&tic  vari- 
ety, featuring  lovers  rock,  dub  and  Martey-inspired 
roots.  Hulet,  released  two  \ears  later,  is  much  better — 
assured  and  capable— but  indecision  about  direction  is 
clearly  audible.  Shortly  after  this  release,  bassist  George 
Oban  left,  Tony  Gad  i  Robinson ),  ^ho  had  played  key- 
boards in  the  group,  took  over  on  bass,  A  stint  with 
British  CBS  yielded  too  albums.  New  Chapter  and  Not 
Satisfied,  both  (particularly  the  latter)  nch  with  fine 
songs  and  performances  A  New  Chapter  of  Dub,  while 
decent  enough,  is  for  fans  only. 

Rebel  Souls  has  a  genial  consistency  and  includes 
significant  covers  of  Toots  Hibbert's  "54-46  (Was  My 
Number)"  and  Marvin  Gaye's  "Mercy  Mercy  Me." 
Wisely,  Aswad  were  linking  themselves  to  tradition  as 
they  geared  up  for  the  future. 

The  group's  fall  yet  rootsy  sound  continued  on  To 
the  Top;  strong  and  full  of  punch,  the  album  is  one  of 
their  best,  with  top-notch  writing,  singing  and  playing 
throughout.  With  the  band  operating  at  peak  power,  the 
record  is  probably  their  most  representative  studio  ef- 
fort. 

Distant  Thunder  marks  a  distinct  change  in  direc- 
tion. Feeling  perhaps  that  they  had  pushed  their  old 
sound  to  its  limit,  the  band  experiments  here  with  funk 
and  soul,  as  well  as  keyboards.  The  lightweight, 
crossover-geared  approach  was  bound  to  alienate  some 
fans  but,  while  several  of  the  new  songs  sound  tentative, 
others  (like  the  pop-soul  single  "Don't  Turn  Around") 
are  engaging  and  credible,  featuring  the  same  musical 
craftsmanship  that  has  always  characterized  Aswad* s 
work. 

To  some  extent,  Aswad' s  strongest  releases  have 
been  their  singles.  No  proper  greatest  hits  package  ex- 
isted prior  to  1989,  but  two  albums  had  partially  filled 
that  gap.  Showcase — remixes  of  their  most  popular 
non-LP  numbers,  including  * 'Rainbow  Culture,"  "War- 
rior Charge"  and  "Babylon"  (the  title  theme  of  a  film 
which  starred  Aswad's  Brinsley  Forde) — is  excellent, 
and  a  fine  place  for  novices  to  start.  In  addition,  Live 
and  Direct  (London,  1983)  contains  some  of  Aswad's 
best-loved  songs  and  gives  a  hint  of  the  band's  live 
power.  "Rockers  Medley"  stands  out,  but  the  whole  LP 
is  great. 

The  Renaissance  compilation,  issued  by  a  UK  label 
marketed  through  TV  advertising,  attempts  to  cram  in 
20  selections  from  the  group's  long  history,  but  uncer- 
emoniously edits  the  numbers  down,  making  this  a  must 
to  avoid. 

Crucial  Tracks  (Best  of  Aswad)  has  six  fewer  cuts 
than  Renaissance  but  preserves  the  songs'  full  running 
times  The  compilation  includes  some  single  sides,  in- 
cluding "Gimme  the  Dub,"  the  B-side  of  1988's  "Give 
a  Little  Love." 

Too  Wicked  finds  the  group  in  an  even  more  serious 
crossover  bid,  pushing  towards  funk,  pop,  soul  and  even 
dancehall,  with  beatbox  drumming,  hi-tech  samples  and 
house  grooves  all  reeking  of  commercial  aspirations. 
The  best  track  is  "Fire,"  on  which  Aswad  is  joined  by 


29 


Shabba  Ranks,  !990's  ruler  of  the  dancehall  DJs.  While 
"Just  Can't  Take  It*'  maintains  Aswad's  socio-political 
awareness,  the  record  could  have  done  nicely  without  an 
Eagles  cover  ("Best  of  My  Love").  [bk/aw] 

ATHLETICO  SPIZZ  80 

Do  a  Runner  (A&M)  1980 

SPiZZLES 

Spikey  Dream  Flowers  (A&M)  1981 

SPiZZ 

Spizz  History  (or/Rough  Trade)  1 982 

SPIZZOIL 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 

Whatever  band  British  vocalist  Kenneth  Spiers  led — 
Spizzoil,  Spizzenergi,  Spizzles,  Athletico  Spizz  80 — 
he'll  always  be  best  remembered  for  one  novelty  hit, 
1979's  "Where's  Captain  Kirk?"  The  charm  and  wit  of 
that  single  was  nowhere  to  be  found  on  the  subsequent 
Do  a  Runner,  which  was  mired  in  the  band's  predilec- 
tion for  science  fiction  imagery.  If  it  seems  tough  to 
conceive  an  album  of  time  warps,  time  machines  and 
almost  nine  minutes  of  "Airships,"  imagine  how  tough 
it  would  be  to  repeat  that  formula;  Spikey  Dream  Flow- 
ers offers  robots,  deadly  war  games  and  incessant  run- 
away guitar  (by  recent  arrival  Lu  Edmonds)  with  no 
place  to  go 

Spizz  History  compiles  tracks  from  various  Spizz 
eras,  reaching  all  the  way  back  to  a  1978  single; 
"Where's  Captain  Kirk?,"  "Soldier  Soldier,"  a  ver- 
sion of  Roxy  Music's  "Virginia  Plain"  and  a  1982  sin- 
gle, "Megacity,"  are  all  worth  hearing,  but  that's  about 
it.  The  Peel  Sessions  EP  was  recorded  in  the  summer 
of '78.  [gf j 

ATLANT1CS 

Big  Giy  Rock  (ABC)  1 979 

BALL  AND  PIVOT 

Ball  and  Pivot  EP  (Z  Club)  1 983 

The  only  album  by  this  talented  Boston  rock  band 
with  strong,  melodic  material  and  a  slightly  overdra- 
matic  vocalist  was  unfortunately  issued  on  a  label  that 
was  breathing  its  corporate  last.  Two  standout  songs — 
"When  You're  Young"  and  "One  Last  Night" — 
suggest  abundant  power-pop  promise,  but  weak 
production  and  a  crucial  lack  of  promotion  kept  the 
quintet  a  local  phenom. 

The  Atlantics'  songwriters — guitarist  Tom  Hauck 
and  bassist  Bruce  Wilkinson — returned  a  few  years  later 
fronting  a  synth-pop  trio  called  Ball  and  Pivot.  The  EP, 
which  echoes  Duran  Duran,  Spandau  Ballet  and  Red 
Noise,  is  pleasant  enough,  The  most  interesting  track, 
however,  is  "Two  O'Clock  Jump,"  which  mixes  the 
pair's  new  sound  with  the  Atlantics'  Yardbirds  stylings. 

[i/ds] 

A  TRIBE  CALLED  QUEST 

People's  Instinctive  Travels  and  the  Paths  of  Rhythm 

(Jive-RCA)  1 990  • 

Junior  members  of  the  Native  Tongues — the  pacific 
Afrocentric  New  York  area  rap  family  that  includes  the 
Jungle  Brothers  and  De  La  Soul — A  Tribe  Called  Quest 


build  their  wonderful,  easygoing  debut  on  a  solid  plat- 
form of  warm  humor  and  classic  soul  (and  other)  music. 
Over  smoothly  percolating  tracks  more  suited  to  sway- 
ing than  any  more  athletic  motion,  the  witty  and  per- 
sonable young  quartet — Q-Tip,  Shaheed,  Phife  and 
Jarobi — tells  shaggy  dog  stones  ("I  Left  My  Wallet  in 
El  Segundo"),  romances  fantasy  figures  ("Bonita  Ap- 
plebum"),  warns  about  lice  ("Pubic  Enemy")  and  cho- 
lesterol ("HamVEggs"),  and  criticizes  a  variety  of 
anti-social  archetypes  ("Description  of  a  Fool").  Ex- 
cept for  several  instances  in  which  good  ideas  give  way 
to  tiresome  repetition,  People's  Instinctive  Travels  is  a 
thoroughly  enjoyable  trip.  [i] 


ATTRACTIONS 

See  Elvis  Costdlo. 

BILLY  ATWELL 

See  Th  'Inbred. 


AUDIO  TWO 

What  More  Can  I  Say?  (First  Priority  Music-Atlantic) 

1988« 
I  Don't  Care  (First  Priority  Music-Atlantic)  1 990  * 

One  controversial  flashpoint  in  1990's  censorship 
free-for-all  was  this  Brooklyn  rap  duo's  second  album; 
more  specifically,  the  homophobic  "Whatcha'  Lookin' 
At?,"  which  announces  that  "I  hate  faggots  .  .  .  gay 
mothers  get  punched  in  the  face. "  Lacking  real  rhyming 
talent  or  good  voices,  these  sons  of  First  Priority  pres- 
ident Nat  Robinson  (and  the  brothers  of  MC  Lyte,  who 
guests  on  two  I  Don't  Care  tracks)  outgrew  (?)  the 
innocuous  B-boy  boasts  of  the  dull  What  More  Can  I 
Say?  by  becoming  outrageously  obnoxious,  delivering 
witless  ultra-attitude  ("I  Get  the  Papers")  and  crude 
sexuality  ("Undercover  Hooker,"  "Build  Up  Back 
Up,"  "The  Nasty").  Not  for  nothing  does  I  Don't  Care 
stoop  to  bathroom  sounds.  [pn] 

AU  PAIRS 

Playing  with  a  Different  Sex  (nr/Human)  1 981 
Sense  and  Sensuality  (nr/Kamera)  1 982 
Live  in  Berlin  (nr/a.ka.)  1983 

Although  the  quartet  was  evenly  divided  between 
the  sexes,  the  trademarks  of  Birmingham's  Au  Pairs 
were  singer/guitarist  Lesley  Woods'  husky  vocals  and 
her  feminist  themes.  They  favored  stripped-down,  gen- 
erally tuneless  dance-rock,  perhaps  the  better  to  drive 
home  ironic  messages  like  "We're  So  Cool,"  "Set- 
Up"  (both  on  the  first  album),  "Sex  Without  Stress" 
and  "Intact"  (on  Sense  and  Sensuality).  A  female 
viewpoint  is,  unfortunately,  still  novel  for  pop  music; 
Woods  is  humorless  and  sometimes  oozingly  graphic, 
but  usually  thought-provoking  in  her  romantic  analyses. 
Au  Pairs'  few  overtly  political  songs  ("Armagh," 
"America")  are  less  successful. 

The  live  album,  recorded  at  the  Berlin  Women's 
Festival,  finds  the  group  in  good  form,  running  through 
their  best  songs  with  careful  intensity.  The  rhythm  sec- 
tion is  especially  good,  but  Woods  predictably  domi- 
nates the  proceedings.  [si/i] 


30 


AVENGERS 

Avengers  EP  (While  Noise)  1978  4-  1981 
Avengers  (CD  Presents)  1 983  • 

PENELOPE  HOUSTON 

Birdboys  f  Subterranean  J  1 988 

What  allegedly  began  as  an  excuse  for  punk  fashions 
became,  briefly,  the  most  powerful  band  In  the  San 
Francisco  area;  the  Avengers*  original  EP  was  a  minor 
classic  of  its  time,  indicating  that  they  might  have  be- 
come America's  best  straight-ahead  punk  (not  hardcore) 
band  had  they  lasted.  The  four-song  Avengers  boasts 
tight,  memorable  cuts  instrumental^  akin  to  Johnny 
Thunders  and  the  Sex  Pistols,  though  It's  Penelope 
Houston's  intoning  words  of  some  depth  that  makes  the 
difference.  Like  X  without  any  pretensions;  too  bad 
Steve  Jones  couldn't  finish  the  production  (the  mix 
needed  him). 

The  posthumous  album  reprises  the  entire  contents 
of  that  EP,  adding  a  stack  of  ace  punk  tunes  recorded 
(with  one  subsequent  exception)  in  1977  and  1978, 
Houston  clearly  prefigures  Chrissie  Hynde  as  the  arche- 
typal indomitable  rock'n'roll  woman — her  strength  and 
aggression  are  what  elevates  these  tracks  from  energetic 
but  typical  punk  to  remarkable  personal  statements. 
Whether  anyone  outside  of  San  Francisco  realized  it  at 
the  time,  the  Avengers  were  a  major  national  musical 
asset.  (The  CD  and  cassette  contain  two  bonus  cuts.) 

After  the  Avengers  folded  in  1979,  the  Los  Angeles- 
born  and  Seattle-bred  Houston  worked  with  Alex  Gib- 
son and  Howard  Devoto.  In  1986,  her  cleverly  named 
group,  Dash  Thirty  Dash  (journalists  will  get  the  refer- 
ence), issued  a  smart  and  melodic  single,  "Full  of  Won- 
der." That  song  and  its  B-side  also  appear  on  her 
subsequent  album,  a  folky  acoustic  collection  produced 
by  (and  dedicated  to)  the  late  Snakefinger  and  played 
with  a  four-person  band.  While  the  lyrics  are  astute,  and 
Houston's  skillful  voice — an  airy,  mature  soprano — 
fills  Birdboys  with  lovely  character,  much  of  the  simple 
music  (self-composed  with  various  collaborators,  none 
of  them  as  worthy  as  her  Dash  Thirty  Dash  partner)  just 
isn't  that  good.  [jg/i] 

JOHN  AVERY 

See  Hula. 


AZTEC  CAMERA 

High  Land,  Hard  Rain  (Sire)  1 983  • 

Oblivious  EP  (Sire)  1984 

Knife  (Sire)  1 984  • 

Still  on  Fire  EP  (nr/WEA)  1984 

Backwards  and  Forwards  EP  (Sire)  1985 

Love  (Sire)  1987* 


Somewhere  in  My  Heart  EP  f  nr/WEAl  1 988  • 
Stray  f  Sire-Reprise)  1990  * 

The  Glaswegian  guitarist-sieger-songwriier  Roddy 
Frame  leads/ is  Aztec  Camera,  whose  delicate  pop  con- 
veys his  poetic  sensibility  and  rampant  originality.  High 
Land,  Hard  Rain  is  a  magnificent  debut,  airy  yet  some- 
how lush,  filled  with  lovely  melodies  and  thoughtful, 
impressionistic  lyrics,  "Oblivious,"  "Walk  Out  to 
Winter'*  and  "We  Could  Send  Letters*'  are  all  memo- 
rable, distinguished  by  layered  acoustic  guitars,  beauti- 
ful vocal  arrangements  and  jazzy  rhythms;  "Down  the 
Dip"  displays  Frame's  playful  side. 

There  are  two  Oblivious  EPs.  Both  include  the  same 
remix  of  the  title  tune,  but  the  US  version  has  three 
British  B-sides,  while  the  earlier  UK  edition  contains 
one  B-side,  an  LP  track  and  a  live  take. 

Knife,  produced  by  Dire  Straits'  Mark  Knopfier,  is 
a  lot  less  ethereal,  employing  a  stronger  backbeat, 
sterner  vocals  and  horns.  Frame's  lyrics  continue  to 
walk  the  line  between  profound  and  ludicrous  but,  for 
the  most  part,  manage  to  stay  within  the  realm  of  lu- 
cidity. His  writing  shows  the  influence  of  Elvis  Costello 
and  also  incorporates  a  mild  R&B  feel.  Typical  of  the 
record's  approach,  the  lead-off  44Still  on  Fire"  faintly 
recalls  the  Jackson  5's  "I  Want  You  Back."  (That 
song's  12-inch  release  adds  four  live  cuts.) 

It's  rare  to  encounter  a  marketing  gimmick  worthy 
of  special  mention,  but  the  commercially  available 
Backwards  and  Forwards  EP  is  brilliant.  The  folder 
covering  the  10-inch  record  contains  the  band's  com- 
plete discography  and  history,  plus  profiles  and  photos. 
The  swell  record  offers  four  live  tracks  (only  two  en- 
cores from  the  Still  on  Fire  EP)  plus  the  band's  inge- 
niously languid  acoustic  cover  of  Van  Halen's  "Jump.** 

Reduced  to  a  name  for  Frame's  solo  career,  Aztec 
Camera  returned  to  action  three  years  later  with  Love,  a 
heartfelt  but  colorless  Philly  soul  record  made  with  stu- 
dio musicians  and  half  a  dozen  producers.  (Think  of 
Boy  George  or  Paul  Young,  with  music  supplied  by 
Steve  Winwood.)  Although  Frame's  singing  and  song- 
writing  don't  quite  suit  this  musical  style,  his  low-key 
charm  and  basic  talent  keep  him  from  embarrassing  him- 
self. 

In  some  ways,  Stray  is  Frame's  return  to  form,  a 
mature  retake  on  some  of  High  Land's  themes.  "The 
Crying  Scene"  is  a  verdant  burst  of  electric  guitar  pop; 
the  title  track,  with  its  dizzying  wordplay  and  tender 
sentiments,  ponders  the  pain  of  lost  innocence.  But 
Frame  has  yet  to  settle  into  a  particular  genre,  and  the 
album  swings  between  jazzy  cabaret  ballads,  ballsy 
rock'n'roll  and  more  blue-eyed  soul  ("Notting  Hill 
Blues"  could  be  an  outtake  from  Love).  The  profound 
lyrics  and  emotive  vocals  hold  things  together,  though, 
and  Stray  contains  some  of  Frame's  finest  work  to  date. 

[i/kss] 


31 


IN 

Spanking  Machine  f Twin/Tone)  1 990  • 

Gut-gnnding  music  from  three  Minneapolis  women, 
as  powerful  as  it  is  agitating  In  line  with  the  jackham- 
mer  ihythm  section,  Kat  Bjelland  beats  the  shit  out  of 
tier  guitar  (which  seems  to  be  fighting  back),  and 
matches  that  aggression  with  cathartic  screeching:  these 
babes  didn't  just  fall  off  the  toy -truck.  With  monstrous 
production  by  Jack  Endino,  Spanking  Machine  is  a 
forceful,  uncompromising  opening  statement.  [sm] 

BABY  FLIES 

Rain  (Hoi.  Resonance)  1988 

A  Colorful  View  (Resonance}  1989  • 

If  nothing  else,  bands  with  an  established  producer 
in  their  lineup  can  be  assured  of  good-sounding  records. 
That's  certainly  the  case  with  New  York -scene  studio- 
star-oufi-bassist  Jim  Waters  (Das  Damen,  Missing 
Foundation,  etc,)»  whose  Hoboken-sound  pop  trio 
makes  a  handsomely  presented  but  nearly  generic  debut 
on  Raia.  For  most  of  the  album,  Pat  Waters'  thin,  plain 
singing  leaves  the  overly  restrained  (and  laboriously 
paced)  material  at  the  starting  gate.  But  then  she  cranks 
up  a  neat  multi- voiced  part  on  the  chorus  of  **Iza 
Dream"  and  pumps  handsome  life  into  the  song. 

Although  stronger,  Pat's  folky  delivery  is  still  inad- 
equate on  A  Colorful  View,  an  occasionally  lively 
record  of  simply  attractive  tunes  arranged — with  im- 
pressive new  maturity  and  sophistication — for  chiming 
guitars  and  subtle  keyboards.  A  nice  try,  but  the  Baby 
Hies  still  need  better  singing  and  songwriting.  (The  CD 
adds  six  Rain  songs.)  [i] 

BABY  OPAQUE 

See  Bomb. 

BACKBONES 

See  Senders. 

BAD  BRAINS 

Bod  Brains  [tape]  (ROiR)  1982  (Dutch  Easf  Wax)  1991 

Bdd  Brains  EP  (nr/Altemative  Tentacles)  1982 

I  and  I  Survive/Destroy  Babylon  EP  (important)  1982 

Rock  for  Light  (PVC)  1983  (Caroline)  1991  « 

IAgain$H(SST)1986» 

Live  (SST)  1988* 

Attitude:  The  ROIR  Session  [CD]  (ROIR-lmportant)  1 989  • 

Quickness  (Caroline)  1 989  * 

The  Youth  Are  Getting  Restless  {Caroline}  1990  • 

H.R. 

Its  About  Luv  (Olive  Tree]  1 985  (S5T)  1 988 
Human  Rights  (SSTj  1 987  « 


HR  Tapes  '84-'86  (SST)  1 988  <J> 
Stogtn'  in  the  Heart  (SST)  1989  • 
Charge  {SST]  1 990  • 

RAS 

Zion  Train  { SST)  1988® 

In  their  quest  to  become  a  crossover  band,  these 
black  jazz-rock  fusionists  from  Washington  DC  (later 
based  in  New  York)  turned  to  orthodox  speedpunlc  and 
released  the  memorable  1980  super-fast  single  "Pay  to 
Cum1'  (1:33  of  free-fire  guitar  rage,  produced  by  Jimmi 
Quidd  of  the  Dots)  that  established  their  mastery  of  that 
genre.  Bad  Brains'  hardcore  is  a  more  distinctively  mod- 
ulated roar  than  most,  but  what  really  sets  them  apart  are 
radically  contrasting  excursions  into  dub  and  reggae 
Hardcore's  dogmatic  streak  makes  it  harder  on  chame- 
leons than  most  rock  subgenres;  these  guys  get  away 
with  it. 

On  the  Bad  Brains  cassette  album  (and  the  four- 
song  Bad  Brains  EP  excerpted  from  it),  the  quartet 
excels  in  both  fields:  loping,  Rastafarian  reggae  ( "I  Luv 
I  Jah,"  "Leaving  Babylon,"  "Jah  Calling'*)  and  pow- 
erhouse political  slam-rock  (a  re-recorded  "Pay  to 
Cum,"  "Banned  in  D.C.,"  "Big  Takeover").  The  al- 
bum was  later  reissued  on  CD  under  the  title  Attitude 
and  later  on  vinyl  as  Bad  Brains. 

The  Ric  Ocasek-produced  Rock  for  Light,  which 
includes  new  versions  of  five  Bad  Brains  songs,  offers 
the  same  dualism,  with  subject  matter  covering  every- 
thing from  angry  politics  ("Riot  Squad")  to  minor  pop 
culturisms  ("At  the  Movies"),  stretching  from  Rasta 
topics  to  *'How  Low  Can  a  Punk  Get"  sociology. 
Throughout,  Joseph  Fs  (aka  H.RO  reedy  vocals  set  off 
the  hardcore  roar  led  by  guitarist  Dr.  Know  (Gary 
Miller)  and  sweetly  color  the  reggae  rumble  A  fasci- 
nating and  truly  unique  blend.  (Ocasek  and  bassist  Dar- 
ryl  Jenifer  remixed  the  album  for  its  1991  reissue,  which 
also  adds  three  outtakes  from  the  original  sessions.) 

I  Against  I  is  a  bracing  all-rock  explosion,  a  mature 
collection  of  we  11- written  originals  played,  at  varying 
speeds,  with  authority  and  enthusiasm.  Dr.  Know  trots 
out  a  number  of  different  effects,  sounds  and  ap- 
proaches; H.R.  has  likewise  never  been  better.  Shrug- 
ging off  punk  conventions,  Bad  Brains  explore 
sophisticated  and  subtle  terrain  all  their  own.  At  its  most 
explosive,  the  record  crosses  Van  Halen  with  Black 
Flag;  more  restrained  passages  resemble  an  energized, 
younger  Police.  The  quartet  holds  reggae  rhythms  to  a 
bare  minimum,  although  lyrics  continue  to  reflect  their 
religious  and  political  convictions. 

Playing  punk,  thrashy  rock  and  reggae  with  equal 
command  and  conviction  (Earl  Hudson's  deft  drum- 
ming is  crucial  to  the  band's  gear-shifting  ability),  the 
Bad  Brains  fill  the  impressive  Live  with  familiar  reper- 
toire items  documented  at  a  handful  of  dates  on  an  '87 
tour.  The  CD  bonus  track  is  a  reggae  version  of  "Day 
Tripper." 


32 


Like  man)  hardcore  stars,  Bad  Brains  look  a  turn 
towards  metal  (on  the  mighty  Quickness,  a  mid- speed 
rock  record  ^ith  just  one  reggae  number),  accepting  the 
genre's  brutish  intensity  but  rejecting  its  cliches  Dr. 
Knot's  spiraling  near-jazz  leads  and  Hudson's  thunder- 
log  percussion  ( fortified  by  a  second  drummer)  give 
H.R  a  mighty  platform  from  which  to  deliver  the  band's 
obscure  socio-religious  analyses — of  AIDS  ("Don't 
Blow  Bubbles"  contains  the  memorable  exhortation, 
"Don't  blow  no  fudge  buns"),  genetics,  musical  trends 
and  Rastafan  faith. 

The  Youth  Are  Getting  Restless  is  another  '87- 
vintage  concert  album,  this  one  a  punky  explosion  re- 
corded at  an  Amsterdam  show.  Although  there's  lots 
of  material  overlap  with  Live,  this  eighteen-song  se- 
lection offers  a  more  extensive  review  of  the  first  three 
albums,  downplaying  dub  for  such  charged  classics  as 
"Rock  for  Light/'  "Pay  to  Cum"  and  "Big  Take- 
over.'* 

H.R.  (Paul  Hudson)  has  left  and  rejoined  the  group 
several  times,  releasing  solo  albums  along  the  way.  The 
fascinating  if  indifferently  recorded  Its  About  Luv  (on 
his  own  Olive  Tree  label)  offers  chaotic  punk — class  of 
'77  UK  division,  with  anthemic  melodies  ("Let's  Have 
a  Revolution' ' ) — on  one  side  and  upbeat  Caribbean  funk 
("Who  Loves  You  Girl?"),  jazzy  reggae  ("Happy 
Birthday  My  Son")  and  a  live  rocker  ("Free  Our 
Mind")  on  the  back.  (Expanded  by  the  three-song  Keep 
Out  of  Reach  12-inch,  Its  About  Luv  was  issued  on 
cassette— and  CD— as  HR  Tapes.) 

The  high-tech  Human  Rights — featuring,  among 
others,  Oscar  Brown  Jr.  and  H.R.'s  brother,  drummer 
Earl — is  a  bizarre  but  captivating  pastiche  of  funk, 
reggae-based  rock-pop,  carefully  arranged  and  deli- 
cately textured  rock,  studio  experimentation  and  other 
offbeat  manifestations  of  H.R.'s  beliefs. 

Most  of  Single'  in  the  Heart  is  straight  Rasta  reg- 
gae and  dub — easygoing  grooves  nicely  played  and 
warmly  sung,  with  some  neat  guitar  work  thrown  on 
top — but  then  there's  "Singin'  in  the  Heart"  and 
"Don't  Trust  No  (Shadows  After  Dark),"  on  which  a 
different  group  of  musicians  (Oscar  Brown  Jr.  performs 
the  entire  title  track  on  keyboards  and  a  drum  machine) 
support  H.R,  in  a  suavely  soulful  pop  mode. 

With  Earl  on  drums,  four  guitarists,  backing  vo- 
calists and  a  two-man  hom  section,  H.R.  sings  noth- 
ing but  old-style  reggae  originals  with  little  stylistic 
variation  on  Charge,  a  handsome  but  dull  album  that 
praises  the  lord  so  often  it  might  as  well  be  a  church 
service. 

H.R.  produced,  co-wrote  and  sings  (Earl  plays 
drums)  on  the  deeply  atmospheric  Zion  Train,  one  of 
many  albums  by  Ras  Michael,  a  legendary  Jamaican 
figure  whose  career  dates  back  to  the  '60s.  [mf/i] 

See  also  Token  Entry. 


BAD  MANNERS 

Ska'n'B  (nr/Magnet)  1980 

Loonee  Tunes!  (nr/Magnet)  1 980 

Bad  Manners  (MCA)1 981 

Gosh  Ifs  . . .  (nr/Magnet)  1 981 

Forging  Ahead  (Portrait)  1982 

The  Height  of  Bad  Manners  (nr/Telstar)  1 983 

Klass  (MCA)  1 983 


Can  Con  f or/Hallmark}  1 984 

Mental  Notes  {Portrait)  1985 

live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1 987  • 

Return  of  the  Ugly  (Blue  Beat-Reiahv'rfy)  1 989  6 

Anthology-Bad  Manners  for/Blue  1989  • 

This  rollicking  nine-piece  London  nee-ska  nonsense 
ensemble  is  fronted  by  a  cartoon-character  vocalist 
dubbed  Buster  Bloodvessel  fv^ell,  it's  a  more  colorful 
name  than  Doug  Trendle),  an  immense  bald  hulk.  The 
rest  of  the  lineup — three  horns,  guitar,  bass,  drums, 
keyboards  and  harmonica  (played,  but  of  course,  by 
Winston  Bazoomies) — churns  out  smooth,  tight  blue- 
beat  like  early  Madness  or  Specials,  \vhile  embracing  all 
manner  of  musical  silliness  for  humorous  effect.  Bad 
Manners  is  strictly  entertainment;  their  records,  juvenile 
though  they  may  sometimes  be,  consistently  provide 
smile-inducing,  good-natured,  toe-tapping  value  in 
every  groove. 

Ska'n'B  (the  band's  original  musical  self- 
description)  has  fewer  originals  than  subsequent  IPs; 
versions  of  "Monster  Mash,"  "Scruffy  Was  a  Huffy 
Chuffy  Tug  Boat,"  the  "Magnificent  Seven"  theme 
and  "Ne-Ne  Na-Na  Na-Na  Nu-Nu"  are  ludicrous  but 
engaging.  Their  first  American  escape,  Bad  Manners, 
draws  tracks  from  Ska'n'B  as  well  as  Loonee  Tunes!, 
released  in  the  meantime.  Gosh  It's  .  .  .  squeezes  in 
a  frisky  instrumental  rearrangement  of  "Can  Can" 
amid  pleasing  originals  like  "Gherkin"  (giddily  de- 
scribed on  the  back  cover  as  a  "deeply  moving  tribute 
to  Charles  Aznavour")  and  "Ben  E.  Wriggle,"  plus 
some  almost  serious  numbers  that  suggest  insidious 
maturation. 

Forging  Ahead,  the  group's  finest  record,  has  a 
(thankfully)  instrumental  version  of  "Exodus,"  a  cover 
of  "My  Boy  (Girl)  Lollipop"  and  an  original  called 
"Samson  and  Delilah  (Biblical  Version)."  When  re- 
leased in  the  US  two  years  later,  a  great  subsequent 
single,  "That'll  Do  Nicely,"  had  been  added. 

Two  compilations  were  issued  in  1983.  The  Amer- 
ican one  has  a  truly  disgusting  pig-out  cover  and  most  of 
the  band's  best  early  tracks;  the  British  release  offers  a 
different  selection,  with  only  six  songs  in  common. 
While  the  following  year's  Cam  Can  collection  overlaps 
both,  it's  not  that  similar  to  either.  Of  the  three,  Height 
offers  the  strongest  program. 

With  Mental  Notes,  B.M.  pulls  away  from  their 
original  concept,  managing  to  cover  Todd  Rundgren's 
"Bang  the  Drum  All  Day"  without  serious  damage. 
Like  Madness'  transitional  period  (which  came  a  lot 
earlier,  careerwise),  the  bluebeat  tempos  remain,  but 
they're  under  a  slick  coat  of  restraint,  sophistication 
and — dare  it  be  said? — maturity.  Bring  back  giddy  stu- 
pidity! 

During  the  band's  lengthy  studio  lay-off,  a  1987 
"official  bootleg"  album  appeared:  poorly  recorded  but 
dynamic  live  performances  of  the  band's  best  originals 
and  favorite  covers.  The  CD  adds  two  extra  cuts. 

Amid  further  compilations,  Bad  Manners  managed 
to  record  the  all-new  Return  of  the  Ugly,  a  serious  fun 
album  with  traditional  ska  values  and  no  stylistic  muck- 
ing about.  Covering  two  Laurel  Aitken  songs  (now 
that's  bluebeat  cred!),  giving  the  Bonanza  theme  a  rock 
steady  twist  and  contributing  a  bunch  of  generic  origi- 
nals, Bad  Manners  put  their  digressions  aside  and  party 
like  it's  1979.  Skank  on!  [i] 


33 


BAD 

How  Coylcl  Hell  Be  Any  Worse?  (Epitaph)  1 982 

Into  the  Unknown  (Epitaph)  1 983 

Back  to  the  Known  EP  (Epitaph]  1 984 

Suffer  (Epitaph }  1988  • 

No  Control  (Epitaph)  1989  • 

Against  the  Grain  (Epitaph)  1 990  • 

On  their  first  album,  this  Southern  California  hard- 
core quartet  adds  such  unexpected  attributes  as  piano, 
dynamics  and  university-level  lyncs  to  an  otherwise 
traditional  sore-throat- vocals/maximum-overioad-guitar 
sound.  The  well-recorded  LP  meets  the  minimum  daily 
requirement  of  loud  and  fast  rock  without  sacrificing 
basic  tinman  intelligence  in  the  process.  Into  the  Un- 
known, a  mini-album,  is  even  better,  a  swirling  bliz- 
zard of  noisy,  catchy  psychedelia  and  paisley  rock,  with 
real  songs  and  a  sound  that  resembles  Nazz  tunes  played 
by  early  Deep  Purple,  A  masterpiece. 

After  that  great  leap  forward,  half  the  original 
lineup,  joined  by  guitarist  Greg  Hetson  (on  loan  from 
the  Circle  Jerks)  and  a  guest  bassist,  made  a  conscious 
reversal  on  the  one-sided  12-inch  EP,  Back  to  the 
Known,  which  banishes  the  stylish  keyboard  sound  in 
favor  of  an  unreconstructed  punk  attack  Still,  Greg 
Graffin's  articulate  vocals  are  way  above  average,  and 
the  stun-volume  chords  don't  swamp  out  the  melodies 
or  lyrics.  Not  bad  at  all. 

The  first- LP  quintet  reunited  in  1988.  Considering 
the  years  elapsed  since  Back  to  the  Known,  Setter's 
new-found  fury  is  a  revelation.  The  album  is  faster, 
meaner  and  leaner  than  any  in  the  band's  past,  the  attack 
ablaze  with  unusual  hooks,  pointed  riffs  and  pseudo- 
erudite  lyrics  ("The  masses  are  obsequious  contented  in 
their  sleep/The  vortex  of  their  minds  contented  in  the 
murky  deep").  Unfortunately,  with  two  slower  excep- 
tions ("Best  for  You1'  and  "What  Can  You  Do"),  the 
relentless  velocity  makes  it  hard  to  tell  the  songs  apart. 

Suffer  was  just  a  warmup,  however,  for  No  Con- 
trol, an  awesome  achievement  in  an  otherwise  mori- 
bund genre.  Arguably  one  of  the  best  hardcore  albums 
ever,  No  Control  recaptures  all  of  the  form's  exhilarat- 
ing attributes,  with  inspired  songwriting,  vocal  harmo- 
nies, transfixing  highbrow  lyrics  ("The  automatic  man 
is  the  quintessential  mindless  modern  epicene"),  explo- 
sive playing  and  Graffin's  soaring,  pleading,  tearing 
voice.  The  lack  of  rhythmic  and  stylistic  variety  can't 
sabotage  this  firecracker,  as  the  sheer  power  of  might 
meeting  melody  is  too  satisfying. 

Against  the  Grain  maintains  No  Control's  pace, 
another  deranged  rollercoaster  ride  without  a  seat  belt. 
Smoking  hot  production  makes  Graffin's  sensational 
voice  seem  even  more  sinister  on  such  tracks  as  "Get 
Off,"  "Anesthesia"  and  a  scathing  indictment  of  the 
anti-abortion  movement,  "Operation  Rescue."  The  few 
slow  songs  (like  "Faith  Alone")  test  his  range,  but  he 
delivers  dramatic  performances.  In  offering  a  heavy 
dose  of  the  danger  modern  rock  so  rarely  possesses,  Bad 
Religion  has  become  not  only  the  best  (by  far)  contem- 
porary hardcore  band,  but  one  of  the  best  current  rock- 
'n'roll bands,  period.  [i/jr] 

BAGS 

Rock  Starve  (Restless)  1 987  • 
The  Bags  (Stanton  Part)  1 990 


SWAMP  OAF 

Swamp  Oaf  (Stanton  Porlc)  1 989 

The  product  of  a  city  with  a  tremendous  underground 
musical  heritage,  this  Boston  trio  plays  a  hybrid  of  com- 
mon punk  and  '70s  heavy -guitar  rock,  but  writes  sur- 
prisingly sensitive  songs  with  memorable  hooks  and 
singalong  choruses  On  Rock  Starve,  the  Bags  demon- 
strate a  singular  ability  to  analyze  and  describe  relation- 
ships and  emotions  with  searing  but  subtle  simplicity. 
(How  often  do  you  hear  a  hardcore  number  sincerely, 
even  lovingly,  describe  a  woman's  beauty*7)  The  album 
doesn't  contain  a  bad  tune. 

Guitarist  Crispin  Wood  and  bassist  Ion  Hardy's  dual 
vocals  show  substantial  maturity  on  the  follow-up,  and 
the  material  (like  "Evil,"  an  examination  of  a  recently 
severed  relationship)  is  just  as  solid.  The  peculiarly 
danceable  "Atomic  Coconuts,"  the  hardcore  "Super- 
power," the  moving  "Closer  Than"  and  the  clever 
"Beauty  of  the  Bud"  are  all  terrific. 

The  Swamp  Oaf  album  finds  the  Bags  posing  as  a 
mythical  lost  monster  band  (a  la  Spinal  Tap).  Swamp 
Oaf  was  recorded  in  eighteen  hours,  uniting  a  variety  of 
sounds  (including  a  sort  of  goofy  jazz  improv)  to  create 
a  very  un-Bagsy  platter.  [icm] 


CHRIS  BAILEY 

See  Saints. 


BAILTER  SPACE 

See  Gordons. 


JOE  BAIZA  &  THE  UNIVERSAL 
CONGRESS  OF 

Universal  Congress  Of  (SST)  1987 

UNIVERSAL  CONGRESS  OF 

Prosperous  and  Qualified  (SST)  1 988  « 

This  is  Mecolodics  EP  (SST)  1988 

The  Sad  and  Tragic  Demise  of  Big  Fine  Salty  Black  Wind 

(Ger.  Enemy)  1 990 

Saccharine  Trust  guitarist  Baiza's  first  solo  record 
contains  two  endless  studio  jams,  sans  vocals.  "Certain 
Way"  covers  the  entire  first  side  and  part  of  the  second; 
whether  you'll  actually  turn  the  record  over  to  hear  how 
it  finishes  depends  entirely  on  your  ability  to  remain 
awake  during  nineteen  enervating  minutes  of  four  guys 
dicking  around  formlessly  in  the  studio.  But  his  band's 
next  outing,  Prosperous  and  Qualified,  is  much 
better — a  jazzy,  spacious  rock  record  that  contains  ac- 
tual songs,  credible  sax  tiffing  (by  Steve  Moss)  and 
other  good  stuff. 

The  luxuriantly  post-bop  vocabulary  of  the  five-song 
This  Is  Mecolodics'  lengthy,  tongue-in-cheek  liner  es- 
say doesn't,  ultimately,  go  very  far  towards  explaining 
just  what  the  term  (the  use  of  which  Baiza  is  nominally 
serious  about)  means.  One  pigeonhole  to  eliminate 
immediately — parodistic  packaging  aside — is  the  fake 
jazz  once  espoused  by  semi-kindred  spirit  John  Lurie 
This  is  as  real  (spiritually,  at  least)  as  jazz  gets.  Baiza's 
as  hell-bent  on  improv  as  ever:  garroting  his  axe  Sonny 
Sharrock-style  on  the  virulent  "Joey,"  softening  the 


34 


tone  and  lending  a  mariachi  feel  to  Oraelte  ColemaiTs 
"Law  Years,"  even  sitting  out  a  round  as  Steve  Moss 
and  Jacob  Kuhn  tussle  in  the  steel  cage  sax  matchup 
"Nines  de  la  Tiena  " 

Sad  and  Tragic  Itemise  returns  to  tighter  struc- 
tures, emphasizing  the  band's  formidable  new  rhythm 
section.  Versions  of  Ronald  Shannon  Jackson  and  Henry 
Threadgill  numbers  reveal  more  precision  and  swing 
than  anything  in  UCO's  past.  Balza,  however^ down- 
plays his  guitar  work  ( probably  a  bad  idea)  and  sings  on 
a  number  of  tracks— definitely  a  bad  idea,  aside  from 
**Uh-Huh,"  an  oddball  Donald  Fagen  soundalike. 

See  also  Saccharine  Trust,  [i/dss] 


AND  THE 

Merge  (A&M)  1989® 

Hip-hop's  first  star  producer  in  the  early  'SOs^and  a 
major  figure  in  the  introduction  of  record  remixing  to 
mainstream  rock  artists,  Arthur  Baker  was  just  a  face  in 
the  studio  crowd  by  decade's  end.  So  he  made  an  album 
of  his  own.  Collaborating  with  everyone  from  ABC  and 
OMD  to  the  Force  M.D.'s,  Baker  (whose  limited  role 
here  involves  songwriting,  percussion  and  occasional 
instrumental  contributions)  doesn't  so  much  merge 
styles  as  stack  them  up.  Essentially  a  sampler  album, 
Merge  offers  slick  techno  soul,  new  jack  swing,  mushy 
adult  rock,  hip-house,  suave  pop  and  more,  none  of  it 
particularly  noteworthy.  W 

AND  THE 

Love  Me  EP  (nr/Chapter  22)  1 985 

Day  and  Night  EP  {nr/Chapter  22)  1 985 

She  Knows  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1986 

The  Greatest  Story  Ever  Told  (Virgin)  1 987  • 

Live  Free  or  Die  (Virgin)  1 988  • 

I  Took  a  Little  EP  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 989  • 

Days  of  Madness  (Virgin)  1 989  * 

Despite  their  goth  garb,  Scotland's  Morris 
brothers — singer/bassist  Mark,  guitarist  Jim  and  drum- 
mer Des — are  popsters  at  heart,  a  fact  which  they  take 
pains  to  disguise  on  these  unremarkable  albums.  The 
Greatest  Story  Ever  Told  does  have  some  charm,  but 
the  trio's  melodies  are  too  often  buried  in  feeble  at- 
tempts to  whip  up  a  vague  air  of  menace.  (Balaam 
started  as  protege's  of  the  Cult's  Ian  Astbury.)  Live  Free 
or  Die,  produced  by  former  Cult  boardman  Steve 
Brown,  is  closer  to  Van  Halen-styled  AOR  metal.  (The 
CD  adds  two  tracks.) 

Day  and  Night  is  a  four-song  12-inch  of  pre-LP 
material,  the  title  track  of  which  wound  up  as  one  of  two 
bonus  cuts  on  the  British  Greatest  Story  CD.  Built 
around  a  song  from  the  first  LP,  She  Knows  is  a  double 
7-inch  with  two  radio  session  tracks  of  songs  that  ap- 
peared on  the  second  album.  The  1989  CD-3  EP  (of- 
fering a  one-song  preview  of  Days  of  Madness)  joins 
the  titular  LP  track  with  three  live  cuts. 

With  the  band  now  a  quartet,  Days  of  Madness 
continues  Balaam's  descent  into  metal  mediocrity, 
unironically  recycling  every  commercial  hard-rock 
client  in  the  book,  without  even  the  mild  diversion  of  its 
predecessor's  pop  hooks.  [hd] 


BALANCING  ACT 

New  Compfire  Songs  EP  (Type  A)  1986  (Prmhve  Man) 

1987® 

Three  Squares  and  a  Roof  f  Primitive  Man)  1988  • 
Curtains  (IRS)  1988* 

This  semi-electric  LA  rock  quartet  is  earnest  enough 
on  its  Peter  Case-produced  debut  EP  but,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  4' Wonderful  World  Tonight,"  a  likable  and 
evocative  update  of  the  "Coin*  Up  the  Country"  ethos, 
none  of  these  half  dozen  New  Canipire  Songs  is  likely 
to  show  up  alongside  "Blowm*  in  the  Wind"  at  the  next 
weenie  roast.  Give  the  Balancing  Act  credit  for  a  unique 
blend  of  acoustic  and  electric  elements,  though.  Also, 
they've  got  a  meiodica,  and  they  know  how  to  use  it! 

Three  Squares  and  a  Roof  is  a  lot  less  precious  and 
more  interesting  than  the  EP.  The  playing  and  produc- 
tion are  better,  the  material  vastly  improved,  revealing 
songs  that  cover  substantial  lyrical  territory,  nearly  all 
of  it  previously  uncharted.  The  Three  Squares  CD  also 
contains  New  Campfire  Songs. 

Deftly  produced  by  ex-Gang  of  Four  guitarist  Andy 
Gill,  Certains  could  be  a  sampler  of  classic  '60s  and 
'70s  harmony  vocal  styles.  Echoes  of  the  Beatles,  Hol- 
lies and  especially  Crosby,  Stills  and  Nash  abound,  as 
well  as  the  Bee  Gees  (on  a  cover  of  Funkadeiic's  "Can 
You  Get  to  That,"  no  less!),  the  Monkees  and  jazzers 
Lambert,  Hendricks  and  Ross.  Gill's  adventurous  high- 
tech  production  not  only  keeps  the  album  from  sounding 
too  retro,  but  helps  put  some  punch  into  material  which 
occasionally  leans  towards  wimpiness.  [ds] 


BALCONY  DOGS 

See  Echo  &  the  Bunnymen. 


B.A.LL 

Period  (Another  American  Lie)  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 987  • 
Bird  (Shimmy-Disc)  1988® 
Trouble  Doll  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 989  • 
Four  (Hardball)  (Shimmy-Disc)  1990  * 

GUMBALL 

Special  Kiss  (Primo  Scree)  1991  « 

Everything  you  really  need  to  know  about  B.A.L.L. 
is  that  Bird  contains  a  smirking  cover  of  George  Har- 
rison's "Bangla  Desh."  This  dual  swipe  at  rock  star 
pomposity  and  sacred  cow  causes  pretty  much  defines 
the  B.A.L.L.  worldview.  How  funny  you  find  the  joke 
depends  on  how  resonant  the  whole  post-Beatles  era  of 
rock  self-importance  was  to  you>  and  how  tolerant  you 
are  of  grown  men  who  think  that  lampooning  it  is  a 
meaningful  activity. 

Formed  by  Velvet  Monkeys  singer/guitarist  Don 
Fleming  and  drummer  Jay  Spiegel,  along  with  producer/ 
bassist  Kramer  and  percussionist  Dave  Licht,  B.A.L.L. 
fills  Period  with  amusing,  grungy,  guitar-driven  crude- 
pop  tunes  like  "The  French"  and  "My  TV  Is  Broke" 
(so  what  else  is  new?).  The  joke  behind  the  band  comes 
to  full  flower  on  Bird,  the  cover  art  of  which  is  a  re- 
creation of  the  Beatles'  infamous  butcher  sleeve.  Be- 
sides "Bangla  Desh,"  the  tunes  here  include  Ringo 
Starr's  "It  Don't  Come  Easy,"  Harrison's  "Wah-Wah" 
and  Marc  Bolan's  "Buick  Mackane";  all  of  them  are 
kind  of  funny  but  none  shed  any  light  on  the  original 

35 


songs.  The  band's  own  material  is  mildly  entertaining 
but  generally  faceless. 

The  back  cover  of  Trouble  Doll  calls  it  "the  dis- 
appointing third  LP,"  but  that's  not  the  half  of  it.  The 
cover  drawing  is  blatantly  racist  and  without  discern- 
ible context;  the  faux-protest  song  "African  Sunset" 
(on  CD  only)  doesn't  promote  intercultural  under- 
standing, either.  While  some  songs  are  moderately  di- 
verting, other  stuff  is  barely  of  demo  quality.  (One 
side  was  recorded  live  at  CBGB,  and  includes  material 
from  Bird  as  well  as  covers.)  The  very  deliberate  at- 
tempt to  make  sloppiness  a  virtue  backfires  as  often  as 
it  clicks  here. 

Strangely  enough,  in  the  midst  of  a  reportedly  acri- 
monious breakup,  the  band  ( which  later  reassembled  as 
Gumball)  completed  its  best  album,  Four  (Hardball). 
Side  One  offers  fully  fteshed-out,  fast,  funny  and  ener- 
getic songs,  while  the  flip  comprises  a  trash  suite  of 
sorts,  with  five  grange-guitar-heaven  instrarneetals. 
(It's  likely  these  were  meant  to  be  complete  vocal  num- 
bers and  that  Fleming  quit  before  finishing  them,  but 
that's  not  how  it  sounds. )  All  in  all,  a  worthy  precursor 
to  Rake,  the  LP  Fleming  next  made  with  a  reformed 
Velvet  Monkeys.  [gk] 

See  also  Velvet  Monkeys. 


DAVE  BALL 

In  Strict  Tempo  for/Some  Bizzare)  1 983 

GRID 

Electric  Head  f  nr/East  West)  1 990  • 

Without  erstwhile  Soft  Cell  partner  Marc  Almond 
supplying  the  sleaze,  shy  keyboard  man  Dave  Ball  is  a 
cold-hearted  bore  on  his  solo  album.  la  Strict  Tempo's 
drab  mood  pieces  strain  with  little  success  for  wry  wit  to 
leaven  the  pretentiousness,  but  wind  up  just  a  jumble  of 
undeveloped  ideas.  Genesis  P-Orridge  of  Psychic  TV 
warbles  on  two  tracks. 

Making  up  for  lost  time,  Ball's  first  album  with  Grid 
partner  Richard  Morris  (a  former  P-Orridge  collaborator 
who  does  a  bit  of  vocalizing  besides  poking  at  an  as- 
sortment of  machines  and  guitar)  runs  through  a  wide 
variety  of  related  electronic  dance  musics:  techno-pop 
(dinky  and  lush),  environmental  ambience,  go-get'em 
house,  prog-rock  and  found-sound  fooling  around.  The 
few  songs  and  the  most  focused  instrumental  pieces  are 
fine  for  what  they  are,  but  a  seemingly  random  track 
sequence  badly  blunts  Electric  Head's  impact,  [jy/i] 


OTIS  BALL 

I'm  Gonna  Love  You  Til  I  Don't  (Bar/None-Restless) 

1990  • 

A  transplanted  Midwesterner  who  joined  the  Hobo- 
ken  scene,  singer/guitarist  Ball  has  a  whiny  voice  per- 
fectly suited  to  songs  that  poke  fun  at  celebs  from 
Buddha  to  Charles  Manson,  as  well  as  several  women 
who  are  no  doubt  nearer  to  his  heart.  The  two  excep- 
tional songs  that  make  this  light,  warm  self-produced 
pop  record  worth  many  a  return  visit  are  the  rollicking 
"Walk  on  Water"  (They  Might  Be  Giants  provide  the 
insidious  chorus  vocal  hook)  and  the  anthernic  title 
track,  a  wondrous  let's-live-for-today  credo  that's  some- 
how both  sad  and  strongly  optimistic.  [sm] 


BALLAD  SHAMBLES 

See  LeRoi  Brothers. 

BALL  AND  PIVOT 

See  Atlantics. 

AFRIKA  BAMBAATAA  &  THE 
JAZZY  5 

"Jazzy  Sensation"  (Tommy  Boy)  1981 

& 

"Planet  Rock"  (Tommy  Boy)  1 982 
"Looking  for  the  Perfect  Beat"  (Tommy  Boy)  1 982 
"Renegades  of  Funk"  (Tommy  Boy)  1 983 
Planet  Rock-The  Album  (Tommy  Boy)  1 986 
"Return  to  Planet  Rock"  (York's)  1 990 

"The  WiSdstySe"  (Celluloid)  1 983 
"World  Destruction"  (Celluloid)  1984  ® 

SHANGO 

Shango  Funk  Theology  (Celluloid)  1 984  • 

AFRIKA  & 

JAMES 

"Unity"  (Tommy  Boy)  1984 

AFRIKA  BAMBAATAA 
FAMILY 

"Funk  You!"  (Tommy  Boy)  1985 

Beware  (The  Funk  Is  Everywhere)  (Tommy  Boy)  1 986 

Death  Mix  Throwdown  (nr/Blatant)  1987 

The  Light  (Capitol)  1 988  ® 

Bronx  DJ-turaed-hip-hop-godfather  Bambaataa  not 
only  created  the  record  that  thrust  beatbox  electro-funk 
into  the  '80s  and  brought  Kraftwerk  onto  the  dancefloor, 
he  has  made  pioneering  sides  with  numerous  performers 
and  established  himself  as  a  major  figure  in  contempo- 
rary music.  Working  mainly  hi  the  12-inch  format, 
Barn's  ascent  began  with  a  routine  boast  rap,  "Jazzy 
Sensation,"  but  got  into  gear  with  "Planet  Rock,"  the 
Arthur  Baker-produced  (and  co-written,  with  the  band 
and  John  Robie)  explosion  of  scratch  cuts,  electronic 
gimmickry,  processed  vocals  and  solid-state  rhythms. 
(Both  tracks  were  later  compiled  on  the  Tommy  Boy 
label  retrospective,  Greatest  Beats.)  "Looking  for  the 
Perfect  Beat"  is  even  better,  with  Baker  mostly  soft- 
pedaling  the  monolithic  pounding  in  favor  of  a  skittish 
electronic  metronome  and  tacking  on  fancier  effects, 
vocals  and  mix  tricks  to  create  an  ultra-busy  urban  sym- 
phony. The  mega-rhythmic  "Renegades  of  Funk"  adds 
social/historical/political  lyrics  to  the  dance-floor  dyna- 
mism and  delivers  a  really  bizarre  blend  of  rap,  synthe- 
sizers and  oppressive  electronic  percussion. 

As  a  precursor  to  a  long-promised  album  (which 
ultimately  included  it),  Bambaataa  released  "Funk 
You!,"  a  corny  rap  idea  stretched  out  over  a  12-inch  in 
four  very  different  mixes,  with  borrowings  from  James 
Brown  and  Queen.  When  it  finally  appeared,  Beware 
proved  that  the  LP  format  presents  no  obstacle  to  the 
imposing  Overseer:  variety  and  invention  make  it  an 
exciting  electro-beat  vision  of  a  freewheeling  stylistic 
future.  "Funk  Jam  Party"  is  exactly  that;  "Tension" 


36 


sounds  like  Bowie  comes  to  Harlem,  '"Rock  America" 
incorporates  howling  eSectnc  guitars,  a  raunchkin  cho- 
rus and  chintzy  organ  without  ever  losing  the  funk.  Eas- 
ily the  highlight,  and  another  amazing  cross-cultural 
accomplishment  by  Bambaataa,  is  Bill  Laswell's  earthy, 
energized  production  of  the  MC5's  "Kick  Out  the 
Jams."  Awesome. 

In  a  fascinating  cross-generational  culture  mix, 
Bambaataa  teamed  with  the  Godfather  of  Soul  to  record 
"Unity,"  a  positive  political  message  released  in  six 
alternate  versions  (connected  by  studio  patter)  on  one 
disc.  Hitting  a  funky  compromise  between  classic  soul 
and  modem  hip-hop,  the  record  works  on  a  number  of 
levels  and  is  certainly  a  significant  milestone  in  rap. 
Taking  another  startling  detour,  Bambaataa  wrote  and 
recorded  "World  Destruction"  with  Bill  Laswell,  shar- 
ing the  vocals  with  John  Lydon,  jump-cutting  the  En- 
glishman's no- wave  keen  into  an  intense,  ominous  fenk- 
rock  maelstrom  for  one  of  the  most  remarkable  dance 
singles  in  recent  memory. 

Bambaataa  also  records  as  a  member  of  Shango,  a 
vocal  trio  that  is  supported  by  Material  (for  this  pur- 
pose, Laswell  and  Michael  Beinhorn).  The  album- 
length  Funk  Theology  offers  five  sophisticated  party 
creations  that  also  feature  guitarist  Nicky  Skopelitis. 
The  originals  get  no  heavier,  lyrically,  than  "Let's  Party 
Down";  a  version  of  Sly  Stone's  "Thank  You"  is  ut- 
terly appropriate.  Good  for  dancing  but  a  bit  dull  for 
listening. 

Extending  the  Family  way  out  there.  The  Light  fea- 
tures UB40,  Nona  Hendryx,  Boy  George,  George 
Clinton,  Bootsy  Collins,  Yellowman  and  others.  At 
times,  the  appealing  and  diverse  pan-ethnic  album  in- 
volves Bam  only  tangentially,  like  a  brief  rap  on  UB40's 
'  'Reckless' '  track,  or  a  few  interjections  on  the  Hendryx/ 
George  rendition  of  Curtis  Mayfield's  "Something  He 
Can  Feel."  The  only  credit  he  takes  on  "Shout  It  Out" 
is  as  co-publisher  of  the  composition.  The  individual 
tracks  are  fine,  but  the  lack  of  focus  leaves  this  plainly 
commercial  effort  more  a  various  artists  sampler  than  a 
cohesive  Bambaataa  creation. 

Planet  Rock-The  Album  is  a  compilation  of  the 
three  classic  12-inch  records  with  Soulsonic  Force  plus 
previously  unreleased  tracks  featuring  Melle  Mel  and 
Trouble  Funk.  [i] 


BAMBi  SLAM 

Is  . . .  EP  (Product  he-Rough  Trade)  1 987 

The  Bambi  Slam  (Blanco  y  Negro-Warner  Bros.)  1  988  « 

Admittedly  inspired  by  the  Jesus  and  Mary  Chain, 
this  Canadian-British  quartet  (guitar/bass/drums/cello!) 
takes  a  less  claustrophobic  and  more  rhythmic  approach 
to  noise-laden  echo-pop  than  the  Reids  but  still  winds  up 
sounding  a  lot  like  Fsychocandy  on  Is,  a  six-track 
American  compilation  of  British  singles.  Although  not 
prominent  in  the  mix,  the  big  fiddle  adds  a  nice  touch  to 
songs  like  "La,  La,  La  (It's  Out  of  Hand)"  and  "Hit 
Me  with  Your  Hairbrush."  Redundant  but  amusing. 

Singer/guitarist  Roy  Feldon  is  all  that  remains  of  the 
Bambi  Slam  on  the  album,  although  his  former  band- 
mates  add  some  cello,  backing  vocals  and  one  drum 
track.  Running  the  one-man  show,  Feldon  gets  an  irri- 
tatingly  raw  sound  from  a  rhythm  machine  and  lots  of 
equally  coarse  guitar;  his  singing  is  no  mellifluous  prize, 


either.  Where  the  EP  had  a  certain  spirit  and  excitement, 
the  album  is  dragg> ,  ineffectual  and  repetitive,  a 

of  rounds  rather  than  songs.  [i] 

BANANARAMA 

Deep  Sea  Skiving  f  London)  1 983  • 

Bananarama  {London}  1984® 

True  Confessions  (London)  1986  • 

Wowlf  London)  1987» 

The  Greatest  Hits  Collection  f London}  1988  * 

Pop  Life  (London)  1 991  • 

Sacred  Heart  (ffrr-PolyGram)  1989  • 

Keren  Woodward,  Sarah  Dallin  and  Siobhan  Fahey 
became  a  trio  in  London  in  1979.  They  first  gained 
notoriety  singing  with  the  Fun  Boy  Three,  who  later 
returned  the  favor  by  producing  and  backing  them  on 
their  earliest  singles.  Deep  Sea  Skiving  essentially  com- 
piles their  first  string  of  infectious  45s,  encompassing  a 
panoply  of  styles:  percussive  Afro-beat  ("He  Was 
Really  Sayin'  Somethin'"),  girl-group  soul  ("Shy 
Boy"),  '60s  chart  silliness  ( "Na  Na  Hey  Hey  Kiss  Him 
Goodbye")  and  lush  pop  ("Cheers  Then").  Addition- 
ally, Deep  Sea  Skiving  offers  Paul  Weiler's  "Doctor 
Love,"  the  charming  and  light  "Hey  Young  London" 
and  the  morose  "What  a  Shambles."  An  assortment  of 
producers  yields  little  uniformity  of  sound,  but  the  en- 
semble vocals  provide  the  crucial  character  regardless  of 
setting. 

For  their  first  real  album,  Bananarama  gave  the  ball 
to  hitmakers  Swain  and  Jolley  (Spandau,  Alison  Moyet, 
Imagination)  who,  as  is  their  custom,  co-wrote  the  ma- 
terial. Over  the  lush,  highly  arranged  backing,  the  ladies 
croon  two  wonderful  singles — the  evocatively  tropical 
"Cruel  Summer"  (a  hit,  one  year  apart,  in  the  UK  and 
US)  and  "Robert  De  Hire's  Waiting."  Otherwise,  the 
album  deflects  much  of  the  trio's  engaging  individuality 
and  substitutes  a  vacuous  sheen  that's  too  functional  and 
defeats  their  ingenuous  image.  Bananarama  isn't 
bad — the  vocals  are  charming  in  any  case — but  it  is 
forgettable. 

Although  Swain  and  Jolley  still  held  the  reins  for 
True  Confessions,  they  lost  their  franchise  to  the  up- 
and-coming  Stock-Aitken- Waterman  team,  who  placed 
two  sides  on  the  LP,  including  an  irresistibly  catchy 
disco  remake  of  Shocking  Blue's  "Venus"  that  topped 
the  American  charts.  Overall,  True  Confessions  is  a 
limp  outing  that  sculpts  a  refined  adult  sound,  evapo- 
rating the  group's  youthful  vitality  and  charm  in  the 
process. 

Capitalizing  on  their  Moroder-based  sequencer  for- 
mula, Stock,  Aitken  and  Waterman  wrote,  produced 
and  programmed  Wow!,  a  peppy  synth-driven  dance 
record  that  disguises  Bananarama' s  vocal  limitations  in 
an  overwhelming  wash  of  electronic  music  simulation. 
The  crass  gimmickry  and  mock-Supremes  arrangements 
of  "I  Heard  a  Rumour"  and  "I  Can't  Help  It"  are  as 
predictable  as  the  tunes  are  unshakable;  the  rest  of  the 
album's  tracks  resemble  those  two  so  closely  they  might 
as  well  be  remixes.  (The  UK  CD  and  cassette  actually 
include  bonus  remixes.)  Sure  it's  total  trash,  but  what 
else  does  a  car  need  to  keep  it  running  in  the  hot  summer 
sun? 

In  late  '87,  following  Wowl's  success,  Fahey  (by 


37 


then  married  to  Dave  Stewart  of  Eurythmics)  left  the 
band  and  was  replaced  by  Jacqme  O'Sullivan,  formerly 
of  the  Shillelagh  Sisters,  It  would  have  been  nice  if  the 
resulting  compilation  album  had  carefully  sealed  the 
original  group's  best  and  biggest  tunes  in  a  time  cap- 
sule, but  The  Greatest  Hits  Collection  mixes  in  a  cou- 
ple of  items  by  the  new  lineup  and  includes  before-and- 
after  photos  as  well.  Considered  as  an  overall  oeuvre 
(well  .  .  .  ),  there's  a  lot  more  crap  than  quality  here; 
the  handful  of  charming  pop  gems  are  swamped  by  cra- 
ven trash. 

If  Dave  Stewart  had,  as  claimed,  no  hand  in  crafting 
the  synthesized  dance-rock  of  Sacred  Heart,  then  pre- 
cisely mimicking  Eurythmics'  sound  must  be  easier  than 
one  would  imagine.  Joined  in  Shakespear's  Sister  by 
Marcella  Detroit  (who,  in  her  '70s  life  as  Marcy  Levy, 
toured  and  recorded  with  Enc  Clapton),  the  post- 
Bananarama  Fahey  (sporting  a  deeper,  more  serious 
voice)  kisses  off  her  ex-bandmates  with  the  nasty 
"You're  History,"  but  isn't  above  recreating  their  har- 
mony signature  on  several  tunes.  Although  she  does  a 
fair  Chrissie  Hynde  impression  on  "Heaven  Is  in  Your 
Anns"  and  echoes  other  contemporary  vocalists  else- 
where, frequent,  detailed  nods  to  Annie  Lennox  give  the 
record  an  overwhelming  sense  of  deja  entendu.  Even 
"Primitive  Love, "  a  goofy  six-line  shoutalong  with  rag- 
ing fuzz  bass,  sounds  like  Eurythmicized  Gary  Glitter. 

[i] 

BAND  OF  BLACKY  RANCHETTE 

See  Giant  Sandworms. 

BAND  OF  OUTSIDERS 

See  Certain  General. 

BAND  OF  SUSANS 

Blessing  and  Curse  EP  (Trace  Elements)  1 987 
Hope  Against  Hope  (Furthur-Blast  First)  1 988  • 
Love  Agenda  (Blast  First-Restless)  1 989  * 
The  World  and  the  Flesh  (Restless)  1 991  • 

ROBERT  POSS 

Sometimes  [tapel  (Trace  Elements)  1 986 

ROBERT  POSS/NICOLAS 
COLLINS 

Inverse  Guitar  [tape]  (Trace  Elements)  1 988 

HELMET 

Strap  it  On  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 990 

Indeed  there  were,  for  a  time,  three  Susans  (Stenger, 
Tallman  and  Lyall)  in  this  New  York  sextet  that  has  its 
roots  in  Glenn  Branca's  and  Rhys  Chatham's  experi- 
mental downtown  ensembles.  The  four  songs  on  Bless- 
ing and  Curse,  produced  by  (ex-Western  Eyes) 
guitarist/songwriter/vocalist  Robert  Poss,  locate  an  ex- 
citing niche  between  anti-music  chaos  and  accessible 
rock  by  setting  simple,  repetitive  chord/bass  patterns  in 
motion  and  then  slathering  on  layers  of  vocals  and  noisy 
guitar.  Dense  without  being  forbidding,  "You  Were  an 
Optimist"  and  the  speeding  "Where  Have  All  the  Flow- 
ers Gone"  (an  original)  clearly  indicate  the  Susans' 
intriguing  direction  and  skill. 

Hope  Against  Hope  (titled  after  an  EP  track  that 
was  remixed  and  included;  a  second  appears  in  a  new 


version  here)  is  an  improvement  on  ail  fronts,  revealing 
a  bracingly  laud — but  never  actually  strident — band  that 
seemingly  can't  put  enough  guitar  electricity  on  vinyl  to 
satisfy  itself.  Besides  Poss*  febrile  production,  his  songs 
are  better  formed  here,  with  chord  progressions  that 
actually  resolve,  (In  a  touching  show  of  pop  cogni- 
zance, **I  the  Jury"  quotes  the  Stones'  "Last  Time.") 
Anchored  by  a  solidly  plain  rhythm  section,  the  storm  of 
strings  continues  to  rage  unabated,  making  Hope 
Against  Hope  something  of  a  rockier  American  re- 
sponse to  Psychocandy.  (Just  ignore  the  band's 
English-major  lyrics.)  The  CD  adds  the  two  remaining 
songs — "Where  Have  All  the  Flowers  Gone"  and 
"Sometimes" — from  Blessing  and  Curse. 

With  the  departure  of  two  Susans  (following  Hope 
Against  Hope's  mid-'87  sessions),  a  five-piece/three- 
guitar  lineup  made  Love  Agenda  with  no  diminution  in 
power.  Although  it  sounds  unlikely  the  songs  would 
amount  to  much  musically  in  a  different  context — these 
aren't  twinky  little  pop  ditties  given  a  radioactive-waste 
bath — the  band's  ability  to  harness  distortion,  wall- 
shaking  volume  and  feedback  (keeping  things  just  be- 
low the  chaos  line)  into  reasonably  melodic  forms 
remains  a  marvelous  achievement.  The  barreling  "Be- 
cause of  You"  and  the  droney  "It's  Locked  Away"  are 
the  album's  most  impressive  tracks.  The  CD  adds  a  loud 
but  unconvincing  cover  of  the  Stones'  "Child  of  the 
Moon." 

Made  while  Poss  was  still  a  member  of  Chatham's 
band,  Sometimes  predates  the  Susans'  first  record  but 
features  two  of  its  members — Alva  Rogers  on  backing 
vocals  and  drummer  Ron  Spitzer  on  piano.  A  tentative 
and  transitional  bridge  between  career  stages,  the  eight 
songs — which  include  early  versions  of  "Sometimes" 
and  Hope  Against  Hope's  "Throne  of  Blood,"  as  well 
as  an  otherwise  unrecorded  song  entitled  "Blessing  and 
Curse" — cover  both  regular  rock  and  surging  noise. 

Poss  fills  one  side  of  Inverse  Guitar  with  formless, 
ear-splitting  1987  guitar-damage  improvisations;  the 
other  documents  his  (and  Susan  Tallman' s)  collabora- 
tion with  electronic  music  composer  Nicolas  Collins  on 
three  failed  experiments  that  employ  familiar  life  sounds 
and  backwards  manipulation  of  guitar  and  bass. 

Guitarist/shouter  Page  Hamilton — a  Love  Agenda 
Susan — leads  the  far  less  melodic  Helmet,  a  brutal  noise 
quartet  that  clearly  isn't  in  it  for  the  songs.  Like  an 
uptempo  Black  Sabbath  record  with  a  bad  skip,  Helmet 
repeats  lockstep  guitar/bass  riffs  endlessly  on  Strap  It 
On,  erecting  a  crudely  effective  brick  wall  of  sound. 

See  also  Rhys  Chatham.  [i] 

BANGLES 

Bangles  EP  (Faulty  Products)  1982  (IRS)  1982 
All  Over  the  Place  (Columbia)  1 984  • 
Different  Light  (Columbia)  1 986  « 
Everything  (Columbia)  1 988  • 
Greatest  Hits  (Columbia)  1 990  <}> 

SUSANNA  HOFFS 

When  You're  a  Boy  (Columbia)  1 991  4> 

These  four  young  women  from  Los  Angeles— 
originally  known  as  the  Bangs — display  an  odd  collec- 
tion of  influences  on  their  five-track  debut  EP,  neatly 
produced  by  Craig  Leon.  The  swell  harmonies  on  sev- 
eral cuts  come  straight  from  the  Mamas  and  the  Papas, 


38 


while  the  music  alternates  between  evoking  Rubber 
Soul  and  energetic,  bantamweight  Yardbirds-styied  ga- 
rage rock.  The  play  ing's  fine  and  the  vocals  are  great — 
the  songs  just  aren't  op  to  snuff. 

The  Bangles*  >oung  career  was  temporarily  derailed 
when  Faulty  Products  went  out  of  business  and  bassist 
Annette  Zilinskas  left  to  join  Blood  on  the  Saddle,  Come 
1984,  the  group  swung  back  into  action,  fortified  with  a 
new  bassist,  a  more  reliable  record  contract,  the  best 
American  power-pop  producer  money  can  buy  (David 
Kahne)  and  a  passe!  of  brilliant  new  songs  (mostly  by 
guitarist  Vicki  Peterson,  but  also  Kimberley  Rew's 
"Going  Down  to  Liverpool,"  a  cover  which  indirectly 
led  to  his  group,  Katrina  and  the  Waves,  finally  securing 
an  American  deal).  AH  Over  the  Place  has  everything 
a  pop  album  needs,  exceptional  harmony  vocals,  catchy, 
memorable  and  intelligent  tunes  and  a  foil  dose  of  rock- 
'n'roll guitar  energy.  Unlike  the  Go-Go's,  who  never 
fully  clarified  their  lyncal  stance,  the  Bangles  offer  an 
adult  play-fair-or-take-a-hike  independence  that  is  a  lot 
more  contemporary  than  their  joyously  evocative  sound. 
The  best  cuts  other  than  "Liverpool'* — "Hero  Takes  a 
Fall,"  "Tell  Me"  and  "lames" — feature  guitarist  Su- 
sanna Hoffs'  alluring  vocals  and  are  unassailable  gems; 
the  worst  tracks  only  fall  short  of  that  by  a  smidge. 
Simply  wonderful. 

Prince  became  a  fan,  and  gave  the  rising  band  a 
song,  "Manic  Monday"  (written  pseudonymously  by 
"Christopher"),  for  Different  Light.  Despite  trivial 
lyrics,  it  became  a  gigantic  hit  single,  establishing  the 
quartet's  stardom  but  causing  many  to  overlook  the  LP's 
finer  points:  Jules  Shear's  "If  She  Knew  What  She 
Wants,"  Alex  Chilton's  classic  "September  Gurls"  and 
bassist  Michael  Steele's  harrowing  "Following."  If  not 
as  consistently  top-notch  as  All  Over  the  Place,  it's 
nonetheless  enjoyable  and  often  memorable. 

Taking  a  dive  from  the  precipice  of  quality  pop,  the 
Bangles  sacrificed  Everything  to  the  gods  of  radio  pro- 
gramming. Studiously  produced  by  Davitt  Sigerson  into 
a  weak  imitation  of  artistic  pretension,  the  mellifluous 
album  contains  one  great  song  (the  sexy  "In  Your 
Room"),  lots  of  bad  ideas  ("Bell  Jar,"  a  Sylvia  Plath 
tribute  so  idiotic  that  the  grim  lyrics  and  peppy  arrange- 
ment almost  fit  together;  "Glitter  Years,"  a  sheepish 
glam-rock  recollection  that  ends  with  a  Bowie  quote;  the 
merry  death  wish  of '  'Crash  and  Burn' ' )  and  the  group's 
creative  nadir:  the  blatant  pandering  song-factory 
schmaltz  of  Hoffs'  showcase  "Eternal  Flame,"  a  test- 
run  for  her  impending  solo  career. 

Besides  a  short  list  of  obvious  LP  tracks  (that  man- 
ages to  overlook  "September  Gurls,"  "James,"  and 
other  personal  faves),  the  compilation  appends  the  Ban- 
gles' ripping  version  of  Paul  Simon's  "Hazy  Shade  of 
Winter"  (from  the  Less  Than  Zero  soundtrack),  a 
bland  folky  romp  through  the  Grass  Roots'  "Where 
Were  You  When  I  Needed  You"  (rescued  from  an  early 
B-side)  and  an  insignificant  Everything  outtake. 

Hoffs'  solo  album  (named  for  a  lyric  from  the  Bowie 
song  that  closes  the  record)  is  a  no-holds-barred  commer- 
cial bore,  with  painstaking  adult-pop  overproduction  by 
Kahne  and  a  strange  hodgepodge  of  demographically 
designed  material.  Besides  the  hollow  products  of  hit 
hacks,  the  scattered  program  includes  Cyndi  Lauper's 
"Unconditional  Love"  (with  "new  lyrics  written  ex- 
pressly for  Susanna  Hoffs"!),  E*I*E*I*O's  fine  "This 


Time,"  Pearl  Harbor  and  the  Explosions'  4*So  Much  for 
Love"  and  "That's  Why  Girls  Cry,*'  a  presentable  col- 
laboration between  singer,  producer  and  Juliana  Hal- 
field  of  Blake  Babies.  Donovan  Leifcfa  is  one  of  the 
numerous  backing  singers;  John  Enmistle  guests  on  the 
appalling  misreading  of  "Boys  Keep  Swinging."  p] 
See  also  Blood  on,  the  Saddle. 


LESTER  BANGS  AND  THE 
DELINQUENTS 

Jook  Savages  on  the  Brazos  {Live  Wire}  1 981 

DELINQUENTS 

The  Delinquents  (Live  Wire)  1981 

Birdland  (Add  On}  1986 

Elevated  (strung  up?)  as  the  newest  breed  of  rock- 
'n'roll hero — martyred  chronicler — Lester  Bangs  was  a 
timely  victim  for  the  perennial  personality  cult,  which 
seized  upon  his  accidental  death  in  April  1982  to  resur- 
rect his  seminal  rock  writing  for  a  new  fanzine  audi- 
ence. By  turns  introspective  and  scathing,  Ms  dissection 
of  music  was  frequently  intense  and  insightful,  occa- 
sionally misguided  and  paltry,  but  it  was  always  soul- 
searching  and  achingly  personal,  crypto-musical 
characteristics  that  have  endeared  him  to  subsequent 
generations  and  which,  not  surprisingly,  infuse  his  own 
recorded  work. 

Following  the  nakedly  bleary  emotion  of  his  "Let  It 
Blurt"  45  (with  backing  by  members  of  the  Patti  Smith 
Group,  Voidoids  and  Raybeats),  Bangs  somehow 
hooked  up  with  the  Delinquents  (Texas  version),  locally 
infamous  for  relinquishing  their  sociopathic  vocalist 
Layna  Pogue  to  a  quiet  room  with  rubber  walls.  That 
brief  intersection  yielded  an  LP  not  unlike  Richard 
Hell's  first — if  recorded  impromptu  during  second  re- 
hearsal, with  Hank  Williams  and  Pere  Ubu  puppeteering 
overhead.  Classic  or  erratic,  depending  on  your  skew  of 
vision. 

The  Delinquents  also  released  a  self-titled  LP  sans 
frontperson,  with  the  guitarists  sharing  vocals  atop 
vaguely  B-52'sish  new  wave  surf.  After  they  disbanded, 
bassist/Live  Wire  boss  Brian  Curley  went  on  to  work 
with  yet  another  certifiably  abnormal  intellect,  Roky 
Erickson,  in  Evil  Hook  Wildlife  ET.,  before  forming  27 
Devils  Joking. 

In  1986,  Birdland  denigrated  the  Bangs  legend  with 
its  posthumous  reflection  on  Lester's  band  of  the  same 
name,  generally  despised  during  its  existence  as  a  worth- 
less live  unit  with  ties  to  Lower  East  Side  little  brothers 
the  Rattlers.  Basically  pop  with  dulled  hooks,  even  Lest- 
er's jagged  vocals  and  lyrics  seem  to  have  lost  all  edge 
and  point,  not  least  in  the  remakes  (from  Jook  Savages) 
of  the  previously  nervy  "I'm  in  Love  with  My  Walls" 
and  "Accidents  of  God."  [ab] 

See  also  Rattlers. 


PATO  BANTON 

Never  Give  In  (nr/Greensleeves)  1987  (Primitive  Man) 

1988 

Pato  &  Roger  Come  Again  EP  (Primitive  Man)  1988 
Visions  of  the  World  (IRS)  1 989 
Wize  Up!  (No  Compromize)  (IRS)  1990  • 


39 


A  dozen  years  after  making  his  album  debut  ( on  the 
Beat's  Special  Beat  Service)  duelling  with  Ranking 
Roger  on  "Pato  and  Roger  a  Go  Talk/'  Pato  Banton 
(bom  Patnck  Murray)  relumed  to  these  shores,  with 
Never  Give  IE.  Mainly  backed  by  Birmingham's  Studio 
Two  house  band,  which  provides  strong  reggae  riddims 
punctuated  by  colorful  horns  and  rock-oriented  lead  gui- 
tar, Banton  sings,  toasts  and  speed-raps  against  war, 
poverty  and  drugs  i  except  one,  of  course).  Fortunately, 
his  advice  on  how  to  behave  in  Babylon  is  laced  with 
humor — his  impersonations  of  his  mother  (on  three 
songs),  wife  and  a  scared  riot  victim  are  hilarious.  Also 
fun  are  duets  with  Paul  Shaffer,  another  go-round  with 
Ranking  Roger  and  a  wonderful  high  speed  toast  titled 
**Gwam!" 

The  Pato  &  Roger  Come  Again  EP  contains  two 
versions  of  the  title  track,  one  longer  and  one  shorter 
than  the  one  on  Never  Give  In;  "Don't  Sniff  Coke" 
(also  from  the  LP),  which  features  a  rap  about  Pato's 
encounter  with  a  dope  dealer  on  a  train;  and  the  gritty 
non-LP  44Krag  Step." 

While  Visions  of  the  World  and  Wtze  Up!  remain 
fairly  similar  to  Never  Give  In  in  terms  of  subject  mat- 
ter, the  music  is  slicker,  leaning  more  towards  smooth 
dance  rock,  bland  soul  and  synthesized  pop  reggae.  Pa- 
to's added  a  bit  more  boast  to  his  toast,  but  both  albums 
lack  the  humor  and  flair  of  the  first.  Switching  styles 
(and  accents)  in  most  unnerving  manner,  Banton  makes 
a  number  of  faint  political  statements  on  Visions  of  the 
World,  adding  only  one  amusing  toast,  "Ready  Me 
Ready,*'  about  a  romantic  misadventure  m  London. 

Steel  Pulse's  David  Hinds  duets  on  the  title  track  of 
Wize  Up!,  which  also  features  Banton' s  rendition  of 
"Spirits  in  the  Material  World."  (In  a  fitting  stylistic 
payback,  the  Police  song  became  an  alternative  radio  hit 
for  him. )  Judging  from  this  album,  Banton  could  be  the 
first  toaster  to  become  a  pop  star  in  America.  [ds/i] 

BARNES  &  BARNES 

Voobaha  (Rhino)  1  980 

fish  Heads:  Barnes  and  Barnes  Greatest  Hits  EP  (Rhino) 

1981 

Spazchow  (Rhino)  1981 
Soak  It  Up  EP  (Boulevard-CBS)  1 983 
Amazing  Adult  Fantasy  (Rhino)  1984 
Sicks  (Rhino)  1987 
Zabagabee:  The  Best  of  Barnes  &  Barnes  (Rhino)  1988  • 

Art  and  Artie  Barnes  (one  of  whom  had  a  highly 
public  former  life  as  Billy  Mumy,  child  actor)  are  a  sick 
pair  of  perverts  you  would  not  want  to  know  personally, 
At  your  party,  they  would  stage  disgusting  practical 
jokes;  they  would  tell  obscene  lies  to  your  parents  just  to 
get  a  laugh.  Both  Voobaha  and  Spazchow  offer  heavy 
doses  of  dark-hued  novelty  music  that  chews  up  modern 
culture  and  spits  it  back,  producing  an  equal  number  of 
chuckles  and  shudders.  The  first  features  the  under- 
ground hit  "Fish  Heads5*  plus  " Boogie  Woogie  Ampu- 
tee" and  "Party  in  My  Pants."  On  Spazchow  you  get 
"Spooky  Lady  on  Death  Avenue,"  "Swallow  My 
Love"  and  a  merciless  dissection  of  (the  group)  Amer- 
ica's "I  Need  You." 

In  what  clearly  was  the  only  possible  response,  two 
members  of  America  provided  backing  vocals  on  the 
pair's  next  effort,  Soak  It  Up,  a  relatively  restrained 


five-song  EP.  (The  earlier  retrospective  EP  is  a  fish 
head-shaped  picture  disc. ) 

Amazing  Adult  Fantasy  offers  further  proof  thai 
age  is  softening  the  Barnes  boys.  Not  only  does  Steve 
Perry  of  Journey  sing  on  the  utterly  presentable  "Don't 
You* Wanna  Go  to  the  Moon,"  bui  the  pair  makes  a  vain 
stab  at  commercial  accessibility  with  "I  Don't  Remem- 
ber Tomorrow"  and  other  wimpoiinos.  Sicks,  however, 
returns  them  to  the  disgustatorium,  with  such  garbage 
paii  tones  as  "Pizza  Face,"  "Pussy  Whipped"  and  "Sit 
on  My  Lap  and  Call  Me  Daddy." 

Reposing  only  two  of  the  five  songs  composing  the 
appropriately  shaped  Fish  Heads  picture  disc,  Zab- 
agabee contains  many  of  the  pair's  finest  and  most  es- 
sential moments,  including  "Fish  Heads,"  "Party  in 
My  Pants,"  '  'Boogie  Woogie  Amputee, ' '  "Pizza  Face1 ' 
and  a  fine  reading  of  "What's  New  Pussycat?"  pro- 
duced by  kindred  weirdo  Bob  Casale.  (The  CD  throws 
in  five  more.)  Lovers  of  absurdist,  sleazy  humor  should 
consider  Barnes  &  Barnes  highly  recommended.  All 
others  should  proceed  with  extreme  caution.  [jy/ij 

See  also  Crispin  Hellion  Glover. 

RICHARD  BARONE 

See  Bongos. 

BARRACUDAS 

Drop  Out  with  the  Barracudas  (Voxx)  1 981  ® 

Mean  Time  (Fr.  Closer)  1983 

House  of  Kicb  EP  (nr/Flicknife)  1983 

Live  1 983  (Fr.  Coyote)  1983 

Endeavour  to  Persevere  (Fr.  Closer)  1984 

The  Big  Gap  (Fr.  Coyote)  1984 

Live  in  Madrid  (Sp.  Impassible)  1986 

I  Wish  It  Could  Be  1 965  Again  {Fr.  GMG)  1 987 

The  World's  a  Bum  EP  (nr/Flicknife)  1988 

The  Garbage  Dump  Tapes!  (nr/Shalcin'  Street)  1 989  ® 

FORTUNATE  SONS 

Rising  (nr/Bam  Caruso)  1986 
Karezza  {nr/Bam  Caruso)  1 987 

JEREMY  GLUCK  WITH 
N1KKI  SUDDEN  & 

ROWLAND  S.  HOWARD 

I  Knew  Buffalo  Bill  (nr/Flicknife)  1987 
Burning  Skulls  Rise  EP  (nr/Flicknife)  1 988 

Despite  a  cheerfully  self-deprecating  stance,  Lon- 
don's Barracudas  offer  quite  an  enjoyable  sentimental 
journey  through  assorted  American  traditions  on  Drop 
Out.  Some  tunes  plunge  headlong  into  dense,  ringing 
folk-rock — see  ** Violent  Times"  or  "I  Saw  My  Death 
in  a  Dream  Last  Night"  for  an  update  of  the  Byrds  on  a 
gloomy  day.  Surf  tunes  like  ** Summer  Fun"  and  "His 
Last  Summer"  strive  a  little  too  hard  for  laughs  to  over- 
come fundamental  flimsiness,  but  are  fun  and  can't  be 
faulted  on  attitude.  (The  UK  and  US  versions  of  the  LP 
differ  by  a  track.) 

After  abandoning  a  second  album  (four  tracks  from 
which  were  salvaged  and  released  as  House  of  Kicks) 
and  losing  drummer  Nick  Turner  to  the  nascent  Lords 
of  the  New  Church,  singer  Jeremy  Gluck  and  guitarist 
Robin  Wills  assembled  a  new  Barracudas  and  recorded 
the  wonderful  Mean  Time,  produced  by  Pete  Gage 


40 


I  ex- Vinegar  Joe),  vtho  also  adds  e\ocati\e  keyboards 
to  the  LP  Reclaiming  more  than  half  of  the  unrcleased 
album's  songs,  the  Barracudas  here  sound  like  a  \ounger 
Flamm  Groovier  t  In  fact,  this  file-piece  lineup- — easily 
the  Barracudas"  best—features  ex-Groovie  guitarist 
Chris  Wilson,  t  An  effortless  and  catch}  "60sish  blend 
of  punky  pop,  vintage  rock'n'roll,  mock  Mersey- 
beat,  snarly  mild  psychedelia  and  Byrdsy  12-string  folk- 
rock. 

The  1983  live  LP,  packaged  and  recorded  so  ama- 
teurishly as  to  resemble  a  bootleg,  has  a  few  original 
songs  from  the  two  preceding  albums  but  mostly  con- 
sists of  covers  like  " Seven  and  Seven  Is,"  ** You're 
Gonna  Miss  Me"  and  "Fortunate  Son."  The  perfor- 
mances rock  out  enthusiastically,  but  the  miserable 
sound  quality  is  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  enjoy- 
ment. 

After  making  a  third  album,  Endeavour  to  Perse- 
vere, the  Barracudas  disbanded  at  the  end  of  '84.  While 
assorted  European  labels  issued  compilations  (I  Wish  It 
Could  Be  1965  Again),  outtake  collections  (The  Big 
Gap)  and  archival  conceit  albums  (Live  in  Madrid,  a 
terrible  1984  show  with  better  sound  than  the  French 
live  LP),  Gluck  made  a  musically  unrelated  solo  LP  in 
collaboration  with  Nikki  Sudden  and  Epic  Soundtracks 
(both  ex-Swell  Maps),  Rowland  S.  Howard  (Birthday 
Party,  etc.)  and  Gun  Club  leader  Jeffrey  Lee  Pierce  (on 
guitar).  Various  permutations  of  that  gang  play  Gluck/ 
Sudden  compositions  in  simple  recordings  that  have  a 
nice,  casual  feel.  Stylistic  variety — from  acoustic  gui- 
tars ("Gone  Free,"  the  nicest  tune  here)  to  near-noise 
(the  last  portion  of  the  epic  "All  My  Secrets") — keeps 
Buffalo  Bill  interesting,  but  Gluck's  artless  voice 
doesn't  really  suit  the  material.  Intriguing  but  unsatis- 
fying. (The  same  crew  later  reassembled  to  cut  an  EP, 
Burning  Skulls  Rise.) 

For  his  part,  Wills  made  a  pair  of  albums  with  a 
group  called  the  Fortunate  Sons  (originally  a  trio,  but 
later  a  quartet  with  Chris  Wilson),  whose  bassist  wound 
up  in  the  Barracudas  when  Wills  and  Gluck  decided  to 
restart  the  band  in  early  '89.  The  first  order  of  business 
was  to  polish  up  the  tapes  of  the  lost  second  album  from 
1982.  House  of  Kicks'  belated  release  as  Garbage 
Dump  isn't  exactly  the  Rosetta  Stone  of  '80s  music,  but 
it  is  a  potent  dose  of  solid  garage  rock,  albeit  without  the 
same  tuneful  charm  as  Mean  Time  (with  which  it  shares 
eight  songs);  in  hindsight,  that  underscores  the  roles 
Chris  Wilson  and  Pete  Gage  played  on  that  album.  Over- 
all, the  biggest  failings  are  the  vocals,  which  are 
hoarsely  unattractive  and  rather  weak  in  the  harmony 
department,  and  the  unimaginative,  overly  nostalgic 
production  style.  The  World's  a  Burn  is  a  six-track 
compilation  of  singles. 

By  the  end  of  1990,  the  Barracudas  had  recorded  an 
album's  worth  of  new  material  produced  by  Andy  Sher- 
noff  and  were  looking  for  a  label.  [jy/i] 

SYD  BARRETT 

The  Madcap  Laughs  (nr/Harvest)  1970  (Capitol)  1990  • 

Barrett  (nr/Harvest)  1 970  (Capitol)  1 990  • 

The  Madcap  Laughs/Barrett  (Harvest)  1974 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 987  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  • 
Opel  (nr/Harvest)  1988  (Capitol)  1989  « 


Beyond  the  Wildwood  (nr/!mog:noTy}  1 987  • 

One  of  rock's  legendary  h\mg  dead  casualties, 
gultanst- songwriter  Syd  [Roger]  Barrett  formed  Pink 
Flo^d  in  1965  and  made  it  one  of  the  first  art-school 
bands  to  abandon  bloss  for  druggsfied  psychedelia.  Syd 
fell  out  of  Pink  Floyd  after  a  debut  album  that  pat  the 
band  on  the  verge  of  major  international  success;  having 
grown  erratic,  withdrawn  and  unpredictable,  he  pretty 
much  retired  in  1968,  and  has  since  lived  a  private, 
reclusive  existence — except  for  making  two  solo  records 
in  1970.  Barrett  has  influenced  many  bands  and  remains 
an  enduring  rock  Icon  for  the  chronically  dislocated. 
Twenty  years  later,  his  unselfconscious  loomness  con- 
tinues to  set  a  framework  in  which  artists  can  explore 
updated  acid-rock  with  little  more  than  an  acoustic  gui- 
tar. The  Television  Personalities  have  sung  about  him, 
Robyn  Hitchcock,  Anthony  More,  Edward  Ka-Spel  (of 
the  Legendary  Pink  Dots)  and  others  have  been  com- 
pared to  him,  and  numerous  art,  psychedelic  and  neo- 
mod  bands  have  invoked  his  name,  recorded  his  songs 
or  acknowledged  his  impact.  Tormented  but  unques- 
tionably brilliant,  Barrett  left  a  musical  legacy  which  is 
wholly  contained  on  Floyd's  first  LP  and  these  four 
discs.  (The  two  original  records  were  issued  separately 
but  subsequently  repackaged  as  a  double  album.  When 
it  came  to  CDs,  however,  they  were  split  up  again.) 

The  Madcap  Laughs  sounds  as  though  it  was  a 
difficult  record  to  make.  Ex-bandmates  David  Giimour 
and  Roger  Waters  obviously  had  to  expend  some  effort 
to  get  Barrett  organized  enough  to  produce  releasable 
tracks,  and  they  only  did  half  the  record.  (The  remain- 
der was  produced  by  the  label  manager  of  Harvest 
Records. )  The  inclusion  of  false  starts  and  between-take 
discussions  make  it  clear  this  was  no  easy  task.  Still,  the 
songs  (e.g.,  "Terrapin,"  "Octopus")  are  wonderful, 
and  Syd's  delicate  but  clumsy  singing  lends  charm  to 
the  effort,  which  alternates  between  one-man  perfor- 
mances and  subtly  played  group  efforts  (several  of 
which  were  actually  solo  takes  overdubbed  by  Hugh 
Hopper,  Mike  Ratledge  and  Robert  Wyatt  of  the  Soft 
Machine). 

Giimour  and  Floyd  keyboardist  Richard  Wright  pro- 
duced Barrett,  using  Humble  Pie  drummer  Jerry  Shir- 
ley as  the  album's  fourth  musician.  This  more 
consistent-sounding  record — relatively  confident  and 
upbeat — offers  Barrett's  idiosyncratic  view  of  life  in 
songs  like  "Waving  My  Arms  in  the  Air"  and  "Effer- 
vescing Elephant. "  Confusion  and  anger  lurk  just  below 
the  surface  of  misleadingly  chipper  bits  of  Carnaby 
Street  flower-power  music. 

The  outtakes  and  leftovers  from  those  two  projects, 
combined  with  1968  demo  sessions,  were  culled  for 
Opel,  an  excellent  appendix  to  Barrett's  oeuvre.  Con- 
sidering the  uncommon  qualities  of  The  Madcap 
Laughs  and  Barrett,  this  collection  of  early/alternate/ 
unaccompanied  versions  and  otherwise  unreleased 
material — including  "Golden  Hair,"  "Octopus"  (then 
titled  "Clowns  &  Jugglers"),  "Dark  Globe"  (aka 
"Wouldn't  You  Miss  Me") — make  just  as  cohesive  an 
album.  None  of  these  tracks  shed  any  new  light  on 
Barrett  as  a  person  or  an  artist,  but  this  is  a  major  ad- 
dition to  his  slim  solo  catalogue. 

The  excellent  Peel  EP  dates  from  February  1970  and 
contains  cogent  renditions  of  "Terrapin,"  "Gigolo 


41 


Aunt/'  *4Bab\  Lemonade,"  44 Effervescing  Elephant" 
and  the  otherwise  unissued  4T^o  of  a  Kind,'*  per- 
formed energetically  and  reasonably  cogently  v»  ith  sim- 
ple accompaniment  by  Gilmour  and  Shirie>.  The  HP's 
US  release  ( on  CD  and  tape  only )  has  a  different  cover 
and  a  singular  title. 

One  of  the  very  first  entrants  in  the  recent  rash  of 
tribute  albums,  Beyond  the  Wildwood  contains  inter- 
pretations of  Barrett  songs  by  an  assortment  of  neo- 
psychedelic  bands,  including  the  Soup  Dragons  I  "Two 
of  a  Kind"  I,  Shamen  i  "Long  Gone" )  and  the  TV  Per- 
sonalities (** Apples  and  Oranges"!,  Highlights:  the 
Mock  Turtles'  unnervingiy  Syd-hke  version  of  "No 
Good  Trying,"  Plasticland's  straightforward  "Octo- 
pus" and  SS-20's  wispily  sung/enthusiastically  played 
"Arnold  Layne."  [i] 

WILD  WILLY  BARRETT 

See  John  Otway. 

ROB  &  DJ.  E-Z 

It  Takes  Two  (Profile!  1988® 

ROB 

The  Incredible  Base  (Profile)  1989  • 

New  York  MC  Rob  Base  (Ginyard)  shook  more 
than  dancefloors  with  his  first  LP:  rapping  against  con- 
trasting refrains  of  non-sampled  soul  singing  (most  no- 
tably on  the  title  cut — blithely  named  the  best  single  of 
all  time  by  Spin  magazine — and  "Joy  and  Pain"),  he 
made  an  exciting  style-busting  innovation  that  helped 
spread  senous  hip-hop  sounds  into  the  "black  music" 
mainstream.  Other  than  those  extraordinary  achieve- 
ments (and  "Crush,"  a  croony  romantic  ballad  Base 
more  or  less  sings),  It  Takes  Two  matches  powerfully 
simple  rhythm  tracks  to  masterful  PG-rated  rhymes. 
Where  some  rappers  revel  in  the  violence  of  contempo- 
rary urban  life,  Base — a  positive  self-promoter  devoted 
only  to  pumping  up  a  good  time — has  the  sense  to  ac- 
knowledge that  "Times  Are  Gettin'  111"  and  reject  the 
temptation  of  drugs  and  guns. 

With  his  partner  temporarily  out  of  the  picture,  Base 
followed  his  gold-selling  debut  with  The  Incredible 
Base,  an  entertaining  stream  of  high-velocity/high- 
ideals  egocentric  rhymes  and  cushy  soul  singing.  Tak- 
ing two  distinct  stylistic  directions,  the  album  pushes 
straight  rap — the  killer  "Turn  It  Out  (Go  Base)"  and 
"If  You  Really  Want  to  Party"  hype  up  the  mix  with 
chanted  backing  vocals,  while  "The  Incredible  Base" 
throws  in  the  kitchen  sink  to  move  the  jam  along — and 
loosely  swinging  grooves  that  borrow  music  from  20- 
year-old  classics  (like  "War,"  "Come  and  Get  Your 
Love"  and  "Ain't  Nothing  Like  the  Real  Thing").  As 
Base  himself  immodestly  notes,  The  Incredible  Base  is 
"Outstanding."  [i] 

BASEMENT  5 

1965-1 980  (Antilles)  1981 
In  Dub  (nr/island)  1981 

Basement  5  came  out  of  Island  Records'  London  art 
department  playing  a  blend  of  reggae  and  synth-pop 
under  the  production  auspices  of  Martin  Hannett.  1965- 
1980  waffles  between  both  forms,  never  quite  achieving 
the  hoped-for  marriage,  but  does  sport  a  number  of  light 


ditties  with  heavy  political  overtones.  The  contrast  be- 
tween roots  and  futurism  gives  Basement  5  a  fascinat- 
ing, if  ephemeral,  flavor  Even  more  interesting  is  IE 
Dab,  a  paean  to  Hannett \s  control-boom  genius,  uhich 
naturally  features  dub  \ersions  of  some  material  from 
the  first  LP.  Bassist  Leo  Williams  later  surfaced  in  Big 
Audio  Dynamite.  [sg] 

See  also  Big  Audio  Dynamite 


BASSOMAT1C 

See  William  Orbit. 


Rode  Hard  and  Put  Up  Wet  EP  (Homestead)  1 988 
Bastro  Diablo  Guapo  (Homestead)  1 989  • 
Sing  the  Troubled  Beast  (Homestead)  1990  • 

Guitarist/singer  David  Grubbs  (who  also  plays  in 
Bitch  Magnet)  formed  Bastro  after  the  end  of  Squirrel 
Bait;  he  recorded  the  six-song  debut  with  only  a  former 
bandmate,  bassist  Clark  Johnson,  and  a  rhythm  ma- 
chine. Bringing  drummer  John  McEntire  into  the  lineup, 
the  tno  made  Bastro  Diablo  Guapo,  an  above-average 
LP  that  embraces — but  isn't  consumed  by — Chicago- 
styled  thrash  noise.  Rather  than  careen  around  like  a 
rhinoceros  plugged  into  an  electric  socket,  Bastro  stays 
tight,  well-structured  and  musical,  even  when  engaging 
in  meltdown  firepower. 

Sing  the  Troubled  Beast  tempers  Grubbs'  extrem- 
ist instincts  to  reveal  a  rough  but  stately  melodic  side, 
and  an  affecting  poetic  sensibility.  The  guitar  has  the 
rich  textures  of  a  Hammond  organ  (an  instrument  which, 
like  piano,  makes  an  occasional  appearance);  the  rhythm 
section  demonstrates  the  facility  to  dig  trenches  or  drop 
back  to  small-scale  time-keeping.  While  "The  Sifter"  is 
either  a  disastrous  mastering  mistake  or  just  a  pointless 
bit  of  transistorized  foolishness,  the  haunting,  somber 
"Tobacco  in  the  Sink"  crystallizes  Bastro's  achieve- 
ments to  date,  and  sets  the  stage  for  a  promising  future. 

See  also  Bitch  Magnet.  [i] 


MARTYN  BATES 

See  Eyeless  in  Gaza. 

BATFiSH  BOYS 

The  Gods  Hate  Kansas  (nr/Batfish)  1985 
Crocodile  Tears  EP  { nr/Batfish)  1 985 
Head  (Twilight)  1 986 
Lurve:  Some  Kinda  Flashback  (Twilight)  1 987 

BATFISH 

Batfish  Brew  (GWR- Restless)  1989 

When  singer  Simon  Denbigh  was  booted  from 
March  Violets,  he  wasted  little  time  m  assembling  a 
more  conducive  outfit.  On  The  Gods  Hate  Kansas,  the 
Batfish  Boys  take  the  Violets'  dark  post-punk  and  give 
it  a  traditional  rock  setting.  Several  of  the  best  moments 
("The  Tumbleweed  Thing,"  "Mrs.  Triffid"  and  the 
terrific  single,  "Swamp  Liquor")  are  reminiscent  of  the 
Cramps  or  Gun  Club,  utilizing  creepy,  twanging  riffs 
and  Denbigh's  weird,  roughly  grumbled  lyrics  to  create 
a  bluesy,  desolate  atmosphere.  While  the  tunes  are  pass- 


42 


able,  Crocodile  Tears  suffers  from  a  lack  of  this  in- 
trigue 

B>  Head,  the  group  had  devolved  into  muddy, 
guitar-dnven  rock  with  psychedelic  blues  overtones. 
The\  displav  plenty  of  panache,  but  the  material  is  all 
too  familiar.  Lurve  illustrates  the  problem  Chronolog- 
icalK  assembling  their  British  EPs  from  "85  ( including 
most  of  the  tracks  from  Crocodile  Tears)  to  '87  ( '"The 
Bomb  Song"  I,  it  reveals  a  downward  spiral  from  imag- 
inative swamp  rock  to  mediocre  pseudo-metal. 

Apparently  not  boys  anymore  (and  presumably 
aware  how  dumb  the  Batfish  Men  would  sound),  the 
group  simply  became  Batfish  with  the  release  of  the 
1989  album.  The  generic,  mid-tempo  arena-metal  on 
Batfish  Brew  is  completely  indistinguishable  from 
scores  of  other  practitioners.  The  only  track  that  stands 
out  does  so  for  its  utter  inanity:  a  cover  of  Queen's 
"Another  One  Bites  the  Dust"  with  a  feeble  attempt  to 
insert  bits  of  Hendnx's  "Purple  Haze,"  an  exercise 
even  more  pointless  than  it  sounds.  [dgs/gef] 

See  also  March  Violets. 


Disconnected  (BompI)  1 980  • 

The  Church  and  the  New  Creatures  (Fr.  Lolita)  1 983 

So  what  does  a  typecast  Dead  Boy  do  when  his  band 
breaks  up?  He  moves  to  Los  Angeles,  hires  local  mu- 
sicians and  cuts  a  tremendous  album  of  melodic  rock 
tunes.  Playing  down  his  outrageous  side,  Bators'  first 
solo  record  maintains  an  Iggy-hke  persona  while  replac- 
ing chaotic  garage-punk  with  thoughtful  music  that  owes 
power  pop  a  sizable  debt.  Originals  like  "Evil  Boy" 
and  "The  Last  Year"  mask  their  dark  messages  with 
pretty  tunes;  a  great  cover  of  the  Electric  Prunes'  classic 
"I  Had  Too  Much  to  Dream  (Last  Night)"  clarifies 
Bators'  roots  and  caps  the  album  off  nicely.  The  French 
LP  contains  all  of  Disconnected,  adding  three  sides 
from  a  pair  of  Bomp!  singles  and  one  other  cut. 

In  1987,  Bators  released  a  12-inch  ("Have  Love 
Will  Travel"  b/w  a  sharp  swipe  at  the  Moody  Blues' 
"Story  in  Your  Eyes")  on  Bomp!,  with  musical  assis- 
tance from  various  co-conspirators.  He  later  sang  with 
Jeff  Conolly  on  a  Lyres  song,  issued  as  a  12-inch  and 
included  on  that  band's  1988  LP.  In  June  1990,  Bators 
was  struck  by  a  car  in  Pans,  returned  home  and  died  of 
his  injuries  the  next  day.  [i] 

See  also  Dead  Boys,  Lords  of  the  New  Church, 
Wanderers, 


BATS 

By  Night  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1984 

"And  Here  Is  'Music  for  the  Fireside'!"  (NZ  Flying  Nun) 

1985 

Made  Up  in  Blue  EP  (nr/Flying  Nun)  1986 
Completely  Bats  [tape]  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1987 

(Communion)  1991 
Dadd/s  Highway  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1988  (Communion) 

1988« 

Four  Songs  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 988 
The  Law  of  Things  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1990  (Communion) 

1990* 

When  the  former  bass  players  for  New  Zealand  leg- 
ends Toy  Love  and  the  Clean — Paul  Kean  and  Robert 


Scott,  respectively— decided  m  1983  to  form  a  band 

together,  Scott  false  perpetrator  of  the  Every  Secret 
Thing  fanzine  and  cassette  ?  switched  to  guitar  and 
led  the  group  into  the  studio  to  record  six  of  his  melodic 
melancholic  odes  By  is  paradoxically  morose 

and  exhilarating,  each  song  a  moody  pop  gem,  with 
hints  of  the  hard-strummed  countryisms  of  Gram  Par- 
sons. The  seven-song  Fireside  12-inch  Is  even  better, 
spanning  a  wider  stylistic  spectrum,  from  lackadaisical 
laments  to  sweeping,  enticing  rashes  of  pure  pop  satis- 
faction, each  made  all  the  more  appealing  b>  Scott's 
nasal,  high  register  vocals. 

Recorded  in  a  24-track  London  studio  during  a  1986 
European  crip.  Blue  (the  first  Flying  Nun  UK  release) 
lacks  some  of  the  alluring  immediacy  of  its  predeces- 
sors. All  three  tracks  were  reprised  on  the  following 
year's  Completely,  along  with  all  of  Fireside  and  five- 
sixths  of  By  Night. 

The  Bats'  first  proper  album,  begun  in  Scotland  and 
finished  in  NZ,  is  a  bit  of  a  disappointment.  Generally 
softer  and  less  heady,  as  well  as  less  identifiably  Bat- 
like,  Daddy's  Highway  finally  brought  the  group  an 
American  release  (and  prompted  a  US  tour).  Four 
Songs  excerpts  the  standout  track,  spreading  it  flatter- 
ingly across  twelve  foil  inches  with  a  B-side  trio  harking 
back  to  the  sound  of  the  Bine  EP. 

Following  time  devoted  to  other  pursuits — like  the 
Clean  reformation  and  singer/multi-instrumentalist 
Kaye  Woodward's  motherhood — the  Bats  returned  to 
action,  releasing  several  singles  and  the  monumental 
Law  of  Things  LP.  Capturing  all  the  hooky  appeal  and 
personal  charm  of  their  first  records,  it  updates  the  rec- 
ipe with  seven  years  of  instrumental  mastery  and  supe- 
rior sonics,  becoming,  along  with  Compiletely,  one  of 
the  two  essential  Bats  releases,  as  well  as  a  high- water 
mark  of  New  Zealand  musicmaking.  [ab] 

See  also  Clean,  Tall  Dwarfs. 


LES  BATTERIES 

See  Fish  &  Roses. 

BAUHAUS 

Beia  lugosi's  Dead  EP  (nr/Sma!l  Wonder)  1979  * 

In  the  Flat  Reid  (nr/4AD)  1 980  « 

Mask  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 981  » 

Searching  for  Satori  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 982 

The  Sk/s  Gone  Out  (A&M)  1982  • 

Press  the  Eject  and  Give  Me  the  Tape  (nr/Beggars 

Banquet)  1 982  • 

Ziggy  Stardust  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 982 
Lagartija  Nick  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 982 
Burning  from  the  Inside  (Beggars  Banquet-A&M)  1983  * 
The  Singles  1981-1983  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1983  • 
4AD.  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 983 
1 979-1 983  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 985  • 
Swing  the  Heartache:  The  BBC  Sessions  (Beggars 

Banquet-RCA)  1 989  • 

Though  their  career  was  over  in  a  mere  four  years, 
Bauhaus  are  the  acknowledged  godfathers  of  gothic 
rock,  following  the  art  movement  for  which  they  were 
named  in  seeking  to  use  minimalism  as  a  powerful 
mood-setting  tool.  Combining  guitars  and  electronics 
into  a  bleak  backdrop  for  Peter  Murphy's  angst-driven 


43 


vocals,  Bauhaus  ignited  what  was  already  a  volatile  mix 
by  throwing  dark,  energetic  theatrics  into  the  pot. 

"Bela  Logosi's  Dead"  (gloom's  own  "Stairway  to 
Heaven" )  is  an  unlikely  debut  single  which  melds  brisk 
dub  reggae  rhythms,  Danie!  Ash's  creepy,  atmospheric 
guitar  technique  and  Murphy's  Nosferatu  vocal  perfor- 
mance. If  the  record  created"  any  stylistic  expectations, 
however,  Bauhaus  was  quick  to  defy  them,  as  the 
group's  subsequent  records  were  all  significantly  differ- 
ent from  each  other. 

The  self-produced  In  the  Flat  Field  is  a  dense,  dis- 
jointed patchwork  of  sounds  and  uncertain  feelings,  sup- 
ported by  a  pressured,  incessant  beat.  Delving  deep  into 
the  dark  side  of  the  human  psyche,  Bauhaus  conjures  up 
unsettling  images  of  a  world  given  over  to  death  and 
decay.  Mask,  their  finest  achievement,  explores  a  va- 
riety of  styles,  incorporating  airs  of  heavy  metal,  funk 
brass  and  Tangerine  Dreamy  electronics  into  an  organic 
whole.  Though  still  weighty,  the  lyrics  make  occasional 
stabs  at  humor  and  reveal  an  increasingly  romantic  side. 

Searching  for  Satori  offers  a  wholly  different  ver- 
sion of  1981'$  fonky  "Kick  in  the  Eye"  45,  a  dub  mix 
of  a  Mask  track  and  a  pair  of  reggae-influenced  new 
cuts,  "Harry"  and  "Earwax." 

The  Sky's  Gone  Out  opens  with  a  lively,  bright 
version  of  Brian  Eno's  "Third  Uncle,"  signaling  a  more 
upbeat  period  for  Bauhaus,  offsetting  the  ongoing 
themes  of  death  and  destruction  Good  production  opens 
up  the  sound  considerably  and,  in  a  flash  of  ambition, 
the  album  includes  a  three-part  mini-opera,  "The  Three 
Shadows."  (The  CD  adds  four  bonus  tracks.)  Press  the 
Eject  and  Give  Me  the  Tape,  a  live  LP  recorded  in 
London  and  Liverpool,  was  first  included  as  a  second 
disc  in  UK  copies  of  The  Sky's  Gone  Out,  then  reis- 
sued as  a  separate  album. 

The  late-* 82  release  of  a  copycat  Hve-in-the-studio 
version  of  "Ziggy  Stardust"  (joined  on  the  12-inch  by 
a  bizarre,  funny  original  consisting  of  Faustian  film  di- 
alogue over  cool  instrumental  backing,  "Third  Uncle" 
and  a  live  recording  of  "Waiting  for  the  Man,"  with 
guest  vocals  by  Nico)  supported  Bauhaus'  self-image  as 
latter-day  glam-rockers  (the  group  had  released  a  single 
of  T.  Rex's  "Telegram  Sam"  in  1980),  taking  an  in- 
tentional poke  at  critics  who  had  accused  the  group  of 
imitating  Bowie.  Besides  the  tart,  enigmatic  title  cut, 
Lagartija  Nick  (another  non-LP  12-inch)  has  a  horn- 
dominated  dance  track,  a  live  take  of  "In  the  Flat  Field" 
and  the  weird  in-joke  of  "Paranoia,  Paranoia." 

A  bout  with  pneumonia  forced  Murphy  to  miss  sev- 
eral recording  sessions,  leaving  Ash  and  bassist  David 
J(ay)  to  sing  almost  half  the  songs  on  the  final  Bauhaus 
album,  Burning  from  the  Inside  (no  doubt  a  pivotal 
development  towards  their  work  as  Love  and  Rockets). 
There  are  plenty  of  swell  numbers,  some  in  a  more 
acoustic  vein  (Ash's  haunting  "Slice  of  Life,"  the  op- 
timistic "Hope"  and  the  delicately  chanted  "King  Vol- 
cano"); still,  the  individualized  songwriting  weakened 
the  band's  sense  of  unity. 

Bauhaus  split  up  in  mid- 1983.  Ash  continued  a  side 
project  he'd  begun  in  1981,  Tones  on  Tail,  soon  joined 
by  Bauhaus  drummer  Kevin  Haskins.  Jay  did  a  hefty 
amount  of  solo  recording,  briefly  joined  the  Jazz 
Butcher,  then  got  together  with  Ash  and  Haskins  (when 
a  planned  Bauhaus  reunion  fell  through)  to  form  Love 


and  Rockets.  Peter  Murphy  teamed  with  ex- Japan  bass- 
ist Mick  Kam  to  form  Dalis  Car,  then  went  solo. 

In  death,  Bauhaus  has  become  more  popular  (and 
influential)  than  ever,  a  phenomenon  exploited  by  nu- 
merous posthumous  collections.  The  Singles  EP  con- 
solidates six  A-sides,  including  "Ziggy  Stardust," 
"Kick  in  the  Eye"  and  "Lagartija  Nick."  4.A.D.  com- 
piles several  1980  singles,  including  "Telegram  Sam," 
"Dark  Entries"  and  a  rare  version  of  John  Gale's  ''Rose- 
garden  Funeral  of  Sores."  The  double  disc  set  1979- 
1983  functions  as  both  a  comprehensive  overview  of 
Bauhaus'  work — spotlighting  both  the  popular  singles 
and  more  obscure  album  tracks  and  flipsides — and  as  a 
one-stop  sampler,  though  it  does  include  the  memorable 
"Sanity  Assassin"  (which  was  to  be  their  last  single), 
previously  available  only  on  a  fan  club  45.  The  more 
intriguing  Swing  the  Heartache  joins  all  four  of  the 
group's  UK  radio  sessions,  which  (roughly)  chronolog- 
ically correspond  to  the  four  original  studio  albums  (ail 
of  which  have  since  been  issued  on  CD  with  non-LP 
singles  tacked  on).  Of  particular  note  are  two  previously 
unknown  songs  ("Poison  Pen,"  a  sinister  piece  of  anti- 
drug funk  that  had  been  recorded  for  Mask,  and  a  siz- 
zling off-the-cuff  version  of  the  Strangeloves'  '66  garage 
rocker  "Night  Time")  and  a  version  of  "Third  Uncle" 
at  a  tempo  much  closer  to  the  original.  [sg/i/gef] 

See  also  Jazz  Butcher,  Love  and  Rockets,  Peter  Mur- 
phy, Tones  on  Tail. 

BEARS 

See  Adrian  Belew. 


BOYS 

Polly  Wog  Stew  EP  (Rat  Cage)  1 982  +  1 988 
Rock  Hard  EP  (Def  Jam)  1984 
Licensed  to  ill  (Def  Jam-Columbia)  1986  • 
Paul's  Boutique  (Capitol)  1989  • 

The  Beastie  Boys  began  in  1979  as  a  jokey  New 
York  University  hardcore  band  starring  Adam  Yauch, 
Michael  Diamond  and  drummer  Kate  Schellenbach.  Al- 
though the  group  quickly  fell  apart,  the  Beasties  re- 
formed in  1981  to  cut  and  release  the  eight-song  Polly 
Wog  Stew,  a  7-inch  of  average  but  occasionally  ram- 
bling punk  salvos  ("Egg  Raid  on  Mojo,"  "Transit 
Cop,"  "Jirni,"  "Beastie  Boys"),  later  reissued  as  an 
import  12-inch  of  dubious  legal  standing. 

Abandoning  the  sound  of  punk  while  delving  further 
into  its  snotty  attitude,  the  Beastie  Boys  stripped  down 
to  a  trio— Yauch  (aka  MCA),  Diamond  (aka  Mike  D) 
and  Adam  Horovitz  (aka  King  Ad-Rock) — and  set  a 
course  for  the  big  time.  Pointing  the  way  to  the  group's 
hip-hop  future,  the  1983  "Cooky  Puss"  single  laid 
down  a  tremendous  beat  pulsing  with  rock  energy,  add- 
ing sharp  mix  tricks  and  puerile  spoken-word  jive  cen- 
tered on  a  crank  telephone  call.  Ridiculous  but 
undeniably  funny  and  danceable,  the  12-inch  includes  a 
bogus  reggae  song  ("Beastie  Revolution")  that  mugs 
Musical  Youth  and  Rasta  culture. 

In  1984,  the  Beasties  moved  into  rap  with  the  re- 
lease of  Rock  Hard,  a  12-inch  produced  by  NYU  chum 
Rick  Rubin.  Unmistakably  white  and  middle  class,  the 
group  acknowledged  its  '70s  rock  heritage  in  hunks  of 


44 


guitar— AC  DC  nffs  pop  up  in  "Rock  Hard"  and  "Par- 
tx's  Getun'  Rough,"  shards  of  Led  Zeppelin  fill 
"Beastie  Groove."  The  Bcasties  then  appeared  in  the 
film  Kru±h  Groove,  for  which  they  cut  "She's  on  It,"  a 
fan,  dumb  stomper  with  a  great  guitar  hook  and  obnox- 
ious couplets  like  **  She'd  get  down  on  her  knees,if  we'd 
onh  &y  please  "  The  Beasties  had  reached  the  heights 
of  offensiveness  and  uere  squinting  upwards. 

The  release  of  Licensed  to  III  caught  the  guardians 
of  popular  culture  napping  Within  months,  the  album 
and  its  attendant  45s  \vere  skyrocketing  towards  astro- 
nomical sales  levels  as  kids  of  all  colors  in  countless 
countries  rapped  and  danced  to  such  intentionally  mo- 
ronic celebrations  of  self-indulgent  stupidity  and  trash 
culture  as  'Tight  for  Your  Right  {To  Party),"  "No 
Sleep  till  Brooklyn,"  "Brass  Monkey,"  "Time  to  Get 
III"  and  the  absurdly  catchy  "Girls."  Rubin's  brilliant 
stew  of  dodgy  bits  lifted  from  records  by  the  Stones, 
Led  Zept  Clash  (and  dozens  more  still  unidentified), 
combined  with  the  whining  nasal  roar  of  the  three 
stooges'  inventive  sexist  dnvel,  somehow  hit  that  per- 
fect beat,  and  made  the  Beasties  mondo  stars,  drag- 
ging controversy,  anger  and  damage  reports  in  their 
wake. 

By  the  time  the  Beasties  came  off  the  road,  engi- 
neered a  disputed  label  switch  and  got  around  to  making 
a  record  (with  time  out  for  Horovitz  to  star  in  1989's 
Lost  Angels}*  the  rap  world  was  a  very  different — and 
far  more  competitive — place.  Recognizing  the  fragile 
oddness  of  their  stylistic  position,  the  trio  abandoned 
Licensed  to  Ill's  rock'n'rap  formula  and  reached  for 
street  credibility  on  Paul's  Boutique.  What  they  wound 
up  with  was  a  dull  collection  of  simple  rhythm  tracks 
over  which  the  temble  three's  verbose  raps  (and  the 
record's  innumerable  samples)  drop  endless  cultural  ref- 
erences to  no  memorable  effect.  Lacking  Rubin's  furi- 
ous imagination,  the  Dust  Brothers  (California 
producers  responsible  for  monster  records  by  Tone-L6c 
and  Young  MC)  leave  the  Beasties  yakking  among 
themselves  on  an  album  that  is  neither  effective  hip-hop 
nor  amusing  parody.  The  deluxe  fold-out  sleeve — two 
panoramic  four-panel  photographs  of  the  Lower  East 
Side — is  easily  the  best  thing  about  this  disappointing 
dud.  [dgs/i] 

BEASTS  OF  BOURBON 

The  Axeman's  Jazz  (Aus.  Green)  1 984  (Big  Time)  1 985  • 
Sour  Mash  (Aus.  Red  Eye)  1 988  • 
Black  Milk  (Aus.  Red  Eye)  1  990 

SALAMANDER  JIM 

Lome  Green  Shares  His  Precious  Fluids  (Aus.  Red  Eye) 
1985 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Waste  Sausage  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1 987 
Leather  Donut  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1 988 

THUG 

Mechanical  Ape/Proud  Idiofs  Parade  (Aus.  Black  Eye) 

1987 
Electric  Wooly  Mammoth  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1988 

BUTCHER  SHOP 

Hard  for  You  EP  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1988 
Pump  Action  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1 990 


The  connecting  factor  here  is  Tex  Perkins,  but  really 
we're  talking  about  a  heftv  chunk  of  Australia's  ugliest, 
least  velvet  underground.  On  Axeman's  Jazz,  the 
Beasts  of  Bourbon— Tex  ( \ocals ».  Spencer  Jones  ( gui- 
tar J  and  three  pasi  or  present  Scientists—play  lazv,  ga- 
ragey  nihilistic  C&W  with  moderate!}  straight  faces. 
Highly  Crampsian  in  feel,  the  material  and  restraint  f  not 
to  mention  prominent  slide  and  scree  guitar  S  indent  a 
new  category  for  the  band,  one  that  garnered  a  consid- 
erable worldwide  indie  following  back  in  '84,  particu- 
larly amongst  chronic  thrashaholics.  (The  live  B-side 
added  to  the  US  edition  features  an  alternate  selection  of 
Scientists. ) 

Salamander  Jim  posits  Tex  in  front  of  a  new  band 
with  similarly  anti-social  proclivities,  making  C&W  just 
one  facet  of  a  mash  rampant  with  James  White/Brown- 
isms,  jagged  Beefheartlan  R&B  and  even  a  Stooge  cop 
or  three,  adding  up  to  a  (short)  LP  that  may  not  be 
original,  but  lurches  and  sputters  to  a  peculiarly  intrigu- 
ing internal  heartbeat. 

At  this  point,  things  really  begin  to  fragment  and 
fester.  Australia's  Red  Eye  label  caught  a  whiff  of  what 
the  ex-Salamanders  were  doing  and  promptly  formed 
Black  Eye  to  isolate  them  from  the  rest  of  the  species, 
Salamander  Jim's  Lachlan  McLeod  assembled  Waste 
Sausage  (and  later  Leather  Demit),  two  dangerously 
inbred  collections  of  real  and  spurious  "bands"  popu- 
lated by  former  Jims  and  diseased  cohorts  playing  brutal 
and  scato-sexual  music  spanning  the  lizard  lounge  to  the 
hardcore  pit.  Naturally  uneven,  the  overall  tone  of  dis- 
gust and  DIY  invests  even  the  weaker  tracks  with  a 
sense  of  place  and  purpose;  the  same  sort  of  contextual 
value  that  makes  Live  at  the  Roxy  a  genuinely  endear- 
ing historical  document  instead  of  just  a  shiftily  recorded 
live  compilation. 

Meanwhile,  as  Stuart  Grey  from  Salamander  Jim 
was  turning  up  the  volume  to  become  Stu  Spasm  of 
Lubricated  Goat,  Tex  joined  with  Peter  Read  to  com- 
plete the  original  Black  Eye  roster  in  Thug,  who  may 
not  have  planned  to  crack  the  local  alternative  charts 
with  their  deliciously  malicious  debut  45  'Tuck  Your 
Dad,"  but  unexpectedly  found  themselves  with  a  gen- 
uine hit  partway  through  1987.  Mechanical  Ape/Proud 
Idiot's  Parade,  even  less  cohesive  and  coherent  than 
Waste  Sausage,  is  the  aural  equivalent  of  a  dying  man's 
life  flashing  before  his  eyes — assuming  said  life  to  be 
foul  and  filthy,  filled  with  discord  and  turmoil — 
conveniently  condensed  for  the  incumbent  corpse  into 
40  or  so  minutes  of  snippets  combined  and  maligned  for 
maximum  discomfort.  Electric  Wooly  Mammoth  var- 
ies the  recipe  only  in  titling  the  snippets  rather  than 
merely  the  side,  adding  McLeod  as  the  third  Thug,  and 
being  belligerently  more  juvenile.  And  clownish.  And 
obvious.  And  inferior. 

The  Butcher  Shop  reunited  Tex  with  Spencer  Jones, 
adding  Kid  Congo  Powers  (Cramps,  Bad  Seeds,  Gun 
Club),  first  for  a  much  heavied-up  Beastlike-cwm-Jimian 
EP,  the  extended  tribal  drone  of  the  B-side  being  its  sole 
mesmerizing  factor,  while  the  1990  LP  (with  no  per- 
sonnel overlap  save  Tex  and  bassist  Phil  Clifford,  sup- 
plemented by  assorted  Sausages  and  Salamanders)  is 
almost  confusing  in  context  for  its  rote  simplicity. 
Tough  in  pose  but  weak  in  delivery,  it  sounds  like  an  LP 
of  B-sides  and  filler. 


45 


Which  perhaps  it  is,  as  Tex  reformed  the  angina! 
Beasts  concurrent  with  the  Butcher  Shop;  the  only  dif- 
ference between  the  new  group  and  the  old  one  is  that 
it's  angrier,  meaner,  more  spiteful,  more  vicious  and 
more  capable  of  flaying  with  sound.  Including  the  title 
track  from  the  Butcher  Shop's  debut — here  splayed  out 
expansively  and  nine  times  ballsier — the  songwriting  on 
Sour  Masfe  echoes  the  band's  earlier  C&W  misanthropy 
but  finally  interpolates  it  into  a  singular  black-eyed  drive 
that  invests  the  hateful  narratives  with  the  sort  of  power, 
immediacy  and  persona!  threat  inherent  in  the  best  coun- 
try blues. 

Black  MHkt  with  an  extended  cast  that  includes 
pianist  Louis  Tillet  from  Wet  Taxis,  is  closer  to  a  Chi- 
cago sort  of  blues  LP,  the  anger  and  attack  subdued,  the 
band  subservient  to  familiar  style.  Which  is  not  to  deny 
the  individual  elements — sometimes  sinking  for  their 
respective  instants — but  taken  as  a  whole  the  third  LP  is 
only  modestly  rewarding.  [ab] 

See  also  Lubricated  Goat. 

BEAT 

The  Beat  (Columbia)  1979 

To  Beat  or  Not  to  Beat  EP  (Passport)  1 983 

PAUL  COLLINS'  BEAT 

The  Kids  Are  the  Same  (CBS)  1 982 

Paul  Collins,  once  a  third  of  SF-to-LA*s  fabled 
Nerves  (the  other  two  were  Peter  Case,  later  of  the 
Plimsouls,  and  tunesmith-to-the-stars  Jack  Lee),  writes 
songs  calling  to  mind  the  early  Hollies  (except  grittier 
and  American)  and  a  more  down-to-earth,  less  poetic 
Byrds.  Though  never  scaling  the  heights  of  either  band, 
The  Beat  (issued  prior  to  the  name  conflict  with  the 
English  Beat)  is  simple,  satisfying  power  pop,  all  meat 
and  no  filler.  If  anything,  though,  it's  a  little  too  no- 
frills,  with  unimaginative  production;  the  lack  of  idio- 
syncrasy and  variation  gives  it  a  monotonous  feel. 

This  problem  was  remedied  somewhat  on  the  Beat's 
second  album,  which  is  quite  a  bit  heavier.  Although 
they  seem  to  run  out  of  steam — and  songs — halfway 
through  The  Kids  Are  the  Same,  the  band  shows  a  high 
degree  of  musical  volatility  up  to  that  point. 

Collins  refurbished  the  Beat's  lineup  for  the  1983 
EP.  The  new  combo  includes  ex-Parti  Smith  Group 
drummer  Jay  Dee  Daugherty  and  guitarist  Jimmy  Ripp, 
both  of  whom  have  played  on  Tom  Verlaine  LPs.  The 
band  smokes  and  the  songs  are  stylistically  varied,  but 
this  glorified  demo  surprisingly  failed  to  get  Collins  a 
new  major-label  deal.  [jg] 

(ENGLISH)  BEAT 

I  Just  Can't  Stop  it  (Sire)  1 980  (IRS)  1 983  • 
Wha'ppen?  (Sire)  1981  (IRS)  1983  * 
Special  Beat  Service  (IRS)  1982  • 
What  Is  Beat?  (IRS)  1 983  • 

Although  lumped  in  with  the  2-Tone  crowd  upon 
emerging  in  1979,  the  wonderful  Beat  (known  in  Amer- 
ica as  the  English  Beat)  proved  far  more  versatile  and 
broadly  talented  than  most  of  their  skanking  contempo- 
raries. True,  1  Just  Can't  Stop  It  has  its  share  of  ska- 
influenced  upbeats — a  delightM  reworking  of  "Tears 
of  a  Clown'*  (on  the  US  release  only)  and  patois-tinged 
toasting  ("Rough  Rider")  by  Ranking  Roger— but  the 


Birmingham  band's  furious  dnve  and  pumping  bass 
("Two  Swords/'  "Click  Click,*'  "Twist  &  Crawl") 
relate  more  to  the  rock  tradition.  A  recording  of  And) 
Williams*  warm-bath  "Can't  Get  Used  to  Losing  You" 
is  a  nice  gesture,  regardless  of  the  outcome.  (The  US 
release  also  includes  another  track  not  on  the  original 
British  album.) 

By  Wha'ppen?,  fee  Beat  had  mellowed  out,  pre- 
ferring midtempo  grooves  drawn  from  various  Third 
World  cultures.  Loping  music,  playful  combinations  of 
voices  (Roger  and  lead  singer/guitarist  Dave  Wakeling) 
and  Saxa's  effervescent  sax  almost  obscure  the  songs' 
depressing  views  of  personal  and  social  troubles 
("Drowning,"  "All  Out  to  Get  You,"  "Cheated"). 

Special  Beat  Service  is  the  band's  slickest  offering. 
The  polished  music  generates  more  light  than  heat,  but 
lyrics — dwelling  more  on  romantic  than  political 
problems — depict  believably  complex  scenarios.  Rank- 
ing Roger's  lighthearted  showcases  are  now  isolated 
from  the  group's  main  concerns,  but  the  Beat  here  re- 
mains a  fine  band  committed  to  pan-cultural  understand- 
ing. 

The  What  Is  Beat?  farewell  compilation  is  actually 
three  different  records.  The  fourteen-track  English  al- 
burn is  a  straight  greatest-hits  collection  of  their  most 
memorable  work;  early  copies  (and  the  cassette)  added 
a  bonus  disc's  worth  of  eight  extended  remixes.  Al- 
though there's  a  lot  of  overlap  in  material,  the  American 
release  is  altogether  different — single  sides,  two  live 
renditions,  a  couple  of  remixes,  etc.  Collect  'em  all! 

Following  the  Beat's  lamentable  dissolution,  Rank- 
ing Roger  and  Dave  Wakeling  stuck  together  to  form 
General  Public;  David  Steele  and  Andy  Cox  assembled 
Fine  Young  Cannibals.  [si/i] 

See  also  Pato  Banton,  Fine  Young  Cannibals,  Gen- 
eral Public. 

BEAT  FARMERS 

Tales  of  the  New  West  (Rhino)  1 985  « 

GladVGreasy  EP  (nr/Demon)  1986  (Rhino)  1991  * 

VanGo(Curb-MCA)1986 

The  Pursuit  of  Happiness  (Curb-MCA)  1 987  * 

Poor  &  Famous  (Curb-MCA)  1989  • 

Loud  and  Plowed  and  ...  LIVE!!  (Curb)  1990  • 

JOEY  HARRIS  AND  THE 
SPEEDSTERS 

Joey  Harris  and  the  Speedsters  (RDM-MCA)  1983 

JACKS 

Jacb  Are  Wild  (Rounder)  1 988 

BUDDY  BLUE 

Guttersnipes  V  Zealots  (Rhino  New  Artists)  1 991  4> 

You  can  tell  a  lot  about  musicians  by  the  company 
they  keep.  On  Tales  of  the  New  West,  produced  by 
Steve  Berlin,  this  San  Diego  quartet  gets  vocal  assis- 
tance from  Peter  Case  (ex-Plimsouls),  Chip  and  Tony 
Kinman  (Rank  and  File)  and  Sid  Griffin  (Long  Ry- 
ders).  The  Farmers  do  the  '50s-come-'80s  neo- 
country-rock  stomp  with  enthusiasm,  economy  and  not 
a  hint  of  phoniness  or  self  consciousness.  The  mock- 
cowboy  nonsense  of  "California  Kid"  (disregarding 
its  uncharacteristic  resemblance  to  the  Bonzo  Dog 
Band)  proves  they're  not  sensitive  about  the  genre; 
post-punk  roots  even. show  on  a  cover  of  Lou  Reed's 


46 


"There  She  Goes  Again."  An  honest  album  from  an 
honest  band, 

Glad'n'Greasy,  a  six-soeg  studio  recording  made 
during  the  Farmers'  first  UK  tour  C85),  comes  even 
closer  than  the  debut  album  in  capturing  the  band's 
dovtn-and-dirty  essence.  With  no  intrusive  tinkering 
from  producers  Bob  Andrews  (ex-Rumour)  and  Colin 
Fairfey,  they  rip  into  Neil  Young's  "Powderfinger"  and 
attack  Rod  McKuen's  "Beat  Generation"  with  a  rock- 
ing combination  of  humor  and  humanity  that  would  be 
in  shorter  supply  on  subsequent  studio  efforts. 

A  re-recorded  "Powderfinger"  is  one  of  the  few 
highlights  of  Van  Go,  a  halfbaked,  halfhearted  outing 
that  doesn't  step  in  anything  odious  but  falls  flat  on  its 
bum  anyway — even  as  guitarist  Buddy  Blue's  ener- 
getic slide  work  threatens  to  save  the  day.  A  wry  Blue 
tune  called  "Gun  Sale  at  the  Church"  offers  faint 
breath  in  the  mirror,  but  otherwise  this  one's  ready  for 
burial. 

Guitarist/singer  Joey  Harris  replaced  Blue  on  The 
Pursuit  of  Happiness,  a  commercially  minded  record 
that  meanders  further  from  the  simple  glories  of  The 
New  West.  Echoes  of  Springsteen,  Jeff  Lynne  and  John 
Cougar  Mellencamp  don't  exactly  improve  the  original- 
ity quotient,  but  Hams'  witty  songwriting — gossiping 
about  cow-pokers  in  "Texas"  and  expressing  religious 
skepticism  in  "God  Is  Here  Tonight" — does.  Covers  of 
Tom  Waits  and  Johnny  Cash  are  beneficial;  guest  pianist 
Nicky  Hopkins  does  his  bit  with  typical  aplomb. 

The  band's  continuing  misguided  efforts  to  tone 
down  their  eccentricities  on  record  resulted  in  Poor  & 
Famous,  the  most  schizophrenic  item  in  the  Beat  Farm- 
ers' catalogue.  Though  there  are  some  memorable 
songs — including  Harris*  "Wheels"  and  "Girl  I  Almost 
Married"  and  singer/guitarist  Jerry  Raney's 
"Socialite" — the  album's  barren  personality  deprives 
them  of  intensity.  Meanwhile,  bear-voiced  singer/ 
drummer  (and  ex-Crawdaddy)  Country  Dick  Montana's 
showcases — always  a  highlight  of  live  shows — seem 
completely  out  of  place  in  this  context.  Poor  &  Famous 
is  a  disorientingly  lopsided  listen. 

The  double  Loud  and  Plowed  and  .  .  .  LIVE!! 
temporarily  solves  the  Farmers'  record-making  dilemma 
by  capturing  them  in  front  of  a  hometown  crowd  on 
New  Year's  weekend  '89/'90.  The  band  is  in  fine  form 
on  a  selection  of  highlights  from  the  studio  albums,  plus 
well-chosen  covers  of  George  Jones,  the  Kinks  and 
Kenny  Rogers.  Montana's  beer-soaked  clowning,  never 
properly  integrated  on  the  three  previous  LPs,  fits  in 
perfectly  here. 

Harris'  lone  album  with  the  Speedsters  is  well- 
crafted  but  overly  conventional  commercial  rock-pop, 
distinguished  by  his  soulful  vocals  and  some  strong 
songwriting. 

Blue  re-enierged  as  leader  of  the  Jacks,  whose  one 
LP  features  likable  bar-band  country-rock  in  a  style  not 
unlike  the  first  Beat  Fanners  disc.  The  rest  of  the  Jacks 
(plus  Dave  Alvin,  Mojo  Nixon  and  Richard  "Louie 
Louie"  Berry)  contributed  to  Blue's  solo  debut,  Gut- 
tersnipes *n'  Zealots,  which  casts  the  singer/guitarist  as 
a  mature,  thoughtful  songwriter  without  sacrificing  his 
rock'n'roll  grit.  "Blind  Monkeys,"  "Somethin*  Inhu- 
man" and  a  superior  remake  of  "Gun  Sale  at  the 
Church"  demonstrate  a  rare  combination  of  social  con- 
science and  ironic  satire.  [i/hd] 


Beat  Happening  EP  {tape]  fKJ  1984 

Three  Tea  Breakfast  EP  ftape]  ftCJ  1984 

Beat  Happening  (K)  1985 

Crashing  Through  EP  fnr/53rd  &  3rdJ  1988 

Jamboree  {K-Rough  Trade)  1988 

Black  Candy  fKJ]  989  « 

1 983-85  tK-Fee!  Good  All  Over)  ]  990  * 

Dreamy  (Sub  Pop)  1991  ® 

BEAT  HAPPENING/SCREAMING 
TREES 

Beat  Happening/Screaming  Trees  EP  (K-Homestead| 

1988 

Overweening  ambition  is  such  a  common  compo- 
nent of  contemporary  music  that  it's  nice  to  find  a  young 
band  that  truly  doesn't  have  any.  Beat  Happening,  a 
talented  trio  of  minimalists  from  Olympia,  Washington, 
write  and  sing  swell  songs,  accompanied  only  by  shards 
of  guitar  and  rudimentary  drum(s).  To  their  credit,  Bret, 
Heather  and  Calvin  Johnson  (all  three  switch  off  play- 
ing; Heather  and  Calvin  alternate  vocals)  consistently 
sail  past  the  Scylla  and  Charybdis  of  rock'n'roll  primi- 
tivism  and  never  sound  pathetic  or  precious. 

After  releasing  two  five-song  tapes  (Beat  Happen- 
ing contains  the  band's  debut  single,  "Our  Secret";  the 
rudimentary  and  easily  skipped  Three  Tea  Breakfast 
was  recorded  in  Tokyo)  via  Calvin's  K  label,  Beat  Hap- 
pening made  a  great  debut  album,  produced  (well .  .  .) 
by  Greg  Sage  of  the  Wipers.  This  fresh  breeze  of  one- 
take  pop  ingenuity  is  remorselessly  amateurish  but 
loaded  with  charm  and  invention.  Some  songs  ("I 
Spy,"  "Down  at  the  Sea"  and  the  Crampsy  "Bad 
Seeds,"  presented  in  both  studio  and  noisy  live  rendi- 
tions) are  fully  developed  and  could  easily  bear  com- 
plete arrangements,  while  others  ("In  Love  with  You 
Thing")  are  a  little  too  eccentric  for  their  own  good. 

Just  prior  to  the  release  of  their  second  album,  Beat 
Happening  issued  a  four-song  UK  12-inch.  Along  with 
Jamboree's  "Crashing  Through"  and  an  alternate  ver- 
sion of  the  same  LP's  "The  This  Many  Boyfriends 
Club,"  Crashing  Through  contains  both  sides  of  a 
non-LP  single. 

Repeating  the  first  LP's  gambit  of  ending  with  a  live 
cut,  Jamboree — co-produced  by  Mark  Lanegan  and 
Gary  Lee  Conner  of  Screaming  Trees — is  a  bit  more 
intricate  and  electric  than  Beat  Happening,  but  not 
enough  to  hurt.  What  makes  the  group  so  special  is  its 
innate  ability  to  turn  raw,  crude  ingredients  into 
friendly,  nice  music  without  getting  all  mushy  about  it. 
So,  while  "Hangman"  gets  a  ferocious  Cramps  roar 
going,  the  vocals  are  totally  mild.  Similarly,  the  alluring 
"Indian  Summer"  paints  an  idyllic  lyrical  picture  over 
a  Velvet  Underground  drone  relieved  of  all  sinister  im- 
plications. On  the  other  end  of  the  spectrum,  the 
Jonathan  Richman-like  pathos  of  "Cat  Walk"  has 
enough  of  a  spine  not  to  whimper. 

The  four  songs  on  the  joint  Beat  Happening/ 
Screaming  Trees  12-inch  (the  record  melds  the  two 
groups  without  specific  credits)  suggest  that  someone  in 
Olympiads  been  listening  to  Disraeli  Gears  a  lot.  (The 
wah-wah  and  mock-Ginger  Baker  drumming  is  a  dead 
giveaway.)  "Polly  Pereguin"  and  the  pointedly  titled 
"Tales  of  Brave  Aphrodite,"  a  loopy  confessional,  are 
rough-cut  electric  pop  with  definite  '60s  ambience. 


47 


Beat  Happening  lost  its  poi&e  on  Black  Candy,  a 
disappointing  album  that's  more  careless  than  casual 
with  vocals  ( almost  all  by  Calvin  >  that  wander  ner- 
vously around  melodies  over  guitars  and  drums  that  are 
too   often    intrusively    aggressive    (and,    In    **Knick 
Knack,"  gravely  out  of  tune  I.  While  the  Crampsian 
grind  of  "Pajama  Party  in  a  Haunted  Hive"  and  the 
driving  intensity  of  "Ponytail"  are  impressive,  there 
isn't  enough  winsome  pop  ( "Cast  a  Shadow"  and  the 
folky  "Other  Side"  are  pretty  much  it)  to  balance  out 
the  mood.  Song  over  snapped  lingers  and  brushes  on  a 
snare,   the  somber  "Gra\e  Digger  Blues"   has  the 
record's  lightest  sound,  but  not  a  shred  of  innocence  or 
vulnerability .  Has  maturity  overtaken  our  young  heroes? 
Produced  by  Steve  Fisk,  the  darkly  painted  Dreamy 
continues  the  stylistic  direction  introduced  on  Black 
Candy  but  is  a  much  better,  more  consistent  LP  with 
none  of  its  predecessor's  sloppy  shortcomings.  Calvin's 
resonantly  deep  voice  is  the  concise  (30  minutes)  disc's 
dominant  feature  I  Heather  sings  three:  the  lightly  tune- 
ful "Left  Behind,"  the  wistful  "Fortune  Cookie  Pnze" 
and  a  feedbacky  droner,  "Collide" );  the  simple  electric 
music  supports  him  with  easy  grace,  making  the  most  of 
inspired— and    only    occasionally    Crampsy    (check 
"Nancy  Sin") — minimalism 

The  26-song  1983-85  combines  the  band's  first  sin- 
gle, first  album,  Three  Tea  Breakfast,  several  compi- 
lation contributions  and  some  previously  unreieased 
tracks.  W 

BEATN1GS 

The  Beatnigs  ( Insight-Alternative  Tentacles}  1988  ® 
Television  EP  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 988 

On  their  debut  album,  this  striking  San  Francisco 
quintet  explodes  in  a  tight  and  danceable  riot  of  indus- 
trial percussion,  vocals  and  tape  manipulations.  Accord- 
ing to  an  enclosed  booklet  ("Aural  Instruction 
Manual"),  the  word  "nig"  is  defined  as  "a  positive 
acronym  .  .  .  [it]  has  taken  on  a  universal  meaning  in 
describing  all  oppressed  people  who  have  actively  taken 
a  stand  against  those  who  perpetuate  ethnic  notions  and 
discriminate  on  the  basis  of  them."  Assailing  "Televi- 
sion" (the  medium,  not  the  band),  poverty  and  hunger 
("Bunitos"),  the  "CIA"  and  South  Africa  ("Con- 
trol"), the  Beatnigs  cross  Devo,  Test  Dept.  and  the 
Dead  Kennedys  in  a  brilliant,  original  coincidence  of 
extremist  musical  ideas  and  radical  politics.  "Televi- 
sion" was  subsequently  given  a  pair  of  head-spinning 
remixes  by  Adrian  Sherwood,  Gary  Clail  and  Mark 
Stewart  and  issued  on  a  four-version  12-inch.  [i] 

BEATNIK  BEATCH 

See  Jellyfish. 

BEATNIKS 

See  Yukihiro  Takahashi, 

BEAT  RODEO 

Staying  Out  Late  with  Beat  Rodeo  (IRS)  1 985 
Home  in  the  Heart  of  the  Beat  (IRS)  1 986  * 

CRACKERS 

Sir  Crackers!  EP  (Twin/Tone)  1 980 


Beat  Rodeo  EP  f Coyote)  1 982 

Following  the  breakup  of  the  Suicide  Commandos 
(in  which  he  played  bass),  Minneapolis'  Steve  Almaas 
turned  to  guitar  and  formed  the  Crackers  (not  the  New 
Mexico  band  with  the  same  name).  Unfortunately,  the 
trio's  EP  is  of  little  consequence  except  to  vaguely  in- 
dicate the  rough-hewn  melodic  rock  direction  he'd  pur- 
sue Sir  Crackers!  threatens  to  take  off,  but  just  fizzles. 

After  working  with  the  Bongos,  Almaas  and  boss 
Bongo  Richard  Barone  headed  down  to  North  Carolina 
to  visit  Mitch  Easter  at  his  Drive-In  Studio.  The  three  of 
them  whipped  up  the  Beat  Rodeo  EP,  finally  showing 
Almaas  off  to  great  advantage.  If  Marshall  Crenshaw's 
early  treatment  of  the  Buddy  Holly  legacy  irks  you  for 
being  wrapped  in  candy  floss,  this  charming,  rocking 
disc  should  be  right  up  your  alley — swell  tunes,  Al- 
maas' straight-as-an-arrow  vocals  and  Easter's  clear 
production  that  lets  the  natural  sweetness  shine  through. 

Almaas  almost  immediately  formed  a  quartet  named 
for  the  EP  but  not  including  any  of  its  other  participants. 
Staying  Out  Late  (originally  issued  in  Germany  m 
1984)  shows  a  country  bent  implicit  in  its  name  (but 
absent  from  the  EP)  and  integrates  it  (countryish  guitar 
sound,  even  a  dash  of  fiddle)  rather  well  into  the  already 
established  pop-rock  context.  But  there's  little  memo- 
rable content  and  insufficient  elan:  "Without  You"  al- 
most rocks  out,  but  shortcircuits  the  power  with  an 
overloaded  arrangement.  Also,  lyrical  tension  is  never 
conveyed  by  Almaas'  vocals,  which  run  the  emotional 
gamut  from  A(miable)  to  B(oringly  benign). 

Staying  Out  Late  was  produced  by  Don  Dixon 
(with  two  tracks  by  Richard  Gottehrer).  Whether  result- 
ing from  the  switch  to  Scott  Litt  or  simply  the  educa- 
tional benefit  of  past  mistakes,  Home  in  the  Heart  of 
the  Beat  is  a  definite  improvement.  The  band  tends  to 
play  more  to  its  strengths  and  avoid  (or  compensate  for) 
its  weaknesses.  The  countryness  is  now  a  feel  rather 
than  a  form,  and  as  such  suits  them  far  better;  the  songs 
are  more  mature  and  less  awkward.  The  record's  title 
may  be  a  tad  pretentious,  but  in  several  ways  Beat  Ro- 
deo really  is  more  at  home — with  themselves,  at  any 
rate.  Solid,  enjoyable  fare.  [jg] 

See  also  Bongos, 

BEATS  INTERNATIONAL 

Let  Them  Eat  Bingo  (Go  Beat-Elektra)  1 990  • 

After  the  Housemartins  disbanded,  bassist  Norman 
Cook  returned  to  his  original  career  as  a  DJ  and  became 
one  of  England's  most  successful  remixers;  that  led  him 
to  form  Beats  International,  less  a  group  than  a  con- 
glomeration of  singers,  musicians  and,  most  important, 
samples.  The  music  tracks  on  Let  Them  Eat  Bingo  are 
constructed  almost  entirely  out  of  other  people's  songs 
and  recordings.  The  dub-inspired  bass  line  of  the  Clash's 
"Guns  of  Brixton"  is  used  as  the  bottom  for  a  cover  of 
the  SOS  Band's  classic  "Just  Be  Good  to  Me";  a  Billy 
Bragg  up/down  electric  guitar  stroke  from  "Levi 
Stubbs'  Tears"  is  vamped  into  the  basis  for  "Won't 
Talk  About  It' ' ;  and  so  on.  At  its  best,  this  is  clever  stuff 
that,  beyond  being  enjoyable  strictly  on  its  own,  pro- 
vocatively recontextualizes  its  sources  and  creates  an 
endlessly  fascinating  cross-cultural  weave — dig  how 
well  the  African  drums  fit  in  with  the  imitation-Billie 


48 


Holsdav  moaning  on  ** Burundi  Blues  "  At  its  worst— • 
the  tiresome  "Babies  Making  Babies"—- it'h  just  t>onng 

and  sill>   1  The  CD  contains  a  bonus  1 2-inch  mix  of  the 

album's  t%For  Spacious  Lies."  I  [gk] 

BEAUTIFUL  SOUTH 

Welcome  to  the  Beautiful  South  (GoJ  Discs-Eiekfra) 

1990® 
Choke  (Go!  Dtscs-EIekfra)  1 990  & 

The  two  groups  that  arose  from  the  Housemartins' 
ashes  are  as  dissimilar  to  each  other  as  they  are  from  the 
original  group.  Unlike  Beats  International,  the  Beautiful 
South  is  mildly  identifiable  with  the  Housemartlns,  as  it 
also  features  the  acerbic  lyrics  and  sweet  vocals  of  Paul 
Heaton.  But  while  the  old  pop  jangle  has  been  replaced 
by  a  jazzier,  keyboard-driven  sound  that  could  easily 
suck  in  any  lite-music-loving  yuppie  who  happened  by 
it,  the  songs'  unrepentant  nastiness  puts  a  sharp  hook 
inside  such  alluring  bait. 

On  Welcome  to  the  Beautiful  South,  the  catchy 
44 You  Keep  It  All  In"  deftly  skewers  pop-psych  tru- 
isms, while  "Woman  in  the  Wall"  is  a  grisly,  perhaps 
Poe-inspired  tale  of  wife  abuse.  The  South' s  special 
target,  though,  is  the  pop  machine  itself,  and  "Song  for 
Whoever"  unflinchingly  dissects  the  cynicism  that  goes 
into  the  making  of  so  many  silly  love  songs.  Welcome 
can  be  too  clever  for  its  own  good,  and  becomes  par- 
ticularly annoying  when  it  draws  a  bead  on  sitting 
ducks — the  potshot  at  Simon  Le  Bon  is  not  just  predict- 
able, but  dated  as  well. 

Expanding  from  a  quintet  to  a  sextet,  the  Beautiful 
South  returned  the  same  year  with  the  even  more  bilious 
Choke,  a  collection  of  eleven  acerbic,  pointed  songs 
that  is  over  and  done  in  37  minutes.  The  group's  disgust 
with  just  about  everything  but  its  seductive  music — 
tinged  with  horn  parts  straight  from  the  Bacharach/ 
David  songbook  and  distinguished  by  a  loping,  easy 
groove — is  palpable  from  the  very  first  cut,  "Tonight  I 
Fancy  Myself,"  where  the  singer  recoils  from  the  sight 
of  icky-cooey  lovers  and  bluntly  states,  "I  choose/self- 
abuse."  On  another  cut,  Brian  Corrigan  describes  a  hor- 
rible scene  of  domestic  violence  and  then  sings,  with 
perfect  insouciance:  "I  should  have  kept  my  eyes 
shut/My  mouth  should've  closed/But  the  mixture  of 
vomit  and  blood/Just  crept  up  through  my  nose."  In 
*Tve  Come  for  My  Award,"  a  disgusting,  thieving 
captain  of  free  enterprise  allows  that  "Jesus  was  my 
greatest  accomplice."  Choke  makes  it  clear  that  the 
Beautiful  South  has  ample  pop  sense  and  pure  venom  to 
keep  its  unique  act  going  for  quite  a  while.  [gk] 

JEAN  BEAUVOIR 

Drums  Along  the  Mohawk  (Columbia)  1 986  • 
Jacknifed  (Columbia)  1988  « 

This  onetime  Plasmatic  (more  recently  a  producer 
and  Little  Steven  sideman)  did  almost  everything  on  his 
first  solo  album — writing,  playing,  producing,  arrang- 
ing, etc.  Side  One  of  Drums  Along  the  Mohawk  (the 
reference  is  tonsorial)  owes  a  huge  debt  to  Prince  (see 
the  "Little  Red  Corvette"  chapter),  but  the  mainstream 
rock  LP  makes  chameleonic  room  for  other  soundalikes: 
"Rockin'  in  the  Street"  favors  Eddy  Grant,  while  most 
of  "This  Is  Our  House"  could  be  Foreigner  with  better 


vocals    And  darned  if  that  ain't  Tom  Petty 
**Dn\e  You  Home, "  Welcome  to  the  max;  museum  .  , 

Recorded  in  Ne\v  York,  Pans,  Stockholm  and  else- 
where, lets  a  feu  musicians  share  in  the  fun. 
Beauvoir  thankfallv  downplays  the  stylistic  clone  action 
I  although  the  Prince  influence  is  far  from  gone),  but 
forgets  to  replace  it  with  anything  sufficientl}  or 
substantial.  His  lyncs — clever  and  provocative — are  the 
best  aspect  of  this  highly  accomplished  and  al- 
bum which  is  neither  diverting  nor  memorable,  fi] 

See  Three  Q'Clock 

BEL 

White-Out  Conditions  (Bel  Crammed  Discs)  1987  (Con. 

Nettwerk)  1 988  © 
Birds  of  Passage  (Can,  Netiwerk)  1 989  f  Nettwerk-!RS} 

1990® 

The  name  is  Italian  ("beautiful  song"),  but  this  trio 
hails  from  Norway,  sings  mostly  in  English  and  was 
originally  signed  by  an  artsy  Belgian  label.  Bel  Canto's 
songs  are  delicate  soundscapes  that  effectively  blend 
orchestral  and  folk  instruments  with  electronic  key- 
boards and  computer-driven  synths.  On  the  first  LP, 
Anneli  Marian  Drecker  sings  in  a  fairly  limited  but  not 
unpleasant  alto,  a  new  age  Siouxsie  Sioux  with  a  slight 
accent  and  voice  lessons.  White-Out  Conditions  offers 
a  decent  variety  of  material,  from  Enoesque  pop 
( "Blank  Sheets")  to  somewhat  cliche*d  electro-noodling 
("Upland"),  but  the  surprise  is  "Agassiz,"  an  Arabic- 
flavored  dancefloor  oddity. 

Drecker  stretches  out  her  falsetto  more  on  Birds  of 
Passage,  but  she  has  all  she  can  do  to  keep  from  being 
buried  in  the  thick  orchestration  crafted  by  bandmates 
Nils  Johansen  and  Geir  Jenssen  (plus  guests  playing 
everything  from  flugelhorn  to  bouzouki).  Fans  of  the 
Cocteau  Twins,  Minimal  Compact,  Virginia  Astley  and 
other  chamber-rock  artists  should  feel  at  home  with  Bel 
Canto,  although  the  trio  adds  more  bite  where  neces- 
sary. Intriguing  stuff.  [dgs] 

ADRIAN  BELEW 

Lone  Rhino  (Island)  1982 

Twang  Bar  King  (Island)  1983 

Desire  Caught  by  the  Tail  (Island)  1 986  e 

Mr.  Music  Head  (Atlantic)  1989  • 

Young  Lions  (Atlantic)  1 990  • 

Pretty  Pink  Rose  EP  [CD]  (Atlantic)  1990  * 

BEARS 

The  Bears  (Primitive  Man)  1 987  « 
Rise  and  Shine  (Primitive  Man)  1 988  • 

Having  served  with  David  Bowie,  Talking  Heads, 
the  Tom  Tom  Club  and  King  Crimson,  guitarist  Belew 
echoes  famous  associates  on  his  first  solo  LP  without 
staking  out  any  turf  to  call  his  own.  The  Kentucky  na- 
tive employs  pre-stardom  friends  from  Midwestern 
bands  rather  than  big  names,  serving  up  a  varied  pro- 
gram of  calculated  weirdness,  straight  rock  and  semi- 
funk.  Mildly  charming  and  rather  unfocused,  the 
tenuous  unifying  thread  on  Lone  Rhino  is  his  David 
Byrne-influenced  voice. 

On  his  second  outing,  Belew  shows  much  more  self- 


49 


assurance  in  putting  over  the  same  ingredients— an  as- 
surance that  spills  over  Into  self-indulgence  long  before 
the  album  is  over  But  this  record  does  underscore  his 
contributions  to  King  Crimson:  the  distinctive  vocabu- 
lary of  extra-musical  noises,  the  personality  and  espe- 
cially the  humor,  which  is  in  abundant  evidence  here. 
When  it  all  works,  if  works  incredibly  well 

Before  taking  a  solo  hiatus  in  the  Bears,  Belew  is- 
sued  a  one-man  instrumental  record.  Desire  Caught  by 
the  Tail.  The  simply  overdubbed  guitars  and  percussion 
have  a  casual  home- studio  air  but  no  discernible  direc- 
tion. Unlike  his  ex-bandmate's  obsessively  controlled 
Frippertronics,  these  excursions,  while  occasionally 
evocative,  hold  scant  listener  appeal. 

Seemingly  designed  to  discover  how  his  catalogue 
of  eccentric  guitar  noises  would  sound  in  the  context  of 
a  traditional  pop-rock  band — like,  say,  the  Beatles,  Hol- 
lies, Squeeze  or  XTC— Belew  hooked  up  with  pre- 
Cnmson  bar  buddies  the  Raisins  to  form  the  Bears.  And 
what  a  revelation  the  group's  two  wonderful  records 
are!  Challenging,  muscular,  tuneful,  idiosyncratic  and 
accessible,  The  Bears  (complete  with  group  cover  por- 
trait by  Mad  magazine's  inimitable  Mort  Drucker)  is  a 
superlative  record.  Everyone  contributes  and  it  all 
works — songs,  playing,  vocals  and  production.  The 
only  catch:  it's  too  pop  for  weirdo  purists,  too  weird  for 
pop  purists.  You  figure  out  why  it  didn't  sell  lots  of 
copies. 

Rise  and  Shine  is  nearly  as  good.  While  a  bit  more 
adventurous  in  song  structure  and  playing,  it  also  con- 
tains the  occasional  heavy-handed  lyric  (especially 
when  bassist  Rob  Nyswonger  writes  alone )  and  one  or 
two  fewer  memorable  songs  than  The  Bears.  You'd  be 
foolish  to  pass  up  either  of  these,  though — get  'em  while 
you  can.  As  a  bonus,  the  CD  adds  remixed  versions  of 
two  songs  ("Man  Behind  the  Curtain"  and  "Figure  It 
Out")  that  were  on  The  Bears. 

Belew  returned  to  the  one-man-band  approach  of 
Desire  Caught  by  the  Tail  for  his  Atlantic  alburns, 
making  allowances  for  a  few  guest  performers  on  each. 
The  main  difference  between  them  and  his  work  for 
Island  is  that  the  newer  material  is  far  more  accessible. 
Mr,  Musk  Head,  Belew's  most  pop-oriented  album  to 
date,  shows  the  Bears'  influence.  Written  mostly  on 
piano,  it's  definitely  more  song-oriented  than  any  of  his 
earlier  solo  records,  though  containing  enough  of  his 
signature  guitar  demonstrations  to  please  the  faithful. 
Still,  a  pure  pop  ditty  like  "Oh  Daddy"  (with  guest 
vocals  by  daughter  Audie)  would  have  been  hard  to 
imagine  on  any  of  his  prior  records. 

Belew  finished  Young  Lions  just  before  going  out 
on  David  Bowie's  globe-trotting  Sound  +  Vision  tour, 
in  which  he  served  as  guitarist  and  musical  director. 
Bowie's  presence  is  strongly  felt  here,  not  just  because 
he  wrote  and  sings  two  songs  (including  the  catchy 
"Pretty  Pink  Rose,"  also  issued  on  a  CD  with  two 
non-LP  cuts  and  the  previous  album's  "Oh  Daddy"), 
but  in  the  album's  generally  heavier — but  somehow 
more  ethereal — tone.  If  Mr.  Music  Head  was  an  earth- 
bound  journey  with  a  nostalgic  edge  (typified  by  "Mo- 
tor Bungalow"  and  "1967"),  Young  Lions  constantly 
looks  skyward  in  the  present,  whether  for  salvation  on 
"Looking  for  a  U.F.O."  or  at  "Men  in  Helicopters" 
shooting  rhinos  from  the  sky.  Only  the  album's  two 


covers  seem  out  of  touch  with  Beiew's  strong  MSIOZI 
here:  a  reworking  of  "Heartbeat,"  which  he  originally 
sang  on  King  Cnsnson's  Beat,  and  a  faithful-but-faster 
rendition  of  the  Traveling  Wilburys"  "Not  Alone  Any- 
more." fjy.mf'ds] 
See  also  David  Bowie,  King  Crimson,  Talking 
Heads, 


The  Belle  Stars  (Stiff-Warner  Bros.)  1 983 

Offering  a  self-contained,  funkier  alternative  to  early 
Bananarama,  London's  seven-woman  Belle  Stars  played 
and  sang  neo-soul  and  dance-rock.  At  their  most  glam- 
orous (the  excellent  "Sign  of  the  Times")  they  resem- 
ble that  era's  ABC,  but  with  added  spunk  and  less 
chrome.  Much  of  the  material  on  the  album  is,  however, 
much  plainer.  Far  more  enjoyable  than  the  band's  orig- 
inals are  covers  of  "Mockingbird,"  "Needle  in  a  Hay- 
stack," "The  Clapping  Song"  and  "Iko  Iko"  (a  huge 
hit  when  recycled  on  the  soundtrack  of  1988's  Rain 
Man)  which  provoke  a  good  time  largely  through  the 
band's  own  evident  enjoyment.  [i] 

BELOVED 

Where  ft  Ss  (nr/F!im  Flam)  1988 
Happiness  (Atlantic)  1 990  ® 
Blissed  Out  (nr/East  West)  1 990  4> 

As  a  dark  and  moody  British  independent  rock  act, 
Camberweil,  London's  Beloved  floundered  in  obscurity 
for  much  of  the  late  '80s,  releasing  a  series  of  unsuc- 
cessful singles  (eventually  compiled  as  Where  It  Is). 
Comparisons  to  early  New  Order  are  inevitable,  not  just 
because  of  the  similarity  between  Jon  Marsh's  plain- 
but-comforting  vocals  and  those  of  Bernard  Suraner,  but 
by  dint  of  the  band's  jolting  instrumentation  (as  on 
"This  Means  War")  and  furtive  experiments  with  drum 
boxes  and  synthesizers.  The  beautiful  ballad  "Surprise 
Me"  aside,  the  most  remarkable  thing  about  the  original 
Beloved  was  that  they  persisted  for  so  long  with  such 
mediocre  results. 

The  group  then  split  in  half,  leaving  Marsh  and  key- 
boardist Steve  Waddington  to  pursue  a  growing  fasci- 
nation with  dance  music.  After  several  further 
unspectacular  singles,  they  re-emerged  on  a  major  label, 
still  casting  reflections  to  New  Order,  but  suddenly — 
and  spectacularly — as  peers  rather  than  from  a  distance. 
Building  on  layers  of  luscious  synthesizer  and  relaxed 
dance  beats,  still  utilizing  guitars  (but  without  aggres- 
sion), the  duo  came  up  with  a  mellow  anthem  for  the 
rave  generation  ("The  Sun  Rising"),  quickly  followed 
it  up  with  a  list  of  their  own  reference  points  ("Hello") 
and  then  unleashed  a  debut  album  that  lived  up  to  its 
title  in  all  respects.  Every  song  on  Happiness  sounds 
like  a  single;  with  its  inviting  melodies,  relaxed  grooves 
and  a  feel  for  commercial  appeal  that  never  sacrifices 
subtlety,  it  is  the  perfect  pop  souvenir  of  Britain's  turn- 
of-the-decade  dance  movement. 

A  fondness  for  remixes  and  the  procession  of  singles 
drawn  from  Happiness  led  to  the  equally  joyful  listen  of 
Blissed  Out,  which  reprises  most  of  the  album's  tracks 
in  extended  form(s).  (The  cassette  has  five  bonus 
mixes.)  [tf] 


50 


Pleasure  Victim  ? MAO. -Enigma)  1982  (GeffenJ  1983  • 

Love  Lfe  ^Geffen)  1984* 

Count  Three  &  Pray  (GeffenJ  1986  • 

Best  of  Berlin  1 979-1 988  (Geffen)  1 989  * 

BIGF 

The  Bsg  F  ffff-E!ektra}  1989* 

Los  Angeles'  Berlin  had  been  active  for  several 
\eari— -an  almost  totally  different  lineup  Issued  a  1980 
single — before  bursting  onto  the  national  scene  with  the 
impressively  slick  Pleasure  Victim,  a  seven-song  mini- 
album  which  commercializes  routine  synth-rock  'with 
singer  Tern  Nunn's  audio  pornography.  The  record's 
most  blatant  (and  hence,  popular)  track,  "Sex  (I'm 
a  .  ),"  is  tasteless  and  offensive,  with  crude  lyncs 
and  ridiculous  moaning  There  are  two  likably  atmo- 
spheric tunes  ( "Masquerade"  and  "The  Metro");  oth- 
erwise this  ranges  from  bland  to  inept.  (The  CD  adds  a 
track  ) 

Berlin  serves  up  more  singles-bar  smarm  on  Love 
Life,  which  makes  a  bid  for  respectability  as  a  techno- 
dance  band.  Unfortunately,  bassist/singer  John  Craw- 
ford is  too  shallow  a  songwriter;  at  best,  Berlin  can  only 
manage  a  polished  Mike  Hewlett-produced  noise  (Gior- 
gio Moroder  co-produced  a  pair  of  tracks  as  well)  to 
glamorize  a  vapid  and  depressing  view  of  sex.  Pathetic. 

Between  them,  Nunn,  Crawford  and  drummer  Rob 
Brill  brought  only  vocals  and  a  rhythm  section  to  Count 
Three  &  Fray.  With  unannotated  guitar  work  by  Ted 
Nugent,  Dave  Gilmour  and  Elliot  Easton,  plus  a  heap  of 
other  session  players,  Berlin  made  what  thankfully 
proved  to  be  their  last  record.  (The  band  ended  its  mis- 
erable existence  in  1987,  perhaps  to  make  way  for  Pretty 
Poison.)  While  Brill's  "Like  Flames"  is  an  adequate 
song  with  a  catchy  smgalong  chorus,  Crawford's  "Sex 
Me,  Talk  Me"  is  straight  from  the  stunted  rut  of  his 
attitudes  about  copulation.  Originally  co-written  and 
produced  by  Moroder  for  the  soundtrack  of  Top  Gun, 
"Take  My  Breath  Away"  is  a  terrible,  characterless 
ballad  that  somehow  became  a  forgettable  hit  single. 

Besides  the  obvious  hits  and  album  tracks,  the  non- 
chronological  compilation  also  contains  the  group's  oth- 
erwise non-LP  debut  single,  "A  Matter  of  Time." 

Although  the  hard-rocking  power  trio  is  carefully 
swathed  in  mystery,  no  one  has  ever  seen  Big  F  bassist/ 
singer  John  Shreve  and  ex-Berlin  bassist/singer  John 
Crawford  in  the  same  room.  (Coincidentally,  the  Big  F 
drummer's  first  name  is  Rob.)  Despite  its  studied  goth 
pretensions,  The  Big  F  is  merely  another  noisy  soldier 
in  the  sub-Cult  army  of  '70s  metal  wannabes,  and  not  an 
especially  skilled  one  at  that.  Shreve *s  unpleasant  growl 
and  Mark  Christian's  derivative  guitar  demonstrations 
give  the  din-o-meter  a  good  push,  but  one  would  have  to 
be  a  pretty  indiscriminate  and  gullible  Led  Zep  fan  to 
think  anything  of  this  shuck.  [i] 

CINDY  LEE  BERRYH1LL 

Who's  Gonna  Save  the  World?  (Rhino)  1987  • 
Naked  Movie  Star  (Rhino)  1 989  • 

On  her  debut,  Cindy  Lee  comes  off  as  an  endearing 
flake  who  at  times  may  remind  you  of  a  folky  Patti 
Smith  or  a  female  Jonathan  Richman  in  his  Modern 
Lovers  days.  Like  them,  she's  no  great  singer  or  musi- 


cian, but  her  songs,  mostly  about  middle-etas*  adoles- 
cent and  posf -adolescent  life  cnse*  f  alienation,  drug 

addiction,  suicide  i  not  onl\  nng  tree,  but  do  MI  without 
lapsing  into  cliche  or  self-pity  There's  also  an  ironic 

sense  of  humor  ai  work,  best  seen  in  "Damn,  Wish  I 
Was  a  Man/1  a  catalogue  of  reasons  for  pens  env>  that 
contains  such  gems  as  "Wish  I  was  a  man%  I'd  be  sexy 
with  a  belly  like  Jack  Nicholson  ** 

For  Naked  Movie  Star,  producer  Lenn\  Ka>e  beefs 
up  Berryhiirs  musical  surroundings,  expanding  and  am- 
plif>mg  the  lineup  | an  acoustic  tno  on  the  debut!  on  a 
number  of  songs  In  fact,  after  a  couple,  you  may  think 
Cindy  Lee's  working  on  becoming  Southern  Califor- 
nia's female  Springsteen  Fortunately,  the  first  album's 
spirited  quirkiness  eventually  re-emerges,  complete  with 
a  new  set  of  purposeful  musical  reference  points  that 
include  Blonde  on  Blonde-era  Dylan,  Peggy  Lee,  the 
Beach  Boys  and  Patti  Smith.  With  Naked  Movie  Star, 
Berryhill  moves  into  new  areas  while  remaining  true  to 
what  made  her  interesting  in  the  first  place.  [ds] 

Little  Lives  (Chrysalis)  1 988  • 

Sporting  a  resume  that  includes  stints  with  the  Con- 
tortions, Thomas  Dolby  and  Jellybean  Benitez,  New 
York  singer  Bertei  made  a  surprisingly  accessible  and 
enjoyable  solo  debut  with  Little  Lives.  Collaborating 
on  both  the  fine  songs  and  imaginatively  diverse  pro- 
duction with  keyboardist  Ian  Prince  (and  others),  Bertei 
dishes  out  a  warm  platter  of  engagingly  substantial 
dance  music,  adult  rock  and  jazzy  soul-pop.  Several 
numbers  gain  rich,  theatrical  character  from  a  backing 
chorus  providing  answers  to  her  strong  lead  vocals.  Fol- 
lowing Laura  Nyro  into  the  '80s,  Little  Lives  estab- 
lishes Bertei  as  an  intelligent  and  independent  voice. 

See  also  Thomas  Dolby,  Jellybean.  [i] 

BEVIS 

Miasma  (Reckless)  1 987  • 

Inner  Marshland  (Reckless)  1987  • 

Triptych  (Reckless)  1988® 

Bevis  Through  the  Looking  Glass  (Reckless)  1988 

Acid  Jam  (nr/Woronzow)  1 988 

The  Auntie  Winnie  Album  (Reckless)  1 989  * 

Any  Gas  Faster  (Reckless)  1 990  ® 

Ear  Song  EP  (Reckless)  1990 

BEViS  AND  TW1NK 

Magic  Eye  (nr/Woronzow)  1 990 

Trading  under  the  one-man  banner  of  the  Bevis 
Frond,  London's  prolific  Nick  Saloman  traffics  in  unre- 
constructed, unrepentant  psychedelia.  His  procession  of 
remarkable  (and  mostly  homemade)  albums  could  get 
by,  if  necessary,  on  their  sheer  monomaniacal  obsession 
to  the  form.  Fortunately,  the  guitarist  (and  other  in- 
struments) is  a  master  craftsman,  adept  at  fashioning 
quirkily  expressive  cottage-industry  epics  out  of  psy- 
chedelia's  most  overworked  conventions. 

Miasma,  Inner  Marshland,  Triptych  and  The 
Auntie  Winnie  Album  are  more  or  less  interchange- 
able, mixing  gently  twisted  melodic  pop,  aggressive 
Hendrixian  jamming,  moments  of  reflective  introspec- 
tion and  flashes  of  absurdist  humor.  (The  authentically 


51 


anachronistic  sound  is  apparently  due  in  part  to  the  fact 
that  much  of  the  material  was  written  and/or  recorded 
years  before  its  release. )  The  CD  versions  of  these  four 
albums  offer  excellent  value  for  money,  each  running 
beyond  70  minutes,  with  bonus  tracks  drawn  from  two 
vinyl-only  releases:  Bevis  Through  the  Looking  Glass 
and  Acid  Jam,  both  of  which  concentrate  on  Saloman' s 
guitar-freakoEt  expertise. 

The  upgraded  production  values  of  Any  Gas  Faster 
(recorded  in  a  real  studio  for  a  change)  make  it  a  fine 
forum  for  Saloman's  iconoclastic  artistry.  A  subsequent 
EP  of  two  Any  Gas  Faster  tracks  l'4Ear  Song"  and 
"Olde  Worlde")  also  contains  four  live  songs  from  a 
1990  Copenhagen  show,  at  which  Saloman  ably  leads  a 
four-man  group. 

Looking  very  much  like  father  and  son  in  the  cover 
snap,  Saloman  and  ex-Pink  Fairy  drummer  Twink  unite 
two  generations  of  British  psychedelia  on  Magic  Eye, 
alternating  vocals  for  an  inconsistent  but  frequently  fab 
batch  of  unstylized  (nonetheless  retro-sounding)  songs, 
like  Be  vis'  Hiisker  Duish  "Flying  Igloos,"  the  two- 
chord  * 'Fractured  Sky,"  Twink's  deliciously  sludgy 
"The  Fairy"  and  the  no-it' s-not-the-Stooges  "Bag 
Drip."  Despite  an  overabundance  of  wanky  noodling 
(all  that's  lacking  at  the  most  aimless  points  is  a  voice 
going  "check  .  .  check  .  .  .  "),  there's  plenty  here  to 
enjoy.  [hd/i] 

See  also  Social  Deviants. 

BEWITCHED 

See  Some  Youth. 

B-52'S 

The  B-52's  (Warner  Bros.)  1 979  • 

Wild  Planet  (Warner  Bros.)  1 980  • 

Party  Mix!  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1 981 

Mesopotamia  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982 

Whammy!  (Warner  Bros.)  1 983  * 

Bouncing  off  the  Satellites  (Warner  Bros.)  1 986  * 

Cosmic  Thing  (Reprise)  1 989  * 

Dance  This  Mess  Around:  The  Best  of  the  B-52's 

(nr/lsbnd)1990* 
Party  Mix/Mesopotamia  (Reprise)  1991  <!> 

FRED  SCHNEIDER  &  THE  SHAKE 
SOCIETY 

Fred  Schneider  &  the  Shake  Society  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984 

(Reprise)  1991  * 

Just  when  new  wave  seemed  to  be  bottoming  out, 
along  came  Athens,  Georgia's  B-52*s  to  rev  it  back  up 
again,  with  distinctive  junk-store  *60s  visuals  (Kate 
Pierson  and  Cindy  Wilson  sport  bouffant  wigs — 
"B-52's* '  in  Southern  regional  slang)  and  stark,  highly 
danceable  songs  with  appropriately  surreal  kitsch  lyrics. 
The  B-52's*  wacky  sense  of  humor  made  their  self-titled 
first  album  a  sleeper  that  was  finally  certified  gold  in 
1986.  Now  a  cult  classic,  it  contains  such  cornerstones 
of  the  repertoire  as  "52  Girls/'  "Dance  This  Mess 
Around,"  "6060-842"  and  the  ever-popular  "Rock 
Lobster." 

The  B-52*s  have  been  wondering  what  to  do  for  an 
encore  ever  since.  The  eagerly  awaited  Wild  Planet  has 
its  inspired  moments:  "Private  Idaho'*  and  "Devil  in 
My  Car"  mesh  a  firm  beat  with  dark  and/or  silly  senti- 


ments. "Give  Me  Back  My  Man"  takes  a  new 
direction— -a  serious  (!)  showcase  for  Cindy  Wilson's 
Patsy  Gine-influenced  singing.  (Vocalist  Fred  Schnei- 
der is  usually  up  front  for  comic  relief  )  But  too  much 
of  the  album,  with  its  short  length  and  recycled  ideas, 
comes  across  as  a  pale  imitation  of  its  predecessor. 

Apparently  the  band  felt  the  same  way,  and  stayed 
away  from  the  recording  studio  for  the  next  year  and  a 
half  Party  Mix!,  issued  in  the  interim,  takes  three 
songs  each  from  the  two  LPs  and — through  the  miracle 
of  tape  loops,  overdubs  and  other  studio  tomfoolery — 
inflates  them  to  nearly  30  minutes  of  playing  time.  The 
result  is  functional  for  discos  but  antithetical  to  the 
B-52's'  minimalist  precepts. 

The  band  was  next  "officially"  heard  from  with 
another  mini-LP,  Mesopotamia,  salvaged  from  sessions 
produced  by  Talking  Head  David  Byrne.  Whether  under 
Byrne's  humorless  influence  or  not — he  plays  on  the 
record  and  engages  a  couple  of  Heads-family  percus- 
sionists to  help  out — the  B-52's  get  serious,  with  dire 
results.  "Loveland"  and  "Deep  Sleep"  sacrifice  elan 
for  slickness — not  a  fair  trade.  "Cake"  and  the  title  cut 
(one  of  only  two  Schneider  vocals)  come  off  as  self- 
conscious  parodies  of  the  old,  carefree  B-52's.  Only 
"Throw  That  Beat  in  the  Garbage  Can"  taps  the  zany 
reservoir  that  made  the  group  popular  in  the  first  place. 

After  the  curious  abortion  of  Mesopotamia, 
Wtiammy!  came  as  a  reassuring  return  to  form,  or  per- 
haps formula.  On  some  cuts  ("Whammy  Kiss," 
"Trism,"  "Butterbean"),  the  band  goes  through  the 
by-now-weli-wom  motions.  Elsewhere  ("Big  Bird," 
"Queen  of  Las  Vegas"),  horns — introduced  on 
Mesopotamia — and  intriguing  narratives  show  the 
B-52's  are  only  on  semi-automatic  pilot.  Drummer 
Keith  Strickland  and  guitarist  Ricky  Wilson  (Cindy's 
brother)  play  all  the  instruments  save  horns;  the  sound  is 
more  electronic  than  funky-human. 

Schneider's  solo  project  hardly  discouraged  fears 
about  the  state  of  the  B-52's.  (Kate  Pierson  helps  Fred 
out  with  vocals.)  The  pro  tern  Shake  Society  is  a  fine 
stopgap  for  the  parent  band's  looniness.  Schneider's  lyr- 
ics continue  to  dwell  on  campy  sci-fi  ("This  Planet's  a 
Mess,"  "Orbit")  and  campy  fantasy  ("Summer  in 
Hell,"  "Boonga"),  with  campy  sex  ("Monster,"  "It's 
Time  to  Kiss")  thrown  in  for  good  measure.  The  re- 
mixed reissue  is  billed  and  titled  without  mention  of  the 
Shake  Society. 

Ricky  Wilson  died  of  AIDS  in  October  1985,  shortly 
after  the  recording  sessions  for  Bouncing  off  the  Sat- 
ellites. Produced  by  British  popmeister  Tony  Mansfield 
(who  also  plays  Fairlight  on  every  track)  and  with 
Schneider  hardly  in  evidence,  the  bittersweet  record  was 
eventually  completed  and  released  in  late  1986.  The  first 
side  is  entirely  delightful,  filled  with  such  classic  B-52 
silliness  as  "Wig,"  "Detour  Thru  Your  Mind"  and 
"Girl  from  Ipanema  Goes  to  Greenland,"  but  the  flip  is 
overly  smooth,  limp  and  uninspired.  Typifying  the 
record's  structural  oddness,  Schneider  is  the  only  band 
member  on  the  lengthy  "Juicy  Jungle,"  co-written  and 
largely  played  by  one  John  Cote*. 

Although  the  B-52's  seemed  likely  to  toss  in  the 
towel  after  Satellites,  they  pulled  together  (Strickland 
having  switched  to  guitar),  worked  out  their  problems 
and  managed  an  amazing  come-from-behind  victory. 
Don  Was  and  Nile  Rodgers  (two  seemingly  odd  studio 


52 


choices  that  panned  out  beautiful!}  I  each  produced  half 
of  Cosmic  Thing,  which  relocates  the  group's  old  fun- 
tilled  groove  and  gives  it  a  commercial!}  snog  berth. 
Preserving  the  band's  kitsch}  spirit  but  eliminating  its 
rhuhmic  eccentricity,  the  platinum  Cosmic  Thing  puts 
the  quartet's  signature  vocals  and  whimsical  lyrics  cen- 
ter stage  in  a  slickly  mainstream  recreation  of  '60s  party 
music.  While  the  sound  is  as  consistent  as  TV  dinners, 
the  material  runs  from  fabulous  (tkRoam,"  *'Love 
Shack,"  *kDeadbeat  Club" )  to  fair  ("Bushfire" )  to  flat 
i  "Channel  Z,"  "Dry  County"). 

Tfee  B-52*s  and  Wild  Planet  have  been  repackaged 
as  a  double-length  cassette  (but  individual  CDs)  In 
1991 ,  a  remixed  version  of  Mesopotamia  was  issued  on 
a  joint  CD  with  Party  Mix!  The  skimpy  eleven-song 
Dance  This  Mess  Around  compilation  offers  a  far- 
from-definitive  sampling  of  the  band's  albums  through 
Satellites.  [si/i] 

No  More  Cocoons  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 987 
High  Priest  of  Harmful  Matter-Tales  from  the  Trial 
(Alternative  Tentacles)  1 989 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Terminal  City  Ricochet  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 989 

JELLO  BIAFRA  WITH  D.O.A. 

Last  Scream  of  the  Missing  Neighbors  EP  (Alternative 
Tentacles)  1990* 

JELLO  BIAFRA  WITH 
NOMEANSNO 

The  Sky  Is  Falling  and  I  Want  My  Mommy  (Alternative 

Tentacles)  1 991  « 

Since  the  end  of  the  Dead  Kennedys,  Jello  Biafra 
has  continued  to  ply  his  missionary  trade  with  spoken 
word  records.  No  More  Cocoons  contains  four  sides  of 
political  satire  recorded  at  college  appearances,  radio 
interviews,  readings  and  in-stores.  Biafra  has  found  his 
ideal  medium  here,  and  this  is  as  sharp,  funny  and  in- 
formative as  any  DK  record.  Biafra  applies  his  acerbic 
wit,  endless  outrage,  abundant  intelligence  and  dramatic 
skills  to  a  variety  of  concerns,  making  the  record  highly 
worthwhile  and  grimly  amusing.  Those  old  enough  to 
remember  Lenny  Bruce  or  even  Mort  Sahl  in  his  prime 
may  consider  this  a  topical  comedy  record  in  the  grand 
tradition;  younger  listeners  are  likely  to  hear  it  as  a 
chilling  reintroduction  to  what  the  DKs'  songs  were 
saying  all  along. 

As  someone  whose  outspoken  opinions  and  free- 
thinking  actions  are  enough  to  bring  down  the  legal 
wrath  of  the  land's  moral  guardians,  it's  convenient  that 
Biafra  has  an  independent  record  label  on  which  to  rebut 
his  accusers.  Following  his  1987  acquittal  for  "distri- 
bution of  harmful  matter  to  minors"  in  the  Fran- 
kenchrist  trial,  Biafra  released  a  post-mortem  on  that 
absurd  brush  with  the  justice  system.  Besides  a  typically 
intelligent  and  amusing  1988  lecture  on  the  general  topic 
of  contemporary  censorship,  the  two-disc  High  Priest 
offers  his  detailed  account  of  the  events  that  began  on 
April  15,  1986,  when  police  raided  his  San  Francisco 
apartment. 

Biafra  stars  in  and  performs  on  the  soundtrack  of 
1989's  Terminal  City  Ricochet;  the  soundtrack  album  of 
this  Canadian  film  contains  tracks  by  assorted  AT  bands 


as  well  as  Biafra' s  musical  collaborations  vmh  D.O.  A  , 
Nomeansno  and  Keith  LcBlanc.  While  working  on  thai 

project,  he  took  a  hiep  towards  resuming  his  musical 
career  with  Last  Scream  of  the  Neighbors,  a 

raanng  rock  record  that  puts  Biafra" s  trademark  vocals 
and  songs  to  D.O  A.'s  meat-and-potatoes  guitar  power. 

With  a  half-dozen  numbers  like  "Wish  1  Was  112  El 
Salvador,"  4*  Attack  of  the  Peacekeepers"  and  the  epic 
44  Full  Metal  Jackoff,"  Last  Scream  proudly  rehoists 
the  DK  flag  in  al!  but  name,  [i] 

See  also  Dead  Kennedys,  lce~T,  Lard, 

BIBLE 

Walking  the  Ghost  Back  Home  (nr/Bacb)  1 986  • 
Eureka  (Chrysalis- Ensign)  1 988  ® 
The  Bible  (nr/Enssgn-Chrysatls)  1 989  ® 

BOO  HEWERDINE  AND  GARDEN 
SMITH 

Evidence  (Chrysalis)  1 989  • 

This  Cambridge,  England-based  band  includes  a 
jazz  drummer  on  keyboards  and  Kirsty  MacColTs 
brother  Neill  on  guitar.  On  Walking  the  Ghost  Back 
Home,  the  Bible  covers  a  lot  of  musical  territory,  from 
airy  Brace  Hornsby-esque  rock  ("Graceland")  to 
Traffic-like  jazz-rock  (the  title  track)  to  a  U2-ish  tribute 
to  Mahalia  Jackson  ( "Mahalia" ).  One  song  recalls  early 
Bowie;  another  almost  goes  back  to  the  days  of  dole 
queue  punk.  While  the  whole  enterprise  is  earnest  and 
competent,  only  "Graceland"  and  "Mahalia"  are  truly 
compelling. 

The  Steve  Earle-produced  Eureka  is  a  more  focused 
record.  Clean  and  crisply  played,  it  has  pretty  moments, 
but  also  suffers  from  a  real  lack  of  rhythmic  dynamism; 
the  songs  tend  to  plod  on  too  long.  The  Bible  is  a 
compilation  that  contains  all  but  three  of  Eureka' s 
tracks  and  adds  five  more,  including  "Graceland" 
(again)  and  a  version  of  "Abraham,  Martin  and  John" 
that — believe  it  or  not — is  even  more  sentimental  than 
Dion's  original.  Initial  quantities  of  the  UK  release  con- 
tained a  bonus  12-inch  of  four  acoustic  cuts. 

Bible  vocalist  Boo  Hewerdine  teamed  up  with  Texas 
singer-songwriter  Darden  Smith  on  Evidence,  a  far 
more  interesting  and  affecting  album  than  anything  the 
Bible's  done  to  date.  The  unpretentious  Smith  (who  has 
also  done  albums  on  his  own)  is  a  perfect  foil  for  Hew- 
erdine; the  vocal  excesses  Hewerdine  indulges  in  the 
Bible  are  checked  here,  and  his  voice  is  instead  chan- 
neled into  arresting  harmonies  in  the  bare-bones  tunes. 
A  winner,  [ds] 

BIFF  BANG  POW! 

Pass  the  Paintbrush,  Honey..  (nr/Creation)  1 985  * 
Love's  Going  Out  of  Fashion  EP  (nr/Creation)  1 986 
The  Girl  Who  Runs  the  Beat  Hotel  (nr/Creation)  1 987  « 
Oblivion  (Creation-Relativity)  1 987  • 
Love  Is  Forever  (Creation-Relativity)  1988  • 
The  Acid  House  Album  (nr/Creation)  1 989  • 
Songs  for  the  Sad  Eyed  Girl  (nr/Creation)  1 990  • 

Besides  doing  his  part  to  influence  the  sound  of  Brit- 
ish music  by  founding  and  running  the  influential  Cre- 
ation label,  Glasgow  native  Alan  McGee  leads  this  hip 
neo-pop  quartet,  which  he  formed  in  London,  Although 
Biff  Bang  Pow!  has  much  to  recommend  it,  fans  of  the 


53 


band  for  which  it  and  the  record  company  are  named, 
however,  will  find  little  evidence  of  the  Creation's  peer- 
less '60s  art-rock  here. 

Psychedelia  and  nostalgia  Inform  Biff  Bang  Fowl's 
records  but,  as  often  as  not,  the  wiry  guitar  pop  sounds 
like  a  compromise  between  Josef  K,  Orange  Juice  and 
Haircut  One  Hundred.  Although  they  would  seem  spir- 
itually in  synch  with  the  Television  Personalities  or 
Times  (indeed,  the  latter' s  Edward  Ball  is  an  occasional 
member),  Biff  Bang  Pow!  doesn't  share  those  groups* 
winsome  charm  or  demonstrative  cultural  resonance. 

The  cover  photo  of  Pass  the  Paintbrush  shows  a  set 
of  Vox  gear  that  would  do  any  revivalist  band  proud. 
The  first  side  offers  little  such  personality;  noisy  inter- 
ludes of  non-chromatic  harmonica  provide  the  most  no- 
ticeable component  of  the  short  ditties.  Side  B  has  the 
real  goods,  containing  the  rushing  Kinksy  "Colin  Dob- 
bins" and  the  outstanding  "A  Day  Out  with  Jeremy 
Chester,"  a  lengthy  acid-rock  trip  loaded  with  wild 
feedback  and  exciting  guitar  crashes.  The  Paintbrush 
CD  also  contains  the  band's  next  album. 

Poorly  produced  with  thin,  shrill  sound,  The  Girl 
Who  Runs  the  Beat  Hotel  reveals  much  stronger,  more 
attractive  songwriting.  * 'Someone  Stole  My  Wheels" 
and  "The  Happiest  Girl  in  the  World"  are  convincing 
period  pieces  colored  in  with,  respectively,  prominent 
organ  and  female  vocals;  "Five  Minutes  in  the  Life  of 
Greenwood  Goulding"  uses  crazy  backwards  guitars. 
Strangely,  McGee's  vocals  suggest  Robert  Smith  on 
"Love's  Going  Out  of  Fashion"  and  Lloyd  Cole  on 
"He  Don't  Need  That  Girl."  The  melodies  and  varied 
arrangements  are  stylishly  appropriate,  but  the  botched 
mix  prevents  them  from  being  fully  appreciated.  The 
12-inch  of  "Love's  Going  Out  of  Fashion"  avoids  that 
sonic  pothole  and  includes  three  atmospheric  non-LP 
tracks. 

Almost  all  of  the  band's  remaining  sharp  edges  have 
been  polished  off  of  Oblivion,  a  handsome  effort  with 
brilliant  vocals  and  sparkling  guitar  uplifting  the  finely 
constructed  songs.  Still,  it's  heartwarming  to  hear  "A 
Girl  Called  Destruction"  devolve  into  a  noisy  old- 
fashioned  raveup;  "I  See  the  Sun"  contrasts  acoustic 
strumming  with  massive  distortion  on  the  solo.  If  Paul 
Weller  had  grown  up  listening  to  the  Hollies  as  much  as 
the  Who,  the  Jam  might  have  made  an  album  like  Obliv- 
ion; fortunately,  Biff  Bang  Pow!  did. 

Side  One  of  Love  Is  Forever  mixes  electric  and 
acoustic  guitars  (played  by  McGee  and  stalwart  band- 
mate  Richard  Green)  with  pretty  harmonica  to  yield 
music  akin  to  the  Bluebells'  sprightly  folk-rock  (but  not 
songs  of  that  group's  caliber).  The  other  side — all- 
electric  and  at  times  loud— is  bracing  but  largely  un- 
fathomable, despite  the  inclusion  of  such  delicacies  as 
"She  Went  Away  to  Love."  While  remnants  of  Obliv- 
ion's appeal  and  clarity  are  evident,  Love  Is  Forever  is 
comparatively  dull  and  uninspired. 

The  Acid  House  Album  is  nothing  of  the  sort,  but 
rather  an  exceedingly  enjoyable  compilation  containing 
one  side  of  alternate  versions  (demos,  outtakes,  etc.). 
Surprisingly  consistent  production  sound  and  wise  pro- 
gramming makes  this  a  fine  place  for  neophytes  to  begin 
and  fans  to  revisit.  (A  demo  of  "The  Girl  from  Well 
Lane"  provides  a  teaser  for  the  group's  next  release.) 

The  seven  romantic  Songs  for  the  Sad  Eyed  Girl 
may  be  heartfelt,  but  casual  folky  underproduction 


leaves  the  record  a  bit  listless.  (Some  of  the  tracks  are 
effectively  McGee  solo  acoustic  turns.)  Only  the  mar- 
velous massed  harmonies  of  "She  Kills  Me,"  '4Bab>, 
You  Just  Don't  Care"  and  "Hug  Me  Honev"  offer 
reasons  to  be  cheerful.  [i] 

BIG  AUDIO  DYNAMITE 

This  Is  Big  Audio  Dynamite  (Columbia)  1 985  • 
No.  10,  Upping  Si  (Columbia)  1986  • 
Tighten  Up  Vol.  88  (Columbia)  1 988  • 
Megatop  Phoenix  (Columbia)  1 989  • 

BIG  11 

Koot-ASd(nr/CBS)199Q® 
The  Globe  (Columbia)  1 991  • 

The  rote  replay  of  the  unClash's  Cut  the  Crap  only 
underscores  the  accomplishment  of  Mick  Jones'  subse- 
quent band,  originally  formed  with  filmmaker-cwm- 
musician  Don  Letts.  Joe  Strummer  attempted  to  purify 
the  Clash  by  purging  Jones,  but  wound  up  liberating  the 
guitarist's  muse  and  (for  a  while)  misplacing  his  own. 
The  original  B.A.D. — which  included  ex-Basement  5 
bassist  Leo  Williams  hi  its  uncommon  lineup — takes  off 
from  various  things  the  Clash  had  tried  on  Sandmista! 
and  Corahat  Rock,  but  goes  much  further  with  audio 
verite',  sonic  effects  and  beatbox  funk.  The  adventurous 
band's  recordings  are  creatively  ambitious  crazy  quilts 
of  half-baked  songs  with  fascinating  lyrics,  slathered 
over  with  shards  of  film  dialogue  and  news  reports. 
Although  flimsy  and  gimmicky  on  first  exposure,  the 
meandering  dance  grooves  on  This  Is  Big  Audio  Dy- 
namite (especially  "E  =  MC2"  and  "The  Bottom 
Line")  prove  far  more  alluring  and  resilient  with  re- 
peated exposure.  Jones'  monochromatic  vocals  can  be  a 
negative  factor  in  spots,  but  they're  generally  adequate 
to  the  task,  and  occasionally  perfectly  suited. 

In  a  truly  startling  development,  Strummer  wound 
up  co-producing  (and  co-writing  half  of)  B.A.D. 's  sec- 
ond album  with  Jones.  Appraising  the  nature  of  his  con- 
tribution or  understanding  the  pair's  ongoing  synergy  is 
impossible,  but  finding  this  uniquely  conceived  pan- 
cultural  record  fascinating  is  easy.  Similar  to  the  first 
album,  but  improved  by  greater  studio  mastery  and  bet- 
ter writing,  No.  10,  Upping  St.  deconstructs  modem 
culture  and  politics  in  a  wild  soup  of  sounds  and  lyrics. 
The  shuffling  "Beyond  the  Pale"  and  the  attractively 
melodic  "V.  Thirteen"  (reprised  m  an  instrumental  ver- 
sion as  "The  Big  V.")  are  the  closest  things  to  Clash 
songs  since  Combat  Rock,  while  "C'mon  Every  Beat- 
box"  quotes  Jeff  Beck  and  Eddie  Cochran  over  a  pow- 
erful groove  with  ricocheting  drumbeats.  ("Badrock 
City,"  the  B-side  dub  of  the  "Beatbox"  single,  became 
a  surprise  dance  hit,  and  was  tacked  onto  later  pressings 
of  the  album.)  A  unique,  danceable  hybrid  of  art  and 
life. 

The  disappointing  Tighten  Up  Vol.  88  reaches  no 
such  peaks  and  now  sounds  like  a  fairly  brazen  attempt 
to  get  hip  commercial  airplay.  The  fault  is  seldom  with 
Jones'  songwriting  but  more  with  the  slick  sheen  laid 
over  the  leaner,  less  aggressive  beats.  The  LP  yielded 
"Just  Play  Music"  and  "Other  99,"  but  a  pall  was 
thrown  on  the  release  as  Jones  fell  deathly  ill  shortly 
after  its  appearance;  having  contracted  pneumonia,  he 
was  hospitalized  for  months. 

Less  than  a  year  after  Tighten  Up,  however,  Jones 


54 


miraculously  returned  with  Megatop  Phoenix.  Argu- 
ably B  A.D  *s  best,  this  dense,  quick-cut  audio  collage 
weaves  its  songs  through  enough  studio  wanker}  to  sum- 
mon flashbacks  of  Sandinista!;  the  claustrophobic  se- 
quencing makes  the  invention  of  CD  remotes  especially 
welcome.  Not  unlike  his  early  '80s  funk  fetish,  Jones 
mixes  acid  house  in  to  both  surprisingly  good  ("Con- 
tact/' "House  Arrest"  I  and  embarrassingly  bad 
( "James  Brown")  effect.  However,  his  flair  for  melody 
is  as  strong  as  ever  and,  although  the  fun  samples 
("Honky  Took  Women"  and  "I  Can't  Explain," 
among  dozens)  are  often  cluttered,  the  cinematic  mixes 
collude  to  create  evocative  soundscapes  for  the  London- 
centnc  cyberpunk/Colin  Maclnnes  lyncs. 

Megatop  was,  in  many  ways,  the  culmination  of 
B.A.D.'s  original  concept,  and  the  band  split  in  early 
'90.  Letts,  Williams  and  drummer  Greg  Roberts  formed 
Screaming  Target,  releasing  a  single  called  "Who 
Killed  King  Tubby?"  late  that  year;  keyboardist  Dan 
Donovan  joined  Tony  James — Jones*  pre -Clash  band- 
mate  in  the  London  SS — in  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Jones 
recruited  three  street-looking  lads  (one  of  whom  alarm- 
ingly resembles  Sid  Vicious),  adopted  the  name  Big 
Audio  Dynamite  II  and  issued  Kool-Aid,  a  stopgap  prior 
to  The  Globe.  With  a  relatively  loose  feel  and  concept, 
KooI-AM  is  his  most  diverse  outing  ever,  offering  two 
acoustic  ballads,  acid-dance,  techno-rock,  Kraftwerk 
samples  and  even  Laurie  Anderson-styled  poltergeist 
vocals,  as  well  as  a  remixed  (and  retitled)  version  of 
'Tree,"  the  band's  contribution  to  the  Flashback  sound- 
track, [i/ja] 

See  also  Basement  5,  Clash,  Jah  Wobble. 

BIG  BAM  BOO 

Fun,  Faith,  &  Fairplay  (Uni)  1987 

Catchy  pop  tunes,  nicely  harmonized  joint  vocals, 
heartily  strummed  acoustic/electric  guitars  and  reverb- 
heavy  drums  make  this  personable  (if  overly  commer- 
cial) Anglo-Canadian  duo  something  of  an  '80s  Everlys 
descendant.  Although  Richard  Manwaring's  production 
frequently  drowns  the  pair  in  sappy  modem  arrange- 
ments (not  that  it's  an  unwelcomed  imposition:  Big  Bam 
Boo  is  not  at  all  rootsy  or  nostalgic  in  concept),  the 
album's  few  modestly  presented  songs  (like  "Fell  off  a 
Mountain"  and  "Wicked  Love")  are  delightful.  [i] 

BIG  BLACK 

Lungs  EP  (Ruthless)  1983 

Bulldozer  EP  (Ruthless-Fever)  1 984 

Racer-X  EP  (Homestead)  1984 

Atomizer  (Homestead)  1 986  « 

The  Hammer  Party  (Homestead)  1 986  • 

Headache  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1987 

Sound  of  Impact  (nr/Walls  Have  Ears)  1 987 

The  Rich  Man's  Eight-Track  Tape  [CD]  (Homestead) 

1987* 
Songs  About  Fucking  (Touch  and  Go)  1 987  • 

ARSENAL 

Manipulator  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989  • 

Factory  Smog  Is  a  Sign  of  Progress  EP  (Touch  and  Go) 

1990* 

"The  only  good  policeman  is  a  dead  one/The  only 
good  laws  aren't  enforced/I've  never  hung  a  darkie  but 


I've  fed  on&I've  never  seen  an  on  a  torse." 

With  these  gentle  words,  acerbic  Chicago  writer 

Steve  Albim  began  his  extremely  serious  adventures  m 
the  rock'n'roll  skin  trade  For  a  while,  Albuii 
makeshift  lineups  from  other  j  Big  Black  subse- 

quently stabilized  a  lineup  of  its  own);  regardless  of 
who,  they  make  musk  that's  grating,  angular,  humor- 
less and  very  intelligent— sort  of  a  cross  between  Gang 
of  Four,  PiL  and  the  Great  Crusades  (not  a  band  I.  Al- 
bini's  self-righteousness  sometimes  causes  him  to  be  as 
much  unaccommodating  as  uncompromising,  but  his 
bile  is  generally  well-directed,  and  he's  immune  to  cor- 
ruption, except  from  within.  Ail  these  records  are  chal- 
lenging and  rewarding. 

Lungs  is  at  once  the  most  homegrown  and  over- 
wrought Big  Black  release.  Over  a  skeletal  art-funk 
background,  Albini  creates  bleak,  tough  images  of  re- 
cessioned  industrial  America.  While  "I  Can  Be  Killed" 
is  almost  laughable  for  its  delusionaiy  self-importance, 
"Steelworker"  is  intensely  muscular  Bulldozer  goes 
for  a  chunkier  sound  and  more  violent  imagery.  The 
recording  quality  and  playing  are  more  sophisticated, 
making  it  less  alluring  than  the  spartan  Lungs.  "Ca- 
bles" is  about  voyeurs  at  a  slaughterhouse;  "The  Pigeon 
Kill"  is  about  poisoning  birds;  "Seth"  is  about  a  dog 
trained  to  attack  black  people.  Overambitious,  but  sin- 
cere and  scary.  (A  limited  number  of  copies  of  Bull- 
dozer were  packaged  in  a  sheet  metal  sleeve,  with  the 
band's  name  etched  in  acid.)  The  CD  of  The  Hammer 
Party,  which  on  vinyl  is  simply  a  combined  reissue  of 
the  first  two  EPs,  adds  the  third,  Racer-X, 

Racer-X  is  less  obsessively  cranky  than  the  first  two 
records  (a  positive  development).  The  basic  elements 
remain:  one-riff  industrial  funk  grooves,  coarse  vocals, 
jagged  guitar.  But  this  EP  fills  out  the  sound  without 
sacrificing  any  of  its  amateur  appeal.  The  musicians, 
while  skilled  technicians  all,  keep  the  sound  raw.  And  if 
Albini  is  still  something  of  a  cartoon  curmudgeon  in  his 
boasts  about  being  "The  Ugly  American/'  he  at  least 
includes  a  James  Brown  cover  and  a  tribute  to  Speed 
Racer's  cooler  brother.  Not  as  idiosyncratically  brilliant 
as  Lungs,  but  fine  stuff  nonetheless. 

Atomizer  comes  thundering  out  of  the  starting  gate 
like  a  wounded  rhino,  charging  around  madly  with  awe- 
some, claustrophobic  rock  power.  Albini  leads  his 
troupe  through  such  angry  slices  of  niho-philosophy, 
depravity  and  arson  as  "Big  Money,"  "Stinking 
Drunk,"  "Fists  of  Love,"  "Jordan,  Minnesota,"  "Ker- 
osene" and  "Bazooka  Joe"  (for  which  the  liner  notes 
note  "part  of  the  drum  track  is  an  Ml  carbine  being 
fired  in  a  field  exercise  by  a  guy  named  Joe").  A  mag- 
nificently rugged  record  and  a  major  sourcebook  for 
countless  bands  to  come. 

As  a  sticker  prudently  warns,  Headache  is  nowhere 
near  as  good  as  Atomizer.  With  the  exception  of  the 
slow-to-fast  chugger  "Ready  Men,"  nothing  ap- 
proaches the  same  level  of  excellence.  Although  Head- 
ache is  the  weakest  Big  Black  LP  or  EP,  it  will  forever 
be  remembered  for  its  original  (fortunately?)  limited 
edition  sleeve:  the  most  gruesome,  disgusting  photo 
imaginable,  an  accident  victim's  head  so  grotesque  the 
record  had  to  be  sold  with  a  covering  black  jacket. 

Sound  of  Impact  is  a  rather  mysterious,  extraordi- 
narily limited  edition  live  LP.  Big  Black's  name  appears 
nowhere  on  the  sleeve  or  spine;  many  are  unaware  of  the 


55 


record's  existence.  Recorded  live  in  Muncie,  Indiana 
and  Minneapolis,  it  includes  early  versions  with  differ- 
ent lyrics  of  later  material,  and  is  as  jarring  and  unre- 
lenting as  their  concerts  were. 

The  CD-only  Rich  Man's  Eight-Track  Tape 
I  ha-ha)  is  a  sixteen-track  compilation  containing  all  of 
Atomizer  and  Headache  plus  both  sides  of  the 
"Heartbeat"/ "Things  to  Do  Today"  single. 

As  Big  Black  was  splitting  up,  they  released  their 
finest  work:  a  second  actual  LP,  Songs  About  Fucking. 
As  if  to  go  out  kicking,  screaming,  howling  and  biting, 
it's  their  most  raging,  abrasive,  pulverizing  record,  with 
only  an  excellent  and  ironic  guitar  take  of  Kraftwerk's 
4fcThe  Model**  providing  any  relief  Albini  *s  screeched 
vocals  are  so  low  in  the  mix  they're  just  another  instru- 
ment. Obsessing  as  usual  on  the  excessive  and  bizarre 
side  of  human  life,  his  stories  remain  mini  horror  mov- 
ies set  to  the  punishing,  scathing  guitar  attack.  Lyrically 
and  aurally  like  Atomizer,  it's  liable  to  alter  your  per- 
ceptions. (The  CD  and  cassette  add  Big  Black's  cover 
of  Cheap  Trick's  "He's  a  Whore,"  originally  released 
as  a  45,  complete  with  parodic  sleeve  photo.) 

Following  Big  Black's  windup,  Albini  got  busy  pro- 
ducing records  (usually  without  taking  sleeve  credit)  for 
the  Pixies  and  zillions  of  other  bands.  He  also  formed 
Rapeman  and  discovered  entire  new  vistas  of  aural  and 
conceptual  antagonism  that  have  proven  astonishingly 
influential. 

Although  the  main  reason  Big  Black  split  was  be- 
cause guitarist  Santiago  Durango  enrolled  in  law  school, 
he's  since  found  the  time  to  record  two  EPs  as  Arsenal, 
assisted  on  the  second  by  Naked  Raygun's  Pierre  Kezdy. 
(Durango  was  in  Raygun's  original  lineup,  poor  to 
Kezdy *s  arrival.) 

Manipulator  is  too  experimental,  as  if  Durango 
hadn't  decided  what  sort  of  music  he  wanted  to  make. 
"Little  Hitlers"  could  be  a  Big  Black  outtake,  but  the 
rest  sounds  like  an  afternoon  of  self-indulgent  knob 
twisting.  The  vocals,  delivered  in  a  barely  discernible 
Darth  Vader  growl  and  deliberately  hidden  behind  the 
instruments,  make  Albini 's  anti-singer  mixes  sound  like 
a  U2  album. 

Factory  Smog  is  much  better.  Including  songs  orig- 
inally done  by  the  legendary  Strike  Under  and  Trial  by 
Fire  ( Kezdy 's  two  old  bands),  this  EP  carries  on  Big 
Black's  harsh  wallop,  with  big-fuzzed  instrumental  pas- 
sages that  also  bring  to  mind  Breaking  Circus.  While  the 
vocals  are  still  nowhere  near  the  front  of  the  mix,  the 
harrowing  riffs  make  for  real  drama.  (One  CD  contains 
both  EPs.)  D'l/i/jr] 

See  also  Rapeman. 

BIG  BOYS/DICKS 

Recorded  Live  at  Raul's  Club  (Rat  Race)  1 980 

BIG  BOYS 

Where's  My  Towel  (Wasted  Talent)  1 981 

Fun,  Fun,  Fun  ...  EP  (Moment)  1 982 

Lullabies  Help  the  Brain  Grow  (Moment-Enigma)  1 983 

No  Matter  How  Long  the  Line  Is  at  the  Cafeteria,  There's 

Always  a  Seat!  (Enigma)  1984 
Wreck  Collection  (Unseen  Hand)  1988  +  1989 

Initially  another  bunch  of  misfit  goodfernaughts  in 
thrall  of  shock,  volume  and  outrage,  Austin,  Texas'  Big 
Boys  were  well  matched  with  cross-dressing  nascent 


blues  revisionists  the  Dicks  on  the  LP  they  shared,  re- 
corded loud  and  dirty  at  their  hometown's  premier  end- 
of-the-"7Gs  punk  showplace. 

The  self-released  Where's  My  Towel  better  indi- 
cates the  band's  ultimate  strengths:  Randy  ** Biscuits" 
Turner's  melodic  rasp  and  shnek,  the  surprising  mu- 
sical prowess  and  singularity  of  the  instrumentalists 
(particularly  guitarist  Tim  Ken:)  and,  most  signifi- 
cantly, the  proto-funk  leanings  that  would  later  dom- 
inate the  group.  They  continued  to  hone/splinter  their 
approach  on  the  two  Moment  releases,  paralleling  the 
anti-metal  punk  bent  of  Mission  of  Burma  and,  more 
specifically,  those  fractured  funk  political  missionar- 
ies, the  Minutemen. 

By  the  time  of  the  schizo  No  Matter  How  Long  the 
Line  Is  at  the  Cafeteria  LP,  the  Big  Boys  encompassed 
everything  from  pure  'core  to  Husker  Oil-inspired  over- 
drive pop  to  horn-flatulent  dance  dreck.  Unsurprisingly, 
this  was  their  last  LP;  members  scattered  to  units  as 
diverse  as  Doctor's  Mob,  Bad  Mutha  Goose  and  the 
Brothers  Grimm,  Scratch  Acid,  Poison  13,  Rapeman 
and,  most  ignominiously,  Junkyard.  In  1988,  longtime 
producer/collaborator  Spot  released  (first  on  tape  and 
second  on  vinyl)  the  Wreck  Collection  of  odds  and 
ends,  beginning  with  the  impossibly  rare  (until  recently 
bootlegged)  debut  7-inch  and  running  through  outtakes 
and  alternate  mixes.  [abj 

See  also  Dag  Nasty. 


BIG  COUNTRY 

The  Crossing  (Mercury)  1 983  • 

Wonderland  EP  (Mercury)  1 984 

Steeltown  (Mercury)  1 984  ® 

The  Seer  (Mercury)  1986® 

Peace  in  Our  Time  (Reprise)  1 988  ® 

Broken  Heart  EP  (nr/Mercury)  1 988  ® 

Through  a  Big  Country  (nr/Mercury)  1 990  ® 

Guitarist  Stuart  Adamson — the  unsung  hero  and 
sound  shaper  of  the  Skids — survived  that  once- 
wonderful  band's  miserable  end  to  form  a  down-to-earth 
rock  quartet  unhampered  (at  the  outset,  anyway)  by 
grandiose  artistic  pretensions.  Rounded  out  by  guitarist 
Bruce  Watson  and  the  ace  rhythm  section  of  Tony  But- 
ler and  Mark  Brzezicki  (who  have  also  played,  individ- 
ually and  collectively,  on  records  by  Pete  Townshend, 
the  Pretenders,  Roger  Daltrey  and  others),  Big  Country 
quickly  jumped  into  the  vanguard  of  resurgent  guitar- 
hero  bands. 

Retaining  some  of  the  Skids'  pseudo-Scottish  six- 
stnng-bagpipe  effects,  The  Crossing,  brilliantly  pro- 
duced by  Steve  Lilly  white,  offers  rousing  anthems  ("In 
a  Big  Country,"  "Inwards"  and  "Fields  of  Fire,"  its 
riff  cleverly  lifted  from  "The  Guns  of  Navarone")  and 
moving  romantic  ballads  ("The  Storm/'  "Chance") 
that  neatly  intertwine  Celtic  folk  traditions  with  blazing 
guitar  riffs.  (The  UK  tape  edition  has  extra  tracks.)  The 
Wonderland  EP  consists  of  four  songs,  including  an 
early  B-side  and  the  uplifting,  catchy  title  track,  one  of 
the  band's  best  efforts. 

Steeltown  breaks  no  new  ground  and  is  basically  a 
formulaic  reprise,  but  the  band  is  so  unique,  passionate 
and  skilled  at  what  they  do  that  you  don't  really  mind. 
Best  selections:  "East  of  Eden,"  "Where  the  Rose  Is 
Sown'*  (a  virtual  rewrite  of  "In  a  Big  Country,"  itself 


56 


not  all  that  different  from  ''Fields  of  Fire" )  and  "Just  a 
Shadow.'* 

Well-crafted,  with  metanchoK  hncs  and  a  guest 
•vocal  appearance  b>  Kate  Bush  on  the  title  track,  The 
Seer  holds  close  to  the  band's  by-now-staadard  sound, 
with  no  loss  in  appeal.  Even  if  they  don't  vary  much  in 
content  or  style,  Big  Country's  records  offer  an  anginal 
and  invigorating  brand  of  modem  rock'n'roll  with  deep 
cultural  resonance. 

After  carefully  establishing  their  rockist  guitar-army 
aesthetic.  Big  Country  took  a  surprising  detour  on  the 
deliriously  overproduced  Peace  In  Our  Time,  which 
submerges  the  band's  trademark  sound  in  sanitized,  syn- 
thesized musical  settings  that  bear  scant  evidence  of 
what  made  their  previous  efforts  so  appealing.  While  a 
few  decent  songs — "Thousand  Yard  Stare,"  "From 
Here  to  Eternity,"  the  title  track — shine  through,  Peace 
IE  Our  Time's  drastic  recasting  of  the  band  feels  like 
commercial  desperation  rather  than  artistic  restlessness. 
More  to  the  point,  it  just  isn't  much  fun. 

Through  a  Big  Country  is  a  fine  fourteen-track 
career  summary,  with  material  from  all  four  albums, 
plus  "Wonderland"  and  the  non-LP  "Save  Me."  The 
CD  and  tape  contain  three  more  bonus  cuts,  all  previ- 
ously released,  [i/hd] 

See  also  Skids. 


BIG  DIPPER 

Boo-Boo  EP  (Homestead)  1987  * 
Heavens  (Homestead)  1 987  • 
Craps  (Homestead)  1 988  * 
Slam  (Epic)  1990* 

Boston's  Big  Dipper  came  together  in  1986  when 
bassist  Steve  Michener  and  guitarist  Gary  Waleik  (both 
from  the  original  lineup  of  the  Volcano  Suns)  joined  up 
with  former  (and  future)  Embarrassment  vocalist  Bill 
Goffrier  and  local  drummer  Jeff  Oliphant.  The  six-song 
Boo-Boo  is  an  extremely  jovial  combination  of  retro- 
punk  guitar  and  loopy  rhythms  and  vocals.  It  bounces 
like  a  goddamn  superball. 

The  Heavens  UP,  which  shows  the  group  beginning 
to  rely  more  heavily  on  layered  vocals  than  string-croak, 
features  such  college-rock  classics  as  "Younger  Bums" 
and  "All  Going  Out  Together.'*  (The  cassette  appends 
one  song;  Boo-Boo  is  contained  on  the  CD.) 

Subsequent  recordings  have  seen  Big  Dipper  move 
even  further  into  the  college-rock  hard-pop  mainstream 
(Slam  contains  an  ambiguous  cover  of  Mott  the  Hoo- 
ple's  "All  the  Way  from  Memphis"),  and  their  initial, 
odd  bite  seems  to  have  softened.  [be] 

See  also  Embarrassment. 


BIG  DISH 

Swimmer  (Virgin-Warner  Bros.)  1 986  • 

Creeping  Up  on  Jesus  (Virgin-Warner  Bros.)  1 988  • 

Satellites  (East  West)  1991  4> 

Singer/songwriter  Steven  Lindsay  leads  the  Big 
Dish,  a  tasteful  and  basically  unstylized  Scottish  pop 
trio.  With  subtle  soul  inflections  in  the  roomy  guitar- 
plus-horns  arrangements,  the  handsome,  intelligent 
songs  on  Swimmer  consistently  tumble  into  the  dead 
zone  between  youthful  freshness  and  mature  restraint. 


Using  an  impressive  list  of  — 

including  Blair  Cunningham  t  i  and  Gar>  Barna- 

cle ( horns  I — producer  Bruce  Lampco\  out  Big 

Dish's  sound  on  the  second  album,  but  to  no  avail, 
Despite  twinkling  layers  of  guitar,  and  vo- 

cals, Lindsay's  songs  are  steadfastly  underwhelming, 
and  the  album  is  mereh  an  attractive  bat  characterless 
noise. 

The  Big  Dish  finally  got  off  the  ground  with  Satel- 
lites, an  effectively  commercial  adult-pop  record  that 
makes  good  use  of  stylistic  borrowings  fsout,  rock, 
country)  and  guest  players  (bassist  KEO  Palladino, 
drummer  Mann  Katchg)  to  flavor  the  bright  ( If  not  il- 
luminating) material.  Lindsay's  faint  vocal  resemblance 
to  Sting,  and  Wame  Livesey's  sterile  Steely  Dan-style 
production  keep  the  record  a  small-scale  entertainment, 
but  at  least  the  tunes  don't  all  evaporate  as  SOOE  as  they 
reach  the  air.  [i] 

BIG  CAR 

Small  Block  EP  (Variant)  1 988  (Craz)  1 990  • 
Alburn  Type  Thing  (Cruz)  1 989 
Tape  Type  Thing  [tape]  {Cruz}  1 989 
CD  Type  Thing  [CD]  (Cruz)  1989  • 

Like  labelmates  All  and  Chemical  People,  Hunting- 
ton  Beach,  California's  Big  Drill  Car  specializes  in 
bouncy  punk-pop  full  of  hooks,  harmonies  and  exuber- 
ant playing.  To  its  credit,  BDC  wisely  eschews  the 
former's  atonal  excesses  and  the  latter's  porno  fetish, 

Frank  Daly's  earnest  and  clear  vocals  and  Mark  Ar- 
nold's sharp,  efficient  guitar  work  (both  are  ex-M.I.A.) 
brighten  the  six-song  Small  Block,  a  near-perfect  intro- 
duction to  a  very  likable  quartet.  The  inexplicably 
French-titled  "Les  Cochons  sans  Foils,"  which  sug- 
gests the  group  has  listened  to  as  much  Cheap  Trick  as 
Black  Flag,  stands  out  on  a  record  whose  only  disap- 
pointment is  its  brevity. 

The  band's  first  full-length  opus  (the  title  of  which 
is  format-specific)  mines  similar  terrain,  though  only  a 
couple  of  the  tracks  are  as  immediately  catchy  as  those 
on  the  EP.  Still,  as  the  jaunty  **  16  Lines,"  "No  Need" 
and  "  About  Us"  prove,  you'd  be  hard-pressed  to  find  a 
band  straddling  the  hardcore,  power-pop  and  hard-rock 
fences  with  more  finesse  and  enthusiasm.  (Compulsives 
may  want  to  consult  "I  Scream"  from  the  Brigade's 
1986  The  Dividing  Line  to  trace  the  ancestry  of  the 
great  hook  on  '  'About  Us . " )  [db] 

See  also  M.LA. 

B1GF 

See  Berlin. 

BIG  IN  JAPAN 

From  Y  to  Z  and  Never  Again  EP  (nr/Zoo)  1 978 

As  the  band  Budgie  drummed  in  before  the  Slits  (or 
Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees),  as  Ian  Broudie's  group 
long  before  he  was  a  hotshot  producer  or  a  Lightning 
Seed,  as  the  first  recorded  sighting  of  wild  Bill  Dram- 
mond  (future  mastermind  of  the  JAMS/KLF)  and  as  an 
early  proving  ground  for  bassist  (!)  Holly  Johnson  (later 
the  vocalist  in  Frankie  Goes  to  Hollywood),  Liverpool's 
Big  hi  Japan  deserves  a  lasting  place  in  rock  history 
merely  for  existing. 


57 


Between  the  group's  formation  IE  the  summer  of  '77 
and  its  dissolution  fifteen  months  later,  the  entirety  of  its 
vinyl  output  was  one  half  of  a  single  ( backed  by  a 
pseudonymous  Yachts  track  credited  to  the  Chuddy 
Nuddies).  The  rest  of  its  oeuvre  was  issued  posthu- 
mously; two  compilation  cuts  and  a  four-track  7-mch, 
From  Y  to  Z  and  Never  Again.  Singer  Jayne  Casey 
I  who  later  led  the  dub-tinged  pop  band  Pink  Military 
and  the  ethereal  Pink  Industry)  takes  inspiration  here 
from  Japanese  girl  pop  singers,  adopting  a  choppy  and 
chiipy  boopsie-doll  voice  in  "Suicide  a  Go  Go,"  a  sing- 
song foray  into  an  underworld  of  prostitution.  While 
"Taxi"  hints  at  the  kind  of  full-echo  drumming  that 
Budgie  would  later  exploit  as  a  Banshee,  "Cindy  and 
the  Barbi  Dolls"  is  a  Martian  surf  samba  with  Drum- 
mend  mumbling  Rod  McKuen-esque  poetic  love  junk 
over  '50s  guitar  while  a  kitschy  choir  of  double-speed 
miiEchkins  oti-oh-ohs  and  yeati-yeahs  its  way  behind  the 
chords.  *  ['e] 

See  also  Fmnkie  Goes  to  Hollywood,  Justified  An- 
cients of  Mu  Mu,  Lightning  Seeds,  Original  Mirrors, 
Pink  Military, 

BIG  PIG 

BonSc{A&M)  1988® 

From  the  cruel  metaphor  of  the  opening  "Iron 
Lung"  to  the  weary  conclusion  of  "Devil's  Song," 
Bonk  is  one  angry  record.  Although  technically  an  Aus- 
tralian group,  Big  Pig  began  in  London  around  1985, 
and  hatred  of  Margaret  Thatcher's  England  seems  to 
fuel  the  bittersweet  material.  Lead  singer  Sherine  has  a 
dark  alto  that  complements  the  songs'  often  depressing 
tone.  But  vocals  aren't  the  half  of  Big  Pig.  The  instru- 
mentation is  keyboards,  harmonica  and  drams — lots  of 
drams,  played  by  three  out  of  seven  members.  The  trun- 
dling, tribal  rhythms  give  the  songs  the  effect  of  steam- 
rollers extinguishing  their  protagonists'  bumed-out 
lives.  Sparse  musical  textures,  including  group  chants 
and  that  anomalous  bluesy  harmonica,  help  make  Bonk 
compelling  listening.  Big  Pig's  obviously  got  attitude  to 
burn,  and  who  couldn't  use  a  healthy  blast  of  protest? 

[si] 

BIG  STAR 

See  Alex  Chilton. 

BIG  TROUBLE  HOUSE 

See  Breaking  Circus. 

BIG  WHEEL 

East  End  (Giant)  1 989 

With  two  of  his  ex-bandmates  off  to  weird  noiseville 
in  Slint  and  another  joining  the  Lemonheads,  onetime 
Squirrel  Bait  singer  Peter  Searcy  formed  this  Louisville 
quartet  to  play  impassioned  and  intelligent  heartland 
rock  with  no  more  than  a  hint  of  its  punk  roots.  Sharing 
the  skillful  songwriting  with  guitarist  Glenn  Taylor, 
Searcy  belts  out  intriguingly  bemused  lyrics  about 
friends  and  loners  over  rough  but  unchallenging  music 
with  a  few  light  interludes  (the  album  includes  one 
acoustic  number).  Despite  Searcy's  dramatic  voice, 
East  End  is  strong  but  never  striking.  [i] 

58 


BIG 

Screaming  Target  inr/Trojan)  1973  • 

Dreadlocks  Dread  (nr/Wik)  1975  (nr/Front  Line)  1978 

(Front  Line)  1989« 
Natty  Cultural  Dread  (nr/Trojan)  1976 
Hit  the  Road  Jack  (fir/Trajan)  1976 
Isaiah,  First  Prophet  of  Old  (nr/Front  Line)  1 978 
Everyday  Skank-The  Best  of  Big  Youth  fnr/Trojan)  1980 
Some  Great  Big  Youth  (Heartbeat)  ]  981 
The  Chanting  Dread  inna  Fine  Style  (Heartbeat)  1 983 
Live  at  Reggae  Sunsplash  (Sunsplash)  1 984 
A  Luta  Contmua  (Heartbeat)  1985  • 
Manifestation  (Heartbeat)  1988  • 
Jamming  in  the  House  of  Dread  [tape]  (RO1R)  1 991 

His  front  teeth  inlaid  with  red,  green  and  gold  gems, 
Big  Youth  (Manley  Buchanan)  is  probably  the  best- 
known  and  most  popular  of  all  reggae  DIs,  with  a  career 
that's  been  going  strong  since  the  early  '70s.  He  began 
toasting  in  the  early  '70s,  after  working  as  a  cab  driver 
and  a  mechanic.  His  success  was  quick:  records  like 
"The  Killer"  and  "S.90  Skank"  (named  after  a  motor- 
cycle) scaled  the  Jamaican  charts  with  ease,  demonstrat- 
ing his  power  and  versatility.  Many  years  and  albums 
later  he  remains  a  major  reggae  presence,  an  influence 
on  an  entire  generation  of  toasters.  (He's  credited  with 
coining  the  term  *  'natty  dread, " )  If  U-Roy  laid  the  foun- 
dation, Big  Youth  made  it  happen — he  gave  toasting 
style  as  well  as  something  to  say. 

Eccentric  and  startling,  all  of  Big  Youth's  early 
records  sounded  radical  when  they  first  appeared,  and 
have  held  op  marvelously  well.  Featuring  instrumental 
tracks  from  songs  by  Dennis  Brown,  Gregory  Isaacs  and 
others,  Screaming  Target  boasts  two  versions  of  the 
wild  title  cut,  along  with  "The  Killer"  and  "Solomon  a 
Gunday."  Natty  Cultural  Dread  features  the  amazing 
"Every  Nigger  Is  a  Star"  and  "Jim  Squashy,"  which 
invokes  John  Coltrane.  Hit  the  Road  Jack  has  several 
loopy  covers  of  American  soul  hits,  including  Marvin 
Gaye's  "What's  Going  On,"  the  titular  Ray  Charles 
song  and  Teddy  Pendergrass'  "Wake  Up  Everybody." 
You've  never  heard  these  songs  this  way — offbeat  and 
wonderful  Although  all  of  the  Trojan  releases  are  worth 
owning,  Everyday  Skank  is  an  invaluable  compilation 
of  LP  tracks  and  early  singles. 

Dreadlocks  Dread  (reissued  by  Virgin  in  the  Cru- 
cial Cuts  series)  features  "Marcus  Garvey  Dread"  (a 
toast  of  the  Burning  Spear  classic),  "Train  to  Rhode- 
sia" and  "House  of  Dread  Locks,"  The  LP  marks  Big 
Youth's  development  as  a  composer,  and  his  increased 
reliance  on  Rasta  subject  matter.  Side  Two  has  a  couple 
of  filler  instrumental,  but  the  record  is  widely  consid- 
ered his  best. 

Isaiah  continues  the  evolution  heard  on  Dreadlocks 
Dread.  Youth  does  more  singing  (or  sing-jaying,  as  it's 
called)  than  toasting;  originals  outnumber  covers.  The 
groove  is  steady  and  appealing.  Big  Youth's  recent  re- 
leases are  also  marked  by  their  consistency.  All  four 
Heartbeat  titles  boast  a  variety  of  styles,  tough  and  rel- 
evant protest  lyrics  and  rootsy  playing.  Not  as  wild  as 
his  early  sides,  these  records  are  nonetheless  some  of 
the  best  contemporary  reggae— authentic  and  uncor- 
rupted,  personal  and  moving.  He's  mellowed  a  bit  with 
age-~parts  of  Manifestation  are  downright  sluggish— 
but  Big  Youth  remains  as  formidable  an  artist  as  ever. 
Rounding  out  the  canon,  Live  at  Reggae  Sunsplash 


<  from  a  1982  festival )  proves  lie  hasn't  lost  his  ability  to 
work  a  cro\vd,  and  provides  a  decent  document  of  one 
of  his  better  sho^s.  [bk] 


B1RDHOUSE 

Bomin*  Up  fnr/Vsnyl  Solution)  1987  (Link)  1988 
Row  &  /dive!  (Ger.  GHtterhouse)  1 988 
Megfamania  fLinkJ  1989 

Prominent  among  US  "-worshipping  foreigners,  Lon- 
don's Birdhouse  managed  to  amass  a  sizable  following 
for  their  slavishly  imitative  Motor  Cit>  drone  ^ith  a 
1986  single,  **My  Birdman."  Burnm'  Up  was  released 
as  a  six-song  EP  in  the  UK  and  a  ten-song  album  in 
America;  except  for  Vic  Maile's  crunching  production 
and  an  obnoxious  slap  at  metal/rap,  the  quintet's  second 
studio  album,  Meglamania,  is  indistinguishable. 

Arguably  superior  to  your  average  Athens-by- 
numbers  or  Belgium-by-numbers,  the  Birdhouse's 
Detroit-by-numbers  shtick  suffers  only  for  lack  of 
power,  chops  and  originality;  every  cold,  stolen  nuance, 
every  feigned  emotion,  every  fake  climax  merely  con- 
firms that  they've  spent  too  much  time  studying  French 
bootlegs.  Raw  &  Alive!  is  a  red  vinyl  live  10-inch 
(eight  songs,  mostly  from  the  two  albums)  that  illus- 
trates why  one  should,  in  seeking  Detroit's  real  prog- 
eny, turn  to  Halo  of  Flies  or  early  Motorhead.  [ab] 

B1RDSONGS  OF  THE 

Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic  EP  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 983 
Magnetic  Flip  {Ace  of  Hearts)  1 984 
Beat  of  the  Mesozoic  EP  {Ace  of  Hearts)  1 986 
Sonic  Geology  [CD]  (Rykodisc)  1987  • 
Faultline  {Cuneiform)!  989  <f> 

BiRDSONGS  OF  THE  MESOZOIC 
-ERIK  LiNDGREN-PiNK  INC. 

Soundtracks  {ArfArf)  1987 

ERIK  LINDGREN 

Polar  Yet  Tropical  {ArfArf)  1987 

Launched  in  1980  as  a  one-off  experimental  key- 
board collaboration  between  two  former  Boston 
bandmates — Mission  of  Burma  guitarist  Roger  Miller 
and  producer/synthesist  Erik  Lindgren — the  all- 
instrumental  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic  expanded  to  a 
real  band  with  the  addition  of  keyboardist  Rick  Scott  and 
another  Burmite,  tape  manipulator-turned-guitarist  Mar- 
tin Swope.  The  group  (which  described  itself  as  "the 
world's  hardest  rocking  chamber  music  quartet")  re- 
mained a  part-time  sideline  until  Miller  developed  tin- 
nitus and  decided  to  continue  his  musical  career  at  a 
lower  volume,  thus  forcing  an  end  to  Burma.  Often  com- 
pared to  new  minimalist  composers  like  Philip  Glass  and 
Terry  Riley — who  do  a  lot  with  a  little — Birdsongs  seem 
to  be  doing  a  lot  with  more.  And  probably  going  right 
over  the  heads  of  many  old  Burma  fans  in  the  process. 

The  debut  EP  finds  Birdsongs  taking  quite  a  differ- 
ent tack  from  Burma's  impassioned,  chaotic  noise-on- 
the-brink,  with  six  instrumental  ranging  from  the 
achingly  pretty  romance  of  "The  Orange  Ocean"  to 
juxtaposed  chords  played  as  much  against  as  with  each 
other.  Magnetic  Flip  improves  substantially  on  the  first 
record's  flat  production,  allowing  the  band's  whole  idea 
and  execution  to  become  bolder  and  more  aggressive. 


The  opening  of  "Sh:n>  Golden  Snake V  i*  pure  rock 
power  chordmg,  while  the  \anauons  on  Stravinsky's 
t%Xtie  Rite  of  Spring"  pile  one  thundering  dissonance 
over  another  and  the  austere  ke\  board  repetition  siarting 
off  "Ptoccata"  recall  Glass,  {The  loopy  rendition 
of  Theme  from  Rock>  and  BuHwtnkle"  proves  that  the 
band's  highbrow  inclinations  are  only  one  facet  of  its 
personality,  i 

The  live  songs  on  of  the  Mesozoic  take  a  gen- 
erally less  radical  approach,  allowing  beauty  to  be  a 
prime  directive.  Still,  "Scenes  from  a  .  .  "  lasers 
taped  voices  and  bells  G\QT  the  soothing  piano  cant,  the 
title  piece  employs  numerous  types  of  some  effects.  The 
tense  "Lost  in  the  B-Zone"  is  the  most  unsettling  track, 
a  complex  conflation  of  synthesizer  lines  going  off  in  a 
half-dozen  directions,  with  syncopated  electronic  per- 
cussion tripping  over  itself  in  the  background  The  CD- 
only  Sonic  Geology  retrospective  draw  s  large  portions 
from  those  three  records,  adding  two  new  items  to  com- 
plete a  rewarding  72-minute  package. 

Side  One  of  Soundtracks  consists  of  the  Birdsongs' 
improvised  1986  score  for  Michael  Burlingame's  inde- 
pendent film,  To  a  Random  With  Lindgren  on  synth, 
Miller  on  piano,  Scott  on  Farfisa  and  Swope  on  guitar, 
the  quietly  anxious  piece  lacks  some  of  the  group's  off- 
beat studio  invention  but  maintains  the  usua!  standards 
of  taste  and  musicianship.  The  rest  of  the  album  con- 
tains a  witty  Lindgren  suite  entitled  "The  Last  68  Mil- 
lion Years  Summed  Up  in  Less  Than  13  Minutes"  and 
44 Flames  in  Trains,"  his  varied  1984  collaboration  with 
two  female  vocalists. 

With  Miller  off  to  a  fulltime  solo  career,  Birdsongs 
made  its  1989  album  without  him,  adding  two  hornmen 
(Ken  Field  and  occasional  past  collaborator  Steve 
Adams)  to  the  Swope-Lindgren-Scott  core.  The  hour- 
long  Faultline  (composed  individually  by  four  of  the 
musicians)  runs  the  complete  continuum  from  jazz  to 
noise,  delicate  subtlety  to  unendurable  wall-shaking 
chaos.  Building  up  from  the  Birdsongs'  past,  Faultline 
shows  the  group  to  be  not  only  alive  but  well  on  its  way 
to  forging  a  new  stylistic  synthesis. 

Recorded  sporadically  between  1975  and  1987, 
Lindgren' s  Polar  Yet  Tropical  contains  an  entire  side 
of  '60s  (loosely  defined)  covers.  Showing  moderate  wit 
and  maximum  reverent  enthusiasm — these  are  mid-tech 
garage  renditions  rather  than  smugly  modem  rein- 
terpretations — he  confronts  such  classics  as  "I  Wanna 
Be  Your  Dog/'  "Iron  Man"  and  "In-a-Gadda-Da- 
Vida,"  armed  with  sophisticated  keyboard  instruments 
and  occasional  assistance  by  his  bandmates  ("Out  of 
Limits"  is,  in  fact,  played  by  Birdsongs.)  The  original 
keyboard  instrumentals — colored  by  guest  horns,  reeds, 
strings,  etc. — on  the  other  side  show  Lindgren' s  diverse 
compositional  skills.  [ep/i] 

See  also  Roger  Miller,  Mission  of  Burma. 


BIRTHDAY  PARTY 

The  Birthday  Party  (Aus.  Missing  Link)  1 980 

Prayers  on  Fire  (Thermidor)  1981  (nr/4AD)  1988  * 

Drunk  on  the  Pope's  Blood  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 982 

Junkyard  (nr/4AD)  1982* 

The  Bad  Seed  EP  (nr/4AD)  1983  • 

The  Birthday  Party  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 983  • 

Mutiny!  EP  (nr/Mute)  1983  (nr/4AD)  1989  • 


59 


Ifs  Still  Living  (Aus,  Missing  Link)  1985 

A  Collection  ...  (Aus.  Missing  link)  1985  (Suite  Beat  I 

1986® 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (or/Strange  Fruit)  1987  • 
Th©  Peel  Sessions  EP  fur/Strange  Fruit)  1988 
Hee  Haw  [CD]  (nr/4AD)  1 989  • 
Peel  Session  Album  fSfrange  Fruit-Dutch  East  India) 

1991  4* 

Door  Door  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1 979 

Hee  Haw  EP  (Aus.  Missing  Link)  1979  +  1983 

Honeymoon  in  Red  (Widowspeak)  1987  • 

This  Intensely  challenging  and  influential  Australian 
band  put  everything  it  had  into  making  inhospitable  and 
unyielding  records  and  wound  up  as  the  yardstick  by 
which  countless  bands  have  since  been  judged.  With 
partial  comparisons  possible  to  such  noisy  free-formists 
as  the  Fall,  Pere  Ubu  and  Public  Image  Ltd.,  the  Birth- 
day Party's  unique  sensibility  sprang  from  singer  Nick 
Cave  (who  wrote  most  of  the  lyrics)  and  guitarist  Row- 
land S.  Howard,  who  took  care  of  a  good  chunk  of  the 
song  writing. 

Before  relocating  to  London  from  Melbourne,  the 
Birthday  Party  released  several  Australian-only  records, 
the  first  two  under  their  original  name,  the  Boys  Next 
Door.  Door  Door  and  the  five-song  Hee  Haw  are  sur- 
prisingly normal-sounding  aggressive  rock  with  tradi- 
tional song  structures  and  musical  values.  Cave's  vocals 
invest  the  album  with  an  ominous  undercurrent,  but  the 
overall  ambience  hardly  suggests  the  insanity  that  lay 
ahead. 

That  began  to  take  form  on  their  next  release,  The 
Birthday  Party  (the  label  credits  the  band  under  both 
monikers).  Whatever  their  name,  though,  serious  de- 
rangement was  setting  in  fast.  Cave's  vocals  and 
Howard's  newly  developed  wall  of  feedback  make  Door 
Door  sound  positively  inhibited;  each  track  here  is 
deeply  unsettling.  The  LP's  opening  kick,  "Mr  Clari- 
net," presents  an  ultra-distorted  organ  sitting  atop  a  stiff 
goose-step  beat.  The  second  side  is  even  more  crazed: 
"The  Friend  Catcher*'  (relentless  and  hypnotic)  and 
"Happy  Birthday"  both  contain  some  of  the  most  fren- 
zied guitar  work  ever  captured  on  vinyl. 

After  moving  to  the  UK,  the  Birthday  Party  recorded 
and  released  their  first  international  LP,  Prayers  on 
Fire,  a  raging  beast  filled  with  agonized  howling,  bray- 
ing Cave  vocals  flung  against  a  backdrop  of  violently 
attacked  guitars  and  no-wave  horn  noise.  Drums  and 
bass  alone  toe  the  line  of  established  patterns;  every- 
thing else  ignores  the  song  at  hand  and  goes  flat  out  in 
competition  with  Cave's  literate  invective. 

The  live  Drunk  on  the  Pope's  Blood  followed,  half 
of  a  disc  that  also  contains  a  side  of  live  Lydia  Lunch 
(who  later  formed  the  Immaculate  Consumptives  with 
Cave,  and  worked  with  Howard  and  others  in  the  axis). 
Recorded  in  London  at  the  end  of  1981,  the  disc  is 
honestly  described  on  the  jacket  as "  16  minutes  of  sheer 
hell!"  Drawing  two  of  its  four  songs  from  Prayers  on 
Fire,  Cave  and  Co.  growl  and  shriek  through  the  slow 
pieces  with  stunning  gruesomeness — incomprehensi- 
bility aside,  no  one  else  has  ever  suffered  with  a  more 
effective  sonic  display  than  what's  in  these  grooves. 
Junkyard  has  less  energy  to  the  sound,  but  still  man- 


ages to  lift  blood  pressure  with  such  assaults  as  "Dead 
Joe,"  *  *Big~  Jesus-Trash-Can"  and  "6"  Gold  Blade." 

Three  BP  EPs  (plus  a  reissue  of  the  Boys  Next 
Door's  Hee  Haw)  were  released  in  1983,  the  same  year 
the  band  broke  up.  The  first  was  The  Bad  Seed,  four 
concise  cuts  of  incredible  visceral  impact.  From  the  slow 
psycho-blues  of  "Deep  in  the  Woods"  to  the  frenzied 
blur  of  "Sonny's  Burning,"  it  leaves  the  listener  help- 
less and  enthralled.  The  Birthday  Party  EP  compiles 
five  tracks  from  singles:  the  A-side  ("The  Friend  Catch- 
er") of  the  band's  1980  UK  debut  plus  1981's  ''Release 
the  Bats"  b/w  "Blast  Off"  and  "Mr  Clarinet"  b/w 
"Happy  Birthday."  Finally,  the  posthumous  Mutiny! 
was  released  at  the  correct  time:  it  wouldn't  have  been 
easy  to  follow.  Like  The  Bad  Seed,  it  mixes  two  furi- 
ous numbers  with  a  pair  of  funereal  dirges.  "Jennifers 
Veil,"  a  harrowing  lament,  is  perhaps  the  band's  finest 
song  ever — neither  John  Cale  nor  Alfred  Hitchcock  was 
ever  this  scary. 

Released  in  Australia  two  years  later,  It's  Still  Liv- 
ing (recorded  in  Melbourne  in  1982)  offers  spirited  per- 
formances of  material  from  Prayers  on  Fire  and 
Junkyard  and,  although  decried  by  the  band,  is  recom- 
mended for  fans.  The  first  Peel  Sessions  EP  dates  from 
April  1981;  the  second  from  December  of  the  same 
year;  the  LP  joins  'em  up.  Tracks  include  "Release  the 
Bats,"  "Pleasure  Heads  Must  Bum"  and  "Rowland 
Around  in  That  Stuff." 

A  Collection .  .  .  (also  known  as  The  Best  and  the 
Rarest)  takes  its  tracks  from  Junkyard,  Hee  Haw, 
Prayers  on  Fire  and  some  singles,  adding  a  few  alter- 
nate versions  and  other  rarities.  The  American  CD  is 
somewhat  different. 

Having  already  issued  CDs  of  Prayers  on  Fire  (with 
two  bonus  tracks  from  an  Australian  45)  and  Junkyard, 
4AD  brought  the  rest  of  the  band's  post-Door  Door 
studio  catalogue  into  the  laser  age  with  two  1989  reis- 
sues. One  disc  contains  Mutiny!  and  The  Bad  Seed, 
adding  two  vintage  outtakes  previously  issued  on  an 
Australian  45.  Hee  Haw  pairs  that  EP's  five  songs  with 
The  Birthday  Party  EP,  adding  "The  Friend  Catch- 
er" 's  two  B-sides  and  three  more  songs  to  create  an 
expanded  version  of  the  Birthday  Party  album. 

Prior  to  packing  it  in  for  other  projects,  bits  and 
pieces  were  recorded  for  what  was  supposed  to  have 
been  a  Birthday  Party/Lydia  Lunch  album.  Shelved  and 
subsequently  tinkered  with  by  Lunch  and  Clint  Ruin, 
Honeymoon  in  Red  finally  saw  the  light  of  day  in  1987 
on  Lunch's  label.  (Slow  tempos  and  sparse  arrange- 
ments suggest  that  Lunch  dominated  the  proceedings 
and/or  had  plenty  of  input  come  mixing  time.)  Howard 
and  bassist  Tracy  Pew  (an  epileptic  who  died  in  1986) 
are  credited,  but  Cave  and  guitarist/keyboardist/ 
drummer  Harvey  appear  under  pseudonyms  (Cave  is 
Lunch's  "dead  twin"  on  "Done  Dun"  and  "a  drunk 
cowboy  junkie"  on  "Dead  in  the  Head").  The  tracks  all 
employ  different  personnel  permutations,  with  guests — 
including  Thurston  Moore,  Ruin  and  Genevieve 
McGuckin  (These  Immortal  Souls) — adding  to  the  mor- 
bid racket.  The  lyrics  are  real  storybook/fairytale  fodder 
(it  rains  blood,  people  cry  blood,  etc.),  but  the  music  is 
eminently  suitable  for  such  visions.  The  best  cut  is 
McGuckin' s  "Three  Kings,"  on  which  Howard  and 
Moore  combine  for  some  of  the  most  haunting  guitar 
noise  ever  recorded  five  years  apart.  [i/dgs] 


60 


See  also  Barracudas,  Blue  Ruin,  AVI;  Ca\e  and  the 
Seeds,  Crime         the  Cit\  Solution,  I  Die  I  Haul, 
L\dia  Lunch,  ,\iiii  Sudden,  These  Immortal  Souls. 

BISHOPS 

See  Count  Bishops, 

BITCH  MAGNET 

Star  Booty  (Roman  Candle-Communion)  1 988  * 
Umber  {Communion)  1989  • 
Ben  Hur  (Communion)  1 990  © 

On  Star  Booty,  this  North  Carolina-based  trio  i  orig- 
inally formed  at  Oberlm  College  In  Ohio )  lays  out  eight 
sheets  of  feedback-heavy  fuzz-punk,  well-played  and 
raucous  but  lacking  in  any  real  personality  that  would 
make  it  stand  out  among  others  offering  similar  wares. 

Things  get  a  bit  more  streamlined  on  Umber,  where 
songs  with  real  melodies  emerge  from  the  loud  miasma. 
With  ex-Squirrel  Bait  guitarist  David  Grabbs  (who  splits 
his  time  between  Bitch  Magnet  and  his  own  band,  Bas- 
tro)  contributing  mightily  to  the  din,  the  anthemic  "Mo- 
tor" sets  the  pace  for  a  collection  of  ten  noisefests, 
some  of  which  are  painted  in  a  deep  shade  of  Big  Black. 
Though  the  record's  slow  tracks  sound  quite  a  bit  like 
contemporaries  Nice  Strong  Arm,  Bitch  Magnet  finally 
manages  to  overcome  this  excessive  familiarity  by  serv- 
ing up  a  thick  guitar-rich  soup  that  splashes  by  quite 
powerfully  on  its  own  (The  Umber  CD  and  cassette 
append  Star  Booty.) 

Ben  Hur  includes  a  lyric  sheet,  but  with  lines  like 
"What  beats  the  taste  of  lye  on  a  swollen  tongue  raw 
with  sores"  it  probably  shouldn't  have.  Thankfully,  the 
lyrics  are  unintelligible  and  decidedly  secondary  to  the 
seismic  rumblings  of  the  industrial-strength  rhythm  sec- 
tion and  slices  of  noise-funk  guitar.  "Dragon,"  the  ex- 
cellent nine-minutes-plus  opener,  lives  up  to  the  album's 
epic  title,  but  Bitch  Magnet's  derivativeness  (right  down 
to  the  bullhorned  vocals)  will  do  nothing  to  shake  its 
well-earned  Little  Black  tag,  [db] 

See  also  B astro. 

BIZ 

Coin'  Off  (Cold  Chillin'-Womer  Bros.)  1 988  • 

DIABOLICAL  BIZ  MARKIE 

The  Biz  Never  Sleeps  (Cold  Chillin'-Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 
Rap's  reigning  clown  prince,  Long  Island's  Biz 
Markie  (Marcel  Hall),  has  a  juvenile  sense  of  humor 
and  a  pronounced  speech  impediment,  but  his  relaxed 
rhyming  style  and  uninhibited  silliness  make  him  a  win- 
ning entertainer.  Produced  by  long-time  associate  Mar- 
ley  Marl  and  co-written  by  the  Biz,  Marl  and  Big  Daddy 
Kane,  Goin*  Off  is  a  dubious  debut,  opening  with  a 
supremely  obnoxious  ode  to  something  too  tasteless  to 
go  into  before  settling  down  to  a  mildly  entertaining 
program  of  inoffensive  nonsense. 

Although  it  also  begins  on  a  worthless  note  ("Ded- 
ication") and  includes  a  number  about  body  odors,  The 
Biz  Never  Sleeps  is  a  much  better  record  that  solidly 
establishes  Biz  Markie' s  unique  character.  Producing 
(with  disconcertingly  abrupt  fades)  and  writing  it  all 
himself,  the  Biz  re-emerges  as  an  ingenious  nut,  punc- 
tuating his  winsome  romantic  stories  with  odd  musical 
bits  and  wholesome  wit.  A  dinky  piano  line  and  a  hope- 


less!) off-ke\  refrain  keep  popping  up  in  ihe  sad  fanny 
tale  of  a  faithless  lover  *  "Just  a  Friend"?,  while  an 

equalh  inane  bit  of  crooning  t  m  a  goonv  Bam  While 
voice  f  breezes  through  "Spring  Again/'  m 

h>mn  to  warm  ueather.  But  the  Biz  isn't  onK  geared  for 
laughs:  with  a  neat  horn  sample  to  the  evocative 

groove,  he  dips  into  nostalgic  recollection  for  the  tender 
tribute  of  "My  Man  Rich."  p] 

& 
Don't  Know  Yet  (Atlantic)  1 989  • 

This  LA  rap  duo  mixes  more  than  races;  the  rhythm 
tracks  on  Don't  Know  Yet  are  uncut  heavy  with 

a  booming  dram  sound.  Unfortunately,  the  MCs,  both 
ostensibly  gang-connected,  are  not  especially  convinc- 
ing (although  on!>  one  of  them  has  a  lame  Val-boy 
accent);  the  pair  doesn't  so  much  rap  as  shout  inane  and 
atonal  lyrics  in  crude  rhythmic  synch  with  the  music. 
Despite  the  credible  notion  of  two  relevant  covers — Sly 
Stone's  "Don't  Call  Me  Nigger.  .Whitey"  and  Jimi 
Hendnx's  "I  Don't  Live  Today" — this  attempt  at  a 
novel  hybnd  is  a  gimmicky  failure.  [i] 

See  Dennis  Bovell 


BLACKBIRD 

Blackbird  (iioki)  1988® 
Blackbird  (iloki)  1989 

After  the  proto-cowpunk  Rank  and  File  failed  to 
make  its  way  through  the  music-industry  maze  and  reach 
a  mainstream  audience,  brothers  Chip  and  Tony  Kin- 
man  (originally  of  the  punk  Dils)  more  or  less  told  the 
business  to  take  a  flying  leap  by  reinventing  themselves 
once  again  as  a  ridiculously  uncommercial  post- 
industrial  drone-pop  duo.  Ironically,  by  the  time  Black- 
bird had  released  a  couple  of  records,  there  was  actually 
a  sizable  audience  for  industrial  music,  and  the  Kin- 
mans'  concept  no  longer  seemed  so  weird. 

Mixing  guitar  and  bass  with  bargain-basement  dram 
machines  and  other  low-tech  noisemakers,  Blackbird 
makes  dark,  clattery  music  that's  not  as  far  removed 
from  the  brothers'  punk  and  country  roots  as  it  might 
appear.  Their  strong  songwriting  and  the  humanity  of 
their  off-kilter  vocal  blend  consistently  bubbles  beneath 
the  noise. 

Blackbird's  two  eponymous  Iloki  albums  are  com- 
pletely separate  entities.  The  first  (red  cover)  is  the 
noisier  and  riffier  of  the  two,  and  contains  Blackbird's 
most  memorable  song,  "Howl."  The  second  (black 
cover  with  pink  lizard)  leans  more  towards  melody, 
with  the  uncharacteristic  love  song  "Hold  Me"  and  an 
interesting  version  of  Lou  Reed's  "What  Goes  On." 

See  also  Dils,  Rank  and  File.  [au] 

BLACK  FLAG 

Nervous  Breakdown  EP  (SST)  1 978  « 
Jealous  Again  EP  (SST)  1 980  • 
Damaged  (SST)  1981  • 
Everything  Went  Black  (SST)  1 983  +  1 984  • 
The  First  Four  Years  (SST)  1984  • 


61 


MyWar(SST}1984» 

Family  Mart  {SST}  1984* 

Slip  StSn(SST}1 984  » 

live '84  [tape]  (SST)  1 984  4» 

Loose  Nut  {SST}  1985* 

The  Process  of  Weeding  Out  EP  (SST)  1985  • 

in  My  Head  (SST)  1985® 

Who's  Got  the  101/2?  (SST)  1986  • 

Wasted  . . .  Again  (SST)  1 987  * 

!  Can  See  Yoy  EP  (SST)  1 989  • 

Black  Flag  was,  for  all  intents  and  purposes,  Amer- 
ica's first  hardcore  band.  They  emerged  from  Southern 
California  to  gain  international  prominence,  touring 
enough  to  become  a  major  attraction  in  virtually  every 
city  where  a  scene  existed  and  undoubtedly  inspiring 
others  to  get  IE  the  game.  Via  the  band's  still-thriving 
SST  label,  Black  Flag  played  an  essential  role  in  the 
development  and  popularization  of  American  punk. 
Through  countless  revolving-door  personnel  changes — 
which  spawned  numerous  spinoff  bands  along  the 
way — Black  Rag  persevered  until  1986,  finally  dissolv- 
ing after  locating  and  exploring  the  zone  where  punk 
and  heavy  metal  intersect  and  overlap. 

The  four-song  7-inch  Nervous  Breakdown  (SST 
001 )  and  the  five- song  12-inch  Jealous  Again  offer  brief 
but  convincing  blasts  of  primal  punk  roar  by  two  early 
lineups;  the  ghost  of  the  Sex  Pistols  comes  floating 
through  the  brazen  blare  of  guitars  and  vocals,  Dam- 
aged features  a  superior  cast  (most  significantly,  Wash- 
ington DC  singer  Henry  Rollins,  ex-S.O.  A,,  had  joined) 
and  includes  the  culture  classic  'TV  Party,"  as  well  as 
other  goofy  paeans  to  dissipated  suburban  life  ("Six 
Pack,"  "Thirsty  and  Miserable*' )  and  the  classic  Amer- 
ican punk  anthem,  "Rise  Above. "  Rollins'  hoarse  shout 
grates,  but  the  barely  contained  rock  energy  and  tongue- 
in-cheek  lyrics  make  Damaged  a  great  rock'n'roll  LP 
that  isn't  beholden  to  any  chche"d  genre.  (The  Damaged 
CD  also  contains  the  contents  of  Jealous  Again.) 

In  the  midst  of  a  horrible  legal  dispute  with  Unicorn 
Records,  the  group  found  itself  enjoined  from  using  the 
Black  Hag  name  and  logo  on  any  new  records,  and 
resorted  to  releasing  the  double-album  outtakes-and- 
more  career  retrospective,  Everything  Went  Black, 
with  only  a  listing  of  band  members  on  the  cover  for 
identification.  (It  was  later  reissued  with  all  the  proper 
nomenclature  and  unexpurgated  liner  notes.)  The  tracks, 
which  date  from  1978  to  1981  (the  album's  European 
edition  is  substantially  different),  feature  various  con- 
figurations of  the  Black  Flag  gene  pool  attacking  a  mot- 
ley collection  of  songs.  ("Police  Story,"  "Gimmie 
Gimmie  Gimmie,''  "Damaged"  and  "Depression"  all 
get  done  twice.)  As  a  developmental  Black  Flag  sam- 
pler, Everything  Went  Black  is  both  illuminating  and 
entertaining,  but  the  real  treat  is  Side  Four,  "Crass  Com- 
mercialism," a  hysterically  funny  collection  of  crazed 
radio  spots  for  Flag  gigs,  most  with  music,  that  say  a  lot 
about  the  cultural  milieu  in  which  the  band  existed.  The 
First  Four  Years  is  an  extensive  compilation  of  early 
releases,  including  the  1981  Six  Pack  maxi-single, 
Jealous  Again  and  two  tracks  from  a  New  Alliance 
compilation. 

Following  the  resolution  of  their  litigation  (Unicorn 
helpfully  went  bankrupt),  a  new  and  prolific  Black 
Flag — Rollins,  guitarist  Greg  Ginn  (who  doubled  in  the 
studio  on  bass,  using  the  pseudonym  Dale  Nixon)  and 


Descendants  drummer  Bill  Stevenson — drifted  vaguely 
towards  metal  on  My  War,  a  mediocre  album  with 
some  interminably  long  soogs.  (One  plodding  side  has 
a  grand  total  of  three! )  There  are  some  good  punk  tunes 
("I  Love  You*")  but  elsewhere,  a  labored  heavy- 
bottomed  sound  and  appallingly  bad  guitar  solos  cross 
the  line  from  sarcasm  into  sheer  awfulness.  Rollins' 
vocals  are  the  same  as  ever,  which  makes  the  bad  tracks 
even  stranger. 

Kira  Roessler  (sister  of  45  Grave  keyboardist  Paul 
Roessler)  took  over  on  bass  for  Slip  It  In.  With  far 
clearer  sound  on  the  eight  tracks,  the  LP  further  blurs 
the  line  between  moronic  punk  and  moronic  metal. 
Songs  are  mostly  built  on  trite  riffs  repeated  endlessly; 
the  rude  lyrics  of  the  title  song  are  performed  complete 
with  enthusiastic  sex  noises  for  anyone  who  fails  to 
grasp  the  point  and/or  be  offended  by  it.  Other  songs  are 
less  tasteless  but  little  more  interesting.  Family  Man 
deconstructs  Black  Flag  into  a  side  of  Rollins  reading 
his  poetry  and  a  side  of  group  instrumentals. 

Live  '84  puts  the  band's  recent  creative  output  and 
selected  oldies  onstage  for  an  hour  of  wanton  loud  fun. 
Black  Flag  concerts  were  typically  an  utter  mess,  which 
suits  the  songs  perfectly,  making  this  chaotic  explosion 
naturally  one  of  their  best  releases. 

Black  Flag  continued  their  torrid  pace  in  1985,  re- 
leasing three  new  records:  Loose  Nut,  Ttie  Process  of 
Weeding  Out  and  In  My  Head.  Weeding  Out  is  a 
Henryless  instrumental  EP:  four  lengthy  improvs  dis- 
playing unexpected  technical  prowess  (especially  Kira, 
on  "Your  Last  Affront")  and  a  new  side  to  the  band. 
There's  a  certain  nostalgia  factor  for  those  who  remem- 
ber Canned  Heat  or  Ten  Years  After  in  the  old  days,  but 
on  its  own  merits,  little  here  would  entice  you  into  mul- 
tiple listenings.  The  other  two  records  feature  the  com- 
plete Rollins-Ginn-Kira-Stevenson  lineup  and  are  fairly 
similar:  nine  songs  each  of  varied  but  mostly  medium- 
tempo  guitar  rock  that  keeps  a  safe  distance  from  metal, 
hardcore  and  sleaze.  Loose  Nut  has  clean  sound,  Roll- 
ins' brutally  self-hating  "This  Is  Good"  and  lyrics  on 
the  inner  sleeve— the  best  Black  Flag  LP  of  1985.  (The 
In  My  Head  cassette  contains  three  bonus  tracks.) 

With  new  drummer  Anthony  Martinez,  Black  Flag 
recorded  the  live  Who's  Got  the  10  1/2?  in  Portland, 
Oregon  on  23  August  1985.  Besides  a  great  cover  photo 
of  the  band*  s  actual  tour  calendar  that  says  more  about  the 
rock'n'roll  life  than  any  half-dozen  magazine  articles, 
the  album  features  hot  versions  of  '84-'85  material,  plus 
a  genuine  oldie,  "Gimmie,  Gimmie,  Gimmie."  (The 
cassette  and  CD  add  24  more  minutes  of  fun. ) 

The  posthumous  Wasted  .  .  .  Again  neatly  recapit- 
ulates Black  Flag's  high  career  points  with  a  dozen  es- 
sential tracks,  from  " Wasted"  to  "Drinking  and 
Driving."  Everything  you'd  want  in  a  single  disc  is  in- 
cluded, and  brief  annotation  adds  the  veneer  of  history. 

In  1989,  SST  quietly  issued  I  Can  See  You,  an  EP 
of  four  previously  unreleased  studio  tracks  by  the  '84- 
'85  quartet,  probably  recorded  around  the  time  of  In  My 
Head.  The  music  isn't  extraordinary  for  that  era  of 
Black  Flag,  but  Rollins'  colorful  vocal  performances 
— on  the  complacent  "Kickin'  &  Stickin'  "  and  the 
aggrieved  "You  Let  Me  Down"  especially — make  this 
a  surprisingly  rich  nugget.  [i] 

See  also  Circle  Jerks,  D.C3,  Dos,  Gone,  Minute- 
men,  Henry  Rollins,  S.O.A.,  SWA. 


62 


BLACKGIiLS 

Speechless  EP  fTom  Tom-Black  Park)  1987 
Procedure  {Mammoth}  1 989  ® 
Happy  {Mammoth}  1 991  • 

No,  they're  not  andt  \es,  they  are  The  three  white 
North  Carolina  womea  of  Blackgirls  perform  mtncate 
chamber  music  on  acoustic  guitar,  violin  and  piano, 
creating  an  uncommon  art-folk/classical  hybrid  with  oc- 
casional Celtic  inflections.  But  singer- songwriters  Eu- 
genia Lee  and  Dana  Kletter  both  have  dry,  unsteady 
voices  and  a  taste  for  cutencss  and/or  neurotic  hyper- 
sensitrvity  in  their  lyrics.  Combined  with  the  dizzying 
polyrhythmic  tides  of  the  instrumental/vocal  arrange- 
ments on  Procedure,  the  accomplished  music  is  charm- 
less and  uninviting 

With  Joe  Boyd  (of  Fail-port  Convention  fame)  again 
providing  a  crystalline  production  job,  Blackgirls  refine 
and  smooth  out  their  art  (if  not  their  diary -entry  lyncs) 
on  Happy,  a  sophisticated  and  accomplished-sounding 
record  that  seems,  for  the  first  time,  to  acknowledge  the 
possible  presence  of  an  audience.  While  a  lot  of  the 
album  sticks  to  its  predecessor's  choppy  complexity,  the 
arrangement  of  "Charleston"  is  simplified  to  the  point 
of  easy  appeal.  [ij 

BLACK  UHURU 

Love  Crisis  (nr/Third  World)  1 977 

Showcase  (Heartbeat)  1979 

Sinsemiila  (Mango)  1 980  • 

Black  Sounds  of  Freedom  (Greensleeves)  1981  * 

Red  (Mango)  1981  • 

Black  Uhuru  (nr/Virgin}  1981  « 

Guess  Who's  Coming  to  Dinner  (Heartbeat)  1 981  * 

Tear  It  Up-Live  (Mango)  1 982 

Chill  Out  (Mango)  1982 

The  Dub  Factor  (Mango)  1983 

Anthem  (Mango)  1 983  • 

Reggae  Greats  (Mango)  1 985  * 

Brutal  (RAS)  1986* 

Brutal  Dub  (RAS)  1986 

Positive  (RAS)  1 987  • 

The  Positive  Dub  (RAS)  [tape]  (ROIR)  1988 

Uve  in  New  York  City  (Rohit)  1988  • 

Now  (Mesa)  1990* 

Now  Dub  (Mesa)  1990* 

Iron  Storm  (Mesa)  1991  • 

JUNIOR  REID 

One  Blood  (Big  Life-Mercury)  1 990  <!> 

MICHAEL  ROSE 

Proud  (nr/RCA)  1 990  • 

The  leading  second  generation  reggae  vocal  group, 
Black  Uhuru  was  formed  in  Jamaica  in  1974  by  Derrick 
"Duckie"  Simpson,  after  a  couple  of  false  starts,  he 
enlisted  Michael  Rose,  whose  quivery  voice  makes  him 
sound  like  a  Rasta  cantor,  and  recorded  Love  Crisis — 
competent  but  hardly  distinctive  (although  the  best 
track,  "I  Love  King  Selassie,"  survived  to  become  a 
live  staple).  (Black  Sounds  of  Freedom  is  a  remix  of 
the  same  album. )  After  American  expatriate  Puma  (San- 
dra) Jones  joined  to  add  haunting  high  harmony,  Black 
Uhuru  joined  forces  with  Sly  and  Robbie;  their  riddims 
pushed  the  singing  along  with  the  force  of  a  tank. 

Showcase,   a  compilation  of  their  early  singles 


r*  Abortion/'  "General  Penitentiary  /*  *  'Guess  Who's 
Coming  to  Dinner/"  etc.  K  is  an  classic.  In 

1981,  the  album  was  b\  as 

Who's  Coming  to  and*  by  Virgin  as 


firmly  Uhuru  as  an  album 

act.  The  record  delivers  a  level  of  consistency  only  Bob 
Marfey  himself  had  achieved.  Their  breakthrough,"  how- 
ever, came  with  Red,  From  the  first  track,  "Youth  of 
Egiington/'  listeners  —  even  not  particularly  inter- 
ested in  reggae  —  had  a  compelling  reason  to  discover 
Black  Uhuru. 

The  band  spent  considerable  time  on  the  road,  A  live 
album  (Tear  It  Up)  recycles  a  lot  of  the  material  from 
Showcase  and  is  only  a  so-so  approximation  of  their 
in-concert  excitement.  But  Out,  the  next  studio 

effort,  is  great.  Rose  had  moved  to  New  York  and  takes 
on  the  city  In  the  title  cut;  "Darkness/1  4*  Emotional 
Slaughter"  and  others  reveal  a  departure  from  Rasta 
subject  matter.  The  Dab  Factor  is  a  ferocious  dub  disc, 
more  of  which  can  be  found  on  Sly  and  Robbie's  Raid- 
ers of  the  Lost  0ub. 

The  release  of  Anthem  was  troubled.  The  original 
issue  was  remixed  and  revised  for  America;  that  version 
was  subsequently  re-released  in  Europe.  In  any  case, 
it's  a  spotty  record,  despite  a  couple  of  killer  tracks 
("Party  Next  Door"  and  Steve  Van  Zandt's  "Solidar- 
ity"). Sly  and  Robbie's  synthetics  are  more  pro- 
nounced, perhaps  to  compensate  for  the  weak  material 
and  convictionless  performances.  (Ironically,  it  won  a 
Grammy  award  in  the  US.)  A  decent  hits  collection  in 
the  Reggae  Greats  series  followed.  Then  Michael  Rose 
left  to  go  solo.  After  five  years  of  scattered  singles  (and 
a  short-lived  change  of  name  spelling  to  Mykal  Roze), 
he  finally  released  an  album  at  the  end  of  1990. 

On  Brutal,  Black  Uhuru  unveiled  their  new  lead 
singer,  Junior  Reid,  who  displays  an  awkward  tendency 
to  mimic  Rose.  Sly  and  Robbie  still  provide  backup; 
Arthur  Baker  is  among  the  producers.  While  the  Reid/ 
Simpson  songs  attempt  a  number  of  different  styles,  not 
all  are  successful.  (A  companion  dub  UP,  featuring 
mixes  by  Baker,  Scientist  and  Steven  Stanley  is  also 
available.) 

Live  in  New  York  City,  recorded  at  the  old  Ritz  in 
the  fall  of  1987,  is  the  last  Black  Uhuru  album  to  feature 
the  Reid-Simpson-Jones  lineup.  With  backing  provided 
by  some  of  Jamaica's  top  players  (including  guitarist 
Earl  "Chinna"  Smith,  who  now  plays  with  Ziggy  Mar- 
ley,  and  drummer  Santa  Davis,  who  played  with  Peter 
Tosh),  Reid's  spicy  lead  vocals  and  between-song  irn- 
provs  make  this  a  perfect  souvenir  of  the  band's  '86-'87 
era.  The  set  includes  a  lot  of  material  from  Brutal,  as 
well  as  some  of  Reid's  solo  numbers  (  "Shock-a-Lock," 
"Foreign  Mind'*)  and  items  dating  back  to  Michael 
Rose's  days  ("Emotional  Slaughter,"  "Solidarity"). 

Puma  Jones  left  the  lineup  and  was  replaced  by 
Olafunke,  a  Jamaican-born  soundalike;  Positive  shows 
the  reconstituted  group  moving  forward.  The  LP  finds 
Reid  coming  into  his  own  as  a  vocalist,  and  features  a 
few  songs  that  are  strikingly  original  (Simpson's  apoc- 
alyptic "Fire  City,"  for  example).  Sly  and  Robbie  con- 
tinue to  be  the  featured  musicians,  but  producer  Steven 
Stanley  offers  flourishes  and  variations  on  their  familiar 
martial  drums  and  bass  lines.  While  there  are  echoes  of 
the  old  Black  Uhuru  on  Positive,  a  new  band  identity 


63 


and  sound  are  slowly  emerging.  An  okay  dub  version  of 
the  LP  has  also  been  released,  first  as  a  limited-pressing 
LP,  then  on  cassette  with  an  added  cut.  (The  Positive 
CD  contaias  four  dob  mixes.) 

On  28  January  1990,  Puma  Jones,  36 » died  of  cancer 
and  was  buried  in  South  Carolina,  her  birthplace.  She 
was  one  of  the  great  women  of  reggae,  Rasta»  black 
pride  and  women's  rights,,  and  one  of  the  only  females 
to  be  part  of  a  predominantly  male  group  that  reached 
such  international  acclaim. 

Ironically*  around  the  time  of  Jones'  death,  Black 
Churn  released  Now,  featuring  what  is  considered  to  be 
the  band's  original  lineup:  founder  Duckie  Simpson, 
Don  Carlos  (a  solo  artist  for  many  years)  and  Garth 
Dennis  (ex- Wailing  Souls).  Revisiting  the  group's  early 
vocal-trio  sound,  this  reunion  album  is  highlighted  by 
more  richly  produced  remakes  of  three  songs  from  Love 
Crisis:  "Army  Band,"  "Peace  and  Love*'  (originally 
titled  "Willow  Tree")  and  "Heathen"  (aka  "Eden") 
Despite  the  different  sound  (compelling,  but  less  biting 
than  usual),  the  message — militancy,  prophecy,  truth 
and  rights — remains,  as  does  the  lyncal  punch,  in  songs 
like  the  anti-crack  "Reggae  Rock,"  the  romantic 
"Thinking  of  You"  and  "Take  Heed."  A  cover  of 
"Hey  Joe"  rounds  out  the  album,  with  roots  reggae, 
pop  harmony  and  rock  guitar. 

Now  Dub  is  a  dub  version  of  the  LP  that  stretches 
the  limits  of  the  form.  A  Guy  Called  Gerald's  genre- 
bending  remix  of  "Reggae  Rock"  is  a  crazyhouse  ver- 
sion that  fixes  Uhura's  floating  vocals  to  pounding  bass 
and  a  wall-pulverizing  drum  beat.  The  dub  of  "Hey 
Joe"  is  even  more  astonishing. 

Resuming  his  solo  career,  Junior  Reid  had  a  massive 
Jamaican  hit  in  1989  with  "One  Blood,"  which  became 
the  title  track  of  his  slick,  electro-reggae  album  the  fol- 
lowing year.  (Puma  Jones  sings  backup  on  a  bizarre 
cover  of  "Eleanor  Rigby .  * ' )  Covering  a  few  other  bases , 
Reid  appears  on  Coldcut's  1988  "Stop  This  Crazy 
Thing"  and  did  a  guest  turn  on  the  Soup  Dragons'  "I'm 
Free."  [bk/aw] 

See  also  Sly  and  Robbie. 


RUBEN  BLADES 

Maestro  VIda:  Primera  Parte  (Fania)  1980 
Maestra  Vida:  Segunda  Parte  (Fania)  1 980 
Nothing  but  the  Truth  (Elekrra)  1 988  * 

BLADES  Y  SE1S  DEL 

SOLAR 

Greatest  Hits  (Musica  Latino  Infl)  1983 
Buscando  America  (Elektra)  1984  • 
Escenas  (Elektra)  1985* 
Agua  de  Luna  (Elektra)  1986  • 

RUBEN  BLADES  Y  SON  DEL 
SOLAR 

Antecedenfe  (Eiektra)  1 988  • 
Live!  (Eieldra)  19904» 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Crossover  Dreams  (Elektra)  1 986  ® 

Rube'n  Blades  is  the  first  major  salsa  performer  to 
integrate  rock  aesthetics  into  his  music.  After  a  success- 
ful stint  with  Willie  Col6n,  the  Panamanian-born  New 
Yorker  went  solo,  rocketing  to  the  top  of  salsa  charts 


with  songs  that  avoided  the  music's  cliches  in  favor  of 
topical  narratives  and  carefully  crafted  imagery  The 
best  of  these,  including  the  classic  gangster  tale  "Pedro 
Navaja,"  are  found  on  Greatest  Hits. 

In  1984,  Blades  signed  two  contracts  with  Elektra, 
one  for  Spanish-language  recordings,  the  other  for 
English-language  ones,  Buscancto  America  stands  as 
the  finest  of  his  major-label  recordings  to  date  His 
group,  Seis  del  Solar,  includes  four  percussionists  and 
two  electric  keyboardists.  Instead  of  salsa' s  traditional 
horn  section.  Blades  sings  frank  songs  about  abortion, 
Latin  America's  political  disappeared  and  the  banality 
of  evil. 

Blades  is  also  a  screen  actor.  His  first  starring  role 
was  in  Crossover  Dreams,  which  charted  the  rise  and 
fall  of  a  salsero  who  denies  his  roots  in  search  of  Amer- 
ican chart  success.  The  soundtrack  LP  includes  two  pop 
tunes  by  Blades,  plus  a  healthy  selection  of  salsa  stan- 
dards performed  by  some  of  the  field's  finest  players. 

Escenas  finds  Blades  making  first  steps  towards  the 
sort  of  crossover  (he  calls  it  "convergence")  accept- 
ability he  so  obviously  desires.  Joe  Jackson  and  Linda 
Ronstadt  make  guest  appearances,  but  except  for 
%tMuevete,"  things  don't  sizzle  quite  so  much  as  be- 
fore. In  an  audacious  experiment  with  tepid  results, 
some  of  Blades'  songs  on  Agua  de  Lima  were  inspired 
by  Gabriel  Garcia  Ma>quez  short  stories. 

Setting  his  band  aside,  Blades  collaborated  with 
Elvis  Costello,  Lou  Reed  and  Sting  on  Nothing  but  the 
Truth,  his  first  all-English  album.  Recorded  with  studio 
journeymen,  the  music  ranges  from  hard-core  salsa  to 
mainstream  rock  to  political  doo-wop.  The  tunes  co- 
written  by  Costello  hold  up  the  best,  but  that's  to  be 
expected.  Following  that  record,  as  if  to  atone  for  an 
apparent  sell-out  (sorry,  " crossover"),  Blades  quickly 
rejoined  the  newly  aligned  five-man  Son  del  Solar  and 
made  the  rewardingly  rootsy  Antecedente. 

The  following  year,  with  eleven  musicians  suavely 
mixing  trombones,  timbales,  piano  and  synthesizer, 
Blades  recorded  a  vibrant  live  album  at  New  York's 
Lone  Star  Roadhouse.  Ignoring  recent  albums,  the  ma- 
terial (with  the  exception  of  "Pedro  Navaja"  and  one 
other)  is  drawn  entirely  from  Escenas  and  Buscando 
America.  [rg/i] 

See  also  Sting. 


BLAKE  BABIES 

Nicely,  Nicely  (Chew-bud)  1 987 

Slow  Learners  (nr/Utility)  1 989  * 

Earwig  (Mammoth)  1 989  * 

Sunburn  (Mammoth)  1 990  • 

Rosy  Jack  World  EP  (Mammoth)  1 991  • 

With  singer/bassist  (and  former  Berklee  music  stu- 
dent) Juliana  Hatfield's  voice  as  the  pivotal  love-Tem/ 
leave-'em  factor,  Boston's  Blake  Babies  play  peppy 
post-mod  pop  that  has  a  few  teeth.  On  the  first  album, 
drummer  Freda  Boner  and  guitarist  John  Strohm  (both 
natives  of  Indiana),  Hatfield  and  a  bassist  run  through 
collegiate  numbers  like  "Let  Them  Eat  Chewy  Granola 
Bars,"  "Swill  and  the  Cocaine  Sluts"  and  "Better  'n 
You' '  (a  handsomely  harmonized  duet  with  Evan  Dando 
of  the  Lemonheads,  a  band  for  whom  Strohm  moon- 
lighted on  drums),  demonstrating  a  facility  for  tunefully 
presentable  songs  and  the  unsettling  range  of  Hatfield' s 


64 


ali-over-the-place  singing  The  habit  of  aban- 

doning a  nice  mid-range  melod>  to  search  out  a  high 
note  thai  may  elude  her  makes  Hatfield  an  unpredictable 
and  inconsistent  quantity . 

Dando  played  bass  on  Slow  iHatfield 

didn't  take  over  that  responsibility  until  sessions  for  the 
next  LP),  a  more  accomplished  and  refined  seven-song 
collection- — incorporating  a  country  accent—that  is  en- 
tirely duplicated  on  Earwig.  That  album,  which  con- 
tains two  other  1988  recordings  I  with  a  different  guest 
bassist)  and  a  half-dozen  1989  products  of  the  now- 
autonomous  trio  ( including  a  fair  sexual  inversion  of  the 
Stooges*  "Loose"),  sets  its  sternly  judgmental  attacks 
("You  Don't  Give  Up,"  "Take  Your  Head  off  My 
Shoulder,"  "Outta  My  Head,"  "Your  Way  or  the 
Highway/"  etc.)  into  consistently  attractive  textured 
guitar  pop. 

The  burst  of  feedback  that  begins  both  Sunburn  and 
Hatfield's  "I'm  Not  Your  Mother'*  isn't  nearly  as  abra- 
sive as  the  song's  venomously  petulant  lyrics.  IE  gen- 
eral, though,  Juliana's  off  the  offensive  on  the  Blakes' 
best  album:  her  casually  blunt  lyrics  range  from  resigned 
victimization  ("A  Million  Years")  to  haunting  desola- 
tion ("Gimme  Some  Mirth")  to  frightening  fantasies  of 
self-destruction  ("Watch  Me  Now,  I'm  Calling"). 
Meanwhile,  Strohm's  songs  ("Girl  in  a  Box,"  a  rare 
vocal  turn,  and  "Train,"  a  duet)  and  his  collaborations 
(the  exceptional  "Out  There")  provide  a  much  needed 
lyrical  alternative.  With  some  of  the  band's  catchiest 
tunes  ("Look  Away"  for  one)  and  fewer  vocal  misad- 
ventures (effective  harmonies  mask  some  of  those  re- 
maining), Sunburn  is  an  ironic  and  frequently  moving 
mixture  of  beauty  and  sadness.  [i] 

See  also  Lemonheads. 

BLANCMANGE 

Happy  Families  ( Island)  1 982 
Mange  Tout  (London-Sire)  1 984  * 
Believe  You  Me  (London-Sire)  1 985  ® 
Second  Helpings:  The  Best  of  Blancmange  (nr/London) 
1990* 

WEST  INDIA  COMPANY 

Ave  Maria  EP  (nr/London)  1984 

Music  from  New  Demons  (Editions  EQ)  1 989  9 

One  of  the  synth-pop  era's  more  individual  and  orig- 
inal duos,  Stephen  Luscombe  and  Neil  Arthur  mixed 
dominant  percussion  with  bizarre,  often  exotic  season- 
ings to  create  tracks  with  abundant  personality  and  enor- 
mous dance  potential.  The  one  major  drawback  is 
Arthur's  voice:  a  rough,  unpleasant  instrument  which 
becomes  riddled  with  melodrama  when  he  gets  excited. 

On  Happy  Families,  Blancmange  offer  typically  ec- 
centric concepts — * 'God's  Kitchen,"  "Living  on  the 
Ceiling" — in  varied  settings  that  fall  into  two  general 
styles:  (1)  Loud,  rhythmic  and  derivative  of  Talking 
Heads.  These  tunes,  especially  "Feel  Me,"  suffer  from 
extreme  monochromatic  tediousness.  (2)  Delicate  and 
reserved.  "I've  Seen  the  Word"  and  others  are  quite 
lovely,  resembling  the  spare  grace  of  mid-period  Or- 
chestral Manoeuvres  in  the  Dark. 

Mange  Tout  (a  brilliant  bilingual  pun)  is  simulta- 
neously a  bit  sillier  and  grander  overall,  using  more 
horns,  woodwinds  and  strings  than  before.  Largely  ne- 
glecting option  2  but  not  sounding  much  like  the  Heads 


eithsr,  Blancmange  opt  to  let  the  beat  the  message, 
while  thankful!}  maintaining  quality 

thus,  less  boredom.  The  lour  major  tracks—  "Don't  Tel! 
Me,"  *kM>  Bab>,"  "Blind  Vision"  aad  "That's  Love 
That  It  Is" — all  offer  different  levels  of  melodiousness 
(most  prett}  high 5  with  Arthur's  \ocaus,  im- 

proved, still  an  occasional  stumbling  block. 

Believe  You  Me  is  an  ambitions  undertaking,  re- 
corded in  seven  different  studios  with  four  producers 
zillions  of  guest  musicians  The  results  are  hardly  as  in- 
consistent as  the>  might  ha\e  been;  in  fact,  the  restrained 
album  is  quite  agreeable,  reasonably  free  of  f fee  overzeal- 
ousness,  busyness  and  absurdity  that  diminished  some  of 
the  duo's  prior  work.  The  songs  aren't  consistently  won- 
derful, but  simplicity  and  understatement  make  inquisi- 
tive tracks  like ' 'Don't  You  Love  It  AH"  ( with  fiugelhom 
played  by  Hugh  Masekela),  "What's  Your  Problem?" 
and  "Why  Don't  They  Leave  Things  Alone?"  pleasant, 
if  not  immediately  memorable. 

Second  Helpings  is  a  straightforward  ( albeit  incom- 
plete) compilation  of  UK  chart  singles — from  1982's 
"God's  Kitchen"  through  1985's  "What's  Your 
Problem?" — that  pretty  much  covers  the  high  points  of 
Blancmange's  recording  career.  But  considering  that  all 
ten  tracks  (including  two  B-sides)  come  from  the  band's 
three  albums,  fans  can  skip  this  serving  with  impunity 

Following  Blancmange's  1986  split,  Luscombe  de- 
voted himself  to  the  poly-cultural  West  India  Company, 
an  experimental  trio  whose  1984  vinyl  debut  employed 
the  voice  of  famed  Bombay  film  singer  Asha  Bhosie. 
Created  as  the  performance  soundtrack  for  a  show  by 
Montreal  avant-dance  company  La  La  La  Human  Steps 
(known  for  their  work  on  Bowie's  '90  tour),  New  De- 
ittoias  alternates  vocal  selections  and  instramentals,  put- 
ting traditional  Indian  music  (and  other  sources)  through 
a  sympathetic  British  art  wringer.  Despite  the  similarity 
of  their  basic  components,  the  decidedly  non-pop  WIC 
bears  no  resemblance  to  Monsoon;  the  trio's  rich  and 
cerebral  blend — both  in  terms  of  instrumentation  and 
presentation — is  quite  original.  [i] 

BL'AST! 

The  Power  of  Expression  (Wishing  Well)  1984  (SST) 

1987* 

If  sin  My  Blood  (SST)  1 987  « 
Take  the  Manic  Ride  (SST)  1989  • 

Formed  in  1982  as  M.A.D.,  this  Santa  Cruz  quartet 
was  obviously  touched  by  the  message  of  Black  Flag's 
mid-period  work.  The  rumble  on  the  bottom,  the  ellip- 
tical scrambling  of  Mike  Neider's  guitar  and  the  belli- 
cose roar  of  Clifford  Dinsmore's  vocals  all  bring  post- 
Damaged  Flag  to  mind.  Considering  the  lame  thrash 
that  many  of  their  skate-punk  peers  were  purveying  at 
the  time,  Bl'ast!  should  be  saluted  for  taking  a  far  less 
generic  stance,  (The  CD  of  It's  in  My  Blood  includes 
both  sides  of  the  "School's  Out"  single.)  [be] 

BLASTERS 

American  Music  (Rolltn'  Rock)  1980 

The  Blasters  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 981 

Over  There:  Live  at  the  Venue,  London  EP  (Slash-Warner 

Bros.)  1982 
Non  Fiction  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 983 


65 


Hard  line  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 985 

The  Blasters  Collection  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 991  <!> 

They  say  everything  old  becomes  new  again,  and 
California's  Blasters  proved  it  in  198!  by  jumping  into 
the  national  spotlight  with  an  utterly  familiar  brew  of 
blues,  rockabilly  and  rock'n'roll.  Detractors  might  call 
them  little  more  than  an  updated  Canned  Heat — as  if 
anything  were  wrong  with  that — but  such  criticism  ig- 
nores their  strengths:  tight  ensemble  work,  swingin* 
original  tunes  in  the  classic  mold  and  Phil  Alvin's  age- 
less, confident  vocals. 

American  Music  appeared  on  an  independent  rock- 
abilly revival  label,  which  is  probably  one  reason  it 
didn't  reach  a  larger  audience.  The  band  already  had 
total  control  of  R&B  and  rock  conventions,  fusing  them 
into  a  supple,  flowing  style.  Although  there's  not  quite 
as  much  sting  here  as  later  on,  Dave  Alvin's  guitar  work 
displays  plenty  of  spirit.  Oldies  like  **Buzz  Buzz  Buzz" 
and  "I  Wish  You  Would"  (Billy  Boy  Arnold  via  the 
Yardbirds)  mingle  with  catchy  new  tunes  like  "Mane, 
Marie,"  later  a  big  UK  hit  for  Shakin'  Stevens. 

The  Blasters  established  the  quintet  nationwide. 
Originally  released  on  LA  independent  Slash,  it  did  so 
well  that  the  label  was  able  to  strike  a  licensing/ 
distribution  deal  with  Warner  Bros.  No  wonder:  it 
smokes.  The  band  is  tighter  than  a  drum,  and  Dave 
Alvin's  songs — including  "No  Other  Girl,"  a  re- 
recorded * 'Marie,  Marie"  and  "Border  Radio" — have  a 
joyous,  irresistible  momentum.  R&B  legend  Lee  Allen 
guests  on  sax. 

Highlighted  by  a  crackling  hot  sound,  the  six-cut 
live  in  London  EP  serves  as  a  good  introduction  to  the 
Blasters,  but  offers  no  new  wrinkles.  Definitely  suitable 
for  parties,  though. 

Any  lingering  suspicions  that  the  Blasters  were  just 
an  oldies  band  at  heart  were  surely  dispelled  by  the  fine 
Non  Fiction.  Dave  Alvin's  essay  on  real  life,  the  LP 
presents  a  series  of  well-crafted  vignettes  reminiscent  of 
Robbie  Robertson's  work  with  the  Band.  Songs  like 
"One  More  Dance"  and  "Fool's  Paradise"  depict  the 
trials  and  tribulations  of  the  little  people,  while  "Long 
White  Cadillac"  laments  Hank  Williams.  The  playing 
on  the  self-produced  record  is  smoother  and  not  as 
quaint  as  before. 

A  shade  less  stirring  than  Non  Fiction,  Hard  Line 
reprises  that  IP's  formula,  but  also  includes  a  blatant 
stab  at  commercialism.  Although  "Colored  Lights," 
penned  for  the  Blasters  by  John  Cougar  Mellencamp, 
isn't  bad,  other  songs  are  more  heartfelt.  Highlights 
include  "Trouble  Bound"  and  "Help  You  Dream," 
both  featuring  the  Jordanaires  (of  Elvis  Presley  fame  for 
you  young'uns). 

In  1986,  Dave  Alvin  left  to  join  X,  briefly  replacing 
Billy  Zoom;  he  soon  moved  on  to  launch  his  own  solo 
career.  But  he  also  worked  on  other  people's  projects; 
for  instance,  backing  Syd  Straw  on  her  '89  tour.  Alvin's 
replacement  in  the  Blasters  was  a  guitarist  known  as 
Hollywood  Fats  (Michael  Mann),  who  tragically  died  a 
few  months  later,  bringing  Alvin  briefly  back  into  the 
fold.  Ironically,  Billy  Zoom  later  joined  the  Blasters, 
who  have  been  less  active  since  Phil  Alvin  began  at- 
tending graduate  school. 

The  Blasters  Collection  assembles  20  tracks,  in- 
cluding three  previously  unreleased  numbers.          [jy] 
See  also  Dave  Alvin,  Phil  Alvin,  X. 


The  Naked  Shakespeare  (nr/Virgin)  1983 

Knights  Like  This  for/Virgin)  1985 

Downtime  (nr/Recommended)  1 988 

King  Strut  and  Other  Stories  (nr/SSfvertone)  1 990  • 

Sort  Of  fGer.  Polydor)  1972 
Acnalbasac  Noom  (Ger.  Poiydor)  1 973 

(rsr/Recommersded)  1 982  (Cuneiform)  1 988  • 
Slapp  Happy  (nr/Virgin}  1 974 

Desperate  Straights  (or/Virgin)  1 975  (nr/Recommended) 

1982 
In  Praise  of  learning  (nr/Virgin)  1975  (Red)  1979  [CD] 

(East  Side  Digital)  1991  • 

& 

BLEGYAD 

Kew.  Rhone.  (nr/Virgin)  1 977 

If  Peter  Blegvad  is  one  of  America's  most  under- 
rated songwriters,  it's  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  New 
Yorker — who  is  also  an  accomplished  illustrator — has 
lived  in  England  for  most  of  the  past  two  decades,  and 
few  of  his  records  have  been  issued  in  the  US.  An 
affecting  singer  and  a  fine  guitarist,  Blegvad  has  an 
uncanny  knack  for  creating  literate  lyrics — a  golden  tri- 
angle of  emotion,  intellect  and  humor — and  combining 
them  with  enduring  melodies.  A  restless  spirit  that  dis- 
plays no  patience  for  cliche  runs  through  all  of  his  work. 
And  while  Blegvad  has  hiked  with  many  stellar  com- 
panions, he  has  always  blazed  an  utterly  personal  trail. 

In  Germany  in  the  early  '70s,  the  Connecticut-bom 
Blegvad,  British  keyboardist/composer  Anthony  Moore 
and  his  wife,  German  singer  Dagmar  Krause,  began 
working  their  own  little  corner  of  the  obscure-pop  tap- 
estry as  Slapp  Happy.  On  the  liner  notes  to  the  trio's 
first  album,  Sort  Of,  Blegvad  wittily  tags  the  band  as 
"champions  of  Naive  Rock,  the  Douannier-Rousseau 
sound,*'  which  pegged  them  perfectly — sort  of.  With  its 
slightly  discordant  guitars,  deliberately  simple  lyrics  and 
Dagmar's  naturally  doomy  voice  trying  to  come  off  win- 
some or  chipper  as  the  song  may  demand,  Sort  Of  is 
willfully  naive  and,  at  its  worst,  a  bit  affected. 

At  its  best,  though,  the  band  was  refreshing,  divert- 
ing and  sometimes  moving.  The  second  Slapp  Happy  LP, 
Acnalbasac  Noom,  is  a  gem  from  start  to  finish.  Blegvad 
crafts  some  wonderful,  offhandedly  literary  lyrics  while 
Moore  provides  sophisticated  tunes  to  match.  (As  the 
group  didn't  contain  a  rhythm  section,  both  albums  fea- 
ture the  rhythm  section  from  Faust,  not  that  you'd  ever 
guess.)  Slapp  Happy,  using  anonymous  studio  musi- 
cians as  needed,  includes  a  handful  of  previously  re- 
corded songs  in  drastically  rearranged  versions,  some 
including  ambitious  but  unsuccessful  string  backing. 

Following  those  three  records,  Slapp  Happy  and  la- 
belmates  Henry  Cow — a  symbiotic  blend  of  art  and  pol- 
itics united  by  equally  offbeat  sensibilities  about 
musicmaking — -joined  forces  to  produced  a  pair  of 
highly  rated  albums.  Several  years  later,  Blegvad  and 
Henry  Cow  bassist  John  Greaves  made  a  record  to- 
gether. In  the  early  '80s,  Blegvad  began  a  solo  career. 

Andy  Partridge's  production  of  The  Naked  Shake- 
speare is  entirely  too  slick  and  busy.  Only  the  songs 


66 


gi\ep*  relatively  simple  arrangements  are  delightful,  par- 
ticularly "You  Can't  Miss  It,""  "Vermont"1  and  the  pen- 
sive title  track  Also  noteworthy  is  the  chilling  rape- 
nightmare  of  *4!rma,"  a  inosl!>  spoken  piece  set  to  Eno- 
ish  ambient  synth. 

Engaged  by  Virgin  In  an  unabashed  effort  to  sell 
Bleg\ad  to  UK  pop  radio.  David  Lord  i  Peter  Gabriel, 
etc.)  did  a  spectacular  misproduction  job  on  Knights 
Like  This.  I  Shades  of  Phi!  Specter's  off-base  painng 
with  Leonard  Cohen.  I  Like  Cohen,  Blegvad  is  an  idio- 
syncratic writer  whose  songs  work  best  in  uncompli- 
cated settings.  Here,  most  of  his  luminous  lyncs  are  lost 
amid  the  overwrought  pop  arrangements,  foil  of  strings, 
backup  choruses  and  synthesized  percussion. 

Back  in  New  York  dunng  the  early  '80s,  Blegvad 
fell  in  with  the  burgeoning  downtown  improv  scene  He 
recorded  with  John  Zom  and,  through  his  friendship 
with  Anton  Fier,  became  part  of  the  Golden  Palominos 
family.  Blegvad  served  as  "vocal  coach"  on  the  group's 
first  album,  and  co-wrote  half  the  songs  of  the  third 
(Blast  of  Silence),  on  which  he  also  performed.  In 
1989,  Blegvad  played  on  sometime-Palomino  Syd 
Straw's  solo  album,  the  highlight  of  which  is  one  of  the 
two  songs  they  wrote  together.  (Anthony  Moore  also 
contributed  to  Straw's  LP.) 

In  comparison  to  Blegvad's  first  solo  efforts,  the 
folky  and  country ish  rock  settings  (there's  even  a  Lou- 
vin  Brothers  cover)  of  Downtime  are  much  more  suc- 
cessful at  capturing  the  intimacy  of  his  music.  Chris 
Cutler  (ex-Henry  Cow/Pere  Ubu),  Tony  Maimone  (Pere 
Ubu)  and  members  of  Greaves'  current  band,  the  Lodge 
(which  includes  Blegvad's  brother  Kristoffer  and, 
lately,  Peter  himself),  provide  warm  backing  to  a  set  of 
powerful  songs,  including  the  hilarious  "Card  to  Ber- 
nard" and  improved  readings  of  two  songs  from  the 
Palominos'  Blast  of  Silence.  This  splendid  album  closes 
with  the  whimsical  bossa  nova  of  "  Crumb  de  la 
Crumb,"  a  self-deprecating  poke  at  Blegvad's  own  ob- 
scurity. 

King  Strut  puts  it  all  together  for  Blegvad,  com- 
bining the  warmth  of  Downtime  with  the  pop  smarts  of 
his  first  two  LPs.  Partridge  produced  three  tracks  (not 
two,  as  indicated  on  the  label),  including  the  unfortu- 
nate closer,  an  irritating  reprise  of  the  title  track.  (The 
rest  of  the  album  receives  sympathetic  treatment  from 
Chris  Stamey,  who  brought  in  ex-partner  Peter  Holsap- 
ple,  rekindling  a  collaboration  that  led  to  their  1991 
album.)  The  treasures  of  King  Stmt  are  five  mostly 
acoustic  pearls  on  Side  Two,  particularly  the  deeply 
romantic  "Northern  Lights"  and  "Shirt  &  Comb." 

[ws/gk] 

See  also  Golden  Palominos,  John  Greaves,  Anthony 
More,  Syd  Straw,  Victoria  Williams. 

BLIND  IDIOT  GOD 

Blind  Idiot  God  (SST)  1987 
Undertow  (Enemy)  1989* 
Purged  Specimen  EP  (Enemy)  1989 

Refusing  to  compromise  their  chops  with  some  cut- 
rate  rock  vocalist,  this  young  instrumental  trio  (origi- 
nally from  St.  Louis  but  now  living  in  Brooklyn) 
constructs  a  huge,  brash  sound  influenced  (consciously 
or  not)  by  Blue  Cheer,  Jimi  Hendrix,  the  Velvet  Un- 
derground, the  Meters  (Blind  Idiot  God  covers  the  Cres- 


cent Citv  funk  geniuses'  ""Mere  Tim*"  u  the  Sex 
Pistols,  Glenn  Branca  and  Jamaican  dub  'their  first  LP 
concludes  wiiti  a  trw  of  dubvtihc  i,  Simultaneously 
leaning  towards  heav\  1  vnth  less  ego »  and  reggae 

(with  more  voltage  i.  demonic  decibel  giuttons  are 
having  the  time  of  their  lives  in  hammer-of-the-gocb 
teniiOT}.  [rg] 


BLOND1E 

Blondie  f  Private  Stock)  1 976  (Chrysals)  1 977  • 

Plastic  Letters  f Chrysalis)  1 977  • 
Parallel  Lines  {Chrysalis}  1 978  • 
Eat  to  the  Beat  fChrysalls)  1 979  • 
Aotoamerican  (Chrysalis}  1 980  • 
The  Best  of  Blondie  (ChrysallsJ  1 981  • 
The  Hunter  (Chrysalis)  1 982  • 

Once  More  into  the  Bleach  f  ChrysallsJ  1 988  • 

Heart  on  a  Wall  (Chrysalis)  1982 

That  Blondie  may  be  remembered  as  perhaps  the 
best  singles  band  to  emerge  from  the  new  wave — in 
fact,  a  world-class  hitmaking  powerhouse — is  extraor- 
dinary for  those  who  recall  the  group's  humble  genesis 
and  occasionally  appalling  early  efforts.  Even  after  the 
New  Yorkers  had  secured  a  recording  contract,  few  ex- 
pected they  could  ever  surpass  the  commercial  level  of, 
say,  Lou  Reed — i.e.,  a  moderate  fluke  hit  single,  per- 
haps a  charting  album,  but  mainly  cult  status.  How 
could  the  torpid,  immovable,  generally  disgusting  com- 
mercial music  establishment  of  the  day  somehow  re- 
verse itself  and  open  up  to  Blondiet  Like  the  rest  of  the 
us  they  were  part  of,  it  seemed  they'd  always  be  on  the 
outside  looking  in. 

Yet  the  core  members  (singer  Debbie  Harry,  guitar- 
ist Chris  Stein,  keyboard  player  Jimmy  Destri  and  drum- 
mer Clem  Burke)  always  had  a  vision  that  anything  was 
possible.  So  what  if  they  weren't  slick  studio  musi- 
cians? They'd  still  be  able  to  put  the  sounds  in  their 
heads  on  plastic,  sounds  that  weren't  just  "Pure  Pop  for 
Now  People"  but  pure  pop  for  hit  radio — in  the  most 
sincere,  uncynical  and  popularly  resonating  tradition. 
So  they  engaged  in  inspired,  positively  subversive,  mu- 
sical "pilferage"  and  synthesis  in  ways  few  others  have 
consistently  sustained.  And  through  all  of  that  (until  the 
last  album,  anyway),  Blondie  maintained  a  distinctive 
group  identity. 

Some  of  their  dabblings  weren't  successful,  but  if 
Blondie  could  be  called  a  bunch  of  dilettantes,  it's  only 
fair  to  note  that  many  others  wet  their  musical  toes  in  the 
same  exotic  waters  only  after  Blondie  set  the  precedent. 
Moreover,  Blondie  largely  pursued  their  commercial  and 
artistic  goals  in  nonconformist  fashion,  often  to  the  dis- 
may of  their  record  company  and  even  some  of  their  fans . 

Blondie  effervesces  with  exuberance  which,  at 
points,  extends  the  band's  reach  beyond  its  grasp.  Still, 
it's  a  guileless  classic,  and  arguably  the  group's  best 
album.  They  create  a  series  of  charming  musical  Fran- 
kenstein monsters — stitched  together  from  salsa,  funk, 
Broadway  pop  and  thrill-flick  soundtracks — in  addition 
to  their  more  typical  girl-group/surf/ Anglopop  hybrids, 
as  on  "X  Offender,"  the  debut  single  included  here. 
Any  lapses  in  expertise  are  counterbalanced  by  the  sense 


67 


of  ebullient  abandon,  as  captured  by  producer  RIcfiard 
Gottehrer. 

Plastic  Letters  reflects  not  only  professional  sea- 
soning and  a  better  rapport  with  Gottehrer,  but  also  the 
turmoil  of  changes  in  personnel,  management  and 
record  label.  The  resulting  LP— fuller,  tighter  and  more 
authoritatively  rocking  than  the  debut — includes  the 
band's  first  two  UK  hits,  "(I'm  Always  Touched  by 
Your)  Presence,  Dear"  (written  by,  and  recorded  as  a 
sort  of  tribute  to,  departed  bassist  Gary  Valentine)  and 
44 Denis"  (a  revamp  of  the  1963  Randy  &  the  Rainbows 
oldie).  There's  also  a  brooding  feel  to  many  of  the 
tracks — the  hard,  riffy  stuff  and  the  thoughtful  experi- 
mentation ("Cautious  Lip")  alike.  More  conservative 
than  Btaradie,  and  less  exciting, 

By  Parallel  Lines,  the  new  lineup  had  already 
jelled,  and  producer  Mike  Chapman  (looking  to  repeat 
the  massive  success  lie  enjoyed  during  the  early- '70s 
English  glitter-pop  days)  took  over  the  console,  impos- 
ing his  exacting,  disciplined  approach.  The  band  seems 
totally  in  control  of  every  musical  form  it  takes  on,  from 
zombie  metal  to  pop-a-billy,  from  quasi-avant  spaciness 
to  the  Mtbound  electro-disco  flirtation,  * 'Heart  of 
Glass."  Compared  to  Gottehrer' s  first-take  spontaneity, 
some  of  the  LP  seems  a  tad  clinical,  but  it's  easily  good 
enough  to  be  considered  America's  answer  to  Nick 
Lowe's  first  solo  LP. 

Eat  to  the  Beat,  surprisingly,  proved  less  artisti- 
cally and  commercially  successful  than  an  album  that 
recapitulates  a  soaring  band's  strong  points  should  have 
been,  but  it  does  have  some  of  the  best  sheer  rock'n'roll 
the  group  ever  produced.  Autoaraerkaii  goes  in  pre- 
cisely the  opposite  direction;  breaking  out  of  a  stylistic 
cul-de-sac,  Blondie  jumped  out  in  a  number  of  new 
directions  again;  cocktail  jazz,  Eurodrama,  country  (sort 
of)  and  rap.  An  "A"  for  effort,  but  Blondie 's  most 
uneven  album,  ranging  from  obvious  boo-boos  to  the 
hits  ''Rapture"  and  "The  Tide  Is  High." 

Within  two  years  after  that  ambitious  LP,  the  "suc- 
cessful rock  band  collapses  under  its  own  weight"  syn- 
drome had  apparently  set  in.  The  Hunter  sounds  as 
though  their  excitement  about  musical  recombination 
had  simply  degenerated  into  a  polished  but  sterile  capa- 
bility of  manipulating  a  wide  variety  of  stylistic  devices. 
Bereft  of  things  to  say,  or  ways  to  say  nothing  with  style 
and  grace,  the  LP  is  aimless,  elephantine — its  largely 
impenetrable  pretentiousness  not  that  far  removed  from 
dinosaurs  like  Jefferson  Starship  or  Yes. 

The  Best  of  Blondie  should  really  be  called  The 
Singles  Album,  since  that's  exclusively  what's  on  it 
and  what  limits  the  view  it  gives  of  the  group.  It  doesn't 
include  the  spiffy  version  they  did  of  Johnny  Cash's 
"Ring  of  Fire"  on  the  soundtrack  of  the  movie  Roadie, 
but  it  does  have  three  special  remixes  and  the  otherwise 
non-LP  hit,  "Call  Me"  (from  American  Gigolo}.  The 
US  and  UK  editions  differ  according  to  Blondie's  chart 
successes  in  those  markets. 

Although  it  shares  five  songs  in  common  with  The 
Best  of  Blondie,  Once  More  into  the  Bleach — a  mix- 
ture of  group  songs  and  Harry's  solo  work — offers  most 
of  them  (and  eight  others)  in  drastically  remixed  and 
elongated  form.  Considering  this  music  from  a  decid- 
edly dance-oriented  perspective  overlooks  its  historical 
context,  eliminating  the  friendly  openness  of  Blondie's 
new  wave  pop  records  for  the  distant  sound  of  anony- 


mous star  product— an  effect  the  original  albums,  re- 
gardless of  their  hits,  always  avoided.  Clubbing  up 
already  rhythmic  jams  like  "Heart  of  Glass,"  "Call 
Me"  and  "Rapture"  involves  no  great  stylistic  leap,  but 
cutting  the  joy  out  of  "Denis"  is  unforgivable,  and  the 
Coldcut  dub  mix  (complete  with  seagulls)  of  "The  Tide 
Is  High"  (inexplicably  credited  here  to  Harry  solo)  is 
idiotic.  Oddly,  the  set  ends  with  the  group's  delightful 
(and  previously  rare)  French  rendition  of  the  third  al- 
bum's "Sunday  Girl,"  mercifully  unsullied  by  studio 
second-guessers. 

Keyboardist  Destri's  solo  outing,  produced  by  Lou 
Reed/Pink  Floyd  cohort  Michael  Karnen  and  featuring 
Clem  Burke,  takes  traditional  pop  values  and  updates 
them  with  decidedly  Bowiesque  leanings.  Destri  had 
already  proved  himself  a  creative  and  occasionally  in- 
spired musician  and  songwriter  in  the  group  context 
(and  beyond — in  1980  he  produced  an  album  by  Joey 
Wilson);  here,  he  proves  solid,  if  not  exemplary,  in 
those  capacities.  But  his  lack  of  vocal  ability  or  even 
identity  is  a  definite  drag  on  the  proceedings.  [jg/ij 

See  also  Chequered  Past,  Debbie  Harry. 


ALPHA  BLONDY 

Job  Glory  (Fr.  Celluloid)  1 985 

Apartheid  Is  Nazism  (Shanachie)  1 987  ® 

Cocody  Rock!!!  (Shanachie)  1988  ® 

Revolution  (Shanachie)  1 989  * 

The  Prophets  (Capitol)  1989  • 

The  Best  of  Alpha  Blondy  (Shanachie)  1 990  ® 

ALPHA  BLONDY  AND  THE 
WA1LERS 

Jerusalem  (Shanachie)  1 987  • 

Since  the  death  of  Bob  Marley,  numerous  Third 
World  performers  have  been  proposed  to  succeed  him  as 
the  world's  leading  reggae  exponent.  Ziggy  Marley  is 
one  obvious  choice;  Alpha  Blondy  (born  Kone  Seydou) 
is  another,  more  unusual,  candidate  For  starters, 
Blondy  is  from  the  Ivory  Coast;  he  performs  reggae  in 
French,  English,  Hebrew,  Arabic  and  other  African  lan- 
guages. Rather  than  Rasta  and  Jah,  he  sings  about  the 
Middle  East  and  South  Africa,  on  records  which  he 
writes,  produces  and  arranges  himself.  He's  enormously 
popular  in  Europe  and  Africa,  where  he  tours  frequently. 
Because  of  his  global  success,  Blondy  has  come  to  sig- 
nify the  internationalization  of  reggae  as  a  music  and 
phenomenon — the  true  world  beat. 

Blondy's  LPs — beginning  with  1982's  Jah  Glory, 
later  issued  in  France — are  genuinely  exciting,  and 
should  definitely  be  heard.  Among  his  first  few  Amer- 
ican releases,  Jerusalem  has  the  slight  edge,  if  only 
because  the  Wailers  play  behind  him  (strengthening  the 
comparisons  to  Marley)  and  they  always  sound  so  good. 
On  Apartheid  Is  Nazism,  he's  backed  by  members  of 
his  touring  group,  the  Solar  System  Band,  who  are  less 
distinctive  but  just  as  tight.  The  Best  of  Alpha  Blondy 
contains  both  arrangements,  offering  such  exemplary 
tracks  as  "Cocody  Rock,"  "Apartheid  Is  Nazism,"  "I 
Love  Paris"  and  "Jerusalem."  Combining  roots 
rhythms  and  exotic  foreign  lyrics,  the  music  is  at  once 
familiar  and  strange,  but  its  depth  of  feeling  never  fal- 
ters, and  needs  no  translation.  Delightfully  haunting — 
this  is  reggae  and  then  some. 


68 


Moving  to  a  major  American  label,  B!ond>  made 

the  ueird-sounding  The  Prophets,  dedicating  it  to  the 
planet  Earth.  Mixing  synthesizers,  horns,  a  female  cho- 
rus and  way  too  much  reverb,  he  deftly  shifts  in  and  out 
of  reggae  rhythms  with  political  and  religious  songs  in 
English,  French  and  Dtoula  Adventurous  but  a  bit  too 
odd,  The  Prophets  Is  not  the  idea!  ticket  to  broaden 
Blondy's  audience  [bk/i] 


foiky -reverent  than  most  of  the  West  Coast  groups 

known  for  similar  hvbndb.  but  C0m  River  doesn't  sh> 
away  from  electricity  at  a!!1  "Incinerator"  has 
slide  guitar  by  Dumptruck's  Seth  Tiven,   *' Western 

Man"*  is  a  loud  Creedence-st>  le  blues-rock  choogle  and 

"Time  Takes  Awav"  distributes  a  roar  of  measured 
guitar  power  that  near!\  crushes  tmkly  bits  of  mandolin 
and  guest  piano  fi] 


ON  THE 

Blood  on  the  Saddle  (New  Alliance)  1984 
Poison  Love  (Chameleon)  1986 
Fresh  Blood  (SST)  1987 

These  California  cow-punks  are  less  concerned  with 
revering  C&W  icons  than  trashing  them  at  a  funous 
pace:  Blood  on  the  Saddle's  idea  of  country  is  Hank 
Williams  OD-ing  in  the  back  of  his  car;  their  western, 
that  of  spaghetti  flicks.  On  the  quartet's  first  album, 
ragged  harmonies,  yodelled  vocals  and  the  slap  of 
stand-up  bass  lend  authenticity,  making  the  record  a 
rodeo  where  even  the  horses  are  doing  speed.  One  of  the 
band's  three  lead  singers,  ex-Bangle  Annette  Zilinskas, 
vocalizes  on  the  best  songs,  including  "Do  You  Want  to 
Dance?"  and  "(I  Wish  I  Was  a)  Single  Girl  (Again)/' 
where  she  sounds  like  a  real  down-home  country  singer 
trying  to  stay  straight  while  her  band,  out  of  control, 
beats  her  to  the  finish. 

Poison  Love  refines  the  group's  stylistic  balance, 
clarifying  the  energetic  country-rock  side  while  reduc- 
ing the  first  album's  more  wanton  rock  impulses.  The 
resulting  cross-breed  is  easygoing  and  colorful,  a  post- 
adolescent  bam  dance  with  enough  electricity  to  make  a 
deep  impression  and  enough  credible  cultural  resonance 
to  survive  the  style-mongering.  Zilinskas  and  guitarist/ 
banjo-picker  Greg  Davis  both  bring  more  enthusiasm 
than  skill  to  the  microphone,  but  their  delivery  (better 
solo  than  their  X-like  harmonies)  is  perfectly  adequate 
for  kick-up-your-heels  songs  like  "Police  Siren," 
"Steal  You  Away"  and  "Promise  Your  Heart  to  Me." 
Slow  numbers  like  "Johnny's  at  the  Fair"  and  speeders 
like  "Colt  45,"  however,  elude  the  band's  grasp. 

With  one  acoustic  rest  period,  the  band's  blood  runs 
hotter  on  the  third  album,  an  uneven  race  with  the  devil 
that  uses  flat-out  tempos  on  hard-rocking  originals  re- 
lated to  country  music  more  by  structural  inspiration 
than  content.  (Indicative  of  the  shifting  personality,  cov- 
ers of  "Rawhide"  and  "Folsom  Prison  Blues"  are 
crazed  but  bland,  hand-me-downs  that  no  longer  fit.)  As 
a  singer,  Davis  thrives  in  this  exciting  environment,  but 
Zilinskas'  efforts  to  keep  pace  with  the  charging  rhythms 
and  skillet-licking  solos  strip  the  twangy  character  from 
her  voice.  [ep/i] 

See  also  Bangles,  fScreamin'  Sirens! 

BLOOD  ORANGES 

Corn  River  (East  Side  Digital)  1 990  <!> 

Defying  geographical  prejudices,  this  Boston  quar- 
tet plays  twangy  country  rock,  setting  Mark  Spencer's 
fancy  electric  guitar  pickin'  against  singer  Jim  Ryan's 
skillful  mandolin  work,  driving  it  all  with  a  crisp  rhythm 
section.  Displaying  a  polite  cowpunk  sensibility  as  well 
as  an  appreciation  for  traditional  Appalachian  music 
(e.g.,  "Shady  Grove"),  the  Blood  Oranges  are  more 


I  Am  the  Game  f Homestead}  1 985 

Part  of  the  mid-'80s  Chicago  scene  (alongside  Big 
Black,  Effigies  et  a!.),  Bloodsport  features  guitarist 
Chris  Bjorkland,  a  veteran  of  Stoke  Under,  the  early 
Chi-town  punk  band  (its  1981  EP  was  the  first-ever  Wax 
Trax!  record)  that  also  included  Ms  brother  Steve  (later 
of  Breaking  Circus )  and  Naked  Raygun  bassist  Pierre 
Kezdy. 

Bjorkland,  singer  Dave  Bergeron,  bassist  Tom 
Woods  and  drummer  Joe  Haggerty  (brother  of  Ray  gun's 
John)  cut  Bloodsport's  only  record,  the  seven-song  I 
Am  the  Game,  in  1985.  Inspired  by  the  same  Ruts/ 
Killing  Joke/Stranglers  sources  as  Bloodsport's  counter- 
parts, the  slabs  of  innovative,  guitar-dominated  walls  of 
post-punk  power-rock  ("Better  and  Best,"  "Sixes  and 
Sevens,"  the  instrumental  "Killing  Floor"  and  the  chill- 
ing "Rhymes  of  Reason")  are  just  what  one  would 
expect:  solid  and  invigorating. 

The  group  has  been  a  study  in  inertia  ever  since. 
Bloodsport  continued  as  an  unrecorded  trio  after  Berg- 
eron left;  all  three  members  currently  back  singer  John 
Kezdy  in  the  Effigies.  Although  Bloodsport  still  exists, 
Bjorkland  moonlights  in  the  re-formed  Defoliants  and 
Haggerty  is  in  Pegboy,  a  new  band  with  his  ex-Raygun 
brother  John.  [jrj 

See  also  Effigies,  Naked  Raygun. 

LUKA  BLOOM 

Riverside  (Reprise)  1990  • 

Barry  Moore,  brother  of  famed  Irish  singer  Christy 
Moore,  moved  to  New  York  after  releasing  three  folk 
albums  in  Ireland.  With  joking  nods  to  James  Joyce's 
Leopold  Bloom  and  Suzanne  Vega's  bestselling  kid,  he 
changed  his  name  to  Luka  Bloom  and  earned  a  fast 
following  as  a  riveting  live  performer.  Riverside  is  ad- 
mirably underproduced  for  a  major-label  product,  rely- 
ing mostly  on  an  amplified  acoustic  guitar,  subtly 
assisted  by  such  guests  as  Liam  O'Maonlai  (Hothouse 
Flowers)  on  bodhrdn,  Ed  Tornney  (Rage  to  Live)  on 
electric  guitar,  Jane  Scarpantoni  (Tiny  Lights)  on  cello 
and  Ali  Fatemi  on  Iranian  finger  drum.  A  few  songs, 
like  "The  Man  Is  Alive"  (an  elegy  for  his  father),  are 
set  in  Ireland,  but  most  of  them  take  place  in  New 
York — or  in  Bloom's  hopelessly  romantic  heart.  A  ten- 
dency towards  obviousness  occasionally  leads  him 
astray,  as  in  the  heavyhanded  "Hudson  Lady"  (appar- 
ently about  the  Statue  of  Liberty)  and  in  the  silly  wet- 
dream  fantasy  of  "An  Irishman  in  Chinatown."  While 
those  songs  become  annoying  after  repeated  listens, 
other  tracks — like  "Gone  to  Pablo,"  "This  Is  for  Life" 
and  "You  Couldn't  Have  Come  at  a  Better  Time" — 
prove  Bloom  to  be  an  extraordinarily  sensitive  lyricist 
and  singer.  [ws] 


69 


BLOTTO 

Hello!  My  Nam©  Is  Blotto.  Whafs  Yours?  EP  (Blotto)  1980 
Across  and  Down  EP  {Blotto)  1980 
Combo  Akimbo  (Blotto)  1 982 

S  Wanna  Be  a  lifeguard  (  Performance)  1 987 

Albany,  New  York's  whimsical  comic-pop  sextet 
made  a  big  splash  with  the  silly  summer  song,  *  4I  Wanna 
Be  a  Lifeguard,"  Included  on  the  first  EP.  AH  three 
original  records  have  witty  observations  and  skillfully 
played  parodic  music,  but  Blotto  reached  its  peak  on  the 
pre-Spmai  Tap  brain-banger,  4*(Fm  Turning  into  a 
Heavy)  Metal  Head/'  from  Combo  AMmbo. 

I  Wanna  Be  a  Lifeguard  is  a  fair  career  summary, 
putting  the  best  items  from  both  EPs  and  Combo 
Akimbo  on  one  easy-to-use  record,  with  a  bonus  flexi- 
disc  of  "I  Wanna  Be  a  Lifeguard"  (live)  and  a  studio 
cut.  M 


KURT  IS  BLOW 

Kurtis  Wow  fMercury)  1 980 

Deuce  f  Mercury)  1981 

Tough  (Mercury)  1982 

Forty  Time*  EP  (Mercury)  1 983 

Ego  Trip  {Mercury)  1 984  • 

America  (Mercury)  1985 

Kingdom  Blow  (Mercury)  1 986  • 

Back  by  Popular  Demand  (Mercury)  1 988  * 

One  of  rap's  earliest  and  most  enduring  stars,  New 
York's  Kuitis  Blow  consistently  makes  solid  records 
with  workable  grooves  and  lyrics  that  alternately  ad- 
dress topics  of  social  and  socializing  interest.  In  doing 
so.  Blow  has  become  something  of  a  modern  Atrican- 
American  culture  maven,  singing  the  praises  of  Harlem 
("One-Two-Frve  (Main  Street,  Harlem,  USA)"  on 
Party  Time?),  waxing  eloquent  about  hoops  ("Basket- 
ball" on  Ego  Trip)  and  competing  Grandmaster  Flash's 
"The  Message"  in  discussing  the  urban  challenge 
("Tough"  on  the  LP  of  the  same  name,  "Street  Rock" 
on  Kingdom  Blow).  All  of  the  records  are  state-of-the- 
art  in  an  almost  mainstream  vein;  Ego  Trip  makes  a 
concerted  effort  to  get  hipper  by  having  Run-DMC  do  a 
guest  rap  on  "8  Million  Stories."  (Kingdom  tops  that 
in  the  cameo  stakes:  the  first  voice  you  hear  belongs  to 
Bob  Dylan.) 

Taking  a  turn  towards  patriotism  in  the  title  cut  of 
America,  Blow  (who  also  produced)  shows  off  his  di- 
chotomous  musical  goals.  In  the  same  song  he  uses 
aggressive  electronic  percussion  and  mixing  techniques 
to  mimic  the  Bambaataa/Lydon  Time  Zone  sound  (with 
Art  of  Noise  effects)  and  sings  like  Kool  and  the  Gang. 
The  rest  of  the  album  is  passable  but  only  the  catchy  and 
soulful  strut  of  "If  I  Ruled  the  World"  is  worth  remem- 
bering. (And  "Super  Sperm"  is  well  worth  forgetting.) 

Kingdom  Blow  not  only  has  Dylan  and  a  homely 
but  sincere  paean  to  "The  Bronx,"  but  George  Clinton 
and  "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"  to  boot.  Kurtis  is  nothing  if 
not  open-minded  and  adventurous.  The  eight  long  cuts, 
some  more  compelling  than  others,  throw  in  just  about 
everything  (TV  bites,  Donald  Duck,  party  sounds,  Em- 
ulator gimmickry,  etc.)  except  the  London  Philhar- 
monic. 

Dispensing  with  most  of  Kingdom  Blow's  ambi- 
tious frivolity,  Back  by  Popular  Demand  finds  the  ven- 
erable but  passe  rapper  in  an  understandably  insecure 


mood,  circling  his  wagons  in  a  vain  attempt  to  get  with 
the  new  hip-hop  generation.  Boasting  is  traditional,  but 
Blow  spends  far  too  much  of  this  mild  old-school  record 
(that  contains  a  few  melodic  sou!  excursions,  including 
an  appealingly  sung  version  of  Charles  Wright's  old 
"Express  Yourself"— is  this  Blow's  future?)  claiming 
his  preeminence  in  the  field  and  too  little  proving  it.  [i] 

Limping  for  o  Generation  {nr/RCA)  1 984  • 

Forbidden  Fruit  EP  (RCA)  1985 

Animal  Magic  (RCA)  1986® 

She  Was  Only  a  Grocer's  Daughter  (RCA)  1 987  ® 

Whoops!  There  Goes  the  Neighbourhood  (nr/RCA) 

1989® 

Choices:  The  Singles  Collection  {nr/RCA)  1989  • 
Springtime  for  the  World  {nr/RCA)  1 990  • 

Moving  in  to  fill  the  vapid-soul  vacancy  left  by  Cul- 
ture Club  during  that  band's  terminal  creative  drought, 
England's  Blow  Monkeys  whipped  up  a  disturbingly 
familiar-sounding  bit  of  fluff,  * 'Digging  Your  Scene," 
for  their  second  album.  While  the  absurdly  named 
bowler-wearing  Dr.  Robert  (Howard)  manages  a  pass- 
able imitation  of  George's  vocals  and  songwriting,  his 
subordinates  are  no  match  for  the  Clubbers,  and  the  rest 
of  Animal  Magic  is  equally  redundant  and  stupid.  The 
title  track  is  an  appalling  T.  Rex  knock-off;  "Sweet 
Murder"  attempts  to  rewrite  Talking  Heads'  "I  Zim- 
bra."  The  LP's  most  consistent  feature  is  its  pathetic 
lack  of  originality. 

As  an  introduction  to  America,  Forbidden  Fruit 
mixes  "Atomic  Lullaby"  and  the  Smithsy  "Wild 
Flower"  from  Limping  for  a  Generation  with  four 
foretastes  of  Animal  Magic.  The  only  items  of  note  are 
a  pair  of  crazed  Eek-a-Mouse  dub  mixes  that  largely 
obscure  the  songs. 

The  uncontrollably  egotistical  Dr.  R.  sorted  out  his 
stylistic  desires  in  time  for  She  Was  Only  a  Grocer's 
Daughter,  which  consistently  focuses  on  a  danceable 
pop-soul  format  that  crosses  Culture  Club's  basic  ideas 
with  lush  ABC-like  production,  including  enough 
strings  and  backing  vocals — the  credits  list  a  dozen  ses- 
sion singers — to  pack  a  stadium.  If  the  band  can't  hack 
it  instrumentally  on  their  own,  a  studio  full  of  players 
are  on  hand  to  help.  The  trivial  songs  at  least  sound  fine; 
the  peerless  Curtis  Mayfield  provides  a  huge  (if  unde- 
served) credibility  boost  by  duetting  on  the  appropri- 
ately derivative  "The  Day  After  You."  The  album  title 
is  an  effete  slap  at  Margaret  Thatcher;  the  CD  adds  two 
extra  tracks. 

Most  of  There  Goes  the  Neighbourhood  sounds 
frighteningly  like  ABC,  but  a  variety  of  producers 
(Stephen  Hague,  Leon  Sylvers  III,  Julian  Mendelsohn 
and  the  godlike  talents  of  a  certain  Blow  Monkey)  pre- 
vents any  consistent  sound  from  jelling.  Continuing  his 
strange  habit  of  setting  strongly  motivated  left-wing  crit- 
icisms of  the  state  of  contemporary  England  into  ultra- 
commercial  arrangements,  Dr.  Robert  doesn't  so  much 
share  his  political  thoughts  as  allude  to  them  coyly  while 
his  three  bandmates  and  guests  effortlessly  and  energet- 
ically pump  out  forgettably  glib  mush. 

The  Blow  Monkeys  followed  Neighbourhood  with 
a  compilation  of  their  UK  hits.  The  Choices  CD  and 
tape  add  extended  remixes  and  other  bonus  tracks. 


70 


Extending  the  misbegotten  limits  of  pretentious  con- 
ceptual insanity,  Springtime  for  the  World  begins  with 
blandly  commercial  pop-soul  <  the  title  track  is  a  nifty 
Style  Council  imitation)  but  then  turns  absurdly  global, 
"Reflections  '89"  is  an  instrumental  with  soundbites 
from  assorted  world  leaders;  other  songs  appropriate 
Afrobeal  accents,  absurdly  cramming  them  into  a 
schmaltzy  orchestral  arrangement  on  "If  You  Love 
Somebody."  These  confused  fellas  really  need  to 
straighten  themselves  out.  [ij 


BUDDY  BLUE 

See  Beat  Farmers. 


BLUE  AEROPLANES 

Bop  Art  fnr/Abstract)  1 984 

Action  Painting  and  Other  Original  Works  EP  for/Fire) 

1985 
Lover  and  Confidante  and  Other  Stories  of  Travel, 

Religion  and  Heartbreak  (nr/Fire)  1986 
Tolerance  {nr/Fire}  1 986  * 
Spitting  Out  Miracles  (Restless)  1 987  • 
Friendloverplane  (nr/FSre)  1988  (Fire- Restless)  1989  * 
Swagger  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1 990  * 
Loved  EP  (nr/Ensign)  1 990  * 
World  View  Blue  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1990  * 

GERARD  LANGLEY  +  IAN 
KEAREY 

Siamese  Boyfriends  (nr/Fire)  1 986 

Aided  by  numerous  friends,  this  eccentric  Bristol 
quintet  often  has  as  many  as  a  dozen  people  playing  on 
its  records;  the  diversity  of  ideas  shows  in  the  rich 
sound.  Referents  such  as  the  Velvets,  Fall,  Pere  Ubu, 
Feelies  and  others  ricochet  from  all  sides,  topped  off  by 
Gerard  Langley's  poetic  lyrics. 

From  the  hard  funk  of  "Pinkies  Hit  the  Union"  to 
the  sonic  landscape  of  "Owls,"  Bop  Art  has  something 
for  everyone.  Along  with  a  barrage  of  guitars,  bass  and 
percussion,  the  instrumentation  includes  saxes,  bagpipes 
and  several  16th-century  guitar  ancestors.  The  band  is 
such  an  effective  ensemble  that,  even  with  all  the  mas- 
terful variety,  the  LP  manages  a  logical  progression. 

The  Action  Painting  EP  builds  some  nice  Velvets- 
cwm-early  Cabaret  Voltaire  drones;  Lover  and  Confi- 
dante, another  four  cuts,  is  a  trailer  for  Tolerance.  Not 
quite  as  kaleidoscopic  as  Bop  Art,  Tolerance  trades 
much  of  the  oddness  and  idiosyncrasy  of  previous  work 
for  some  psychedelic  touches,  adding  just  enough  char- 
acteristic embellishment  to  prevent  deep  identification 
with  the  paisley  bandwagon. 

By  the  time  of  their  first  American  release,  Spitting 
Out  Miracles,  the  Blue  Aeroplanes  were  up  to  an  eight- 
piece  (if  you  count  the  dancer  and  the  guy  who  contrib- 
utes tapes  and  records),  with  an  equal  number  of  guests 
(including  Michelle  Shocked  on  mandolin).  Amazingly, 
with  all  those  ingredients,  it  often  manages  to  sound  like 
a  singer/songwriter  album;  the  musicianship  is  so  con- 
trolled and  artistic  that  the  focus  stays  on  Langley's 
beat-influenced  wordplay  and  Dylanesque  delivery.  On 
"Bury  Your  Love  Like  Treasure,"  the  artistes  rock  out 
fine  and  everybody  gets  home  happy.  All  of  the  afore- 
mentioned records  are  highly  recommended. 


Friendknerpiane    is   a   compilation   of   non-LP 

tracks,  half  of          previous!}  As  is  typical 

of  such  efforts,  it's  a  hit  or  miss  assemblage,  with 
and  sound  quality  varying          a  bit,  t  Ironically, 
of  the  belter-produced  numbers  are  inferior  songs,  such 
as  "Etiquette!"  and  the  single  "Veils  of  Colour."! 
While  the  first  side  is  mostly  slower  quasi-blues,  Side 
Two  opens  up  more   Highlights  are  "Tolerance"  and 
"Old  Men  Sleeping  on  the  Bow  en,"  but 
among  the  band's  best.  For  devotees  only. 

Swagger  contains  the  Blue  Aeroplanes*  first  new 
material  in  three  years.  Gil  Norton's  clear  production 
allows  the  multi-layered  guitars  to  create  an  uncluttered 
backdrop  for  tales  of  interpersonal  relationships.  (Lan- 
gley  provides  lyrics  for  ten  of  the  twelve  tracks,  guitarist 
Rodney  Allen  contributes  "Careful  Boy"  and  Sylvia 
Plain's  "The  Applicant"  is  effectively  tuned  up  ) 
Guests  include  Michael  Stipe  and  ex-Belle  Stars  saxo- 
phonist Clair  Hirst.  The  Blue  Aeroplanes  remain  one  of 
rock's  hidden  treasures,  intelligent  and  mature  without 
being  pretentious  or  stodgy. 

Named  for  the  Swagger  track  presented  here  in  an 
acoustic  version,  World  View  Blue  is  an  eight-song 
collection  of  live  tracks,  leftovers  and  covers  (a  concert 
run-through  of  Dylan's  "I  Wanna  Be  Your  Lover" 
rocks  as  much  as  anything  the  group  has  ever  done). 
"You  (Are  Loved)"  sounds  like  a  potential  break- 
through single;  the  sole  low  point  is  a  completely  un- 
necessary ' 4  Sweet  Jane . ' ' 

Langley  and  in-again-out-again  Aeroplanes  guitarist 
Ian  Kearey  recorded  the  six-song  Siamese  Boyfriends 
in  1986.  Kearey  is  quite  the  multi-instrumentalist  here, 
finding  a  part  for  everything  from  toy  pianos  and  me- 
lodica  to  bowed  psaltery  and  banjimer  (!).  "Joe 
Taylor's/La  Morisque"  is  a  nicely  played  but  not  very 
interesting  instrumental;  "Dear,  Though  the  Night  Is 
Gone"  is  a  W.H,  Auden  poem  mumbled  almost  inau- 
dibly  over  Kearey *s  accompaniment.  Siamese  Boy- 
friends isn't  so  much  produced  as  just  recorded;  that 
results  in  the  participants  jockeying  for  position  and 
stepping  on  each  other's  contributions.  Not  a  major 
work.  [dgs] 

BLUE  ANGEL 

Blue  Angel  (Polydor)  1 980  +  1984 

As  crass  trash  goes,  you  could  certainly  do  worse 
than  New  York  City's  Blue  Angel.  Their  painfully  ob- 
vious mixture  of  '50s  hokum,  '60s  girl-group  theatrics 
and  '70s  detachment  might  have  been  more  noteworthy 
if  Blondie  hadn't  issued  their  own,  more  original  ver- 
sion a  few  years  earlier.  The  singer  warbles  and  trills 
skillfully,  but  without  much  charm.  The  album  was  re- 
issued in  1984,  after  said  warbler,  Cyndi  Lauper,  topped 
the  charts  with  "Girls  Just  Want  to  Have  Fun."  [jy] 

See  also  Cyndi  Lauper. 

BLUEBELLS 

The  Bluebells  EP  (Sire)  1983 
Sisters  (Sire)  1984 

MCCLUSKEY  BROTHERS 

Aware  of  All  (nr/Thrush)  1 987 

In  a  brief  career,  Glasgow's  rustic  pure-pop 
Bluebells — whose  small  output  was  concentrated  on  sin- 


71 


gles  made  with  a  procession  of  producers— never  had 

anywhere  near  the  impact  their  marvelous  music  plainly 
deserved.  Guitarist  and  ex-fanzine  publisher  Robert 
Hodgens  laka  Bobby  Bluebell!  wrote  m&tantly  memo- 
rable classics  ( &omc  In  collaboration  with  the  two  broth- 
ers v*fao  completed  the  Bluebells'  essential  troika)  and 
Kenneth  McCluskcv  sang  'em  in  a  likabty  unaffected 
voice,  making  every  track  count.  The  five-song  EP  and 
the  album  have  three  songs  in  common  (Brendan  Be- 
ban's  moving  folk  classic,  'The  Patriot's  Game/"  the 
beautiful  and  romantic  **Cath"  and  different  versions  of 
"Everybody's*  Somebody's  Fool"),  all  of  them  win- 
ners. Sisters  also  boasts  *Tm  Falling  (Down  Again)" 
and  six  others,  all  subtly  shaded  with  country  fiddles 
and  mandolins t  raging  guitars,  a  light  bouncy  beat  and 
choruses  that  you'll  be  humming  all  the  way  home. 
Utterly  wonderful. 

After  the  Bluebells  ended,  brothers  Kenneth  { vo- 
cals] and  David  I  drums)  McCIuskey  picked  up  different 
instruments,  formed  a  duo  and  continued  to  record  airy 
onginals  with  more  of  a  folky  feel  and  none  of  Hod- 
gens*  power  pop  leanings.  Bluebells  bassist  Laurence 
Doitegan,  meanwhile,  surfaced  in  Lloyd  Cole's  Com- 
motions, [i] 

BLUE  HIPPOS 

Blue  Hippos  (Twin/Tone)  1987 
Forty  Forty  (Twin/Tone)  1 988 

OTTO'S  CHEMICAL  LOUNGE 

Spillover  (Homestead)  1 985 

On  the  seven-song  Blue  Hippos,  this  Twin  Cities 
trio,  led  by  singer/guitarist  Paul  Osby  (late  of  Otto's 
Chemical  Lounge),  wavers  between  garage  thrash  and 
tentative  funk,  with  competent  but  unexceptional  re- 
sults. Forty  Forty  sounds  more  confident,  and  shows  a 
somewhat  greater  mastery  of  funk  dynamics,  but  the 
band  still  lacks  the  musical  and/or  lyrical  bite  that  would 
give  its  R&B  appropriations  more  authority. 

Like  the  Blue  Hippos'  discs,  the  sole  release  by 
Otto's  Chemical  Lounge  (with  Osby  as  guitarist  and 
songwriter  but  not  lead  vocalist)  fails  to  capture  on  vinyl 
what  was  reputedly  a  powerful  live  act.  The  eight-song, 
22-minute  disc  is  basically  competent  but  pedestrian  in- 
die guitar  rock  with  avant-gardsy  pretensions.  The  jams 
don't  go  anywhere  in  particular,  and  the  covers  of 
Johnny  Kidd  and  the  Ramin  Groovies  are  flat  and  ob- 
vious. Grant  Hart  sings  backup  on  three  songs,  [hd] 

BLUE  IN  HEAVEN 

All  the  Gods'  Men  (Wand)  1985 

Explicit  Material  (Island)  1 986 

Rock'n'Roll  R.LP  EP  (nr/Solid)  1988 

Although  this  young  Irish  quartet  debuted  on  45  with 

a  fiery  guitar  anthem  ("Julie  Cries"),  an  inappropriate 
choice  of  producer  (Martin  Hannett)  for  their  first  album 
turned  them  into  bass -heavy  doom  mongers.  A  remix  of 
the  single  on  All  the  Gods'  Men  tells  the  whole  sordid 
tale.  A  little  light  does  shine  through  in  " Sometimes," 
"The  Big  Beat"  and  "In  Your  Eyes,"  but  Hannett's 
lush  atmospherics  detract  from,  rather  than  complement, 
the  effort. 

The  second  record  was  co-produced  by  Island 
Records  chief  Chris  Blackwell,  Eric  Thorngren  and  the 


band,  to  far  more  appealing  effect  Guitars  power  the 
mostly  melodic  songs  along  without  overi>  coloring 
ihem,"shane  O'NeiU's  vocals  provide  the  strongest  char- 
acter. Amidst  the  attractive  pop,  Shane's  avowed  Iggy 
fixation  comes  through  on  the  gmngy  *4Be  Your  Man" 
(which  also  mentions  a.  familiar  canine  variation) 

The  multi-personality  EP  chronologically  straddles 
the  band's  major-label  career,  with  a  derivative  1983 
track  ("On  and  On")  produced  by  the  Edge  and  three 
'87  studio  efforts  flight  pop,  ponderous  plodding  and 
Iggy -styled  rock )  Rounding  off  this  strange  package  is 
a  dull  live  "87  take  on  the  Stooges'  "Loose  "  [ag/i] 


A  Walk  Across  the  Rooftops  (Linn-Virgifi-A&M)  1 984  • 
Hois  (Unn-Virgin-A&M)  1989  • 

This  unique  Glaswegian  trio  has  considerable  cre- 
ative depth,  building  atmosphere  with  lots  of  empty 
space  and  well-controlled  conflicting  musical  maneu- 
vers. The  first  album's  title  track  mixes  strings,  horns, 
drum  and  bass  with  a  meandering,  disjunct  vocal  for 
something  like  a  blend  of  Robert  Wyatt,  Jom  Mitchell 
and  John  Caie.  Although  A  Walk  Across  the  Rooftops 
isn't  easy  to  love,  at  its  most  accessible  point  ("Stay," 
which  actually  has  a  chorus  and  more  of  a  verse  melody 
than  the  others),  it's  quite  appealing. 

Hats  was  five  years  in  the  making,  but  the  band's 
relentless  perfectionism  paid  off:  the  album's  seven 
songs  are  as  dense  and  moving  as  a  midnight  sky.  With 
sweeping  synths  and  the  pristine  click  of  electronic  per- 
cussion, "The  Downtown  Lights"  and  * 'Over  the  Hill- 
side" are  as  moody  as  film  music,  while  "From  a  Late 
Night  Train"  and  "Saturday  Night"  are  impressionistic 
vignettes  that  creep  along  in  slow  motion.  There's 
hardly  a  guitar  or  live  dram  to  be  heard,  but  seldom  has 
studio  technology  been  used  to  such  warm  and  personal 
results.  fi/kss] 


BLUE  ORCHIDS 

The  Greatest  Hit  {Money  Mountain)  (nr/Rough  Trade) 

1982 
Agents  of  Change  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982 

This  Manchester  quartet,  which  included  two  early 
members  of  the  Fall — guitarist/singer  Martin  Bramah 
and  keyboardist  Una  Baines — used  organ  as  its  main 
instrument,  but  at  times  on  The  Greatest  Hit  it  sounds 
as  if  Baines  is  playing  a  different  song  from  the  rest  of 
the  band.  There  are  many  overlapping  layers  in  the  de- 
ceptively simple  sound;  the  long  organ  washes  are  in- 
terrupted by  guitars  lurching  to  the  fore.  Bass  and  drums 
keep  the  steady  beat,  but  the  others  don't  necessarily  fall 
in  line  behind  them.  Vocals  are  half-sung,  half-spoken 
and  full  of  poetic  pretense,  but  it's  the  mesmerizing 
music  that  captures  the  listener  in  bright  swirling  folds. 
While  The  Greatest  Hit  can  be  simply  tagged  as  neo- 
psychedelia,  that  doesn't  cover  the  full  scope  of  this 
fascinating  band's  music. 

The  EP,  packaged  in  a  printed  plastic  shopping  bag, 
offers  four  very  nice  subsequent  tracks  that  are  at  once 
subtler  and  more  conservatively  structured,  sounding 
like  nothing  so  much  as  the  pretty  side  of  early  Velvet 
Underground. 


72 


The  Blue  Orchids  didn't  last  long,  and  the 
dropped  out  of  the  spotlight  In  1089,  however,  occa- 
sioned by  Box  Smith's  departure,  Bramah  rejoined  the 

Fall  in  time  to  play  on  Extricate,  fi] 

See  also  Fall 

See  Youth  &  Ben  Watkms. 


Outskirts  (Can.  Risque  Disque)  1987  fRIsque 
Dfsque-Afiantic)  1 988  © 

Diamond  Mine  (Risque  Disque-Atfantic)  1 989  • 
Casino  (East  West  America)  1991  4» 

BOB 

Bob  Wiseman  Sings  Wrench  Tuttie:  Sn  Her  Dream  (Risque 

Disque-Afiantic)  1 990  • 

There's  an  undeniable  *60s  flavor  to  Toronto's  Blue 
Rodeo.  On  Outskirts,  that  means  Beatlesque  harmo- 
nies, Dylan-influenced  song  writing,  down-home  Band- 
like  musicianship  and  a  touch  of  Doorsy  organ. 
Fortunately,  the  quintet's  two  singer/songwriter/ 
guitarists — Jim  Cuddy  and  Greg  Keelor — possess  excel- 
lent and  distinctive  voices  and  a  knack  for  writing  songs 
that  transcend  the  obvious  comparisons, 

Diamond  Mine  continues  the  stroll  down  the  "bou- 
levard of  broken  dreams"  (as  the  first  album's  liner 
notes  put  it),  but  also  expands  to  include  some  political 
songs,  including  "God  and  Country,"  a  thinly  veiled 
swipe  at  Ollie  North  and  his  ilk.  Recorded  pretty  much 
live  in  an  empty  theater  in  Toronto,  it  lacks  both  the 
punch  and  especially  the  neat  harmonizing  of  Outskirts. 
In  attempting  rawness,  the  band  may  have  sacrificed 
some  of  its  best  assets. 

Producer  Pete  Anderson  must  have  thought  so.  On 
Casino,  he  brings  back  the  harmonies  with  a  vengeance, 
pushes  the  group's  pop  side  to  the  fore,  and  turns  up  the 
guitars.  This  one  may  remind  you  a  lot  of  Rubber  Soul 
at  times,  or  at  least  that  period  in  which  the  ideas  of  the 
Beatles  and  Dylan  seemed  to  converge.  Blue  Rodeo, 
however,  brings  that  sound  clearly  into  the  '90s. 

Keyboard/accordion  player  Bob  Wiseman's  solo  al- 
bum probably  won't  appeal  to  everybody,  and  that's  a 
pity.  On  In  Her  Dreams,  he  puts  to  music  lyrics  pur- 
portedly sent  to  him  in  the  mail  by  a  fellow  named 
Wrench  Tuttie.  (Actually,  Wiseman  writes  them  him- 
self, but  it's  a  good  story.)  In  fact,  Wiseman  doesn't 
have  much  of  a  voice,  but  what  he  lacks  in  tunefulness 
he  more  than  makes  up  in  personality  and  charm.  The 
songs  are  topical,  quirky,  bluesy,  heartfelt,  clever  and 
more;  obviously  a  real  labor  of  love.  Wiseman  plays 
guitar  as  well  as  keyboards  here,  and  is  helped  out  by  a 
coterie  of  Canadian  musicians,  including  k.d.  lang  side- 
man  Ben  Mink  and  the  wonderful  Mary  Margaret 
O'Hara.  [ds] 

See  also  Crash  Vegas. 

BLUE  RUIN 

Such  Sweet  Thunder  (Aus.  Major)  1 985 
Flame  (Aus.  Rampant)  1 987 

Strange  Things  in  the  Comer  (Aus.  rooArt-PolyGram) 
1988* 


Although  she  Birthday  Party  alumnus  m  this 
dark  and  bluesy  Australian  is  Phill  Ca!- 

\ett,  «\  singer  Ian  4iQu;ns\**  McLean  and  his  obvious 
Nick  Ca\e  fixation  that  the  stylistic 

between  Such  Ttiander  and  Frcan  Her  to  Eter- 

nity. With  Blue  Rum  providing  the  basic  guifar-bass- 
drams  framework  and  dramatic  vocals,  add  the 

sax,  harmonica  and  keyboards  coloration  that  make 
hard-edged  numbers  like  "She's  Murder,"  ** Water- 
hole"  and  **Love  Me  When  I'm  LoV  engrossingly 
atmospheric. 

Other  than  guitarist  Mulaim  Vela's  organ  work, 
Flame  again  relies  on  session  players  f  trombone, 
strings,  sax)  for  its  musical  flavoring.  Overall,  Blue 
Ruin's  second  album  takes  a  better-adjusted  path,  rele- 
gating a  chunk  of  the  group's  jagged  intensity  and  Weak- 
ness to  the  downcast — not  quite  dissolute — and  violent 
lyrics.  (Strangely,  Flame  includes  a  new  rendition  of 
the  first  album's  vindictive  "What  a  Hell'uva  Wom- 
an/') 

The  powerfully  live  Strange  Things  in  the  Corner 
was  recorded  over  a  pair  of  May  1988  nights  in  Mel- 
bourne. Other  than  Willie  Dixon's  "I  Just  Wanaa  Make 
Love  to  You"  (given  an  alternately  slow/fast  but  con- 
sistently tuneless  reading)  and  one  band  original,  all  of 
the  tunes  come  from  the  two  studio  albums.  (Yep, 
"Hell'uva  Woman"  makes  its  third  appearance.)  [i] 

BLURT 

In  Berlin  (Ruby)  1981 

Blurt  {nr/Red  Flame)  1982 

Bullets  for  You  (Fr.  Divine)  1984 

Six  Views  in  Black  (Sixty  Minutes  of  Blurt  in  Blighty)  [tape] 

1985 

Friday  the  12th  (or/Another  Side}  1 985  (PVQ  1985 
Poppycock  (nr/Taeblock)  1986 
Smoke  Time  (Moving  Target!  1 987  • 
Kenny  Rogers'  Greatest  Hit  (Take  2}  (nr/foefelock) 

1989* 
The  Body  Livel  fGer.  Heute)  1989  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

A  Factory  Quartet  { nr/Factory)  1 981 

TED  MILTON 

Confessions  of  an  Aeroplane  Farter  EP  (nr/echtl)  1 982 
Love  Is  Like  a  Violence  (nr/Embryo)  1 984 
"Ode:  O  to  Be  Seen  Through  Your  Eyes!"  EP 
(nr/Toeblock)1985 

JEAN-FRANCOIS  PAUVROS 

Le  Grande  Amour  (Fr.  Nato)  1986 

Ted  Milton  is  a  direct  and  honest  guy.  "I  will  lead 
the  world  over  the  end  of  the  Santa  Monica  Pier,"  he 
declares  in  "No  Go  Dada"  (originally  on  Bullets  for 
You,  but  also  on  several  of  the  live  records;  two  Blurt 
credos  are  recycling  and  documenting  each  new  lineup 
in  performance),  "but  not  until  you've  raised  the  tem- 
perature of  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  blood  temperature  and 
provide  warm  towels  in  the  dressing  room/'  (He's  prac- 
tical, too.)  Making  a  saxophone  honk,  screech  and  gen- 
erally giving  the  impression  of  Mother  Goose  meeting 
armageddon,  Milton,  his  drummer  brother  Jake  and  gui- 
tarist Pete  Creese  debuted  hi  the  summer  of  1980  with 
the  "My  Mother  Was  a  Friend  of  the  Enemy  of  the 
People"  single,  followed  it  with  a  live  debut  album  the 


73 


follouing  year  and  have  been  squawking  their  way 
through  a  noisy  avant-garde  netherworld  between  jazz 
and  rock  ever  since.  Ted's  voice  is  just  what  his  band's 
name  \*rQu!d  suggest,  a  grumbling,  gurgling,  bleating  I  if 
not  bleeding)  blurt  of  a  sound,  silenced  only  when  his 
mouth  Is  wrapped  around  a  saxophone  reed.  That  sax- 
ophone would  just  as  soon  imitate  fingernails  down  a 
chalkboard  or  elephants  in  heat  as  conform  to  the  jazzy 
warmth  the  instrument  might  yield  in  other  hands. 

A  lover  of  wordplay,  the  iconoclastic  Milton  is  ca- 
pable of  serious  irreverence.  In  the  title  track  of  Bullets 
for  You,  a  song  about  JFK's  assassination,  he  grants, 
tk!  am  a  donut.  There's  a  hole  in  my  head.  Ich  bin  ein 
Berliner.  That's  what  Jack  said  ...  and  now  lack  is 
dead-"  Blurt  lyncs  (as  well  as  those  on  Milton's  solo 
works )  are  dada  ga-ga  woven  around  some  kind  of  de- 
railed spark.  Behind  that  spark  is  a  literate  and  educated 
sense  of  nonsense.  You  either  love  Blurt  or  hate  them; 
there's  plenty  of  validity  to  both  views. 

Blurt  is  one  of  the  trio's  artiest  and  most  orderly 
works.  Creese's  minimalist  guitar  spews  out  repeating 
patterns  of  stark  chords  that  function  almost  like  a  back- 
ing samba  in  "The  Ruminant  Plinth"  (against  Ted's 
incoherently  belching  screams  and  squirming  sax)  and 
double  as  a  rhythm  track,  as  well  as  the  melody,  at  other 
times 

Bullets  for  You  is  Blurt  at  its  most  accessible,  and 
the  final  release  by  the  original  lineup.  Featuring  lyncs 
that  are  actually  decipherable,  song  structures  from 
Earth  instead  of  Mars,  and  even  hooks  such  as  the  mu- 
tilated two-syllable  "you-ooo"  in  the  title  track,  Ted 
twists  his  voice  (between  saxophone  tweetings)  into  a 
yodel-edged  squeal  that  is  as  catchy  and  memorable  as 
any  pop  refrain,  lake  counters  with  some  equally  infec- 
tious drumming. 

After  Creese  left,  the  brothers  hired  keyboardist  Her- 
man Martin  for  a  short  time.  The  cassette-only  Six 
Views  in  Black,  compiled  from  four  live  performances 
in  March  of  1985,  contains  the  band's  only  known  re- 
cordings with  synthesizer.  (Blurt's  live  documentation 
also  includes  a  four-song  side  of  A  Factory  Quartet.) 

Martin  alone  accompanies  Milton  on  the  solo  12- 
inch  rendition  of  "Ode:  O  to  Be  Seen  Through  Your 
Eyes!"  (a  band  version  of  which  appears  on  Kenny 
Rogers*  Greatest  Hit  (Take  2)),  a  recitation  set  to  a 
harsh  synthesized  drumbeat.  Like  Foetus,  whose  twisted 
intonations  his  vocals  resemble,  Milton  is  a  master  of 
mood  when  allowed  out  on  his  own.  Martin's  synth 
work  is  anything  but  traditional,  veering  from  the  sili- 
con chip  gone  amok  of  "Skies  Are  Blue"  to  percussive 
layers  and  textures. 

Guitarist  Steve  Eagles  replaced  Martin  for  Friday 
the  12th,  another  live  album  that  contains  almost  the 
same  selections  as  the  twelve-track  Six  Views,  but  re- 
turns the  arrangements  to  guitar. 

By  the  time  of  Poppycock,  Paul  Wigens  had  taken 
over  the  drum  seat.  Though  the  only  dance-step  possible 
to  a  Blurt  record  is  the  quadriplegic  head-bob,  Smoke 
Time  almost  reaches  a  dance-club  orientation.  With 
Wigens  contributing  violin  as  well  as  percussion,  the 
album  features  a  big,  clear  beat  on  the  title  cut  and  more 
upfront  drumming  in  the  unbelievably  intense  '  'Nights 
Before."  A  smorgasbord  of  Blurt's  various  sounds,  it 
revives  the  band's  early-period  sound  in  "Bullet-Proof 


Vest,"  while  4*  Aboule  Ton  Fric"  returns  the  band  to  the 
simpler  textures  of  "The  Ruminant  Plinth.1' 

With  new  drummer  NIC  Murcott,  Kenny  Rogers1 
Greatest  Hit  (Take  2)  is  a  sparser  recording,  Milton 
grumbles  intelligibly  { in  a  mixture  of  English  and 
French )  while  a  smoother,  ctannetish  tone  sneaks  out  of 
his  sax  bell.  Murcott  also  appears  on  The  Body,  a  live 
retrospective  that  includes  "Enemy  Ears1'  (dating  back 
to  the  first  Blurt  lineup)  but  concentrates  on  post-Creese 
material.  The  majestically  spacious  live  recording  finds 
Milton  back  to  his  honk-and-babble  vocals,  Murcott 
drumming  with  crashing  precision  and  everything  else 
harsh  and  grungy. 

In  another  extra-Blurt-ial  project,  Ted  collaborated 
with  Arto  Lindsay,  Terry  Day  and  Jean-Francois  Pauv- 
ros  on  the  avant-experimental  Le  Grande  Amour  LP. 


BOBS 

The  Bobs  EP  (Safety  Net)  1 983 
White  Gazebo  (Safety  Net)  1984 

This  Ft  Lauderdale  trio  (not  to  be  confused  with  the 
San  Francisco  a  cappella  group  of  the  same  name)  led 
by  future  Silos  co-founder  Bob  Rupe  plays  quirky,  sa- 
tiric music  with  an  edge,  steeping  their  hard  pop  m 
reggae  and  funk,  occasionally  interrupting  it  with  a 
distorto-guitar  solo.  If  the  Bobs  weren't  as  engagingly 
clever  as  some  of  their  TV-culture-commentary  peers, 
at  least  they  were  occasionally  louder. 

The  crucial  tracks  on  the  sprightly  six-song  12-inch 
debut  (recorded  in  1981  by  Rupe  and  two  other  guys 
named  Bob)  are  "Sneaking  T.V. "  and  "Sounds  of  Peo- 
ple" (eating).  Working  with  a  different  drummer  and 
guitarist  (neither  of  whom  is  named  Bob) ,  bassist/singer 
Rupe  finds  fewer  original  avenues  for  the  band's  satire 
on  White  Gazebo,  a  more  accomplished  seven-songer 
that  has  better  tunes  and  such  accents  as  pedal  steel  (on 
"The  Beer  Tune,"  an  ingenuous  country  lament  from 
the  lighter  side  of  the  roots  movement).  [jl/i] 

See1  also  Silos. 


Love  &  Hope  &  Sex  &  Dreams  (Slash-Warner  Bros.) 

1986* 

Outside  Looking  In  (Slash-Reprise)  1 987  • 
Home  (Slash-Reprise)  1 989  * 
Black  and  White  (Slash-Reprise)  1 991  4> 

Despite  the  unappetizing  roots-rock-saviors  hype, 
Waukesha,  Wisconsin's  BoDeans  (not  to  be  confused 
with  Britain's  Bodines)  are  "new  music"  by  default, 
simply  because  the  rock  mainstream  at  which  they  aim 
their  earnest,  plain-spoken  tunes  no  longer  exists.  (If  it 
ever  did.)  And  while  a  lack  of  pretension  is  the  Bo- 
Deans'  principal  charm,  it's  also  their  biggest  liability, 
as  the  band  rarely  strives  for  much  more  than  competent 
tunefulness. 

Love  &  Hope  &  Sex  &  Breams — on  which  all  four 
members  adopt  the  BoDean  surname — is  an  agreeably 
modest  debut,  thanks  to  T-Bone  Burnett's  homey  pro- 
duction and  the  downright  bizarre  interplay  of  singers 
Sammy  Lianas  and  Kurt  Neumann  (the  band's  only  con- 
cession to  eccentricity).  But  even  at  this  early  stage,  the 


74 


material  is  alarmmgi>  thin,  *ith  memorable  singles  like 
"Fadeaway,"  "She's  a  Runaw.a\"  and  "Angels"  con- 
trasting obvious  filler. 

Depending  upon  >our  reference  points,  Outside 
Looking  In — on  which  the  BoDeaes  lose  a  drummer 
but  regain  their  real  names — either  suffers  or  benefits 
from  Talking  Head  f  and  fellow  Wisconsmite  I  Jerry  Har- 
rison's radio-read}  production,  which  smooths  out  most 
of  the  rough  edges  and  leaves  the  band  sounding  suspi- 
ciously like  everybody  else.  Still,  the  combo's  natural 
gnt  shines  through  the  gloss  on  "Only  Love,""  "What  It 
Feels  Like"  and  a  few  others.  It's  significant  that  Out- 
side Looking  In's  most  appealing  and  memorable  num- 
bers are  a  trio  of  self-produced  four-track  demos 
included  on  the  CD  and  cassette. 

Surprisingly,  the  even  glossier  Home  uses  space- 
age  studio  technique  to  the  band's  advantage,  showing 
off  mature  songwriting  and  strong  vocals  (not  to  men- 
tion guest  drummer  Kenny  AronofFs  usual  fine  work) 
4 'When  the  Love  Is  Good"  and  "Beautiful  Rain"  are 
unpretentiously  soulful,  while  "Good  Work"  and 
"Worlds  Away"  rock  righteously.  The  album's  only 
major  misstep:  the  echoey  U2-ish  guitar  effects  on  the 
anthemic  "You  Don't  Get  Much,'*  which  only  serve  to 
subvert  an  otherwise  worthy  song. 

Black  and  White  continues  in  more  or  less  the  same 
vein  as  Home,  balancing  gritty  performances  and  slick 
production  by  David  Z.  The  material  shows  continued 
growth,  with  some  fine  adult  love  songs  ("Good 
Things,"  "Naked")  and  a  few  successful  stabs  at  social 
comment  ("Paradise,"  "Black,  White  and  Blood 
Red").  [hd] 


BOLLOCK 

The  Last  Supper  (nr/Chariy)  1983  • 

Never  Mind  the  Bollocks  1983  (nr/Charly)  1983  ® 

Live  Performances:  Official  Bootleg  (nr/Charly)  1 983 

77  78  79  (nr/Konexion)  1985 

The  4  Horsemen  of  the  Apocalypse  (nr/Chariy}  1 985  ® 

RockWRoll  Suicide  ( nr/Konexion }  1986 

Live  in  Public  in  Private  (nr/Charly)  1987  ® 

The  Prophecies  of  Nostradamus  (Blue  Turtle)  1987  • 

Under  the  enthusiastic  (mis)guidance  of  singer  Jock 
McDonald,  the  semi-serious  Bollock  Brothers  will  try 
anything  once,  and  make  an  art  out  of  artless  prole 
absurdity.  Over  the  years,  this  unpredictable  and  virtu- 
ally undefinable  band  has  wavered  between  conceptual 
brilliance  and  total  creative  failure.  The  Last  Supper,  a 
double  studio  album,  rambles  easily  from  "Horror  Mov- 
ies" (a  corny  Munsterized  dance  theme)  to  attempted 
political  criticism  ("The  Act  Becomes  Real/'  with  re- 
gard to  Reagan),  plus  lots  more,  all  characterized  by 
inept  singing  and  ept  playing. 

The  bizarre  Never  Mind  the  Bollocks  1983  parod- 
ically  reprises  the  entire  contents  (and  cover  design)  of 
the  Sex  Pistols'  1977  album.  Rather  than  attempt  to 
mimic  the  Pistols,  however,  the  Bollock  Bros,  simply 
borrow  the  material  in  toto,  adding  a  few  lyrics  of  their 
own,  and  employ  synthesizers  to  convert  most  of  the 
tunes  into  a  sub-New  Order  update  with  McDonald's 
blandly  artless  vocals  serving  in  lieu  of  Rotten 's  sneer- 
ing bile.  Not  exactly  a  piece  of  timeless  musical  history, 
but  an  amusing  novelty  record  made  just  a  bit  weirder 


b>  the  guest  \ocal  appearance  of  Michael  Fagm  f  a  bead- 
case  once  arrested  for  sneaking  into  Buckingham  Pal- 
ace) on  "God  Save  the  Queen"  and  "Pretty  Vacant/' 
Fagm  also  appears  on  one  side  of  she  "official  bootleg" 
Live  Performances,  a  two- record  collection  of  various 
concert  appearances  which  revisits  the  band's  catalogue, 
including  a  set  of  Pistols  tunes.  Ridiculous. 

The  4  Horsemen  employs*  three  of  the  least  likely 
songwriters  >ou*d  ever  expect  to  find  sharing  one 
album — McDonald,  the  late  Alex  Harvey  and 
Vangehs — vet  this  well-produced  studio  job  isn't  as 
wacky  as  that  might  indicate.  Jock  still  can't  sing  worth 
a  damn,  although  his  dumb  B -movie  lyrics  remain  as 
crazed  and  offbeat  as  ever;  combined  with  the  conserv- 
ative rock  backing,  it  makes  for  a  regrettably  tepid  and 
laborious  album. 

Each  side  of  The  Prophecies  of  Nostradamus  leads 
off  with  a  typically  devolved  and  irreverent  cover  ver- 
sion (Steppenwolf's  "Magic  Carpet  Ride"  and  Led 
Zeppelin's  "Heartbreaker").  Although  mysteriously 
retitled  "God  Created  Woman/1  Berlin's  "Sex  (I'm 
a  .  .  .  )"  is  also  featured,  complete  with  a  brief  inter- 
polation of  "Satisfaction."  There  are  a  few  good  orig- 
inals, but  McDonald's  cloying  metaphysics  on  the  title 
track  and  proselytic  religious  numbers  like  "Ceremony" 
and  "The  Beast  Is  Calling"  degrade  the  music,  appeal- 
ingiy  played  by  a  proficient  five-person  European  band. 
(But  what  are  we  to  make  of  Genevieve  French's  credit 
for  "backing  vocals  &  special  entertainment**?)  [i] 

Giants  EP  (nr/Situation  Two)  1985  (IRS)  1986  » 
Friends  f!RS)  1986* 

Und/s  Party  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1987  « 
Bigger  Giants  (nr/Situation  Two)  1990  • 

Sounding  like  a  modest  cross  between  U2  and  early 
Cult,  this  Leeds  trio  isn't  exactly  good  (vocalist  Trevor 
Tanner  ain't  got  what  it  takes),  but  they're  not  dead  in 
the  water,  either.  The  six-track  Giants  has  some  prom- 
ising ideas  and  intriguing  production  qualities,  but  noth- 
ing else  going  for  it. 

Keyboardist  Paul  Clark  joined  the  Bolshoi  in  time 
for  Friends,  which  takes  more  of  a  glossy  guitar-and- 
synth  dance  path,  colored  by  sporadic  echoes  of  Big 
Country,  a  crisp  drum  sound  and  Tanner's  alternately 
Antlike/Bonoesque  overtones.  While  the  American 
Friends  CD  incorporates  the  contents  of  Giants,  the 
UK  tape  and  CD  merely  add  one  bonus  track  (*  *  A  Funny 
Thing  .  .  .  "). 

After  such  slow  beginnings,  the  quartet  finally  lo- 
cated a  workably  thick  equilibrium  between  guitar  and 
keyboards  on  the  self-produced  Lindy's  Party,  ten  new 
slices  of  threadbare  lyrical  pretension  delivered  in  Tan- 
ner's usual  semi-tolerable  voice.  Less  specifically  de- 
rivative than  the  group's  previous  records,  Lindy's 
Party  should  have  been  the  Bolshoi' s  debut. 

Released  in  1990,  Bigger  Giants  consists  of  Giants 
plus  two  12-inch  singles  of  the  same  vintage.  With  a 
weird  cover  of  Hendrix's  "Crosstown  Traffic,"  a 
wretchedly  Bowiesque  rendition  of  Jacques  Brel's  "Am- 
sterdam" and  two  different  versions  of  "Happy  Boy," 
this  record  proves  conclusively  that — in  the  Bolshoi' s 
case  at  least — bigger  isn't  necessarily  better.  [i] 


75 


BOMB 

To  Elvis  ...  in  HeSI  JBogadiggo)  1987 

Hits  of  Acid  |  Boner)  1988 

Happy  All  the  Time  EP  (Boner)  1989 

Lucy  in  Ae  Sky  with  De$S  [CDJ  f  Boner)  1989  • 

Fugue  In  Cow  Minor  fCatch  Trcwt)  1 986 

Back   IE   Charlottesville,    Virginia,   singer/bassist 

Michael  Dean  was  in  Baby  Opaque,  a  trio  whose  lone 
album  applies  tight  punk  unity  and  a  bit  of  jazzy  ag- 
gression to  imaginative  rock  songs  with  slightly  de- 
ranged vocals.  Although  guitarist  Todd  Wilson  keeps 
threatening  to  run  off  into  noiseland,  Baby  Opaque 
never  loses  control,  and  winds  up  in  some  surprisingly 
subtle  territory.  Ian  MacKaye  (Minor  Threat/Fugazi) 
guests  on  the  trio's  version  of  "Long  Black  Veil" 

Moving  to  San  Francisco,  Dean  became  one-third  of 
Bomb,  a  similar  but  more  incendiary  and  self-amused 
outfit  whose  open-space  rock  thrashings  (like  4 'Health- 
food  and  Heroin1 '  and  *  *  I  Loved  You  and  Then  I  Died" ) 
fill  the  first  two  albums  with  an  odd  serai-psychedelic 
mixture  of  Buttholian  frantics  and  rough  flower-powery 
atmosphere. 

The  well-produced  and  stronger-sounding  Happy 
All  the  Time  has  two  songs  (including  "Lucy  in  the 
Sky  with  Desi,"  which  became  the  title  of  a  CD  com- 
piling the  band's  two  Boner  releases)  on  the  45  rpm  side 
and  four  (including  a  remake  of  "Heaithfood  and  Her- 
oin1*) on  the  33  rpm  reverse.  [klj 

THE 

Into  the  Dragon  f  nr/Rhythm  King)  1 988  ® 

Tim  Simenon  was  only  19  years  old  when  he  re- 
corded a  relentless  dance  collage  of  stolen  sounds  and 
break  beats  entitled  "Beat  Dis"  in  early  1988.  Released 
under  the  name  Bomb  the  Bass,  the  single  was  not  just 
a  major  hit  in  Britain  and  a  club  smash  in  America,  but 
the  birth  of  the  DJ  record  and  the  UK  dance  explosion. 
Bomb  the  Bass  led  the  charge  of  anonymous  hi-tech 
groove  producers;  unmoved  by  the  lure  of  pop  stardom, 
Simenon  hid  behind  other  vocalists  and  rappers  on  sub- 
sequent hits,  which  ranged  from  the  urgent  hip-hop  of 
"Megabiast"  to  the  updated  cover  of  Aretha  Franklin's 
"I  Say  a  Little  Prayer.*'  On  album,  this  mishmash 
sounds  a  little  confused,  a  sense  perhaps  shared  by  Si- 
menon, who  attempted  to  cement  Into  the  Bragon  to- 
gether with  radio  segues.  [tf] 

VIC  BONDI 

See  Articles  of  Faith, 

A-Koo-De-A!  (Chameleon)  1988  * 
Wbrfdbeatniks  (Chameleon)  1989  * 

Uplifting  Afrobeat,  uptight  contemporary  funk  and 
sizzling  rock'n'roll  collide  with  delightful  results  on 
the  merry  gumbo  of  the  Bonedaddys'  first  LP.  The 
large  interracial  LA  outfit — essentially  a  citywide 
sideband — takes  a  knowledgeable  approach  to  exotica 
(confidently  covering  two  Manu  Dibango  songs)  and  a 
witty  pen  to  localism.  "Zouk  Attack,"  co-written  by 


Bonedaddy  guitarist  Paul  Lacques  (whose  mam  band 
ts  the  polka-crazy  Rotondi,  but  he  also  has  a  group 
called  the  Underthmgs)  and  ex-Mote!s/Buming  Sensa- 
tions leader  Tim  McGovem,  critiques  the  trendy  club 
scene;  "Dumpster  Girl,"  penned  by  singer  Kevin 
Williams,  is  a  twisted  love  song.  Other  bands — like 
the  Red  Hot  Chili  Peppers  and  Oingo  Boingo — have 
confronted  the  challenge  of  rampant  cross- 
cultaralization  and  large-ensemble  organization,  but 
the  Bonedaddys  have  a  musical  nationality  all  their 
own. 

The  party  continues  on  Worldbeataiks,  as  the  group 
( here  an  octet  with  guests;  McGovem  is  no  longer  in- 
volved) offers  up  three  more  Afrobeat  numbers  (includ- 
ing Fela  Kuti's  "Zombie"  and  Afro  National's 
"Jokenge"),  some  New  Orleans-style  R&B  (Allen 
Toussaint's  "Shoo-rah,  Shoo-rah")  and  an  eclectic  ar- 
ray of  originals,  among  them  the  (first?)  neo-hippie  an- 
them "Hippie  Children,"  also  recorded  by  Rotondi. 
Fun'n'funky.  [i/ds] 

Stuffed  to  the  Gills  EP  (nr/Jungle)  1983 
Swallowing  Havocl  EP  (nr/Jungle)  1 984 
Jack  {nr/Jungle)  1 984 
Penthouse  Poultry  EP  (nr/Vax)  1985 

The  artwork  on  this  Brighton  quintet's  debut  LP 
employs  the  same  scratchy/violent  style  as  Batcave 
bands  like  Specimen  and  Alien  Sex  Fiend;  the  music  on 
Jack  is  similarly  gloomy  and  intense,  but  generally  less 
cliched  and  more  engaging.  Credit  singer  Chrissy  Mc- 
Gee  (an  original,  intelligent  lyricist — check  the  story- 
like  "Five  Days  in  the  Neighborhood"  for  details), 
whose  deep,  deadpan  voice  sounds  a  little  like  Sioux- 
sie's,  and  the  use  of  four  guest  musicians  augmenting 
the  guitar-based  lineup  with  piano,  strings  and  sax.  Bone 
Orchard's  other  strength  is  a  sense  of  dynamics — they 
can  thunder  oppressively  or  drop  back  for  contrast.  Jack 
may  not  be  an  overly  pleasant  disc,  but  it  is  a  -well- 
crafted  one  with  several  nice  touches. 

The  two  earlier  EPs  are  of  the  same  caliber,  if  less 
artful,  with  lots  of  aggressive  songs  with  exclamation 
points  in  the  titles.  The  band  definitely  has  a  major  Birth- 
day Party  jones  but,  unlike  many  other  Party  pretenders, 
they  bring  a  fresh  perspective  to  the  psychobilly  sound 
(McGee  wasn't  called  the  female  Nick  Cave  for  noth- 
ing). Stuffed  to  the  Gills'  best  track  is  '  'Shall  I  Carry  the 
Budgie  Woman?,"  a  meld  of  surf  guitar,  tribal  drums 
and  a  strange  outro  with  bird  sounds.  Swallowing  Hav- 
oc!'s  highlights  are  the  Crampsian  "I'm  Boned!  (Bone- 
abilly  Party)"  and  the  slow,  sexy  "Love  Has  Sin." 

Bone  Orchard  followed  Jack  up  with  the  "Princess 
Epilepsy"  12-inch — consisting  of  two  more  psychobilly 
cuts  (McGee' s  assertive  "You  Don't  Press  My  Pants" 
is  pretty  funny)  and  a  long,  burning  blues  on  the 
B-side — which  fails  to  raise  as  many  hackles  as  the 
earlier  EPs.  Ironically,  the  band's  final  release,  Pent- 
house Poultry,  is  a  breakthrough,  diverging  off  into  all 
sorts  of  weiidness:  "Scenic  Cruiser"  is  cocktail  jazz 
with  tingling  sax,  "Eyesore"  nicks  its  riff  from  the 
Stooges'  "TV  Eye"  and  the  eerie  ballad,  "Dumb 
Poet,"  could  be  a  sibling  of  the  Birthday  Party's  "She's 
Hit."  [i/gef] 


76 


BONE  SYMPHONY 

See  Scott  Wi/i  -r  the  Walls. 

BONGOS 

Time  and  the  River  (nr/FefishJ  1982 
Drams  Along  the  Hudson  (PVC)  1982 
Numbers  with  Wings  EP  f RCAJ  1 983 
Beat  Hole!  {RCA}  1 985 

MASTRO 

Nuts  and  Bolts  (Passport)  1 983 

Cool  Blue  Halo  (Passport)  1987  • 
Primal  Dream  (Paradox-MCA)  1990  ® 

Led  by  enthusiastic  guttanst/singer  Richard  Barone, 
this  Hoboken,  New  Jersey  pop  band  makes  no  effort  to 
conceal  its  roots.  On  Drums  Along  the  Hudson  (an 
expanded  version  of  the  Time  and  the  River  mini- 
album,  itself  a  compilation  of  singles),  mixed  among 
original  songs  is  a  breathy  cover  of  T.  Rex's  "Mambo 
Sun";  elsewhere,  Barone  spins  out  streamlined  Byrds 
guitar  licks  and  maintains  a  brisk  pace  throughout 
Tuneful  originals  like  "In  the  Congo"  and  "Video 
Eyes"  may  trade  a  certain  amount  of  substance  for  easy 
appeal,  but  there's  no  better  musical  equivalent  of 
whipped  cream  anywhere. 

The  Bongos  subsequently  expanded  from  a  tno  with 
the  fulitime  addition  of  guitarist  James  Mastro.  In  an 
offbeat  variation  on  the  solo  record  concept,  Barone  and 
Mastro  dropped  down  to  North  Carolina  to  record  Nuts 
and  Bolts  in  collaboration  with  Mitch  Easter.  Each 
Bongo  takes  a  side  to  showcase  his  own  writing  and 
singing,  while  helping  the  other  out  as  well.  Barone's 
results  are  bland  and  resemble  unfinished  band  demos  or 
outtakes,  with  dull  sound  matching  uninspired  material; 
Mastro  takes  a  more  idiosyncratic  approach,  using  the 
opportunity  to  express  some  individuality  and  clearly 
delineate  his  contribution  to  the  Bongos 

Recording  for  the  first  time  as  a  quartet,  the  Bongos 
cut  five  new  songs  for  Numbers  with  Wings,  produced 
by  Richard  Gottehrer.  "Barbarella"  and  the  title  track 
are  prime,  filled  with  swell  harmonies,  driving  acoustic 
guitars  and  subtle  structural  tricks;  the  rest  is  adequate 
but  dispensable. 

Produced  by  John  Jansen  (Lou  Reed,  Television), 
Beat  Hotel  is  the  Bongos'  most  rocking  record,  a  spar- 
kling explosion  of  guitar  pop.  "Space  Jungle"  has  a 
nagging  hook  and  a  full-blown  arrangement,  "Apache 
Dancing*'  is  similarly  ambitious  in  a  different  vein; 
"Come  Back  to  Me"  and  "A  Story  (Written  in  the 
Sky)"  hark  back  to  the  band's  simpler  days;  * 'Totem 
Pole"  sounds  a  bit  like  the  dB's  except  for  the  over- 
blown big-band  finale.  Given  the  best  audio  treatment  of 
their  career,  the  Bongos  prove  their  mettle,  simulta- 
neously exposing  their  main  inadequacy:  inconsistent 
songwriting. 

Barone  recorded  his  first  solo  album  onstage  at  New 
York's  Bottom  Line,  trading  the  Bongos*  big  pop  for 
airy  chamber  music,  leading  a  scaled-down  attack 
flanked  by  a  cellist,  acoustic  guitarist  and  a 
percussionist-pianist-vibraphonist.  Cool  Blue  Halo's 
gentler  approach  shows  off  his  romanticism  to  good 


effect,  cspecsailN  on  well-chosen  co\ers  a&  ihe  Beatles* 
"Cr>  Bab>  Cr>  "  and  Bogie's  "The  Mae  ^ho  Sold  the 
World"  and  Bongos  classics  i**The  Bulrushes* *  and 

"Numbers  uith  Wings"  »,  A  perfect  three  a.m.  record, 
though  it  sounds  a  tad  precion>  m  broad  da>  light. 

In  contrast,  Dream  is  a  full-blown  studio 

job  thai  applies  o\erl>  smooth  production  ( half  by  Rich- 
ard Gottehrer,  half  by  Don  Dixoni  to  Barone's  subtle 
soeg  craft.  Though  it's  consistently  tasteful  and  tuneful. 
Primal  Dreatn  lacks  the  rocking  playfulness  of  the  Bon- 
gos' best  work,  \eertng  dangerously  close  to  MOR 
blandeess.  Still,  taken  in  small  enough  doses,  the  plea- 
sures of  such  tunes  as  **Ri\er  to  River'*  and  "Where  the 
Truth  Lies1'  (not  10  mention  a  gracefully  unsitck  covet 
of  Lou  Reed's  "I'll  Be  Your  Mirror" )  are  undeniable, 

See  also  Beat  Rodeo  jjy,  i  hd] 

BONGOS,  BASS,  AND  BOB 

Never  Mind  the  Sex  Pistols,  Here's  Bongos,  Bass,  and 
Bob!  (What  on  Earth  Were  They  Thinking?)  (50 
Skidillion  Watts)  1988 

Sixteen  terribly  amusing  songs  about  oral  hygiene, 
used  duds  ("Clothes  of  the  Dead*'),  rent-control  ro- 
mance, Thorazine  and  girls  with  guns,  all  done  to  a 
golden-brown  turn  by  magician-comedian-Iabel- 
proprietor  Penn  Jiliette  (Bass),  Bean  J.  Sea!  (Bongos) 
and  Rob  "Running"  Elk  (guitar),  with  Kramer  kind  of 
at  the  kontrols  Loose Vlively  in  a  hip,  know-it-all, 
post-frat  smgalong  sort  of  way.  [rg] 

Breaking  No  New  Ground!  EP  (Shimmy-Disc)  1987 
Double  Bummer  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 988  « 
Too  Much  Sleep  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 989  » 
The  Power  of  Pussy  (Shimmy-Disc)  1991  « 

What's  in  a  brilliant  name?  Some  of  the  funniest, 
smartest  and  messed-up  ultra-psychedelia  ever  invented. 
Almost  all  of  Bongwater's  music  comes  courtesy  of 
Mark  "Maul  of  Sound'*  Kramer,  the  former  Shocka- 
billy  linchpin,  king  of  the  Shimmy-Disc  label  and  in- 
house  workaholic  producer/owner  of  Noise  New  York 
studios.  Performance  artist-cum-actress  Ann  Magnuson 
contributes  onstage  attitude  and  her  dreams,  transcrip- 
tions of  which  provide  many  of  the  group's  lyrics.  Fre- 
quent associates  include  guitarist  Dave  Rick  (Phantom 
Tollbooth,  etc.)  and  former  Shockabilly  percussionist 
David  Licht  (who  sat  out  Too  Much  Sleep,  replaced  by 
a  drum  machine).  Bongwater  is  not  so  much  a  rock  band 
as  a  particularly  disturbing  dream  of  one. 

With  its  covers  of  songs  by  the  Moody  Blues,  Led 
Zep  and  the  Beatles,  the  six-track  Breaking  No  New 
Ground!  was  but  a  suggestive  whiff  of  the  surreal,  par- 
odistic  skullfuck  of  Double  Bummer,  a  monumental 
two-LP  set.  (The  Double  Bummer  +  CD  adds  the  EP 
and  an  inspirational  cover  of  Roky  Erickson's  "You 
Don't  Love  Me  Yet.")  Double  Bummer  breaks  down 
into  songs  constructed  around  Magnuson' s  rock  dreams, 
translucently  sludgy  Kramer  originals  that  take  post-pot 
Beatles  as  zero-base  inspiration  and  an  assortment  of 
adroit  covers. 

Slapp  Happy's  "The  Drum"  is  transmogrified  into  a 
poignant  group  anthem  on  Too  Much  Sleep  (the  cas- 


77 


setfe  of  uhieh  also  contains  No  New  Ground).  Even 
better,  Magnuson  and  Kramer—- by  this  point  the  think- 
ing person's  Eurythmics— -have  Integrated  their  song- 
writing  abilities  to  even  more  troubling  and  hilariouj» 
ends,  with  sampled  voices  and  head-spinning  effects  a 
specialty  Thick,  rich  and  satisfying. 

As  is  The  Power  of  Pussy,  which  turns  cock-rock 
on  its  head  in  nearly  every  song  and  breaks  virgin  ground 
iMth  MagnusorTs  nine-minute  opus  of  apocalyptic  ac- 
quiescence, "Folk  Song."  [rg] 

See  also  Carruy-Hild-Kramer,  Shockabilly. 


BONZO  GOES  TO 
WASHINGTON 

See  Jerry  Harrison. 

PRODUCTIONS 

Criminal  Minded  (B-BoyJ  1987  « 

By  Ail  Means  Necessary  f  JIve-RCA)  1 988  » 

Ghetto  Music;  The  Blueprint  of  Hip  Hop  (Jive-RCA) 

1989» 

Edutainment  (Jive-RCA)  1990  « 
Ya  Know  The  Rules  EP  f  Jive-RCA)  1 991 
live  Hardcore  Worldwide  (Jive-RCA)  1991  4> 

MS.  MELODiE 

Diva  f  Jive-RCA)  1 989  • 

HARMONY 

Let  Them  Be  Harmony  (Virgin}  1 990  <j> 

D-N1CE 

Call  Me  D-NIce  (Jive-RCA)  1990  « 

STOP  THE  VIOLENCE 

MOVEMENT 

Self  Destruction  EP  (Jive-RCA)  1989 

Chris  Parker  was  homeless  on  the  streets  of  New 
York  for  six  years  before  he  met  Scott  Sterling,  a  coun- 
selor at  a  Bronx  men's  shelter.  As  Blastmaster  KRS- 
One  (a  loose  acronym  for  Knowledge  Reigns  Supreme 
Over  Almost  Every  One)  and  DJ  Scott  LaRock,  the  duo 
formed  Boogie  Down  (slang  for  the  Bronx)  Productions 
as  an  umbrella  organization  for  various  musical  endeav- 
ors and  cut  the  self-financed  single  "Crack  Attack/' 
They  followed  it  with  Criminal  Minded,  one  of  the 
most  stunning  hip-hop  debuts  ever.  The  record  clearly 
revealed  Parker  as  an  eloquent  and  serious  social  com- 
mentator, one  who  would  go  well  beyond  rap's  standard 
concerns,  tempering  his  didactic  preachiness  with  hu- 
mor and  humility.  Indeed,  he  has  grown  into  one  of  the 
most  influential  and  respected  artists  of  his  generation, 
largely  responsible  for  the  rise  of  positive-message  rap 
and  the  blending  of  reggae  and  hip-hop. 

The  title  track  of  Criminal  Minded  is  as  good  as  rap 
gets.  Witty,  compassionate  lyrics  bust  out  gracefully 
over  hard  beats  as  ghostly  (opera?)  samples  float  in  the 
background.  The  waking-nightmare  "9mm  Goes 
Bang,"  set  to  a  chattering  reggae  beat,  takes  us  deep 
inside  the  mind  of  a  drug  dealer— and  begins  a  BDP 
tradition  of  painting  psychological  profiles  of  street  life. 

That  life  struck  home  all  too  vividly  when  LaRock 
was  shot  to  death  on  25  August  1987,  just  as  the  album 
was  growing  into  a  major  underground  hit.  (It  went  on 
to  sell  nearly  a  million  copies.)  Undeterred,  KRS-One 


returned  with  By  All  Means  Necessary,  noticeably 
more  confident  and  politically  conscious  than  on  the 
debut  His  brother  Kenny  Parker  land  posse  member 
D-Nice)  ably  shouldered  the  DJ  responsibilities,  laying 
down  killer  reggae  rhythms  and  sampling  everything 
from  Deep  Purple  to  a  street  person  mumbling  "What 
can  we  get  for  63  cents?"  (As  every  future  BDP  release 
would,  the  sleeve  declared  that  By  AH  Means  Neces- 
sary was  * 'Overseen  by  DJ.  Scott  LaRock.")  While 
Chris  Parker  posed  with  an  Uzi  on  the  cover  in  emula- 
tion of  Malcolm  X,  his  lyrics  made  it  clear  that  he 
advocates  violence  only  in  self-defense.  The  song  "Stop 
the  Violence"  led  to  Self  Destruction,  an  all-star  ben- 
efit 12-inch  produced  by  KRS-One  and  D-Nice  and  fea- 
turing an  impressive  cast:  Kooi  Moe  Dee,  Just-Ice,  MC 
Lyte,  members  of  Stetsasonic  and  Public  Enemy,  plus 
Parker's  wife,  Ramona  "Ms.  Melodie"  Parker. 

The  best  of  the  post-LaRock  albums  so  far,  Ghetto 
Music  presents  a  startling  blend  of  provocative  politics 
and  hard-edged  reggae-rap,  mostly  played  by  live  mu- 
sicians. Highlights  include  the  stark,  explosive  police 
story,  "Who  Protects  Us  from  You?,"  the  rapid-fire 
Dylanesque  images  of  "Jack  of  Spades"  and  the  dub- 
wise  "Jah  Rulez,"  which  showcases  impassioned  sing- 
ing by  Ms.  Melodie 's  younger  sister,  Pamela 
"Harmony"  Scott. 

Edutainment  is  indeed  educational,  but  hardly  as 
entertaining  as  previous  BDP  albums.  The  thirteen  bare- 
bones  tracks  are  interspersed  with  six  excerpts  from  lec- 
tures by  KRS-One  and  Kwame  Toure*  (formerly  Stokely 
Carmichael).  Allowing  some  bitterness  and  sarcasm  to 
mingle  with  his  thoughtful  commentary,  KRS  lashes  out 
at  meat-eaters,  the  music  industry  and  "house  niggas." 
But  few  of  the  tracks  have  musical  hooks  as  strong  as 
their  stories.  The  two  most  musically  successful  are 
"100  Guns,"  a  relentless  account  of  driving  across  the 
country  with  a  trunk  full  of  weapons,  and  "The  Home- 
less/* a  bitter  state-of-the-black-nation  address  ("Not 
fully  American/We're  getting  there  slowly")  set  to  an 
African-styled  rhythm.  (The  CD  and  cassette  contain 
three  bonus  tracks,  including  "7  Dee  Jays,"  a  nine- 
minute  reggae  number  that  features  various  posse  mem- 
bers.) 

Ya  Know  The  Rules  includes  three  mixes  of  the 
Edutainment  track  for  which  it's  named  plus  live  ver- 
sions (all  from  Live  Hardcore  Worldwide)  of  "Crim- 
inal Minded"  and  "The  Bridge  Is  Over"  (from  the 
debut)  and  the  second  album's  "Jimmy." 

Although  losing  out  to  the  2  Live  Crew  as  the  first 
group  to  release  a  live  rap  album,  BDP  proves  even 
more  explosive  on  stage  than  in  the  studio.  Including  six 
raps  from  the  debut  album  and  several  impassioned 
speeches  by  KRS-One,  Live  Hardcore  Worldwide—- 
recorded at  clubs  in  New  York,  London  and  Paris — 
offers  a  solid  introduction  to  the  band's  career. 

Besides  working  the  lecture  circuit,  KRS-One  has 
become  an  in-demand  producer,  working  with  both  hip- 
hop  and  reggae  artists,  including  Sly  and  Robbie,  Ziggy 
Marley  and  Mikey  Dread.  He's  also  taken  an  active  role 
in  BDP's  expanding  roster,  producing  albums  for  both 
Ms.  Melodie  and  Harmony.  While  the  former's  Diva  is 
simply  mediocre,  Let  There  Be  Harmony  is  an  intrigu- 
ing, if  erratic,  effort.  Harmony  alternately  applies  her 
rich  gospelly  voice  to  mushy  love  songs  and  raps  about 
tough  revolutionary  politics — and  Christian  piety. 


78 


Displacing  more  production  skills  than  l>ncal  depth, 
D-Nice  (Derrick  lones  I  steps  out  on  Call  Me  D-Nice,  a 

great-sounding  mix  of  hip-hop,  soul  and  reggae  that— 
with  the  positive  edutainment  exceptions  of  **A  Fev, 
Dollars  More"  and  "Glory"— Slavs  pretty  close  to  kiss- 
dis  cliches.  KRS-One  makes  an  avuncular  guest  appear- 
ance on  "The  TR  808  Is  Coming," 

In  yet  another  facet  of  BDP's  business,  toaster, 
rapper  Jamal-ski  is  featured  on  one  side  of  a  1990  12- 
inch,  speeding  his  way  through  "Let's  Do  ft,"  |ws] 

BOOK  OF  LOVE 

Book  of  Love  (1  Square-Sire)  1986  • 

Lullaby  f  1  Square-Sire)  1 988  • 

Candy  Carol  [I  Square-Sire-Wamer  Bros )  1991  4» 

Produced  by  Ivan  Ivan  for  his  own  label,  this  New 
York  art-school  quartet's  first  album  is  a  clever  synthe- 
sis of  catchy  electro-pop  minimalism  and  dance-driven 
rhythmatics.  Susan  Ottaviano's  breathy,  almost  spoken 
vocals  on  atmospheric  tunes  like  "Boy"  and  "Happy 
Day"  neatly  offset  the  simple,  spacious  arrangements; 
others  aren't  quite  as  memorable.  A  bit  like  Trio  without 
the  irony  or  Dominatrix  cleaned  up  for  mass  appeal, 
Book  of  Love  is  an  alluring  if  insignificant  way  to  while 
away  time  in  clubland.  (Special  note  to  aficionados  of 
esoteric  cover  versions:  Book  of  Love  tackles  Liliput's 
"Diematrosen  ") 

From  such  fringey  beginnings,  Book  of  Love  made 
the  mistake  of  abandoning  the  first  record's  stylish 
economy  and  reaching  for  mainstream  success  on 
Lullaby.  The  group's  knowing  junk-culture  side  sur- 
faces on  the  driving  club  interpretation  of  "Tubular 
Bells"  that  opens  the  album,  but  Susan  O's  sex-kitten 
singing,  Ted  Ottaviano's  dumb  lyrics  and  the  routine 
sound  of  hyperactive  sequencers  nearly  adds  up  to 
Berlin  reborn. 

The  all-keyboards-and- vocals  quartet  (with  a  few 
guest  guitarists)  found  its  place  again  on  the  toned-down 
Candy  Carol,  a  fairly  enticing  application  of  flower- 
power  style  and  lush  pop  harmonies.  The  synth  arrange- 
ments ran  from  trite  ("Butterfly")  to  subtle  ("Candy 
Carol,"  which  makes  cute  use  of  a  melody  that  comes 
pre-programmed  on  every  $30  Casio),  as  do  the  lyrics: 
"Quiver"  is  simple  and  dumb,  while  "Flower  Parade" 
consists  of  an  a  cappella  list  of  floral  species,  and  "Or- 
ange Flip"  is  a  kicky  little  ode  to  lipstick  colors,  [i] 

SONIC  BOOM 

See  Spacemen  3. 

BOOM  CRASH  OPERA 

Boom  Crash  Opera  (Warner  Bros.)  1 987  « 
These  Here  Are  Crazy  Times  (Giant)  1 990  • 

On  Boom  Crash  Opera's  debut  album,  the  Mel- 
bourne, Australia  quintet  plays  heavy  drum-driven 
dance-oriented  rock  much  in  the  manner  of  INXS,  but 
with  just  enough  angst  and  bombast  to  live  up  to  their 
name. 

Wide-screen  sound  characterizes  the  crisply  pro- 
duced (in  part  by  Jimmy  lovine)  Crazy  Times,  even 
though  many  of  the  numbers  are  pushed  by  acoustic 
guitars.  There's  a  dash  of  U2's  spiritualism  here  and  the 
Alarm's  romanticism  there  (especially  on  the  anthemic 


"Dancing  in  the  Storm"  I,  a  couple  of  bngtit  big-beat 
dance-rock  numbers,  e\en  a  Zeppe3in-*r>le  riff  or  t*o 

thrown  m  for  good  mediure.  Not  a  bad  record,  but  the 
band  has  yet  to  establish  a  vision  of  its  emu.          Ids] 


The  Boomtown  Rots  {Mercury!  1 977 

A  Tonic  for  the  Troops  f  Columbia}  1 978  • 

The  Fine  Art  of  Surfacing  {Columbia!  1 979  • 

Mondo  Bongo  (Columbia)  1980  • 

Rat  Tracb  EP  (Can.  Vertigo)  1 981 

V  Deep  (Columbia)!  982  » 

The  Boomtawn  Rate  EP  fCofumbtaJ  1 982 

Ratrospec!5ve  EP  (Columbia)  1 983 

In  the  Long  Grass  (Colombia)  1 984 

Greatest  Hits  (Columbia)  1 987  • 

Like  Madness  and  the  Jam,  the  Boomtown  Rats  gen- 
erally matched  considerable  Anglo-European  success 
with  near-total  American  commercial  obscurity.  Despite 
a  striag  of  intelligent,  irresistible  pop  singles  and  intri- 
cate, skillful,  unpredictable  albums  filled  with  assorted 
musical  styles  and  sounds,  the  only  US  hit  the  Rats  ever 
had  was  the  morbid  ballad  "I  Don't  Like  Mondays." 
While  their  albiims  are  not  uniformly  excellent,  the 
band's  commitment  to  quality  and  growth,  plus  singer/ 
songwriter  Bob  Geldof  s  magnetic  personality,  help 
elevate  even  lesser  efforts  to  listenabikty,  and  much  of 
their  work  is  downright  brilliant. 

The  six  future  Rats  left  the  unemployment  lines 
in  Dublin  to  enter  the  rock  sweepstakes  and  had  become 
a  going  concern  on  the  Irish  concert  circuit  by  the 
time  new  wave  came  along.  While  the  resulting  upsurge 
in  record-industry  openness  towards  young,  energetic 
bands  undoubtedly  helped  them  get  a  contract,  it  was 
clear  from  the  start  that  the  Rats  were  a  different  musical 
breed.  Produced  in  Germany  by  pre-metal  Mutt  Lange, 
the  first  album  is  more  tradition-minded  than  punlcy,  but 
there's  no  mistaking  the  verve  and  independence  which 
tied  the  Rats  solidly  to  less  accomplished,  more  enraged 
outfits.  From  the  Springsteemsh  "Joey's  on  the  Street 
Again"  to  the  Dr.  Feelgoody  "Never  Bite  the  Hand  that 
Feeds"  to  a  Mott  the  Hoople-styled  ballad, '  'I  Can  Make 
It  If  You  Can/*  and  the  album's  sarcastic  standout, 
"Lookin'  After  No.  1,"  the  ambience  is  hip,  but  the 
rock  is  fairly  routine.  Geldof 's  incisive  lyrics  and  the 
entire  band's  credible  musicianship  invest  the  stylisti- 
cally diverse  selections  with  character,  making  this  a 
top-notch,  timeless  record. 

Assumptions  about  the  Rats'  musical  intent  were 
dispelled  with  A  Tonic  for  the  Troops.  Taking  giant 
steps  forward  in  invention  and  sophistication,  Geldof 
turned  from  a  junior  rock  singer  into  a  skilled  vocalist 
with  a  recognizable  style;  the  band  likewise  exhibited 
new-found  intricacy  and  multifaceted  versatility,  thanks 
in  large  part  to  Johnnie  Fingers'  keyboard  cleverness 
and  Lange 's  layered  production.  Troops  is  not  a  total 
departure — "Rat  Trap"  picks  up  precisely  where 
"Joey"  left  off,  and  "She's  So  Modern"  merely  im- 
proves on  "Mary  of  the  4th  Form" — but  "Me  and  How- 
ard Hughes,"  "Like  Clockwork"  and  "Living  in  an 
Island"  display  development  on  all  fronts:  writing,  sing- 
ing, performing,  arranging.  (The  American  version  de- 
letes "Can't  Stop"  and  "(Watch  Out  for)  The  Normal 
People"  in  favor  of  two  tracks  retrieved  from  the  first 


79 


LP,  which  had  sunk  without  a  trace  upon  its  release  by 
the  Rats'  previous  US  label.) 

The  Rats  took  another  big  leap  on  The  Fine  Art  of 
Surfacing,  but  with  less  rewarding  results.  Substandard 
songs  get  unenthusiastic  treatment,  and  an  overwhelm- 
ing sense  of  self-importance  highlights  the  ennui,  de- 
spite impressive  technical  aptitude  and  obviously 
strengthened  confidence  and  stylistic  reach.  The  record 
does  contain  the  powerful  **I  Don't  Like  Mondays"  and 
a  fe\v  other  standouts — "Someone's  Looking  at  You,'1 
which  is  clumsy  but  melodic  and  charming,  and  "When 
the  Night  Comes,"  a  showstopper  with  ace  Geldof  lyr- 
ics and  a  swell  arrangement  that  uses  Latin-flavored 
acoustic  guitar  for  color— but  otherwise  Surfacing  is  a 
slick  drag. 

On  first  listen,  Mondo  Bongo  is  even  more  outland- 
ish, but  a  little  application  reveals  a  number  of  great 
tracks  in  a  percussion-laden  Afro-Carib  style,  delivered 
up  in  gonzo  fashion  by  co-producer  Tony  Visconti. 
"Up  All  Night,"  "The  Elephants  Graveyard"  and 
"Don't  Talk  to  Me"  are  rollicking  good  fun,  but  "Mood 
Mambo"  takes  the  genre  detour  too  literally,  and  a  to- 
tally unnecessary  rewrite  of  an  old  Rolling  Stones  tune 
( "Under  Their  Thumb  ...  Is  Under  My  Thumb" )  adds 
to  the  record's  shortcomings.  Neither  a  triumph  nor  a 
disaster,  Moiido  Bongo  is  a  halfbaked  but  entertaining 
digression.  The  Canadian-only  Rat  Tracks  has  a  live 
cut,  a  remix  of  "Up  All  Night"  and  several  otherwise 
UK-only  obscurities:  five  tracks  in  all. 

Total  confusion  as  to  the  band's  direction  and  frus- 
tration at  the  disinterest  shown  by  the  American  audi- 
ence may  have  been  the  reasons  why  Columbia  tried  to 
avoid  releasing  V  Beep,  opting  instead  for  a  12-inch 
condensation  of  it.  (The  company  eventually  came 
around  and  issued  the  entire  LP,  including  the  HP's 
contents.)  Although  heavily  stylized  and  partially  over- 
produced, V  Deep  (the  band's  fifth  LP  and  its  first  as  a 
quintet,  following  the  departure  of  guitarist  Gerry  Cott, 
who  then  released  a  couple  of  solo  singles)  contains 
some  of  the  Rats'  strangest  songs,  but  also  some  of  their 
most  evocative  and  moving  efforts.  Geldof  is  at  his 
driven  best,  and  the  band  keeps  pace  in  a  number  of 
styles  (including  an  encore  of  Mondo  Boago's  sound 
and  a  Dennis  Bovell  dub  mix  of  one  track)  that  don't 
neatly  hang  together,  but  paint  the  group  in  a  most  fas- 
cinating light.  A  fine  album  to  be  savored  repeatedly. 

After  V  Deep,  the  Rats  dropped  out  for  several 
years,  prompting  the  US  issue  of  Ratrospective,  a  mini- 
album  containing  "I  Don't  Like  Mondays,"  "Up  All 
Night,"  "Rat  Trap"  and  three  other  familiar  cuts.  In 
late  1984,  Geldof  surfaced  as  the  co-instigator  of  Band 
Aid,  an  all-star  45  fundraiser  for  Africa  that  inspired  a 
wave  of  similar  ventures  throughout  the  music  world. 
The  band  returned  to  action  in  early  1985  with  a  new 
single,  followed  several  months  later  by  an  entire  new 
album,  In  the  Long  Grass,  which  had  actually  been 
recorded  in  1983  but  initially  rejected  by  their  label. 
(The  inner  sleeve  thanks  people  "For  making  an  un- 
bearable year  tolerable  .  .  .  ")  The  Rats  look  miserable 
and  spent  on  the  cover;  the  lyrics  are  unremittingly  bit- 
ter, defiant  and  angry.  Matching  the  verbal  onslaught, 
the  music  is  as  dense  and  rugged  as  any  they  have  ever 
made,  yet  uplifting  in  the  band's  stalwart  refusal  to 
buckle.  An  extraordinarily  powerful  record.  (In  an 
ironic  final  bit  of  tampering,  Columbia  forced  the  Rats 


to  rewrite  the  lynes  of  "Dave,"  a  song  on  the  UK  LP, 
resulting  in  an  entirely  different  vocal  and  title: 
"Rain.") 

Later  that  year,  Geldof  organized  the  massive  Live 
Aid  chanty  concert  telecast  and  was  mooted  for  Nobel 
Pnze  consideration,  but  it  hardly  aided  the  Rats,  who 
met  1986  without  an  American  label  and  decided  to  call 
it  quits.  Acknowledging  the  group's  demise  and  taking 
fair  (and  dignified)  advantage  of  the  attention  Geldof 
had  earned,  Columbia  expanded  Ratrospective  by  four 
tracks  and  called  it  Greatest  Hits,  a  fair  compilation 
improved  by  Arthur  Levy's  enthusiastic  liner  notes,  [i] 

See  also  Bob  Geldof. 

Bust  Me  Out  (Mercury)  1 984 

Duke  Bootee  (Edward  Fletcher,  in  his  other  life  a 
Newark,  NJ  schoolteacher)  is  one  of  the  unsung  heroes 
of  rap.  As  a  member  of  the  Sugar  Hill  label's  extraor- 
dinary house  band,  he  wrote  the  tune,  "chorus"  and 
half  the  raps  for  "The  Message."  Although  that  ground- 
breaking single  came  out  under  the  name  of  Grandmas- 
ter Flash  and  the  Furious  Five,  the  raps  belong  to  Bootee 
and  Melle  Mel.  The  two  paired  up  less  successfully  (and 
more  formulaically)  on  "Message  II"  and  "New  York, 
New  York,"  before  Bootee  rediscovered  the  urban 
claustrophobia  groove  on  the  title  track  of  his  solo  LP. 
The  album  boasts  aggressive  playing  and  production 
from  his  old  Sugar  Hill  friends,  and  the  rap  side  (as 
opposed  to  the  song  side)  smokes.  jjl] 

BOOTHILL  FOOT-TAPPERS 

Get  Your  Feet  Out  of  My  Shoes  EP  (nr/Gol  Discs)  1  984 
Ain't  That  Far  from  Boothill  (nr/Mercury)  1 985 

In  yet  another  installment  of  "Musical  Styles 
Traverse  the  Ocean,"  these  seven  rustic  English  lads 
and  lassies  play  a  charming  and  catchy  version  of  old- 
timey  folk  (banjo,  fiddle,  guitar,  washboard,  accordion) 
on  the  wonderful  title  track  of  their  five-song  12-inch. 
But  it  doesn't  stop  there:  they  also  essay  a  soulful  choral 
arrangement  of  Curtis  Mayfield's  "People  Get  Ready" 
and  a  rousing  assault  on  Margaret  Thatcher  called  *  'True 
Blues. ' '  The  only  duff  item  is  the  rushed,  tuneless  '  'Milk 
Train." 

Unfortunately,  the  album  makes  a  crime  of  eclecti- 
cism: the  band  dabbles  in  everything  from  ska  to 
country-western,  connecting  emotionally  with  none  of 
it.  Flat,  insipid  production  (mostly  by  Dick  Cuthell) 
matches  the  performances'  lack  of  spunk;  the  net  result 
is  a  record  without  depth  or  charm.  Even  a  new  version 
of  "Get  Your  Feet  Out  of  My  Shoes"  sounds  tedious 
and  contrived.  The  Boothill  Foot-Tappers  disbanded  at 
the  end  of  1985.  [i] 

BOOTSTRAPPERS 

S&QflREHOSE. 

BOO-YAA  T.R.I.B.E 

New  Funky  Nation  (4th  &  B'way)  1990  • 

The  "Six  Bad  Brothas"  of  Los  Angeles'  Boo-Yaa 
crew  are,  in  fact,  an  imposing  family  of  mean-looking 
Samoan-Americans  named  Devoux  who  sing  and  de- 


80 


liver  tough  gangster  raps  over  a  full  band  of  live  musi- 
cians. As  a  result  of  that  innovation  and  the  band's 
considerable  abi lilies.  New  Funky  Nation  is  an  extraor- 
dinarily powerful  and  uncommon  hip- hop  LP,  a  rhyth- 
mic sou!  assault  of  horns,  Boo-Yaa  bass  and  violence- 
prone  street  rhymes  that  have  an  unsettling  ring  of  truth . 

W 

BOREDOMS 

Soul  Discharge  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990 

This  totally  inexplicable  noise  band  from  Japan 
boasts  six  members:  P-We  YY,  God  Mama,  Human 
Rich  Vox  Y,  Hila  Y,  Eye  Y  and  No.  1  Y.  Soul  Dis- 
charge, which  contains  such  songs  as  4tIB  Dick  -I-  Tin 
Turner  Pussy  Badsmell"  and  "Bubblebop  Shot,1' 
amounts  to  lumbering  stop-start  drums,  distorted  thrusts 
of  bass  and  guitar,  and  people  shrieking,  chattering, 
yelling  and  groaning  goodnaturedly.  For  a  vague  refer- 
ence point,  the  Boredoms'  essential  notions  fall  some- 
where between  the  Butthole  Surfers,  the  B-52's  and  a 
band  of  bag  ladies.  You  have  been  warned.  [i] 

BORGHES1A 

Love  Is  Colder  Than  Death  (St.  Material!  Sonori)  1 985 
Their  Laws,  Our  Lives  (It.  Material!  Sonori}  1 986 
No  Hope,  No  Fear  EP  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 987  • 
Escorts  And  Models  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 988  • 
Resistance  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1989  * 

CLICK  CLICK/BORGHES1A 

Doubiebill  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1988 

Understandably  for  a  trio  of  sociology  and  philoso- 
phy students  who  began  as  a  theater  group,  Borghesia's 
music  is  arty,  grandiose  and  pretentious;  however,  as  a 
band  emerging  from  a  repressed  society  (Yugoslavia)  to 
create  its  own  movement  (the  New  Slovenian  Art  scene, 
along  with  Laibach),  Borghesia  is  also  intriguing  and 
provocative. 

Lacking  Laibach' s  fascistic  bent,  Borghesia  also 
uses  symphonic  keyboard  arrangements  and  morbid 
beats  to  create  a  similar  Teutonic  and  military  feel.  The 
group's  early  output  is  quite  rare:  cassette-only  releases 
(including  one,  apparently,  of  purely  classical  music) 
and  two  European  albums,  Love  Is  Colder  Teao  Death 
and  Their  Laws,  Our  Lives, 

Borghesia's  trans- Atlantic  calling  card,  the  No 
Hope,  No  Fear  mini-album,  presents  a  group  whose 
classical  background  merges  comfortably  with  a  digital 
sensibility.  Though  certainly  not  easy  listening,  the  six 
tracks  are  far  more  mainstream  than  might  be  expected 
of  a  group  so  far  removed  from  the  familiar  environs  of 
rock  and  pop. 

Escorts  and  Models  is  far  better.  This  collection  of 
songs  about  the  darker  side  of  sex  combines  melodic 
vocals  with  spoken  phrases  (only  partly  in  English), 
utilizes  samples  to  excellent  effect  and  embraces  both 
funereal  tempos  ("Beat  and  Scream")  and  industrial 
disco  ("A.P.R.").  A  tantalizing  musical  venture  by 
any  standards,  it  proves  that,  in  their  genre,  Borghesia 
have  the  skills  and  creative  tools  to  compete  with  the 
world's  best. 

Exposure  to  Western  audiences  through  touring  and 
(self-produced)  videos  resulted  in  the  mutated  12-inch 
cover  of  Sonic  Youth's  "She  Is  Not  Alone,"  Borghesia 


then  returned  to  their  own  culture  for  Resistance, 

loosely  an  album  of  protest  songs.  Dropping  the  playful 
aspects  of  Escorts  and  Models,  this  venture  Is  sinister 
through  and  through,  an  often  unsettling  voyage  into  the 
heart  of  totalitarianism.  The  beats  pound  ominously,  the 
lyrics  are  direct  and  the  choruses  have  a  martial  feel. 
While  Borghesia  is  clearly  capable  of  doing  fee  com- 
mercial tango.  Resistance  is  a  battle  with  evil. 

Doubiebill  is  a  joint  12-inch  shared  with  England's 
Click  Click:  Borghesia's  side  consists  of  two  mixes  of 
"Naked  Uniform  Dead"  (from  Escorts)  and  two 
non-LP  cuts.  [tf] 

THE 

CITIZENS 

See  Sound. 

BOSS  HOG 

See  Pussy  Galore. 

ANNE  RICHMOND  BOSTON 

See  Swimming  Pool  Q's. 
See  Nikki  Sudden. 

DENNIS  BOVELL 

Brain  Damage  (nr/Fontana-Phonogram)  1 981 

BLACKBEARD 

Strictly  Dub  Wire  (nr/Tempus)  1 978  (nr/Ballistk-UA) 

1978 
I  Wah  Dub  (nr/More  Cut-EMI)  1980 

DENNIS  BOVELL  AND  THE  DUB 
BAND 

Audio  Actrve  (Moving  Target)  1 986  * 

Guitarist  Dennis  "Blackboard"  Bovell  has  long 
been  a  reggae  musician  and  producer  of  high  standing. 
(He  co-founded  Matuinbi,  defunct  for  several  years  now 
but  still  remembered  as  one  of  England's  first  and  best 
self-contained  reggae  bands;  try  their  Point  of  View  LP 
on  EMI  America.)  Bovell  also  happened  to  have  been  a 
school  chum  of  white  jazz-pop  keyboardist  Nick  Straker 
and  musician/producer  Tony  Mansfield  (New  Musik, 
Captain  Sensible,  etc.),  with  whom  he  maintained  con- 
tact; such  eclectic  musical  connections  have  enabled  him 
to  bring  a  fresh  perspective  to  the  production  of  early 
new  wave  bands  like  the  Slits  and  the  Pop  Group. 

This  same  eclecticism  informs  his  dub  LPs  in  con- 
ceptual outlook  and  willingness  to  take  chances  beyond 
the  usual  electronic  overkill.  Bovell  creates  strong  in- 
strumentals  that  are  mainly  written  and  arranged  for 
dub;  the  catchy  melody  lines  are  dissected  but  not  dis- 
integrated. Strictly  Dub  Wize  (mostly  performed  by 
Boveil,  with  some  help  from  Matumbi  and  others)  ex- 
hibits cleverness  and  humor  by  the  bagful  (one  track 
even  bases  itself  on  "Surrey  with  the  Fringe  on  Top' '  I). 
I  Wah  Dub  carries  Boveil's  creation  of  aurally  pungent 
tracks  infused  with  musical  witticisms  from  merely  ex- 
cellent to  brilliant.  Aside  from  some  drumming,  the  odd 


81 


piano  part  here  or  melodica  toot  there,  Boveli  plays 
everything. 

Brain  Damage  and  Audi©  Active  are  also  both  con- 
sistently enjoyable,  though  less  spectacular:  neither  uses 
much  dub  at  all.  The  former  adds  a  mixed  bag  of  boogie- 
woogie,  rock'n'roll  and  R&B  to  the  reggae,  and  Bov- 
elFs  homely  but  good-humored  vocals  adorn  several 
tracks,  < A  bonus  dub  LP — all  new  tracks,  similar  to  I 
Wah  Dub,  though  not  as  engrossing — is  included.) 
Good  lightweight  groove  music,  ideal  for  summer. 

The  later  record — a  band  effort,  including  Straker 
and  Matumbf  s  horn  duo — is  mostly  vocal  and  almost 
all  reggae.  Surprisingly,  the  instrumental  and  dub  tracks 
are  less  interesting  than  the  vocal  tunes;  Boveli 's  song- 
writing  has  grown  and  his  singing's  matured.  If  Eddy 
Grant  stuck  to  reggae  for  most  of  an  LP  it  might  sound 
like  this.  Durably  likable,  it  goes  by  too  dam  fast — all 
ten  tracks  are  between  three  and  four  minutes  long. 

OgJ 

Man  of  Words/Man  of  Music  (Mercury)  1 969 

Hie  Man  Who  Sold  the  World  (Mercury)  1 970  (RCA) 

1972  (Rykodisc)  1990® 
Hunky  Dory  (RCA)  1971  (Rykodtsc)  1990  • 
The  Rise  and  Fall  of  Ziggy  Stardust  and  the  Spiders  from 

Mars  (RCA)  1 972  (Rykodisc)  1 990  • 
Space  Oddity  (RCA)  1972  (Rykodisc)  1990  • 
Images  1966-1967  (London)  1973 
Aladdin  Sane  (RCA)  1973  (Rykodisc)  1990  • 
Psn-Ups  (RCA)  1973  (Rykodisc)  1990  • 
Diamond  Dogs  (RCA)  1974  (Rykodisc)  1990  • 
David  Live  (RCA)  1974  (Rykodisc)  1990  ® 
Young  Americans  (RCA)  1975  (Rykodisc)  1991  • 
Station  to  Station  (RCA)  1 976  (Rykodisc)  1991  * 
Changesonebowie  (RCA)  1976  • 
Low  (RCA)  1977® 
Starting  Point  (London)  1977 
Heroes  (RCA)  1977® 
Stage  (RCA)  1 978 
Lodger  (RCA)  1979® 
Scary  Monsters  (RCA)  1 980  • 
Changestwobowie  (RCA)  1981  ® 
Lefs  Dance  (EM!  America)  1 983  • 
Golden  Years  (RCA)  1983® 
Tonight  (EMI  America)  1 984  • 
Fame  and  Fashion  (RCA)  1 984  ® 
Never  Let  Me  Down  (EMI  America)  1 987  • 
Sound  4- Vision  (Rykodisc)  1989  ® 
Changesbowie  (Rykodisc)  1 990  • 

TIN  MACHINE 

Tin  Machine  (EMI)  1989® 

Throughout  his  lengthy  career,  David  Bowie  has 
worked  in  many  widely  disparate  musical  areas,  and 
virtually  all  of  them  have  proven  enormously  influen- 
tial, even  if  sometimes  it's  taken  years  for  the  rest  of  the 
rock  world  to  catch  up  with  him.  Nonetheless,  the  mer- 
curial star  continues  to  shift  gears,  styles  and  fashions 
almost  as  often  as  shirts  and,  by  example,  helps  keep 
pop  and  rock  developing  and  changing,  (Unfortunately, 
long  after  he's  abandoned  some  excessive  dalliance  or 
another,  his  camp  followers  trundle  on,  missing  the 
ephemeral  and  transitory  essence  of  Bowie's  work.) 
Even  if  only  as  the  source  of  unreproachably  hip  songs 


to  cover,  Bowie  has  pla>ed  an  essential  role  in  glam- 
rock,  new  wave,  post-punk,  neo-soul,  dance  music,  etc. 

Although  he  actually  began  recording  in  the  late 
'60s,  we  join  the  Bowie  show  in  progress  at  the  dawn  of 
the  '70s,  when  he  dropped  some  of  his  more  theatrical 
Anthony  Newley  affectations  and  got  down  to  rockV 
roll  cases  (The  discography  omits  some  of  the  less 
significant  compilations  and  repackages,  as  well  as  film 
soundtracks,  collaborations,  EPs  and  spoken-word 
records. ) 

The  Man  Who  Sold  the  World  begins  Bowie's 
affair  with  guitar-heavy  rock'n'roll,  courtesy  Mick  Ron- 
son.  Tony  Visconti's  compressed  production  gives  the 
album  an  utterly  synthetic  audio  quality;  few  records 
this  simply  played  sound  as  studio-created.  In  retro- 
spect, the  grim  futurist  imagery  of  * 'Saviour  Machine," 
"The  Supermen"  and  "Running  Gun  Blues"  seems  far 
more  prescient  than  the  thrilling  but  unadventurous 
band's  music.  Still,  a  shockingly  strong  debut  for  the 
electrified  Bowie.  (Besides  illustrating  the  album's  var- 
ious covers,  the  Ryko  reissue  adds  a  previously  unre- 
leased  track  and  the  "Holy  Holy"  single  from  1970,  as 
well  as  both  sides  of  the  1971  Arnold  Corns  single:  early 
versions  of  "Moonage  Daydream"  and  "Hang  on  to 
Yourself,"  both  of  which  would  get  full  play  on  Ziggy 
Stardust.) 

Hunky  Dory  was  a  detour  of  sorts,  briefly  returning 
a  seemingly  innocent  Bowie  to  his  hippie-folkie-cabaret 
days  for  the  catchy  "Changes"  and  the  obnoxiously 
precious  "Kooks,"  plus  such  atypically  direct  tributes 
as  "Song  for  Bob  Dylan"  and  "Andy  Warhol."  But  the 
album  also  contains  the  redemptive  "Life  on  Mars," 
"Queen  Bitch"  and  "Oh!  You  Pretty  Things,"  all  es- 
sential cornerstones  in  the  burgeoning  glam-sci-fi- 
decadence  world  Bowie  was  assembling.  (The  reissue 
adds  an  alternate  mix  of  the  album's  "Bewlay  Broth- 
ers" and  a  demo  of  its  "Quicksand,"  as  well  as  a  sec- 
ond version  of  the  previous  LP's  "Supermen"  and  an 
unreleased  '71  song,  "Bombers.") 

Bowie  began  his  fey  alien  role-playing  in  earnest  on 
Ziggy  Stardust,  a  classic  rock'n'roll  album.  He  intro- 
duces this  new  persona  via  the  pseudo-biographical  title 
track;  otherwise,  songs  paint  a  weird  portrait  of  an  an- 
drogynous (but  sexy)  world  ahead.  Armed  with  super- 
charged guitar  rock  and  truly  artistic  production  (Bowie 
and  Ken  Scott),  and  mixing  rock'n'roll  stardom  imag- 
ery with  a  more  general  Clockwork  Orange  outlook,  the 
peerless  set  (including  "Suffragette  City,"  "Hang  on  to 
Yourself,"  "Rock'n'Roll  Suicide"  and  "Moonage 
Daydream")  outlines  some  of  the  concerns  that  under- 
pinned a  lot  of  rock  songwriting  in  the  '70s  and  '80s. 
(The  reissue — also  available  in  a  deluxe  edition  with  a 
slipcase  and  book  of  liner  notes — adds  demos  of  the  title 
track  and  "Lady  Stardust,"  the  otherwise  unreleased 
"Sweet  Head,"  a  '71  B-side,  "Velvet  Goldmine,"  and 
a  remix  of  the  1972  single  "John,  I'm  Only  Dancing.") 

Bowie's  label  then  dredged  up  an  oldie,  reissuing 
1969's  lightweight  Man  of  Words/Man  of  Musk  as 
Space  Oddity  (after  the  memorable  lead-off  track,  but 
clearly  in  the  hopes  of  cashing  in  on  Ziggy 's  sci-fi  con- 
tent). The  Ryko  edition  adds  a  1970  B-side  ("Conver- 
sation Piece"  and  a  two-part  single  version,  with  Mick 
Ronson's  first  appearance,  of  the  album's  hippydippy 
"Memory  of  a  Free  Festival").  In  another  dose  of  deja 
vu,  an  American  corporate  relative  of  Bowie's  old  UK 


82 


label  put  together  a  two-disc  set  of  even  earlier  record- 
ings « primarily  from  the  1967  David  Bowie  LPi,  titling 
it  Images  1966-1967.  Years  later,  London  condensed 
Images  into  the  single-record  Starting  Point. 

Having  peaked  so  gloriously  uith  a  character  that 
could  not  last  indefinitely,  Bowie  adjusted  Ziggy  a  bit 
on  Aladdin  Sane  and  came  up  with  a  weird  set  of 
tunes — some  tremendous,  some  minor — and  a  distant, 
unpleasant  left-field  studio  sound.  "Panic  in  Detroit," 
"Watch  That  Man,'*  "The  Jean  Genie"  and  "Drive-In 
Saturday"  are  some  of  his  greatest  songs,  painting  bleak 
pictures  of  detached  existences,  with  cinematic  strokes 
and  killer  riffs.  Rather  than  singing  about  apocalypse, 
Bowie  captures  the  barren  feel  of  a  dead  world,  and 
feeds  it  into  the  music.  Aladdin  Sane  is  also  notable  for 
allowing  a  serious  crooner  side  to  re-emerge — as  on 
4 Time,"  a  foreshadow  of  future  developments.  That 
said,  it  must  be  noted  that  Bowie's  revisionist  cover  of 
* 'Let's  Spend  the  Night  Together"  is  utterly  misguided. 

In  a  surprisingly  guileless  gesture,  Bowie  next  made 
an  all-covers  album  of  songs  by  great  mid- '60s  English 
bands.  Although  not  easily  related  creatively  to  Bowie's 
creative  flow,  Ptn-Ups  is  a  wonderful,  loving  tribute 
that  contains  generally  ace  renditions  of  classic  but,  in 
America  at  least,  largely  unknown  songs  by  the  Pretty 
Things,  Pink  Floyd,  Them,  Mojos,  Merseys,  Kinks, 
Yardbirds,  Easybeats  and  Who.  If  nothing  else,  Bow- 
ie's reverent  consideration  helped  gave  the  songs  and 
artists  much-deserved  cachet  in  the  new  rock  world. 
(The  Rykodisc  edition  adds  two  worthless  items:  a  pre- 
viously unissued  rendition  of  Bruce  Springsteen's 
"Growing  Up"  and  a  dnppy  version  of  a  Jacques  Brel/ 
Mort  Shuman  composition — "Port  of  Amsterdam" — 
that  had  been  used  as  a  B-side.) 

Bowie  then  jettisoned  his  band  and  drafted  a  new 
bunch  of  sidemen  to  further  explore  his  trendily  somber 
vision  of  a  doomed  future  on  Diamond  Dogs.  Although 
the  LP  contains  one  of  Bowie's  most  incredible  and 
concise  songs — "Rebel  Rebel,"  perfectly  describing  his 
followers  and  their  role  in  the  new  society — and  such 
significant  items  as  "1984"  and  "Rock  'n  Roll  with 
Me,"  it  also  has  a  pompously  overblown  and  underde- 
veloped concept.  In  retrospect,  Diamond  Dogs  isn't  so 
bad,  but  it  does  suffer  significantly  from -eccentric, 
seemingly  unfinished,  production  and  strident  sound. 
The  1990  reissue  addresses  the  latter  concern  with 
much-improved  remastering,  unexpurgates  the  cover 
painting  to  its  intended  form  and  adds  two  tracks:  an 
intricate  demo  of  the  album's  "Candidate"  and  1973's 
previously  unreleased  soul  stomp  "Dodo." 

Bowie's  first  concert  record,  the  two-record  David 
Live,  was  recorded  in  Philadelphia  at  two  1974  shows 
with  a  ten-piece  band  featuring  guitarist  Earl  Slick.  Fea- 
turing a  fine  song  selection  broadly  drawn  from  the  pre- 
ceding albums,  the  program  also  includes  renditions  of 
the  Stax  classic  "Knock  on  Wood"  and  "All  the  Young 
Dudes,"  a  song  Bowie  had  graciously  given  Mott  the 
Hoople.  The  reissue  adds  "Time"  and  "Here  Today, 
Gone  Tomorrow," 

Dropping  his  gimmicky  costumes,  Bowie  donned  a 
fine  suit  and  made  Young  Americans,  an  album  mainly 
composed  of  phony  (but  pleasant)  Philadelphia  soul/ 
rock  mixed  with  other  oddities,  like  a  truly  awful  col- 
laboration with  John  Lennon,  "Fame."  It  took  five 
years  for  the  British  new  wave,  finally  bereft  of  their 


own  new   ideas,  to  ape  Bowse  and  .start 
African- American  idioms  into  their  work. 

Following  that  bnef  infatuation,  Btmje  launched  an 
experimental  pha&e  that  direct!}  influenced  far  more 
bands,  especially  the  "neu  romantics*"  and  arty  mini- 
malists Station  to  is  a  impersonal 
mixture  of  chilly  show  ballads,  techno-pop  and  what- 
ever was  passing  for  disco  that  vear.  The  album  features 
the  hit  "Golden  Years,"  but  also  the  experimental  and 
challenging  "TVC15."  Il  also  marked  the  beginning  of 
Bowie's  artistic  distance  from  his  former  rock- idol  role. 

That  trend  was  formally  instigated  \vith  Low,  on 
which  Bowie  arranged  to  co-opt  the  modernistic  sensi- 
bility of  Bran  Eno  ( his  collaborator  on  three  consecu- 
tive studio  LPs )  and  present  a  selection  of  tracks  that  are 
not  so  much  songs  as  word-paintings  or,  in  many  cases, 
simply  mood  pieces.  Moving  from  the  grandiosity  of 
Young  Americans  to  the  art-noise  sketches  here,  Bowie 
took  heart  from  intellectual,  bare-bones  rock  bands  like 
Wire  and,  in  turn,  helped  legitimize  and  promote  such 
spartan  sty  lings. 

As  the  follow-up  to  Low,  Heroes  has  slightly  flesh- 
ier production,  though  nearly  one  fall  side  is  comprised 
of  whizzing  synthesizers  and  amorphous  textural  noo- 
dling.  Robert  Fnpp  contributes  lead  guitar,  and  his  pres- 
ence adds  a  bit  of  sinew  to  the  overall  sound,  something 
lacking  in  the  less-forceful  Low.  The  album  leans 
heavily  on  chilly,  European  affectations  (with  a  large 
debt  owed  to  Kraft werk),  but  also  has  room  for  a  gen- 
uine and  spectacular  pop  single,  the  atmospheric ,  con- 
certedly  European  title  track  (also  released  in  French 
and  German). 

Bowie's  second  double-live  LP,  Stage,  features  a 
Carlos  Alomar/ Adrian  Belew  guitar  lineup  and  includes 
hits  ("Ziggy  Stardust,"  "Fame")  as  well  as  Eno-era 
album  tracks  ("Warszawa,"  "Beauty  and  the  Beast"). 

Lodger,  the  third  installment  of  the  Bowie-Eno  tril- 
ogy, finds  Bowie  drifting  back  into  a  solid  song-onented 
context.  Though  much  of  the  material  seems  to  be 
stream-of-consciousness,  there  are  a  couple  of  pure  pop- 
pers, such  as  "DJ."  and  "Boys  Keep  Swinging,"  that 
recall  a  more  commercial  time.  Also  of  interest  is  Bow- 
ie's version  of  "Sister  Moonlight/'  rewritten  as  "Red 
Money." 

Scary  Monsters  is  Bowie's  most  consistent  LP 
since  the  pre-Low  period,  a  culmination  of  the  styles 
that  had  been  showcased  individually  on  previous  discs. 
The  tone  is  up-front,  a  confrontation  with  the  real  world 
of  alienation  Bowie  always  ascribed  to  his  fictional  set- 
tings. Scary  Monsters  contains  two  soon-to-be  stan- 
dards: "Ashes  to  Ashes"  and  "Fashion." 

Having  tired  of  years  of  acclaim  matched  with  only 
sporadic,  middling  glimmers  of  the  kind  of  success  that 
superstars  are  supposed  to  enjoy,  Bowie  changed  labels 
and  made  Let's  Dance,  a  calculated  effort  (with  the 
production  assistance  of  Nile  Rodgers)  to  get  in  step 
with  the  sound  of  today,  rather  than  tomorrow  or  yes- 
terday, his  usual  habitats.  Not  surprisingly,  Bowie  suc- 
ceeds at  whatever  he  sets  his  mind  to,  and  the  record 
was  a  worldwide  smash.  "Let's  Dance,"  "Modern 
Love"  and  "China  Girl"  may  not  be  the  Thin  White 
Duke's  finest  creations,  but  they  do  hit  a  solid  compro- 
mise between  art  and  commerce,  and  don't  harm  his 
reputation  nearly  as  much  as  expand  his  audience  (and 
bank  balance). 


83 


Several  years  later,  Bowie  regained  the  nghis  to  his 
back  catalogue  and  attempted  to  arrange  for  his  entire 
oeuvre  to  be  reissued  b>  his  new  label.  The  plan  back- 
fired, and  all  of  the  RCA  albums—on  vinyl,  tape  and 
CD — went  out  of  print.  Fortunately,  Bowie  was  able  to 
strike  a  deal  that  led  to  a  full-scale,  top-notch  reissue 
program,  beginning  in  1989  with  the  extraordinary 
Sound  4-  Vision  boxed  set,  a  beautifully  appointed  col- 
lection of  classics,  obscurities,  previously  unissued  out- 
takes,  1972  concert  recordings,  etc.  Except  for  the 
inclusion  of  too  many  tracks  from  the  live  albums,  this 
is  a  monumental  aad  fascinating  way  to  rediscover 
Bowie, 

After  a  mega-tour  to  consolidate  the  album's  huge 
success,  Bowie  banged  out  Tonight,  a  casual,  smug 
cookie-cutter  job  geared  for  easy  chart  ascent.  ( What 
other  recording  challenges  are  left  for  Bowie?  He's  tried 
self-indulgent  art  and  go-for-the-jugular  commercial- 
ism, scoring  just  what  he  wanted  on  both  fronts. )  In  its 
losing  defense,  the  album  does  include  a  duet  with  Tina 
Turner  and  a  remarkably  swell  pop  hit,  "Jazziif  for 
Blue  Jean,"  that  recalls  far  earlier  times  in  his  career. 

The  styleless  Never  Let  Me  Down  was  released  to 
general  indifference  and  critical  dension.  Although  this 
casual  loud-rock  outing — Peter  Frampton  and  Carlos 
Alomar  share  guitar  responsibilities  with  Bowie — seems 
on  first  blush  to  be  slapdash  and  slight,  the  first  side  is 
actually  quite  good,  offering  provocative  pop-culture 
lyrics  delivered  with  first-take  enthusiasm  and  carefree 
backing.  "Day-In  Day-Out**  is  silly  but  charming  in  its 
way;  the  verses'  catchy  ticktock  pop  on  "Beat  of  Your 
Dram"  makes  it  resemble  a  Cars  song;  the  Lennonish 
title  track  is  equally  weird  and  likable.  Bowie  has  rarely 
sounded  so  unconcerned  and  relaxed.  The  inferior  sec- 
ond side  starts  off  with  the  subsequent  tour's  fantasy- 
land  nonsense  theme  song  ("Glass  Spider'*)  and  ends 
with  Iggy's  "Bang  Bang,"  a  cute  digression  in  keeping 
with  the  record's  flip  attitude. 

After  that  fiasco,  Bowie  went  off  and  formed  a  col- 
laborative modem-rock  quartet  with  guitarist  Reeves 
Gabrels  and  the  fraternal  rhythm  section  of  Hunt  and 
Tony  Sales.  Taking  pages  from  Bowie's  loose-sounding 
work  with  Iggy  as  well  as  Diamond  Dogs,  Tin  Ma- 
chine's first  album  (a  follow-up  was  reportedly  recorded 
in  late  '89  but  still  not  released  by  early  '91)  is  loud  and 
blunt — occasionally  a  bit  brutish — with  provocative 
songs  that  are  credible  but  (with  the  exception  of  *  'Baby 
Can  Dance"  and  "Crack  City")  not  especially  memo- 
rable. While  the  results  of  the  experiment  are  equivocal 
and  it's  hardly  a  significant  item  in  Bowie's  catalogue, 
as  a  noisy  and  exciting  rock  album,  Tin  Machine  is 
better  than  most. 

The  Changesonebowie  compilation  covers  a  lot  of 
stylistic  ground  in  eleven  tracks:  from  "Space  Oddity" 
and  "Changes"  to  "Rebel  Rebel"  and  "Golden 
Years. "  Changestwobowie  is  weaker,  but  still  has  such 
amazing  tracks  as  "Sound  and  Vision,"  "Starman," 
"DJ."  and  "1984."  The  eighteen-track  Changes- 
foowie,  issued  to  coincide  with  the  1990  greatest-hits 
tour,  includes  all  of  the  first  Changes  LP  (replacing  the 
original  "Fame"  with  a  remix),  adds  "Fashion"  and 
"Ashes  to  Ashes"  from  the  second,  and  then  tops  it  off 
with  such  tunes  as  "Heroes,"  "Let's  Dance,"  "China 
Girl,"  "Modern  Love"  and  "Blue  Jean."  Fame  and 
Fashion — drawing  only  from  RCA  albums — straddles 


all  three,  with  a  half-dozen  or  so  in  common  with  each 
and  only  one  soog  (*TVC15")  that  doesn't  appear  on 
any  of  the  others.  The  pointless  and  unnecessary  Golden 
Years  repeats  Fame  and  Fashion* s  "Fashion," 
"Golden  Years"  and  "Ashes  to  Ashes,"  but  also  con- 
tains things  like  "Joe  the  Lion,"  "Wild  Is  the  Wind" 
and  "Scary  Monsters."  [jw/i] 

See  also  Adrian  Belew,  Iggy  Pop,  Lou  Reed. 

Your  Cassette  Pet  [tape]  ( nr/EMS}  1 980 

See  Jungle!  See  Jungle!  Go  join  Your  Gang  Yeah!  City  All 

Over,  Go  Ape  Crazy  (RCA)  1 981 
The  Last  of  the  Mohicans  EP  (RCA)  1 982 
1  Want  Candy  (RCA)  1982 
Twelve  Original  Recordings  (Harvest)  1 982 
When  the  Going  Gets  Tough  the  Tough  Get  Going  (RCA) 

1983 
The  Best  of  Bow  Wow  Wow  (nr/Receiver)  1 989  ® 

Fever  (RCA)  1986® 

Bow  Wow  Wow  may  have  been  easily  dismissed  by 
some  as  rock  entrepreneur  Malcolm  McLaren's  cre- 
ation, but  the  band  deserved  better.  Combining  musi- 
cians lured  away  from  Adam  and  the  Ants  (with  whom 
McLaren  had  briefly  worked)  and  fifteen-year-old  singer 
Annabella  Lwin,  the  ever-provocative  McLaren  formed 
the  band,  launching  their  career  via  a  45,  "C-30,  C-60, 
C-90  Go/'  which  espoused  the  virtues  of  home  taping 
at  a  time  when  the  band's  record  company  (and  virtually 
all  others)  were  beginning  to  bitterly  oppose  it.  True  to 
McLaren's  precepts  (although  it  should  be  noted  that 
tapes  at  that  time  were  not  as  commonly  copied  as 
discs),  Your  Cassette  Pet  is  a  tape-only  collection  of 
eight  songs.  Except  for  **I  Want  My  Baby  on  Mars" 
and  a  painful  rendition  of  'Tools  Rush  In,"  the  material 
is  marked  by  Annabella' s  breathless  ranting  and  inces- 
sant drumming  style  "borrowed"  from  the  African  Bu- 
rundi tribe.  The  results  are  cheerful  if  smarmy. 

The  first  full-length  album,  See  Jungle!  See  Jun- 
gle!, isn't  as  wound  up  as  Cassette  Pet,  but  does  show 
artistic  growth.  By  downplaying  the  leering  football 
chants,  Bow  Wow  Wow  is  able  to  investigate  subtler 
lyrics  and  rhythms.  And  fueled  by  drummer  Dave  Bar- 
barossa,  they  pack  quite  a  wallop. 

Last  of  the  Mohicans  is  a  four-song  EP  whose  pro- 
ducer (Kenny  Laguna,  of  Joan  Jett  fame)  and  lead-off 
track  (the  Strangeloves'  "I  Want  Candy")  were  chosen 
presumably  for  their  American  commercial  potential.  If 
nothing  else,  the  sound  is  cleaner  than  before. 

The  discographical  plot  thickens  with  I  Want 
Candy,  released  in  two  distinctly  different  versions. 
The  American  LP  is  comprised  of  the  Mohicans  EP, 
four  tracks  from  See  Jungle!  (three  of  them  remixed) 
and  two  new  cuts.  The  UK  album  of  the  same  title 
makes  Your  Cassette  Pet  available  on  vinyl,  except  for 
"Louis  Quatorze."  It  also  includes  a  few  British  single 
sides  and  the  US-only  EP,  with  its  re-recorded  "Louis 
Quatorze."  Got  that? 

Not  to  be  outdone,  EMI's  American  affiliate  issued 
Twelve  Original  Recordings.  This  is  essentially  the 
British  I  Want  Candy  LP  minus  several  tracks.  Pay 
your  money  and  take  your  choice. 

McLaren  and  Bow  Wow  Wow  parted  company  in 


84 


1982  and  the  all-new  When  the  Going  Gels  Tough  was 
recorded  free  of  his  machinations.  On  their  final  album. 
Bow  Wou  Wow  delivered  much  the  same  musical  bar- 
rage as  before,  but  without  an>  of  the  propagandists 
pretense.  The  band  subsequently  ejected  Annabeila  and 
regrouped  as  the  Chiefs  of  Relief.  The  Best  of  Bow 
Wow  Wow  neatly  compresses  Bow  Wow  Wow's  entire 
career — with  hits  and  album  selections  from  Your  Cas- 
sette Pet  through  When  the  Going  Gets  Tough — onto 
a  single  sixteen-track  album. 

Having  outgrown  her  traumatic  youth,  Annabeila1  s 
solo  alburn  is  basically  high-gloss  rubbish,  despite  the 
efforts  of  six  very  different  producers  (including  S  lade's 
Jim  Lea,  hip-hop  heavy  John  Robie  and  Zeus  B.  Held). 
It's  not  that  Annabeila  can't  sing,  it's  just  that  she's 
foundering  here  without  purpose  or  personality.  Even  a 
cover  of  Alice  Cooper's  "School's  Out"  goes  appall- 
ingly wrong.  [si/i] 

See  also  Adam  and  the  Ants,  Chiefs  of  Relief 


The  Box  EP  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1983 

Secrets  Out  (nr/Gol  Discs}  1 983 

Great  Moments  in  Big  Slam  (nr/Go!  Discs}  1 984 

Muscle  Sn  EP  (nr/Doublevision}  1 985 

Muscle  Out  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 985 

One  of  the  few  bands  capable  of  effectively  com- 
bining the  spontaneity  and  musicianship  of  jazz  with  the 
urgency  and  rough-edged  sound  of  rock,  the  Box  were 
a  five-piece  spin-off  from  Sheffield  industrial  funksters 
Clock  DVA.  Comparisons  to  Captain  Beefheart,  Gang 
of  Four,  the  Minutemen  and  Omette  Coleman  are  all 
appropriate;  execution  is  first-rate  (especially  by  ex- 
Clocks  Paul  Widger  on  guitar  and  saxophonist  Charlie 
Collins),  the  material  frantic. 

The  Box  EP  contains  five  manic  cuts,  setting  instru- 
ments on  wild  collision  courses  behind  Peter  Hope's 
vocals.  Secrets  Out  improves  on  that  formula  by  inject- 
ing unexpected  subtleties  and  an  underlying  murkiness 
that  give  even  more  impact  to  the  hyperactive  guitar/sax 
counterpoint.  A  solid,  frenzied  album  guaranteed  to 
keep  listeners  on  their  toes. 

Great  Moments  In  Big  Slam,  however,  is  quite  a 
letdown.  The  pace  is  slower  and  the  band  really  doesn't 
get  a  chance  to  cut  loose,  but  that's  not  the  problem  so 
much  as  the  heavy-handed  percussion  and  grossly  ex- 
aggerated vocals  which  dominate  the  production.  After 
releasing  the  Muscle  In  EP,  the  Box  announced  a  trial 
separation  to  pursue  other  projects.  The  posthumous 
Muscle  Out  was  recorded  live  at  the  Leadmill  in  Shef- 
field. 

See  also  Cabaret  Voltaire. 


BOY  GEORGE 

Sold  (Virgin)  1987* 

Tense  Nervous  Headache  (nr/Vlrgin)  1988  • 

Boyfriend  (Ger.  Virgin)  1 989  • 

High  Hat  (Virgin)  1 989  • 

The  Martyr  Mantras  (Virgin)  1991  4> 

Following  Culture  Club's  dissolution — not  to  men- 
tion a  public  bout  with  drug  addiction  and  a  series  of 
lurid  and  tragic  tabloid  scandals — formerly  flamboyant 
frontman  Boy  George  (O'Dowd)  attempted  to  resume 


his  career  but  could  onJy  come  up  witti  the  wretched 

Away  from  his  former  bandit&ies,,  George  and 

Club  producer  Stewart  Levin*  whipped  up  a  forgettable, 

overblown  concoction  possessing  none  of  the  flair  of  the 

band's  tetter  work,  Indicathe  of  the  Bo>  *s  total  creative 
bewilderment,  the  album's  dubious  high  is  an  ab- 
surd reggaefied  version  of  Bread's  "Everything  I  O^n" 

f  styled  after  a  Ken  Bootfee  rendition  which  the 

British  charts  in  1 974 1, 

The  singer's  next  American  album,  studied  together 
from  two  overseas  releases  lone  of  which  didffi  even 
come  out  in  England),  finally  appeared  as  High  Hat, 
Under  any  title,  it's  slick,  assembly-line  R&B  with  nary 
a  shred  of  personality.  How  odd  that  a  performer  who 
built  a  huge  career  on  stylized  outrage  should  end  up 
making  music  this  anonymous.  Four  tracks  produced  by 
former  Prince  drummer  Bobby  Z  t  including  the  almost- 
successful  tortured-diva  move  "Whisper"!  show  a  bit 
more  musical  and  lyrical  character  but,  in  this  context, 
that's  not  saying  much. 

The  Martyr  Maetras,  a  dance-oriented  compila- 
tion of  non-LP  singles  and  newer  tracks  recorded  with  a 
variety  of  producers  (including  one  collaboration  with 
ex-Culture  Club  confrere  Jon  Moss),  is  a  significant 
improvement.  Though  most  of  the  material  is  more  func- 
tional than  inspired,  the  uncluttered  extended  dance-mix 
settings  allow  George  to  deliver  some  genuinely  soulful 
vocal  performances,  particularly  on  the  disco  number 
* 'Generations  of  Love"  (included  in  two  versions)  and 
the  ballad  "One  on  One."  Of  equal  note  is  the  return  of 
his  sociopolitical  conscience  on  "No  Clause  28,"  an 
effective  and  good-humored  anti-oppression  rant. 

See  also  Culture  Club.  [i/hd] 

BOYS 

The  Boys  {nr/NEMS)  1 977  (nr/Link  Classics)  1 990  » 
Alternative  Chartbusters  (nr/NEMS}  1978  (nr/Link 

Classics)!  990  » 

To  Hell  with  the  Boys  (nr/Safdri)  1 979 
Boys  Only  (nr/Safari)  1980 

YOBS 

The  Yobs  Christmas  Album  (nr/Safari}  1 980  (nr/Great 

Expectations)  1 989  * 

Too  unseriously  pop-minded  for  the  punks  and  too 
punky  for  the  power-poppers,  well  received  nearly  ev- 
erywhere in  Europe  except  at  home  in  England,  beset 
with  label  woes  in  the  UK  and  name  confusion  in  the 
US,  the  star-crossed  Boys  were  perennially  in  the  wrong 
place  at  the  wrong  time. 

Norwegian  expatriate  Casino  Steel  (the  band's  key- 
board player  and  co-writer  of  much  of  their  first  three 
albums)  was  already  a  veteran  of  this  sort  of  thing, 
having  been  a  member  of  the  Hollywood  Brats,  a  Lon- 
don glitter  band  styled  after  the  New  York  Dolls. 

The  Boys*  first  album  is  an  inconsistent  (if  promis- 
ing) melange  of  Steel's  Bratisms,  standard  punkarama 
and  the  stirrings  of  a  Beatle  (and  other  pop)  influence. 
Alternative  Chartbusters,  though,  presents  infec- 
tiously rocking  tunes  played  with  irreverent  elan,  fea- 
turing Duncan  "Kid"  Reid's  engagingly  adolescent 
readings  of  the  mostly  humorous  lyrics  (often,  as  on  To 
Hell  with  the  Boys,  playing  the  punk  schlemiel),  cul- 
minating in  a  pair  of  classic  pop-punk  singles,  "Brick- 
field Nights"  and  "First  Time."  The  third  album 


85 


{ recorded  in  the  tiny  Norwegian  town  of  the  punny  title ) 
delivers  more  of  the  same,  but  with  slicker  and  fuller 
sound — organ  in  addition  to  piano,  more  dual  guitars — 
and  more  variety.  Sadly,  reverses  (among  them.  Steel's 
deportation)  took  their  toll,  and  the  Boys,  as  a  quartet, 
made  a  fourth  album  that's  flatter  than  stale  soda. 

Under  a  not-very-obscure  pseudonym,  the  Boys  re- 
corded an  LP  of  Yuletide  favorites  (plus  their  own  sea- 
sonal compositions)  in  various  variations  on  pop-punk, 
sometimes  just  cute,  but  mostly  skipping  irreverence 
and  heading  straight  for  sheer  tastelessness,  e.g.,  ** Si- 
lent Night"  by  Nazi-punks  and  'Twelve  Days  of  Chnst- 
mas"  translated  by  "Oi"  brigands  into  locker-room 
scatology.  Subsequently,  Boys  guitarist  Honest  John 
Plain  cut  an  LP,  New  Guitars  in  Town,  with  Lurker 
Pete  Stride,  supported  by  other  members  of  both  bands, 
who  had  formed  an  alliance  of  sorts.  [jg] 

See  also  Lurker s. 

BOYS  NEXT  DOOR 

See  Birthday  Party. 

BPEOPLE 

See  Alex  Gibson. 

BRADFORD 

Shouting  Quietly  (Sire)  1990  * 

Bradford's  Ian  H.  is  a  talented  chap.  He  writes 
better-than-average  melodic  pop-rock  songs  (mostly 
about  life  and  love  in  northern  England),  his  lyrics  dis- 
play a  wit  and  verbal  ability  worthy  of  Elvis  Costello 
and  he  sings  them  in  a  way  that'll  remind  you  a  lot  of 
Momssey  (Bradford  comes  from  a  Manchester  suburb, 
not  the  nearby  town  for  which  the  group  is  named,  and 
were  discovered  by  producer  Stephen  Street — who  did 
the  honors  here — opening  a  show  for  Morrissey).  So 
why  isn't  Shouting  Quietly  a  better  album?  Consider 
the  title.  The  record  is  just  too  low-key  for  its  own  good; 
the  band  never  delivers  the  punch  to  make  the  songs 
involving.  These  days,  shouting  quietly  just  may  not  be 
enough.  [ds] 

BILLY  BRAGG 

Life's  a  Riot  with  Spy  vs.  Spy  (nr/Utility)  1 983 

(nr/UtilNy-Go!  Discs)  1 983 
Brewing  Up  with  Billy  Bragg  (CD  Presents)  1984 
Between  the  Wars  EP  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1 985 
Life's  a  Riot  Etc  (CD  Presents)  1985 
"Days  Like  These''  EP  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1 985 
Talking  with  the  Taxman  About  Poetry  (Go!  Discs-Elektra) 

1986© 

Back  to  Basics  (Go!  Discs-Elektra)  1987  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 987  • 
Help  Save  the  Youth  of  America  EP  (Go!  Discs-Elektra) 

1988* 

Workers  Playtime  (Go!  Discs-Elektra)  1 988  • 
The  Internationale  (Utility-Elektra)  1990  4> 

Playing  a  solitary  electric  guitar  and  singing  his  pithy 
compositions  in  a  gruff  voice,  Billy  Bragg  reintroduced 
the  essence  of  folksmging — not  the  superficial  trap- 
pings, but  the  deep-down  Woody  Guthrie  activist/ 
adventurer  archetype — to  the  modern  rock  world. 


Although  his  tools  are  utterly  simple,  Bragg  is  capable 
of  enormous  strength  and  depth  in  his  writing  and  per- 
forming, spinning  off  touching,  warm  love  songs  as 
well  as  trenchant  social  satire  and  socialist  political  com- 
mentary. 

On  the  seven  tracks  of  Life's  a  Riot  ( recorded  orig- 
inally as  songwriting  demos),  Bragg  waxes  tender 
( 4 'The  Milkman  of  Human  Kindness" ) ,  bitter  ( * "  A  New 
England")  and  sarcastic  ("The  Busy  Girl  Buys 
Beauty"),  keeping  things  blunt  and  one-take  spartan, 
making  it  an  ultimate  no-frills  pop  record.  Combining 
the  wordplay  wit  and  strong  emotions  of  Elvis  Costello 
with  the  grumpy  melodic  charm  of  Paul  Weller,  it's  a 
small,  articulate  masterpiece. 

Brewing  Up,  a  relatively  ambitious  full-length  un- 
dertaking with  a  tiny  bit  of  organ  and  trumpet  (not  to 
mention — gasp! — overdubbed  guitars  and  vocals),  finds 
Bragg  retaining  all  of  his  ragged  pop  appeal  while  sharp- 
ening his  pen.  The  songs  focus  on  romance,  offering 
nervous  but  perceptive  angles  on  love  and  lust  ("Love 
Gets  Dangerous,"  "The  Saturday  Boy,"  "A  Lover 
Sings").  He  also  shreds  Fleet  Street  journalism  with  "It 
Says  Here." 

Bragg  then  turned  his  attentions  to  another  tradi- 
tional subject  for  angry  young  men  with  guitars:  poli- 
tics. He's  done  countless  benefit  concerts,  played  in 
Communist  countries  and,  via  Red  Wedge,  the  musi- 
cians' organization  he  helped  found,  campaigned  for  the 
Labour  Party.  Between  the  Wars,  an  extraordinarily 
powerful  7-inch  EP,  is  Bragg  at  his  finest,  singing  of 
England's  peacetime  recessions  ( *  'Between  the  Wars'  * ) , 
chronicling  a  17th  century  rebellion  ("The  World 
Turned  Upside  Down")  and  reviving  the  1940s  union 
classic,  "Which  Side  Are  You  On." 

"Days  Like  These,"  a  subsequent  three-song  sin- 
gle, shows  Bragg's  deepening  commitnient  to  socialist 
political  activities.  This  latter-day  Woody  Guthrie  belts 
out  sincere  (if  occasionally  awkward)  constructs  like  "I 
see  no  shame  hi  putting  my  name  to  socialism's  cause/ 
Nor  to  seek  some  more  relevance  than  spotlight  and 
applause." 

Talking  with  the  Taxman  About  Poetry  ("the  dif- 
ficult third  album")  is  a  great  leap  forward,  the  deft 
application  of  understated  instrumental  accompaniment 
on  some  of  Bragg's  best-ever  songs.  "Greetings  to  the 
New  Brunette"  (widely  known  as  "Shirley")  is  an  airy 
love  song  with  serious  underpinnings;  "Levi  Stubbs' 
Tears"  tells  chillingly  of  a  tragic  couple,  colored  with  a 
touch  of  flugelhorn,  trumpet  and  percussion;  "Ideol- 
ogy" consciously  paraphrases  Dylan's  "Chimes  of 
Freedom"  for  a  scathing  look  at  the  old-boy  buddy  club 
of  British  government;  rinky-tink  piano  provides  the  set- 
ting for  "Honey,  I'm  a  Big  Boy  Now,"  a  sharp-eyed 
appraisal  of  marital  failure;  "Help  Save  the  Youth  of 
America"  is  a  powerful — and  not  ill-considered — 
indictment  from  abroad.  The  only  false  step  is  a  cover  of 
the  Count  Bishops'  tuneless  "Train  Train,"  which  in- 
terrupts the  flow  of  Side  One. 

Subtitled  "live  and  dubious,"  the  1988  EP,  issued 
to  coincide  with  an  American  tour,  contains  four  live 
recordings  (including  the  title  track,  captured  in  Mos- 
cow, complete  with  translated  intro),  "There  Is  Power 
in  a  Union,"  done  bluegrass  style  with  accompaniment 
by  the  Pattersons,  an  alternate  studio  version  of  "Days 
Like  These' '  and  a  leaflet  promoting  voter  registration 


86 


and  electoral  responsibility.  Life's  a  Riot  Etc  is  a  handy 
American-only  release  that  combines  all  of  the  first 
mini-album  with  Between  the  Wars  for  a  Bragg  then- 
and-now  extravaganza,  complete  with  lyric  sheet.  Back 
to  Basics  goes  that  effort  one  better  by  putting  Life's  a 
Riot,  Between  the  Wars  and  Brewing  Up  on  two  discs, 
billed  as  "the  first  21  songs  from  the  roots  of  urbane 
folk  music. "  The  Peel  Sessions  EP  was  recorded  live  in 
1983  for  radio  broadcast  and  contains  renditions  of  **A 
New  England,"  "Love  Gets  Dangerous/'  John  Gale's 
"Fear"  and  a  hilarious  Britain-specific  exploration  of 
"Route  66." 

On  the  Costeilo-esque  Workers  Playtime,  veteran 
folk-rock  producer  Joe  Boyd  stretches  Bragg 's  sonic 
palette,  setting  that  undisguisable  voice  and  irrepress- 
ible wit  into  utterly  appealing  frames  without  undermin- 
ing his  homespun  integrity.  (Frequent  sidewoman 
pianist  Cara  Tivey  again  plays  a  major  role.)  Although 
Bragg's  political  consciousness  is  such  that  the  prole- 
tarian Chinese  art  cover  absurdly  carries  the  slogan, 
"Capitalism  is  killing  music,"  most  of  these  excellent 
new  creations  ("She's  Got  a  New  Spell,"  "The  Price  I 
Pay,"  "Life  with  the  Lions")  are  about  the  ups  and 
downs  of  personal  affairs.  When  he  mentions  Marx  in 
"The  Short  Answer,"  a  truly  beautiful  love  song,  it's 
only  to  locate  Mary  in  the  dictionary.  Indicative  of 
Bragg's  unpretentious  maturity,  the  cynical  "Waiting 
for  the  Great  Leap  Forwards"  (which  invokes  Camelot 
and  Castro,  and  quotes  Mott  the  Hoople  to  boot)  offers 
this  sardonic  couplet:  "Mixing  pop  and  politics  he  asks 
me  what  the  use  is/I  offer  him  embarrassment  and  my 
usual  excuses." 

No  such  self-effacement  troubles  Bragg  on  The  In- 
ternationale, a  well-meaning  but  misbegotten  seven- 
song  collection  of  left-wing  anthems  and  Bragg's  own 
dubious  contributions  to  the  genre.  An  a  cappella  tribute 
to  Phil  Ochs  that  rewrites  "I  Dreamed  I  Saw  Joe  Hill 
Last  Night"  is  a  sanctimonious  embarrassment,  and 
Bragg's  ambitiously  orchestrated  rendition  of  "The  In- 
ternationale" is  neither  impressive  nor  amusing.  Like- 
wise, the  tra-Ia-la  merriment  with  which  Bragg  sings 
"The  Marching  Song  of  the  Covert  Battalions,"  his  ode 
against  imperialism,  fails  to  achieve  the  desired  ironic 
effect.  [i] 


BRIAN  BRAIN 

Unexpected  Noises  (nr/Secret)  1980 

Fun  with  Music!  EP  (Plaid)  1985 

Time  Flies  When  You're  Having  Toast  (Moving  Target) 

1987* 

Although  Brain — or,  more  accurately,  Martin 
Atkins — was  the  drummer  in  Public  Image  for  a  time 
(more  recently  he's  toured  with  Ministry),  his  solo  ca- 
reer has  taken  a  much  less  dour  direction.  So  while 
Unexpected  Noises — mostly  his  own  work — is  of  little 
consequence,  at  least  it  attempts  to  be  anarchic  and 
funny  rather  than  anarchic  and  glum.  Biggest  problem 
here  is  the  poor  production,  which  leaves  the  sound 
muddled  and  flat. 

Five  years  later,  Atkins  emerged  from  a  period  of 
inactivity  and  returned  to  the  concert  circuit  and  vinyl 
world  in  Brian  Brain  (the  Group),  an  outfit  including 
original  Go-Go's  bassist  Margot  Olavama.  Fun  with 
Music!  is  a  four-song  12-inch  recorded  in  New  York. 


Brain's  bod\  may  be  in  America        cut-up 
of  "U.S.A.1*  is  a  jaundiced  cultural  but  his 

brain  is  on  clean  living:  two  numbers  pitch  anti-drug-use 
messages.  Interestingly ,  the  ex-PiLer  a  song  called 
""Happy?"  t\vo  years  before  the  album  of  that  name. 

The  subsequent  Time  Flies  f  which  sounds  a 

bit  like  a  modernized  cross  between  Captain  Sensible 
and  John  Otway)  reprises  a  pair  of  songs  from  the  EP 
and  adds  eight  more,  all  recorded  with  Olavania,  gui- 
tarist Geoff  Smyth  and  others.  The  rhythm-heavy  hip- 
hop/massed-drums  tracks — with  jungle  ambience, 
found  sounds  and  other  sonic  ephemera  keeping  things 
appropriately  offbeat — are  a  bit  short  on  melody  t  but 
not  concept  or  wit.  Atkins  isn't  a  great  singer,  but  he  has 
a  lively  mind  and  an  absurdist  outlook  to  keep  things 
stimulating  even  when  the  music  drags.  [i] 

See  also  Ministry,  Public  linage  Ltd, 


BRAINS 

The  Brains  (Mercury)  1 980 

Electronic  Eden  (Mercury)  1 981 

Dancing  Under  Streetlights  EP  (Landslide)  1982 

The  Brains*  story  is  typical  of  many  independent 
bands  who  signed  to  not-so-swift  big  labels.  Led  by 
lanky  Tom  Gray,  this  Atlanta-based  quartet  first  gar- 
nered widespread  attention  with  a  striking  homemade 
single,  "Money  Changes  Everything."  The  Brains  sub- 
sequently recorded  two  LPs  for  Mercury,  but  neither 
sold  a  speck.  Following  a  divorce  by  mutual  consent, 
the  group  returned,  poorer  and  wiser,  to  the  independent 
label  scene. 

On  both  albums,  producer  Steve  Lilly  white  concocts 
a  thick,  heavy  sound  that  subjugates  Gray's  synthesizers 
and  Rick  Price's  aggressive  guitars  to  the  tunes  them- 
selves. And  for  good  reason:  Gray's  songs  are  tart  ac- 
counts of  love  and  confusion  perfectly  suited  to  his  dry, 
sardonic  voice.  The  Brains  offer  a  rougher  and  less  glib 
variant  of  the  Cars'  ironic  sensibility,  which  is  probably 
why  they  never  achieved  widespread  popularity.  Gray 
and  crew  unsettle  rather  than  divert. 

The  Brains  includes  a  re-recording  of  the  cynical 
"Money  Changes  Everything"  and  "Gold  Dust  Kids," 
a  pithy,  unsentimental  portrait  of  decadence.  Electronic 
Eden  features  the  bitter  romanticism  of  "Heart  in  the 
Street,"  covered  (badly)  by  Manfred  Mann  and  "Col- 
lision," a  humorously  tasteless  look  at  a  brain-damaged 
car-crash  survivor. 

The  four-song  EP  is  more  of  the  same  intense  long- 
ing and  hidden  passion.  If  the  Brains  sound  a  bit  weary, 
chalk  it  up  to  the  record  biz  blues.  Dancing  Under 
Streetlights  isn't  the  best  starting  point,  but  it's  a  wor- 
thy continuation.  The  Brains  have  since  disbanded.  (As 
an  undoubtedly  lucrative  footnote,  Cyndi  Lauper  cov- 
ered "Money  Changes  Everything"  on  her  first  LP.) 

Oyl 
GLENN  BRANCA 

Lesson  No.  1  (99)1980 
The  Ascension  (99)  1981 

Symphony  No.  1  (Tonal  Plexus)  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 983 
Symphony  No.  3/Gbria  (Neutral)  1983 
Symphony  No.  6  (Devil  Choirs  at  the  Gates  of  Heaven) 
(Blast  First)  1 989  • 


87 


GIOiNO 

Who  You  Staring  At?  fGIomo  Poetry  Systems)  1982 

Many  artists  have  had  their  music  described  as  a 
wall  of  sound,  but  few  have  deserved  it  as  much  as  New 
York  composer/guitarist  Glenn  Branca.  One  of  the  first 
to  realize  that  a  classical-rock  fusion  need  not  involve 
technique-crazed  keyboardists  soloing  away  to  the  ac- 
companiment of  rehashed  Brahms  or  Stravinsky,  Branca 
writes  music  of  orchestral  richness  that  retains — intact — 
all  of  rock's  danger,  urgency  and  impact. 

With  his  roots  In  the  downtown  no-wave  movement 
of  the  late  '70s,  Branca' s  Lesson  No.  I  was  the  first 
release  on  the  influential  99  label.  Slow,  repetitive  har- 
monic changes  and  hidden  sub-motifs  invite  compari- 
sons to  minimalists  like  Philip  Glass,  but  Branca 's  music 
is  more  dissonant,  primitive  and — above  all — loud. 

The  Ascension  is  the  closest  he's  ever  come  to  an 
out-and-out  rock  album.  Atop  pulverizing  bass/drum 
combinations,  Branca  and  three  other  guitarists  build  a 
thick,  layered  mass  of  shifting  textures,  sometimes  all 
on  one  chord,  sometimes  in  a  dense  cacophony  of  six- 
string  clusters.  Suffice  to  say,  it  packs  quite  a  wallop. 

Branca's  side  of  the  joint  disc  with  poet  John  Giorno 
is  music  commissioned  for  a  dance  piece  (Bad  Smells) 
by  Twyla  Tharp.  Except  for  very  brief  sections  of  quiet, 
most  of  it  is  resembles  The  Ascension. 

Only  three  of  Branca's  seven  symphonies  have  been 
recorded  and  released  commercially  so  far,  but  that's  the 
format  in  which  he  is  most  effective.  Played  by  large  en- 
sembles, the  pieces  incorporate  a  plethora  of  amplified 
instruments  of  his  own  design  (primarily  dulcimer-like 
things  strung  with  steel  wire  and  hammered  with  mallets) 
in  addition  to  guitars,  horns  and  a  battery  of  percussion. 
He  builds  intense  drones  and  ear-shattering  crescendos 
while  exploring  the  sonic  possibilities  of  large  tonal  clus- 
ters and  the  resultant  overtones.  Symphony  No.  1  alter- 
nates between  one  relentless,  thundering  chord  and 
primal  rhythmic  pounding.  As  instrumental  layers  build, 
overtones  clash  to  produce  melodies  of  their  own,  and 
can  even  trick  the  listener  into  hearing  instruments  that 
aren't  there.  Symphony  No.  3  adds  homemade  key- 
boards, giving  an  orchestral  and  almost  Oriental  sound  to 
the  piece — delicacy  amidst  the  thunder.  Both  recordings 
are  hindered  in  that  it  is  impossible  to  capture  the  full 
effect  of  his  live  performances,  where  the  volume  gen- 
erally runs  around  wake-the-dead  level. 

After  a  long  recording  hiatus,  Branca's  Symphony 
No.  6  (subtitled  Devil  Choirs  at  the  Gates  of  Heaven) 
was  released  in  1989.  Maybe  an  ear  specialist  suggested 
he  turn  things  down  a  notch;  several  of  the  old  ideas  are 
in  effect,  but  volume  levels,  compositional  techniques 
and  textures  are  much  more  varied  than  on  previous 
works.  No  fewer  than  ten  guitarists,  ranging  from 
Swans/Of  Cabbages  and  Kings  bassist  Algis  Kizys  to 
conservatory-trained  classicists,  plug  away  at  a  million 
and  one  riffs,  leaving  space  for  fairly  prominent  key- 
board parts.  Branca  doesn't  renounce  volume,  but  he 
arrives  at  it  by  way  of  crescendos  rather  than  instant 
deafness.  [dgs 


BRAND  NUBIAN 

OneforAII(Elektra)  1990* 


OF 

Dynamite  (4*  &  B'way)  1988  • 

Mixing  delightful  daisy-age  soul,  funk  and  go-go 
grooves  with  engaging  rapid-fire  rapping,  this  excep- 
tionally talented  New  Rochelle,  New  York  too  provides 
a  nearly  irresistible  setting  for  its  promotion  of  the  Five- 
Percent  Nation's  bizarre  Islamic  racism.  Some  of  the 
articulate  tracks  on  the  self-produced  One  for  All  push 
a  positive  message  of  education,  self-preservation  and 
peace,  but  others  are  loaded  with  the  usual  cryptic  ref- 
erences to  obscure  religious  beliefs  that  can  rain  the 
party  for  nonbelievers. 

Before  forming  Brand  Nubian,  rapper/producer 
Grand  Puba  Maxwell  (Dixon)  led  the  non-religious 
Masters  of  Ceremony.  Dynamite  displays  some  prom- 
ising signs  of  life  in  some  of  the  grooves  (like  the  title 
track  and  the  deconstructed  PE  style  of  "Rock 
Steady"),  but  most  of  the  lyrics  are  pretty  pedestrian. 

W 


BRAVE  COMBO 

Music  for  Squares  (Four  Dots)  1 981 
World  Dance  Music  (Four  Dots)  1984 
No  Sad  Faces  (Four  Dots)  1985 
People  Are  Strange  EP  (Rogue)  1 986 
Musical  Varieties  (Rounder)  1 987  • 
Polkatharsis  (Rounder)  1987  * 
Humansville  (Rounder)  1 988  * 
A  Night  on  Earth  (Rounder)  1 990  • 

Formed  by  Denton,  Texas  homeboy  Carl  Finch  in 
1979,  Brave  Combo  are  witty  and  wise  purveyors  (and 
perverters)  of  polkas  and  musics  of  many  nations.  A 
highly  successful  tour  of  local  mental  institutions  honed 
their  chops,  and  each  record  reveals  an  ever-more- 
adventurous  and  itinerant  package  of  sounds.  By  explor- 
ing and  exploiting  the  least  hip  music  on  god's  green 
earth — the  polka — Finch  and  Co.  demonstrate  that  ev- 
erything most  people  know  about  pop  music  is  wrong. 

The  aptly  titled  debut  album,  Music  for  Squares, 
finds  them  grinding  out  polka,  cha-cha,  twist,  waltz  and 
tango  standards  and  originals  with  rockish  energy.  On 
World  Dance  Music  they  began  to  take  rock  standards, 
such  as  the  Doors'  "People  Are  Strange,"  and  twist 
them  into  weird  ethnic  shapes  (such  as  the  Romanian 
hora).  You'll  hear  an  African-ska  version  of  a  Perez 
Prado  hit,  as  well  as  the  usual  assortment  of  cumbias, 
nortenas,  schottisches  and,  of  course,  polkas.  "If  we 
missed  your  part  of  the  world,"  suggests  the  cover, 
"please  check  future  releases." 

The  live  No  Sad  Faces  contains  an  unforgettable 
"In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,"  a  cha-cha  version  of  **O  Holy 
Night,"  a  ska  take  on  "Little  Bit  of  Soul"  and  much 
more.  The  Musical  Varieties  compilation  is  an  excel- 
lently produced  and  generous  introduction  to  the  band 
which  sets  the  stage  for  Polkatharsis,  the  Combo's 
brave  return  to  its  roots.  They  play  hardball  with  eleven 
polkas — from  "Happy  Wanderer"  to  "Who  Stole  the 
Kishka" — on  thus  all-trad  collection,  adding  a  couple  of 
sweet  waltzes  and  a  schottische. 

Like  their  European  (conceptual)  cousins  3  Mus- 
taphas  3,  the  Combo  has  evolved  from  being  merely  a 
good  joke  into  a  fine  band.  On  Humansville,  the  play- 
ing is  tighter,  the  originals  are  serious  (space  is  impor- 


tant,  money  Isn't  everything  I  and  the  conceits  seem  less 
forced.  That's  maturity  for  you. 

Guaranteeing  plenty  of  smiles,  A  Night  on  Earth 
follows  the  Brave  Combo  on  another  delightfully  capri- 
cious stylistic  smorgasbord  (in  English,  Spanish  and 
instrumental  Italian)  of  witty  originals  (like  the  anti- 
complacency  44Do  Something  Different")  and  a  smooth 
cover  of  **Hey  There**  (Rosemary  Clooney  et  al.). 
Imagine  what  might  happen  if  these  guys  made  a  record 
with  Kid  Creole  .  .  .  [rg/i] 

The  Very  Long  Fuse  (Homestead)  1 985 
The  Ice  Machine  (Homestead)  1987 
Smokers'  Paradise  EP  (Homestead)  1987 

BIG 

Afghanistan  (Horse  Latitudes)  1 989 

Mouthful  of  Violence  (Horse  Latitudes-Community  3) 

19904> 

Breaking  Circus  began  as  a  vehicle  for  Steve  Bjork- 
lund,  veteran  of  the  '80-' 83  Chicago  punk  explosion  (as 
a  member  of  the  seminal  Strike  Under  and,  later,  Ter- 
minal Beach).  The  eight-song  45  rpm  Very  Long  Fuse 
is  terse,  post-punk  vitriol  set  to  a  banging  dance-beat 
drum  machine.  "The  Imperial  Clawmasters'  Theme" 
and  "Precision"  are  sharp,  jagged  and  guitar-powered, 
unique  for  such  dancefloor  bop.  (The  closest  stylistic 
reference  is  the  Three  Johns,  whose  songs  Breaking 
Circus  have  played  live.) 

Bjorklund  then  relocated  to  Minneapolis  and  put  to- 
gether a  more  stable  band-type  environment,  borrowing 
the  rhythm  section  of  Rifle  Sport  when  that  group  isn't 
working.  The  Ice  Machine  contains  sinister  and  me- 
thodical blows  like  "Song  of  the  South,"  "Ancient 
Axes"  and  "Took  a  Hammering."  Trading  fire  for  poi- 
soned darts,  Ice  Machine  gets  under  the  skin  with  re- 
peated listenings. 

Smokers'  Paradise  offers  similar  fare  (complete 
with  another  imposing  hammer  adorning  the  cover), 
only  better.  The  instrumental  title  track  adds  smoky, 
ghostly  acoustic  and  tiptoeing  piano,  a  walk  through  a 
haunted  graveyard;  the  trademark  saber-toothed  guitars 
on  "Eat  Lead"  and  "Three  Cool  Cats"  (not  the  1959 
Coasters  hit)  are  equally  hair-raising.  An  eerie  and  in- 
novative pleasure. 

Although  the  group  split  around  '88,  Bjorklund  has 
since  used  the  Breaking  Circus  name  to  release  a  solo 
single  of  Naked  Raygun  and  U.K.  Subs  covers  done  as 
electro-pop.  While  the  rhythm  section  continues  on  in 
Rifle  Sport,  second  guitarist  Phil  Harder  formed  Big 
Trouble  House,  a  trio  in  which  his  vocals  lean  more 
towards  Steve  Albini  than  Bjorklund;  with  constant 
tempo  changes,  Afghanistan's  overall  feel  is  less 
spooky  and  more  meandering  than  Breaking  Circus.  A 
somewhat  formative  effort,  this  interesting  and  gener- 
ally good  album  was  largely  overshadowed  by  the  ex- 
cellent "Watered  Down"  single  (produced  by  Albini) 
that  followed  in  '90. 

Though  as  haphazard  and  as  woefully  inconsistent 
as  its  predecessor,  Mouthful  of  Violence  is  indeed  an 
improvement.  With  meatier  production  by  Albert  Gar- 
zon,  the  more  succinct  songs  (like  "Union  Feed  Grain 
Mill")  show  Big  Trouble  House  capable  of  a  rocking 
edge  and  intensity  that  compares  favorably  to  the  Did- 


jits.  The  CD  also  includes  "Watered  Down/'  aE  unre- 

leased  track  and,  for  reason,  four 

IF! 

Pod|4AD!  1990© 

In  this  appealing  side-project  supergroup,  Kim  Deal 
I  the  Pixies  bassist,  here  playing  guitar  I  and  guitarist 
Tanya  Donelly  of  Throwing  Muses  are  joined  by  bassist 
Josephine  Wiggs  (who  left  the  Perfect  Disaster  soon 
after)  and  drummer  Britt  Walford  (using  the  pseudonym 
Shannon  Doughton)  of  Slint.  Everybody  sings.  Deal, 
responsible  for  such  Pixies  highlights  as  "Gigantic" 
and  "Silver,"  wrote  most  of  Pod,  the  sound  of  which 
(as  "engineered"  by  Steve  Albini)  favors  the  Pixies  far 
more  than  the  gentler  Muses.  Side  One's  a  bit  shaky, 
saved  by  a  wry  remake  of  "Happiness  Is  a  Warm  Gun" 
and  Deal's  blazing  "Hellhound"  (describing  an  aborted 
fetus  that  survives).  But  the  second  half  of  the  album  is 
damn  near  perfect,  kicking  off  with  the  scrumptious 
lilting  pop  of  "Fortunately  Gone,"  churning  through 
"Iris"  (a  wrenching  account,  with  majestic  guitars,  of 
menstruation)  and  oe  to  the  intoxicating  magical-realism 
of  "Opened,"  the  frankly  sexual  "Only  in  3's"  and 
Wiggs'  Wire-y  mutterings  on  "Metal  Man."  [ws] 

BILLY 

Bash!  (nr/Aristal  1984 

Erstwhile  Rockpile  guitarist  Bremner  is  far  more 
talented  than  his  low  profile  would  indicate;  insecurities 
have  hampered  him  considerably.  In  many  ways,  Bash! 
is  the  Dave  Edmunds  album  Edmunds  never  made  (and 
more  consistent  than  anything  Dave's  done  since  Re- 
peat When  Necessary,  which  included  three  Bremner 
songs).  Billy's  a  bit  poppier  and  a  better,  more  prolific 
songwriter  than  his  former  bandmate. 

Ex-Records  drummer  Will  Birch  produced  and  sup- 
plied the  lyrics  on  BashJ,  which  also  benefits  from  pre- 
viously unrecorded  donations  (one  each)  from  Elvis 
Costello  (brilliant!)  and  DifforoVTilbrook  (they  should 
have  finished  writing  it  first).  The  album  doesn't  contain 
Bremner' s  Stiff  45,  "When  Laughter  Turns  to  Tears," 
but  still  delivers  the  goods  track  after  track.  [jg] 

See  also  Pretenders,  Rockpile. 

JACK  BREWER  BAND 

See  Saccharine  Trust. 

BRILLIANT 

See  Youth  &  Ben  Watkins. 

BRILLIANT  CORNERS 

Growing  Up  Absurd  (nr/SS20)  1985 

Fruit  Machine  EP  (nr/SS20)  1 986 

Whafs  in  a  Word  (nr/SS20)  1986  (nr/McQueen)  1988 

Somebody  Up  There  Likes  Me  (nr/McQueen)  1 988  • 

Everything  I  Ever  Wanted  (nr/McQueen)  1988 

Joyride  (nr/McQueen)  1989  • 

Bristol's  Brilliant  Corners  are  capable  of  the  most 
joyous  of  pop  sounds — bright,  ringing  guitars  skipping 
through  a  mix  of  peppy  drums,  tight  bass,  trumpet  and 
piano.  By  the  same  token,  the  group  is  also  capable  of 

89 


the  most  depressing  lyrics.  Like  Morrissey,  singer/ 

songwriter  Davey  Woodward  has  cunoas  preoccupa- 
tions— with  death  and  dying  and  lost  and  unrequited 
loves.  The  Brilliant  Comers'  music  is  beyond  reproach, 
but  Woodward  is  one  miserable  boy. 

Growing  Up  Absurd,  while  not  as  striking  as  it 
might  have  been,  sets  the  course  for  the  quintet's 
releases — bouncy  pop  with  the  unusual  novelty  of  a  fall- 
time  trumpeter.  The  Fruit  Machine  EP  sparkles  with 
invention:  piercing  guitar  lines,  nimble  trumpeting  and 
keyboards  make  "Meet  Me  on  Tuesdays"  and  "Jim's 
Room"  the  best  of  these  four  tracks. 

Brilliant  Comers  continued  their  creative  expansion 
on  What's  in  a  Word,  adding  strings  and  female  back- 
ing vocals.  The  band's  greatest  songs  are  here:  "Laugh 
I  Could* ve  Cried/'  "A  Very  Easy  Death"  and  "Ego- 
tistical Me."  The  delightful  "Boy  and  a  Cloud"  sug- 
gests that  Davey  may  not  be  as  miserable  as  we  think 
he  is. 

Somebody  Up  There  Likes  Me  shows  the  Brilliant 
Comers  at  their  most  accomplished;  musically  and  lyr- 
ically, they  are  unnervingly  precise.  A  dozen  ardent 
testimonials  on  life  and  love  in  the  '80s — "She's 
Dead,"  "Never  a  Young  Girl"  and  "With  a  Kiss"  are 
a  far  cry  from  the  trite  pop  ditties  we've  come  to  expect 
from  this  kind  of  musical  backing.  It's  rare  to  find  such 
soul-baring  honesty  in  pop  music. 

Everything  I  Ever  Wanted  is  a  compilation  of 
Growing  Up  Absurd  and  Fruit  Machine.  [ag] 

BRITISH  ELECTRIC  FOUNDATION 

Music  for  Stowaways  [tape]  (nr/Virgin)  1981 
Musk  for  Listening  To:  {nr/Virgin)  1 981 
Music  of  Quality  and  Distinction  Volume  One  (nr/Virgin) 
1982 

HOT 

Geisha  Boys  and  Temple  Girls  (nr/DinDisc-Virgin)  1 981 

In  search  of  more  meaningful  dance  music,  Martyn 
Ware  and  Ian  Craig  Marsh  abandoned  the  about-to-be- 
enormous  Human  League  in  1980  to  form  the  more 
experimental  (musically  and  structurally)  British  Elec- 
tric Foundation.  The  core  members — Marsh,  Ware  and 
singer  Glenn  Gregory — also  work  as  Heaven  17,  a  "di- 
vision" of  B.E.F.  Confused?  While  Heaven  17  is  geared 
for  dance  funk'n'soul,  B.E.F.  (for  a  while,  at  least) 
pursued  one-off  concept  projects  with  a  variety  of  other 
people,  like  the  suddenly  vocal  TV  dance  troupe  Hot 
Gossip. 

Music  for  Stowaways — released  only  on  cassette — 
consists  of  moody  instrumental,  ranging  from  funk- 
rock  to  icy  Germanic  synth-garde  to  electro-bop  and 
sound  experiments.  Much  of  it  was  reissued  on  the 
seven-track  Music  for  Listening  Tor,  which  also  in- 
cludes an  extra  track,  "A  Baby  Called  Billy/' 

Music  of  Quality  and  Distinction,  B.E.F.'s  first 
venture  into  pop  experimentation,  brings  in  a  number  of 
interesting  people  (including  Tina  Turner,  Gary  Glitter, 
Sandie  Shaw  and  Paul  Jones)  to  perform  cover  versions 
of  well-known  and  not-so-well-known  oldies,  from 
*  "These  Boots  Are  Made  for  Walking"  and  "Wichita 
Lineman"  to  David  Bowie's  "The  Secret  Life  of  Ara- 
bia" and  Lou  Reed's  "Perfect  Day."  Older  songs  hold 
up  better  under  this  treatment  than  new  ones  but,  over- 


all, choices  of  singers  and  musicians  are  on  the  mark. 
Despite  any  social  implications  (or  lack  thereof),  a  good 
time.  [sg] 

See  also  Heaven  17,  Human  League. 


DAVE  BROCK 

See  Hawkwind. 

Dem  Bones  (nr/Fall  Out)  1984  • 

Seeing  Thru  My  Eyes  EP  (nr/Fall  Out)  1 985 

Live  at  the  1 00  CSub  f  nr/Subversive  Sounds)  1 985 

Bonecrusher  (Combat  Core)  1 986 

F.OAD.  (Combat  Core)  1987 

Decapitated  (nr/Fall  Out)  1987  • 

Losing  Control  (nr/Heavy  Metal)  1989  © 

This  quartet  (originally  comprising  ex-Discharge 
guitarist  Bones,  Baz,  Oddy  and  Nobby)  may  not  be 
good  spellers,  but  they  certainly  have  a  clear  idea  which 
end  of  a  guitar  to  bash.  Playing  at  maximum  stun  vol- 
ume, Broken  Bones*  lack  of  literacy  presents  no  obsta- 
cle to  the  blunt  protest  songs  with  clear  and  indomitable 
rock  power  on  Dem  Bones.  An  early  and  distinctly 
British  center  ground  between  parochial  punk  (BB  gen- 
erally play  too  slow)  and  modern  metal  (but  more  top- 
ical and  fiery),  Broken  Bones  could  be  the  modern 
answer  to  the  MC5.  Or  just  another  would-be  Black 
Sabbath. 

By  the  time  of  the  half-studio/half-live  F.O.A.D. 
(suffice  to  say  three  of  the  initials  stand  for  Off  And 
Die),  Tezz  had  taken  over  bass  chores  from  Oddy  and 
the  band  had  grown  older  and  louder,  finding  a  niche  in 
the  pre-dinosaur  echelon  of  indie  metal.  The  seven  stu- 
dio tracks  sound  pretty  routine — all  muddy  bottom  and 
squalling  guitars — while  the  boiling  nine-song  speed- 
metal/Oi!  live  side  (London,  1986)  is  trebher  but 
equally  indistinct. 

Decapitated,  which  shares  a  single  CD  with  Dem 
Bones,  compiles  the  contents  of  four  singles  (a  dozen 
tracks  in  all),  including  1983's  "Decapitated"  and  the 
1985  10-inch,  Seeing  Thru  My  Eyes.  [i] 

BRONSK1  BEAT 

The  Age  of  Consent  (London-MCA)  1 984  * 
Hundreds  &  Thousands  EP  (London-MCA)  1 985  * 
Truthdare  Doubledare  (London-MCA)  1 986  ® 

Playing  only  electronic  instruments  and  singing  un- 
equivocal gay  lyrics  in  a  window-rattling  falsetto,  this 
London  trio  burst  full-blown  onto  a  complacent  music 
scene  in  1984.  Jimmy  Somerville  (who  left  the  follow- 
ing year  to  form  the  Communards)  has  a  piercing  voice 
which  he  can  modulate  for  greater  appeal  (as  on 
"Junk" );  the  band  plays  a  powerful  and  unique  breed  of 
techno-dance,  with  room  for  such  digressions  as  George 
and  Ira  Gershwin's  "It  Ain't  Necessarily  So"  and  Gior- 
gio Moroder-for-Donna  Summer's  "I  Feel  Love."  Far 
more  blunt  and  sexy  (the  cover  image  and  sleeve  notes 
are  similarly  plain-spoken)  than  Tom  Robinson's  old 
records  (to  which  the  group  surely  owes  a  cultural  debt 
of  gratitude),  The  Age  of  Consent  is  an  invigorating, 
courageous  and  memorable  album. 


90 


Underscoring  the  Bronskis'  club  and  dance  orienta- 
tion »  Hundreds  &  Thousands  offers  lengthy  remixes 
of  four  album  cuts  <**Why,"  ^Smalltown  Bo>," 
**Junk,"  "Heatwave")  plus  the  non-LP  "Run  from 

Love'1  and  '*Hard  Rain  "  Horns  have  been  added,  and 
all  the  tunes  extended  to  the  six-mmute-phts  range;  the 
cassette  and  CD  contain  two  more. 

Replacing  Somerville  with  John  Joe,  a  competent 
but  far  less  distinctive  singer,  Bronski  Beat  managed  to 
make  Tnithdare  Doiifoledare,  a  halfbaked  progression 
from  the  first  album.  "Hit  That  Perfect  Beat'1  is  exactly 
the  same  kind  of  hi-NRG  dance  excitement  favored  by 
post-Bronskis  Somerviile,  but  the  rest  of  the  record  at- 
tempts to  diversify  in  upscale  dance  directions  that  don't 
quite  pan  out.  While  the  songs  continue  to  address  gay 
issues  (*'Dr  John"  is  about  AIDS;  "We  Know  How  It 
Feels"  and  ** Punishment  for  Love"  both  concern  soci- 
etal pressures),  the  lyrics  are  vague  and  subtle  enough  to 
be  overlooked  by  casual  listeners.  [i/tr] 

See  also  Communards. 

JACQUI  BROOKES 

See  Fingerprintz. 

BROTHERHOOD  OF  LIZARDS 

See  Cleaners  from  Venus. 

DENNIS  BROWN 

See  Gregory  Isaacs. 

BRYGADA  KRYZYS 

Brygada  Kryzys  (Polish  Tonpress)  1982 
Brygada  Kryzys  (nr/Fresh)  1982 

This  semi-underground  (and  I  don't  mean  that  fig- 
uratively) Polish  band  is  not  exactly  in  the  mainstream 
of  world  punk  rock,  but  does  play  a  slightly  toned-down 
version  of  high-octane  guitar  (and  sax)  raunch  that  com- 
pares favorably  to  bands  from  Bauhaus  to  the  Sex  Pis- 
tols. While  not  breaking  any  new  creative  ground, 
Brygada  Kryzys  is  a  fascinating  and  credible  example  of 
stylistic  transliteration  from  one  culture  to  a  rather  dif- 
ferent one.  [i] 

BUCK  PETS 

The  Buck  Pets  (Island)  1989« 
Mercurotones  (Island)  1990  • 

Blasting  out  of  a  suburban  Dallas  garage  with  gui- 
tars blazing,  the  Buck  Pets  made  their  debut  in  a  fury  of 
loudly  textured  hard  rock.  A  bit  punky  in  approach  (gui- 
tarist Chris  Savage  knows  his  way  around  feedback;  the 
bratty  lyrics  are  sung  with  youthful  verve)  but  scaled  for 
stadiums,  the  quartet  shares  some  traits  with  other  young 
bands  rooted  in  the  likes  of  Led  Zeppelin.  While  the 
songs  on  The  Buck  Pets  are  rarely  memorable  ("A 
Little  Murder"  is  a  neat  exception),  Ron  St.  Germain's 
dynamic  production  captures  the  exciting  guitar  sound 
in  all  its  overmodulated  glory.  (The  CD  adds  a  bonus 
track.) 

While  most  ex-punks  head  straight  for  metal's  com- 
mercial slipstream,  the  Buck  Pets  actually  pulled  back 
on  the  arena  tendencies  and  made  a  punky  street-level 


second  album.  With  Michael  Bemhom  producing  \ 
playing  keyboards  I,  a  Re- 

placements influence,  throws  oft"  the  sort  of  ram- 

bunctious nff-rock  fa\ored  by  Sou!  Asylum  and 
employs  acoustic  guitars  and  a  few  acid-house  shuffle 
rhythms.  Indicative  of  fiou  to  the  Buck 

Pets  have  grown,  "Libertine"  f  a  track  produced  by  the 
Dust  Brothers)  features  horns  and  a  syncopated 
beat  [i] 

See  C&cteau  Tn>ims,  Brian  Eno. 

BUDDY  LOVE 

See  Alan  Milman  Sect, 

Buffalo  Tom  (Hoi.  Megadisc)  1989  (SST)  1989  • 
Craw!  EP  (Hoi  Megadisc)  1990 
Birdbrain  (Beggars  Banquef-RCAJ  1990  • 

Sometimes  jokingly  called  Dinosaur  Jr.  Ir. ,  this  tno 
from  western  Massachusetts  features  a  brand  of  scree- 
hyped  guitar  rock  based  in  the  post-Burma/Dii  tradition, 
and  has  spent  a  lot  of  its  studio  time  with  Dinosaur  Jr.'s 
guitar-honey,  4tlake"  Mascis.  Buffalo  Tom's  first  LP 
actually  came  out  in  Europe  before  it  was  picked  up  by 
SST,  but  the  second  was  released  by  a  major  label  as  a 
possible  wedge  into  the  college  market.  Buffalo  Tom's 
oink  has  a  kinda  student/hippie  charm,  and  the  band's 
sound  is  moving  away  from  its  derivative  beginnings 
into  more  original  (if  still  distinctly  college-rock)  ter- 
rain. It's  hard  to  imagine  them  ever  spreading  out  too 
far,  but  the  first  album  might  provide  a  nice  soundtrack 
for  your  next  late-night  pot  party.  (The  Birdbrain  CD 
includes  two  bonus  cuts,  including  acoustic  versions  of 
the  Psychedelic  Furs'  * 'Heaven"  and  Buffalo  Tom's 
"Reason  Why.")  [be] 

BUGGIES 

The  Age  of  Plastic  (island)  1 980  • 

Adventures  in  Modern  Recording  (Carrere)  1 982 

After  " Video  Killed  the  Radio  Star"  changed  the 
course  of  electro-pop  forever,  it  was  straight  downhill 
for  the  Buggies  as  a  group.  The  two  members,  however, 
proved  a  lot  more  durable  on  their  own:  Geoffrey 
Downes  went  on  to  grand  success  with  Yes  and  Asia; 
Trevor  Horn  became  a  hit  record  producer  (for  ABC  and 
Malcolm  McLaren)  before  founding  ZTT  Records  and 
foisting  Frankie  Goes  to  Hollywood  on  an  unsuspecting 
world. 

While  The  Age  of  Plastic  was  a  disappointment  to 
fans  of  the  Buggies'  cogent  45s,  Adventures  amounts 
to  little  more  than  a  self-explanatory  post-mortem.  Both 
albums  are  technically  stunning,  reasonably  catchy  and 
crashingly  hollow.  [i] 

See  also  Art  of  Noise,  Frankie  Goes  to  Hollywood. 

BULLET  LAVOLTA 

Bullet  LaVolta  EP  (Taang!)  1988  • 

The  Gift  (Taang!)  1 989  (RCA)  1 989  • 

Gimme  Danger  EP  (Metal  Blade-RCA-Restless)  1 990  4> 


91 


On  Its  initial  outing,  this  Boston  n>c-piecc  spews  up 

a  metallic-hardcore  composed  of  equal  parts 

AC'DC  and  Circle  Jerks.  Small  in  yet  possessing 

a  wail  bigger  than  Moby  Dick,  Indiana  banshee  Yukki 
Gipe  makes  up  for  his  lack  of  singing  ability  \vith  sheer 
pyrotechnics,  By  no  groundbreaking*  the 

raucous  six-song  debut  Is  an  excellent  sntro  to  a  band 
gleefully  making  the  kind  of  racket  your  parents  always 
told  you  to  turn  off.  fThe  cassette  contains  a  bonus 
track. ) 

Bullet  LaVolta's  assault  continues  on  The  Gift,  a 
swell,  chandelier-shattering  collection  of  powerfully 
noisy  rock  songs  punctuated  by  blasts  from  the  lethal 
twin  guitars  of  Clay  Tarver  and  Ken  Chambers  (on  loan 
from  his  other  band,  Moving  Targets).  The  best  cuts — 
the  vaguely  ps>ctiedelie  yowlathon  "Blind  to  You"  and 
the  near-pop  title  song  ( which  cops  part  of  Its  melody 
from  "You  Shook  Me  All  Night  Long") — fairly  define 
the  notion  of  punk-metal  crossover,  a  fact  that  helped 
BLV  to  a  major  label  deal  shortly  after  The  Gift's  re- 
lease. (The  RCA  reissue  adds  two  songs  from  the  EP; 
the  Taang!  CD  appends  the  whole  thing. ) 

Apparently  intended  as  a  stopgap  until  the  second 
LP»  Gimme  Danger  is  actually  a  worthwhile  purchase 
that  delivers  two  new  explosive  studio  tracks  ( "Every 
Hungry  Rabbit"  and  "Transparent  Man")  along  with 
three  live  numbers,  including  Kiss'  4 'Detroit  Rock 
City/'  [db] 

See  also  Moving  Targets. 


BUREAU 

See  Dexy's  Midnight  Runners. 

J.J.  BURNEL 

See  Stranglers. 

T-BONE  BURNETT 

Truth  Decay  (Takoma)  1 980  (nr/Demon)  1986  ® 

Trap  Door  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1982 

Proof  Through  the  Night  (Warner  Bros.)  1 983 

Behind  the  Trap  Door  EP  (nr/Demon)  1984 

T  Bone  Bumeft  (Dot-MCA)  1986  • 

The  Talking  Animals  (Columbia)  1 988  • 

Singer,  songwriter,  ace  producer  (Los  Lobos,  Mar- 
shall Crenshaw,  etc.),  Christian  moralist  and  pal  of 
Elvis  Costello,  T(-)Bone  Burnett  has  wielded  a  steady 
and  growing  influence  on  the  music  scene  since  the  late 
'70s.  Whether  his  inconsistent  records  leave  any  lasting 
mark  or  not,  he's  likely  to  make  his  presence  felt  in 
some  role  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

Burnett  debuted  on  disc  as  a  member  of  the  Alpha 
Band,  part  of  the  extended  family  surrounding  Bob  Dy- 
lan during  his  mid-* 70s  Rolling  Thunder  period.  Fol- 
lowing three  Alpha  Band  LPs,  he  went  solo  on  what 
remains  his  best  full-length  album,  Truth  Decay.  The 
loose  rockabilly  and  blues  grooves  offer  a  sympathetic 
backdrop  for  Burnett's  sweet  (countryish)'n'sour  (Dy- 
lanish)  vocals,  as  he  delivers  romantic  laments  and 
scathing  commentaries  on  the  sorry  state  of  contempo- 
rary life.  His  moral  essays  generally  don't  grate  ( "Mad- 
ison Avenue"  being  an  exception),  thanks  to  the  sheer 
musicality  of  the  sounds. 


The  Trap  Door  EP  is  even  better,  with  the  gleaming 
folk-rock  of  "Hold  on  Tight"  and  "I  Wish  You  Could 
Have  Seen  Her  Dance"  making  an  exhilarating  tonic  for 
troubled  souls.  And  the  sly,  sarcastic  "Diamonds  Are  a 
Girl's  Best  Friend"  gets  Ms  point  across  perfectly. 

Guess  the  boy's  head  got  turned  by  too  many  good 
reviews  and  famous  fans,  'cause  things  then  got  tainted 
with  smug  self-righteousness.  Proof  Through  the 
Night  boasts  a  stellar  supporting  cast  that  includes  Ry 
Cooder,  Richard  Thompson  and  Pete  Townshend.  How- 
ever, the  big  arrangements  and  epic  pretensions  grow 
tiresome,  especially  his  attempts  to  encapsulate  an  era  in 
"The  Sixties,"  "Hefner  and  Disney,"  et  al.  Burnett's 
got  some  valid  points,  but  who  made  him  judge  and 
jury? 

While  Behind  the  Trap  Door  may  be  a  sequel  to  his 
successful  EP,  it  plays  more  like  outtakes.  A  waste.  Far 
better  is  T  Bone  Burnett,  a  sparse,  largely  acoustic 
country  LP  that  marks  his  first  outing  without  a  hyphen. 
Songs  tend  to  be  more  personal  than  preachy,  with  the 
standard  "Poison  Love"  and  "Oh  No  Darling"  among 
the  highlights.  (The  CD  adds  three  bonus  Burnetts.) 

The  Talking  Animals  is  a  return  to  the  mainstream 
attempts  of  the  Warner  discs,  and  features  creative  input 
by  such  folks  as  Bono  and  Tonio  K.  Some  of  the  songs 
rock  tougher  than  anything  he's  done  before  (see  "Mon- 
key Dance"  and  "You  Could  Look  It  Up");  others 
succeed  only  in  scaling  new  heights  of  pretension.  Sung 
in  four  languages,  "Image"  could  be  a  Brecht  castoff, 
while  "The  Strange  Case  of  Frank  Cash  and  the  Mom- 
ing  Paper"  is  a  tedious  five-minute  spoken-word  tale. 
Skip  instead  to  "The  Killer  Moon,"  a  mid-period 
Beatles  soundalike,  and  the  aptly  titled  "Relentless." 
All  in  all,  worth  hearing,  though  one  wishes  this  tal- 
ented jerk  weren't  so  impressed  with  himself.  [jy] 


BURNING  SENSATIONS 

Burning  Sensations  (Capitol)  1 983 

After  a  one-album  stint  in  the  Motels,  ex-Pop  gui- 
tarist Tim  McGovern  formed  an  intriguing  but  unreal- 
ized rock  band  with  pan-cultural  aspirations.  A  few  of 
the  songs  (most  notably  the  wonderful  "Belly  of  the 
Whale"  and  "Afrobilly  (Live  It  Up),"  which  conflates 
a  vague  adaptation  of  high-life  and  noise-guitar)  make 
real  use  of  the  group's  assets  and  ambitious  ideas;  the 
rest  of  the  record  (like  covers  of  Creedence's  "Down  on 
the  Corner"  and  Hendrix's  "I  Don't  Live  Today")  just 
sink  into  an  unfocused  fog.  Several  of  Burning  Sensa- 
tions' six  members  went  on  to  play  in  the  more  world- 
oriented  Bonedaddys,  for  whose  first  album  McGovern 
co-wrote  one  song.  [i] 

See  also  Bonedaddys,  Pop. 

BURNING  SPEAR 

Marcus  Garvey  (Mango)  1 975  « 

Man  in  the  Hills  (Mango)  1976  • 

Garve/s  Ghost  (Mango)  1 976  • 

Dry  &  Heavy  (Mango)  1977 

Live  (Island)  1 978 

Social  Living  (nr/lsland)  1978 

Hail  H.I.M.  (nr/Buming  Music-EMI)  1980 

Farover  (Heartbeat)  1 982  • 

Fittest  of  the  Fittest  (Heartbeat)  1 983  • 


92 


(Heartbeat)  1984  • 
Jeggoe  Create  {Mango}  1 984  • 
seop!e  of  the  World  (Slash)  1 986  » 
distress  M&isic  {Slash)  1988 
jve  m  Paris:  Zenith  '88  f  Sfa$h|  1 989  • 
^ek  We  E)weet  f  Mango  J  1 990  • 
I          Anniversary  [CD]  f  Mango)  1 990  • 

For  more  than  20  years,  Winston  Rodney— tetter 
cnown  as  Burning  Spear — has  been  one  of  reggae  mu- 
te's most  consistent  and  enduring  forces,  if  not  its  most 
essential  embodiment.  Singing  in  a  unique,  soulful 
growl,  the  beloved  Spear  is  known  for  his  commitment 
:o  the  African  chant  style,  as  well  as  his  potently  heavy, 
penetrating  sound.  He  has  largely  devoted  his  life  and 
art  to  the  teaching  of  black  history,  in  particular  the 
work  of  Marcus  Garvey.  (Like  Garvey  and  Bob  Marley, 
Rodney  was  bom  in  St.  Ann's,  Jamaica. ) 

Spear's  recording  career  began  in  1969,  but  he  be- 
came a  local  legend  in  the  mid- '70s  with  the  release  of 
4 'Marcus  Garvey*'  and  the  classic  album  of  the  same 
name.  Soon  after,  a  London  appearance  that  found  him 
backed  by  members  of  Aswad  made  him  the  toast  of 
England,  and  he  has  remained  a  major  international  fig- 
ure ever  since. 

All  three  of  Spear's  early- '80s  albums  on  Heartbeat 
are  excellent.  Farover  contains  two  of  his  best  songs: 
"O'Jah"  and  "Jan  Is  My  Driver,'"1  with  his  haunting 
vocals  and  trance-inducing  music.  Fittest  of  the  Fittest 
is  another  typical  Spear  effort,  highlighted  by  the  title 
track.  Keyboard  stabs,  creative  percussion  and  intrigu- 
ing arrangements  provide  a  solid  background  to  his  cries 
and  moans  of  passion.  The  soulful  and  sensuous  Resis- 
tance (which  got  a  Grammy  nomination)  matches  his 
voice  to  a  stellar  horn  section,  with  Burning  Band  drum- 
mer Nelson  Miller  providing  a  strong  backbone.  The 
record  contains  some  of  his  most  memorable  songs, 
including  the  title  track,  "Queen  of  the  Mountain," 
"We  Been  There"  and  "The  Force."  Turning  in  a  sur- 
prising new  direction,  "Love  to  You"  finds  Spear  scat- 
ting  and  singing  almost  like  a  bluesman. 

Signing  to  Slash,  Spear  made  one  of  1986' s  most 
far-reaching  reggae  records,  People  of  the  World.  Tak- 
ing its  title  from  the  Starship  hit,  "Built  This  City" 
relocates  the  idea  to  Kingston  and  shifts  the  music  to 
reggae,  and  combines  Spear's  lyrical  gifts  with  the  in- 
credible instrumental  sounds  of  the  Burning  Band.  Fea- 
turing an  all-female  horn  section,  they  manage  to 
integrate  a  multitude  of  musical  styles — borrowing  from 
calypso,  rock,  jazz  and  African — while  staying  within 
the  dub  context.  The  trumpet  solo  on  "Winner,"  the  sax 
on  "Little  Love  Song"  and  the  blues  jammin'  on  other 
tracks  combine  to  make  this  quite  an  LP. 

Mistress  Music  finds  the  production  (by  Spear  and 
Miller)  and  orchestration  reaching  a  new  level.  In  a 
lyrical  departure,  the  album  predominantly  contains  love 
songs  (not  that  it  doesn't  include  the  tributary  "Love 
Garvey").  A  Spear  attempt  at  commerciality  is  almost  a 
contradiction  in  terms,  but  the  record  does  serve  to  ex- 
pand his  parameters. 

Spear's  concerts  are  legendary;  he  frequently 
reaches  unknown  heights  in  a  hypnotic  trance.  The  ex- 
traordinarily clean-sounding  two-LP  Live  in  Paris — his 
first  concert  album  since  1978's  Live  (which  was  done 
in  London,  with  Aswad  behind  him) — captures  Spear  in 
the  throes  of  his  1988  tour,  performing  songs  from  Mis- 


and  of  the  World,  as  uei!  &» 

early  classics  The  Burning  Band  lays  out  the  groove 
and  blazer  the  path  for  Spear' <  lift-off 

Spear  returned  to  Mango  i  the  label  which  his 

roost  classic  works )  for  Mek  We  «  "make  we  do 

it"  I  Impeccably  recorded  at  Bob  Mar)e\  '<  Tuff  Gong 
Studios  in  Kingston,  Spear  delivers  a  that's 

both  state-of-the-umon  and  siate-of-art  With  a  vision 
that  encompasses  both  families  and  the  greatest  cn&es  of 
social  injustice,  Spear  focuses  on  a  panorama  of  topics, 
repeatedly  underscoring  the  album's  roots  theme, 
preaching  respect  and  awareness  for  heritage  and  ori- 
gins. 

100th  Anniversary  is  a  CD  pairing  of  Marcos 
Garvey  and  its  dub  counterpart,  Garvey's  Ghost.  Al- 
though never  issued  in  the  US,  Hail  H.I.M.  is  worth 
seeking  out,  as  it  contains  two  Spear  classics — 
"Columbus'"  and  "African  Postman."  [aw] 

&  THE 
CUTOUTS 

Is  That  Charlie  Burton  ...  or  Who*?!?!  (Wild)  1 982 
Don't  Fight  the  Band  that  Needs  You!!!!  (Wild)  1 983 

THE 
HICCUPS 

S  Heard  That  (Wild)  1985 
Green  Cheese  (Wild)  1990  4> 

This  crazed  rock'n'roller  from  Lincoln,  Nebraska 
does  it  the  old-fashioned  way.  he  and  three  bandmates 
(bassists  come  and  go  but  guitarist/pianist  Phil  Shoe- 
maker and  drummer  Dave  Robel  are  on  all  of  these 
self-released  albums)  play  wonderfully  unpretentious 
hopped-up/stripped-down  rockabilly/R&B  originals, 
with  offbeat,  often  funny,  lyrics.  Burton's  a  colorful 
vocalizer  from  the  unstoppable  howler  school;  the  music 
barrels  along  with  loose-limbed  energy  yet  never  runs 
off  the  road.  Nothing  fancy  or  remotely  contemporary — 
just  gutsy  and  great!  (And  don't  forget  those  exclama- 
tion points!!!) 

The  first  album  has  touching  odes  to  cigarettes 
("The  Pack  Song")  and  Elvis  ("Breathe  for  Me,  Pres- 
ley!"), as  well  as  a  disconcerting  song  about  dog  bites 
(* "Rabies  Shots").  The  sound  is  thick  and  muddy — just 
the  way  it  oughta  be.  Don't  Fight  the  Band  That  Needs 
You!!!!  is  marginally  fancier  (maybe  it's  just  the  addi- 
tion of  piano  and  a  guest  violin  on  one  song  that  makes 
it  sound  more  accomplished)  but  just  as  great.  Charlie's 
in  a  distinctly  Presleyesque  mood  here,  crooning  the 
romantic  "It's  Not  Polite"  and  hiccuping  through  the 
cynical  **I,  4  1,  Don't  Care."  Strangest  creation:  "Suc- 
cubus."  Most  winsome  thought:  "(Can't  Find  My) 
Niche." 

Talk  about  slick:  I  Heard  That's  lyric  sheet  is 
typed!  Produced  to  a  nice  clear  turn  by  Missouri's  esti- 
mable Lou  Whitney,  the  album — solid  but  restrained 
fun  with  above-average  lyrics — takes  Charlie  and  'Cups 
up  the  country  and  into  unstylized  traditional  pop.  "All 
Time  Low"  takes  a  page  from  the  Johnny  Cash  song- 
book;  the  catchy  "Is  That  Wishful  Thinking  (On  My 
Part)"  has  a  blistering  lap-steel  solo,  while  "Road  Kill" 
("god's  will/my  thrill")  is  tight  trucker-country  rock. 

We'll  overlook  the  high-falutin'  weirdness  of  Char- 


93 


lie  Burton  on  compact  disc  to  note  that  Green  Cheese 
(produced  by  Shoemaker)  sets  to  pumping  out  rock  and 
country  with  redoubled  vim  and  a  new  taste  for  puns, 
Alongside  such  sure-to-be-classics  as  "Brand  New 
Mom"  and  "Girl  with  the  Artificial  Heart,"  Charlie 
cracks  cheap  jokes  like  "Party  Trained"  and  "(You* re 
Not  Playing  Fair)  Elise!!,"  complete  with  the  relevant 
Beethoven  citation.  Highbrow,  lowbrow  or  nobrow, 
Charlie  Burton  comes  from  a  cultural  state  all  his  own. 

W 


KATE 

The  Kick  Inside  f  Harvest)  1 978  * 

Lfonhearf  (EMI  America)  1978  • 

Live  on  Stage  EP  (nr/EMI)  1979 

Never  for  Ever  (EMI  America)  1 980  * 

The  Dreaming  (EMI  America)  1 982  * 

Kate  Bush  EP  (EMI  America)  1 983 

Hounds  of  love  (EMI  America)  1 985  • 

The  Whole  Story  fEMI  America)  1 986  ® 

The  Sensual  World  (Colombia)  1 989  • 

Aspects  of  the  Sensual  World  EP  (Columbia)  1 989  * 

This  Woman's  Work  (nr/EMI)  1 990  • 

Kate  Bush's  literate,  masterful,  enchanting  records 
have  won  her  enormous  popularity,  even  if  she  can  be 
overbearingly  coy  and  preciously  self-indulgent.  Over 
the  years,  she  has  become  increasingly  ambitious,  turn- 
ing what  might  have  been  a  career  dominated  by  others 
into  a  singieminded  and  fascinating  pursuit  of  her  own 
muse.  The  young  piano-playing  singer  on  The  Kick 
Inside  bloomed  into  a  fully  autonomous  artist. 

The  Kick  Inside  is  dominated  by  Bush's  startling 
falsetto  and  such  imaginative  songs  as  "Them  Heavy 
People,"  "Wuthering  Heights"  and  "Kite."  Top-notch 
sessionmen  and  Andrew  Powell's  sparkling  production 
provide  a  nch  setting  for  the  songs.  The  record's  huge 
popularity  didn't  seem  to  faze  Bush,  who  returned  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  same  year  with  another  well-crafted 
album,  Lionheart.  Subtler,  more  jazz-inflected  arrange- 
ments keep  it  less  immediate,  but  the  cinema-minded 
"Hammer  Horror"  and  theater-minded  "Wow,"  as 
well  as  the  fondly  nationalistic  "Oh  England  My  Lion- 
heart,"  make  it  memorable. 

Bush's  next  release  was  a  live  7-inch  EP  of  four 
songs  from  her  first  two  albums.  Demonstrating  new- 
found studio  expertise,  she  arranged  and  co-produced 
Never  for  Ever,  which  yielded  three  British  hits 
("Breathing,"  "Babooshka"  and  "Army  Dreamers") 
and  further  proved  her  compositional  depth.  Songs 
about  dead  rock  stars  ( "Blow  Away"),  a  murder  ("The 
Wedding  List")  and  a  tribute  to  the  "Violin"  are  among 
her  strange  lyrical  concerns.  A  credit  line  thanking  Rich- 
ard Burgess  and  John  Walters  for  "bringing  in  the  Fair- 
light"  gains  significance  in  hindsight,  given  how 
integral  the  sampling  instrument  subsequently  became 
to  her  music-making. 

Self-produced,  The  Dreaming  offers  Bush's  first 
truly  rock-oriented  work,  tinted  with  strong  rhythms  and 
clever  Fairhght  sounds.  Almost  free  of  her  little-girl 
voice,  Bush  is  revealed  her  as  a  highly  skilled,  con- 
trolled singer  capable  of  abundant  drama  and  personal- 
ity. While  the  artistic  resemblance  to  Peter  Gabriel — in 
terms  of  what  can  be  done  artfully  within  the  song 


fOITO — is  obvious,  it's  all  Kate  Bush  and  perhaps  her 
first  really  extraordinary  album. 

Hounds  of  Love  divides  into  separately  titled 
halves.  The  "Hounds  of  Love"  side  contains  one  of 
Bush's  most  impressive  songs,  "Running  Up  That  Hill 
(A  Deal  with  God),"  plus  other  similarly  complex  and 
enticing  creations;  "The  Ninth  Wave"  side  offers  an 
overextended  contemplation  on  drowning — impressive, 
but  not  really  enjoyable. 

Kate  Bush  is  an  American  mini-album:  one  track 
from  the  live  EP  plus  a  pair  of  cuts  from  The  Dreamiisg 
and  one  each  from  the  two  preceding  LPs.  The  Whole 
Story  is  a  fine  career  compilation  (not  in  chronological 
order)  of  a  dozen  singles,  from  "Wuthering  Heights" 
(with  new  vocals)  to  1986's  energetic  "Experiment 
IV." 

After  four  years  of  LP  silence,  Bush  reemerged  on  a 
new  label  with  The  Sensual  World,  a  major  effort  that 
was  (incorrectly)  expected  to  become  her  American 
commercial  breakthrough.  Early  mentor  David  Gilmour 
is  back  on  guitar;  other  such  luminaries  as  Alan  Stivell 
(Celtic  harp),  Davey  Spillane  (uillean  pipes),  Eberhard 
Weber  (bass)  and  the  otherworldly  Bulgarian  Trio  Bul- 
garka  (backing  vocals)  also  contribute.  The  title  track 
ushers  the  listener  into  a  lush,  erotic  space  where  Celtic 
and  Middle  Eastern  sounds  mingle  with  lyrics  inspired 
by  Ulysses'  Molly  Bloom.  It's  an  enchanting  welcome, 
but  the  album  never  fulfills  its  promise.  The  rest  varies 
from  cool  delicacy  to  overwrought  byzantine  indul- 
gence. Ultimately,  The  Sensual  World  is  a  noble  dis- 
appointment, never  achieving  the  intended  directness, 
too  restrained  and  enigmatic  to  reward  the  listener's 
emotional  investment. 

Aspects  of  the  Sensual  World  includes  an  instru- 
mental version  of  the  album's  title  track  plus  three  un- 
released  songs,  all  of  which  appear  on  This  Woman's 
Work,  a  luxurious,  extensively  annotated  boxed  set: 
eight  CDs  or  cassettes  (nine  LPs)  that  contain  the  six 
original  albums  plus  29  B-sides,  12-inch  mixes,  video 
versions  and  live  tracks.  [tr/ws] 


BUSH  TETRAS 

Rituals  EP  (Stiff)  1981 

Wild  Things  [tape]  (ROIR)  1983 

Better  Late  Than  Never  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 989 

FLOOR  KISS 

Goodnight  Moon  EP  (Fr.  Sourmash-L'lnvitation  au  Suicide) 
1985 

LOVELIES 

Mad  Orphan  (109)  1988 

Arising  from  the  New  York  post-rock  scene  (Pat 
Place  had  been  one  of  James  White's  Blacks),  the  Bush 
Tetras  attempted  a  synthesis  of  African  sensibilities  (as 
perceived  by  white  Americans)  with  the  modern  dance 
to  form  a  global  tribal  music.  The  12-inch  Rituals  (pro- 
duced by  then-Clash  drummer  Topper  Headon)  sets 
songs  against  a  funk/reggae  beat  with  horns  and  punchy 
guitar  work  tossed  in  liberally.  "Can't  Be  Funky"  and 
its  doppelganger,  "Funky  Version,"  are  the  most  ex- 
plicitly Third  World  tunes;  "Cowboys  in  Africa"  rushes 
along  with  punk  intensity  and  "Rituals"  employs  a 
threnody  pace. 


94 


The  Wild  Things  cassette  is  a  conceit  compilation 
of  late  *82  performances  in  and  around  New  York,  The 
band  is  in  fine  ferocious  form,  and  Cynthia  Sky  spits 
and  scowls  her  vocals  as  if  the  songs  really  meant  some- 
thing The  material  reprises  most  of  the  Tetras"  slim 
recorded  repertoire,  plus  a  couple  of  appropriately  sav- 
age covers 

Better  Late  Than  Never  gathers  together  all  of  the 
Bush  Tetras'  studio  work — Rituals,  two  pnor  singles 
and  two  otherwise  unreleased  demos  (the  earlier  of 
which  finds  the  group  pushing  a  funky  and  reasonably 
accomplished  dance  groove) — on  one  digitally  remas- 
tered cassette.  On  the  band's  last  session  (from  '83), 
Place  and  Sley  are  backed  by  a  new  rhythm  section. 

After  leaving  the  Tetras,  drummer  Dee  Pop  and  his 
singing  wife,  onetime  John  Cale  side  woman  deerfrance, 
launched  Floor  Kiss  with  former  8  Eyed  Spy  guitarist 
Michael  Paumgardhen  and  a  bassist.  Hampered  by  crude 
self-production,  the  band's  six-song  12-inch  pairs  sim- 
ple rock-cwm-power  pop  backing  and  breathy  vocals  in 
service  of  reasonably  diverting  material.  A  minor  plea- 
sure that  might  have  developed  into  something. 

The  Lovelies  are  Sley's  quintet  with  guitarist  Ivan 
Julian  (ex-Voidoids/Outsets),  an  unpleasant  pairing  of 
his  common  rock  and  her  uncommon  voice.  On  the 
"Thrash"  side  of  Mad  Orphan  (the  Mad  Orphans  were 
a  Lovelies  precursor),  the  flat,  muddy  production  man- 
ages to  hide  Julian's  guitar  sparks  but  not  Siey's  art- 
lessly abrasive  singing.  On  the  "Gash"  side  (what  a 
charming  title),  keyboards,  lower  volume  and  more  mu- 
sical vocals  (especially  when  multi-tracked)  make  sev- 
eral of  the  songs  far  more  palatable.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Outsets. 

BUTCHER  SHOP 

See  Beasts  of  Bourbon 

BUTTHOLE  SURFERS 

Butthole  Surfers  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 983 

Live  PCPPEP  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1984 

Psychic  . . .  Powerless  . . .  Another  Man's  Sac  (Touch  and 

Go)  1985* 
Cream  Com  from  the  Socket  of  Davis  EP  (Touch  and  Go) 

1985* 

Rembrandt  Puss/horse  (Touch  and  Go)  1 986  • 
Locust  Abortion  Technician  (Touch  and  Go)  1 987  * 
Hairway  to  Steven  (Touch  and  Go)  1 988  • 
Double  Live  (Latino  Bugger  Veil)  1989  • 
Widowermaker!  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989  • 
'The  Hurdy  Gurdy  Man"  EP  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  • 
Piouhgd  (Rough  Trade)  1991  * 

JACK-OFFICERS 

Digital  Dump  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  • 

PAUL  LEARY 

The  History  of  Dogs  (Rough  Trade)  1 991  • 

There  are  few  experiences  in  this  life  that  leave  one 
feeling  as  sullied  as  a  spin  through  the  grooves  of  a 
Butthole  Surfers  record.  Unlike  so  many  nouveau 
scuzzbos,  Austin's  Buttholes  don't  descend  into  the 
depths  of  squalor  to  make  a  point  about  the  human 
condition — they  just  like  it  down  there.  Splotches  of 
Paul  Leary's  guitar  noise  and  Gibby  Haynes'  tortured 


screams  are  enigmatic  Texaas"  and  butter. 

When  the  noise  re\s  up  reall}  fast,  is  like 

hardcore,  but  this  band  relies  more  on  filth  than  or 

pcwer  The  Butties  inflict  and  exorcise  like  other 
people  eat  potato  chips,  and  whate\er  debts  they  owe  to 
Flipper  and  PiL  would  probably  be  forgotten  if  ibe>*d 
just  go  away.  There's  clearl}  no  one  like  rem. 

The  debut  mim-LP  (also  issued  on  colored  vinyl 
under  the  title  Brown  Reason  to  Live  >  its  threat 

to  the  social  order  through  a  varied  thrash-to-Beefheart- 
blues  attack  and  an  inspired  inspiring  set  of  lyrics.  'The 
Shah  Sleeps  in  Lee  Harvey's  Grave"  is  the  obvious 
anthem  while,  on  "Suicide/1  Gibby  sets  political  mat- 
ters aside  for  an  intensely  personal  statement:  *Tm  not 
rucking  kidding  man,  it  hunts!"  On  the  other  hand, 
44 Hey"  is  almost  subdued,  Feehes-style  material' — 
extremism  sometimes  takes  the  oddest  forms*  don't  it? 

The  seven-song  Live  PCPPEP  offers  denser  and 
dirtier  treatments  of  some  of  the  first  record's  non-hits. 
The  biggest  improvement  is  the  new  brother  and  sister 
standup  drumming  team.  Another  Man's  Sac  (origi- 
nally pressed  on  clear  vinyl)  shows  an  addled  creative 
sensibility — you  were  expecting  them  to  develop  into 
Hail  and  Gates'*  The  faint-at-heart  may  not  survive  this 
assault,  but  then  they  probably  don't  deserve  to. 

The  12-inch  Cream  Cora  EP  hauls  more  sediment 
and  sludge  up  from  the  gutter  and  onto  the  turntable, 
hitting  its  high  point  with  "Moving  to  Florida,"  a  cloy- 
ing ear  nuzzle  imparted  over  Crampsian  dirtabiliy.  (The 
CD  of  Another  Man's  Sac  and  the  cassette  of  Rem- 
brandt Pussyhorse  both  tack  on  the  HP's  four  songs.) 
Mixing  deranged  blues,  metal-punk  and  an  overriding 
sense  of  anarchy,  these  loonies  don't  make  guitars 
scream,  they  make  'em  vomit  and  choke  on  it. 

Rembrandt  Pussyhorse  takes  a  gonzo  psychedelic 
approach  that  is  (dare  it  be  said)  downright  arty  in  its 
bizarre  sonic  experimentation.  With  some  of  the  bowel- 
grinding  dregs  toned  down,  piano,  organ,  violin  and  a 
plethora  of  guitar  techniques  make  the  album  a  real 
diversion.  Of  special  note  is  a  cover  of  the  Guess  Who's 
"American  Woman,"  which,  in  the  Butties'  bloody 
hands,  sports  a  huge  drum  sound  and  metallic  guitar, 
with  tinny,  atonal  voices — imagine  Nile  Rodgers  pro- 
ducing the  Residents. 

Locust  Abortion  Technician — which  typically  of- 
fers absolutely  no  information  about  the  parties 
responsible — ebbs  and  flows  like  organic  waste,  an  un- 
predictable flux  of  noise,  movie  score  politeness,  grat- 
ing grunge-rock,  fake  folk,  chirping  birds,  voices ,  tape 
manipulations  and  words,  done  at  various  recording 
speeds.  "Sweat  Loaf"  launches  the  record  with  silence, 
speaking  and  then  manic  rock  gusto;  "22  Going  on  23" 
ends  it  with  grinding  radio  verite*. 

With  an  incredible  cover  and  numerous  nods  to  the 
'60s,  Hairway  to  Steven  is  as  varied  as  it  is  entertain- 
ing: the  program  includes  acoustic  guitars  competing 
with  bowling  alley  sounds,  half-speed  vocals  mixed 
(shades  of  "Third  Stone  from  the  Sun")  with  Hendrixy 
guitar  psychedelia,  live  (maybe)  cowbunk  storytelling, 
straightforward  (well  .  .  .  )  melodic  songsmithery  and 
flat-out  audio  hysteria.  Reactionary  times  demand  inspi- 
rational rebels  like  the  Buttholes. 

The  double-live  Double  Live  is  a  self-released  au- 
thorized bootleg,  a  monumental  nineteen-song  (29  on 


95 


CD)  sampling  of  the  Surfers'  oetivre  (plus  an  R.E.M. 
cover! ),  recorded — for  the  most  part — as  clearly  as  such 
distorted  music  ought  to  be.  Largely  removed  from  the 
manipulative  possibilities  of  the  studio  (although  things 
do  manage  to  torn  very  weird  on  "The  One  I  Love"), 
the  Butties  aren't  the  ultimate  some  bizarros,  but  Gib- 
by's  madman  vocals  plus  the  chaotic  onslaught  of  two 
drummers  and  Leary's  endless  guitar  noise  still  make 
this  a  reasonable  facsimile  of  party  night  at  the  nut- 
house. 

Three  of  the  four  new  songs  chucked  up  on  Wid- 
owerntaker!  cover  the  usual  terrain,  with  processed  vo- 
cals, gross-out  lyrics,  vehement  guitar  noise  and 
buzzing  sound  effects.  But  then  mere's  the  restrained 
melody  and  delivery  of  "The  Colored  F.B.I.  Guy,"  on 
which  a  quiet  bit  of  feedback  is  as  strident  as  things  get. 

The  Butties'  only  1990  product  was  an  adequate  if 
witless  remake  of  Donovan's  "Hurdy  Gurdy  Man," 
issued  with  an  inane  stnpped-down  house  mix — thereby 
proving  that,  even  in  the  iconoclast's  world,  there  are 
rights  and  wrongs.  Instead,  Gibby  and  bassist  Jeff 
Pinkus  spent  their  time  on  a  side  project,  releasing  an 
album  as  the  Jackofficers.  Uniting  samples,  beats,  noise 
and  occasional  lyrics,  Digital  Dump  applies  the  Surfer 
sensibility  to  dance  music  but  comes  up  on  the  imagi- 
native end  of  ordinary.  Steady  electronic  rhythms  and 
electronic  keyboards  pin  the  duo  down  to  the  same 
sound  and  structures  as  everybody  else,  reducing  what- 
ever is  thrown  into  the  mix — whether  it's  Oliver  North's 
voice,  Mission  Impossible  music,  chipmunk  vocals, 
noise  guitar  or  sex  sounds — to  a  colorful  variation  on 
very  common  themes.  Only  the  crazed  "Swingers 
Club"  and  * 'Don't  Touch  That,"  both  of  which  more  or 
less  transmute  Butthole  Surfers  music  whole  onto  syn- 
thesizer, really  demonstrate  the  concept's  potential. 

Considering  how  long  it's  been  since  the  band's  last 
studio  LP,  the  uneven  Piouhgd  (pronounced  "p-o'd") 
is  a  well-produced  disappointment  that  wastes  too  much 
time  on  halfbaked  ideas  like  "Hurdy  Gurdy  Man"  and 
"Revolution,"  one  part  of  which  consists  of  an  unob- 
trusive stew  of  synthetic  strings,  noise-guitar,  a  ringing 
phone  and  police  sirens  over  which  Gibby  keeps  calling 
out  Garry  Shandling's  name.  Besides  that  nonsense,  and 
"Lonesome  Bulldog,"  a  comedic  cowboy  ballad  in 
three  parts,  Pioiihgd  stoops  to  a  spot-on  parody  of  the 
Jesus  and  Mary  Chain  (funny,  but  so  what?).  The  re- 
assuring appearance  of  several  slabs  of  typical  Buttho- 
lian  psychoacoustics  (one  of  which  sounds  like  a  Move 
song  in  hell)  prove  that  our  mad  anti-heroes  aren't  get- 
ting soft;  still,  Piouhgd  lacks  a  certain  psumbthaenng. 
(The  CD  bonus,  "Barking  Dogs/'  is  an  extended  sound 
collage  with  brief  canine  contributions.)  [jl/i] 

See  also  Fearless  Iranians  from  Hell. 

BUZZCOCKS 

Spiral  Scratch  EP  (nr/New  Hormones)  1977  +  1981 

Another  Music  in  a  Different  Kitchen  (nr/UA)  1 978  • 

Love  Bites  (nr/UA)  1978* 

A  Different  Kind  of  Tension  (nr/UA)  1 979  (IRS)  1 989  • 

Singles  Going  Steady  (IRS)  1979  • 

Parts  One,  Two,  Three  EP  (IRS)  1984  « 

Total  Pop  1 977-1 980  (Ger.  Weird  Systems)  1 987  « 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988 

Lest  We  Forget  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 988 


Live  at  the  Roxy  Club  Apni  77  (nr/Absoluteiy  Free)  1 989 

(nr/Receiver)  1990® 
The  Fab  Four  EP  (nr/EMI)  1989  • 
Product  (Restless  Retro)  1989  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 989  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  • 

Inspired  by  the  Sex  Pistols,  Manchester's  Howard 
Devoto  and  Pete  Shelley  formed  the  Buzzcocks  in  1976, 
specializing  in  high-energy,  staccato  delivery  of 
stripped-down  pop  songs.  With  John  Maher  (drums) 
and  Steve  Diggle  (bass),  the  Buzzcocks  cut  Spiral 
Scratch,  the  UK's  first  self-released  punk  record. 
Though  ragged  and  rudimentary,  the  7-inch  features  the 
frantic,  minimalistic  pop  stylings  that  would  character- 
ize the  group's  work  and,  with  songs  like  "Breakdown" 
and  "Boredom,"  remains  a  seminal  artifact  of  '70s 
DIY. 

Devoto  departed  shortly  thereafter  to  form  Maga- 
zine. Garth  Smith  joined,  taking  over  bass  while  Shelley 
switched  to  vocals  (in  addition  to  guitar)  and  Diggle  to 
lead  guitar.  The  band  signed  to  United  Artists  and,  after 
one  frenetic  and  controversial  single  ("Orgasm  Ad- 
dict"), sacked  Smith;  the  arrival  of  Steve  Garvey  fixed 
the  lineup  that  would  remain  unchanged  throughout  the 
band's  original  existence. 

Another  Music  in  a  Different  Kitchen  expands  on 
the  stark  three-minute  pop  song  and  themes  of  confu- 
sion, alienation  and  betrayal,  adding  a  new  emphasis  on 
harmony  and  humor  and  a  growing  coordination  of  the 
players  in  contrast  to  the  earlier  inspired  chaos.  "Fast 
Cars,"  the  jagged  waltz  "Sixteen"  and  the  tom-tom 
pounder  "Moving  Away  from  the  Pulsebeat"  are  all 
mini  mindblowers. 

Love  Bites  demonstrates  both  the  Buzzcocks'  per- 
fection of  their  particular  brand  of  pop  and  their  disil- 
lusionment with  its  restrictions.  Producer  Martin 
Rushent  clarifies  the  elements  of  the  sound  even  further, 
and  Shelley's  songwriting  continues  to  improve,  includ- 
ing the  band's  highest-charting  UK  single,  "Ever  Fallen 
in  Love"  (later  covered  badly  by  Fine  Young  Canni- 
bals). Other  cuts,  like  "Sixteen  Again"  and  "Real 
World,"  would  have  made  great  pop  singles  as  well, 
but  much  of  the  album  (which  includes  two  instrumen- 
tals)  finds  the  Buzzcocks  mired  in  repetitive  structures. 

A  Different  Kind  of  Tension  makes  tentative  ma- 
neuvers into  the  new,  as  the  Buzzcocks  attempt  to  throw 
off  the  yoke  of  pop  music.  This  schizophrenic  album 
features  some  of  Shelley's  finest  songs,  notably  "You 
Say  You  Don't  Love  Me"  and  "I  Believe."  With  Dig- 
gle providing  some  of  the  material,  the  band  reaches  a 
zenith  of  effortless  craft,  especially  on  Side  Two  (sub- 
titled "The  thorn  beneath  the  rose"),  where  Shelley 
dives  into  the  challenging  waters  of  paranoia,  selfcon- 
scious  despair  and  harrowing  uncertainty,  climaxing  on 
the  title  track.  That's  followed  by  "I  Believe,"  a  seven- 
minute  summation  of  reasons  to  be  cheerful  continually 
undercut  by  a  chorus  of  "There  is  no  love  in  this  world 
any  more."  Powerful  stuff. 

After  three  more  singles  in  '80  and  '81  (later  corn- 
piled  as  the  Parts  One,  Two,  Three  EP),  Shelley  de- 
cided to  go  solo  and  the  Buzzcocks  came  to  an  end. 
Maher  and  Diggle  went  off  to  form  Flag  of  Conve- 
nience; following  a  brief  stint  on  Shelley's  '81  solo  tour, 
Garvey  moved  to  New  York  and  eventually  quit  the 
music  business. 


96 


Singles  Going  Steady  is  a  stunning  compilation  of 
the  band's  eight  classic  UA  45s,  proving  conclusively 
that  the  Buzzeocks  were  an  amazing  singles  band,  per- 
haps one  of  the  best  ever.  From  the  teen  angst  of  the 
DevotO' Shelley  "Orgasm  Addict"  to  the  20th-centur\ 
malaise  of  "Something's  Gone  Wrong  Again,"  the 
songs  arc  across-the-board  great,  and  the  alburn  is  a 
non-stop  hit  parade. 

Containing  all  six  tracks  ( written  half-and-half  by 
Shelley  and  Diggle)  from  the  group's  last  efforts.  Parts 
One,  Two,  Three  is  a  postscript  to  Singles  Going 
Steady,  a  transition  away  from  big-pop  structures  into  a 
more  elusive,  subversive  form  that  still  possesses  plenty 
of  octane  and  odd  hooks.  "What  Do  You  Know?"  in- 
troduces horns;  the  relaxed  pace  of  "Running  Free"  and 
the  odd  "Are  Everything"  (later  covered  by  Heaven 
17)  are  equally  novel.  (IRS  later  issued  a  CD  combining 
Parts  One,  Two,  Three  and  A  Different  Kind  of  Ten- 
sion.) 

Total  Pop,  an  offbeat  German  collection,  draws 
from  Singles  Going  Steady,  One,  Two,  Three,  Love 
Bites  and  Tension,  adding  the  band's  two  live  tracks 
("Breakdown"  and  "Love  Battery")  from  The  Roxy 
London  WC2,  a  classic  1977  scene  document.  (The 
CD  and  cassette  have  three  bonus  cuts.) 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP,  which  dates  from  September 
'77,  contains  only  three  songs;  "Fast  Cars,"  "(Moving 
Away  from  the)  Pulsebeat"  and  "What  Do  I  Get."  The 
long-delayed  Lest  We  Forget  is  a  fine-sounding  live 
compilation  tape  recorded  at — with  one  Mancunian 
exception — various  US  gigs  in  1979  and  1980. 

Live  at  the  Roxy  Club  April  '77,  the  first  in  an 
archival  series  of  releases  of  recordings  made  at  the 
legendary  London  venue,  is  eminently  skippable.  Un- 
like Lest  We  Forget' s  maturity,  this  documents  the 
Buzzcocks  at  a  weak  point,  playing  one  of  the  first  gigs 
without  Devoto.  The  band  is  an  engaging  shambles — 
sloppy,  out  of  tune,  sometimes  downright  awful. 

Released  as  a  teaser  for  the  Product  boxed  set,  The 
Fab  Four  EP  consists  of  four  consecutive  A-sides  (all 
included  on  Singles  Going  Steady),  from  "Ever  Fallen 
in  Love"  to  Diggle 's  "Harmony  in  My  Head." 

Product  is  brilliant.  Except  for  the  Spiral  Scratch 
EP,  this  three-CD  (or  three-cassette  or  four-LP)  extrav- 
aganza, complete  with  a  detailed  historical  booklet,  con- 
tains the  Buzzcocks*  complete  studio  works:  every  track 
of  the  band's  three  albums  and  twelve  singles.  The 
boxed  set  also  includes  "I  Look  Alone,"  a  fantastic 
basher  that  was  an  outtake  from  the  Parts  One,  Two, 
Three  series,  and  eight  songs  from  a  1978  gig  at  Lon- 
don's Lyceum.  All  better  than  Lest  We  Forget,  these 
tracks  offer  the  best  released  evidence  of  the  band's 
wall-of-guitar  concert  power. 

The  release  of  Product  was  one  of  the  factors  that 
contributed  to  the  Buzzcocks'  1989  reunion.  Shelley, 
Diggle,  Maher  and  Garvey  undertook  brilliant  tours  of 
the  US  and  England.  (Drummer  Maher  then  returned  to 
his  Volkswagen  repair  business,  replaced  for  subsequent 
dates  in  Australia  and  Japan  by  ex-Smith  Mike  Joyce.) 
It  appears  nearly  certain  that  the  Buzzcocks  will  resume 
recording  in  the  '90s. 

The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (which  subsumes  the  pre- 
viously issued  Peel  EP)  offers  four  different  looks  at  the 
band  between  1977  and  1979.  While  the  regular  studio 
recordings  are  generally  better  than  these  radio  broad- 


casts, there  ;s  a  **E  S  P."  that  is 

the  version  en  Love  while  two 

from  the  same  LP  and  Tension*  t  "Mad  Mad  Judy"  are 
a!!  notably—  and  nicely—  dissimilar  to 
renderings,  {sg  1  jr] 

See  also  Howard  Deiotn,  Flag  of  Convenience, 
Magazine,  Pete  Shelle\, 


BUZZ  OF  DELIGHT 

See  Oh-OK 

DAVID  BYRNE  AND  BRIAN  ENO 

My  Life  in  the  Bush  of  Ghosh  (Sire)  1  980  -i-  1  980  • 

DAVID  BYRNE 

Songs  from  the  Broadway  Production  of  'The  Catherine 

WheeHSire)  ]981  • 
Music  for  The  Knee  Plays  {ECMJ  1  985 
Rei  Momo  (Luaka  Bop-Sire)  1989  • 
The  Forest  f  Luaka  &op-Sire-Wamer  Bros.}  1991  4> 

if  AL 

Sounds  from  True  Stories  (Sire}  1  986 

su 

The  Last  Emperor  (Virgin  Movie  Musicf  1  988  ® 

VARIOUS 

Brazil  Classics  Vol.  1  :  Beleza  Tropical  (Fly-Sire}  1  989  » 
Brazil  Classics  Vol.  2:  O  Samba  f  Luaka  Bop-Sire)  1  989  • 
Brazil  Classics  Vol.  4:  Tom  Ze  {Luaka  Bop-Sire)  1  990  4> 
Brazil  Classics  Vol.  3:  Forro  Be/Music  of  the  Brazilian 

Northeast  (Luaka  Bop-Sire)  1991  <t> 

As  a  Talking  Head,  David  Byrne  —  guitarist,  song- 
writer, singer  —  has  long  shown  an  inquisitive,  intelli- 
gent interest  in  unusual  applications  of,  and  exploratory 
cultural  variations  on,  pop  music.  His  solo  musical  work 
revolves  around  transfiguring  pop  through  the  infusion 
of  alien  elements  or  by  injecting  it  into  foreign  situa- 
tions. My  Life  In  the  Bush  of  Ghosts,  a  continuation  of 
his  (and  the  band's)  collaboration  with  Eno,  blends 
found  vocal  tapes  with  electronic  music  centering  on 
Third  World  (notably  African)  rhythms  to  interesting 
effect  and  uneven  results.  (After  strenuous  Islamic  ob- 
jections were  raised,  the  record  was  reissued  with  "Very 
Very  Hungry"  in  place  of  "Qu'ran.") 

Byrne  created  the  music  on  The  Catherine  Wheel 
for  a  dance  production  by  the  renowned  Twyla  Tharp. 
Listeners  can  get  either  a  selection  of  tracks  on  the  al- 
bum, or  the  complete  score  on  the  cassette  version.  The 
pace  and  instrumentation  on  the  poppier  material  bears 
a  strong  resemblance  to  Talking  Heads'  work  of  the 
Remain  in  Light  period,  with  volatile  rhythms  and  jazz 
inflections;  other  songs  are  more  experimental,  drawing 
heavily  on  Eno's  ambient  and  tape-editing  techniques. 

Byrne  next  forayed  into  theatrical  music  by  writing 
and  producing  the  Dixieland-inflected  horn  score  for 
The  Knee  Plays,  a  section  of  director/avant-garde  opera 
conceptualist  Robert  Wilson's  stage  work  The  Civil 
Wars.  Inspired  by  the  Dirty  Dozen  Brass  Band,  Byrne 
created  angular  pieces  that  remove  the  swing  from  rag- 
time, turning  New  Orleans  jazz  into  engaging  machine 
music  over  which  he  occasionally  recites  lyrics. 

Although  Talking  Heads  released  an  album  of  songs 
to  coincide  with  Byrne's  True  Stories,  a  soundtrack 


97 


record  of  incidental  music  for  the  film  was  also  issued, 
Byrne  produced  and  wrote  the  majority  of  Sounds  from 
True  Stories  ( subtitled  "Music  for  Activities  Freaks" ), 
earning  his  star  billing  while  performing  on  just  two 
tracks.  The  rest  of  the  musical  cast' — the  Kronos  Quar- 
tet, Carl  Finch  (of  Brave  Combo),  Steve  Jordan,  Terry 
Alien,  the  Heads,  Praine  Prince  and  others — plays  his 
(and  their)  instmmentals  in  a  panoply  of  styles,  from 
country  to  polka  to  electronics  to  jazz. 

Working  individually  on  separate  segments  of  it, 
Sakamoto,  Byrne  and  Cong  Su  shared  a  Golden  Globe 
award  and  an  Oscar  for  the  score  of  Bernardo  Bertoluc- 
ci's  The  Last  Emperor,  Byrne's  segment — fifteen  in- 
strumental minutes  on  Side  Two — avoids  trite  Oriental 
cliches  while  managing  to  adequately  evoke  the  cultural 
locale  with  gongs,  strings  and  woodwinds.  Lovely, 

Having  made  his  artistic  peace  with  North  America, 
Africa  and  Asia,  Byrne  next  turned  his  continental  at- 
tentions southward,  compiling  and  annotating  two  al- 


bums of  contemporary  Brazilian  pop  (singers  like 
Milton  Nascimento,  Gilberto  Gil  and  Caetano  Velosoi 
and  dance  music.  fThe  third,  a  one-artist  anthology, 
was  numbered  out  of  order;  Brazil  Classics  Vol.  3 
didn't  appear  until  early  *91.) 

Almost  free  of  his  usual  intellectual  aloofness,  the 
summery  Rei  Momo  (produced  by  Steve  Lillywhite  and 
performed  by  a  large  group  of  top  Latin  players)  is 
lively  and  enjoyable,  with  an  infectious  light  feel,  lyncs 
that  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  record's  style  and  ap- 
pealing songs  (including  three  co-written  with  Johnny 
Pacheco  or  Willie  Colon)  that  make  little  effort  to  sound 
Latin.  Instead,  Byrne  uses  percussion,  rhythms  and  ap- 
propriate instrumentation  (not  to  mention  occasional 
backing  vocals  in  Spanish)  to  give  exemplary  tunes  like 
"Dirty  Old  Town,"  " Marching  Through  the  Wilder- 
ness" and  "Make  Believe  Mambo"  a  delightful  dash  of 
salsa.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Talking  Heads. 


98 


Extended  Play  EP  for/Rough  Trade)  1978 

"Mix-Up"  for/Rough  Trade)  1 979  f Mute-Restless)  1990  • 

Live  at  the  YMCA  27-1 0-79  {or/Rough  Trade}  1 980 

(Mute-Restless  J  1990® 
Three  Mantras  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1980  ( Mute-Restless) 

1990® 
The  Voice  of  America  (Rough  Trade)  1 980 

(Mute-Restless)  1990® 
1974-1976  [tape]  (nr/Industria!)  1980 
3  Crepuscule  Tracb  (Rough  Trade)  1981 
Live  at  the  Lyceum  [tape}  fnr/Rowgh  Trade)  1981 

(Mute-Restless)  19904> 

Red  Mecca  (Rough  Trade)  1981  (Mute-Restless)  1990  • 
2  X  45  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982  (Mute-Restless)  1 990  • 
Hail  Live  in  Japan  (Rough  Trade)  1 982  (Mute-Restless) 

1990® 

The  Crackdown  (nr/Some  Bizzare-WgSn)  1 983  • 
Johnny  YesNo  (nr/Doublevision)  1983  (Mute-Restless) 

1990® 

Micro-Phonies  (nr/Some  Bizzare-Virgin)  1984  ® 
Drinking  Gasoline  (Caroline)  1 985 
The  Arm  of  the  Lord  (Caroline)  1 985  • 
The  Drain  Train  EP  (Caroline)  1986  (Mute-Restless) 

1990® 
The  Golden  Moments  of  Cabaret  Voltaire  [CD]  (nr/Rough 

Trade)  1 987  • 

Code  (EMI  Manhattan)  1 987  • 
Eight  Crepuscule  Tracks  (Giant)  1 988  • 
Listen  Up  with  Cabaret  Voltaire  (Mute-Restless)  1 990  • 
The  Living  Legends  (Mute-Restless)  1990  <f> 
Groovy,  Laidback  and  Nasty  (nr/Parlophone)  1 990  • 

PRESSURE  COMPANY 

Live  in  Sheffield  19  Jan  82  (nr/Solidarity-Paradox)  1982 

RICHARD  H.  KIRK 

Disposable  Half-Truths  [tape]  (nr/lndustrial)  1980 
Time  High  Fiction  (nr/DoublevSsion)  1983 
Black  Jesus  Voice  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 986 
Ugly  Spirit  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 986 

PETER  HOPE  &  RICHARD  KIRK 

Hoodoo  Talk  (Native-Wax  Traxl)  1 987  • 

STEPHEN  MALliNDER 

Pow-Wow  (nr/Fetish)  1982 
Pow-Wow  Plus  (nr/Doublevision)  1985 

The  prolific  Cabaret  Voltaire  is  one  of  the  most  en- 
ergetic, progressive  and  dissonant  forces  in  modern 
music.  Working  primarily  in  the  electronic  form,  spe- 
cializing in  found  sounds  and  tape  manipulations,  Cab- 
aret Voltaire  has  relentlessly  pushed  at  the  outer  edges 
of  style,  shedding  an  early  primitivism  for  a  subsequent 
accessibility  that  plays  on  the  (almost)  familiar.  Coming 
from  the  industrial  city  of  Sheffield,  they  have  spent 
years  attempting  to  make  a  music  that  reflects  their  ex- 
perience and  perceptions. 


Extended  Play  launched  Cabaret  Voltaire— Richard 
H.  Kirk  f guitar,  s>ntfa,  horns,  clarinet),  Stephen 
Mallinder  f  bass,  \oca!sl  and  Christopher  Watkms  (or- 
gan, tapes) — and  gave  an  early  boost  to  Rough  Trade  f  it 
was  the  label's  third  single  I.  It  highlights  the  Cabs' 
main  features — unpredictable  sounds  and  eene,  disem- 
bodied vocals  manipulated  over  a  very  physical  teat — 
and  is  particularly  notable  for  a  distorted  cover  version 
of  Lou  Reed's  "Here  She  Comes  Now.'1 

The  more  professionally  produced  "Mix-Up"  has 
better  coordinated  use  of  electronics,  increasing  the  bi- 
zarre intensity  of  the  sound.  Bass,  guitar  and  flute  are 
evident  (but  deformed)  in  the  mix,  and  Cabaret  Voltaire 
makes  visible  use  of  other  people's  material,  as  with  the 
Seeds'  "No  Escape  " 

Live  at  the  YMCA  { as  well  as  the  later  Live  at  the 
Lyceum  tape)  dispels  any  notions  of  Cab  Volt  as  a 
sterile  studio  group.  Wisely,  they  don't  seek  to  precisely 
duplicate  their  recorded  sound,  but  convert  it  into  outre'- 
populist  dance  music  that  is  almost  improvisational  in 
nature.  Though  the  live  recordings  are  more  fragmented 
than  their  studio  counterparts,  they  compensate  for  it  in 
added  energy. 

Three  Mantras  is  the  group's  first  explicit  venture 
into  non- Western  musical  forms.  The  Arabic  material 
used  is  successfully  developed  into  a  chant,  and  then  its 
structure  is  applied  to  a  new  work.  The  record  also 
marks  a  shift  in  technique,  as  musical  demands  take 
precedence  over  production  to^trange  and  beautiful  ef- 
fect. 

The  Voice  of  America  is  an  uneven  release,  com- 
bining older  material  with  much  more  assured  newer 
work,  such  as  the  political  "The  Voice  of  America/ 
Damage  Is  Done,"  which  uses  found  tape  and  sparse 
electronics  to  juxtapose  the  repressive  and  libertarian 
aspects  of  American  life.  The  new  material  shows  much 
greater  focus  and  cleaner  production  than  the  older,  with 
the  mantra  technique  rising  in  place  of  the  former  cha- 
otic electro-noise. 

For  serious  fans,  1974-1976  is  a  series  of  curious 
and  intriguing  false  starts  and  experiments  from  the 
band's  earliest  days. 

3  Crepuscule  Tracks  captures  the  band  in  transition 
between  their  found-vocals/art-noise  period  and  a  com- 
mitment to  dance-floor  electronics.  "Sluggin'  fer  Jesus 
(Part  One)"  is  a  masterful  combination  of  the  two,  as  a 
right-wing  TV  preacher  demands  large  cash  contribu- 
tions over  a  powerful,  trance-inducing  synth  beat. 

On  Red  Mecca,  the  trio  tightens  its  focus  to  produce 
an  album  more  coherent  than  its  predecessors,  under- 
scored by  a  reworking  of  Henry  Mancini's  score  for 
Orson  Welles'  Touch  of  Evil,  As  their  music  reaches  a 
new  level  of  maturity  and  polish  in  both  production  and 
performance,  Cabaret  Voltaire  focus  and  extend  their 
film  noir  theme  through  all  the  material,  making  this  an 
odd,  deceptively  accessible  record. 


99 


Two  12-inch  EPs  packaged  as  an  album,  2  X  45 
picks  up  the  begun  OB  Red  Mecca  and  com- 

presses them  into  a  form  Also  interesting  is  the 
move  away  from  obvious  electronics  and  manipulations 
to  a  more  naturalistic  sound,  with  emphasis  on  acoustic 
instruments,  like  saxophone  and  clarinet  This  is  the 
closest  the  group  has  come  to  making  a  rock'n'roll  al- 
bum. 

Like  earlier  live  albums,  Hai!  Live  in  Japan  marks 
time,  playing  with  recent  developments,  funky  in  nature 
and  far  more  coherent  than  Live  In  Sheffield.  The  latter 
was  a  one-off  show  to  raise  funds  for  the  Polish  Soli- 
darity union,  and  was  released  under  the  Pressure  Com- 
pany name  for  contractual  reasons.  Disordered  and 
trenchant,  it  is  a  reminder  that  the  band  is  still  capable 
of  electrifying  cacophony, 

In  1983,  Cabaret  Voltaire  signed  with  that  noted 
asylum  for  eccentrics,  Some  Bizzare,  a  move  criticized 
by  some  as  a  sell-out.  The  resulting  LP,  The  Crack- 
down, is  perhaps  the  most  left-field  record  ever  accused 
of  commercial  compromise.  Sticking  mostly  to  a  funk 
format,  the  songs  are  more  structured  than  those  on  2  X 
45,  and  the  band  displays  a  plethora  of  high-tech  but 
dark  electronic  textures.  Probably  the  strongest  of  their 
many  albums. 

Johnny  YesN©  is  a  soundtrack  to  Peter  Care's  film 
about  a  junkie.  Released  on  the  band's  own  Doublevi- 
sion  label.  It  was  recorded  in  1981,  prior  to  Chris  Wat- 
kin's  departure.  Like  most  soundtracks,  it's  not 
designed  for  careful  listening,  and  consists  primarily  of 
eerie  electronic  noodling.  Micro-PItoiiies  is  similar  to 
The  Crackdown,  except  that  the  sound  is  a  bit  sparser 
and  decidedly  more  rhythm-conscious.  Much  of  the  ma- 
terial would  'be  very  much  at  home  coming  from  a  beat- 
box,  particularly  "Sensoria"  and  " James  Brown,"  the 
12-iach  remixes  of  which  are  both  highly  recommended. 
Prinking  Gasoline  is  a  double  12-inch  (running 
over  30  minutes)  recorded  primarily  as  a  video  sound- 
track. The  four  numbers  are  entirely  interchangeable, 
the  sort  of  hard  electro-funk  found  on  previous  LPs. 
Fans  will  enjoy  it,  but  the  Cabs  seem  stuck  in  a  rut,  an 
unsurprising  problem  after  so  many  releases,  Tti€  Arm 
of  the  Lord  (reissued  on  CD  as  The  Covenant,  The 
Sword  and  the  Arm  of  the  Lord)  proves  that  no  band 
could  be  so  productive  without  a  few  tricks  up  its  sleeve. 
Titled  after  an  American  neo-Nazi  religious  zealot  or- 
ganization, the  record  crossbreeds  trademark  electro- 
rhythm  attack  with  odd  breaks,  varied  tempos,  the  return 
of  eerie  found  voices,  unpolished  production  and  harsh 
dissonance.  "I  Want  You"  and  "Motion  Rotation"  ac- 
tually have  catchy  melodies — a  band  first! 

The  Drain  Train,  a  two-disc  12-inch,  consists 
mostly  of  three  not  vastly  different  versions  of  a  track 
quite  similar  to  other  recent  material.  The  other  two 
tracks  don't  do  much  groundbreaking,  either.  Code's 
admission  of  outside  assistance  (Bill  Nelson  on  guitar 
and  Adrian  Sherwood  as  co-producer)  makes  for  some 
interesting  but  rather  subtle  touches,  as  the  band  reaches 
for  crystal-clear,  state-of-the-art  sound.  But  the  material 
is  a  stylistic  reprise  of  The  Arm  of  the  Lord:  tempos 
are  varied  quite  a  bit,  but  each  track  has  the  same  feel. 
Artsy  British  industrialists  or  computerized  hip- 
hoppers? 

Obviously  sensing  the  need  for  a  rest  and  a  rethink, 
the  duo  took  their  first  extended  vacation  following 


Code,  The  late  '80s  saw  the  release  of  several  compi- 
lations. Those  nostalgic  for  the  Cabs'  white  noise  and 
distortion  period  will  appreciate  The  Golden  Moments 
of  Cabaret  Voltaire  ( and  agree  with  the  title)  and  Eight 
Crepuscuie  Tracks.  The  first  is  a  CD-only  release  of 
material  from  the  band's  Rough  (Trade)  days,  there's 
nothing  more  recent  than  2  X  45,  and  most  of  it  predates 
that.  The  juxtaposition  inherent  in  digital  reproduction 
of  primitive  music  makes  it  a  very  interesting  collection. 
Eight  Cre'puscule  Tracks  draws  from  the  same  approx- 
imate time  frame,  taking  the  original  3  Crfpnscnle 
Tracks  and  adding  some  singles  and  a  previously  un- 
released  cover  of  "The  Theme  from  Shaft  S'  which 
sounds  as  if  it  was  recorded  around  the  time  of  Voice  of 
America. 

The  two-LP/two-CD  Listen  Up  with  Cabaret  Vol- 
taire is  an  essential  item,  containing  rarities  and  unre- 
leased  selections  spanning  the  length  of  the  Cabs' 
recorded  history.  Even  the  previously  released  material 
is  obscure,  rescued  from  NME  compilation  cassettes, 
early  Factory  samplers  and  videos;  the  "new"  cuts 
would  have  stood  proudly  in  contemporaneous  works — 
"This  Is  Our  Religion,"  for  instance,  would  have  fit  in 
perfectly  on  Voice  of  America,  while  "Enough's 
Enough*'  or  "Why"  could  be  from  any  recent  LP, 

The  Living  Legends  consists  of  A-  and  B-sides 
from  the  band's  days  as  a  trio  on  Rough  Trade,  fourteen 
tracks  that  underscore  the  enormous  influence  Cabaret 
Voltaire's  music  has  had  on  virtually  every  industrial 
and/or  experimental  band  of  the  past  decade.  (Three 
items  overlap  Golden  Moments,  which  is  mostly  culled 
from  albums.)  Real  treats  include  the  disassembled 
cover  of  the  Velvets'  "Here  She  Comes  Now"  and  the 
prehistoric  "Is  That  Me  (Finding  Someone  at  the  Door 
Again),"  recorded  live  in  1975. 

Three  years  after  Code — by  which  point  many  had 
presumed  the  group  no  longer  existed — Kirk  and 
Mallinder  returned  with  Groovy,  Laidback  and  Nasty. 
Recorded  partly  in  Chicago,  the  LP  employs  a  number 
of  co-producers  and  backup  singers,  all  sorts  of  house- 
style  arrangements  and  Mallinder' s  warmest  and  most 
tuneful  vocals  ever;  the  result  is  an  entirely  updated 
Cabaret  Voltaire,  a  group  whose  dance  music  has  never 
sounded  better.  An  EP  of  four  remixes  plus  one  extra 
cut  is  also  included.  Welcome  back. 

Both  members  have  done  solo  work,  which  is  espe- 
cially interesting  as  it  allows  identification  of  who  brings 
what  to  the  band.  Mallinder's  Pow-Wow  mini-album  is 
dominated  by  muscular  bass  and  drum  combinations, 
tapes  and  his  husky  voice,  On  his  own,  he  seems  to 
prefer  electronically  treated  acoustic  instruments  rather 
than  synthesizers.  Pow-Wow  Plus  repackages  that 
record  with  the  addition  of  1 98 1  's  "Temperature  Drop" 
single.  Kirk's  Time  High  Fiction  is  a  one-man  double 
album  recorded  over  a  three-year  period;  it's  richer  in 
texture  (mostly  electronic)  and  less  rhythmic  than  his 
partner's  work.  The  two-side-long  "Dead  Relatives"  is 
even  more  dissonant  than  anything  the  two  have  done 
together. 

Kirk  released  a  pair  of  solo  LPs  in  1986:  Black 
Jesus  Voice  and  Ugly  Spirit.  (Both  were  combined  on 
a  single  cassette  under  the  title  of  the  former.)  Black 
Jesus  Voice  is  not  a  drastic  departure  from  Cabaret 
Voltaire;  rhythmically  similar  but  with  slightly  harsher 
sounds.  Most  of  the  vocals  are  from  tapes  rather  than 


100 


sung  by  Kirk  himself.  Ugh  Spirit  changes  gears  com- 
pletely, km  ever,  and  takes  a  sound-sculpture  approach 
with  often  very  effective  results. 

In  1986,  Kirk  joined  forces  with  former  Box  singer 
Peter  Hope  for  Hoodoo  Talk,  which  wasn't  released 
until  two  years  later,  Playing  all  the  instruments,  Kirk 
pro\ides  varied  but  familiar  syntkgwtar.'drum  machine 
patterns,  from  busy,  booming  rhythms  with  swelling 
layers  of  noise  to  minimalist  sound  bites.  Hope  adds 
disjointed,  vaguely  nightmarish  lyncs  sung  in  the  same 
ingratiating,  exaggerated  way  that  made  later  Box  ma- 
terial such  rough  going.  The  desire  to  spend  studio  time 
with  someone  new  after  so  many  years  is  understand- 
able, but  this  probably  would  have  worked  better  with 
Mallmder  as  a  Cab  Volt  LP.  fsg/dgs] 

See  Green  on  Red. 

JOHN  CALE 

Vintage  Violence  (Columbia)  1969  * 

Church  of  Anthrax  (Columbia)  1 971 

The  Academy  in  Peril  (Reprise)  1 972  (nr/Edsel)  1986  • 

Paris  191 9  (Reprise)  1973 

Fear  (Island)  1 974  * 

Slow  Dazzle  (Island)  1975® 

Helen  of  Troy  (nr/lsland)  1975 

Guts  (Island)  1977 

Animal  Justice  EP  (nr/IIIegal)  1 977 

Sabotage/Live  (Spy)  1979 

Honi  Soit . . .  (A&M)  1981 

Music  for  a  New  Society  (ZE-Passport)  1 982 

Caribbean  Sunset  (ZE-lsland)  1984 

John  Cale  Comes  Alive  (ZE-lsland)  1984 

Artificial  Intelligence  (Beggars  Banquet-PVC)  1985  * 

Words  for  the  Dying  (Opal-Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

Even  Cowgirls  Get  the  Blues  [tape]  (ROIR)  1991 

KEVIN  AYERS-JOHN 
CALE-ENO-N1CO 

June  1,1 974  (Island)  1 974  • 

LOU  REED/JOHN  CALE 

Songs  for  Drella  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1 990  • 

ENO/CALE 

Wrong  Way  Up  (Opal-Warner  Bros.)  1990  * 

John  Gale's  musical  career  since  leaving  the  Velvet 
Underground — after  two  albums  on  which  his  viola- 
scraping  and  genuine  musical  training  played  a  pivotal 
role — has  been  diverse  and  unpredictable,  exploring 
both  classical/avant-garde  ** serious"  music  as  well  as 
more  shoot-from-the-hip  rough  rock.  Throughout,  the 
inscrutable  Welshman  has  surrounded  himself  with  able 
and  distinguished  cohorts,  and  has  produced  music  of 
real  challenge  and  quality. 

His  first  solo  efforts  after  the  Velvets  were  effec- 
tively collaborations:  Vintage  Violence,  with  Garland 
Jeffreys  and  New  York  rock  group  Grinder's  Switch; 
Church  of  Anthrax,  with  avant-garde  titan  Terry  Ri- 
ley;  Academy  in  Peril,  with  the  Royal  Philharmonic 
Orchestra.  Also  in  much  the  same  vein,  Cale  made  Paris 
1919  with  backing  by  members  of  Little  Feat.  It  wasn't 
until  he  signed  to  Island  that  his  music  became  weird 


and  abrasive,  signifying  a  return  to  the  of 

his  Velvet  da\s 

His  first  such  release  was  as  a  of  the  June 

1,  1974  project  a  one-off  concert  documented  on  an  LP 
and  featuring  Kevin  Ajers,  Eno  and  Nico  as  *ell 

as  Cale,  Robert  W\att  and  ethers  It's  a  wonderful  al- 
bum, with  Cale  taking  a  vocal  on  "Heartbreak  Hotel' * 
and  elsewhere  contributing  viola  and  piano. 

Cale  emerged  into  pie-new  wave  weirdness  with 
Fear,  an  aggressively  wild  record  with  assistance 

from  the  likes  of  Eno  and  Roxy  Musician  Phil  Manza- 
nera  Clean  production  only  heightens  the  anxiety  in- 
herent in  Cale's  voice  and  created  by  the  skittering, 
modified  guitar  sounds.  "Fear  Is  a  Man's  Best  Friend*" 
and  4VGun"  build  a  claustrophobically  intense  aura;  qui- 
eter efforts  like  "Ship  of  Fools"  only  slightly  diminish 
the  queasiness  level  A  brilliant  record  fall  of  neat  sur- 
prises and  great,  unsettling  songs. 

Slow  Dazzle  adds  Chris  Spedding  to  the  lineup  and 
pursues  some  curious  pathways:  "Heartbreak  Hotel," 
recast  as  a  haunted-house  dirge;  "Mr.  Wilson,"  an  hom- 
age to  the  Beach  Boys'  Brian;  "The  Jeweller,"  a  reci- 
tation reminiscent  of  the  Velvets'  "The  Gift."  More 
restrained,  but  no  less  entrancing  than  Fear. 

Helen  of  Troy,  featuring  Phil  Collins  as  well  as 
Spedding  and  Eno  (but  not  Manzanera),  is  a  gripping, 
morbid  collection  of  songs,  including  Jonathan  Rich- 
man's  "Pablo  Picasso,"  powered  by  Cale's  command- 
ing vocals  and  whining  slide  guitars,  and  ** Leaving  It 
All  Up  to  You,"  which  has  a  reference  to  Sharon  Tate 
that  caused  it  to  be  removed  from  the  album  when  first 
issued;  it  was  subsequently  replaced.  A  dark  and  pained 
album. 

Animal  Justice — three  cuts  on  a  45  rpm  12-inch — 
features  what  remained  of  a  touring  band  after  half  had 
quit  in  protest  of  a  legendary  onstage  chicken-chopping 
incident.  The  EP's  leadoff  track  (''Chicken  Shit")  con- 
cerns that  brouhaha;  the  other  songs  are  a  pointless  ver- 
sion of  Chuck  Berry's  "Memphis"  and  a  stunning  Cale 
original,  "Hedda  Gabbler."  Guts  is  an  excellent  col- 
lection of  tracks  from  the  three  preceding  LPs. 

Sabotage/Live,  recorded  onstage  at  New  York's 
CBGB  in  June  1979,  presents  almost  all  new  material. 
The  sound's  just  passable,  and  the  album  never  jells. 
Honi  Soit  used  an  outside  producer  (Mike  Thome)  for 
a  change  and  a  totally  new  band  as  well;  some  tracks  are 
good,  but  it's  not  on  a  par  with  Cale's  best.  With  Music 
for  a  New  Society,  Cale  retreated  from  nakedly  aggres- 
sive music  and  turned  to  a  more  orchestrated  style  that 
owes  something  to  his  early  pre-punk  efforts,  like  Paris 
1919.  Cale's  lyrics,  however,  have  rarely  been  as  gnm 
or  violent  as  they  are  here.  The  arrangements  promi- 
nently feature  keyboards  and  the  music  effectively 
matches  the  darkly  moody  subject  matter. 

Caribbean  Sunset  is  Cale's  least  interesting  album 
to  date.  Even  if  the  puzzlingly  muddy  self-production 
hadn't  stifled  everything  but  his  jagged-edged  vocals, 
the  songs  themselves  are  too  flimsy  to  support  his  words 
or  passion. 

Perhaps  sensing  this,  Cale  released  Caribbean  Sun- 
set back-to-back  with  another  LP  showcasing  his  in- 
concert  strengths  with  the  same  band.  Though  he  self- 
defeatingly  begins  and  ends  Comes  Alive  with  half- 
assed  studio  efforts,  that's  the  extent  of  the 
disappointment.  The  live  core  of  the  album  consists  of 


101 


gripping  Aversions  of  vintage  like  **Fear"  and 

4 'Leaving  It  AH  Up  to  Y0a/*  a  "Heart- 

Hotel"  performed          at  the  electric  piano,  a 

bounctly  tongue-in-cheek  "Wailing  for  ihe  Man"  as  a 

tip  of  the  hat  to  Lou  Reed,  and  a  couple  of 
Live  songs  minus  the  overly  metallic  that  made 

unlistenable  on  that  UP.  Cale  should  record 

all  his  material  this  v»ay:  live  and  with  a  solid  band, 
Artificial  Intelligence  has  the  band;  a  trio  of 
James  Young,  Graham  Dowdall  and  David  Young,  It 
also  has  Cale  co-writing  lyrics  with  journalist  Ralso  Eto- 
nian, whose  Dylan  fixation  comes  through  clearly  on  the 
articulately  verbose  "Everytune  the  Dogs  Bark**  and 
otfeer  songs.  Elsewhere,  a  mild  island  lilt  suggests  a 
well-read  Jimmy  Buffett.  Moody  and  contained,  but  en- 
ergetic and  occasionally  stimulating,  A.I.  is  a  reason- 
tf  unspectacular  addition  to  Cafc's  extensive 
catalogue. 

After  an  extended  recording  hiatus,  Cale  reappeared 
in  ECm-rocic  with  the  classically  oriented  Brian 

Eno-produced  Words  for  the  Dyiag.  The  album  is  di- 
vided into  sections;  the  31 -minute  "Falkiands 
Suite"  (Cale  singing  four  Dylan  Thomas  poems  with  a 
Russian  orchestra  and  a  Welsh  choir),  a  two-part  piano 
solo  ("Songs  Without  Words'1)  and  "The  Soul  of  Car- 
men Miranda"  (a  ghostly  semi-pop  collaboration  with 
Eao).  Though  Words  for  the  Dying  doesn't  equal 
Cale's  most  intense  work,  it's  not  meant  to,  and  marks 
a  welcome  return  to  action  for  this  perennially  under- 
rated artist  [i/mf/hd] 
Sec  also  Bnan  En®,  Lou  Reid. 


ROBERT  CALVERT 

See  HawkwM. 


CAMOUFLAGE 

Voices  &  Images  (Atlantic)  1988  • 
Methods  of  Silence  f  Atlantic)  1 989  * 
Meomvhile  f  Atlantic)  1991  4> 

Considering  that  British  synth-pop  has  its  roots  in 
German  prog-rock,  there's  something  faintly  just  about 
this  Hamburg  trio's  real-or-Memorex  Depeche  Mode 
imitation  on  Voices  &  Images.  Although  several  songs 
do  digress  from  the  overtly  familiar,  there's  little  chance 
that  anyone  favorably  disposed  towards  Speak  &  Spell 
(and  unperturbed  by  the  notion  of  hand-me-downs) 
won't  like  this. 

The  DM  sound  reappears  frequently  on  Methods  of 
Silence,  but  Camouflage  adds  other  elements  that  are 
less  specifically  derivative.  Every  track  incorporates 
guest  guitar;  electronic  piano,  oboe,  sax  and  cello  also 
make  beneficial  appearances.  While  the  maturing  trio's 
functional  but  mediocre  songwriting  (the  lyrics,  in  En- 
glish, rarely  hit  the  mark)  limits  its  ability  to  develop, 
the  intriguing  inter-generational  leap  of  covering  New 
Musik's  "On  Islands"  at  least  suggests  an  alternate  path 
to  explore.  [3d] 


LUTHER  CAMPBELL  FEATURING 
THE  2  LIVE  CREW 

See  2  Live  Crew. 


STAN  CAMPBELL 

See  Specials, 

CAMPER  VAN  BEETHOVEN 

Telephone  Free  Lancfsffd©  Victory  f  Independent 

Prof«cf-Roygh  Trade)  1 995  » 
Take  Hi©  Skinheads  Bowling  EP  f  Pitefi-A-Tent-RougJi 

Trade)  19B6 
Camper  Van  Beethoven  I!  &  II!  (PHch-A-Tent-Rough 

Trade)  1 986  • 
Campwer  Van  Beethoven  {Pftch-A-Tent-Rough  Trade) 

1986* 
Vampire  Can  Mating  Oven  EP  fRtch-A-Tent-Rough  Trade) 

1987* 

Oyr  B»©iov©d  Revolutionary  Sweetheart  (Virgin)  1 988  • 
Key  Urn®  Pie  (Virgin)  1989® 

MONKS  OF 

Soundtrack  to  the  Rim:  "Breakfast  on  the  Beach  of 

Deception"  ( Pitch- A-Tent-Rough  Trade)  1 988 
Hie  Cosmoctomonic  Telegrafjf*  Company 

(Pffch-A-Tertt-Rowgh  Tradej  1 989  • 

JONATHAN 

Storytelling  fPttch-A-Tent-Rough  Trade)  1988  * 

Because  they  understand  why  middle-Eastern  ethnic 
music  isn't  really  all  that  different  from  rock'n'roll,  and 
because  they  realize  that  the  indie-rock  underground  is 
every  bit  as  stupid  and  petty  as  the  mainstream,  the  mere 
existence  of  playfully  eclectic  post-hippie  California 
surrealists  Camper  Van  Beethoven  validates  the  very 
concept  of  pop  music.  Unselfconsciously  absorbing  in- 
spiration from  any  musical  style  that  strikes  them,  and 
adding  leader  David  Lowery's  dizzy  absurdist  lyrics, 
Santa  Cruz's  Campers  make  records  that  suggest  what 
the  Grateful  Dead  might  sound  like  if  they  had  a  sense 
of  humor  and  knew  how  to  write  pop  songs. 

The  band  has  gradually  downplayed  the  giddy  shifts 
in  style  that  distinguished  their  early  LPs,  integrating 
their  disparate  influences  into  a  more  cohesive  individ- 
ual voice.  Still,  the  Camper  catalogue  is  a  remarkably 
consistent  one,  showcasing  a  unique  aesthetic  that 
seemed  to  emerge  fully  developed  on  Telephone  Free 
Landslide  Victory. 

In  addition  to  the  underground  in- jokes  'Take  the 
Skinheads  Bowling"  (the  EP  of  which  pairs  that 
college-radio  hit  with  five  non-LP  tracks  of  varying 
length)  and  "Where  the  Hell  is  Bill?,"  Telephone  in- 
cludes a  woozy  cover  of  Black  Flag's  "Wasted"  and 
self-explanatory  instrumental  like  "Border  Ska," 
"Yanqui  Go  Home,"  "Balalaika  Gap"  and  "Mao 
Reminisces  About  His  Days  in  Southern  China."  The 
20-track  II  &  III  features  lots  of  country  references  and 
a  hoedown  version  of  Sonic  Youth's  "I  Love  Her  All 
the  Time, ' '  plus  the  raga-pop  "Circles, '  *  the  phony  anti- 
rock  protest  anthem  "No  More  Bullshit"  and  the  de- 
lightful "ZZ  Top  Goes  to  Egypt." 

Camper  Van  Beethoven  displays  a  more  integrated 
band  style  and  an  emerging  political  consciousness  on 
"Good  Guys  &  Bad  Guys"  and  "Joe  Stalin's  Cadil- 
lac"; there's  also  a  respectful  cover  of  Pink  Floyd's 
"Interstellar  Overdrive"  and  "One  Fois,"  the  most  im- 
pressive Indian-cajun  fusion  in  recent  memory.  (A  1987 
CD  combines  Camper  Van  Beethoven  and  Vampire 
Can  Mating  Oven.) 


102 


Closing  out  the  band's  indie-label  career,  the  six- 
song  Vampire  Can  Mating  Own  collects  up  some  en- 
]0>ab!e  odds  and  ends,  including  a  jolly  remake  of 
Ringo  Starr's  "Photograph." 

Judging  by  Our  Beloved  Revolutionary  Sweet- 
heart, Camper  Vanfs  move  to  the  majors  didn't  dampen 
the  combo's  iconoclasm,  and  the  addition  of  a  sympa- 
thetic producer  (Dennis  Herring)  has  made  for  a  more 
ambitious  sonic  palette.  Highlights  include  the  catchy, 
self-deflating  4tNever  Go  Back"  (previewed  on  the 
Vampire  Can  Mating  Oven  EP),  the  picturesque  "Eye 
of  Fatima,"  the  Zep-like  "Waka"  and  an  oldie,  **O 
Death,"  borrowed  from  '60s  kindred  spirits  Kaleido- 
scope. 

Key  Lime  Fie — the  group's  final  album  pnor  to  an 
acrimonious  breakup — is  a  decidedly  bittersweet  swan- 
song,  trading  the  exuberance  of  pnor  outings  for  a  crash- 
ing sense  of  disillusionment.  Still,  the  record's  gloomy 
vibe  makes  for  sporadically  interesting  listening  on 
"When  I  Win  the  Lottery/'  the  appropriately  titled 
closer  ( "Come  on  Darkness' ' )  and  particularly  the  stun- 
ning "Sweethearts,"  a  resigned  assessment  of  the  Rea- 
gan era.  A  cute  remake  of  Status  Quo's  1968  "Pictures 
of  Matchstick  Men"  seems  to  have  wandered  in  from 
another  album. 

The  mostly  instrumental  first  Monks  of  Doom  LP  is 
a  side  project  featuring  three  Campers — guitarist  Greg 
Lisher,  bassist  Victor  Krummenacher  and  drummer 
Chris  Pedersen — and  Ophelias  guitarist  David  Immer- 
gliick  (who  became  an  end-time  Camper)  playing  mildly 
psychedelic  improvisational  guitar  rock,  with  occasional 
forays  into  jazzy  ethnicity.  The  more  song-oriented 
Cosntodemonic  Telegraph  Company  is  a  big  improve- 
ment over  its  predecessor,  with  the  Monks  having  de- 
veloped a  distinct  identity  apart  from  their  parent  bands. 
Drawing  on  a  seemingly  bottomless  well  of  mainstream- 
rock  and  avant-garde  cliches,  they  produce  personalized 
art-rock  that's  both  artful  and  rocking,  with  covers  of 
Eugene  Chadbourne  and  the  Residents  that  are  concep- 
tually consistent  with  the  quartet's  surprisingly  concise 
originals. 

Longtime  Camper  violinist  Jonathan  Segel — who 
left  the  band  during  the  early  stages  of  Key  Lime  Pie — 
released  the  28-track  Storytelling  double-LP  while  still 
a  member  of  the  group.  The  leisurely  song  cycle  moves 
easily  between  quiet  folk  tunes,  gentle  psychedelia  and 
flat-out  prog-rock,  with  the  multi-instrumentalist  getting 
musical  help  from  all  four  Monks  of  Doom  and  various 
other  San  Francisco  scenesters.  Though  Segel  is  only  a 
passable  vocalist,  his  matter-of-factly  gee-whiz  lyrics 
are  functional,  and  the  music  makes  for  fine  late-night/ 
pre-dawn  listening.  [hd] 

See  also  Eugene  Chadbourne,  Harm  Farm, 
Ophelias. 

CAN 

Monster  Movie  (nr/UA)  1969  (Spoon-Mute-Restless 

Retro)  1990* 
Soundtracks  (nr/UA)  1 970  (Spoon-Mute-Restless  Retro) 

1990« 
Togo  Mago  (nr/UA)  1971  (Spoon-Mute-Restless  Retro) 

1990« 
Ege  Bamyasi  (UA)  1972  (Spoon-Mute-Restless  Retro) 

1990» 


Future  Days  f  UA}  1 973 

1990® 

Limited  Edition  f  nr/UA)  1974 
Soon  Over  Babaiuma  {UA}  1 974  fSfS0on-Myf»»fte$t!es$ 

Retro)]  990® 
Landed  {nr/Virgin)  1975 

1990© 
Unlimited  Edition  for/Caroline)  1976  |Spoon-Myfe- 

Resifess  Retro)  1990® 
Opener  1971-1974  for/Sunset)  1976 
Flow  Motion  (nr/Virgin)  1976  fSpoon-Mote-Resiess 

Retrof  1 990  • 
Sow  Delight  (or/Virgin)  1977  fSpoort-Mute-Restfess  Refro| 

1990® 

Out  of  Reach  (Peters  inf  I)  1 978  • 
Cannibalism  (nr/UA)  1978 

Can  (nr/Laser}  1 979  fSpoon-Mute-Restles$  Retro!  1 990  * 
Cannibalism  1  (Get.  Spoon)  1 980  (Spoon-Murte-Restfess 

Retro)!  990  • 

Incandescence  1969-1977  (nr/Virgin)  1981 
Delay  1968  (Ger.  Spoon|  1981  fSpoon-Mute-Restless 

Retro)  1990® 

OnSyou  [tape]  (Ger.  Pure  Freude)  1982 
Prehistoric  Future-June,  1 968  [tape]  (Fr.  Togo  Mago) 

1984 

Rite  Time  (rtr/Mercury)  1 989  • 
Cannibalism  2  (Spoon-Mute-Resttess  Retro)  1990  4> 
Cannibalism  3  (Spoon-Mute-Restless  Retro)  1990  4> 

HOLGER  CZUKAY 

Movies  (nr/EMI)  1980 

On  the  Way  to  the  Peak  of  Normal  (nr/EMI)  1982 

Der  Osten  1st  Rot  ( nr/Virgin}  1 984 

Rome  Remains  Rome  (nr/Virgin)  1 987  * 

Radio  Wave  Surfer  (nr/Virgin}  1991  « 

HOLGER  CZUKAY/ROLF 

Canaxis  (Ger.  Spoon)  1982 

A  German  group  that  arose  during  the  psychedelic 
movement  of  1968  from  jazz,  avant-garde  and  rock 
sources,  Can  (essentially  Holger  Czukay,  Irmin 
Schmidt,  Jaki  Liebezeit,  Michael  Karoli)  developed 
(and  perfected)  electronic  collage  in  rock  music  and 
actively  absorbed  a  number  of  musical  traditions  into 
their  eclectic  work.  In  addition  to  providing  an  example 
of  individualistic  behavior  remote  from  commercial  mu- 
sic, Can's  output  influenced  a  number  of  more  modern 
figures,  including  Pete  Shelley  and  John  Lydon,  while 
Can's  Holger  Czukay  has  worked  with  musicians  as 
disparate  as  Eurythmics  and  Jah  Wobble. 

Monster  Movie  is  a  decent  1969  psychedelic  album 
that  reflects  the  influence  of  early  Pink  Floyd,  and  dis- 
plays the  sparse,  repeating  percussion  patterns  that  be- 
came a  trademark.  Synth  and  fuzzbox  guitar  wail  over 
Liebezeit' s  drums  and  Czukay 's  bass.  As  with  most  of 
Can's  later  releases,  vocals  are  present  but  secondary. 

By  Soundtracks,  Can  had  refined  its  sound,  bring- 
ing the  rhythms  further  to  the  foreground  and  working 
guitar  and  synthesizer  around  them.  Several  tracks  fea- 
ture impressive  psychedelic  guitar  textures;  others  tone 
the  guitar  down  and  concentrate  on  rhythm.  The  addi- 
tion of  Japanese  singer  Kenji  "Damo"  Suzuki  (replac- 
ing the  highly  inappropriate  American  vocalist  Malcolm 
Mooney)  leads  to  several  rather  beautiful  songs  here. 

Can  burst  free  of  its  formalism  on  the  double-album 


103 


Tag®  Mago,  kicking  out  the  jams  on  the  nearlv  struc- 
tureless "Aamgn,"  seventeen  minutes  of  texture  and 
eerie  mood  Other  tracks  feature  long  improvisations 
built  around  hvpnotic  rhvthm  patterns .  backwards  vo- 
cals, tape  effects  and  other  innovations.  1  Ironically,  the 
LP's  shortest  track,  the  four-minute  ** Mushroom/*  has 
become  something  of  a  post-punk  staple  i  At  this  point, 
Can  began  making  the  albums  thai  would  wield  enor- 
mous influence  on  '80s  groups  as  diverse  as  the  Fall, 
Einsturzende  Neubauten  and  Zoviet  France 

Ege  Bamyasi  is  a  tighter,  more  sophisticated  ver- 
sion of  Tago  Mago,  though  it  lacks  some  of  the  earlier 
album's  sense  of  excitement.  The  group  integrates  tex- 
tures, rh\thms  and  experiments  into  an  almost  jazz-like 
form  on  the  two  longer  pieces,  while  also  producing 
more  concise  songs  of  lyrical  beauty  like  %<Sing  Swan 
Song"  and  *Tm  So  Green."  One  of  Can's  best. 

Future  JDays  is  so  laid  back  and  sparsely  beautiful 
that  it  could  have  been  recorded  ie  California  rather  than 
Germany.  { Indeed,  one  of  the  four  lengthy  tracks  is 
entitled  k*BeI  Air.")  Liebezeit's  patterns  are  quicker 
and  even  more  in  the  foreground,  but  played  with  great 
restraint  As  Schmidt's  synthesizer  washes  like  ocean 
air,  Karoli  either  twangs  and  picks  guitar  in  the  fore- 
ground or  drones  off  in  the  distance.  Mellow  yet  hardly 
bonng,  there's  plenty  going  on  here  if  you  listen  for  it. 
Suzuki  left  following  Future  Days,  and  Karoh  and 
Schmidt  took  on  vocal  responsibilities. 

The  quartet  regained  its  abrasive  edge  on  Soon  Over 
Babaluma,  which  introduces  reggae-like  rhythms  and 
Karoli's  sawing  violin.  "Splash"  uses  insistent  drums 
and  distorted  lead  guitar,  while  "Chain  Reaction"  and 
"Quantum  Physics,"  which  jointly  fill  the  second  side, 
improvise  guitar  around  quirky  drums  and  all  kinds  of 
synthesizer  noises. 

Following  the  darkly  perverse  Landed,  Can  exposed 
a  fascination  with  non- Western  musics  on  Limited  Edi- 
tion, which  unveils  several  pieces  in  the  Ethnological 
Forgery  Series,  more  of  which  appear  on  Unlimited 
Edition,  Flow  Motion  and  Can.  The  inclusion  of  Rosko 
Gee  and  Reebop  Kwaku  Baah  in  the  group  gave  a  Ja- 
maican voodoo  flair  to  Saw  Delight  that  prefigured  the 
reggae  absorption  of  the  Clash,  the  Police  and  other 
groups. 

A  relative  degree  of  popular  success  with  "I  Want 
More**  from  Flow  Motion  strained  the  group  to  the 
point  where  they  opted  to  break  up.  They  have,  how- 
ever, reunited  occasionally.  Recorded  in  1986  as  a  pre- 
mature 20th  anniversary  commemoration,  Rite  Time 
finds  Can  again  working  with  Mooney,  fitting  him  into 
their  sophisticated  atmospherics  as  well  as  can  be  ex- 
pected (i.e.,  hideously). 

Opener  and  the  two-disc  Cannibalism  both  anthol- 
ogize work  from  1968  to  1973  (containing  performances 
by  both  Mooney  and  Suzuki);  the  latter  features  five 
tracks  in  re-edited  versions  and  liner  notes  by  Pete  Shel- 
ley, in  which  he  credits  Karoli  as  a  pivotal  influence. 
Cannibalism  I  is  the  same  record  minus  two  tracks. 
Delay  1968  features  heretofore-unreleased  work  by  the 
original  group  (meaning  Mooney)  from  1968/69,  a 
weird  mixture  of  accessible  (but  spacey)  guitar  psyche- 
delia, fairly  straight  rock  and  funky  soul  vamps  (!). 
Incandescence  (enough  with  the  corny  puns  already!) 
is  also  a  compilation. 

While  Lrmin  Schmidt  has  issued  a  stack  of  would-be 


soundtrack  albums  on  his  own,  of  all  the  Canmen, 
Holger  C/uka>\s  ^olo  career  I  including  recent  joint 
projects  with  Da\id  Sylvian)  has  proven  the  most  inter- 
nationally prominent  as  well  as  the  most  artistically  in- 
spiring. He  first  continued  his  tape  collage  experiments 
on  the  excellent  Movies  and  then  On  the  Way  to  the 
Peak  of  Normal,  the  latter  with  Jah  Wobble  guesting 
(Canaxis,  which  actually  dates  from  1969,  consists  of 
two  long  pieces  of  environmental  mood  music  incorpo- 
rating various  ethnic  components  ) 

Der  Osten  1st  Rot  (The  East  Is  Red),  with  Lie- 
bezeit  and  Conny  Plank  helping  out,  takes  a  lighthearted 
and  often  amusing  tack,  splicing  found  tapes  to  fairly 
straightforward  songs  that  run  the  gamut  from  cabaret 
crooning  to  demented  instrumental.  A  wonderfully 
foolish  excursion  with  serious  undercurrents  of  political 
satire. 

The  guest  sidemen  on  Czukay's  winningly  loopy 
Rome  Remains  Rome  include  Liebezeit  and  Karoli, 
making  it  virtually  a  Can  reunion  record,  as  well  as 
Wobble  and  his  associate,  Olli  Morland.  Playing  every- 
thing from  guitar  to  french  horn  to  radio,  Czukay  takes 
his  usual  jaundiced  view,  deflating  musical  convention 
("Hey  Baba  Reebop"  puts  a  hysterical  electro  twist  on 
big-band  swing)  as  he  experiments  with  sounds,  includ- 
ing a  lot  of  vocals  (some  in  English,  many  sung  by  a 
chameleon-like  female  chorus)  this  time.  (The  CD  in- 
cludes tracks  from  Der  Osten  1st  Rot )  [sg/i/sl] 

See  also  Eurythmics,  David  Sylvian,  Jah  Wobble. 

CAPTAIN  BEEFHEART  AND  THE 
MAGIC  BAND 

Safe  as  Milk  (Kama  Sutra}  1 967  (Buddah)  1 970  * 

Dropout  Boogie  (nr/Buddah)  1 967 

Strictly  Personal  (Blue  Thumb)  1968 

Trout  Mask  Replica  (Straight)  1969  (Reprise}  1970  ® 

Lick  My  Decals  Off,  Baby  (Straight}  1 970  (Reprise)  1 970 

(Enigma  Retro)  1989  • 

Mirror  Man  (Buddah)  1970  +  1974  (nr/Demon)  1986  • 
Clear  Spot  (Reprise)  1972 
Unconditionally  Guaranteed  (Mercury)  1974  (Blue  Plate) 

1990* 
Biuejeans  &  Moonbeams  (Mercury)  1974  (Blue  Plate) 

1990* 
Shiny  Beast  (Bat  Chain  Puller)  (Warner  Bros.)  1 978 

(Enigma  Retro)  1 990  • 
Doc  at  the  Radar  Station  (Virgin)  1 980  • 
Ice  Cream  for  Crow  (Virgin-Epic)  1982  (Blue  Plate) 

1990» 

The  Legendary  A&M  Sessions  EP  (A&M)  1 984 
Safe  as  Milk/Mirror  Man  (nr/Castle  Comm.)  1 988  • 

CAPTAIN  BEEFHEART 

The  Spotlight  Kid  (Reprise)  1 972 

The  Captain  Beefheart  File  (nr/Pye)  1977 

CAPTAIN  BEEFHEART  WITH 
FRANK  ZAPPA  AND  THE 
MOTHERS 

Bongo  Fury  (Discreet)  1975  (Rykodisc)  1989  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Fasf  n'Bulbous  (nr/lmaginary)  1 988  • 

Possessor  of  a  five-octave  vocal  range,  fluent  on 
saxophone  and  harmonica,  intuitively  musical  enough 


104 


to  compose  for,  play  ( after  a  fashion  I  and  e\en  teach 
other  instruments  so  as  to  enable  sidemen  to  function  in 
his  rarefied  musical  world,  Captain  Beeftieart  t  alias  Don 
Van  Vliet  1  is  one  of  rock's  genuine  geniuses  He's  also 
an  accomplished  poet,  sculptor  and  painter.  Starting 
with  a  mixture  of  blues  and  rock,  Beefheatt  has  dis- 
membered and  reassembled  rhythms,  song  structure, 
harmony  and  tonality*  adding  In  quantities  of  free  jazz — 
all  without  getting  academic,  flashy  or  selfconsciously 
pompous  about  it. 

Beefheart's  awesome  yet  idiosyncratic  (as  well  as 
groundbreaking  I  talent  has  deeply  influenced  bands  like 
Devo,  Pere  Ubu,  the  Residents,  Public  Image  and  oth- 
ers, each  in  a  different  way.  Bridging  the  worlds  of 
free-form  jazz  and  modem  rock,  Beefheart  has  demol- 
ished conventions  and  paved  the  way  for  much  of  rock's 
recent  adventurousness. 

Awarded  a  two-single  A&M  contract  as  the  grand 
prize  in  a  Vox  battle  of  the  bands,  Beefheart — from 
Southern  California's  Mojave  Desert — made  the  first  a 
regional  hit  with  a  footstomping  version  of  Bo  Diddley's 
"Diddy  Wah  Diddy,"  but  A&M  judged  his  album 
demos  too  unsettling  to  keep  him  on  the  roster.  (Nearly 
20  years  later,  the  two  original  45s  plus  one  hitherto  unis- 
sued track  were  packaged  as  The  Legendary  A&M  Ses- 
sions; the  producer,  who  also  wrote  one  song,  was  David 
Gates,  founder-to-be  of  pap-rockers  Bread.) 

Another  label  gave  him  a  shot  and,  with  19-year-old 
guitar  wiz  Ry  Cooder,  Beefheart  spewed  out  Safe  as 
Milk,  which  cannily  redefined  what  white  boys  could 
do  with  the  blues,  not  to  mention  rock'n'roll.  Although 
Buddah  released  it,  the  label — then  best  known  as  the 
purveyors  of  the  bubblegum  sounds  of  the  1910  Fruit- 
gum  Co.  et  al. — evidently  wasn't  thrilled  about  it. 
Cooder  departed  just  in  time  to  force  the  cancellation  of 
an  appearance  at  the  fabled  Monterey  Pop  Festival. 

Beefheart  got  another  record  deal  with  a  hip,  mav- 
erick independent  label  and  recorded  Strictly  Personal, 
an  even  punchier  and  more  irreverent  version  of  what 
he'd  essayed  on  Safe  as  Milk.  But  the  LP  was  remixed 
while  he  was  away  on  a  European  tour;  Beefheart  was 
understandably  disgusted  by  the  results.  At  this  remove, 
however,  the  silly  effects  added  without  his  consent 
merely  date  the  record  a  bit;  looking  past  that,  it's  vir- 
tually the  equal  of  its  more  celebrated  predecessor. 

Beefheart  may  have  felt  like  his  third  strike  had  been 
thrown  while  he  wasn't  looking,  but  along  came  child- 
hood friend  and  former  (albeit  briefly)  bandmate  Frank 
Zappa,  who'd  wangled  a  custom  label  deal  that  allowed 
him  to  offer  Beefheart  complete  creative  control.  What 
popped  out  was  Trout  Mask  Replica,  generally  re- 
garded as  his  first  masterpiece.  The  minimalist  rock 
blossomed,  mated  at  times  with  free  jazz.  (Between 
cuts,  he  can  faintly  be  heard  telling  visitors  that  he  calls 
it  "bush  music.")  The  lyrics  (and  straight-up  poetry) 
received,  and  warranted,  increasing  prominence.  De- 
cals  was  a  consolidation  of  artistic  gains  that  suffers 
only  in  comparison  to  Trout  Mask.  Both  attracted 
enough  attention  that  Buddah  brought  out  Mirror  Man, 
an  LP  consisting  of  four  extended  live  tracks  (from  '65) 
that  was  derided  as  a  sub-par  exploitation  move.  Re- 
gardless, it's  damn  good  stuff,  and  didn't  do  much  ex- 
ploiting, either:  all  three  albums  were  commercial  stiffs. 
(Two  songs  from  Mirror  Man  were  later  re-recorded 
for  Strictly  Personal.) 


The  Kiii  reverted  to  a  simpler,  bluesier 

sound  ( a  k  the  first  two  LPs  ?, 

by  the  Captain's  subsequent  explorations.  Further 
changes  and  commercial  resulted  IE  Clear 

Spot,  which  sported  2  more  stxhzed,  heavy -reck  style 
I  varied  by  an  excellent,  if  uncharacteristic,  Memphis- 
style  soul  number  K 

On  the  other  hand.  Unconditionally  Guaranteed 
and  Biuejeans  &  are  even  more  simpli- 

fied, sometimes  to  the  point  of  inanity ,  and  the  musi- 
cians fa  the  records  don"t  to  have  a  clue  about 
Beefheart  or  his  music.  (The  second — allegedly  out- 
takes  from  the  first — is  actually  better, )  He  some 
money  for  a  change  and  won  new  European  fans,  but 
some  of  the  faithful  felt  he'd  sold  out, 

Beefheart  cut  an  album  called  Bat  Chain  Puttier  for 
Virgin,  but  legal  problems  prevented  its  release.  With  a 
new  band  that  included  ex-Mothers  of  Invention  trom- 
bonist Bruce  Fowler,  he  signed  to  Warners  and  released 
Shiny  Beast,  which  incorporated  much  of  the  material 
first  cut  for  Bat  Chain  Pttller  (and  therefore  used  that 
name  as  a  subtitle).  It's  a  progression  from  Decals,  as  if 
the  intervening  albums  had  never  happened,  and  stands 
as  one  of  his  best.  The  words  are  more  direct  than  on 
Decals;  the  music  smoother  and  more  orchestral. 

He  then  proceeded  to  top  himself  with  Doc  at  the 
Radar  Station.  A  minor  shift  in  the  band  had  tough- 
ened the  sound,  and  the  LP  combined  his  continuing 
refinement  with  a  touch  of  Clear  Spot's  hard-nosed 
attack. 

Beefheart  went  still  further  with  Ice  Cream  for 
Crow,  the  height  of  his  career's  most  sustained  upward 
creative  swing,  despite  (because  of?)  a  near-total  lineup 
turnover  right  after  the  recording  of  Doc.  Crow  is  Beef- 
heart  at  his  most  distinctively  and  beautifully  melodic, 
his  most  frightening  and  his  most  danceable.  And  it's 
apparently  his  musical  swan  song.  The  painter/sculptor 
has  made  the  sad  but  understandable  decision  that  vi- 
sual, not  audio,  art  is  his  best  means  of  support — a 
depressing  comment  on  the  record  business  and  our  cul- 
ture. 

Fast'n'Biilbous  offers  twelve  (fourteen  on  CD)  ver- 
sions of  the  Captain's  songs,  by  the  Scientists,  Sonic 
Youth,  XTC,  That  Petrol  Emotion,  the  Membranes  and 
eight  lesser  lights.  As  with  all  such  tributes,  the  danger 
is  that  contributors  often  haven't  a  clue  how  to  do  justice 
to  the  subject,  and  wind  up  trivializing  the  artist  being 
canonized;  in  this  case,  it's  true  in  spades.  Some  reduce 
Beefheart  to  snappy  garage  rock,  some  (like  XTC)  just 
simulate  the  originals  with  the  benefit  of  better  sound.  A 
good  idea  on  paper,  it  lacks  vision  and  effort  in  execu- 
tion, tig] 


CAPTAIN  SENSIBLE 

Women  and  Captains  First  (nr/A&M)  1982 

The  Power  of  Love  (nr/A&M)  1 983 

A  Day  in  the  Life  of ...  Captain  Sensible  (A&M)  1 984 

One  Christmas  Catalogue  EP  (nr/A&M)  1984 

Sensible  Singles  (nr/A&M)  1 984 

Revolution  Now  (nr/Deltic)  1989  • 

CAPTAIN  SENSIBLE/ 

BROTHERHOOD  OF  LIZARDS 

Smash  It  Up  Part  4  EP  (nr/Deltic)  1 990 


105 


When  not  playing  guitar  and  keyboards  in  the 
Damned,  the  good  Captain  (Ray  Bums  to  his  parents) 
spent  the  early  '80s  making  Hghthearted  hit  records  with 
producer  Tony  Mansfield,  His  two  best  weird V 
wonderful  chart-toppers — the  joke-rapping  "Wot"  and 
fct Happy  Talk"  (from  the  musical  South  Pacific) — are 
included  on  Women  Mid  Captains  First,  alongside 
other  equally  ridiculous  concepts  ranging  from  country- 
western  to  cabaret.  Aided  and  abetted  by  such  divergent 
talents  as  Robyn  Hitchcock  and  female  vocal  trio  Dolly 
Mixture,  Sensible' s  homely  singing  is  ingratiating,  if 
not  always  on  key. 

The  Power  of  Love  is  less  varied  and  novelty-filled, 
but  nonetheless  contains  a  few  subtler  gems:  "It's  Hard 
to  Believe  I'm  Not'*  and  "Secrets/*  both  co-written 
with  Hitchcock,  "Stop  the  World"  and  "The  Power  of 
Love/'  all  distinguished  by  Sensible  *s  engaging  vocals 
and  silly/serious  lyrics. 

In  a  vain  attempt  to  introduce  Sensible  to  America, 
A  Day  in  the  Life  compiles  tracks  from  both  English 
albums  (plus  a  previously  non-LP  single)  and  has  most 
of  what  you  would  want  to  hear  by  the  lad.  But  you 
should  also  be  aware  of  the  seasonal  EP,  One  Christ- 
mas Catalogue,  which  came  complete  with  a  plastic 
Santa  beaid  and,  amidst  three  great  originals,  Sensible's 
puzzling  marly  straight  version  of  Frankie  Goes  to  Hol- 
lywood's "Relax.'*  For  corapletists,  there's  also  Sen- 
sible Singles,  a  thirteen-cut  collection  that  largely 
overlaps  the  albums. 

Resuming  his  solo  career  in  the  late  '80s,  Sensible 
reached  some  sort  of  artistic  peak  on  the  excellent  Rev- 
olution Now,  an  all-new  album  of  originals  (some  co- 
written  by  Cleaner  from  Venus/Brotherhood  of  Lizards' 
Martin  Newell)  recorded  with  such  comrades  as  Rat 
Scabies,  Henry  Badowski  and  Paul  Gray.  Although 
hampered  a  bit  by  Sensible' s  minimalist  singing  and  the 
obvious  use  of  synthesizers  where  real  instruments 
would  have  sounded  better,  the  record  is  still  full  of 
catchy  melodies  and  nearly  serious  left-field  lyrics.  (Not 
to  mention  spoken-word  TV  bites  that  help  express  Sen- 
sible's  chagrin  at  modern  consumerism.)  There  isn't  a 
bad  song  here,  and  the  best  ones — "Missing  the  Boat," 
"The  Toys  Take  Over/'  "Revolution  Now,"  "Phone- 
In" — cover  amazing  stylistic  ground  with  ease  and  flair. 

[i] 


CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY 

See  Wreckless  Eric. 

CARBON 

See  Elliott  Sharp. 

CARCASS 

Reek  of  Putrefaction  (nr/Earache)  1 988  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1989  • 
Symphonies  of  Sickness  (nr/Earache)  1 989 

(Earache-Relativity)  1 990  • 

Although  thought  to  be  a  Napalm  Death  side- 
project,  Liverpool's  Carcass  was  actually  formed  by 
guitarist  Bill  Steer,  drummer  Ken  Owen  and  an  Indian 
vocalist  named  Sanjiv  in  1985,  well  before  Steer  joined 
Napalm.  Participating  in  both  bands  more  or  less  simul- 


taneously, he  and  Owen  were  joined  in  "87  by  bassist' 
biology  student  Jeff  Walker,  whose  anatomy  studies 
play  a  large  role  in  his  night  job:  claiming  to  be  "par- 
ticularly interested  in  the  digestive  system,"  his  lyncs 
and  album  artwork  are  among  the  most  revoltingly 
graphic  imaginable.  (For  what  it's  worth,  the  three  are 
devout  vegetarians. ) 

Reek  of  Putrefaction  contains  sixteen  tracks  of  the 
trio's  distinctive  "medi-core":  skull-pulverizing  riffs, 
cardiac-arrest  time-changes,  guttural  vocals  and  charm- 
ing titles  like  " Vomited  Anal  Tract,"  "Feast  on 
Dismembered  Carnage"  and  the  fitting  "Psycho- 
pathologist."  Steer  left  Napalm  Death  in  mid-'89  to 
concentrate  on  Carcass,  and  the  ensuing  Symphonies  of 
Sickness  contains  ten  tracks  ("Excoriating  Abdominal 
Emanation , "  4  *  Cadaveric  Incubator  of  Endoparasites , ' ' 
"Crepitating  Bowel  Erosion")  of  even  more  brutal 
grind.  The  two  albums  are  combined  onto  one  CD. 

See  also  Napalm  Death.  {>] 


BELINDA  CARLISLE 

Belinda  (IRS)  1 986  • 

Heaven  on  Earth  (MCA)  1987  • 

Runaway  Horses  (MCA)  1989  * 

Following  the  breakup  of  the  Go-Go's,  Belinda  Car- 
lisle stuck  with  guitarist  Charlotte  Caffey  and  recorded 
a  mixed-up  solo  album  whose  cover  shows  the  newly 
glamorized  singer  striking  a  stylish  Cyd  Charisse  pose. 
Inside  Belinda,  however,  the  mock-girl  groupisms,  mis- 
begotten Motown  take-offs  and  lush  quasi-Ronstadt  rock 
are  easy  on  the  ears  but  utterly  lacking  in  conviction  or 
charm.  Carlisle's  voice  was  never  the  Go-Go's1  stron- 
gest feature;  with  training,  her  skills  have  improved  over 
the  years,  but  she  still  isn't  very  appealing.  Dull  mate- 
rial and  unimaginative  production  adds  little  to  her  first 
bid  for  acceptance  as  an  adult  artist. 

Carlisle's  second  album — an  absurd  but  stylistically 
focused  big-budget  studio  concoction  on  which  hit- 
bound  rock-pop  production  numbers  like  "I  Get  Weak" 
and  "Heaven  Is  a  Place  on  Earth"  mingle  with  such 
bizarrities  as  a  lame  cover  of  Cream's  **I  Feel  Free" — 
turned  her  into  a  huge,  meaningless  star.  The  limits  of 
Carlisle's  voice  are  obvious  on  some  songs;  producer- 
mastermind  Rick  Nowels'  slim  repertoire  of  ideas 
(mainly  loud  electric  guitars  thrown  against  synthesized 
strings  and  heavenly  backing  chorus)  is  also  a  problem. 
The  album's  only  hint  of  wit  is  Carlisle's  credit  for  air 
guitar. 

Again  directed  by  Nowels,  Runaway  Horses  is  an- 
other hollow  melodrama  of  contrivance  and  cliche".  The 
record's  calculated  hooks  are  hard  to  resist,  but  Carl- 
isle's studied  delivery — check  the  exuberant  title  track, 
the  pseudo-Latin  "La  Luna"  and  the  idiotic  "Leave  a 
Light  On"  (to  which  George  Harrison  adds  inappropri- 
ate slide  guitar) — has  all  the  come-on  conviction  of 
phone  sex.  Next  stop:  the  Go-Go's  reunion!  [i] 

See  also  Go-Go's, 


CARMEL 

Carmel  EP  (nr/Red  Flame)  1982 

The  Drum  Is  Everything  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984  • 

The  Falling  far/London)  1 986  • 

Everybody's  Got  a  Little  . . .  Soul  (nr/London)  1 987  • 


106 


S*t  Me  Fme  (m/London)  1989  • 
Collected  (nr/London)  1990  * 

Brassy  belter  Caraiel  McCourt  and  tier  two-roan 
band  (drummer  Geny  Darby  and  stand-up  bassist  Jim 
Pans),  plus  vinous  organists*  singers,  drummers  and 
tiommen,  make  the  Mike  Thome-produced  The  0mm 
Is  Everything  a  joyous  and  raucous  outing  that  has  a  bit 
in  common  with  nouveau  jazz-pop  crooners  like  Sade, 
but  is  far  more  adventurous  and  ambitious  in  scope. 
"More,  More,  More"  and  '"Willow  Weep  for  Me"*  are 
inspiring,  near-gospel  outbursts  of  enthusiasm;  *  Tracks 
of  My  Tears'*  (no,  not  that  one)  and  "Stormy  Weather" 
(yes,  that  one)  show  a  bluesier,  more  reserved  side  that 
isn't  as  appealing  in  this  setting,  Carme!  doesn't  mod- 
ulate all  that  well — for  her,  singing  is  a  full-blooded 
pastime  with  no  room  for  pussyfooting — and  tends  to 
overpower  the  more  subtly  played  songs. 

Using  four  different  producers  (including  Brian  Eno 
and  Chris  Porter),  The  Failing  runs  a  similar  gamut, 
from  the  sinuous  blues  of  "I'm  Not  Afraid  of  You' '  to  the 
boisterous  chorus-and-horas  ebullience  of  "Let  Me 
Know"  to  "Mercy,"  a  nothing  song  electrified  by  a  bra- 
vura vocal  performance.  While  Carmel's  improved  con- 
trol is  a  plus,  even  the  sparing  use  of  electronic 
percussion  seems  like  a  serious  breach  of  stylistic  integ- 
rity. And  the  syncopated  deconstruction  of  Randy  New- 
man's "Mama  Told  Me  Not  to  Come"  is  just  too  weird. 

Carme!  reunited  with  Thome  for  the  trio's 
glossed-up  third  album,  which  gives  synthesizers  a  firm 
toehold  in  the  arrangements.  Taking  a  disappointing 
(and  tense-sounding)  detour  towards  urbane  pop,  Mc- 
Court allows  guest  keyboardist  Ugo  Delmirani  to  share 
in  the  songwriting,  resulting  in  blander  material  with 
obvious  commercial  aspirations.  If  not  quite  a  fatal  ar- 
tistic concession  (the  schmaltzy  "Nothing  Good," 
which  she  can't  even  sing,  comes  darn  close  to  it),  the 
misbegotten  Everybody's  Got  a  Little  .  .  .  Soul  lacks 
most  of  what  made  its  robust  predecessors  so  rewarding. 

Further  removed  from  the  early  records'  unaffected 
simplicity,  the  uneven  Set  Me  Free  lifts  any  remaining 
barriers  to  modern  technology  and  slathers  on  the  drum 
programs,  MIDI  processors  and  synthetic  strings.  With 
Delmirani  thankfully  out  of  the  picture,  McCourt  and  a 
variety  of  collaborators  deliver  a  reasonably  good  set  of 
songs,  individually  produced  by  Eno,  Thome,  Pete 
Wingfield  and  Jim  Parris  (new  spelling).  Singing  over  a 
busy  rush  of  danceable  jazz-pop-rock,  a  seemingly  re- 
invigorated  McCourt  comfortably  throws  her  voice  into 
high  gear,  cutting  through  the  arrangements  with  ease. 
But  putting  on  the  melodramatic  chanteuse  act  for  songs 
like  the  grim  "God  Put  Your  Hand  on  Me"  still  doesn't 
suit  her  at  all.  The  new  Carmel  may  not  be  as  wonderful 
as  the  old  Carmel,  but  Set  Me  Free  provides  reason 
enough  to  keep  listening* 

The  Collected  compilation — a  fair  album  summary 
that  leans  a  bit  too  heavily  towards  Set  Me  Free 
material — has  the  added  attraction  of  one  alternate  ver- 
sion and  a  duet  Carmel  sang  with  Johnny  Hallyday  on 
his  1987  LP.  [i] 

CARNEY-HILD-KRAMER 

Happiness  Finally  Came  to  Them  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 987 

What  happens  when  uninhibited  musicians  get  to- 
gether for  a  creative  brainstorm?  Ralph  Carney  (sax, 


guitar)  is  a  veteran  of  Tin  arid  the 

keys.  Daved  Hild  f  vocals,  has 

with  David  Thomas,  is  the  ex-Sfeockabilly 

bassist/keyboardist  who         Shimmy-Disc  and  in 

Bongwater  and  other  groups.  With  as 

Michael  Cudafay  ( guitar;  Christmas),  the  trio  lias  a 
on  Happiness,  writing  and  up  a 

of  flighty  fun,  arty  seriousness  and  utter  rubbish.  That 
it's  nearly  impossible  to  tell  which  is  which  be  this 
one-off  album's  greatest  achievement.  [i] 

See  also  Bongwater,  Shockabilfy,  Swollen  Monkeys, 
Tin  Huev. 


PAUL 

Nighlbird  (nr/Vectigo}  1980 
Suburban  Voodoo  (Epic)  1982  • 
Om*  Good  Reason  (Chrysalis)  1 987  • 
Ace  Mechanic  (nr/Demon)  1987 
The  Carrack  Collection  (Chrysalis)  1 988  • 
Groove  Approved  (Chrysalis)  1 989  • 

One  of  rock's  more  circuitous  success  stories:  Car- 
rack  was  the  lead-singing  keyboardist  in  Ace,  a  pub- 
rock  outfit  before  ''pub-rock"  became  a  rock  press  sub- 
genre — strictly  background  music  for  soaking  up  suds. 
Ace  hadn't  the  faintest  idea  what  to  do  when  Carrack's 
catchy  (if  banal)  "How  Long"  became  an  international 
hit  in  1975,  and  proved  it  with  three  IPs  of  boring 
laid-backism.  Carrack  hung  on  through  Ace's  dissolu- 
tion and  his  all-too-pat  first  solo  LP,  Nightbird.  He  got 
a  real  boost,  though,  when  Squeeze  hired  Mm  to  replace 
Jools  Holland.  It  was  only  for  the  East  Side  Story 
album — just  one  Carrack  lead  vocal,  but  that's  on 
"Tempted,"  one  of  Squeeze's  most  popular  numbers. 
The  song  became  a  Carrack  calling  card,  too. 

That  LP  also  brought  him  into  contact  with  the  Elvis 
Costello/Nick  Lowe  axis  (EC  produced  the  Squeeze  LP, 
Lowe  had  produced  Elvis,  both  were  managed  by  Jake 
Riviera).  Carrack  and  Lowe  then  formed  Noise  to  Go,  a 
Rockpilish  arrangement  in  which  the  two  alternated  top 
billing.  No  surprise,  then,  that  Suburban  Voodoo 
sounds  like  the  souled-up  flipside  of  Nick  the  Knife— if 
anything,  it's  better.  Yet  it  succeeds  because  of  Lowe's 
production  and  composing  presence,  which  comple- 
ments Carrack's  excellent  voice  with  the  kind  of  pop 
smarts  that  bring  out  his  best. 

Carrack  next  found  employment  with  Mike  &  the 
Mechanics  (Mike  Rutherford's  extra-Genesis  sideline), 
and  wound  up  singing  strangely  anonymous-sounding 
lead  on  that  group's  big  hit,  "Silent  Running."  This 
exposure  got  Carrack  a  1987  touring-band  job  with 
Roger  Waters  after  Pink  Floyd's  split. 

Half  of  One  Good  Reason  is  decent-to-good,  and 
the  rest  is  mediocre-to-poor.  Produced  by  former  Hall 
and  Gates  overseer  Christopher  Neil,  it's  got  more  radio- 
music  slickness  than  Carrack' s  had  in  years,  but  at  the 
cost  of  some  identity.  (Although  Canjack  is  clearly  to 
blame  for  the  demolition  of  "When  You  Walk  in  the 
Room." )  It  did  yield  a  genuine  not-bad  pop  hit  ("Don't 
Shed  a  Tear"). 

Groove  Approved  is  a  pretty  fair  title:  lots  of  good 
old-fashioned  R&B  grooves,  often  garnished  with  Car- 
rack's  tasty  Hammond  organ  licks.  Unfortunately,  the 
synthetic  drums  sometimes  slicken  or  stiffen  the  rhythm 
too  much  (they  just  don't  get  greasy,  y'know?).  Despite 


107 


such  co-writers  as  Lowe,  Qms  Difford,  John  Wesley 

Harding  and  ex-Doobie  Michael  McDonald,  the  songs 

aren't  unforgettable,  but  they're  mostly  painless.  Bass- 
ist T-Bone  Wolk,  with  whom  Carrack  co-authored  three 
tracks,  produced. 

The  fourteen-tmck  Demon  compilation  samples  ev- 
erything (Ace,  Squeeze*  M  4-  the  Ms,  solo)  Carrack 
recorded  before  signing  with  Chrysalis;  that  label's 
compilation  covers  the  same  stuff,  but  less  of  it,  fjg] 

See  also  Squeeze. 


JOE  EL 

MOLINO 

Joe  wKi«gw  Carrosco  and  El  MoIIno  (Lisa)  1 978 
T«*M»x  Rock-Roll  pope}  (ROIR)  1989 

JOE  "KING"  CARRASCO  AND 
THE  CROWNS 

Joe  Idng"  Carrosco  and  She  Crowns  ( Hannibal)  1 980 

Party  Safari  EP  (Hannibal)  1 981 

Synapse  Gap  fMondo  Total}  (MCA)  1 982 

Forty  Weekend  (MCA)  1 983 

Tales  from  the  Crypt  ftape]  (ROiR)  1 984 

Bordertown  (nr/B»g  Beat)  1984  * 

Viva  San  Antone  EP  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 985 

Royal  Loyal  &  Live  (Rio's  Royal  Texacali)  1990  * 

JOE  KING  CARRASCO  Y  LAS 
CORONAS 

Banalda  Rock  (Rounder)  1987  * 

Austin's  Joe  "King"  Carrasco  (n£  Teutsch)  grew 
up  in  the  Lone  Star  state  under  the  spell  of  Tex-Mex 
border  music.  El  Molino,  his  first  band,  straddled  this 
tradition  (with  horns  and  marimba)  and  rock  (with  Doug 
Satan's  keyboard  player,  Augie  Meyers,  and  songs  like 
"Rock  Esta  Noche").  El  Molino's  only  album  (reis- 
sued a  decade  later  on  cassette  as  Tex-Mex  Rock-Roll) 
is  pleasant  enough,  but  sounds  pale  compared  to  what 
followed. 

Whether  influenced  by  new  wave  or  reverting  to 
more  adolescent  taste,  Carrasco  traded  in  El  MoUno  for 
the  Crowns.  This  no-nonsense  backing  trio,  dominated 
by  Kns  Cummings*  cheesy  organ,  is  built  for  speed. 
TTie  Crowns'  debut  album  touches  on  rockabilly  ("One 
More  Time"),  polka  ("Federates")  and  border  influ- 
ences ("Buena,"  "Caca  de  Vaca").  Their  forte, 
though,  is  performing  "96  Tears"  under  a  variety  of 
thin  guises,  all  of  them  delightful  ("Let* s  Get  Pretty," 
"Betty's  World,"  you  name  it).  The  tempos  are 
rewed-up  punk,  the  feeling,  Southwestern  mestizo. 
(The  Stiff  LP  has  two  numbers  not  on  the  American 
alburn,  but  Hannibal's  release  has  three  songs  not  on  the 
English  version,  and  a  funnier  cover  as  well.) 

Party  Safari  is  a  four-song  EP  further  displaying 
Carrasco's  cultural  dementia;  the  Crowns'  next  album, 
Synapse  Gap,  finds  them  only  slightly  more  subdued. 
Besides  re-recording  two  of  Party  Safari's  songs, 
Carrasco  dabbles  in  reggae  rhythms  and  somehow  got 
Michael  Jackson  (!)  to  sing  along  on  "Don't  Let  a 
Woman  (Make  a  Fool  Out  of  You)." 

In  a  last-ditch  effort  to  sell  out  (well,  to  sell  a  few 
records  at  least),  Carrasco  made  Party  Weekend,  a 
non-stop  heap  o'  fun.  Richard  Gottehrer  produced  it, 
and  tunes  like  "Let's  Go"  and  "Burnin'  It  Down"  (not 


to  mention  a  spi%  remake  of  "Buena")  perfectly  crys- 
tallize all  of  the  group's  strengths.  Murderously  infec- 
tious and  upbeat- — attitodinally  the  Southwest's  answer 
to  the  Ramones — Party  Weekend  seemed  perfectly  de- 
signed to  introduce  the  world  to  Carrasco's  abundant 
talent  and  charm  But  it  didn't  take  off,  and  so  Carrasco 
unceremoniously  returned  from  his  safari  in  the  majors. 

Joe's  next  release  was  the  tape-only  Taks  from  the 
Crypt,  a  marvelous  set  of  demos  from  1979  with  em- 
bryonic (read:  raw  and  exciting)  versions  of  many  of 
Carrasco's  best  tunes,  from  "Let's  Get  Pretty"  to  "Caca 
de  Vaca*'  to  "Federales."  Although  not  intended  as 
such,  it's  an  ideal  introduction  to  a  world  of  boundless 
spirit  and  infectious  fiiiL 

By  EordertowB,  Carrasco's  act  is  getting  kind  of, 
er,  familiar:  too  many  of  the  songs  employ  not  only  the 
same  chords  and  melody,  but  a  lot  of  'em  stick  to  the 
same  Spanglicized  rhyming  patterns.  Adding  to  the  fa- 
tigue is  a  new-found  political  sensibility,  yielding  well- 
intentioned  bores  like  "Who  Buys  the  Guns"  and 
"Current  Events  (Are  Making  Sense)."  If  you  haven't 
been  following  the  Carrasco  saga  for  long,  Bordertown 
is  as  good  as  any  of  his  prior  records;  however,  those 
with  a  large  collection  can  survive  without  it. 

Bandido  Rock  finds  the  increasingly  politicized 
Carrasco  (note  retitied  band)  mouthing  sentiments  like 
"Juarez  and  Zapata/Stood  for  love  of  the  people."  Just 
a  glance  at  the  album's  song  list — including  "Fuera 
Yanqui"  and  "Hey  Gringo  'No  Pasaran*" — confirms 
suspicions  of  monomania.  Too  bad,  because  the  band, 
now  mostly  accordion-led,  still  sounds  fine.  But  with 
only  three  out  of  ten  songs  in  a  yanqui  4/4,  Bandido 
Rock  is  strictly  for  the  musically  converted  and/or  any- 
one ready  to  follow  Joe  into  Nicaragua. 

Enjoyment  of  Royal,  Loyal  &  Live — recorded  with 
a  loud,  tight  quartet  in  early  *89 — has  no  such  prereq- 
uisites. The  seriously  sweaty  rock'n'roll  show  begins 
weakly  with  "Hey  Joe"  and  that  unofficial  Texas  an- 
them, "96  Tears,"  but  then  shifts  into  high  gear  as 
Carrasco — surging  with  contagious  enthusiasm — 
delivers  an  impressive  program  of  mostly  new  material. 
(The  handful  of  JKC  oldies  are,  thankfully,  items  like 
"Manana"  and  "Parti  [sic]  Weekend"  rather  than  more 
obvious  and  overplayed  numbers.)  Amid  greater  stylis- 
tic and  rhythmic  diversity  than  Carrasco's  records  usu- 
ally muster,  Bandido  Rock  alumnus  Marcelo  Gauna 
(accordion/keyboards)  and  Tom  Cruz,  a  piercingly  good 
lead  guitarist,  provide  ample  instrumental  flavor.  Joe 
King  does  the  rest.  [si/i] 


CARS 

The  Cars  (Eleidra)  1978* 
Candy-0(Elektran979* 
Panorama  (Elektra)  1980  • 
Shake  It  Up  (Elektra)  1981  • 
Heartbeat  City  (Elektra)  1 984  • 
Greatest  Hits  (Elektra}  1985  • 
Door  to  Door  (Elektra)  1 987  • 

RIC  OCASEK 

Beatitude  (Geffen)  1982 

This  Side  of  Paradise  (Geffen)  1 986  • 

GREG  HAWKES 

Niagara  Falls  (Passport)  1 983 


108 


Change  No  Change  (Etddra)  1 985 

BEN  ORR 

The  Lac*  (8ebra)  1986<» 

For  an  example  of  shifting  perceptions,  consider  the 
Cars.  When  their  debut  LP  appeared  in  1978,  the  Boston- 
based  quintet  was  tagged  as  a  prime  commercial  and  crit- 
ical prospect  of  the  emerging  post-punk  phenomenon 
called  new  wave.  IE  other  words,  they  were  coo!  and  po- 
tentially popular.  Then,  presto!  Upon  release  of  an  al- 
bum, the  Cars  became  an  immediate  smash  and  entered 
the  ranks  of  platinum-sellers,  where  they  remained. 
Quickly,  they  lost  all  artistic  credibility  among  critics, 
despite  their  remarkable  consistency  on  disc. 

The  Cars  changed  little  after  that  first  record  estab- 
lished the  ground  rales.  On  their  debut,  singer/ 
songwriter  Ric  Ocasek  pursues  the  trail  of  ironic, 
sometimes  wistful  romanticism  blazed  by  David  Bowie 
and  especially  Bryan  Ferry.  "Good  Times  Roll,"  "My 
Best  Friend's  Girl"  and  other  tunes  contradict  blithe 
surfaces  with  nervous  undercurrents.  As  sparely  pro- 
duced by  Roy  Thomas  Baker,  virtually  interchangeable 
lead  singers  Ocasek  and  bassist  Ben  Orr  ride  a  slick, 
pulsing  current  generated  by  Elliot  Easton's  skittish  gui- 
tar, Greg  Hawkes'  poised  synths  and  ex-Modern  Lover 
David  Robinson's  booming  drums.  Here,  and  on  sub- 
sequent albums,  the  alluring  glibness  serves  as  a  gate- 
way to  underlying  emotional  anguish. 

Candy-O's  main  flaw  is  that  it  offers  the  same  ac- 
complished style.  Emotions  are  more  directly  expressed 
on  the  title  track  and  the  frankly  sentimental  "It's  All  I 
Can  Do,"  but  the  polish  remains.  "Let's  Go"  and 
"Dangerous  Type"  express  a  muted  ambivalence  that 
allows  the  Cars  to  continue  pleasing  superficial  listen- 
ers. Panorama  tampers  with  the  formula  slightly, 
though  not  enough  to  jeopardize  the  band's  enormous 
popularity.  Many  tunes  are  murkier  and  less  immediate, 
giving  greater  play  to  the  creeping  desperation  that  per- 
meates Ocasek' s  writing.  More  unsettling,  though  still 
highly  listenable. 

Shake  It  Up  is  the  lightest  album  in  the  Cars*  col- 
lection. The  title  track  comes  as  close  as  they  ever  got  to 
a  conventional  good-time  tune,  and  others  are  less 
haunting  than  you  might  like  Ocasek's  songs  to  be. 
Highlight:  the  feverish,  blatantly  Roxyesque  "This 
Could  Be  Love."  Then  the  Cars  took  a  group  vacation. 

For  his  first  solo  album,  Ocasek  enlisted  Hawkes, 
handpicked  musicians  from  various  semi-underground 
bands  (Bad  Brains,  New  Models,  Ministry,  etc.)  and 
created  a  moody  collection  of  stimulating  but  only  semi- 
commercial  new  songs.  Beatitude  bears  an  unavoidable 
resemblance  to  the  Cars'  sound,  but  the  prevalence  of 
synthesizer  over  guitar  and  an  avoidance  of  choppy, 
driving  rhythms  make  it  different  enough.  While  several 
Cars  tracks  have  worked  similar  languid  terrain  ("Since 
You're  Gone"  on  Shake  It  Up  and  "You  Wear  Those 
Eyes"  on  Panorama  are  two),  Ocasek's  solo  approach 
is  subtler  and  texturally  richer;  his  lyrics  here  are  also 
exemplary.  Best  track:  "Jimmy  Jimmy,"  a  sympathetic 
portrait  of  a  troubled  teen. 

Niagara  Falls  confirms  keyboardist  Hawkes'  role  m 
shaping  the  Cars'  instrumental  sound,  but  it's  mighty 
dull  fare  all  the  same.  Take  away  the  band's  lyrics, 
vocals  and  tension  and  you  get  this  sort  of  muzak. 


After  that  dalliance,  the  Cars  for  Heart- 

beat City,  a  more  LP  It  Op  awl 

the  band's  most  commercially  to         The 

disc  yielded  no  less  than  the 

"Drive,"    the   ebullient   "You  Think"   and 

"Magic,1*  which  might  test  be  as  the  Cars 

meet  the   Electric  Light  Orchestra,   The   lyrics  are 
Ocasek's  usual  neurotic  doodlings,  he  shows 

more  compassion  for  his  "lost  generation"  characters 
than  before. 

Buoyed  by  that  album's  stellar  performance,  the 
Cars  took  another  solo  break.  Easton's  Change  No 
Change  is  a  minor  work  to  be  sure,  but  a  surprisingly 
good  record  nonetheless.  A  more  immediate  and  electric 
record  than  the  band  would  ever  dare  make,  it  contains 
some  pithy  harmonies,  some  snarling  boogie  and  even  a 
Costello  soundalike.  Irrepressible  Jules  Shear  co-wrote 
all  the  tunes. 

Joined  by  co-producer/drummer  Chris  Hughes  (ex- 
Ants),  Ocasek  drafted  another  set  of  famous  friends 
(including  most  of  his  bandmates,  guitarists  Steve 
Stevens,  Tom  Verlaine  and  G.E,  Smith)  to  help  him 
imitate  the  Cars  some  more  on  TMs  Side  of  Paradise. 
The  man's  stylistic  consistency  is  indeed  amazing.  Onr's 
tepid  record  is  also  Cars-like,  but  with  a  lighter,  more 
vocal-oriented  feel  and  a  warmly  non-mechanical  pop 
approach.  That's  not  to  say  the  songs — co-written  by 
Orr  and  Diane  Grey  Page — are  any  good,  but  Tfee  Lace 
is  nice  and  harmless. 

The  final  Cars  album,  Door  to  Door,  which  Ocasek 
wrote  and  produced,  is  likable  but  irrelevant.  (The 
group's  audience  evidently  agreed:  it  was  the  only  Cars 
LP  to  fall  short  of  a  million  sales.)  Ocasek  has  never 
before  allowed  this  much  noisy  guitar  rock  to  corrupt 
the  chilly  tension  of  the  Cars'  formula;  the  overenthu- 
siastic  intrusion  on  the  group's  familiar  sound  is  notice- 
able but  not  unpleasant.  [jy/i] 

See  also  Jonathan  Richman  and  the  Modern  Lovers, 
Suicide. 


CHRIS  CARTER 

See  Chris  and  Cosey. 

PETER  CASE 

Peter  Case  (Geffen)  1986 
The  Man  with  the  Blue  Postmodern  Fragmented 
Neo-Traditionalist  Guitar  (Geffen)  1 989  • 
Setting  aside  the  rock  approach  of  Case's  former 
bands  (the  Nerves  and  the  Plimsouls),  the  talented 
singer/songwriter/guitarist's  eponymous  solo  debut  is  a 
portrait  of  the  artist  as  a  literate  young  troubadour, 
baggy  suit,  fedora  and  aU.  Downplaying  the  Plimsouls' 
frantic  guitar  jangle  in  favor  of  lean,  diverse  arrange- 
ments, Case  and  co-producers  T-Bone  Burnett  and 
Mitchell  Froom  focus  squarely  on  the  material  (some  of 
it  co-written  by  Burnett)  and  Case's  soul-on-fire  vocals. 
The  barbed  Americana  of  Case's  best  songs — **I  Shook 
His  Hand,"  "Steel  Strings"  (later  recorded  by  Marshall 
Crenshaw),  "Old  Blue  Car" — points  to  greatness 
around  the  corner.  However,  other  tunes  (the  contrived 
"Small  Town  Spree/*  arranged  by  Van  Dyke  Parks,  the 
sub-Mdleecamp  "Horse  &  Crow")  demonstrate  tke 
need  for  a  good  editor.  Peter  Case  closes  with  a  good 


109 


cover  of  the  Pogues*  "Pair  of  Brown  Eyes,**  with  Roger 
McGainn  on  guitar. 

Case's  second  solo  effort  fulfills  much  of  the  prom- 
ise Mated  at  on  its  predecessor.  The  songwriting  is  more 
fluent  and  self-assured,  as  is  his  singing;  with  contribu- 
tions from  David  Llndley,  lira  Keitoer  and  Los  Lesbos' 
David  Hidalgo,  the  musical  settings  are  more  varied  and 
distinctive.  Case  delivers  some  startlingly  precise  char- 
acter studies  <"Poor  Old  Tom/'  "Travellin*  Light"), 
stark  emotional  dramas  ("Put  Down  the  Gun/'  "Two 
Angels")  and  sharply  observed  sense~of-place  vignettes 
("This  Town's  a  Riot/'  **Entella  Hotel").  Perhaps 
most  notable,  though,  is  the  born-again  artist's  new- 
found deftness  at  bridging  spiritual  and  secular  con- 
cerns, which  he  does  effectively  on  4*Hidden  Love/* 

See  also  Nerves,  Ptimsouls.  [i/hd] 

CATERWAUL 

The  Notwe  of  Things  (Lost  Arts)  1 987 
Beholden  B>  (IRS)  1988 
R«£Web(SRS)1989« 
Portent  Hoe  (IRS)  1 990* 

Formed  in  Phoenix,  this  talented,  hard-to-pin-down 
band — a  versatile  rock/folk  trio  plus  singer  Betsy  Martin 
(also  the  band's  lyricist  and  occasional  mandolin 
player) — made  its  debut  on  an  indie  album  before  relo- 
cating to  Los  Angeles  and  hooking  up  a  bigger  deal. 
Following  a  three-song  trial  run  with  Camper  Van  pro- 
ducer Dennis  Herring  on  Beholden,  Caterwaul  (espe- 
cially Martin,  who  can  deliver  a  country  croon,  a 
cowgirl  yodel  and  a  chilling  rock  howl,  but  never  does 
anything  quite  like  the  band's  name)  exorcised  some 
extremist  tendencies  and  continued  on  to  Pin  &  Web. 
As  setf-centeredly  enigmatic  as  early  R.E.M,  but  with 
in-your-ear  vocals  and  a  different  regional  orientation, 
Pin  &  Web  lacks  top-notch  songs,  instead  relying  on 
clear,  carefully  crafted  music  (Mark  Schafer  is  evidently 
an  open-minded  student  at  the  Edge  school  of  electric 
guitar  textures)  and  Martin's  exciting  excursions.  (The 
CD  adds  the  two  Beholden  tracks  not  already  included 
ontheLP.) 

The  dramatic,  full-blooded  rock  (balanced  by  acous- 
tic mandolin  interludes)  of  Portent  Hue  matches  Mar- 
tin's inventive  vocals  strength  for  strength,  cutting  an 
uneven  path  but  scoring  points  along  the  way.  Kevin 
Pinnt  wallops  the  skins  convincingly  as  Schafer  weaves 
busy  guitar  patterns  in  which  Martin  can  throw  her  many 
voices  at  various  odd  angles.  When  the  band's  song- 
writing  is  in  full  effect  (as  on  "Alex'  Aphrodisiac'*  or 
"Bulldosage" )  Martin's  theatrics  are  a  neat  bonus;  else- 
where (as  on  ' 'Manna  and  Quail,"  where  she  performs 
amazing  Siouxsiesque  octave  jumps)  she's  the  whole 
show.  [i] 

CAT  HEADS 

Hubba  (Restless)  1987  • 
Submarine  (Restless)  1988 

(EX)  CAT  HEADS 

Our  Frisco  (Twitch  City)  1 989 

If  anything,  this  San  Francisco  quartet  suffers  from 
an  excess  of  talent:  three  members  write,  all  four  sing. 
Hubba  is  all  over  the  place  style-wise,  from  the  agree- 
ably noisy  post-folk/rock  of  "Hangin*  Around*'  to  the 


stately  romanticism  of  "Final  Letter f"  to  the  mock- 
country  of  "Saved  by  the  Bottle"  to  the  playful  hippie- 
punk  of  * 'Golden  Gate  Park/*  Most  of  it's  quite  good, 
but  the  jarring  lack  of  focus  makes  the  album  an  unnec- 
essarily distracting  listen. 

The  winsome  Submarine,  on  the  other  hand,  wisely 
concentrates  on  the  band's  strengths,  sticking  to  more 
melodic  material  and  allowing  drummer  Melanie  Clarin 
(concurrently  a  member  of  Dormer  Party)  to  sing  more. 
As  a  result,  Submarine  (co-produced  by  Dave  Lowery 
of  Camper  Van  Beethoven)  consistently  captures  the 
haunting  melody  of  Hufeba's  best  moments  (as  on 
"Postcard"  and  ** Sister  Tabitha")  without  ditching  the 
goofy  humor  (**Jiggy  Sawdust/Gumshoe")  or  the  me- 
lodic rock  edge  ("Upside  Down/'  "Apologize*'). 

Though  the  band  split  up  after  Submarine,  charter 
members  Sam  Babbitt  and  Alan  Korn  recruited  a  third 
singer/guitarist/bassist  and  Flying  Color's  ex-drummer 
to  record  Our  Frisco  as  the  (Ex)  Cat  Heads.  The  in- 
scrutably packaged  and  annotated  album — an  enjoyably 
casual-sounding  set — is  not  all  that  different  from  the 
original  band's  quirky  electric-acoustic  mix.  Former 
bandmate  Clarin  returns  to  sing  harmony  on  the  most 
memorable  track,  the  cheerfully  self-mocking  "Anti- 
Song."  [hd] 

See  also  Dormer  Party,  Harm  Farm, 


CATHEDRAL  OF  TEARS 

See  True  Sounds  of  Liberty. 

NICK  CAVE  AND  THE  BAD  SEEDS 

From  Her  to  Bernity  (nr/Mute)  1 984  • 

The  Firstborn  Is  Dead  (Mute-Homestead)  1 985  • 

Tupelo  EP  (Homestead)  1985 

Kicking  Against  the  Pricb  (Homestead)  1 986  • 

Your  Funeral ...  My  Trial  (Mute-Homestead)  1 986  • 

Tender  Prey  (Mute-Enigma)  1 988  • 

The  Good  Son  (Mute-Enigma)  1990  (Mute-Elelctra) 

1990» 
The  Weeping  Song  EP  [CD]  (Mute-Enigma)  1990  • 

ANITA  LANE 

Dirty  Sings  EP  (nr/Mute)  1988  (Mute-Restless)  1989  • 

NICK  CAVE/MICK  HARVEY/ 
BLIXA  BARGELD 

Ghosts  ...  of  the  CMI  Dead  (Mute)  1 989  • 

Following  the  Birthday  Party's  self-destruction, 
singer/lyricist  Nick  Cave  formed  the  Bad  Seeds  as  a  new 
vehicle  for  his  foreboding  visions  of  love  and  death. 
While  his  passionate  bellowing  certainly  fit  in  well  with 
his  former  mates'  wall  of  noise,  From  Her  to  Eternity 
sounds  like  the  record  he  always  wanted  to  make.  The 
Bad  Seeds — an  all-star  unit  including  ex-Magazine 
bassist  Barry  Adamson,  ex-Birthday  Party  guitarist/ 
keyboanUst-tumed-drummer  Mick  Harvey  and  guitarist 
Blixa  Bargeld  on  loan  from  Einsturzende  Neubauten — 
provide  a  sparse  twisted-blues  setting  that  gives  Cave 
plenty  of  room  for  his  vocal  pyrotechnics.  The  guitars 
are  bizarre  but  subdued,  bass  and  drums  slow  and  de- 
liberate; rudimentary  piano  fills  the  gaps.  While  the  al- 
bum relies  less  on  shock  effects  than  any  the  Birthday 
Party  ever  made,  the  explosive  parts  are  that  much  more 
effective.  The  title  track,  "A  Box  for  Black  Paul"  and 


110 


a  chilling  rendition  of  Leonard  Cohen's  '* Avalanche" 
stand  up  to  anything  Cave  did  with  the  Birthday  Party. 
(A  contemporaneous  single  of  "In  the  Ghetto"  is  also 
highly  recomroended  ) 

The  Firstborn  Is  Dead  takes  Cave's  fixations  on 
the  blues  and  Elvis  Presley  one  step  further,  this  time 
with  somewhat  mixed  results.  A  resident  of  London  and 
Berlin,  the  Melbourne  native  leaves  himself  open  to 
accusations  of  romanticizing  a  culture  he's  never 
known,  but  this  doesn't  sound  like  a  man  singing  out  of 
ignorance.  Slow-moving  and  perhaps  as  self-indulgent 
as  it  is  heartfelt,  The  Firstborn  is  a  mature  work  which 
may  at  first  disappoint  those  awaiting  another  "Big- 
Jesus-Trash-Can,"  but  the  patient  listener  will  find 
Cave's  emotional  range  intact,  albeit  in  a  subtler  setting. 
The  American  Tupelo  EP  takes  the  album's  opening 
track  as  its  title  and  adds  "In  the  Ghetto,"  "The  Moon 
Is  in  the  Gutter"  and  a  drastically  different  version  of 
the  old  Birthday  Party  live  staple,  "The  Six  Strings  That 
Drew  Blood." 

Kicking  Against  the  Pricks  is  an  all-covers  LP  on 
which  Cave  really  makes  his  mark  as  a  song  stylist.  He 
performs  passionate  takes  of  blues  standards  ("Muddy 
Water,"  "I'm  Gonna  Kill  That  Woman"),  gospel  ("Je- 
sus Met  the  Woman  at  the  Well"),  rock  classics  ("Hey 
Joe,"  "All  Tomorrow's  Parties")  and,  surprisingly 
enough,  "By  the  Time  I  Get  to  Phoenix."  His  voice  has 
never  sounded  stronger,  and  no  musical  style  among 
those  selected  is  beyond  his  grasp.  Some  interpretations 
are  faithful  to  originals,  others  (especially  "All  Tomor- 
row's Parties")  are  completely  unique,  and  the  album's 
success  owes  as  much  to  the  work  of  the  Bad  Seeds  as 
it  does  to  Cavers  talents.  (Thomas  Wydler  is  now  the 
band's  drummer,  with  Harvey  returning  to  his  jack-of- 
all-trades  role;  the  late  Tracy  Pew,  Birthday  Party's 
bassist,  makes  his  final  recorded  appearance  on  "Hey 
Joe.")  An  almost  flawless  album. 

Your  Funeral .  .  .  My  Trial  is  an  eight-song  album 
issued  as  a  pair  of  12-inches.  The  expanded  format  en- 
hances the  production,  which  is  the  clearest  and  most 
up-front  of  any  Cave  release.  That  hi  turn  augments  the 
melodicism  and  increased  energy  level  of  the  music. 
With  the  notable  exception  of  the  blunt  "Hard  on  for 
Love,"  Your  Funeral  also  stands  as  Cave's  best  lyrical 
effort.  He  takes  the  persona  of  old  Nick  the  storyteller, 
and  the  images  are  haunting 

After  a  two-year  hiatus,  Cave  and  his  troupe  (a  five- 
man  ensemble,  including  Harvey,  Bargeld  and  guitarist 
Kid  Congo  Powers)  returned  in  1988  with  Tender  Prey. 
One  need  not  get  any  further  than  the  opening  track, 
"The  Mercy  Seat"  (perhaps  Cave's  strongest  song 
ever),  to  recognize  that  the  LP  is  a  scorcher.  Cave's 
voice  is  mixed  high  and  out  front  hi  the  incredibly  thick, 
bottom-heavy  production  (quite  unlike  the  spartan  sound 
of  most  of  his  previous  discs).  Even  more  surprising  are 
his  melodic  vocals;  without  any  forfeit  of  passion,  it 
really  sounds  as  if  he's  taken  singing  lessons.  But  noth- 
ing else  has  changed:  "Deanna"  is  a  Nuggets-style 
rocker,  but  the  lyrics  plot  a  murder  spree  in  a  Cadillac. 
(You  were  expecting  moon- June-spoon?)  Although  the 
songs  weaken  a  bit  towards  the  end,  this  is  a  challenging 
work  of  extraordinary  quality. 

In  the  two  years  prior  to  The  Good  Son,  Cave 
kicked  a  junk  habit  and  finished  his  first  novel,  And  the 
Ass  Saw  the  Angel  (a  morbid  tale  originally  conceived 


as  a  screenplay!,  lie  by  Ms 

own  life  or  his  but 

this  is  10  the  Cave  "By  the  Time 

I  Get  to  Phoenix."  The  Son  is  and 

rymose,  filled  with  and 

with  strings,  piano  and  vocals.  in 

Brazil,  the  opening  "Foi  Na  Gmz"  is  in 

Portuguese;  the  most  uptempo  cut  is  the 
"The  Witness  Song/'  Easy  listening  to 

things  he's  done,  but  an  not  many 

other  artists  could  have  pulled  off.  C  Initial  of 

the  British  album  came  with  either  a  7-iBch  single  or  a 
5 -inch  CD  containing  acoustic  versions  of  "The  Mercy 
Seat,"  "City  of  Refugee"  and  "Deanna,") 

Anita  Lane's  claim  to  fame  is  that  she's  Hick  Cave's 
girlfriend  and  has  supplied  him  with  occasional  lyrics 
for  solo  and  Birthday  Party  records,  (Her  picture  is  OH 
the  back  cover  of  From  Her  to  Eternity,  making  it 
appear  she  was  then  a  Bad  Seed. )  For  those  who  need  to 
know  more  than  that.  Dirty  Sings  is  a  four-song  EP 
with  spoken,  groaned  and  badly  sung  Lydia  Lunch-like 
vocals  above  slow-moving  but  interestingly  arranged 
backing  (anonymous  musicians,  but  Cave's  Bad  Seeds 
are  readily  identifiable  and  receive  songwrituig  credits). 
She  covers  Chic's  "Lost  in  Music,"  but  the  *Tm  a 
Believer"  here  isn't  the  Monkees  tune.  Dark  without 
being  too  gloomy  or  morbid,  Lane  does  have  an  intrigu- 
ing presence  on  vinyl.  Not  a  bad  little  record. 

Besides  the  band's  appearance  in  Wim  Wenders' 
Wings  of  Desire  (performing  "The  Caray"),  Cave, 
Bargeld  and  Harvey  composed  and  performed  the 
soundtrack  to  Ghosts  .  .  .  of  the  Civil  Dead*  an  Austra- 
lian film  (in  which  Cave  had  a  dramatic  role)  about  a 
maximum  security  prison  in  Marion,  Illinois.  The  jail  is 
brutal  enough  to  be  known  as  the  new  Alcatraz,  and 
while  the  slow-moving  accompaniment  is  eerie,  it's  not 
at  all  violent.  Much  of  the  LP  is  dominated  by  spoken 
accounts  from  guards  and  inmates  and  Bargekfs  sub- 
dued industrial  guitar;  the  oft-repeated  main  theme  also 
includes  cello,  Lane's  mostly  lyric-less  vocals  and  a 
shrill  tin  whistle.  Probably  effective  within  the  context 
of  the  film,  but  two  "songs"  and  little  compelling  con- 
tent doesn't  make  for  much  listening  allure.  [dgs] 

See  also  Barry  Adamson*  Birthday  Party,  Ein- 
stunende  Neubauten,  (Die)  Haul,  Lydia  Lunch. 

CAVEDOGS 

Toyter  Country  EP  (Restless)  1 990  4> 

Joyrides  for  Shut-ins  (Enigma)  1 990  (Capitol)  1 991  4> 

The  Cavedogs  know  their  psyche-power-pop  and, 
on  Joyrides  for  Shut-Ins,  they  turn  up  with  multi- 
tracked  Rickenbackers  blazing.  Producer  Ed  Stasium 
(and  others  who  worked  on  the  previously  released  sin- 
gles included  here)  gives  the  trio  a  BIG  sound;  while 
quotes  from  summer-of-iove  sources  (Move,  Floyd, 
Beatles  and  Monkees  to  name  but  a  few)  abound  you'll 
also  hear  enough  echoes  of  the  Jam,  dB"  s,  R.E.M.  and 
the  Smithereens  to  know  the  Boston-based  trio  has  pro- 
gressed past  pure  paisley.  What  it  all  adds  up  to  is 
glorious  power-pop  with  the  emphasis  squarely  on 
power,  though  the  three-part  harmonies  will  please 
picky  popsters  no  end.  If  the  sheer  energy  and  tuneful- 
ness aren't  enough,  you  can  have  fun  deciphering  the 
lyrics  behind  the  guitars.  Occasionally,  you'll  be  re- 


111 


warded  with  "We're  just         white  rich  kids 

bitchin'  "bcwt  the  world- We          ^%e  got  problems,  hut 

we  ain't  got  problems"  I  from  *  "La  La  La"  I  that  prove 

the  Cavedogs  know  where  it's  at  in  the         and  now. 
The  Tajter  Country  EP  features  the  blistering  title 
track  i  a  single  that  on  the  LPl  and  three 

more,  including  a  version  of  "What's  New  Pussycat?" 
rife  with  power  chords  and  feedback.  fdsj 


See  45  Grave. 


CELIBATE 

By!  Jacques,  the  fish?  EP  (Aus,  no  label)  1 982 

Sicferaxyfon  (Ays.  Half  1 983  • 

The  Celibate  Rifles  f  Aus.  Hot)  1 984  • 

Quintesentialiy  Yours  {What  Go«s  On)  1 985 

The  Turgid  Miasma  of  Existence  {Hot-Rough  Trade}  1 986 

Mine  Mina  Mina  (What  Goes  On}  1 986 

Kiss  Kiss  Bang  Bang  (What  Goes  On}  1 987 

Roman  Beach  Party  (What  Goes  On  j  1 987 

Dancing  Barefoot  EP  {What  Goes  On)  1 988 

Blind  Ear  f  Aus.  True  Tone-EMl)  1 989  * 

Hatters  du  Jour  f Ger.  Hot-Rattlesnake-Normal)  1 990 

EASTERN  DARK 

Long  Live  lite  New  Flesh!  EP  (What  Goes  On)  1 986 
Girts  on  ffie  Beach  (With  Care)  {Aus.  Waterfront)  1 990 

DAM1EN  LOVELOCK 

If  s  A  Wig,  Wig,  Wig,  Wig  World  (Aus.  Hot-Survival)  1 988 

CRENT 

Creni  (Ays,  Waterfront)  1990 

The  antithesis  of  a  sex  pistol  is  a  celibate  rifle,  but 
Australia's  Celibate  Rifles  are  anything  but  the  opposite 
of  loudT  snotty  and  fast.  A  fusion  between  Detroit-style 
straight-ahead  hard  rock  and  Ramones  pop,  steeped  in 
Stooges  and  Radio  Bkdman  milk,  the  Rifles  began  as  a 
party-time  Sydney  band,  racing  through  deliberately 
silly  and  simple  Ramonesque  lyrics  ("What  about  the 
kids?  Get  a  baby  sitter  .  .  .  and  some  kitty  litter")  with 
three  fast/loud  chords.  But  unlike  the  Ramones,  the  Ri- 
fles insert  loud,  sinewy  guitar  solos  between  the  slash- 
Vburn  verses  and,  on  tracks  like  the  7-inch  Jacques' 
*'24  Hours,"  warped  and  warbly  guitar  effects. 

By  Sideroxylon,  the  Rifles  had  dropped  most  of 
early  punk's  stripped-down  economy  for  the  heavy  gui- 
tar sound — more  Hendrix  than  Kiss — that  would  follow 
them  through  the  rest  of  their  career.  (An  obvious  Hen- 
dnx  reference  pops  up  in  the  middle  of  Sideroxylon's 
"God  Squad.'*) 

Three  of  the  four  tracks  from  Jacques  and  five  of 
Sideroxylon's  eleven  were  later  issued  as  Quintessen- 
tially  Yours.  Mina  Mina  Mina  is  also  a  compilation, 
featuring  four  more  Sideroxylon  selections  and  all  but 
"Electric  Snake  River"  from  The  Celibate  Rifles  (aka 
Les  Fusiles  Celibataires).  If  that's  not  confusing 
enough,  Sideroxylon  and  The  Celibate  Rifles  are  on  a 
single  CD. 

Turgid  Miasma  sums  up  the  band's  past  without 
reissuing  any  material  and  takes  them  in  new  directions 
(some  of  which  they've  never  again  tried).  Split  almost 
evenly  between  early-style  fast,  poppy  rockers,  metallic 
guitar  excursions  and  a  new  style  which  encompasses 


everything  from  piano  through  zither  and  glockenspiel, 
is  anything  but  turgid.  Lead  singer  Damien 
Lovelock  a  sinisterly  effective  soft  deadpan  to  his 
vocal  repertoire— a  deep,  dark  grumble  which  meshes 
into  the  guitar  texture  in  %*No  Sign"  and  stands  out  in 
contrast  v*ith  the  bright  chugga  chords  at  the  opening  of 
* 'Conflict  of  Instinct."  Miasma  is  one  of  the  Rifles' 
most  interesting  LPs. 

Lest  their  new-found  studio  prowess  convince  fans 
they  had  a  secret  craving  to  become  sons  of  Steely  Dan, 
their  next  release,  Kiss  Kiss  Bang  Bang,  is  a  straight- 
ahead  live  album  recorded  at  New  York's  CBGB.  Most 
of  the  material  comes  from  Celibate  Rifles  and  Mi- 
asma, with  covers  of  the  Only  Ones'  ''City  of  Fun"  and 
Radio  Birdman's  "Bum  My  Eye."  No  keyboards.  No 
soft  thinky-feely  moments.  Just  hearty  rock'n'roll 

Roman  Beach  Party  and  Dancing  Barefoot  take 
the  band  in  an  even  harder  direction,  back  to  the  metal- 
lic '70s  music  they  first  admired.  On  "The  More  Things 
Change"  and  "Junk"  (from  the  Barefoot  EP),  loud 
twists  of  feedback  meet  fuzzy  scuzzy  chords  that  are 
deep  and  dark — heavy  as  molasses  and  powered  by  200 
proof  adrenaline.  ' 'Dancing  Barefoot"  itself  couples 
twisted  solos  with  Patti  Smith's  lyrics  about  heroin  for 
an  acid-hard  '60s  revivalist  version  of  the  song. 

Despite  the  noisy  washes  of  swirling  wah-wah/fuzz/ 
feedback  guitar,  the  rough'n'ripping  Blind  Ear  tran- 
scends any  particular  stylistic  era  for  a  bracing  adult 
punk  rush.  Alternately  wry,  angry  and  compassionate, 
the  intelligent  lyrics  concern  politics,  global  responsi- 
bility, losers  (like  drug-dealing  "Johnny")  and  progress 
(check  the  ultra-catchy  "Wonderful  Life"  and  the  new- 
age  spoof  "Dial  Om  for  Murder"),  giving  the  exciting 
music  a  good  run  for  album  honors. 

The  double-album  Platters  du  Jour  career  retro- 
spective begins  with  "Kent's  Theme"  (which  incorpo- 
rates the  Marlboro  jingle)  and  the  rest  of  Jacques  and 
runs  through  the  Dancing  Barefoot  EP.  With  numerous 
band  classics  (mostly  singles),  rarities,  outtakes  and 
informative  annotation  by  guitarist  Dave  Morris,  this  is 
the  ideal  starting  point  for  discovering  (or  rediscover- 
ing) the  Rifles. 

When  bassist  James  Darroch  left  the  Rifles  in  1984, 
he  formed  the  Eastern  Dark,  a  trio  in  which  he  played 
guitar  and  sang.  The  five-song  EP,  released  shortly  after 
Darroch  was  killed  in  a  1986  automobile  accident,  has 
plenty  of  noisy  electric  excitement,  but  his  songwriting 
isn't  quite  strong  enough  to  make  the  band  special.  Mix- 
ing acoustics  and  electrics  in  a  Woodentopsy  rush,  "I 
Don't  Need  the  Reasons"  comes  the  closest.  Girls  on 
the  Beach  is  a  two-record  set  of  live  performances,  plus 
a  pair  of  unreleased  studio  tracks  from  '85. 

Lovelock  is  backed  on  his  first  solo  album  by  col- 
leagues from  the  Rifles  and  friends  from  the  Church. 
The  record  by  Crent,  a  slightly  adventurous  side  duo 
formed  by  Rifles  guitarist  Kent  Steedman,  is  promising 
but  dull,  fitting  a  few  clever  bits  in  amid  such  trippy  but 
pointless  '70s  rock  exercises  as  the  side-long  "9K?" 
jam.  ['e/i] 

See  also  New  Christs. 


CERTAIN  GENERAL 

Holiday  of  Love  EP  (Labor)  1 982 

November's  Heat  (Fr.  L'lnvitation  au  Suicide)  1984 


112 


These  Are  the  Days  [Fr.  New  Rose)  1 986 
Cabin  Fever  (Fr.  Barclay]  1988 
Jackfighter  f  Fr.  Barclay!  1 990 

OF 
OUTSIDERS 

For  Away  In  America  f  Soyrmash)  1 984 
Far  Away  in  America  (The  Live  Side}  EP  (Fr.  LlnvHafion 
au  Suicide)  1985 

OF 

Up  the  River  EP  (nr/Ridaiife)  1 985 

Everything  Takes  Forever  (Fr.  LlnvHation  ao  Suicide)  1985 

I  Wish  I  Was  Your  Kid  EP  f  nr/FIicknife)  1 985 

Longer  Than  Always  EP  (Fr.  LlnvHation  ay  Suicide)  1 985 

Act  of  Faith  (Fr.  Barclay)  1986 

Ads  of  Faith  (Saurmash)  1 987 

Armistice  Day  (Nocturnal)  1 989 

CORVAiRS 

Temple  Fire  EP  (Sourmash)  1984 
Sad  Hotel  EP  (Sourmash)  1985 
Rb  Blanco  (Cryptovision)  1 988 
Hitchhiker  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1989  » 

PHIL  GAMMAGE 

Night  Train  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1990  • 

Kneel  to  the  Rising  Sun  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1991  * 

MARC  JEFFREY/PLAYTIME 

Marc  Jeffrey/Playtime  (nr/Conviction)  1990  (Behemoth) 

1991 

While  every  one  of  these  bands  has  indisputably 
defined  its  own  singular  identity,  the  restless,  incestuous 
pool  of  members  and  intents  forming  the  core  of  each 
renders  them  analogous  to  a  single  beast  with  multiple 
heads  pointing  in  different  directions.  Evolving  from 
late-'70s  CBGB  teenage  power-poppers  the  Limit,  Band 
of  Outsiders  began  by  self-releasing  a  no-big-deal  '81 
single  of  spiky  two-guitar  indie  rock.  A  year  later,  hot 
downtowners  Certain  General  came  out  with  their  five- 
song  debut,  Holiday  of  Love,  a  fresher  and  more  im- 
mediate mix  of  spartan  semi-funk,  drifting/scattershot 
guitar  and  male/female  vocals  akin  to  a  reserved  Peter 
Murphy  (admittedly  a  contradiction  in  terms)  duetting 
with  Exene.  Despite  a  borderline  tendency  to  then- 
typical  new  wave  conventions,  the  songs  still  sound 
fresh — even  refreshing — today,  as  befits  what  must  be 
the  only  record  in  history  to  be  co-produced  by  Peter 
Holsapple  and  Michael  Gira. 

Come  1984,  with  both  bands  established  as  NYC 
club  regulars,  they  joined  forces  to  form  Sourmash 
Records  and  release  Far  Away  in  America,  an  album 
to  which  each  contributed  two  live  and  two  studio  songs. 
By  mis  point,  the  groups  had  grown  closer  in  sound; 
Band  of  Outsiders  in  particular  evincing  an  atmosphere 
and  range  barely  hinted  at  on  the  previous  45. 

Minus  drummer/co-vocalist  Marcy  Saddy,  Certain 
General  eschews  much  of  their  jagged  arhythm  for  a 
more  straightforward  pop  moodiness  on  November's 
Heat,  which  includes  new  versions  of  several  Far  Away 
songs.  The  album  emphasizes  the  band's  morose  poetic 
imagery  (especially  vocalist  Parker  DuLany)  in  a  man- 
ner paralleling  R.E.M.  (with  whom  they'd  shared  tiny 
stages)  while  continuing  to  chart  a  characteristically  ob- 
lique course. 

That  same  year,  Band  of  Outsiders  released  the  six- 
song  Up  the  River,  further  developing  a  sound  that 


compared  fevorabiv  to  Television  and  the 

nascent  Cali-zona  iTruc  West,  on  Red, 

Thin  White  Rope  >: 

In  uneasy  collaboration  rivalry. 

Dropping  the  raucous  bat  live  of 

"Child  of  the  Moon,"  the  Up  the  Elver 

songs  reappeared  on  Everything  Forever, 

with  the  two  Far  Away  studio  and 

from  those  sessions. 

The  all-new  I  I  Was  Your  KM  their 

best  material  to  date,  particularly  the  yet 

barbed  title  cut.  Bringing  all  of  the  group's  preceding 
efforts  to  a  head,  Longer  Than  Always  is  a  soft,  siz- 
zling set  of  songs  to  sing  through  white 
handcuffed  in  the  back  seat  of  a  patrol  car. 

Certain  General,  meanwhile,  had  more  or  less  crum- 
bled, prompting  guitarist  Phil  Gimmage  to  nab  a  new 
rhythm  section  and  take  center  stage  in  the  Corvairs. 
Temple  Fire  is  quite  similar  to  latter-day  Certain  Gen- 
eral, albeit  less  arty  and  tortured  (thanks  to  his  Gene 
Pitoeyesqe  vocals).  The  latent/blatant  Momcone/Scotty 
Moore  rhythms  retreated  a  bit  for  Sad  Hotel,  an  undis- 
tinguished and  ill-conceived  extended  dance  track 
backed  by  a  competent  surf  imtmmfiiita!  and  little  else 
of  consequence. 

Reflecting  the  bands'  growing  European  following, 
New  Rose  released  These  Are  the  Days,  a  half-finished 
compendium  of  material  recorded  by  Parker  DuLany 
and  a  new  backing  group  (notably  Sprague  Hollander), 
under  the  Certain  General  name.  By  1988*s  CaMa  Fe- 
ver, the  band  had  effectively  condensed  to  just  the  duo 
plus  incidental  musicians;  Hollander  produced  this  slick 
and  seamless  set  of  lyrically  haughty,  musically  spe- 
cious tunes.  Jacklighter  offers  superior  material  and 
comfortable  production  by  (alternately)  Fred  Maher  and 
Lloyd  Cole,  positing  the  band  as  neo-soft-rockers,  com- 
parable to  Giant  Sand  if  that  group  were  drained  of  all 
grit  and  attack. 

Back  to  Band  of  Outsiders:  Act  of  Faith  recycles  all 
three  tracks  from  I  Wish  I  Was  Your  Kid  in  different 
versions,  along  with  a  new  "Conviction*'  from  the  live 
half-album.  Acts  of  Faith  (the  pluralized  US  edition) 
drops  two  tracks  and  adds  the  Longer  Than  Always  EP 
in  its  entirety.  Like  the  subtler  concurrent  New  Zealand 
bands  couching  their  pop  in  muted  tones  and  colors, 
Band  of  Outsiders  relied  not  so  much  on  hooks  or  aban- 
don as  an  ensnaring  ambience. 

Armistice  Day  catches  Band  of  Outsiders  in  a  No- 
vember 1988  one-shot  reunion — eighteen  months  after 
their  split — airing  the  archives,  but  also  doing  a  few 
newies  and  covers.  Recorded  in  almostereo,  the  miser- 
able US  pressing  undermines  the  relaxed  versions  of — 
inexplicably — the  band's  non-hits,  focusing  mostly  on 
less-memorable  material.  A  visiting  Nikki  Sudden 
plucks  a  few  guitar  chords  and  warbles  undiscemibly  on 
the  last  two  tracks;  Jeremy  Gluck  did  the  liner  notes. 
(Members  of  the  BOO/CG  axis  had  previously  played 
on  both  Sudden  and  Gluck  records  and  tours,  and  con- 
tinue to  do  so.) 

The  Corvairs  released  their  first  Ml  LP,  Rio  Blanco, 
in  1988,  a  distillation/reduction  of  Gammage's  career  to 
date,  as  produced  by  Fleshtone*  Keith  Streng,  With  all 
the  initial  spikiness  gone,  the  Corvairs  here  play  famil- 
iar rock'n'roll,  from  worn  heels  to  fuzzy  chins.  Hitch- 
hiker spreads  out  a  bit  sonically,  allowing  for  a  better 


113 


sounding  version  of  the  same  old  thing.  In  its  finer  mo- 
ments ,  Hitchhiker  presents  a  likable  band  playing  for- 
gettable material. 

The  opposite  is  true  of  Gammage's  solo  debut, 
Night  Train,  wherein  a  more  fluid  and  versatile  group 
(comprised  largely  of  familiar  gene-pool  faces)  puts 
some  personality  into  oddly  underwrought  darkside 
Americana  echoing  Nick  Cave's  fascinations  mines  the 
melodrama.  Which  might  well  make  Gammage  this  gen- 
eration's Hank  Williams. 

Meantime,  Band  of  Outsiders  singer/guitarist  Marc 
Jeffrey — on  his  way  to  becoming  this  generation's  Nick 
Drake— delivered  his  best  LP  yet.  On  Playtime,  he 
delves  deeply  into  melancholy,  utilizing  axis  backing 
for  non-rock  instrumentation  and  approaches,  neatly 
avoiding  any  maudlin  and/or  baroque  temptations.  Play- 
tune  unfolds  like  a  series  of  stark  confessionals,  morose 
romanticism  curiously  reminiscent  of  Peter  Perrett's  En- 
gland's Glory;  low-key,  unfinished  yet  attractive  blue- 
prints just  waiting  for  that  dose  of  electroshock  to  kick 
them  into  the  annals  of  greatness.  [ab] 

EXENE  CERVENKA 

SeeJ. 

EUGENE  CHADBOURNE 

There'll  Be  No  Teare  Tonight  (Parachute)  1980  « 
Chicken  on  the  Way  [tape]  (Parachute)  1983 
The  President:  He  Is  Insane  (Iridescence)  1 985 
Country  Music  of  Southeastern  Australia  (RRRecordsJ 

1986« 

Country  Protest  (Fundamental  Music)  1 986  * 
1 98666  EP  (Ralph)  1986 
Calgary  Exile  [tape]  (Parachute)  1 986 
Megadeath  [tape]  (Parachute)  1987 
Third  WorM  Summit  Meeting  [tape]  (Parachute)  1 987 
Corpses  of  Foreign  Wars  (Fundamental  Music)  1 987  • 
Tucson,  Arizona  [tape]  (Parachute)  1 987 
LSD  C&W  (Fundamental  Music)  1 987  • 
Kill  Eugene  (Placebo)  1987 
Fuck  Chuck  [tape]  (Parachute)  1988 
I've  Been  Everywhere  (Fundamental  Music)  1988  « 
The  Eddie  Chatterbox  Double  Trio  Love  Album 

(Fundamental  Music)  1 988  • 
Wichita,  Kansas  [tape]  (Parachute)  1988 
Country  Music  in  the  World  of  Islam  (Fundamental  Music) 

1990 

EUGENE  CHADBOURNE  WITH 
EVAN  JOHNS  AND  THE 
H-BOMBS 

Vermin  of  the  Blues  (Fundamental  Music)  1987  • 

EUGENE  CHADBOURNE  WITH 
CAMPER  VAN  BEETHOVEN 

Camper  Van  Chadboume  (Fundamental  Music)  1987  • 

On  his  compulsive  own,  the  guitarist/leader  of  the 
late,  lamented  Shockabilly  has  spewed  forth  a  ceaseless 
stream  of  records  and  cassettes  (the  latter  on  his  own 
Parachute  label)  that  easily  represent  the  oddest  version 
of  country  and  folk  music  ever.  While  the  notable  left- 
winger's  guitar  playing  is  looser  than  clams,  it  harbors 
wildly  unique  energy.  The  North  Carolinian  is  also  the 
master  of  several  different  voices,  some  of  them  decep- 


tively sincere.  Harsh,  funny,  irritating  and  packed  with 
ideas,  Chadboume  often  suggests  a  politically  correct 
Frank  Zappa. 

There'll  Be  No  Tears  Tonight  lovingly  takes 
on  thirteen  country-western  standards.  Eugene  acts  out 
his  "free  improvised  country  &  western  bebop"  with 
several  game  free-music  experts  on  everything  from 
Carl  Perkins*  "Honey  Don't"  to  Merle  Haggard's 
"Swingin'  Doors."  The  results  are  hilarious  and 
touching. 

The  President  contains  Chadboume 's  own  politi- 
cally charged  ditties,  many  in  a  Phil  Ochs-ish  bag.  His 
targets  include  Jerry  Falwell,  Women  Against  Pornog- 
raphy and  his  arch-nemesis,  Senator  Jesse  Helms. 

Country  Music  of  Southeastern  Australia  mixes 
ten  country  standards  and  ten  originals,  played  free- 
form  style  with  such  noted  noisemongers  as  Rik  Rue, 
John  Rose  and  David  Moss.  Country  Protest  features 
the  quintessential  Chadboume  cover-version  collage, 
"Medley  in  C."  He's  joined  by  Lenny  Kaye  on  steel 
guitar  and  the  Red  Clay  Ramblers  for  11:25  of  every- 
thing from  "Imagine"  to  "TV  Party"  to  "Dang  Me"  to 
"The  Shah  Sleeps  in  Lee  Harvey's  Grave." 

The  7-inch  198666  EP,  released  on  the  Residents' 
label,  is  a  rustic  little  artifact  containing  country-folk 
renditions  of  "You  Can't  Roller  Skate  in  a  Buffalo 
Herd"  and  four  other  songs. 

Corpses  of  Foreign  Wars  is  an  all-protest  vehicle 
featuring  Violent  Femmes  Victor  DeLorenzo  and  Brian 
Ritchie;  highlights  include  a  wonderful  Phil  Ochs  med- 
ley and  originals  that  range  from  verbal  assaults  on  des- 
picable neighbors  to  the  "KKKremlin."  Somehow,  it 
all  fits  together. 

Chadboume  then  cleaned  out  his  closet,  using  the 
two-record  LSD  C&W  as  the  merry  receptacle.  Much 
of  the  material  here — including  a  Beatles  medley,  "In  a 
Sentimental  Mood,"  a  Roger  Miller  medley  and  other 
free-jazz,  blues  and  rock  faves — derives  from  mid- '80s 
sessions  featuring  former  Shockabilly  members  Kramer 
and  David  Licht,  plus  John  Zorn,  Tom  Cora,  Toshinori 
Condo  and  many  others.  It  also  includes  some  of  EC's 
finest  originals  sung  solo.  LSD  C&W  is  the  most  of  EC 
on  vinyl,  and  possibly  the  best. 

Chadboume  goes  it  alone  on  Kill  Eugene  (the  com- 
plete title  of  which  is  Dear  Eugene  What  You  Did 
Was  Not  Very  Nice  So  I  Am  Going  to  Kill  .  .  .  ), 
although  a  nutty  old  lady  on  the  radio  and  a  few  appre- 
ciative audiences  (for  the  tracks  recorded  live)  do  make 
guest  appearances.  Covers  on  this  mostly  acoustic  out- 
ing include  "8  Miles  High,"  "Purple  Haze,"  "Oh 
Yoko,"  "Lucifer  Sam,"  "Ramblin'  Man"  and  the  Pee- 
wee's  Playhouse  theme,  which  gets  a  topical  rewrite  as 
"Ollie's  Playhouse." 

Top-notch  Austin  stompers  Evan  Johns  and  the 
H-Bombs  provide  authentic  rock'n'roll  accompaniment 
on  Vermin  of  the  Blues,  which  covers  ground  from 
Count  Basic  to  the  Count  Five,  along  with  Chadbourne's 
usual  amusing  rants. 

Eugene  almost  comes  off  as  a  father-figure  on  the 
joint  Camper  Van  Chadboume,  although  he  easily 
out-eccentrics  the  Santa  Cruz  eclecticians.  Check  out 
their  Zappa  medley,  the  long-inevitable  cover  of  Pink 
Floyd's  "Careful  with  That  Axe,  Eugene,"  Tim  Har- 
din's  "Reason  to  Believe,"  Joe  South's  "Games  People 
Play"  and  Chadbourne's  own  witty'n'wise  originals. 


114 


Though  not  credited  as  such,  the  Double  Trio  Love 
Album — one  side  of  Chadbourne  originals  and  a  side  of 
Tim  Buckley  songs — Is  more  or  less  a  second  volume  of 
Camper  Van  Chadboume  whimsy.  Unfortunately  for 
Chadboume  fanatics,  he  relinquishes  the  driver's  seat 
for  the  bulk  of  this  road  trip.  There's  a  bit  more  poli- 
ticking (and  a  few  inside  jokes),  but  the  real  flaw  (as 
Eugene's  lectures  so  often  warn)  lies  in  the  democratic 
process. 

I've  Been  Everywhere  (credited  to  the  Doctor  Eu- 
gene Chadboume)  is  as  near  to  pure  autobiography  as 
the  avant-rock  form  will  allow;  Eugene  trots  out  both  his 
(many)  noise-making  apparati  and  some  of  his  most 
tender  licks  in  a  collection  of  songs  that  cut  deep.  In 
another  way,  so  does  Country  Music  In  the  World  of 
Islam.  This  salvo,  aimed  pretty  squarely  at  the  evils  of 
United  States  foreign  policy,  finds  both  Chadboume' s 
medium  and  message  growing  shrill — but  it's  hard  to 
discount  his  arguments. 

Chadboume' s  voluminous  tape  cache  is  truly  as- 
tounding, in  terms  of  scope  and  overall  quality.  Sure, 
there  are  some  duds  among  the  dozens  of  selections  the 
man  himself  proffers  by  post,  but  even  a  blind  stab  is 
likely  to  yield  something  of  interest.  A  few  samples: 

Chicken  on  the  Way  ranks  with  the  best  of  his  folly 
structured  cassette  releases.  Recorded  around  the  time  of 
Shockabilly's  birth,  there's  really  no  reason  this  couldn't 
be  a  bona  fide  vinyl  album  (although  that  would  preclude 
the  fmger-lickin'  fast-food  packaging).  Calgary  Exile's 
melange  of  obscure  and/or  unreleased  tracks  from  '75- 
'76  is  a  little  tougher  sledding  (so  to  speak).  Recorded 
when  Mr.  C.  was  indeed  exiled  (by  Selective  Service 
persecution)  to  friendlier  tundra,  it's  nonetheless  a  useful 
document  of  his  "outside"  material. 

Megadeath  is  one  of  the  least  song-oriented  collec- 
tions here.  Bits  of  a  surreal  AM-radio  talk  show  pitting 
Eugene  against  some  bewildered  North  Carolinian  home- 
makers  provide  breathers  between  the  (mostly)  rake- 
and-plunger — he's  played  pickup-equipped  versions  of 
both  for  years — material.  Third  World  Summit  Meet- 
ing is  a  virtual  obscure-rail  pass  through  a  plethora  of 
little-explored  ethnic  styles.  The  individual  numbers  tend 
to  drag  but,  in  small  doses,  this  is  fascinating. 

Both  Tucson  and  Wichita  document  live  sets  from 
those  cities  (the  Arizona  tape  actually  combines  a  pair 
of  shows)  in  all  their  rollercoaster  glory.  Tucson  is  a  bit 
milder  and  more  pensive  (in  part  due  to  its  solo  circum- 
stances), while  Wichita  osterizes  anarcho-syndicalist 
rhetoric,  bitter,  almost  Lenny  Bruce-like  barbs  and 
plenty  of  feedback  to  fine  effect.  And  though  it's  not 
clear  who  "Chuck"  is,  he  abets  Chadboume  on  a  crazy- 
quilt  of  material,  including  works  by  Charlie  Parker  and 
Duane  Eddy.  [rg/dss] 

See  also  Camper  Van  Beethoven,  Evan  Johns  and 
His  H-Bombs. 


CHAINSAW  KITTENS 

See  Defenestration. 

CHAMELEONS  (UK) 

Script  of  the  Bridge  (MCA)  1 983  • 

What  Does  Anything  Mean?  Basically?  (nr/Statik)  1 985  • 

Strange  Times  (Geffen)  1 986  • 


The  Fan  and  the  B«i!ows  fCaroIwf  1 989  • 
Tripping  Dogs  for/Glass  Pyramid!  1990 
Tony  Fletcher  Walked  on  Water 
The  Peel  Sessions  {fir/Strange  fruit)  1 990 
Fruit-Dutch  East  India J  1991  • 

SUN  AND  THE  MOON 

The  Sun  and  the  Moon  f  Geffen}  1 988  • 
Alive;  Not  Dead  EP  (nr/Midnighi 

This  stylish  Manchester  pop  quartet  somehow  man- 
aged to  bring  something  of  Its  own  to  much-traveled 
terrain,  making  songs  like  the  melodic  "Up  the  Down 
Escalator"  and  the  far  denser  "Don't  Fall"  moody  and 
memorable.  Bassist  Mark  Burgess  recalls  Psychedelic 
Fur  Richard  Butler's  world- weariness  in  Ms  singing;  the 
band's  playing  Is,  however,  generally  lighter  in  tone  and 
simpler  in  design  than  that  band's.  Script  of  the  Bridge 
isn't  a  great  album,  but  it  has  very  appealing  moments, 
(US  and  UK  editions  differ.) 

What  Does  Anything  Mean?  Basically?  Is  even 
better,  with  much  stronger  production  underscoring  both 
the  band's  direct  power  and  the  ghostly  atmospherics  of 
its  icy  church  keyboards  and  delay-ridden  guitars.  More 
than  just  songs,  the  Chameleons  build  meticulous  puz- 
zles, forests  of  sound  with  heartfelt  melodies.  "Intrigue 
in  Tangiers'*  and  "On  the  Beach"  show  the  muscle 
beneath  the  beauty,  while  "Perfume  Garden"  and  "One 
Flesh"  spring  with  such  fresh  life  they're  instantly  en- 
veloping. 

Strange  Times  was  produced  by  Dave  Allen,  who 
instills  a  dark  edge  in  the  normally  bright  sound.  The 
dreamy  undercurrents  add  a  luster  to  the  three  epic 
tracks,  "Caution,"  with  its  odd  6/8  time  swing,  "Soul 
in  Isolation/'  an  emotional  piece  of  knowing  loneli- 
ness, and  "Swamp  Thing,"  a  delicious,  building  mini- 
masterpiece.  "Time"  and  "In  Answer"  are  aggressive, 
no-holds  barred  post-punk  rockers  that  such  sound  ar- 
chitects as  these  are  supposed  to  be  neither  capable  of  or 
inclined  towards,  and  they  add  a  breathless  whoosh  to 
the  proceedings.  (Early  US  copies  came  with  a  not-to- 
be-missed  six-song  bonus  12-inch  containing  such  cov- 
ers as  the  Beatles'  "Tomorrow  Never  Knows"  and 
Bowie's  "John,  I'm  Only  Dancing.") 

After  the  Chameleons  split  up  in  the  summer  of  *87, 
Burgess  and  drummer  John  Lever  joined  with  a  pair  of 
guitarists  to  form  a  new  quartet,  the  Sun  and  the  Moon, 
which  debuted  in  mid-' 88  with  an  eponymous  album 
that  sounds  a  lot  like  the  Chameleons.  Burgess  evinces 
even  more  imploring  emotionality  than  in  the  past,  and 
it's  a  very  solid  LP,  if  no  challenge  to  the  Chameleons' 
general  brilliance  (inventive  guitarists  Dave  Fielding 
and  Reg  Smithies  are  greatly  missed). 

The  Sun  and  the  Moon  followed  that  record  with  the 
much-improved  Alive;  Not  Dead  EP,  which  sounds  like 
a  new  group  rather  than  a  second-rate  Chameleons. 
More  acoustic  and  dreamy,  three  of  the  four  songs  are 
gently  soothing,  and  almost  submerge  Burgess*  sophis- 
ticated melodies.  A  raucous,  madcap  bluster  through 
Alice  Cooper's  "Elected"  (peppered  with  speeches 
from  The  Prisoner  and  updated  anti-Tory  lyrics)  closes 
out  the  record. 

Despite  this  promising  relaunch,  the  Sun  and  the 
Moon  fell  apart  in  April  '89.  The  group  has  since  reas- 
sembled (without  Burgess)  as  Weaveworld;  Burgess  has 
staked  out  a  solo  career.  Fielding  and  Smithies  have 


115 


the  I  with  a  >  and         re- 

two  singles,  a  of  rise 

Kiifcs*  "See  My  " 

Meanwhile, 

10  leal  out.  The  Fan  mad  the  is  a  set  of  *S2 

mostly  by  Steve  Lilly  white,          had 

to  the  as  early  as  *86,  but  the 

went  to  court  and  it,  With  no 

left  to  the  the  LP  finally  ap* 

IB  1989,  Though  the  primitive  post-punk  doesn't 
sit  with  the  real  Chameleons  IPs, 

The  Fan          the  documents  a 

in  the  groups  creative  development. 

then  Glass  Pyramid  Records  and 

Fielding's  objections)  releasing  old  Cha- 

in  *90.  is  a  live  re- 

*S5;  not  terribly  in  light  of 

versions,  tat  for  its  early 

of  two  that          appeared  on  Strange 

Times. 

Far  more  exciting  Is  Tooy  Fletdier  Walked  on  Wa- 
ter (  in  tribute  of  the  band's  late  manager),  which 
the  original  group's  last  tracks:  four  long  songs 
that  are  the  Chameleons1  best.  The  epic  sweep  of 
"The  Healer"  and  the  chaotic  "Free  for  Air  pick  up 
from  Strange  Times,  and  capture  the  band  peaking  as  It 
shattered. 

No  controversy  surrounds  The  Feel  Sessions  LP,  a 
collection  of  three  appearances  ('81,  '83  and  '84)  in  a 
special  sleeve  by  Smithies,  artist  for  all  of  the  band's 
covers.  This  mix  of  primal  Fan  and  the  Bellows-era 
material  awl  foil-bloom  incandescence  is  well  worth 
bearing.  P/jrJ 

JAMES  CHANCE 

Theme  from  Gn*ri  EMs  EP  (ZE)  1979 

JAMES  CHANCE  AND  THE 
CONTORTIONS 

Live  oux  Bains  Douches  (fr.  Invisible}  1 980 
Live  in  New  Yoric  {tope]  (ROIR)  1 981 
Soul  Exorcism  [tape]  (ROIR)  1991 

CONTORTIONS 

Buy  (ZE-Arista)  1979 

JAMES  WHITE  AND  THE  BLACKS 

Off  White  (ZE-Buddoh)  1 979 
Sax  Moniac  (Animal)  1982 

JAMES  WHITE  AND  THE 
CONTORTIONS 

Second  Chance  (ZE-PVC)  I960 

JAMES  WHITE 

Flaming  Demonic*  (mr/ZE-tefond)  1 983 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

No  New  York  (Antilles)  1978 

Arriving  from  Milwaukee  with  a  saxophone  on  his 
knee,  James  (Siegfried)  Chance/White/Black  quickly 
became  the  linchpin  of  the  budding  New  York  no  wave 
movement,  appearing  in  Teenage  Jesus  and  the  Jerks 
with  Lydia  Lunch.  More  than  any  of  his  contemporar- 
ies, Chance  tinned  harsh,  abrasive  music  into  an  art 
form;  at  one  time  or  another,  almost  everyone  of  any 
importance  on  the  New  York  art-rock  scene  was  in  his 
band. 


No  New  York,  produced  by  Eno  and 

by  four  tracks  by  Chance  and 

the  Contortions  f  drummer  Don  Christensen*  guitarist 
aid  Tefra  Fat  Place,  guitanst  Jod>  Hams, 

bassist  Scott  III  and  keyboardist  Berteif  at 

cacophonous,  the  limits  of 

and  antt-commereiahty  with  a  mixture  of  punk  and  jazz* 
Recommended  in  all  its  jangle.  Buy  lacks  the 

of  the  No  New  York  material,  but  expands  the 
Contortions  into  a  first-class,  no-tiolds-barred  act,  with 
every  and  vocal  oozing  out  Chance's  deranged  con- 
tempt for  man  and  society  in  passionately  cold  rendi- 
tions of  normally  pleasant  dance  music,  epitomized  by 
Ms  anihemk  "Contort  Yourself." 

Theme  from  Grutzi  Elvis  separates  Chance's  ha- 
ranguing, bitter  vocals  from  what  turns  out  to  be  un- 
usual, colorful  music.  Notably,  Chance  sings  a  subdued, 
oddly  touching  version  of  "That's  When  Your  Heart- 
aches Begin."  Live  SEX  Bains  Dowdies  features 
Chance  and  the  Contortions  live  in  Paris;  Live  in  New 
York  demonstrates  that  there  is  real  emotion  energizing 
Chance's  savage,  solipsistic  music.  (A  decade  later, 
ROIR  brought  out  a  second  live  tape,  this  one  from 
Holland,  1980.) 

Off  WWte  is  a  set  of  funky,  demented  disco  tunes 
performed  with  Scott,  Harris,  Christensen  and  Place 
Though  milder  and  more  accessible  than  his  Chance- 
work.  Off  White  plays  freely  with  his  attempts  at  sexual 
ennui  ("Stained  Sheets**)  and  racial  ambiguity  ("Al- 
most Black*'),  and  features  a  wonderfully  weird  and 
erotic  version  of  Irving  Berlin's  "(Tropical)  Heat 
Wave.'*  Recommended.  After  White/Chance  left  the 
label,  ZE  compiled  material  from  Off  White  and  Buy  to 
make  Second  Chance. 

Sax  Maniac,  which  he  produced,  proved  that  sev- 
eral years'  absence  hadn't  harmed  White  at  all,  and  that 
he  is  a  wonderful,  inventive  sax  player.  Similar  in  all 
respects  except  personnel  to  Off  White,  Sax  Maniac 
(complete  with  a  cover  of  "That  Old  Black  Magic'")  is 
a  fevered  masterpiece  of  white  funk.  [sg] 

See  also  Bush  Tetros,  Defunkt,  False  Prophets,  Jody 
Harris,  Teenage  Jesus  and  the  Jerks. 

SHEILA  CHANDRA 

See  Monsoon. 


CHANNEL  THREE 

CH3EP  (Posh  Boy)  1981 

Fear  of  life  (Posh  Boy)  1982 

rve  Got  a  Gun  (nr/No  Future)  1 982 

After  the  Lights  Go  Out  (Posh  Boy)  1 983 

Airborne  EP  (Enigma)  1 984 

Last  Time  I  Drank . . .  (Enigma)  1 985 

Cerritos'  Channel  Three  (aka  CH3)  was  one  of  the 
Southern  California  suburban  hardcore  bands  signed  to 
the  pioneering  Posh  Boy  label.  An  aggressive,  speedy 
mixture  of  West  (Black  Flag)  and  East  (early  Ra- 
mones),  the  CH3  EP  and  Fear  of  Life  album  are  fairly 
typical  genre  fare,  and  not  very  inspired  at  that.  The 
young  quartet's  lyrics  predictably  concern  school,  girls 
and  the  angst  of  growing  up  middle-class .  The  one-take- 
live-in-the-studio  feel  of  After  the  Lights  Go  Out  ben- 
efits from  crisp,  balanced  sound  and  charged-up 


116 


performances.  Singer' guitarist  Mike  Magrann's  wordy 
originals  are  routine  enough  that  a  burning  version  of 
the  Stones'  ' "Stupid  Girl"  is  easily  the  record's  high- 
light 

The  tno  on  Airborne  is  far  more  proficient  and  cre- 
atively developed  than  any  prior  CH3  lineup;  the 
songs — three  of  the  four  written  by  Magrann  with  ex- 
Stepmother  Jay  Lansford  (who  likely  has  a  lot  to  do 
with  the  band's  improvement ) — are  strong  aggro-folk  of 
some  note. 

The  even-better  Last  Time  I  Drank  finds  the 
Magrann/Lansford  writing/singing  partnership  firing  on 
all  rockets.  Putting  a  mature  post-punk  sensibility  to 
melodic  hard-rock  with  an  occasional  Southwestern 
twist,  CHS  comes  through  with  an  exciting  record  that 
packs  a  punch  yet  keeps  both  feet  on  the  ground.  Mak- 
ing memorable  music  this  energetic  without  collapsing 
into  raucousness  or  resorting  to  metallic  precision  isn't 
easy,  but  every  song  on  the  album  finds  a  way  to  do  it. 
Perhaps  the  Aerosmith  cover  ("Lord  of  the  Thighs")  is 
a  clue.  Of  all  the  early  punk  bands,  CH3  is  one  of  the 
few  that  outgrew  the  genre  without  sacrificing  its  cred- 
ibility, [i] 

CHANT 

Three  Sheets  to  the  Wind  (Safety  Net)  1 985  ® 
Two  Car  Mirage  (Safety  Net)  1 990  • 

On  their  first  album,  Florida's  four-man  Chant  plays 
energetic  and  sparkling  Southern  folk-pop  with  a  strong 
R.E.M.  influence.  The  peppy  tempo  and  flat-picked  gui- 
tars of  "All  Behind  Me"  make  that  band's  overwhelm- 
ing impact  evident  from  the  very  start;  Walter 
Czachowski's  husky  (but  articulate)  singing  furthers  the 
comparison.  But  the  loose-limbed  guitar  jam  of  "  .  .  . 
For  You,"  the  striking  country  feel  of  "Heaven  As- 
sumes" and  a  spectacular  cover  of  "Little  Black  Egg/' 
the  classic  late~'6Qs  obscurity  by  Florida's  Nightcrawl- 
ers,  help  give  Three  Sheets  to  the  Wind  a  legitimacy 
all  its  own. 

Recorded  in  '87  (good)  and  '88  (very  good)  by  two 
different  lineups,  Two  Car  Mirage  contains  more  fine 
examples  of  the  Chant's  unpretentious  Byrdsy  rock: 
sturdy  and  appealing  originals  energetically  played  and 
sung  with  plenty  of  guitar  sparkle.  The  CD  includes  all 
but  one  song  from  the  first  album.  [i] 

TRACY  CHAPMAN 

Tracy  Chapman  (Elektra)  1988  • 
Crossroads  (Elektra)  1989  • 

Singer/songwriter  Chapman's  powerful  lyrics  and 
extraordinarily  powerful  voice  give  her  first  album — 
unquestionably  the  most  impressive  solo  debut  of 
1988 — the  impact  of  a  rock  wrapped  in  cotton.  Tasteful 
electric  backing  and  simple,  clear  production  allows  the 
uncomplicated  songs  to  be  the  record's  focus,  and  what 
a  sharp  image  they  draw!  "Fast  Car"  considers  the 
obstacles  to  escaping  urban  poverty;  *  'Behind  the  Wall1 ' 
paints  a  chilling  picture  of  domestic  violence;  "Talkin' 
Bout  a  Revolution"  has  the  uplifting  symmetry  of  a 
classic  folk  anthem.  Meanwhile,  songs  about  romance 
("Baby  Can  I  Hold  You,"  "For  My  Lover,"  "For 
You")  leaven  the  anger  with  undiininished  intensity  and 
conviction. 


Acknowledging  the  intrusive  of 

and  massive  success,  Chapman  resihemly  the 

threat  to  her  own  privacy 
bluntly  addressed  in  fee  title         $ 
songs  of  persona!  freedom  (romantic,  and  polit- 

ical) on  the  highly  satisfying  second  album,  Beyond 
that,  Crossroads — which  features  \aried  and  ex- 
pansive arrangements — maintains  her  tasteful  artistic 
commitment  to  social  protest,  supporting  Nelson  Man- 
dela ("Freedom  Now")  and  idealism  <4*AII  That  You 
Have  Is  Your  Soul" ),  while  drawing  a  critical  bead  on 
governmental  neglect  ( "Subcity" )  and  upward  mobility 
("Material  World").  But  Chapman  saves  the  most  af- 
fecting lyrics  on  Crossroads  for  relationships,  where 
her  wounds  and  anxieties  fill  the  resonant  songs  with 
love  and  loneliness.  [i] 

CHARGED  G.EM 

Leather,  Bristles,  Studs  and  Acne  EP  (nr/Ciay)  1 981   + 

1990* 
Cily  Baby  Attacked  by  Rats  (nr/Cfay!  1982 

(Clay-Combat)  1 987  « 
Leather,  Bristles,  No  Survivors  and  Side  Boys  . . . 

(Clay-Combat)  1982* 
City  Baby's  Revenge  (Relativity}  1 984  • 
The  Clay  Years  1 981  to  84  (Clay-Combat)  1 986  • 
Diplomatic  Immunity  (nr/CSay)  1 990  • 

G.B.H 

Oh  No  If s  G.B.H.  Again!  EP  (Combat  Core)  1 986 
Midnight  Madness  and  Beyond  . . .  (Combat  Com) 

1986» 

No  Need  to  Panic!  (Combat)  1987  • 
Wot  a  Bargin'  EP  (Combat)  1988  <t> 
No  Survivors  (nr/Clay)  1 989  • 
A  Fridge  Too  Far  (nr/Rough  Justice)  1 989 
From  Here  to  Reality  (Restless)  1990  • 

First  appearing  in  1980,  Birmingham's  G.B.H 
(Grievous  Bodily  Harm) — Charged  was  appended  to 
prevent  confusion  with  a  British  metal  band  of  the  same 
name — quickly  joined  the  top  ranks  of  England's 
second-generation  buzzsaw  punk  firmament.  Enraged  if 
not  especially  enlightened,  the  quartet  tears  through 
City  Baby  Attacked  by  Rats  with  chops  and  venom, 
throwing  off  sparks  on  dubious  numbers  like  "Slut" 
and  "The  Prayer  of  a  Realist.*'  Leather,  Bristles,  No 
Survivors  and  Sick  Boys  compiles  the  similarly  titled 
1981  EP  and  two  subsequent  releases  in  a  bracing  storm 
of  morbid  speedcore.  Ignore  the  dismal  lyrics  and  enjoy 
the  sweeping,  trebly  adrenaline  rush. 

The  photos  on  City  Baby's  Revenge  show  singer 
Colin  Abrahall  and  guitarist  Jock  Blyth  sporting  extraor- 
dinary hair-like  extremities;  the  record  is,  conversely, 
marginally  more  restrained  and  less  garishly  violent  than 
before.  "Vietnamese  Blues,'*  "Christianised  Canni- 
bals," "Diplomatic  Immunity"  and  other  songs  display 
a  refined  and  more  intelligent  political  punk  sensibility, 
along  with  a  slightly  slower  and  easier-to-grasp  sound. 
A  blazing  Stooges  cover  ("I  Feel  Alright")  adds  to  the 
fun;  on  the  downside,  "Womb  with  a  View"  is  an 
inexcusable  anti-feminist  diatribe. 

With  G.B.H.  off  to  another  label  for  a  few  years, 
Clay  issued  a  compilation:  tracks  from  EPs,  singles  and 
the  albums,  plus  a  strong  pair  of  previously  unreleased 
items,  "Children  of  Dust"  and  "Do  What  You  Do" — 


117 


which  fairly  condenses  the  band's  primal  punk  cata- 
logue. Four  years  later,  the  also  issued  Dlptoeiatk 
Immunity,  a  poorly  mastered  and  undocumented  21- 
song  compilation  that  repeats  all  but  the  two  rarities 
from  The  Clay  Years  and  adds  seven  other  selections 
from  the  band's  first  three  albums. 

The  speaker-tasting  Oh  N@  EP  is  one  of  the  most 
explosive  rock  records  ever,  a  blistering  quartet  of  tunes 
that  are  easily  among  G.B.H's  best.  The  unexpectedly 
melodic  *  "Malice  in  Wonderland"  is  a  revelation  that 
pairs  the  old  sound  of  Generation  X  and  the  Pistols  with 
Megadeth  production.  Wow! 

Taking  a  sidestep  on  Mictaigtit  Madness,  G.B.H 
replaced  the  shrill  top  with  a  thundering  bottom  and 
mixed  speedmeta!  rhythms  in  with  the  breakneck  hard- 
core tempos.  It's  still  essentially  a  punk  record,  and  a 
pretty  good  one  at  that,  although  the  notion  of  these  hard 
hooligans  writing  songs  about  New  York's  Iroquois  Ho- 
tel, horror  movies  and  international  touring  is  a  bit  dis- 
concerting. The  inclusion  of  "Limpwristed"  shows  the 
still-undeveloped  state  of  the  band's  egalitarian  human- 
ist sensibilities, 

G.B.H  got  themselves  a  new  drummer  with  twin 
bass  pedals  and  went  all  metal  on  No  Need  to  Panic! 
Echo  on  the  vocals  and  blurry  guitar  on  top  of  an  over- 
eager  rhythm  section  typify  the  sonic  approach;  sporadic 
spoken  bits,  sound  effects  and  TV  bites  don't  add  as 
much  as  the  band  might  imagine.  Another  reason  not  to 
be  cheerful:  the  dull  and  unfocused  lyrics. 

Avoiding  Panic's  ill-advised  fripperies,  the  four 
new  songs  on  Wat  a  Bargin'  are  simply  more  thunder- 
ing thrash  metal;  winding  up  to  deliver  a  killer  blow, 
G.B.H,  can't  get  themselves  tight  or  focused  enough  to 
make  any  real  impact.  Much  the  same  problem  plagues 
the  self -produced  From  Here  to  Reality,  an  album  on 
which  glimmers  of  melody  and  an  accessible  rock  sen- 
sibility are  buried  in  an  endless  roar  of  undifferentiated 
noise.  Get  these  guys  a  real  metal  producer  and  stand 
back!  [i] 

CHARLATANS  (UK) 

The  Only  One  I  Know  EP  (Dead  Dead  Good-Beggars 

Banquet-RCA)1990 
Some  Friendly  (Dead  Dead  Good-Situation  Two-Beggars 

BanqueMKA)19904> 

Friendly  neighbors  of  the  Stone  Roses/Happy  Mon- 
days rave-pop  scene,  this  young  quintet  from  Northwich 
(equidistant  from  Manchester  and  Liverpool)  uses  Ham- 
mond organ,  an  evocative  echo  chamber  and  the  neo- 
psychedelic  fad's  maddening  drum  beat  to  effectively 
flavor  tuneful  '60s-styled  numbers.  Not  as  lame  as  In- 
spiral  Carpets  or  as  daneeably  ambitious  as  Happy  Mon- 
days, the  Charlatans  keep  things  simple,  assuring 
maximum  chart  potential  with  a  light,  unchallenging 
approach.  Equipped  with  Tim  Burgess'  appealing  voice 
and  Rob  Collins'  varied  organ  work,  the  Charlatans  have 
the  tools  for  major  flavor-of-the-month  stardom. 

The  four-song  HP's  catchy  title  track — which  sounds 
an  awful  lot  like  Deep  Purple's  version  of  "Hush" — 
was  a  huge  British  hit,  and  helped  move  the  Charlatans 
well  ahead  of  the  critically  favored  Stone  Roses  in  the 
commercial  stakes.  Although  not  originally  included  on 
Some  Friendly,  the  song  was  added  to  the  album's 
American  issue,  joining  the  moody  " You're  Not  Very 


Well,"  the  "Then"  (another  UK  hit),  the  jump- 

ing " Sonic"  and  several  other  Sikably  disposable  diver- 
sions with  pnckiy  lyrics.  [i] 

CHARLES  DE 

Algorhythmes  |Fr.  New  Rose!  1981 
lei  fOmbre  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1982 
3  fFr.  New  Rose)  1984 
Double  Face  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1986 

Stylish  but  awkward,  this  French  artist  is  at  his  best 
on  weird,  moody  synthesizer  workouts — those  songs 
that  rely  on  choppy  guitar  and  weak  singing  aren't  as 
effective.  A  version  of  Bowie's  "Hang  on  to  Yourself" 
(on  Algorfiythmes)  is  skittish  and  tense,  but  not  espe- 
cially different  from  the  original;  its  inclusion  seems 
purposeless. 

Id  1'Ombre  has  very  little  in  the  way  of  electronics; 
most  of  the  tracks  use  only  electric  guitar,  bass  and 
drums.  Among  the  haphazard  collection  of  styles  played 
poorly  here:  garden- variety  punk  ("Atout  Mineur"), 
glum  solemnity  ("Rouge  sur  Blanc"),  acoustic  piano 
("Face/Coma"),  gothy  noise  ("Self  Control")  and 
squiggly  synth-pop  ("Kling  Klang").  Hopeless. 

Charles  gets  his  cabinet  properly  organized  on  3,  but 
the  well-produced  and  reasonably  focused  mixture  of 
guitars,  synthesizers  and  Linndrum  still  isn't  very  en- 
tertaining. Dramatic  singing  doesn't  improve  the  weak 
material;  while  the  cute  melodic  rock  ("Hop  Hop  Hop 
Hop,"  "Technicolor")  and  a  clumsy  English  cover  of 
Wire's  "A  Question  of  Degree"  are  amusing  enough, 
the  barren  dance  experiments  that  otherwise  fill  the  al- 
bum are  fairly  dismal.  [i] 

RHYS  CHATHAM 

Factor  X  (Ger.  Moer  Music)  1 984 

Die  Donnergotter  (Ger.  Dossier)  1987  (Homestead) 

1989« 
Do  It  Twice  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 988  « 

For  years,  folks  even  marginally  acquainted  with 
NYC's  downtown  music  scene  have  been  treated  to  an 
ongoing  dialogue  about  which  came  first,  the  chicken  or 
the  egg.  What's  unique  about  this  particular  debate  is 
that  the  chicken  and  egg  themselves — Rhys  Chatham 
and  Glenn  Branca — have  been  doing  all  the  shouting 
about  just  which  composer/performer  caught  the  no 
wave  first.  One  thing's  for  certain:  Chatham's  tightrope 
walk  across  the  rock/classical  gorge  began  firmly  on  the 
"legitimate"  side,  so  his  work  has  often  courted  rock- 
ists  with  an  assumed  thumbs-up  from  "serious"  music 
fans — the  reverse  of  Branca' s  approach. 

Factor  X  is  an  aberration.  The  volume's  certainly 
there,  but  the  free  jazzers  who  are  called  upon  to  deliver 
the  goods  simply  don't  have  that  swing  (with  the  nota- 
ble exception  of  drummer  Anton  Fier,  at  his  most  au- 
thoritarian here). 

Die  Donnergotter  comprises  three  wildly  different 
pieces  (written  and  recorded  several  years  apart).  The 
earliest,  "Guitar  Trio"  (on  which  Chatham  and  future 
Ordinaire  Joe  Dizney  are  axepeople)  is  the  most  vis- 
ceral, with  a  slack,  extended-time  structure  that  pulls 
taut  at  the  most  unexpected  moments.  "Waterloo,  No. 
T '  dispenses  with  guitars  entirely,  using  an  art-damaged 
drum  and  trombone  corps  (Chatham  again)  to  create  a 


118 


rather  rote  bit  of  militaria.  The  side-long  title  track, 
however,  is  a  real  jewel.  Using  six  guitars  playing  in- 
terlocking melodies*  Chatham  weaves  an  Intricate  tap- 
estry that's  alternately  ear-splitting  and  nearly  Eastern  in 
its  delicacy  (not  to  mention  a  reclining  theme  that 
sounds  exactly  like  the  coda  of  "Marquee  Moon"). 
Participants  in  the  piece  include  future  members  of  the 
Band  of  Susans. 

Recently,  Chatham  has  upped  the  pain-threshold 
ante  by  performing  a  piece  (4*An  Angel  Moves  too  Fast 
to  See")  with  one  hundred  electric  guitars.  Get  the  fuses 
and  the  earplugs  ready!  [dss] 

See  also  Band  of  Susans. 

CHEAP  TRICK 

Cheap  Trick  (Eptc)  1977* 
In  Color  (Epic)l  977  • 
Heaven  Tonight  (Epic)  1 978  * 
At  Budokan  (Epic)  1979* 
Dream  Police  (Epic)  1979* 
Found  All  the  Parts  EP  (Epic)  1 980 
All  Shook  Up  (Epic)  1980* 
One  on  One  (Epic)  1 982  * 
Next  Position  Please  (Epic)  1983  * 
Standing  on  the  Edge  (Epic)  1 985  • 
The  Doctor  (Epic)  1986* 
Lap  of  Luxury  (Epic)  1988  * 
Busted  (Epic)  1990* 

At  a  time  when  heavy  metal  had  lost  its  menace  and 
was  fading  into  side-show  stupidity,  Rockford,  Illinois' 
Cheap  Trick  blew  out  of  the  Midwest,  where  they  had 
long  been  dominating  clubs  and  bars,  and  set  about 
proving  that  commercial  rock  writ  large  enough  for  foot- 
ball fields  could  also  be  relaxed,  witty  and  sarcastic. 
Rick  Nielsen  stepped  right  through  the  guitar  hero  ste- 
reotype, wringing  out  glorious  garbage  while  upholding 
the  punk  ethos  by  refusing  to  take  the  pose  seriously. 
Although  the  quartet  went  wrong  by  buying  into  the 
expectations  raised  by  large-scale  success,  Trick's  early 
records  and  live  performances  positively  influenced  a 
generation  of  future  bands  growing  up  American  in  the 
late  '70s.  Many  of  today's  post-punks  (Replacements, 
Soul  Asylum,  Das  Damen,  Redd  Kross,  etc. — even 
Big  Black  went  to  the  trouble  of  covering  "He's  a 
Whore"  on  a  1987  single)  took  something  from  them. 
While  the  self-important,  phony  and  coldly  efficient 
Kiss  also  influenced  the  same  generation,  Cheap  Trick 
managed  to  make  rock  stardom  look  like  fun,  provid- 
ing an  alternative  American  archetype  at  a  time  when 
big-league  success  was  almost  a  guarantee  of  total  ti- 
midity and  tedium. 

After  proving  that  a  certain  dose  of  commercial 
sawy  was  cool,  Cheap  Trick  discovered  that  too  much 
could  be  deadly.  Failing  to  keep  pace  with  what  they 
had  launched,  the  quartet  wound  up  as  dinosaurish  and 
irrelevant  as  the  arena  reptiles  they  had  originally  dis- 
placed. 

Drawing  primary  inspiration  from  the  Move  and 
Beatles,  Cheap  Trick  synthesized  a  loud  and  brilliant 
rock  powerdrive  and  backed  it  up  with  shows  that,  while 
formulaic  and  gimmicky  in  the  extreme,  had  all  the 
punch  and  spirited  good  humor  that  older,  tired  arena 
bands  lacked.  Cheap  Trick  is  an  absolute  stunner,  an 
immediately  recognizable  onslaught  of  Tom  Petersson's 


8-  and  12-stnng  Nielsen  s 

theatrics,  Robin  Zander's  voice  and 

E.  Carlos'  Watts-like 

songs  explode  all-electric  prodae- 

tion.  "Taxman"  turns  the  with  t 

twist;  "He's  a  Whore"  rocks  with  a 

chores;  "The  Ballad  of  TV  (I'm  Not  the  Only 

Boy)'1  displays  a  healthy  by 

Chicago  mass  murderer  Richard  Speck  (albeit  in  the 

vaguest  terms);  "Oh  Candy"  a 

friend1  s  suicide.  One  of  the  world's  all-tune 

albums.  (But  don't  put  too  much  faith  in  the  fabricated 

biography  of  the  liner  notes  by  future  superstar  novelist 

Eric  Van  Lustbader.) 

In  Color  (And  in  Black  and  Write),  produced  by 
Tom  Werman  (who  went  on  to  score  metal  with  Ted 
Nugent,  Motley  Crfle  and  Poison),  is  another  spectac- 
ular record  which  reduces  the  btizzy  guitar  raunch  in 
favor  of  a  cleaner,  more  clearly  pop-oriented  sound. 
Trick  maintained  its  anti-establishment  coolness  by  in- 
cluding * 'Downed,"  an  undisguised  paean  to  barbitu- 
rates, and  offering  the  bitchy  "You're  All  Talk." 
Meanwhile,  the  LP  contained  the  band's  first  hit  single: 
the  twinky  "I  Want  You  to  Want  Me." 

Heaven  Toniglit  hit  a  new  pinnacle  with  the  bril- 
liant "Surrender"  and  a  new  low  with  the  gimmicky 
"On  the  Radio."  In  between,  the  UP  covers  the  Move 
("California  Man*'),  conveys  the  ambience  of  depres- 
sant use  in  song  (4 'Heaven  Tonight")  and  paraphrases 
arena  rock  in  the  leering  "Stiff  Competition." 

As  a  result  of  burgeoning  Asian  popularity,  the 
band's  Japanese  label  recorded  a  pair  of  April  1978 
Tokyo  shows  and  released  a  live  album.  At  Budokan. 
The  concert  version  of  "I  Want  You  to  Want  Me" 
caught  American  radio  programmers'  attention  and  they 
jumped  on  the  record—especially  a  dynamic  rendition 
of  Fats  Domino's  "Ain't  That  a  Shame" — forcing  its 
domestic  release  the  following  year  and  providing  the 
group's  first  hit  album. 

Dream  Police  (also  available  on  picture  disc)  con- 
tinues the  dedication  to  diversity.  The  wimpy  ballad 
"Voices"  and  the  paranoid  mega-produced  title  track 
are  pure  pop;  "Gonna  Raise  Hell,"  meanwhile,  builds 
a  rock  disco  groove  with  a  powerful  bass  riff  and  over- 
lays melodramatic  vocals  about  the  massacre  at  Jones- 
town, fading  out  with  Zander's  anguished  shrieks.  "I 
Know  What  I  Want"  is  quintessential  three-chord  rock 
with  a  delightfully  goofy  Petersson  vocal;  the  magnifi- 
cent "Need  Your  Love"  starts  out  slow  and  restrained, 
but  builds  to  an  intense  boogie-based  climax  that  closes 
the  LP — and  the  essential  segment  of  Cheap  Trick's 
career. 

As  if  to  celebrate  that  juncture,  a  four-song  10-inch 
EP  (later  repackaged  as  a  12-inch)  was  released  with  a 
previously  unissued  track  from  each  year,  1976-1979. 
"Take  Me  I'm  Yours"  is  a  worthwhile  studio  number; 
"Daytripper,"  ostensibly  recorded  live,  lets  the  group 
display  its  affection  (if  not  exactly  reverence)  for  the 
Beatles, 

The  George  Martin-produced  All  Shook  Up  is  a 
bewildering  array  of  production  tricks,  inferior  material, 
hatfbaked  experiments  and  self-conscious  mimicry  of 
the  Faces  and  the  Rolling  Stones.  A  few  songs  ("Baby 
Loves  to  Rock,"  "Can't  Stop  It  but  I'm  Gonna  Try") 
do  withstand  the  overall  botch,  but  the  LP — Petersson's 


119 


last — remains  best  unheard.  One  on  One,  produced  by 
Roy  Thomas  Bate,  Is  more  realistic  in  Its  aspirations 
but  suffers  from  second-rate  material.  Only  the  lascivi- 
ous "She's  Tight"  and  the  obligatory  ballad  (*4If  You 
Want  My  Love")  make  strong  impressions  in  this  lack- 
luster outing.  New  bassist  Jon  Brant  acids  nothing  to  the 
group's  sound 

Nielsen  had  played  with  post-Rundgren  remnants  of 
Nazi  around  1970,  so  the  choice  of  Todd  as  the  pro- 
ducer of  the  refreshing  Next  Position  Mease  was  a  cir- 
cle closer  of  sorts.  (Given  Cheap  Trick's  evident  studio 
uncertainty  the  UP  could  have  been  titled  Next  Pro- 
ducer Please, )  Returning  somewhat  to  the  straight  rock- 
pop  of  In  Color,  but  with  Rundgren's  unique  imprint, 
songs  like  "Borderline,"  "I  Can't  Take  It,"  "Won't 
Take  No  for  an  Answer"  and  Ruedgren's  contribution, 
the  stunning  i(Heaveif  s  Falling/*  make  it  a  welcome 
return  (almost)  to  form.  On  the  downside,  the  LP  also 
contains  an  atrocious  self-produced  version  of  the  Mo- 
tors' "Dancing  the  Night  Away"  inserted  at  the  label's 
unfortunate  insistence.  The  cassette  adds  "You  Talk 
Too  Much"  and  the  slide-guitar  blues  festival,  "Don't 
Make  Our  Love  a  Crime." 

The  next  two  LFs  find  Cheap  Trick  flailing  about 
with  skimpy  ideas*  no  self-confidence  and  little  enthu- 
siasm. Reuniting  with  Jack  Douglas  for  Standing  on 
fee  Edge  yielded  a  likable  rote  ballad  ("Tonight  It's 
You"),  a  charged  riff-rocker  ("She's  Got  Motion'*) 
and  one  good  pop  tone  ("This  Time  Around"),  all  co- 
written  with  professional  song  doctor  Mark  Radice,  who 
also  plays  the  LP's  keyboards.  The  Doctor,  produced 
by  metal-man  Tony  Plait  (who  mixed  Standing  on  the 
Edge),  is  loud  and  abrasive,  with  the  barest  of  worthy 
tunes  (**Rearview  Mirror  Romance,"  "The  Doctor," 
'"Good  Girls  Go  to  Heaven")  and  almost  no  trace  of 
lyrical  personality. 

Petersson  rejoined  the  group  in  time  for  Lap  of  Lux- 
ury, Cheap  Trick's  creative  nadir  and  (natch)  commer- 
cial renaissance.  Produced  by  the  bombastic  Richie 
Zito,  with  songs  from  all  sorts  of  hacks  (Nielsen  only 
co-wrote  four;  Petersson  and  Zander  collaborated  on 
two  others),  the  album  gets  off  to  a  great  start  with  "Let 
Go"  but  runs  straight  downhill  from  there.  The  hit- 
bound  version  of  * 'Don't  Be  Cruel"  is  a  nice  touch,  but 
no  great  achievement;  "Wrong  Side  of  Love"  indicates 
they  can  still  rev  up  the  engines.  Despite  the  promise  of 
the  original  lineup  and  the  sales  figures,  this  album  runs 
on  empty. 

Reclaiming  some  of  the  songwriting  responsibility 
on  the  similarly  structured  but  less  obnoxious  Busted, 
Cheap  Trick  demonstrates  a  facility  for  connecting  the 
dots  on  the  contemporary  compositional  template:  the 
band's  own  "Can't  Stop  Fallin'  into  Love"  is  inter- 
changeable with  Lap  of  Luxury's  treacly  store-bought 
hit  ('The  Flame").  Still,  several  of  the  original  rockers 
("I  Can't  Understand  It,"  "Busted")  are  encouraging 
to  the  point  of  enjoyability,  despite  worthless  lyrics  and 
deep-seated  insincerity.  But  the  appearance  of  two  mis- 
erable demographic  song-factory  ballads,  a  guest  role 
for  Foreigner's  Mick  Jones,  an  uninspired  Roy  Wood 
cover  (now  that's  a  low)  and  a  self-conscious  Hard 
Day's  Night-en  Beatles  knock-off  are  continued  evi- 
dence of  the  bottomless  well  of  insecurity  that  keeps 
anything  risky  or  inventive  from  appearing  on  a  Cheap 
Trick  record.  [i] 


Run  Bettor  Run  f  Midnight)  1984 
S©€Q«I  end  Los*  f  Midnight)  1986 
Remember  {Ger,  Music  Manioc)  1 987  © 

It  Wings  Above  (Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 988  • 
Watting  for  Unfa  I  Ger.  Music  Monbc)  1989  • 
Perry  Como:  Songs  Vol.  1  EP  f  Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 989 
Confessional  (Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 990  • 

HERRERA  &  THE  HANDOUTS 

A  Hardoot  from  a  Cheepskate  (Midnight)  1989 

Kalkara  f  Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 989  e 

The  mercurial  Cheepskates  began  life  as  an  anomaly 
on  New  York's  garage-rock  scene:  when  most  of  their 
peers  were  scouring  exurbia  for  vintage  paisleys  and 
vinyl  (the  more  primitive  the  better,  on  both  counts), 
this  low-key  quartet  was  creating  some  of  the  most  care- 
fully crafted  pure  pop  to  escape  from  those  Seed-y  halls. 
Run  Better  Run,  dominated  by  Shane  Faubert's  bouncy 
(but  not  overly  retro)  Farfisa  organ  and  clear.,  expressive 
voice,  attests  to  the  group's  originality.  Usually  smart, 
occasionally  precious  songs  like  "Gone  for  Good"  and 
"That* s  When  I  Say  Goodbye"  are  reminiscent  of  the 
Zombies'  art-school  pop.  Refreshingly  cover-free  (all 
four  members  write;  three  swap  lead  vocals),  the  disc  is 
a  timeless  pleasure. 

The  original  lineup  split  while  recording  the 
follow-up  (hence  the  title),  and  the  attendant  tension  is 
audible.  The  songs  are  looser  in  structure  (though  not 
overlong)  and  rely  a  bit  too  heavily  on  David  Herrera's 
whammy-bar  fills.  The  diffusion  does  yield  some  posi- 
tive by-products,  notably  Herrera's  "Good  Life"  (es- 
sentially a  rewrite  of  Neil  Young's  "Barstool  Blues'") 
and  bassist  Tony  Low's  "Every  Man's  a  King,"  the 
album's  best  song.  Still,  novices  should  stick  to  the 
debut. 

After  a  year's  hiatus,  Faubert  and  Low  revamped  the 
band  as  a  trio  and  recorded  Remember,  a  spare,  atmo- 
spheric collection  of  dark  pop  that  would  forever  put  the 
revivalist  tag  behind  them.  Although  the  songs  are  still 
shaded  with  Farfisa,  Faubert  proves  himself  a  very  good 
guitarist  in  the  Roger  McGuiim  vein  on  songs  like 
"Backwards  Boy"  and  the  moody  "Better  off  Alone." 
It  Wings  Above  is  more  intricate  (there  are  swatches  of 
saxophone  and  glockenspiel)  and  a  bit  brighter.  Songs 
like  tiie  stunning  "Goodbye  Princess"  and  "From  Light 
to  Pouring  Rain"  occasionally  swirl  in  a  heady  Game 
Theory  (or  even  "Ride  My  See-Saw"-era  Moody 
Blues)  direction. 

Recorded  live  in  Berlin,  Waiting  for  Unta  indicates 
that  the  Cheepskates  might  have  more  aces  in  their  deck. 
Besides  their  well-documented  pop  intuition,  the  trio — 
here  augmented  by  ex- Wind  guitarist  Lane  Holland  (ne* 
Steinberg)— reveals  a  harder,  Quicksilver-like  side  with 
plenty  of  guitar  interplay.  And  just  to  keep  everyone  off 
balance,  the  set  closes  with  a  spot-on  rendition  of  the 
Everly  Brothers'  "Bye  Bye  Love."  To  further  compli- 
cate critical  matters,  the  band's  next  release  consisted  of 
six  songs  popularized  by  Perry  Como.  "Catch  a  Falling 
Star,"  "Round  and  Round"  and  the  rest  are  handled 
with  a  blend  of  subtle  irony  and  heartfelt  appreciation 
worthy  of  NRBQ.  Perfect  for  parties. 

The  aptly  titled  Confessional  is  the  edgiest  Cheep- 
skates  disc  yet,  with  stark  shifts  between  the  sugary 


120 


("Bear  Down,"  "Come  Close  to  Me")  and  the 
cyanide-laced  ("Sony,"  "It's  Up  to  You")  being  made 
between  almost  every  pair  of  tracks.  Newly  added  sec- 
ond guitarist  Rich  Punzi  makes  his  presence  fell  with 
some  heartily  feedback-drenched  riffs. 

Original  guitarist  Herrera  indulges  his  dual  fas- 
cinations— spacey,  Santana-styled  jamming  and  British 
blues — on  Ms  solo  LP.  If  you  can  bypass  the  fact  that  he 
has  nothing  even  resembling  a  singing  voice,  you'll  find 
Ms  fluid  playing  more  attuned  to  the  former  (as  evi- 
denced by  "Frog  Booth*'),  Handout's  meanderings, 
however,  merit  little  more  than  a  cursory  listen. 

Faubert,  on  the  other  hand,  stakes  out  a  patch  of 
territory  midway  between  early  solo  John  Cale  and  the 
more  mannered  work  of  R.  Stevie  Moore.  Strings, 
stately  keyboards  and  minimal,  orchestral  percussion 
dominate  the  drony,  hypnotic  KMkara,  which  serves  as 
a  rejoinder  to — rather  than  an  alternately  arranged  re- 
hash of — his  poppier  work  within  the  band.  [dssj 


CHELSEA 

Chelsea  {nr/Step  Forward)  1979 

Alternative  Hits  {nr/Step  Forward)  1 980 

No  Escape  (IRS)  1980 

Evacuate  (IRS)  1982 

Just  for  the  Record  (nr/Step  Forward)  1985 

Original  Sinners  (nr/Communique)  1 985 

Rocks  Off  (nr/Jungle)  1986 

8ackirax(nr/l:!egai)1988 

Underwraps  (nr/IRS)  1989  « 

Unreleased  Stuff  (nr/Clay)  1 989 

Dismissed  by  more  than  a  few  as  a  bad  joke,  the 
never-say-die  Chelsea  was  one  of  the  few  original  punk 
groups  to  forge  a  unique  sound  and  survive.  Their  dis- 
tinctiveness  stems  from  the  grunt'n'groan  vocals  of 
Gene  October,  the  guiding  force  and  only  constant  mem- 
ber through  enough  lineup  changes  to  rival  John  May- 
alFs  role  in  a  different  musical  realm. 

Even  in  the  early  days,  Chelsea  didn't  pursue  the 
buzzsaw  punk  stereotype,  instead  favoring  a  less- 
fevered,  sometimes  lumbering  intensity,  redolent  of  an 
ignorant,  lower-class  background.  Chelsea  does  offer 
plenty  of  thrills,  however.  James  Stevenson's  guitar  en- 
livens slashing  rockers  like  *Tm  on  Fire,"  and  October 
constantly  seems  about  to  burst  from  the  pressure.  On  a 
cover  of  Jimmy  Cliff's  exquisite  "Many  Rivers  to 
Cross,"  he  renders  a  vivid  portrayal  of  someone  suffer- 
ing extreme  pain  who  can't  articulate  it  properly.  It's 
poignant. 

Alternative  Hits  (aka  No  Escape),  produced  by 
onetime  Who  manager/producer  Kit  Lambert,  consists 
largely  of  tracks  originally  (and  better)  heard  on  singles. 
Collected  on  an  album,  these  songs  betray  the  band's 
lack  of  versatility.  But  at  least  it  includes  Chelsea's 
electrifying  debut  45,  *' Right  to  Work." 

Evacuate  brings  Gene  October  about  as  far  into  the 
modern  age  as  he  can  go.  In  a  bid  for  relative  respect- 
ability, the  bull-in-a-china-shop  approach  is  toned  down 
a  bit.  Somehow,  it  just  doesn't  seem  right. 

Like  a  beaten  punch-drunk  fighter  who  doesn't  know 
enough  to  lay  down,  Chelsea  slips  further  with  its  1986 
studio  LP,  Rocks  Off.  The  record  opens  with  an 
eyebrow-raising  candied  Hare  Krishna  chant,  followed 


by  its  only  enjoyable  i& Fools*  Paradise/*  an  en- 

gaging, harpsichord-laced  that  a 

radio  hit  in  a  more  October's 

voice  fits  the  flavor  of  the  song,  his  convey- 

ing an  appropriate  of  confusion.  From  there » 

Chelsea  retreats  into  "Revolution  #9":  a  title, 

a  Stones  riff  and  999's  sound.  The  is  utterly 

pedestrian  and  dismal  Some  are  best  left  IE  the 

past. 

Underwraps  begins  and  ends  on  weird  notes: 
'* Somebody  Got  Murdered,"  a  surpnsingly  accurate 
replica  of  the  Clash  song  (from  Sandtaista!),  and  a 
coherent  rendition  of  "Let  the  Good  Times  Roll,"  on 
which  some  of  Chelsea  is  joined  by  ex-CIasfa  drummer 
Topper  Headon  and  original  Police  guitarist  Henry  Pa- 
dovani  (who  sounds  like  he  hasn't  been  practicing  much 
lately).  In  between,  October  and  Ms  three  current  co- 
horts run  warm  (the  Professionals  soundalike  of  "Nice 
Girls,"  the  mid-speed  '77  punk  of  "Life  of  Crime") 
and  cold  (most  everything  else,  all  of  it  simple  rewrites 
of  familiar  melodies)  in  a  generic  exercise  that  couldn't 
mean  anything  to  anyone  other  than  relatives  and  girl- 
friends. Ijy/icm/i] 


CHEMICAL  PEOPLE 

So  Sexist!  (Cruz)  1988« 
Ten-Fold  Hate  (Cruz)  1989  • 
The  Right  Thing  (Cruz)  1 990  • 
Overdosed  On  ...  f  nr/Vinyl  Solution)  1 990 

Hooky  punk  to  the  last  decimal  place:  pure  pop  for 
impure  people.  While  reveling  in  pornography  (see  the 
first  few  LP  covers),  LA's  Chemical  People  nonetheless 
uphold  a  simpler,  purer  comic-book  music  and  style. 
Energetic  and  insistent  yet  clean  and  uncluttered  (with- 
out being  didactically  straight-edge),  Chemical  music  is 
hardly  unfamiliar  or  unexpected,  but  a  hi-test  sugar  rush 
(not  unlike  the  Descendents*  caffeine  crank)  that  will 
make  latent  pogoers  snap  their  rods. 

So  Sexist!  (with  intro  and  outro  by  notorious  horn- 
dog  Tesco  Vee)  is  split  into  sides  "Blair**  and  "Dave," 
the  former  documenting  the  group's  relatively  unre- 
markable beginnings  as  a  four-piece  led  by  the  titular 
guitarist/vocalist,  while  the  flip  marks  the  uneven  launch 
of  the  real  Chemical  People,  with  drummer  Dave 
Naz(  worthy;  also  of  the  Last)  taking  charge  of  the  song- 
writing  and  Mike  Ness-like  vocalizing. 

Ten-Fold  Hate  (cover  star:  Taija  Rae)  leaps  ahead 
with  immeasurably  better  production  and  tunes,  more 
power  and  personality.  The  Right  Thing  only  continues 
the  trend  (excepting  the  pom-queen  idolatry,  abandoned 
when  it  began  to  overshadow  the  music),  while  Over- 
dosed consists  of  the  second  through  fifth  of  the  band's 
7-inch  EPs,  augmented  by  one  new  studio  track  and 
three  cuts  recorded  in  '89  at  CBGB, 

With  Jeff  Dahl  as  trontman,  the  Chemical  People 
transformed  into  the  Chemical  Dolls  on  "Sympathy  for 
GG,"  a  recent  one-off  7-inch  of  GG  Allin  covers  to 
benefit  the  imprisoned  raver.  [ab] 

See  also  Last. 


CHEQUERED  PAST 

Chequered  Post  (EM)  America)  1 984 


121 


Although  listening  to  this  run-of-the-mill  Bad  Com- 
pany rock  may  not,  a  glance  at  the  credits  indi- 
cates why  Chequered  Past  was  one  of  the  most 
depressing  groups/attains  of  recent  years.  Clem  Burke 
and  Nigel  Harrison  (both  ex-Bkmdie)  and  Steve  Jones 
(ex-Pistols)  formed  three-fifths  of  the  band,  proving 
conclusively  that  even  talented  new  wavers,  no  matter 
how  idealistic  and  rebellious,  were  merely  a  few  years 
away  from  becoming  just  as  bogus  as  the  musicians  they 
originally  set  out  to  dethrone.  [1] 

See  also  Bl&ndie,  Sex  Pistols. 


Row  Lite  Sushi  (Virgin)  1989  • 

After  stints  singing  with  Rip  Rig  4-  Panic  and  Float 
Up  CP,  Cheny  (bom  of  a  Swedish  artist  and  an  African 
percussionist,  she  uses  the  surname  of  her  stepfather, 
renowned  trumpeter  Don  Cherry)  teamed  up  with  UK 
hip-hop  producer  Bomb  the  Bass  for  the  single  "Buffalo 
Stance/1  An  infectious,  sassy  and  savvy  pop/rap  hy- 
brid, * 'Buffalo  Stance"  benefited  as  much  from  Cher- 
ry's persona — sexy  and  autonomous  sensualist  with  a 
social  conscience  and  crossover  appeal — as  it  did  from 
the  jingly/scratchy  backing  track,  singalong  chorus  and 
what-does-fto-mean?  tide. 

Raw  Like  Sushi,  the  album  that  followed,  never 
matches  the  single's  initial  rash,  but  when  it  hits  (about 
a  third  of  the  time)  it's  funky,  refreshing  fun.  Cherry's 
more  convincing  when  she  sticks  to  the  sex  and  sass — 
among  the  LP's  memorable  moments  are  "Outre"  Risqu£ 
Locomotive"  (a  churning  paean  to  coitus  and  commit- 
ment) and  the  breathless  protests  of  "I  came  already'*  at 
the  end  of  "So  Here  I  Come."  But  "The  Next  Gener- 
ation" amply  demonstrates  Cherry's  ability  to  make  a 
statement  without  sacrificing  a  sense  of  fun.  You  wind 
up  admiring  her  so  much  you  wish  the  album  were  a 
little  better.  [gk] 

See  also  Rip  Rig  +  Panic. 


CHESTERFIELD  KINGS 

Hem  Am  the  Chesterfield  Kings  (Mirror)  1 983 

stop!  (Mirror)  1 985  +  1 987 

Don't  Open  Til  Doomsday  (Mirror)  1 987 

Night  of  the  Living  Eyes  1 979-1 983  (Mirror)  1 989  * 

The  Berlin  Wall  of  Sound  (Mirror)  1990  • 

Drunk  on  Muddy  Water  [CD]  (Mirror)  1 990  • 

Unless  you  check  the  copyright  date,  you'll  swear 
that  this  upstate  New  York  band  with  pudding  bowl 
haircuts  and  Beatle  boots  existed  two  decades  back.  The 
Kings'  faithful  re-creation  of  '60s  guitar  rock  and  ga- 
rage punk  (the  first  album's  material  is  strictly  covers, 
most  of  it  so  esoteric  that  only  a  fanatic  record  collector 
would  recognize  more  than  one  or  two  tunes)  is  so 
spot-on  that  it's  impossible  to  discern  from  the  real 
thing.  In  their  chosen  idiom,  the  group's  records  are  as 
consistent  and  reliable  as  early  Ramones. 

The  Kings*  staggeringly  true  alternation  of  mersey- 
beat  and  sneery  trash  remains  uncompromised  on  stop!; 
surprisingly,  the  high  proportion  of  originals  scarcely 
diminishes  the  lifelike  effect.  (Two  extra  songs  were 
added  when  Mirror  remastered  stop!  for  its  1987  reis- 
sue.) 


The  shag  haircuts  on  the  cover  of  Don't  Open  Til 
Doomsday  offer  fair  warning  that  the  quintet  (having 
undergone  a  lineup  adjustment)  has  loosened  the  stylis- 
tic strings.  Leavening  the  slavish  fundamentalism  with  a 
little  modem  sonic  character,  they  hit  on  something 
comparable  to  late- '70s  Ramin  Groovies.  As  a  conces- 
sion to  the  less  obscure-minded,  the  waning  proportion 
of  non-originals  draws  on  T-Bone  Burnett  and  Ray  Da- 
vies  and  Dee  Dee  Ramone.  The  album  is  enthusiasti- 
cally played  and  cleanly  recorded  but,  once  a  band  has 
painted  itself  up  such  a  stylistic  tree,  musical  develop- 
ment may  mean  a  straight  path  down,  (Esoterica  note: 
"They  were  never  bom/they  were  thrown  out  of  hell"  is 
inscribed  in  the  run-off  groove.) 

Night  of  the  Living  Eyes  temporarily  avoids  the 
issue  of  musical  direction  by  reaching  into  the  vaults, 
compiling  material  (all  covers,  natch)  recorded  in  the 
four  years  before  the  Kings  started  making  LPs:  both 
sides  of  their  first  three  singles,  a  rehearsal  outtake  fea- 
turing manager/label  chief/cult-figure-in-his-own-right 
Armand  Schaubroeck  and  an  early- '83  NYC  live  set.  A 
fine  document  of  the  band's  savage  youth. 

The  Berlin  Walt  of  Sound  finds  frontman  Greg 
Prevost  and  bassist  Andy  Babiuk,  joined  by  two  new 
members,  making  further  moves  towards  a  more  con- 
temporary approach.  Save  for  a  version  of  Bo  Diddley's 
"Pills"  and  another  Dee  Dee  tune,  the  songs  are  all 
originals.  Sporting  a  raw,  Stonesy  sound  that  suits  swag- 
gering tunes  like  "Love,  Hate,  Revenge"  and  "(I'm 
So)  Sick  and  Tired  of  You"  (not  to  mention  the  rather 
questionable  "Richard  Speck"),  Berlin  Wall  presents 
the  Chesterfield  Kings  as  a  fine,  non-anachronistic  hard- 
rock  band.  For  weirdness'  sake,  there's  also  "Coke Bot- 
tle Blues,"  a  distinctly  bizarre  stab  at  delta-blues 
fetishism. 

The  band  apparently  liked  that  track  enough  to  at- 
tempt an  entire  album's  worth  of  twelve-bar  standards: 
Drunk  on  Muddy  Water,  released  in  a  numbered  lim- 
ited edition  of  one  thousand.  Though  Greg  (billed  here 
as  Yardbird)  Prevost  is  no  Leadbelly,  the  loose,  lo-fi 
renditions  of  classics  by  Muddy,  John  Lee  Hooker,  etc. 
are  entertainingly  demented.  [i/hd] 


CHICKASAW  MUDD  PUPPIES 

White  Dirt  (Wing-Texas  Hotel-PolyGram)  1 990  <|> 
8  Track  Stomp  (Wing-Mercury)  1991  • 

Thirsty  for  a  little  Southern  musical  comfort,  ama- 
teur swamp-grunge  variety?  This  conscientiously  rustic 
Athens,  Georgia  duo  of  Ben  Reynolds  (electric  guitar, 
vocals,  percussion)  and  Brant  Slay  (vocals,  harmonica, 
percussion)  may  not  be  authentic  anything,  but  their 
brief  debut  LP's  carefully  cruddy  sound  (produced  by 
Michael  Stipe  and  John  Keane)  and  rudimentary  perfor- 
mances do  convey  the  backporch  feel  of  a  couple  of 
boys  singing,  stomping  and  banging  out  rough  tunes 
with  raw  spirit  (and  an  echo  chamber).  If  White  Dirt 
could  kick  up  anything  besides  a  little  atmosphere,  there 
might  be  a  reason  to  recommend  it. 

The  full-length  S  Track  Stomp,  produced  separately 
by  Stipe  and  Chicago  blues  legend  Willie  Dixon,  fits 
more  songwriting  effort  into  the  duo's  minimalist 
clatter-and-strum  fantasies  and  comes  out  substantially 
more  invigorating.  Slay's  yip'n'holler  vocals  find  a  real 
home  in  "Night  Time  (Ain't  Got  No  Eyes),"  the 


122 


Sionesy  "Superior"  and  Dixon's  "Moving  So  Fast*'; 

the  restrained  pop  of  "Cold  Blue"  shows  the  Puppies  in 
i  captivatingly  pretty  light.  Now  there's  something  to 
stomp  about.  [i] 

OF 

Chiefs  of  Relief  (Sim)  1 988  • 

Bow  Wow  Wow  guitarist  Matthew  Ashman  (now 
also  a  vocalist)  formed  the  Chiefs  of  Relief  as  the  post- 
Aimabella  version  of  that  band,  but  it  took  a  few  years 
before  anything  came  of  it.  By  that  time,  he  had  teamed 
with  ex-Pistols/Professionals  drummer  Paul  Cook  and, 
joined  by  a  bassist  and  keyboard  player,  begun  playing 
a  pop-safe  hybrid  of  rap,  beatbox  funk  and  loud  rock.  At 
times  resembling  a  tamer  Big  Audio  Dynamite  (a  bit  too 
closely),  the  Chiefs  are  nonetheless  an  agreeable  dance- 
powered  outfit  that  draws  on  the  varied  experiences  of 
its  creative  team  to  kick  the  songs  into  fun  gear.  Richard 
Gottehrer's  production  accommodates  the  assorted  di- 
rections handily,  making  Chiefs  of  Relief  an  easy  pill  to 
swallow.  [i] 

See  also  Bow  Wow  Wow,  Professionals,  Sex  Pistols. 

BILLY  CHILDISH 

See  Pop  Rivits,  Thee  Mighty  Caesars. 

DJ.  CHUCK  CHiLLOUT  &  (COOL 
CHIP 

Masters  of  the  Rhythm  (Mercury)  1 989  • 

Venerable  old-school  DJ  Chuck  Chillout  and  his  rap- 
ping partner  Kool  Chip  run  a  graduate  class  in  hip-hop 
tradition  on  Masters  of  the  Rhythm,  a  solidly  enter- 
taining party  record  that  skirts  rugged  language  and  any 
ideas  more  serious  than  "Rhythm  Is  the  Master."  Over 
modest  beats  that  sample  Kool  and  the  Gang,  Cameo, 
Herbie  Hancock  and  Talking  Heads'  "Once  in  a  Life- 
time,'* the  duo  drops  energetic  rhymes  on  familiar  top- 
ics (with  relevant  soundbites  from  Public  Enemy,  the 
Fat  Boys  and  Run-DMC),  reliving  rap's  recent  past 
with  engaging  enthusiasm.  [i] 

CHILLS 

The  Lost  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1985  (Homestead)  1988  « 
Kaleidoscope  World  (nr/Creation)  1986  (Homestead) 

1990* 

Brave  Words  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 987  (Homestead)  1 988  • 
Submarine  Bells  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 990  • 

New  Zealand's  Chills  make  lightweight,  non- 
controversial  pop  with  such  fresh-scrubbed  integrity  that 
it's  hard  not  to  like  them.  Guitars  may  twinkle  like  harps 
and  jangle  over  angelically  whispery  vocals  but  some- 
how the  love  songs  are  never  gooey.  Gooey  bands  do 
not  write  lines  like  "Oh  god  this  white  ward  stinks, 
sterilized  stench  of  sticky  death  ^  sniveling  relatives  at 
the  feet  of  another  moist  corpse,  but  that  corpse  is  Jayne 
and  Jayne  can't  die"  (from  Brave  Words'  "16  Heart- 
throbs"). Soppy  sentimentalists  aren't  honest  enough  to 
admit  "I'd  like  to  say  how  I  love  you  but  it's  all  been 
said  in  other  songs"  as  singer/guitarist  Martin  PhiUipps 
(after  a  decade,  the  only  original  Chill)  does  on  the 
same  album's  "Night  of  Chill  Blue." 


The  Chills  write  They 

women,  rain,  the  Otago  at  the  tip  of 

New  Zealand's  and 

They  even  love  to  be  out  of 

growth.  They  love  cool,  *  ith 

high  notes,  keeping  just  to 

avoid  sickness.  At  times %         music  like  a  low- 

budget  answer  to  the  Moody  they 

sound  like  they  just  stepped  oat  of  a 
square  with  folky  acoustic  and  drums. 

Kaleidoscope  World  is  the  record  for  Chills  airf 
Kiwi-pop  purists,  as  it  compiles  most  of  the  band's  early 
singles  and  compilation  tracks  on  one  disc;  the  CD  ver- 
sion of  the  belated  American  release  the  Lest  EP, 
both  sides  of  a  subsequent  12-inch  and  two  from 

a  compilation.  If  nothing  else,  the  record — in  any 
format — is  worth  owning  for  1982*$  "Pink  Frost/*  one 
of  the  most  haunting  songs  about  death  ever  recorded  by 
a  pop  group,  and  the  band's  masterpiece. 

Sympathetically  produced  by  Gary  Smith,  Subma- 
rine Bells  (a  far  better  album  than  the  lawed  Brave 
Words)  graduates  the  Chills  from  being  just  a  first-rate 
singles  band.  Andrew  Todd's  ghostly  keyboards  abound 
on  such  graceful  yet  eerie  gems  like  "Effloresce  and 
Deliquesce' ' ;  a  tinge  of  knowing,  slow  heartbreak  slings 
its  way  through  "Part  Past  Part  Fiction"  and  "Don't 
Be-Memory."  Others,  like  the  should-have-been-a- 
smash  "Heavenly  Pop  Hit"  (quite)  and  the  splendorous 
title  track,  show  a  decided  late- '60s  Brian  Wilson  in- 
fluence. And  for  all  of  the  Chills'  charm,  pristine  tex- 
tures and  cool  atmosphere,  Phillipps'  roots  in  late-'7Qs 
punk  still  show  in  such  uncharacteristic  blasters  as  *  4The 
Oncoming  Day"  and  "Familiarity  Breeds  Contempt." 

Pe/jr] 


ALEX  CHILTON 

Singer  Not  the  Song  EP  (Orlc)  1 977 

Like  Flies  on  Sherbert  (Peabody)  1 979  (nr/Aura}  1 980 

(Ger.  Line)  1981  » 

Bach's  Bottom  (Ger.  Line)  1981   +  1985  * 
Live  in  London  (nr/Aura)  1 982  * 
Feudalist  Tarts  EP  (Big  Time)  1 985  • 
Document  (nr/Aura)  1 985 
No  Sex  EP  (Big  Time)  1986 
Stuff  [CD]  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1987  * 
High  Priest  (Big  Time)  1 987  • 
Black  List  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 990  • 
1 9  Years:  A  Collection  of  Alex  Chilton  (Rhino)  1 991  <f> 

BIG  STAR 

#1  Record  (Ardent)  1972 
Radio  Gty  (Ardent)  1974 
#1  Record/Radio  City  (nr/Stax-EMI)  1977  (nr/Big  Beat) 

1 987  (Ger.  Line)  1987  • 
3rd  (PVC)  1 978  (nr/Aura)  1 978 
Sister  Lovers  (PVC)  1 985  (Ger.  Line)  1 987  • 
Big  Star's  Biggest  [CD]  (Ger.  Line)  1 987  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Alex  Chiton's  Lost  Decade  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1 985 

A  seemingly  unlikely  figure  for  a  new  wave  progen- 
itor, Memphis-born  ex-Box  Tops  singer  Chilton  none- 
theless exerted  tremendous  influence  on  many  groups 
via  his  unconventional  early  '70s  recordings  with  Big 
Star.  If  not  the  best  of  Big  Star's  three  LPs,  #1  Record 


123 


is  at  in  S972,  -when  its 

four-part  Byn&'Kinks  gui- 

tar and  crisp,  tight, 

out  of  vogue,  the  was  am  early 

of  "progressive"'  rock, 

which  had  victim  to  the         ego-tripping 

of  not-M>giant 

Where  #1  Record  is  a  in  every 

of  the  *ord  cChilten  ccv          and  lead 

vocals  with  the  Chris  Bet!;  all  four  members 

sing),  Radio  City  is  more  a  showcase  for  Chiton's 
increasingly  quirky  talents.  Bel!  had  left  the  group  (he 
died  in  a  December  1978  car  crash  K  and  Chilton,  whose 
graff  epitomized  the  Box  Tops'  Top  40  sound, 

sings  at  the  "very  top  of  his  range,  straining  at  times  to 
reach         notes  in  his  own  songs.  The  welt-organized 
production  values  of  #1  Record  give  way  to  a  more 
and  sound  f  a  middle  ground  be- 

tween Lemon's  Plastic  Ono  Band  and  early  Sun 
records.  If  the  material  on  Radto  City  is  spotty,  It's 
never  uninteresting,  and  the  best  songs—'* September 
Gurfs"  an<l  *40ack  of  a  Car** — are  as  good  as  any  rock- 
'n'roll produced  in  the  first  half  of  the  '70s.  (While  Big 
Beat's  joint  CD  of  #1  Reowd/Radto  City  deletes  two 
tracks  from  the  first  album*  the  German  Line  edition 
contains  both  complete  LPs.) 

Recorded  in  1974  but  unreleased  until  1978 — by 
which  time  Big  Star  had  broken  up — 3rd,  reissued  much 
later  under  its  original  title  of  Sister  Lovers,  is  almost 
a  Chilton  solo  album,  Alex,  Big  Star  drummer  Jody 
Stephens  and  a  host  of  Memphis  friends  and  sessioneers 
(Jim  Dickinson  and  Steve  Cropper  among  them)  com- 
prise the  band.  Capturing  Chilton  at  a  point  when  Ms 
creative  powers  were  still  strong  enough  to  effectively 
chronicle  the  spiritual  pain  which  would  eventually  side- 
line him  for  an  extended  stretch,  it's  an  eclectic  mix, 
alternately  depressing  and  uplifting,  ugly  and  beautiful. 
Though  the  various  released  versions  were  assembled 
without  input  by  Chilton  or  producer  Dickinson,  3rd/ 
Sister  Lovers  is — in  its  own  fragile,  ragged  way — 
Chilton *s  most  compelling  (not  to  mention  influential) 
album.  Unlike  the  halfbaked  material  he'd  produce  dur- 
ing the  ensuing  decade,  3rd/Sister  Lovers  does  a  bril- 
liant job  of  balancing  madness  and  genius,  with  classic 
trades  like  "Holocaust,"  "Dream  Lover'*  and  "Stroke 
It  Noel*'  standing  as  some  of  the  most  chillingly  beau- 
tiful music  ever  produced  in  the  pop  medium.  (The 
Aura  and  PVC  versions  originally  featured  different 
track  selections;  the  PVC  and  Line  CDs  each  include  the 
same  seventeen  songs,  but  in  a  different  sequence  and 
with  different  cover  art, ) 

Between  the  release  of  Radio  City  and  3rd,  Chilton 
had  recorded  an  album's  worth  of  material  in  a  series  of 
stormy  sessions  in  Memphis  with  rock  critic/musician 
Jon  Tiven  producing.  Chilton  was  reportedly  so  out  of  it 
during  the  recording  that  Tiven  ended  up  playing  all  the 
guitar.  Some  of  the  results  of  those  sessions  were  re- 
leased in  1977  on  an  Ork  Records  EP:  Singer  Not  the 
Song  includes  versions  of  the  titular  Stones  song  and  a 
59-second  ''Summertime  Blues,*'  plus  a  couple  of  de- 
cent Chilton  co-compositions  that  might  have  sounded 
better  under  other  circumstances.  In  1981,  the  EP's  con- 
tents plus  more  material  from  the  same  wild  sessions 
(including  five  more  minutes  of  "Summertime  Blues") 


in  Germany  as  Bach's  Bottom.  Only  the 
faithful  will  want  to  know. 

leading  in  Hew  York  (with  Chris 

Siamcy)  and  Memphis  between  1975  and  1979 — the 
years  when  he  was  rediscovered  and  lionized  by  critics 
and  musicians — CMlton  released  only  one  single 
f!978's  "Bangkok'VCan't  Seem  to  Make  You 
Mine")  during  that  period.  Live  shows  did  serve  to 
increase  his  reputation  as  an  erratic  and  eccentric  per- 
former, and  the  1979  release  of  Like  Flies  on  SMerbert 
painfully  confirmed  the  degradation  of  a  once-major  tal- 
ent. Produced  in  Memphis  by  Dickinson,  the  LP  sounds 
(not  surprisingly)  like  a  bunch  of  drunken  louts  running 
amok  in  a  studio.  Some  potentially  good  Chilton  mate- 
rial is  trampled  to  death  in  the  process ,  as  well  as  some 
covers.  In  short,  it  stinks.  (The  1980  British  edition  on 
Aura  apparently  utilized  the  wrong  master  tapes;  the 
original  mix  from  the  tiny  Peabody  release,  most  widely 
available  on  a  German  Line  issue,  is  far  superior. ) 

Live  in  London  captures  a  1981  performance  at 
Dingwalls  on  what  is,  for  Cbilton,  a  fairly  good  night. 
Backed  by  the  Soft  Boys  rhythm  section  (Matthew  Se- 
iigman  and  Morris  Windsor)  and  Vibrator  Knox  on  gui- 
tar, Chilton  runs  through  material  from  all  three  Big  Star 
LPs-  and  Like  Flies  on  Sherfoert.  Although  character- 
istically sloppy  and  erratic,  the  album  has  moments  that 
indicate  there  may  be  life  in  the  old  boy  yet. 

After  spending  several  years  drying  out  and  laying 
low  in  New  Orleans  and  Memphis,  Chilton  returned  to 
active  duty  in  late  1984,  touring  with  a  new  pair  of 
sidemen  and  recording  his  first  new  studio  release  in 
many  years.  Feudalist  Tarts  is  a  delight,  six  sides 
marked  by  control,  easy  confidence  and  entertaining  va- 
riety, Chilton  even  sounds  like  he's  enjoying  the  work 
for  a  change.  Among  the  originals  are  a  humorously 
raunchy  blues,  *'Lost  My  Job,"  and  the  absurdist  jivey 
* 'Stuff"  (with  horns);  covers  include  a  slow,  lazy  take 
on  Caria  Thomas*  "B-A-B-Y"  and  a  funky  slide  num- 
ber from  the  Slim  Harpo  songbook.  The  EP  is  a  bit 
insubstantial,  but  most  encouraging. 

Big  Star's  Biggest  is  a  good  eighteen-track  sampler 
drawn  from  ail  three  of  the  band's  albums;  Document  is 
a  thirteen-cut  1985  compilation  covering  both  Big  Star 
and  solo  tracks.  Lost  Decade  is  an  interestingly  con- 
ceived collection  of  '70s  work:  one  disc  of  rare  and 
semi-rare  Chilton  solo  recordings  (some  predating  Big 
Star)  plus  an  album's  worth  of  material  Chilton  pro- 
duced for  singer  Scott  Adams  and  three  other  obscure 
artists.  Stuff  is  an  amazing  French  CD-only  collection 
that  contains  all  of  Feudalist  Tarts,  the  three  songs  on 
the  1986  "No  Sex"  12-inch  and  seven  more  solo  items, 
including  "Bangkok"  and  its  B-side,  a  version  of  the 
Seeds'  "Can't  Seem  to  Make  You  Mine." 

Having  influenced  scores  of  garage  rockers  from  the 
Replacements  (only  one  of  several  bands  to  write  a  song 
about  him)  on  down,  Chilton  can  be  forgiven  for  calling 
his  next  album  High  Priest.  The  record— which  con- 
tains only  four  Chilton  compositions — finds  him  tack- 
ling virtually  every  type  of  song  you  can  imagine  him 
playing  (and  some  you  wouldn't,  like  "VolarS"),  from 
the  Memphis  soul  of  his  Box  Tops  days  to  Brill  Building 
pop  to  Jimmy  Reed-style  blues  to  gospel  to  Big  Star  to 
a  twisted  version  of  the  Bill  Justis  instrumental  ^Raun- 
chy," all  lovingly  delivered  in  a  casual  live-or-near-live 


124 


style.  What  it  lacks  IE  polish,  it  more  than  makes 
up  in  charm,  verve  and  just  plain  ol*  soul.  This  could  be 
what  rock'n'roll  is  all  about.  (Big  Time's  American  CD 
all  of  Feudalist  Tarts,  **No  Sex"  and  one  of  its 
two  B-sides.  In  France,  where  those  EPs  had  already 
teen  collected  on  the  Stuff  CD,  New  Rose  affixed  four 
previously  unreleased  bonus  tracks,  including  a  know- 
ingly creepy  remake  of  Porter  Wagoner's  "Rubber 
Room.") 

The  six-song  Black  List  continues  in  High  Priest's 
archivist/craftsman/Iounge-Iizard  mode,  with  a  slinky 
blues  cover  (**I  Will  Turn  Your  Money  Green" ),  a 
cheerfully  nonsensical  take  on  Ronnie  and  the  Dayto- 
nas*  "Little  GTO"  and  the  laconic  social  commentary 
of  Chiltoe's  own  ''Guantanamerika." 

With  the  benefit  of  clear  annotation  and  the  inclu- 
sion of  a  Troggs  cover  recorded  for  a  New  Rose  com- 
pilation, 19  Years,  Chilton's  first  proper  American 
retrospective,  is  basically  culled  from  3rd,  High  Priest, 
Feudalist  Tarts  and  Like  Flies  on  Sherbert,  with  some 
of  the  same  esoterica  collected  on  Stuff.  The  cassette 
contains  fourteen  tracks;  the  CD  goes  five  better. 

See  also  Panther  Burns.  [ds/i/hd] 


CHINA  CRISIS 

Difficult  Shapes  &  Passive  Rhythms,  Some  People  Think  If  s 

Fun  to  Entertain  {nr/Virgin)  1 982  (Virgin)  1 987  « 
Working  with  Fire  and  Steel  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1 983 
Working  with  Fire  and  Steel  Possible  Pop  Songs  Volume 

Two  (Warner  Bros.)  1 983  • 

Flaunt  the  Imperfection  (Virgin-Warner  Bros.)  1 985  * 
What  Price  Paradise  (Virgin-A&M)  1986  • 
Best  Kept  Secret  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  • 
Diary  of  a  Hollow  Horse  (Virgin-A&M)  1 989  * 
The  China  Crisis  Collection  (nr/Virgin)  1 990  • 

The  weird  title  of  the  first  album  by  this  Liverpool 
group — essentially  a  duo  of  Gary  Daly  (words,  key- 
boards, vocals)  and  Eddie  Lundon  (guitar  and  music), 
plus  Dave  the  percussionist — does  convey  a  sense  of 
what  China  Crisis  is  about.  The  rhythms- -R&B,  funk, 
reggae,  Afro-gypsy,  bossa  nova — are  so  gently,  mod- 
estly, melodiously  proffered  that  it  goes  down  too 
smoothly.  Then  you  notice  that  the  dreamily  enunci- 
ated sentiments  interface  the  political  and  the  personal, 
with  hopeful  dreams  and  admissions  of  self-doubt  and 
inner  struggle.  The  cohesive  feel  is  maintained  despite 
four  different  producers;  China  Crisis*  sturdy  intellec- 
tual backbone  emerges  often  enough  to  avoid  wimpi- 
ness. 

Working  with  Fire  and  Steel  has  just  as  much  go- 
ing for  it.  Sax  and/or  oboe  (!)  appears  on  all  but  two 
tracks,  with  more  horns  on  occasion  and  even  strings 
(real  and  synth).  Mike  Howletf  s  production,  plus  a  new 
drummer  and  a  permanent  bassist,  help  the  group  attain 
a  bit  more  sonic  snap;  the  lyrics  are  less  tortured,  if  just 
as  thoughtfully  and  melancholically  personal.  (The  EP 
of  the  same  name  unites  two  versions  of  the  title  track 
with  a  pair  of  pretty,  wistful  instrumentals  originally 
released  as  British  45  B-sides.) 

Flaunt  the  Imperfection  was  produced  by  Steely 
Dan's  Walter  Becker  but,  while  displaying  a  bit  of  Dan 
influence  (see  "The  Highest  High"  and  "Black  Man 


Ray,"  of  art-pop),  it's 

far  more  obviousl>  a  style. 

The  lyrical  art  so  the  so 

effortless;  like  the  firs!  album,  it's  too  for 

its  own  good.  I  Almost,  i 

By  What  Daly  had  the  key- 

boards over  to  a  fifth  but  that  had  no 

audible,  directly  to  the 

switch  to  the  production          of  Clive  and  Alan 

Winstanley.  The  sound  has  to  it,  yet  is  some- 

how less  delicate,  less  distinctive  on  previous  al- 
bums. In  fact,  the  vocals  (lead  and  backing)  on  one 
track  are  so  different  that  the  group  Is  nearly  unrecog- 
nizable. Still,  it  pretty  much  is  China  Crisis;  if  the 
occasionally  seem  more  conventionally  written,  they're 
still  attractive,  even  almost  (gulp)  commercial.  What'U 
they  think  of  next? 

On  Diary  of  a  Hollow  Horse,  from  three 

tracks  overseen  by  Mike  Thome,  a  return  to  Becker  is 
what.  While  Thome  uses  a  sparer  sound,  Becker  often 
opts  to  add  sax,  flute,  extra  guitar  and  female  backing 
vocalists.  But  the  album  is  more  familiarly  typical  of 
China  Crisis  (again  with  a  taste  of  musical  Dmn- 
ishness),  and  grows  with  repeated  plays.  In  aa  unchar- 
acteristic break  with  the  usual  conscious  self-control, 
the  group  releases  some  tension  in  the  nearly  authentic 
(by  these  standards)  "All  My  Prayers."  Wary  is  no 
match  for  their  finest  work,  but  a  gratifying  effort  all 
the  same. 

The  CMna  Crisis  Collection  is  a  balanced  over- 
view, but  contains  only  one  track  from  the  *89  LP. 

eg] 

CHOIR  INVISIBLE 

Choir  Invisible  (Frontier)  1981 
Sea  to  Shining  Sea  EP  (PVC)  1 984 

FLYBOYS 

The  Flyboys  EP  (Frontier)  1980 

Drummer  Danny  Benair,  onetime  mainstay  of  LA's 
Quick  and  later  in  the  Three  O'Clock,  was-— between 
those  two  outfits — one-fourth  of  Choir  Invisible,  known 
as  the  Flyboys  when  they  released  the  trebly  EP  which 
was  Frontier's  first  record.  The  band  bears  some  resem- 
blance to  early  U2  on  Choir  Invisible — credit  the  guitar 
work  by  Thames  Sinclair  (later  half  of  a  duo  called 
Wonderwall) — but  singer  John  Curry's  melcniramatic 
voice  doesn't  put  the  songs  across  convincingly.  There's 
variety  and  depth,  but  also  some  problems  that  need  to 
be  resolved. 

Adding  a  keyboard  player  and  switching  drum- 
mers, Choir  Invisible  made  the  much-unproved  Sea  to 
Shining  Sea,  adopting  a  lush  dance-synth  style  that 
sounds  very  British.  Feigning  the  same  mid-Atlantic 
accent  (but  pruned  of  its  excesses),  Curry's  voice  bet- 
ter suits  this  material,  although  he's  still  not  a  great 
singer.  Sinclair's  textures  keep  the  midternpo  tunes 
from  dragging  too  much;  he  is  a  great  guitar  player.  "I 
Walked  Away,"  with  its  surprising  Association-like 
harmonies,  is  the  best  of  the  disc's  six  offerings. 
There's  nothing  essential  here,  but  it's  more  amusing 
than  records  by  many  likeminded  outfits,  and  there  are 
certainly  enough  of  them.  [i] 

See  also  Flesh  Eaters. 


125 


CHORDS 

So  Far  Away  (m/Polydor)  1 980 

Ho  One's  listening  Anymore  (nr/Untcom)  1 988 

The  lam  parented  a  1 979-' 81  UK  mod  revival,  as 
Secret  Affair,  the  Purple  Hearts,  Merton  Parkas,  Gas, 
Lambrettas,  Mods  and  Jolt  all  scrambled  to  join  the  hit 
parade.  Though  each  left  behind  credible  singles,  only 
the  Chords  (no  relation  to  the  *50s  doo-wop  band)  had 
the  punk  balls  that  made  the  Jam  more  than  '67  wan- 
nabes. The  Chords  have  been  better  remembered  than 
most  of  their  contemporaries,  cited  by  no  less  than  the 
Stone  Roses  as  an  early  influence. 

So  Far  Away's  crashing  power-pop  singles  ( "May- 
be Tomorrow**  and  "Something's  Missing")  approach 
the  same  tuneful  heights  as  such  contemporaneous  Jam 
tunes  as  "Going  Underground"  and  "Funeral  Pyre." 
The  album  otherwise  joins  inspired  originals  ("It's  No 
Use,"  *Tra  Hot  Sure,"  "Happy  Families")  with  two 
properly  reverent  oldies  ("She  Said  She  Said"  and 
"Hold  on,  I'm  Coming")  updated  in  a  twin  guitar  at- 
tack led  by  Chris  Pope. 

Recorded  live  at  London's  Rainbow  in  June  1980, 
N©  One's  Listening  Anymore  captures  the  Chords  at 
the  height  of  their  popularity.  The  concert  versions  don't 
improve  on  the  walloping  originals,  but  the  album  does 
showcase  a  punchy  stage  quartet,  and  the  packaging 
includes  concert  posters  and  a  band  chronology. 

After  unwisely  sacking  popular  vocalist/guitarist 
Billy  Hassett  (cousin  of  bassist  Martin  Mason)  and  re- 
placing him  with  an  ex- Vibrator,  the  Chords  released  a 
pair  of  excellent  45s  and  then  folded  in  November  198 1 , 
leaving  an  album's  worth  of  second-LP  demos  that  oc- 
casionally turns  up  in  bootleg  racks.  Qr] 

CHRIS  AND  COSEY 

Heartbeat  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 981  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  • 
Trance  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1982  (Wax  Traxi)  1 990  • 
Songs  of  Love  +  Lust  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 984  (Wax 

Trax!)1 990  • 

European  Rendezvous  (nr/Doublevision)  1 984 
Techno  PrimHiv  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1985  (Wax  Trax!) 

1990  * 

Take  Frve  EP  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 986  * 
Exotika  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 987  (Netlwerk)  1 990  • 
Action  (nr/lkemed)  1 987 

Trust  (Bel.  Ray  It  Again  Sam)  1 989  (Nettwerk)  1 990  • 
Chris  and  Cosey  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 989  • 
Ailotropy  (Staaitape)  1989  4> 
Reflection  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  « 
Pagan  Tango  (Wax  Traxi)  1 991  • 

CREATIVE  TECHNOLOGY 
INSTITUTE 

Elemental  7-The  Original  Soundtrack  (nr/Doublevision) 
1984 

CHRIS  CARTER 

Mondo  Beat  (nr/Conspiracy  kit* I)  1 986 

COSEY  FANNI  TUTTI 

Time  to  Tell  (nr/Cathexis)  1988 

CORE 

Core  (Can.  Nettwerk}  1 988  • 

CONSPIRACY  INTERNATIONAL 

Collectiv  One  [CD]  (Austrian  CTI)  1 988  • 


Rising  in  the  very  early  '80s  from  the  corpse  of 
Throbbing  Gristle,  Chris  Carter  and  Cosey  Fanni  Tutti 
(aka  CTI,  the  Creative  Technology  Institute)  Infuse  their 
electronic  mantras  with  the  beat  of  the  factory  to  create 
a  desolate  industrial  vision.  Much  of  the  work  on  Heart- 
beat follows  solidly  in  Throbbing  Gristle's  footsteps, 
with  found  voices  playing  over  pulsating  synthesizer 
sounds,  while  the  remainder  strives  towards  lightweight 
Kraftwerkian  metal  pop.  (The  cassette  has  extra  tracks. ) 

Trance's  songs  unfold  more  slowly  and  deliber- 
ately, only  reaching  their  final  rock  forms  after  passing 
through  stages  that  frequently  bear  an  uncanny  resem- 
blance to  Gregorian  chant  warped  into  the  future.  As  the 
title  suggests,  the  mood  is  dark  and  contemplative; 
within  the  inventive  and  apparently  emotionless  elec- 
tronics lie  deep  wells  of  terror  and  claustrophobia. 
Worth  looking  into. 

Songs  of  Love  and  Lust  has  a  distinctively  icy 
sound,  with  precise,  percussive  synths  not  very  far  to 
the  left  of  Depeche  Mode.  Cosey's  cold,  distant  voice, 
paying  only  passing  attention  to  intonation  at  times,  fits 
in  perfectly  amidst  the  machines.  The  problem  is  the 
songs — they're  highly  repetitive  and  go  nowhere.  (Five 
of  the  LP's  nine  tracks  exceed  five  minutes.)  Consider- 
ing the  pair's  background,  this  record  takes  few  chances. 

CTI's  Elemental  7,  the  soundtrack  to  a  long-form 
video,  consists  primarily  of  tempo-less  washes  of  syn- 
thesizers, bordering  on  'TOs-style  space  rock.  Not  very 
listenable  as  an  album.  European  Rendezvous  is  a  live 
set  recorded  throughout  the  continent  in  1983. 

Techno  Primitiv  is  interchangeable  with  Songs  of 
Love  and  Lust,  dominated  by  unchallenging,  mechan- 
ical electro-pop.  Tempos  and  textures  vary,  but  each 
track  has  an  air  of  familiarity.  One  could  possibly  find 
some  interest  if  the  production  were  at  least  good,  but 
the  album  has  a  really  dead  sound. 

Still  without  a  US  record  deal,  Chris  and  Cosey 
signed  with  Canada's  Nettwerk  and  released  Take  Five 
in  1986.  It  begins  with  "October  Love  Song,"  a  song 
worthy  of  the  Human  League;  the  four  other  tracks  fall 
between  that  approach  and  the  pair's  previous  work. 
The  production  is  much  improved  (two  numbers  are 
remixes  of  early  material). 

The  liner  notes  on  Exotika  explain,  "Today  we  have 
tremendously  diverse  kinds  of  music,"  but  the  grooves 
contain  very  little  to  demonstrate  that  these  two  are  ac- 
tually aware  of  that  fact;  each  (lengthy)  cut  is  an  electro- 
Eurodisco  variation  on  the  same  theme,  introduced  long 
ago.  Again,  the  sound  is  nice,  but  other  bands  have 
done  (and  overdone)  this  same  stuff  much  better.  Chris 
and  Cosey  are  just  about  up  to  the  point  of  being  per- 
manently dismissible.  (The  Exotika  CD  adds  Take 
Five.) 

Trust  earns  them  a  temporary  reprieve.  The  tracks 
are  more  diverse  than  those  on  Exotika,  and  Cosey's 
voice  doesn't,  for  once,  sound  like  a  recorded  message, 
which  makes  a  world  of  difference.  "Watching  You" 
might  go  on  forever,  but  at  least  she  gives  the  impres- 
sion of  feeling  the  lyrics'  paranoia.  The  title  cut  is  a 
haunting,  predominantly  spoken  tone  poem  more  rem- 
iniscent of  the  less  abrasive  moments  of  Throbbing  Gris- 
tle; other  tracks  concentrate  on  sexuality  and  get  fairly 
funky — in  a  sense.  (The  CD  adds  a  remix  of  the  song 
"Hypnotika.") 

The  long,  repetitive  grooves  on  Pagan  Tango  are — 


126 


structurally  at  least — not  that  dissimilar  to  industrial  mu- 
sic. ( In  other  words,  Chris  and  Cosey  are  catching  up  to 
their  own  influence.  >  But  as  the  techno  dance  beats  and 
synthesized  washes  are  trancey/pretly  rather  than 
bludgeoning/cruel,  Cosey  *s  insignificant  vocal  contribu- 
tions seem  more  instrumental  than  intellectual. 

The  Reflection  compilation  contains  two  selections 
each  from  the  duo's  four  Rough  Trade  LPs.  The  earlier 
work  is  refreshing  to  hear,  as  it  serves  to  remind  that 
Chris  and  Cosey  have  produced  a  variety  of  quality 
material  over  the  years.  CoUectiv  One  compiles  twelve 
tracks  from  1983-*85. 

Core  is  a  project  in  which  the  duo  collaborates  with 
a  half-dozen  other  artists,  among  them  Robert  Wyatt, 
Boyd  Rice  and  Coil  (thereby  reuniting  with  former 
Gristle-mate  Peter  Christopheison).  The  variety  of  col- 
leagues is  reflected  in  the  material;  Chris  and  Cosey  (as 
CTI)  allow  others  plenty  of  input.  "Feeder,"  recorded 
with  Coil,  sounds  cinematic;  "Unmasked"  is  a  chilling 
ballad  with  Wyatt;  a  cut  with  Rice  marks  a  return  to 
their  industrial  roots.  Very  little  of  Core  revisits  previ- 
ous C&C  releases;  even  a  cut  without  guests  steers  clear 
of  familiar  territory,  and  features  a  (real?  FaMighted?) 
orchestra.  An  unexplained  minute  or  so  of  quiet  elec- 
tronics separates  each  track.  Very  impressive. 

[sg/i/dgs] 

CHRIS  D. 

See  Divine  Horsemen,  Flesh  Eaters. 

CHRISTIAN  DEATH 

Only  Theatre  of  Pain  (Frontier)  1 982  • 
Deathwish  EP  (Fr.  invitation  au  Suicide)  1984  * 
Catastrophe  Ballet  (Fr.  L'lnvitation  au  Suicide)  1984  (It. 

Contempo)  1 987  (Nostradamus)  1 990  « 
Ashes  (Nostradamus)  1985  (Ger.  Normal)  1988  • 
The  Wind  Kissed  Pictures  EP  (It.  Support!  Fonografici} 

1985  (Nostradamus-Chameleon)  1 986  * 
The  Decomposition  of  Violets  [tape]  (ROIR)  1985  (It. 

Contempo)  1 990  • 
An  Official  Anthology  of  live"  Bootlegs 

(nr/Nostradamus)  1 986 
Atrocities  (Ger.  Normal)  1 986  • 
Jesus  Christ  Proudly  Presents  Christian  Death  (Ger. 

Normal)  1987 

The  Scriptures  (nr/Jungle)  1 987  « 
The  Wind  Kissed  Pictures  (past  &  present)  [CD]  (It. 

Support!  Fonografici)  1 988  • 
Sex  and  Drugs  and  Jesus  Christ  (nr/Jungle)  1 988 

(Nostradamus-Dutch  East  India)  1989  * 
The  Heretics  Alive  (nr/Jungle)  1 989  (Nostradamus-Dutch 

East  India)  1 990  • 
All  the  Love  All  the  Hate  Part  One:  All  the  Love 

(nr/Jungle)  1 989  • 
All  the  Love  All  the  Hate  Part  Two:  All  the  Hate 

(nr/Jungle)  1989* 
The  Wind  Kissed  Pictures  (past  present  &  future)  (It, 

Support!  Fonografici)  1 990  • 
Insanus,  Ultio,  Proditio,  Misericordia  Que  (It.  Support! 

Fonografici)  1 990  • 

POMPEII  99 

Look  at  Yourself  (Nostradamus)  1 981 
Ignorance  is  the  Control  EP  (Nostradamus)  1 982 


in  Los  as  a 

of  the 

Rikk  Agnew  was  a  the  Adoles- 

cents), Christian  Death  has  survived  to  a 

multinational  a  of  pre- 

tentious gothic  records. 

of          is  by  Rozz 

Williams'  ghastly  voice,  but  the  toud'nof-too-fast  mask 
is  appropriately  doomy'n'gloomy,  with  inventive  ar- 
rangements and  clear  to  the  mood  in  fall 
B-movie  fidelity.  The  lyrics  irreverently 
topics  and  religion:  they're  overwrought  and  (the 
backwards  masking  of  ""Mysterium  Iniquitatis"  being 
one  clever  exception)  but  easy  to  overlook  ia  the  wash 
of  inspired  rock  noise.  (The  CD  appends  the  menacing 
synth-rockar  "Dogs,"  rescued  from  the  first  He! 
Comes  t©  Your  House  compilation,  as  well  as  Death- 
wish — a  grainy-sounding  five-song  EP  of  pre-LP  demos 
that  includes  early  versions  of  three  songs  that  made  it 
onto  the  original  album  as  well  as  two  punky  tracks  that 
didn't.) 

Fronting  an  entirely  different  lineup  on  the  stylish- 
looking  Ashes,  Williams  evidently  learned  to  temper  his 
harsh  voice  by  burying  it  low  in  the  mix.  Unfortunately , 
keyboardist  Gitane  DeMone  also  sings,  creating  a  bit  of 
internal  controversy  over  which  key  any  given  song 
should  employ.  The  ponderous  Bauhausian  music, 
which  sets  its  solid  foundation  on  David  Glass*  dram- 
ming, is  more  mature  and  sophisticated;  lyrics  (some  in 
German)  drop  religion  for  vague  evocations  of  medieval 
debauchery  and  evil.  The  Decomposition  of  Violets,  a 
contemporaneous  live  tape  of  that  same  lineup  onstage 
in  Hollywood,  is  loud  and  enthusiastic  but  suffers 
greatly  from  the  blatant  overuse  of  synthesizers  and  ter- 
ribly recorded  vocals. 

With  guitarist  Valor  taking  over  the  vocals  and  song- 
writing,  Christian  Death  became  a  trio  on  Th*  Wind 
Kissed  Pictures.  Occasionally  colored  by  gusty  vam- 
pire movie  ambient  effects,  the  clear,  open  music  makes 
the  would-be  decadence  of  "Believers  of  the  Unpure" 
and  the  title  track  easier  to  endure,  if  not  actually  enjoy. 
Valor's  singing,  alone  and  combined  with  DeMone's,  is 
also  something  of  an  improvement,  although  his  lyrics 
are  actually  worse  than  Williams*.  The  American  edi- 
tion adds  an  English-language  "Lacrima  Cristi,"  while 
the  first  Italian  CD,  lengthened  to  The  Wind  Kissed 
Pictures  (past  &  present),  adds  three  cinematic  instru- 
mentals.  The  third  Italian  version,  The  Wind  Kissed 
Pictures  (past  present  &  future),  adds  the  Italian  and 
English  renditions  of  "Lacrima." 

Taking  the  band's  name  as  its  literal  mission,  Valor 
set  out  to  destroy  organized  religion.  Thus  motivated, 
he  began  to  really  distinguish  himself  as  a  pompous  prat 
on  Atrocities,  Christian  Death's  darkhearted  return  to 
the  somber  cesspool  of  slow-paced  grimness.  ''Herein 
contained  are  the  emotional  remains  of  millions,"  his 
liner  notes  to  the  impenetrable  concept  album  exclaim, 
but  that's  hard  to  believe.  Jesus  Christ  Proudly  Pre- 
sents (another  dubious  assertion,  to  be  sure — proudly?) 
is  a  lavish  box  set,  spreading  a  concert's  worth  of  live 
cuts  and  an  interview  over  six  7-inch  EPs. 

Raging  ego  and  unchecked  ambition  allow  Valor  to 
attempt  a  laughable  comparative  history  of  religion  on 
The  Scriptures,  subtitled  "A  Translation  of  World  Be- 
liefs by  Valor."  (Thanks,  Val!)  After  beginning  the  IP 


127 


with  a  fundamentalist  preacher.  V.         on  to  crib  lyrics 
from  the  Bible  and  stag— wife  an  audibly 
face — of  Huns,  and  Ma'gog,  pontificating  in 

a  most  tnrfy  offensive  manner.  The  too  also  to 

cover  a  Jimi  Heodrix  ("  1983")  and  play  the  rel- 
atively with  a  bit 
of  outside  assistance.  The  original  pressing  Included  a 
bourns  7-inch  single  of  "Jezebel's  Tribulation"  and 
"Wnetfethu,"  both  also  to  the  CD, 

Christian  Death  claims  to  have  assembled  An  Offi- 
cial Anthology  by  collecting  and  culling  illicit  concert 
recordings  of  them  between  198!  and  1986. 

Shows  from  London,  Amsterdam  and  Los  Angeles  are 
included,  as  we  three  previously  unrecorded  tracks. 

Like  Its  British  edition's  intentionally  offensive 
cover  photograph  (of  the  messiah  jacking  up),  the  con- 
tents of  Sex  tad  Drags  and  Jesus  Christ  are  awful,  a 
mdlmenlary  and  barely  musical  mix  of  (what  sound  like 
synthetic)  drums,  bass  and  loud  guitar  that  could  have 
been  blocked  off  in  an  afternoon  by  just  about  anybody 
with  hands.  Lyrically,  Valor  aid  DeMone  continue  to 
prattle  crypto-rellgious  imprecations  and  apocalyptic 
mumbo  jumbo.  To  .get  an  idea  just  how  bad  this  is,  try 
singing  "Your  church  makes  me  vomit  into  the  vertig- 
inous abyss"  or  "In  the  chambers  of  unguiculate 
saccifom/Froin  the  Almighty  avenging  words  of  perni- 
cious thoughts"  and  see  where  it  gets  you. 

Recorded  as  a  five-piece  at  the  Marquee  London  in 
mid-1989  (hence  the  prominence  given  to  material  from 
Sen  and  Brags),  The  Heretics  Alive  contains  en-site 
interviews  with  fans  explaining  their  fondness  for — and 
understanding  of—Christian  Death.  Given  the  devilishly 
grangy  sound  and  sloppy,  impotent  performances,  the 
irrational  comments  make  a  better  case  for  the  band  than 
anything  else  on  the  record. 

After  DeMone  departed  to  pursue  her  jazz  club  sing- 
ing in  Holland,  Valor  made  some  changes.  Aided  by  a 
drummer  and  new  multi-instrumental  cohort  Nick  the 
Bastard,  he  came  up  with  an  ambitiously  simpleminded 
concept  project,  released  as  two  separately  packaged 
LPs.  AM  tlie  Love,  which  begins  with  a  Martin  Luther 
King  quote— now  thafs  artistic  presumption— takes  an 
ambivalent  stance  on  the  subject  of  1' amour,  from  re- 
spectM  ("We  Fall  Like  Love'*)  to  hostile  ("Love  Is 
Like  a  Bitchin*  in  My  Heart,*'  revising  the  Holland/ 
Dozier/Holland  classic  without  credit)  to  bent  ("De- 
viate Love").  The  casually  played,  occasionally 
atmospheric  music  likewise  shifts  gears  (none  of  them 
especially  accomplished  or  attractive)  without  ever  find- 
ing one  worthy  of  attention, 

AH  the  Hate,  a  third-rate  heavy  metal  record  whose 
cover  shows  a  swastika  in  a  black  heart  ringed  by  Jewish 
stars,  uses  shock  value  symbols,  inflammatory  lyrics 
and  sound  bites  of  Hitler  and  the  KKK  in  a  supposed 
commentary  about  the  evil  that  men  do.  Hardly.  While 
"Climate  of  Violence"  does  indeed  mention  numerous 
historical  forms  of  prejudice,  from  Jim  Crow  laws  to 
Salman  Rushdie,  Valor  merely  lists  them  without  com- 
ment; the  sound  of  Nazi  salutes  is  equally  meaningless 
in  this  lame  context.  Strip  away  the  pretense,  and  All 
the  Hate  is  just  a  standard  lurid  metal  maniac  fantasy, 
with  only  one  redeeming  item.  In  "I  Hate  You,"  Sevan 
Kand  (Valor  and  Gitane's  five-year-old  son)  unleashes 
a  bratty  British-accented  spew  of  four-letter  words  and 
cranky  opinions  ("I  hate  going  to  bed/ And  I  hate  sting- 


ing nettles*1  And  I  .  .  ."ad  nauseam)  in  a  fine  pie- 
pubescent  of  punk-rock  solipsism. 

Uttfo,  Proclitic,  Misericordia  Que  is  a 

compilation. 

Before  joining  Christian  Death,  the  Valor/DeMone/ 

Glass  crew  had  been  a  band  known  as  Pompeii  99.  Also 
part  of  the  LA  death-rock  scene,  the  group  released  an 
album  and  EP  that  are — unsurprisingly — very  similar  to 
Christian  Death.  Pompeii  99  was  scheduled  to  do  a  Eu- 
ropean tour  opening  for  Christian  Death;  when  Rozz 
Williams  lost  his  group,  the  two  bands  merged  under  the 
better-known  name.  [i/geff 

See  also  Adolescents. 


CHRISTIANS 

The  Christians  for/Island)  1987  {Island}  1988  • 
Colour  (Island)  1990* 

CHRISTIAN 

Checkmate  (nr/Ucmd)  1989  * 

Brothers  Garry  and  Russell  Christian  (formerly  an  a 
cappella  soul  trio  with.  Roger,  another  sibling)  and  ex- 
Yachts  helmsman  Henry  Priestman  (who  left  It's  Im- 
material to  join  them)  comprise  the  core  of  this 
Liverpool  group.  (Roger  Christian  appeared  on  the 
group's  earliest  singles,  but  quit  prior  to  the  first  Chris- 
tians album  and  eventually  surfaced  as  a  solo  act. ) 

Sonically,  The  Christians  is  a  treat,  with  airy  har- 
monies floating  angelically  above  and  around  Priest- 
man's  crisp  keyboards  and  percolating  percussion,  while 
Garry  C.  sings  with  restrained  soul  about  life  m  a  (de- 
pressed) Northern  town.  Unfortunately,  the  messages  of 
songs  like  * 'Forgotten  Town,"  "When  the  Fingers 
Point,"  '"Hooverville"  and  "Ideal  World"  are  almost 
undermined  by  the  prettiness  and  pop  sparkle  of  it  all,  as 
if  they've  muted  the  passion  the  songs  require  in  an 
effort  not  to  overstate  the  case.  With  a  few  more  mem- 
orable melodies  and  a  bit  more  punch,  this  record  might 
have  been  something  special.  (As  it  was,  the  LP  spent 
well  over  a  year  in  the  UK  charts.) 

Colour  continues  in  the  same  vein  as  Tlie  Chris- 
tians, and  the  same  criticism  applies.  If  anything,  the 
sound  is  even  prettier  here,  but  the  generally  overlong 
songs  lack  the  dynamics  needed  to  keep  them  interest- 
ing. As  well-intentioned  as  the  Christians  are — and  to 
their  credit,  the  group's  sound  is  definitely  distinctive — 
they  seem  locked  into  an  MOR  sheen  that,  despite  mo- 
ments of  real  beauty,  inevitably  turns  tedious.  [ds] 

CHRISTMAS 

In  Excelsior  Dayglo  (Big  Time)  1986 

Ultraprophets  of  Thee  Psyidck  Revolution  (IRS)  1 989  • 

On  their  first  album,  an  enjoyable  folk-rock  escape 
into  wry  absurdity  that  owes  an  emotional  debt  to  Redd 
Kross  (repaid  in  1990  when  guitarist  Michael  Cudahy 
co-wrote  a  song  for  that  band's  Third  Eye  LP),  Bos- 
ton's kooky  Christmas  eulogizes  Pee-wee  Herman, 
"Tommy  the  Truck"  and  "Pumpkinhead,"  Drummer 
Liz  Cox  and  guitarist  Michael  Cudahy  alternate  appeal- 
ing lead  vocals  over  simple,  well-played  music  that  is 
far  from  skeletal.  If  the  trio  comes  up  a  bit  short  on 
identifiable  personality  here,  considerable  wit  and  abil- 
ity almost  make  up  for  it. 


128 


Following  a  relocation  to  Las  Vegas,  Christmas  re- 
leased Uttraprophets,  an  across-tfae-board  improve- 
ment with  better  songs,  fuller  production  and  a  stronger 
Xmas  spirit  than  the  first  record.  The  excellent  "Stupid 
Kids,"  'This  Is  Not  a  Test"  and  "My  Operator''  arc  all 
catchy,  melodious  rock  with  Cheap  Trick  undertones 
and  bizarre  lyrics;  the  incongruity  of  Cox's  Banglesque 
vocals  (supported  nicely  by  Cudahy's  singing)  adds 
both  direct  and  ironic  merits  to  "Richard  Nixon/' 
"Warhog"  and  "Great  Wall  of  China."  But  as  alluring 
as  the  record  can  be,  Christmas  never  seems  as  off-the- 
wall  weird  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  half  of  the  songs  don't 
amount  to  anything.  [i] 


CHROME 

The  Visitation  (Siren}  1 977 

Alien  Souradtracb  (Siren)  1978  (Touch  and  Go)  1990  » 

Half  Machine  Up  Moves  (Siren)  1 979  (Touch  and  Go) 

1990  • 

Read  Only  Memory  EP  (Siren)  1 979 
Red  Exposure  (Siren)  1980 
Jnworids  (Siren)  1981 
Blood  on  the  Moon  (Siren)  1981  « 
3rd  from  the  Sun  (Siren)  1982  • 
No  Humans  Allowed  (Siren)  1982 
Chrome  Box  (Subterranean)  1 982 
Raining  Milk  (Fr.  Mosquito)  1 983 
Chronicles  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 984  * 
Into  the  Eyes  of  the  Zombie  King  (Fr.  Mosquito)  1 984  • 
The  Lyon  Concert  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 985  * 
Another  World  (Ger.  Dossier)  1986  « 
Dreaming  in  Sequence  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 987 
Live  in  Germany  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 989 
Alien  Soundtracks  II  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 989 

HELIOS  CREED 

X-Rated  Fairy  Tales  (Subterranean)  1 985 
Superior  Catholic  Finger  (Subterranean)  1 989 
The  Last  Laugh  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 989  * 
Boxing  the  Clown  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 990  • 

DAMON  EDGE 

Alliance  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1985  • 
The  Wind  Is  Talking  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 985 
Grand  Visions  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 986 
The  Surreal  Rock  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 987  • 

DAMON  EDGE  AND  CHROME 

Eternity  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 986  • 

Under  the  innocuous  name  of  Chrome,  two  San 
Franciscans — Damon  Edge  (vocals,  synths,  etc.)  and 
Helios  Creed  (vocals,  guitar,  etc.),  with  part-time 
rhythm-section  assistance  by  the  Stench  brothers  of 
Pearl  Harbor's  band — created  an  often  awesome  series 
of  pre-industrial  LPs  that  explore  a  dark  state  of  mind 
only  hinted  at  by  '60s  psychedelia.  Taking  cues  from 
Suicide,  Can,  Pink  Floyd,  Jimi  Hendrix,  the  Residents 
and  anyone  who  ever  made  home  tapes  in  their  bed- 
room, the  pair's  dense,  chaotic  science-fiction  epics 
are  vivid  vinyl  nightmares — a  thick  blend  of  mechan- 
ical noises,  filtered,  twisted  voices  and  fantastic,  bi- 
zarre lyrics — that  flesh  out  a  frightening  world  both 
absorbing  and  repellent.  Though  conventional  song 
structures  are  preserved  to  the  point  where  tracks 
can  be  distinguished  (indeed,  the  duo's  early  efforts 


aren't  all  that   far  from  rock), 

Chrome's  strength  is  its  ability  to  of  hor- 

rible beauty  that  If 

Chrome  isn't  as  out  or  as  ear- 

splitting  as  the  and  that  fol- 

lowed, the  duo's  is  still  to 

behold. 

After  the  tentanveness  of  the  first  t\vo  albums, 
from  early  refinements.  Edge  and  Creed  much 

stuck  to  the  uniquely  nerve-shattering  "style — 

metal-drone-punk — throughout  their  The 

utterly  fearless  are  recommended  to  the 

Chrome  Box,  a  limited-edition  set  of  six  albums,  In- 
cluding Alien  Soundtracks,  Lip  Moves, 
Blood  on  the  Sum,  No  Humans  Allowed  and  ttie  pre- 
viously unreteased  two-disc  Chronicles. 

Following  Chrome's  dissolution  in  1983,  Creed  and 
Edge  each  launched  solo  careers.  Creed's  first  album 
finds  Mm  leading  a  noisy  quartet  that  drops  the  science- 
fiction  content  but  retains  Qirorae's  sonic  density  and 
mild  dissonance.  Kind  of  low-rent  and  faintly  cheesy, 
X-Rated  Fairy  Tales  has  to  contend  with  Creed's  pon- 
derous singing  and  the  superficial  synthesized  chaos; 
occasionally  the  LP  wins.  Superior  Catholic  finger  is 
much  better,  an  inspired  collage  of  found  sounds,  noise, 
tape  manipulation  and  overdriven  punky  assault,  played 
by  a  trio  lineup  that  leans  towards  guitar,  keyboards  and 
drums.  (The  diminution  of  vocals  is  duly  noted  and 
appreciated.)  Gonzo  and  gripping. 

Produced  by  Jack  Endino,  The  Last  Laugh  is  a 
heaping  helping  of  frenzied  but  terse  psychedelia. 
Creed's  gothic,  incantory  lyrics  ebb  and  flow  much  like 
computer-era  Gregorian  chants — invoking  spirits  of  Ge- 
henna and  sundry  other  fearsome  creatures.  While  some 
stretches  (like  the  skulking  three-part  opener)  are 
heavily  processed,  selections  like  "Nirbaslon  Anna- 
sion"  and  "Road  Out  of  Hell"  would  be  palatable  to 
fans  of  Voivod.  Boxing  the  Clown  adds  the  machine 
shop  drumming  of  ex-Scratch  Acid  pounder  Rey 
Washam  which,  if  anything,  clarifies  the  focus  of  ob- 
sessive tracks  like  "Hyperventilation"  and  **Go 
B  lind. ' '  As  Reefer  Madness  warned,  one  puff  of  Creed's 
powerful  stuff  will  give  you  the  fear! 

Disinterring  the  Chrome  moniker  for  a  series  of  new 
albums  released  by  Dossier  in  the  second  half  of  the 
'80s  was  not  a  wise  move  on  Edge's  part;  the  only 
possible  benefit  is  that  dozens  of  disaffected  cyberpunks 
might  be  inspired  to  learn  the  phone  number  of  their 
local  Better  Business  Bureau.  In  point  of  fact,  the  post- 
Creed  Chrome  LPs  aren't  terrible,  they're  simply  not 
Chrome.  Returning  to  the  unabashed  UFO  (not  the 
band)-isms  of  the  pre-Creed  Visitation,  Edge  couches 
his  obsessions  in  ambient  (albeit  decibel-heavy)  sonic 
cocoons.  Live  in  Germany  is  the  low  point — and  some- 
what ironic,  since  the  original  band  dissolved  over 
Edge's  refusal  to  tour. 

Dossier  has  issued  a  number  of  CDs  that  pair  up 
Chrome  albums.  Into  the  Eyes  of  the  Zombie  King  is 
joined  with  Edge's  first  solo  undertaking,  Alliance; 
Blood  on  the  Moon  is  on  a  disc  with  Eternity;  Half 
Machine  Lip  Moves  goes  with  Edge's  The  Surreal 
Rock;  The  Lyon  Concert  and  Another  World  round 
off  the  selection.  Meanwhile,  back  in  the  States,  Touch 
and  Go  paired  Half  Machine  with  Alien  Soundtracks. 

[jy/i/dss] 


129 


CHURCH 

Of  Skin  and  Heart  fAus.  Parlophone)  1981  f  Arista] 

1988* 

The  Church  f  Capitol)  1982  (nr/Carrere)  1985  • 
Temperature  Drop  in  Downtown  Winterland  EP 

(nr/Can«PB)1982 

Hie  Blurred  Crusade  (nr/Cemre)  1982  f  Arista)  1988  • 
Sing-Songs  EP  fAus.  Pariophone)  1 982 
The  Unguarded  Moment  EP  fnr/Carrere)  1982 
SeaiKe  (nr/Canwe)  1983  f  Arista)!  988  • 
Persia  EP  f  Ays.  Paiiophone)  1 983 
Remote  Luxury  EP  (Aus.  Parlophone)  1 984 
Remote  Luxury  (Warner  Bros,)  1984  f  Arista)  1988  • 
Heyday  (Warner  Bros.)  1 986  (ArisfaJ  1 988  • 
Starfish  (Arista)  1988® 
Conception  (nr/Carrere)  1988  * 
Hindsight  (Aus.  EM!)  1988  » 
Gold  Afternoon  Fix  (Arista)  1 990  ® 

STEVE  K1LBEY 

Unearthed  (Enigma)  1987  • 
Earthed  {Rykodisc}  1 988  * 

The  Slow  Crack  (Ays,  Red  Eye)  1 988  (Rough  Trade) 
1989® 

Transaction  EP  (Aus.  Red  Eye-Polydor)  1989 
Remindlessness  (Aus.  Red  Eye-Polydor)  1990 

PETER  KOPPES 

Manchild  &  Myth  (Rykodisc)  1988  • 
From  the  Wei!  (TVT)  1989® 

MARTY  WILLSON-P1PER 

In  Reflection  (Aus,  Chase)  1987 
Art  Attack  (Rykodisc)  1 988  • 
Rhyme  (Rykodisc)  1989® 

At  first,  the  Church  seemed  like  a  promising  blend 
of  the  Beatles  (musically)  and  early  Bowie  (vocally  and 
lyrically).  Peter  Koppes  and  Marty  Willson-Piper  ex- 
plored the  guitar  territory  first  mapped  out  by  Harrison 
and  Lemon,  but  in  greater  detail  and  with  perhaps  a 
more  practiced — if  less  inspired — hand.  Bassist  Steve 
Kilbey  chanted/sang  articulate  lyrics  with  a  world-weary 
melancholy  similar  to  early  Bowie,  but  colder  and  less 
melodramatic. 

The  band's  American  debut,  The  Church,  consists 
of  most  of  Of  Skin  and  Heart  plus  the  best  three  songs 
from  a  subsequent  double-45  release.  (Arista's  belated 
CD  of  Of  Skin  and  Heart  includes  those  three  tracks  as 
well.)  The  gorgeous  guitar  soundscapes  and  occasion- 
ally evocative  verbal  imagery  seemed  to  promise  bright 
things  to  come.  The  blatant  Beatleness  of  "The  Un- 
guarded Moment"  is  so  offset  by  its  other  virtues  that 
it's  easily  the  album's  high  point.  Still,  Kilbey's  worst 
lyrical  instincts  flowered  on  The  Blurred  Crusade. 
You  can  add  some  Byrds  and  perhaps  a  touch  of  post- 
Floyd  Barrett  into  the  mix,  but  you  can  also  toss  in  some 
pointless  obscurity,  non  sequiturs  and  confessional 
windiness. 

Lyrically,  Seance  is  both  more  superficial  and  more 
straightforward,  which  is  partly  why  it  succeeds.  At  its 
best,  the  band  achieves  something  akin  to  mid- '60s  Brit- 
ish pop  psychedelia:  nothing  timeless,  but  a  neat  trip. 
The  Church  isn't  as  poppy  here,  and  Seance's  most 
obviously  retroid  psychedelic  number  ("Travel  by 
Thought")  is  more  atmosphere  than  song,  but  stuff  like 
"Fly"  and  "Dropping  Names"  is  still  a  groove  (man). 


(But  the  pistol-shot  snare-drum  sound  on  much  of  the 
LPis  a  real  bummer.) 

Remote  Luxury,  which  combines  the  two  preced- 
ing Australian  EPs,  has  less  range  than  Seance;  its  shim- 
mering folk-rock  textures  are  hampered  once  again  by 
Kilbey's  overly  oblique  lyrics.  A  step  sideways  at  best. 

Well-produced  by  Peter  Walsh,  Heyday  (which  was 
actually  recorded  as  an  album)  is  another  step  forward: 
straight-ahead  guitar  pop  housed  in  an  ironically  pais- 
ieyfied  cover.  Although  titles  like  "Tristesse"  and 
"Myrrh"  suggest  otherwise,  Kilbey's  lyrics  are  engag- 
ingly vague  and  easier  to  comprehend.  Likewise,  the 
melodies  are  stronger  and  catchier  than  any  since  the 
first  album. 

The  production  of  Starfish,  by  LA  session  guitarists 
Waddy  Wachte!  and  Danny  Kortchmar,  may  have  some- 
thing to  do  with  its  shortcomings.  Superficially,  the  LP 
seems  pleasant  but  thin;  look  past  the  ziplessness,  how- 
ever, and  you'll  discover  the  band's  most  consistently 
engrossing  and  memorable  tunes  yet.  Even  Kilbey's  off- 
the-wall  lyrics  seem  to  be  better  integrated  and  more  to 
the  point  (or  some  point,  anyway).  Willson-Piper' s  un- 
expected but  delightful  '60s  Anglo-pop-rock  concoc- 
tion, "Spark,"  is  a  bonus. 

The  double  best-of  Hindsight  offers  a  fairly  bal- 
anced selection  from  the  various  albums,  but  more  than 
half  of  the  album  consists  of  non-LP  tracks.  Many  of 
those  are  pretty  good,  though,  although  some  lyrics  still 
arouse  the  usual  reservations  ( *  'ornamental  or  warm  and 
gentle/on  the  way  to  paradise,"  indeed).  Following 
Starfish's  enormous  Stateside  success,  Arista  issued  the 
group's  Australian  albums  and  made  them  available  on 
CD.  (Conception  is  a  ten-song  compilation.) 

Co-produced  by  the  group  and  Wachtel,  Gold  Af- 
ternoon Fix  is  the  most  sonically  pleasing  Church  al- 
bum yet,  varied  but  cohesive.  For  once,  melodrama  is 
effective,  as  on  the  opening  "Pharoah."  Also,  Kilbey's 
lyrics  are  coherent  and  focused  for  almost  the  entire 
album,  notably  on  the  back-to-back  "You're  Still  Beau- 
tiful" (a  "walking  picture  of  Dorian  Gray"  set  to  a 
strident  beat)  and  "Disappointment"  (a  dreamy  evoca- 
tion of  feeling  out  of  phase  with  the  rest  of  the  world). 
The  CD  and  cassette  add  two  bonus  tracks. 

The  Church's  outside  projects,  at  least  the  earlier 
ones,  are  more  genuinely  solo  than  most,  with  only 
small  contributions  from  wives,  girlfriends,  brothers, 
etc. 

Kilbey's  Unearthed  (originally  an  '86  Australian 
issue)  is  a  mixed  bag  of  songs  (some  solid,  if  short  on 
polish)  interlarded  with  brief,  generally  forgettable  in- 
strumentals.  Earthed  goes  one  better  than  all  the  other 
Churchmen's  solo  LPs:  the  band's  prime  lyricist  con- 
centrates on  purely  instrumental  ideas;  many  of  which 
would  fall  beyond  the  Church's  purview,  even  with  lyr- 
ics. While  the  worst  of  it  sounds  like  intros  in  search  of 
actual  songs,  the  good  stuff  ranges  from  a  sonic  mon- 
tage to  a  queer  but  fetching  little  waltz.  (A  76-page 
booklet  of  poetry  meant  to  complement  the  music  ac- 
companies some  copies.) 

The  US  version  of  The  Slow  Crack  includes  three 
tracks  not  included  on  the  original  Australian  release, 
and  it's  a  good  thing  too:  "Transaction,"  the  lead-off 
cut,  is  one  of  the  most  tightly  focused  rockers  that 
Kilbey  had  done  in  or  out  of  the  band  prior  to  Gold 


130 


Afternoon  Fix.  "Fireman"  is  enjoyable  folk-rock-ciwi- 
wall-of-sound  (guitars,  synth,  strings,  sax).  The  rest  of 
Side  One  Is  at  least  pleasant,  but  Side  Two  ranges  from 
dull  to  dreary,  even  when  he  turns  to  Shakespeare  for 
inspiration  ("Ariel  Sings*')  or  the  Bible  for  lyrics 
("Song  of  Solomon"). 

The  double-album  Remindlessness  (the  single  CD 
deducts  two  cuts)  is  Kilbey's  best  solo  work  to  date. 
There's  too  much  of  it,  and  some  tracks  go  on  too  long, 
but  even  his  relative  failures  are  more  interesting  than 
before.  Lyrically,  his  "stories'*  are  more  to  the  point, 
but  even  better  are  his  portrayals  of  people  and  situa- 
tions, often  enlivened  by  incisive  lists  of  items  ("Life's 
Little  Luxuries,"  'The  Amphibian**).  What  also  makes 
it  work  are  widely  varied  instrumental  textures,,  which 
efficiently  create  atmospheres  and  moods  (echoing  the 
advances  made  by  the  group).  In  fact,  sometimes  the 
sound  is  so  seductive  that  it  doesn't  matter  what  he's 
saying!  And  sometimes  he  doesn't  say  anything  at  all: 
several  tracks  are  instrumentals,  like  the  title  track  (a 
wordless  progression  on  the  big  sound  of  "Fireman"). 
Well  done.  The  Transaction  EP  contains  the  US  Slow 
Crack's  "Transaction,"  a  track  from  Remindlessness 
and  two  unexceptional  but  otherwise  unreleased  items. 

The  songs  on  all  three  Willson-Piper  albums  are 
mostly  softish  folk-pop — virtually  no  real  rock — with 
sparse  instrumentation,  sometimes  (on  the  first  two) 
without  bass  or  drums.  In  Reflection  seems  like  (justi- 
fiably) unused  demos,  while  the  other  two  are  more 
clearly  finished.  Despite  a  cottony  airheadedness  that 
runs  through  all  of  his  albums,  Art  Attack,  which  is 
extremely  self-indulgent  but  frequently  intriguing,  is 
easily  the  most  varied  and  stimulating  of  the  three.  "You 
Whisper"  is  like  Peter  Frampton  imitating  Elvis  Cos- 
tello  gone  psychedelic  ("Your  marzipan  skin  in  a  crys- 
tal stare/ Your  chocolate  box  of  fears*');  "Word"  is 
eight-and-a-half  minutes  of  one-syllable  words  spoken 
over  a  melody  vaguely  reminiscent  of  Pachelbers '  'Can- 
on." Cleverly  created  mood,  willful  obscurity  or  just 
plain  twaddle?  "Evil  Queen  of  England"  offers  nifty 
lyrical  bile  accompanied  only  by  an  acoustic  bass.  (The 
US  cassette  and  CD  include  six  tracks  from  In  Reflec- 
tion.) 

Rhyme  dispenses  with  experimentation  to  return  to 
folk-pop  as  a  steady  ration.  It's  much  more  polished 
than  In  Reflection  and,  after  a  while,  a  bit  tedious, 
especially  since  Willson-Piper' s  lyrics  are  sometimes  as 
obscure  as  Kilbey's,  and  sometimes  just  inane.  But  four 
tracks  do  mix  it  up  a  bit  musically,  including  bouncy, 
exceptionally  infectious  pop-rockers  for  fans  of 
Starfish's  "Spark."  Ignore  the  verses  of  "Melancholy 
Girl"  and  "Cascade,"  just  revel  in  the  sound. 

Guitarist  Peter  Koppes'  solo  work  has  a  strike 
against  it  straightaway:  he  can  barely  carry  a  tune  (al- 
though he's  trying).  On  Manchild  &  Myth,  he's  sur- 
rounded by  other  voices  and  buried  in  the  mix  (his 
monotone  mumble  can't  cut  through  anyway),  but  that 
does  nothing  for  the  vocal  melodies  and  lyrics.  Worse, 
the  LP's  arrangements  and  production  lack  dynamism. 
The  only  good  tracks  on  the  album  are  two  stylistically 
routine  ones  that  are  simply  a  cut  above  the  rest  and  one 
atypically  moody  Eurosynth  instrumental.  (The  US  CD 
and  cassette  include  his  so-so  1987  three-track  When 
Reason  Forbids  EP.) 


From  the  Well,  fol- 

lows that  Eurosynth  and 

profitably  so.  In  fact  Hie  LP  is  a  step  No 

more  burying  his  voice— although  tie's  not  to 

singing  duets  with  his  sweeter- voiced 
(!>— and  he  no  longer  like 

Pavarotti  (only  just,!.  The  Synth  and 

textures)  plus  bass  and  guitars  a 

but  the  tunes  aren't  bad,  and  overall  it's 
if  a  bit  on  the  dark,  moody  side.  (jgj 

See  also  Hex. 

CICCONE  YOUTH 

See  Sonic  Youth. 

CiNECYDE 

Block  Vinyl  Threat  EP  (Tremor)  1 978 
Positive  Acfion  EP  (Tremor)  1979 
I  Left  My  Heart  In  Detroit  City  (Tremor!  1982 
Who  Goes  There?  (Tremor)  1 989 

Detroit  has  been  the  site  of  several  musical  genera- 
tions of  punk;  Cinecyde  emerged  on  the  local  scene 
there  in  the  late  '70s,  gigging  and  releasing  records  (by 
several  bands  as  well  as  compilations)  on  their  own 
label.  Following  a  sneery  pair  of  rudimentary  7-inch 
EPs  and  some  singles,  I  Left  My  Heart  unleashes 
enough  raw  power  to  stun,  but  a  superior  sense  of  song 
structure,  the  group's  skilled  musicianship  and  non- 
topical  lyrics  prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  stylistic 
clutches  of  simple  hardcore  or  heavy  metal. 

Keeping  the  rock'n'roll  faith  (not  to  mention  the 
first  album's  lineup!),  Cinecyde  issued  a  long-come  sec- 
ond album  in  early  1989,  Now  more  inclined  to  play 
loud  power-pop  than  tuneful  punk,  Cinecyde  has  tem- 
pered the  pace,  but  not  the  spirit  or  electricity  of  its 
music.  Who  Goes  There?  is  a  welcome  return  from 
these  talented  and  sturdy  Midwest  musicians.  (The  LP 
doesn't  include  a  subsequent  sign-of-the-times  45, 
"Bum  the  Crack  House  Down.'*)  [i] 

CIRCLE  JERKS 

Group  Sex  (Frontier)  1980  • 

Wild  in  the  Streets  {Faulty  Products)  1 982  (Frontier) 

1988* 

Golden  Shower  of  Hits  (LAX)  1 983  • 
Wonderful  (Combat  Core)  1985  * 
VI  (Relativity)  1987* 

Singer  Keith  Morris  left  Black  Hag  after  appearing 
on  that  group's  debut  single  ("Nervous  Breakdown") 
and  formed  this  popular  and  durable  LA  slam  band  with 
ex-Redd  Kross  guitarist  Greg  Hetson.  First  immortal- 
ized on  celluloid  in  The  Decline  of  Western  Civilization 
punk  documentary,  the  Circle  Jerks'  vinyl  success  (via 
the  film  soundtrack  and  their  own  releases)  came  later. 
Typically  crude  and  undisciplined,  despite  occasional 
offbeat  choices  of  material  (Wild  in  the  Streets  con- 
tains a  hyper  remake  of  Jackie  DeShaiuion's  "Put  a 
Little  Love  in  Your  Heart"),  these  Jerks  managed  to 
become  a  live  success;  their  shows  generate  some  of  the 
most  intense  slam-dancing  and  stage-diving  anywhere. 
(In  1988,  Frontier  remixed  and  reissued  Wild  in  the 
Streets,  appending  Group  Sex  to  the  CD.) 


131 


With  a  Joyously  tasteless  urinal  cover  photo,  Golden 
Shower  of  Hits  offers  a  new  batch  of  tuneless  kinetic 
guitar  lock,  built  around  the  faEnier-in-cancef^-thaii- 
execution  "Jerks  on  45°  medley,  which  dismembers  a 
number  of  well-known  wimp  classics,  including  **  Along 
Comes  Mary/'  "Afternoon  Delight,"  "Having  My 
Baby"  and  "Love  Will  Keep  Us  Together." 

Joined  by  a  new  rhythm  section,  Morris  and  Hetson 
cut  W§iMkrfelt  a  tepid  self-produced  imitation  of  a 
punk  record  by  a  band  that,  while  bearing  a  passing 
resemblance  to  the  Dictators ,  sounds  old,  tired  and 
bored.  Amazingly,  the  identical  lineup  is  also  respon- 
sible for  VI,  a  far  better  high-bum  collection  (this  one 
realty  sounds  like  the  Dictators)  that  gets  off  to  a  great 
start  with  "Beat  Me  Senseless"  and  continues  from 
there,  golag  so  far  as  to  strip  down  and  speed  up  Creed- 
ence's  "Fortunate  Son"  for  a  fun  cover.  After  eight 
years,  the  self-aware  Circle  Jerks  have  a  sharp  focus;  the 
charged-up  enthusiasm  is  tempered  by  a  sense  of  musi- 
cal responsibility.  Some  of  the  songs  sock  but,  in  gen- 
eral, VI  is  cogent,  powerful  and  thoughtful — punk  the 
old-fashioned  way.  [mp/i] 

See  also  Bad  Religion,  Black  Flag,  Red  Cross. 

CIRCUS  MORT 

Circus  Morf  EP  (Labor)  198] 

These  New  Yorkers — led  by  future  Swans  founder/ 
guitarist  Michael  Gira — sound  like  they  want  to  back 
you  into  a  comer  and  harangue  you  into  a  screaming  fit. 
They're  not  some  punks  on  a  rampage,  though — this  is 
amphetamirtized  dance  music  with  a  faint  European 
tinge  and  cool,  discreet  keyboards.  As  a  hectoring  vo- 
calist, Gira  is,  under  the  circumstances,  quite  articulate. 
I'll  be  good-honest?  D'g] 

See  also  Swans. 

CITIZEN  FISH 

See  Subhumans. 

GARY  CLAIL 

See  Tackhead. 

CLAN  OF  XYMOX 

The  Clan  of  Xymox  (4AD~Relattv!ty)  1 985  • 
Medusa  (nr/4AD)  1987* 

XYMOX 

Twist  of  Shadows  (Wing-PolyGram)  1 989  • 
Phoenix  (Wing-Mercury)  1991  • 

Despite  competent  musicianship  and  complexity, 
this  Dutch  quartet's  gothic  dance  gloom  is  more  imita- 
tive than  distinctive.  On  The  Clan  of  Xymox ,  the  right 
components  are  present  but  the  record  is  disappointingly 
short  on  personality.  Despite  three  alternating  vocalists 
(deeply  anguished  to  breathlessly  fragile),  jutting  elec- 
tric and  acoustic  guitars,  sinewy  bass  and  a  wealth  of 
synths,  Clan  of  Xymox  can't  seem  to  make  anything 
extraordinary  happen,  and  only  three  songs  approach 
memorability.  What  would  have  made  a  commendable 
EP  flounders  as  an  album. 

Medusa  wallows  even  deeper  in  bland  Eurodisco 
gloom;  "Michelle,"  a  bouncy  psychedelic  pop  tune, 
offers  the  only  relief.  Obviously  out  of  place  on  this 


depressing  UP,  that  song  would  serve  as  an  excellent 
starting  point  for  Xymox *s  future  endeavors. 

"Evelyn,"  which  opens  Twist  of  Sltadows,  lifts  the 
murk  and  clattering  percussion  from  "Michelle"  to  re- 
veal an  attractive  mixture  of  piano,  electronics  and 
stilted  vocals.  Elsewhere,  the  group  works  to  locate  a 
functional  commercial  form,  keeping  rhythms,  melo- 
dies and  arrangements  accessibly  simple  and  allowing 
Tony  Visconti  to  score  strings  for  two  songs.  As  easily 
endurable  as  this  album  is,  Xymox — here  revealed  as 
just  another  lightweight  electronic  dance  band  of  the 
post-romantic  era — still  lacks  any  compelling  personal- 
ity, [ag/i] 

JOHN  COOPER 

Ou  Est  la  Moison  de  Fromoge?  (nr/Rabid)  1978 

(or/Receiver)  1989 
Disguise  in  Love  (nr/CBS)  1978 
Walking  Back  to  Happiness  EP  (nr/Epic}  1979 
Snap,  Crackle  [&]  Bop.  (nr/Epic}  1980 
Me  and  My  Big  Mouth  (nr/Epic)  1 981 
Zip  Style  Method  (nr/Epic}  1 982 

The  first  acknowledged  new  wave  poet,  Manches- 
ter's John  Cooper  Clarke  created  a  genre  all  on  his  own, 
reciting  trenchant,  often  hilarious  poetry  in  a  thickly 
accented,  adenoidal  voice;  a  deviant  British  precursor  of 
rap.  Looking  like  Blonde  on  Blonde-era  Dylan  (but 
skinnier)  and  suggesting  a  mindset  lifted  from  Jack  Ker- 
ouac  or  Lenny  Bruce,  Clarke  exists  with  one  foot  in 
literature  and  the  other  in  rock  music,  using  both  but 
succumbing  wholly  to  neither.  On  most  of  his  record- 
ings, musical  backing  is  provided  by  a  nebulous  orga- 
nization known  as  the  Invisible  Girls,  which — besides  a 
nucleus  of  keyboardist  Steve  Hopkins  and  producer 
Martin  Hannett — has  included  such  name-brand  players 
as  Pete  Shelley  and  Bill  Nelson.  When  combined  on 
vinyl,  the  two  forces — Clarke  as  satiric  commentator 
and  the  Invisible  Girls  as  musical  adventurers — make 
for  a  unique  listening  experience. 

Oft  Est  la  Maison  de  Fromage?,  originally  released 
by  an  early  Manchester  independent,  is  a  sloppy, 
ragged,  (almost)  unaccompanied,  poorly  recorded  but 
enthralling  hodgepodge — demos,  rehearsals  and  recita- 
tions—of pieces  that  wound  up  on  later  albums.  Clar- 
ke's major-league  debut,  Disguise  in  Love,  contains 
such  classic  inventions  as  "(I  Married  a)  Monster  from 
Outer  Space,"  "Psycle  Sluts  1  &  2"  and  "I  Don't  Want 
to  Be  Nice."  The  collaboration  between  words  and  mu- 
sic works  splendidly,  although  it  should  be  noted  that 
Clarke's  approach  doesn't  vary  on  two  tracks  performed 
a  cappella.  The  music  leans  heavily  to  electronics,  but 
varies  the  sound  with  guitar  and  weird  noises. 

Walking  Back  to  Happiness  is  a  live  recording 
released  as  a  10-inch  EP  on  clear  vinyl.  For  over  twenty 
minutes,  Clarke  goes  one-on-all  against  a  generally  ap- 
preciative but  partially  hostile  audience,  reciting,  joust- 
ing, cracking  deadly  one-liners,  dealing  with  hecklers 
and  being  captivating  with  scathing,  funny  numbers  like 
"Majorca"  (an  attack  on  tourists)  and  "Twat."  As  a 
bonus,  the  EP  closes  with  a  studio  track  called  "Girn- 
mix." 

Snap,  Crackle  [&]  Bop.  matches  impressive  pack- 
aging (the  front  cover,  of  the  original  edition  at  least,  is 
a  photo  of  a  sports  coat  with  working  pocket  containing 


132 


a  lyric  book!  with  awesomely  powerful  songs  like 
"Bcasley  Street/"  recalling  nothing  so  much  as  Dylan's 
"Desolation  Row.*'  And  while  "Conditional  Dis- 
charge*' Is  a  cheap  pun  about  venereal  disease,  the  no- 
table "Thirty  Six  Hours'*  is  Clarke's  most  songlike 
effort  to  date  On  it,  the  Invisible  Girls*  backing  matches 
the  bard's  intensity  dram  for  dram,  creating  dense  waves 
of  electronics  and  electrics  that  fit  the  words  perfectly. 

Me  and  My  Big  Mouth  collects  Clarke's  greatest 
non-hits,  drawing  equally  from  the  three  previous 
records,  and  suffices  as  an  ideal  introduction  and  over- 
view. 

Zip  Style  Method,  still  JCCs  most  recent  release, 
finds  him  in  a  more  upbeat  humor,  and  includes  a  pair  of 
love  songs  amidst  the  remorseless  satire.  The  Invisible 
Girls  are  at  their  best,  working  in  a  number  of  idioms. 
More  than  any  of  the  other  albums,  this  seems  to  be  a 
cooperative  venture — more  organically  entwined  than 
autonomous — between  poet  and  players.  That's  a  major 
development,  because  it  makes  Clarke's  words  stand 
out  less,  but  convey  more.  There  aren't  any  bad  tracks; 
although  the  intensity  level  isn't  up  there  with  "Beasley 
Street,"  songs  like  "Midnight  Shift,"  "The  Day  the 
World  Stood  Still"  and  "Night  People"  present  differ- 
ent, entertaining  sides  to  Clarke's  musical  persona. 
Clarke  has  continued  to  perform  as  a  poet,  but  regret- 
tably has  not  recorded  anything  of  late.  [i] 


CLASH 

The  Clash  (nr/CBS)  1 977  (Epic)  1 979  * 

Give  'Em  Enough  Rope  (Epic)  1978  ® 

The  Cost  of  Living  EP  (nr/CBS)  1 979 

London  Calling  (Epic)  1979  • 

Black  Market  Clash  (Epic)  1980 

Sandinista!  (Epic)  1980» 

Combat  Rock  (Epic)  1 982  • 

Cut  the  Crap  (Epic)  1985* 

12"  Tape  EP  [tape]  (nr/CBS)  1986 

I  Fought  the  Law  EP  (nr/CBS)  1 988  « 

The  Story  of  the  Clash  Volume  1  (Epic)  1 988  * 

Crucial  Music:  The  Clash  Collection  (CBS  Special 

Products-Relativity)  1989* 
Crucial  Music:  1 977  Revisited  (CBS  Special 

Products-Relativity)  1990  * 
Return  to  Brixton  EP  [CD]  (Epic)  1 990  • 

TOPPER  HEADON 

Waking  Up  (nr/Mercury)  1986 

HAVANA  3  AM. 

Havana  3  AM  (IRS)  1991* 

That  the  Clash  survived  as  long  as  they  did  and,  in 
fact,  proved  commercially  viable  in  both  the  UK  and  US 
is  a  clear  testament  to  nigged  integrity  and  a  stubborn 
refusal  to  buckle  despite  enormous  adversity,  much  of  it 
self-induced.  The  Clash  were  formed  to  faU  apart,  but  it 
took  better  than  seven  years  for  the  inevitable  Joe 
Strummer-Mick  Jones  bust-up  to  finally  occur. 

If  any  rock  band  ever  insisted  on  doing  it  their  way, 
the  Clash  takes  first-place  honors,  despite  the  price  their 
nonconformity  exacted.  Nonetheless  (or  as  a  result), 
they  became  enormously  popular,  even  in  America, 
where  their  Top  20  chart  success  stands  as  redemptive 
proof  of  an  indomitable  spirit.  The  Clash  received  no 
small  amount  of  criticism  over  the  years:  damned  for 


their  integrity  ( or  for 

black  musical  styles;  for  into 

their  songs,  blamed  for  for  not  chang- 

ing; ridiculed  for  having  sell-wits*  hyp- 

ocrites, rackists,  and  worse.  Through  it  all, 

the  Clash  consistently  proved  to  the  task  of  con- 

founding everyone  that  ever  followed  or  with 

them,  offering  contradictory'  and 
in  classic  Bob  Dylan  obfuscttocy  oratory  and  generally 
failing  to  act  in  their  own  self-interest. 

With  continuous  chaos  and  controversy  swirling 
around  them,  the  Clash  still  managed  to  make  of 

the  most  brilliant,  absorbing,  potent  and  staggering 
rock'n'roll  of  all  time.  Alone  save  for  Elvis  Cosfelio  and 
the  Sex  Pistols,  Joe  Strammer,  Mick  Jones  and  Paul 
Simonon  (plus  two  different  drummers)  stand  as  new 
wave's  original  and  most  significant  trendsetters;  the 
original  Clash  never  made  an  album  that  isn't  worth 
owning. 

Tlie  Clash,  1977's  finest  LP  bar  none,  was  not  is- 
sued in  the  US  until  1979,  and  then  in  radically  altered 
form,  adding  subsequent  single  sides  (the  apocalyptic, 
autobiographical  "Complete  Control/*  the  ground- 
breaking reggaefied  "White  Man  in  Hammersmith  Pal- 
ais' *  and  others)  and  deleting  four  original  tracks, 
making  it  paradoxically  fragmentary  but  stronger.  In  the 
album's  original  form,  the  fourteen  songs  explode  in  a 
scathing  frenzy  of  venom  and  sardonic  humor,  ranging 
in  subject  from  unemployment  ("Career  Opportuni- 
ties") to  the  underground  music  scene  ("Garageland") 
to  cultural  imperialism  ("I'm  So  Bored  with  the 
U.S.A.")  to  rebellion  ("White  Riot,"  "London's 
Burning,"  "Hate  &  War").  Strummer's  incomprehen- 
sible bellow  exudes  focused  rage,  while  Jones*  flaming 
guitar  work  both  sets  and  supersedes  the  style  for  count- 
less derivators  who  followed.  Since  the  original  album 
lacks  a  lyric  sheet  (the  US  label  couldn't  resist  adding 
one),  the  exact  words  were  appropriately  undiscemible, 
but  there's  no  missing  the  power  of  the  music.  A  full 
disc  of  classics,  including  the  Clash's  first  stab  at  reg- 
gae; a  brilliant  rendition  of  Junior  Murvin's  "Police  and 
Thieves."  (Initially,  the  American  LP  also  included  a 
bonus  45  with  two  numbers  recorded  for  The  Cost  of 
Living  EP:  Jones'  rocking  "Gates  of  the  West"  and 
Strummer's  Dylanesque  semi-acoustic  "Groovy 
Times. ' *  The  EP's  *  *I  Fought  the  Law"  was  included  on 
the  album  itself.) 

The  pairing  of  the  fiercely  English  and  (then)  anti- 
commercial  Clash  with  American  big-shot  producer 
Sandy  Pearlman  (Blue  Oyster  Cult,  but  also  the  Dicta- 
tors) proved  controversial  but  fruitful  on  Give  *Em 
Enough  Rope.  By  exchanging  the  band's  garageland 
raunch  for  heavily  overlaid,  crystal  clear  guitars  and 
drums,  Pearlman  delivered  a  supercharged  rock  sound 
and  Strummer  and  Jones  came  up  with  some  of  their 
best  songs — "Safe  European  Home,"  "Tommy  Gun," 
"English  Civil  War,"  "Stay  Free'*  and  "All  the  Young 
Punks."  The  band's  new-found  studio  sophistication  did 
nothing  to  blunt  their  power— quite  the  opposite,  espe- 
cially in  terms  of  Topper  Headon's  stunningly  authori- 
tative o^riimrning — and  their  defiant  confidence  to  mix  in 
more  liberal  amounts  of  sensitivity  and  cleverness  only 
adds  to  the  album's  appeal.  Jones'  vocal  on  "Stay  Free" 
casts  him  as  the  tenderhearted  member  of  the  band  but, 
as  a  guitarist,  his  work  throughout  goes  against  punk's 


133 


early  egalitarian  precepts,  proudly  standing  up  as  a  gen- 
uine guitar  hero  for  the  new  age, 

The  Cost  of  Living  EP  is  a  small  but  mighty  7-inch 
that  contains  the  Clash's  blistering  remake  of  "1  Fought 
the  Law,"  a  second  (and  otherwise  unavailable)  version 
of  "Capita!  Radio"  and  the  aforementioned  "Gates  of 
the  West"  and  ** Groovy  Times/' 

London  Calling  established  the  Clash's  major- 
league  stature,  regardless  of  commercial  considerations. 
The  two  records,  produced  by  the  legendary  (and  now 
late)  Guy  Stevens  (Mott  the  Hoopie),  stretch  over  an 
enormously  expanded  musical  landscape  with  few  weak 
tracks.  Unlike  most  double  albums t  London  Calling 
needs  all  four  sides  to  say  its  piece;  while  not  especially 
coherent  or  conceptual,  the  tacks  share  a  maturity  of 
vision  and  a  consistency  of  character.  Whichever  way 
the  band  turns,  the  record  bears  their  unique  stamp — 
from  the  anti-nuclear  throb  of  the  title  track  to  the  up- 
dated blues  oldie,  "Brand  New  Cadillac/'  to  the  bebop 
of  *  "Jimmy  Jazz"  and  the  anthemic  "Rudie  Can't  Fail." 
And  that's  just  the  first  side!  Some  of  the  other  stunners 
are  "Death  or  Glory,"  "Koka  Kola,"  "Lost  in  the 
Supermarket"  (Jones*  spotlight),  "The  Guns  of  Brix- 
ton"  (a  powerful  reggae  ramble  featuring  Simonon), 
"Spanish  Bombs,"  "The  Right  Profile"  (about  actor 
Montgomery  Clift — how's  that  for  a  change  of  pace?) 
and  "ClampdowE,"  collectively  proof  positive  that  the 
Clash  would  not  be  limited  by  anyone's  expectations,  A 
masterwork. 

The  Clash's  many  singles  contained  as  much  excit- 
ing music  as  their  albums,  and  a  lot  of  non-LP  tracks 
were  issued  along  the  way.  Since  very  few  of  their  early 
45s  were  even  released  in  the  US,  Epic  assembled  an 
odds-and-ends  collection,  Black  Market  Clash — nine 
tracks  on  a  10-inch  platter,  subsequently  reissued  as  a 
12-inch.  Tracks  appended  to  the  US  release  of  the  first 
album  were  left  off  here;  the  two  records  collectively  fill 
in  the  non-LP  gaps  through  1980.  Essential  items  like 
"Capital  Radio  One"  (the  original),  "Armagideon 
Time,"  "The  Prisoner"  and  "City  of  the  Dead"  join 
interesting  but  less  crucial  tracks  like  covers  of  "Time 
Is  Tight"  and  "Pressure  Drop."  Black  Market  Clash 
is  a  worthwhile  and  entertaining  record,  not  a  collection 
of  inferior  scraps. 

Whatever  self-restraint  the  Clash  might  once  have 
had  evaporated  on  Sandinista!,  six  sprawling  sides  (two 
CDs  without  any  of  the  original  record's  inner  artwork) 
of  wildly  varied  styles  and  maddeningly  uneven  quality. 
Besides  the  proper  songs — some  of  which  are  absolutely 
first-rate — there  are  silly  (but  entertaining)  kiddie  rendi- 
tions of  *  'Guns  of  Brixton"  and  *  4Career  Opportunities, '  * 
assorted  self-indulgent  toss-offs,  audio  experiments  (the 
backwards  "Mensforth  Hill"),  bizarre  stylistic  digres- 
sions ("Look  Here"  is  swing  jazz,  "Let's  Go  Crazy"  is 
mock-calypso  and  "The  Sound  of  the  Sinners"  is  am- 
biguous Strummer  gospel),  dub  mixes  and  guest  artists 
(toaster  Mikey  Dread,  violinist/singer  Tymon  Dogg) 
taking  center  stage.  You  name  it,  it's  here,  with  only  the 
faintest  structural  outline  holding  the  whole  shebang  to- 
gether. Basically,  Sandinista!  unnecessarily  saddles 
one-and-a-half  great  albums  with  an  equal  amount  of  ma- 
terial that  ranges  from  disposable  nonsense  to  endurance- 
defying  crap. 

Side  One  ("The  Magnificent  Seven,"  "Hitsville 
U.K.,"  "Ivan  Meets  G.I.  Joe,"  "Something  About  En- 


gland") and  Side  Four  (Eddy  Grant's  "Police  on  My 
Back"  given  a  devastating  high-pressure  rip,  "The  Call 
Up,"  "Washington  Bullets")  are  the  two  strongest 
chunks,  but  there's  good  stuff  ("Somebody  Got  Mur- 
dered," "Charlie  Don't  Surf,"  "Up  in  Heaven  (Not 
Only  Here),"  "Comer  Soul,"  Simonon's  hideously 
sung  "The  Crooked  Beat")  strewn  throughout.  Overall, 
the  wide  stylistic  swath  is  more  provocative  than  re- 
warding; a  better-focused  album  would  have  been  much 
more  powerful,  both  musically  and  politically. 

Returning  to  a  manageable  one-disc  format,  Com- 
bat Rock  found  the  Clash  taking  a  new  musical  de- 
tour, absorbing  and  regurgitating  American  rap  and 
funk  with  more  conviction  than  ever  before  (Sandin- 
ista! contained  a  few  test  runs)  and  also  becoming  arty 
enough  to  invite  poet  Allen  Ginsberg  to  appear  on  the 
record.  A  bizarre  collection  of  material  that  seems  to 
be  diverging  at  a  blinding  rate,  the  dozen  tracks 
proved  extremely  popular,  yielding  two  bona  fide  US 
chart  hits  (the  simple  "Should  I  Stay  or  Should  I 
Go?"  and  the  danceable  "Rock  the  Casbah").  Despite 
slick  production  possibilities  (ace  studio  hand  Glyn 
Johns  "mixed"),  the  Clash  sound  more  ragged  than 
ever,  getting  dolled  up  only  for  the  dance  numbers  like 
"Overpowered  by  Funk,"  which  features  a  guest  rap 
by  Futura  2000.  A  perplexing  but  partially  entertaining 
set  of  sounds  from  the  world's  most  unpredictable 
rock  band. 

Although  it  wasn't  well  known  at  the  time,  the  Clash 
had  split  into  two  musical  camps.  With  commercial  suc- 
cess tugging  on  one  side,  abiding  fascination  for  "black 
music"  on  the  other,  and  problematic  idealism  present- 
ing a  genuine  challenge  up  the  middle,  the  Clash  finally 
rended,  with  Strummer  and  Simonon  unexpectedly 
booting  Jones  out  of  the  band.  Joined  by  three  young 
players,  the  remaining  pair  later  toured  and  recorded 
Cut  the  Crap,  ostensibly  a  Clash  album.  With  one 
notable  exception  (a  movingly  mournful  anthem,  "This 
Is  England"),  Crap  is  just  that,  a  painfully  tired  and 
hopelessly  inept  attempt  to  catch  up  with  an  elusive, 
fading  legend.  Strummer  and  manager  Bernard  Rhodes 
co-wrote  the  songs  (a  dead  giveaway  of  major  creative 
problems  right  there),  but  they  needn't  have  bothered: 
Sham  69  outtakes  would've  been  preferable  to  these 
prosaic,  forgettable  shouters.  "We  Are  the  Clash,"  in- 
deed. Shortly  after  the  album  appeared,  the  lineup  dis- 
solved. Jones  played  with  General  Public  in  the  studio 
during  that  band's  formative  months,  and  unveiled  his 
new  group,  Big  Audio  Dynamite,  to  great  critical  ac- 
claim, in  late  1985.  (The  story  doesn't  quite  end  there: 
Strummer  wound  up  taking  a  significant  role  in 
B.A.D.'s  second  album.) 

Since  then,  it's  been  reissue  time  all  the  way.  The 
first  releases  were  a  couple  of  British  EPs:  the  cassette- 
only  12"  Tape  (extended  mixes  of  "London  Calling," 
"This  Is  Radio  Clash,"  "Rock  the  Casbah"  and  three 
others)  and  the  four-song  I  Fought  the  Law  (with  "City 
of  the  Dead,"  "Police  on  My  Back"  and  "48  Hours"). 
The  two-record  Story  of  the  Clash  compilation  fol- 
lowed, thankfully  overlooking  Crap's  existence.  The 
running  order  is  far  from  chronological;  still,  the  28- 
song  selection,  despite  some  notable  omissions,  con- 
veys the  band's  diversity  and  depth.  The  only  rarity  is 
the  1977  London  tube  interview  portion  of  "Capital 
Radio  One,"  originally  released  on  an  early  giveaway 


134 


fiexidisc.  Overall,  the  remastered  sound  quality  is  fairly 
clear  and  hot,  even  on  the  old  stuff;  liner  notes  by  one 
Albert  Transom  ( undoubtedly  Strammer)  may  shed  lit- 
tle light  for  neophytes,  but  are  amusing  enough.  Sug- 
gestions for  Volume  2:  "Hate  and  War,"  "I'm  So 
Bored  with  the  U.S. A,/'  "The  Prisoner/'  "Jail  Gui- 
tar Doors,"  "All  the  Young  Punks"  and  "Hitsviile 
U.K." 

More  recent  reissues:  the  Clash  Collection's  ten 
tracks  f  only  one  of  them  not  on  Story)  favor  songs  that 
got  American  airplay  ("Tommy  Gun,"  "Train  in 
Vain/*  "Clamtpdown,"  "Police  and  Thieves").  With 
no  Story  overlap,  1977  Revisited  (aka  A  Collection  of 
Rare  Tracks  &  B-Sides)  collates  the  four  songs  deleted 
from  the  first  album's  belated  American  edition,  two 
non-LP  tracks  from  Hie  Cost  of  Living,  "1977"  and 
the  live  "London's  Burning"  from  the  backs  of  early 
singles  and  two  less  noteworthy  B-sides. 

The  British  chart-topping  success  of  Beats  Interna- 
tional's "Dub  Be  Good  to  Me,"  a  dance  number  built 
around  Simonon's  mighty  bass  riff  from  "The  Guns  of 
Brixton,"  prompted  the  release  of  Return  to  Brixton: 
the  original  track  plus  three  useless  house  remixes  by 
Jeremy  Healy  (ex-Haysi  Fantyzee). 

The  following  year,  Simonon  returned  to  action  as 
the  leader  of  Havana  3  A.M.,  a  rootsy/modern  Los 
Angeles  quartet  with  local  new  wave  perennial  Gary 
Myrick  and  singer  Nigel  Dixon,  formerly  of  English 
rockabilly  band  Whirlwind.  The  band's  eponymous 
debut  album — an  exceedingly  clever  commercial  sub- 
limation of  unassailable  source  material  (rockabilly, 
reggae,  punk,  power-pop)  stripped  of  any  edge  or 
conviction — is  clearly  the  work  of  experienced  pros 
making  something  presentably  adult  out  of  what  they 
can  recall  of  their  long-gone  youth.  "The  Hardest 
Game"  sounds  like  Squeeze  on  an  uninspired  day; 
"Surf  in  the  City"  is  a  fairly  obnoxious  rewrite  of 
Elvis  Costello's  "This  Year's  Girl"  as  if  done  by  a 
Del-Lords  cover  band;  the  Stray  Catsy  "Blue  Gene 
Vincent"  is  one  tribute  the  late  rocker  could  have 
done  without. 

Topper  Headon,  who  vanished  from  the  Clash  and 
the  music  business  soon  after  the  release  of  Combat 
Rock,  reportedly  because  of  drug  problems  (Terry 
Chimes — "Tory  Crimes"  of  the  first  LP — replaced  him 
for  live  work),  launched  a  solo  career  in  1986  with 
Waking  Up.  Ambitious  and  plucky  but  surprisingly  un- 
derwhelming, this  horn-soul  album  is  so  humble  his 
drums  aren't  even  mixed  high  enough.  Despite  an  im- 
pressive talent  roster  (including  ex-Blockhead  and  fre- 
quent Clash  collaborator  Mickey  Gallagher  and  ex-Beck 
guitarist  Bobby  Tench),  Headon' s  songs  are  amateur- 
ish, and  the  arrangements  routine  and  uninvolving;  even 
another  version  of  Booker  T's  can't-miss  "Time  Is 
Tight"  doesn't  hit  a  nerve.  (Chimes  went  on  to  form  the 
Cherry  Bombz  with  former  members  of  Hanoi  Rocks 
andTotoCoelo.) 

In  March  1991,  spurred  by  its  use  as  a  commercial 
jingle  for  Levi's  jeans,  "Should  I  Stay  or  Should  I  Go?" 
was  re-released  (with  a  Big  Audio  Dynamite  n  B-side!) 
and  promptly  topped  the  British  singles  charts,  making 
it  the  long-defunct  band's  biggest  UK  hit  ever.  "Rock 
the  Casbah"  was  also  successfully  reissued.  [i] 

See  also  Big  Audio  Dynamite,  Mikey  Dread,  Ellen 
Foley,  Ian  Hunter,  lOlers,  Joe  Strummer. 


CLAWHAMMER 

Poor  Robert  EP  f  At».  Grown  Up  Wrong!  1 989 
Clawhammer  {Sympathy  for  the  Record  1 990 

Double  Pock  Whack  Attack  EP  for  the 

industry!  1990 

With  a  moniker  cribbed  from  Captain  Becftieait, 
you  wouldn't  suspect  ex-Pontiac  Brother  Jon 

Wahl's  new  baby  lo  mewl  forth  much  in  the  way  of 
pub-rock  revivalism.  And  you'd  be  mostly  right 
Locked  into  a  stupefymgly  precise  dada-blues/hard-rock 
fusion  on  Poor  Robert,  the  quartet  zooms  along  like  a 
dragster  doing  1 10  mph  with  cruise  control  ( particularly 
on  a  hard-as-nails  version  of  the  Fab  Four's  less-than- 
robust  "Everybody's  Got  Something  to  Hide  .  ,  ."). 

Unfettered  by  standard  song  structure  on  much  of 
the  first  longplayer,  Wahl's  mercurial  yelp  skitters 
across  measures  like  Richard  Hell  at  his  most  dislo- 
cated. At  times  ("Papa's  Got  Us  All  Tied  in  Knots"), 
Clawhammer  sounds  like  fellow  Beefheart-throbs  Half 
Japanese  gone  classic  rock.  Then  again,  at  the  end  of  the 
LP's  closer,  the  group  indulges  in  a  spate  of  angular 
jamming  that's  like  nothing  so  much  as  a  newly  un- 
earthed Allman  Brothers  session.  That  they  never  actu- 
ally parrot  the  good  Captain  is  to  their  credit;  that  they 
can  evoke  his  spirit  as  convincingly  as  on  "Warm  Spring 
Night"  is  nothing  short  of  eerie. 

On  Double  Pack  Wliack  Attack,  Clawhammer  in- 
flicts varied  degrees  of  damage  to  Patti  Smith's  "Pump- 
ing," Pere  Ubu's  "Final  Solution,"  Eno's  "Blank 
Frank"  and  Devo's  "Uncontrollable  Urge.*'  (There's 
talk  of  a  cassette-only  cover  of  the  first  Devo  LP — in  its 
entirety. )  Definitely  a  band  for  these  post-post-modem 
times.  [dss] 

CLEAN 

Boodle  Boodle  Boodle  EP  (NZ  Plying  Nun)  1981 
Great  Sounds  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 982 
Oddities  [tape!  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1983 
Live  Dead  Clean  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 986 
Compilation  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1986  (Homestead)  1988  • 
In-a-Live  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1989 
Vehicle  (Flying  Nun-Rough  Trade)  1990  • 

GREAT  UNWASHED 

Clean  Out  of  Our  Minds  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 983 
Singles  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1984 

If  all  Flying  Nun  bands  sound  alike  to  you,  don't 
feel  bad:  they're  supposed  to.  Peter  Gutteridge,  for  in- 
stance, began  with  the  Clean,  helped  form  the  Chills, 
returned  to  join  the  Great  Unwashed,  then  spent  some 
time  in  the  Alpaca  Brothers  and  the  Puddle.  Clean  drum- 
mer Hamish  Kilgour  continued  on  to  the  Great  Un- 
washed and  then  formed  Bailter  Space  (where  he  was 
joined  by  the  formerly  Unwashed  Ross  Humphries). 
Hamish  also  has  a  guitar-playing  brother  named  David 
who  was  with  him  in  the  Clean  and  also  involved  in  the 
Chills.  The  Clean's  five-song  Boodle  Boodle  Boodle 
EP  was  produced  by  Tall  Dwarf  Chris  Knox,  adding 
legitimacy  to  the  sonic  similarity  between  the  two  bands. 
The  list  goes  on.  Figuring  it  all  out  is  like  dissecting  a 
family  tree  where  every  other  bandmember  is  a  Siamese 
twin.  But  if  you  could  put  all  the  information  together  to 
make  some  semblance  of  sense,  you'd  find  the  Clean 
somehow  at  the  center  of  the  whole  story. 

"Tally  Ho!,"  a  1981  single,  was  Flying  Nun's  first 


135 


release,  A  fuzz-encrusted  do-it-your&eif  slice  of  rough 
pop  with  deliberately  unmelodic,  sing-songy  male  vo- 
cals and  scratchy        guitar,  it  jangles  through  dramatic 
changes  before  ending  in  applause   Sales 

funded  a  follow-up  EP,  the  equally  poppy  Boodle  Boo- 
dle Boodle,  which  was  meticulously  recorded  on 
Knot's  home  tape  recorder.  Those  and  other  early  tracks 
ait  assembled  on  Compilation,  where  the  percuss! vely 
hard-strumined  acoustic  guitar  of  %*BiIIy  Two"  meets 
the  hesitantly  squirmy  soft  psychedelia  of  "Point  That 
Thing  Somewhere  Else"  (slow-paced  single-stroke 
dram  beat  and  sitaresque  '60s  guitar  lines).  A  thor- 
oughly enjoyable  and  lighthearted  festival  of  pop  fuzz, 
it  ranges  from  the  silliness  of  a  Donald  Duck  guest 
appearance  through  artful  backward-tracking. 

What  it  doesn't  do  is  show  how  great  the  trio  was 
live.  Live  Dead  Clean  does.  From  the  meiodically 
scratchy  guitar  dips  of  ** Happy  Birthday  John**  (which 
Hamish  Kilgour  describes  as  being  "about  time  pass- 
ing, people  dying  and  nuclear  bombs  going  off") 
through  the  powerfully  Western-tinged  "Attack  of  the 
Teddy  Bears/'  it's  a  high-energy  (though  sometimes 
lo-fi)  excursion  into  pleasantly  scraped  pop  guitar. 

The  first  incarnation  (actually,  the  one  that  made 
records)  of  the  Clean  didn't  last  long.  Their  whole  vinyl 
career  was  over  within  eighteen  months.  But  the  split 
with  bassist  Robert  Scott  (who  wound  up  forming  the 
Bats)  was  amicable  and,  since  the  two  founding 
Kilgours  were  still  brothers,  they  became  the  Great  Un- 
washed, the  name  a  jokey  response  to  numerous  puns 
that  had  plagued  the  old  band  in  reviews.  The  Unwashed 
had  (pun.  unintentional)  a  cleaner  sound  than  the  origi- 
nal band  but  still  made  vigorously  vibrant  rock  with 
poppy  chords,  avant  twists,  fragile  vocals  and  infectious 
warmth.  Clean  Out  of  Our  Minds  has  a  loose  and 
friendly  feel,  as  the  Kilgours  strum  autoharps  and  gui- 
tars, bang  on  household  items  and  generally  croon  and 
ramble  through  charming  little  songs  of  no  fixed  struc- 
ture with  a  lot  more  genial  enthusiasm  than  concern  for 
details. 

On  13  July  1988,  Scott  and  the  Kilgours  reunited  for 
a  concert  at  the  Fulham  Greyhound  in  London;  five 
tracks  from  it  were  released  as  the  tn-a-Live  EP.  A 
seductively  slinking  spin  through  the  band's  early  ma- 
terial ("Fish,"  "Anything  Could  Happen,"  "Flow- 
ers/* "Point  That  Thing  Somewhere  Else,"  "Whatever 
I  Do  Is  Right"),  the  performances  are  every  bit  as  good 
as  the  *81~'82  tracks  on  Live  Dead  Clean.  The  guitars 
are  as  warmly  fuzzy  as  ever;  the  darker  bass  sets  off  the 
shimmering  leads.  But  where  Live  Dead  was  culled 
from  technically  crude  sources,  In-a-Live  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  16-track  sound. 

Vehicle,  a  new  studio  album  of  happy  harmony, 
both  vocal  and  instrumental,  followed  a  year  later. 
Texture  is  what  it's  about.  Bass  contrasts  against  the 
guitar's  peal-through  chime;  although  influenced  by  a 
decade's  worth  of  dance  club  bands,  the  crisp,  hard 
beat  never  turns  robotic  or  rhythm-boxy.  The  album 
flirts  with  acoustic  plinking,  continues  the  band's  use 
of  warm  electric  organ  and  emphasizes  casual  harmo- 
nies in  the  boy-next-door  vocals.  They  ain't  the  Beach 
Boys,  but  in  the  Clean's  own  strange  way,  Vehicle  is 
an  excursion  of  cool  guitar  sunshine,  an  audio  dose  of 
endless  summer.  ['e] 

See  also  Bats,  Gordons. 


Blow  Away  Your  Troubles  1 981 

On  Any  Normal  Monday  "1 982 

Midnight  Cleaners  ftape]  1982 

In  the  Golden  Autumn  [tape]  1983 

Under  Wartime  Conditions  ftapej  fnr/Actd  Tapes}  1 984 

(Gen  Model!)  1986® 
Songs  for  a  Fallow  Land  [tape]  1 985 
Living  with  Victoria  Grey  [tape]  1 986 
Going  to  England  f  or/Ammunition  Comm.)  1987 
The  Brotherhood  of  Lizards  [tape]  1 988 
Town  and  Country  {Ger.  RCA)  1 988 

OF 

Lizardbnd  f  nr/Delfic)  1 989  • 

Go  ahead,  call  roe  prejudiced,  but  it  seems  that  "En- 
glish" and  "eccentric"  have  more  in  common  than  just 
the  letter  e.  It's  easy  to  envision  a  nation  of  oddball 
limeys — encouraged  by  technology  that  lets  loopy  ideas 
flow  straight  onto  portastudios — sequestered  in  their 
scattered  rural  cottages,  brewing  up  cassette  albums  for 
the  delectation  of  a  select  and  similarly  offbeat  audi- 
ence. While  no  match  for  America's  national  treasure, 
R,  Stevie  Moore,  Martin  Newell* s  work  throughout  the 
'80s  offers  a  delightful  diary  of  one  man's  pop  obses- 
sions. 

The  Cleaners  from  Venus — Newell  (vocals,  guitars, 
keyboards)  and  Lol  Elliot  (drums) — began  issuing  tapes 
in  1981,  the  fifth  of  which  (Under  Wartime  Condi- 
tions) wound  up  becoming  the  band's  first  vinyl — in 
Germany.  Rudimentary  and  casual,  but  musically  sub- 
stantial and  indicative  of  anything-goes  pop  talent,  the 
LP  has  elements  of  XTC,  Mike  Oldfield  ("The  Winter 
Palace"  instrumental,  which  sounds  like  it's  being 
played  on  water  glasses,  bears  a  resemblance  to  "Tu- 
bular Bells"),  odd  bits  of  talking  and  sonic  ephemera 
and,  significantly,  a  "Song  for  Syd  Barrett." 

Newell  recorded  the  accomplished  Living  with  Vic- 
toria Grey  aided  by  a  new  collaborator  (keyboardist 
Giles  Smith);  some  of  the  songs  from  the  tape  were 
reworked  onto  the  Cleaners'  engaging  first  UK  LP,  Go- 
ing to  England.  With  wonderful  Carnaby  Street  pop 
("Living  with  Victoria  Grey"),  catchy  TV  kitsch  ("111- 
ya  Kurayakin  [sic]  Looked  at  Me,"  on  which  Captain 
Sensible  plays  guest  guitar)  and  delightful  *60s  Farfisa- 
beat  soul  ("What's  Going  on  in  Your  Heart?"),  the 
album  is  gently  nostalgic  and  entirely  likable. 

By  the  time  of  the  relaxed  and  rustic  pure-pop  Town 
and  Country,  the  Cleaners  had  added  a  bassist  (Peter 
Nelson)  and  drummer  and  were  pursuing  an  explicitly 
XTC-oriented  sound  (in  Beatlesque  settings)  with  some 
of  Newell 's  smartest,  loveliest  English-culture  songs: 
"Let's  Get  Married,"  "The  Beat  Generation  and  Me," 
"Tenpenny  Hill"  and  "I  Was  a  Teenage  Idiot  Dancer." 
Great! 

Retiring  the  Cleaners  moniker,  Newell  resurfaced 
the  following  year  in  the  Brotherhood  of  Lizards,  a  duo 
in  which  Nelson  (soon  to  join  New  Model  Army)  plays 
both  bass  and  drums.  Melodic  and  clever  without  fuss, 
Lizardland  (the  contents  of  which  are  unrelated  to  the 
cassette  entitled  The  Brotherhood  of  Lizards)  offers 
another  dozen  unprepossessingly  poetic  vignettes 
("Market  Day,"  "The  World  Strikes  One,"  "Love  the 
Anglian  Way,"  "Dear  Anya")  of  life  in  these  British 
Isles.  The  bubbly  '60s  psychedelipop  of  "She  Dreamed 


136 


She  Could  Fly,"  the  catchy  chorus  of  "It  Could  Have 
Been  Cheryl"  and  the  Turtlesque  **ba-ba~ba"  refrain  of 
"The  Happening  Guy"  are  positively  brilliant;  the  rest 
of  the  album  is  merely  splendid.  [i] 

See  also  Captain  Sensible. 

& 

Third  World  Child  f  Capitol)  1 987  • 
Shadow  Man  fEMI-Capitol}  1988  • 
Cruel,  Crazy,  Beautiful  World  fEMS-Capitol)  1989  • 

JULUKA 

Scatterings  f  Warner  Bros.)  1 982  • 
Stand  Your  Ground  (Warner  Bros,)  1 985 
The  Best  of  Juluka  (Rhythm  Safari)  1991  4> 

IE  a  well-intentioned  gesture  of  political  unity, 
singer/guitarist  Johnny  Clegg  (an  English  academic 
raised  in  Zimbabwe  and  South  Africa)  joined  forces 
with  Sipho  Mchunu,  a  black  South  African  street  mu- 
sician, to  form  Juluka,  a  failed  experiment  in  combining 
rock  with  Zulu  chants  and  the  mbaqanga  sound  of  the 
South  African  township.  The  results,  heard  on  both  of 
the  interracial  group's  Warner  Bros,  records,  are  a  mush 
of  sweet,  laid-back  California  style  harmonies  over  a 
loping  backbeat,  with  mild  anti-apartheid  sentiments. 
(The  Best  of  Juluka,  which  compiles  the  group's 
American  albums  with  a  sampling  from  its  four  African- 
only  releases,  dating  back  to  1979,  paints  an  incremen- 
tally more  compelling  image  of  the  group.) 

Clegg' s  subsequent  band  Savuka  (which  retains  two 
members — not  Mchunu — from  Juluka)  is  even  more 
Western-oriented.  The  slick  production  of  Third  World 
Child  relieves  it  of  the  simple,  unassuming  emotionality 
of  township  music,  and  the  selfconscious,  breast-beating 
lyrics  of  the  title  track  and  "Berlin  Wall"  suggest  that 
Clegg's  gunning  for  the  Nobel  peace  prize  while  at- 
tempting to  forge  a  calculated  commercial  sound.  Too 
bad  Paul  Simon  beat  him  to  the  bank. 

By  Shadow  Man,  Clegg  is  starting  to  sound  a  bit 
like  Sting,  a  catchy  pop  hybrid  of  synthesizers  and  Af- 
rican percussion.  Attempting  to  join  the  Anglo- 
American  mainstream  without  abandoning  his  homeland 
(for  which  his  love  seems  genuine  enough),  Clegg  drops 
Zulu  phrases  and  instrumentation  like  a  social  climber 
mentioning  famous  names  at  a  party.  Unfortunately,  he 
can't  have  it  both  ways,  and  this  fusion  sounds  more 
like  an  American  effort  to  sound  African  than  vice  versa. 

Like  many  other  artists,  Clegg  was  electrified  by  the 
tumultuous  political  events  of  the  late  '80s.  Cruel, 
Crazy,  Beautiful  World  has  songs  of  both  anger  and 
optimism,  presented  with  a  more  comfortable  blend  of 
musical  idioms  than  ever  before.  (Although  the  Sting 
comparison  still  applies.)  There's  nothing  traditional 
about  Savuka's  sound,  but  the  stylistic  weave  serves 
both  ingredients  nicely  for  a  change,  and  the  album 
finds  a  satisfying  midpoint  between  disparate  cultures. 

[rg/i] 

CLICK  CLICK 

Wet  Skin  and  Curious  Eye  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 987  • 
Rorschach  Testing  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 988  » 
Bent  Massive  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1  989  • 

CLICK  CLICK/BORGHESIA 

Doublebill  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 987 


Snarling  dyspeptic  lyrics  over  that  can  only  be 
described  as  dance-oriented  I  though  I  to  think 

who  would  actually  find  this  stuff  conducive  to  booty- 
shaking),  Bedfordshire,  England's  Click  Click  well 
short  of  Poetusian  intensity  and  lacks  the  subtlety  to  get 
by  on  cleverness.  Wet  Skin  and  Ciirfoas  Eye,  a  boring 
compilation  of  remixed  singles  C  **Sweet  Stuff,"  "Skrip- 
glow,"  etc. ),  finds  brothers  Adrian  fsyatts,  vocals)  and 
Derek  (drums)  Smith,  with  help  from  a  second  syrtlfae- 
sist,  drummer/engineer  Alan  Fisch  and  a  guitarist,  work- 
ing familiar  tricks  of  the  industrial  trade  with  modest 
efficiency, 

Doubleb'iH  pairs  a  long  three-song  Click  Click  12- 
inch  (the  transitional  "I  Rage  I  Melt/*  plus  two  more 
non-LP  items)  with  a  Borghesia  EP  (Naked  Uniform 
Dead)  on  the  flipside. 

Dropping  the  heavy  rhythms  and  exaggerated  vo- 
cals, Rorschach  Testing  brings  the  trio  (Smith,  Smith 
and  guitarist  Graham  Stronach)  into  the  realm  of  acces- 
sible techno-rock,  suggesting  a  couple  of  Depeche 
Mode/Soft  Cell  fans  on  lithium.  Neither  appealing  nor 
awful,  tracks  like  "Perfect  Stranger**  and  "Whirlpool" 
display  skill  but  no  imagination  at  all. 

One  LP  was  evidently  enough  light  relief  for  Click 
Click.  Adrian  is  partially  back  on  the  growl  prowl 
with  Bent  Massive,  an  otherwise  more  open-minded 
musical  adventure.  Dynamic  synthesizer/guitar  arrange- 
ments (with  samples  and  surprising  variety)  generally 
leave  rhythms  in  a  subsidiary  role  (although  not 
on  "Moist,"  a  mighty,  ominous  dance  number);  the 
tracks  are  less  songs  than  sonic  experiments  with  words. 
Not  bad.  [i] 

GEORGE  CLINTON 

Computer  Games  (Capitol)  1 982 
You  Shouldn't-Nuf  Bit  Fish  (Capitol)  1983 
Some  of  My  Best  Jokes  Are  Friends  (Capitol)  1 985 
R&B  Skeletons  in  the  Closet  (Capitol)  1 986 
The  Best  of  George  Clinton  (Capitol)  1986  • 
The  Cinderella  Theory  (Paisley  Park-Warner  Bros.) 
1989« 

GEORGE  CLINTON/ 

PARL1AMENT-FUNKADEL1C 

The  Mothership  Connection  (Live  from  Houston)  (Capitol) 
1986 

P-FUNK  ALL-STARS 

Urban  Dancefloor  Guerrillas  (Uncle  Jam-CBS  Associated) 
1983* 

INCORPORATED  THANG  BAND 

Lifestyles  of  the  Roach  and  Famous  (Warner  Bros.) 

1988* 

This  national  treasure's  musical  concepts  are  so 
wide-ranging  and  generous  that  he's  needed  an  entire 
roster  of  groups — creating  dozens  of  albums — to  work 
them  out.  During  Clinton's  '70s  heyday,  one  of  the  two 
main  exponents  for  his  genius  was  Parliament  (an  out- 
growth of  the  Parliaments,  a  doc-wop  group  dating  back 
to  the  rmid-*50s  that  had  a  1967  hit  with  "(I  Wanna) 
Testify"),  which  played  idiosyncratic  R&B  with  an  ini- 
tial emphasis  on  harmony  vocals.  Meanwhile, 
Funkadelic  played  exactly  what  its  name  implied — 
psychedelic  funk,  Clinton  invented  the  form,  and  sub- 
sequent practitioners  of  it — from  Prince  to  the  Red  Hot 


137 


Chili  Peppers  (whose  second  album  Clinton  produced) 
and  beyond—are  deeply  In  his  debt. 

Numerous  members  of  the  huge  Parliament/ 
Funkadelie  crew  have  also  wielded  enormous  influence. 
Having  reinvented  funk  bass  playing  for  James  Brown 
in  the  late  '60s,  Boofsy  Collins  did  it  again  for  Clinton, 
and  without  keyboardist  Bemie  Worrell  the  lexicon  of 
synth  bass  licks  would  be  substantially  thinner. 

While  Clinton  really  didn't  distinguish  himself  as  a 
great  player  or  singer,  his  ideas  (both  verbal  and  musi- 
cal) have  always  been  audacious,  uninhibited  and  ahead 
of  their  time.  As  the  '70s  went  on,  Funkadelic  got  deeper 
and  deeper.  The  classic  One  Nation  Under  a  Groove 
( 1978)  remains  a  touchstone  for  many  musical  cultures. 
In  the  meantime,  Parliament  got  sillier  and  sillier^  put- 
ting out  albums  replete  with  high  voices  and  squiggly 
sounds.  Still,  P-Funk  (as  the  whole  shebang  came  to  be 
known)  hits—monsters  like  "Tear  the  Roof  off  the 
Sucker1'  f  now  an  essential  hip-hop  sample)  and  "Hash 
Light*' — are  simply  unstoppable. 

Clinton  closed  the  P-Funk  umbrella  in  the  early  '80s, 
but  continued  to  give  up  the  funk  under  his  own  name. 
Computer  Games*  title  gave  the  nod  to  the  burgeoning 
wave  of  techno-funk  that  was  beginning  to  overtake 
almost  every  other  form  of  dance  music;  rather  than 
reject  the  new  technology,  he  adapted  it  here  in  his  own 
unique  way,  resulting  in  the  ace  hit  single,  "Atomic 
Dog."  You  Shouldn*t-Nuf  Bit  Fish's  title  cut  refers  to 
the  splitting  of  the  atom — a  scientific  fish  that  shouldn't 
have  bit,  leading  mankind  into  the  terrifying  age  of 
nukes.  The  rest  of  the  record  is  more  lighthearted  and 
dance-oriented  and,  like  all  of  Clinton's  records,  boasts 
an  all-star  cast  of  funkateers,  here  including  former  Par- 
liament vocalist  Phillippe  Wynne. 

Clinton  briefly  convened  the  P-Funk  All  Stars  in 
*83;  Urban  Dancefloor  Guerrillas  is  a  monstrous  dance 
record  pretty  much  defined  by  its  single,  * 'Generator 
Pump." 

Some  of  My  Best  Jokes  Are  Friends  is  a  likable 
but  fairly  undistinguished  effort  featuring  guest  Thomas 
Dolby.  What  results  from  the  pairing  isn't  quite  tension, 
but  one  does  get  the  sense  that  while  Clinton  wanted  the 
(then)  hot  Dolby  for  added  commercial  viability,  Dolby 
would  like  nothing  better  than  to  be  Clinton. 

R&B  Skeletons  in  the  Closet  has  vocals  by  ex-Miss 
America  (and  soon-to-be-a-star-solo-singer)  Vanessa 
Williams;  here  immortal  phrasemaker  Clinton  asked  the 
musical  question  "Do  Fries  Go  with  That  Shake?"  Oth- 
erwise, it  was  business  as  usual,  with  very  little  of  the 
roots  alluded  to  in  the  title  overtly  evident  in  the 
grooves. 

In  1986,  Capitol  issued  an  ersatz  best-of  that  repro- 
duced one  whole  side  (but  not  the  title  track)  of  Fish. 
Unnecessary  to  be  sure,  but  if  it  was  the  only  Clinton 
record  available,  you'd  find  it  entertaining  enough.  The 
Mothership  Connection  (Live  in  Houston)  pairs  a  side 
of  vintage  live  P-Funk  with  three  selections  (including 
"Atomic  Dog/'  which  is  also  on  The  Best  Of)  from  the 
Capitol  studio  LPs. 

After  laying  low  for  a  while  (but  doing  theme  music 
for  The  Tracey  Ullman  Show),  Clinton  resurfaced  to 
co-produce  the  Incorporated  Thang  Band's  Lifestyles  of 
the  Roach  and  Famous  with  Bootsy  Collins.  The  fol- 
lowing year,  signed  to  Prince's  Paisley  Park  label,  he 
made  the  excellent  (and  slightly  purple-tinted)  The  Cin- 


derella Theory,  with  guest  shots  by  such  young  admir- 
ers as  Chuck  D,  and  Flavor  Flav  of  Public  Enemy.  (The 
album  includes  another  canine-based  hit,  "Why  Should 
I  Dog  U  Out?")  Various  co-productions  and  an  appear- 
ance on  Prince's  Graffiti  Bridge  soundtrack  followed. 

[gk] 


CLINTS 

No  Place  tike  Home  (Skyclad)  1989 

This  Southern  California-based  foursome's  long- 
playing  debut  has  certain  commendable  points,  specif- 
ically Dan  Matovina's  dense,  offbeat  production  and 
guitarist  Clint  Wade's  strange,  meandering  songs  ("The 
Grey  Receiver/'  "Mysterious  Glints").  On  the  down- 
side, fellow  tunesmith/guitarist  Clint  Ambuter's  earnest, 
soul-searching  efforts  are  lyrically  less  interesting,  and 
some  of  the  arrangements  have  a  dated  new- wavy  qual- 
ity. While  the  Clints,  to  their  credit,  sound  like  no  other 
band,  this  album  is  less  than  awe-inspiring.  [sm] 

CLOCK  DVA 

White  Souls  in  Black  Suits  [tape]  (nr/lndustriai)  1980  (It. 

Records  from  Around  the  World)  1 982  +  1 990 
Thirst  (nr/Fetish)  1981  (nr/Doublevision)  1985 
Advantage  (nr/Polydor)  1983  (Wax  Trax!)  1990  • 
Breakdown  EP  (Relativity)  1983 
The  Hacker/The  Act  [CD]  (Wax  Trax!)  1 988  • 
Buried  Dreams  (Wax  Traxi)  1990  • 

Appearing  in  1980  and  allied  with  industrial  bands 
like  Throbbing  Gristle  and  Cabaret  Voltaire,  Sheffield's 
Clock  DVA  aped  the  sound  of  British  white  soul  groups 
of  the  day  on  the  wholly  improvised  White  Souls  in 
Black  Suits — although  the  mock-soul  energy  is 
strangely  vitiated  by  urban  metal  noise  that  distorts  the 
songs  around  the  edges.  Eerie  but  captivating,  with  a 
punchy  beat.  (Although  initially  available  only  on  cas- 
sette, White  Souls  was  subsequently  released  on  Italian 
vinyl.) 

On  Thirst,  the  band  maintained  an  interest  in  dance 
music,  but  abandoned  soul  pretensions  for  electro-noise, 
and  the  album  is  a  playground  of  startling,  unearthly 
machine  chants.  Clock  DVA's  initial  lineup  then  col- 
lapsed, losing  most  of  its  members  to  the  Box.  But 
leader  Adi  Newtown  pressed  on  with  new  sidemen. 

Advantage  is  their  strongest,  most  powerful  LP,  a 
funky  concoction  of  intense  dance-powered  bass/drums 
drive  with  splatters  of  feedback,  angst-ridden  vocals  by 
Newton,  tape  interruptions  and  dollops  of  white-noise 
sax  and  trumpet.  The  band  also  digresses  into  devolved 
bebop.  Released  as  a  British  single  from  Advantage, 
"Breakdown"  also  formed  the  basis  for  an  American 
EP,  which  added  an  extended  remix,  another  great  LP 
cut  and  a  mesmerizing  take  on  the  Velvet  Underground's 
"Black  Angel's  Death  Song." 

After  the  group  dissolved  again,  Newton  formed  the 
Anti-Group,  an  industrial  jazz  project  whose  1985  debut 
single  was  produced  by  Cabaret  Voltaire.  In  1989,  he 
revived  Clock  DVA  as  a  sample-oriented  electronic  tool 
for  dramatic  techno-cultural  commentary.  Taking  cues 
from  contemporary  industrial  groups  but  aiming  much 
higher,  both  the  music  and  the  non-music  on  The 
Hacker/The  Act  are  colorful  and  engrossing,  an  imag- 
inative, dynamic  and  rhythmic  blend  of  art  and  reality. 


138 


As  opposed  to  the  more  oblique  and  challenging  pieces 
("The  Hacker/'  "The  Connection  Machine")  on  the 
record,  **The  Act,"  "Re/Act"  and  "Re/ Act  2"  (three 
slight  lyrical  variations  on  the  same  track)  are  sung  in 
relatively  traditional  fashion. 

If  you  can  survive  the  stifling  intellectual  preten- 
sions of  the  package,  Buried  Dreams — an  audio  essay 
on  death,  fetishism  and  decadence — is  another  enter- 
taining nightmare  on  wax.  Both  "The  Act"  and  "The 
Hacker"  make  repeat  appearances,  preceded  by  cre- 
ations ostensibly  inspired  by  a  genocidai  16th-century 
countess,  Albeit  Camus  and  a  case  history  from  Psy- 
chopathm  Sexualis,  Regardless,  the  slow,  moody  syn- 
thesizer noises  and  unpleasantly  treated  vocals  give  the 
alburn  a  potent  theatrical  power.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Box. 


CLOSE  LOBSTERS 

Foxheads  Stalk  This  Land  (Fire-Enigma)  1987  * 
What  is  There  to  Smile  About  EP  (Fire-Enigma)  1 988  • 
Headache  Rhetoric  (Fire-Enigma)  1989  • 

In  a  world  overrun  by  samey  janglepop,  this  Scottish 
quintet  has  managed  to  establish  a  distinctive  sound  by 
melding  the  aggro  bounce  of  Britpunk's  first  wave  with 
the  mellower  melodic  strains  of  such  groups  as  the 
Church.  The  band's  four  instrumentalists  construct  a 
dense  wall  of  guitars  and  drums  on  which  Andrew  Bur- 
nett hangs  his  plaintive,  dreamy  crooning. 

Foxheads  is  a  fine  introduction,  an  album  full  of 
sunny  pogoable  songs  ("Sewer  Pipe  Dream*'  and  the 
title  track)  and  epic  axe  assaults  (the  eight-minute 
"Mother  of  God").  The  succeeding  EP  offers  a  half- 
dozen  additional  tracks,  showcasing  an  even  more  ma- 
ture sense  of  melody  (especially  on  the  haunting  "Let's 
Make  Some  Plans'*)  and  all-around  songwriting  excel- 
lence, 

No  news  is  good  news  on  Headache  Rhetoric,  an- 
other fine  record  which  highlights  Graeme  Wilmington 
and  Tom  Donnelly's  full-bodied  guitars  and  the  sturdy 
rhythm  section  (Andrew's  brother  Bob  and  Stewart  Mc- 
Fayden).  The  vocals  still  obscure  the  lyrics,  but  no  mat- 
ter. However  you  slice  them,  songs  like  ''Lovely  Little 
Swan"  and  ''Nature  Thing"  stay  with  you  long  after  the 
album  has  ended.  [db] 


CLUB  FOOT  ORCHESTRA 

Wild  Beasts  (Ralph)  1986 

Kidnapped  (Ralph)  1987 

The  Cabinet  of  Doctor  Caligori  [tape]  (Ralph)  1 989 

Nosferatu  [tape]  (Ralph)  1989 

In  the  years  since  the  Lounge  Lizards  and  Pigbag 
first  made  jazz  a  fashionable  post-rock  commodity, 
things  have  settled  down  enough  that  this  eight-to-ten- 
person  San  Francisco  horn-based  ensemble  can  take 
some  of  its  basic  style  from  '40s  swing  bands  without 
making  a  heavy  ironic  statement,  (That  dub  Foot  Or- 
chestra records  for  Ralph  is  more  emblematic  of  the 
label's  changes  than  any  fxuigeworthiness  on  the  band's 
part.)  Trombonist  Richard  Marriott  writes  jazzy  modern 
numbers  that  have  nothing  to  do  with  Benny  Goodman 
or  Harry  James,  and  the  group  arranges  them  for  horns, 
violin,  drums,  etc.  That's  about  it.  The  results  fall  some- 


where between  Frank  and  the  a  bit 

bland  at  times,  but  generally  fen. 

Wild  is  strictly  and 

contributions  from  the  late  Snakennger,  is 

dedicated  to  him,  and  has  fine  vocals  by  Beth 

Custer  on  some  tracks.  The  latest  two  tape-only 
are  Marriott's  original  scores  composed  for  Ralph's  vid- 
eocassette  issues  of  the  1919  and  1921  German  cinema 
classics.  p] 

CLUSTER 

See  Brian  En®. 


Greatest  Hits  Vol  1  (nr/EMI)  1980 

Greatest  Hifs  Vol.  S!  (nr/EMI)  1980 

Greatest  Hits  Vol.  3  for/EMI)  1 981 

The  Power  &  the  Glory  (nr/EMI]  1 981 

The  Wild  Ones  (nr/ata)  1982 

Unheard  Rejects  (nrAVonderful  World]  1985 

We  Are  the  Firm  f  nr/Dop)  1 986 

Live  and  LoudS!  Bridgebowse  Tapes  {nr/iink}  1 987 

This  obstreperous  lot  of  working  class  kids  from 
London's  East  End  were  discovered  in  the  early  days  of 
post-Pistols  punk  by  Sham  69  leader  Jimmy  Pursey, 
who  co-produced  their  first  album  with  Peter  Wilson. 
The  Rejects  gained  immortality  of  a  sort  on  VoL  H  by 
coining  a  name  for  UK  skinhead  rock  with  the  chanted 
refrain  of  the  song  "Oi  Oi  Oi."  VoL  3  (reasonably 
subtitled  Live  &  Loud!)  was  recorded  in  a  studio  with 
a  unnaturally  vociferous  audience  of  fans  adding  back- 
ground vocals  to  the  quartet's  fast  rock'n'roll  noise. 
Besides  songs  drawn  from  the  first  two  LPs  ("Join  the 
Rejects/'  "Bad  Man,'*  "The  Greatest  Cockney  Rip- 
off/'  "Hate  of  the  City"),  the  album  includes  a  sloppy 
rendition  of  "Motorhead." 

While  retaining  the  aggressiveness  and  spunk,  The 
Power  &  the  Glory  took  a  big  chance  by  trying  such 
experimental  ventures  as  acoustic  guitar,  melodies,  mu- 
sicianship and  semi-tasteful  artwork.  The  album  con- 
tains impressive  moments,  especially  noteworthy  given 
the  Rejects'  prior  blitzkrieg  approach.  Not  storming,  but 
their  best  effort,  and  an  LP  of  interest  not  solely  to  punk 
aficionados. 

Having  gotten  "art1'  out  of  their  systems  (and 
switching  labels),  the  Rejects'  next  move  (subsequently 
not  such  an  uncommon  gambit  for  punk  bands)  was  into 
heavy  metal.  Produced  by  UFO  bassist  Pete  Way,  The 
Wild  Ones  is  unfortunately  terrible;  although  the  dis- 
tance from  teen  punk  sludge  to  adult  metal  sludge  is  not 
very  far,  this  lot  was  much  better  suited  for  numbers  like 
"Greatest  Cockney  Ripoff." 

If  the  sound  quality  were  even  remotely  adequate, 
the  blistering  1981  London  gig  retrieved  from  the  vaults 
for  Live  and  Loud!!  would  be  a  real  humdinger.  What 
was  originally  planned  as  the  group's  VoL  3  live  album 
is  an  intense  explosion  of  classic  prole  punk,  flat-out 
renditions  of  the  Rejects'  early  repertoire  that  are  even 
more  rousing  than  those  cut  live  in  the  studio.  [i] 

COCONUTS 

See  Kid  Creole  and  the  Coconuts. 


139 


GorfoiKk  f nr/4ADJ  1 982  • 
EP  |nr/4AD)  1982 
Peppermint  Pig  EP  |nr/4AD)  1983 
Hood  Over  Heels  f  nr/4AD)  1 983  • 
Sunburst  ond  Snowbiind  EP  (nr/4AD)  1983  • 
P€»rV»D«wdrop$'  Drop  EP  |nr/4AD)  1984 
Treasure  (nr/4AD)  1 984  • 
Afaa-Gutnea  EP  (nr/4AD)  1985 
Tr«oswa/AikochGuin«a  f  Can.  Vertigo}  1 985 
Tiny  Dynamitic  EP  (nr/4AD)  1985  • 
Echoes  in  a  Shallow  Boy  EP  |nr/4AD)  1 985 
Tiny  Dyromifie/Ectioes  in  a  Shallow  Bay  (nr/4AD)  1986  • 
The  Pink  Opaque  |4AB-Reic*vily)  1 986  • 
Yidorialand  fnr/4AD)  1 986  * 
Love's  Easy  Tears  EP  |4AD»RelafrivIty}  1986  ® 
Bkm  W!  Knoll  f4AD-Coplfo!)  1988  » 
Heaven  or  la  Vegas  |4AD-Capttol)  1990  * 
kwbiink  lock  EP  f4AD-Cap»k>!)  1 990  • 
Heaven  or  las  Vegas  EP  (4AO-CapHol)  1 990  • 

HAROLD  BUDD/ELiZABETH 
FRASER/ROB1N  GUTHR1E/ 
SIMON  RAYMONDE 

m®  Moon  and  the  Melodies  f4AD-ReiaMy]  1986  » 

The  Cocteau  Twins  are  actually  a  Scottish  trio  who, 
on  their  first  album,  add  a  borrowed  drum  synthesizer  to 
vocals,  bass  and  heavily  treated  guitar,  producing  atmo- 
spheric dirges  with  rich  textures  and  little  structure.  Eliz- 
abeth Fraser's  vocals  are  essentially  tuneless,  and  the 
backing  ^oes  nowhere,  but  ifs  all  artily  agreeable 
enough  for  those  with  the  patience  to  wade  through  the 
murk  and  mire.  (The  UK  Garlands  CD  adds  a  1983 
John  Peel  radio  broadcast  and  two  previously  unreleased 
studio  tracks.) 

Bassist  Will  Heggie  then  left  (resurfacing  in  Low- 
life),  and  Simon  Raymonde  joined  Fraser  and  guitarist 
Robin  Guthrie.  Head  Over  Heels  shows  marked  im- 
provement, both  in  terms  of  songwriting  technique  and 
vocal  perfonnanees.  **  Sugar  Hiccup"  (a  different  ver- 
sion of  which  appears  on  Sunburst  and  Snow-blind )  ex- 
hibits a  stronger  melodic  sense,  and  Fraser's  voice  soars 
on  songs  like '  In  the  Gold  Dust  Rush' *  and  *  'Musette  and 
Drums. "  The  record  also  offers  more  varied  tempos;  the 
rather  Bansheelike  *  'In  Our  Angelhood'  *  rocks  more  than 
anything  the  Cocteaus  had  previously  done. 

Sunburst  and  Snowblind  is  a  strong  four-song  EP, 
well-honed  for  those  who'd  rather  meet  the  Cocteau 
Twins  in  smaller  doses.  Delicate,  precious  yet  accessi- 
ble, the  instrumental  backing  is  a  little  thinner  and  the 
vocals  more  confident.  Head  Over  Heels  and  Sunburst 
and  Snowblind  were  issued  together  on  CD  and  cassette. 

Pearly-Dewdrops'  Drop  strips  down  the  sound  a 
little  further;  "The  Spangle  Maker"  and  the  title  track 
even  forgo  much  of  the  reverb  that  permeates  their 
records.  By  this  point,  the  Cocteau  Twins  had  become 
ubiquitous  figures  in  the  alternative  record  charts  and  a 
major  live  attraction  as  well.  Treasure  stands  as  their 
finest  hour.  It  contains  no  black  and  white  sounds — just 
intriguing  shades  of  gray — immersing  the  listener  in  a 
full  range  of  emotions,  with  Fraser' s  now-powerful 
voice  alternately  full  of  sorrow,  joy,  calm  and  fury.  The 
production  is  meticulously  detailed;  increased  use  of 
keyboards  and  drums  provides  a  wider  range  of  tone 


colors.  AH  ten  diverse  tracks  work  well;  "Persephone" 
and  *4Ivo*t  are  particularly  noteworthy. 

After  Treasure,  the  Cocteaus  ran  a  little  short  on 
new  ideas.  In  1985,  they  released  three  four-song  EPs, 
Ailcea-Gtiinea  could  pass  as  outtakes  from  previous  al- 
bums, white  Tiny  Djmmmt  and  Echoes  in  a  Shallow 
Bay  are  virtually  identical,  in  cover  art  as  well  as  sound. 
On  the  following  year's  Vtetorialaiid,  almost  all  the 
instrumental  backing  is  psychedelic-tinged  treated 
acoustic  guitar.  While  that  opens  things  up  and  gives 
Fra&er's  voice  more  room,  the  material  again  recalls 
earlier  records.  Ail  of  these  works,  if  heard  individu- 
ally, are  pleasant,  effective  mood  music;  taken  as  a 
whole,  however,  they're  ail  cut  from  the  same  cloth. 

The  Moon  and  the  Melodies  enlists  pianist/ 
minimalist  composer/Eno  collaborator  Harold  Budd  and 
gives  him.  equal  billing.  Let's  just  say  that  the  results 
don't  exactly  kick  butt;  the  band's  remaining  redeeming 
feature,  Fraser's  voice,  sounds  noticeably  uninspired  on 
the  (only)  three  tracks  where  she  appears.  Those  famil- 
iar with  the  band's  recent  work,  firmly  entrenched  in  the 
dangerous  realm  of  new  age  mush,  will  know  what  this 
one  sounds  like  before  the  laser  beam  hits  the  CD. 

Love's  Easy  Tears  is  four  tracks  of  dej'a  vu.  The 
Pink  Opaque,  a  career-spanning  compilation,  was  orig- 
inally issued  as  a  British  CD;  the  vinyl  version  became 
the  band's  first  American  release.  For  Blue  BeU  Knoll, 
a  35-minute  major-label  debut,  the  band  seemed  content 
to  stick  with  its  well-defined  formula  of  pleasant,  florid 
aural  wallpaper;  the  album  is  smoothly  produced  and 
utterly  forgettable. 

Whether  it  was  Guthrie  and  Eraser's  parenthood, 
Outline's  outside  production  work  with  such  groups  as 
the  Veldt  and  Lush  or  a  visitation  from  aliens,  some- 
thing lit  a  fire  under  this  somnolent  band.  Delivered  at  a 
point  when  the  Cocteaus  were  veering  dangerously  close 
to  self-parody,  Heaven  or  Las  Vegas  reasserts  their 
artistic  respectability  and  then  some.  The  most  obvious 
shock  is  that  Fraser's  lyrics  are  in  understandable  En- 
glish (well,  at  least  part  of  the  time);  there  are  more 
actual  songs  here  than  on  their  past  half-dozen  releases 
combined.  While  the  pacing  isn't  drastically  different, 
energetic  playing,  Fraser's  deeper  range  and  new-found 
expressiveness,  and  imaginative,  less  florid  songwriting 
make  Heaven  or  Las  Vegas  the  first  Cocteau  Twins 
album  to  climb  out  of  the  trendy-muzak  bin. 

Iceblink  Luck  showcases  a  catchy  song  (with  the 
clearest  words  of  any  Twins  single  yet)  from  the  LP  and 
two  non-album  tracks,  including  the  nearly  funky 
"Watchlar."  The  Heaven  or  Las  Vegas  EP  includes 
one  non-album  track,  the  ambient  "Dials/*  [dgs/ws] 

See  also  Lowlife,  This  Mortal  Coil. 

COIL 

How  to  Destroy  Angels  EP  (Bel.  Loyloh)  1 984  • 
Scototogy  (nr/M22-Some  Bizzare)  1984  • 
The  Anal  Staircase  EP  (Some  Bizzare-Relativity)  1 987 
Horse  Rotorvotor  {Some  Bizzare-Relativity)  1 987  • 
Unreleased  Themes  from  Hellraiser  (nr/Solar  Lodge) 

1988* 
Gold  Is  the  Metal  with  the  Broadest  Shoulders 

(nr/Threshold  House)  1988  • 
Unnatural  History  (nr/Threshold  House)  1990 
Love's  Secret  Domain  (Wax  Traxl)  1991  • 


140 


Nightmare  Culture  (Bel.  Layiah)  1985 

Although  its  output  has  been  sporadic,  Coil  is  the 
most  consistently  excellent  of  the  three  groups  formed 
from  the  dissolution  of  Throbbing  Gristle.  After  TG 
disbanded  in  1981,  Peter  Qiristopherson  (keyboards, 
programming)  worked  with  Genesis  P-Orridge  in  Psy- 
chic TV,  but  split  in  1982  to  join  John  Balance  (vocals, 
percussion),  who  was  already  recording  under  the  name 
Coil.  With  frequent  help  from  Clint  (Foetus)  Rum  and 
others,  the  pair  exercises  an  obvious  fascination  with 
sonic  textures  and  sound  manipulation,  and  program 
some  mean  rhythms. 

Scatoiogy,  the  subject  of  which  is  a  strange  mix  of 
fetish,  fantasy  and  religion,  finds  Christopherson  and 
Balance  working  with  Ruin,  Stephen  Thrower  and  ex- 
Alternative  TV  guitarist  Alex  Fergusson.  Most  of  the 
tracks  are  built  around  simple  but  forceful  electronic 
percussion,  with  sampler  and  synthesizer  overdubs  add- 
ing a  mood  of  spiritual  despair  and  decaying  grandeur. 
"The  Sewage  Worker's  Birthday  Party"  uses  sampled 
guitar  feedback  to  create  a  melancholy  mood  piece  of 
shocking  beauty,  showcasing  the  group's  skill  at  audio 
sculpture. 

With  far  richer  production  and  almost  none  of  Sca- 
tology's  heavy  rhythms,  Horse  Rotorvator  (which  con- 
tains two  of  The  Anal  Staircase's  three  cuts)  is  a 
melange  of  electronic  tone  poems  of  varying  textures  and 
styles,  from  haunting  drones  to  film  noir  jazz  (complete 
with  a  Clint  Ruin  horn  section)  to  quasi-Middle  Eastern/ 
African  modalities.  Rather  than  falling  into  the  trap  of 
making  an  academic  exercise  of  the  whole  thing,  though, 
Coil  breathes  life  into  the  proceedings  with  upfront 
spoken/sung  vocals  and  the  use  of  acoustic  instruments. 

Composed  for — but  not  used  in — Clive  Barker's 
1987  horror  film,  Unreleased  Themes  from  Helbwser 
contains  some  of  the  best  mood  music  recorded  during 
the  1980s,  slowly  building  layers  of  awesome  creepi- 
ness.  One  side  contains  eleven  short  bits  of  incidental 
music,  some  of  which  are  quite  good,  but  most  are  too 
brief  to  leave  a  lasting  impression. 

Gold  Is  the  Metal  with  the  Broadest  Shoulders 
collects  outtakes  and  alternate  versions  of  material  from 
HeUraiser,  Horse  Rotorvator,  Scatology,  plus  tracks 
from  some  of  the  many  compilations  on  which  Coil  has 
appeared.  While  it  doesn't  hang  together  as  well  as  the 
other  albums,  most  of  the  eighteen  tracks  are  well  worth 
hearing.  The  versions  here  are  often  quite  different — 
and  sometimes  notably  better — than  the  originals.  If 
nothing  else,  Gold  offers  an  overview  of  Coil's  history, 
from  simplicity  to  sophistication. 

Unnatural  History  assembles  more  ephemera  from 
the  Coil  archives.  The  first  three  tracks,  recorded  with 
Boyd  Rice,  were  originally  released  as  one  side  of  the 
Nightmare  Culture  album  (shared  with  Current  93), 
and  present  a  strange  combination  of  noise  experiments, 
Casio  ditties  and  atmospherics.  The  collection  also  in- 
cludes seventeen  minutes  of  ambient  gong  music,  de- 
signed "for  the  accumulation  of  male  sexual  energy," 
that  initially  appeared  as  a  one-sided  1984  EP,  How  to 
Destroy  Angels. 

Love's  Secret  Domain  makes  some  acknowledg- 
ment of  related  trends  in  modern  music,  with  hip-hop 
scratching,  acid  house  beats  and  other  contemporary 


sounds  thrown  into  the  band's  am- 
bient experiments.  ( The  is  vin- 
tage Kraftwerk,  which  oae  ) 
Wliile  the  LP  is  occasionally  ear-catching.  Coil  to 
be  rather  short  on  striking  and  creative  this 
time  out,  and  a  lot  of  the  LP  by  too  to 
notice.  [sl'dgsril 
See  also  Psychic  TV,  Gristle. 


See  Zoogz  Rift. 

Whof  s  That  Noise?  f  or/Ahead  of  Our  Time-Big  lifej 

1 989  (Tommy  Boy-Reprise)  1 989  • 

London  DJs  Matt  Black  and  Jonathan  More  were  at 
the  vanguard  of  the  British  warehouse  party  scene,  and 
their  dissection  of  popular  dance  music  into  "bootleg" 
records  full  of  samples  made  them  a  name  on  trendset- 
ters' lips  from  the  start.  Yet  had  these  collagists  never 
done  anything  after  pairing  the  wailing  of  Ofra  Haza  to 
the  slinky  bass  riff  of  Eric  B,  &  Rakim's  "Paid  in  Full" 
(on  a  commissioned  remix  of  that  number,  some  of 
which  later  ended  up  on  M/A/R/R/S'  "Pump  Up  the 
Volume"  and  is  heard  in  a  non-vocal  form  on  What's 
That  Noise?),  they'd  still  have  an  enduring  place  in 
music  history. 

When  the  duo  pulled  in  then-unknown  singer  Yazz 
to  add  celebratory  vocals  to  their  dance-floor  cut  "Doc- 
torin*  the  House,"  Coldcut  hit  on  a  winning  formula 
and  became  major  instigators  of  the  acid  house  scene.  A 
Top  10  British  hit  in  early  1988  and  a  classic  of  its  time, 
the  song  didn't  make  it  onto  the  US  version  of  the  duo's 
debut  album  (it  had  previously  been  issued  Stateside  on 
a  different  label);  the  improvement  in  the  US  release  is 
the  addition  of  Queen  Latifah's  vocals  to  * 'Smoke  Dis 
One.  * '  If  Coldcut  should  be  noted  for  anything,  it's  their 
impeccable  taste  in  singers:  Junior  Reid  ("Stop  This 
Crazy  Thing"),  Lisa  Stansfield  ("People  Hold  On") 
and  Mark  E.  Smith  ("(I'm)  In  Deep")  of  the  Fall,  who 
then  proceeded  to  cover  the  album's  "My  Telephone" 
as  "Telephone  Thing."  In  between  the  vocal  tracks  are 
various  "Beats  &  Pieces,"  as  one  title  has  it:  samples, 
melodies  and  grooves  that  help  flesh  out  What's  That 
Noise?,  a  patchy  but  generally  rewarding  debut,  [tf/gk] 

JUDE  COLE 

See  Records. 


LLOYD  COLE  AND  THE 
COMMOTIONS 

Rattlesnakes  (Geffen)  1 984  (Capitol)  1988  • 
Easy  Pieces  (Geffen)  1985  (Capitol)  1988  • 
Mainstream  (nr/Polydor)  1987  (Capitol)  1987  • 
1 984-1989  (Capitol)  1989  • 

LLOYD  COLE 

Lloyd  Cole  (Capitol)  1 990  • 

Bursting  with  promise  as  both  singer  and  writer  on 
his  first  LP,  Scotland's  Lloyd  Cole  puts  the  post-beatnik 
lyrical  outlook  of  a  young  Bob  Dylan  to  textured  back- 


141 


ing.  Rattlesnakes*  strength  lies  in  Cole's  well- 
constructed  folk-rock  tunes  and  casually  emotive  vocals; 
the  four  Commotions  make  a  tight,  talented  unit  capable 
of  subtlety  and  power  in  many  voices.  Cole's  prose 
occasionally  overreaches  (but  never  by  much);  lyrics 
that  hit  their  mark  do  so  sharply.  Those  hypersensitive 
to  creeping  Dylanitis  will  find  Rattlesnakes  a  bit  hard  to 
accept;  openminded  adventurers  will  be  immediately  en- 
grossed. 

Easy  Pieces,  smoothly  produced  by  Langer/ 
Winstanley,  succumbs  to  hazards  threatened  on  the  first 
LP.  While  the  solid  band  remains  unprepossessing, 
Cole's  vocals  are  overly  stylized;  quoting  Bolan  and  the 
Beatles,  his  lyrics  veer  towards  meaningless  self- 
importance.  Given  that  it's  not  strikingly  different  from 
Rattlesnakes,  Easy  Pieces  makes  you  wonder  why  you 
liked  the  band  in  the  first  place.  (The  CD  has  three  extra 
tracks.) 

Cole  regained  his  footing  and  momentum  on  Main- 
stream: factoring  in  maturity  and  experience  (his  and 
the  band's),  it  actually  winds  up  a  better  album  than  the 
first.  Subtly  cast  and  deftly  played  arrangements  that 
range  from  Aztec  Camera  airiness  to  fieshed-out  light 
rock  keep  songs  like  "Sean  Penn  Blues"  and  "Mister 
Malcontent"  from  drifting  into  ponderousness;  Cole's 
affecting  singing  is  likewise  finely  wrought.  The  shim- 
mering "From  the  Hip"  and  "Hey  Rusty,"  an  ace  song 
that  builds  tension  slowly,  are  highlights  of  this  wel- 
come return. 

Moving  to  New  York  without  the  Commotions,  Cole 
put  the  band  concept  in  his  past  with  1984-1989.  The 
compilation  contains  four  cuts  from  each  of  the  three 
albums  plus  a  couple  of  non-LP  B-sides — a  decent  ret- 
rospective, but  it  would  have  been  better  to  pick  the  best 
songs  overall  rather  than  give  each  record  equal  repre- 
sentation. 

For  his  solo  debut,  Cole  reunited  with  Commotion 
keyboardist  Blair  Cowan  (who'd  left  after  Mainstream, 
and  thus  didn't  miss  any  of  Cole's  recordings)  and 
hooked  up  with  Bob  Quine  and  Fred  Maher,  early  '80s 
cohorts  of  another  major  Cole  influence,  Lou  Reed. 
(The  album's  bassist  is  Matthew  Sweet. )  Though  there's 
no  great  stylistic  difference  between  Lloyd  Cole  and 
his  Commotions  work,  Maher' s  way  with  a  groove 
helps  Cole  to  swing  just  a  bit  freer  than  before,  making 
this  Ms  warmest,  most  personal  and  confident  outing  to 
date. 

Bloomsday,  a  band  formed  by  two  ex-Commo- 
tions— guitarist  Neil  Clark  and  drummer  Stephen 
Irvine — surfaced  in  1990.  [i/ds] 


EDWYN  COLLINS 

See  Orange  Juice. 

HENRIETTA  COLLINS  AND  THE 
WIFEBEATING  CHILDHATERS 

See  Henry  Rollins. 


NICOLAS  COLLINS 

See  Band  of  Susans. 


PAUL  COLLINS'  BEAT 

See  Beta. 

CHRISTINE  COLLISTER 

See  dive  Gregson, 

COLORBLIND  JAMES 
EXPERIENCE 

The  Colorblind  James  Experience  (Earring)  1987 

( Fundamental)  1987® 
Why  Should  I  Stand  Up?  fnr/Death  Valley-Cooking 

Vinyl)  1 989  (Death  Valley-Cooking  Vinyl-Gold  Castle) 

1990* 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 989  » 

COLORBLIND  JAMES  AND  THE 
DEATH  VALLEY  BOYS 

Strange  Sounds  from  the  Basement  (nr/Death 

Valley-Cooking  Vinyl)  1990 

The  Colorblind  lames  Experience  sounds  like  a 
polka  band  on  an  acid  trip,  which  is  to  say  that  this  wild 
bunch  from  Rochester,  New  York  isn't  like  too  many 
other  bands  in  your  record  collection.  But  how  to  de- 
scribe them  .  .  .  The  Jazz  Butcher  meets  Guy  Clark? 
Robyn  Hitchcock  falls  Asleep  at  the  Wheel?  Or  maybe 
as  the  group  that  picked  up  where  the  Bonzo  Dog  Band's 
"Rhinocratic  Oaths"  left  off?  How  about  just  saying 
they're  unique,  silly,  surreal  and  wonderful. 

On  the  self-titled  debut,  the  Experience  is  a  quartet 
led  by  the  estimable  Mr.  James,  who  sings,  talks  and 
plays  a  mean  vibraphone  (and  some  guitar  to  boot).  The 
album  pretty  much  lays  the  groundwork  for  everything 
to  come,  as  Colorblind  delivers  his  story-songs  over 
repetitious-but-very-spnghtly  figures,  containing  hints 
of  country,  blues,  lounge  jazz,  polka  and  Tex-Mex  in 
assorted  permutations  and  combinations.  The  whole  en- 
terprise reaches  its  pinnacle  on  "  Considering  a  Move  to 
Memphis,"  wherein  James  ponders  the  consequences  of 
relocation  ( "I'm  considering  a  move  to  Memphis/That's 
Memphis,  Tennessee/It  worked  for  Elvis  Presley/Why 
can't  it  work  for  me?").  "Dance  Critters"  and  "Gravel 
Roads"  explore  the  group's  country  side,  while  other 
numbers  concern  a  visit  by  some  German  girls,  camel 
walking,  an  inept  circus  attendant  and  more. 

With  the  addition  of  two  horn  players,  the  Experi- 
ence expanded  to  six  pieces  on  Why  Should  I  Stand 
Up?,  but  the  general  formula  remains  the  same.  If  any- 
thing, the  album  is  a  little  more  country  flavored  than  its 
predecessor,  but  there's  also  plenty  of  polka  and  even 
some  rock'n'roll.  (Though  not  on  a  song  called  "Rock- 
in'  as  Fast  as  I  Can,"  about  James'  confrontation  with 
angry  fans  shouting  "Let's  Rock!"  at  him.)  Once  again, 
it's  the  twisted  songs  that'll  get  ya. 

The  Peel  session,  recorded  in  '88,  features  two  songs 
from  Why  Should  I  Stand  Up?  and  a  couple  of  non- 
album  tracks.  Easy  to  skip. 

Strange  Sounds  from  the  Basement  finds  Color- 
blind and  crew  (now  dubbed  the  Death  Valley  Boys, 
even  though  the  only  personnel  change  from  the  last 
Experience  album  is  one  trombonist)  delving  further 
into  the  country  side  of  things,  and  relying  more  on 
traditional  verse-chorus  song  structures  than  on  ad  in- 
finitum  repetition.  Fortunately,  the  wit  and  bizarre  sub- 
ject matter  remain  unchanged.  [ds] 


142 


COLOR  ME  GONE 

See  Marti  Jones, 


Coloucbox  EP  fnr/4ADJ  1983  ® 
Coiowrbox  (nr/4AD)  1985  ® 

Although  this  London  trio's  music  is  not  particularly 
avant-garde,  the  group  does  fit  in  with  the  uncompro- 
mising 4AD  family  due  to  their  steadfast  determination 
to  totally  redefine  a  musical  style.  Instrumentalists  Mar- 
tyn  and  brother  Steven  Young,  along  with  vocalist 
Lorita  Grahame,  take  soul  places  it's  never  been — and 
is  unlikely  to  go  again. 

The  eponymous  EP — three  hours  of  sessions  edited 
down  to  a  half-hour  of  hip-hop/scratch  and  reggae/dub 
experiments,  with  a  graphic  depiction  of  horses  mating 
on  the  cover — largely  earned  its  negative  reception.  The 
Colourtoox  LP,  however,  is  a  vast  improvement,  an 
eclectic  display  that  embraces  the  entire  realm  of  dance 
music:  reggae,  vibrant  industrial,  hardVheavy  funk, 
'50s  R&B.  Screeching  guitar  on  the  near-metal  ** Ma- 
niac11 segues  into  the  highlight,  a  sparkling  remake  of 
the  Supremes'  "You  Keep  Me  Hanging  On,"  (The  cas- 
sette of  Colourbox  is  double-length,  adding  an  LP's 
worth  of  remixes;  initial  quantities  of  the  LP  contained 
the  same  on  a  bonus  disc.) 

Other  than  the  occasional  one-off  single,  Coiourbox 
remained  unexpectedly  dormant  following  the  release  of 
its  LP.  However,  Steven  and  Martyn  did  achieve  noto- 
riety in  1987  due  to  their  role  in  M/A/R/R/S  (the  "S" 
for  Steven  and  the  "M"  for  Martyn;  the  A  and  R  come 
from  the  two  members  of  A  R  Kane),  the  studio  con- 
coction responsible  for  the  massively  influential  club 
smash  "Pump  Up  the  Volume."  [ag] 

COLOUR  FIELD 

Virgins  and  Philistines  (Chrysalis)  1 985  « 
The  Colour  Reid  EP  (Chrysalis)  1986 
Deception  (Chrysalis)  1 987  • 

TERRY,  BLAIR  AND  ANOUCHKA 

Ultra  Modem  Nursery  Rhymes  (nr/Chrysalis)  1 989  • 

Vocalist  Terry  Hall's  post-Fun  Boy  Three  band 
started  out  slowly,  with  just  an  eponymous  single  in 
1984.  But  the  trio's  first  album  a  year  later  was  well 
worth  the  wait.  Virgins  and  Philistines  kicks  off  bril- 
liantly with  the  mock- "96  Tears*'  organ  intro  to  "Can't 
Get  Enough  of  You  Baby/'  itself  a  fine  imitation  of 
Georgie  Fame-era  beat  music.  The  music  mixes  its  met- 
aphors, from  stripped-down  Fun  Boys  rock  to  samba, 
folk  and  jazzy  '60s  R&B;  Hall's  sharp  tongue  and  the 
band's  intelligent  creativity  make  each  track  different. 
Of  special  note:  a  shimmering  acoustic  version  of  the 
Roches*  "Hammond  Song"  and  "Pushing  Up  Dai- 
sies," a  vicious  condemnation  of  celebrity.  Drama, 
beauty,  ideas  and  energy  make  Virgins  and  Philistines 
provocative,  stylish  and  memorable. 

The  EP — unveiling  an  expanded  four-piece  lineup — 
contains  a  pair  of  live  cuts  ("Pushing  Up  Daisies"  and 
"Yours  Sincerely")  plus  four  excellent  new  tracks,  in- 
cluding the  memorable  "Faint  Hearts,"  an  almost  psy- 
chedelic folk  tune,  and  "Things  Could  Be  Beautiful,"  a 
soulful  rocker. 


Hall  is  the  only  OR  the 

Deception,  a  md  Lf  thai 

employs  a  a  player 

and  Tears  for  Fears 

Richard  Gottefarer  misplaces  the  stylistic  vari- 

ety and  energ>  thai  previously  the  leav- 

ing pale  jazzy  support—  a  less 

constipated  Dream  Academy — for  Hall's 
cally  wispy  sieging,  The  ( "Badlands;'  "Con- 

fession," Boyce/Harfs  "She"  I  isn't  bad,  but  the 
arrangements  leave  Hail  moaning  up  the  tree. 

Ultra  Modem  Nursery  — the  first 

by  Hall's  new  trio  with  Blair  Booth  (vocals/keyboards) 
and  Anouchka  Groce  (guitar/vocals) —  his  usual 

lyrical  dyspepsia  in  superficially  simple  light  pop  music 
that's  too  subtle  for  its  own  good.  While  several 
recall  the  Fun  Boys'  old  partnership  with  BananaiBina 
(minus  the  rhythmic  intensity),  there  are  fewer  echoes 
of  Hall's  subsequent  adventures:  the  faint  accents  here 
are  Dixieland,  swing  and  Latin.  Booth,  who  shares 
songwriting  and  lead  vocals,  is  a  versatile,  sympathetic 
collaborator,  but  the  album  is  a  bit  down-tfie-middle 
dull,  lacking  any  strong  stylistic  personality.  After  years 
of  making  music  neck-deep  in  atmosphere,  Hall  isn't 
served  well  by  such  understatement;  as  pleasant  as  these 
tunes  are,  none  of  them  has  the  memorable  mettle  of  Ms 
best.  fi] 

See  also  Fun  Boy  Three,  Specials. 


SHAWN  COLV1N 

Lfve  Tape  [tape]  1988 
Steady  On  (Columbia)  1 989  * 

The  career  of  this  South  Dakota-born  New  Yorker 
offers  an  object  lesson  in  the  danger  of  major  labels. 
Colvin's  eight-song  Live  Tape,  recorded  in  Massachu- 
setts in  1988,  is  as  enchanting  a  collection  of  acoustic 
songs  as  one  could  imagine.  Accompanying  her  extraor- 
dinary pipes  with  just  a  guitar,  Colvin  hurls  herself  into 
folky  material  with  an  utterly  distinctive,  jazzy  voice 
that  flutters  and  swoops  in  a  most  affecting  way.  And 
aside  from  occasional  forays  into  the  Joni  Mitchell/ 
Suzanne  Vega  school  of  precious,  self-indulgent  lyrics, 
each  of  these  eight  songs  is  haumtingly,  simply  beauti- 
ful. 

So  what  happened?  Featuring  new  versions  of  six 
Live  Tape  songs,  Steady  On  is  bland,  overproduced, 
radio-ready  drivel.  Vega  producer  Steve  Addabbo  and 
John  Leventhal  (Colvin*  s  songwriting  partner  and  gui- 
tarist) layer  on  schlocky  session  playing  and  synthesiz- 
ers to  the  point  where  the  individuality  of  Colvin's  voice 
and  songs  is  all  but  lost. 

Colvin  sang  backup  on  "Luka,"  and  Vega  returns 
the  favor  here.  It's  ironic  that  while  Colvin  has  more 
vocal  range  and  expressiveness,  not  to  mention  melodic 
imagination,  than  Vega,  Steady  On  attempts  to  emulate 
her.  It's  also  worth  noting  that  "Another  Long  One," 
the  one  track  Colvin  produced  by  herself,  is  the  album's 
sparest  and  most  moving  moment.  [ws] 

COMATEENS 

Comateens  (Cachalot)  1981 

Pictures  on  a  String  (Virgin-Mercury)  1 983 

Deal  with  It  (Virgin-Mercury)  1 984 


143 


This  New  York  trio  played  a  bouncy  brand  of  dance 
rock  rooted  in  chintzy  '60s  Farfisa  organ  pop  and  spooky 
horror-movie  soundtrack  music.  The  group  first  gamed 
recognition  in  1979  with  a  homemade  single  that  fea- 
tured a  stripped-down  version  of  Bowie's  *TVC  15," 
which  they  re-recorded  for  their  first  UP.  After  a  number 
of  personnel  changes,  the  lineup  solidified  at  Lyn  Byrd 
( keyboards ),  Oliver  North  ( guitar,  not  international  sub- 
terfuge), Nic  North  (bass)  and  synthetic  drums.  Oma- 
teens  Is  a  delightful  distillation  of  the  aforementioned 
influences,  with  neat  contrasts  between  the  thin- 
sounding  synth  fills  and  the  chunky,  rhythmic  guitar. 
There's  also  a  three-track  12-inch— on  the  same 
label — of  the  hypnotic  "Ghosts/*  the  pure  pop  "Late 
Night  City"  and  the  theme  for  TV's  The  Munsters, 
which  pretty  much  sums  up  the  Comateens'  music. 

Signed  to  a  major  label,  the  Comateens  made  Pic- 
tores  ©a  a  String,  which  diverges  into  rock  quirkmess 
and  danceable  commercialism,  pushing  a  powerful  disco 
beat  on  "Get  off  My  Case,"  "Cinnamon"  and  other 
numbers.  The  rock-oriented  material,  especially  the 
Beatlesque  "Comateens/'  with  its  awesome  fuzz- 
blizzard  guitar  solo,  and  a  weird  overdrive  cover  of  the 
oldie  "Uptown/'  are  more  intriguing;  the  dance  tracks 
don't  really  go  anywhere. 

With  a  guest  drummer  and  veteran  hitmaker  Pete 
Solley  producing,  Deal  with  It  sublimates  the  big  beat 
into  various  styles,  much  the  way  Blondie  often  did. 
Rather  than  base  tunes  on  rhythms,  these  songs  explore 
widely  differing  pop  modes,  welded  to  strong,  empha- 
sized drum  tracks,  resulting  in  a  fascinating  mix  full  of 
unexpected,  delightful  juxtapositions.  This  is  the  album 
that  finally  and  fully  realizes  the  Comateens'  hybridiz- 
ing potential. 

After  Oliver  North's  death  in  1987,  Nic  North  and 
Lyn  Byrd  continued  to  work  together,  recording  for 
French  Virgin  under  the  name  of  West  &  Byrd.  [ds/i] 

COMMUNARDS 

Communards  (london-MCA)  1986  • 
Red  (London-MCA)  1987  • 

JIMMY  SOMERVILLE 

Read  My  Lips  (nr/london)  1 989  (London)  1990  • 
The  Singles  Collection  1 984/1 990  (nr/London)  1 990 

(London)  1991  • 

When  Scottish-born  falsetto  vocalist  Jimmy  Somer- 
ville  split  from  Bronski  Beat  in  1985  and  formed  the 
Communards  with  classically  trained  pianist  Richard 
Coles,  many  assumed  the  new  group  would  take  an  even 
more  determined  political  stance  than  the  Bronskis'  gay 
activism.  Indeed,  the  pair  participates  in  the  Socialist 
Red  Wedge  movement  but,  graphics  aside,  you'd  never 
know  it  from  their  records. 

The  first  track  on  Communards  is  an  over-the-top 
hi-NRG  remake  of  * 'Don't  Leave  Me  This  Way," 
Thelma  Houston's  1977  hit;  the  remainder  mixes  boring 
dance  music  with  overly  precious  arrangements  (strings, 
horns  and  the  orchestral  kitchen  sink  in  spots)  of  songs 
that  occasionally  lean  towards  light  opera.  Except  for 
those  whose  homophobia  intrudes,  the  lyrics  about  sex 
and  romance  are  merely  tired  and  trivial.  Worse,  the 
group's  best  asset  is  squandered:  Somerville's  inimita- 
ble voice  is  totally  unsuited  for  this  halfbaked  material. 
(The  CD  adds  a  song  and  a  remix.) 


Endorsing  disco's  ongoing  commercial  viability,  the 
duo  did  a  breathless  \ersion  of  *  "Never  Can  Say  Good- 
bye" (following  Gloria  Gaynor's  interpretation,  not  the 
Jacksons)  on  Red,  a  thoughtful,  melodic  album  that  is 
as  likable  as  the  first  is  cloying.  Stephen  Hague's 
keyboard-oriented  Eurodance  production  (half  of  the 
record;  Somerville  and  Coles  did  the  rest)  is  more  con- 
ducive to  the  much  improved  material,  trimming  the 
rococo  excess  for  a  slicker,  more  appealing  sound. 

By  the  end  of  1987,  the  format-happy  duo  had  is- 
sued 34  discrete  singles  and  EPs.  The  deluge  persevered 
until  Somerville  quit  to  go  solo. 

While  reasserting  his  outspoken  social  and  political 
stance,  Somerville's  first  solo  album  maintains  the  non- 
stop modem  dance  momentum  with  catchy  percolating 
hi-NRG  grooves  (played  and  produced  by  a  variety  of 
collaborators,  including  Hague  and  Steve  Parr)  over 
which  he  engagingly  delivers  romantic  lyrics  of  love 
and  loss.  (The  album  also  includes  a  version  of  Sylvest- 
er's "You  Make  Me  Feel  (Mighty  Real)"  and  a  French 
number  which  Somerville  does  twice.)  The  anthemic 
and  catchy  "Read  My  Lips  (Enough  Is  Enough)"  spe- 
cifically addresses  the  fight  against  AIDS;  "And  You 
Never  Thought  That  This  Could  Happen  to  You"  art- 
fully makes  a  gay-rights  statement.  Using  the  combined 
power  of  dance  and  pop  to  argue  for  rational  behavior 
could  be  nightmarish,  but  Somerville  pulls  it  off  with 
amazing  skill. 

Covering  all  three  phases  (and  four  albums)  of  Som- 
erville's career  to  date,  The  Singles  Collection  begins 
with  "Smalltown  Boy"  and  ends  with  "Read  My 
Lips,"  sandwiching  fifteen  tracks  by  the  Bronskis, 
Communards  and  JS  solo  in  between.  The  only  non-LP 
tune  is  a  lovely  soul-reggae  cover  of  the  Bee  Gees'  "To 
Love  Somebody."  [i] 

COMPTON'S  MOST  WANTED 

If  s  a  Compton  Thang!  (Orpheus)  1 990  • 

This  interracial  quartet  (two  rappers,  two  writer/ 
producers)  from  NWA's  'hood  runs  its  low-key  cold 
gangster  raps  (available  in  both  explicit  and  expurgated 
editions)  in  a  relentless  stream  of  B-boy  slang  over 
swaying  funky  soul  grooves.  Beyond  the  high  quality  of 
the  beats,  It's  a  Compton  Thang!  seems  like  the  over- 
anxious work  of  kid  brothers  trying  to  catch  up  with  the 
big  boys.  CMW  are  a  talented  crew  (check  the  kitchen 
sink  production  of  the  intense  "I  Give  Up  Nuthin' ' ) ,  but 
if  they  weren't  trying  so  hard  to  prove  how  cool  they 
feel,  they  might  find  out  just  how  cool  they  are.  [i] 

COMSAT  ANGELS 

Red  Planet  EP  (nr/Junta)  1 979 

Waiting  for  a  Miracle  (nr/Polydor)  1 980 

Eye  of  the  Lens  EP  (nr/Polydor)  1981 

Sleep  No  More  (nr/Polydor)  1981 

Fiction  (nr/Polydor)  1 982 

Land  (Jive)  1983 

Independence  Day  EP  (nr/Jive)  1984 

Enz  (nr/Polydor)  1984 

7  Day  Weekend  (Jive)  1 985 

Chasing  Shadows  (Island)  1 987  • 

DREAM  COMMAND 

Fire  on  the  Moon  (Island)  1 990 


144 


Like  Joy  Division  and  the  Cure,  Sheffield's  Com- 
sat Angels  mastered  the  art  of  atmospherics;  only 
nominally  involved  in  rock'n'roll  at  the  outset,  they 
were  actually  interested  in  creating  haunting  mood  mu- 
sic. Firm  beats  play  against  melancholy  melodies  and 
hushed  vocals  to  create  the  impression  of  eavesdrop- 
ping on  someone's  inner  turmoil,  an  approach  which 
is  morosely  fascinating  on  Waiting  for  a  Mlracte 
(hailed  in  one  UK  paper  as  the  greatest  debut  LP  of  all 
time,  it  remains  a  stunning  masterwork)  and  tunes  like 
"Total  War"  and  'Independence  Day"  (both  included 
live  on  the  1984  EP). 

The  Eye  of  the  Lens  1 2-inch  consists  of  four  non-LP 
cuts  (one  later  re-recorded  for  Sleep  N©  More;  the  other 
three  compiled  on  the  EBZ  collection)  highlighted  by  the 
surprisingly  straight  driving  title  track,  one  of  the  heavi- 
est recordings  of  the  group's  career.  The  rest  are  dark, 
smoky  and  blood-curdling,  a  prelude  to  the  second  al- 
bum. The  Comsats  at  their  best. 

Sleep  No  More  is  a  tightly  wound  hotbed  of  ten- 
sion, frayed  edges,  shattered  nerves  and  spilled  coffee. 
Although  criticized  for  its  bleakness,  its  dark  and  dis- 
turbing tone,  this  is  a  fascinating,  underrated  and  often 
misunderstood  work,  ambitious  rather  than  accommo- 
dating or  immediately  accessible. 

On  the  quartet's  next  album,  Fiction,  an  unsettling 
sense  of  tension  underlies  Stephen  Fellows'  dejected 
vocals  and  guitar  on  "Ju-Ju  Money"  and  "Zinger." 
However,  even  this  artistic  success  raises  questions 
about  how  much  longer  the  band  could  prosper  working 
in  such  a  seemingly  uncommercial  style. 

They  did  attempt  to  expand,  trying  their  hand  in  the 
synth-pop  market,  a  radical  departure.  Switching  labels 
and  getting  their  first  American  release,  the  Comsat  An- 
gels were  forced  to  use  the  name  C.S.  Angels  for  the 
US.  Land,  produced  by  Mike  Howlett,  fails  ui  an  effort 
to  cast  them  as  a  variant  on  A  Flock  of  Seagulls,  but  it 
does  contain  a  number  of  upbeat,  memorable  tunes  that 
resemble  a  poppier,  less  serious  Simple  Minds,  The 
subsequent  EP  takes  two  good  songs  off  the  LP  and  adds 
three  early  tracks;  Enz  is  a  compilation  of  pre-Jive  re- 
leases. * 

The  liner  notes  on  the  back  cover  of  7  Day  Week- 
end are  downright  sad  ( '  *  We  had  a  stretch  of  good  luck, 
which  rapidly  turned  into  bad  .  .  .");  the  music  fortu- 
nately is  more  self-assured  and  dignified.  Produced  var- 
iously by  the  totally  dissimilar  James  Mtume,  Chris 
Tsangarides  and  Mike  Howlett,  there  is  scant  sonic  con- 
tinuity, but  that  causes  overall  little  damage. 

Dissatisfied  with  their  musical  progress,  the  Com- 
sats retrenched,  switched  labels  (Island  signed  them  on 
the  advice  of  singer  Robert  Palmer)  and  totally  aban- 
doned their  four-year  synth-pop  experiment.  Chasing 
Shadows  picks  up  where  Fiction  left  off  (in  fact,  the 
group  has  called  it  their  fourth  LP),  with  the  return  of 
thudding  drums,  booming  bass  and  echo  guitar,  while 
mixing  in  some  of  the  poppier  melodies  of  the  better 
tracks  on  Land  and  7  Day  Weekend.  If  not  nearly  as 
impressive  as  the  early  LPs,  it's  still  a  strong  record 
with  a  few  choice  cuts,  the  best  being  "Under  the  In- 
fluence." 

Finally  tiring  of  the  name  game,  Comsat  Angels 
became  Dream  Command  in  *89.  Unfortunately,  the 
first  album  released  under  this  new  moniker  is  some- 
thing of  a  dud.  While  the  band's  songwriting  touch  is 


still  on  "Venus  Hunter,™  **Reacli  for  Me/' 

"Whirlwind* *  aad  Power,"  the  is 

drowned  in  a  en- 

heard  even  during  the  nud-'SOs  ifrork.     fjy(ji"l 


Concrete  (IRS)  1 987  * 

FrwsffRS!  1989* 

(IRS)  1990* 

DREAM  6 

Dream  6  EP  (Hoppy  1 9B3 

Earle  and  Jim  ManJcey  were,  respectively,  the  orig- 
inal guitarist  and  bassist  in  Halfnelson/Sparks.  When 
the  band* s  other  pair  of  brothers  left  for  without 

them,  Etrle  wasted  no  time  in  becoming  a  well-known 
record  producer.  It  took  Jim  a  lot  longer  to  re-enter  the 
spotlight,  but  Concrete  Blonde  proved,  tt  least  commer- 
cially, to  be  worth  the  wait. 

Jim's  collaboration  with  singer/bassist  Joanette  Na- 
politaao  began  in  Dream  6,  whose  six-song  12-inch 
EP  (co-produced  by  Earle)  is  an  intriguing,  unassum- 
ing item.  Using  the  same  organizational  chart  as  the 
Police,  Dream  6  draws  on  various  styles,  offering  little 
personality  besides  the  vocals,  which  are  plain  but 
pleasant. 

Replacing  drummer  MIcheal  Murphy  with  Hairy 
Rushakoff ,  Dream  6  became  Concrete  Blonde  and  re- 
leased a  terrible  album  that  sounds  like  half-finished 
demos  no  one  with  ears  would  give  a  second  listen. 
Napolitano's  untrained  voice  is  remarkably  unattractive 
(especially  when  she  tries  too  hard  to  ape  Chrissie 
Hynde);  the  guitar  work  (Mankey  and  Napolitano)  im- 
itates everyone  from  Mark  Knopfler  to  Andy  Summers 
on  duff  songs  that  thrust  along  with  neither  focus  nor 
flak.  Even  George  Harrison's  * 'Beware  of  Darkness"  is 
left  for  dead  in  a  pointless  cover  version. 

Expanding  to  a  quartet,  Concrete  Blonde — well  on 
its  way  to  becoming  NapoEtano's  showcase — made  the 
better-sounding  Free,  a  loud,  textured  rock  record  with 
clunky  dramming  and  occasionally  overzealous  singing. 
Hie  weak  material  seems  to  spring  from  a  late-*60s 
ex-hippie  sensibility,  an  impression  that  isn't  discour- 
aged by  the  Phil  Lynott  cover  ( "It's  Only  Money"),  the 
1970  Leon  Russell  quote  reproduced  on  the  inner  sleeve 
or  the  run-off  grooves*  yippie  exhortations.  The  two 
songs  that  stand  out  are  the  sweet  and  catchy  "Happy 
Birthday"  and  the  grave  stylistic  miscalculation  of 
"Roses  Grow,"  a  bizarre,  inept  stab  at  rap. 

The  third  incarnation  of  Concrete  Blonde  finds  Na- 
politano  (now  taking  sole  songwriting  credit)  and 
Mankey  joined  only  by  ex-Roxy  Music  drummer  Paul 
Thompson.  Erstwhile  metal  producer  Chris  Tsan- 
garides makes  a  tentative  attempt  to  move  the  group 
towards  mainstream  rock  on  Bloodletting,  roughing 
up  and  punching  up  the  sound  a  bit,  adding  instrumen- 
tal and  vocal  layers  without  appreciably  raising  the 
band's  volume.  But  the  songs—almost  all  of  which 
are  about  a  recently  failed  relationship — haven't  got 
the  melodic  content  to  hold  the  charge.  The  closest 
this  record  comes  to  Top  40  power  is  "Joey,"  a 
Heart-like  ballad  that  rewrites  "Love  Hurts"  with 
some  really  heinous  lyrics.  [i] 

See  also  Sparks, 


145 


INVISIBLE 

See  Doll  b\  Doll, 


CONFLICT 

Live  of  the  Cenfro  Iberico  EP  fnr/Xnfrix}  1982 

f  nr/Mortorhatel  1 984 

If  s  Tim©  to  See  Who's  Who  f  nr/Corpys  Christi)  1 983 
To  a  Nation  ol  Animal  Lovers  EP  for/Corpus  Christ!)  1983 
The  Serenade  is  Dead  EP  fnr/MortarhateJ  1984 
increase  the  Pressure  (nr/Mortorbate)  1984 
The  Ungovernable  Force  (nr/Mortarhate)  1 986 
Only  Stupid  Bastards  Help  EMI  (rar/New  Army)  1986 
Turning  Rebellion  into  Money  (Mortarhate-Roogh  Trade) 

1987 

The  Final  Conflict  (nr/Mortarhafe)  1989 
Standard  Issue  82-87  f nr/Mortarfwfe)  1 989 
Against  All  Odds  f  nr/Mortarhate)  1 989 

Fm  not  sure  what  to  think  about  the  music  of  a  band 
that  informs  me  that  "three  members  are  vegetarians" 
and  then  tattles  on  the  one — Paco — who  isn't.  The 
sleeve  of  the  second  album  by  these  Crass-family  Anglo- 
anarchists  (Steve  Ignorant,  who  became,  along  with 
malnman  Colin  Jerwood,  one  of  Conflict's  three  simul- 
taneous lead  vocalists,  was  a  founding  member  of  Crass) 
also  notes  that  the  band  "still  wear  articles  of  leather" 
but  they've  gotten  down  to  "just  boots,"  which  "they 
will  continue  to  wear  until  they  are  useless"  but  "will 
not  buy  more."  1  certainly  respect  people  with  a  highly 
developed  and  self-disciplined  political  consciousness, 
but  I  can't  shake  the  feeling  that  a  record  album  should 
do  more  than  announce  how  deep  the  musicians'  com- 
mitment runs.  In  the  real/rock  world,  only  the  young 
and  the  gullible  expect  their  favorite  bands  to  abide  by 
lofty  personal  standards. 

That  aside.  Conflict  (not  to  be  confused  with  an 
Arizona  band  of  the  same  name  which  recorded  for 
Placebo)  is  a  pretty  good  political  punk  band,  powered 
by  fire  and  intelligence.  It's  Time  to  See  Who's  Who 
has  incredibly  ornate  artwork  and  songs  about  media, 
Vietnam,  vegetarianism  (Smiths  fans  should  note  Con- 
flict's "Meat  Means  Murder"  here)  and  related  issues. 
Increase  the  Pressure  is  a  more  proletarian  production 
with  black  and  white  artwork;  the  LP  itself  is  half-studio 
(dynamic)  and  half-live  (raucous).  This  time  out,  the 
prominent  issue  illustrated  on  the  graphics  is  Save  the 
Seals;  songs  attack  cruise  missiles,  the  music  press,  the 
police,  etc.  with  undiminished  zeal  and  venom. 

The  Ungovernable  Force,  a  self-descriptive  slogan 
Conflict  has  repeated  on  subsequent  releases,  uses  news 
reports,  riot  noises  and  spoken- word  ingredients  ( as  well 
as  a  musical  quote  from  "Anarchy  in  the  UK")  in  its 
relentless  attack  on  Thatcher's  England  and  its  equally 
stubborn  support  of  the  Animal  Liberation  Front.  Blis- 
tering. 

The  double-live  Turning  Rebellion  into  Money 
was  recorded  in  April  1987  at  a  London  show  known  as 
the  "Gathering  of  the  5,000";  the  back  cover  enumer- 
ates the  progressive  organizations  sharing — as  per  the 
title's  promise — the  proceeds.  The  32  artless  punk 
tunes,  a  veritable  best-of-Conflict  collection,  bark  out 
with  righteous  guitar-and-sax  rage  at  every  topic  imag- 


inable, from  specific  events  to  assorted  socio-economic- 
political  issues.  Only  Stupid  Bastards  Help  EMI  is 
another  live  record, 

Muddy  sound  and  a  horn  player  are  the  two  distin- 
guishing characteristics  of  The  Final  Conflict,  a  well- 
played  but  poorly  recorded  ten-track  collection  that 
looks  inward,  offering  lyrics  about  the  band:  "I  Heard  a 
Rumour"  repeats  absurd  gossip  about  Conflict's -integ- 
rity, replying  "Drop  it/forget  it/you've  got  it  fucking 
wrong."  (The  Final  Conflict  cassette  is  backed  with 
The  Ungovernable  Force. ) 

In  mid- '89,  Conflict  issued  two  simultaneous  al- 
bums. Standard  Issue  is  an  annotated  compilation  of 
album  tracks  and  rare  singles,  including  "Conflict," 
from  the  group's  1982  debut,  and  three  powerful  mid- 
tempo  tracks  from  The  Serenade  Is  Dead,  a  1984  EP 
that  actually  reached  the  British  pop  charts.  (The  Stan- 
dard Issue  cassette  is  backed  with  Increase  the  Pres- 
sure )  One  side  of  the  other  record,  Against  All  Odds, 
is  given  over  to  the  extended  titular  piece,  which  begins 
with  a  chilling  machine-guns-and-choir  introduction  and 
then  continues  into  familiar  speed-guitar  raunch,  only  to 
turn  quiet  and  slow  halfway  through.  The  remainder  of 
the  album  is  equally  unpredictable,  with  somewhat  more 
accessible  songs  that  have  actual  melodies,  electronic 
keyboards  and  sound  effects.  [i] 

CONNELLS 

Darker  Days  (Black  Park)  1 986  (Black  Park-TVT)  1 987  * 
Boylan  Heights  (TVT)  1987* 
Fun  &  Games  (TVT)  1 989  * 
One  Simple  Word  (TVT)  1 990  * 

This  North  Carolina  combo,  led  by  guitarist/ 
songwriter  Mike  Connell  and  his  bassist  brother  David, 
possesses  a  fragile,  vaguely  Celtic  melodic  sense  that 
nicely  complements  the  introspective  lyrics,  making  for 
music  that  combines  the  best  impulses  of  Southern  gui- 
tar jangle  and  the  sensitive  singer-songwriter  tradition. 
.  Darker  Days  broods  a  bit  too  intently,  and  suffers 
from  Doug  MacMillan's  awkward,  affected  vocals.  The 
band  sounds  too  inexperienced  to  properly  execute  their 
sophisticated  songwriting  and  arranging  ideas,  but 
enough  obvious  talent  shines  through  to  make  the  album 
a  standout  in  the  new-Southern-pop  sweepstakes. 

The  Mitch  Easter-produced  Boylan  Heights  is  alto- 
gether more  graceful,  as  the  band  has  matured  into  a 
distinctive  enough  unit  to  do  justice  to  Michael's  yearn- 
ing collegiate  considerations  of  love,  war  and  alien- 
ation. MacMillan's  vocals  are  likewise  substantially 
more  effective,  lending  emotional  authority  to  swirling 
folk-rockers  like  "Scotty's  Lament"  and  'Try,"  as  well 
as  fragile  specters  like  * 'Pawns"  and  "Choose  a  Side." 

On  Fun  &  Games,  producer  Gary  Smith  gives  the 
band  a  slightly  harder-edged  sound,  to  the  benefit  of 
such  Mike  Connell  compositions  as  "Something  to 
Say,"  "Upside  Down"  and  "Hey  Wow,"  whose  inter- 
mittent lyrical  preciousness  is  mitigated  by  their  me- 
lodic invention.  Five  tunes  written  and  sung  by  guitarist 
George  Huntley,  while  stylistically  compatible  with  the 
rest  of  the  group's  material,  are  much  less  satisfying. 

England's  Hugh  Jones,  who  took  over  the  produc- 
tion reins  on  One  Simple  Word,  is  apparently  the  ar- 
biter the  Connells  have  always  needed,  as  this  is  the 


146 


band's  tightest,  catchiest  and  least  wimpy  effort  to  date. 
The  guitars  ring  out  more  distinctively  than  ever,  Mac- 
MiHan's  singing  is  more  confident,  and  the  best  songs— 
44 Stone  Cold  Yesterday,"  "Get  a  GEE,"  the  title 
track — are  the  strongest  that  the  group  has  recorded. 
Even  Huntley's  contributions  ( "The  Joke'*  and  **What 
Do  You  Want?" )  are  superior.  [hd] 

CHRIS  CONNELLY 

See  Revolting  Cocks. 

CONTORTIONS 

See  James  Chance. 

CONTROLLED 

Wall  of  China  Love  Letter  EP  f  Souptime)  1 979 

Knees  and  Bones  (Swed.  Psychout)  1 983 

Body  Samples  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 984 

Between  Tides  (Swed.  Muitimood)  1 985 

Head  Crack  (nr/Sterile)  1986 

Curd  (Ger.  Dossier)  1986 

Core  (Subterranean)  1 987 

Songs  from  the  Drain  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 988 

Musk  from  the  Scourging  Ground  (Bel.  Play  St  Again 

Sam)  1988 

Songs  from  the  Grinding  WaS!  EP  (Wax  Trax!)  1989  » 
Songs  from  the  Ashes  (Cest  Sa  Mort)  1 989  <i> 
Les  Nouveiies  Mistiques  de  Chambre  (Bel.  Sub  Rosa) 

1989 

Trudge  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  « 

Controlled  Bleeding  [CD]  (nr/ftmst-KapHal)  1989  « 
Hog  Floor  (Subterranean)  1991  * 

JOINED  AT  THE  HEAD 

Joined  at  the  Head  EP  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  prolific  industrial  noise 
bands,  Controlled  Bleeding — generally  a  trio  led  by 
multi-instramentalist/singer  Paul  Lemos,  who  also 
teaches  high  school  English — first  existed  in  Boston  in 
the  mid-'70s  but  was  reconvened  in  the  New  York  City 
suburb  of  Massapequa,  Long  Island  and  began  releasing 
cassettes  of  remarkable  audio  brutality  around  the  turn 
of  the  decade.  (The  debut  7-inch,  by  an  otherwise  un- 
recorded incarnation  of  Controlled  Bleeding,  is  in  an 
entirely  different  vein;  there's  also  a  1979  live-at-CBGB 
album  by  Body  Sink,  which  was  another  early  version 
of  the  band.)  Since  Knees  and  Bones  (generally  de- 
scribed as  abrasive,  aggressive  and  amateurish),  Lemos 
has  never  looked  back. 

He  has,  however,  looked  sideways  a  few  times.  Af- 
ter several  LPs  of  unmitigated  aggression,  the  group 
began  (around  Between  Tides)  to  explore  quieter  forms 
of  atmosphere;  by  the  point  of  their  first  domestic  LP, 
the  nearly  vocal-less  Core,  the  trio  (Lemos,  drummer 
Joe  Papa  and  keyboardist  Chris  Moriarty)  had  devel- 
oped into  a  sophisticated  and  intriguingly  accessible  out- 
fit, capable  of  mixing  semi-classical  and  semi-jazzy 
instrumentals  with  sepulchral  pseudo-operatics  and  driv- 
ing rock  dynamism. 

Despite  this  positive  new  direction,  Controlled 
Bleeding  didn't  lose  its  taste  for  industrial  noise,  as 
demonstrated  by  * 'Crack  the  Body,"  the  first  of  four 
Songs  from  the  Grinding  Wall.  But  that's  only  one 


facet  of  the  EP,  a  of 

depth. 

Leaving  Core's 

Trudge  is  and  en- 

tertaining, and 

that  are  strong  but  rarely  hyper-intense.  The  cov- 

ers a  lot  of  ground:  except  for  the  typical 
lyrics  killing  lives 

school  English,  huh?),  4* Crimes  of  the  Body"  is  per- 
fectly delightful  dancefioor  techno-rock          a 
bndge,  'The  Song,"  previously  as  a  12- 

inch  single,  is  a  piledrivcr  *ith  growly  vocals;  "Healing 
Time"  could  be  the  of  a  medieval  war 

movie. 

Hog  Floor  is  a  five-year  retrospective  of  rarities  and 
unreleased  material;  the  cassette  and  CD  contain 
bonus  tracks. 

Attempting  to  separate  the  band's  multiple  person- 
alities into  clear-cut  stylistic  entities,  Lenaos  and  Mori- 
arty  launched  Joined  at  the  Head,  a  side  project  that  is 
strictly  for  electronic  club  kids;  the  four-song  EP  offers 
orthodox  Wax  Trax!  horrorsbow  noise ,  with  distorted 
lyrics  hissed/roared  over  simple,  repetitive  rhythm 
tracks. 

Lemos  has  also  assembled  several  compilations  of 
other  bands  under  the  Dry  Lungs  title  and  released  col- 
laborative albums  under  other  names.  [ij 


COO  COO  ROCK1N  TIME 

See  Half  Japanese. 

COOLIES 

dig..?  (DB)  1986 
Doug  (DB)  1988* 

These  Atlanta  jokesters  made  an  underground  splash 
with  dig..?,  a  collection  of  goofy  Simon  &  Garfunkel 
covers  (plus  a  version  of  Paul  Anka's  "Having  My 
Baby*').  Great  concept  for  a  frat-party  set;  the 
psychedelic-funk  "Scarborough  Fair"  and  surf-instru- 
mental "Mrs.  Robinson"  would  have  made  chuckle- 
worthy  B-sides,  but  the  idea  of  devoting  an  entire  LP  to 
such  tomfoolery  is  a  product  of  the  same  sort  of  thinking 
that  produced  Having  Fun  with  Elvis  ora  Stage. 

Amazingly,  the  Coolies  followed  the  one-joke 
dig..?  with  the  brilliant  Doug,  a  trenchant  "rock  opera" 
about  a  skinhead  who  murders  a  transvestite  short-order 
cook,  gets  rich  by  publishing  his  victim's  recipes,  falls 
into  paranoia  and  substance  abuse  and  ends  up  in  the 
gutter.  The  sad  tale  is  related  through  ingenious  knock- 
offs  of  the  Who  ("Cook  Book"),  John  Lennon  ("Pov- 
erty"), the  Replacements  ("Coke  Light  Ice"),  rap 
("Pussy  Cook")  and  metal  ('The  Last  Supper"),  and 
in  a  comic  book — not  included  with  the  cassette  or  CD, 
alas — designed  by  Jack  Logan,  of  Pete  Buck  Comics 
fame.  A  quantum  leap  from  its  predecessor's  one- 
dimensional  silliness,  Doug  is  a  work  of  demented 
genius.  [hd] 

JULIAN  COPE 

World  Shut  Your  Mouth  (nr/Mercury)  1 984  • 
Fried  (nr/Mercury)  1984  • 


147 


Julbn  Cope  EP  f  Island}  1986 

Saint  Man  (bland)  1987  • 

Eve's  Volcano  EP  (nr/Uland)  1 987  • 

My  Nation  Underground  (Island)  1988  • 

SkaHington  (nr/CopeCo-Zip-po)  1989  * 

Drootian  (nr/MoFoCo-Zippo)  1990  • 

Peggy  Suicide  (Island!  1991  * 

Welsh-bom  Liverpool  legend  (now  resettled  in  the 
ancient  English  town  of  Tamworth)  Julian  Cope  called 
a  halt  to  The  Teardrop  Explodes  during  1983  sessions 
for  the  band's  third  album  and  decided  it  was  time  to  set 
off  on  a  solo  career  instead.  Aided  by  the  Teardrops* 
drummer  and  a  guitarist.  Cope  took  the  songs  he'd  writ- 
ten and  finished  them  as  World  Shut  Your  Mouth 
(which  does  not  contain  the  song  of  that  title),  a  highly 
Inventive  take  on  '60s  psychedelia.  Mainly  blending 
weird  sounds  with  charming  pop,  his  acceptably  inele- 
gant voice  and  period  organ  playing  add  substantial  per- 
sonality to  the  non-nostalgic  venture.  The  humorous  and 
sensitive  lyrics  may  be  a  touch  too  sensitive  in  spots,  but 
Cope's  openness  and  fanciful  streak  undercut  any  sem- 
blance of  pretentiousness. 

The  title  and  sleeve  photos  (he's  pictured  on  all 
fours,  nude,  under  a  huge  tortoise  shell)  of  Fried  sug- 
gest Cope's  Syd  Barrett-like  mental  state  at  the  time. 
This  flaky  collection  is  energetic  and  less  stylized  than 
the  first;  rocking  forthrightness,  intuitive  musicianship 
and  a  strong  backing  quartet  keep  it  from  drifting  away 
on  disoriented  meanderings  like  "Bill  Drummond 
Said,"  "Laughing  Boy**  and  **O  King  of  Chaos."  A 
fine,  disturbing  and  bewildering  document  of  a  man  on 
the  edge. 

The  confident  stomp  of  "World  Shut  Your  Mouth," 
a  brilliant  1986  British  hit  first  issued  in  the  US  on  the 
waters-testing  Julian  Cope  EP  and  the  following  year 
included  as  the  centerpiece  of  the  triumphant  Saint 
Julian  album,  proudly  announced  Cope's  recovery  and 
return  to  action.  The  rip-roaring  eponymous  EP  adds 
two  originals  and  brilliant  covers  of  Pere  Ubu  ("Non 
Alignment  Pact")  and  the  13th  Boor  Elevators  ("I've 
Got  Levitation").  Saint  Julian,  produced  by  Ed  Sta- 
siura,  proceeds  from  there,  a  loud  and  melodic  collec- 
tion of  uniformly  delectable  tunes  that  reflect  Cope's 
idiosyncratic  personality  and  imagination. 

My  Nation  Underground  follows  in  the  same  vein 
as  Saint  Julian,  with  Cope  sounding  more  confident 
and  dynamic  than  ever,  striking  a  brilHant  balance  be- 
tween his  dual  personae  as  serious  artiste  and  preening 
pop  star.  The  album  opens  with  an  ingeniously  apoca- 
lyptic reading  of  the  Vogues'  1966  "5  O'Clock  World' ' 
(intercut  with  the  old  Petula  Clark  hit  "I  Know  a 
Place").  The  originals  are  equally  effective,  examining 
various  pet  themes,  most  notably  Cope's  ongoing  artist- 
as-con-man  obsession. 

Finally  released  as  an  authorized  bootleg  years  after 
its  recording  (right  after  Fried),  the  mostly  acoustic 
Skellington  is  a  primal-scream  folk  record:  twelve 
short,  primitive  and  sporadically  fascinating  demo- 
quality  ditties.  Basically  a  footnote  for  devoted  fans,  but 
an  enjoyable  and  revealing  one. 

An  equally  far  cry  from  Cope's  usual  well-crafted 
studio  output  is  the  mysterious  DrooSian,  on  which 
Cope's  name  does  not  actually  appear.  Walking  the  thin 
line  between  demystification  and  pretension  that's  in- 
spired much  of  his  work,  the  artist — with  spare  instru- 


mental backing  this  time — messes  around  on  thirteen 
songs  with  varying  degrees  of  seriousness.  In  its  own 
casual  way,  Droolian  is  nearly  as  compelling  as  Cope's 
official  releases,  with  the  addition  of  a  mischievous 
sense  of  experimentalism. 

The  epic  double-length  Peggy  Suicide  brings  all  of 
Cope's  charmingly  artful  eccentricities  to  bear  on  an 
over-the-top  cavalcade  that,  while  deeply  uncommer- 
cial, amounts  to  a  twisted  artistic  triumph,  a  passionate 
meditation  on  sanity  and  ecology.  [i/hd] 

See  also  The  Teardrop  Explodes, 

Rumble  Fish  (A&M)  1983 

The  Rhythmatist  (A&M)  1985  • 
The  Equalizer  &  Other  Cliff  Hangers  (SRS  No  Speak) 
1988® 

KLARK  KENT 

Music  Madness  from  the  Kinetic  Kid  (Kryptone-IRS)  1980 

ANIMAL  LOGIC 

Animal  Logic  (IRS)  1989* 
SI  (IRS)  1991  <!> 

RAYLEMA 

Nangadeef  (Mango)  1989  ® 
Gaia  (Mango)  1 991  • 

Though  possessing  competence  on  all  the  necessary 
instruments,  not  to  mention  a  homely  yet  winning  boy- 
next-doorish  voice,  Police  drummer  Stewart  Cope- 
land — in  his  first  solo  turn,  a  one-off  in  the  guise  of 
Welsh  looney  Klark  Kent — turns  in  less  a  DIY  show- 
case than  a  mildly  amusing  show  of  self-indulgence, 
pressed  on  ten  inches  of  green  vinyl  in  a  K-shaped 
jacket,  no  less!  There  are  plums  to  be  found  in  the 
tongue-in-cheek  pop-punk  of  *  'Don't  Care' '  and  a  clever 
Zappaesque  instrumental,  "Theme  for  Kinetic  Ritual," 
but  the  other  six  tracks  are  merely  variations  on  those 
two  styles. 

Three  years  later,  with  the  Police  nearing  an  end, 
Copeland  launched  a  career  in  film  and  TV  soundtracks 
by  writing,  producing  and  playing  (except  horns  and 
strings)  the  music  for  Francis  Coppola's  Rumble  Fish. 
The  atmospheric  instrumentals  downplay  drums;  some 
are  strongly  enough  structured  that  they  could  support 
lyrics.  "Don't  Box  Me  In,"  an  actual  song  co-written 
and  vocalized  by  ex- Wall  of  Voodooer  Stan  Ridgway,  is 
easily  the  album's  highlight. 

Copeland's  second  solo  record  is  the  soundtrack  to 
an  African  safari  video.  Described  on  the  sleeve  as  "a 
curious  blend  of  musical  snatches  from  Tanzania, 
Kenya,  Burundi,  Zaire,  the  Congo  and  Buckingham- 
shire," The  Rhythmatist  is  variously  a  rock  album 
with  Africanisms  layered  on  and  a  rock  interpretation 
(or  imitation)  thereof.  The  blurry  line  between  what  is 
genuine  and  what  Copeland  has  made  of  whole  Anglo- 
American  cloth  is  disturbing,  to  say  the  least,  and  there's 
obviously  real  African  music  where  this  dubious  rock 
star  contraption  came  from.  Still,  the  invigorating  record 
sounds  lovely,  especially  thanks  to  his  collaborator, 
Zairean  vocalist  Ray  Lema.  (Nangadeef,  the  veteran's 
subsequent  American  solo  debut,  offers  an  uneasy,  oc^ 
casionally  attractive  commercial  blend  ofsoukous,  jazz, 
pop  and  computerized  dance-funk. ) 

The  Equalizer,  another  one-man-orchestra  instru- 


148 


mental  outing,  collects  Copeland  music  done  for  the 
titular  TV  show,  along  with  unrelated  but  harmonious 

new  compositions.  Favoring  keyboards  (seemingly  pi- 
ano aed  organ;  the  sketchy  credits  indicate  reliance  on  a 
Fairiight  synthesizer)  and  strong  rhythms,  Copelaad's 
technically  impressive  work  here  occasionally  recalls 
some  of  Keith  Emerson's  lighter  crypto-classical  mo- 
ments. 

CopelancTs  next  long-term  project  was  Animal 
Logic,  an  ill-conceived  sophisto-rock  trio  with  singer'' 
songwriter  Deborah  Holland  and  master  bassist  Stanley 
Clarice.  On  Animal  Logic,  the  superstar  rhythm  section 
(which  actually  doesn't  blend  very  well:  Copeland  is  far 
more  suited  to  work  with  a  hacker  like  Ms  old  baadmate 
Sting  than  an  overachiever  like  Clarice)  takes  an  accom- 
plished back  seat  to  Holland,  guest  guitarist  Michael 
Thompson  and  jazzy  guests.  A  strange  and  uneasy  blend 
of  instrumental  excellence  and  creative  mediocrity. 

See  also  Police.  [jg/i] 


The  of  the  (rr.  Fen  1 983 

of  Fmr  (Fr.  N«w  1984 

A  trivial  to  New  Yorft* s         wave  under- 

ground, the  Corpse  were  a  rock 

in  1977  by  ex-Brats  Rick  Rivets 

and  ex-Dolls  for 

much  of  the  existence).  The  origi- 

nal quartet's  few  recordings— which  to  bally 

dated  sub»DoISs  R&B-punk  with  impressively  stupid 
lyrics — were  posthumously  on  Th®  Legend, 

joining  1983  tracks  by  die  group. 

The  all -new  Valley  of  Fear  Rivets  joining  his 
Johnny  Thunders-style  guitar  work  Mid  Bob  Casper's 
ivory-iinkMng  in  a  diverse  of  originals  and  a 

pair  of  credibly  played  Stones  covers.  Although  much 
of  the  album  is  given  over  to  boppy  viatage  rwk%n*r0Il 
and  acoustic  ballads,  the  title  track  breaks  away  for 
lightweight  goth  with  a  hooky  chorus.  [ij 


COP  SHOOT  COP 

HeadkSck  Facsimile  EP  (Jap.  Supernatural  Organization) 

1988 
Consumer  Revolt  {Circuit}  1 990 

Calcuiatingly  deconstructing  rock'n'roll  in  a  manner 
spiritually  akin  to  Pussy  Galore  (whose  Jon  Spencer 
briefly  played  metal  percussion  in  the  band  Shithaus 
with  Cop's  Tod  A.),  if  sonically  opposite  (CSC  uses 
two  basses  and  no  guitar),  Cop  Shoot  Cop  shares  the 
same  taste  for  indulging  in  pain,  filth,  disillusion  and 
discontent.  Unfortunately,  that  stance  reduces  their  oth- 
erwise potent  strain  of  subversive  diversion  to  a  cliche* 
of  sorts.  Rarely  do  they  achieve  the  serrated  poetry  of 
decadence  skirted  most  prominently  these  days  by  Nick 
Cave  and  Henry  Rollins  (after  Burroughs  and  Bukows- 
ki),  more  often  settling  for  a  showoff  revelry  of  attitude 
easily  pegged  as  Little  Black. 

Consisting  partly  of  ex-members  of  NYC  sub- 
legends  the  Undead,  Black  Snakes  and  Dig  Dat  Hole, 
Cop  Shoot  Cop's  wall-of-noise  sampling,  odd  stuttered 
timings  and  belligerent  anti-structures  illustrate  a  con- 
ceptual ambition  underscored  by  such  psychotic  psyche- 
delic sound  collages  as  "Disconnected  666,'*  somewhat 
less  structurally/sonically  intricate  than  Pere  Ubu's 
** Sentimental  Journey"  but  drawn  from  the  same  dark 
core  of  industrial  paranoia.  Harking  back  in  some  ways 
to  the  days  of  New  York  no  wave,  Cop  Shoot  Cop  are 
currently  three  toes  idiot,  seven  toes  savant — an  im- 
provement over  their  debut  HP's  ratio  of  five  to  five. 

[ab] 


TOM  CORA 

See  Skeleton  Crew. 


CORE 

See  Chris  and  Cosey. 


HUGH  CORNWELL 

See  Strangle™. 


CORVAIRS 

See  Certain  General. 


COSEY  FANNI  TUTTI 

See  Chris  and  Cosey, 


ELVIS  COSTELLO 

My  Aim  is  True  (Columbia)  1977  • 

New  Amsterdam  EP  (nr/F-Beat)  1 980 

Taking  Liberties  (Columbia)  1 980  • 

Spike  (Warner  Bros.)  1989  « 

Veronica  EP  (nr/Warner  Bros.)  1 989  « 

Baby  Plays  Around  EP  (nr/Wamer  Bros.)  1 989  • 

Mighty  Like  a  Rose  (Warner  Bros.)  1991  <f> 

ELVIS  COSTELLO  AND  THE 
ATTRACTIONS 

This  Year's  Mode!  (Columbia)  1 978  * 

Armed  Farces  (Columbia)  1 979  « 

Get  Happy!!  (Columbia)  1 980  * 

Ten  Bloody  Marys  &  Ten  How's  Your  Fathers  (nr/F-Beat) 

1980  (nr/Demon)  1984* 
Trust  (Columbia)  1 981  • 
Almost  Blue  (Columbia)  1981  • 
Imperial  Bedroom  (Columbia)  1 982  • 
Punch  the  Clock  (Columbia)  1983  • 
Goodbye  Cruel  World  (Columbia)  1984  • 
The  Best  of  Elvis  Costello  and  the  Attractions  (Columbia) 

1985* 
The  Man:  The  Best  of  Elvis  Costello  (nr/Tebtar)  1 985 

(nr/Demon)  1987« 
Elvis  Costelb  EP  (nr/Stiff)  1 985 
Blood  &  Chocolate  (Columbia)  1 986  • 
Girls  +  £  -*•  Girts  =  $  &  Girls  (nr/Demon)  1989 

(Columbia)  1990* 

THE  COSTELLO  SHOW 

King  of  America  (Columbia)  1986  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Out  of  Our  Idiot  (nr/Demon)  1 987  * 
The  Courier  (Virgin  Movie  Music)  1 988  • 


149 


ATTRACTIONS 

Mod  About  the  Wrong  Boy  {nr/F-Becrt)  1 980  (nr/Demon) 
1984 

Elvis  Costello  has  become  the  King  Kong  of  con- 
temporary music,  looming  so  large  over  everything  that 
admirers  and  detractors  alike  feel  compelled  to  take  note 
of  Ms  most  trivial  actions,  A  remarkable  performer  with 
a  cutting  voice,  tie's  charted  a  consistently  fascinating 
course  in  an  intensely  productive  career  and  shows  no 
sign  of  fatigue.  He's  arguably  the  most  significant  in- 
dividual creative  voice  to  emerge  in  rock'n'roll  since 
Bob  Dylan,  and  definitely  one  of  pop  music's  most  un- 
forgettable characters. 

My  Aim  Is  Tme  quickly  established  Elvis  as  an 
angry  young  man  armed  with  cleverly  worded  insults 
and  taut  melodies.  Although  the  backing  (by  American 
band  Clover,  sans  future  star  Huey  Lewis,  the  group's 
harmonica  player)  lacks  his  intensity,  the  bespectacled 
one's  passion  comes  through  full  force.  Many  of  the 
songs  are  already  standards:  "Watching  the  Detec- 
tives," a  sizzling,  disorienting  excursion  into  reggae 
(not  included  on  the  original  UK  version  of  the  LP); 
"Alison,"  a  searing  ballad,  and  "Less  Than  Zero," 
Elvis'  first  single  and  a  wry  attack  on  one  of  his  pre- 
ferred targets,  fascism.  The  overall  effect  is  that  of  an 
updated  Buddy  Holly,  neurotic  and  tormented  by  sexual 
insecurity.  For  more  information,  consult  "Miracle 
Man"  and  "No  Dancing.'* 

This  Year's  Model  improves  significantly  on  Cos- 
tello's  stunning  debut  by  winding  the  music  uncomfort- 
ably tight.  Elvis  gained  confidence  from  the  addition  of 
an  outstanding  permanent  backing  band:  Bruce  Thomas 
on  bass,  Pete  Thomas  (no  relation)  on  drums  and  Steve 
Nieve,  whose  piano  and  organ,  rather  than  Elvis*  guitar, 
generally  fill  in  melodies.  The  album  finds  Costello' s 
anger  and  insecurity  grown  harsh  and  nasty.  The  surg- 
ing "No  Action,"  "Pump  It  Up"  (something  of  a  re- 
write on  Dylan's  "Subterranean  Homesick  Blues")  and 
"Lipstick  Vogue"  bristle  with  ingeniously  stated,  hard- 
rocking  vitriol.  "Radio  Radio"  (not  on  the  UK  edition) 
became  Costello's  unofficial  theme  song,  a  daring  and 
snotty  attack  on  the  powers  that  rule  the  airwaves. 

Costello  avoids  sneering  himself  into  a  dead  end  on 
Armed  Forces,  with  the  help  of  producer  Nick  Lowe. 
The  prettier,  less  demanding  and  more  varied  sound  still 
allows  him  freedom  of  expression.  The  lyrically  potent 
"Oliver's  Army"  borrows  from  Abba's  pop  lushness; 
"Accidents  Will  Happen"  mixes  a  beautiful  melody 
with  a  driving  arrangement;  Lowe's  "(What's  So  Funny 
'Bout)  Peace,  Love  and  Understanding"  offers  an 
unironic,  unexpected  and  agitated  plea  for  tolerance. 
Armed  Forces  was  the  "nicest"  of  Costello's  first  three 
LPs. 

Get  Happy!!  marks  the  beginning  of  Elvis'  con- 
certed stylistic  fiddling  and  Ms  first  serious  attempt  to 
shift  the  emphasis  to  the  music  and  away  from  the  over- 
powering persona.  The  watchword  here  is  simplicity, 
with  20  short  songs  and  borrowings  from  such  soul 
greats  as  Booker  T  &  the  M.G.'s  and  Sam  &  Dave, 
whose  "I  Can't  Stand  Up  for  Falling  Down"  gets  di- 
sheveled but  earnest  treatment.  Other  highlights  include 
"Motel  Matches,"  an  early  flirtation  with  Nashville 
country;  the  moving  "King  Horse";  and  a  rip-snorting 
version  of  the  Merseybeats'  "I  Stand  Accused."  By 


lessening  the  intensity  somewhat,  Elvis  comes  up  with  a 
most  personable  LP.  (The  three  non-LP  tracks  on  the 
New  Amsterdam  7-inch,  billed  to  Costello  alone  and 
also  available  as  a  picture  disc,  later  appeared  on  Ten 
Bloody  Marys.) 

Reflecting  Costello's  prolific  nature,  Taking  Liber- 
ties collects  an  amazing  twenty  previously  non-LP  odds 
and  ends  in  wildly  divergent  styles.  (The  UK  counter- 
part, Ten  Bloody  Marys  &  Ten  How's  Your  Fathers, 
is  altogether  different,  part  of  a  consistent  plan  to  en- 
force alternate  international  releases.  Originally  issued 
only  on  cassette,  it  appeared  on  vinyl  four  years  later 
and  subsequently  on  CD.)  Despite  a  few  dull  entries, 
there's  plenty  of  remarkable  stuff.  The  classic  "My 
Funny  Valentine"  is  a  harbinger  of  Imperial  Bedroom, 
"Talking  in  the  Dark"  gaily  recalls  "Penny  Lane"; 
"Stranger  in  the  House,"  dating  from  the  period  of  This 
Year's  Model,  masterfully  reflects  his  growing  obses- 
sion with  country  music.  Chaotic  and  marvelous. 

Trust  exhibits  new  self-confidence,  blending  some 
of  the  polish  of  Armed  Forces  with  the  straightforward 
delivery  of  This  Year's  Mode!.  Though  few  tracks 
stand  out  individually,  the  LP  packs  a  powerful,  coher- 
ent punch.  "Clubland"  is  an  impassioned  lament  while 
"Lovers  Walk"  overlays  a  Bo  Diddleyish  motif  with 
Latin  piano  and  heaps  of  anxiety.  On  the  fierce  "From 
a  Whisper  to  a  Scream,"  Costello  engages  in  a  spirited 
dialogue  with  Squeeze's  Glenn  Tilbrook,  reaffirming 
his  presence  in  the  real  world. 

Elvis  was  bound  to  goof  eventually ,  and  Almost  Blue 
is  a  dud.  This  alburn  of  country  cover  versions,  recorded 
in  Nashville  with  veteran  producer  Billy  Sherrill  (Tam- 
my Wynette,  George  Jones,  just  about  everyone  else),  is 
surprisingly  clumsy  in  light  of  Costello's  previously 
demonstrated  ability  to  come  up  with  fine  originals  in  the 
same  genre.  Curiously,  he  succumbs  to  the  urge  to  over- 
sing  instead  of  finesse  the  vocals,  a  mistake  his  obvious 
model,  the  late  Gram  Parsons,  never  made. 

Imperial  Bedroom  is  a  resounding  return  to  form, 
and  indicates  Costello's  interest  in  becoming  a  classic 
tunesmith  in  the  Tin  Pan  Alley  tradition  instead  of  just 
a  venerated  rocker.  This  is  certainly  his  most  subdued 
LP,  with  songs  such  as  "Beyond  Belief,"  "Kid  About 
It"  and  "Town  Cryer"  more  suitable  to  a  cocktail 
lounge  torch  singer  than  a  garage  band.  How  time  flies. 

Punch  the  Clock  is  yet  another  tour  de  force.  Pro- 
duced by  Madness  architects  Clive  Langer  and  Alan 
Winstanley,  the  disc  continues  in  the  pop  vein  of  Im- 
perial Bedroom,  but  with  considerably  more  attention 
paid  to  mixing  up  styles  and  textures.  Hence  you  get 
politically  motivated  ballads  like  the  brooding  "Pills 
and  Soap"  and  the  ethereal,  desperately  angry  "Ship- 
building" (co-written  with  Clive  Langer),  as  well  as 
swaggering  raveups  ("The  World  and  His  Wife"),  clas- 
sic Costello  angst  ("Charm  School")  and  much  more. 
Best  of  all  is  the  lilting  "Everyday  I  Write  the  Book," 
a  winning  tune  worthy  of  being  sung  by  Aretha  Franklin 
(and  the  closest  Costello's  come  to  a  US  hit  single). 

By  contrast,  Goodbye  Cruel  World  seems  awk- 
ward and  forced.  The  playing' s  overly  baroque,  the  mel- 
odies mild  and  too  much  of  Costello's  edge  is 
sublimated  by  the  Langer/Winstanley  cushion  of  sound. 
(On  "The  Only  Flame  in  Town,"  for  instance,  they 
bathe  a  fine  song  in  swanky  saxophones  and  duet  vocals 
by  Daryl  Hall,  watering  down  Costello's  individual 


150 


power.)  However,  "Sour  Milk-Cow  Blues"  has  a 
cranky  charm,  "The  Deportees  Club"  has  old-fashioned 
Attractions*  bite  and  * 'Peace  in  Our  Time'*  brilliantly 
captures  the  chilling  madness  of  nuclear  politics.  Oth- 
erwise, Costello  sounds  like  he  needs  a  vacation. 

Perhaps  the  nineteen-song  Best  Of  (the  similarly 
extensive  UK  counterpart  of  which — initially  offered 
via  TV  advertising  on  a  discount  label  but  later  reissued 
by  Costello  '$  real  record  company — has  only  a  dozen 
tracks  in  common)  did  the  trick.  Or  maybe  it  was  the 
decision  to  shelve  the  Attractions  temporarily.  Then 
again,  maybe  his  burgeoning  romance  with  (soon-to-be- 
ex- )Pogue  bassist  Cait  O'Riordan  was  the  reason. 

In  any  case,  the  extraordinary  King  of  America — 
billed  as  the  Costello  Show  and  recorded  with  co- 
producer  T-Bone  Burnett  and  a  clutch  of  top  American 
sessioneers,  including  sidemen  from  another  Elvis — 
returned  him  to  masterful  top  form.  MacManus  (as  he 
then  wished  to  be  known)  banged  together  fifteen  intel- 
ligent, mature  creations  in  a  variety  of  idioms,  many 
recalling  styles  he  had  already  tried  and  abandoned 
(C&W,  R&B,  nightclub  sophistication)  and  some  (folk, 
blues)  not  so  familiar.  The  sound  often  recalls  the  Band 
in  its  unique  blending  of  country  and  urban  traditions; 
elsewhere,  it's  latter-day  Elvis  Presley,  played  by  his 
own  musicians.  As  articulate  and  clear-headed  as  he's 
ever  been,  MacManus  dissects  several  major  themes — 
the  British  perception  of  America,  alcoholism,  his  own 
stardom — each  from  more  than  one  vantage  point.  Not 
only  do  all  these  forays  work  individually,  the  songs  fit 
together  with  surprising  ease.  In  addition,  he's  never 
sung  better,  with  such  subtlety  and  control.  A  career 
highlight. 

Released  before  the  same  calendar  year's  end,  Blood 
&  Chocolate  brought  the  Attractions  back  into  the  pic- 
ture, joined  on  a  few  tunes  by  guest  vocalist  O'Riordan. 
(More  nomenclatural  absurdity:  while  the  name  Elvis 
Costello  appears  on  the  front  cover,  the  composer  of  all 
but  one  track  is  MacManus  and  the  vocalist/guitarist  is 
named  Napoleon  Dynamite.)  Although  the  LP  has  no 
characteristic  sound,  overall  theme  or  discernible  orga- 
nizational logic,  the  individual  songs  are  quietly 
excellent — simply  played  gems  performed  with  re- 
strained enthusiasm,  if  little  color.  Eschewing  any  new 
stylistic  statement,  Elvis  the  unnameable  ambles  back 
into  personal  commentary  with  subdued  eloquence.  A 
bit  underwhehning  at  first,  but  substantial  nonetheless. 

The  1987  Out  of  Our  Idiot  crypto-compilation 
serves  up  a  brace  of  singles,  B-sides,  outtakes  and  side 
projects  employing  enough  different  monikers  to  justify 
the  record's  "various  artists"  billing.  Besides  assorted 
undertakings  as  Costello  variations,  the  hodgepodge  of 
good-to-incredible  tracks  credit  such  ensembles  as  Na- 
poleon Dynamite  &  the  Royal  Guard,  the  Emotional 
Toothpaste  and  the  Coward  Brothers.  Besides  alternate 
versions  of  "Blue  Chair"  and  "American  Without 
Tears,"  and  familiar-to-fans  collaborations  with  Jimmy 
Cliff,  T-Bone  Burnett  and  Nick  Lowe,  the  record's  high- 
light is  '-So  Young,"  an  infectious  bluebeat  bouncer 
borrowed  from  Jo  Jo  Zep  and  evidently  omitted  from 
Armed  Forces.  The  21 -track  CD  adds  another  E.G.  & 
the  Attractions  outtake  (1982's  "Little  Goody  Two 
Shoes")  as  well  as  cuts  by  the  MacManus  Gang  (from 
the  Straight  to  Hell  soundtrack)  and  the  Imposter.  (In 
another  piece  of  film  work,  Costello — as  Declan 


MacManus — scored,  produced          played  for 

The  Courier ,  in  which  O'Riordan  has  a  role. 

His  dramatic  instrumental  efforts  occupy  a 

of  the  soundtrack  album  ) 

Costello  bills  himself  as  The  Beloved  Entertainer — 
stuffed  and  mounted — on  the  front  cover  of  Spike,  Ms 
first  new  album  since  Blood  &  Chocolate.  Following 
King  of  America's  blueprint,  each  of  the  tracks 

employs  a  different  assortment  of  players,  from  the 
Dirty  Dozen  Brass  Band  Con  "Deep  Dark  Trathful  Mir- 
ror" and  ''Stalin  Malone")  to  Paul  McCartney  (on  the 
tender  and  touching  "Veronica,"  one  of  two  songs  he 
and  Costello  co-wrote).  Regardless  of  which  sort  of 
tasteful  arrangement  (Irish  folk,  acoustic  pop,  jazz, 
rock,  jagged  noise)  or  star  collaborator  (Chrissie  Hynde, 
Christy  Moore,  Benmont  Tench)  he  chooses  for  any 
individual  song,  however,  the  record  is  a  testament  to 
Costeiio's  complete  mastery.  For  most  of  the  record, 
Costello  is  in  rare  form,  conversing  with  the  deity 
("God's  Comic"),  ripping  the  lynch-mob  mentality  in 
a  fact-based  tale  ("Let  Him  Dangle"),  sending  a  with- 
ering blast  at  Margaret  Thatcher  ("Tramp  the  Dirt 
Down")  and  wallowing  in  romantic  regrets  ("Baby 
Plays  Around,"  whose  joint  marital  authorship  lends  a 
reassuring  fictional  sense  to  its  troubled  lyrics).  For  con- 
cerned Attractions  fans,  Pete  Thomas  puts  in  an  appear- 
ance on  one  solitary  song. 

The  two  EPs  taken  from  Spike  contain  four  songs 
each.  On  12-inch  and  CD-3,  Veronica  adds  the  album's 
CD  bonus  track  ("Coal-Train  Robberies"),  a  B-side  (a 
cover  of  Clint  Ballard's  "You're  No  Good,"  on  which 
B.C.  plays  kalimba  and  drum  machine)  and  "The  Room 
Nobody  Lives  In."  Likewise,  Baby  Hays  Around  has 
"Almost  Blue"  (from  Imperial  Bedroom),  "My 
Funny  Valentine"  (originally  on  the  flip  of  "Oliver's 
Army")  and  "Point  of  No  Return." 

Taking  discographical  perversity  to  new  extremes, 
the  Girls  +  £  -r  Girls  =  $  &  Girls  compilation  (cov- 
ering 1976- '86)  was  originally  issued  in  the  UK  in  four 
formats:  as  a  31 -track  double  album,  two  individual 
cassettes  with  a  combined  51  songs,  a  double-CD  with 
47  songs  and  a  digital  audio  tape  containing  31  songs. 
To  compound  the  confusion,  the  different  configura- 
tions aren't  simply  related:  not  all  of  the  CD  tracks,  for 
example,  appear  on  the  cassettes.  The  American  release 
skipped  DAT  and  vinyl  and  stuck  the  cassettes  together 
in  a  cardboard  longbox,  but  preserved  the  alternate  tape 
and  CD  programs.  Building  on  a  common — albeit  not 
entirely  logical — core  of  36  familiar  songs  (selected  by 
the  artist,  who  also  provided  amusing  liner  notes),  the 
tape  and  CDs  offer  two  different  views  of  the  Costello 
catalogue,  neither  of  them  entirely  fair  or  complete. 

Despite  his  evident  stylistic  and  intellectual  ambi- 
tion, Costello  reveals  some  creative  fatigue  on  the 
mildly  disappointing  Mighty  Like  a  Rose,  a  collection 
of  colorful  stylistic  threads  woven  into  a  frequently  fa- 
miliar fabric.  One  reason  the  catchy  "Other  Side  of 
Summer"  is  so  immediately  likable  is  that  it's  strikingly 
self-derivative,  recalling  the  Attractions'  era  right  down 
to  the  vintage  Steve  Nieve  piano  and  organ  quotes.  Ex- 
cept for  a  few  subtle  instrumental  elements,  the  mem- 
orable *  'How  to  Be  Dumb" — a  ripping  attack  apparently 
aimed  at  Bruce  Thomas  for  his  tacky  play-and-tell  "nov- 
el," The  Big  Wheel — could  very  easily  have  been  on 
This  Year's  Model.  The  raucous  massed-drum  "Hurry 


151 


Down  Doomsday  (The  Are  Taking  Over)"  owes 

a  more  oblique  to  that  album.  ( And  check  the 
bass  thrasts  at  the  end  of  "Harpies  Bizarre, "I  A  re- 
markable simulation  of  the  Band  ( "Playboy  to  a  Man" ) 
is  oddly  effective;  other  highlights  include  the  boppy 
4iGeorgie  and  Her  Rival"  and  the  solemn  piano-with- 
homs  ballad,  "Sweet  Pear/" 

On  their  own  in  1980,  the  Attractions  sound  more 
like  Nick  Lowe  than  their  then-boss.  The  sixteen  snap- 
piiy  executed  ditties  on  Mad  About  the  Wrong  Boy 
feature  bright,  breezy  surfaces  and  very  little  depth, 
which  isn't  so  bad  in  light  of  the  cheerful  atmosphere. 
The  title  cut,  "La-La-La-La-La  Loved  You"  and  others 
offer  agreeably  washed-out  harmonies  reminiscent  of 
UK  flower-power  pop  of  the  late- '60s.  Decent,  [jy/i] 

See  also  Steve  Nieve. 


COUCH  FLAMBEAU 

Curiosity  Rocks  pope]  (no  fabelj  1 982 

Mamma!  Insect  Marriage  (ludwtg  Van  Ear)  1 983 

The  Day  the  Musk  Died  (Sfs  Only  a  Record)  1 985 

Rock  with  Your  Sock  On  pope]  (It's  Only  a  Record)  1 987 

Models  EP  f  if  s  Oily  a  Record)  1 987 

Ghostrfde  (Ifs  Only  a  Record)  1 989 

Education  is  a  dangerous  thing,  and  these  Wisconsin 
smartboys  have  been  in  school  far  too  long  for  public 
safety.  Armed  with  Jay  Tiller's  rapier  wit,  dadaist  vi- 
sions, squawky  voice  and  ear-busting  guitar  work,  the 
group's  records  are  hysterically  fanny  exercises  in  em- 
inently enjoyable  noise-to-go. 

The  lyrics  of  Mammal  Insect  Marriage's  opening 
track,  "ADM  12,"  immediately  make  it  clear  you've 
checked  into  a  real  hellhouse  of  collegiate  weasel  weird- 
ness:  "I  saw  a  car  accident  near  the  zoo.  There  were 
mangled  bodies  all  over.  I  felt  sick,  but  I  found  a  finger. 
I  still  have  it  in  my  freezer."  Recorded  in  seven  fun- 
filled  hours,  Mammal  Insect  Marriage  has  thirteen  ad- 
ditional warped  and  funny  B-movie  haikus.  Brilliant 
and  extraordinary. 

The  tape-only  Rock  with  Your  Sock  On  combines 
the  entire  contents  of  Curiosity  Rocks  (recorded  and 
mixed  in  a  single  eight-hour  session  just  months  after 
the  band's  formation)  and  Mammal  Insect  Marriage. 
The  former  contains  sketchy  versions  of  "ADM  12" 
and  "I  Don't  Want  to  Be  an  Eddie,"  as  well  as  '  'Mobile 
Home,"  "Satan's  School  for  Girls"  and  "Curtains  for 
You,"  all  of  which  resurfaced  on  Couch's  third  album. 

The  Day  the  Music  Died  gets  off  to  a  slow  start 
with  the  instrumental  title  track,  but  revs  into  high  gear 
with  "We'll  Go  Through  the  Windshield  Together,"  a 
romantic  tale  of  vehicular  homicide  (complete  with 
sound  effects)  told  from  the  victim's  perspective.  Other 
highlights  include  the  pessimistic  "Life's  Rough,"  a 
feedback-filled  mantra  that  recasts  an  old  7-Up  slogan 
("You  Hate  It,  It  Hates  You")  and  bassist  Neil  Socol's 
"Curtains  for  You,"  in  which  the  protagonist  makes  a 
major  educational  discovery:  "I  hate  Shakespeare/He's 
too  hard  to  read/I  wish  he  were  dead/Oh,  he  is?" 

Continuing  as  a  duo  (Socol  and  Tiller,  who  dou- 
bles on  drums),  Couch  made  the  five-song  Models 
EP,  going  easy  on  the  radical  sounds.  Instead,  the 
pointed  cultural  sarcasm  of  "Models,"  "White  Boy 
Blues"  and  "Vipers"  are  laid  over  relatively  easygo- 
ing music  that  paradoxically  undercuts  the  lyncs  by 


falling  to  match  their  absurdity.  The  one  exception  is 
"Song  with  a  Message,"  a  wimpy  dance  groove  un- 
derlying a  random  series  of  messages  left  on  Socol's 
answering  machine. 

Beneath  the  unpredictable  lyncs  and  Tiller's  brain- 
spasm  vocals,  Gfaostrlde — a  fall  sixteen-song  dose- 
cranks  up  equally  unpredictable  (although  tight  and 
well-played)  rock  noise  that  flirts  with  metal.  In  Couch's 
world,  nothing  is  ever  perfect:  "We're  Not  So  Smart" 
describes  the  joy  and  heartbreak  of  being  an  under- 
ground rock  group  (the  related  "Scene  Report"  dis- 
members punk-rock  poseurs),  while  "Think  Twice"  is 
equally  realistic  about  the  hazards  of  dating  and  "Sum- 
mer Vacation"  is,  predictably,  a  complete  disaster. 
Great!  [i] 

COUNT 

Speedbafi  EP  (nr/Chiswtek)  1975 

Good  Gear  (Fr.  Dynamite)  1 977  (Fr.  Lo!ita)  1 984 

The  Count  Bishops  (nr/Chiswick)  1 977  • 

BISHOPS 

Bishops  Live  (nr/CWswick)  1 978 
Cross  Cuts  (nr/Chiswkk)  1979 

Although  they  never  attained  major  popularity,  hits 
or  even  a  US  release,  the  Count  Bishops  played  a  small 
but  important  role  in  the  development  of  British  punk. 
First,  they  provided  a  stylistic  and  chronological  link 
between  the  raw  R&B  revivalism  of  Dr.  Feelgood  and 
early  demi-punk  Sailings  by  Eddie  and  the  Hot  Rods. 
Second,  the  four-song  7-inch  Speedball  was  the  debut 
release  by  the  first  independent  new  wave  label  in  En- 
gland, Chiswick  (which  preceded  Stiff  by  a  matter  of 
months). 

The  group's  only  recording  with  American  (Brook- 
lyn, no  less)  singer  Mike  Spencer  (replaced  by  the 
gravel-throated  Dave  Tice  soon  after,  for  reasons  that 
are  audibly  obvious),  Speedball  clearly  defines  the 
group's  style.  Combining  rock-a-boogie  raveups  of  mid- 
'60s-style  material  with  mid-'70s  chops  and  energy,  the 
Bishops  re-cover  the  same  R&B  and  rock'n'roll  songs 
favored  by  the  first  wave  of  British  beat  groups  (Stones, 
Yardbirds,  Kinks)  and  American  punks  (Standells, 
Strangeloves).  The  idea  was  obviously  to  recapture  the 
rawness  and  spontaneity  of  that  period  and,  although  the 
concept  is  both  limited  and  doomed  almost  by  defini- 
tion, Good  Gear  (probably  drawn  from  live-in-the- 
studio  demos)  is  so  raunchy  and  spirited  that  it  succeeds, 
even  if  it  is  essentially  a  copy  of  a  copy. 

Trouble  set  in  with  the  first  real  album,  The  Count 
Bishops.  How  do  you  convey  a  style  that  works  best 
after  a  few  beers  and  really  offers  nothing  new  to  vinyl? 
Even  with  two  solid  guitarists  and  a  fine  rhythm  section, 
the  Bishops  were  never  quite  able  to  resolve  the  prob- 
lem. Though  it  sounds  nasty  as  hell  on  Bishops  Live 
(issued  on  both  12-inch  and  10-inch  vinyl),  Tice's  growl 
is  hard  to  take  over  two  sides  of  a  recording  made  in  the 
rarefied  atmosphere  of  the  studio.  And  where  most 
bands  use  cover  versions  to  fill  space,  the  filler  here  is 
the  Bishops'  self-penned  stuff.  With  rare  exception, 
their  originals  are  sub-Status  Quo  boogie,  which  just 
about  destroys  most  of  Cross  Cuts.  Following  the  death 
of  guitarist  Zenon  de  Fleur  hi  an  auto  accident  just  prior 
to  the  release  of  Cross  Cuts,  the  Bishops  called  it  a  day. 

[ds] 


152 


WAYNE  COUNTY  AND  THE 
ELECTRIC  CHAIRS 

The  Electric  Choirs  for/Safari)  1978 

Storm  the  Gates  of  Heaven  for/Safari)  1979 

Your  Mother  Never  Told  You  {nr/SaferiJ  1 979 
Th®  Best  of  Jayne/Wayoe  County  and  the  Electric  Chairs 
fnr/Scrfori)  1982 

Rock  W  Roll  Resurrection  (nr/Safari)  1981 
Private  Oyster  f  or/Revolver)  1 986 
Amerikan  Cleopatra  (nr/fConnexionf  1987 
Betty  Grabfe's  Legs!  EP  fnr/Jungle}  1989 

Georgia-bom  transsexual  County  was  a  (male)  fix- 
ture on  the  budding  New  York  club  scene  in  the  early 
'70s,  stretching  the  limits  of  vulgarity  and  outrage  on 
stages  alongside  the  New  York  Dolls.  After  writing  and 
recording  the  theme  song  for  the  legendary  venue  Max's 
Kansas  City,  County  migrated  to  England,  just  as  the 
London  punk  scene  was  getting  underway.  Having  been 
commercially  unappreciated  at  home,  County  found  a 
sympathetic  British  label  and  recorded  a  series  of  al- 
bums, none  of  which  were  ever  released  Stateside. 

High  camp  posturing  and  foul-mouthed  (but  not  un- 
funny) lyrics  form  the  basis  of  County's  work.  Along 
with  a  skillful  trio  playing  routine  rock,  The  Electric 
Chairs  finds  County  singing  (with  more  enthusiasm 
than  talent)  touching  ballads  ("Eddie  <&  Sheena,"  a 
minor  hit  single  recounting  a  love  story  between  a  teddy 
boy  and  a  punk),  catty  putdowns  ("Bad  in  Bed")  and 
trotting  out  the  old  narcissistic  scene  celebration  of 
"Max's  Kansas  City." 

Storm  the  Gates  of  Heaven  has  a  great  cover,  was 
pressed  on  sickly  colored  lavender  vinyl  and  showcases 
two  new  guitarists  hired  to  replace  one  left  behind.  The 
songs  are  less  contrived  and  more  interesting;  the  be- 
ginnings of  a  band  sound  can  be  discerned.  All  in  all,  a 
vast  improvement  that  even  includes  a  smoking  version 
of  "I  Had  Too  Much  to  Dream  Last  Night."  Flying 
Lizard  David  Cunningham  produced  the  subsequent 
Things  Your  Mother  Never  Told  YOE  with  the  same 
lineup,  but  came  up  with  a  flat-sounding,  dull  LP. 

A  New  Year's  Eve  gig  in  Toronto  yielded  the  live 
Rock'n'Roll  Resurrection.  Fronting  a  largely  new 
band,  Jayne  (following  the  surgery)  belts  out  a  sham- 
bling selection  of  non-hits,  including  such  gutter  faves 
as  "Cream  hi  My  Jeans"  and  "F .  .  .  Off."  Pretty  dire, 
A  nicely  packaged  best-of  collection  (pressed  on  white 
vinyl)  finally  brought  together  everything  you'd  ever 
want  to  hear  by  Wayne  or  Jayne. 

In  the  mid-'8Qs,  County  made  the  self-produced  Pri- 
vate Oyster  (reissued  as  Amerikan  Cleopatra).  Proof 
that  some  things  really  never  change,  Jayne  sounds  ex- 
actly the  same  as  ever  on  Betty  Grable's  Legs!:  five 
songs  recorded  with  an  old-style  rock  trio.  County  still 
has  the  identical  voice  (and  singing  ability),  songs  like 
"Paranoia  Paradise"  are  the  same  trashy  junk  she/he's 
always  written  and  the  hapless  band  sounds  totally  un- 
aware that  the  '80s  have  come  and  gone.  [i] 

COWBOY  JUNKIES 

Whites  off  Earth  Nowi!  (Can.  Latent)  1986  (RCA)  1991  • 
The  Trinity  Session  (RCA)  1 988  * 
The  Caution  Horses  (RCA)  1 990  e 


cm  >ou  go?  No  fee 

unsuspecting  will  ask  a 

with  Canada's  Cowboy  Like  on 

Quaaludes,  this  Toronto  in 

hushed,  atmospheric  at  t 

tempo.  Whether  you  this  an 

or  an  ingenious  creative  ao  If  s 

original. 

Whites  off  Earth  Now!!  the  in  the 

process  of  forging  MI  identity.  While  Tinamins 

already  practices  floating  vocals  (see  Saady  Denny  for 
roots),  the  overall  result  is  more  boring  evocative, 
The  LP  is  dominated  by  covers,  including  Sfaingsteen's 
"State  Trooper"  and  Robert  Johnson's  "Me  and  the 
Devil/' 

The  ultimate  three  a.m.  listening  experience,  The 
Trinity  Session  constitutes  a  quantum  leap  forward, 
Recorded  on  a  single  day  in  a  Toronto  church,  this 
shimmering  triumph  has  the  impact  of  a  deep,  haunting 
dream.  Timmins  imitates  a  heavenly  spirit  on  potent 
originals  like  "Misguided  Angel"  and  (on  the  CD) 
"Blue  Moon  Revisited  (Song  for  Elvis)/*  while  more 
than  doing  justice  to  Lou  Reed's  "Sweet  Jane**  and 
Patsy  Cline's  "Walking  After  Midnight/*  A  goose- 
bump  special. 

Following  the  commercial  as  well  as  artistic  success 
of  The  Trinity  Session,  the  Junkies  wisely  concluded 
they'd  already  carried  the  catatonic  approach  to  a  logical 
conclusion.  They  became  somewhat  more  aggressive 
emotionally  and  musically  on  The  Caution  Horses — 
with  partial  success.  On  one  of  the  best  tracks,  "Sun 
Comes  Up,  It's  Tuesday  Morning/*  Timmins  bitterly 
dismisses  a  lover  to  a  snappy  country  tempo;  the  acid 
monologues  "'Cause  Cheap  Is  How  I  Feel"  and 
"Where  Are  You  Tonight?"  sustain  the  bad,  riveting 
vibes.  Elsewhere,  the  band  is  less  impressive,  spoiling 
the  mood  with  erratic  material  and  a  leaden  cover  of 
Neil  Young's  "Powderfinger."  [jy] 

cows 

Taint  Pluribus  Taint  Unum  (Treehouse)  1987 
Daddy  Has  a  Tail!  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1989 
Effete  and  Impudent  Snobs  (Amphetamine  Reptile) 

1990« 
Peacetika  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 991 

Minneapolis'  Cows  don't  fool  around  when  it  comes 
to  raising  a  holy  ruckus.  Besides  throwing  off  a  frenzied 
psycho-guitar  roar,  the  quartet  takes  a  viciously  crude 
view  of  the  world  (enunciated  in  a  tuneless  shout  by 
Shannon  Selberg,  who  also  provides  me  Cows  with  the 
surprising  sound  of  trombone  and  bugle),  all  mitigated 
by  a  wry  undercurrent  of  humor.  The  badly  recorded 
Taint  Pluribus  Taint  Unum  is  an  elementary  introduc- 
tion, a  noisy  storm  of  electrified  steel  wool  that  rushes 
through  roughly  cut  songs  like  "Mother  (I  Love  That 
Bitch)"  and  the  instrumental  "Summertime  Bone"  (Ed- 
die Cochran  sent  to  trombone  hell)  with  more  enthusi- 
asm than  effect. 

A  second  ancient  rock  classic  turns  up  on  Daddy 
Has  a  Tail!,  only  the  Cows*  version  of  Johnny  Kidd's 
"ShaMn'  All  Over"  has  different  lyrics:  "Yo  girl,  I 
love  it  when  you  make  my  asshole  bleed  ...  I'm 
shakin'  in  my  colon."  Ha  ha  ha.  Overall,  this  horrible 
exercise  in  juvenile  dementia  makes  the  Cows'  first 


153 


record  sound  like  Dark  Side  of  the  Moon.  With  pro- 
duction that  couldn't  be  worse  if  the  studio  had  been 
underwater,  the  murky  rumble  of  Thor  Eisenstrager's 

overdriven  guitar  is  an  all-consuming  swamp  that  muf- 
fles the  entire  effort. 

Except  for  a  mix  that  makes  the  distorted  vocals 
nearly  subliminal  at  times,  Effete  MIC!  Impudent  Snobs 
shreds  speakers  with  far  more  clarity  and  focus.  Using 
trebly  shards  of  layered  guitar  and  thrusting  fuzz  bass, 
the  Cows  rock  out  snorting  chunks  of  unhinged  grunge 
with  lyrics;  some  of  the  tracks  ( "Big  Mickey,"  "Nancy 
Boy  Cocaine  Whore  Blues,"  ** Cartoon  Corral")  even 
coalesce  into  vague  song  shape.  If  you've  ever  been 
tempted  to  find  out  what  it  would  be  like  to  stick  your 
head  in  a  blender,  don't  bother — the  Cows  have  already 
done  it  for  you,  [i] 


CRACKERS 

See  Beat  Rodeo, 

CRAMPS 

Gravest  HIls  EP  (Illegal)  1 979  • 

Songs  the  Lod  Taught  Us  (H!egd-IRS)  1980  ® 

Psychedelic  Jungle  (IRS)  1981  * 

...  Off  the  Bone  (nr/Hlegd)  1983  « 

Smell  of  Female  EP  f  Enigma)  1983  +  1990  (Dutch  East 

Wax]  1991  * 

Bad  Music  for  Bad  People  f  IRS)  1 984  * 
A  Date  with  Elvis  (nr/BJg  Beat)  1986  (Enigma)  1990 

(Dutch  East  Wax)  1991  * 

Stay  SickS  (Enigma)  1 990  (Dutch  East  Wax)  1 991  « 
All  Women  Are  Bad  EP  (nr/Enigma)  1 990  • 

Predating  and  never  quite  participating  in  the  early 
'80s  rockabilly  revival,  the  Cramps  used  that  genre's 
primal  sound  as  a  jumping-off  point  for  a  uniquely  weird 
pastiche  of  rock'n'roll,  psychedelia  and  a  monster 
movie/junk  food/swamp-creature  aesthetic.  Led  by  un- 
inhibited vocalist  Lux  Interior  (Enck  Purkhiser)  and 
guitarist  Poison  Ivy  Rorschach  (Kirsty  Wallace),  the 
band  had  its  roots  in  Cleveland  but  was  actually  formed 
in  New  York.  After  two  self-released  45s  in  *77,  the 
Cramps  crashed  the  12-inch  barrier  with  Gravest  Hits, 
reissuing  all  four  songs  from  those  records  plus  a  fifth 
track  from  the  same  time,  all  produced  by  Alex  Chilton. 

Like  a  seance  or  voodoo  session,  the  Cramps'  music 
needs  time  to  work  its  spell,  and  so  the  albums  make  a 
better  introduction.  Songs  the  Lord  Taught  Us  is  a 
delirious  invocation  to  the  demons  behind  rock'n'roll. 
Besides  horror-comic  originals  like  "TV  Set/*  "The 
Mad  Daddy' '  and  *  'Zombie  Dance , "  the  band  overhauls 
classics  like  "Tear  It  Up"  and  "Strychnine"  to  empha- 
size their  Dionysian  inheritance.  A  minimal 
approach — no  bass,  rudimentary  drumming,  Lux's  mo- 
notonous vocals — underlines  the  music's  incantatory 
power.  (The  1989  CD  adds  four  alternate  versions  of 
tracks  from  the  LP  and  an  otherwise  unavailable  original 
entitled  "Twist  and  Shout.") 

As  a  result  of  slower  tempos,  Psychedelic  Jungle  is 
not  quite  as  intense;  still,  it  contains  prime  Cramps  psy- 
chobilly  ("Goo  Goo  Muck,"  "Voodoo  Idol,"  "Can't 
Find  My  Mind")  as  well  as  related  phenomena  ("The 
Crusher,"  "Rockin  Bones").  The  CD  adds  Gravest 
Hits. 


On  Smell  of  Female,  a  six-song  live  EP  recorded  at 
New  York's  Peppermint  Lounge,  the  group's  maniacal 
sense  of  humor  comes  through  loud  and  clear  on  well- 
recorded  mung  like  "Thee  Most  Exalted  Potentate  of 
Love"  and  "I  Ain't  Nuthin'  but  a  Gorehound."  The 
reissues  (red  vinyl  on  one  label;  CD  and  cassette  on 
another)  add  three  non-LP  tracks,  including  alternate 
versions  of  "Beautiful  Gardens"  (originally  on  Psyche- 
delic Jungle)  and  "She  Said," 

Amid  rotating  guitarists  and  disputes  with  their 
record  label,  the  Cramps  then  temporarily  submerged. 
IRS  issued  Bad  Music  for  Bad  People,  a  kiss-off  col- 
lection of  singles  sides  (both  LP  and  non-LP)  and  other 
obscure  gems,  like  the  hilariously  offensive  "She 
Said."  Meanwhile,  the  Cramps'  foreign  cult  following 
was  temporarily  sated  by  Off  the  Bone,  a  fifteen-track 
compilation  including  all  of  Gravest  Hits  and  the  con- 
tents of  Bad  Music  for  Bad  People,  with  two  earlier 
album  cuts  replacing  the  iatter's  "TV  Set"  and  "Ura- 
nium Rock." 

The  Cramps  returned  to  the  living  dead  in  late  '85 
with  a  wonderfully  smarmy  single  ("Can  Your  Pussy 
Do  the  Dog?"),  followed  by  an  all-new  sex-crazed  stu- 
dio album,  A  Date  with  Elvis,  dedicated  to  Ricky  Nel- 
son. A  bit  more  professional  (Ivy  breaks  tradition  and 
plays  bass  as  well  as  guitar!)  and  less  stylized  than 
usual,  but  as  happily  crazed  as  ever,  Elvis  contemplates 
such  Interior/Ivy  designs  as  "What's  Inside  a  Girl?," 
"(Hot  Pool  of)  Womanneed"  and  "The  Hot  Pearl 
Snatch."  (Although  initially  unreleased  in  the  Cramps' 
homeland,  A  Date  with  Elvis  was  subsequently  issued, 
with  four  bonus  tracks  collected  from  European  B-sides, 
on  CD/cassette  by  Enigma  and  colored  vinyl  by  Dutch 
East.) 

With  rulltime  bassist  Candy  Del  Mar  joining  the 
lineup  and  Ivy  in  the  producer's  chair,  Stay  Sick!  main- 
tains the  Cramps"  high  low-culture  standards  with  col- 
orful enthusiasm.  While  "Bikini  Girls  with  Machine 
Guns,"  "All  Women  Are  Bad"  and  "Journey  to  the 
Center  of  a  Girl"  all  demonstrate  Lux's  ongoing  bewil- 
dered bedevilment  by  the  opposite  sex,  *  'Mama  Oo  Pow 
Pow"  takes  a  good  swig  from  the  cultural  trashcan  that 
originally  fueled  the  Cramps'  wild-eyed  vision.  (The 
artistic  reasons  for  covering  "Shortnin'  Bread"  and 
"Muleskinner  Blues"  are,  however,  completely  open  to 
debate.)  The  CD  adds  a  nifty  version  of  Carl  Perkins' 
"Her  Love  Rubbed  Off."  The  12-inch  of  "All  Women 
Are  Bad"  contains  three  additional  B-music  tracks: 
"King  of  the  Drapes,"  "Teenage  Rage"  and  "High 
School  Hellcats . ' '  [si/i] 

See  also  Beasts  of  Bourbon,  Nick  Cave  and  the  Bad 
Seeds,  Electric  Eels,  Gun  Club,  Pagans,  Veil,  Zantees. 

CRASH  VEGAS 

Red  Earth  (Risque  Disque-Arlantic)  1 989  <$> 

This  Toronto  quartet  (including  Daniel  Lanois'  bass- 
playing  sister,  Jocelyn,  once  of  Martha  and  the  Muffins) 
plays  a  lovely  brand  of  spartan  atmospheric  folk-rock 
that  falls  somewhere  between  the  Cowboy  Junkies  and 
10,000  Maniacs.  On  Red  Earth,  what's  not  played 
seems  nearly  as  important  as  what  is;  the  ample  sonic 
space  makes  the  sound  feel  big  without  a  lot  being 
played.  It's  a  perfect  setting  for  Michelle  McAdorey's 
supple  voice  to  shine,  and  it  does.  A  cover  of  Buffalo 


154 


Springfield's  "Down  to  the  Wire"  provides  another 
good  point  of  reference.  Blue  Rodeo's  Greg  Keelor  (a 
former  member  of  Crash  Vegas)  co-wrote  nearly  half 
the  cuts.  [ds] 

See  also  Blue  Rodeo. 


CRASS 

The  Feeding  of  the  Five  Thousand,  The  Second  Sitting 

(nr/Crass)  1978® 

Stations  of  the  Crass  fnr/Crass)  1 979  • 
Penis  Envy  (Crass)  1 981  • 
Chret-The  Album  (nr/Crass)  1 982  ® 
Yes  Sir,  S  Will  {nr/Crass}  1 983  • 
10  Notes  on  a  Summer's  Day  { nr/Crass)  1 986  • 
Best  Before  {nr/Crass)  1 986  • 

PENNY  RIMBAUD  &  EVE 
LIBERTINE 

Acts  of  Love  {nr/Crass)  1 985 

Lords  of  English  punk's  extreme  left,  the  Essex- 
based  Crass  didn't  just  sing  about  anarchy  in  the  UK — 
they  did  something  about  it.  Formed  in  1977  as  a  band 
much  in  the  Sex  Pistols/Sham  69  image,  they  saw  them- 
selves as  a  more  righteous  alternative  to  those  bands, 
and  soon  evolved  into  an  anarchist  commune,  a  broad- 
sheet publisher,  several  record  labels  and  an  information 
service.  Crass  espouse  all  the  proper  causes — anti-war, 
anti-nuclear,  feminism,  flushing  out  hypocrisy  hi  orga- 
nized religion — with  blood-curdling  vehemence  on  their 
own  records  and  on  the  numerous  singles  and  albums  by 
likeminded  bands  they've  released  (or  inspired).  The 
group  was  frequently  embroiled  in  legal  battles  with 
various  government  agencies  but,  in  an  era  largely  typ- 
ified by  apathy,  Crass  stands  as  a  remarkably  successful 
model  of  dead-serious  political  commitment  in  rock. 

The  Feeding  of  the  Five  Thousand  is  a  reissue  of 
the  group's  debut  EP  on  Small  Wonder.  Fitting  eighteen 
songs  on  a  12-inch  45,  it  is  typical  of  Crass*  shock 
tactics:  the  first  cut  is  a  sneering  recitation  of  "Asy- 
lum," an  irreverent  dismissal  of  Christ  as  anybody's 
lord  over  droning  guitar  feedback.  The  rest  is  mostly 
raw  faster-louder  punk  spiked  with  protest  demagogu- 
ery,  four-letter  words  and  harsh  Cockney  ranting. 

Stations  of  the  Crass  is  even  harder  going — three 
studio  sides  and  a  live  side  containing  a  full  seventeen 
numbers.  Almost  in  spite  of  the  oppressive,  relentless 
punk  bluster,  Crass  often  wrote  anthemic  songs  (like  the 
ironic  "Banned  from  the  Roxy"  and  "Do  They  Owe  Us 
a  Living?"  from  Five  Thousand),  but  over  the  course 
of  this  album  (all  of  the  studio  material  was  cut  hi  one 
day!),  they  blur  into  white  noise.  "White  Punks  on 
Hope"  forcefully  summarizes  their  scorn  of  punk  as 
fashion;  the  Sham  69  parody,  "Hurry  Up  Garry,"  is  a 
wicked  snipe  at  the  music  press. 

Better  production  and  more  expansive  arrangements 
distinguish  Penis  Envy.  Drawing  an  ugly  parallel  be- 
tween rampant  sexism  and  man's  rape  of  nature  and 
society,  the  album  bounces  vibrantly  from  the  strident 
bash  of  the  ironic  rape  fantasy  "Bata  Motel"  to  the  LP's 
unsettling  church-organ  coda. 

Christ-The  Album  is  quintessential  Crass.  This 
boxed  two-record  studio/live  set  comes  with  a  28-page 
booklet  packed  with  emotionally  charged  fine  print 
about  the  revolution  and  one  man  who  died  for  it.  Mu- 


sically, it  builds  on  the  of  Envy,  so 

far  as  to  include  a  mock  string  in  "Reality 

Whitewash"  without  the  band's 

rage.  The  severity  of  their  and  the 

politics  can  be  predictable,  even  tot  Christ- 

The  Album  proves  the  band's  and  conviction. 

Yes  Sir,  I  Will,  is  a  bitter  to  the 

War,  a  series  of  musical  speeches  covering  the  conflict 
and  indicting  Prime  Minister  Thatcher  for  the  deaths. 
Although  most  of  the  backing  is  typically  abrasive,  a 
couple  of  passages  are  quite  beautiful. 

Drummer  Penny  Rimbaud  and  singer  Eve  Libertine 
put  together  Acts  of  Love,  an  album  of  romantic  poetry, 
"in  an  attempt  to  demonstrate  that  the  source  of  our 
anger  was  love  rather  than  hate."  After  making  a  final 
album,  10  Notes  on  a  Summer's  Day,  Crass  retired 
from  performing  and  recording  (keeping  the  Crass  label 
in  business,  and  reissuing  the  band's  catalogue  on  CD) 
to  continue  the  straggle  in  more  personal  ways.  The 
20-song  Best  Before  compilation  begins  with  1977's 
"Do  They  Owe  Us  a  Living?'*  and  runs  through  the 
band's  singles  before  ending  with  that  same  song  per- 
formed in  1984  at  Crass*  final  gig.  [df/i] 


CRAWDADDYS 

Crowdoddy  Express  (Voxx)  1979 

Still  Steamin'  (Ger.  Line)  1980 

Here  Tisl  (Voxx)  1987 

Mystic  Crawdads  (Ger.  Wired-Line)  1 989  • 

This  San  Diego  band  delivers  a  1979  record  straight 
from  1964.  Taking  their  name  from  the  London  R&B 
club  where  the  Stones  and  Yardbirds  began,  the  Craw- 
daddys  copy  those  and  other  appropriate  groups  of  the 
period  (like  the  Pretty  Things).  Unfortunately,  the 
group's  sincerity  and  enthusiasm  don't  excuse  lame  ren- 
ditions of  various  R&B  and  rock'n'roll  classics,  blues 
obscurities  and  two  originals  from  the  same  mold; 
Crawdaddy  Express  may  be  a  well-intentioned  tribute, 
but  it  amounts  to  little  more  than  nostalgia-mongering. 

Over  the  course  of  the  next  five  years,  the  Crawdad- 
dys  recorded  one  unreleased  album  and  went  through  a 
batch  of  lineups  (leaving  drummer  Dan  McLain  free  to 
become  Country  Dick  Montana  and  co-found  the  Beat 
Farmers).  Three  years  after  the  band  called  it  quits,  the 
lost  second  LP  (vintage  1984)  was  finally  released,  ex- 
panded with  five  previous  outtakes.  Offering  a  fair  re- 
flection of  the  group's  early  '60s  eclecticism,  Here 
'Tis! — a  sharper  and  more  convincing  LP  than 
Express — relies  heavily  on  singer  Ron  Silva's  origi- 
nals, but  also  covers  Chuck  Berry,  Leiber/Stoller,  soul 
legends  and  British  Invasion  stars.  Mystic  Crawdads  is 
a  compilation  of  early  material.  [wk/i] 

See  also  Beat  Farmers. 

CRAWLSPACE 

Silent  Invisible  Conversation  EP  (Aus.  Grown  Up  Wrong) 

1989 

In  the  Gospel  Zone  (Bona  Fide)  1989 
Solitude  Crtrwlspace  Head  EP  (Sympathy  for  the  Record 

Industry)  1990 

Mid-"70s  fanzine  guru  (and  former  Gizmo)  Eddie 
Flowers  leads  this  loosely  constructed  Los  Angeles  ag- 
gregation through  a  variety  of  blaring,  but  somehow 


155 


unpnw-rock  styles,  all  of  which  reinforce  the 

band's  implicit  *ftTlie  go  in  before  the 

on."  Silent  Conversation  takes  its 

from  a  line  in  the  Can          <  "Little  Star  of  Beth* 
lefaein1")  that  fills          Two  and  feints  that  the 
adrenal,  Genns-ish  tracks  on  the  flip  were  but  a  stepping 

to  the  tiaixkr-to-sfaake  stuff. 
In  the  Gospel  Z0ae  peddles  a  much  slower- 
working,  but  ultimately  more  lethal,  brew.  Ricocheting 
in  white- water-rapids-of-conscicwsness  fashion,  be- 
tween beatnik  nihilism,  full-leather-jacket  biker  hate- 
mongering  and  White  Panther  positivism,  Flowers'  rants 
reproduce  the  spirit  of  utter  drag-rock  derangement  like 
no  one  since  the  (NYC)  Godz.  A  public-service  an- 
nouncement for  some*  a  call  to  arms  for  others.  SoH- 
tade  narrows  the  focus  a  bit,  with  the  rambling 
* 'Solitude  Smokestack  Head"  overtly  advocating  the 
use  of  cannabis  (simultaneously  discouraging  it  via  the 
unmistakable  evidence  of  brainpan  burnout ).  The  al- 
most zen-Iike  "Ocean  =  You,"  however,  is  actually 
quite  beautiful.  [dss| 

See  also  Gizmos. 

CRAZY  BACKWARDS  ALPHABET 

See  Henry  Kaiser, 

CRAZYHEAD 

Deswi  Orchid  f  Food-EMI)  1 988  * 

Taking  its  cues  from  giebo  mongrels  Zodiac  Mind- 
warp  and  the  Love  Reaction,  this  cheeky  Leicester 
quintet — whose  personnel  employ  such  sobriquets  as 
Porkbeast  and  Reverb — gleefully  gooses  heavy  metal 
with  a  poppy  irreverence  that  is  absolutely  infectious. 
Bolstered  by  two  superb  singles  ('Time  Has  Taken  Its 
Toll  on  You"  and  "What  Gives  You  the  Idea  That 
You're  So  Amazing  Baby?"),  Desert  Orchid  is  a  fine 
debut  that  somehow  manages  to  sound  both  fresh  and 
classic.  Producer  Mark  Freegard  (who's  worked  with 
New  Model  Army)  lends  the  requisite  punch  to  songs 
like  "In  the  Sun/*  "Down  on  You  (Dragon  City)'*  and 
a  rambunctious  cover  of  the  Sonics'  "Have  Love  Will 
Travel."  [db] 

CRAZY  PINK  REVOLVERS 

See  Spear  of  Destiny. 

CREATIVE  TECHNOLOGY 
INSTITUTE 

See  Chris  and  Cosey, 

CREATURES 

Wild  Things  EP  (nr/Polydor)  1 981 
Feast  (nr/Wonderiand-Polydor)  1983 
Boomerang  (GefFen)  1 989  • 

Soon  after  the  Banshees  released  Juju,  Siouxsie 
Sioux  and  drummer  Budgie,  calling  themselves  the 
Creatures,  collaborated  on  a  five-song  double-45  of 
voice-and-percussion  pieces,  including  a  nasty  rework- 
ing of  the  Troggs  classic  "Wild  Thing."  The  full-length 
Feast,  however,  is  a  dilettantish  excursion  into  the  only 


previously  untested  flavor-of~the-month:  Hawaiian.  The 
iastmraentatioE  incorporates  marimba,  while  an  ethnic 
choir  bogus  authenticity  to  the  messy  proceedings. 
Even  worse,  the  lyncs  are  bad  acid  visions  written  by 
people  evidently  unfamiliar  with  their  subject  matter. 
The  Creatures  did  make  one  great  1983  single,  "Right 
Now'*  | covering  an  old  Mel  Torme*  tune),  which  is  not 
on  the  LP. 

Six  years  passed  before  the  duo  issued  another  al- 
bum. Recorded  in  Spain,  Boomerang  (thankfully) 
makes  no  attempt  at  contributing  to  the  musical  heritage 
of  any  world  culture  Augmented  by  horns,  harmonicas, 
synths,  etc.,  the  Creatures  produce  (along  with  Mike 
Hedges)  a  varied  collection  of  fine,  if  not  earth-shaking 
work.  Each  of  the  fourteen  tracks  has  something  differ- 
ent to  offer,  from  the  Euro-electronics  of  "Pluto  Drive" 
to  the  bluesy  "Killing  Time."  Budgie  also  gets  to  prac- 
tice his  marimba,  steel  drums  and  the  like  on  several 
cuts.  A  much  better  idea  the  second  time  around. 

See  also  Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees.          [rnp/dgs] 

HELIOS  CREED 

See  Chrome. 


CREEPERS 

See  Marc  Riley  with  the  Creepers. 

CREEPS 

Enjoy  the  Creeps  (Swed  Tracb  on  Wax)  1 986  (Can. 

Star)  1987 

Now  Dig  This!  (Ger.  WEA)  1 988  • 
Blue  Tomato  (Atlantic)  1 990  • 

When  organist  Hans  Ingemansson  relinquished 
songwriting  and  lead  vocals  to  guitarist  Robert  Jelinek 
in  the  mid- '80s,  picking  up  a  new  rhythm  section  in  the 
bargain,  Sweden's  premier  modern  beat-psych  combo 
offhandedly  changed  names  from  the  Backdoor  Men  to 
the  Creeps  and  made  a  big  splash  in  the  small  pond  of 
garage  punk  devotees  with  the  wickedly  soulful  and 
melodic  Eiyoy.  The  album  includes  several  covers  and 
numerous  copped  riffs,  all  interpolated  into  a  powerful 
attack  blatantly  imitative  of  the  Lyres  while  concur- 
rently possessed  of  more  range  and  greater  attention  to 
mood  mechanics. 

Several  years  later,  the  follow-up  jettisoned  virtually 
all  the  dirt  and  raunch  in  favor  of  an  early  funk  bias  to 
match  the  heavy  soul  pump  and  attitude  now  permeating 
the  music.  Still  a  terrific  songwriter  and  strong  vocalist, 
Jelinek  rallied  his  backdoor  troops  in  a  high  energy  romp 
through  the  underside  of  the  pop  and  "black"  charts 
circa  mid-to-late-'60s,  albeit  with  '80s  urgency  and  pro- 
duction values.  An  interesting  development,  but  Now 
Dig  This!  isn't  as  good  as  the  first  LP,  substituting  style 
for  rage,  budget  for  exuberance. 

Blue  Tomato,  the  quartet's  first  LP  with  an  outside 
producer,  only  exacerbates  the  problem,  offering  up 
'80s  dancefloor  style  to  further  modify  the  gutsy,  gusty 
organ-pumped  brew  for  mall-goers  in  designer  tags. 
Quite  possibly  the  best  Stax-oriented  club  band  operat- 
ing today,  the  Creeps  are  still  a  great  loss  in  terms  of 
compromised  potential.  [ab] 


156 


Crerakaw  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982  • 
Field  Doy  (Warner  Bros.)  1 983 
Or  Town  EP  f  nr/Warner  Bros.)  1 984 
Downtown  f  Warner  Bros.)  1 985 
The  Distance  Refween  EP  f  or/Warner  Bros,}  1 986 
Mary  Jean  &  9  Others  (Warner  Bros.)  1 987  • 
Good  Evening  (Warner  Bros,}  1 989  • 
Life's  Too  Short  f  Paradox-MCA)  1 991  4> 

Detroit  native  Crensfiaw  spent  some  time  In  a  road 
company  of  Beatlemania  before  moving  (with  drummer 
brother  Robert)  to  New  York,  where  Ms  own  songs 
became  local  new  wave  faves.  Following  an  indepen- 
dent 12-inch  with  a  major-label  recording  contract, 
Crenshaw  made  a  debut  album  of  sparkling,  tuneful 
gems  that  are  instantly  memorable  and  remain  every  bit 
as  enjoyable  after  a  decade.  Clean  and  crisp,  free  of 
frills  and  pretense,  Marshal  Crenshaw's  scrubbed  pop 
style  makes  the  record  sound  like  a  test  of  studio  audio 
quality.  Notwithstanding  the  reasonable  Buddy  Holly 
comparisons  (renewed  when  Crenshaw  portrayed  Buddy 
in  1987's  La  Bamba),  songs  like  "Someday,  Some- 
way," "She  Can't  Dance,"  "Cynical  Girl"  and  "Brand 
New  Lover'*  make  it  clear  that  Crenshaw  is  an  enor- 
mously talented  original. 

Field  Day,  rather  overproduced  by  Steve  Lillywhite, 
has  a  walloping  drum  sound,  lots  of  sonic  holes  and  a 
few  of  Crenshaw's  best  songs.  Although  not  an  artistic 
success  in  toto,  joyous  numbers  like  "Whenever  You're 
on  My  Mind,"  "All  I  Know  Right  Now"  and  "Our 
Town"  mine  Crenshaw's  shuffle-pop  resources  effec- 
tively. Mindful  of  the  criticism  Field  Bay  engendered, 
"Our  Town"  and  two  other  tracks  from  it  were  given  a 
simplifying  remix  by  John  Luongo,  attached  to  a  live 
oldie  ("Little  Sister")  and  issued  as  an  impressive 
second-chance  12-inch  in  the  UK. 

With  production  assistance  by  T-Bone  Burnett  and  a 
large  bunch  of  savvy  sidemen  in  place  of  his  usual  band, 
Crenshaw  filled  Downtown  with  extraordinarily  mem- 
orable and  intelligent  pop  songs  in  a  number  of  musical 
veins.  Easily  the  finest,  most  mature  of  his  first  three 
albums,  Downtown  swings  with  easy  confidence 
through  heartbreakers  ("The  Distance  Between," 
"Like  a  Vague  Memory"),  lovemakers  ("Yvonne," 
"Terrifying  Love"),  country  laments  and  blues  struts. 
It  also  features  an  incisive  reading  of  Ben  Vaughn's 
hauntingly  wistful  "I'm  Sorry  (But  So  Is  Brenda  Lee). " 
(The  Distance  Between  12-inch  pairs  two  Downtown 
tracks  with  two  songs  from  the  first  UP.) 

Continuing  on  his  onward  and  upward  path,  Cren- 
shaw returned  to  the  small-combo  format,  cutting  the 
brilliant,  often  beautiful  Mary  Jean  with  two  side- 
men — ^brother/drummer  Robert  Crenshaw  and  longtime 
Joe  Jackson  bassist  Graham  Maby.  Don  Dixon's  simple 
but  full  production  sparkles,  with  just  the  right  echo  on 
the  snare  and  spring  in  the  strings.  Even  when  shock- 
ingly manic  guitar  solos  erupt  in  "Til  That  Moment" 
and  "This  Street,"  they  work  for  the  songs,  not  against 
them.  Guest  crooners  (including  Tom  Teeley  and  Marti 
Jones)  pitch  in  to  enrich  winsome,  well-crafted  tunes — 
"Wild  Abandon";  "Mary  Jean";  a  thoughtfully  reflec- 
tive Crenstiaw/Dixon  composition,  "Calling  Out  for 
Love  (At  Crying  Time)";  Peter  Case's  atmospheric 


land  ode  to  the  guitar,  "Steel  Strings" — 

with  exquisite  that  convey 

the  ecstasy  and  of 

The  and  by 

commercial  the  Gk»d 

Evening,  a  that 

of  compromise  and  a        of  f  not  to 

over-use  of  whiny          guitar),  well-chosen 

and  delightfully  performed  by  Richard  Thompson 

("Valerie" I,  ("Let  Her  Dance"),  John 

Hiatt  ("Someplace  Where  Love  Can't  Find  Me")  and 
the  Isley  Brothers  I  "Live  It  Up"),  the  pickings  are 
slim:  two  so-so  Creusfiaw  songs,  fair  collabora- 

tions and  an  unwelcome  contribution  by  Ac  dreaded 
Diane  Warren. 

Nicely  produced  by  Ed  Stasium,  Life's  Too 
Short — almost  all  originate — Is  a  lightweight  bat  con- 
sistent pleasure.  No  instant  classics  (although  the  dopey- 
enough-to-be-real  romanticism  of  "Fantastic  Planet  of 
Love"  comes  close),  but  even  the  tracks  are  jest 

too  much  fun  to  pick  on.  Marshall  (mostly  with  bassist 
Fernando  Saunders  and  drummer  Kenny  Aronoff) 
stretches  nearly  every  cut  a  bit  longer  than  necessary  (no 
track's  less  than  four  minutes,  which  used  to  be  Ms 
upper  limit),  but  the  songs — including  one  by  Ctiris 
Knox  of  the  Tali  Dwarfs — are  strong  enough  not  to 
sound  attenuated. 

Extracurricular  activities:  Crenshaw  compiled  and 
annotated  Hillbilly  Music  •  .  .  Thank  God!  and  pro- 
duced a  1989  album  for  Nashville's  rocking  Thieves. 


CRENT 

See  Celibate  Rifles. 

CRIME  AND  THE  CITY  SOLUTION 

The  Dangling  Man  EP  {nr/Mute}  1 985 

Just  South  of  Heaven  EP  {nr/Mute)  1985 

Room  of  Lights  {nr/Mute)  1 986  * 

Shine  (Mute-Restless)  1 988  • 

The  Bride  Ship  (Mute-Restless)  1989  • 

Paradise  Discotheque  (Mute-Bektra)  1990  4> 

Although  singer  Simon  Bonney  had  led  a  series  of 
groups  under  this  odd  name,  it  was  only  in  the  wake  of 
the  Birthday  Party — when  guitarist  Rowland  S.  How- 
ard, drummer  Mick  Harvey  and  Howard's  bass-playing 
brother  Harry  joined — that  the  Australian  band  gained 
international  access  and  recognition. 

The  Dangling  Man,  a  four-track  disc,  picks  up 
where  the  Party  ended — a  slow,  stripped-down,  blues- 
flavored  horror  show.  (Considering  that  Cave  did  much 
the  same  on  his  first  solo  recordings,  one  wonders  if  the 
band  didn't  break  up  out  of  boredom  rather  than  any 
serious  musical  differences.)  None  of  the  songs  really 
take  off,  but  it  does  show  promise. 

With  ex-Swell  Map  drummer  Epic  Soundtracks  in 
the  lineup,  Harvey  returned  to  his  old  BP  role  as  multi- 
instrumentalist.  Just  South  of  Heaven  is  cleaner  and 
more  powerful:  all  six  tracks  work  weU.  Howard's  gui- 
tar is  as  strong  as  ever,  but  piano  and  organ  figure  just 
as  prominently.  A  hauntingly  beautiful  record  by  a  well- 
integrated  band. 


157 


of  Lights,  Crime's  first  full-length  LP,  fea- 
tures a  noticeably  heavier  and  thicker  sound.  With  the 
predominance  of  slow  tempos,  Bouncy "s  somewhat  un- 
attractive voice  and  the  overly  serious  lyrics,  supplied 
mostly  by  violinist  Bronwyn  Adams,  the  disc  is  labori- 
ously endurance-defying.  The  band  seems  to  be  some- 
what stunted  developmental^:  these  eight  songs  are 
merely  variations  on  previously  introduced  themes. 

Following  Room  of  Lights  and  an  appearance  in 
Wim  Wenders*  Wings  of  Desire,  Soundtracks  and  the 
Howards  split  to  form  These  Immortal  Souls;  Bonney, 
Harvey  and  Adams  resettled  in  Berlin  where  they  re- 
cruited three  local  musicians  (including  Einsriirzende 
Neubauten  guitarist  Alexander  Hacke)  and  recorded 
Shine,  With  Adams'  violin  prominent  throughout,  the 
overall  tone  is  surprisingly  much  lighter  and  livelier; 
"Fray  So  Slow"  could  almost  be  old  Simple  Minds. 
Several  other  tracks  move  along  nicely  and  melodically. 
Listeners  who  mistakenly  thought  Howard  had  been  the 
band's  major  creative  force  will  be  caught  off-guard  by 
this  impressive  disc, 

After  Shine,  Crime  and  the  City  Solution  took  a 
decidedly  artsy  turn,  but  in  an  odd  throwback  direction. 
Although  not  as  outrageously  dramatic  as,  say,  Doctors 
of  Madness  nor  as  elegant  as  post-Eno  Roxy  Music, 
those  comparisons  are  not  completely  off  base.  The  en- 
hanced melodic  sense  is  supplemented  by  Bonney 's 
much  improved  vocals  (or  is  it  vice  versa?)  on  the  ba- 
roque Bride  Ship.  While  the  embellished,  fussy  pro- 
duction utilizes  an  intriguing  sonic  palette,  tempos  plod 
along  incessantly  and  the  end  result  is  just  a  distant, 
detached-sounding  band. 

Paradise  Discotheque  is  an  improvement,  with 
much  more  warmth  and  blood  in  the  sound.  Several 
cuts,  especially  the  folksy  "I  Have  the  Gun/'  are  pro- 
duced simply  enough  to  stand  on  their  own  merits.  On 
the  down  side,  the  band  reveals  a  penchant  for  multi- 
part suite-songs — "The  Last  Dictator"  needs  four  seg- 
ments and  an  entire  side  to  get  its  point  across,  [dgs] 

See  also  Birthday  Party,  These  Immortal  Souls. 


CR1MONY 


CRIPPLED  PILGRIMS 

Head  Down-Hand  Out  EP  (Fountain  of  Youth)  1984 
Under  Water  (Fountain  of  Youth)  1 985 

Most  of  the  music  on  this  Maryland  quartet's  EP  and 
album  is  fairly  undistinguished  folk-  and  garage-rock — 
sketchy  songs  roughly  produced  on  two  guitars,  bass 
and  drums.  Lead  singer  Jay  Moglia  seems  to  be  trying  to 
convey  something  about  how  people  underestimate 
themselves  and  settle  for  less  than  they're  worth,  and 
about  the  difficulty  of  honest  self-expression.  But  either 
he  gets  too  angry  and  the  songs  turn  into  shapeless  in- 
choate rants*  or  he  turns  dreamy  and  blathers  on  without 
really  saying  much.  Then,  for  a  few  beautiful  and  per- 
fect moments  on  Under  Water,  he  gets  it  right.  In 
'  'Down  Here,  * * '  'Undone"  and  *  'Pretend  Not  to  Care, ' ' 
the  guitar  chords  slip  softly  by  like  leaves  in  a  pool,  and 
Moglia's  tentative,  unsure  voice  finds  its  balance  of  des- 
peration and  desire.  Rough,  sullen  and  unyielding,  with 


a  kick  drum  pounding  like  an  accelerated  heartbeat, 
"Oblivious  and  Numb*'  is  his  most  beautiful  and  perfect 
moment  of  all.  [kss] 

CRISPY  AMBULANCE 

live  on  a  Hot  August  Night  EP  (Bel.  Factory  Benelux) 

1981 

The  Plateau  Phase  (Bel.  Factory  Benelux)  1982 
Open  Gates  of  Fire  [tape]  (nr/CSBT)  1 983 
The  Blue  &  Yellow  of  the  Yacht  CSub  [tape]  f  nr/CSBT} 

1983 

Sexus  EP  (Bel  Factory  Benelux)  1984  • 
Fin  (Bel.  Les  Temps  Modemes)  1 984  4-  1990  * 
Crispy  Ambulance  [CD]  (Be!.  Factory  Benelux)  1 990  • 

Manchester's  Crispy  Ambulance  was  one  of  the 
indie-label  explosion  bands  that  formed  in  the  late  '70s 
after  such  ensembles  as  Throbbing  Gristle  and  the  abra- 
sively punky  Mekons  helped  dig  a  niche  for  music  that 
wasn't  oriented  to  the  rock'n'roll  lifestyle  or  chart  suc- 
cess. Despite  a  reputation  as  part  of  the  city's  gloom 
movement — thanks  to  an  early  association  with  Factory, 
a  Joy  Division  gig  at  which  Crispy  Ambulance  singer/ 
synthesist  Alan  Hempsall  subbed  for  Ian  Curtis,  and  one 
studio  foray  with  producer  Martin  Hannett — on  the  mis- 
leadingly  titled  Live  on  a  Hot  August  Night  12-inch: 
two  JD  wannabe  studio  tracks  that  run  a  combined  total 
of  22  minutes,  including  droning  ambient  passages — the 
quartet  could  actually  be  quite  perky,  even  danceable, 
as  on  the  posthumously  issued  "Sexus"  single. 

More  soundsters  than  popsters,  Crispy  Ambulance 
at  first  produced  landscapes  of  timbre  and  texture  fea- 
turing canted  vocals  and  sharp-edged  guitar;  the  group 
later  moved  on  to  drawn-out  moanings  and  synthesizer- 
produced  textures  mixed  with  shimmering  guitar.  At  its 
best,  Crispy  Ambulance  could  create  deceptively  unob- 
trusive sci-fi  scores;  at  worst,  the  music  is  little  more 
than  a  pretentious  sea  of  echoed  din. 

Recorded  live  (with  occasionally  dodgy  sound)  at 
various  European  shows  in  1981  and  '82,  Fin  shows 
just  how  active  and  abrasive  the  group's  experiments 
with  synthesizer  and  guitar  textures  could  be,  and  ac- 
knowledges its  stylistic  foundations  in  a  cover  of  Throb- 
bing Gristle's  "United." 

Despite  absurdly  over-echoed  percussion,  Plateau 
Phase  is  pretty  and  introspective,  with  engrossing  shifts 
in  texture,  tempo  and  tone  and  enough  guts  to  ballast  the 
gloomy  elegance. 

When  the  post-punk/gloom  genre  ended,  so  did 
Crispy  Ambulance,  closing  up  shop  in  late  '82.  (Al- 
though a  subsequent  incarnation  named  Ram  Ram  Kino 
put  out  a  single  on  UK  Temple.)  In  1990,  two  CDs  re- 
issued virtually  everything  the  group  ever  released  (save 
for  the  two  1983  cassettes  of  live  material  and  demos). 
Crispy  Ambulance  contains  The  Plateau  Phase  and 
both  EPs;  the  new  edition  of  Fin  adds  both  sides  of  the 
band's  1980  debut  single  and  a  B-side.  fe/i] 


CRO-MAGS 

The  Age  of  Quarrel  (Rock  Hotel-Profile)  1 986  « 
Best  Wishes  (Profile)  1989* 

Although  led  by  a  Hare  Krishna  devotee,  these  New 
York  hardcore  longs  neither  jangle  finger  cymbals  nor 
chant  religious  mantras  on  The  Age  of  Quarrel,  a  blaze 


158 


of  state-of-the-art  punk  aggro.  Vocalist  Joto  Joseph  I  co- 
lyricist  with  bassist  Hartey  Flanagan)  roars  through  hu- 
manist lyrics  about  peace,  trust,  independence  and 
justice  as  the  band  keeps  up  the  mid-speed  speaker- 
shredding  with  two  guitarists  doing  their  best  to  update 
Ritchie  Blackmore's  throaty  Deep  Purple  sound.  Drum- 
mer Mackie  regulates  the  tempo  enough  to  ensure  an 
adequate  proportion  of  mosh  parts  (generally  at  the  be- 
ginning of  songs  rather  than  the  middle),  but  often  un- 
nervingly  sounds  like  he's  playing  an  entirely  different 
song  from  his  bandmates. 

With  varied  tempos,  extended  song  lengths,  more 
guitar  solos  and  effectively  threatening  atmosphere,  an 
overhauled  lineup — now  featuring  Flanagan  on  vocals 
(in  place  of  the  departed  Joseph)  and  ex-Kraut  guitarist 
Doug  Holland  sharing  the  axe  duties  with  Panis  Mitchel 
Mayhew— made  an  effective  stylistic  transition  from 
metallic  punk  to  punky  metal  on  Best  Wishes.  While 
most  of  the  tightly  structured  tracks  thunder  along  with 
little  subtlety  (except  in  the  lyrics),  Flanagan  does  de- 
liver his  devotional  sentiments  in  "The  Only  One"  with 
dramatic  flair.  [i] 

See  also  Kraut. 


CROSSFIRE  CHOIR 

Crossfire  Choir  (Passport)  1 986  • 
Back  to  the  Wall  (Track}  1 988 

A  major  American  label  signed  this  up-from-Florida 
New  Jersey  quartet  but  never  released  their  album;  after 
the  band  was  dropped,  tracks  recorded  in  England  with 
producer  Steve  Lillywhite  were  retrieved  and  issued 
(along  with  three  subsequent  items)  as  a  belated  debut. 
Although  the  group  had  built  a  club  reputation  for  punky 
outrageousness,  this  is  far  more  familiar  fare:  urgent 
pop/rock  with  keyboards  and  a  hint  of  potential  pom- 
posity. The  music  isn't  bad,  but  guitarist  J  Pounders' 
grating  dramatic  warble  is  more  memorable  than  his 
songs. 

Nicely  produced  by  Ed  Stasium,  Back  to  the  Wall 
reduces  the  group's  weaknesses  (mainly  by  cranking  up 
the  rhythm  guitars  and  mixing  down  Pounders'  voice), 
but  still  doesn't  find  anything  particularly  worthwhile  in 
the  music.  A  petulant  chorus  of  "Why  can't  we  be  on 
MTV?"  reveals  the  Choir's  problem:  more  ambition 
than  talent.  [i] 

CROWDED  HOUSE 

Crowded  House  (Capitol)  1986  • 

World  Where  You  Live  EP  (nr/Capitol)  1 987  • 

Temple  of  Low  Men  (Capitol)  1 988  * 

I  Feel  Possessed  EP  (Capitol)  1 989  « 

Woodface  (Capitol)  1991  • 

Songwriter/singer/guitarist  Neil  Finn's  post-Split 
Enz  group  follows  the  trend  of  that  band's  later  albums 
towards  simplification.  Despite  occasional  keyboards 
(added  on  disc  by  Finn  and  producer  Mitchell  Froom 
and  onstage  by  ex-Enzman  Eddie  Rayner,  who  co-wrote 
one  of  the  first  LP's  songs),  the  trio's  sound  is  a  bit  thin. 
Yet  the  melodious  mix  of  tunes  about  dreams  and  night- 
mares, aching  for  love  and  the  aching  love  causes,  does 
prove  enjoyable  and  affecting,  given  time;  for  its  mod- 
est first  impressions,  Crowded  House  gradually  devel- 
oped into  a  substantial  commercial  success.  (The  World 


Where  You  Live  EP  is  four  LP  plus  a 

bonus.  I 

On  Temple  of  Low  Froom** 

with  the  group  to  his  key- 

boards) yields  fuller, 
Ironically,  or 

deliberately  oblique.  So  the 

better,  fee  quality  of  the  best  still  doesn't 

match  the  debut's  Finn's  or 

stream-of-consciousness  to  the 

overall  loss-of-innocence  feel:  "I  Feel  Possessed** 

off*  followed  by  "Kill  Eye'1  (late-period  from 

hell)  and  "Into  Temptation'1 — >ou  get  the  A  pretty 
dark  album  from  such  a  seemingly  light  band.  One  gem, 
** Never  Stay  the  Same,"  however,  with  pos- 

sibilities both  good  and  ill  Richard  Thompson  provides 
a  guest  guitar  solo  OE  "Sister  Madly." 

Rather  than  just  release  "I  Feel  Possessed* '  as  a  CD 
single,  Capitol  added  three  Byrds  classics  faithfully  re- 
produced onstage  by  Byxdhouse  (the  tend  backing 
Roger  McGuinn,  get  it?).  Nice,  but  for  fans  only. 

Bassist  Nick  Seymour,  who  also  painted  both 
Crowded  House  album  covers,  happens  to  be  the  brother 
of  Hunters  and  Collectors  leader  Mark  Seymour.  In  late 
'90,  Tim  Finn  joined  his  brother's  band,  and  the  quartet 
began  working  on  its  third  album,  Jjg] 

See  also  Split  Enz. 


CRUCIFUCKS 

The  Crucifucks  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1985 
Wisconsin  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1987 

DOC  CORB1N  DART 

Patricia  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1990 

In  pursuit  of  the  ultimately  offensive  band  name, 
these  confrontational  Michiganders  were  so  successful 
that  their  first  album  incorporates  actual  spoken-word 
comments  and  run-ins  with  the  law  over  it.  Unfortu- 
nately, little  else  about  the  record  is  amusing:  rudimen- 
tary slow-to-mid-speed  punk  with  a  truly  obnoxious 
vocals  by  Doc  Corbin  Dart  and  obvious  topical  songs 
like  "Hinckley  Had  a  Vision,"  "Cops  for  Fertilizer" 
and  "Go  Bankrupt  and  Die." 

Eulogizing  the  cheese  state  (where  it  was  recorded) 
on  their  second  LP,  the  Crucifucks  unveil  a  surprising 
bit  of  wit  and  musical  development.  Dart  still  sounds 
like  Pete  Shelley's  tuneless  nerd  cousin,  but  intelligent, 
politically  correct  lyrics  ("Laws  Against  Laughing," 
"The  Savior")  and  well-recorded  electric  and  acoustic 
guitar  raunch  ("Concession  Stand,*'  "Pig  in  a  Blan- 
ket") make  Wisconsin  commendable  to,  say,  fans  of 
the  Dead  Kennedys. 

Whatever  the  band  might  have  achieved,  Dart's  solo 
album  is  an  altogether  darker  and  more  disturbing  affair. 
The  simple  rock  and  folk  (by  Dart  and  two  other  multi- 
instrumentalists)  may  sound  lighter  and  more  appealing, 
but  the  lyrics'  self-analytic  torrent  of  fear,  bitterness  and 
withdrawal  turn  the  album  into  a  harrowing  real-life 
nightmare.  Imagine  a  wobbly  ex-Buzzcock  singing  his 
emotional  problems  on  a  psychiatrist's  couch  and  you'll 
get  a  sense  of  this  unsettling  exploration  into  a  damaged 
psyche.  That  Patricia  is  both  articulate  and— dare  it  be 
said—oddly  entertaining  is  a  testament  to  Dart's  talent 
and  honesty.  [i] 


159 


JULEE  CRUISE 

Flocrting  into  the  Night  {Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

In  1985,  Iowa  native  Juice  Cruise  was  a  talent  scout 
for  soundtrack  composer  Aegelo  BadalamentI  when  tie 
began  working  with  David  Lynch  on  Blue  Velvet.  She  fit 
the  spacey-baby-doll  sound  the  director  wanted,  and 
wound  up  recording  "Mysteries  of  Love" — lyrics  by 
Lynch  and  music  by  Badalamenti — for  the  movie.  The 
song  set  a  format  which  the  three  have  repeatedly  ex- 
plored: OR  Cruise's  album,  her  appearances  on  Twin 
Peaks,  an  inane  "avant-garde"  stage  production  and 
home  video  (Industrial  Symphony  No.  1 )  and  the  Twin 
Peaks  soundtrack  LP,  which  contains  three  tracks  lifted 
directly  from  Floating  Into  the  Night.  (Besides  numer- 
ous film  scores,  Badalamenti — who  had  a  minor  hit  in 
the  '60s  as  Andy  Badale  and  the  Nashville  Beer  Garden 
Band — has  written  songs  for  George  Benson,  Patti  Aus- 
tin and  others. )  Admittedly,  it's  a  supremely  seductive 
sound,  marrying  walking  bass  lines  to  dark,  enveloping 
film  noir  jazz  and  swelling  strings,  with  Cruise's  ethe- 
real come-hither  vocals  cooing  coolly  through  it  all.  As 
produced  by  the  Lynch/Badalamenti  songwriting  duo, 
some  of  the  tracks  veer  dangerously  close  to  elevator 
music  but  others,  like  "Rockin'  Back  Inside  My  Heart,'* 
are  truly  idiosyncratic  and  contain  moments  of  real 
drama.  [ws] 

CRUMBSUCKERS 

Life  of  Dreams  (Combat  Com)  1 986 
Beast  on  My  Back  (Combat)  1 988  • 

Life  of  Dreams  is  second-rate  New  York  (Long 
Island)  hardcore  with  a  metal  crossover  edge:  the 
Crumbsuckers  have  the  essential  audio  elements  (speed, 
volume,  chops,  croaked  vocals)  but  nothing  much  on 
their  minds.  The  LP  has  one  oddity — a  discussion  of  the 
1984  Presidential  campaign  in  "Super  Tuesday" — but 
otherwise  offers  such  routine  middle-class  contempla- 
tions as  "Live  to  Work"  and  "Bullshit  Society." 

Beast  on  My  Back  (aka  B.O.M.B.)  turns  the 
Crumbsuckers  on  their  heads,  stylistically  speaking. 
This  time  out,  armed  with  a  new  flight-of-the- 
bumblebee  lead  guitarist  and  high-def  production 
(Randy  Burns,  remixed  by  Genya  Ravan),  they're  a 
speedmetal  band  with  some  recalcitrant  'core  tenden- 
cies. The  nine  long  songs  (none  under  three  minutes, 
two  over  five)  have  mosh  parts  and  shouted  vocals,  but 
don't  all  rely  on  breakneck  down-strumming  or  double- 
bass  foot-pedaling.  More  impressive  than  listenable, 
B.O.M.B.  is  an  exhausting  ride  to  nowhere.  [i] 

CRUZADOS 

Cruzados  (Arista)  1 985  • 
After  Dark  (Arista)  1 987  • 

Despite  the  quartet's  impressive  non-mainstream 
pedigree — Tito  Larriva  and  Chalo  Quintana  were  in  the 
Plugz,  Steven  Hufsteter  was  involved  with  various  Kim 
Fowley-related  ventures,  including  the  Quick — 
Cruzados  is  a  rather  familiar-sounding  melodic  rock 
album  with  few  distinguishing  characteristics  and  no 
evident  Southwest  influences.  Perhaps  it's  the  fault  of 
producer  Rodney  Mills,  veteran  of  countless  .38  Special 
albums.  Or  maybe  the  work  these  guys  did  on  film 
scores  or  backing  Bob  Dylan  on  TV  made  them  too 


slick.  In  any  case,  Cnizados  is  nothing  to  get  excited 
about. 

Envisioning  chart  possibilities  in  the  post- 
Mellencamp  world  of  simple  heartland  rock,  the  Cruza- 
dos replaced  Hufsteter  and  augmented  Mills  with  four 
more  producers  (including  Waddy  Wachtel)  for  their 
second  LP.  With  guest  appearances  by  everyone  from 
the  late  Paul  Butterfield  to  Pat  Benatar  to  Don  Henley, 
After  Dark  is  a  plain  but  solid  effort.  (Except  for  Lar- 
nva's  "Time  for  Waiting,"  which  sounds  nauseatingly 
like  the  Eagles.)  [i] 

See  also  Havalinas,  Plugz,  Quick. 


CUCUMBERS 

Fresh  Cucumbers  EP  (Fake  Doom)  1 983 

Who  Betrays  Me  . . .  and  Other  Happier  Songs  (Fake 

Doom)  1 985 
The  Cucumbers  (Profile)  1987  • 

Charming,  onginal  pop  from  Hoboken,  New  Jersey. 
Guitarist  Deena  Shoshkes'  lead  vocal  on  "My  Boy- 
friend" is  Brenda  Lee  magic  set  to  a  dB's-like  tune; 
elsewhere,  the  blend  includes  more  edgy  guitar  work 
(by  Jon  Fried)  and  less  fizzy  charm.  The  other  three 
songs  on  Fresh  sacrifice  some  catchiness  for  added  com- 
plexity, but  all  are  likable. 

The  half-new  quartet's  Who  Betrays  Me  is  a  full 
album  of  peppy  melodies,  thoughtful  lyrics,  semi- 
intricate  guitar-based  arrangements  and  appealing  har- 
monies by  Shoshkes  and  Fried.  The  spare  "Everything 
Goes"  blends  a  sultry  melody  and  a  fine  dual  vocal; 
"Desperation"  sounds  like  an  update  on  the  Everly 
Brothers;  "Walking  and  Talking"  mixes  and  matches 
rhythms  for  a  kicky  B-52's  effect;  "Want  to  Talk"  grafts 
on  a  mild  Latin  feel  for  a  danceable  slice  of  summer. 

Recorded  in  London  with  a  new  bassist  in  the  lineup, 
The  Cucumbers  leads  off  with  a  new  version  of  "My 
Boyfriend"  and  then  fails  to  deliver  anything  else  equal 
to  it.  Overall,  fancier  production  reduces  the  group's 
amateurish  appeal  and  obscures  its  quirky  personality; 
smoothed  out  and  spruced  up,  the  entirely  presentable 
songs  blur  together.  There  are  some  acute  lyrics,  how- 
ever: "My  Town"  is  a  clever  ode  to  'Boken,  while 
"Shower"  makes  a  cogent  observation  about  men, 
women  and  water  temperatures.  [i] 


CUD 

When  in  Rome,  Kill  Me  (nr/lmaginary)  1 989  • 
Elvis  Belt  (nr/lmaginary)  1990  • 
Leggy  Mambo  (nr/lmaginary)  1 990  • 

Dadaistically  detached  from  reality  and  selfcon- 
sciously eclectic,  Cud  matches  obscure  lyrical  wit  and 
simple  parodic  music  on  the  jukebox-blender  longplay- 
ing  debut.  The  21-minute  title  track  of  When  in  Rome, 
Kill  Me  is  a  series  of  seven  dry  jokes  (the  Morrissey 
tweak  of  "Only  (A  Prawn  in  Whitby),"  the  quirky-pop 
"Bibi  Couldn't  See,"  the  vintage  Britbeat  of  "Push  and 
Shove,"  the  garage  psychedelia  of  "When  hi  Rome, 
Kill  Me  Again,"  etc.)  all  linked  by  spoken  drama.  Else- 
where, the  Leeds-area  quartet  trundles  merrily  through 
blistering  fuzz-rock  ("Van  Van  Van"),  Pink  Floyd  pop 
("Alison  Springs")  and  a  careful  Dexys  imitation 
("Wobbly  Jelly"). 


160 


The  second  LP  mostly  collects  up  Cud's  unfocused 
and  dull  early  singles  (going  all  the  way  back  to  1987- — 
wow!)  and  covers.  (Imaginary  is  the  label  behind  the 
tribute  album  fad,  and  Cud  has  appeared  on  its  share. ) 
While  a  previously  unissued  high-speed  interpretation 
of  the  B0E2O  Bog  Band's  "Urban  Spaceman"  is  an- 
noying but  worth  hearing,  Elm  Belt  (which  contains 
one  new  number  and  an  early  version  of  When  in 
Rome's  "I've  Had  It  with  Blondes")  is  unlikely  to 
attract  any  new  Cud-ettes. 

Produced  by  XTC's  Dave  Gregory,  Leggy  Mamb© 
brings  Cud's  surreality  closer  to  serious  accessibility 
with  good  playing,  clear  sound  (finally)  and  less  spe- 
cific musical  satire.  Unfortunately,  left  to  its  own  semi- 
nostalgic  stylistic  devices,  Cud  hasn't  got  enough 
personality  or  imagination  to  sustain  an  album.  Despite 
a  few  cool  pop  tracks  (the  Buddy  Hollyesque  "Not 
Exactly  D.L.E.R.C.,"  the  inevitable  Madchester  spoofs 
of  "Magic"  and  "Syrap  and  Sour  Grapes"),  Le^y 
Mamfoo  is  pointless  and  dull.  [i] 

CUDDLY  TOYS 

See  Raped. 

CULT 

Dreamtime  (nr/Seggars  Banquet)  1 984  * 

Love  (Sire)  1985* 

Revolution  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 985 

Electric  (Beggars  Banquet-Sire)  1 987  « 

Ur*  Devil  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1987  • 

The  Manor  Sessions  EP  [CD]  (nr/Beggars  Banquet) 

1988* 

The  Love  Mixes  EP  [CD}  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 989  • 
The  Electric  Mixes  EP  [CD]  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 989  • 
Sonic  Temple  (Beggars  Banquet-Sire-Reprise)  1989  * 

SOUTHERN  DEATH  CULT 

The  Southern  Death  Cult  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1983  « 

DEATH  CULT 

Death  Cult  EP  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 983  • 

RITUAL 

Kangaroo  Court  EP  (nr/Red  Flame)  1 982 

Less  is  more  ...  or  the  saga  of  a  British  band  whose 
fame  grew  as  its  name  shrunk.  The  story  begins  in  early 
'83,  as  the  Southern  Death  Cult  (from  Bradford,  a  north- 
ern city  near  Leeds)  has  just  broken  up  without  releasing 
an  album;  various  sessions  and  live  takes  were,  how- 
ever, compiled  for  a  posthumous  LP.  As  such,  The 
Southern  Death  Cult  paints  an  inconsistent  picture  of 
ominous  and  dense  doom-punks  with  a  serious  power 
supply  and  few  original  ideas.  The  songs  aren't  much  to 
brag  about — dram-dominated  drones  at  various 
tempos — and  the  performances,  given  their  mongrel  or- 
igins, are  too  muddy  to  really  judge  the  band. 

Singer  Ian  Astbury  then  formed  Death  Cult,  which 
released  two  1983  12-inches,  one  of  them  a  four-songer 
containing  "Brothers  Grimm*'  and  "Ghost  Dance." 
(The  HP's  subsequent  CD  reissue  contains  the  Death 
Cult's  entile  six-song  oeuvre. )  The  following  year,  with 
its  name  finally  reduced  to  just  the  Cult,  the  quartet  got 
around  to  releasing  a  proper  album.  Dreamtime,  an 
extremely  intense  and  well-produced  (by  John  Brand) 
outing,  reveals  Astbury 's  true  intentions:  hip  heavy 


metal.  Domineering  with          Duffy's  lay- 

ered lead  guitar  figures  and  Astbur>*s 
vocals  on  pseudo-poetic  that 

the  Doors  and  of  the  first  era 

Impressive  in  its  and  for 

its  electric  sound,  is,  like  a  lot  of 

exciting  but  empty  and  not  a  i  quan- 

tities came  with  a  bonus  live  LP. ) 

Love  also  chugs  enthusiastically,  in 

Duffy's  guitars  and  Astbury's  sweeping  vocals.  Tbe 
material — except  for  the  atmospherically  powerful  and 
catchy  "She  Sells  Sanctuary"— is  pretty  naff,  sim- 
ple chord  riffs  providing  a  loud  bed  for  draggy  melodies 
and  too  much  pointless  tiffing.  (A  lot  of  the  drive  and 
precision  is  due  to  drummer  Mark  Brzezicki,  on 
from  Big  Country.)  The  invocation  of  '60s  hard-rock 
and  grange-punk  bands  is  subtle  enough  not  to  be  ob- 
noxious, but  the  Cult's  relevance  to  modern  times  re- 
mains marginal  at  best.  A  subsequent  EP  adds  non-LP 
tracks  to  Love's  ''Revolution"  (not  the  Beatles  tune); 
The  Love  Mixes  offers  two  variations  on  "She  Sells 
Sanctuary' '  (including  a  dub  dissection  with — get  this — 
baying  wolves)  and  remixes  of  "Revolution/*  "Rain" 
and  a  track  from  the  previous  LP. 

In  these  high  concept  times,  it  made  perfect  sense 
for  the  Cult  to  hook  up  with  that  great  gazoo  of  '70s 
revisionism  Rick  Rubin,  the  production  svengal  behind 
numerous  rap  and  metal  acts,  including  the  Beastie  Boys 
and  Slayer.  On  Electric,  Rubin  kitted  out  the  Cult  with 
a  gargantuan  drum  sound  and  a  frenetic  guitar  mael- 
strom, partially  succeeding  in  having  the  band  mimic 
AC/DC,  although  Astbury's  vocals  occasionally  favor 
Leslie  West  on  steroids,  and  the  opening  guitar  of  "Love 
Removal  Machine"  replicates  the  Stones*  "Start  Me 
Up.*'  As  sensually  gratifying  as  it  is  cornball  retro- 
moronic,  Electric  can  lay  claim  to  one  of  history's  worst 
versions  of  "Born  to  Be  Wild."  Not  too  surprisingly, 
the  first  track,  "Wild  Flower,"  is  virtually  a  rewrite  of 
"She  Sells  Sanctuary."  The  LIT  Devil  EP  contains  the 
LP  track,  two  live  cuts  (including  "She  Sells  Sanctu- 
ary") and  the  previously  unreleased  "Zap  City." 

The  Cult  didn't  plan  on  making  Electric  with  Ru- 
bin. After  recording  a  dozen  tracks  with  Steve  Brown 
(the  producer  of  Love),  the  band  decided  they  didn't 
like  the  results  and  asked  Rubin  for  a  remix,  which 
turned  into  a  redo.  Left  holding  an  entire  alternate  ver- 
sion of  the  record,  the  Cult  used  four  tunes  from  it  for 
B-sides  and  then  put  five  remaining  tracks  out  as  The 
Manor  Sessions.  For  what  it's  worth,  Brown's  work  is 
less  clearly  articulated  and  focused  than  Rubin's,  but  in 
truth  the  Cult  is  the  Cult  is  the  Cult.  The  Electric  Mixes 
completes  the  collection  with  extended  edits  of  "Love 
Removal  Machine"  and  "Wild  Flower,"  another  LP 
track  and  lumbering  radio  session  takes  on  "King  Con- 
trary Man"  and  the  non-LP  "Conquistador." 

Fully  anointed  as  major  stars  in  the  post-Zeppelin 
hard-rock  universe,  the  Cult  parted  ways  with  Rubin 
and  drummer  Les  Warner,  making  the  platinum  Sonic 
Temple  with  a  guest  skin-beater  and  ex-Payola  Bob 
Rock  as  producer.  Beginning  with  a  remark  borrowed 
from  Pete  Townshend  (as  documented  in  Monterey 
Pop),  the  album  is  standard-issue  Cult:  Astbury  bel- 
lows, Duffy  squalls  and  bassist  Jamie  Stewart  makes 
like  John  Paul  Jones  by  doubling  on  keyboards.  The 
closest  the  album  comes  to  a  stylistic  groundbreaker — 


161 


**Edie  (Ciao  Baby),1*  a  pseudo-poetic  tribute  to  Ectie 
Sedgwkk  complete  with  strings  and  an  acoustic  guitar 
intio — is  ooe  of  the  stupidest  IB  the  Cult's  Sow- 

brow  compositional  closet.  Meanwhile,  "Soul  Asy* 
tarn,"  another  idiotically  chch6d  lyrical  display  whose 
labored  tempo  makes  it  ideal  for  accompanying  calis- 
thenics, has  nothing  in  common  with  the  group  of  the 
name, 

Jamie  Stewart,  who  was  in  on  the  formation  of  Death 
Cult  and  stock  with  the  Cult  through  1989,  began  his 
musical  career  as  the  guitarist  in  a  young  Harrow  post- 
punk  band  called  Ritual.  Following  the  1982  ''Mind 
Disease"  45,  Kangaroo  Court  bears  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  Theatre  of  Hate  (a  band  which,  coincidentally 
and  simultaneously,  included  Billy  Duffy  for  a  year), 
with  prominent  sax  riding  over  a  simple  doom  drone. 
Ritual  did  record  a  full-length  LP  (Songs  for  a  Dead 
King)  which,  like  ToH  and  U.K.  Decay,  melded  Brit- 
punk  aggro  and  political/goth  aesthetics;  the  record  was 
never  commercially  released.  While  Stewart  and  drum- 
mer Raymond©  jumped  on  board  the  Death  Cult  train, 
two  other  Ritualists  hooked  up  with  ex-U.K.  Decay  gui- 
tarist Spon  in  1983  to  form  In  Excelsis.  [i/gef] 

See  also  U.K.  Decay. 


CULTURE 

Two  Severe  Clash  f  lightning)  1 978  (Shanachie)  1 987  ® 

Bddhead  Bridge  fnr/Magoum  Force)  1978  * 

Africa  Stand  Alone  (nr/April)  1 978 

Harder  Than  the  Rest  (nr/Front  Line)  1 978 

Cumbolo  (nr/Front  Line)  1 979  (Shanachie)  1 988  » 

International  Herb  (nr/Front  Line)  1 979 

Vrtal  Selection  (Virgin  Inf  S)  1 981 

Oon  Rock  (Heartbeat)  1 982  » 

Culture  in  Culture  (Jam.  Blue  Track)  1986  (Heartbeat) 

1991  * 

Culture  at  Work  (Shanachte)  1 986  ® 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Sfrange  Fruit)  1987 
Huff  Gists!  (Jam.  Blue  Mountain)  1 988  (Shanachie) 

1989* 

Good  Things  (RAS)  1989* 
Too  Long  in  Slavery  (Front  Line)  1 989  4> 

Formed  in  Jamaica  in  1976  and  comprised  of  Joseph 
Hill,  Kenneth  Dayes  and  Albert  Walker,  Culture  is  one 
of  reggae's  greatest  roots  harmony  trios.  Lead  singer 
Hill  invokes  the  passion  of  a  Burning  Spear,  while  the 
others  are  reminiscent  of  the  earthen  and  soulful  rootical 
wails  of  the  Itals.  Despite  a  string  of  fine  albums,  Cul- 
ture is  most  closely  identified  with  their  debut  LP,  Two 
Sevens  Clash,  and  its  apocalyptic  title  track.  And 
rightly  so:  the  song,  first  released  in  1977,  is  a  reggae 
classic,  a  perfect  marriage  of  Rasta  ideology  and  musi- 
cianship that  struck  a  chord  in  punk  England  and  be- 
came an  influential  scene  staple.  The  music  on  the  LP  is 
smoky  and  mysterious — the  keyboards  are  mixed  way 
up  front — but  also  rhythmically  dynamic,  with  drummer 
Sly  Dunbar  turning  in  some  of  his  best  work.  But  the 
center  is  Hill's  high,  wavering  voice.  In  song  after  song, 
he  conveys  his  own  distinctive  blend  of  conviction  and 
dread.  Reissued  a  decade  later,  the  album  is  every  bit  as 
consistent  and  compelling. 

Besides  his  Rastafarian  faith  and  African  heritage, 
Hill's  lyrics  typically  address  the  oppressed  and  the  suf- 
fering. " Crack  In  New  York"  (Nuff  Crisis!)  will  make 


you  want  to  dance  because  the  music  is  so  lively,  but  if 
you  check  the  lyrics  you  really  ought  to  cry.  Similarly, 
the  title  track  of  Good  Things  is  a  warning  to  "make 
good  use  of  good  things"  because  the  time  will  come 
when  we  or  they  won't  be  around. 

The  beauty  of  Culture  is  the  group's  ability  to  be 
contemporary  and  traditional  at  the  same  time.  But  while 
adhering  to  old-time  standards  and  traditions,  Culture  is 
very  much  in  the  flow  of  things:  Culture  in  Culture's 
"Capture  Rasta"  acknowledges  the  popular  "Sleng 
Teng"  riddim  of  the  mid-'80s. 

Cumbolo  is  another  Culture  classic,  loaded  with  the 
trio's  trademark  social  commentaries  and  prophetic,  in- 
spirational cantations.  Among  the  highlights:  "Natty 
Dread  Naw  Run,"  a  handsome  adaption  of  the  folk- 
music  standard  "This  Train,"  "Mind  Who  You  Beg  for 
Help"  and  the  extraordinary  title  track. 

The  Peel  BBC  broadcast  material  dates  from  1982 
and  includes  "Two  Sevens  Clash"  alongside  three  other 
tracks.  Too  Long  in  Slavery  is  a  compilation  of  tracks 
from  Harder  Than  the  Rest,  International  Herb  and 
Cumboto.  [bk/aw] 


CLUB 

Kissing  to  Be  Clever  (Virgin-Epic}  1 982  (Virgin)  1 990  • 
Colour  by  Numbers  (Virgin-Epic)  1 983  (Virgin)  1 990  « 
Waking  Up  with  the  House  on  Fire  (Virgin-Epic)  1 984 

(Virgin)  1990* 

From  Luxury  to  Heartache  (Virgin-Epic)  1 986  ® 
This  Time-The  First  Four  Years  (Virgin-Epic)  1 987  « 

For  a  time  England's  biggest  pop  sensation,  ludi- 
crously heralded  in  America  as  leaders  of  a  second  Brit- 
ish Invasion,  Culture  Club  capitalized  on  Boy  George's 
outrageous  nightlife  cross-dressing  and  aimed-to-shock 
intelligence  to  slip  their  mushy  mainstream  soul-pop 
into  respectable  homes  the  world  over.  Phenomenology 
aside,  the  foursome  never  sounded  anywhere  near  as 
bizarre  as  they  originally  appeared;  regarding  their  al- 
bums in  coldly  critical  terms  reveals  them  to  be  nice  but 
meaningless:  sophisticated  dance  pop  that  is  insidiously 
memorable  but  utterly  disposable. 

Kissing  to  Be  Clever  has  such  Club  standards  as 
"Do  You  Really  Want  to  Hurt  Me,"  a  warm  reggae 
pulse  supporting  the  catchy  melody,  and  "111  Tumble  4 
Ya,"  a  boppy,  upbeat  dance  number.  Spurred  by  the 
American  success  of  the  former  as  a  single,  the  US  label 
switched  the  LP*s  track  order  to  highlight  it,  and  later 
reissued  it  with  a  subsequent  45,  "Time  (Clock  of  the 
Heart),"  appended. 

Dropping  the  silly  "white  boy"  crypto-sociology 
that  threads  through  the  first  album,  Colour  by  Num- 
bers gets  right  to  the  business  at  hand,  which  is  the 
creation  of  irresistible  pop  hits  in  a  variety  of  molds. 
And  in  that  regard,  the  album  is  a  real  success,  contain- 
ing as  it  does  the  mildly  folk-rock-psychedelicized 
"Karma  Chameleon"  and  "Church  of  the  Poison 
Mind,"  as  well  as  the  more  soul-oriented  "Miss  Me 
Blind"  and  "Black  Money."  Easily  the  best  of  the  four 
albums,  Colour  by  Numbers  prominently  features 
singer  Helen  Terry,  who  provides  a  powerful  foil  to 
George's  smooth  crooning. 

Riding  high  on  stardom,  Culture  Club  blew  their 
rock  credibility  and  career  momentum  totally  with  the 
ultra-dull  Waking  Up  with  the  House  on  Fire. 


162 


George's  voice  is  fine  and  the  band — drummer  JOE  Moss 
(ex-London),  guitarist/keyboardist  Roy  Hay  and  bassist 
Mikey  Craig — plays  with  maximum  slickness  and  so- 
phistication. But  the  songs  arc  irredeemably  awful. 
From  the  torpid  velveeta  of  "Mistake  No.  3"  (apt  title, 
that)  to  the  juvenile  stupidity  of  "The  War  Song'* 
( "War  is  stupid  .  .  .  " )  and  the  inane  stop-start  mess  of 
"Hello  Goodbye,'*  there's  no  material  equal  to  the  early 
singles.  With  misguided  intentions  of  achieving  politi- 
cal relevance  and  added  MOR  acceptance,  the  album  is 
an  unmitigated  disaster. 

At  that  point,  it  seemed  likely  that  the  Club  was  on 
the  verge  of  splitting  up,  and  the  lengthy  delay  in  pro- 
ducing a  new  album  only  fueled  speculation  about  the 
group's  future.  Nevertheless,  the  quartet  managed  to 
deliver  From  Luxury  to  Heartaclie,  which  isn't  awful 
at  all.  Culture  Club's  new  problem  is  their  irrelevance: 
lacking  controversy,  a  style  to  call  their  own  or  truly 
catchy  songs,  the  LP  offers  nothing  to  hold  onto,  just  a 
bunch  of  well-produced  (Arif  Mardin  and  Lew  Hahn) 
mild  soul/funk  disposables.  Given  that  Culture  Club  had 
never  really  changed  musically,  From  Luxury  to 
Heartaclie  underscores  the  inexplicability  of  their  orig- 
inal reception:  it  was  ever  thus. 

Billed  as  'Twelve  Worldwide  Hits,"  This  Tirae- 
The  First  Four  Years  consolidates  all  the  essential  45s, 
plus  "Love  Is  Love"  from  the  Electric  Dreams  sound- 
track. Despite  occasionally  brittle  sound  and  the  oblig- 
atory inclusion  of  dimwitted  later  material,  "Karma 
Chameleon,"  "I'll  Tumble  4  Ya,"  "Church  of  the  Poi- 
son Mind,"  "Do  You  Really  Want  to  Hurt  Me"  and 
"Time  (Clock  of  the  Heart)"  just  about  covers  Culture 
Club's  basics  for  all  but  the  most  devoted  aficionados. 
(The  CD  adds  two  cuts.) 

George  went  solo  in  the  wake  of  the  band's  long- 
anticipated  1987  collapse.  Jon  Moss  attempted  to  launch 
a  new  band,  Heartbeat  UK,  and  released  a  debut  single 
called  "Jump  to  It."  [i] 

See  also  Boy  George. 

CULTURE  SHOCK 

See  Subhumans. 

DAVID  CUNNINGHAM 

See  Flying  Lizards. 

C'NTS 

It  Came  from  Out  of  the  Garage  (Disturbing)  1 984 
A  Decade  of  Fun:  1 978-1 988  (Pravda)  1 988 

The  Cunts  (or  C*nts)  latched  severely  onto  '60s 
punk  long  before  (or  after)  it  was  fashionable,  stead- 
fastly refusing  to  budge  any  way  but  laterally  ever  since, 
even  as  nominally  parallel  bands  nationwide  (and  wider) 
have  "discovered"  the  '70s,  glitter,  funk,  metal,  you- 
name-it.  It  Came  from  Out  of  the  Garage  is  awash  hi 
grungy  guitars,  pumping  keys  and  sneering  attitudes, 
but  sorely  lacks  the  spark  of  inspiration  that  distin- 
guished the  band's  obvious  antecedents,  like  the  Stan- 
dells,  Count  Five,  ?  and  the  Mysterians,  etc. 

A  Decade  of  Fun,  by  dint  of  its  scattered  sources, 
paints  a  slightly  more  varied  portrait  of  the  Chicago 
quintet— quirkier  and  less  tunnel-visioned,  conse- 
quently higher  in  its  peaks  and  more  turgid  in  its  depths. 


At  best,  the  early  singles  I          of  up 

One),  the  the  sort  revision- 

ism that  characterized  Cleveland  in  the  mid-to-Ute-'TOs. 

The  later  (previously  on          T^o 

subtract  most  of  the  the 

a  poppier  slant  in  direct  to  the  year  of  re- 

cording. 

CURE 

Three  imaginary  Boys  (nr/Rction)  1 979  • 

Boys  Don't  Cry  (Rdion-PVC)  1980  1988  • 

Seventeen  Seconds  for/Fiction}  1980  1988  • 

Faith  (nr/Fidton)  1981  fEIekfroJ  1988  ® 

Carnage  Visors  [tape]  (nr/RcKon)  1 981 

. . .  Happily  Ever  After  (  Fidion»A8cM)  1 981 

Pornography  (Fidion-A&Mf  1982  fElekfraJ  1988  • 

The  Walk  EP  (Fiction-Sire)  1 983 

Japanese  Whispers  (Rdfon-Sire)  1983  • 

The  Top  (Fiction-Sire)  1984  * 

Concert:  The  Cure  Live  (nr/Rdion)  1 984 

Concert  and  Curiosity  f  nr/fictionj  1 984  <fr 

The  Head  on  the  Door  (Elektra)  1985  * 

QuadpusEP(ESektra)1986 

Standing  on  a  Beach;  The  Singles  (Efektra)  1986 

Staring  at  the  Sea:  The  Singles  fCD]  (Etddra)  1 986  * 

Kiss  Me  Kiss  Me  Kiss  Me  {Efektra  I  1 987  * 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  * 
Disintegration  (ESektra)  1989  * 
Pictures  of  You  EP  [CD]  {Efektra)  1990  « 
Integration  [CD]  (Elektra)  1990  • 
Mixed  Up  (Fiction-Elektra)  1990  « 
Entreat  (nr/FJction)  1991  « 

FOOLS  DANCE 

Fools  Dance  EP  (nr/Lambs  to  the  Slaughter)  1 985 

Though  catapulted  to  some  early  success  with  the 
pop  hit  "Boys  Don't  Cry,"  the  Cure— led  by  obsessive 
singer/guitarist  Robert -Smith,  originally  with  Michael 
Dempsey  on  bass  (replaced  after  one  LP  by  Simon  Gal- 
lup) and  Laurence  (Lol)  Tolhurst  on  drams — originally 
specialized  in  the  presentation  of  a  gloomy,  nihilistic 
world  view. 

Three  Imaginary  Boys  (released  in  America — and 
later  England — as  Boys  Don't  Cry*  with  several  LP 
tracks  replaced  by  singles)  shows  the  Cure  to  be  masters 
of  the  three-minute  form,  and  includes  some  amazingly 
terse  and  effective  musical  dissertations  on  loneliness 
( '  *  10: 15  Saturday  Night' ' ) ,  war  and  hatred  ( *  'Killing  an 
Arab,"  "Fire  in  Cairo"),  the  precariousness  of  urban 
life  ( "Subway  Song" )  and  trendiness  ( *  "Jumping  Some- 
one Else's  Train").  An  intelligent,  unique  halfway  point 
between  Gang  of  Four  and  the  Jam. 

Seventeen  Seconds  moved  the  Cure—temporarily  a 
quartet  with  Matthieu  Hartley  on  keyboards — further 
into  terra  incognita,  away  from  the  pop  song  and  into 
the  angst  epic.  Some  songs  ("Play  for  Today,"  "In 
Your  House")  still  offer  a  fading  element  of  hope,  but 
the  title  track,  "The  Final  Sound"  and  "A  Forest"  all 
take  a  turn  towards  disconsolateness. 

Despair  arrives  hi  Faith  as  an  element  of  style.  Sac- 
rificing any  pretense  of  fun,  the  music  is  strengthened 
by  an  impassioned  but  sedated  mood,  its  themes  as  pow- 
erful and  defiant  as  any  in  recent  music.  (Carnage  Vi- 
sors, which  appears  only  as  a  bonus  on  the  UK  cassette 

163 


version  of  Faith,  is  the  hastily 

of  a  short  film  for  use  on  tour  by 

Simon  Gallop's  brother,  and  provides  even  stronger  rea- 
sons for  locking  up  the  razorblades  while  listening.) 

The  sarcastically  titled  Happily  Ever  After  com- 
bines Seventeen  Secrete  and  Faith  into  a  double  al- 
bum for  American  release, 

Pwnofp^frfiy  seems  to  be  the  climax  of  Smith's 
obsessions,  by  now  coalesced  into  resigned  paranoia; 
the  music  firmly  establishes  the  group  as  superior  if 
idiosyncratic.  As  usual,  the  true  star  here  is  the  phobic, 
morbid  atmosphere.  Recommended,  but  not  for  the 
suicide-prone. 

With  Smith  temporarily  splitting  his  time  between 
Sioaxsie  and  the  Banshees  and  Ms  own  band  (which  by 
this  point  revolved  entirely  around  him  and  Tolhurst),  a 
far  different  Cure  emerged.  The  playful  "Let's  Go  to 
Bed"*  heralded  a  new  era  of  stylistic  innovation  and 
sporadic  whimsy,  played  out  on  a  series  of  singles  be- 
ginning in  late  1982.  The  Walk  HP—four  songs  of  New 
Orderish  synth-based  music  that's  more  solemn  than 
miserable- — was  also  issued  in  the  US  with  the  earlier 
"Lef  s  Go  to  Bed"  and  its  flipside  added.  Japanese 
Whispers,  a  compilation  of  recent  45sf  then  appeared  in 
both  countries,  reprising  the  entire  American  EP  plus  a 
subsequent  bit  of  jazzy  froth,  "The  Lovecats,"  and  its 
similar  B-side,  "Speak  My  Language." 

Having  almost  fully  exercised  their  dalliance  with 
light  relief,  Smith  and  Toihurst,  joined  by  a  drummer 
and  sax  player,  recorded  The  Top,  which  basically  re- 
turns them  to  more  familiar  corners  of  gloomy  self- 
indulgence.  Except  for  "The  Caterpillar,"  which  is 
upbeat  and  likable  pop,  the  record  is  not  among  the 
Cure's  best,  and  disjointed  excursions  into  psychedelia, 
heavy  rock  and  dance  rhythms  only  punctuate  its  short- 
comings. 

Over  the  course  of  the  following  two  years,  the  Cure 
issued  a  lot  of  music,  although  only  one  new  studio 
album  arrived  in  the  onslaught.  The  UK-only  live 
record — drawn  from  a  week  of  shows  in  May  1984 — 
contains  some  of  the  group's  most  significant  tracks  to 
that  point  but  is  most  notable  in  its  cassette  and  CD 
versions,  which  add  a  bonus  album's  worth  of  demos 
(including  a  positively  winsome  May  '78  rendition  of 
"Boys  Don't  Cry,"  a  full  year  prior  to  the  song's  re- 
lease), live  audience  tapes  and  other  curios  ( '  'from  Rob- 
ert's cassette  collection")  entitled  Cure  Anomalies 
1977-1984. 

The  fine  career-long  singles  compilation,  Standing 
on  a  Beach,  is  also  worth  finding  in  its  non-vinyl  for- 
mat. Hie  tape  adds  a  dozen  B-sides;  the  CD  edition, 
falling  in  line  with  the  video-clip  compilation,  is  titled 
Staring  at  tihe  Sea  and  adds  four  tracks.  (In  a  bizarre 
development,  the  LP's  inclusion  of  "Killing  an  Arab" 
created  an  enormous  tumult  when  an  American  pro- 
Arab  organization,  ignoring  that  the  song  had  been  in 
circulation  since  1979,  took  its  title  from  a  famous  Al- 
beit Camus  novel  and  in  no  way  advocates  violence  to 
Arabs,  launched  a  political  campaign  against  the  band.) 

With  "In  Between  Days,"  The  Head  on  the  Door 
opens  sounding  exactly  like  New  Order.  By  the  second 
song,  of  course,  Smith's  fickle  idiom  dabbling  returns 
the  band — here  a  revamped  quintet,  with  Simon  Gallup 
back  in  the  fold — to  an  entirely  different  world,  via  the 
mildly  oriental  "Kyoto  Song,"  and  follows  in  flamenco 


style  with  "The  Blood. "  Toeing  a  line  between  pop  and 
sullenness  keeps  the  Cure  from  achieving  maximal  cre- 
ative impact,  but  it's  an  altogether  Hstenable  album  that 
is  sporadically  ("Push"  and  "Close  to  Me,"  for  exam- 
ple) as  eclectically  brilliant  as  can  be.  The  Q»a*lpii$  EP 
joins  two  B-sides — including  the  bizarre  "A  Man  Inside 
My  Mouth"— to  "Close  to  Me"  and  "A  Night  Like 
This"  from  the  album. 

Doubtless  encouraged  by  growing  international  star- 
dom, the  Cure  released  an  ambitious  and  challenging 
double-album.  Kiss  Me  Kiss  Me  Kiss  Me.  Sporting  a 
dense  and  dynamic  arena-scaled  rock  sound  and  adding 
such  touches  as  wah-wah  guitar,  sitar,  strings  and  horns, 
the  organically  coherent  album  surges  with  gloomy 
power  but  also  percolates  with  occasional  bits  of  charm- 
ing low-key  pop.  Smith's  resolutely  miserable,  ironic 
lyrical  visions  ("The  Kiss,"  "Shiver  and  Shake," 
"How  Beautiful  You  Are  .  .  .")  fill  even  some  of  the 
musically  lighter  songs,  although  a  few  (including 
"Catch,"  "The  Perfect  Girl,"  "Hey  You!!!"  and 
"Why  Can't  I  Be  You?")  do  offer  giddy  love  senti- 
ments. 

The  Cure  repeats  the  expansive,  gauzy  sonic  ap- 
proach of  Kiss  Me  on  Disintegration,  but  slows  down 
and  stretches  out  the  material  even  more,  perhaps  en- 
joying the  lazy  rhythms  and  rich  textures  a  bit  too  much. 
Despite  the  enervatingly  trancey  ambience  that  suffuses 
the  record,  Smith  does  come  through  with  a  few  great 
songs — "Pictures  of  You,"  "Lovesong,"  the  driving 
"Fascination  Street" — that  still  take  forever  to  get 
where  they're  going.  (The  CD  and  cassette  add  "Home- 
sick" and  "Last  Dance.") 

Remixing  the  seven-minutes-plus  "Pictures  of 
You"  down  to  under  five,  the  Cure  attached  four  intri- 
cate, atmospheric  live  renditions  (from  a  1989  London 
show)  of  Disintegration  songs  and  released  it  all  as  a 
CD  EP.  (In  the  UK,  a  collection  of  eight  live  Disinte- 
gration tracks  from  the  same  source  were  issued  as 
Entreat,  initially  as  a  limited  retail  giveaway  and  later 
as  a  commercial  item.) 

Integration  boxes  up  the  four  CD  EPs  (as  originally 
issued)  from  Disintegration,  throwing  in  a  small  group 
poster  as  an  added  incentive  to  indecisive  consumers. 
Besides  Pictures  of  You,  there's  Lullaby  (adding  a 
remix  and  two  live  tracks),  Fascination  Street  (two 
remixes  and  a  pair  of  non-LP  studio  creations)  and 
Lovesong  (also  two  mixes  and  two  non-LP  songs). 

After  years  of  keeping  a  very  firm  grip  on  the  Cure's 
creative  output,  Robert  Smith  took  the  unprecedented 
step  of  inviting  a  variety  of  studio  hounds  to  have  a  go 
at  remixing  the  band's  12-inch  catalogue  and  issuing  an 
album  of  the  ones  that  worked  out  to  his  satisfaction. 
The  extremely  uneven  Mixed  Up  is  a  strange  package, 
with  one  brand  new  song  (the  hard-rocking  "Never 
Enough"),  newly  recorded  and  mixed  re-creations  of 
"The  Walk"  and  "A  Forest,"  a  few  previously  issued 
versions  of  familiar  singles  and,  most  provocative,  dis- 
figuring reworkings  of  several  Cure  classics.  "Close  to 
Me"  gets  a  shuffling  house  beat  and  horns;  "Pictures  of 
You"  undergoes  a  complete  dub/house  remodeling;  the 
dancefloor  "Inbetween  Days"  is  nearly  unrecognizable. 
(In  an  amusing  bit  of  format  perversity,  the  bonus  track 
of  "Why  Can't  I  Be  You?"  is  only  on  vinyl.) 

The  Peel  session  from  December  1978  records  the 
original  trio  giving  four  early  classics — including  "Kill- 


164 


ing  an.  Arab"  and  "Boys  Don't  Cry"  {on  which  over- 
dubbed  guitars  ruin  the  illusion  of  if  being  a  completely 
live  effort  I — skeletal  readings  that  lack  the  familiar  stu- 
dio renditions'  urgent  excitement. 

Bassist  Simon  Gallup,  who  left  the  Cure  in  1982 
(between  Pornography  and  The  Walk  J,  is  the  leader  of 
Fools  Dance,  a  quintet  whose  lamely  selfconscious  five- 
song  12-inch  EP  was  released  shortly  after  Gallup  re- 
joined the  Cure.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Glove,  Siouxsie  and  Ike  Banshees. 

93 

Lashd  (Bel  Loyfah)  1983 

Nature  Unveiled  (Bel  Layiah)  1984  • 

Dog's  Blood  Rising  (Bel  Layiah)  1984  » 
Sn  Menstrual  Night  ( nr/Unifed  Dairies]  1 986 
Live  of  Bar  Maldoror  f  nr/MJ-Mort  Records)  1 986  • 
Dawn  fnr/Maidoror]  1987  » 
Imperium  (nr/Maldoror)  1 987 
Swastikas  for  Noddy  (Bel  Layfoh)  1 987  * 
Earth  Covers  Earth  (sir/United  Dairies)  1988 
Looney  Runes  (nr/Durtro)  1 991 

CURRENT  93/CO1L 

Nightmare  Culture  (Bel  Laytah)  1985 

Named  after  some  theory  or  other  of  English  mage 
Aleister  Crowiey,  Current  93 's  early  work  used  Crow- 
ley  and  Lautre'amenf  s  Maldoror  as  the  starting  points 
for  an  occult  tnp  tinged  with  tragic  grandeur.  David 
Michael  Bunting  (aka  David  Tibet)  is  the  group's  core, 
with  significant  assistance  from  Steve  Stapleton  of 
Nurse  with  Wound.  The  motto  on  early  albums  is  "How 
can  there  be  pleasure,  how  can  there  be  joy,  when  the 
whole  world  is  burning?"  On  later  albums,  Tibet  finds 
some  joy,  though  the  listener  may  not,  as  the  music  is 
far  less  compelling. 

Lashta!,  a  three-track  EP  recorded  with  Fritz  Haa- 
man  of  23  Skidoo  and  John  Balance  of  Coil,  is  ritualistic 
music  using  Tibetan  thighbone,  slow,  trance-like  drum- 
ming, droning  electronics  and  tapes  of  chanting  (per- 
haps old  recordings  of  Crowiey).  Nature  Unveiled  is 
more  folly  developed  and  points  the  way  of  the  next 
several  albums.  Stapleton's  production  is  evident  on 
both  side-long  pieces,  which  use  layers  of  Gregorian 
chants  and  modified  requiems,  menacing  electronic 
drones  and  Tibet's  own  chantings  and  moanings,  cut  up 
and  reassembled.  The  perfect  soundtrack  for  a  docu- 
mentary (shot  in  murky  black  and  white)  about  the  inner 
lives  of  Notre  Dame  gargoyles. 

Dog's  Blood  Rising  takes  the  concept  a  stage  fur- 
ther, with  more  sophisticated  production  and  less  reli- 
ance on  the  plundering  of  pre-existing  music.  At  once 
angrier  and  more  restrained,  Bog's  Blood  is  the  best 
Current  93  album  to  date.  "Jesus  Wept"  and  "Falling 
Back  in  Fields  of  Rape'*  (each  of  which  runs  about 
fourteen  minutes)  rise  with  agonizing  screams  and  fall 
back  to  near  silence,  intermingling  the  12th  century  and 
science  fiction  to  lament  the  cruelty  and  abnegation  of 
responsibility  in  the  contemporary  world.  "From  Bro- 
ken Cross  Locusts"  takes  its  form  from  Tibetan  liturgi- 
cal music,  but  uses  electronically  modified  vocals  and 
electronic  drums.  The  album  closes  with  a  humorous 
but  chilling  a  cappella  medley  of  Simon  &  Garfunkel 
hits. 

Current  93  shares  Nightmare  Culture  with  Coil, 


and 

to  d  to  Live  at 

ree\des          of  the  on 

Nature  aid  but  in  a 

different  order,  often 

together,  and  layering  new  over  Not 

as  essential  as  either  of  the  it 

but  quite          and  f  The  CD         two 

excellent  tracks  from  a  I 

In  Menstrual  Night,  a 

picture  disc  but  later  as  a  LP  (Current 

93  habitually  puts  out  are 

quently  re-released),  has  a  a 

cinirabeat  all  the  way  one          and 

electronics  and  tape  with  The 

other  half  consists  of  tape  and  old  En- 

glish folk  melodies  This  record,  which 
to  later  Nurse  with  Wound  records,  is  on  that  band's 
label 

Compared  to  prior  Current  93  releases,  impo-fnni  is 
almost  a  folk  album,  though  a  strange  and  decidedly 
moody  one.  Tibet  pretentiously  intones  eccle&iastka! 
lyrics  over  muted,  faux-Elizabethan  lute,  electronic 
growling,  lute  plucking,  a  simple  drumbeat  Ion  one 
track)  and  some  bass  (on  another),  all  cloaked  in  a  fog 
of  production.  Not  the  band's  best. 

Dawn  temporarily  reversed  the  gentleness  trend. 
The  title  track  is  an  abrasive,  higMy  stnictered  tour  de 
force,  a  recurring  loop  of  a  man  saying  4* destruction 
destruction"  followed  by  slabs  of  guitar  feedback,  then 
various  electronics.  The  other  side  is  a  live  version  of 
"Maldoror  is  Dead/'  the  best  rendition  yet  of  a  song 
that  can  also  be  found  on  Nature  Unveiled  and  an  early 
cassette-only  release. 

With  Swastikas  for  Noddy,  Simon  &  Garfunkel  get 
the  last  laugh.  Tibet  had  written  some  folbsh  songs  for 
Death  in  June,  but  always  kept  to  a  more  occult  mood 
for  his  Current  93  work.  On  Swastikas,  he  delivers 
traditional  numbers  like  "Oh  Coal  Black  Smith"  and 
originals  in  the  same  vein.  Most  of  the  folk  songs  retain 
a  melancholy  feel,  though  strummed  guitar  replaces  the 
Gregorian  chants.  While  the  electronics  and  eeriness 
remain  on  tracks  like  "Panzer  Rune,*'  the  upbeat 
4*Beausoieir*  could  be  played  by  any  but  the  most  cow- 
ardly college  radio  station.  (A  couple  of  12-inch  singles 
released  around  the  same  time  attempted  to  weld  the 
new  folk  orientation  with  the  older  kind  of  lyrics  and  an 
almost  danceable  beat,  yielding  decidedly  awkward  re- 
sults.) 

For  Earth  Covers  Earth,  Tibet  slipped  further  into 
the  land  of  the  Incredible  String  Band,  going  so  far  as  to 
pay  homage  to  that  duo's  1968  LP,  The  Hangman's 
Beautiful  Daughter,  in  the  cover  photo.  Unfortunately, 
Tibet's  talents  don't  nearly  equal  those  of  his  icons. 
Nice  but  vacuous.  [si] 

See  also  Nurse  with  Wound. 

BILLY  CURRIE 

See  Ultravox. 

CURTISS  A 

Courtesy  (Twin/Tone)  1980 
Damage  Is  Done  (Twin/Tone)  1 984 
A  Scarlet  Letter  (Twin/Tone)  1 988 


165 


SPOOKS 

1980-1990  EP  (Twin/Tone)  1978 

Curt  Almsted  is  a  talented  songwriter  with  a  great 
of  terror,  an  if  colorless  voice  and  con- 

nections with  every  other  local  Minneapolis  musician 
(except  maybe  Prince),  many  of  whom  played  on  Ms 
first  album.  The  tracks  are  energetic  rockers  in  a  niche 
between  Marshal!  Crensfeaw,  Brace  Springsteen  and 
George  Thorogood,  but  much  rawer  and  less  predict- 
able. 

l>tniage  Is  Done  is  a  more  mature  record  that  draws 
further  on  sources  like  primal  sou!  to  stretch  Almsted"  s 
expanding  skills  (most  notably  as  a  singer,  now  show- 
ing signs  of  Van  Morrison  and  Willy  DeViile  as  well) 
and  to  better  display  eleven  well-drawn,  heartfelt  songs. 
The  production  is  generally  quite  sympathetic,  but  the 
drums  sound  like  distant  cardboard  boxes,  and  that  sig- 
nificantly cuts  down  on  the  album's  impact.  There's  still 
something  missing — maybe  a  grander  setting — that 
keeps  Almsted  a  minor-leaguer,  but  he  certainly  has  the 
wherewithal  to  move  on  up. 

Almsted  then  went  through  a  bad  patch,  losing  long- 
time sideman  Bob  Dunlap  to  the  Replacements,  suffer- 
ing a  death  in  the  family  and  ultimately  winding  up  in 
jail  on  a  battery  charge  involving  an  ex-girlfriend.  Piling 
up  years  of  bitterness  over  a  number  of  women,  Alm- 
sted spews  out  his  pain  on  A  Scarlet  Letter,  with  NRBQ 
guitarist  Al  Anderson  producing  and  heading  up  the 
backing  band,  Nakedly  emotional  missives  like  <fcl 
Wanna  Make  You  Happy,"  "Starting  to  Cry,"  **I  Can't 
Call  Mary  Anymore**  and  the  brilliantly  titled  "(I  Feel 
Just  Like  George  lones  When  He  Was  a)  Heel  to  Tam- 
my" get  soulful  treatment  from  Almsted's  impassioned 
voice,  which  has  really  come  to  resemble  DeVille's. 
Easily  Ms  best  record,  A  Scarlet  Letter — unironically 
dedicated  to  Ike  Turner — avoids  hysteria  for  deep  feel- 
ings that  translate  into  resonant  roots  rock. 

Almsted's  early  band,  Spooks,  debuted  in  '78  with 
a  7-inch  EP  of  weird,  punkish  rock'n'roll  (including 
"Scum  of  the  Earth,"  a  tribute  to  Travis  Bickle)  that 
bears  little  (but  not  no)  resemblance  to  his  subsequent 
work.  [i] 

CHRIS  CUTLER 

See  Henry  Cow,  Pere  Ubu,  David  Thomas. 

ANDRE  CYMONE 

Uvin'  in  the  New  Wove  (Columbia)  1982 
Survivin'  in  the  8CXs  (Columbia)  1983 
AC  (Columbian  985  » 

An  early  member  of  Prince's  touring  ensemble,  Cy- 
mone  did  his  own  "look  ma,  no  band"  musical  cross- 
over LP  in  1 982.  Less  horny  and  inspired  than  his  former 
employer's  contemporaneous  approach,  Cymone  is 
nonetheless  a  strong  contender  in  his  own  right  and 
seems  exhilarated  (note  the  title  of  his  first  album)  by 
the  possibilities  inherent  in  the  same  area  of  musical 
commingling. 


Although  Siisrdvfn*  In  the  80's  still  shows  a  lot  of 
Prince's  influence  (especially  imagewise — check  the 
costumed  male/female  black/white  band  photo  on  the 
cover),  Cymone  is  working  more  typical  dancefloor  ter- 
rain than  the  Purple  One,  with  processed  vocals  and 
mild  scratch  production  adjusting  the  slow  funk  grooves 
of  numbers  like  **Make  Me  Wanna  Dance"  and  "Body 
Tttang. "  Slick  and  functional,  but  no  creative  landmark. 

Back  on  his  own  in  the  studio,  Cymone  created  AC 
with  only  skimpy  outside  assistance.  Prince  wrote  and 
co-produced  one  easily  recognizable  track  ("The  Dance 
Electric")  that  also  features  backing  vocals  by  Wendy 
and  Lisa;  Cymone  allowed  others  to  add  a  few  jots  of 
percussion  and  vocals  as  well.  Otherwise,  Cymone  re- 
mains perfectly  capable — like  his  ex-boss — of  working 
easily  and  independently  in  a  number  of  styles,  from 
languid  reflection  ("Pretty  Wild  Girl")  to  pretty  bal- 
ladry ("Sweet  Sensuality")  to  kinetic  dance  music 
("Book  of  Love,"  "Satisfaction"). 

Although  Cymone  hasn't  made  a  record  under  his 
own  name  in  a  while,  his  foil-service  production/writing 
work  with  Jody  Watley  and  Adam  Ant  has  kept  him 
busy  and  successful  through  the  late  '80s.  [jg/i] 

See  also  Adam  and  the  Ants,  Prince. 

CYNICS 

Blue  Train  Station  (Get  Hip-Skyciad)  1 986 

Twelve  Flights  Op  (Get  Hip-Skyclad)  1988 

Blue  Train  Sessions  [CD]  (Get  Hip-Skyclad)  1989  * 

Rodfn'Roil  (Get  Hip-Skyclad)  1989  • 

Sixteen  Flights  Up  [CD]  (Get  Hip-Skyciad)  1 990  * 

Neo-garage-psychedelia  from  a  Pittsburgh  quintet 
weaned  on  "the  punk  explosions  of  '66  and  *77." 
Standouts  in  an  overworked  genre,  the  Cynics  achieve  a 
quintessential  evocation  of  their  ancestors'  glorious 
sound  on  Blue  Train  Station  and  Twelve  Flights  tip. 
Gregg  Kostelich's  guitars  buzz  with  primal  distortion  as 
Michael  Kastelic  blurts  out  the  lyrics  in  a  sneery  whine 
from  somewhere  deep  within  the  sonic  blur.  Grungier 
than  a  seedy  bar  and  more  energetic  than  a  class  of 
sugared-up  toddlers,  the  Cynics  pack  both  albums  (an 
evenhanded  mix  of  strong  originals  and  vintage  obscu- 
rities) with  surefooted  atmosphere  and  excitement. 

Blue  Train  Sessions  and  Sixteen  Flights  Up  are 
remixed,  expanded  CD  versions  of  the  Cynics'  first  two 
albums,  with  improved  sound  quality  and  added  tracks. 
The  latter  disc  also  features  some  entertaining  snatches 
of  pissed-off  studio  chat. 

Rock'n'RoU  presents  an  altered  band  lineup  (with  a 
change  in  drummers  and  no  replacement  for  departed 
organist  Beki  Smith),  an  increased  emphasis  on  original 
material  and  a  slightly  updated  recording  approach. 
More  than  ever,  the  songs  are  catchy  and  to-the-point, 
and  the  band  performs  them  with  an  intensity  that  ren- 
ders questions  of  revivalism  irrelevant.  [i/hd] 

HOLGER  CZUKAY 

See  Can,  David  Sylvian,  Jah  Wobble. 


166 


D    D    D    D    D    D    D 


Can  I  Say  fDischord}  1986 

Wig  Out  of  Denkos  f  Dlschord)  1 987 

Field  Day  (Giant)  1988® 

JUNKYARD 

Junkyard  (Geffen)  1989* 

Sixes,  Sevens  &  Nines  (Geffen)  1991  • 

With  Dave  Smalley  of  Boston's  DYS  on  vocals  and 
Brian  Baker  (ex-Minor  Threat/Meatmen)  on  guitar,  this 
DC  quartet  began  as  something  of  a  supergroup;  with 
co-production  by  Ian  MacKaye,  the  debut  sounds  a  lot 
like  Minor  Threat.  Hardcore  pop  with  heart  and  harmo- 
nies, it's  still  much  rougher  than  Smalley's  next  stop, 
AH.  Pithy  and  articulate,  with  a  share  of  straight-edge 
sentiments,  this  is  music  for  moshers  and  homebodies 
alike. 

With  a  new  singer  and  bassist,  Wig  Out  at  Denkos 
is  a  more  streamlined  affair  that  replaces  most  of  the  first 
LP's  frantic  tempos  with  rockier  dynamics.  Peter  Cort- 
ner's  vocals  are  much  more  musical  than  Smalley's, 
which  only  enhances  the  noticeably  sharper  material, 
especially  the  neat  title  track. 

With  another  lineup  change  (this  time  it's  the  drum- 
mer), Field  Day  is  an  excellent  punky  pop  record  that  is 
by  turns  soulful  ("The  Ambulance  Song")  and  aggres- 
sive ("Dear  Mrs.  Touma").  The  Ruts'  influence  on  DC 
punk  bands  shows  up  in  an  exciting  cover  of  "Staring  at 
the  Rude  Boys"  and  Dag  Nasty's  own  foray  into  dub 
lite,  "Never  Green  Lane."  A  re-recorded  "Under  Your 
Influence' '  (from  Can  I  Say)  and  (as  one  of  the  four  CD 
bonus  tracks)  Wire's  "12  XU,"  a  staple  from  Baker's 
Minor  Threat  days,  are  well-integrated  into  this  diverse 
and  tunefully  accessible  collection  that  has  penetrating 
personal  lyrics. 

The  following  year,  Baker  resurfaced  in  LA  metal- 
lurgists Junkyard,  teamed  with,  of  all  people,  former 
Big  Boy  Chris  Gates.  Despite  the  pedigree,  the  band's 
first  LP  is  a  horrible  major-label  bomb.  [db] 

See  also  All,  DYS,  Meatmen,  Minor  Threat. 

JEFF  DAHL  GROUP 

Vomit  Wet  Kiss  (Sympathy  for  the  Record  Industry)  1 987 
Scratch  Up  Some  Action  (Aus.  Dog  Meat)  1 989 
(nr/Shaldn'  Street)  1990 

JEFF  DAHL 

I  Kill  Me  (Triple  X)1 990  • 
Ultra  Under  (Triple  X)  1991  • 

VOX  POP 

The  Band,  the  Myth,  the  Volume  EP  (Goldar)  1 982 

POWERTRIP 

When  We  Cut  We  Bleed  (Public)  1 983  (PVC)  1 987 


OF 

Fyn  at  the  Funeral  19S6 

In  a  Nostalgic  Mood  EP 

1987® 

A  decade  after  an  on 

Washington  DCs  Doodley  Squat 
Dahl — by  then  a  Los  Angeles-based  of 

local  bands,  including  Vox  Pop  <with  B.  Cutler). 
the  Angry  Samoans,  the  Mentors  ( briefly  f  and  his  owe 
Powertrip  (pioneering  speedroetal)—  his  first 

solo  album,  Vomit  Wet  Kiss.  Fronting  an 
lineup  that,  on  some  tracks,  includes  ex-Dead  Boy 
guitarist  Cheetah  Chrome,  Dahl  revisits  the  Stooges  in 
competent  but  undistinguished  loud  rock  with 
punk  fringes.  (Just  skip  the  clenched-teetli  version  of 
"Paint     It,     Black"     ami     the     acoustic     "Lustful 
Glances.'*) 

Leading  a  quartet  of  Amy  Wichmann  (guitar),  Bruce 
Duff  (bass)  and  Del  Hopkins  (drams)— with  assists 
from  Cheetah  and  Rikk  Agnew — Dahl  returned  with  the 
better-produced,  excellently  played  Scratch  Up  Some 
Action.  This  Raw  Power-styled  roar  of  razor-edge  rock 
makes  rocket  fuel  out  of  obvious  covers  ("White  Light/ 
White  Heat/*  "1970,"  "Two-Headed  Dog")  but  runs 
into  trouble  with  some  of  DahTs  originals. 

Named  for  a  song  on  the  second  album,  I  Kit  Me 
was  actually  recorded  prior  to  the  first  and  includes  (on 
the  LP,  and  as  cassette/CD  bonuses)  some  of  fee  same 
tracks  as  Vomit  Wet  Kiss.  Dahl  airs  his  Iggy  aspira- 
tions with  obvious  vocal  inflections  on  "Goin*  Under- 
ground*' (a  song  he  co-wrote  with  Chrome)  and  a 
spot-on  cover  of  "Search  and  Destroy";  otherwise  the 
potent  but  uneven  album  focuses  on  self-preservation, 
with  songs  like  "This  Stuff  Is  Killin'  Me/'  "Haven't 
Had  a  Drink  in  a  Long  Time"  and  "The  Boy  Who 
Self-destroyed'*  (with  most  of  the  Angry  Samoans 
guesting). 

Bassist  Duff,  another  longtime  LA  scene  vet  and 
rock  critic,  and  guitarist  Ray  Violet  led  the  Jesters  of 
Destiny,  unseriously  metalesque  cultural  scavengers 
who,  on  Fun  at  the  Funeral  (a  title  which  pretty  well 
conveys  the  band's  innocuous  attitude),  cleverly  crib 
song  plots  from  exploitation  movies  ("God  Told  Me 
To")  and  other  horror  stories  ("Incubus"),  with  enough 
wit  to  quote  "Eleanor  Rigby"  while  they're  at  it. 

In  a  Nostalgic  Mood  is  a  pointless  all-covers  EP: 
humorless  hard-rock  renditions  of  classics  by  Hendrix, 
Creedence,  Sabbath  and  two  others.  [i] 

See  also  Angry  Samoans,  Chemical  People, 

DALE 

See  Missing  Persons. 


167 


DALIS  CAR 

See  Peter  Murphv. 

ROLF  DAMMERS 

See  Can. 

DAMNED 

Dornned  Damned  Damned  (or/Stiff}  1 977  f  or/Demon) 

1986  (Frontier)  1989® 

Mwsic  for  Pleasure  fnr/Sfiff}  1977  (nr/Demon)  1986  ® 
Machine  Gun  Etiquette  (nr/Chisvrick)  1979  {or/Big  Beat) 

1982  f  Emerge)  1 991  ® 
The  Block  Mbum  (IRS)  1980  • 
Friday  fie  1 3th  EP  f nr/NEMS)  1 981 
The  Best  of  the  Damned  (nr/Big  Beat)  1981  (Emergo) 

1991  • 

Strawberries  (fir/Bronze)  1 982  (nr/Dojo)  1 986  ® 
live  at  Sbepperton  1 980  {nr/Big  Beat)  1982  • 
Live  in  Newcastle  (or/Damned)  1 983 
Damned  EPfnr/Sfrifff  1985 
Damned  but  Not  Forgotten  (nr/Dojo)  1 985  * 
Phantasmagoria  f  MCA)  1 985  • 
Is  St  a  Dream?  EP  (nr/MCA)  1 985 
Damned  Damned  Damned/Music  for  Pleasure  (nr/Stiff) 

1986 

The  Captain's  Birthday  Party  (nr/Stiff)  1 986 
The  Fed  Sessions  EP  for/Strange  Fruit)  1986  * 
Not  the  Captains  Birthday  Party?  (nr/Demon)  1 986 
Anything  f  MCA)  1 986  » 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  frrr/Strange  Fruit)  1987  • 
Mindless,  Directionless,  Energy.  Live  at  the  Lyceum  1 981 

(ID-Revolver)!  987  » 

The  Light  at  the  End  of  the  Tunnel  (MCA)  1 987  * 
The  Long  Lost  Weekend:  Best  of  Volume  1  1/2  (nr/Big 

Beat)  1988 

Final  Damnation  (Restless)  1989  « 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 990  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  » 
EP(nr/Deltic)1990 

NAZ  NOMAD  &  THE 
NIGHTMARES 

Give  Daddy  the  Knife  Cindy  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 984  • 

Noted  for  being  the  very  first  British  punk  band  to 
issue  an  album  (Stiff's  first  LP)  as  well  as  the  first  to 
tour  America,  the  Damned  hold  a  special  position  in 
history,  if  not  always  in  music.  Over  an  exceedingly 
checkered  multi-label  career — breakups,  reformations, 
side  projects,  farewell  gigs,  a  spell  as  the  Doomed,  vast 
popularity,  near  obscurity — the  Damned  have  consis- 
tently managed  to  shatter  expectations  and  defy  the 
odds,  wreaking  havoc  and  nonchalantly  tweaking  con- 
vention. But  getting  a  cogent  critical  perspective  on  their 
large  recorded  oeuvre  is  as  elusive  as  attempting  to  read 
the  label  on  a  spinning  45. 

Damned  Damned  Damned  was  a  major  ground- 
breaker,  a  stripped-down  punk  album  of  high-speed 
songs  filled  with  raunchy  guitar  rock  and  equally  ag- 
gressive sentiments.  With  Nick  Lowe  producing,  the 
Damned  trounced  such  then-hard-to-challenge  tradi- 
tional recording  values  as  musical  precision  and  studio- 
quality  sound.  Unfailingly  energetic  and  vital,  it's  the 
only  Damned  studio  album  to  feature  the  original  lineup 
of  Dave  Vanian  (vocals),  Brian  James  (guitar),  the  ex- 


ceptionally skillful  Rat  Scabies  I  drums)  and  Captain 
Sensible  {bass).  Just  to  heighten  the  bratty  iconocla&ui, 
early  copies  of  the  sleeve  "goofed",  the  back  cover 
pictured  rivals  Eddie  and  the  Hot  Rods  in  lieu  of  the 
Damned. 

Surprisingly  enough,  the  second  Damned  opus  was 
produced  by  Nick  Mason  of  Pink  Floyd  With  added 
guitarist  Lu  Edmonds  and  no  stylistic  plan,  the  attack 
sounds  blunted,  and  there  aren't  as  many  great  songs  as 
on  the  first  LP.  Despite  a  great  cover*  Music  for  Plea- 
sure doesn't  live  up  to  the  title  (Stiff  reissued  both  LPs 
as  a  mail-order-only  double  in  1986.) 

The  Damned  broke  up  and  reformed  several  times 
before  cutting  Machine  Gun  Etiquette  with  a  new 
lineup.  Sensible  had  traded  bass  for  guitar,  Lu  had  de- 
parted (to  join  a  number  of  bands,  including  Public 
Image)  and  ex-Saints  bassist  Algy  Ward  had  joined. 
(Ward  left  after  the  one  album,  going  on  to  form  a  grebo 
metal  band,  Tank,  which  has  released  at  least  five  LPs.) 
Despite  the  tumult,  the  band  is  totally  revitalized  and  on 
top  of  things — more  mature,  but  no  less  crazy — tearing 
through  great  numbers  like  "Love  Song,"  "I  Just  Can't 
Be  Happy  Today"  (both  UK  hits),  "Smash  It  Up"  and 
the  anthemic  "Noise  Noise  Noise."  A  great  record  by  a 
band  many  had  already  counted  out.  The  1991  CD/ 
cassette  reissue  has  a  new  cover,  cool  liner  notes  by 
Jack  Rabid  and  bonus  tracks:  a  six-minute  edit  of  1983's 
"White  Rabbit"  plus  three  erstwhile  B-sides:  "Ball- 
room Blitz,"  "Suicide"  and  "Rabid  (Over  You)." 

With  ex-Hot  Rod  bassist  Paul  Gray  joining  the 
lineup,  the  Black  Album — a  two-record  set  in  the  UK, 
one  disc  in  America — takes  off  in  a  totally  different 
direction,  displaying  unexpected  character  traits.  The 
first  two  sides  (the  entire  US  release)  are  packed  with 
melodic  rock  verging  on  power  pop,  using  acoustic  gui- 
tar, vocal  harmonies,  mellotron  and  synthesizers,  as 
well  as  other  seemingly  inconceivable  components. 
"Wait  for  the  Blackout"  and  "Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde" 
indicate  how  far  the  debonair  Damned  had  traveled;  other 
tracks  prove  that  they  had  not  abandoned  the  roar'n'roll 
with  which  they  began.  But  the  last  two  sides  are  dead 
weird:  one  is  a  single  composition,  strung  together  by 
church  organ,  that  doesn't  work;  the  other  a  live  best-of 
that's  impressive  but  halfbaked.  (Live  at  Shepperton 
1980  comes  from  the  same  gig,  but  runs  for  two  sides, 
not  one,  offering  such  additional  tunes  as  "Neat  Neat 
Neat"  and  "Help.") 

Friday  the  13th,  a  four-song  7-inch  of  new  non-LP 
material  released  during  the  band's  brief  (and  unpro- 
ductive) liaison  with  the  NEMS  label,  features  "Disco 
Man,"  "Billy  Bad  Breaks"  and  a  cover  of  the  Stones' 
"Citadel."  Meanwhile,  the  band's  former  label  put  to- 
gether The  Best  of  the  Damned— not  exactly  that,  but 
rather  a  reasonable  collection  of  '76-'80  singles  (A- 
sides  and  some  B-sides)  from  "New  Rose"  to  "Wait 
for  the  Blackout,"  including  Sensible' s  worthless  1982 
solo  cover  of  Elton  Motello's  "Jet  Boy,  Jet  Girl."  (As 
Damned  Damned  Damned  had  finally  been  released  in 
the  States,  the  worthless  '91  reissue  of  The  Best  of  the 
Damned  deletes  "Neat  Neat  Neat,"  replacing  it  with 
the  "White  Rabbit"  single,  and  swaps  the  classic  "New 
Rose"  for  a  live  version.) 

Mindless,  Directionless,  Energy  was  recorded  live 
in  London  (1981)  with  the  Scabies-Sensible- Vanian- 
Gray  lineup  and  boasts  crummy  sound  and  an  indiffer- 


168 


ent  set  of  songs.  "'Smash  It  Up,"  "Love  Song"  and  "I 
Fee!  Alright"  arc  fair  inclusions  that  receive  exciting 
performances,  but  a  terrible  rendition  of  Sweet's  "Ball- 
room Blitz"  |  dedicated  to  Lady  Di  and  sung  with  a 
chorus  of  "great  big  tits'*)  and  other  duff  items  make 
this  dodgy  record  worth  burying,  not  buying.  (The  CD 
adds  a  blistering  *4New  Rose.*")  Yet  another  live  album, 
Not  the  Captains  Birthday  Party?  documents  an  ear- 
lier era,  capturing  the  original  band  running  through 
some  of  the  first  album  onstage  at  London's  Round- 
house in  late  1977.  A  show  from  Newcastle  was  re- 
leased as  an  authorized  bootleg  in  "83. 

The  two  EPs  (later  joined  on  a  single  disc  and  issued 
in  the  US)  of  live-in-the-studio  material  were  recorded 
for  John  Peel's  BBC  radio  show  in  November  1976  and 
May  1977  and  provide  solid  evidence  of  the  young 
band's  playing  abilities  away  from  Nick  Lowe's 
compressed/accelerated  production.  The  earlier  date  (re- 
leased second)  offers  punchy  renditions  of  "Neat  Neat 
Neat/'  "Stab  Your  Back/' 4 'New  Rose  "and  two  more. 
Besides  shoddy  performances  and  flat  sound,  the  choice 
of  material  for  the  '77  session  is  weak,  capped  by  "Fan 
Club"  and  "Sick  of  Being  Sick." 

Despite  a  humorous  porcine  cover  shot,  Strawber- 
ries is  a  gormless,  old-sounding  affair  that  drags  itself 
along  with  neither  bite  nor  character.  Short  of  truly  ter- 
rible, it's  merely  forgettable.  (Outtakes  from  this  album 
were  later  packaged  as  a  1990  EP  on  Sensible' s  Deltic 
label.) 

Another  compilation,  Damned  but  Not  Forgotten 
covers  roughly  '81  to  '84,  with  tracks  from  assorted 
singles  (including  B-sides),  Friday  the  13th  and  else- 
where. 

Phantasmagoria  is  mainly  Vanian's  show.  His  im- 
posing singing  on  graveyard  items  like  "Grimly  Fiend- 
ish" and  "Sanctum  Sanctorum"  provides  the  character 
the  songs  themselves  lack.  Jon  Kelly's  production  (com- 
plete with  horror-film  effects  and  phantom-of-the-opera 
organ)  is  adequate,  but  the  Damned  no  longer  has  a 
unique  sound  beyond  Vanian,  so  it's  fairly  academic. 
(The  LP  was  also  issued  in  the  UK  with  a  bonus  blue 
vinyl  12-inch  of  the  subsequent  "Eloise,"  a  drippy  Paul 
Ryan  song  which  became  a  hit  for  them.)  An  EP  of  the 
album's  "Is  It  a  Dream"  adds  four  live  tracks. 

Released  pseudonymously  by  Naz  Nomad  &  the 
Nightmares,  Give  Daddy  the  Knife  Cindy  is  the 
Damned's  imaginary  '60s  psychedelic  film  soundtrack, 
filled  with  covers  of  such  classics  as  "I  Had  Too  Much 
to  Dream  (Last  Night),"  "Kicks,"  "Nobody  but  Me," 
Kim  Fowley's  "The  Trip,"  plus  a  pair  of  originals.  The 
material  is  great,  but  the  unembellished  studio  perfor- 
mances are  merely  functional.  A  nice  thought  anyway. 

Stability — the  Damned' s  lineup  of  Vanian,  Rat, 
guitarist/keyboardist  Roman  Jugg  (who  joined  in  1981) 
and  bassist  Bryn  Merrick  lasted  from  1984  until  1987 — 
evidently  had  a  negative  effect  on  the  band's  creativity. 
Anything  boasts  a  neat  version  of  Love's  *  "Alone  Again 
Or,"  but  otherwise  falls  weU  short  of  achieving  any- 
thing memorable*  Despite  the  Damned 's  proven  ability 
to  alternately  rock  gothic  and  play  nice,  there's  no  au- 
dible point  to  the  music;  it's  hard  to  imagine  who  would 
find  this  LP  pleasurable. 

The  Light  at  the  End  of  the  Tunnel  is  a  haphaz- 
ardly sequenced  two-record  decade-spanning  compila- 
tion with  a  dandy  family  tree  by  that  British  national 


treasure,          Frame  The  27-cus 

includes  hits,  album  cms,  non-LP  mixes, 

"Help"  from  *77)  and  ranties,  but 

illogic  guided  the  order?  ("New  Rose/*  "Neat 

Neat  Neat,"  **!  Fed  Alright"  and  "I  Fed  the  are 

all  on  different  sides  !| 

The  L0ng  Lost  Weekend  Is  a  fairly  com- 

pilation of  odds  and  ends  '?9-*84: 

tracks  from  Friday  the  13th,  four  cuts 
lies,  even  a  joint  recording  I*  *  Over  the  Top"  I  with 
Motorhead, 

In  the  late  '80s,  with  SeEsible's  solo  career  off  the 
charts,  the  Damned — Vanian,  Scabies,  Sensible,  James, 
Merrick  and  Jugg — began  doing  reunion  shows,  culmi- 
nating in  a  triumphant  ten-date  US  tour  in  1989.  Ttie 
live  Final  Damnation,  taped  the  previous  year  IE  Lon- 
don, has  seventeen  of  the  songs  you  want  to  per- 
formed at  reasonable  tempos  in  a  powerful  mix  of 
musical  skill  and  self-amused  abandon.  With  nothing 
left  to  prove,  the  Damned  merrily  live  the  legend  with- 
out making  a  fuss  about  it.  Easily  their  best  live  record 
and  the  only  one  truly  worth  owning. 

The  album  title  was  evidently  serious.  (No,  really. 
We  mean  it  this  time  .  .  .  )  The  Damned  have  appar- 
ently called  it  quits,  as  latest  reports  have  Vanian,  Jugg 
and  Merrick  working  together  in  a  new  band  called  the 
Phantom  Chords.  f|] 

See  also  Captain  Sensible ,  Lards  of  the  New  Church. 


DANGTRiPPERS 

Days  Between  Stations  (Dog  Gone)  1 989  » 

Byrdsy  Midwest  power-pop  bands  are  a  dime  a 
dozen,  but  when  the  occasional  one  with  that  special 
something  (could  it  be  ...  talent?)  comes  along,  it 
makes  up  for  all  the  uninspired  strivers.  This  unassum- 
ing rock-pop  quartet  from  Iowa  City,  Iowa,  doesn't  do 
anything  out  of  the  ordinary  on  Days  Between  Stations, 
but  the  consistently  fine  songs  and  the  able-bodied  per- 
formances make  it  an  eminent  delight.  Tunes?  Strong 
and  memorable.  Harmonies?  Alluring  and  modestly  em- 
ployed. Lyrics?  Simple  but  not  simpleminded.  Playing? 
Guitars  weave  in  and  around  each  other  over  a  sturdy 
rhythm  section.  (Kenn  Goodman  of  the  Service  pro- 
vides guest  keyboards.)  Just  wonderful*  [i] 


DANNY  &  DUSTY 

The  Lost  Weekend  (A&M)  1985 

This  one-off  studio  bender  assembles  the  cream  of 
LA's  cowpunk  society  for  a  batch  of  rowdy  tunes  about 
drinkin' ,  lovin' » gamblin*  and  losin' .  The  cast;  Dan  Stu- 
art and  Chris  Cacavas  of  Green  on  Red,  Steve  Wynn 
and  Dennis  Duck  of  Dream  Syndicate  and  most  of  the 
Long  Ryders.  Produced  by  Paul  Cutler,  The  Lost 
Weekend  offers  a  saucy  good  time,  short  on  signifi- 
cance, but  long  on  ambience  and  spirit.  For  reference,  a 
version  of  Dylan's  "Knockin'  on  Heaven's  Door"  typ- 
ifies the  tenor  of  Wynn/Stuart's  collaborative  songwrit- 
ing.  [i] 


DANNY  AND  THE  DOORKNOBS 

See  Trotsy  Icepick. 


169 


Seduction  EP  fnr/Socieiy}  1982 
Heaven  Is  Waiting  f  Arista)  1984 
Looktfig  Through  (nr/Societyl  1986 

Selfconsciously  arty  and  needlessly  dramatic,  this 
quintet  from  England's  southwest  occasionally  mixes 
almost  straightforward  rock  into  its  dense  techno-dance 
rhythms*  yielding  a  reasonably  good  song  now  and 
again,  Seduction  is  a  longwinded  six-track  12-inch  with 
busy  Bauhaus-strength  mud  supporting  sporadic  vocals 
and  gimmicky  sound  effects.  Tuneless  and  tedious. 

Danse  Society  reached  America  with  the  full-length 
Heaven  Is  Waiting:  further  plodding  nonsense  that  can 
claim  the  abrasive  but  catchy  dance-rock  of  the  title 
track  and  a  weirdly  modernized  reading  of  the  Stones' 
already  spacey  4fc200Q  Light  Years  from  Home." 

Billed  as  the  band's  final  album  (but  claiming  om- 
inously that  44the  end  is  only  the  beginning"),  Looking 
Through  is  more  tedious  and  repetitive  new  wave  disco 
for  the  doomy  haircut-and-mascara  brigade.  Lacking 
any  striking  material,  this  is  functional  genre  fare  for 
yesterday's  club  kids.  [i] 


DANZIG 

Donag  fDef  Americon-Geffeo)  1988  « 

Danzig  IM.udfuge  (Del  American-Geffen)  1 990  • 

At  the  very  crest  of  Misfits  cult  mania,  producer 
Rick  Rubin  decided  to  help  ex-Tits  vocalist  Glenn  Dan- 
zig realize  his  dream  of  making  his  current  group,  Sam- 
hain,  more  professional  and  focused.  As  Danzig,  the 
band  has  achieved  significant  commercial  success  while 
remaining  true  to  fans'  sanguinary  tastes, 

Cleaving  Glenn's  signature  groaning  and  pagan- 
demono-sexuality  lyrics  to  a  more  basic  hard-rock  foun- 
dation, Danzig  ends  up  as  a  cranchy  cross  between  the 
Doors,  Misfits  and  Black  Sabbath.  With  the  benefit  of  a 
real  band — tasteful,  metallic  guitarist  John  Christ,  Sam- 
hain  holdover  Eerie  Von  (bass)  and  dexterous  vet  Chuck 
Biscuits  (ex-D.Q.A.,  Black  Hag  and  Circle  Jerks,  per- 
haps the  greatest  punk  rock  drummer  ever) — behind 
him,  Danzig's  amazing  voice  has  never  sounded  as  clear 
or  as  dominant.  While  roughly  half  of  the  album  is 
ominous  and  mighty  ("Twist  of  Cain,"  "She  Rides," 
"Soul  on  Fire"  and  "Mother"),  the  rest  proves  shallow 
on  repeated  listenings,  displaying  the  weak  side  of  Ru- 
bin's thinly  homogeneous  production. 

Lucifoge  corrects  the  flaws:  Rubin's  production  is 
far  fleshier,  the  theatrically  demonic  muscle-stud  angle 
is  entertainingly  exercised,  the  songs  (especially  the 
cool,  dank  beauty  of  "Her  Black  Wings,"  with  its  sub- 
tly menacing  riff,  and  a  '50s-style  melodic  tearjerker, 
"Blood  and  Tears")  are  consistently  stronger,  and  a 
heavy  dose  of  voodoo  blues  (check  out  the  stripped- 
down  "I'm  the  One")  is  wisely  incorporated  into  the 
thematic  and  musical  brew.  [gef] 

See  also  Misfits. 


TERENCE  TRENT  D'ARBY 

Introducing  the  Hardline  According  to  Terence  Trent 
D'Arby  (Columbia)  1 987  • 

Terence  Trent  D'Arb/s  Neither  Fish  nor  Flesh  (Columbia) 
1989* 


THE  TOUCH 

Early  Works  f  Ger.  iMP-Pofydor)  1 989  • 

Once  he  topped  the  US  charts  with  "Wishing  Well," 
the  press  was  full  of  talk  about  hype  but,  hit  or  not, 
expatriate  American  Terence  Trent  D'Arby  is  an  out- 
standing soul  singer.  Versatile,  too,  with  the  ability  to 
produce  a  compelling  gospel  wail  ("If  You  All  Get  to 
Heaven"),  a  funky  shout  ("Dance  Little  Sister")  or  a 
sultry  romantic  come-on  ("Sign  Your  Name").  Confi- 
dent down  to  his  toenails,  D'Arby  inspires  favorable 
comparisons  to  such  luminaries  as  Al  Green,  Sam  Cooke 
and  Smokey  Robinson,  and  he  rocks  out,  to  boot.  (Fans 
of  early- '70s  British  rock  may  recognize  the  Roger 
Chapman  influence  on  "If  You  Let  Me  Stay.") 

Of  course,  true  artistes  don't  pander  to  the  market- 
place. With  that  in  mind,  TTD  threw  a  major-league 
curve  on  his  second  LP,  rejecting  the  commercial 
strengths  of  his  debut  for  moody  experiments.  As  he 
announces  in  the  opening  track, '  'I  will  not  be  defined. ' ' 
No  kidding!  Neither  Fish  nor  Flesh  (modestly  subtitled 
A  soundtrack  of  love,  faith,  hope  &  destruction) 
showcases  creepy  falsetto  vocals  and  downbeat  tunes  a 
la  later  Marvin  Gaye  mixed  with  screwy,  skeletal  rock- 
ers, psychedelic  funk  and,  to  add  a  touch  of  normalcy, 
a  few  shots  of  (more  or  less)  southern-fried  soul.  Indi- 
vidually, most  of  the  tracks  have  virtues;  collectively, 
they  add  up  to  the  most  unfocused  record  in  the  history 
of  western  civilization. 

The  Touch's  album  is  routine  pop-soul  recorded  in 
Germany  in  '83,  when  TTD  was  still  developing  his 
moves.  Such  are  the  skeletons  that  plague  the  famous. 

By] 
DARK  DAY 

SoeDNA. 

DARKS1DE 

All  That  Noise  (nr/Situation  Two)  1990  (Beggars 

Banquet-RCA)1991  • 

The  ex-Spacemen  3  rhythm  section  of  this  Rugby, 
England,  trio  (which  became  a  quartet  after  making  All 
That  Noise)  has  the  Doors'  old  rainy-night  bass/drums 
sound  down  cold;  the  remaining  elements  on  this  atmo- 
spheric but  routine  debut  are  lazy  artless-pop  vocals  (by 
bassist  Pete  Bassman),  bits  of  wheedly  organ  and  guitar 
work  that  ranges  from  a  translucent  drizzle  to  a  flood  of 
distortion.  This  sort  of  bland  and  derivative  mock- '60s 
tedium  may  go  down  like  soda  in  the  UK  nowadays,  but 
that  doesn't  make  it  right.  [i] 

DARLING  BUDS 

Pop  Said  . . .  (Columbia)  1 988  • 
Tiny  Machine  EP  (nr/Epic)  1990  • 
Crawdaddy  (Columbia)  1990  <f> 
Erotica  Plays  EP  [CD]  (nr/Epic)  1991  • 

This  Welsh  quartet  emerged  in  the  late  '80s  as  part 
of  Britain's  resurgent  girl-group  update.  Along  with 
Voice  of  the  Beehive,  Transvision  Vamp  and  the  very 
similar  Primitives,  the  Buds  looked  to  the  past  (not  that 
far:  they  settled  on  Blondie)  and  forged  a  derivative  yet 
likable  sound  that,  taken  in  small  bites,  should  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  any  neo-bubblegum  fan. 


170 


On  the  relentlessly  chirpy  debut  produced  by  Pat 
Collier,  singer/lyricist  Andrea  Lewis  and  gultanst/1 
songwriter  Harley  Fair  offer  a  dozen  upbeat  songs  about 
love  f  of  the  pappy*  crummy  and  lost  varieties),  all  sol- 
idly played  and  well  sung.  The  gorgeous  "Let's  Go 
Round  There"  and  the  Bo  Diddley  bop  of  '"Things  We 
Do  for  Love"  (not  the  lOcc  song)  highlight  an  album 
full  of  highlights.  But  proceed  cautiously,  as  repeated 
listenings  may  cause  a  sugar  rush. 

Opening  with  distorto-feedbaclc  reminiscent  of  the 
Jesus  and  Mary  Chain,  Crawdaddy  reveals  a  more  ma- 
ture Buds,  a  group  that  has  learned  the  value  of  a  little 
variety.  With  longtime  Smiths  producer  Stephen  Street 
twiddling  the  knobs,  there's  a  lustiness  on  such  tracks  as 
"You  Won't  Make  Me  Die"  and  "So  Close"  that  was 
absent  from  Pop  Said  ...  In  addition,  the  band  hops 
aboard  the  Madchester  bandwagon,  coming  up  with 
"Tiny  Machine"  and  "Crystal  Clear,"  the  LP's  most 
memorable  tracks.  Some  now-tired  Blondie-isms  re- 
main, but  this  fine  sophomore  effort  is  mostly  a  forward- 
looking,  groove-heavy  delight.  (The  subsequent  EP 
features  "It  Makes  No  Difference"  plus  three  self- 
produced  non-LP  tracks.)  [db] 

DOC  CORBIN  DART 

See  Crudfucks. 

DAS  DAMEN 

Das  Damen  EP  (Ecstatic  Peace)  1986  (SST)  1986 

Jupiter  Eye  (SST)  1987 

Triskaidekaphobe  (SST)  1 988  • 

Marshmellow  Conspiracy  EP  (SST)  1 988  +  1 988  • 

Mousetrap  (Twin/Tone)  1989  « 

Entertaining  Friends  (Ger.  City  Slang)  1990  * 

Like  many  other  young  bands  of  the  '80s,  New 
York's  Das  Damen  cavalierly  crosses  decades  of  musi- 
cal influences  to  inbreed  contemporary  whateverism 
with  '60s  acid  rock,  '70s  arena  metal  and  '80s  post- 
punk.  The  quartet  relies  on  loud  guitars,  unrestrained 
energy  and  their  college  educations  to  produce  music 
that  has  volume  and  intelligence,  if  not  always  impact. 

The  group's  debut  EP,  originally  released  on  a  label 
run  by  Sonic  Youth's  Thurston  Moore  but  quickly  re- 
issued by  SST,  offers  six  badly  mixed  long  songs  that 
are  noisy  but  fun.  Roaring  guitar  chords,  above-average 
vocals,  solid  drumming  and  an  invaluable  sense  of  dy- 
namics balance  off  the  unfocused  sonic  wash  and  form- 
less songwriting. 

The  dodgy  sound  quality  on  Jupiter  Eye  is  similarly 
haphazard,  but  the  album  reveals  enlarged  stylistic  am- 
bition and  sophistication.  With  the  shambling  electrified 
chaos  of  live  improvisation,  hard-driving  instrumental 
sections  are  enthralling-,  the  poorly  recorded  vocals  are 
effective  additions  only  some  of  the  time.  "Girl  with  the 
Hair"  and  "Name  Your  Poison"  find  a  functional  equi- 
librium; the  mUd-mannered  "Do"  offers  a  most  appeal- 
ing low-key  antidote.  Jupiter  Eye  contains  all  the 
ingredients  for  excellence,  but  Damen  is  still  fitting  the 
pieces  together.  (A  good  producer  wouldn't  hurt.) 

The  well-rehearsed  organization  and  clear,  balanced 
audio  fidelity  of  Triskaidekaphobe  removes  some  of 
the  rampant  wildness  in  favor  of  syncopated  hard- 
rocking  power  and  disarmingly  melodic  tunes.  "Bug" 


and  "Candv  Kom"  are  pop  * 'Spi- 

der Birds*"  crosses  Lymrd  Skynyrd  vnth  Cheap  Trick; 
"Reverse  into  Tomorrow" 
with  chords  and  a 

"Pendant"          a  driving  and  Dtl  Ap- 

proach and  cuts  it  up  mtb  an 
bridge.  Though  this  impressive  LP  out  of  fo- 

cus, it  seems  likely  thai  Damen' s  tog  of 

will  eventually  yield  a  completely  record. 

When  certain  parties        their 
discovered  that  **Soeg  for  to  Self* — 

one  of  the  four  tracks  on  the 

pink-vinyl  12-inch — was,  in  fact,  "Magical  Mystery 
Tour,*1  the  record  was  withdrawn  from  the  Too 

bad.  Although  the  song  doesn't  get  much  respect 
the  absurdly  accented  vocal  performance,  the 
psychedelic  finish  is  an  amusing  display  of  one  gener- 
ation's interpretation  of  another's  trippy  noise.  (After 
the  dust  settled,  SST  reissued  the  three  remaining 
songs — including  two  from  the  previous  LP,  one  in  a 
new    version    featuring    ex-MC5    guitarist    Wayne 
Kramer — as  a  12-inch  and  a  CD-3.) 

Mousetrap  puts  Damen  one  step  closer  to  demi- 
monde greatness.  The  songs  (especially  on  the  West 
Coast  side)  are  by  far  their  best  ( "Sad  Mile"  has  a  killer 
chorus;  the  Blue  Cheerish  "Demagnetized"  and  the 
gently  tuneful  "Hey,  Angel"  are  also  highlights);  the 
band's  instrumental  work  and  arrangements  are  both 
better  developed  and  more  varied  than  ever.  A  better 
Mousetrap  to  be  sure,  the  album  solidifies  Daxnen*s 
stylistic  development,  setting  a  terrific  musical  plateau 
from  which  the  band  can  continue  to  progress. 

Recorded  live  at  CBGB  in  early  1990,  Entertaining 
Friends  has  good  sound  and  a  fine  retrospective  selec- 
tion of  album  tracks,  but  the  warts  Vail  performances 
are  totally  uneven,  fluctuating  between  potent  waves  of 
confident  wah-wah  power  to  wobbly  vocals  and  arrange- 
ments on  the  brink  of  collapse.  Damen* s  live  perfor- 
mances aren't  exactly  peanut  butter  consistent,  and  this 
live  document  is  all  too  accurate.  The  CD  adds  a  nifty 
cover  of  Television's  "Friction."  [i] 


DASH  RIP  ROCK 

Dash  Rip  Rock  (688)  1986  (Mammoth)  1989  • 
Ace  of  Clubs  (Mammoth)  1 989  • 
Not  of  This  World  (Mammoth)  1 990  • 

Taking  their  name  from  a  character  on  The  Beverly 
Hillbillies  (Elly  May's  movie-star  paramour),  this  trio 
from  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana  puts  a  bloodboiling  flame 
under  a  peppery  pot  of  rhythm  &  blues,  old-time  rock- 
'n'roll and  tradition-minded  country.  Given  mighty  sup- 
port by  bassist  Ned  "Hoaky"  Hickel  and  drummer  Fred 
LeBlanc,  guitarist/singer  Bill  Davis  is  a  talented  and 
powerful  frontman;  all  three  write.  Dash  is  the  kind  of 
rough-and-ready  band  you  imagine  tearing  up  a  road- 
house  somewhere  in  your  romantic  dreams  of  highway 
adventures;  Dash  Rip  Rock  has  a  few  flaws  but  bears 
the  unmistakable  imprint  of  a  significant  find. 

The  white-hot  center  of  Ace  of  Clubs— "Money 
Love  Time/'  the  vintage-sounding  "Leave  Me  Alone 
(With  My  Bottle)"  and  "Johnny  Ace*'  (great  biograph- 
ical lyrics  set  to  sizzling  high-speed  guitar  energy)-— is 
surrounded  by  equally  entertaining  tracks  in  a  variety  of 
less  incendiary  styles:  chunky  power  pop  ("Go  Home 

171 


Little  Girl"),  acoustic  country-folk  ("Blue  Moon  at 

Midnight"),  herky-jerky  rock-pop  ("Legacy," 
"Lisa** ),  The  album  would  have  benefited  from  a  more 
clearly  cm  personality,  but  the  well-written  and  sharply 
played  make  if  a  fine  second  showing. 

With  producer  Jim  Dickinson  and  a  new  drummer 
taking  over  from  LeBtanc,  Dash  grew  up  and  got  loud 
(and  a  bit  raunchy!  on  Not  of  This  World,  a  smooth 
high-octane  blend  of  the  band's  tootsy  rock-R&B- 
country  ingredients.  Whether  Davis  is  using  guitar  met- 
aphors in  a  lusty  love  song  ("String  You  Up"),  issuing 
crude  putdowns  ("Rich  Little  Bitch,"  "Rattle  Trap") 
or  pledging  to  follow  a  woman  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
{in  a  song  delicately  mistitted  "Bum  for  Egypt"),  the 
band— augmented  on  some  songs  by  a  guest  keyboard 
player — plays  hot  enough  to  light  a  small  studio  confla- 
gration. Get  that  fire  extinguisher  out  before  you  drop 
the  needle.  P3 

DATE  BAIT 

See  Slickee  Boys. 

DATURA  SEEDS 

See  Zero  Boys. 

DAVID  J 

See  Bauhaus,  Love  and  Rockets. 

DANIELLE  DAX 

Pop-Eyes  (nr/lnrfiol)  1983  fnr/Awesome)  1985 
Jesus  Egg  That  Wepfr  (nr/Awesome)  1 984  +  1 985 
Inky  Bloaters  fnr/Awesome)  1 987  • 
The  Janice  Long  Session  EP  (nr/Nighttracks-Strange  Fruit) 

1988 

Doric  Adopted  Eye  (Sire)  1 988  • 
Wast  the  Human  Flower  (Sire)  1 990  <j> 

Emerging  from  the  ashes  of  the  Lemon  Kittens 
(formed  at  Surrey  University;  1979-'82),  England's 
Danielle  Dax,  Our  Lady  of  the  Arabic  dance  slink,  has 
a  voice  like  vanilla  yogurt:  cool,  high  and  honey-sweet 
with  a  tartly  mysterious  flavor  that  keeps  her  work  from 
sounding  the  slightest  bit  mainstream.  From  the  old  He- 
brew inscription  of  her  Awesome  Records  logo  (appar- 
ently gibberish)  through  the  lyrics  on  Inky  Bloaters 
(where  "Big  Hollow  Man*'  reaps  the  wages  of  his  ma- 
terialistic hypocrisy),  there's  an  underlying  current  of 
Biblical  mysticism  embedded  in  her  work  and  an  infec- 
tiously droney  middle-Easternness  to  many  of  her  mel- 
odies. 

An  eclectic  collision  between  arty  and  rootsy,  Dax's 
work  ranges  from  the  almost  scientifically  crisp  and  clin- 
ical ("  ,  ,  .  In  Wooden  Brackets,"  which  she  recorded 
while  still  a  Lemon  Kitten,  introduces  backward  instru- 
mental tracks  to  warbling  pseudo-Chinese  vocal  chirps) 
to  mutant  blues/gospel.  In  "Evil-Honky  Stomp,"  from 
Jesus  Egg  That  Wept,  a  moaning,  off-kilter  saxophone 
evokes  images  of  Mississippi  riverboats  as  she  sings  of 
branding  slaves  with  all  the  sweetness  of  a  Scarlett 
O'Hara  wafting  down  a  staircase. 

The  bright  bop  and  twinkle  of  "Here  Come  the  Har- 
vest Buns"  (included  on  both  Jesus  Egg  and  Pop-Eyes) 


bounces  with  perky  electronic  keyboard  percussion,  tri- 
angle and  bottle  plinks,  disguising  its  dark  message  to 
cheating  spouses:  "Spin  we  go  with  a  hi-de-ho,  wife  a 
knee  in  the  place  where  the  hero  roamed."  The  sweeter 
she  sounds,  the  more  sinister  her  ideas.  (The  reissued 
version  of  Jesus  Egg  contains  an  additional  track.) 

Dax  has  a  million  sounds  and  at  least  as  many  vi- 
sions to  cram  onto  vinyl.  After  the  utterly  unaccompa- 
nied Pop-Eyes  ( amazingly  recorded,  using  more  than  a 
dozen  different  instruments,  on  a  four- track  tape  ma- 
chine!), her  visions  were  explored  with  the  help  of  col- 
laborator Karl  Blake,  who  shared  vocals,  writing, 
performing  and  production  duties  in  the  fecund  Lemon 
Kittens,  (He  appears  as  a  guest  musician  on  Jesus  Egg's 
"Ostrich"),  Around  1984,  she  began  to  work  with 
guitarist/keyboardist  David  Knight;  he  appears  on  some 
of  Jesus  Egg's  tracks.  Dax  later  added  guitarist  Ian 
Sturgess,  who  plays  numerous  other  instruments,  in- 
cluding jaw  harp  and  harmonica,  to  her  band. 

The  absolutely  brilliant  Inky  Bloaters  finds  the  Dax 
troika  merrily  plundering  the  sounds  of  the  '60s  (as  well 
as  ancient  slinky  Middle-Eastemisms)  with  mock-sitars, 
giddy  fuzz  guitars  and  a  by-the-numbers  songbook  that 
helps  recall  everyone  from  Mungo  Jerry  ("Inky  Bloat- 
ers") to  T.  Rex  ("Big  Hollow  Man")  to  the  Jefferson 
Airplane  ("Brimstone  hi  a  Barren  Land").  "Flash- 
back" and  "Sleep  Has  No  Property"  are  among  the 
enticing  potions  Dax  delivers  in  this  remarkably  inven- 
tive stylistic  encapsulation  of  the  Woodstock  genera- 
tion. 

The  Janice  Long  Session,  an  impressive  December 
1985  radio  showing  by  Dax  plus  four  sidemen,  features 
four  selections  from  her  extensive  catalogue.  Dax's 
wavery  singing  lacks  some  of  its  usual  studio  flair  and 
polish,  but  the  version  of  "Fizzing  Human  Bomb" 
(from  Inky  Bloaters)  is  quite  extraordinary. 

Dark  Adapted  Eye,  Dax's  excellent  introduction  to 
America,  mixes  more  than  half  of  Inky  Bloaters  (all  the 
songs  mentioned  above  except  "Sleep")  with  five  new 
tunes,  most  notably  the  T.  Rexy  drama  of  "Cat-House" 
and  the  droney  percussive  pop  of  "Whistling  for  His 
Love."  Although  the  credits  omit  mention  of  Sturgess 
(seemingly  a  prominent  figure  on  Inky  Bloaters)  in 
favor  of  newcomer  Pete  Farrugia,  his  contributions 
don't  appear  to  have  been  wiped  off  the  tracks. 

After  such  a  string  of  wonderful  records,  Dax  took  a 
dive.  A  deeply  disappointing  commercial  sell-out,  the 
dreadful  Blast  the  Human  Flower  (produced  by 
Stephen  Street)  foolishly  suppresses  Dax's  eccentricity 
in  anonymous  modern  guitar-rock  performed  by  such 
trusted  associates  as  Knight,  Farrugia  and  Blake.  Al- 
though relieved  of  its  sinuous  character,  her  voice  is  the 
album's  only  familiar  element — the  nearly  witless  lyrics, 
are  no  help.  Having  erased  Dax's  boundless  pan- 
culturalism,  a  routine  sitar-house  cover  of  the  Beatles' 
"Tomorrow  Never  Knows"  lamely  pays  lip  service  to 
it.  ['e/i] 

MORRIS  DAY 

Color  of  Success  (Warner  Bros.)  1 985  • 
Daydreaming  (Warner  Bros.)  1 987  • 

Longtime  friend  Prince  raised  Morris  Day  to  star- 
dom by  helping  Ms  band,  the  Time,  and  later  by  casting 


172 


Morris  in  a  starring  role  as  his  musical  arch-enem>  in 
Purple  Rain.  Soon  after  that,  when  the  Time  collapsed. 
Day  went  solo.  Ironically,  Color  of  Success  has  less  of 
his  personality  than  the  group's  last  LP,  and  points  him 
in  a  rather  familiar  pop-soul  direction.  Things  turn  ri- 
diculous when  Morris  introduces  a  dance  called  "The 
Oak  Tree"  in  a  seemingly  endless  display  of  self- 
amusement;  on  stranger  footing,  he  rocks  steady  with 
"Love  Sign"  and  waxes  smoothly  romantic  on  "Don't 
Wait  for  Me." 

Day  got  his  ultra-successful  ex-Timemates  Jimmy 
Jam  and  Terry  Lewis  to  co-write  and  produce  a  pair  of 
songs  on  Daydreaming,  taming  the  tracks  into  a  dry 
ran  for  the  Time  reunion  as  Jerome  Benton,  drummer 
Jellybean  Johnson  and  Jesse  Johnson  all  put  in  guest 
appearances.  Overall,  the  album's  material  is  dire,  a 
mix  of  dull  ballads  (including  the  macho  bullshit  of  "A 
Man's  Pride")  and  unexciting  dance  movers — even  the 
Jam/Lewis  efforts  fail  to  connect.  Despite  an  evident 
lack  of  conviction,  Day's  smooth  singing  is  appealing; 
insubstantial  material  is  Daydreaming' s  undoing,  [i] 

See  also  Time. 


DB'S 

Stands  for  Decibels  (or/Albion)  1981  (IRS)  1989  * 
Repercussion  (nr/Albton)  1 982  (IRS)  1 989  « 
Like  This  (Bearsviiie)  1984  (Rhino)  1988  • 
Amplifier  (nr/Dojo)  1 986 
The  Sound  of  Music  (IRS)  1 987  • 

WILL  R1GBY 

Sidekick  Phenomenon  (Egon)  1 985 

PETER  HOLSAPPLE  &  CHRIS 
STAMEY 

Mavericks  (Rhino  New  Artiste)  1991  4> 

It's  difficult  to  understand  why  the  dBV  first  two 
albums — both  well-conceived  and  entirely  accessible — 
had  such  a  hard  time  getting  released  in  the  band's  own 
country.  On  the  New  York-based  band's  debut,  the  four 
North  Carolina  emigrants  draw  inspiration  from  '60s 
pop  psychedelia  (and  '70s  pop  disciples  like  Big  Star) 
and  quote  freely  from  such  sources  as  the  Beatles, 
Move,  Nazz  and  even  the  Beau  Brummels.  However, 
Peter  Holsapple  and  Chris  Stamey,  the  group's  two 
guitar-playing  singer/songwriters,  each  have  too  indi- 
vidual a  style  to  merely  parrot,  and  nearly  every  song 
has  some  new  twist,  whether  through  production  effects 
(few  pop  records  are  as  consistently  aurally  interesting 
as  this  without  resorting  to  gimmickry),  or  an  unusual 
instrumental  or  lyrical  approach.  Produced  in  London 
by  Scott  Litt,  Stands  for  Decibels  is  not  a  happy 
record — often  as  not  the  songs  are  about  deteriorating 
relationships — but  the  playing  is  so  exuberant  that  it's 
uplifting, 

Repercussion  adds  a  number  of  flourishes  to  the 
group's  style.  Litt  achieves  a  fuller,  more  modem  over- 
all sound;  instrumentation  on  many  of  the  tracks  is 
denser  than  anything  on  its  predecessor.  The  Rumour 
Brass  makes  an  appearance  on  "Living  a  Lie."  In  ad- 
dition, drummer  Will  Rigby — one  of  a  mere  handful  of 
current  rock  drummers  with  a  sound  of  his  own  beyond 
mere  beat-keeping — is  brought  more  to  the  fore  on  num- 
bers like  *'  Ask  for  Jill"  and  "In  Spain."  Depending  on 


one's  preferences  121  production  stvle,  eta 

be         either  as  a  ever  0r  as  a 

glossing-up  of  the  group's  ^TTie 

aged,  carelessly  »  a 

fourteen-track  regurgitatioa  of  the  era.  I 

Just  as  the  dB's  finally  to  ai 

Chris  Stamey  left  for  a  solo  a         ifl&fru- 

mental  realignment  they  as  a  tno, 

adding  a  new  bassist  afterwards.  the 

on  Holsapple's  song^ntirtg  cms  on  the  band's 

eccentricities,  unpretentious  u it  and  inef- 

fable pop  smarts  make  it  a  no 

weak  spots  or  inadequate  songs.  of  the 

British  influence  in  favor  of  an  country- 

fied  air,  tunes  like  **Love  Is  for  Lovers/"  "Lonely  Is 
(As  Lonely  Does)"  and  "While  Train"  carry  the  ten- 
ner of  romance  disappointed  into  settings, 
An  instantly  lovable  gem. 

Bearsviiie  dissolved  shortly  after  the  of  Like 

This,  leaving  the  group  again  label-less.  (Like  This 
was  subsequently  licensed  by  Rhino,  gaining  a  CD  re- 
lease with  two  bonus  tracks,  including  an  extended  re- 
mix of  the  excellent  "A  Spy  in  the  House  of  Love.") 
By  the  time  IRS  finally  signed  the  band,  the  lineup  had 
returned  to  a  quartet,  with  the  addition  of  New  Orleans 
bassist  Jeff  Beninato. 

The  Sound  of  Music  finds  the  dB's  continuing  In 
the  style  of  Like  TWs,  with  similarly  fine  resElts.  The 
previously  introduced  country  elements  appear  on  tracks 
like  "Bonneville"  (complete  with  fiddles  and  mando- 
lins}, "Never  Before  and  Never  Again'*  ( a  brilliant  Hols- 
apple  duet  with  Syd  Straw)  and  *  'Looked  at  the  Sun  Too 
Long,"  which  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  Gram 
Parsons  tune.  There's  still  plenty  of  great  pop,  too,  and 
the  group  gets  heavy  on  "Any  Old  Thing/*  Guitarist 
Gene  Holder  left  to  join  the  Wygals  shortly  after  The 
Sound  of  Music's  release;  following  one  tour  without 
him,  the  dB's  quietly  split  up.  Holsapple  subsequently 
performed  and  recorded  with  R.E.M.  as  auxiliary  gui- 
tarist and  keyboardist. 

Following  a  long  unscheduled  delay  while  errant 
master  tapes  were  being  located,  IRS  reissued  the  band's 
first  two  albums  in  late  1989,  finally  making  the  entire 
catalogue  available  domestically.  Consumers  should 
note  that  the  IRS  CDs  are  far  superior  to  the  now-deleted 
import  versions,  with  improved  sound  quality  and 
non-LP  bonus  tracks  ("Judy"  on  the  first  LP  and  "pH 
Factor"  on  the  second). 

Drummer  Rigby' s  solo  record  is  a  loopy  laugh,  a 
ramshackle  one-man-band  collection  of  country  covers 
and  likewise  originals  on  which  his  kit  is  often  the  most 
prominent  item  in  the  mix.  The  singing  is  informal  but 
engaging  (as  are  his  skills  on  piano,  guitar,  harmonica 
and  other  instruments);  Holsapple's  occasional  contri- 
butions don't  interrupt  the  casualness  of  this  delightfully 
unselfconscious  romp. 

After  occasional  gigs  with  Stamey,  Holsapple 
helped  out  on  a  Peter  Blegvad  session  that  Stamey  was 
producing,  and  the  two  old  friends  wound  up  collabo- 
rating on  a  new  album.  The  acoustic-flavored  Maver- 
icks is  a  major  career  highlight  for  both,  a  heartfelt  and 
deeply  moving  collection  that  neatly  sums  up  everything 
they've  done  singly  and  together.  The  songs  (especially 
"Ajigels,"  "I  Want  to  Break  Your  Heart"  and  "She 


173 


Was  the  One*')  are  no  less  than  memorable;  the  mas- 
terful performances  are  loaded  with  handsome  harmo- 
nies and  painterly  production  touches.  Magnificent. 

[ds/i/hd] 

See  also  Kfiirina  and  the  Waves,  Sneakers,  Chris 
Stamey,  Wygals. 

D.C.3 

This  Is  the  Dream  fSST}1 985 

The  Good  Hex  {SST}  1986 

Yay're  Only  as  Blind  as  Your  Mind  Can  Be  f  SST)  1 986 

VidafSST)  1989* 

TWISTED  ROOTS 

Twfsted  Roots  f  CD  Presents)  1 987 

PAUL  ROESSLER 

Abominable  (SST}  1 988 

CR1MONY 

The  Crimony  E.P.  EP  {New  Alliance)  1 988 

Erstwhile  Black  Rag  guitarist  Dez  Cadena's  current 
band  (a  trio  for  one  LF,  a  quartet  still  named  D.C.3  ever 
since)  makes  albums,  to  quote  him,  "in  the  style  of  the 
records  that  used  to  excite  us  when  we  were  young." 
Unfortunately,  what  he  and  his  friends  (including  ex-45 
Grave  keyboardist  Paul  Roessler)  remember  fondly  is 
Deep  Purple  and  Humble  Pie,  and  the  first  two  releases 
resemble  various  '60s  and  '70s  nightmares,  from  Blue 
Oyster  Cult  to  Black  Sabbath.  There's  actually  some 
fine  music  and  an  amusing  undercurrent  to  both,  al- 
though the  subtle  satirical  value  may  be  missed  by  those 
too  young  (or  too  old). 

With  the  dated  influences  toned  down,  leaving  a 
state  of  pleasantly  mild  nostalgia,  the  third  LP  turns  up 
the  lyrical  power.  As  Cadena's  liner  notes  note,  "I 
ended  up  hurting  someone  who  is  very  close  to  me.  This 
album  is  about  life  without  that  person,"  With  single- 
minded  dedication,  selections  like  "Baby,  You  Know 
Where  I  Live,"  "Party  for  One,"  "I  Ain't  Got  You," 
"Lost  Someone"  and  "Talkin'  to  the  Mirror"  verbalize 
Ms  anguished  cry  with  an  intensity  the  upbeat  music 
lacks. 

Compiling  LA  performances  from  '87  and  '88,  Vida 
mixes  D.C.3  originals  with  covers  of  John  Lee  Hooker, 
Hawkwind  and  Black  Flag  for  an  electrifying  slab  of 
smart  and  gutsy  guitar  rock  that  owes  no  debt  to  any  era 
but  the  present.  While  Cadena's  vocals  and  playing  hit 
just  the  right  noisy  mix  of  casual  concentration,  Roessler 
contributes  to  the  din  without  making  a  fuss. 

Roessler  enlisted  Cadena  and  Jeff  DahPs  rhythm 
section  to  make  the  enjoyable  Twisted  Roots,  a  solo 
album  in  all  but  name.  Playing  and  singing  melodic 
originals  (plus  the  Stones'  "She's  a  Rainbow")  with  a 
slightly  theatrical  bent,  Roessler  keeps  things  upbeat 
and  pleasant  with  chipper  keyboards  and  enthusiastic 
vocals,  even  as  Cadena  sets  to  rocking  out  feverishly  in 
the  background.  Is  this  man  punk's  answer  to  Elton 
John? 

Recorded  with  a  drummer  and  three  people  rotating 
on  bass  and  guitar,  Abominable  is  a  jolly  instrumental 
romp  through  somber  film-less  scores,  skating  rink  mu- 
sic, phantom-of-the-punk-club  eccentricities  and  pomp- 
less  ELP-styled  classics  ("Prokofiev  Boogie"  takes 
Peter  and  the  Wolf  out  of  the  woods),  all  solidly  com- 
posed and  proficiently  played.  I  wouldn't  want  to  hear 


too  many  more  records  like  this,  but  Abominable  is 
quite  entertaining  on  its  own  terms. 

Except  for  brother-in-law  Mike  Watt  playing  bass 
and  co-producing  the  five  simple  tracks,  The  Crimany 
E.P.  is  more  solo  work  from  Roessler,  who  tickles  the 
ivories  and  sings  jaunty  numbers  like  "Life  Is  Too 
Short*'  and  "Vampire  Party**  and  solemn  ballads  like 
"Prison  Blues."  There  isn't  much  interaction  between 
the  two  men,  but  the  songs  and  performances  are  en- 
joyable enough.  [i] 

See  also  Black  Flag,  Jeff  Dahl  Group,  45  Grave, 


BOYS 

Young  Loud  and  Snotty  {Sire}  1 977  * 
We  Have  Come  for  Your  Children  (Sire)  1 978 
Night  of  the  Living  Dead  Boys  (Bomp!)  1 981  • 
Younger,  Louder  and  Snottier  (nr/Necrophilia)  1 989  « 

Although  originally  from  Cleveland,  the  Dead  Boys 
earned  their  lasting  international  reputation  in  New  York 
starting  in  early  '77  by  outpunking  everyone  else  on  the 
Bowery  circuit.  Having  absorbed  what  had  already  hap- 
pened in  England  (the  Sex  Pistols,  Damned)  and  Amer- 
ica (the  Stooges),  the  Dead  Boys  took  it  a  dozen  steps 
further,  uncovering  new  levels  of  violence,  nihilism, 
masochism  and  vulgarity.  Their  two  studio  albums  have 
aged  well  and  have  served  as  guideposts  to  an  entire 
new  generation  of  fans  and  bands. 

Young  Loud  and  Snotty,  one  of  the  earliest  punk 
albums  released  on  a  US  label,  benefits  from  the 
production  skill  of  Genya  Ravan,  who  made  it  loud 
and  raw — an  onslaught  of  sizzling  guitars  and  Stiv  Ba- 
tors'  sneering  whine.  Classic  tracks  include  tasteless 
originals  like  * 'Sonic  Reducer,"  "All  This  and  More" 
and  * 'Caught  with  the  Meat  in  Your  Mouth,"  as  well 
as  a  dynamic  rendition  of  the  Syndicate  of  Sound's  ar- 
chetypal "Hey  Little  Girl."  (Twelve  years  after  the 
fact,  someone  came  across  a  cassette  of  rough  mixes 
for  the  LP  and,  adding  a  live  Stooges  cover,  issued  it 
as  the  legally  dubious  Younger,  Louder  and  Snot- 
tier.) 

We  Have  Come  for  Your  Children,  produced  by 
the  late  Felix  Pappalardi,  has  inferior  sound,  but  equally 
strong  playing.  The  material  suffers  from  second-LP 
drought  and  an  onset  of  self-parodic  punk  typecasting, 
leading  to  such  dumb  tunes  as  "Flame  Thrower  Love," 
the  topical  "Son  of  Sam"  and  "(I  Don't  Wanna  Be  No) 
Catholic  Boy."  The  record's  best  track  is  the  reflective 
"Ain't  It  Fun,"  co-written  by  guitarist  Cheetah  Chrome 
and  Cleveland  legend  Peter  Laughner. 

Night  of  the  Living  Dead  Boys  was  recorded  live  at 
CBGB  in  New  York  in  1979,  and  captures  the  end-time 
band  flailing  through  classic  numbers  in  ragged-but- 
right  fashion.  Although  the  mix  is  trebly  and  muddled  (a 
rare  combination),  this  is  still  a  punk  documentary  of 
some  merit. 

The  Dead  Boys — Bators,  Chrome,  Johnny  Blitz  and 
Jeff  Magnum— reformed  in  1987  and  issued  a  single, 
"All  the  Way  Down  (Poison  Lady)."  Following  his 
years  in  Lords  of  the  New  Church,  Stiv  recorded  a  1988 
single  with  the  Lyres.  The  Dead  Boys'  saga  came  to  an 
end  in  June  1990,  when  Stiv  died  of  automobile  injuries 
in  Paris.  [tr] 

See  also  Stiv  Bators,  Peter  Laughner,  Lords  of  the 
New  Church,  Lyres,  Wanderers. 


174 


CAN 

Con  Dance  fnr/4AD)  1984  • 
Garden  of  the  Arcane  Delights  EP  fnr/4AD)  1 984  • 
Spleen  and  Idea!  (nr/4ADJ  1985  • 
Within  the  Realm  of  a  Dying  Sun  fnr/4AD|  1987  • 
The  Serpenfs  Egg  (nr/4AD)  1988  » 
Ai0n(nr/4ADJ  1990® 

Mesmerizing  (if  a  bit  laborious),  Dead  Can  Dance's 
eponymous  debut  finds  the  Australian-bom/Londofi- 
based  quintet  spinning  slow  webs  of  dram-driven  but 
mostly  shapeless  guitar  music  with  chanting,  singing 
and  howling  by  the  two  (male  and  female)  singers;  the 
LP  is  of  possible  interest  only  to  undiscrimmating  fans 
of  moody  psychedelia  and/or  the  Cocteau  Twins.  The 
more  intriguing  four-song  Garden  of  the  Arcane  De~ 
lights  EP  (included  on  the  Dead  Can  Dance  CD)  has 
crisper  production  than  the  album,  although  similar  mu- 
sical stykngs. 

By  the  time  Spleen  and  Idea!  was  released,  DCD 
were  down  to  a  duo  of  vocalists  Brendan  Perry  and  Lisa 
Gerard.  Some  of  the  guitars  have  given  way  to  ethereal 
keyboards,  with  tympani,  cellos  and  trombones  blended 
in;  much  of  the  LP  sounds  as  though  it  belongs  in  a 
cathedral  rather  than  a  concert  hall.  The  songs  are  more 
structured  than  before,  but  things  do  get  a  bit  precious, 
and  the  three  hymnalesque  cuts  that  open  the  album  are 
pretty  tough  to  sit  through.  The  music  gets  meatier  as  it 
progresses,  though,  and  the  end  result  is  a  record  of 
haunting  and  solemn  beauty. 

With  song  titles  such  as  "Xavier"  and  "Dawn  of 
the  Iconoclast,"  and  credits  for  such  instruments  as  bass 
trombone,  oboe  and  military  snare,  there's  no  way  that 
Within  the  Realm  of  a  Dying  Sun  (and  how  about  that 
title?)  could  be  quite  as  boring  as  its  sounds.  (Comes 
close  at  times,  mind  you.)  Major  mistake:  segregating 
the  Perry-sung  material  on  one  side  of  the  LP  and  the 
(somewhat  superior)  songs  Gerrard  sings  on  the  other 
forces  the  listener  to  compare  the  two  quite  different 
solo  vocal  styles,  rather  than  uniting  the  often  spectac- 
ular compositions  into  one  overall  mood. 

Building  on  its  predecessor's  shift  towards  an  aware- 
ness of  ancient  musics — European,  Celtic  and  Middle 
Eastern  predominate — The  Serpent's  Egg  has  some 
scintillating  moments.  Still,  it's  a  lesser,  transitional 
work,  without  much  sense  of  flow,  serving  mainly  to 
pave  the  way  for  the  fully  developed  medievalisms  of 
Aion.  Minstrels  Perry  and  Gerrard  now  bear  scant  re- 
semblance to  the  more  trad  4AD-style  neo-goths  of  the 
first  album.  Jettisoning  any  ties  to  the  present,  this  mas- 
terfully organized  recording  whirls  headlong  into  the 
Renaissance,  to  a  sonic  realm  where  somber  Gregorian 
chants  (and  there's  a  lot  of  them  here)  and  jaunty  may- 
pole dances  like  "Saltarello"  have  never  left  the  hit 
parade.  Utilizing  authentic  folk  instruments  (hurdy 
gurdy,  lutes,  bagpipes,  etc. )  and  letting  Gerrard's  lovely 
voice  soar  unimpeded,  Dead  Can  Dance  has  finally 
found  a  distinct  sound  of  its  own.  [dgs/gefj 

See  also  This  Mortal  CoiL 

DEAD  KENNEDYS 

Fresh  Fruit  for  Rotting  Vegetables  (IRS)  1 980  * 
In  God  We  Trust,  Inc  (Alternative  Tentacles-Faulty 

Products)  1981  • 
Plastic  Surgery  Disasters  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 982  » 


1 985  » 
Bedtime  for  Democracy  "I         * 

Give  Me  Convenience  or  Give  Me 
Tentacles)  "S987® 

The  Witch  EP 

198! 

Cha  Cha  Cha  with  Mr.  Fburide 

1985 

Because  I  Say  So  f  Alternative  Tentacles}  * 

Hie  Light  k  Flickering  (Alternative  1991 

It  took  a  while,  but  in  the  Detd  Kennedys,  America 
finally  produced  a  powerful,  self-rigbteoosly  band 

to  match  the  fury  of  the  Sex  Pistols.  Led  by 
and  inimitable  singer  Jello  Biafra  (who  once  ran — and 
received  a  substantial  number  of  votes — for  mayor  of 
San  Francisco,  the  band's  base ),  the  DKs  combine  blunt 
and  sardonic  discussions  of  touchy  issues  with  crushing, 
high-speed  guitar  and  drams.  Generally  acknowledged 
as  prime  pioneers  of  American  hardcore,  the  Kennedys 
have  been  influential,  not  only  by  setting  a  style,  sen- 
sibility and  commendable  standards,  but  with  tfaek  pro- 
ductive Alternative  Tentacles  label  and  active  support 
for  grassroots  rock  activity.  Biafra's  legal  confrontation 
over  the  poster  included  in  Frankenehrfet  effectively 
ended  the  band,  but  left  a  powerful  anti-censorship  leg- 
acy for  others  to  uphold. 

Despite  a  few  weak  songs,  Fresh  Fruit  is  explosive 
and  gripping  (also  controversial — a  borrowed  photo 
used  on  the  back  cover  led  to  some  funny  but  unpleasant 
legal  trouble).  Jello's  political  sarcasm  erupts  on  "Kill 
the  Poor' '  and  *  'California  uber  Alles, ' '  offering  a  funny 
but  chilling  condemnation  of  then-governor  Jerry  Brown 
and  "zen  fascists"  in  the  latter.  The  bracing  and  tightly 
focused  " Holiday  in  Cambodia"  echoes  the  Pistols' 
* 'Holidays  in  the  Sun"  and  became  a  DKs  standard.  In 
typically  unsubtle  broadside  fashion,  Jello  nails  another 
popular  target  with  "Let's  Lynch  the  Landlord.** 

In  eight  very  brief  songs,  In  God  We  Trust,  Inc. 
offers  additional  valid  statements  about  the  religious 
right.  But  the  music  is  stripped  of  dynamics  and  reduced 
to  routine  hyperactive  punk;  scrap  the  record  and  keep 
the  lyric  sheet. 

Plastic  Surgery  Disasters,  with  a  gruesome  mock- 
E.T.  cover,  enlarges  the  musical  blend  to  include  more 
three-dimensionality  while  retaining  the  Kennedys'  typ- 
ical rock  energy.  Songs  like  "Terminal  Preppie," 
"Wirmebago  Warrior,"  "Trust  Your  Mechanic**  and 
"Well  Paid  Scientist"  mix  humor  and  activism  for 
pointed  and  intelligent  observations  on  social  absurdity. 
(The  CD  also  contains  In  God  We  Trust.) 

The  DKs  stopped  recording  for  several  years  while 
the  members  worked  on  outside  projects.  Bassist  Klaus 
Flouride  was  the  busiest  boy,  producing  other  bands  for 
release  on  Alternative  Tentacles  and  recording  his  own 
one-man  seven-song  mini-album,  Cha  Cha  Cha  with 
Mr.  Flouride.  Displaying  not  the  slightest  trace  of  po- 
litical consciousness,  Klaus  lets  down  his  hair  on  a 
straight  rock'n'billy  (with  a  guest  drummer  and  pianist) 
love  ode,  *  'My  Linda."  Elsewhere,  he  laments  a  serious 
social  problem,  "Dead  Prairie  Dogs,"  and  takes  an 
amusing  cowboy  jaunt  with  "Ghost  Riders."  The  sim- 
ple music — mostly  guitars  and  cheap-sounding 


175 


electronics— is  hghthearted  and  goofy,  showing  more 
spirit  than  originality,  bat  cute  nonetheless.  Aid  the 
covet  is  great 

In  early  1985,  Ac  hit  the  road  again  with  Fran- 
kenchrist,  ^hich  generally  repeats  the  psycho-punk  of 
Plastic  Surgery  Disasters.  There  are  some  bad  tracks 
with  forced,  awkward  lyrics,  but  the  UP  does  contain  two 
of  the  DKs'  finest  moments:  *4MTV  Get  off  the  Air**  and 
"Stars  and  Stripes  of  Corruption, '  *  one  of  the  most  pow- 
erful political  statements  ever  committed  to  vinyl.  In- 
stead of  just  bellyaching  about  problems  (a  common 
habit  of  politico-punks),  Biafra  offers  possibilities  for 
constructive  change,  demonstrating  real  American  patri- 
otism as  opposed  to  jingoist  commie-bashing. 

Bedtime  tor  Democracy — 21  strong  cuts  and  an 
eight-page  clip-art  newspaper — ended  the  Kennedys'  re- 
cording career  on  a  high  note.  A  full-tilt  platform  of 
targets,  including  working  poverty,  Reagan*  toxic 
waste,  macho  attitudes,  conformity  aad  more,  are  dec- 
imated with  energetic,  well-played  music  and  Biafra's 
uniquely  quivery  voice.  Hie  Kennedys*  knowing  cover 
of  "Take  This  Job  and  Shove  It"  is  also  good  for  a 
chackie, 

IE  mid*1 86,  Biafra  and  others  were  charged  by  Cal- 
ifornia authorities  with  "distribution  of  harmful  matter 
to  minors"' — i.e.,  a  reproduction  of  H.R.  Giger's Land- 
scape #20,  which  was  included  in  Frankenchrist. 
More  than  a  year  later,  the  case — which  might  have  led 
to  a  jail  term — ended  in  a  mistrial.  The  charges  were 
dismissed  but  the  Dead  Kennedys  had  had  it. 

Trie  final  chapter  in  the  saga  was  Give  Me  Conve- 
nience or  Give  Me  Death,  a  posthumous  career  recap, 
which  contains  fifteen  examples  of  the  DKs1  best  work 
(hits,  live  performances  and  obscurities),  a  two-song 
flexi-disc  ("Buzzbomb  from  Pasadena"  and  "Night  of 
the  Living  Rednecks** — both  added  to  the  cassette  and 
CD  editions)  and  a  newsprint  art/lyric  book.  Essential, 

The  bulk  of  Houride's  second  album,  Because  I 
Say  So,  is  devoted  to  atmospheric  instrumental  sound- 
track music  corrupted  by  assorted  streams  of  noise  that 
wander  in  and  out  of  the  mix.  The  diverse  vocal  songs 
are  likewise  a  mixed  blessing:  while  "Keep  on  Walk- 
ing" is  a  politely  Beatlesque  piano  ballad,  Norman 
Greenbaum's  * 'Charlies  Friends"  gets  a  twisted  acous- 
tic country  interpretation  and  "Dominating  Baby*'  cop- 
ies (and  acknowledges)  Leon  Redbone,  "Bus  Thru  the 
Barrier,*'  meanwhile,  is  a  sloppy  mash  that  repeats  the 
same  meaningless  couplet  ad  nauseum,  pausing  only  for 
two  blitzed  out  fuzz  guitar  solos.  (The  CD  adds  three 
bonus  tracks.) 

The  Witch  Trials  was  an  early  Biafra  studio  one-off, 
recorded  in  England  and  shrouded  in  mystery.  With  DK 
guitarist  East  Bay  Ray,  Sound  vocalist  Adrian  Borland 
and  California's  Christian  Lunch  providing  the  uncred- 
ited  backing — an  atmospheric  drone  on  one  side,  jarring 
unpleasantness  on  the  other— Biafra  recites  two  dra- 
matic tales  of  mayhem  and  chants  two  more  pieces  of 
madness  that  exhibit  his  characteristic  venom  and  wit. 

See  also  Jello  Biafra,  Lard.  Uy/dgs/i] 

DEADLY  HUME 

Basement  Topes  EP  (Aus.  Bulb)  1985 

Me,  Grandma,  Iliko  and  Hilarian  (Aus.  Phantom)  1987 

Lonely  Mr.  Happy  EP  (Aus.  Phantom)  1 988 


The  Deadly  Hume  takes  its  name  from  the  Hume 
Highway,  a  dangerous  and  desolate  stretch  of  roadway 
between  Melbourne  and  the  band's  hometown,  Sydney. 
The  band's  sound  derives  from  the  clash  and  grind  of 
urban  Australia  and  the  swampy  darkness  of  American 
blues,  although  the  records  encompass  everything  from 
a  cappella  spiritual  choruses  to  acoustic  guitar.  On  tracks 
like  "Fine  Line"  (from  Me,  Grandma,  Iliko  and  Hi- 
larian),  the  rhythm-sticks-from-hell  percussion  clatter 
and  sawing  bass  lines  could  almost  let  the  music  pass  for 
a  lost  outtake  from  Fireman's  Curse-era  Hunters  and 
Collectors  (Hume  lead  vocalist  Greg  Perano  was  in 
H&C  at  the  time)  while  the  swampy  fuzz  guitar  and 
squealing  chords  of  "My  Head  Feels  Like  It's  Been  Hit 
by  a  Train"  drag  the  band  through  an  intense  and  slith- 
ery Amer-  Aussie  version  of  '80s  blues-rock. 

The  Nick  Cave-esque  "48  Coffees  in  24  Hours" 
intersperses  shouts  of  *Tm  nervous  nervous  nervous" 
with  brash  striptease  horns  and  mumbled  stream-of- 
caffeine  vocals,  capturing  the  wiped-out  frazzle  anyone 
who's  overdosed  on  Java  will  recognize.  "The  Trains 
Kept  Shunting"  (from  Grandma)  pounds  with  a  soft, 
insistent  drum  pulse  as  what  sounds  like  a  box  filled 
with  sand  shuffles  and  guitars  peal  out  sheets  of  feed- 
back and  hard,  clear  chimes.  Like  impressionist  painters 
working  in  sound  instead  of  oils,  the  Deadly  Hume  have 
the  marvelous  ability  to  turn  pop  songs  into  art  without 
leaving  a  stuffy  aftertaste. 

Besides  a  reprise  of  "48  Coffees,11  the  six-song 
Lonely  Mr.  Happy  12-inch  contains  such  equally  col- 
orftil  Hume-isms  as  "Miss  Haversham,"  "Bed,  Bread 
and  Humour"  and  the  absurdly  political  "The  Queen 
and  the  President."  V 


DEAD  MILKMEN 

Big  Lizard  in  My  Back  Yard  (Fever-Enigma)  1  985  • 

Eat  Your  Paisieyl  (Fever-Restless)  1986  • 

Bucky  Fellini  (Fever-Enigma)  1  987  • 

Instant  Club  Hit  (You'll  Dance  to  Anything)  EP 

(Fever-Enigma)  1  987  • 
Beelzebubba  (Fever-Enigma)  1988  • 
Metaphysical  Graffiti  (Enigma)  1990  <l> 

Philadelphia  has  been  the  subject  of  many  jokes,  but 
the  mildly  punky  Milkmen,  a  homegrown  insult  ma- 
chine with  a  snotty  attitude  and  a  grasp  of  modern  so- 
ciety's cultural  monstrosities,  bring  their  own  whoopie 
cushion  to  the  party.  On  a  lightweight  foundation  of 
plain,  unfancy  rock  music,  the  Milkmen  don't  focus  on 
individual  victims  so  much  as  unleash  their  bratty  irrev- 
erence in  scattershot  volleys. 

The  reckless  insults  and  putdowns  on  Big  Lizard  in 
My  Back  Yard  connect  most  memorably  on  "Bitchin 
Camaro,"  a  catchy  cocktail-jazz/hardcore  hybrid  that 
tastelessly  makes  light  of  AIDS  while  satirizing  teenag- 
ers, the  Doors  and  sports  car  owners.  Overall,  the 
record's  sense  of  humor  is  stupid  and  only  spottily  amus- 
ing. 

Eat  Your  Paisley!  makes  no  great  effort  to  be  fuimy 
or  offensive,  yet  manages  to  convey  a  sense  of  satire  by 
painting  bizarre  B-movie  tales  like  "Moron,"  "Beach 
Party  Vietnam"  and  "The  Thing  That  Only  Eats  Hip- 
pies." The  group's  wacky  observations  of  stereotypes 
and  artifacts  are  vague  but  astute;  the  music  is  expend- 
able but  never  less  than  presentable. 


176 


Bucky  Fe&ini  is  a  relatively  expansive  effort  with 
guest  musicians,  improved  songwriting  and  such  de- 
mentedly  parodlc  cultural  concepts  as  t%Nitro  Burning 
Finny  Cars,"  **Going  to  Graceland,"  "(Theme  from) 
Blood  Orgy  of  the  Atomic  Fern"  and  "Instant  Club  Hit 
(You'll  Dance  to  Anything )."  Rodney  Anonymous  is  a 
self-assured  if  unmusical  vocalist;  lot  Jack  Talcum 
leads  the  guitar-based  band  through  the  artless  tunes 
with  easygoing  aplomb. 

The  Instant  Club  Hit  EP  offers  three  mixes  of  that 
vindictively  fanny  number  (Including  the  all-percussion 
4 'Boner  Beats"),  plus  the  previously  unrcleased  **A$k 
Me  to  Dance"  and  tracks  that  were  CD  bonuses  on  the 
first  two  albums. 

The  Milkmen's  skimpy  charms  ran  very  thin  on  Bed- 
zebiibba,  an  album  with  precisely  three  assets;  a  great 
title,  amusing  artwork  and  the  catchy  but  stupid  *4Punk 
Rock  Girl."  (Who  told  these  guys  that  the  Beach  Boys 
did  "California  Dreaming"?)  Otherwise,  the  lyrics  are 
totally  unfunny,  and  the  music  is  too  dull  to  matter. 
Although  Metaphysical  GratlitI  can  likewise  manage 
some  clever  song  titles  ("If  You  Love  Somebody,  Set 
Them  on  Fire,"  "In  Praise  of  Sha  Na  Na,"  "I  Tripped 
Over  the  Ottoman" — a  song  about  Rob  Petrie),  the 
songs  (some  merely  one-joke  fragments)  they  refer  to 
are  disappointingly  lame.  Gibby  Haynes  makes  a  guest 
appearance  on  "Anderson,  Walkman,  Buttholes  and 
How!"  [I] 


DEAD  OR  ALIVE 

Dead  or  Alive  EP  (nr/BIack  Eyes-Rough  Trade)  1 982 

Sophisticated  Boom  Boom  (Epic)  1 984  * 

Youthqualn  (Epic)  1 985  • 

Mad,  Bad,  and  Dangerous  to  Know  (Epic)  1987  * 

Rip  It  Up  (Epic)  1 988  « 

Nude  (Epic)  1989* 

Pete  Burns,  Dead  or  Alive 's  cross-dressing  poseur/ 
leader/singer,  can  claim  historical  credit  in  the  second 
Liverpool  explosion — he  was  in  a  brief  but  seminal  band 
with  Julian  Cope  and  Pete  (Wah!)  Wylie  before  found- 
ing Nightmares  in  Wax,  the  developmental  predecessor 
to  Dead  or  Alive.  The  early  EP  finds  him  searching  for 
meaning  and  truth  while  attempting  to  appropriate  Jim 
Morrison's  vocal  style;  it's  murky,  to  say  the  least. 

Sophisticated  Boom  Boom  includes  a  totally  hor- 
rible and  gratuitous  remake  of  KC  and  the  Sunshine 
Band's  'That's  the  Way  (I  Like  It)" — and  that's  as 
good  as  the  album  gets.  Burns  sings  as  if  his  atavistic 
urges  ("What  I  Want/'  "You  Make  Me  Wanna," 
"I'd  Do  Anything")  were  the  stuff  of  Shakespearian 
drama;  the  backing  is  slickly  competent  dance-rock  be- 
reft of  personality.  (Of  possible  interest  to  fact  fans: 
Mission  founder  Wayne  Hussey  was  a  onetime  Dead 
or  Alive  member  and  co-wrote  much  of  the  album's 
material.) 

Burns'  bunch  subsequently  issued  a  couple  of  better 
45s,  including  *  'You  Spin  Me  Round  (Like  a  Record) , ' ' 
that  cut  a  lot  of  the  crap  and  substituted  a  kinetic,  catchy 
pop  sensibility.  Produced  by  the  frighteningly  shallow 
but  super-successful  Stock,  Aitken  and  Waterman  team, 
Youthquake  contains  "You  Spin  Me  Round,"  as  well 
as  the  equally  appealing  "Lover  Come  Back  to  Me" 
and  a  few  others  that  show  how  much  fun  Dead  or  Alive 
can  be.  On  the  other  hand,  the  record  has  its  bad  patches, 


proving  the  of  to  any 

st>le  or  level, 

and  to  the 

to  conjure  up  a 
consistent— synthesized 

which  is  easy  to          and         to  the 

sequencer  on  the  vary 

little  may  be          as  a  or  a 

of  effort.  New  Lo\er"  is 

giddily  for  the  first          or  four  but 

then  gets  dead  boring;  the  rest  of  this  isn't 

as  catchy. 

For  Rip  It  Up,  Dead  or  Alive 
(which  means  all  of  the  — and 

from  the  two  preceding  and  a 

coat  of  studio  paint ,  to 

the  originals  more  dancer-Mendly.  Leaving          apt 
monument  to  the  S-A-W  hit  factory, 
and  produced  Nude  with  drummer  Steve  Coy.  In  step 
with  the  disco  times,  the  album's  hi-NRG 

songs  acknowledge  both  house  music  and  giib  techno- 
soul,  downplaying  Bums'  more  melodic  pop 
for  a  peppy,  iincfaaileEging  dance  record. 

See  also  Mission  (UK I  Sisters  of  Mercy. 

DEAF  SCHOOL 

2nd  Honeymoon  f  nr/Waroer  &FGS.)  1 976 

Don't  Stop  the  World  f  nr/Wamer  Bros.J  1 977 

2nd  Honeymoon/Don't  Stop  the  World  (Wowr  Bros.) 

1977 

English  Boys/WoHdng  Girb  (Warner  Bros.|  1 978 
2nd  Coming:  Liverpool  '88  (nr/Deirton)  1 988 

Liverpool's  sprawling  nine-strong  (later  eight)  Deaf 
School  seemed  like  an  ideal  candidate  for  success  in  the 
quiet  pre-punk  doldrums  of  1976.  Visually,  the  group 
had  more  than  enough  going  for  it  to  guarantee  a  high 
profile  in  the  British  press.  Hie  cast  included  pasty- 
faced  guitarist  Clive  Langer,  who  sported  wire-rims  and 
wrote  most  of  the  melodies;  the  Rev.  Max  Ripple,  a 
keyboardist  done  up  like  a  parson;  and  no  less  than  three 
lead  vocalists:  mustachioed  Enrico  Cadillac,  a  Bryan 
Ferry  disciple;  Bette  Bright,  who  suggested  a  somewhat 
frumpy  torch  singer;  and  the  suave,  acid- voiced  Eric 
Shark,  who  sang  as  Humphrey  Bogart  might  have. 

Despite  its  slick,  full  sound,  2nd  Honeymoon  has 
the  clear  markings  of  a  first  effort.  The  band  cleverly 
mixes  the  melodrama  of  Roxy  Music  with  the  music  hall 
vivacity  of  middle-period  Kinks,  but  many  of  the  songs 
are  bloated  and  their  intent  unclear.  As  on  later  LPs, 
crooner  Cadillac  takes  the  lion's  share  of  the  vocals, 
making  tales  of  modem  desperation  ("What  a  Way  to 
End  It  All**)  and  lost  love  ("Room  Service'*)  into  in- 
triguing, if  incomplete,  exercises  in  style. 

Deaf  School  came  into  its  own  on  Don't  Stop  the 
World,  trraiining  the  excesses  of  2nd  Honeymoon  and 
adding  impressive  new  elements.  While  Cadillac  con- 
tinues to  warble  romantically,  Shark  belts  out  a  vicious 
rocker  ("Capaldi's  Cafe")  and  Bright  shines  in  a  rare 
solo  spot,  the  after-hours  ballad,  "Operator."  (The  two 
LPs  were  issued  in  the  US  as  a  double-pack  in  1977.) 

Although  English  Boys/Working  Girls  offers  more 
of  the  same,  it's  the  product  of  a  band  running  out  of 
steam.  In  a  return  to  the  clutter  of  their  debut,  Deaf 
School  favors  theatrics  over  substance;  accounts  of  mod- 


177 


em  violence  like  "Ronny  Zamora  I  My  Friend  Ron)"* 
and  ''English  Boys  (With  Guns)"  are  more  exploitation 
than  Insight. 

The  Deaf  School  alumni  remained  busy  after  the 
band  folded,  making  it — -in  retrospect — -a  startling  fount 
of  promise.  Enrico  Cadillac  formed  the  Original  Mirrors 
under  his  civilian  name,  Steve  Allen,  and  recorded  two 
albums*  Bassist  Steve  **  Average"  Lindsay  founded  the 
Planets  and  did  the  same.  Bette  Bright  cut  a  delightful 
solo  record,  produced  by  Olive  Langer  who,  with  his 
partner  Alan  Winstanley,  earned  additional  production 
credits  (not  to  mention  scads  of  money,  no  doubt)  with 
Madness,  Elvis  Costello  and  Dexys  Midnight  Runners. 
Langer  also  formed  a  band  and  released  records. 

Most  of  the  original  cast—including  Langer  and  all 
three  singers — reunited  for  2nd  Coming,  a  surprisingly 
solid  live  set  of  the  band's  "hits"  ("Taxi!,"  "What  a 
Way  to  End  It  All,"  etc,),  as  well  as  a  robust  cover  of 
the  Flamin  Groovies'  "Shake  Some  Action"  and  an 
elegantly  corny  "Blue  Velvet,"  A  great  souvenir  for 
fans  who  felt  Deaf  School  never  got  enough  attention  in 
its  prime,  this  might  even  gain  'em  some  new  admirers, 
though  probably  not  too  many:  the  curious  blend  of 
Roxy  Music-style  drama  and  vaudeville  hokum  seems 
as  reassuringly  offbeat  as  ever.  [jy] 

See  also  dive  Langer  and  the  Boxes,  Original  Mir- 


DEATH  COMET  CREW 

See  Dominatrix. 

DEATH  CULT 

See  Cult. 

DEATH  FOLK 

See  Pat  RuthenSmear. 

DEATH  OF  SAMANTHA 

Struncjout  on  Jargon  (Homestead)  1 986 

Laughing  in  the  Face  of  a  Dead  Man  EP  (Homestead) 

1986 
Where  the  Women  Wear  the  Glory  and  the  Men  Wear 

the  Pants  (Homestead)  1 988  • 
Come  All  Ye  Faithless  (Homestead)  1 989  • 

This  Cleveland  quartet  won't  get  anywhere  on  its 
clothes  sense.  The  goofy  garb  displayed  on  record  cov- 
ers (drummer  Steve-0's  wardrobe  is  particularly  egre- 
gious) constantly  undercuts  the  seriousness  of  purpose 
in  their  music,  but  maybe  that's  the  idea.  Regardless, 
they're  one  of  the  strongest  rock  bands  around,  with  an 
ace  double-guitar  attack  that  can  satisfy  the  most  fun- 
damental riff-lust  but  never  descends  to  sodden  cliche". 
Singer/guitarist  John  Petkovic  has  always  been  a  sharp 
and  acerbic  songwriter,  and  lately  his  lyrics  have  taken 
on  a  literary  cast  that  suits  them  very  well. 

After  a  couple  of  singles  on  the  band's  own  label, 
Sfrungout  on  Jargon  displays  the  pronounced  influ- 
ence of  Cleveland  gods  Pere  Ubu,  particularly  on '  *Coca 
Cola  &  Licorice,"  where  Petkovic' s  clarinet  squeals 
recall  the  soprano  sax  and  recorder  yelps  on  various  Ubu 
LPs.  Too  much  of  the  record  falls  into  a  generic  alter- 


native slot  but,  as  debuts  go,  Stmngoat  is  definitely 
promising. 

Although  the  group  sounds  as  if  it's  in  a  holding 
pattern,  Laughing  In  the  Face  of  a  Dead  Man  is  quite 
an  entertaining  circle.  The  cover  of  " Werewolves  of 
London"  is  hysterical  in  several  senses  of  the  word,  and 
the  tape-and-mstnimental  "American  Horoscope  and 
the  Bad  Prescription"  shows  more  Dub  Housing-era 
Ubu  influence. 

The  group  laid  off  for  two  years  before  recording 
Where  the  Women  Wear  the  Glory  and  delivered  a 
real  stunner.  Aside  from  Petkovic' s  choked-soundmg- 
because-he-can't-do-it-any-other-way  vocals  (DOS's 
only  potentially  off-putting  feature),  the  band  divests 
itself  of  any  outre"  tendencies  and  just  rocks  out  with 
fire,  anger  and  intelligence.  The  opening  "'Harlequin 
Tragedy"  is  Petkovic's  best  song,  wrapping  a  perfect 
hook  around  a  dour,  on-target  metaphor  for  modem  life 
and  summing  it  up  with  "We're  living  for  nothing/and 
dying  for  less."  Every  cut  is  outstanding;  in  one  last 
bow  to  tradition,  the  album  includes  a  fairly  lavish 
(strings  and  everything!)  cover  of  Peter  Laughner's 
"Sylvia  Plath." 

Come  All  Ye  Faithless  is  considerably  denser — 
even  darker  and  more  difficult  than  Women — but 
equally  rewarding.  Not  as  rollicking  as  the  previous 
record,  it  presents  a  terrific  set  of  songs  with  which  to 
crawl  into  a  dark  corner.  [gk] 

DEEE-L1TE 

World  Clique  (Eiektra)  1990* 

The  celebutante  scene  of  New  York  nightlife — a  nar- 
cissistic world  of  put-on  glamour  that  elevates  club- 
goers,  record-spinners  and  obsessive  poseurs  of  all 
outrageous  stripes  into  creative  entities  whose  only  tal- 
ent is  for  self-promotion — is  bound  to  feed  on  itself 
from  time  to  time.  Jumping  off  the  dancefloor  to  become 
momentary  pop  stars,  this  colorful  trio — a  female  singer 
and  two  exotic  male  DJs — is  really  good  at  vogueing  in 
ginchy  psychedelic  clothes  and  (with  help  from  folks 
like  Bootsy  Collins  and  sax  legend  Maceo  Parker)  ar- 
ranging for  a  solid,  bass-driven  technotronic  club  beat 
with  various  accents.  But  that's  all  there  is  to  Deee-Lite, 
and  World  Clique,  a  smug  and  artless  in-joke,  boils 
down  to  "Groove  Is  in  the  Heart,"  an  irritating  tagline 
that  managed  to  become  a  huge  hit  single.  [i] 

DEFENESTRATION 

Defenestration  EP  (Slow  Iguana)  1 986 
Dali  Does  Windows  (Relativity)  1 987 

TODD  WALKER 

Thrown  Away  EP  (Owl  House)  1 989 

CHA1NSAW  KITTENS 

Violent  Religion  (Mammoth)  1 990  • 

Born  in  Norman,  Oklahoma,  a  college  town  whose 
other  '80s  musical  export  is  the  astoundingly  strange 
Flaming  Lips,  Defenestration  had  an  approach  to  com- 
plement their  odd  name  (it  means  "the  throwing  out  of 
a  person  or  thing  through  a  window'*).  Lead  singer 
Tyson  Meade  was  weaned  on  B-movies,  Janis  Joplin 
and  the  Birthday  Party;  the  rest  of  the  band  combined 
influences  from  T.  Rex  and  Cheap  Trick  to  the  Byrds. 
Recorded  for  almost  no  money  and  released  on  a  loan 


178 


from  Meade  *s  mom,  is  quirk>  and  bril- 

liant, a  result  of  being  far          ambitious  than  its 

"Cat  Your  Soul  in  Half"*  has  ideas  and  sprawling 

gothic  piano;  * 'Slaughter*  ille"  is  a  showcase  for 
Meade's  Jopllnesqiie  shock;  ''Heartthrob"  is  a  subtS> 
written  and  beautifully  melodic  discourse  OE  the  politics 

of  being  an  outcast. 

Mismatched  with  heavy-metal  producer  Randy 
Bums,  Defenestration  sacrificed  some  of  its  originality 
on  Pall  Does  Windows  in  favor  of  enjoyable  but  less 
imaginative  rock-pop.  Traces  of  the  title's  surrealist  bent 
crop  up  in  ''Tripping  Drag  Queeas"  and  "Cars  in 
Trees";  '* Bedlam  Revisited"  is  as  sad  and  truthful  a 
love  song  as  anyone  could  want,  **D.Y.  Wanna  (Bub- 
blegum)"  is  a  friendly  mutation  of  "Bang  a  Gong  (Get 
It  On)." 

Guitarist  Todd  Walker  split  in  1987  and  resurfaced 
two  years  later,  trailing  some  other  Defenestration  de- 
fectors, with  Thrown  Away,  a  modest  collection  of 
country-rock  numbers.  Upon  the  original  band's  official 
demise,  Meade  formed  a  new  quartet,  the  Chainsaw 
Kittens.  The  self-produced  Violent  Religion  is  a  giam- 
rock  sewer  of  cross-dressing,  trash  culture,  Freudian 
psychology  ("Mother  (of  the  Ancient  Birth)")  and  hor- 
ror film  scenarios.  Although  Meade  remains  an  inven- 
tive songwriter,  the  most  interesting  thing  about  the 
Kittens  is  their  lipstick  and  gimmicky  hangups,  [kssj 

DEF  JEF 

Just  a  Poet  with  Sou!  (Delicious  Vinyl)  1 989  • 

Articulate  and  clear-spoken,  with  varied,  warm  soul- 
funk  tracks  that  layer  percussion  and  samples  over 
bouncing  bass  and  drums,  fast-talking  California  rapper 
Def  Jef  (Fortson)  makes  a  fine  first  showing  on  the 
largely  self-produced  Just  a  Poet  with  Soul.  But  ego- 
tism is  its  own  reward,  and  Jef's  endless  boasts  about 
his  rhyming  skill  make  the  first  side  and  most  of  the  flip 
a  lyrical  snore.  Only  the  Afrocentric  "Black  to  the  Fu- 
ture" (biting  the  Steve  Miller  Band's  "Fly  Like  an  Ea- 
gle") and  the  urban  tableau  of  "Downtown"  break  the 
mold,  demonstrating  the  kind  of  material  that  should  be 
the  rule — not  the  exception — next  time.  [i] 

CARMA1G  DE  FOREST 

1  Shall  Be  Released  (Good  Foot)  1987 

CARMAIG  DE  FOREST  +  BAND 

6  Live  Cuts  EP  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1988 

Undoubtedly  the  rockingest  singer/songwriter  ever 
to  exercise  his  muse  on  ukulele,  San  Francisco'  (more 
recently  Los  Angeles')  Carmaig  de  Forest  emerges  on 
his  debut  album  (produced  with  creative  electric  feroc- 
ity by  Alex  Chilton)  as  a  strong,  independent  voice  with 
plenty  on  his  mind.  Following  in  the  tradition  of  John 
Hiatt  and  Billy  Bragg,  de  Forest  is  a  brilliant  folk-based 
tunesmith  who  synthesizes  rock  and  other  influences 
into  a  characteristically  wry  style  that  owes  something 
to  both  Jonathan  Richman  and  the  Violent  Femmes. 
(Not  coincidentally,  de  Forest  has  toured  with  two  of 
the  three  Femmes.)  Chilton  surrounds  his  (Lou)  Reedy 
singing  and  polite  ukework  with  a  simple,  effective  band 
that  deftly  realizes  such  sharp-tongued  originals  as  "Big 
Business,"  "Hey  Judas"  and  "Crack's  No  Worse  Than 
the  Fascist  Threat"  at  assorted  energy  levels.  I  Shall  Be 


confidence, 
originality. 

The  French  live  EP  at  a         of  Octo- 

ber 1987          Francttsco          **.fe  a  ba**at, 

guitarist.  The  includes  f»i>  the 

album,  a  cover  of  "Yen  Can't  Aiways  Get 

What  You  Want"  and  previous!  v 

one  of  good.  ft  ] 


DEFUNKT 

Defonkf  (Hormibd)  ® 

Thermonuclear  Sweat  {Hannibal}  1982 
In  America  {Antilles  New  1         * 

Avoid  the  Funk  ...  A  Anthology 

(Hannibal-Carthage!  • 

Led  by  singing  trombonist  Joe 
brother  of  famed  jazz  trumpeter  Lester  Bowie),  the 
seven-man   Defirakt   peddled  with   iSry 

bounce  Originally  formed  as  James  Chance's  sec- 
tion, Defunkt  also  had  ties  with  the  world  of  avant-garde 
jazz,  putting  it  in  a  unique  and  culturally  po- 

sition, Defankt  isn't  a  revolutionary  breakout,  but 
include  the  super-catchy  (if  obtusely  titled)  "Blues,"  a 
number  which  was  extremely  popular  around  New  York 
at  the  time.  Thermonuclear  Sweat,  named  for  a 
from  the  first  LP,  is  sweeter-sounding  and  jazzier, 
smoothed  out  by  Joe  BoycTs  sage  production. 

Following  a  two-year  stint  spent  living  in  the  Carib- 
bean, Bowie  returned  to  New  York  and  formed  a  new 
six-piece  Defunkt,  which  debuted  on  vinyl  in  mid-  '88. 
Except  for  a  dram  sound  that  suggests  tin  cans  in  a 
carpet  showroom,  In  America  is  brilliant,  a  dynamic 
rock-fank-jazz  concoction  of  popping  bass,  neck- 
melting  guitar  (by  Bill  Bickford,  Ronnie  Drayton  and 
Tomas  Doncker)  and  Bowie's  inventive  trombone  fig- 
ures and  up-close-and-personable  vocals.  Stretching  fur- 
ther afield,  "In  America1'  uses  found-sound  comments 
from  Richard  Nixon,  John  Kennedy  and  others  to  make 
its  political  point.  While  Defunkt  has  nothing  at  all  to  do 
with  heavy  metal.,  fans  of  Living  Colour  would  do  well 
to  check  out  this  alternate  mixture  of  overlapping  ingre- 
dients. 

Avoid  the  Funk  revisits  Defunkt'  s  early-  '80s  work 
with  one  track  from  Defunkt  ("Make  Them  Dance**), 
three  from  Thermonuclear  Sweat  (including  "Avoid 
the  Funk"  and  a  version  of  the  O'Jays*  "For  the  Love 
of  Money,"  both  of  which  feature  Vemon  Reid  as  one 
of  two  guitarists),  a  1981  single  ("The  Razor's  Edge"/ 
"Strangling  Me  with  Your  Love  (Revisited)")  and 
smoking  1983  live  performances  of  two  songs  from  the 
first  UP.  [jw/i] 

DEL  AMiTRl 

Del  Amitri  (Chrysalis)  1  985  • 

Waking  Hours  (nr/A&M)  1989  (A&M)  1990  • 

This  Glasgow  quartet  fell  victim  to  excessive  hype 
before  the  release  of  its  debut  album.  Many  who  went 
overboard  praising  the  group  on  the  strength  of  two 
singles  and  a  few  live  performances  unjustly  criticized 
the  LP  —  ten  quirky,  country-flavored  tracks,  drenched 
in  crystalline  Ricfcenbacker  guitar  and  Hugh  Jones* 
spare  production  —  for  being  too  traditionalist.  Although 
admittedly  a  conventional  construct,  few  play  this  style 


179 


4*  as  Del  Tte\e  lids  love 

the\  A\  and  >  tfu  cjn         f  » it  in 

aj»  "Crows  m  the  and  l* Sticks  and 

Girl" 

h>  to  the 

tiist  Del  a          "adult"  set 

of  the  time 

vitcal  and  smooth 

to 

fa\cs  hk$  the  and          Straits,  the  LP  is 

eear  as         ,  The  "This  Side 

of  file  Morning"  has  the  tough*  beauty  of 

and  with  a 

big  hit. 


DE  LA 

3  Fwftt         ond  1 989  • 

Ma  ond  I  EP  (Tommy  loy)  1989  • 

D*  la  Sod  S$  SoyJ  1991  • 

If  you  put  a  together  In  such  a 

way  that  a  you'd 

an  De  La  Soul's  originality ,  about  how 

tie  trio  rip  elements  into 

unique.  Humorous  without  being  too 
goofy,  without  being  sexist  and  sociopoliti- 

clear  of  any  doctrinaire  pos- 
tering»  young  Long  Islanders — Posdnous 
(KeS¥ya  Mercer),  Tragoy  the  Dove  (David  Jolicoeur) 
and  P. A.  Pasemaster  Mase  (Vincent  Mason)  cross  a 
number  of  musical  boundaries  on  their  debut  album, 
produced  by  the  studio  architect  of  the  daisy 
age,  Prince  Paul  of  Stetsasonic.  Laid-back  tempos  and 
dayglo  graphics  paint  the  group  as  hip-hop  hippies.  (But 
a  txnrowing  from  the  Turtles'  **You  Showed  Me" 
earned  DC  La  the  legal  ire  of  Flo  and  Eddie:  ain't  the 
m  «  bitch?) 

Where  other  bands  use  samples  as  rhythmic  back- 
or  musical  exclamation  points,  0e  La  Soul  em- 
ploys what  It  can  find  on  records  by  eveiyone  from 
Steely  Dan  to  Otis  Redding  to  the  Coasters  to  shape 
melodies:  this  is  one  rap  album  you  can  hum.  With  over 
twenty  tracks,  it's  easy  to  find  highlights  on  3  Feet 
High  and  EMng.  For  giggles,  try  "Jenifa  Taught 
Me*'  or  *4Do  as  De  La  Does";  the  former  takes  the 
surprising  position  of  a  maa  being  sexually  victimized 
by  a  smarter,  more  experienced  woman*  while  the  lat- 
ter lambastes  everything  about  hip-hop's  language  and 
perfocmance  styles  in  just  under  two  minutes.  If  you 
just  want  to  dance  to  a  soulful  groove,  check  out 
"Tread  Water,*'  "Say  No  Go"  or  "Me  Myself  and 
I1'  More  than  anything,  3  Feet  High  and  Rasing— 
uncovering  a  previously  unlaiown  oasis  between  gang 
wars,  party  people  and  Saturday  morning  cartoons — is 
further  proof  of  rap's  diversity  and  creative  vitality.  A 
must. 

TTie  Me  Myself  and  1 12-inch  contains  four  versions 
of  the  the  title  cut:  two  instnimentals,  the  original  LP 
track  and  a  drastically  different  beat-heavy  mix  with 
enough  samples  replaced  to  give  it  a  completely  new 
feel  and  melody.  The  thiee  other  tracks  are  all  great, 
with  messages  dissing  clich6d  hip-hop  lingo,  violence, 
drugs  and  status  symbols.  [dgs] 


DEL-BYZANTEENS 

£P  tWDon't  Fafj  off  rf»  Meunton)  1981 
L«s  to  LVe  Sy  Foil  off  the 

Up  from  the  murky  pit  of  New  York's  ait-punk 
the  Dei-Byzantecm,  a  *ith  stylistic 

Television  and  the  Velvet  Under- 
ground and  the  to  give         dark,  arrange- 
a                  pan,  (Not  a  surprising  attribute, 
the                      of  keyboardist  Jim  Jar- 
musch. )  An  unsettling  cover  of  the  Supreroes"  "My 
World  Is  Empty'*  on  the  three-track  EP  Is  a  slice  of 
with  voocfoo  percussion,  ominous  group 
thai  sound  like  a  satantc  mass  and  a  guitar  quo- 
from  Fern-  Mason. 

The  group's  inventive  resources  are  spread  a 
thin,  though,  on  Lies  to  Lire  By,  The  quirky  B-52's 
and  hyper-disco  thump  of  *' Draft  Riot"  and 
facelessness  (Joy  Division  variety)  of  the  title  track 
dull  the  impact  of  both  "War,"  a  clever  union  of  fank- 
pank  dnve  with  protest  lyrics  from  Caribbean  calypso 
records,  and  the  gray  soul  of  the  old  JayEettcs*  shuffle, 
"Sally  Go  Round  the  Roses."  Both  "Lies  to  Live  By" 
and  a  new  version  of  the  HP's  "Girl's  Imagination" 
were  used  by  Wim  Wenders  in  his  movie  The  State  of 
Things.  fdf] 

DEL 

The  Longest  Day  (Slash)  1984 
Boston,  Mass.  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1985  • 
Stand  Up  fSbsh-Wamer  Bros.)  1 987  » 
Smoking  in  the  Fields  (RCA)  1 989  » 

Ttoe  Longest  Day  is  a  solid  album  bursting  with 
high-energy  beatVbilly-inflected  guitar  rock.  The 
songs  are  memorable  without  pandering;  the  playing  is 
simple  but  never  simpleminded.  From  the  quivering 
"Nervous  and  Shakey"  (which  opens  the  LP)  to  the 
ominous  hipshake  "Call  My  Name"  (which  ends  it), 
this  is  a  full,  therapeutic  close  of  mature,  unaffected 
rock'n'roll  recalled  from  the  '50s  and  '60s  built  strictly 
in  and  for  the  '80s. 

Besides  atrocious  art  direction,  the  Boston  band's 
second  LP  is  a  hair  more  selfconscious  than  its  first.  In 
view  of  the  momentary  popularity  of  "working  class" 
rock,  Boston,  Mass,  sounds  like  it  was  designed  to 
please  a  wide  audience,  although  it  actually  recalls  the 
old  Animals  more  than  anything  else.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Del  Fuegos  can't  be  accused  of  making  any  radical 
readjustment. 

The  stupid  fold-out  back  cover  gimmick  of  Stand 
Up  should  serve  as  a  warning:  this  messy  indulgence 
(with  guest  appearances  by  Tom  Petty,  James  Burton 
and  others)  hasn't  got  any  worthwhile  songs  or  intrinsic 
personality.  Dan  Zanes'  voice  is  largely  shot;  the  spunky 
band  of  music-crazy  street  kids  has  turned  into  a  griz- 
zled bunch  of  oldtimers  who  run  through  this  tired  as- 
sortment of  horned-out  grit-rockers  like  a  rejected  beer 
commercial.  Following  the  album,  drummer  Woody 
Giessmann  (ex-Embarrassment)  became  an  ex-Del  Fu- 
ego. 

It  isn't  the  illusion  of  reclaimed  youth  that  makes 
Smoking  in  the  Fields  such  a  welcome  improvement 
over  Stand  Up,  it's  the  discovery  tihat  maturity  isn't 
such  a  bad  thing.  Secret  weapon  harp  demon  Magic 


180 


Dick  (ex-J.  Ceils  Band  I  out  waves  of 

moaning  on  some  of  the  songs  as  horns  and  tasteful 
strings  up  others;  the  lively  variety  show  of  smok- 

ing R&B,  Stonesy  guitar  rock,  ragged  pop  and  whiskey- 
scarred  soul  (shades  of  Mink  DeViIle)  scores  on  all  four 
fronts.  The  record  gets  on  such  a  roll  that  even  a  tender 
love  song  Zanes  croons  (with  guest  harmony  by  Rick 
Danko)  over  acoustic  guitar,  cello  and  mandolin  backup 
turns  up  in  the  middle  of  Side  B  without  any  loss  in 
momentum.  Producer  Dave  Ttioemer  deserves  plenty  of 
credit  for  fitting  the  Fuegos*  music  into  appropriate  ar- 
rangements (that  couldn't  simply  be  worked  out  on- 
stage) and  still  coming  up  with  a  fall-bodied  album  that 
sounds  completely  natural.  [i] 

See  also  Embarrassment. 


GABI  DELGADO 

See  Deutsche  Amerikanische  Frcundschaft. 

DELINQUENTS 

See  Lester  Bangs. 

DEL-LORDS 

Frontier  Days  (Enigma-EM!  America)  1984 

Johnny  Comes  Marching  Home  (Enigma-EM!  America} 

1986 

Based  on  a  True  Story  (Enigma)  1 988  « 
Howlin'  at  the  Halloween  Moon  (Restless)  1 989  <t> 
Lovers  Who  Wander  (Enigma)  1 990  4» 

ERIC  AMBEL 

Roscoe's  Gang  (Enigma)  1 988  • 

Musical  pioneers  at  the  East  Coast's  westernmost 
boundaries,  New  York  City's  Del-Lords  stand  in  the 
forefront  of  back-to-the-roots  countryfied  urban  rock- 
'n'roll, skipping  any  particular  stylistic  imitation  to  en- 
thusiastically bang  out  perceptive  tunes  of  hard  times 
and  true  love.  With  guitarist  Scott  Kempner  (once  Top 
Ten  of  the  Dictators)  penning  the  material  but  occasion- 
ally relinquishing  lead  vocals  to  guitarist  Eric  *  *Roscoe* ' 
Ambel,  the  Del-Lords  embrace  rock's  basic  components 
with  such  skill  and  verve  that  they  outshine  most  every- 
one else  on  the  scene.  The  best  tracks  on  Frontier 
Days — "Burning  in  the  Bame  of  Love,'*  "Feel  Like 
Going  Home"  and  a  cover  of  Alfred  Reed's  "How  Can 
a  Poor  Man  Stand  Such  Times  and  Live' ' — are  true-blue 
and  brilliant. 

The  songs  on  Johnny  Comes  Marching  Home — 
produced  with  no  ill  effects  by  Pat  Benatar's  husband, 
Neil  Geraldo — are  better  and  the  playing  is  even  more 
confident  and  enthusiastic.  Lyrical  topics  stretch  from 
the  sunny  optimism  of  "Heaven'*  to  the  misery  of 
"Love  Lies  Dying,*'  with  stops  along  the  way  for  a 
kidnapped  victim  of  terrorism  ("Against  My  Will"),  a 
love  letter  to  a  real-life  '60s  radio  DJ  ("Saint  Jake*') 
and  a  veteran* s  wistful  view  of  militarism  ("Soldier's 
Home*').  The  music  runs  from  a  greasy  Link  Wray 
instrumental  to  a  wittily  disguised  rewrite  of  "If  I  Had 
a  Hammer."  Not  trendy,  twangy,  corny  or  selfcon- 
scious,  the  Del-Lords  simply  play  the  old-fashioned 
way,  with  a  sharp  ear  for  melody  and  choruses  that 
don*t  evaporate  after  a  few  listens.  Considering  that  the 


quartet's  roots  are  a 

it  asd 

Getaldo's 

of  the 

In  like  a  bar  to  cap  a 

chart  hit — -but  on  a  True  is  an- 

other the  "We 

follow  fashion,**  f  in  "The  the 

Crazy"),  84Wtt0  it  got  style?"  Oddly, 

the  band's  intrinsic  savour  fairc  is  less  ever 

before,  perhaps  a  casualty  of  too 
Nixon's  participation  in  * 'River  of  Justice*" 
absurdity  to  the  bat  a 

Syd  Straw  and  others        the  it's         to 

exactly  whose  record  this  is.  "Judas  Kiss**  la 
composition  sung  by  Ambel)  is  a  de- 

spite the  wiongheaded  and  — "Wbole 

Lotta  Nothuf  Goin'  On/'  "Cheyenitt"  and  the  twelve- 
bar  **A  Lover's  Prayer" — find  the  firmly  in 
charge. 

Despite  a  good  head  of  electric  steam,  the  seven  live 
cuts  captured  on  Howlin*  at  the  Moon  don't 

raise  much  dust.  Somewhere  between  the  weak  choice 
of  material  (so-so  originals  like  **I  Play  the  Drums"  and 
4  The  Cool  and  the  Crazy,"  plus  the  Flamin*  Groovies* 
"Jumping  in  the  Night"  and  "Tallahassee  Lassie")  and 
the  energetic  but  ineffectual  performances,  the  record 
winds  up  flat  and  plain.  Even  trie  magnificent  ** Judas 
Kiss"  comes  off  routine.  And  who  stole  die  Del  Lords" 
hyphen? 

With  Kempner  delivering  the  roost  passionate  and 
mature  songs  of  Ms  career,  Lovers  Who  Wander,  co- 
produced  by  Thoni  Panunzio  and  bassist  Manny  Caiati, 
eliminates  the  commercial  anxiety  to  focus  all  of  the 
band's  strengths  onto  one  great  record.  Besides  the 
haunting  ** Learn  to  Let  Go"  (lyrics  by  David  Roter), 
the  melancholy  "Wild  Boys'*  and  the  sensuous,  organ- 
cheesed  "About  You/'  the  album  features  a  remarkable 
choogling  translation  of  the  Dictators'  classic  "Stay 
with  Me/*  slowing  the  song  down  to  reveal  new  emo- 
tional depths  that  make  it  wholly  appropriate  to  this 
resonant,  downcast  album. 

Soon  after  the  release  of  Lovers  Who  Wander* 
Ambel  left  the  Del  Lords  to  devote  himself  to  a  fulltime 
solo  career.  He  had  already  tested  the  waters  IE  1988 
with  Roscoe's  Gang,  a  casual  good-time  rock'n'roll 
session  with  the  Skeletons,  Peter  Holsapple  and  like- 
minded  friends.  Co-produced  by  Ambel  and  Lou  Whit- 
ney, cover  versions  of  Swamp  Dogg,  Bob  Dylan  and 
Neil  Young  songs  meld  with  Whitney*  Kempner  and 
Ambel  originals  in  the  joyful  party  atmosphere.  [i] 

See  also  Dictators,  David  Rater  Method. 


DELMONAS 

Comin'  Home  Baby  EP  (nr/Big  Beat)  1984 
Hello,  We  Love  You  EP  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 984 
Dangerous  Charms  (nr/Btg  Beat)  1985 
Delmonas  51  (nr/Empire)  1986  (nr/Hangman)  1988 
The  Delmonas  (nr/Hangman)  1 989 
Do  the  Uncle  Willy  (Skycfod)  1 989 

Originally  known  as  the  MilkboUers,  Sarah,  Hilary 
and  Louise  first  clustered  around  a  microphone  to  sing 
girl-group  backup  on  records  by  the  Milkshakes,  for 


181 


doubled  as  and  After 

lead  chores  on  "Boys,"  cut  own  two- 
volume  set  of  four-song  7-incfie$  "with  musical  accom- 
paainwnt  by  Thee  Milkshakes"  for  Big  Beat  (then  the 
'Stakes  label  K  collecting  plus  three  out- 

takes  and  five  new  tracks  cut  for  a  radio  program  into  a 
album,  Banferwis  Charms.  The  predominance 
of  '60s  classics  only  their  flat  vocals,  but  on 

the  Hampshire/ Childish  tunes,  written  with  such  limita- 
tions well  in  mind,  they  ignite,  sparkle  (and  sputter) 
with  undeniable  enthusiasm  and,  well,  ctunn. 

Following  a  short  period  of  inactivity  resulting  from 
a  of  personalities  regaiding  leadership 

and  direction,  the  band  resurfaced  as  Delmonas  51,  now 
down  to  two  members  (renamed  Miss  Ida  Red  and 
Ludetla  Black )  with  the  original  Caesars  lineup  as  back- 
ing. Recorded  louder,  harsher  and  with  considerably 
n»re  confidence,  Hie  mood  on  Belmoaas  5!  is  darker, 
with  a  greatly  bolstered  Nancy  Sinatra  toff-girl  quotient. 

The  Dehnonas  has  the  same  raw  immediacy,  per- 
haps even  accentuating  it,  and  includes  the  first  album's 
lost  title  track  plus  a  pair  of  songs  redone  with  French 
lyrics,  relying  two  parts  on  real  oldies  and  one 

part  QO  new  oldies  from  assorted  Childish  bands — the 
most  darkly  melodic  times  thereof.  Do  tlie  Uncle  Willy 
collects  slightly  less  crisp  sounding  tracks  from  the  two 
previous  LPs  plus  a  pair  of  alternate  versions  and  a 
previously  un-Moxiaed  Billytune  for  their  most  ^flatter- 
ing1" LP»  a  spirited  soundtrack  for  dreary  afternoons  and 
bleary  aftennidnights.  [ah] 

See  also  Pop  Rivits,  Thee  Mighty  Caesars. 

VICTOR  Df  LORINZO 

See  Violent  Femmes. 

DEL  RUBiO  TRIPLETS 

Three  GaSs,  Three  Guitars  (Caba»n-Bbe  Yonder  Sounds) 

1988 

Too  talented  and  successful  an  act  for  Broadway 
Danny  Rose  (but  almost  as  kitschily  inspired  as  piano- 
pecking  birds),  these  three  middle-aged  sisters  create  a 
delicious  platter  of  unintended  camp  by  blithely  bring- 
ing their  *40s  vocal  stylings  to  bear  on  a  bizarre  program 
of  material.  After  covering  easy-listening  classics  like 
"Hey  Jude"  and  "Light  My  Fire"  for  starters,  the 
guitar-strumming  Del  Rubios  move  right  into  sublime 
weirdness  with  selections  from  the  Bangles  ("Walk 
Like  an  Egyptian"),  Pointer  Sisters  ("Neutron  Dance") 
and  Pet  Shop  Boys  ("What  Have  I  Done  to  Deserve 
This?").  [i] 

DEPECHE  MODE 

Spealc  &  Spell  (Mute-Sire)  1 981  • 

A  Broken  Frame  (Mute-Sire)  1 982  • 

Construction  Time  Again  (Mute-Sire)  1 983  • 

People  Are  People  (Mute-Sire)  1984  • 

Some  Great  Reward  (Mute-Sire)  1 984  • 

The  Singles  '8V85  (nr/Mute)  1985  • 

Catching  Up  with  Depeche  Mode  (Mute-Sire}  1985  • 

Black  Celebration  (Mute-Sire)  1 986  • 

Music  for  the  Masses  (Mute-Sire)  1 987  • 

101  (Mute-Sire)  1 989  • 

Violator  (Mute-Sire-Reprise)  1 990  • 


L. 

Counterfeit  EP  1989  * 

RECOIL 

Hydrology  and  1  +•  2  (Mute-Enigma)  1989  $ 

Bom  in  England's  new  romantic  movement.  Basil- 
don's  Depeche  Mode  <a  French  magazine  translation  of 
"fashion  dispatch")  immediately  proved  capable  of 
making  flawlessly  captivating  electro-pop  tunes  with 
simple  formulae.  What  set  them  apart  at  the  outset  ( how 
times  change)  was  their  complete  reliance  on  synthesiz- 
ers, offering  post-modernistic  gloss  to  comfortably  fa- 
miliar (but  new)  material.  Over  the  years,  the 
increasingly  successful — and  not  deeply  talented—- 
group has  grown  pompous  and  gloomy,  embracing 
heavier  and  denser  sounds,  but  they've  never  abandoned 
the  singles  format  or  lost  their  appeal  to  teenage  girls. 

Not  coiacidentaliy,  the  best  songs  on  Speak  and 
Spell  were  the  UK  hits:  "New  Life/'  "Dreaming  of 
Me"  and  the  smash  "Just  Can't  Get  Enough."  Obliv- 
ious to  innovation  or  deep  thinking,  the  album  is  simply 
a  good,  catchy  collection  of  modem  dance  tunes. 

Despite  the  dire  predictions  that  followed  songwriter 
Vince  Clarke's  departure  to  form  Yazoo  (and  later  Era- 
sure), Depeche  Mode  pressed  on,  essentially  unham- 
pered, as  a  trio  to  make  A  Broken  Frame,  which  has 
similar  virtues,  tempered  with  some  deviation  from 
course.  David  Gahan's  vocals  are  stronger,  and  while 
funk  forms  the  rhythmic  base  of  *4My  Secret  Garden," 
a  Japanese  tinge  is  given  to  "Monument"  and  "Satel- 
lite*' centers  around  a  ska  beat.  The  rest  of  the  album 
varies  to  a  small  degree  from  the  dancemania  of  earlier 
work  without  abandoning  it — a  characteristic  midpoint 
between  experimentation  and  repetition. 

Expanding  back  to  a  quartet,  with  Martin  Gore  con- 
tinuing as  the  main  songwriter,  Construction  Time 
Again  exposes  a  mature  outlook,  dropping  the  simplis- 
tic pop  tunes  for  a  more  intellectual,  challenging  ap- 
proach. The  transition  is  not  altogether  smooth. 
"Everything  Counts"  offers  a  bitter  denunciation  of  the 
(presumably  music)  business  world  and  "Shame"  is  a 
heartfelt  confrontation  with  responsibility.  Other  tunes 
("Pipeline,"  "More  Than  a  Party*')  are  less  probing, 
although  the  former  has  interestingly  industrialized  mu- 
sic and  chanted  vocals.  (The  Construction  Time  Again 
CD  adds  a  bonus  cut.) 

Although  the  reasons  for  its  assembly  are  unclear, 
People  Arc  People  (not  released  in  the  UK)  is  a  com- 
pilation of  post-Clarke  tunes,  drawing  five  of  its  tracks 
from  the  two  preceding  LPs  and  the  rest  from  singles. 
Not  a  cohesive  album,  it  does  contain  prime  material 
blending  synth-rock  with  real-life  and  industrial  noises 
to  make  truly  modern  pop  music. 

Some  Great  Reward  is  Depeche  Mode's  best 
record,  containing  everything  from  the  bitter  religious 
doubt  of  "Blasphemous  Rumours"  to  the  socio-sexual 
role  playing  of  *  'Master  and  Servant"  and  the  egalitar- 
ian "People  Are  People."  Seamlessly  blending  unset- 
tling concrete  sounds — like  synthesized  factory  din  and 
clanking  chains— into  the  music,  the  group  achieves  a 
masterful  music/life  mix  few  of  the  same  mind  have 
approached. 

As  Depeche  Mode's  international  stature  grew  to 
awesome  proportions,  two  compilation  albums — The 
Singles  and  Catching  Up— were  released.  The  former, 


182 


In  the  UK,  is  a  fine  collection  of  thirteen 
the  cassette  and  CD  add  two  mort.  The  American 
has  most  of  the  <  excluding 

compiled  on  People  Are  People),  but  includes 
**Ry  on  the  Windscreen"  (also  01  I 

and  "Flexible."  Complicated  enough?  (Actually,  the 
quartet's  dlscograpby  is  far  more  involved,  thanks  to 
numerous  EPS.  " Blasphemous  Rumours,"  "Everything 
Counts/"  "Get  the  Balance  Right,"  "Love,  in  Itself," 
"A  Question  of  Time,"  "Never  Let  Me  Down  Again" 
and  others  have  all  been  issued  on  12-inch  and  CD  with 
eon-LP  bonus  tracks,  many  of  them  live.) 

Depeche  Mode  has  tackled  many  different  lyrical 
concerns  in  the  past,  but  never  have  they  done  such  a 
consistently  downcast  record  as  Black  Celebration.  Ex- 
cept for  intermittent  bouts  of  romanticism  and  a  bluntly 
political  protest  ("New  Dress"),  the  songs  are  filled 
with  doubt,  disgust  and  depression,  an  attitude  rein- 
forced by  their  dirgelike,  minor-chord  constructions. 
Unfortunately,  many  of  the  tunes  resemble  each  other; 
shards  of  the  same  melody  turn  up  repeatedly.  There's  a 
certain  grim  power  to  this  work,  but  it's  not  one  of  their 
more  appealing  or  accomplished  albums, 

Music  for  the  Masses  is  marginally  brighter  in  tem- 
perament, but  shows  the  band  running  low  on  creative 
juice.  Unambitious,  bland  and  forgettable,  the  album 
displays  little  beyond  Gore's  emotional  anxieties  and 
Gahan's  vocal  limitations.  The  tense  "Behind  the 
Wheel"  and  "Never  Let  Me  Down  Again"  are  the  only 
powerful  songs  here,  and  both  have  dumb  lyrics  and 
skimpy,  underdeveloped  melodies.  "Pimpf,"  a  turgid 
piece  of  operatic  nonsense,  ends  the  album  on  a  most 
unpromising  note.  The  CD  has  four  bonus  tracks. 

Given  the  band's  underwhelming  concert  presence 
— a  woeful  mixture  of  pre-programmed  synthesizers  and 
Gahan's  unsteady  vocals — the  advisability  of  a  live  al- 
bum (and  a  theatrical  documentary  filmed  by  D.A,  Pen- 
nebaker)  can  only  be  weighed  against  the  potential  for 
profit.  Young  Depechites  undoubtedly  could  care  less 
about  the  inadequacies  of  101 — four  sides  of  hits,  etc., 
recorded  at  a  1988  stadium  show  in  Pasadena, 
California — but  this  is  hardly  a  significant  item  in  the 
canon.  (The  CD  adds  three.) 

Possibly  the  result  of  extensive  touring,  the  dismal 
Violator  matches  Music  for  the  Masses  for  shallow 
blandness.  Gore's  obvious  dearth  of  meaningful  ideas 
dominates  this  handsomely  performed,  tuneless  waste; 
the  lack  of  external  input  locks  the  insular  group  in  a 
closed  creative  circle  that  shows  no  signs  of  opening  or 
expanding.  Worse  than  routine  music  (the  LP's  best 
song,  "Enjoy  the  Silence,"  is  totally  self-derivative;  the 
idiotic  "Clean"  uses  a  monotonous  sequencer  line  bor- 
rowed from  Kraftwerk),  the  vague  egocentric  lyrics 
("Blue  Dress/'  "World  in  My  Eyes,"  "Clean")  no 
longer  make  any  effort  to  be  about  anything.  In  the 
record's  sole  flash  of  wit,  "Personal  Jesus"  (also  re- 
leased on  a  five-mix  CD)  uses  a  jaunty  rock'n'roll 
swing,  but  "reach  out  and  touch  faith"  isn't  a  very 
profound  message. 

Gore  gave  songwriting  a  rest  for  his  solo  EP,  an 
insubstantial  12-inch  of  obscure  cover  versions.  (The 
traditional  "Motherless  Child"  and  Sparks'  "Never 
Turn  Your  Back  on  Mother  Earth"  are  the  most  familiar 
songs  in  his  repertoire;  other  selections  come  from  Du- 
rutti  Column  and  Tuxedomoon.)  Skillful  but  occasion- 


ally too  to  the 

two  tbst         en          a         nil 

that  he  has  BO 
Mode's  style. 

Alan  Wilder  his  solo  project,  in 

1986  with  1  +  2,  a  12-mdi  by 

farther  efforts  and  on  the  Hyrdrol- 

ogy  and  1  +  2.  Accented 

and  vocal  noises.  Recoil's 

drone  aimlessly  in  several 

soft  synthesizers, 

Mid  piano.  The  first  and 

that's  the  meet  provocative  of  this 

sounding  record. 

See  also  Erasure,  Yazo®. 

DESCENDENTS 

Pot  EP  (New  Affiance J 1981  {SST)  1988  • 

M&>  Goes  to  CofUge  f  New  Affiance}  1 982  f  SSTJ  1 988 

Bonos  Fat  {New  Affiance)  1985  {SSTJ  1988 

S  Dart  Want  to  Grow  Up  (New  1 985  f  SST} 

1988* 

Enjoy!  (New  Alliance-Restless)  1986 
All  (SST)  1 987  • 
Uveage!(SST}]987* 
Two  Things  at  One©  |SST)  1 988  4s 
HaUrakmr  (SST)  1989* 

In  search  of  the  metaphysical  All,  LA's  Descencteflts 
did  their  growing  up  in  public.  The  group  debated  as  a 
young  power-pop  trio  on  a  likable  1979  single  ("Ride 
the  Wild**)  but  then  didn't  return  to  vinyl  until  1981, 
when  a  four-piece  lineup  issued  the  smart,  fast  and 
punky  7-inch  Fat  EP:  six  fleeting  (total  time  5:52)  Black 
Flag-like  culture  statements  like  "Wienaschnitzel,"  "I 
Like  Food"  and  "My  Dad  Sucks.**  (Besides  Fat's  re- 
release  on  12-inch,  cassette  and  CD-3,  the  EP  and  pre- 
ceding single  were  combined  as  Bonus  Fat.) 

When  singer  Milo  Aukerman  left  the  band  to  study 
biochemistry  in  San  Diego,  the  Descenclents  pressed  on 
and  issued  Milo  Goes  to  College,  a  promising  hardcore 
album  with  a  few  dumb  bummers  amidst  the  fun.  Then 
drummer  Bill  Stevenson — the  primary  Descendent,  as  it 
were — went  off  to  join  Black  Flag,  and  the  group  evap- 
orated for  a  while. 

When  they  reassembled  in  mid- 1985,  Milo,  Steven- 
son, bassist  Tony  Lombardo  and  ex-SWA  guitarist  Ray 
Cooper  (who  had  switched  to  vocals  after  MiloTs  depar- 
ture) recorded  I  Don't  Want  to  Grow  Up.  This  excel- 
lent, surefooted  punk  album  knowingly  uses  the 
hyperkinetic  musical  idiom  as  a  disguise  for  intelligent, 
sarcastic  songwriting.  Melodies  (a  few  border  on  power 
pop)  and  substantial  lyrics  drift  around  the  edge  of  ob- 
noxiousness  without  entirely  giving  in  to  it. 

Enjoy!  features  a  new  bassist  and  proves  that  even 
talented  bands  with  positive  attitudes  are  not  immune  to 
gratuitous  vulgarity  and  base  stupidity.  The  tittle  song  is 
a  childish  paean  to  farting,  complete  with  audio  verit6 
effects;  two  others  reveal  a  deeply  juvenile  attitude  to- 
wards women.  On  the  other  hand,  a  peppy  version  of 
Brian  Wilson's  '* Wendy"  is  spectacular;  most  of  me 
originals — including  the  satirical  "HJSrtin'  Crie,"  the 
Anglo-popping  "Get  the  Time"  and  the  surly  noise  of 
the  seven-minutes-plus  "Days  Are  Blood" — are  at  least 
near-excellent,  reflecting  the  band's  loping  musical 


183 


art          the  on  the 

in  the 

I 
The  All          with  one  of  the 

on  the  litic  new 

and  a 

the  "Impres- 

sions") that  the  side.  "Clean 

Sheets"  and  **Pep  Talk"  tunes  and  invigo- 

but  "Van*"  "Cooiidge/1  "Ice- 
man," the  **AIi-o~gistics"  and  lengthy 
"Scfaizofttrcait"  ire  and  witless,  substi- 
for  (After  the  De- 
on  SST,  the  their  prior 
work.  Two  Tilings  at  Once  is  a  CD/cassette  pairing  of 
to              and            Fat, ) 
vanishing  into  AH  (get  the  drift?),  the  De- 
a  live  album,  recorded  in  1987  at 
First  Avenue   in  Minneapolis.   Liveagcl's  eighteen 
(more  on  the  cassette  and  CD)  review  the 
band's           repertoire  in  a  noisy,  frenzied  attack  that's 

fun  and  exciting. 

As  Stevenson  explains  in  the  informative  liner  notes, 
Hattraker  (**the  other  live  Dependents  LP'*)  was  re- 
to  redress  fan  complaints  about  material  that 
wasn't  on  Lineage!  Partially  recorded  at  the  same  Min- 
neapolis show  (the  remainder  is  from  a  California  date 
a  few  earlier),  BMIraker  serves  up  sixteen  dif- 

ferent         with  exactly  the  same  sloppy  punk  panache. 
See  also  All,  Black  Flag,  Last.  [i] 


DESPERATE  BICYCLES 

N«w  Cross  New  Cross  EP  {or/Refill}  1 978 
Reroors**  Code  (in/Refill)  1979 

Along  with  the  far  more  heralded  Soft  Boys,  this 
legendary  post-punk  Chocolate  Watch  band  predated  the 
neo-psyctedelic  movement  by  several  years  with  a  se- 
ries of  self-released  singles  and  an  LP  of  ten  pop  gems. 
The  Interplay  of  agile  bass  and  near-perfect  guitar  on 
Remorse  Code  helps  kick  things  along,  and  songs  like 
"Sarcasm"  and  "It's  Somebody's  Birthday  Today"  are 
utter  classics.  Sly  humor  is  exhibited  with  silly  tape  and 
sound  effects,  not  to  mention  the  guitarist's  savvy 
pseudonym:  Dan  Electro.  [dgs] 

JIMMY  DESTR1 

See  Blondie. 


DESTROY  ALL  MONSTERS 

See  New  Order. 

DEUTSCHE  AMER1KANISCHE 
FREUNDSCHAFT 

Efn  Produlct  der  DAF.  (Ger.  Warning-Atotak)  1979 

Die  Kleinen  und  die  Bosen  (nr/Mute)  1 980 

AHes  1st  Gut  (nr/Virgin)  1 981  • 

Gold  und  Liebe  (nr/Virgin)  1981  • 

Fur  Immer  (nr/Virgin)  1 982  • 

Deutsche  Amerikanische  Freundsehaft  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  • 


fur/Virgin! 

Night  Foil  of  Tension  1984 

Originating  as  Dusseldorf  art-punk  cacophony  cult- 
ists  m  the  holdout  hippie  culture  of  late  I970's  Ger- 
many, D,  A.F.— originally  a  group,  bet  generally  known 
internationally  as  the  duo  of  instrumentalist  Robert  Gorl 
and  singer  Gabi  Delgado-Lopez — broke  away  to  find 
success  in  Europe  as  a  synthesizer-and-dance  band. 

Ein  ProdEkt  dcr  D.A.F.  Is  an  apocalyptic  eruption 
of  sound  announcing  the  end  of  the  German  Republic, 
with  shrieking,  colliding  overdubbed  synths  and  guitars. 
The  electro-metal  is  simultaneously  repellent  and  com- 
pelling. Die  KMmm  und  die  Bosen,  D.A.F.'s  first  in- 
ternational release  (following  the  group's  relocation  to 
London),  modifies  the  electronic  chaos  with  an  eye  to- 
wards the  modem  dance.  Material  is  more  polished, 
with  anarchic  synthesizer  work  slowly  integrating  a 
solid,  defined  beat. 

AHes  1st  Gut  abandons  the  band's  Faustian  tenden- 
cies for  cerebral  dance  music,  polished  to  a  metallic 
shine  by  producer  Conny  Plank.  Typical  funk  rhythms 
are  replaced  by  industrial  pulses  (trains,  etc.);  some 
vocal  experimentation  casts  the  band  onto  shrewd  pop 
turf,  despite  decidedly  libidinous  lyrics.  Gold  und 
Liebe  perfects  the  advances  of  Mies  1st  Gut,  empha- 
sizing the  punchy  use  of  drum-box  and  de-emphasizing 
other  instruments,  creating  a  robot  void  that  eerily 
strands  the  guttural  vocals. 

D.A.F.'s  final  album,  Fur  Imm«r,  breaks  the  pat- 
tern, with  a  variety  of  styles  from  funk  to  rock'n'roll  to 
distorted  metal  drone  before  returning  to  a  dance  blow- 
out for  the  final  track.  While  it's  all  interesting,  none  of 
these  excursions  are  displayed  long  enough  to  be  truly 
impressive.  The  inner  spaces  of  earlier  work  are  filled 
by  a  range  of  instruments,  including  very  gentle  bells. 
Like  all  of  D.A.F.'s  LPs,  it  is  sung  in  German.  The 
1988  release  is  a  fourteen-song  compilation  from  the 
band's  three  Virgin  albums;  the  CD  adds  two  alternate 
versions  as  bonus  tracks. 

Delgado  and  Gorl  dissolved  their  partnership  to  pur- 
sue solo  careers  (reuniting  temporarily  in  1985).  For  his 
album,  Gabi  enlisted  some  top  names  in  modern  Ger- 
man music — Conny  Flank  and  Can's  Jaki  Liebezeit 
among  them — to  make  slick  but  expendable  disco, 
topped  off  with  obsequious  lyrics,  mostly  about  sex. 

God's  flat  singing  (mostly  in  English)  on  Night  Full 
of  Tension  leaves  a  lot  to  be  desired.  The  fact  that  he 
wrote  all  of  D.A.F.'s  music  doesn't  appreciably  aid 
these  dull  lumps  of  spare,  rhythmic,  go-nowhere  elec- 
tronics. The  LP's  only  notable  success  is  * 'Darling 
Don't  Leave  Me, ' '  an  angst-ridden  duet  with  Annie  Len- 
nox (returning  a  favor— -Gorl  was  the  drummer  on  one 
track  of  Eurythmics'  first  LP)  that  bears  an  unpleasant 
air  of  sado-masochism.  Lennox  appears  on  several  other 
songs  as  well.  [sg/i] 

DEVIANTS 

See  Mick  Farren,  Social  Deviants. 

WILLY  DEV1LLE 

See  Mink  DeVille. 


184 


& 

The  Prince  of  Wolm  (Bel. 
1990® 

(BeL  Cmpuscwbi  1 990  « 
This    bewitching    team-up    of    two    soft-spoken 

conjurers — Ian  Devine  from  the  obscure-tat-rated-by- 
Morrissey  early- '80s  Manchester  group  Ludus,  and  Al- 
lison Station,  the  unforgettably  nondescript  voice  of 
Wales1  Young  Marble  Giants  and  Weekend — has  pro- 
duced the  apotheosis  of  well-bred,  thoughtful,  slightly 
neurotic  folk-pop.  Devine  writes  sharply  observed 
about  his  polite,  slightly  pampered,  rather  befuddled 
peers  and  the  ordinary  heartbreaks  and  tragedies  that 
attend  their  daily  lives.  As  voiced  by  Station,  the  songs' 
ironies  register  tenderly,  while  her  intelligence  whisks 
away  any  wistful  treacle  a  lesser  interpreter  might  bring 
to  them.  The  Prince  of  Wales  has  very  spare,  guitar- 
based  arrangements  which  give  the  simple  melodies  a 
nice  lilt;  the  duo  manages  to  keep  things  sounding  light 
but  not  wispy. 

Cardffiaiis  adds  NYC  downtowners  Curtis 
Fowfkes,  Roy  Nathanson  and  Marc  Ribot  on,  respec- 
tively, trombone,  sax  and  guitar,  and  New  Order's  Peter 
Hook  joins  on  bass  (presumably  he  approved  of  the 
duo's  much-softened  cover  of  * 'Bizarre  Love  Triangle" 
on  The  Prince  of  Wales).  Despite  the  expanded  lineup, 
the  sound  is  still  remarkably  spare,  and  all  of  the  songs 
have  a  lingering  quality  that  goes  beyond  the  incisive 
lyrics  and  deceptively  simple  music.  In  light  of  Devine* s 
first-rate  material  here,  the  cover  of  Crystal  Gayle's 
"Don't  It  Make  My  Brown  Eyes  Blue"  is  cute  but 
rather  pointless,  although  it  does  allow  the  duo  to  dem- 
onstrate that  sensitive,  insightful  treatment  can't  salvage 
a  fundamentally  bad  song.  That  misstep  aside, 
Cardiffians  is  wonderful.  [gk] 

See  also  Young  Marble  Giants. 

DEVO 

Q:  Are  We  Not  Men?  A:  We  Are  Devo  (Warner  Bros.) 

1978* 

Be  Stiff  EP[nr/Stiff)1978 
Duty  Now  for  the  Future  (Warner  Bros.)  1 979 
Freedom  of  Choice  (Warner  Bros.)  1980  • 
Dev-o  Live  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1981 
New  Traditionalists  (Warner  Bros.)  1 981 
Oh,  Noi  Ifs  Devo  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982 
Shout  (Warner  Bros.)  1984 
E-Z  Listening  Disc  [CD]  (Rykodisc)  1 987  • 
Total  Devo  (Enigma)  1 988  • 
Now  It  Can  Be  Toid  (Enigma)  1989  • 
Smooth  Noodle  Maps  (Enigma)  1 990  (Dutch  East  Wax) 

1991  • 

Hardcore  Vol.  1  74-77  (Rykodisc)  1990  <!> 
Devo  Greatest  Hits  (Warner  Bros.)  1 990  4> 
Devo  Greatest  Misses  (Warner  Bros.)  1 990  <!> 

MARK  MOTHERSBAUGH 

Muzik  for  Insomniaks  Volume  1  (Enigma)  1 988  4> 
Muzik  for  Insomniaks  Volume  2  (Enigma)  1 988  $ 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

KROQ-FM  Devotees  Album  (Rhino)  1979 

When  the  new  wave  floodgates  opened  in  the  mid- 
'70s,  all  sorts  of  strange  things  flowed  out.  From  Ak- 


ron,  Otuo,  fbe 

and  en  and 

plus  a  an  and 

live  and  a  fbui 

the    de- 

of  to  i 

pair  of  1977  oc  the 

own  Boy  the 

delivered  as  a 

with 

films,  lingo,  etc, 

commentators  on  the  of  life  or  just 

caimy  media  t          pop  ft 

distinction  to  be 

meaningless),  the  won  a 

place  in  rock's  brave  new  wcyrict,  as  a 

influence  for  many. 

Produced  with  energetic  by  Eno, 

Devo's  first  album  is  the 

of  the  band's  nebulous  "Jocko  Homo/' 

"Mongoloid"   and   "Shrivel   Uptf  a  cold, 

assembly-line  jedtiness  to  drive  at- 

titudes and  post-modern  morality.  The  nervous 

energy  fuels  more  emotional  like  "  Uncontrol- 

lable Urge,*'  "Gut  Feeling,"  "Sloppy  (1  Saw  My 
Gettin*  ),* '  the  science-fiction  paranoia  of  *  'Space  Junk*  * 
and  a  hilariously  high-strung  (and  de-sexed)  version  of 
the  Rolling  Stones*  "Satisfaction,"  with  a  mecttanical- 
sounding  dram  beat  that  would  frizz  Charlie  Watts*  hair. 

Be  Stiff  collects  Devo's  two  indie  45s — four  tunes 
that  had  been  re-recorded  for  Are  We  Not  Men? — and 
the  third  single,  done  for  Stiff, 

The  second  full-length  album,  Duty  N©w  for  the 
Future  (produced  by  Ken  Scott),  doesn't  score  as  many 
bull's-eyes  as  the  first,  but  includes  two  Devo  anthems 
of  malaise,  "Blockhead"  and  *4S.I.B.  (Swelling  Itch- 
ing Brain)."  Amid  disturbing  signs  of  portentousDess, 
Devo  turns  their  bemused  eyes  to  the  mating  ritual  on 
"Strange  Pursuit,"  "Triumph  of  the  Will"  and  "Pink 
Pussycat." 

The  self-produced  Freedom  of  Choice  is  the  band's 
most  evocative  pairing  of  words  and  music.  Setting 
aside  metaphysical  foofaraw,  the  flowerpot-wearing 
fivesome  contrast  choppy  keyboard  licks  ("Girl  U 
Want,"  "It's  Not  Right/1  "Snowball")  and  ironic  but 
unalienated  perceptions  ("Gates  of  Steel/'  "Planet 
Earth,"  "Freedom  of  Choice**),  Their  tolerance  was 
rewarded  with  a  subversive  hit  single  from  the  LP, 
"Whip  It.'* 

Issued  to  milk  the  success  of  "Whip  It,"  Dev-o 
Live  is  thoroughly  redundant.  Five  of  the  six  songs, 
including  you-know-what  and  an  instrumental  version 
of  "Freedom  of  Choice,"  are  from  the  preceding  IP; 
only  "Be  Stiff*  is  new  to  album  buyers.  Hardly  a  jam- 
ming band,  Devo  live  sounds  just  like  Devo  in  the  stu- 
dio, except  maybe  a  bit  sloppier. 

Devo's  been  soft-pedaling  their  philosophy  (on 
record,  at  least)  since  Freedom  of  Choice's  break- 
through. Musically  they're  still  held  back  by  a  stunted 
sense  of  melody,  although  the  dance-rock  movement 
created  a  favorable  climate  for  a  rhythmic  orientation 
and  probably  led  to  Devo's  increasing  emphasis  on  a 
whomping  beat.  Unfortunately^  the  conducive  atmo- 
sphere coincided  with  reduced  artistic  ambition;  Devo 


185 


has  haif  as         as  M>  of  the 
first 

New  has  a              of 

("Love  Anger,"  **G«>iag  Un- 
der/* tie  World*') 
for  a           45  of  Lee  Dorset's  "Work- 
ing in  the  Mine/1          of  it,              is 

set  to  a  4,4 

thai  effort,  Devo 

to  the  Oh,  No!  It's  Dew,  point- 

fey  Roy  to  slow 

the  the  of  "Thai* s 

Good"  and  the  of  **Peek-a-Boo!"  are 

the  it. 

only  is  a  version  of 

the  liini  oldie,  "Are  You  Experienced?"'  Soag- 

(guitar/keyboards)  and 

are  evidently  going 

a  dry         of  proportions,  substituting 

for  the  that  used  to  keep 

as  well  as  Did  Devo  sue- 

to  its  own  devolution? 

*as  the  proper  for  years 

Shoot,  Otsale  and  the  Mothersbaughs 

active,  writing  and  performing  music  for  films 
and  I  including  Fee-wee's  Playhouse;  in  f  90, 

M.  time  with  the  theme  to  Davitf 

and  outside  projects.  Their  Los  An- 

(where  the  group  relocated  in  the  early  '80s)  re- 
cording studio  has  also  been  busy.  Under  the  Devo 
banner,  however,  the  only  music  to  surface  during  this 
era  was  tot  woefully  mistttled  E-Z  Listening  Disc— an 
hoar-plus  CD  containing  the  group's  smugly  straight- 
(and  barely  recognizable)  schlocky  instrumental 
remakes  of  nineteen  Devo  songs — originally  available 
on  the  mail-order-only  E-Z  Listening  cassettes. 

Retaining  to  active  duty  in  the  late  '80s,  the  group 
the  self-produced  Total  Devo,  the  most  notable 
aspect  of  which  (besides  the  replacement  of  drummer 
Alan  Myers  by  ex-Gleaming  Spue/Spark  David  Ken- 
drick)  is  its  simultaneous  four-format  release:  LP,  cas- 
sette, CD  and  digital  audio  tape  (DAT).  Otherwise,  it's 
little  more  than  a  timid  and  bland  imitation  of  the  count- 
less bands  Devo  inspired.  Lost  and  confused,  Devo  at- 
tempts to  sound  like  Human  League,  sings  of  being  a 
"Disco  Dancer"  with  far  too  little  irony  and  essays  a 
witless  cover  of  "Don't  Be  Cruel'1  that  reveals  a  rather 
profound  absence  of  humor.  (The  release  of  a  " Disco 
Dancer**  12-inch  with  "3  Ivan  Ivan  remixes  unavailable 
elsewhere"  underscores  just  how  far  the  once- visionary 
group  has  fallen.) 

Dead  in  the  water  and  sinking  fast,  Devo  cast  out 
Now  It  Can  Be  Told,  a  three-sided  live  album  recorded 
in  Los  Angeles  at  the  end  of  1988.  Lackluster,  impotent 
performances  turn  what  should  have  been  a  holding  ac- 
tion into  a  total  waste  of  time.  Kendrick's  unimagina- 
tively routine  drumming  derails  "Gut  Feeling*'  and 
"Satisfaction,"  while  a  drastically  revised  arrangement 
of  "Jocko  Homo"  turns  it  into  an  annoyingly  slow, 
acoustic  sway. 

The  appearance  of  a  song  called  "Devo  Has  Feel- 
ings Too"  on  Smooth  Noodle  Maps  might  have  prom- 
ised some  sort  of  cathartic  statement  about  the  group's 
mental  state,  but  the  lyrics  add  nothing  to  the  title.  Still, 


flic  to 

ifrith  less  and  suc- 

cess, the  hi-NRG  of  "When  We  Do 

It"  is  as  bad  as  in  De\o's 

is  not  without  its  moments. 

Maybe  it's  the  of  reduced  expectations ,  but  "Post 

Post-Modem  Man"  and  "Spin  the  Wheel"  have 
of  the  melodic  and  (if  not  the 

ironic  intelligence)  absent  from  Devo's  records. 
But  why  cover  "Morning  Dew"  in  sequencers  and 
rhythm  machines? 

The  home-brew  4-track  recordings  (many  of  songs 
that  have  never  surfaced  in  any  other  authorized  form) 
from  the  band's  formative  years  that  comprise  Hard- 
core demonstrate  how  strong  a  stylistic  foundation  Devo 
had  constructed  before  revealing  itself  to  the  world.  Be- 
sides the  Booji  Boy  versions  of' Satisfaction,"  "Mon- 
goloid," "Jocko  Homo"  and  "Social  Fools"  and  a  few 
half-baked  duds,  this  frequently  fascinating  document 
reveals  such  intriguing  castorfs  as  the  lyrically  twisted 
"Uglatto"  (Gene  Vincent  meets  Marc  Boian  in  the  next 
century),  "Stop  Look  and  Listen,"  the  boogie-happy 
"I'm  a  Potato"  and  "Buttered  Beauties." 

Serving  as  both  a  reminder  of  Devo's  past  greatness 
and  the  evident  futility  of  its  continued  existence,  a 
matching  pair  of  compilations  was  issued  at  the  end  of 
1990.  Rather  than  assemble  one  full-fledged  retrospec- 
tive, the  band  created  two  halves  mat  don't  add  up  to 
much,  for  real  fans  or  casual  spuds.  Cherrypicking  the 
early  albums,  finding  the  few  good  bits  in  the  later  ones 
and  then  adding  on  some  token  representatives  of  al- 
bums that  contain  nothing  of  merit,  Greatest  Hits  (the 
titular  reference  obviously  isn't  strictly  commercial) 
gathers  up  sixteen  tunes,  from  "Jocko  Homo"  and 
"Satisfaction"  through  a  remixed  version  of  Shout's 
"Here  to  Go."  Except  for  the  overly  generous  inclusion 
of  three  tracks  from  Oh,  No!,  the  selection  isn't  bad, 
but  anyone  owning  the  first  four  albums  can  skip  this 
package  without  missing  anything  significant. 

For  slightly  more  serious  Devophiles,  Greatest 
Misses  puts  together  early  LP  tracks  (some  of  which — 
"Blockhead,"  "S.I.B.,"  "Devo  Corporate  Anthem" 
— could  rationally  have  replaced  later  stinkers  on  the 
Hits  volume),  such  artifacts  as  the  Booji  Boy  singles  of 
"Be  Stiff"  and  "Mechanical  Man"  (a  minute  shorter 
than  the  version  on  Hardcore)  and  a  rude  1979  UK 
B-side,  "Penetration  in  the  Centerfold."  The  standard 
stuff  is  nice  but  redundant,  and  most  of  the  rarities  aren't 
rare  enough  (a  couple  of  them  are  on  Hardcore)  to 
make  this  record  a  necessity. 

Far  removed  from  his  work  in  Devo,  Mothers- 
baugh's  two  Muzik  for  Insomniaks  releases  consist  of 
simple  synthesizer  mstrumentals  selected  from  what  is 
evidently  a  massive  cache  of  similar  works.  (One  pre- 
sumes the  titles'  sleeplessness  refers  more  to  the  artist 
than  the  listener, )  That  many  of  these  peppy  exercises 
basically  sound  alike — some  on  Volume  I  pointedly 
suggest  Asian  musical  styles  and  others  take  a  jazzy 
turn,  but  none  would  sound  awfully  out  of  place  accom- 
panying the  Pee-wee's  Playhouse  credits — isn't  really  a 
hindrance,  although  two  volumes  is  really  one  too  many. 
Most  of  Mothersbaugh's  non-verbal  haikus  are  pleasant 
and  relaxing,  with  enough  compositional  backbone  to 
warrant  attention.  Each  volume  ends  with  an  audio  in- 
dex: a  brief  snippet  of  each  track. 


186 


The  is  a  of 

cover  versions,  of  and  tributes  to  Devo  sub- 

lo  an  LA  b>  a  of 

amateur  musiciuakers.  fsi/i] 


HOWARD  DEVOTO 

Jerky  Versions  of  the  Dream  (IRS)  1 983 

LUXURIA 

Unanswerable  Lust  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1988  • 
Beast  Box  (Beggars  Bonqyet-RCA)  1990  • 

Following  influential  and  estimable  careers  with  the 
Buzzcocks  and  Magazine,  singer/ writer  Devoto  contin- 
ued his  quest  for  independence  as  a  solo  artist.  Using 
Dave  Formula  and  Barry  Adamson  from  Magazine,  as 
well  as  other  players,  Devoto  offers  bis  idiosyncratic 
worldview  and  original  musical  outlook  on  ten  tones 
that  range  from  funky  ("Topless/'  "Way  Out  of 
Shape")  to  ethereal  ("Rainy  Season")  to  playful  ("I 
Admire  You*')  and  beyond.  Full  appreciation  of  Jerky 
Versions  of  the  Bream  requires  a  bit  of  forbearance 
and  effort,  but  few  artists  make  music  this  carefti!  and 
intelligent. 

Five  years  on,  Devoto's  next  project — Luxuria,  a 
duo  with  a  Liverpudlian  musician  known  as  Noko — 
leads  him  deep  into  the  waters  of  overbearing  preten- 
sion. On  Unanswerable  Lust,  his  lyrics  quote  Proust, 
spout  frangais,  mention  Rimbaud  and  announce  such 
silliness  as  4*I  am  the  street  where  you  live. "  Even  when 
the  music — an  unfocused  mix  of  acoustic  delicacy  and 
walloping  techno-dance  crud — takes  hold,  it's  swamped 
by  Devoto's  melodramatic  quaver. 

Beast  Box  has  a  higher  proportion  of  quality  tracks 
(credit  better  songwriting)  but  the  music  occasionally 
slips  into  a  dull  void,  despite  some  excellent  guitar  work 
by  Noko.  Worse,  Luxuria' s  dalliance  with  dance  beats 
(as  on  "The  Beast  Box  Is  Dreaming"  and  the  old  "Je- 
zebel") falls  flat.  But  Devoto's  specialty — spare,  turgid 
tundras — still  pervades  tracks  like  "Stupid  Blood," 
"Ticket"  and  "We  Keep  on  Getting  There,"  and  nu- 
merous quietly  dramatic  touches  lurk  in  the  album's 
shadows.  [i/jr] 

See  also  Buzzcocks,  Magazine. 

DEXY'S  MIDNIGHT  RUNNERS 

Searching  for  the  Young  Soul  Rebels  (EMI  America) 

1980« 
Don't  Stand  Me  Down  (Mercury)  1 985  « 

KEVIN  ROWLAND  AND  DEXYS 
MIDNIGHT  RUNNERS 

Too-Rye-Ay  (Mercury)  1 982  • 
Geno  (nr/EMI)  1983  +  1986  • 

KEVIN  ROWLAND 

The  Wanderer  (nr/Mercury)  1988  • 
Young  Man  EP  (nr/Mercury)  1 988  • 

BUREAU 

The  Bureau  (Atlantic)  1981 

Although  changing  Dexy's  from  a  nouveau 
American-soul  band  to  an  ethnic  Irish  folk  group  may 
make  singer/mastermind  Kevin  Rowland  seem  a  tad 
fickle,  his  singleminded  devotion  to  whatever  direction 
he  selects  gives  the  Birmingham  group's  first  two  al- 


bums tf  care  and  that 

for  the  Sod  by 

the  hmup,  the  di- 

rection new  *a\e  had  sn          and  '80,          be- 

fore SOE!  and 

from  soul  men  like  S*m  &          and 
Washington,  up  a 

of  that 

well  as  and 

the  enormous  of  thai 

it.  Searching  is  a  fine,  no  bad 

tracks. 

Following  a  with 

five  key- 

boardist Mick  split  with  him  at  the  end  of          "• 

and  formed  tie  Bureau, 

resources  with  singer/songwriter  Archie  Brown*  a  gui- 
tarist and  a  player.  re- 
building Dexys,  the  cm  an  LI* 
(produced  by  Pete  Wingfield)  that  has  some  of  the  old 
band's  signature  horn  rhythmic  but  not 
much  else  of  note. 

Too-Rye-Ay,  overalls  and  country  not- 

withstanding,  is  not  as  radically  at  its  core 

Searching  as  it  might  first  appear.  Fronting  a  totally 
new  band  (including  ex-Secret  Affair  drummer  Set* 
Shelton)  augmented  with  a  two-piece  and 

a  vocal  trio,  Rowland  retains  some  of  the  earlier 
horn  work  to  make  a  few  tracks  (one  a  spot-on  cover  of 
Van  Morrison's  ** Jackie  Wilson  Said")  sowid  a  to  like 
the  first  UP.  Elsewhere,  fiddles,  banjos,  accordion  and 
tin  whistle  take  over  to  make  jolly,  rollicking  jug  band 
fare — the  enormous  worldwide  hit  "Come  on  Eileen'1 
and  "The  Celtic  Soulbrothers,"  for  instance.  Other 
songs  mix  metaphors  and  become  something  more  in- 
describable. Although  a  truly  weird  smorgasbord,  the 
clever  melodies  and  arrangements  keep  it  consistently 
entertaining. 

Dexys*  only  album  release  in  either  19&3  or  1984 
was  Geno,  a  worthwhile  compilation  of  early  singles 
(A-  and  B-sides)  assembled  by  the  band's  former  label. 

To  everyone's  lasting  discredit,  the  band  didn't 
evaporate  then  and  there:  Don't  Stand  Me  Down  (for- 
ever to  be  recalled,  if  at  all,  as  the  ''accountants'*  al- 
bum due  to  yet  another  image  change,  this  time  into 
conservative  pinstripes)  is  a  torpid  snore  that  denies 
entertainment  on  every  level.  With  titles  like  "Knowl- 
edge of  Beauty"  and  "Reminisce  Part  Two,"  the 
seven  lengthy  songs  with  absurd  lyrics  aim  for  a  lit- 
erate Van  Morrison-like  looseness,  but  end  up  just 
falling  asleep  or  apart. 

As  if  Don't  Stand  Me  Down  hadn't  made  the  hair- 
line between  pop  prodigy  and  pretentious  twit  abun- 
dantly clear,  The  Wanderer  (credited  to  * 'Kevin 
Rowland  of  Dexys  Midnight  Runners,"  with  a  cover 
depicting  the  artist  as  a  mustachioed  dandy)  treads  that 
border  as  selfconsciously  as  ever.  Recorded  in  New 
York  with  MOR  fusion-jazz  specialist  Deodato  produc- 
ing, it's  a  fairly  restrained  collection  of  relatively  un- 
pretentious lounge-pop,  a  bit  samey  but  not  entirely 
without  charm,  Ironically,  these  songs  cry  out  for  the 
Big  Pop  treatment  that  Rowland  might  have  felt  more 
comfortable  giving  them  prior  to  the  critical  debacle  of 
Don't  Stand  Me  Down.  [i/hd] 


187 


1 989 

&&*{Fron)}*r)1990* 

fancy  or  this  Port- 

rock 

aid  with  youthful  en- 

and 

On  the  bat  not         convincing  debut, 

the  of  Jeremy  Wilson's  drawl  Mid 

Lowe's  sets  the 

on  a  between  noa- 

Byrdsy  R.E.M.  and  a 

the  i  guitar  attack 

(with  feedback),  the  first  album's 

in  an  uncut  rock  attack, 

are  tersely  effective  ("Pumpkinhead," 

"Par  Gone/'  "B-StiEg,"  the  countryfied  "A 

to  Be"  K  but  too  many  arc  tunelessly  below 

the  good*to-go  level  for  this  samey-saincliEg  record  to 

be  like  Its  title,  [i] 

BwyfWog  Is  Always  Alright  f Tefegropit  Hi}  1 987 

This  trio  from  the  Boston  area  might  have  had  the 
first,  but  it's  unlikely  that  their  LP  ever  got  dis- 
tributed much  beyond  Rhode  Island.  Owing  little  to  con- 
trends.  Everything  Is  Always  Alright  is  solid, 
post-pub  folk-rock  that  would  sorely  bring  a  smile  to  the 
lips  of  diehard  Brinsley  Schwarz  fans.  (All  six  of  'em.) 

[be] 

D.L 

Team  Goon  (Refect)  1 981  (Triple  X)  1 986  • 
Andent  Artifacts  (Reject)  1 984  (Triple  X)  1 986  * 
Horse  Mm  Dog  Cries  (Refect}  1 985  (Triple  X)  1 986  • 
What  Good  b  Grief  to  a  God  (Triple  X)  1988  • 
Tragedy  Again  (Triple  X)  1 989  * 

Like  other  bored  suburban  youths  in  Southern  Cal- 
ifornia, Orange  County's  D.L  voices  disgust  with  a  stag- 
nant society  through  sarcastic  humor,  cynicism  and 
punk's  tension-relieving  pace.  Despite  a  revolving-door 
lineup  that,  for  a  time,  featured  Adolescents  guitarist 
Rikk  Agnew,  DJ.'s  general  sound — propulsive  melo- 
dies, careening  guitars  and  snide  upfront  vocals  by  Ca- 
sey Royer — has  remained  fairly  constant. 

Team  Goon  finds  Royer,  Agnew  and  future  guitar- 
ist John  Bosco  (here  on  bass)  delivering  an  open-palmed 
critique  of  the  '80s  degeneration,  "Nuclear  Funeral" 
inserts  Biatran  spoken  satire,  while  "Venus  De  Milo" 
and  the  ironically  understated  "Richard  Hung  Himself" 
(a  song  D.L  contributed  to  Penelope  Spheeris'  wasted- 
youth  movie,  Suburbia,  in  1984)  both  discuss  suicide. 
The  1986  reissue  adds  three  songs;  the  CD  includes  a 
rendition  of  Devo's  "Uncontrollable  Urge," 

Ancient  Artifacts  has  thin  production  and  uneven 
material,  but  manages  to  come  through  powerfully  in 
spots.  While  "(I  Hate)  Surfin'  in  H.B."  is  merely  a 
teenage  whine,  "Spiritual  Law"  unplugs  the  TV  gen- 
eration's vacuous  culture,  and  "Hang  Ten  in  East  Ber- 
lin" brings  subtle  harmonies  into  play.  (The  cassette 
and  CD  tack  on  a  batch  of  live  tracks,  including  a  cover 
of  the  Adolescents'  "Kids  of  the  Black  Hole.") 


The  Dog  Cries  I  which 

of  "Hang  Ten"  and  "Spiritual  Law" ) 

best  D.l.'s  intensity.  "Living  in  the 

U.S.A."  jabs  at  the  nation's  bleakest  qualities,  while 

"Johnny's  Got  i  Problem"  portrays  a  troubled  youth 
to  explode.  The  lightning  tempo  on  "Youth  in 
Asia*'  the  vocals'  robotic  repetition,  a  contrast  to 

the  "oh-ofa"  chorus  in  "Pervert  Nurse."  The 

CD  and  cassette  add  "Bedrock." 

With  Royer  and  guitarist  Bosco  as  D.L f  s  core,  What 
Good  Is  Grief  t©  a  God  intermittently  maintains 
Horse's  song  quality  but  is  elsewhere  lackluster.  "No 
Mistakes"  shakes  a  clenched  fist  at  the  world;  "Girl 
Scout  Camp"  again  rings  with  Jello-like  satire.  Overall, 
it's  a  good  record  impaired  by  predictable  songwriting 
and  guitarist  Mark  Cemeka's  unimaginative  solos.  The 
cassette  and  CD  add  "She's  Obscene";  the  CD  also 
boasts  a  remake  of  "Johnny's  Got  a  Problem." 

If  nothing  else,  Tragedy  Again  (which  throws  "On 
Our  Way,"  an  odd  '60s  hippie  send-up,  into  the  usual 
hydrospeed  attack)  vouches  for  the  band's  stamina.  Bo- 
nus track:  "Cocktail  Flu."  [mg| 

DIAGRAM  BROTHERS 

Some  Marveb  of  Modem  Science  (nr/New  Hormones) 

1981 
Discordo  45  EP  f  nr/New  Hormones)  1 982 

Something  like  XTC  (but  lacking  their  musical 
smarts  or  stellar  wit),  the  Diagram  Brothers — of  the 
Manchester  art-noise  family  encircling  the  Buzzcocks* 
New  Hormones  label — play  dissonant  weirdness  with 
lyrics  about  current  events.  Song  titles  pretty  much  say 
it  all:  "Isn't  It  Interesting  How  Neutron  Bombs  Work," 
"I'm  a  Policeman,"  "I  Didn't  Get  Where  I  Am  Today 
by  Being  a  Right  Git."  While  the  poorly  produced  mu- 
sic only  hints  at  talent  hidden  behind  the  quartet's  anti- 
music  self-indulgence,  it's  actually  the  four-sheet  insert, 
containing  detailed  fold-cut-paste  directions  for  assem- 
bly into  a  portfolio  about  the  record,  that  evinces  real 
cleverness. 

The  10-inch  EP  adds  four  more  episodes  of  whim- 
sical wordplay  ("I  would  like  to  make/A  special 
toast/To  my  new  toaster")  and  more  appealing  instru- 
mental oddity  (do  I  hear  a  tuba?)  to  the  Diagram  Broth- 
ers* legend.  [i] 

DICKIES 

The  Incredible  Shrinking  Dickies  (A&M)  1979  « 
Down  of  the  Dickies  (A&M)  1 979  * 
Stukos  Over  Disneyland  (PVC)  1 983  (Restless)  1 988  • 
We  Aren't  the  World!  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 986 

[CD]  (ROIR-Rebtivity)  1990  4> 
Killer  Klowns  EP  (Enigma)  1 988  • 
Great  Dictations  (A&M)  1989  • 
Second  Coming  (Enigma)  1989  • 

For  some  reason,  the  lovable  Dickies — a  Mad 
magazine-flavored  punk  self-parody — never  endeared 
themselves  to  as  large  an  international  cult  as  the  Ra- 
mones  have.  Perhaps  this  mob  of  San  Fernando  Valley 
zanies  has  always  been  too  unserious  and  knowing  of 
their  own  idiocy,  while  their  New  York  counterparts 
may  well  be  playing  it  straight.  (That's  cooler,  appar- 
ently.) 


188 


The  Incredible  Shrinking  is  a         of  late- 

f7Qs  hyperactive  California  punk.  But  while  such 
bands  display  surly  conviction,  giddy  good  humor  dom- 
inates here.  Seven  of  the  thirteen  tracks  clock  ia  at 
two  minutes  each, and  everything  sounds  the  same,  from 
covers  of  "Eve  of  Destruction,"  the  Monkees*  "She" 
and  Black  Sabbaths  "Paranoid"  to  originals  like 
"Mental  Ward"  and  "Rondo  {The  Midget's  Re* 
venge)." 

On  Dawn  of  Hie  Dickies,  the  title  of  which,  like 
that  of  its  predecessor,  alludes  to  a  junk-movie  classic, 
something  wonderful  happens:  the  Dickies  get  genu- 
inely good.  By  slowing  down  the  tempo  a  half  step 
and  coming  up  with  strong  melodies,  guitarist  Stan 
Lee  and  crew  manage  to  reel  off  one  maniacally 
catchy  gem  after  another.  The  pop-culture  slant  is  the 
same  as  before  (check  the  delirious  "Manny,  Moe  and 
Jack"  and  "Attack  of  the  Mole  Men"),  and  the  mood 
is  equally  flippant,  but  this  is  a  record  with  staying 
power, 

After  a  prolonged  absence,  the  boys  next  popped 
back  into  view  with  a  frisky  eight-song  mini-album. 
Half  of  Stukas  Over  Disneyland  dates  from  1980,  and 
includes  a  delightfully  garbled  version  of  Led  Zeppe- 
lin's "Communication  Breakdown."  The  high  point  of 
the  remaining  tracks  (cut  around  1983)  is  "Pretty  Please 
Me,"  a  power-pop  pearl.  Not  a  work  of  demented  ge- 
nius like  Dawn,  but  damn  good  fun. 

More  oddities  and  endities  can  be  found  on  We 
Aren't  the  World!,  21  doses  of  live  Dickiedom  re- 
corded between  1978  and  1985,  plus  the  raw  four-song 
demo  from  '77  that,  according  to  Lisa  Fancher's  bellig- 
erent liner  notes,  got  them  signed  to  A&M.  Although 
the  recording  quality  is  as  varied  as  the  locales,  this  is  a 
potent  dose  for  fans  of  chaotic  smartassitude. 

In  1988,  amid  endless  touring,  an  apparently  re- 
charged (and  realigned)  Dickies  returned  with  a  five- 
song  EP  built  around  the  theme  song  for  the  cheesy 
sci-fi  comedy  Killer  Klownsfrom  Outer  Space.  Included 
on  this  fun  (if  less  than  inspired)  release  is  a  gimmicky 
remake  of  Jet  Screamer's  Jetsons  rockabilly  classic 
"Eep  Opp  Ork  (Uh,  Uh),"  one  more  item  in  the  Dick- 
ies' ever-expanding  catalogue  of  daffy  covers.  That 
same  year,  Restless  reissued  Stukas  with  three  addi- 
tional songs,  including  the  long-unavailable  "Gigan- 
tor." 

Concurrent  with  the  release  of  the  first  new  Dickies 
album  in  years,  the  group's  old  label  unleashed  Great 
Dictations,  a  haphazard  collection  of  hard-to-find  sin- 
gles and  tracks  from  the  first  two  LPs. 

Although  hindered  by  overly  fussy  production  and  a 
worthless,  atypically  straight  rendition  of  Gene  Pitney* s 
"Town  Without  Pity/'  Second  Coming  (only  the 
band's  third  full-length  studio  effort  in  ten  years)  con- 
tains a  solid  dose  of  typical  nuttiness.  A  shaggy  cover  of 
"Hair"  opens  the  record  on  an  up  note  which  continues 
through  such  comic-pop  gems  as  *  'Cross-Eyed  Tammy'  * 
and  "Dummy  Up."  Even  "Goin*  Homo,"  the  normally 
lighthearted  band's  sole  detour  into  wrongheaded  cru- 
dity, is  a  lowbrow  hoot.  Oddly,  the  album  repeats  two 
Killer  Klowns  tracks  (one  improved  by  the  addition  of 
guest  dialogue  from  singer  Leonard  Phillips'  mom). 
While  hardly  the  promised  resurrection,  Second  Com- 
ing is  still  a  perfectly  (dis)respectable  showing  from  one 
of  our  national  treasures,  Qy/i/db] 


JAMES  LUTHER  DICKINSON 

See 

live  of  Cktb  Cftof 

DICKS 

IGil  from  Hie  Heart  |SST| 

Th«e  People  1 9S5 

Sster  HappincM  fSSTJ  1988  * 

Much  of  the  Kcks*  CM 

ingly  be  described  as  yet  Gary 

Floyd's  mongrel  Texas          howl  and 
hooky  snippets  certainly  (see  Live  at 

Raul's  "Hate  Police,"  also  a$  the  Dicks*  first 

single    and    later   covered    by    Mudhoney).    Tfe«e 
Peopfe — recorded  following  a  shift 

by  the  Austin  band  moving  to  San  Francisco  and 
everyone  but  Floyd  moving  back — displays  i  massive 
power  shift  into  amphetamine  blues  territory,  still  rid- 
dled with  hardcore  violence  but  also  wood, 
pacing  and  proficiency.  Including  a  m«fa~impK>Yed 
tune  from  the  live  album  the  quartet  shared  with  the  Big 
Boys,  it  qualifies  IB  retrospect  as  one  of  the 
in  punk's  metallic  boomerang  at  the  end  of  the  '80s. 

Changing  name  and  personnel  to  further  escape  the 
limitations  of  their  past,  Sister  Double  Happiness  elab- 
orates on  all  of  the  band's  previous  trends,  kit  bluesier, 
more  melodic,  more  metallic  and  more  enduring. 
Heavily  steeped  in  booze  and  depression  and  including 
a  serious  and  sensitive  examination  of  AIDS  and  its 
distancing  mystique,  the  debut  was  also  a  farewell,  as 
the  band  broke  up  soon  after;  in  spiritual  disarray,  Gary 
Floyd  exited  music  altogether.  After  a  successful  re- 
union gig  in  1990,  however,  the  band  (with  yet  anote 
bassist)  released  a  mediocre  Sub  Pop  45  pairing  a  non- 
descript hard  rocker  with  a  tastier,  simplified  bottleneck 
blues;  an  LP  on  SST  was  announced  for  the  following 
year.  [ab] 

See  also  Frightwig. 

DICTATORS 

The  Dictators  Go  Girl  Crazyl  (Epic)  1975  • 

Manifest  Destiny  (Asylum)  1 977 

Bloodbrothers  (Asylum)  1978 

Fuck  'Em  If  They  Can't  Take  a  Joke  [tape]  (RON*)  1 981 

(Fr.  Danceteria)  1991  • 

Considering  that  the  first  Dictators  album  came  out 
in  1975,  scads  of  credit  is  due  these  hearty  pre-punk 
New  Yorkers  for  blazing  a  trail,  melding  junk  culture — 
wrestling,  fast  food,  TV,  beer,  cars,  scandal  sheets — 
with  loud/hard/fast  rock'n'roll  and  thus  creating  an 
archetype  that  has  been  adopted  and  adapted  by  count- 
less other  bands.  Although  originally  formed  as  a  re- 
sponse to  the  MC5,  Flamin  Groovies  and  the  Stooges, 
the  Dictators  wound  up  playing  a  similarly  crucial  and 
inspirational  role  to  the  generations  that  followed  them. 

Although  wavering  wildly  in  terms  of  style  and 
track-to-track  consistency,  all  four  of  the  band's  albums 
(including  the  posthumous  live  tape)  are  great.  As  pro- 
tege^ of  genius  music  journalist  Richard  Meltzer,  the 
Dictators  helped  translate  a  lot  of  intellectual  Random's 


189 


lackVroirs  pos- 
into 

The  as  i  Waste- 

land (vocals*  tows), 

the  Ems,  Scott  "Top  Ten"* 
and  Stu  Boy  King  i  drums), 

Cnzy-rcMdie-tunied-CTatzy-singer  DicSc  Man- 

was  in  for  the  cover 

of  their  first  IP.  01  of  the  and  was 

in  the  as  "secret  weapon."  Produced  by 

the  Krugsnan  responsible 

few  the  Bine  Oyster  Cult,  The  Go  Girl  Crazy! 

Is  a  wickedly  fonoy,  and  hopelessly 

of  self-indulgent  rock'n'roll, 

thai  could  the  major-label 

I  as  if  were  as  alternative  at  the  time )  they 
The  has  covers  (*'I  Got  You 

Babe/'  "California  Sun")  that  unravel  history*  Sher- 
noff  of  "Teengenerate"  life,  the  Manitoba  signa- 
ture I  "Two  Tub  Man" )  and  even  MI  original  surf- 
rock:  "(I  Live  for)  Cars  and  Girls."  An  absolute 
doomed  to  utter  commercial  oblivion. 

Immediately  after  the  album's  release,  King  took  a 
and  various  troubles  besef  the  band,  resulting  in  a 
two-year  delay  before  a  follow-up  was  issued.  By  then, 
Manitoba  had  become  the  fulltime  vocalist,  drummer/ 
singer  Ritchie  Teeter  had  come  on  board  and  bassist 
Mark  "The  Animal"  Mendoza  had  joined,  allowing 
Shemoff  to  switch  from  bass  to  keyboards.  Although 
the  sonic  quality  was  mortally  damaged  in  the  original 
mastering  (and  a  CD  reissue  has  yet  to  appear),  Man- 
ifest Destiny  conies  across  with  another  helping  of  bril- 
liant Sheraoff  songs  like  "Steppin*  Out/'  "Science 
Gone  Too  Far!'1  and  "Sleepin*  with  the  TV  On,"  plus 
t  stunning  rip  through  the  Stooges'  "Search  and  De- 
stroy/* The  musical  approach  is  less  tongue-in-cheek 
and  sounds  nearly  adult,  but  any  band  fronted  by  Man- 
itoba could  hardly  fall  prey  to  rock-star  pretension. 

Falling  in  with  novelist  Richard  Price,  the  Dies  made 
some  concessions  on  Bloodbrothers  in  a  last-ditch  at- 
tempt to  torn  the  band  into  a  commercially  viable  prop- 
osition, Mendoza  had  already  left  for  greener  metal 
pastures  (specifically  Twisted  Sister);  the  five-man 
lineup  sent  Shemoff  back  to  bass.  Despite  the  band's 
halfhearted  attempt  to  sell  out,  the  record  has  its  share  of 
great  tracks — a  heartfelt  love  song  ( "Stay  with  Me"),  a 
tribute  to  Meltzer  ("Borneo  Jimmy"),  a  seamy  tale  of 
teenage  prostitution  ("Minnesota  Strip")  and  an  elec- 
tric statement  of  purpose  ("Faster  and  Louder,"  an  ex- 
pansion on  the  previous  album's  "Young,  Fast, 
Scientific").  A  blinding  cover  of  the  Flamin  Groovies' 
"Slow  Death"  closes  the  album,  putting  a  lid  on  the 
Dictators  studio  days  and,  shortly  thereafter,  the  band  as 
well. 

A  few  reunion  gigs  played  around  the  New  York 
area  in  late  1980  and  early  '81  resulted  in  the  album- 
length  live  cassette,  which  finds  the  group  in  fine  form, 
with  Manitoba  doing  a  riotous  star  turn  as  singer,  ring- 
leader and  MC.  The  Dictators  played  a  tenth  anniver- 
sary reunion  concert  in  New  York  in  January  1986  and 
another  show  the  following  year.  By  that  point,  Top  Ten 
had  formed  the  Del-Lords;  Manitoba  and  Shernoff  have 
continued  working  together  in  Manitoba's  Wild  King- 
dom, [i] 

See  also  Del-Lords,  Manitoba's  Wild  Kingdom. 


WDJITS 

Bcun-Towch  one!  Go)  1986 
H«y  (Touch  ond  Go)  1 988  • 

Home!  {Touch  and  Go)  1990  • 

Full  Rely  fTcxich  owl  Go)  1991  • 

Give  a  kid  a  guitar  and  a  mic,  and  watch 

out.  This  Champaign,  Illinois,  trio  blurts  intelligent 
dumbness  over  thrashy  midtempo  rock  with  an  above- 
average  cfaordal  backbone.  Showing  more  enthusiasm 
than  concern  for  musical  precision,  singer/guitarist  Rick 
Sims  praises  "Wingtips"  while  poking  fun  at  Jerry  Lee 
Lewis  and  * 'California  Surf  Queen"  on  Fizqob,  co- 
produced  by  Iain  Burgess.  The  album's  one-take  rough- 
ness suits  the  off-the-cuff  lyrics;  while  Sims'  rhythm 
guitar  playing  has  room  to  develop,  he  does  show  plenty 
of  hyperactive  promise. 

The  Didjits  ramped  up  the  velocity,  focus  and  fe- 
rocity for  Hey  jEdester.  Amid  a  sharply  defined  rock 
powerdrive  (drummer/brother  Brad  Sims  gets  the  most- 
improved  star),  Rick  sings  (the  surly  "Dad"),  shouts 
("Max  Wedge")  and  shrieks  (a  frantic  freakout  cover 
of  Little  Richard's  "Lucille,"  to  which  he  adds  key- 
busting  piano)  increasingly  demento  lyrics.  A  powerful 
dose  of  Midwest  madness  (the  fishing  songs  are  price- 
less) that  packs  a  serious  punch.  The  CD  contains  Fizz- 
job  as  a  bonus. 

Hornet  Pmata  is  a  slamming  melody-rock  UP 
that — except  for  the  vocals — belies  the  Didjits'  jokey 
beginnings.  Sims*  decisive  guitar  work  shoots  spears 
with  stunning  velocity  and  intensity  as  the  pounding 
rhythm  section  deftly  keeps  pace.  While  most  of  the 
blitzed-out  songs  concern  automotive  topics  (from 
*'Evel  Kneivel"  to  "Gold  Eldorado"),  the  'Jits  stop  to 
cover  the  MC5  ("Call  Me  Animal")  with  considerable 
skill  and  Jimi  Hendrix  ("Foxey  Lady")  with,  er,  en- 
thusiasm (and  car  sounds).  [i] 

DIED  PRETTY 

Died  Pretty  EP  far/What  Goes  On)  1 984 

Next  to  Nothing  EP  (What  Goes  On)  1 985 

Free  Dirt  (What  Goes  On)  1 986 

Pre-Deity  (Aus.  Citadel)  1988 

Lost  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1989  • 

Every  Brilliant  Eye  {Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1 990  • 

There  aren't  many  bands  whose  names  convey  their 
sound  as  accurately  as  Australia's  Died  Pretty.  The  cou- 
pling of  dark  and  hard-hewn  guitar  chords  with  light  and 
lilting  jangles  make  the  Sydney  quintet's  records  both 
delicately  pretty  and  devastatingly  loud  (not  at  the  same 
time).  TThat  contrast  and  the  interplay  between  scream 
and  shiver  is  what  gives  Died  Pretty  its  appeal.  One 
moment  Ronald  S.  Peno  is  screeching  like  he's  tried  on 
Robert  Plant's  too-tight  pants,  the  next  he's  got  the  voice 
of  Jim  Morrison  calling  from  the  grave.  The  band  like- 
wise essays  both  the  cat-mating  squeals  of  post-Hendrix 
guitar  with  sinister  horns  and  crashing  cymbals  and  a 
delicate  church  organ  picking  out  a  melody  as  their 
voices  meld  into  a  vanilla  smooth  background  chorus. 

The  Died  Pretty  12-inch  is  a  compilation  of  their 
first  two  45s,  "Out  of  the  Unknown"  and  "Mirror 
Blues."  The  four-song  Next  to  Nothing,  Died  Pretty's 
debut  US  release,  does  not  contain  the  song  of  that 
name — it's  on  Free  Dirt.  The  highly  recommended 
album — which  contains  glimmers  of  the  '60s,  Dylan, 


190 


Gram  Parsons,  folk-rock  and  fteo-psyctafelic — uses 
guest  contributions  of  mandolin,  violin*  pedal  and 
sax  to  magnify  the  band*  s  OWE  essential  variety 

Lost  opens  with  two  glorious  pop  tunes  that  give 
way  to  the  usual  slate  of  heart- wrenching  acoustic  num- 
bers ( *  *  As  Must  Have"  f  and  pommeling  rockers  ( * '  Wtn- 
terland,"  complete  with  introductory  gob).  Sparkling 
production  by  ex-Radio  Birdman  Rob  Younger  helps 
put  across  the  alternately  delicate  and  roaring  songs. 
Tins  is  the  work  of  a  band  that,  in  a  perfect  world, 
would  rale  the  album-rock  airwaves 

Died  Pretty  went  LA  (sort  of)  on  Every  Brilliant 
Eye,  replacing  its  longtime  bassist  and  keyboardist  and 
hooking  up  with  producer  Jeff  Eyrich  (Legal  Weapon, 
Rank  and  File).  But  as  the  nine  tracks  attest,  a  change  of 
scenery  didn't  dilute  the  band's  power.  In  particular, 
"The  Underbelly"  (all  sprawling  six-plus  minutes  of  it) 
seems  a  perfect  summarization  of  this  fine  record's 
sound:  imagine  Ian  Curtis  fronting  Crazy  Horse.  That 
the  cuts  on  the  two  most  recent  albums  are  practically 
interchangeable  is  the  mark  of  either  an  astonishingly 
consistent  band  or  one  caught  in  a  creative  rat.  One 
would  like  to  imagine  the  former.  [fe/db] 

DIE  HAUT 

See  (Die)  Haul. 


DIE  KREUZEN 

Cows  and  Beer  EP  (Version  Sound)  1 982 
Die  Kreuzen  (Touch  and  Go)  1 984  • 
October  File  (Touch  and  Go)  1 986  • 
Century  Days  (Touch  and  Go)  1988  • 
Gone  Away  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989 

Milwaukee's  Die  Kreuzen  is  simultaneously  one  of 
the  most  thrilling  and  conservative  exponents  of  Amer- 
ican hardcore.  While  many  quality  thrash  bands  have 
escaped  the  genre's  brutally  circumscribed  conventions 
by  delving  into  metal,  psychedelia,  funk  or  bohemian- 
ism,  this  quartet  plays  punk  strictly  by  the  book.  Cows 
and  Beer,  a  six-song  7-inch  debut  (all  of  which  is  re- 
prised on  Die  Kreuzen),  contains  such  numbers  as 
"Hate  Me,"  "Pain"  and  "In  School."  Although  well- 
played,  the  music  of  these  brief  songs  is  as  familiar  as 
the  titles. 

On  the  first  LP,  armed  with  an  antagonistic  attitude 
and  a  predilection  for  velocity,  the  band  bums  through 
21  explosive  songs  (riffs,  really)  that  are  interchange- 
able but  not  redundant.  The  primary  ingredient,  hyper- 
kinetic  energy,  remains  constant  throughout  Die 
Kreuzen,  but  the  riffs  are  all  different  and  uncommonly 
well-articulated.  As  loud  and  fast  as  these  guys  are, 
their  playing  remains  crisp.  (Dan  KubinskTs  vocals, 
however,  are  utterly  unintelligible.  What  works  for 
Couch  Flambeau  doesn't  fit  so  well  here.) 

October  File  pushes  the  envelope  a  bit,  diverting 
the  thrash  energy  into  slower,  more  conceptual  outpour- 
ings. (It's  still  loud,  raunchy  rock,  but  few  of  the  four- 
teen songs  could  be  characterized  as  hardcore.)  While 
Kubinski's  impassioned  shrieking  binds  the  quartet  to  a 
limited  realm,  the  other  members — especially  guitarist 
Brian  Egeness  and  bassist  Keith  Brammer — seem  to 
have  other  musical  directions  in  mind.  (Indeed,  the  lat- 
ter joined  the  more  intentionally  abrasive  Wreck  in 


1 989 . 1  EUe  and  We  on 

a  CD. 

With  Kubinskf  s  off-key  still  a 

frequent  seven! 

OR  Century  Pays,  an  of  dy- 

namic aid  As  the  band's  placing 

has  grown  into  an  and  powerful  noise,  the 

ability  to  do          things—like  for  the 

acoustic  plaint  of  * 'These  Days'*        tbe 
textures  of  **SSow"  ion  which  Ket>insb*s  is 

perfectly  fine),  or  deliver  a  kick,  as  in 

"Elizabeth"-— has  emerged.  Several  even  put 

the  curtain  to  reveal  horns  and 

The  Gone  Awty  12-iacb  has  two 
(on  a  45  rpm  side)  of  measured  rock  and  (on  the  33  rpm 
reverse)  five  liveVloud  trades —  Cen- 

tury Days  numbers — also  recorded  in  January  1989, 

See  also  Wreck.  [jf/i] 

DIE  WA1ZAU 

Disco  Rlgtdo  (rkfon^oiyGram)  1989  » 

The  Chicago  duo  of  Van  Chn&toe  and  Jay  Marcus 
possesses  a  wide  range  of  stylistic  interests  (fee  former 
has  a  guitar-rock  background;  both  have  experience  in 
house  and  techno  music  and  a  fondness  for  samples, 
industrial  percussion  and  a  pounding  dance  beat),  all  of 
which  come  together  on  the  promising  Disco  Rigkto. 
Though  the  opening  song  "Welcome  to  America**  im- 
mediately announces  "This  is  a  racist  nation,"  the 
group's  political  agenda  never  gets  in  the  way  of  the 
fun.  Melody  is  minimal;  vocal  tracks  like  "Jackham- 
mer"  and  "Strike  to  the  Body"  tend  to  involve  the 
shouted  repetition  of  simple  phrases  (a  la  Nitzer  Ebb), 
Die  Warzau's  forte  is  pure  rhythm  and  samples,  and  the 
album  offers  up  many  inspired  examples,  including 
"Free  Radio  Africa"  and  **Y  Tagataen  Situ."  (The  CD 
and  cassette  contain  six  bonus  tracks. )  ftf ] 

DIFFORD  &  TILBROOK 

See  Squeeze. 

DIP  JUZ 

Huramics  EP  (nr/4AD)  1981  • 
Vibrating  Air  EP  (nr/4AD)  1981  * 
Who  Says  So  EP  (nr/Red  Flame)  1983 
Extractions  (nr/4AD)  1985  • 
Out  of  the  Trees  (nr/4AD)  1 986 

The  cover  of  Huremics  offers  no  information  what- 
soever about  this  British  quartet;  the  disc  consists  of 
four  obliquely  titled  mood-setting  improvisational 
guitar/drums/bass  instrumentals.  Vibrating  Air  contin- 
ues the  enigmatic  graphic  pose  and  style,  featuring  four 
new  diminutive  atmospherics.  While  not  exactly  capti- 
vating fare,  these  slight  records  are  actually  quite  nice 
and  seem  custom-made  for  scratch  mixes,  or  for  use  as 
backing  tracks  of  unwritten  songs.  Who  Says  So  con- 
tains a  third  quartet  of  pieces. 

The  Cocteau  Twins  help  out  on  the  full-length  Ex- 
tractions LP.  Robin  Guthrie  produced,  and  liz  Frasei 
became  the  first  vocalist  on  a  Dif  Juz  record.  With  the 
addition  of  prominent  keyboards  and  sax,  it's  not  as 
ambient  as  prior  work,  shooting  instead  for  a  big,  ech- 


191 


oey  not  Minds,  As  an 

Dif  Juz         be  not  to  fall  into  the  nice- 

sound-few-ideas  top.  They  get  by  on  but 

just  barely. 

Out  of  the  Trees  in  its  original 

form  with  a  partially  re-recorded  land  entirely  remixed) 
version  of  Vibrating  Air.  [i/dgs) 

SEX 

Essence  f  Post-Ambient  Motion}  1 985 

Essence  &  Cterm  {CDJ  fir.  Sordid®  Sentiroentel)  1 986  • 

Eyes  of  the  fir,  N«w  ROM)  1 990  f Emigre) 

1990* 

Working  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  music  world's 
stylistic  hotspots,  this  Omaha,  Nebraska,  trio  recasts  the 
art-rock  of  recent  English  progressives  (the  Du- 
rutti  Column  and  Eyeless  in  Gaza  come  to  mind)  and  the 
gentler  side  of  Ultravox-y  techno-pop  with  unpreten- 
tious Midwest  sincerity  and  small-scale  forthiightness. 
Essence  offers  nine  diverse  songs  tastefully  crafted  in 
shifting  instrumental  permutations  of  Dereck  Higgins 
(bass,  keyboards,  drams t  guitar),  John  Tingle  (guitar) 
and  Steve  Sfaeehan  (vocals,  keyboards).  Although  col- 
orless at  times,  the  excellently  played  material  is  sooth- 
ing and  substantial,  and  occasionally  quite  pretty. 

The  nlneteen-track  Essence  &  Charm  CD  includes 
the  LP,  both  sides  of  a  mediocre  1983  single,  one 
slightly  Devoesque  Sheehan  solo  effort  and  another  al- 
bum's worth  of  previously  unreleased  material  that  lacks 
the  earlier  work's  appealing  tastefulness.  While  some  of 
the  songs  merely  overheat  the  guitar-rock  (drummer 
Kevin  Kennedy  is  no  smoothie),  things  really  nosedive 
on  the  Cure-accented  * 'Without  Hesitation,"  which  in- 
explicably contains  the  sound  of  someone  belching. 

PI 


DIGITAL  UNDERGROUND 

Sex  Packets  (Tommy  Boy)  1 990  • 

Tbk  Is  on  E.P.  Release  EP  (Tommy  Boy)  1 990  <f> 

While  Digital  Underground's  debut  album — much 
of  it  a  sustained  conceptual  fantasy  about  safe  sex- 
substitate  drags — isn't  as  consistently  entertaining  as 
the  wonderful  singles  ("Doowutchyalike"  and  "The 
Humpty  Dance*')  it  contains,  this  Hghthearted  Bay  Area 
crew  led  by  the  charismatic  Shock-G  does  offer  more 
brain-tickling  wit  than  any  other  rap  band  around.  Over 
insinuating  party  tracks  assembled  from  melodic  rock 
and  soul  samples  (as  well  as  original  piano-borne  mu- 
sic), the  group  creates  its  own  land  and  lingo  with  true 
left-field  originality.  While  the  Underground  has  the  in- 
genuity and  charm  to  make  even  plain  creations  worth 
hearing,  numbers  that  feature  Shock-G's  alter-ego 
Humpty  Hump  (a  joke- voiced  Groucho  Marx-mask 
character  with  a  winning  line  in  self-promotion)  deliv- 
ering his  grin-inducing  stream  of  intricate  wordplay  are 
simply  amazing. 

This  Is  an  E.P.  Release  remixes  "The  Way  We 
Swing"  and  "Packet  Man"  from  the  LP,  adding  two 
excellent  new  tracks  (the  safe-sex/universal  harmony 
"Same  Song"  and  the  fear-of-matrimony  "Tie  the 
Knot")  from  the  soundtrack  of  Nothing  but  Trouble  (the 
EP  cites  the  disastrous  1991  film  in  which  the  Under- 


ground by  its  working  title,  Valkemvmia),  an 

amusing  ("Nuttin*  Nis  Funky")  and  a  silly  his- 

torical between  Shock-G  and  Humpty  Hump  en- 

titled "Arguin'  on  the  Funk."  [i] 

DILS 

Live!  (Hold-Triple  X)  1987 
Tbe  Oils  (Lost)l  990 

That  the  Oils'  first  LP  or  EP  (and  first  12-inch) 
would  come  out  seven  years  after  the  group  called  it 
quits  should  serve  as  a  reminder  how  comparatively 
small  and  ineffectual  the  independent  record  scene  was 
in  the  late  '70s.  Although  the  now-legendary  Dils  were 
one  of  the  best  and  largest-drawing  West  Coast  punk 
groups  of  the  original  '77-'80  punk  explosion,  they  re- 
leased only  three  7-inch  singles  during  four  years  of 
existence. 

The  trio  played  90-second  primal-scream  maximum 
punk  ditties  with  fiery  politics  (a  real  rarity  in  '77  Los 
Angeles);  Army  brat  brothers  Chip  and  Tony  Kinman 
topped  them  off  with  Everlyesque  harmonies.  Culled 
from  two  cassette  recordings,  the  sound  on  the  posthu- 
mous Live!  is  hotter  than  most  bootlegs,  and  the  album 
offers  a  parade  of  neo-classics:  "I  Hate  the  Rich," 
"Class  War"  and  an  incredibly  improved  (slowed 
down)  "You're  Not  Blank."  (Fans  will  also  recognize 
"The  Sound  of  the  Rain,"  a  Dils  single  the  Kinmans 
re-recorded  for  the  second  Rank  and  File  LP.)  As  John 
Silvers,  the  longest-running  of  four  drummers  who 
served  with  the  pair,  makes  his  vinyl  debut  here,  even 
the  material  that's  familiar  from  the  singles  (about  half) 
sounds  tighter  and  more  powerful.  Rarely  has  a  histor- 
ical document  seemed  so  timely  or  so  current. 

Side  One  of  the  second  posthumous  Dils  LP  com- 
piles the  seven  tracks  from  the  band's  three  original 
singles  plus  "Blow  Up"  (previously  included  on  the 
first  Rat  Music  for  Rat  People  compilation).  Where 
Live!  unearthed  seven  never-before-heard  songs,  the 
live  Side  Two  of  The  Dils  adds  an  additional  eight  new 
numbers  from  a  different  show  (again  with  Silvers). 
Although  the  sound  quality  isn't  as  good,  the  murk  can't 
hide  Chip  Kinman's  lashing  guitar  on  the  brutal  "Citi- 
zen," or  the  overall  vintage  punk  aggression  on  "Na- 
tional Guard"  and  the  catchy  "You  Don't  Matter 
Anymore."  Long  before  Billy  Bragg,  the  Dils  mixed 
crackling  socialist  politics  and  personal  lyrics,  but  it's 
the  trio's  tight  fire  mat  rides  it  home.  The  Dils  is  thus  a 
more  complete  retrospective,  encompassing  primitive 
'77  slam-punk,  the  band's  later,  more  accomplished  at- 
tack and  the  final  "Les  Dils"  single,  a  stylistic  prelude 
to  the  Kinmans*  subsequent  bands,  Rank  and  File  and 
Blackbird.  [jr] 

See  also  Blackbird,  Rank  and  File. 


DIMENTIA13 

Dimentia  13  (Midnight)  1985 
Mirror  Mind  (Midnight)  1987 
Disturb  the  Air  (Midnight}  1 989 
T.V.  Screen  Head  (Midnight)  1990 

The  Ohioan  behind  these  simple  demi-psychedelic 
garage  romps  is  Bradley  S.  Warner,  a  resourceful  Syd 
Barrett  fan  who  frequently  displays  ingenuity  yet  never 
quite  ascends  to  the  magical  heights  (depths?)  of  retro- 


192 


pop  resonance.  With  minor  from  keyboardist 

singer/bassist  Louanne  Varftolsck  I  and,  on  the  LP* 
a  drummer  K  the  singer/guitarist  indulges  his  nostalgic 
passions  and  intellectual  interests  on  songs  that  have 
grown  from  obvious  selfcoiscimisness  (e,g»»  **Can  You 
Hear  the  Walls  Melting?"  and  "Psychedelic  Musteoom 
Cloud  Explosion,"  both  from  the  underwhelming  Mir- 
ror Mind)  to  broader,  mow  idiosyncratic  concerns. 

Produced  by  Glenn  Retise  of  Plasticland  and  feater- 
Ing  a  guest  appearance  by  John  Fallon  of  the  Steppes, 
Disturb  the  Air  is  Dimentia's  most  impressive  effort 
yet,  a  record  that  drops  the  derivative  pretensions  for 
what  seems  to  be  a  heartfelt  expression  of  Warner's 
sensitive  personality  and  choppy  guitar  work, 

Revealing  an  intriguing  singer/songwriter  side,  T.  V. 
Screen  Head  compiles  a  dozen  previously  unreleased 
four-track  solo  demos  into  something  less  like  a  Dimen- 
tia  13  LP  than  a  musical  letter  from  a  Mend.  Accom- 
panying himself  simply  on  acoustic  and  electric  guitar 
and  acoustic  and  electronic  drums,  Warner  (whose  an- 
notation is  crucial  to  enjoyment  of  the  record)  muses 
about  old  age  ("Cannot  Compare  to  This'*),  quotes  at 
random  from  a  zany  magazine  article  ("The  Little 
Things  That  Kill  You"),  takes  inspiration  from  Karl 
Marx  ( 4  'All  That  Is  Solid  Melts  into  Air' ' )  and  makes  an 
oblique  art  stab  at  hip-hop  ("Ah!  Lightning  Bolt!**). 

[i] 

DINOSAUR 

Dinosaur  (Homestead)  1 985 

DINOSAUR  JR. 

You're  Living  Ail  Over  Me  (SST)  1 987  • 

Bug  (SST)  1 988  « 

Just  Like  Heaven  EP  (SST)  1 989  • 

The  Wagon  EP  (nr/Bianco  y  Negro)  1 991  • 

Green  Mind  (Blanco  y  Negro-Sire-Wamer  Bros.)  1 991  4> 

Modern  masters  of  high-decibel  manipulation,  this 
Amherst,  Massachusetts ,  power  trio  once  had  difficulty 
playing  more  than  a  single  gig  in  any  one  club  because 
of  their  ear-damaging  attack.  Prior  to  forming  Dinosaur, 
J  Mascis  and  bassist  Lou  Barlow  played  together  in 
Deep  Wound  (featured  on  the  1984  Conflict  compilation 
Bands  That  Could  Be  God);  Mascis  switched  from 
drums  to  guitar  and  recruited  Murph,  formerly  of  All 
White  Jury. 

Dinosaur  finds  the  group  sounding  like  ten  different 
bands  on  as  many  songs.  Mascis,  also  the  primary  singer 
and  songwriter,  employs  an  array  of  electronic  devices 
to  squeeze  a  myriad  of  variations  from  harmonic  struc- 
tures, utilizing  a  variety  of  tones  from  loud  to  louder  to 
loudest.  Meat  Puppets,  Neil  Young  and  Sonic  Youth 
comparisons  are  inevitable,  but  Dinosaur's  raucous  in- 
dividuality is  beyond  dispute.  After  legal  threats  from 
the  West  Coast  summer-of-love  vets  calling  themselves 
the  Dinosaurs,  Dinosaur  politely  became  Dinosaur  Jr. 

The  band  further  reduced  their  already  minimal  pop 
factor  on  the  deafening  You're  Living  All  Over  Me,  a 
brilliant,  brutal  hailstorm  of  hyper-distorted  riffs  and 
pulverizing  basslines  that  is  harder,  louder  and  meaner 
than  nine  out  of  ten  heavy  metal  albums.  The  muM- 
sectioned  songs  change  direction  so  frequently  that  it's 
hard  to  tell  them  apart,  as  the  power-trio  assault  is  mod- 
ulated by  graceful,  looming  melodies  that  rise  like  mist 
out  of  the  pedal-mess.  The  monolithic  album  is  marred 


by  "Poledo/"  CD 

on  the  band's  of 

Peter  Frampton's  4*$t»u  Me  fee  Wa>."  i  in- 

congruity, to  say  the          * 

was  by  4*F«ak  Scene,"  J*s 

pop          to  date  aad  ewe  of  the 

of  the  decade— the  of 

an  is         of  its  ap- 

peal. Largely  a  and  Liv- 

ing, Bug  into  the 

"Pond  Song"  and  on 

the  electric  axe-murder  of  "Don't,"  a  if 

ever  was  one.  The  was  by  yet 

another  ironic  single,  this  a  cover  of  the  Care's 
44 Just  Like  Heaven"  (which  fits  per- 

fectly) and  two  rough  B-sides. 

Bariow  left  to  cm  his  and 

Dinosaur  increasingly  became  the  1  Mascis  Experience, 
An  attempt  at  an  indie-rock  I  and 

Murph  with  Eton  Fleming  and  Jay  Spiegel  fell 
almost  as  soon  as  It  was  announced  the  ex- 

B.A.L.L.istics  did  play  00  'The  Wagon"),  and 
distracted  himself  for  months  with  the  Velvet 
and  Gobblehoof  ( on  whose  debut  EF  he  played  drains). 
Emerging  nearly  three  years  after  its  Grttti 

Mind  resolves  the  personnel  problems:  Mascis  did  al- 
most everything  (including  drums  oa  all  but  three 
tracks)  himself  Hie  old  snarl  and  brawn  are  there,  but 
distilled  from  an  older/wiser  viewpoint.  'The  Wagon" 
is  the  excellent  and  inevitable  follow-up  to  * 'Freak 
Scene/'  but  the  stirring  "Thumb"  parts  previously  wi- 
charted  waters  in  fee  realm  of  hypuoriff  (live  dates  in 
early  '91  deputised  Screaming  Trees  bassist  Van  Conner 
to  stunning  effect),  ''Muck**  is  "our  disco  song*1  and 
"Hying  Cloud"  sounds  like  an  outtake  from  Led  Zep- 
pelin in.  A  mature  effort  from  a  rare  talent  who  hasn't 
lost  his  primal  urgency,  frg/ja] 

See  also  Gobblehoof,  Sonic  Youth,  Velvet  Monkeys. 

DIRTY  ROSEANNE 

See  Sex  Gang  Children. 

DISCO  2000 

See  Justified  Ancients  ofMu  Mu. 

DISTRACTIONS 

You're  Not  Going  Out  Dressed  Life  Thai  EP  (nr/TJM) 

1979 
Nobody's  Perfect  (nr/lsland)  1980 

Decades  from  now,  rock  historians  will  scratch  their 
heads  in  bewilderment  that  the  Distractions'  fine  body 
of  work  didn't  ensure  the  Manchester  quintet  a  longer 
iifespan.  The  1979  EP  (which  contains  rougher  versions 
of  two  songs  that  would  later  turn  up  on  Nobody's 
Perfect,  plus  a  live  pair — "Too  Young"  and  "Maybe 
It's  Love" — unavailable  elsewhere)  hints  that  the  group 
was  working  from  an  abnormally  broad  palette,  a  sense 
confirmed  by  its  one  fine  album. 

A  lot  of  records  belong  to  a  specific  time,  but  No- 
body's Perfect  continues  to  measure  up  as  an  ace  slab 
of  educated  pop  rock,  right  in  tune  with  the  ground  rules 
laid  down  by  Blondie,  Squeeze  and  others  of  that  ilk, 
Part  of  the  problem  may  be  that  Nobody's  Perfect  is  too 


193 


to  be  off  A.S  i  Tbe 

4m 
to  Phil  ici  the 

the  \ocal*         to  He 
**Bo>*  Cry"  on  hfce  a  tone  but 

of  the 

pop  are  to  No- 

very  is, 

Tim*  S«f  I9S4 

SSI!  1986 

of  *»  |SST)  1 986 

Snok»Honcfar(S5T)1987» 

of  Smd  EP  JSST)  1 988 

BY  W/  D 

S  Po»  for  Human  1 989  • 

Ms          with  the  Cahfor- 

ihc  I>iviise  Horsemen, 
who  on  the  Still. 

an  away  steadily 

he's  than  ever.  The  at- 

music  such  sentiments  as 

"Past  All  and  *'Hetffs  Belle'*;  the  all-star 

ctsi  Blasters,  Gun  Clubbers,  an  X 

and  of  the 

A  lineup          the  similarly  low-key 

and  DevflPs  River,  a  record  which,  like  its  pre» 

the  major  responsibility  for  conveying 
fear  and  to  the  lyrics*  here  geared  to  Western/ 

topes.  Chris  shares  the  vocals  with  Julie  C(hris- 
who  an    X-like    harmony    to   the 

proceedings.  A  dusty  road,  but  a  fascinating  one. 
Predominately  recorded  in  and  around  the  same  ses- 
as  Devil's  River*  the  cxldiy  compiled  and  coua- 
of  the  Night  features  the  same  crew, 
with  John  Doe  ami  D.J.  Booebrake  of  X  guesting  on 
two  of  the  eight  cuts.  Chris  and  Julie  perform  roost  of 
the  voctls  as  a  relatively  mellifluous  duo,  making  this 
the  ritfseinen's  most  attractive  album.  The  title  tone  Is 
a  sweet  lullaby;  there  arc  also  alternate  recordings  of 
two  previously  issued  Chris  D.  efforts,  an  acoustic  ver- 
sion of  David  Allen  Coe's  country  classic  * 'Field  of 
Stone"  ami  two  other  covers:  a  slow  but  accurate  "Gim- 
fnie  Shelter"  and  the  Cramps'  "Voodoo  Idol." 

Guitarist  Peter  Audnts  replaced  two  departing  mem- 
bers on  Snake  Handler,  bringing  the  Horsemen  into  the 
light  with  a  trinuned-down,  titghtened-up  rock  sound, 
Comparisons  to  X  at  this  point  are  more  than  fair,  al- 
though these  joint  vocals  are  far  more  divine  than  that 
band's.  The  lyrics  don't  bear  a  lot  of  scrutiny — they 
may  be  poetic,  but  aren't  about  much  of  anything.  (The 
harrowing  escape-from-heroin  saga,  **Fire  Kiss/'  is  a 
significant  exception, )  Chris"  grip  on  the  gritty  fear-film 
idiom  is  intact,  but  lines  like  "Fire  is  my  home/and  if 
you  let  me  die  alone/the  fire  will  eat  my  bones**  or  "I 
been  waiting  for  someone  like  you  since  I  was  just  thir- 
teen years  old"  don't  pack  any  punch. 

The  Divine  Horsemen  and  Chris  D.'s  iongterm  re- 
lationship with  Christensen  dissolved  at  about  the  same 
time,  which  (as  borne  out  by  I  Pass  for  Human's  more 
chilling  moments)  certainly  gave  the  guy  plenty  to  write 
about.  Not  surprisingly,  there's  little  in  the  way  of  stan- 
dard jilted-lover  self-pity  in  Mr.  D.'s  psyche.  Borrow- 


ing "Time  SliI"  an  he 

the  on  th&t  era  by  « 

the  of 

the  by  Stoic  is  to  the 

of  Eat- 

ers. I  especially  the  gho&t-town  of  the 

"Pale  Fire")"  No  that  a  resurrected  ver- 

sion of  that  very  combo  this 

disc's  [jy.'fdss] 

See  also  Flesh  Eaters. 

THE 

Word  Powtr  Syndtcote-Epkf  1989  4» 

Rapping  like  a  hyped  Islamic  math  teacher  prone  to 
free  association,  Divine  Styler  drops  a  brief  lecture  on 
the  of  light  into  "Koxistin  U4riaf'  on  his  ambi- 

tious but  dull  debut,  released  via  Ice-T's  label.  The 
verbose  expositions  on  Afrocentricity ,  faith  in  Allah  and 
racism  (white  and  black)  are  loaded  with  intriguing, 
frequently  obscure  content,  but  Styler  can't  make  them 
musical,  aad  the  sketchy  tracks  (co-produced  by  Biial 
Bashir)  don't  help.  [i] 

Monkey  Grip  EP  (Ays.  WEA)  1982 
Desperate  (Chrysalis}  1983  » 
What  a  life!  f  Chrysalis)  1 985  9 
Temperamental  (Chrysalis)  1988  « 
Dnrinyb  (Virgin)  1991  4» 

Sydney,  Australia's  Divinyls  couple  Christina  Am- 
pbletf  s  unusual  vocal  mannerisms  with  the  band's 
rowdy  pop  sound — kind  of  like  AC/DC  meets  the  Pre- 
tenders, with  a  soupc,on  of  Lene  Lovich  and  a  few  sub- 
tle, -unexpected  chord-progression  shifts.  The  thick 
guitar  and  keyboard  textures  pack  a  marvelous  rock- 
Vroll  punch;  the  downside  is  the  band's  occasional 
flirtation  with  arena  cliches. 

Amphlett  appeared  in  the  movie  Monkey  Grip,  for 
which  the  group  recorded  the  six  songs  contained  on  the 
EP;  some  were  redone  for  Desperate,  The  LP's  stand- 
outs include  "Only  You"  (all  the  above  comparisons 
applicable  in  one  song,  and  it  works!)  and  the  goofily 
lovable  "Science  Fiction."  Even  the  weakest  songs  get 
by  on  sheer  gusto.  The  Easybeats*  "I'll  Make  You  Hap- 
py" is  given  a  hard-rock  update,  as  Amphlett  blithely 
assumes  the  song's  assertive  role  which  had,  after  all, 
been  written  for  a  man. 

Intentionally  or  not,  all  three  producers  (Mark 
Opitz,  Mike  Chapman,  Gary  Langan)  of  What  a  Life! 
appear  to  have  been  determined  to  sell  the  group  to  US 
radio  by  polishing  away  their  idiosyncrasies  (dousing 
the  spark  in  the  songs  too,  if  there  was  any).  The  result 
comes  awfully  close  to  Anybandism.  The  worst  offender 
is  "Pleasure  &  Pain,"  the  only  track  produced  and  co- 
written  by  Mike  Chapman,  which  veers  towards  the 
territory  of  his  onetime  charge,  Pat  Benatar. 

That's  why  it's  all  the  more  surprising  that  Chapman 
not  only  produced  Temperamental ,  he  also  allowed  the 
quirky,  rough-edged  charm  shown  on  Desperate  to 
come  through.  There  are  some  nifty  little  touches,  like 
clever  usage  of  backing  choruses  as  aural  coloring.  Di- 
vinyls  is  now  reduced  to  the  songwriting  team  of  Am- 


194 


phlctt  and  lead  guitarist  Mark  McEntee,  but  the 

on         and  drains  provide  a  superbly 
loose-limbed  wallop.  The  title  is  die  the 

others  are  also  generally  strong  right  off  the  bat  Ttte 
Syndicate  of  Sound's  **Hey  Little  Girl1*  an  impres- 
sive reading,  the  original  is  definitive,  but  Ampnlett's 
rare  ability  to  make  the  tone  hers  (as  "Hey  Little  Boy" ) 
is  an  entertaining  angle. 

What  a  disappointment,  then,  that  the  duo's  self- 
titled  fourth  LP  falls  so  fiat.  The  co-production  by  erst- 
while Chapman  prot6ge*  Dave  Tickle  (who  also  worked 
with  Split  Enz)  is  okay  but,  on  the  whole,  the  music  is 
pedestrian  and  the  performances  lackluster.  Even  fee 
vocals;  you  really  have  to  pay  attention  to  what  Am- 
phletfs  singing  to  notice  anything  offbeat  going  on, 
e.g. ,  the  not-so-coy  naughtiness  of  '*!  Touch  Myself* — 
which  was  co-written  by  Hollywood  hitmeisters  Billy 
Steinberg  and  Tom  Kelly  ("Like  a  Virgin/'  etc.).  The 
most  interesting  tracks  are  "If  Love  Was  a  Gun"  and 
(coincidence?)  "Bullet'* — but  they're  just  near  misses. 


and  sot  a  i  v«t  f 

the  Time/* 

"Your  Told  Me"  and  Pndc*'  are 

that  the 

>our 
Oil-Town  is  at 

of  a  March  "88  hvs 

b>  Marti          Mid  North  It's 

smart,  the 

tracks  which          the  disc  a  of  ihe 

duo's  endearing  live 

EEE          the  Uptown  to  the  imx          pre- 

dictably Dixwt's  originate—  "Ob 

Cheap  Chatter,1'  "Roots  of  Truth,"  Screen'*— 

mine  quirky  rocfc-soal 

ever,  and  lie  also  Ms  well- 

chosen  covers,  including  an  |  f 

on  Brenton  Wood's  1967  hit,  "'Gimme  Sign/* 

There's  even  a  bit  of  avant-garde  f  **EEE/ 

T.O.T  T.V.")  that  actually  works. 

See  also  Marti  Jones,  Sneakers. 


DON  DiXON 

Most  of  the  Giris  Like  to  Dance  but  Only  Some  of  the 

Boys  Like  To  (Enigma)  1 985  • 
Praying  Mantis  EP  (nr/Demon)  1986 
Romeo  at  JuJlliard  (Enigma)  1987  • 
Cht-Town  Budget  Show  (Restless)  1 989  4> 
EEE  (Enigma)  19894* 

Before  bis  name  started  showing  up  as  a  producer  on 
albums  by  R.E.M.,  the  Smithereens,  Let's  Active  and 
many  others,  Don  Dixon  spent  fourteen  years  as  bassist/ 
singer/songwriter  in  a  hot  North  Carolina  band  called 
Arrogance.  On  the  solo  debut  from  this  jack-of-all- 
musical-trades,  Dixon  offers  an  uneven  but  engaging 
five-year  patchwork  of  singles  and  demos  from  his  per- 
sonal archives — some  from  the  Arrogance  days,  others 
done  at  home  on  his  4-track  and  one  recorded  at  Mitch's 
Drive-In  Studio — that  display  his  affection  for  *60s  pop 
and  R&B.  Sometimes  cynical,  sometimes  whimsical, 
his  views  of  love  and  lust  are  delivered  with  a  soulman's 
vocal  passion.  The  wonderfully  oddball  images  of  kiss- 
ing insects  and  claw  action  in  * 'Praying  Mantis"  make 
it  an  instant  gem;  Mitch  Easter  contributes  lead  guitar  to 
a  cover  of  Nick  Lowe's  "Skin  Deep."  (The  original 
British  edition  has  a  few  different  tracks,  song  annota- 
tion and  alternate  artwork  than  the  subsequent  American 
release.)  The  four-song  EP  packages  the  title  song  with 
another  album  track  and  two  more  from  the  Arrogance 
library,  including  a  sweat-drenched  live  version  of  Percy 
Sledge's  "When  a  Man  Loves  a  Woman/'  which  also 
appears  on  the  US  album. 

The  all-new  Romeo  at  Juilliard  fulfills  the  first  al- 
bum's promise  in  spades.  Aided  by  a  few  guests  (mainly 
drummers,  but  also  Easter,  Dixon' s  wife  and  frequent 
musical  partner  Marti  Jones  and  Spongetones  guitarist 
Jamie  Hoover),  Dixon  rocks  confidently  in  a  country/ 
pure  pop/ Atlantic  soul/R&B  style  that  equally  suggests 
the  gritty  side  of  John  Hiatt  and  the  gloss  of  Nick  Lowe. 
Expressing  deep  bitterness  at  a  former  loved  one,  his 
songs  are  well-written  and  brilliantly  executed;  each  ar- 
rangement varies  the  approach  without  straying  far  from 
the  LP's  overall  sound.  Dixon' s  voice  is  wonderfully 
rich  and  emotional;  that  he's  distinguished  himself  as  a 


DMZ 

DMZ  EP  f  Romp!)  1  977 

DMZ  (Sir*)  1978 

Relics  (Voxxl  1981 

DMZI!  Live  at  Bamabysll  1978!!  (Crypt)  1986 

Uvetl  9781  EP(Pryct)  1986 

One  of  Boston's  primary  punk  bands,  DMZ  was  ted 
by  the  maniacal  Mono  Maim  (aka  Jeff  Conoily,  later  of 
the  Lyres),  an  organist/singer  whose  '60s  roots  (garage 
punk  and  psychedelia)  and  Iggy  Pop  fixation  formed  die 
basis  for  the  group's  influential  stylings.  Their  first  al- 
bum, produced  by  Flo  and  Eddie,  has  bad  sound,  sloppy 
playing  and  little  character,  despite  the  raveup  playing 
and  general  enthusiasm. 

On  the  other  hand,  Relics  —  released  four  years  after 
being  recorded  on  a  4-track  by  Craig  Leon  —  has  the 
intensity  and  cutting  sonic  attack  to  effectively  re-create 
the  weird  sounds  of  Mann's  idols.  Anyone  that^an  do 
justice  to  a  Roky  Erickson  number  (as  in  the  1  3th  Floor 
Elevators*  "You're  Gonna  Miss  Me'*)  is  alright  by  me. 
Four  of  Rdics'  cuts  first  appeared  on  the  cool  1977 
7-inch;  the  other  five  had  not  previously  been  released. 

The  two  1986  releases  —  recorded  at  a  single  June 
1978  club  date  —  document  the  DMZ  concert  experi- 
ence. One  is  a  full-length  LP;  the  other  is  a  supplemen- 
tary (no  overlap)  four-track  7-inch  that  covers  both  the 
Chocolate  Watch  Band  and  the  Beatles.  £ij 

See  also  Lyres,  Barrence  WH^eld  and  the  Sewages. 

DNA 

A  Taste  of  DNA  EP  {American  Clave)  1  981 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

No  New  York  (Antilles)  1  978 

The  Fruit  of  the  Original  Sin  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1  981 

DARK  DAY 

Exterminating  Angel  (Lust/Unlusf)  1980 
Dark  Day  EP  (Lust/Unlust)  1  981 
Window  (Plexus)  1983 
Beyond  the  Pale  paipel  (Nigh  Eve)  1  985 

This  controversial  noise  trio  was  a  fixture  on  the 
New  York  scene  for  several  years,  initially  tagged  as 


195 


of  the  BO  of  the  city's 

a  DNA 

a  of 

DNA*s  ind 

the  oe  the  N0  New  Yurk 

Arto  —  as 

in  Don  body— pits 

Cnttchfield's  sin- 
and  two  vocals 

Ms  I  if  style 

in  On  *  'Not  Moving/*  play- 

ing Syd  an 

The  OB  A  of  DNA.  Six  pithy, 

flcue 

into  her        is  a  of 

drawls,  yells, 

and  his  wiy  to  left-field 

Cratcbiekf  $  riffing  Is  the 

bass  of  Tim  Wright  This  is  no  form- 
less blares— each  is  a  painstakingly 
of                         with  ERQrtho- 
fecy. 

The  live  ("Taking  Kid  to 

School/*    "Cop  Buys  a  Donut,"    "Delivering  the 
Goods'* )  cm  The  Fruit  of  the  Original  Sin  compilation 
ate  a          epitaph.  They  suffer  from  crammy  sound 
— one  from  stereo  to  mono  right  in  mid- 

soitg!— Mid  editing,  though  Wright's  bass  solo 

01  "Delivering  the  Goods'1  is  typically  exquisite. 

For  the  last  encore  of  its  final  performance,  DNA 
did  Led  Zeppelin's  " Whole  Lotta  live,"  fittingly  cap- 
ping an  iconoclastic  career  with  the  utterly  unexpected. 
Keyboardist  Robin  Crutchfield  formed  Dark  Day  as 
a  trio  alter  his  departure  from  DNA;  Eriernrfnaiing 
Angel  oses  machine-like  riffs  as  the  foundation  for 
moody,  Teutonic  music.  By  the  release  of  Dark  Day, 
he  had  Jettisoned  Ms  backing  band,  shifting  the  music 
into  the  twilight  of  ambient  Eno  or  Dome.  Never  a 
original,  Cratchfield  manages  to  get  extra 
mileage  out  of  the  styles  he  borrows.  [mf/rnp] 

See  also  Golden  Palominos,  Arto  Lindsay/Ambitious 
Lowers,  Lounge  Lizards,  UT. 

D-NICE 

See  Boogie  Down  Productions. 

D.O*A. 

Triumph  of  the  IgnorokJs  EP  (Can,  Friend's)  1 979 

Something  Better  Change  (Can.  Friend's)  1 980 

Hardcore  81  (Can.  Friend's)  1981 

War  on  45  EP  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 982 

Bloodied  but  Unbowed  (CD  Presents)  1984 

Don't  Turn  Yer  Bock  (on  Desperate  Times)  EP  (Alternative 

Tentacles)  1985 

Let's  Wreck  the  Party  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 985 
True  (North)  Strong  &  Free  (Rock  Hotel-Profile)  1987  • 
Murder.  (Restless)  1990* 

RANDY  RAMPAGE 

Randy  Rampage  EP  (Can.  Friend's)  1 982 

Vancouver's  premier  punk  outfit  has  never  aban- 
doned its  righteous  yet  hedonistic  spirit,  as  embodied  by 


Joey 

D.O.A.  is  one  of  the  few 
that  lias  off  into  j 

After  the  lineup  and  flic 

eventually  Kelgfa- 

ley's  and  songwriting  with  their  own. 

of  the  is  raw  and  live,  like 

stripped-down  Dead  Boys;  Something  Better 
is  tighter,  with          authentic  material  fleshed  out  by 
two  guitarists;  Hardcore  81  is  faster  and  looser. 

War  on  45  sounds  like  a  keyboardless  Strangters 
and  a  humorous  (and  highly  charged)  rework- 

ing of  Edwin  Starr's  "War"  ("good  god  y'ali!!")  that 
makes  Springsteen's  attempt  sound  pathetic.  Although 
D.O.A.  isn't  above  confusing  vulgarity  with  rebellion 
(e.g.,  the  "Let's  Fuck"  rewrite  of  Chris  Montez's  1962 
hit),  this  is  mainly  above-average  punk.  (The  UK  ver- 
sion of  War  on  45  substitutes  two  tracks  from  Some- 
thing Better  Change.) 

Subtitled  "The  Damage  to  Date:  1978-1983;* 
Bloodied  but  Unbowed  is  a  nineteen-track  career  recap 
(remixed  and  remastered)  which  convincingly  confirms 
D.O.A.'s  hard-won  status  as  Canada's  top  punks,  a  rag- 
ing behemoth  of  tightly  organized  high-compression 
rock  aggression.  Incredible,  intense  and  essential. 

Don't  Turn  Yer  Back  is  a  ten-minute,  four-song 
12-inch  cut  in  1984  for  a  John  Peel  radio  session  but 
released  by  the  band  well  before  the  launch  of  that  se- 
ries. Dedicated  to  striking  miners,  it's  more  angry  and 
political  than  ever.  Let's  Wreck  the  Party  includes  two 
of  those  tracks,  but  is  overall  more  lighthearted.  The 
clear,  professional  sound  and  occasional  slowed  tempos 
may  turn  off  hardcore  fanatics,  but  it's  a  cutting  and 
witty  record  nonetheless. 

True  (North)  boasts  similar  sonic  variations  and 
maturity — these  guys  are  almost  growing  up!  Topics 
include  Canada's  inferiority  complex  ("5 1st  State"), 
an  equation  of  Ramboid  jingoism  with  nascent  fascism 
("Nazi  Training  Camp*'),  their  gonzo  work/play  ethic 
(note  the  version  of  Bachman-Turner  Overdrive's 
"Talon*  Care  of  Business**  with  the  lead  riff  played  on 
guitar  plus  trumpet!)  and  a  longstanding  commitment  to 
political  activism  and  freedom.  (The  band's  mechanical 
royalties  from  the  song  *  'Ready  to  Explode' '  go  to  South 
Africa's  then-outlawed  African  National  Congress.) 
Weird  angle;  "Bullet  Catcher,"  the  grim  tale  of  a 
woman  cop  who  died  in  a  hail  of  bullets;  D.O.  A.  's  song 
is  critical  but  sympathetic. 

The  three  biggest  changes  on  Murder,  are  a  new 
(mis-?)  spelling  for  Joe  K.'s  surname  (KeitWey),  the 
arrival  of  new  guitarist  Chris  Prohom  in  place  of  stal- 
wart Dave  Gregg  and  the  acknowledgment  of  Nelson 
Mandela's  release  (in  a  sore-throat  rewrite  of  "The  Mid- 
night Special").  Otherwise,  the  LP  is  strictly  high- 
octane/mid-tempo  business  as  usual,  but  without  the 
fiery  inspiration  to  make  it  sizzle.  (The  CD  and  cassette 
add  one  track.) 

On  his  solo  record,  early  D.O.A.  bassist  Randy 
Rampage — with  assists  from  ex-D.O.A.  drummer 
Chuck  Biscuits  and  former  members  of  California's  DUs 
and  Avengers — shows  he  can  almost  approximate  solid, 
even  (gasp)  "musical"  punk  rock,  if  he'd  just  tighten 
up  his  wig  (and  get  a  producer).  Qg/dgs/i] 

See  also  Jello  Biafra,  Dead  Kennedys. 


196 


SctN.WA, 

&  THE 

Doctor  Sc  the  Medics  (nr/IBegd)  1 985 

Spirit  in  liie  Sky  EP  1 985 

laughing  at  the  Pieces  (IRS)  1986  • 
I  Keep  Thinking  Ifs  Tuesday  fIRSJ  1987  • 

If  you're  going  to  be  a  one-joke  band,  you'd  better 
pick  a  doozy.  England's  absurd  glam-psychedelic  Doc- 
tor &  the  Medics  chose  to  record  a  carefully  unrecon- 
structed version  of  the  greatest  god-rock  bubblegum  hit 
of  all  time,  Norman  Greenbaum's  *  "Spirit  in  the  Sky," 
and  let  the  wave  of  "60s  nostalgia  do  the  rest.  Defying 
all  logic,  it  proved  to  be  a  brilliant  commercial  gambit, 
catapulting  this  ridiculously  dressed  trifle  of  a  band  into 
the  charts  on  two  continents.  The  quintet's  otherwise 
self-penned  first  album  has  little  else  to  recommend  it, 
although  Craig  Leon's  production  (XTCs  Andy  Par- 
tridge takes  easily  audible  credit  for  one  song)  and  at- 
tractively musical  vocal  interplay  between  the  Doctor 
(Clive  Jackson)  and  Medics  Wendi  and  Colette  keep  it 
listenable. 

The  American  edition  of  the  second  LP  contains  the 
group's  spot-on  re-creation  of  Abba's  "Waterloo,"  with 
saxual  contributions  by  living  legend  Roy  Wood,  as 
well  as  the  Doc's  awful  gussied-up  version  of  "Burning 
Love."  Other  than  one  William  Orbit  remix  that  em- 
ploys soon-to-be-trendy  acid  house  rhythms,  1  Keep 
Thinking  It's  Tuesday  lacks  any  discernible  personal- 
ity or  reason  for  existing.  [i] 

DR.  FEELGOOD 

Down  by  the  Jetty  (nr/UA)  1975  (nr/Fame)  1982 

(nr/Edsel}  1 984  • 
Malpractice  (Columbia)  1975  « 
Stupidity  (nr/UA)  1976  (nr/Liberty)  1985 
Sneaicin'  Suspicion  (Columbia)  1 977  (nr/Fame)  1 987 
Be  Seeing  You  (nr/UA)  1977  (nr/Edsel)  1987 
Private  Practice  (nr/UA)  1978  • 
As  It  Happens  (nr/UA)  1979 
Let  It  Roll  (nr/UA)  1979 
A  Case  of  the  Shakes  (Stiff  America)  1 980  (nr/Edsel) 

1986 

OntheJob(nr/Uberty)1981 
Casebook  (nr/Liberty)  1981 
Fast  Women  and  Slow  Horses  (nr/Chiswick)  1 982  • 
Doctors  Orders  (nr/Demon)  1 984  • 
Mad  Man  Blues  EP  (nr/ID)  1985  • 
Mad  Man  Blues  (Can.  Star)  1986 
Brilleaux  (nr/Grand)  1 986  • 

Case  History-The  Best  of  Dr.  Feelgood  (nr/EMl)  1 987  • 
Singles  (The  UA  Years -f)  (nr/Lrberty)  1 989  • 
Live  in  London  (nr/Grand)  1990  • 

To  suggest  that  all  of  Dr.  Feelgood' s  records  sound 
alike  would  be  less  than  generous;  there  are,  however, 
groups  that  have  explored  varying  modes  of  musical 
expression  with  greater  diligence.  The  band  has  been 
utterly  true  to  its  original  aims;  few  contemporary 
groups  can  challenge  this  veteran  outfit  when  it  comes  to 
playing  basic,  energetic  R&B.  Over  the  course  of  fifteen 
years,  through  numerous  studio  LPs,  live  sets  and  com- 


the  Feeigoods*-H>r, 

Lee  for  n  » he         has  kept  the 

to 

the  of  like  the 

has 

of  |<ir  lack  Dr. 

a  of  11 

by  the  of 

English  pub-rock  at  its 

into  all  over  in  the  mid-* 70s.  By 

playing  that  not        critics  but 

fans  in  the  Convey 

set  the          for  the  transitionai^-yoiinger, 
oriented — Eddie  and  the  Hot  as>         is  the 

radical  punk  thai  Dr. 

Feelgood,  there  would  have         fewer  for 

populist  groups  to  play,  less  of  a 

indie  label  scene  C  Stiffs  was  in  part, 

by  Brilleaux)  and  a  much  to 

groups  without  dry  ice  and  laser 

The  original  Dr.  Feelgood  lineup — BriUeaux, 
and  shock-guitarist  extraordinaire  Wilko  Johnson  (John 
Wilkinson K  (trammer  'The  Big  Figure"  and 
John  Sparks — made  four  albums  together.  left 

the  band  in  1977;  Sparks  and  the  Figure  in  1982.  Mixing 
Johnson's  original  tunes  with  a  hefty  selection  of  clas- 
sics from  the  catalogues  of  Chuck  Berry,  Willie  Dixon, 
Rufos  Thomas,  Leiber/StoUer,  Sonny  Boy  Williamson 
and  Muddy  Waters,  the  first  three  studio  records  had  the 
same  R&B/primal  rock/Woes  character  as  the  original 
Stones.  (The  band's  fanatic  devotion  to  the  past  led 
them  to  mix  the  first  album  in  mono!)  While  Bown  fey 
the  Jetty  has  a  certain  amateurish  charm.  Malpractice 
has  a  stronger,  more  confident  sound,  and  includes  bet- 
ter material,  like  *'Baek  in  the  Night,**  "Riot  in  Cell 
Block  #9"  and  **You  Shouldn't  Call  the  Doctor  (If  You 
Can't  Pay  the  Bills)."  Johnson's  playing — a  frantic, 
choppy,  rhythm/lead  style  adapted  from  Mick  Green 
and  John  Lee  Hooker,  mixed  with  a  riveting  spasmodic 
stage  presence — and  BriBeaux's  hoarse  sitting  may 
sound  a  bit  out-of-date,  but  there's  IM>  mistaking  the 
energy  and  honesty  they  brought  to  their  work. 

The  live  Stupidity,  although  an  effective  represen- 
tation, suffers  from  its  similarity  to  their  studio  efforts 
and  lack  of  the  exciting  visual  factor  that  made  their 
early  gigs  so  great. 

Sneakiif  Suspicion  is  the  last  LP  to  feature 
Johnson;  although  he  appears  on  the  whole  thing,  a 
disagreement  over  musical  purity  led  to  a  split  during 
the  recording.  (He  formed  the  Solid  Senders  and  then 
continued  on  as  a  solo  artist.)  In  fact,  it's  equally  good 
as  Malpractice,  with  strong  originals  ("Walking  on  the 
Edge/*  in  particular)  and  nifty  covers  ("Nothin* 
Shakin'  (But  the  Leaves  on  the  Trees) , ' '  "Lights  Out' ' ) . 
The  next  Dr.  Feelgood  album,  Be  Seeing  You  (title  and 
graphics  borrowed  from  The  Prisoner  TV  series),  fea- 
tures new  six-stringer  John  Mayo — a  strong  player  with 
his  own  sound,  but  not  an  even  swap  for  the  inimitable 
Johnson-— and  Nick  Lowe  as  producer.  The  change  in 
guitarists  is  obvious;  the  band's  overall  style,  however, 
survives  nearly  intact,  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  good 
enough  to  carry  the  day. 

Private  Practice,  a  studio  LP  produced  by  Richard 
Gottehrer,  has  nothing  on  the  ball,  and  is  played  too 


197 


slow  to  avoid  tedium.  As  It  live  out- 

ing, is  a  real  stiff,  drawing  its  almost  totally 

Private  Practice  and  Be  Yew.  Completing 

this  aaff  trilogy  is  Let  ft  Ron,  an  inconsistent  (not 
worthless  |  collection  produced  by  blues  veteran  Mike 
Vernon. 

Proving  that  they  could  still  cut  it,  Dr,  F.  reunited 
with  Lowe  for  A  Case  of  ttie  Shakes,  a  revitalized  treat 
that  brings  the-  group  up-to-date  (relatively  speaking) 
and  in  line  with  the  likes  of  Rockpile,  giving  their  tra- 
ditionalist approach  a  modem  setting.  Mayors 
playing  is  great  and  the  songs  are  surprisingly  impres- 
sive and  enjoyable. 

On  the  Job  is  a  concert  rehash  with  all  but 

one  number  drawn  from  die  two  preceding  albums. 
Casebook  Is  a  compilation  containing  enough  of  the 
Feelgoods*  best  to  make  it  worthwhile.  Fast  Women 
and  Stow  Harses,  policed  by  Vic  Maiie,  Is  the  last  LP 
to  feature  the  original  Figure/Sparks  rhythm  section. 
Hie  follow-up,  Doctors  Orders,  puts  the  Feelgoods— 
Brilieaux,  guitarist  Gordon  Russell,  bawist  Phil  Mitch- 
el!  ted  drummer  Kevin  Morris — back  in  league  with 
Mike  Vanon  for  a  program  that  includes  Ed- 
die Coctiran's  **My  Way"  and  Muddy  Waters'  "I  Can't 
Be  Satisfied." 

Sticking  it  out  for  another  release,  that  lineup  tears 
through  six  blues  covers  on  the  down-and-dirty  Mad 
Man  Blues,  Botteaux  and  the  others  sound  just  great, 
and  the  readings  of  Elmore  James*  "Dust  My  Broom/' 
Willie  Dixon's  "My  Babe"  and  John  Lee  Hooker's  title 
growl  are  unfossy  and  packed  with  power.  Not  since  the 
glory  days  of  Canned  Heat  and  Paul  Butterfield  has 
white  blues  sounded  this  wonderful  and  traselfcon- 
scious.  (the  Canadian  reissue,  with  entirely  different 
artwork,  adds  four  previously  non-LP  tracks — including 
a  new  original,  'Tve  Got  News  for  You" — produced 
by  Mike  Vernon,  probably  at  the  '84  sessions  for  Doc- 
tors Orders.) 

Case  History  and  Singles  (The  UA  Years -f )  are, 
respectively,  single  and  double-album  career  compila- 
tions with  a  lot  of  overlap.  The  latter  (which  deducts  a 
pair  of  tracks,  including  a  1989  remake  of  "Milk  and 
Alcohol,  "from  the  CD  version)  has  liner  notes  by  Will 
Birch  and  is  highly  recommended  as  a  concise  summary 
of  the  band's  best  work.  [i] 

DOCTOR  ICE 

See  UTFO. 


DOCTORS  CHILDREN 

Rose  Collage  EP  (nr/Upright)  1986 
King  Buffalo  EP  (nr/Upright)  1987 
Girf  with  Green  Eyes  EP  (nr/Buffalo)  1987 
King  Buffalo  (Down  There-Restless)  1987* 

Combining  two  UK-only  mini-albums—Rose  Cot- 
tage and  King  Buffalo  (Girl  with  Green  Eyes  is  a  song 
from  the  latter  joined  by  an  early  demo  and  two  radio 
session  tracks)— into  a  full  American  longpiayer,  this 
British  quartet  shows  off  leader  Paul  Smith's  clever 
songwriting  and  artless  singing  on  King  Buffalo,  as 
John  Leckie's  production  does  justice  (but  little  more) 
to  arrangements  which  lean  towards  the  hard-pop  guitar 
sound  of  JRobyn  Hitchcock  and  the  Egyptians.  Matthew 


Woodman's  Hammond  organ  adds  the  only 

sonic  element  to  competent  but  rarely  ear-catching 
tracks.  For  what  it's  worth,  the  earlier,  less-polished 
material  from  Rose  Cottage  has  more  bite  and  back- 
bone in  the  playing ,  and  leaves  a  stronger  impression. 

[il 


He«Jacb*»  Machine  (Wrestler)  1985 
Sopbomore  Slump  (Relativity)  1987 

Headache  Machine,  the  debut  album  by  this  gutsy 
power  pop  quartet  from  Austin,  Texas,  shows  abundant 
promise  with  melodies,  roughly  ringing  guitars,  elec- 
tricity and  a  certain  nascent  stylistic  flak.  But  Sof&iio- 
ntore  Slump,  produced  to  order  by  Tommy  Entelyi,  is 
definitely  the  record  to  get  by  these  guys.  Singer/ 
guitarist  Steve  Collier's  writing  shows  marked  improve- 
ment; the  band  rashes  at  his  songs  with  youthful 
eagerness  and  the  self-confidence  of  seasoned  roadhogs. 
Crossing  an  attractive  Athens  influence,  a  Mnt  of  folk 
and  a  dusty  Southwestern  truth  those  California  cow- 
boys would  dearly  love  to  borrow,  Doctors'  Mob  get 
onto  something  good.  [i] 

DOCTORS  OF  MADNESS 

late  Night  Movies,  All  Night  Brainstorms  (UA)  1 976 
Figments  of  Emancipation  {UA}  1976 
Sons  of  Survival  {nr/Polydor}  1 978 
Revisionism  1975-1978  (nr/Polydor)  1981 

This  odd  excuse  for  a  rock  group  was  essentially  the 
warped  musical  vision  of  Kid  (Richard)  Strange,  as 
realized  in  posh,  over-the-top  pretentious  style  by  a 
manager  who  spent  scads  of  money  in  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  make  them  the  Next  Big  (Ultra-Outrageous) 
Thing.  Although  the  blue  hair,  silly  theatrical  gear  and 
transparent  glam  pose  were  awfully  out-of-step  with  the 
younger  and  faster  safety-pinned  hordes  who  stole  their 
thunder,  the  Doctors  did  possess  a  unique  style,  thanks 
in  large  part  to  Urban  Blitz's  (no  kidding)  eerie  violin 
work,  an  unlikely  instrument  in  a  band  hoping  to  be 
perceived  as  Bowie's  post-Ziggy  disciples. 

Late  Night  Movies  (released  in  the  US  only  as  a 
double-record  set  with  Figments  of  Emancipation)  is 
the  wildest  and  freshest  of  the  group's  three  albums, 
going  all  out  to  be — or  at  least  seem — weird  and  excit- 
ing. It's  hard  to  take  seriously,  but  there  is  something 
worth  hearing  in  terms  of  the  creepy  ambience,  substan- 
tial songs  and  subtle  musical  shadings.  Sons  of  Sur- 
vival and  Figments  refine  the  approach  but  lack  the 
gonzo  originality  of  the  first  record.  Revisionism  is  an 
adequate  career  summary. 

After  a  stint  that  saw  Dave  Vanian  (on  furlough 
during  one  of  the  Damned' s  collapses)  a  member,  pub- 
lic response — a  mixture  of  apathy  and  ridicule — proved 
terminal,  and  Strange  embarked  on  a  solo  career.  What- 
ever the  verdict  on  the  Doctors  of  Madness  while  they 
were  in  business,  the  fact  that  the  new  romantics  later 
shouldered  the  same  foolish  mantle  of  narcissism,  ludi- 
crous costumes  and  stage  names — an  aberration  also 
adopted  by  American  nouveau-glam-metal  bands  like 
Motley  Crue — proves  that  this  band  was  indeed  ahead 
of  its  time.  [i] 

See  also  Richard  Strange. 


198 


JOHN  DOE 

SeeX. 


DOGBOWL 

See  King  Missile  I  Dog  Fly  Rellgi 


THOMAS  DOLBY 

The  Golden  Age  of  Wireless  (Captto!)  1 982 

(GapHol-Mobile  BdelHyl » 
Blinded  by  Science  EP  fCapttoi)  1983 
The  Flat  Earth  f Capitol}  1984  « 

Music  from  the  Film  Gothic  (Virgin)  1 987  » 

THOMAS  DOLBY  AND  THE  LOST 
TOY  PEOPLI 

Aliens  Ate  My  Butck  f  EMI  Manhattan)  1 988  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Howard  the  Duck  (MCA)  1 986 

After  years  of  session  work  and  part-time  employ- 
ment with  Lene  Lovich,  Bruce  Woolley  &  the  Camera 
Club,  Thompson  Twins,  Foreigner  and  Joan  Armatrad- 
ing,  Thomas  Dolby  helped  revitalize  a  largely  moribund 
and  redundant  synth-pop  scene  with  his  own  recordings. 
The  Golden  Age  of  Wireless  avoids  the  usual  tactical 
error  and  gives  the  songs  prominence  over  the  instru- 
ments. Besides  demonstrating  an  unfailing  flair  for 
sharp,  snappy  compositions,  Dolby  shows  himself  un- 
usually capable  of  getting  warm,  touching  feeling  out  of 
his  synthesizers  and  his  voice,  creating  an  evocative 
sound  that  magnificently  straddles  nostalgia  and  futur- 
ism. 

Although  his  first  album  contains  some  really  lovely 
tunes  (e.g.,  "Radio  Silence/*  "Europa  and  the  Pirate 
Twins*'),  Dolby  followed  it  with  an  execrable  moron- 
funk  single,  "She  Blinded  Me  with  Science"  (evidently 
written  about  his  archaeologist  father),  which  became  a 
Top  5  hit.  After  the  album  was  reissued  with  that  song 
added  on,  a  five-cut  mini-album  appeared,  combining  it 
with  three  LP  tracks  and  another  lovely  new  song,  "One 
of  Our  Submarines.*'  That  was  subsequently  appended 
to  the  album  for  its  third  American  variation. 

Dolby  has  never  concentrated  solely  on  Ms  own  re- 
cordings. After  the  debut's  success,  he  worked  on  var- 
ious projects,  producing  tracks  for  Whodini  and  others 
before  getting  around  to  making  a  new  LP  of  his  own. 
The  Flat  Earth  contains  nothing  really  memorable,  but 
does  feature  nicely  restrained  pieces  of  inviting  atmo- 
spheric charm  (including  "The  Flat  Earth'*  and  "Screen 
Kiss").  Unfortunately,  it  also  contains  the  strident  "Hy- 
peractive!" 

Dolby  then  put  his  own  pop  career  on  hold.  He  did 
film  soundtracks,  collaborated  with  Ryuichi  Sakamoto 
on  an  EP,  played  on  Belinda  Carlisle's  Heaven  on 
Earth  and  co-produced  and  played  on  albums  by  George 
Clinton  (Some  of  My  Best  Jokes  Are  Friends),  Joni 
Mitchell  (Dog  Eat  Dog)  and  Prefab  Sprout.  In  cinema 
land,  Dolby  wrote,  performed  and  produced  five  unex- 
ceptional new  rock  songs  for  George  Lucas'  misbegot- 
ten mega-flop  Howard  the  Duck,  filling  one  side  of  the 
soundtrack  album.  (The  rest  is  a  John  Barry  score. )  For 
Ken  Russell's  equally  atrocious  Gothic,  Dolby  com- 
posed and  performed  (on  Fairlight)  appropriately  men- 


a«I  a 

real  on  five  of  the 

Ate  My  the  follow-up 

to  Tb®  Flat  Earth,  that  the  fi€»-LA-t»sed 

to  an  TV  } 

be  a  little  out  of  tie  real  world.  The 

iously  "40s  of  "The  Key  to  Her 

Ferrari1'  is  only  the 

here;  like  "Airhead**  and  "Hot 

Sauce"  are  pnxhiction-driven  with 

smarm>  lyrics.  "My  Brain  Is  Lite  a  Sieve"*  on 

to  no  avail;  "Tfee  Ability  to  Swiag" 
Dolby's  in  the  "Budapest 

by  Blimp'*  is  every  bit  as  as  the 

suggest. 

See  also  Lene  Lovich, 
moio. 


DOLL  BY  DOLL 

Remember  f  nr/Automattc)  1 979 
Gypsy  Blood  (nr/AutomoKc)  1979 

Doll  by  Doll  (MCA)  1981 
GraiKS  Passion  fnr/MagnetJ  1982 

CONCRETE  BULLETPROOF 
INVISIBLE 

Big  Teai*  EP  (Kmenaon-RestSess)  1988 

The  only  constant  on  Doll  by  Doll's  four  albums  is 
singer/guitarist  Jackie  Leven,  who  began  as  the  leader 
of  a  quartet  and  wound  up  its  only  member.  On  the  first 
three  LPs,  Ms  presence  is  so  commanding — thanks  to  a 
deep,  rich,  expressive  voice  that  leaps  into  falsetto  or 
descends  to  an  ominous  whisper  as  the  moment 
dictates — that  everyone  around  him  takes  a  back  seat. 
An  impressive  but  flawed  debut,  Remember  needlessly 
limits  Doll  by  Doll's  obvious  electric  strength.  Although 
some  tracks  rock  out,  the  group's  folk  roots  place  song 
before  the  performance,  occasionally  blunting  the  ex- 
citement. A  sophisticated  work  that  serves  mainly  to 
introduce  Leven's  startling  voice. 

After  some  personnel  changes,  a  reconstituted  Doll 
by  Doll  made  the  fine  Gypsy  Blood,  With  all  restraint 
lifted  and  the  emotional  intensity  cranked  up  high,  tunes 
like  "The  Human  Face"  and  "Teenage  Lightning"  are 
simply  magnificent — crystal  clear,  intricately  arranged 
and  full  of  rock  fire.  Leven's  voice  and  poetic  lyrics 
invest  the  record  with  dramatic  grandeur.  A  bit  over- 
blown, but  a  real  stunner. 

Long  delayed  by  contractual  problems,  Doll  fey  DoB 
suffers  from  creeping  relaxation.  The  flame  burns  less 
brightly;  although  songs  are  strong  and  affecting,  the 
reach  isn't  as  expansive,  and  the  results  not  as  attention- 
grabbing. 

In  partnership  with  vocalist  Helen  Turner,  Leven 
made  Grand  Passion  using  studio  sidemen,  attempting 
something  in  a  different  vein.  Unfortunately,  the 
experiment — whatever  it  may  have  been — failed.  Turn- 
er's singing  is  like  bad  Nico,  and  the  songs  are  filled 
with  pretentious  and  obnoxious  lyrics.  Musically  ade- 
quate but  totally  unappealing.  Doll  by  Doll  played  its 
last  gig  in  late  '84. 

Years  later,  Leven  rejoined  former  bandmates  Jo 
Shaw  (guitar,  vocals)  and  Dave  Mclntosh  (drums)  in 
Concrete  Bulletproof  Invisible*  a  promising  but  short- 


199 


lived  rock  with  ex-Ksto!  Glen  Mattock, 

Tfec  nifty  title  track  of  CBFs  1  Big  EP  lifts 

the  "White  Heat"  but  has  its 

as  v>eU,  the  (two  in  the  UK, 

in  the  US  t  a  hit  and  clunky,  li] 

Trod»l  1980 
3R4 

2  (nr/Pcwwi-Roogli  Track  |  1981 
Dome  3  (nr/Dome-Rough  Trade  J  1981 

(nr/dNMTy  Red}  1982 

Wii  You  Ths  Word  (Nor.  Uniton)  1  983 

8  Time  fCD)  f  rw/4AD)  1  988  • 

DUET 

Or  So  It  for/Mute  J  1983 

BRUCE  GILBERT 

mis  Way  fur/Mute!  1  984 
The  Shivering  Man  (m/Mute)  1  986  • 
Tb»  Way  to  ftw  Shtoring  Man  f  Mufe-Resttess)  1  990  * 
J  1991  $ 


HE  SAID 

Ha!  fnr/Mute)  1985  f  Mute-Restless)  1989  • 
Take  Care  fw/Mute)  1988  f  Mute-Enigma)  1989  * 

During  Wire's  lengthy  hiatus  (  1980  to  1986),  bass- 
ist Graham  Lewis  and  guitarist  B.C  (Brace)  Gilbert 
continued  their  partnership  —  often  under  the  name 
Dome  —  to  explore  the  outer  reaches  of  studio  technique 
and  synthetic  sound,  sidestepping  Wire's  arcane  hitmak- 
ing  tendencies  and  Colin  Newman's  more  classical  as- 
pirations. 

Done  abandons  conventional  song  form  for  a 
hodgepodge  of  treated  instruments  and  voices,  with 
tattling  mechanical  noises  infrequently  keeping  a  vague 
beat;  melodies  fragment  under  studio  manipulation.  Ee- 
rie. 3E4  moves  into  the  ambient  drone  music  pioneered 
by  Brian  Eno,  and  its  four  tracks  achieve  an  almost 
symphonic  effect.  Dome  2  continues  the  ambient/ 
minimalist  experimentation  of  the  first  two  albums, 
painting  audio  expressions  of  modem  ennui,  but  Dome 
3  breaks  stride*  lifting  die  beats  of  other  cultures  and 
mixing  them  with  abstracted  bits  of  psychedelia  and 
disembodied  noises.  The  71  -minute  8  lime  CD  com- 
bines the  contents  of  3R4  with  two  singles  released 
around  the  time  under  the  name  Cupel. 

MZUI/Waterioo  Gallery,  done  in  conjunction  with 
Russell  Mills,  makes  extensive  use  of  found  noises  and 
self-made  instruments.  Microphones  placed  around  a 
London  art  gallery  collected  intentional  and  uninten- 
tional sounds  from  inside  and  out.  The  arhythmic  result 
isn't  music  per  se,  but  a  curious  examination  of  the 
relationship  between  environment  and  sound. 

Will  You  Speak  This  Word  combines  some  of 
Dome  3*s  ethnic  borrowings  with  the  repetitive  mini- 
malism of  earlier  works.  The  suite-like  "To  Speak'* 
takes  up  all  of  one  side;  it  begins  with  quasi-  Arabic 
violin  and  random,  atonal  sax,  moving  into  an  acoustic 
guitar/sax/pseudo-African  drum  drone  with  slowly  shift- 
ing textures  before  ending  with  extraterrestrial  electron- 


ics. An  and  well-composed  piece.  The 

«de*s  six  rh>ihms  with 

touches  of  art-noise  on  a  variety  of  instru- 

ments, building  intriguing  trances.  A  progressive 
in  the  truest  sense  of  the  term. 

Duet  Emmo  was  a  one-off  project  by  Gilbert,  Lewis 
and  Mule  Records  chief  Daniel  Miller  (  the  name  is  an 
of  Dome  and  Mute ).  Or  So  It  Seems  fluctuates 
between  atonal,  electronic  sound  collages  and  stiff,  mo- 
notonous, synth-fonk  reminiscent  of  D.A.F.,  with  no 
track  ever  getting  off  the  ground.  Fun  studio  noodling 
no  doubt,  but  not  of  lasting  import. 

Gilbert's  This  Way  features  a  three-part  suite  ( "Do 
You  Me?  I  Did")  commissioned  by  Michael  Clark, 
leader  of  England's  hippest  dance  troupe  (the  company 
has  worked  with  the  Fall  and  performed  in  New  Order's 
"True  Faith"  video).  Part  of  the  Clark's  uniqueness  lies 
in  his  selection  of  music:  much  of  "Do  You  Me?"  is 
about  as  arhythmic  as  Music  for  Airports,  but  more 
dissonant.  The  remaining  two  tracks  are  mostly  perco- 
lating electronics  that  move  in  and  out  of  synch. 

Much  more  in  line  with  Dome's  experimental  ap- 
proach, The  Shivering  Man  is  a  meandering  instru- 
mental collection  of  spare  sonic  doodles.  (Some  of  the 
tracks  were  commissioned  by  artist  Angela  Conway,  a 
vocalist  on  He  Said's  Hail,  and  the  Paris  Opera  Ballet. ) 
Employing  the  kind  of  electronic  production  devices 
that  often  enliven  adventurous  modern  music,  the  only 
component  missing  from  The  Shivering  Man  is  the 
music  itself.  (This  Way  to  the  Shivering  Man  is  a 
compilation  containing  about  half  the  tracks  from 
Gilbert's  first  two  albums.)  Insiding  consists  of  two 
side-long  pieces  created  for  dance  pieces  by  choreogra- 
pher Ashley  Page. 

Released  the  same  year  as  Wire's  reformation,  the 
first  album  by  He  Said,  Lewis*  flexible  studio  project, 
includes  contributions  by  Gilbert,  co-producer/ 
programmer  John  Fryer,  Eno  and  others.  The  well- 
organized  music — essentially  effects-laden  electro-beats 
with  ethereal  vocals — never  quite  finds  its  stylistic 
voice,  although  individual  passages  are  impressive. 

The  follow-up,  Take  Care,  is  basically  another  col- 
laboration with  Fryer  (only  two  cuts  feature  anyone 
else).  While  the  general  approach  is  similar  to  the  think- 
ing person's  atmospheric  electro-pop  (at  times  not  un- 
like Wire)  on  Hail,  the  album  contains  a  surprising 
detour  into  rap  ("A.R.C.  Dicks  Love");  otherwise,  the 
long  (five  or  six  minutes  each)  songs  sound — or  at  least 
feel — kind  of  samey.  The  final  two  tracks  were  com- 
posed as  music  for  an  avant-garde  ballet.  [sg/dgs] 

See  also  A. C.  Marias,  Wire. 


DOM1NATRIX 

The  Dominatrix  Sleeps  Tonight  EP  (UpRoar-Streetwise) 
1984 

DEATH  COMET  CREW 

At  the  Marble  Bar  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 984 

DEATH  COMET 

"Mystic  Eyes'TDeath  Comet  Drive''  (J-Mark-Elelctra)  1986 
Charming  and  catchy,  Dominatrix' s  one  New  York 
club  hit  consists  of  passionless  dada  femme  recitation 
over  light  atmospheric  music  by  Stuart  Arbright  (ex-Ike 
Yard)  and  Ken  Lockie  (ex-Cowboys  International), 


200 


with  scratch  mix  effects  b>  Ivan         and  The. 

12-iRcb  offers  t%o  full-scale  two 

tional  remixes  ("Chants"  and  "Beat  Me"'). 

Collaborating          with  Lockie  as  co-producer  And 

joined  b>  a  few  ,  the 

Death  Comet  Crew  for  a  12-inch  elcctro-tunk 

that's  not  as  as  Dominatrix,  but  still 

ing  and  offbeat.  "At  the  Bar"  offers  a  vaned 

collection  of  percussion  sounds;  "Exterior  St.**  has  rap 
vocals  by  Rammellzee;  "Funky  Dream"  is  an  amus- 
ingly reductionist  cut-up  edit  of  the  word  "funky," 

Taking  a  rocking  Billy  Idolish  approach  without 
much  dance-club  potential,  Albright  and  the  crew 
from  DCC— guitarist  Michael  Diekmann  and  bassist 
Shinichi  Shimokawa — did  a  nice  cover  of  Van  Morri- 
son's "Mystic  Eyes"  on  the  Death  Comet  12-inch, 
sticking  a  similar-sounding  but  inferior  original  on  the 
flip.  [i] 

ANNA 

East  and  West  EP  (Bel  Crepuscufe)  1984 
Anna  Domino  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 986 
This  Time  (Bel  Crepuscute)  1 987  (Giant)  1 988  • 
Colouring  in  the  Edge  and  the  Outline  EP  (Bel 

Crepuscoie)  1988  (Giant)  1989  * 
Mysteries  of  America  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 990  « 

Transcontinental  chanteuse  Domino  was  bom  in  To- 
kyo, but  lived  in  Italy  and  Canada  before  moving  to  New 
York,  where  she  played  in  an  early  version  of  Polyrock. 
She  later  fell  in  with  the  Brussels  art-quiet  crowd  and  be- 
gan a  career  writing  and  recording  dignified  pop  songs. 
Following  the  East  and  West  mini-LP,  Domino  made 
her  full-length  debut,  produced  half-and-half  by  Alan 
RanJdne  of  the  Associates  and  Marc  Moulin  of  Telex, 

The  first  Domino  record  to  see  American  release, 
This  Time,  was  co-written  with  Belgian  multi- 
instrumentalist  Michel  Delory  (her  creative  partner  ever 
since)  and  produced  by  UK  technologist  Flood  (Era- 
sure, etc.).  A  weak  collection  of  diversely  dull  music, 
nice  but  unambitious  singing  and  sensitive  lyrics  that 
fall  just  short  of  imaginative,  This  Time  is  not  that  far 
from  a  synthesized  Motels  album. 

Colouring  in  the  Edge  unearths  a  much  more  pro- 
ductive approach.  Domino's  vocals  reach  an  understated 
eloquence  (doubling  herself  on  "Luck"  adds  to  the 
handsome  effect)  over  music  that  alternates  light  natu- 
ralism ("Clouds  of  Joy,"  "Perfect  Day-No,  He  Says") 
and  jittery  but  intimate  sequencers  ("88").  This  time, 
Domino  comes  off  like  a  suave  Suzanne  Vega  minus  the 
urban  poetry.  (On  the  12-inch  record's  original  Belgian 
release,  all  five  songs  are  mastered  on  one  side,  leaving 
the  other  to  an  artistic  engraving.) 

For  most  of  Mysteries  of  America,  acoustic  guitar, 
incidental  string  accents  and  the  merest  bits  of  percus- 
sion (bongos  are  the  loudest  rhythm  element)  set  off 
Domino's  wispiest  singing  and  most  involving  lyrics. 
The  continental  folk  of  "Paris/'  the  jazzy  "Tamper 
with  Time,"  the  courtly  lullaby  "Dust"  and  "Isn't  That 
So"  (a  Jesse  Winchester  cover)  are  all  quite  lovely, 
drawing  the  listener  further  into  Domino's  world.  But 
she  hasn't  completely  broken  off  her  affair  with  synthe- 
sizers, and  allows  the  mildly  overactive  chatter  of  sev- 
eral numbers  ("Bonds  of  Love,"  for  one)  to  interrupt 
the  album's  otherwise  beguiling  mood.  [i] 


1987 

Tins  trw's  mix  of 

and  pep  **&  »i  flat  of  an- 

Sao  she  Cat  tTbc  two 

CUnn.) 

is  ike 
of 
dist  att 

Though  arc 

titled,  they're  The  one 

the  ait  I  is  a 

like  **0b  and 

of  Mary" 

sive  tunes  with  lyrics.  Hie 

"When  You  Die  Your         Pop  Out"  a        for 

rustic  fatalism. 

The  second  (with  the 

Hicks  cover  painting  | 
stylistic  variety  and  the 

from  DIY  inspiration  to  no 

loss  of  energy  or  personality.  The  is  like- 

wise more  accomplished „  alternating  ("Up  & 

Down,"  "Try  to  Imagine  a  Terrible  World'* )  and 
("Boxful!  of  Bones,**  "Sickness"),  often  t 

place  where  the  two  overlap. 

See  also  Cat  Heads,  Harm  Farm, 

DOS 

Dos  (N«w  Affiance)  1986 

Nuntero  Dos  EP  (New  Aianc©)  1 989 

Dos — meaning,  of  course,  two — consists  of  hus- 
band-and-wife  bassists  Mice  Watt  {Mmiitemen,  flRE- 
HOSE)  and  Kka  Roessler  (ex-Black  Rag).  Since  Kim 
has  also  composed  for  fIREHOSE,  several  of  ttae  short 
compositions  comprising  the  pair's  charming  aftxim  Wot 
at  that  fine  trio's  signature  sound,  A  dose  of  D©s  entails 
little  more  (and  nothing  less)  than  two  basses  sniffing 
around  one  another  like  curious  animals*  making  it  an 
atmospheric,  playful,  even  loving  pleasure  to  hear. 

The  two  get  groovier  on  their  1989  EP  by  covering 
Billie  Holiday  ("Don't  Explain")  and  Sonic  Youth 
("Pacific  Coast  Highway").  But  more  singing  appar- 
ently means  less  bassing:  except  for  two  awesomely 
intelligent  instrumentals,  the  deep-down  sound  tends  to 
get  lost  in  breathy  melancholy,  fig] 

See  also  Black  Flag,  JD.O3,  flRWOSE,  Mlmte- 


DOTS 

Return  of  the  Dots  ...  (Ger.  Rebel)  1985 

I  Can  See  You  (Ger.  Rebel)  1 986 

Live  in  West-Germany:  1 5  Songs,  1 5  Stories  (Ger.  Rebel) 

1986 

This  longstanding  on-off  secret  of  the  NYC  scene 
has  been  able  to  pack  clubs  in  certain  Eastern  US  cities 
and  in  Germany  (not  to  mention  Holland  and  Yugosla- 
via), but  can  barely  get  a  booking  in  their  hometown. 
Such  topsy-turvyness  is  part  and  parcel  of  Dotsongs, 
underlined  by  an  unclassifiable  grab-bag  approach. 

After  a  very  brief  stint  in  a  precursor  to  the  Ra- 
mones,  guitarist  and  chief  songwriter  Ride  Garcia 


201 


the  Dots  in  1978  with 

early  guitarists  I  Garcia          on  the  late 

Alison  East,  but  the 

sole  of  Return  of  the         had 

cut  as  demos,  six  a  German 

put  it  out.  This  of  the         was  punk  energy, 

a  heavy          of  |  especially  early  Who  and 

Move),  The  Honeymoonen  and  Huckleberry  Hound. 
The  musical  styles  are  sort  of  jumbled,  as  are 
topics  f  infra-office  romance,  marrying  a  monkey,  a 
'*  Legend"  in  his  oun  mind,  etc.),  yet  if  all  somehow 
partly  through  Quidd's  high,  reedy  vo- 
cals. Plain  and  simple,  it's  a  lot  of  fun. 

The  early  Dots*  high-speed  hattioess  helped  inspire 
fans  at  a  Washington  DC  gig;  next  thing,  Quidd 
himself  producing  "Pay  to  Cum!,"  the  Bad 
Brains'  landmark  debut.  He  also  produced  an  EP  for  the 
Uadead  fled  by  an  ex-Misfit).  Then  came  Return,  fol- 
lowed quickly  by  the  other  two  LPs,  Unfortunately, 
what  the  live  album  so  fine  is  what  makes  the 

second  studio  LP  unnecessary.  The  live  LP  has  three  fab 
rcwoikings  (of  the  Beatles,  the  Count  Five  and  Maxine 
Nightingale!),  five  new  songs  and  seven  numbers  from 
previous  Dots  discs.  Six  of  those  are  from  I  Can  See 
You. 

On  the  live  LPT  the  nucleus  of  Quidd,  Garcia  and 
bassist  Leigh  Siotis  was  joined  by  Nat  Seeley  on  drums 
(replacing  Jeff  Formosa,  who  was  on  I  Can  See  You) 
and  guitarist  Ai  Maddy  (ex-Nitecaps).  The  two  guitars 
work  together  well,  and  the  album's  sound  is  full  and 
punchy — in  fact,  better  than  the  studio  LP.  Anyway,  it's 
as  much  fan  as  Return;  where  else  can  you  find  out  why 
some  people  go  to  hell  ("Hard  Times"),  what  to  do 
with  a  drunken  sailor  ("I  Won't  Cry  'Cause  You  Want 
Me  To")  or  where  "exceptionality"  went  (''Crime  of 
Passion").  Dottiness  may  be  an  acquired  taste,  but  it's 
quite  savory  in  its  own  odd  way.  Quidd  died  of  an 
aneurysm  in  1990.  M 

DOW  JONES  &  THE 
INDUSTRIALS 

See  Gizmos. 

DOWNY  MILDEW 

Downy  Mildew  EP  {Texas  Hotel)  1 986 
Broomfrae  (Texas  Hotel)  1 987 
Mincing  Steps  (Texas  Hotel)  1 988  t 

Those  who  like  R.E.M.  and  10,000  Maniacs,  and 
rush  out  to  get  everything  new  on  4AD  will  find  the 
shimmering  acoustic/electric  guitars  and  gauzy  ambi- 
ence of  Southern  California's  Downy  Mildew  as  re- 
freshing as  a  cool  sprinkle  on  a  hot  summer  night.  The 
first  EP  contains  four  songs  written  by  the  quartet's  two 
singing  guitarists,  Charlie  Baldonado  and  Jenny  Homer, 
and  introduces  the  band's  two  early  sides:  peppy  folk- 
pop  (he)  and  moodier  rock  balladry  (she), 

Broomtree  is  more  accomplished,  adding  key- 
boards, autoharp,  violin  and  dissonantly  bowed  cello  to 
the  acoustic  guitars  and  buffered  drums.  Unfortunately, 
the  slower  tempos  and  improved  production  reveal  a 
faint  resemblance  to  Dark  Side  of  the  Moon;  a  mild 
and  dry  jazzy  side  comes  through  as  well.  The  alterna- 


tion of  vocals  creates  a  certain  tension,  but  the 
band's  unassailable  delicacy  and  taste  provide  enough 
stylistic  unification  to  hold  the  album  together. 

Downy  Mildew's  increasingly  refined  escape  from 
Planet  Rock  continues  on  Mincing  Steps,  a  shimmering 
collection  that  reflects  the  group's  transition  into  a  dis- 
tinguished chamber  quartet.  Touching  on  some  of  the 
ways  "60s  rock  bands  introduced  baroque  classical  ele- 
ments into  their  sound.  Downy  Mildew  hit  the  right 
blend  of  energy  and  eclecticism  about  half  the  time. 
When  it  clicks,  the  record  is  a  rare  treat.  ['e/ij 

DRAGONS 

Parfums  cf©  la  Revolution  (Fr.  Blitzkrieg)  1982 

A  piece  of  punk  exotica:  three  underground  musi- 
cians from  mainland  China  recorded  in  secret  by  a  vis- 
iting Frenchman.  (Done,  thankfully,  before  the  brief 
1985  tour  there  by  Wham!)  Using  only  vocals,  electric 
guitar,  rudimentary  drums  and  Chinese  violin,  the  trio 
attempts  ** Anarchy  in  the  UK"  and  "Get  off  My 
Cloud**  with  truly  bizarre  results;  the  remaining  seven 
tracks  are  originals  in  a  more  traditional  Oriental  vein. 
A  fascinating  transliteration  of  rock  from  a  country  not 
generally  considered  in  terms  of  modem  music.  [i] 

DRAGSTERS 

See  Ronald  Koal  and  the  Trillionaires. 

DRAMATIS 

See  Gary  Numan. 

MIKEY  DREAD 

Dread  at  the  Controls  (nr/Trojan)  1 979 

African  Anthem  (Jam.  Dread  at  the  Controls)  1 979  (RAS) 

1989 

World  War  111  (Jam.  Dread  at  the  Controls)  1 980  « 
Beyond  World  War  111  (Heartbeat)  1981  • 
S.WALK.  (Heartbeat)  1982 
Pave  the  Way  (Heartbeat)  1 983  • 
Pave  the  Way  (Parts  1  &  2)  (nr/DEP  Infl)  1 985 
Happy  Family  (RAS)  1 989  * 

Evolutionary  Rockers  (Jam.  Dread  at  the  Controls)  1 989 
Best  Sellers  (Rykodisc)  1991  4» 

Jamaican  disc  jockey  Michael  Campbell  changed  his 
name,  moved  to  England  and  made  it  as  a  recording 
artist.  Dread  at  the  Controls  (the  name  of  his  radio 
show  and,  later,  record  label)  is  a  modest  debut,  but 
World  War  III  is  an  out-and-out  sonic  adventure. 
Mixed  up  (and  down)  by  Scientist,  the  LP  features 
Dread's  dancehall-style  toasting,  beefed  up  with  ultra- 
heavy  production  and  sonic  effects.  The  album  tied  into 
punk  rockers'  enthusiastic  acceptance  of  both  reggae* s 
outlook  and  its  techniques;  Dread  was  thus  considered  a 
new  wave  reggae  artist,  a  link  he  affirmed  when  he 
recorded  (on  Sandinista!  and  singles)  and  toured  with 
the  Clash.  (Beyond  World  War  in  is  a  slightly  revised 
American  edition.) 

Unfortunately,  none  of  his  later  releases  are  as  im- 
pressive as  WWHI.  S.W.A.L.K.  is  a  halfhearted  imi- 
tation filled  with  unconvincing  lovers  rock  made  worse 
by  Dread's  nasal  singing.  Pave  the  Way  (Parts  1  &  2) 


202 


is  just  as  inconsistent.  Although  it  stylistic  vari- 

ety. Dread's  and  Paul  on 

background  vocals,  the  IP's        tracks  are  chant-down 
cuts  like  "Roots  and  Culture,"  the  of  a  UK  chil- 

dren's show.  The  two-LP  British  version  is  impressive 
at  leasi  for  its  ambition;  the  prior  American  single  record 
in  comparison. 

African  Anthem  is  Mikey  Dread  at  his  best,  trip- 
ping out  with  sound  and  dub,  visiting  no 
one  else  has  ever  been.  Digging  into  his  library  of 
from  his  years  as  a  JBC  DJ,  he  includes  his  zany  station 
IDs,  drop-ins  and  samplings  amid  the  already  wild-style 
dubtronics.  Evolutionary  Rockers  (a  reisstte  of  Dread's 
first  LP)  also  features  superstar  remix  engineers  King 
Tubby  and  Prince  Jammy;  while  it  has  a  surreal  feel,  it 
isn't  as  dubby.  More  than  anything  else,  these  two  al- 
bums define  Dread  at  the  Controls,  an  originator  of  sheer 
genius. 

On  the  other  hand,  Happy  Family  suggests  that  Ms 
strength  may  lie  behind  the  scenes,  not  behind  the  mic, 
While  his  message  and  lyrics  are  still  strong,  Dread's 
singing  is  ofttimes  mediocre.  [bk/aw] 

DREAD  ZEPPELIN 

Un-ied-Ed  (IRS)  1990<f» 
5,000,000*  {SRS)  1 991  4 

Proving  that  a  joke  doesn't  have  to  be  funny  to  be 
successful  as  long  as  it  exploits  popular  prejudices,  this 
California  novelty  act — which  had  previously  self- 
released  a  cassette  album — hit  the  charts  by  covering 
Led  Zeppelin  songs  in  an  Elvis  Presley  impersonator 
voice  over  reggae  rhythms  with  dub  production  accents. 
The  sextet  gets  some  smileage  out  of  mixing  icons 
(sticking  "Heartbreaker"  and  * 'Heartbreak  Hotel'*  to- 
gether, and  running  "Black  Dog"  into  "Hound  Dog"), 
but  the  concept — an  idea  SCTV  could  have  squeezed  dry 
in  a  five-minute  skit — is  hardly  adequate  for  an  entire 
debut  album,  much  less  an  ongoing  career.  [i] 

DREAM  ACADEMY 

The  Dream  Academy  (Warner  Bros.)  1985  • 

Remembrance  Days  (Reprise)  1987  • 

A  Different  Kind  of  Weather  (nr/Bfanco  y  Negro)  1990 

(Reprise)  1991  4> 

In  a  shocking  success  story,  Dream  Academy's  easy 
listening,  generally  dull  pop  found  its  way  to  the  top  of 
America's  record  charts  in  1985.  "Life  in  a  Northern 
Town,"  the  atmospheric  Association-like  '60s  novelty 
tune  (acoustic  guitars,  chanted  vocals,  cellos,  tympani), 
is  pleasant,  pretentious  and  shallow,  but  nothing  else  on 
the  first  LP  comes  close  to  being  as  catchy  or  charac- 
teristic. Nick  Laird-Clowes  (ex-Act)  is  at  best  a  bland 
vocalist;  his  partners  (Gilbert  Gabriel,  keyboards;  Kate 
St.  John,  woodwinds,  horns)  are  equally  inadequate  to 
his  Thompson  Twins  fantasies.  The  LP  employs  many 
guest  musicians;  David  Gilmour  co-produced  most  of 
me  tracks. 

The  riot  of  credits  on  Remembrance  Days  acknowl- 
edges production  work  by  Hugh  Padgham,  Lindsey 
Buckingham  and  others.  It's  another  airy  record — 
stunningly  clean,  precise,  sophisticated  and  of  abso- 
lutely no  significance.  Dream  Academy  has  thankfully 


the  fc«i 

arc  Mill  tnfie*.  lyr^%  th£ 

of  education  If 

didn't  exist,  sail  be 

rate,  an  fct  i  picture. 

Other          a  of 

John  Lennon's  "Love"  (with  by 

Styreneh  and  the  "Merc>  Killing/' 

A  of  or 

stylistic  variation  on  the  trio's  St. 

John's  oboe  and  s»  is  aa  to 

blaidness,  but  the  is 

less,  relegating  the  so 

ambience  for  the  old  at  heart.  p] 

See  also  Act. 


See  Comsat  Angels, 

6 

See  Concrete  Blonde. 


SO 

Father's  House  (Coyote!  1 986 

Rough  Night  in  Jericho  f  Arista J  1 98B  • 

Gbryfinef  Arista)  1990* 

This  tuneful  Athens  threesome,  produced  on  its  first 
album  by  Peter  Buck,  uses  a  bit  of  piano  and  close  vocal 
harmonies — the  Kingston  Trio  and  Buffalo  Springfield 
come  to  mind — to  differentiate  itself  from  That  Other 
Local  Band.  Although  guitarist/singer  Barry  Marler 
does  favor  Buck,  Dreams  So  Real's  light,  airy  pop 
doesn't  really  reflect  an  R.H.M.  influence  at  all.  (Cover 
your  ears  when  "Capitol  Mall"  comes  on. )  In  any  case, 
Father's  House  is  too  mild  to  truly  matter:  while  the 
summery  ambience  is  pleasant  enough,  the  songs  are 
insubstantial  and  many  of  the  performances  rash  along 
in  an  overeager  blur. 

Moving  to  a  major  label,  the  trio  toughened  its  sound 
and  commercialized  its  approach  for  Rough  Night  in 
Jericho,  putting  stronger  rhythms  behind  the  ringing 
guitar  strums  and  arena-ready  drama  into  the  vocals. 
The  melodies  are  okay,  but  the  dynamic  delivery  exag- 
gerates the  weakness  in  Mailer's  lyrics. 

Gloryiine  wisely  backtracks  a  little,  simplifying  the 
drums  to  a  snappy  backbeat  and  tempering  the  electric 
intensity  with  a  folkier  sensibility,  acoustic  guitar  strums 
and  more  effective  use  of  guest  keyboards.  Dreams  So 
Real  are  still  caught  between  two  conflicting  impulses — 
big-league  rock  power  and  carefully  detailed  grassroots 
richness — but  this  album  puts  them  on  the  way  to  find- 
ing a  singable  solution.  Cindy  Wilson  of  the  B-52*s 
guests  on  one  track.  [i] 

DREAM  SYNDICATE 

The  Dream  Syndicate  EP  (Down  There)  1982  (Enigma) 

1984 

The  Days  of  Wine  and  Roses  (Ruby)  1 982 
Tell  Me  When  Ifs  Over  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 983 
Medicine  Show  (A&M)  1 984  • 


203 


This  li  No!  the  .  .  .          EP 


Out  of  th»  Grey  f  Kg  1  98  A  * 

50  In  o  25  Zap®  EP  (Big  1  987  * 

f  Enigma}  1  988  4> 
Live  of  1989  * 

Man  f  Rhino]  1  990  • 
Man  EP  {CD!  f  RNAJ  1  991  * 
Syndicate  was  one  of  the  first  bands  from  the 
psychedelic  revival  (mislcadingly  clubbed 
the  paisley  underground)  to  reach  a  national  audience. 
While  many  of  the  movement's  bands  plumbed  the 
Byn&Buffalo  Springfield  or  Pink  Royd  archives  for 
inspiration*  Dream  Syndicate's  weird,  obsessive  lyrics, 
relentless  maelstroms  —  mixed  with  eerie/pretty 

otherworldly  dirges  and  ballads  —  and  singer  Steve 
Wynii's  nasal  rasping  and  ranting  recalled  the  Velvet 
Uadcrgrouid,  though  (of  course)  they  steadfastly  de- 
nied that  to  be  their  intent.  Following  the  release  of  a 
four-song  demo  on  Wynn's  Down  There  label,  the  quar- 
tet its  proper  debut  on  The  Bays  of  Wine  asd 

Roots,  rawly  produced  by  Chris  D,  (  Flesh  Eaters/Divine 
Horsemen).  With  driving,  feedback-drenched  guitars 
and  stream-of-coflsciousricss  lyrical  spume,  the  record 
appealed  to  sensitive  English-major  college  radio  pro- 
^•tmn^srs  too  young  to  shoot  up  to  the  Velvets  the  first 
time  around,  (The  UK-only  Tell  Me  When  It's  Over 
EP  adds  three  live  cuts  to  the  title  track,  drawn  from  the 
alburn.) 

Original  bassist  Kendra  Smith  left;  the  band  signed 
to  A&M  and  recorded  a  second  album,  produced  by 
Sandy  Peariraan.  Wynnes  songs  remain  driven  and  ob- 
sessive, but  he  seems  more  inclined  to  ape  Mick  Jagger 
than  Lou  Reed  this  time.  Also,  guitarist  Karl  Precoda 
cuts  back  on  the  feedback  and  the  entire  album  has  more 
of  a  traditional  rock'n'roll  feel.  Early  fans  cried  sell-out, 
but  with  eight-minute  jam/raps  like  "John  Coltrane  Ste- 
reo Blues"  included,  that  accusation  doesn't  hold  much 
water, 

Nine-and-a-half  minutes  of  that  song  also  appear  on 
This  Is  Not  the  New  Dream  Syndicate  Album  .  .  . 
Live!,  a  dismal  document  recorded  live  in  Chicago  dur- 
ing the  1984  tour  that  followed  Medicine  Show.  (The 
two  records  were  later  paired  on  a  domestic  CD.) 

After  guitarist/producer  Paul  B.  Cutler  (ex-45 
Grave)  replaced  Precoda,  a  revitalized  Dream  Syndicate 
released  Out  of  the  Grey,  nine  nigged  rock-cowboy 
songs  characterized  by  Wymfs  worn  but  hopeful  vocals 
and  Cutler's  obsessive  distorto-guitar  madness.  Pro- 
ceeding from  Neil  Young's  Crazy  Horse  period,  songs 
like  "Forest  for  the  Trees/*  "Now  I  Ride  Alone," 
"Slide  Away"  and  "50  in  a  25  Zone"  (also  released  on 
a  12-inch  with  a  bare-bones  remix  and  three  added 
tracks,  including  a  maudlin  version  of  "The  Lonely 
Bull")  hum  with  enough  coarse  energy  and  stylistic 
insouciance  to  cover  their  compositional  deficiencies. 
(The  Out  of  the  Grey  CD  contains  the  HP's  extra 
tracks.) 

For  Ghost  Stories,  the  band  actually  enlisted  Neil 
Young's  old  producer  (Elliot  Mazer)  and,  whether 
through  his  guidance  or  their  own  maturity,  transcended 
previous  inconsistencies  to  make  a  great  album.  While 
still  mainly  offering  the  usual  dirges  and  ballads  (Blind 


Jefferson's  "%See  that  My  Grave  Is  Kept  Clean" 
is  a  perfectly  apt  covert,  Wynnes  songs  here  are  lean 
and  concise*  his  controlled  and  effective.  The 

instrumental  excesses  have  been  stripped  away*  and 
solid  music  replaces  noise  excursions.  If  soul-iiHorment 
songs  aad  "traditional"  rock  song  structures  don't  ap- 
peal to  you,  skip  this.  Otherwise,  it's  well  worth  check- 
ing out, 

Unfortunately,  after  the  Ghost  Stories  tour,  the 
band  itself  checked  out,  leaving  Live  at  JlajV s,  re- 
corded IB  January  *89  at  the  noted  Hollywood  nights- 
pot, as  a  rough'n 'ready  document  of  this  band  in  its 
best—and  final — stage.  (Hie  group's  fan  club  actually 
got  in  the  last  word,  releasing  a  1989  collection  of  out- 
takes  and  live  tracks  entitled  It's  Too  Late  to  Stop 
Now.) 

With  a  gang  of  session  players  and  LA  luminaries  in 
tow,  Wyon  began  work  on  Kerosene  Mao  immediately 
after  the  split,  but  many  of  the  songs  seem  to  chronicle 
a  breakup  of  a  more  personal  nature.  Covering  a  number 
of  musical  settings — ranging  from  Dylanesque  folk-rock 
('Tears  Won't  Help"  and  "Carolyn"  are  the  best)  to 
Transformer-era  Lou  Reed  soundalikes  (check  out  his 
phrasing  on  * 'The  Blue  Drifter"  and  "Conspiracy  of  the 
Heart")  to  more  abrasive  pieces  reminiscent  of  early 
Dream  Syndicate  ("Younger"  and  "Anthem"}—- 
Kerosene  Man  showcases  both  the  best  and  worst  of 
what  WyiiE  has  to  offer.  The  EP  contains  the  album's 
title  track  and  four  items — including  a  version  of  Sonic 
Youth's  "Kool  Thing"  recorded  in  Holland — from  var- 
ious 1990  radio  broadcasts.  [ep/i/ds] 

See  also  Danny  &  Dusty,  Human  Hands,  OpaL 


D.R.I. 

Drrty  Rotten  LP  (Rotten)  1 984  • 

Dealing  with  It!  (Death-Metal  Blade-Enigma)  1985  * 

Crossover  (Metal  Blade-Enigma)  1 987  • 

Four  of  a  Kind  [Metal  Blade-Enigma)  1 988  * 

Thrash  Zone  (Metal  Blade-Enigma)  1989  • 

Arguably  the  first  punk-to-metal  crossover  band, 
D.R.I,  was  formed  in  Texas  as  Dirty  Rotten  Imbeciles, 
playing  basic  raw  hardcore  (as  evidenced  on  the  self- 
issued  debut).  Shortly  after,  the  group  relocated  to  the 
San  Francisco  area,  and  Dealing  with  It!  blurs  their 
sound  into  more  of  a  speed  metal  category.  By  Cross- 
over, a  major  blow  to  the  few  remaining  boundaries 
between  the  by  then  very  similar  genres,  D.R.I.  had 
practically  become  a  full-on  heavy  metal  band.  The  next 
two  albums  expand  on  D.R.I. 's  sound,  bringing  the 
group — which  has  undergone  numerous  personnel 
changes — into  a  genre  otherwise  populated  by  the  likes 
of  Suicidal  Tendencies  and  Bad  Brains.  pa] 


DR1VIN'  N'  CRY1N' 

Scarred  but  Smarter  (688)  1986  (Island)  1988  * 
Whisper  Tames  the  Lion  (Island)  1 987  • 
Mystery  Road  (Island)  1 989  • 

DRIVIN-N-CRYIN 

Fly  Me  Courageous  (Island)  1991  * 

KEVN  KiNNEY 

MacDougal  Blues  (Island)  1990  • 


204 


KINNEY 

Everything  ioob  In  the  Dark  (Twilcght)  1 987 

Though  often  misidentified  a&  part  of  the  R.E.M.- 
led  new-Southern-rock  posse,  Atlanta's  drivin'  n*  crym* 
actually  embraces  an  eclectic  mix  of  styles,  from 
rock  to  bluegrass,  with  singer/guitarist  Kevn  Kinney's 
thoughtful  (If  occasionally  melodramatic)  lyrics  con- 
tributing a  romantic  working-class  Everyman  sensibility 
that  rarely  seems  forced. 

Scarred  but  Smarter  is  a  promising,  if  somewhat 
murky,  debut  whose  principal  charm  lies  in  the  way  the 
trio  mines  contrasting  genres  as  if  they  can't  tell  the 
difference.  The  enjoy  ably  mixed  bag  features  country- 
rockers  ("Another  Scarlet  Butterfly"),  pastoral  ballads 
("You  Mean  Everything"),  anthemic  blue-collar  rock 
("Stand  Up  and  Fight  for  It")  and  Sabbathy  metal 
("Saddle  on  the  Side  of  the  Road"),  all  united  by  Kin- 
ney's  salt-of-the-earth  lyrics. 

Produced  by  Anton  Fier  (who  also  did  most  of  the 
dramming),  Whisper  Tames  the  Lion  focuses  the  trio's 
musical  attack  while  maintaining  the  polystylistic  ap- 
proach. The  resulting  disc  is  surprisingly  balanced  and 
dynamic;  highlights  include  the  tense  title  track,  the 
garagey  "Powerhouse"  and  the  delicately  acoustic  "On 
a  Clear  Daze." 

Mystery  Road  shows  the  band  (now  a  four-piece 
with  the  addition  of  former  R.E.M.  roadie  Buren  Fow- 
ler as  second  guitarist)  growing  more  fluent  in  their 
varied  idioms.  Full-throttle  fastVloud  tunes  like  "Toy 
Never  Played  With"  and  "You  Don't  Know  Me"  sug- 
gest that  drivin*  n'  cryin*  could  probably  make  a  nice 
living  as  a  metal  band  if  so  inclined,  but  such  folkier 
numbers  as  "Peacemaker"  and  "Straight  to  Hell"  make 
you  glad  they're  not. 

Accompanied  by  a  streamlined  spelling  of  the  band's 
handle,  Fly  Me  Courageous  (with  hard-rock  producer 
Geoff  Workman  behind  the  board)  finally  whips  the 
band's  divergent  elements  into  a  cohesive  style.  Kinney 
and  Fowler  emerge  as  a  distinctive  guitar  team,  lending 
riflfy  authority  to  such  Kinney  compositions  as  the  title 
track,  "Around  the  Block  Again"  and  "Chain  Reac- 
tion." 

Kinney's  solo  MacDouga!  Blues  actually  features 
his  entire  band  (as  well  as  R.E.M/s  Peter  Buck,  who 
also  produced)  in  supporting  roles.  Though  the  album 
has  its  moments,  this  attempt  to  recast  Kinney  as  an 
acoustic  New  York  folkie  is  misguided;  he's  a  lot  more 
convincing  in  the  group  context. 

Everything  Looks  Better  in  the  Dark  is  a  collec- 
tion of  fifteen  tracks  recorded  by  Kinney  (who  wrote 
and  sings  all  but  one)  and  former  partner  Frank  French 
between  1984  and  1986,  The  tunes  sound  like  what  they 
apparently  were:  a  blueprint  for  drivin'  n'  cryin'  (the 
album  contains  one  song  bearing  the  band's  name,  and 
another  that  was  re-recorded  for  Whisper  Tames  the 
Lion).  [hd] 

DROOGS 

Heads  Examined  EP  (Plug-n-Socket)  1983 

Stone  Cold  World  (Plug-n-Socket)  1984  (JVC)  1987 

Kingdom  Day  (PVC)l  987  • 

Anthology  (Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 987 

Mad  Dog  Dreams  (Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 989  • 


]  990  • 

Uv«  sn  EP  jG*r 

On          first  EP,  LAN  play- 

ing M  m          and  iMaisj  V*R~ 

in  the  mid-'TOv—  man 

variously  the 

to  the  in  "^  >„  sfe« 

and  the  a  ot  to  Be 

Wild"  is  and  al- 

bum, by  ,  sets  a          am- 

bitious course,  on 

originals  and  mixing  in 
and  textures,  far 

clicMs.  The  bitt, 

a  few  notable  (tfee          title  for  in- 

stance )  aside,  still  falls  m  bit          of  on 

their  own  recorded  merits, 

With  Mankey  again  the 

Day  drops  the  nostalgia  and  f 

to  Roger  Clay  )  and  acoustic  to 

keeping  the  focus  on  Ric  Albin's  grawty  vocals.  D>- 
namic  arrangements  and  enthusiastic, 
make  up  for  material  that  isn't  all 
ble.  Hie  band's  shorter  songs  work  best,  tip 

R&B  and  boogie  stylings  into  modem  rock,  tot  the  mm 
non-original  —  "Call  off  Your  Dogs,"  written  by  Jeffrey 
Lee  Pierce  and  Peter  Case  —  is  the  record's  high  point. 
This  hot  date  proves  the  Droogs  need  no  longer  to 
sound  like  anyone  else. 

The  German  Anthology  is  a  well-annotated  diary  of 
the  first  decade  in  the  history  of  America's  first  proto- 
punk  combo:  a  full  five  years  before  such  genre  "fore- 
fathers" as  the  Chesterfield  Kings  and  the  Unclaimed, 
the  Droogs  were  spreading  the  gospel  according  to 
Question  Mark  with  a  series  of  spottiiy  distributed 
7-inch  manna  wafers.  All  of  that  early  issue  appears 
here,  for  the  most  part  in  lo-fi  that  attests  to  fee  band's 
purity  and  poverty.  Proof  that  a  modem  lifeline  — 
however  thin  —  has  always  been  connected  to  the  body 
of  '60s  raunch. 

Initially  set  for  release  a  couple  of  years  earlier  on 
the  ill-fated  PVC  label,  surfacing  first  in  Europe  as  Mad 
Dog  Dreams  and  then  expanded  by  two  tracks,  Want 
Something  essentially  crystallizes  what  the  Droogs  have 
been  moving  towards  for  the  past  few  years.  The  album 
layers  sinewy,  decidedly  Western  slabs  of  open- 
highway  hard  rock  (''Long  Daik  Night,"  John  Hiatt's 
"Zero  House'*)  with  moodier,  folk-tinged  atmospherics 
("Mad  Dog  Dreams"  and  "Devil  Left  to  Pay,"  the 
latter  written  by  LA  rock  scribe/rocker  Robert  Lloyd). 
That  the  multitude  of  guests  —  including  ex-Code  Blue 
honcho  Dean  Chamberlain,  Dream  Syndicaters  Steve 
Wynn  (who  sings  lead  on  Ms  own  composition,  "Ma- 
ria"), guitarist  Karl  Precoda  and  Paul  Cutler  (who  also 
produced  the  LP)  —  never  obscures  the  Droogs*  charac- 
ter is  a  tribute  to  the  group's  forceful  personality.  (The 
CD  adds  three.)  [i/dss] 


BILL  DRUMMOND 

See  Big  in  Japan,  Justified  Ancients  ofMu  Mw, 

DUB  SYNDICATE 

See  New  Age  Steppers. 


205 


DUCK  AND  THE  PONDS 

See  Alan  Sect, 

DUCKS 

DucfeMux*  (RCA)  1974 

Taxi  to  the  Terminal  Zone  (nr/RCA)  1975 

Don't  Mind  Tonic  (RCA)  1 978 

lost  Night  of  a  Pwb  Rock  Band  MoonJ  1 981 

Heard  in  the  cold  light  of  the  present,  England's 
pub~rockin'  Ducks  Deluxe  sound  rattier  inconsequential 
(if  amiable).  in  the  dark  ages  of  1974,  however, 

they  were  from  heaven.  Along  with  Brinsley 

Schwarz  and  Dr.  Feelgood,  the  Ducks  championed  a 
much-needed  return  to  basics  by  playing  in  traditional 
American  styles  diametrically  opposed  to  the  glitter  and 
art  then  in  vogue.  And  that  paved  the  way  for 

pink, 

Th€  Ducks'  first  (and  best)  LP  captures  the  ultimate 
pub-rock  band  IE  all  its  glory — great  for  dancing  and 
drinking,  not  critical  analysis.  Bursting  with  boisterous 
prick  and  spirit,  the  quartet  careens  through  covers  of 
by  Eddie  Cochran  and  the  Stones,  pins  "origi- 
nals" that  borrow  heavily  from  Chuck  Berry,  Lou 
Reed's  * 'Sweet  Jane,"  Otis  Redding  and  so  on.  Three  of 
the  four  sing:  Nick  Garvey  is  the  rough-hewn  romantic 
and  Martin  Belmont  the  awkward  crooner,  but  it's  Sean 
Tyla's  growling  boogie  that  sets  the  tempo. 

Taking  its  title  from  a  line  in  Chuck  Berry's  "Prom- 
ised Land, ' '  Taxi  to  the  Terminal  Zone  beats  the  soph- 
omore jinx  but  also  exposes  the  band's  limitations. 
Many  of  the  tracks  are  simply  rewrites  of  songs  from  the 
first  LP,  which  themselves  were  hardly  groundbreakers. 
A  cover  of  the  Flamin  Groovies*  *  Teenage  Head"  is 
inspired,  however.  The  album  benefits  from  Dave  Ed- 
munds* production  and  the  addition  of  keyboardist  Andy 
McMaster(s),  author  of  the  surprisingly  poppy  "Love's 
Melody/'  a  foretaste  of  the  work  he  and  Garvey  would 
pursue  in  one  of  the  Ducks'  many  outgrowths,  the  Mo- 
tors. 

In  1978,  RCA  sensed  that  the  Ducks  could  be  tied  to 
the  growth  of  new  wave,  and  released  Don't  Mind 
Rodtin'  Tonight,  a  collection  titled  after  one  of  the 
standout  boogie  tracks  on  the  first  album.  A  must  for  the 
band's  fans,  as  it  contains  some  previously  non-LP 
B-sides;  expendable  for  everyone  else. 

Last  Night  of  a  Pub  Rock  Band—that  is,  July  1, 
1975 — is  so  abysmally  recorded  that  even  aficionados 
should  skip  it.  Qy] 

See  also  Motors,  Graham  Parker,  Rumour,  Sean 
Tyla  Gang. 

DUET  EMMO 

See  Dome. 

STEPHEN  "TIN  TIN"  DUFFY 

The  Ups  and  Downs  (nr/10-Virgin)  1985  • 

STEPHEN  DUFFY 

Because  We  Love  You  (nr/10-Virgin)  1986  • 

If  awards  were  handed  out  for  foresight,  Birming- 
ham's Stephen  Duffy  would  not  likely  be  considered  for 
one.  At  the  turn  of  the  decade,  he  parted  company  with 


a  trendy  new  romantic  band,  saying  they  were 

just  too  reliant  OE  synthesizers  for  his  taste.  Never  mind 
that  his  own  subsequent  work  has  included  plenty  of 
electronics;  the  band  he  left  was  Duran  Duran. 

It  took  a  little  while*  but  Duffy  did  eventually  get  his 
own  career  off  the  ground.  Using  the  ludicrous  nom  de 
rock  Tin  Tin,  he  had  big  international  dance  hits  with 
**Kiss  Me"  and  '*Hold  Me/'  both  annoying,  stereotyp- 
ical synth-pop  ditties.  The  former  was  re-released  sev- 
eral times  and  (two  years  later)  included  on  The  Ups 
and  Downs,  his  long-delayed  solo  debut. 

Because  We  Love  You  drops  the  Tin  Tin  tag  and 
much  of  the  electronic  orchestration,  replacing  the  latter 
with  generic  pop/rock/soul  from  the  Wham!/Spandau 
school.  With  such  ingenious  titles  as  "I  Love  You," 
"Love  Station"  and  "Unkiss  That  Kiss,"  almost  every 
track  is  a  predictable  melange  of  horns  and  standard 
bass/drums  patterns,  topped  with  Duffy's  wimpy,  emo- 
tionless voice.  He  can  write  good  hooks,  but  neither  of 
these  albums  offers  anything  you  haven't  already  heard. 

See  also  Lilac  Time.  [dgs] 

DUKES  OF  STRATOSPHEAR 

See  XTC. 


DUMPTRUCK 

D  Is  for  Dumptruck  (incos)  1 983  (Big  Time)  1 985 
Positively  Dumptruck  (Big  Time)  1 986  * 
For  the  Country  (Big  Time)  1987  • 

An  interesting  partnership  from  Massachusetts:  Kirk 
Swan  and  Seth  Tiven  each  sing,  write  and  play  guitar 
and  bass  on  D  Is  for  Dumptruck,  with  only  a  drummer 
for  company.  The  dozen  songs  fall  somewhere  between 
Joy  Division  and  the  dB's — too  bleak  and  intense  to  be 
happily  engaging,  yet  rooted  in  a  jagged  pop  melodi- 
cism.  Insecure,  downcast  lyrics  support  the  pair's  darker 
side;  occasionally  chipper  guitar  bits  elevate  the  mood. 
Although  some  tracks  are  disorientingly  dense  and 
chilly,  Dumptruck  can  be  a  most  entertaining  and  stim- 
ulating proposition.  (The  reissue  is  identical  save  for  the 
back  cover.) 

With  a  full  two-man  rhythm  section  and  producer 
Don  Dixon  on  keyboards,  Dumptruck  firmly  pushed 
Positively  towards  the  Chris  Stamey  facet  of  its  person- 
ality, playing  rugged  guitar  pop  with  the  same  intelli- 
gence but  more  melodicism.  Although  Swan  and  Tiven 
write  separately,  then-  musical  styles  meld  together  with- 
out seams.  The  strained,  mildly  anguished  vocals  Defi- 
nitely suggest  the  ex-dB,  but  the  busy  dramming, 
swirling  guitars  and  raggedly  Byrdsish  harmonies  give 
Dumptruck  a  sound  of  its  own. 

Swan  is  gone  from  the  third  album,  replaced  by 
another  singing  guitarist;  the  lineup  sports  a  new  bass- 
ist as  well.  In  a  vain  bid  for  commercial  acceptance 
(Big  Time  having  pacted  with  RCA  for  distribution 
and  marketing),  For  the  Country  was  produced  in 
Wales  by  Hugh  Jones.  Dumptrack  sounds  stronger 
than  ever:  Tiven,  now  the  sole  writer,  sings  his  de- 
jected lyrics  with  a  surprisingly  determined  edge,  as  a 
wall  of  strummed  guitars  and  a  loudly  echoing  back- 
beat  surge  behind  him.  He's  certainly  not  a  happy  fel- 
low: the  irony  of  "Carefree,"  disgust  of  "Friends," 


206 


anxiety  and  resignation  of  the  delicatelv  haunting 
"Dead  Weight"  are  merely  the  tip  of  his  melancholy 
iceberg  Involving  and  unsettling,  [i] 

SLY 

See  Sly  &  Robbie. 

Condones  {Sire]  1  989  ® 
Autobtografb  (Sire)  1 990  * 

Far  from  being  the  Basque  revolutionaries  of  their 
press  notices,  this  mild-mannered  Spanish  duo  plays 
simple,  hearty  guitar  pop  (frequently  with  nothing  more 
than  a  single  acoustic )  in  a  willy-nilly  variety  of  idioms: 
bare-bones  rockabilly,  early  Elvis  Presley  and  the  Ev- 
eriy  Brothers,  as  well  as  more  modern  designs.  (The 
only  musical  traditions  that  seem  to  have  been  over- 
looked are  any  that  would  reflect  the  group's  national 
origin.)  A  compilation  of  the  band's  first  three  Spanish 
albums,  Caocioiies  wobbles  all  over  the  place  with 
charming  enthusiasm  and  great  vocals,  frequently  sug- 
gesting a  destylized  translation  of  the  Stray  Cats  or 
House  of  Freaks. 

Under  the  tutelage  of  British  producer  Colin  Fairley , 
Mikel  Erentxun  (guitar,  vocals)  and  Diego  Vasallo  (vo- 
cals, bass)  made  AutobiograJKa  with  such  sympathetic 
rockers  as  Nick  Lowe,  Brinsley  Schwarz,  Pete  Thomas, 
Bruce  Thomas  and  the  Rumour  Brass.  Regardless  of 
good  crossover  intentions,  however,  the  tasteful  assis- 
tance all  but  buries  the  band's  personality,  eliminating 
its  eccentricities  and  erasing  the  look-ma-we-made-a- 
record  I  giddiness  that  surges  through  every  groove  of 
Canciones.  As  a  further  inducement  to  Anglo-American 
pop  consumers,  the  LP  includes  a  bonus  EP  (added  to 
the  CD  and  cassette  as  well)  containing  accented  En- 
glish renditions  of  three  album  tracks  and  one  Canci- 
ones number.  [i] 

DURAN  DURAN 

Duron  Duran  (Harvest)  1981  (Capitol)  1983  • 

Rio  (Harvest)  1982  (Harvest-Mobile  Fidelity)  « 

Carnival  EP  (Harvest)  1 982  « 

Seven  and  the  Ragged  Tiger  (Capitol)  1 983  « 

Arena  (Capitol)  1  984  • 

Notorious  (Capitol)  1 986  • 

Big  Thing  (Capitol)  1 988  • 

Decade  (Capitol)  1989* 

Liberty  (Capitol)  1990* 

ARCADIA 

So  Red  the  Rose  (Capitol)  1 985  • 

ANDY  TAYLOR 

Thunder  (MCA)  1 987  • 
Dangerous  (nr/A&M)  1990  • 

Although  conceived  as  a  mix  of  the  Sex  Pistols  and 
Chic,  Birmingham's  Duran  Duran  was  in  fact  launched 
as  another  pretty-boy-new-romantic4iaircut-dothes- 
synth-pop-dance  ensemble  and  became  an  unimaginably 
popular  teen  sensation,  drawing  young  fans  into  Hie 
world  of  techno-dance  music.  Taking  cues  (sound  and 
image)  from  early  Roxy  Music  and  using  simple  elec- 
tronics to  flavor  the  lush  but  powerful  rock  sound,  Du- 


ran crra^brcd          craft  uuh  A 

consciousness  t          videos  as  a  >  to 

records          are  at 

semi-inventive  rock,         if          not         the         and 
their  followers  it 

the  is  a  re- 

sonic  by  Colin  Tburstcm 

Tracks  like  "Planet  Earth/*  *  "Girts  on  Film"*  Is 

There  Anyone  Oat  There"  the  of 

'70s  disco — 

gimmickry — to  a  011  post-UItnvox  rock  to 

something  that  was,  at  the  time,  fairly  The 

elongated  strains  of  synthesizer 
cover  a  multitude  of  creative  bin  it  s  still 

an  extraordinary  album  -classic 

Ri©  fulfills  the  band's 

songwriting  and  far  more  intricate  The 

music's  clearly  danceable,  but  brilliantly  as 

well.  Singer  Simon  Le  Bon  bandies  tantalizing 
and  obtuse  lyncs  with  confidence  I  if  not  abil- 

ity), while  honestly  proficient  musicianship  by  the 
four  defines  each  song's  character  differently.  Tfeere 
isn't  anything  less  than  good,  and  "Rio,""  "Last  Chance 
on  the  Stairway"  and  *4New  Religion"  are  downright 
astonishing  in  their  melodic  excellence.  Thanks  to  a 
remix  that  features  prominent  female  moaning  (and  an 
exotic  video),  * 'Hungry  Like  the  Wolf"  caught  Amer- 
ican radio  programmers*  attention,  and  lofted  the  band 
high  into  the  charts,  where  they  long  remained  a  well- 
appointed  fixture. 

Quick  to  recognize  Duran' s  essential  role  as  a  dance 
band  with  rising  commercial  appeal,  the  group's  US 
label  released  a  package  of  four  remixes  ("Hungry  Like 
the  Wolf,"  "Girls  on  Film,"  "Hold  Back  the  Rain" 
and  "My  Own  Way")  as  Carnival. 

Parting  ways  with  Thurstoa,  Duran  attempted  to  ex- 
pand their  musical  horizons  beyond  the  lush  ambience 
of  Rio  and  developed  a  herky-jerky  rhythmic  style 
aimed  at  creating  catchy  singles  in  a  variety  of  modes. 
Unfortunately,  this  led  them  to  make  the  utterly  detest- 
able Seven  and  the  Ragged  Tiger,  a  sorry  collection  of 
half-baked  melodies,  meaningless  lyrics  (their  earlier 
work,  while  not  poetry,  at  least  sounded  clever)  and 
over-active  studio  foolishness.  Basically,  the  songs  ain't 
no  damn  good.  And  even  a  passable  item  like  "The 
Reflex"  gets  twisted  wife  exaggerated,  comical  vocals; 
"Union  of  the  Snake"  sounds  only  half- written.  The 
only  truly  noteworthy  song,  "New  Moon  on  Monday," 
actually  sounds  like  an  outtake  from  Rio.  Still,  me  al- 
bum proved  extremely  successful  among  the  audience 
who  cheered  the  video  monitors,  not  the  band,  during 
the  tour  that  followed  it. 

Arena,  the  audio  documentary  of  a  mammoth  coast- 
to-coast  American  trek,  features  surprisingly  good  play- 
ing (but  extremely  bad  singing)  on  nine  hits; 
additionally,  the  package  (and  I  do  mean  package)  in- 
cludes a  studio  cut,  "The  Wild  Boys,"  produced  by 
Nile  Rodgers,  which  resembles  a  possible  theme  song 
for  Lord  of  the  Flies.  This  album  is  irrelevant  to  anyone 
over  the  age  of  fifteen. 

Duran  Duran  spent  the  next  two  years  spEt  into  two 
camps.  Taylor  and  Taylor  (Andy  and  John)  formed 
Power  Station,  while  Simon,  Nick  and  Roger  stuck  to- 
gether, dubbing  their  subr-group  Arcadia.  Not  surpris- 


207 


ingly,  with  the  artistic  troublemakers  out  of  the  picture , 
Arcadia's  So  Red  the  Rose  (produced  by  the  late  Alex 
Sadkin  and  featuring  guest  spots  by  Sting,  Herbie  Han- 
cock, David  Van  Tieghem,  David  Gilmour,  Andy 
Mackay  and  others)  is  virtually  an  old-fashioned  Duran 
Duran  album.  Not  an  especially  good  one,  mind  you, 
but  it  does  sound  a  lot  more  like  Hi©  than  Seven  and  the 
Ragged  Tiger  does, 

Although  they  had  a  number  one  single  in  mid- '85 
with  the  theme  song  for  a  James  Bond  film  ( *4  A  View  to 
a  Kill"),  the  group  was  in  a  transitional  state.  Roger  left 
in  1986;  Andy  stayed  long  enough  to  play  on  four  tracks 
on  the  next  album  before  splitting  for  a  solo  career.  That 
left  Simon,  Nick  and  John  Taylor  to  carry  the  tattered 
but  marketable  banner,  supported  on  Notorious  by 
producer/guitarist  Nile  Rodgers  (talk  about  realizing  ca- 
reer ambitions).  Missing  Person  guitarist  Warren  Cuc- 
curullo  and  session  drummer  Steve  Ferrone.  A  lack  of 
material,  a  surplus  of  horns  and  the  overall  sterile  pop/ 
funk  precision  leave  Duran  resembling  a  dull,  toned- 
down  Power  Station  with  no  songs.  The  title  track  isn't 
entirely  horrible,  but  that's  not  much  to  hang  an  album 
on,  (That  same  year,  John  Taylor  wrote  and  recorded  a 
big-selling  solo  single,  "I  Do  What  I  Do,"  for  the  film 
9  112  Weeks.} 

Critics  might  have  written  the  group  off  by  that 
point,  but  somebody  bought  a  million  copies  of  Noto- 
rious, granting  the  group  license  to  make  the  even  worse 
Big  Thing .  Again  towing  Cuccurullo  and  Ferrone,  the 
trio  sleepwalks  through  an  utterly  unmemorable  collec- 
tion of  rote  retreads,  complete  with  premature  middle- 
age-crisis  sexual  stupidity  (from  the  same  school  as  the 
Who's  similarly  titled  It's  Hard)  and  brief  instrumental 
interludes.  A  total  waste  of  time. 

The  appearance  of  Decade,  a  selective  but  solid  sin- 
gles compilation  with  cover  by  fashion  designer  Stephen 
Sprouse,  underscored  the  group's  flagging  creative  mo- 
mentum and  raised  the  possibility  that  the  not-so-wild 
boys  might  have  called  it  quits. 

No  such  luck.  The  best  that  can  be  said  about  Lib- 
erty (unveiling  Cuccurullo  and  drummer  Sterling 
Campbell  as  permanent  members)  is  that  it  doesn't 
sound  much  like  Notorious  or  Big  Thing.  Chris  Kim- 
sey's  lively,  down-to-business  production  avoids  those 
albums'  obvious  sonic  vapidity.  A  senseless  collision  of 
standard  Duran/Power  Station  funk,  tuneless  guitar 
raunch  (!),  Motown-inflected  soul  pop  ("Violence  of 
Summer  (Love's  Taking  Over)"  sounds  like  the  B-52's 
interpreting  Joe  Jackson),  numbing  dance  grooves,  Rio- 
style  lushness  and  even  (now  here's  a  great  idea)  found- 
sound  audio  collage,  Liberty  is  accessibly  idiotic,  with 
lyrics  that  set  new  standards  for  pretensions  gone  out  of 
bounds.  Typical  of  Le  Bon's  crimes  against  intelligence, 
taste  and  dignity:  "Divine  blasphemer  tempting/holy 
beads  of  jism/with  the  scarlet  catechism  ..."  Yeuch! 

Andy  Taylor's  solo  career  got  off  to  a  quick  and 
weird  start  in  mid-*86  when  he  scored  a  minor  hit  single 
with  "Take  It  Easy,"  a  song  for  the  American  Anthem 
soundtrack.  Unlike  anything  else  in  his  past  work,  the 
song  unnervingly  resembles  the  Bellamy  Brothers'  1976 
easy-listening  smash,  "Let  Your  Love  Flow." 

Although  Taylor's  name  alone  graces  the  cover  of 
Thunder,  ex-Pistol  Steve  Jones  co-wrote,  co-produced 
and  played  half  the  guitar  on  it.  Impressionable  Duran- 
nies  must  have  plotzed  upon  hearing  their  beloved  fash- 


ion plate  roanog  through  demi-metai  rock 
Pathetic  at  incorporating  echoes  of  Duran  aid 

Power  Station  aside,  the  pair's  power  chords  (and  e\ea 
some  of  the  solos)  ring  loud  and  true,  giving  the 
songs  conviction,  if  not  artistic  merit.  |ij 

See  also  Power  Station. 


95 

Lose  Control  f Can.  Star)  1 983 

Dreams  and  Trains  EF  (Stonegarden)  1986 

Mothers  Day  (Can.  Star)  1 990 

PURPLE  TOADS 

Purple  Toads  (Can.  Star)  1 986 

Love  Songs  for  ihe  Hard  of  Hearing  (Can.  Star}  1 988 

These  five  garage-punk  wiseacres  from  Oshawa, 
Ontario,  must  have  been  raised  on  a  strict  diet  of  the 
Shadows  of  Knight.  Greg  Weir  has  a  semi-whiny  teen 
voice  that  blends  efficiently  with  the  band's  restrained 
roar  on  Lose  Control.  Not  spectacular,  but  good  fun. 

Before  splitting  (the  two  guitarists  and  bassist  went 
on  to  form  the  Purple  Toads)  in  1984,  the  Durangos  cut 
a  fun-filled  second  album  that  wasn't  issued  until  six 
years  later.  Mothers  Day  pushes  less-stylized/less- 
funny/more-confident/more-mature  rock'n'roll  (Weir's 
voice  is  a  lot  easier  to  take  this  time  around)  on  such 
charging  originals  as  "Cats  Aren't  Like  People,"  "Han- 
gin*  from  a  Tree"  and  "Waking  Up  Stoned." 

The  Purple  Toads  play  '60s  punk  classics  ("You're 
Gonna  Miss  Me,"  "Sometimes  Good  Guys  Don't  Wear 
White,"  "Nobody  but  Me,"  etc.)  and  garagey  originals 
("You  Got  Money")  with  unfettered  enthusiasm  and 
solid  skill  on  the  excellent  Purple  Toads;  guitarists  Paul 
MacNeil  and  Rob  Sweeney  can  get  a  good  Yardbirds- 
style  R&B  fire  going.  With  the  exception  of  "Tobacco 
Road"  and  three  others,  the  raunchier-sounding  Love 
Songs  is  entirely  (and  effectively)  self-penned.  [i] 

DURUTTI  COLUMN 

The  Return  of  the  Durutti  Column  (nr/Factory)  1979  • 

LC  (nr/Factory)  1981  • 

Another  Setting  (nr/Factory)  1 982  • 

Live  at  the  Venue,  London  (nr/VU)  1 983 

Amigos  in  Portugal  (Portuguese  Fundacio  Ariantica)  1984 

Without  Mercy  (nr/Factory)  1 984  • 

Say  What  You  Mean,  Mean  What  You  Say  EP 

(nr/Factory)  1985* 
Do/no  Arigato  [CD]  (nr/Factory)  1985  • 
Circuses  and  Bread  (nr/Factory)  1985  • 
Valuable  Passages  (Factory-Relativity)  1986  • 
Live  at  the  Bottom  Line  New  York  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 987 
The  Guitar  and  Other  Machines  (Venture-Virgin)  1 988  • 
The  First  Four  Albums  [CD]  (nr/Factory)  1988  • 
Vini  Reilly  (nr/Factory)  1989  • 
Obey  the  Time  (nr/Factory)  1 990  • 

VINI  REILLY 

The  Sporadic  Recordings  [CD]  (nr/Sporadic)  1 989  • 

Durutti  Column — the  historical  name  comes  from 
the  Spanish  Civil  War— is  essentially  guitarist  Manches- 
ter Vini  Reilly  (who  began  his  career  as  a  punk,  in  the 
late-'70s  Ed  Banger  &  the  Nosebleeds),  although  he  has 
used  other  musicians  in  the  studio  and  tours  with  other 
players.  In  the  late  '80s,  Reilly  branched  out,  backing 


208 


Morr.v»ev  <  NfKeh&edk  aSumnus.  &s 

on  his  first  solo  record  and  Corking  c?n  an  .issorttRcm  of 
project* 

on 

a  perverse!  v 

of  evocative  iifetruRienuls,  muhi- 

and  with  and 

studio-created  percussive  effects  Occasionally  reminis- 
cent of  Mike  Oldrield's  and          of  the 
Fnppeitronics  recordings,  Reilly  pretty  his 
own  style— a  gentle,                                   of 
and  electric  guitar  textures. 

Hannett  is  absent  from  the  self-prodiieed  LC,  Bruce 
Mitchell  plays  drams  IE  spots,  and  Reilly,  regrettably, 
"sings"  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks,  all  of  which  It 

the  lesser  of  Reilly "s  first  two  works,  the  in- 

sttiimentals  still  provide  pleasant  listening. 

Continuing  to  experiment  with  various  approaches, 
Reilly  incorporated  a  cor  anglais  ( English  horn )  player 
on  Another  Setting.  The  first  of  the  two  side-long 
pieces  that  comprise  Without  Mercy  is  like  modem 
chamber  music,  an  ambitious  and  shifting  mixture  of 
piano,  horns,  strings  and  electronic  percussion,  The  sec- 
ond, which  favors  guitar,  employs  an  entire  studio 
group,  including  Blaine  Reininger  of  Tuxedomoon. 

While  hardly  raucous,  Reilly  moved  further  away 
from  his  ambient  roots  on  Say  What  ¥011  Mean:  deep, 
heavy  electronic  (or  treated)  percussion  is  annoyingly 
high  in  the  mix  on  most  of  the  six  tracks.  The  record *s 
highlight,  "Silence,"  starts  out  sparsely,  with  electronic 
piano  and  marimba,  and  builds  nicely  with  the  addition 
of  drums,  trumpet,  slide  guitar  and  Reilly's  much- 
improved  voice.  Although  his  vinyl  output  is  perhaps 
more  prolific  than  his  creativity,  Reilly  is  capable  of 
producing  rewarding  music, 

The  airy  and  alluring  70-minute-long  Dora®  Art- 
gato  CD,  recorded  live  at  a  1985  Tokyo  concert  appear- 
ance by  Reilly  (singing  and  playing  a  bit  of  piano), 
drummer  Mitchell  (doubling  on  xylophone),  John  Met- 
calfe  (viola)  and  Tim  Kellett  (trumpet),  draws  its  ma- 
terial from  all  of  DCs  prior  releases  and  has  beautifully 
clear  sound.  Offering  an  equally  comprehensive  review 
of  the  studio  albums,  the  smartly  compiled  Valuable 
Passages  adds  a  previously  unreleased  item  and  assorted 
rarities  (from  singles,  etc.),  making  it  the  perfect  intro- 
duction to  Reilly's  soothing  atmospherics.  For  the  com- 
plete review  of  the  Durutti  Column's  early  work,  The 
First  Four  Albums  is  a  four-CD  repackage  (in  one 
jewelbox)  of  The  Return,  LC,  Another  Setting, 
Without  Mercy  and  Say  What  You  Mean. 

Circuses  and  Bread  finds  Reilly  again  constructing 
layers  of  repetitive  guitar  figures  with  varying  mixtures 
of  other  ingredients — drums,  viola,  piano,  vocals, 
horns,  sound  effects — to  help  differentiate  the  tracks.  In 
two  groundbreaking  tracks,  * 'Hilary"  is  the  loudest, 
most  aggressive  thing  he  has  ever  recorded,  while 
"Royal  Infirmary,"  a  somber  mood  piece  played  on 
piano  and  punctuated  by  the  sound  of  automatic  rifle 
fire,  has  no  guitar  at  all. 

The  live-in-New  York  cassette  finds  Reilly,  backed 
by  Mitchell  and  Metcalfe,  playing  piano  and  treated 
guitar  on  a  career-spanning  program  (with  little  overlap 
of  Domo  Arigato's  song  selection)  of  tasteful  instru- 
mental that  suffers  from  an  inordinate  amount  of  tape 
hiss. 


0!'  me  at  thai 

<nh4W  Up  fill 

m  aad 

M&cdJie  i  pSui  Srt  a  letter  ite^rw  /  fen  itodu*  sup- 

The  eleven  pieci*  mitfc  guts!  *<ueaii }  are  as 

somcilK  as  Ruh>  has  e^er  at- 

tempted While  Ae  ^rrop'" 

this  focftrtil  his 

Using  vocalists, 

on  DAT)  is  Reill>*s  ye*. 

but  it  bis  »or 

on  of          i.  While  the 

of  "La\e  No  More** 

*  'Pol  IP*  G    is  jmt 
no  Bet  the 

suave  of  I/*  the 

of  ** People's  Park"          the 

work  of  "Red  ,  *  *  I  on 

>  is          and  in  t*&  way,  but 

variety  leaves  the  album— -aai,  %  the 

artist— -without  0r 

See         Morrissey. 

IAN 

N«w  Boots  and  1 977  1 986  « 

Lord  Uprnmster  fPalyclor}  1981 

199G* 
Apples  (w/WEAJl  989  » 

IAN  DURY  &  THE  BLOCKHEADS 

Do  It  Ywrseif  (Stfff-Epic)  1 979  f nr/CtemonJ  1 990  • 

laygbierf$«f?-EpfcJ1980 

Jukebox  Dwy  {Stiff  America!  1 981 

Greatest  Hfe  for/Fame!  1982 

Sex  &  Drugs  &  Rock  &  Roll  f  m/Demon)  1 98$  « 

WarfeWAudiencft  (re/Demon}  1991  * 

IAN  DURY  AND  THE  MUSIC 
STUDENTS 

4000  Weeks'  Holiday  fnr/Pofytfor)  1964  fnr/Groaf 

Expectations)  1990* 

Stunted  in  giowA,  crippled  by  polio  and  unicpen- 
taatly  Cockney,  Ian  Dwy  is  one  of  rock's  most  memo- 
rable (and  certainly  lovable)  figures.  Handly  a 
newcomer  in  1977 — the  35-year  old  had  alieady  been 
around  with  Kilbum  and  the  High  Roads — Dmy  carae 
into  his  own  with  New  Boots  and  Pintles!!,  an  album 
whose  energy  almost  defies  it  to  stay  on  the  turntable. 
With  the  motley  but  talented  Blockheads,  Etoy  trounces 
memly  through  outrageous  odes  like  "PMstow  Patri- 
cia," "Billericay  Dickie/"  **B!ockheads"  and  the  an- 
themic  "Sex  &  Drugs  &  Rock  &  Roll"  (not  on  the 
original  UK  LP,  but  added  to  the  American  edition  and 
later  to  the  British  as  well).  A  more  sensitive  side 
emerges  lyrically  on  "Sweet  Gene  Vincent/'  **My  Old 
Man"  and  4'If  I  Was  with  a  Woman"  and  musically  on 
"Wake  Up  and  Make  Love  with  Me,*1 

Dury  and  the  Blockheads*  disco  leanings  came  to 
the  fore  on  the  dazzling  Do  It  Yourself.  The  band's  rich 
interweaving  behind  Duty's  playfully  obscure  vocals 
may  have  meant  sensory  overload  for  some,  and  the 
more  sophisticated  music  (compared  to  New  Boots'  of- 
ten raucous  blare)  must  have  turned  away  the  punk  cad- 
res. With  hindsight,  though,  Do  It  Yourself  can  be 


209 


heard  as  a  trailblazing  fusion  of  dance  musics,  in  both 
upbeat  ("Sink  My  Boats,"  4t  Dance  of  the  Screamers'*) 
and  relaxed  ("Inbetweenies,"  "Lul!ab>  for  Prancies"> 
modes. 

Blockhead  musical  director  Chaz  Jankel  left  after 
Do  It  Yourself,  but  the  band  carried  on  with  thinner 
textures  and  ex-Feelgood  guitarist  Wilko  Johnson.  (Jan- 
kel subsequently  pursued  a  dull  solo  career  as  a  pianist/ 
singer.)  Laughter  is  an  uneasy  and  uneven  mix  of 
whimsical  concepts  like  "Yes  &  No  ( Paula  K"  4i Dance 
of  the  Crackpots"  and  "Over  the  Points,"  as  well  as 
less-inspired  funk-rock  like  4t(Take  Your  Elbow  Out  of 
the  Soup  You're  Sitting  on  the  Chicken)"  and  "Sueper- 
man's  Big  Sister/" 

Dury  abandoned  Stiff  and  scuttled  the  Blockheads, 
but  reunited  with  Jankei  for  Lord  Upmiiister,  recorded 
in  the  Bahamas  with  reggae  rhythm  kingpins  Robbie 
Shakespeare  and  Sly  Dunbar.  After  the  Blockheads*  joy- 
ful noise,  Lord  Upmiiister's  funk  sounds  ascetic.  (Key- 
board player  Tyrone  Downie  is  the  only  other  musician. ) 
Disappointingly,  Duty  scales  down  his  writing  for  the 
occasion,  approaching  minimalist  levels  on  "Wait  (For 
Me)"  and  "'Trust  (Is  a  Must)."  Aside  from  the  exceed- 
ingly frank  "Spasticus  (Autisticus),"  the  record 
amounts  to  a  creative  holding  pattern. 

It  took  Dury  three  years  to  bang  out  another,  this 
time  with  a  mostly  unfamiliar  set  of  sidemen  working 
under  the  ironic  Music  Students  moniker.  The 
homemade-look  cover  of  4000  Weeks'  Holiday  belies 
the  slickly  produced  soul  tracks  inside;  only  Dury's 
homey  speak-singing  connects  the  songs  to  a  non- 
mainstream  aesthetic.  Lyrically  conservative  as  well, 
Dury  waxes  romantic  ("You're  My  Inspiration")*  trea- 
cly ("Friends"),  political  ("Ban  the  Bomb'1),  noirish 
("The  Man  with  No  Face")  and  whimsical  ("Take  Me 
to  the  Cleaners"). 

Reuniting  with  Mickey  Gallagher,  Davey  Payne  and 
a  host  of  other  old  mates  (Steve  Nieve  and  Wreckless 
Eric  both  guest),  Dury  broke  a  five-year  recording  si- 
lence with  the  charming  and  gentle  Apples.  While  the 
lightly  flavored  arrangements  leave  the  songs  (mostly 
Dury/Gallagher  compositions)  on  the  pleasant  side  of 
mild,  Dury's  personable  vocals  provide  all  the  character 
needed.  (Frances  Ruffelle  duets  on  several  tracks  and 
sings  one  solo.)  In  any  case,  Dury's  lyrics — with  the 
exception  of  "Love  Is  AH"  ("My  fevered  brow  is  burst- 
ing till  I  choke"???) — are  wonderful.  Besides  satiric 
slaps  at  tabloid  reporters  ("Byline  Browne")  and  nov- 
ice policemen  ("Pc  Honey"),  he  considers  the  labor 
problems  faced  by  criminals  ("The  Right  People"), 
offers  a  laundry  list  of  British  celebrities  (' 'England's 
Glory"  )  and  rewrites  the  Lord's  Prayer  with  homonymic 
place  names  ("Bus  Driver's  Prayer"). 

In  his  prime,  Dury  worked  best  outside  the  album  for- 
mat. "Hit  Me  with  Your  Rhythm  Stick"  was  hastily 
added  to  Do  It  Yourself  as  a  bonus  45;  "Reasons  to  Be 
Cheerful  (Part  3)"  fell  between  Do  It  Yourself  and 
Laughter.  Although  it  could  be  ungenerously  inter- 
preted merely  as  Stiff's  last  chance  to  cash  in,  Jukebox 
Dury  (reissued  as  Greatest  Hits)  is  also  the  best  and 
most  consistent  Dury  LP.  Besides  the  two  hits  just  men- 
tioned, it  has  other  fine  45  sides  ("What  a  Waste," 
"Razzle  in  My  Pocket,"  "Common  as  Muck")  and  a 
few  choice  album  cuts.  Dury's  humanism  comes  through 
loud  and  clear,  and  the  record  is  programmed  swell. 


Created  as  a  complement  to  New  Boots  Pant- 
ies!!,  the  Sex  &  Drugs  compilation  is  almost  identical 
to  Jukebox  Dury  except  that  it  omits  "Sweet  Gene 
Vincent"  and  "Wake  Up  and  Make  Love  to  Me**  in 
favor  of  "Seeperman's  Big  Sister"  and  "You're  More 
Than  Fair."  The  CD  has  four  bonus  tracks.  Warts W 
Audience  is  a  live  LP  from  December  1990.  fsi'i] 

DWARVES 

Horror  Stories  (Voxx)  1 986 

Toolin'  for  a  Warm  Teabag  (Nasty  Gash}  1 988 

Aslro  Boy  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1990 

Blood  Guts  &  Pussy  (Sub  Pop)  1 990  • 

Lucifer's  Crank  EP  (No.  6)  1991 

A  Hard  Da/s  Nightmare  (Midnight)  1 985 

Proponents  of  an  extremist  wing  of  the  less-is-more 
school  of  thought,  the  Dwarves  have  wreaked  much 
underground  havoc  with  highly  confrontational  (often 
blood-soaked)  live  sets  that  are  over  in  ten  minutes,  and 
"longplayers"  of  acute  political  incorrectness  which 
don't  last  even  twice  that.  If  there  weren't  so  much 
action  here — imagine  watching  The  Evil  Dead  on  fast- 
forward — these  San  Francisco-via-Chicago  neo-punks 
might  be  just  another  bunch  of  exhibitionists. 

The  Dwarves  downplay  the  existence  of  Horror 
Stories  which,  all  things  considered,  is  solid  reasoning. 
Captured  in  transition  from  teen  Zappaphiles  to  circus- 
freak  speedballers,  the  quartet  strains  against  the  flower- 
power  leash,  but  never  manages  to  break  free.  What 
followed,  however,  is  a  metamorphosis  as  ungodly  as 
any  in  the  annals  of  rock'n'roll.  Toolin'  for  a  Warm 
Teabag  lasts  but  nine  minutes,  but  that's  enough  time 
for  the  Dwarves  to  slash  through  seven  post-hardcore 
incantations  ("Free  Cocaine,"  "Let's  Get  Pregnant," 
etc. )  that  effectively  exorcise  any  prior  embarrassments. 

You  might  think  that  Blood  Gets  &  Pussy's  title 
(along  with  the  calculated  offense  of  a  cover  that  depicts 
two  women  and  a  real  dwarf,  all  nude  and  drenched  m 
type-O  claret)  tells  you  all  you  need  to  know  about  the 
disc.  Think  again.  Unexpectedly  tight  and  musicianly 
(especially  guitarist  He  Who  Cannot  Be  Named),  the 
Dwarves  reveal  themselves  as  informed  pop  students. 
Pushed  along  by  the  yammering  vocals  of  Blag  Jesus 
(aka  Julius  Seizure),  these  eleven  tracks  (fifteen  min- 
utes this  time)  are  constantly  on  the  verge  of  falling 
apart.  But  somehow,  that  translates  into  immensely 
powerful  forward  propulsion.  The  CD  includes  two 
non-LP  tracks  from  the  7-inch  Astro  Boy. 

A  Hard  Day's  Nightmare  is  the  real  wild  card  here. 
Recorded  before  the  renamed  band's  move  to  Califor- 
nia, it's  more  or  less  a  drug-sodden  update  of  Cousin' 
with  Ruben  and  the  Jets,  sound-collage  splatter  oozing 
between  relatively  straightforward  bits  of  Farfisa-tinged 
psychobilly.  The  disc  is  more  clever  than  outrageous;  a 
song  called  "6"  brags  "I  ain't  gonna  be  no  average 
dick."  And  while  a  cover  of  "Brand  New  Cadillac" 
may  have  appealed  to  revivalists,  there's  nothing  old- 
fashioned  about  an  album  whose  sides  are  titled  "Sex" 
and  "Sex  &  Drugs." 

The  Lucifer's  Crank  7-inch  compiles  seven  alter- 
nate takes  of  songs  from  the  past  three  records,  plus  a 
devolved  obliteration  of  Red  Crayola's  "Hurricane 
Fighter  Plane."  [dss] 


210 


DYS  and  M  a  of  it 

{Toong}}  19S3  **E&»pe,"  a 

DYS  1984  The 

known  for  his  in 

Washington  DCs  Dag  Nast>  and  California's  All  Dave  an  cover  of 

his  in  Boston,  with  a  aiidapairofpaafodie*(**Dsrt>tDo|5"and**RabaDttb"*). 

ironically  for  the  city's  of  to  suit  the  and  DYS  is 

Youth  Services.  On  Wotfjpack,  as  DYS  the  mockery,  I  Or  is  it?»  a 

judgmentally  self-righteous  straighf-cdge          1 1  e, ,  no  or  a  b^  idea  dud  the 

drugs,  no  drink  I  that  became  in  and  has  a  real  scai>  cover  aod 

EXT,  Smalley  comes  off  as  an  and  a  Funny  or  not.  it  just  isn't  my 

temble  singer.  Though  the  debut  could  simply  be  See         All,         Hasty. 


211 


E    E    E    E    E    E    E    E 


EASTERHOUSE 

In  Our  Own  Hands  EP  f  fir/London)  1 985 
Inspiration  EP  (nr/Roiigb  Trade)  1986 
Contenders  (Rowfh  Trade-Columbia)  1986  • 
Wolfing  for  the  Redbird  ( Rough  Trade-Columbia! 

1989* 

Easterhouse's  original  incarnation— a  Manchester 
quintet  led  by  argumentative  brothers  Andy  (vocals/ 
lyrics)  and  Ivor  (guitar)  Perry — turned  strident  leftist 
rhetoric  into  bracing,  cathartic  music  before  predict- 
ably imploding  over  ideological  conflicts.  The  band's 
demise  was  a  shame,  since  Easterhouse  seemed  well 
on  its  way  towards  perfecting  a  brand  of  explicitly  po- 
litical rock  that  compromised  neither  music  nor  mes- 
sage. 

The  four-track  In  Our  Own  Hands  is  a  command- 
ing debut,  bursting  with  musical  energy  and  topical  fer- 
vor. Inspiration  examines  the  troubles  in  Northern 
Ireland  with  convincing  passion,  while  giving  Ivor  a 
convincing  framework  for  his  spidery  guitar  lines.  Two 
Inspiration  numbers — the  title  song  and  "Nineteen 
Sixty  Nine" — later  showed  up  on  Easterhouse's  long- 
play  debut. 

Contenders,  Easterfaouse's  abortive  shot  at  US 
success,  almost  makes  good  on  the  band's  lofty  goals. 
Their  lyrical  concerns  are  compelling  and  clear  with- 
out falling  prey  to  sloganeering  or  anthem-mongering. 
The  music  is  both  melodic  and  muscular,  lending 
authority  to  Andy's  regret-tinged  broadsides.  Songs 
like  "Out  on  Your  Own,"  "To  Live  Like  This" 
and  "Cargo  of  Souls"  vilify  various  institutions  (in- 
cluding England's  Labour  Party)  without  losing  sight 
of  the  human  cost  of  governmental  oppression.  (The 
English  CD  adds  two  songs  not  on  the  American  LP  or 
CD.) 

Ruminations  on  the  contradictions  inherent  in  a  rev- 
olutionary communist  band's  affiliation  with  a  multina- 
tional entertainment  megalith  were  put  on  hold  when 
Easterhouse's  initial  lineup  fell  apart  not  long  after  Con- 
tender's US  release.  Ivor  Perry  and  drummer  Gary  Ros- 
tock briefly  (one  single  on  UK  Rough  Trade)  reemerged 
in  a  new  band  called  the  Cradle,  with  ex-Aztec  Camera/ 
Smiths  guitarist  Craig  Gannon. 

Andy  Perry,  meanwhile,  held  onto  the  Easterhouse 
name  and  released  Waiting  for  the  Redbird,  a  virtual 
solo  album  whose  slick,  processed  studio  sound  couldn't 
be  further  from  the  five  piece's  bare- wires  approach. 
Perry's  lyrics  remain  singleminded  and  lucid  enough  for 
his  extremism  to  be  intermittently  compelling.  Ulti- 
mately, though,  without  a  commanding  musical  identity 
to  match  his  exhortations,  the  one-dimensional  dogma 
rings  hollow.  Wicked  Irony  Department:  Redbird's  an- 
themic  "Come  Out  Fighting"  was  briefly  adopted  as  an 
all-purpose  go-for-it  anthem  by  unsuspecting  American 
TV  sports  programs.  [hd] 


Wall  to  Wall  EP  fChetnick)  1 986 
Eastern  Bloc  (Paradox-Passport)  1 987  • 

These  three  New  York  scene  veterans — bassist  Ivan 
Krai,  guitarist  Mark  Sidgwick  and  drummer  Frankie 
LaRocka — have  individually  backed  the  likes  of  Patti 
Smith,  Iggy  Pop,  David  Johansen,  Holly  Vincent,  Tim 
Scott  and  John  Waite.  Their  own  band's  album,  while 
not  exactly  a  groundbreaker,  is  a  thoroughly  respectable 
melodic  rock  collection  that  reflects  the  years  they've 
spent  in  the  trenches.  Sidgwick  has  a  pleasant  if  limited 
voice  and  his  guitar  playing  is  both  fiery  and  flexible; 
the  rhythm  section  is  dexterous  and  inventive.  A  Pink 
Floyd-speed  version  of  Krai's  estimable  1979  Smith  col- 
laboration, ""'Dancing  Barefoot,"  is  odd  enough  to 
work;  the  Sidgwick/Kral  originals  could  use  smarter  lyr- 
ics, but  don't  want  for  hooks  or  commercial  craft.  [I] 

See  also  Holly  and  the  Italians,  David  Johansen, 
Patti  Smith. 

EASTERN  DARK 

See  Celibate  Rifles. 

EAST  OF  EDEN 

East  of  Eden  (Echo  Chamber-Capitol)  1 989  « 

Slick  and  soul-free,  this  Boston  quintet  (with  a  re- 
cycled name:  no  relation  to  the  '70s  British  rock-with- 
violin  band)  fronted  by  singer/songwriter  Cinde  Lager 
displays  an  efficiently  modern  keyboard/guitar  sound — 
equally  beholden  (indirectly)  to  the  Pretenders  and  Sim- 
ple Minds — and  weak  material  on  its  dull  debut, 
produced  by  Roy  Thomas  Baker.  [i] 

ELLIOT  EASTON 

See  Cars. 

EAT 

Sell  Me  a  God  (Rction-PolyGram)  1 989  * 

Lauded  in  Britain  but  virtually  unknown  in  the 
States,  this  Bath-born/London-formed  quintet's  first  LP 
is  one  of  the  most  impressive  debuts  of  recent  years. 
Merging  elements  from  bands  as  diverse  as  the  Doors, 
Gang  of  Four  and  Big  Audio  Dynamite,  Eat  created  an 
instantly  familiar  record  that  ultimately  sounds  like  no 
one  else.  From  the  spaghetti  western  blues  crunch  of 
"Tombstone"  and  "Walking  Man"  to  the  swampy  rap 
of  "Stories'*  and  "Things  I  Need/*  Eat  marries  hip-hop 
technology  to  an  ersatz  bayou-bred  instinct.  Lyrically, 
SeH  Me  a  God  conjures  up  seamy  abstract  imagery  in 
the  tradition  of  scuzz-poet  Jim  Morrison;  what  may  read 
as  pretentious  drivel  on  paper  sounds  just  right.  (The 


212 


CD          two  and  a  strong, 

on  the  Lovin'  Spoonful'*  **  Summer  in  the  Ci!>  ** ) 

Eat  recorded  a  second  album,  up  m  No- 

1*)90,  leaving  its  in  hmbo. 


EATER 

Tha  Album  for/The  1977 

Get  Your  Yo  Yos  Out  EP  1 978 

The  History  of  Eater  Vol.  S  f  nr/DeloreonJ  1 985 

British  punk  became  a  true  youth  movement  in  1976 
upon  the  arrival  of  Eater,  a  London  group  with  13-year- 
old  drummer  Dee  Generate.  (The  members  were 
15  at  the  time. )  Although  not  taken  seriously  at  first,  the 
unwitting  stars  of  Don  Letts*  Punk  Movie  (responsible 
for  the  ridiculous  pig-head  scene )  two  credible 
and  likable  45s: " "Outside  View"  (after  which  Generate 
was  replaced  by  the  more  talented,  and  slightly  older 
Phil  Rowland,  who  joined  Slaughter  and  the  Dogs  when 
Eater  split  in  '78)  and  the  punk  classic  "TMnMng  of  the 
U.S.A." 

The  album  that  followed  is  uneven  but  spirited. 
"Lock  It  Up"  (another  choice  45),  "Public  Toys," 
"No  More"  and  an  improved  version  of  "Outside 
View"  Ts  B-side  (**You")  join  hilariously  trashy 
sped-up  covers  of  the  Velvets'  "Waiting  for  the  Man" 
and  "Sweet  Jane,"  Bowie's  "Queen  Bitch"  and  Alice 
Cooper's  "18"  rejuvenated  as  "15."  Andy  Blade's  vo- 
cals are  Lou  Reed  deadpan,  Brian  Chevette's  guitar  is 
raspy  and  simple,  and  Ian  Woodcock's  bass  runs  along 
with  stunning  velocity. 

Get  Your  Yo  Yos  Out  is  an  unremarkable  four- 
song  live  outing,  thought  it  does  contain  two  numbers 
never  released  in  studio  form.  While  The  History  of 
Eater  is  mostly  a  reprise  of  The  Album  with  a  few 
added  45  tracks,  it  includes  a  bonus  7-inch,  credited  to 
Eater,  of  a  Blade  solo  single,  recorded  in  the  mid-'8Qs 
with  ex-Damned  guitarist  Brian  James.  A  second  vol- 
ume of  rare  and  live  Eater  material  was  announced  but 
never  appeared.  Orl 

EAZY-E 


ECHO  &  THE  BUNNYMEN 

Crocodiles  (Sire)  1980« 

Shine  So  Hard  EP  (nr/Korova)  1981 

Heaven  Up  Here  (Korova-Sire)  1981  • 

Porcupine  (Korova-Sire)  1 983  • 

Echo  and  the  Bunnymen  EP  (Korova-Sire)  1 983 

The  Cutter  [tape]  EP  (nr/Korova)  1983 

Seven  Seas  EP  (nr/Korova)  1 984 

Ocean  Rain  (Korava-Sirey  1 984  • 

Songs  to  Learn  &  Sing  (Korova-Sire)  1985  « 

Echo  &  the  Bunnymen  (Sire)  1 987  • 

Bedbugs  &  Ballyhoo  EP  (Sire)  1 988 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988  • 

WILL  SERGEANT 

Themes  for  Grind  (nr/92  Happy  Customers)  1 982 

BALCONY  DOGS 

Trip  (nr/B!oodline-lsland)  1988  • 


IAN 

&  EP  • 

fl!»  EP 

1990* 
Thh»  its,  late-* 7$         a  trio 

the  Liver- 

pool's        \*a*e  a 

in  us  Unlike 

the  sdea,  !» 

s0a  vocals  are  no 

om  st 

in  or  in 

toon  to  the  of  an  0a 

Will  yet 

tar        Pete  De  Frettas* 
drums  set  the  for  McCultoch's 

<The  US  al- 
bum        "Do  It  Clean"  and  It  in  Books." 
originally  UK  B-sides,  | 

The  four  on  So  Hani  the 

soundtrack  to  a  half-hour        of  a  cos- 

cert  a  and 

and  mostly  serves  to  preview  fee  LP  in 

luster  fashion  Bat  in  its  own  the 

Heaven  Up  Here  to  the 

cogency,  with  McCuUoch  less  a  a 

whiner.  The  old  potency  is  still  at           ( 

cm  Side  One)  but,  like  McCuUoch,  the 
fragile,  even  brittle;  overall,  it's  a  dreamy, 
and  depressing  effort. 

Echo's  third  LP  is  £ ar  more  an  Invigo- 

rating collection  of  bizarre,  challenging  given  sur- 
prising but  fitting  cotor  by  the  addition  of  violinist 
Shankar's  offbeat  waitings.  Sweeping  creations  like 
"The  Cutter"  and  "The  Back  of  Love"  are  tremen- 
dously exciting;  the  rest  of  Porcupine,  if  not  as  consis- 
tently memorable,  captures  the  band's  unique  essence 
with  grace  and  style.  New-found  efficiency  dispatches 
past  self-indulgent  inaccessibility. 

The  even-better  Ocean  Rain  exchanges  Shaakar's 
unique  cootributioo  for  more  routine  string  accompani- 
ment, but  offers  an  amazing  skein  of  great  sotigwrithig. 
"Silver,"  **Crystal  Days/'  "Seven  Seas**  and  "The 
Killing  Moon"  all  achieve  the  ideal  manriage  of  pop 
with  drama,  using  McCulloch's  strong  vocal  presence 
and  Sergeant's  varied  and  textoral  guitar  week  to  imbue 
the  songs  with  majesty  and  subtlety. 

Concisely  recapitulating  the  band's  first  five  years, 
Songs  to  Learn  &  Sing  is  a  welcome  retrospective: 
nine  essential  items,  a  fine  new  tune  (*  'Bring  on  the 
Dancing  Horses*  * )  and  '  "The  Puppet, '  *  Echo*  s  third  sin- 
gle (from  1980),  which  had  not  been  on  any  previous 
US  release.  The  CD  and  cassette  have  four  bonus  tracks. 

The  all-great  eponymous  1983  EP  contains  *'The 
Cutter"  and  "Back  of  Love"  (from  Porcupine),  "Res- 
cue" (from  Crocodiles)*  * 'Never  Stop"  (a  1983  single) 
plus  a  live  version  of  iSDo  It  Clean"  from  the  Royal 
Albert  Hall.  The  Cutter  cassette,  which  contains  the 
tittle  tune  plus  four  live  Peel  session  tracks,  was  also 
packaged  in  with  initial  UK  quantities  of  Porcupine. 
The  Seven  Seas  EP  is  available  as  a  five-song  12-inch 
(with  LP  tracks  from  Ocean  Rain  and  Crocodiles)  and 
as  a  seven-song  doublepack  45.  The  Peel  session  EP 


213 


predates  the  first  LP,  and  contains  live-in-tfee-stadio  ren- 
ditions of  "Read  It  in  Books/*  "Villiers  Terrace"  and 
two  other  songs, 

De  Freitas  briefly  left  Echo  (ex-Haircut  One  Hun- 
dred drummer  Blair  Cunningham  took  Ms  place )  in  1 986 
but  was  back  in  the  lineup  in  time  for  Echo  &  the 
B'tmapnen,  a  solid  and  mature  album  which  gains  mo- 
mentum as  it  plays.  Produced  by  Laurie  Latham,  en- 
gaging, reflective  songs — "Lips  Like  Sugar,"  4tLost 
and  Found/'  "New  Direction"  and  "All  in  Your 
Mind1' — show  the  Bunnymen's  ongoing  refinement  and 
consistent  quality;  the  band  acknowledges  its  debt  to  the 
Doors  by  prominently  featuring  Ray  Manzarek,  one  of 
several  guest  keyboardists  the  record  employs,  on  the 
distinctly  reminiscent  "Bedbugs  and  Ballyhoo."  That 
track  (in  its  LP  version  and  an  elongated  remix)  was 
subsequently  issued  as  one  side  of  an  EP,  the  flipside  of 
which  offers  three  spiffy  live  covers:  "Paint  It  Black," 
the  Velvet  Underground's  "Run,  Run,  Run"  and  Tele- 
vision's "Friction."  (In  a  similar  vein,  Echo  contrib- 
uted a  version  of  the  Doors'  "People  Are  Strange"  to 
The  Lost  Boys'  soundtrack.) 

In  1982,  Sergeant  self-released  Themes  for  Grind, 
a  noodly  instrumental  solo  album  originally  created  to 
accompany  a  film  project  that  was  never  completed.  In 
1988,  the  Balcony  Dogs  (successor  to  the  abortive  Sex 
Gods,  the  band  De  Freitas  formed  with  two  members  of 
the  Bunnymen  road  crew  during  his  sabbatical)  released 
Trip,  a  surprisingly  good  recoid  on  which  the  drummer 
plays  only  a  minor  role.  Putting  an  intermittent  psyche- 
delic '60s  spin  on  casual  guitar  pop  (with  strong  nods  to 
Echo,  the  Doors  and  other  relevant  referents),  the  Bal- 
cony Dogs — with  genealogical  connections  to  many 
Liverpool  luminaries — sound  a  bit  like  Bunnymen  fans 
trying  to  impress  themselves,  but  the  playing  and  sing- 
ing displays  such  ingenuous  enthusiasm  that  the  LP  is 
hard  to  resist. 

McCulloch  quit  in  mid-'88,  picked  up  a  guitar  and 
began  writing  songs  for  his  first  solo  album.  Released 
late  the  following  year,  The  alluring  Candleland,  at- 
mospherically produced  by  Ray  Shulman,  distills  the 
dreamy  rock  sound  of  Echo  &  the  Bimnymeii  while 
preserving  the  band's  sweeping  melodies  and  guitar 
hooks.  His  expressive  vocals,  surprisingly  good  guitar 
playing  and  resonantly  emotional  lyrics  (the  haunting 
"Start  Again"  bids  farewell  to  his  late  father,  De  Frei- 
tas, who  died  in  a  1989  accident,  and  another  friend 
who  passed  away)  make  such  excellent  new  songs  as 
"Flickering  Wall/'  "White  Hotel"  and  "Proud  to 
Fall"  immediately  familiar;  varied  arrangements  turn 
others  (like  "Faith  and  Healing,"  "The  Cape"  and 
the  waltz-time  "I  Know  You  Well")  into  everything 
from  orchestrated  balladry  to  New  Orderized  dance- 
pop.  With  only  one  serious  flaw — the  songs'  elemen- 
tary chord  patterns — Candleland  is  a  magnificent 
record. 

Besides  an  incidental  remix  of  the  title  song,  the 
Faith  &  Healing  EP  offers  a  trio  of  non-LP  tracks  pro- 
duced by  McCulloch  and  performed  with  his  hard- 
rocking  touring  band,  the  Prodigal  Sons.  Two  of  the 
tunes  are  lame,  but  "Rocket  Ship"  is  brilliant.  The 
Candleland  EP  contains  a  sturdier  version  of  the  al- 
bum's evanescent  title  track  (again  featuring  vocals  by 
Cocteau  Twin  Elizabeth  Fraser)  as  well  as  three  fine 
new  songs.  [jg/i] 


&  THE 

Reverberation  (Korwo-Siro)  1990  • 

ST. 

Love  Me  Love  My  Dogma  for/Probe  Plus}  1987 

When  Ian  McCulloch  left  Echo  and  the  Bunnymen, 
he  fully  expected  that  the  group's  decade-long  had 
ended  and  that  his  bandmates  would  go  their 
ways.  He  was  wrong:  the  other  three  opted  to  keep  the 
name  and  get  themselves  a  new  vocalist.  Although  De 
Freitas  was  killed  in  a  June  1989  motorcycle  accident 
(on  the  way  to  a  rehearsal),  Sergeant  and  bassist  Les 
Pattinson  pressed  on  with  Irish  singer/lyricist  Noel 
Burke,  longtime  Echo  adjunct  Jake  Brockman  on  key- 
boards and  drummer  Damon  Reece.  Unveiled  in  late 
'90,  the  new-look/new-sound  Echo  and  the  Bunny- 
men— unable  to  preserve  the  past  or  create  anything 
substantially  original — weakly  attempt  to  catch  up  with 
history  on  the  Geoff  Emerick-produced  Reverberation, 
Suspended  between  the  familiar  and  the  unreachable, 
and  seemingly  motivated  mostly  by  bitterness  towards 
McCulloch,  the  album  offers  imaginative  performances 
of  dull  melodies  and  obvious  second-person  lyrics,  all 
sprinkled  with  familiar  musical  moves.  (Burke  conies 
closest  to  aping  Mac  on  "Thick  Skinned  World.")  The 
sparkling  "Enlighten  Me"  effectively  kicks  Madchester 
acid  pop  further  into  folky  flower-power  (with  tabla  and 
sitar  for  authenticity!);  the  rest  of  Reverberation  is,  as 
its  title  suggests,  merely  the  decaying  echo  of  an  orig- 
inal sound. 

Burke's  prior  band,  St.  Virus  Dance  (not  to  be  con- 
fused with  the  similarly  named  American  group),  was  a 
charming  Belfast  sextet  with  good,  simple  songs  and  an 
abundance  of  shaggy  personality.  Love  Me  Love  My 
Dogma  is  no  technical  masterpiece,  but  the  clever 
common-sense  lyrics  ("I  was  a  stable  boy  who  grew  to 
be  a  most  unstable  man")  about  Irish  life,  the  jolly  rock 
(credit  Haydn  Boyle's  colorful  piano/organ  playing) 
music  and  Burke's  lively  vocals  make  this  nifty  item 
well  worth  finding.  [i] 

EDDIE  AND  THE  HOT  RODS 

Live  at  the  Marquee  EP  (nr/lsland)  1 976 

Teenage  Depression  (Island)  1 976 

Life  on  the  Line  (Island)  1977 

Thriller  (nr/lsland)  1979 

Rsh'n'Chips  (EMI  America)  1980 

One  Story  Town  EP  (nrAVaterfront)  1 985 

The  Curse  of  the  Hot  Rods  (nr/Hound  Dog)  1 990 

It  may  be  difficult  to  hear  now,  but  London's  Eddie 
and  the  Hot  Rods  played  a  crucial  role  in  the  birth  of 
new  wave.  If  the  Rods  hadn't  been  out  there  playing 
wild  and  fast  rock'n'roll  in  the  clubs  at  a  time  when 
superstar  pomposity  was  the  currency  of  pop  music, 
bands  tike  the  Sex  Pistols  would  never  have  had  the 
opportunity  to  join,  intensify  and  broaden  that  rebellious 
spirit  into  a  national — and  international — musical  up- 
heaval. 

Today,  Teenage  Depression  sounds  like  a  fairly 
tame  set  of  R&B-influenced  rock  tunes,  tike  early 
Flamin  Groovies  or  Dave  Edmunds,  but  in  1976  it  had 
a  major  impact  on  the  British  music  scene.  The  title 
track  (a  hit  single  there)  is  the  record's  finest  moment. 
(The  American  album  replaced  two  soul  covers  with 
four  tracks  that  had  appeared  on  the  prior  live  7-inch.) 


214 


For  Life  on  the  line,  the  to  a  five- 

with  the  of  ex-Ku»Aal  Flyer 

It  was  a  wise  move,  as  the 

a  kick  in  the  pop  best  on 

she  "Do  You  Do," 

he  co-wrote.  Overall,  a  to 

and  enthusiastic  that  up 

its  predecessor. 

By  the  time  of  Thriller,  the  Hot         weren't 
an  artifact.  Rendered  by  the 

they  had  inspired,  they  hadn't          able  to 
with  the  changes.  The  album  reeks  with  bitterness;  al- 
though competent,  it  has  neither  the  freshness  of  Life  on 
the  Line  nor  anything  substantial  to  replace  it  As  a 
of  the  band's  "maturity,"  Linda  McCartney 
backup  parts. 

With  AI  Kooper  producing,  a  revised  quartet  C  with- 
out Douglas  or  bassist  Paul  Gray)  turned  out  an  unnec- 
essary fourth  album  that  is  best  forgotten.  Five  years 
later,  following  a  stint  in  the  Inmates,  two  original  Hot 
Rods — singer  Barrie  Masters  and  drummer  Steve 
Nicol — put  a  new  band  together  long  enough  to  perform 
such  classics  as  *  Teenage  Depression,"  "Quit  This 
Town"  and  "Do  Anything  You  Wanna  Do"  on  the 
surprisingly  good  six-song  One  Story  Town,  recorded 
live  and  peppy  in  France. 

Rounding  things  off,  The  Curse  of  the  Hot  Rods  is 
an  entertaining  (if  not  especially  illuminating)  collec- 
tion of  1979  studio  outtakes  and  demos:  the  original 
group's  last  productive  breath.  A  version  of  the  Small 
Faces'  "I  Got  Mine"  is  neat,  as  are  some  of  the  origi- 
nals, especially  those  penned  by  Douglas  (pop)  and 
Gray  (rock'n'roll).  [I] 

See  also  Damned,  Inmates. 


EDGE 

See  Jane  Aire  and  the  Belvederes. 


DAMON  EDGE 

See  Chrome. 


ED  GEIN'S  CAR 

Making  Dick  Dance  (Ed  Gein's  Car)  1985 

You  Light  Up  My  Liver/Live  at  CBGB!  (CBGB-Ceiluloid) 

1987 

The  lovable  Ed  Gein's  Car  epitomizes  the  spirit  of 
New  York  punk.  Not  hardcore  or  speed-thrash,  just 
good  ol'  greasy,  gritty  punk  rock  with  a  working  class 
aesthetic.  Despite  a  pronounced  Misfits  influence  and 
the  use  of  a  gruesome  serial  killer's  name,  the  band's 
lyrics  shun  the  horror  angle.  Instead,  the  songs  on  Mak- 
ing Dick  Dance  focus  on  things  like  topical  social  prob- 
lems ("Boo  Fuckin'  Hoo,"  about  the  Bernhard  Goetz 
case),  Ramonesian  goofball  humor  (the  nifty  "Go 
Down  on  My  Dog")  and  crude  songs  about  women  ("A 
Girl  Just  Like  You").  Good  Clash-like  harmonies  and 
Scott  Weiss'  rough,  melodic  lead  vocals  help  put  the 
tunes  over. 

Fittingly  enough,  the  second  album  was  recorded 
live  at  CBGB.  While  reprising  most  of  Making  Dick 
Dance,  the  program  also  includes  a  cool  version  of  the 


"Las!  Cares*/'  two  the 

S9S5  7-mch  and  a  of  led  by 

the  Aid  **  We're  Not          World/* 


ID 

Low*  Pok»  Hm  1  990  • 

0a  Albert,  this 

too  —  a 
to  the  —  out  a 

Gary 

Larry  &  and 

Kevin  WMtley's  The 

lyrics  on  as  and          are  a  lot 

than  the  (but  not 

explosive)  music. 

Love          Here  the  tt»  title 

wide  open  to  the 

Ware,  with  louder, 

and  equally  mischievous  nch 

houses,  "Buddha"  and  "Heaity  Torn  Foolery.,"    fpn} 

DAVE  EDMUNDS 

Rockpite  (MAM)  1972 

Subtle  as  a  Bying  (RCA)  1  975 

Dave  Edmunds,  Rocfan  Eariy  Worics  1968/1972  (Fr. 

taiophonfr»EMI)1977 
Get  If  (Swan  Song!  1977* 
Tracb  on  Wax  4  f  Swan  Song)  1  978  * 
Repeat  When  Necessary  (Swan  Song)  1979  * 
Twaogirs  ,  .  .  (Swan  Sopg)  1  981  • 
The  Best  of  Dave  Edmunds  f  Swan  Song)  1  981  • 
D.E.7th|Cobmbta}1982« 
Information  (Columbia)  1983 
Riff  Raff  (Columbia)  1984 
The  Dav©  Edmunds  Band  Live:  I  Hear  You  Rockin' 

(Columbian  987* 
Closer  to  the  Rome  (Capitol)  1990  « 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Stardust  (Arista)  1974 

Pork/*  Revenge  (Columbia)  1985  • 

Can  traditional  rock'n'roll  survive  in  the  modern 
world?  As  long  as  Dave  Edmunds  is  around,  tie  answer 
will  be  yes.  A  rousing  singer,  superlative  guitarist  and 
wizard  producer,  the  Welsh  native  has  preserved  the 
simplicity  and  directness  of  *50s  rock  without  ever 
sounding  like  a  slavish  revivalist.  Along  the  way,  he's 
also  performed  tricks  with  country  music  and  even  Phil 
Specter's  elaborate  constructions.  Edmunds  has  had  Ms 
ups  and  downs  on  record,  but  the  one  thing  he's  never 
been  is  pretentious. 

Dave  prefaced  his  solo  career  with  two  LPs  as  the 
leader  of  manic  blues-psychedelic  trio  Love  Sculpture. 
Those  days  are  well  documented  on  numerous  compi- 
lations, the  best  being  a  two-disc  French  set,  Dave  Ed- 
munds, Rocker. 

Rockpile  was  recorded  because  Edmunds  needed  to 
make  an  LP  to  capitalize  on  his  worldwide  smash  sin- 
gle, a  one-man  remake  of  <4I  Hear  You  Knocking"  a 
Dave  Bartholomew  number  from  the  mid-*50s.  This  LP 
established  the  boundaries  of  the  first  phase  of  his  solo 
career:  a  Chuck  Berry  tune,  a  Willie  Dixon  blues,  a 


215 


country  stomp  (by  Neil  Young,  no  less)  and  so  on. 
Rockf&Ile  is  a  mishmash  in  terms  of  recording  dates — 
one  track  was  cut  in  1966— and  creation*  with  Edmunds 
playing  almost  all  the  instruments  himself.  No 
matter — it  rocks  like  crazy, 

Of  the  40  cute  on  the  two-LP  soundtrack/compilation 
for  the  David  Essex  film  Stardust,  seven  are  fine  covers 
of  oldies  by  Edmunds.  A  point  to  note  here;  six  of  those 
tracks  arc  credited  to  the  Stray  Cats — years  in  advance 
of  Brian  Setzer's  group. 

By  1975,  the  unprolific  Edmunds  had  a  few  more 
UK  hits  and  enough  other  odds  and  ends  to  assemble 
another  LP;  unfortunately  Subtle  as  a  Flying  Mallet 
doesn't  hold  together.  The  Everly  Brothers'  *  'Leave  My 
Woman  Alone"  and  a  few  other  individual  tracks  work, 
but  this  is  otherwise  a  largely  lifeless  record.  The  intri- 
cate one-man  Spector  homages  ("Maybe,"  4*Baby  1 
Love  You,"  etc.)  are  pretty  but  strained.  Two  tracks 
recorded  live  with  Brinsley  Schwarz  point  to  the  end  of 
Edmunds*  hibernation  in  the  studio. 

Get  It  lets  air  into  the  musty ,  old  room  of  Edmunds' 
musical  mind,  Dave  still  laid  down  a  lot  of  the  tracks 
unaided,  but  also  utilized  the  services  of  members  of  the 
Rumour  and  the  now-defunct  Brinsleys,  forming  a  sig- 
nificant partnership  with  the  latter 's  Nick  Lowe.  High- 
lights of  this  bright-sounding  LP  include  Lowe's  Chuck 
Berry  rewrite,  4*I  Knew  the  Bride,"  and  the  Lowe/ 
Edmunds  sprightly  salute  to  the  Everly  Brothers,  "Here 
Comes  the  Weekend." 

Tracks  on  Wax  4  hardens  and  intensifies  the  attack, 
folly  freeing  Edmunds  from  the  negative  aspects  of  his 
nostalgic  leanings.  Give  credit  for  that  to  the  formation 
of  Rockpile,  a  hard-working  band  composed  of  Ed- 
munds, Lowe  on  bass,  guitarist  Billy  Bremner  and 
drummer  Terry  Williams;  over  the  following  few  years, 
Rockpile  recorded  both  Lowe  and  Edmunds  solo  al- 
bums, then  cut  one  under  the  group  name  before  splin- 
tering. On  Tracks  on  Wax  4,  they  drive  Dave  to  new 
heights  of  rock'n'roll  glory. 

Perhaps  Ms  best  effort,  Repeat  When  Necessary 
follows  the  course  set  by  Tracks  on  Wax,  with  a  bit  of 
country  sweetening.  Standouts:  Elvis  Costello's  "Girls 
Talk/1  "Queen  of  Hearts"  (later  a  hit  for  Juice  New- 
ton) and  the  sultry  "Black  Lagoon.'* 

Following  the  acrimonious  breakup  of  Rockpile,  Ed- 
munds rushed  out  Twangin  .  .  .  ,  a  resounding  disap- 
pointment. Despite  the  presence  of  a  few  pearls,  this  is 
clearly  an  inferior  patchwork.  Outtakes  deserve  to  re- 
main outtakes.  The  return  to  the  claustrophobic  one- 
man-band  sound  of  his  early  days  is  particularly 
disheartening. 

The  Best  of  Dave  Edmunds,  thirteen  tracks  from 
the  four  Swan  Song  LPs,  makes  no  chronological  sense, 
but  offers  an  impressive  musical  overview. 

D.E.  7th  marks  a  return  to  form.  With  a  hot  new 
supporting  cast,  Edmunds  boogies  like  a  happy  man 
again.  Springsteen's  "From  Small  Things  (Big  Things 
One  Day  Come)*'  and  a  rip-roaring  version  of  NRBQ's 
"Me  and  the  Boys*'  lead  the  parade. 

Information  and  Riff  Raff  comprise  Edmunds'  Jeff 
Lynne  period:  a  horrendously  ill-advised  attempt  to  con- 
coct slick,  saleable  * 'contemporary*'  product,  with  ELO 
leader  Lynne  acting  as  unlikely  production/songwriting 
svengali.  Though  both  albums  have  some  good  mo- 
ments (the  undeniably  catchy  "Slippin*  Away"  and  an- 


other fine  NRBQ  cover  on  the  former;  good  Paul 
and  Four  Tops  tunes,  plus  the  demented  roller-rink  ex- 
travaganza **Ru!es  of  the  Game"  on  the  latter),  tbey'ie 
largely  characterized  by  a  glib,  crass  sensibility  that's 
fundamentally  at  odds  with  the  unselfconscioiis  enthu- 
siasm that's  always  driven  Edmunds'  best  wori, 

In  contrast  to  those  discs,  the  Parity's  Revenge 
soundtrack  is — believe  it  or  not — a  fine  collection  of 
rootsy,  unpretentious  rock'n'roll.  In  addition  to  soiBe 
sharp  cuts  of  his  own,  Edmunds  produced  worthy  tracks 
for  Jeff  Beck,  George  Harrison  (a  new  Dylan  tone), 
Clarence  demons  and  a  studio  supergroup  featuring 
Edmunds'  former  Swan  Song  mentor,  Robert  Plant. 

Edmunds*  artistic  productivity  may  have  dipped  in 
the  mid- '80s,  but  his  career  as  a  producer  stayed  hot  all 
decade.  He  guided  the  latter-day  Stray  Cats  to  fee  top  of 
the  charts  and  fulfilled  a  longstanding  ambition  of  work- 
ing with  the  Everiy  Brothers  by  producing  their  1 984 
comeback  album.  He  produced  k.d.  lang's  debut  and  a 
new  Dion  album,  and  even  reunited  with  old  cohort 
Nick  Lowe  to  produce  Basher's  Party  of  One. 

The  unprepossessing  but  delectable  I  Hear  You 
Rockin'  was  recorded  live  in  London,  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  with  Edmunds'  post-Rockpile  band:  veteran 
pub-rock  pianist  Geraint  Watkins,  guitarist  Mickey  Gee, 
bassist  John  David  and  drummer/engineer  Dave 
Charles.  Edmunds  touches  ail  the  obvious  bases  with 
little  fanfare  (save  some  intrusive  synthesizer),  repris- 
ing the  better  half  of  his  Swan  Song  compilation  while 
adding  "I  Hear  You  Knocking,"  "Information,"  "Par- 
alyzed," "Slipping  Away"  and  a  fine  reading  of  Dion's 
"The  Wanderer." 

Closer  to  the  Flame,  Edmunds*  first  solo  studio 
effort  in  six  years,  isn't  quite  the  resounding  comeback 
that  one  would  hope  for,  but  it's  a  big  improvement  over 
the  Lynne-influenced  discs,  with  convincing  stops  at 
rockabilly  ("King  of  Love/'  "Sincerely")  and  R&B 
(the  title  song,  "Test  of  Love"),  plus  a  pair  of  songs 
each  by  pub-rock  legend  Micky  Jupp  and  NRBQ's  Al 
Anderson.  [jy/i/hd] 

See  also  Rockpile. 

EEK-A-MOUSE 

Wa-Do-Dem  (GreensJeeves)  1 982  • 

Skidip!(Greensleeves)1982* 

The  Mouse  and  the  Man  (Greensleeves)  1 983 

Mouseketeer  (Greensleeves)  1 984 

Assasinator  (RAS)  1 984  • 

The  King  and  1  (RAS)  1985  « 

The  Very  Best  of  Eek-A-Mouse  (nr/Greensleeves)  1 987  • 

Mouse-a-Mania  [CD]  (RAS)  1988  * 

Eek-a-Nomics  (RAS)  1988  • 

One  of  the  biggest  new  solo  reggae  stars  in  the  '80s, 
Eek-a-Mouse  (Ripton  Joseph  Hylton)  has  no  trouble 
maintaining  a  high  profile.  Not  only  is  he  six-foot-six, 
his  distinctive  voice  is  hard  to  miss:  he  sings  with  a 
nasal  twang  (like  a  higher-pitched  version  of  Michael 
Rose),  but  punctuates  his  vocals  with  all  sorts  of  syl- 
labic thrusts,  like  reggae's  answer  to  scat.  The  effect  is 
both  melodic  and  percussive — it  keeps  the  groove  mov- 
ing forward.  Eek's  success  is  also  attributable  to  the 
high  quality  of  his  records.  He  works  primarily  with 
Roots  Radios,  a  popular  Jamaican  session  band  that's 
played  behind  Gregory  Isaacs  and  countless  others. 


216 


Wah  Eek.  however,  the  is 

to  him— and  the  af         collab- 

oration his  ^peciil 

Above  all,  Eei  is  funny,  a  comic  as.  well  as  social 
cntsc,  Wa*Do»Dem,  a  debut,  the  hit  sin- 

gle of  the  <"Wa  do          \tare? 

she's  too          and  he's  too  tall." I  lias  its 

of  hits  I  "Modelling  Queen"  and  "Yen  Na  Love 
Music"  !„  the  is  a         thin, 

is  and  strong,  but  no  out- 

standing tracks. 

Tbe  the         and  arc  his 

best  albums — assured        versatile,  The  first 
the  epic  tale  of  Eek's  meeting  with  Mickey  Mouse, 
"Modelling  King"  (a  follow-up  to  his  earlier  hit)  and  a 
curious  ditty  called  "Hitler."  Moiiseketeer  the 

journalistic  "Star,  Daily  News  or  Gleaner,'*  a 
about  anorexia  and,  for  all  who  wondered,  *4How  I  Got 
Me  Name."  Not  to  be  missed. 

Eek's  reign  continues  on  The  Kfaig  and  I,  but  he's 
stretching  out  a  bit.  Working  with  a  number  of  musi- 
cians besides  Roots  Radics,  the  instrumentation  is  fuller 
(and  includes  some  synthesizer),  but  hardly  a  drastic 
departure  from  Ms  successful  formula.  Mouse-a-Mank 
is  a  CD-only  compilation  of  tracks  from  The  King  and 
I  and  Assassinator. 

The  front  cover  of  Eek-a-Nomks  shows  Mouse 
decked  out  in  a  tux,  top  hat  and  champagne;  the  back 
finds  him  on  the  skids,  with  ripped  hand-me-down 
clothes.  Besides  the  "The  Freak/*  a  hilarious,  out-there 
dance  single  with  Addams  Family  overtones,  the  album 
contains  more  of  Eek-a-Mouse's  usual  stories  and  rav- 
ings, [bk/aw] 

EFFIGIES 

Haunted  Town  EP  (Autumn)  1981 

We're  Da  Machine  EP  ( Ruthless-Enigma)  1 983 

The  Effigies  EP  {Ruthless-Enigma}  1984 

For  Ever  Grounded  (Ruthless-Enigma)  1 984 

Fly  on  a  Wire  (Fever-Enigma)  1 985 

ink  (Fever-Restless)  1986 

Remains  Nonviewabie  (Roadkifl)  1989 

The  Effigies  were  the  first  band  from  Chicago's  bald- 
'n'booted  brigade  to  gain  any  out-of-town  recognition, 
and  rightfully  so.  The  quartet's  five-song  debut  EP  (later 
reissued  with  an  extra  track  as  The  Effigies  EP)  show- 
cased their  bold,  taut,  spare  punk  attack  on  real  songs 
about  adult  concerns,  with  prophetic  (for  punk)  metal 
guitar  lacing  through  their  best  material,  including  the 
anthemic  "Mob  Clash." 

Although  flat  production  obscured  the  disc's  strong 
points,  the  Effigies  fuzzed  up  the  guitar  (simultaneously 
experimenting  with  acoustic)  and  moved  it  to  the  fore 
on  We're  Da  Machine.  The  best  songs  on  For  Ever 
Grounded — a  lyrically  and  rhythmically  more  diverse 
LP  that  even  adds  dance  beats — wail  with  the  urgency 
of  a  siren  at  night.  Earl  Letiecq's  guitar  screeches  like 
wm'tewalls  on  sodden  pavement — (he  raw  nerve  that 
keeps  the  Effigies'  sound  permanently  on  edge.  Though 
sometimes  seen  as  humorless  and  uncharismatic,  the 
Effigies  are  solid  and  reliable. 

Robert  O'Connor  stepped  in  to  replace  Letieeq,  and 
the  Effigies  made  a  satisfying  second  album.  One  mis- 
guided disco-y  track  and  a  couple  of  wanky  guitar  solos 


a  of  Joy 

Division'*  *  No  Lo%e  Urn!"  i  i\  *a  Lf*, 

by 

tfc*,  haitS  %  punii  r.&*vxdi  c*  *n  c  i  %-c5*  t*ac!k>  as 
"E  tc\er  1  MV*"  Aid  'The  EV-*  * 

M*  r*.  thai*  aay  rtf  the  px%  ^  <mt  n^\.  Ink 

tht  Efft£ies  fejr"}  eo*ir*juuJ  o*  turet*;*  i  f  cot 
exacil}  It        s  ^%i*nt  n#  *  The  Scotiw  Tha* 

Moves"  lad  "Yes"**  rcvk  uk*,  s  business,  and 

O*G  rnor\         pi^>"%  *ivJ  f% 

«ver>thin^  just  *hiH  sic^  of  rg,  The  Ef 

fig  tV  irost  jtt^u^uJ        Access  b «.  work   Ink 
the  group's  Kp  as  one  el  €lb*-tr»f*  i 

"B«i>  Bag"  and  Che 

is  a         ftr  folks  to 

Town's  ** Below  the  Drop,11  in  this  his- 

torical context,  as  A  as  has 

the 

Laieeq  the  but  1990  saw 

Kezdy  I  whose  law  led  to  fee 

low  in  the  late  "80s!  in  the  by  all 

of 
See 

EGGPLANT 

Monkvybon  {Dr.  Dream)  1989  • 
Sod  Astrology  f  Dr.  On&ww}  1 990  • 

In  an  eternal  for  true  in 

song,  this  unassuming  Southern  California  quartet  ex- 
plores avenues  paved  by  Rictraian  and 
Johnston.  Guitarists  Jon  Meikosoit  and  Jeff  Beals  have 
the  uncanny  ability  to  spin  tales  of  cheerfol  wistfiilness. 

OE  M«ilceylwrs»  Eggplant  proves  the  Riciunaa  ax- 
iom that  excessive  ¥oiume  and  force  are  not  required  for 
soul-stirring  rockVrail;  an  alnKwt  celebratory  cxwer  of 
Lou  Reed's  "Vicious"  grooves  comfortably  nearby  Ae 
not-too-vicious  slagging  of  *'Eoimg  Stones"  and  the 
mundane  fantasy  fravelogtie  of  4*Goin  to  Maine.**  &rf 
Astrology  sports  bigger-budget,  brighter  production  (by 
Russ  Tolman)  and  more  happy/sad  beauties  like  "Un- 
expected" and  "If  You  See  Hie  Real  WoiM  Coming." 
The  title  cut  deserves  an  award  for  Best  Apocalyptic 
Love  Song  of  1990,  Ism] 

MAX  EIDER 

See  Jazz  Butcher. 

E*1*E*1*O 

Land  of  Opportunity  (Frontier}  1986 
That  Love  Thong  (Frofitfer)  1988  • 

Wisconsin's  E*I*E*I*O  is  an  "American  Music" 
band  in  the  tradition  of  Creedence  Qearwater  Revival 
and  the  Blasters.  Like  those  two  bands,  their  sound  is  an 
amalgam  of  rock'n'roll,  rockabilly,  country,  blues  and 
folk.  They've  also  got  a  strong  singer  with  an  unmis- 
takably individual  voice  in  Steve  Summers,  two  good 
songwriters  (Summers  and  bassist  Richard  Szeluga)  and 
a  pair  of  shit-hot  guitarists  (one  of  whom  had  been  in 
Off  Broadway)  and  harmony  vocalists  who  can  sing  like 
Byrds. 

The  uniformly  excellent  material  on  Land  of  Op- 
portunity (co-produced  by  Steve  Berlin)  ranges  from 


217 


flat-out  ravers  ("Tear  It  Down,*'  "Go  West  Young 
Man,"  "The  Middle  of  November")  to  songs  about  the 
ops  and  downs  of  the  road  {"Me  and  Jesus  Christ,** 
"White  Lines,  Blue  Skies,  Black  Top"),  country  life 
("Blue  Mountamtop*')  and,  of  course,  love  ("This 
Time,"  "Hello  Heartache/'  "Get  Back  to  Arkansas," 
"Every  Word  True").  The  music's  emotional  intensity 
and  physical  excitement  make  this  an  essential  record. 
(The  cassette  adds  "Stars  Are  Out  and  the  Moon  Is 
High"  and  "No  Father  in  the  Family/') 

With  guitarist  Mike  Hoffman  gone  off  to  form  Semi- 
Twang,  the  group  uses  That  Love  Thong  to  expand  its 
sound  further,  adding  a  propulsive  R&B-type  horn  sec- 
tion (on  the  wonderful  "Hey,  Cecelie"  and  the  title 
track)  and  strings  (for  the  IP's  ambitious  closer 
"Brother  Michael").  While  some  of  the  songs  here  are 
a  bit  less  involving  than  on  Land  of  Opportunity,  this 
is  another  fine  record.  (The  cassette  and  CD  append 
"You  Can't  Stay  Here. " )  M 


8  EYED  SPY 

live  [tape]  (ROIR)  1981 
8Eyed$py(nr/Fetish)1981 

LYDIA  LUNCH 

Hysterie  (nr/Wtdowspaok)  1986  (CD  Presents)  1986 

Perhaps  the  acme  of  New  York  BO  wave  groups,  8 
Eyed  Spy  briefly  collected  the  talents  of  Lydia  Lunch, 
bassist-tumed-drummer  Jim  Sclavunos,  ace  bassist 
George  Scott,  sax  and  guitar  player  Pat  Irwin  and  gui- 
tarist Michael  Paumgarden.  Considerably  less  shrill  than 
other  similarly  conceived  groups,  8  Eyed  Spy  was  none- 
theless dominated  by  Lunches  confrontational  vocals 
and  lyrics  and  Irwin' s  insistent  quasi-jazz  sax.  On  Live, 
it  becomes  apparent  that  Lunch's  style  is  mutilated  blues 
(especially  on  the  Beefheart-inspired  opener,  "Diddy 
Wah  Diddy")  and  that  Sclavunos  and  Scott's  flawless 
collaboration  is  the  band's  axis.  The  blend  of  influences 
(jazz/blues/rock)  creates  exciting  music  that  is  beyond 
description. 

8  Eyed  Spy  contains  much  of  the  same  material  as 
the  cassette  and  is  split  into  a  live  side  and  a  studio  side. 
While  the  former  (which  includes  a  hilarious  version  of 
"White  Rabbit")  shows  the  same  gifted  chaos  apparent 
on  Live,  the  latter  proves  8  Eyed  Spy  capable  of  con- 
siderable restraint  and  polish.  While  the  tone  of  the 
studio  work  implies  an  increasing  reliance  on  jazz,  the 
drumming  rivets  it  to  danceable  rock.  There  is  the  hint 
of  an  impending  breakthrough  in  these  recordings,  but 
the  band  dissolved  in  the  wake  of  George  Scott's  1980 
death. 

Lydia's  Hysterie  compilation  contains  an  entire  side 
of  previously  released  8  Eyed  Spy,  including  live  and 
studio  tracks,  all  from  1980.  [sg] 

See  also  Lydia  Lunch,  Raybeats. 


808  STATE 

Newbufld  EP  (nr/Creed)  1988 
Quadrastate  EP  (nr/Creed)  1989 
808:90  (nr/ZTTJ  1989* 
The  EP  of  Dance  EP  (nr/ZTT)  1989  • 
Utd.  State  90  (ZTT-Tommy  Boy)  1 990  t 
ex:el  (ZTT-Tommy  Boy)  1 991  • 


jytc 

Hie  Not*  of  Its  Heights  (nr/ZTT)  1 990  * 

This  four-mail  troupe  of  Manchester  syntfaesists  and 
sampler  wizzes  (who  take  their  name  from  the  Roland 
drum  machine  that  can  be  heard  in  countless  contempo- 
rary records)  made  its  rep  with  "Pacific,"  a  soprano- 
sax-Ied  instrumental  dance  groove  that  led  to  an 
unfortunate  coinage,  new  age  house.  The  mixture  of 
Enoesque  ambience  and  a  solid  beat  proved  to  be  a 
significant  development  in  the  progress  of  British  dance 
music,  but  there's  a  lot  more  to  SOS  State  conceptually 
than  one  groundbreaking  sound. 

While  the  Newfeiiild  EP  (featuring  acid  house's  own 
future  Rick  Wakeman,  A  Guy  Called  Gerald)  heralded 
nothing  more  impressive  than  an  imaginative  New 
Order/Kraftwerk  synthesis,  the  release  of  "Pacific" 
(contained  on  the  Quadrastatc  EP)  promised  much 
more,  and  the  album  808:90  delivered.  Expanded  sub- 
stantially for  its  American  release  (as  Utd.  State  90)  by 
Tommy  Boy,  this  is  a  brilliantly  kaleidoscopic  dance 
record  that  recycles  a  couple  of  basic  melodic  themes 
into  trancelike  variations,  spicing  them  up  with  peculiar 
noises  while  maintaining  a  steady  beat.  The  combina- 
tion of  musical  minimalism  with  sonic  maximalism  is 
heady  and  witty,  constantly  exhilarating  and  fresh. 

In  1990,  the  band  produced  and  wrote  the  music  for 
The  North  at  Its  Heights,  an  album  by  Manchester 
rapper  MC  Tunes.  While  most  of  the  numbers  display 
808' s  characteristic  drollery,  many  of  Tunes'  raps  are 
serious  indeed,  depicting  Mancunian  street  violence, 
junkiedom  and  other  social  ills  with  surprising  convic- 
tion and  credibility.  The  contrast  yields  a  provocative 
sense  of  alienation;  on  lighter  numbers  like  "Tunes 
Splits  the  Atom,"  the  effect  is  more  familiarly  amusing. 

Genealogical  footnote:  Graham  Massey  of  808  State 
was  the  guitarist  in  Biting  Tongues,  an  early-' 80s  Joy 
Division  wannabe.  [gk] 

801 

See  Phil  Manzanera. 

E1NSTURZENDE  NEUBAUTEN 

Schworz  EP  (Gar.  Zick  lack)  1 981 

Kollaps  (Ger.  Zick  Zack)  1981  • 

Drawings  of  Patient  O.T.  (nr/Some  Bizzare)  1 983 

(ZE-PVC)  1 985  « 
80-83  Strategies  Against  Architecture  (nr/Mute)  1 984 

(Homestead)  1 986  • 
2X4  [tape]  (ROIR)  1984 
1/2  Mensch  (Some  Bizzare-Rough  Trade)  1985  • 
Fuenf  auf  der  Nach  Oben  Offenen  Richterskala  (Some 

Bizzare-Relativity)  1 987  * 

Haus  der  Luege  (Some  Bizzare-Rough  Trade)  1989  • 
Strategies  Against  Architecture  II  [CD]  (Mute)  1 991  • 

EINSTURZENDE  NEUBAUTEN/ 
LYDIA  LUNCH/ 
ROWLAND  S.  HOWARD 

Thirsty  Animal  EP  (Ger.  GEMA)  1 982 

Words  such  as  "noisy,*'  "raw,"  *  "primitive"  and 
"radical"  have  been  used  to  describe  many  a  band,  but 
few  have  earned  these  labels  more  than  Berlin  concep- 
tual anti-artists  Einsttirzende  Neubauten  (Collapsing 


218 


BuihJmgs).  Thesr 
tools  and  oh$ect* 

pipes,  wenches  in4  axes  What  nw>ical  »m- 

the>   use  receive  similar 

%oca!s  and  are  to 

the  point  of  white  noise.  Their  live  shows  are 

many  a  club  owner  perfor- 

mances and  or  watch- 

ing a  practically  the 

creative  supervision. 

While  Einstiirzende  a  in 

the  German  avant-garde  via  the   19HO 

"Fuer  den  Untergang"  and  f  the  follow- 

ing year's  double-pack  7-inch),  are 

nets  of  the  group's  creative  Infancy.  Thus,  of  the 

EP's  five  tracks  have  a  haphazard,  quality  far 

removed  from  the  exquisitely  controlled  noise  that  was 
to  follow.  The  precocious  *4Ka!te  Sterne,"  however,  Is 
a  wholly  realized  song  I  comparable  to  the  Gang  of 
Four's  "Anthrax*11),  one  of  the  best  they've  ever  re- 
corded. 

Kollaps  combines  guitar  and  bass  drones  with  a  bar- 
rage of  metallic  pounding,  both  rhythmic  and  random. 
Topped  off  with  tortured  howls  (and  titles  like  **Hear 
with  Pain"),  it  is  one  of  the  most  shocking  visions  ever 
committed  to  vinyl.  Not  recommended  for  dancing  or 
romantic  interludes. 

Neubauten  soon  became  the  darlings  of  the  UK 
press.  In  1983,  they  signed  to  Some  Bizzare  and  re- 
leased Drawings  of  Patient  O.T.  While  no  more  me- 
lodic than  Kollaps,  the  production  is  less  primeval  and 
the  band  shows  a  wider  degree  of  textural  variety.  At 
times  the  sound  is  rather  stripped  down,  and  a  few  of  the 
cuts  are  actually  songs.  (The  title  track  even  has  a  chord 
progression!)  Two  years  later,  the  record  was  released 
in  the  US,  adding  four  non-LP  items  on  a  bonus  EP. 

Strategies  Against  Architecture  is  a  compilation  of 
five  tracks  from  Koilaps,  two  from  Schwarz,  the  B-side 
of  "Fuer  den  Untergang"  and  some  brilliant  previously 
unreleased  works,  three  of  them  live.  The  itemization  of 
instrumentation  is  amusing,  including  as  it  does  an  air 
conditioning  duct,  smashing  glass,  an  amplified  spring 
and  a  bridge.  For  more  live  material,  the  cassette-only  2 
X  4  is  an  admirable  attempt  to  capture  the  mood  of 
Neubauten  on  stage,  recorded  throughout  Europe  be- 
tween 1980  and  1983.  Like  Drawings,  it  leaves  more 
space  in  the  sound,  which  makes  the  shock  effects  that 
much  more  shocking.  "Armenisch  Bitter'*  is,  by  their 
standards,  a  ballad,  with  plaintive  sax  warbling  along 
with  Bargeld's  voice  in  a  quasi-Middle  Eastern  style. 

1/2  Mensch  (aka  Halber  Mensdh  and  Half  Man)  is 
the  band's  strongest  record  yet,  displaying  a  wide  range 
of  creative  compositional  technique.  Putting  some  of  the 
junkyard  orchestration  aside,  the  title  track  is  a  cappella, 
sounding  like  some  avant-garde  opera;  "Letztes  Biest 
(am  Himmel)"  uses  quiet  bass  harmonics  as  its  only 
pitched  instrument.  Add  such  things  as  grand  piano, 
inside-out  dance  beats  and  Neubauten's  characteristic 
thunder,  and  Halber  Mensch  is  truly  remarkable. 

The  band  temporarily  broke  up  in  1986,  then  re- 
formed to  record  Fuenf  auf  der  Nach  Oben  Offenen 
Richterskala  (Five  on  the  Open-Ended  Richter 
Scale),  the  most  low-key  LP  they've  ever  done.  Vocals, 
often  almost  at  a  whisper,  frequently  predominate.  A 
whole  plethora  of  instruments  (or  whatever)  are 


aai  is  the 

a,s  not »          ap 

she  oSti  3*Jy  a  s<*          of 

wiirk*  one 

sag  for 

on  hfe  Nick          &  the 

i  ii  and 

the  Citv  md  aus  den  I, 

*i!h  der  if 

Ltes  I,  a  the 

is  still  Ike 

all  the  the  "Ber  Kttss"  is 

explosive,          the  "Ptolog** 

ai  of  the 

(it's         to  cast  of 

the  is  by 

of  noise). 

to  on  "Pen- 

no!*" 

Aftdfc  Ceivf         fAe         Seeds,  Crime 
the  City 


ELECTRIC  BLUE  PEGGY  SUE 
AND  THE  REVOLUTIONIONS 
FROM  MARS 

Yow  Soy  You  Want  a  Revoluionlofi  (Rn.  Goga  Goodie*! 

1987 
You  Tell  Me  Tttat  Ifs  Evoiutiornon  (Fin.  Goga  GoocfesJ 

1987 
Bui  When  Yow  Talk  Abowf  D«*vctk>n  {fin,  Gctga 

Goocliesl  1988 

AH  Family  (fin.  Gaga  Goodies)  1989 
Musk  for  McDonalds  (Rn.  Sonet)  1 990 

Finland's  Electric  Blue  Peggy  Sue  and  the  Revolu- 
tionioas  from  Mars  may  not  be  big  on  evolution! ion) 
but,  if  you  got  it,  why  change  it?  What  Peggy  Sue's  got 
is  a  big,  hard,  ail-dark-mcat  sound  with  lets  of  grit  and 
grimy  gristle.  Lead  vocalist  Ray  Katz  has  a  voice  that 
sounds  like  tie  drinks  Draao  for  breakfast  and  washes  it 
down  with  lighter  fluid,  to&siag  in  the  lighter  for  good 
measure.  His  voice  grumbles  and  growls  out  the  band's 
English-language  lyrics  with  cackled  and  shrieked  high- 
pitched  edges.  (Chris  D  of  the  Flesh  Eaters  is  a  fair 
comparison,  but  so  is  the  Wicked  Witch  of  the  West. ) 

The  10-inch  RevofatkNiioii  (named  for  the  Beatles 
song,  but  that's  the  extent  of  that  band's  role  here) 
contains  short,  hard  tacks  of  post-Stoogescore  (plus  a 
similarly  treated  cover  of  Alan  Vega's  "Speedway") 
delivered  grunge  first,  with  Farfisa  and  a  Seedsy  *60s 
sensibility  filtered  through  '70s  punk  experience. 

The  band's  formula  (as  well  as  the  specific  source  of 
its  LP  titles)  remains  the  same  through  Evolutionism 
and  Destruction,  bom  of  which  rock  as  hard  as  a  ce- 
ment wall. 

By  Musk  for  McDonald's  though,  change  is  afoot. 
Adding  horns  and  other  new  instruments  to  the  previous 
sonic  package,  the  album  has  a  Fast  Side  which  pre- 
serves the  group's  old  perspective  and  a  Food  Side, 
where  anything  goes.  "The  Amazing  Chronicle  of  Jo- 
sef's Family"  slinks  cat-like  at  its  opening,  tough  and 
measured,  with  tantalizingly  tangoesque  hesitation.  It 
whispers  and  pauses  and  hides,  then  reveals  a  swelling, 


219 


almost  traditional  pop  song  in  its  midst,  only  to  degen- 
erate in  a  glorious  sea  of  half-speed  vocals, 
backward  trackings  and  studio  before  the  hard, 
smooth  nugget  of  the  song  makes  its  return.  Having 
stopped  referencing  the  Beatles  in  titles,  Electric  Blue 
Peggy  Sue  has  begun  to  reflect  their  influence  in  the 
grooves,  pe] 


ELECTRIC  EELS 

Moving  a  Philosophical  Investigation  with  the  Electric  Eets 

(Tinnitus)  1989® 

Recorded  in  1975,  this  is  one  lost  recording  by  a 
legendary  band  that  actually  lives  up  to  its  hype.  Cleve- 
land's Electric  Eels  bridge  the  gap  between  Trout  Mask 
Repiica-era.  Beeflieart/Love  It  to  Death-era  Alice  Coo- 
per and  punk  rock  proper.  It  would  certainly  be  safe  to 
say  that  there  would  be  no  Pere  Ubu  without  this  band 
which,  at  various  points  (none  chronicled  on  this 
record),  contained  future  Ubu  members;  the  album 
does,  however,  have  future  Cramp  Nick  Knox  as  its 
drummer.  But  that's  not  even  the  half  of  it.  Having  a 
Philosophical  Investigation  is  a  wonderful,  careening 
and  genuinely  surreal  record,  a  terrific  example  of  just 
how  far  a  band  can  go  with  lots  of  squealy  amplification 
and  a  rotten  attitude.  Once  heard,  tunes  like  "Cyclo- 
tron," " Agitated*'  and  " Refrigerator"  will  not  easily 
go  away.  And  that's  still  not  the  half  of  it.  In  his  liner 
notes,  psychotronic  chronicler  (and  one-time  Eels 
crony)  Michael  Weldon,  haif-facetiously  ranks  the  Eels' 
music  with  that  of  other  local  legends,  citing  LaWanda 
Page,  Jim  Backus  and  Albert  Ayler.  Play  this  LP  back 
to  back  with  an  Ayler  platter  and  see  how  apt  the  jux- 
taposition is — it's  that  good.  [gkj 


ELECTRIC  LOVE  MUFFIN 

Ptaydoh  Meothook  (Boy  Our)  1987 
Rassafranna  (Fever-Restless)  1989  « 
Second  Third  Time  Around  (Buy  Our)  1 990 

Given  the  name  and  jokey  trappings,  it's  no  small 
surprise  that  this  Philadelphia  quartet  can  really  play.  If 
the  songs  on  Waydofe  Meathook — a  clear  self-produced 
rip  of  punk-pop  guitars,  strong  melodies  and  easily  un- 
derstood vocals — were  a  couple  of  notches  cleverer,  this 
would  be  an  impressive  debut.  (A  goofy  version  of 
"Norwegian  Wood"  also  falls  just  short.) 

Produced  with  Joe  "The  Butcher"  Nicolo  (known 
for  his  work  with  Schoolly-D),  Rassafranna  all  but 
eliminates  ELM's  punk  element  in  favor  of  a  loud,  tight 
rock  sound  that  meanders  between  the  Replacements 
and  charged  jangle-pop,  with  excursions  into  not- 
exactly-soul,  loopy  cow-punk  and  Meat  Puppets  terri- 
tory, instrumentally  ("Club  Car")  and  songwise 
("Down  Easy").  Overall,  the  material  is  strong:  "Di- 
amonds &  Glass"  is  the  kind  of  song  that  would  sound 
great  on  acoustic  guitar,  while  "Drunk  &  Horny"  is 
funny  for  all  the  right  reasons. 

Rejoining  its  original  label,  the  Muffin  (again  with 
Nicolo)  made  Second  Third  Time  Around,  a  fine,  if 
slightly  dispirited,  seven-song  return  visit  to  the  Mid- 
west, Southwest  and  Motown  styles  explored  on  Ras- 
safranna. In  what  is  becoming  the  band's  formula,  the 
record  includes  singer/guitarist  Rich  Kaufmann  origi- 


nals, an  instrumental  ("Mr.  Softy's  Wild  Ride"  j  and  a 

cover  (the  Temptations'  "Get  Ready" }.  j,j 

ELECTRONIC 

See  New  Order. 

DAY 

Eleventh  Dream  Day  EP  (Amoeba)  1987  © 
Prairie  School  Freakout  f  Amoeba )  1 988  • 
Beet  (Atlantic}  1989® 
Lived  to  Tell  (Atlantic)  1991  <t* 

Freakwater  (Amoeba)  1 989  • 
Dancing  Underwater  (Amoeba)  1991  • 

With  their  jagged  guitars,  unruly  playing,  rough- 
hewn  songs  and  Rick  Rizzo's  tense,  terse  vocals,  Chi- 
cago's Eleventh  Dream  Day  make  art  in  the  raw.  The 
band  is  about  anti-craft — the  idea  that  four  people  bash- 
ing away  in  a  garage  (or  a  bam,  or  a  field)  can  pull  some 
essential  beauty  out  of  the  unbridled  heat  of  the  mo- 
ment. At  their  best,  EDD  capture  a  glorious  immediacy, 
a  feeling  of  movement,  the  rush  of  watching  something 
unexpected  unfold. 

"Walking  Through  the  Barrel  of  a  Gun,"  the  first 
track  on  the  debut  EP  (which  is,  surprisingly,  the  quar- 
tet's most  temperate  effort)  defines  the  Dream  Day  style. 
Mixing  trashy  "60s  psychedelia  with  a  drop  of  country- 
western  blood,  the  song  places  an  anonymous  character 
into  a  surreal  crisis;  imagine  a  Jim  Thompson  novel 
sung  by  Gene  Pitney  with  Neil  Young  on  guitar. 

Prairie  School  Freakout  puts  the  band's  rock'n'roll 
primitivist  thesis  into  execution.  The  entire  album  was 
recorded  in  six  hours  one  night,  "half  of  the  time  spent 
trying  to  fix  the  wild  buzz  coming  out  of  Rick's  amp," 
according  to  the  liner  notes.  "We  finally  gave  up  and 
decided  to  make  amp  buzz  the  theme  of  the  record." 
The  album  is  slightly  more  elegant  than  roadkill.  Gui- 
tarists Rizzo  and  Bakd  Figi  trade  leads  that  could  saw 
down  a  petrified  forest;  the  lyrics,  when  decipherable 
through  Rizzo's  strangulations,  depict  lonesome  roads, 
empty  rooms  and  horror-film  traumas  filled  with  the 
same  eerie  dread  as  the  original  Texas  Chainsaw  Mas- 
sacre, 

Beet  is  less  extreme,  though  still  vital;  producer 
Gary  Waleik  (Big  Dipper)  coaxes  the  songs  out  of  hid- 
ing without  losing  the  intrinsic  noisiness  of  the  Eleventh 
Dream  Day  experience.  Both  Rizzo  and  his  wife, 
drummer/singer  Janet  Beveridge  Bean,  are  splendid  lyr- 
icists, writing  cagey  little  narratives  that  trace  characters 
through  the  gloomy  and  mysterious  recesses  of  their 
own  minds  and  the  weird  America  around  them.  Bean's 
"Bagdad's  Last  Ride"  follows  a  lonelyheart  named 
Hank  from  the  bus  to  the  racetrack,  where  he  risks  it  aU; 
Rizzo's  "Love  to  Hate  to  Love"  takes  a  two-second 
moment  when  a  girl  curses  at  her  boyfriend  and  dissects 
the  layers  of  thought  and  emotion.  As  with  Prairie 
School  Freakout,  the  lack  of  textural  variation  becomes 
a  bit  daunting  after  a  while;  listen  to  these  albums  while 
driving,  and  let  the  clogged,  chaotic  sounds  fly  loose 
through  an  open  window.  (The  CD  adds  Figi's  "Seiche" 
as  a  bonus.) 

Lived  to  Tell  offers  more  good  stuff  to  wallow  in, 
but  a  bit  less  to  grab  onto.  The  violently  echoing  slide 


220 


in  "Dream  of  a  Steep"  is  as        and 

as  on  attd  the 

pofver-rocfang  *4Rose  of  Jericho1*  to  its 

of  But  **• 

ver  of  for  the          time,  the 

to  the)  "re  aid  that 

joy  out  of  the  ride. 

Freakwater,  a  rootsy  side  by  the  Kentucky- 

Bean  and 

ist  (and  Dream  Day  cover  artist)  Ann  Irwin, 

is  EDO's  rural  folkie  flipside.  With  the  accompa- 
niment of  upright  bass,  violin,  cello,  and 
percussion,  the  pair  twang  and  warble  through  six  orig- 
inals plus  a  few  covers  (like  the  Louvin  Brothers* 
"Childish  Love")  on  Freakwater.  The  ticti  spontane- 
ity and  cramminess  of  the  recording  define  the  spirit  of 
uncontrived  good  fun.  Bean  and  Irwin  are  welcome 
around  my  campfire  any  day.  {kss] 

DANNY  ELFMAN 

See  Dingo  Boingo. 

ELLEN  JAMES  SOCIETY 

Rfttudontiy  We  (Daemon)  1 990 

It  should  be  a  safe  assumption  that  a  band  named  for 
The  World  According  to  Garp's  imaginary  organization 
of  self-mutilated  mutes  would  be  all-instrumental,  but 
that's  not  the  case  with  this  Atlanta  quartet.  (At  least  not 
by  the  point  of  this  debut  album. )  For  bettor  or  worse, 
guitarists  Chris  McGuire  and  Cooper  Seay  dramatically 
sing  their  grim  romantic  lyrics  in,  respectively,  harsh 
and  amelodic  voices  on  Reluctantly  We,  co-produced 
by  Indigo  Girl  Amy  Ray  and  released  by  her  indie  label. 
(Both  Indigo  Girls  make  guest  appearances  here.)  The 
EJ  Society's  tasteful  folk-rock  playing  isn't  bad  at  ail, 
but  the  two  frontwomen  have  all  the  grating  habits  of 
Ray's  band  (selfconsciously  hypersensitive  romantic 
lyrics,  occasionally  unpleasant  singing)  and  none  of  its 
finer  vocal  qualities.  [i] 

ELVIS  BROTHERS 

Mavin'  Up  (Portrait)  1983 
Adventure  Time  (Portrait)  1985 

This  trio  from  Champaign,  Illinois,  has  roots  in 
many  local  bands  of  that  area  (some  credible,  others 
cringeable);  together,  they  play  a  marvelous  (and  de- 
ceptively simple)  concoction  of  slicked-up  rockabilly, 
stripped-down  Cheap  Trick-tinged  melodic  rock'n'roll 
and  pristine  pure  pop  that  boasts  superbly  articulated 
energy,  occasionally  goofy  lyrics  and  enough  hooks  to 
catch  a  school  of  minnows.  Movin*  Up  traverses  a  pan- 
oply of  mildly  bent  styles,  from  mock-Stray  Cats  ("Fire 
in  the  City")  to  Dave  Edmunds-ish  rock'n'roll  (*'Hey 
Tina")  to  Anglo-pop  ("Hidden  in  a  Heartbeat")  to 
countryfied  rock  ("Santa  Fe")  and  much  more.  Sure 
they  futz  around  a  lot  (especially  onstage),  but  their 
silliness  never  interferes  with  the  serious  task — playing 
catchy  pop  with  maximum  gusto.  It  may  not  mean  a  lot, 
but  the  album  is  truly  mega-fun. 

Adrian  Belew  produced  Adventure  Time,  but 
didn't  do  too  much  damage  to  the  E-Bros.'  essentially 
lighthearted  spirit.  There  are  a  couple  of  socially  re- 
sponsible messages  about  gun  control  and  insanity  in  the 


feut,  h\  ac4  the  go 

the  ttf 

"Somebody  Call  the  Police**  to  the  of  **Cra*- 

*uiii&"*  and  *  *  off 

tune  of  pi 

See 


EMBARRASSMENT 

Th*  & 

1 983 

The  If          to  1987 

God  Help  Ih 

they  up  in  this 

Wichita,  Kansas,  less 

more  the 

and  K)  to  the 

Embos 

vocals  weren't  <  Bill  Goffrier's 

nearly  was  K  the  did  a 

array  of  —  to  — and  an 

inquisitive,  way  The 

lyrics  vary  in  quality,  kit  "Don't  tbe  Wrong 

Song"  and  "Elizabeth  Face" 

ding  verbal  pithiness,  "Weltsvilie"'  t 
strength.  Best  of  all,  most  of  the  HP's  five 

grow  on  you  with  each  listen. 

The  ambitious  Death  Trawte  West  is  a 

historical  concept  album — on  several  levels — -about  a 
voyage.  The  melodic  songs  benefit  from  hot  perfor- 
mances; while  getting  the  thematic  point  requires 
effort  and  attention*  the  charged,  raw-edged  pop  is  im- 
mediately likable,  showing  the  Emlwrassiiwiif  s  facility 
for  creating  memorable  tunes. 

The  posthumous  Retrospective  tape  is  even 
impressive,  a  collection  of  otherwise  unissued  studio 
recordings  from  1979  to  1983*  plus  a  side  of  live  "82- 
'83  performances.  It's  a  treasure  trove  that  shows  tbe 
Embarrassment  in  command  of  a  wide  stylistic  range — 
from  catchy  pop  to  gutsy  pu at- -and  in  possession  of 
broad-based  songwritmg  talent.  The  best  of  many  fine 
songs  is  "Woods  of  Love,**  a  mesmerizing  slice  of 
anti-imperialism  played  with  Fbeiescpe  folksy  pop- 
psychedelia,  recorded  onstage. 

One  side  of  The  Embarri^ro«t  UP  reissues  the 
debut  EP;  the  other,  salvaged  from  a  19&3  live-m-the- 
studio  session,  consists  of  previously  unrekased  record- 
ings, except  for  the  insidious  version  of  "  Age  of  Five" 
that  was  included  on  Retrospective,  Full-bodied,  con- 
fident one-take  performances  of  "Woods  of  Love/* 
"Picture  Women**  and  me  pulsing  "Rhythm  Line'* 
make  the  Embos'  demise  all  tbe  more  regrettable.  After 
the  split,  drummer  Brent  Giessmann  joined  the  Del 
Ftiegos;  Goffirier  formed  Big  Dipper. 

In  late  '88,  Goffirier  began  Splitting  his  time  between 
Big  Dipper  and  the  reactivated  Embarrassment,  who 
recorded  a  brilliant  album  and  toured  the  following  year. 
With  great  new  material  and  wonderful  edgy-pop  per- 
formances, God  Help  Us  effortlessly  picks  up  where 
the  quartet  left  off:  older,  wiser,  but  even  better  man 
before.  Shuffling  and  sorting  out  the  '80s  (there  are 
flashes  of  the  Suburbs,  Devo,  Talking  Heads,  R.E.M. 
and  others),  the  group  arrives  at  a  stylistic  focus  that 


221 


puts  starch  into  the  sensitively  muscular  tunes.  While 
Nichols'  voice  exhibits  new-found  confidence  and  con- 
trol, he  still  possesses  a  boyish  zeal  that  makes  the  witty 
songs  even  more  dynamic.  [jg/i] 

See  also  Big  Dipper,  Dd  Fuegos, 

EMBRACE 

See  Minor  Threat. 

JACK  ENDING 

See  Skin  Yard. 

ENGLAND'S  GLORY 

See  Only  Ones. 

ENGLISH  BEAT 

See  (English)  Beat. 

BRIAN  ENO 

Here  Come  the  Warm  Jete  (Wand)  1 973  (EG)  1 982  * 
Taking  Tiger  Mountain  (By  Strategy)  (Island)  1 974 

(EG)1 982  » 

ArK»*er  Green  World  (bland)  1 975  (EG)  1 982  « 
Discreet  Music  (Antilles)  1 975  (EG)  1 982  * 
Before  and  After  Science  (Island)  1977  (EG)  1982  * 
Music  for  Films  (Antilles)  1 978  (EG)  1 982  • 
Music  for  Airports  (Ambient)  1 979  (EG)  1 982  « 
On  Land  (EG)  1982* 
Musk  for  Rims  Volume  2  (EG)  1 983 
Working  Backwards  1983-1973  (EG)  1984 
Thursday  Afternoon  [CD]  (EG)  1985  • 
More  Blank  Than  Frank  (EG)  1 986 
Desert  Island  Selection  [CD]  (EG)  1989  • 
Boxed  Set  (nr/EG)  1 989  4> 

KEVIN  AYERS-JOHN 
CALE-ENO-N1CO 

June  1,1 974  (Island)  1974* 

CLUSTER  &  BRIAN  ENO 

Cluster  and  Eno  (Ger.  Sky)  1 977 
Old  Land  (Relativity)  1985* 

ENO  WITH  MOEBIUS  AND 
ROEDELIUS 

After  the  Heat  (Ger.  Sky)  1978 

JON  HASSELL/BRIAN  ENO 

Fourth  World  Vol.  1:  Possible  Musics  (Editions  EG)  1 980  * 
Power  Spot  (Ger.  ECM)  1 986  • 

HAROLD  BUDD/BRIAN  ENO 

The  Plateaux  of  Mirror  (EG)  1 980  • 
The  Pearl  (EG)  1984* 

BRIAN  ENO  WITH  DANIEL 
LANOIS  &  ROGER  ENO 

Apollo  Atmospheres  &  Soundtracks  (EG)  1 983  « 

ROGER  ENO  &  BRIAN  ENO 

Voices  (EG)  1985* 

ROGER  ENO 

Between  Tides  (Opal)  1 988  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Music  for  Films  III  (Opal)  1 988  • 


ENO/CALE 

Wrong  Way  Up  f Opal-Warner  Bros.)  1990  • 

From  his  original  role  as  electronics  dabbler  and 
art-rocker  with  Roxy  Music  in  the  early  1970s,  Brian 
Eno  has  become  the  epitome  of  the  independent  artist- 
articulate,  intelligent,  serious  and  intent  on  following 
his  own  impulses.  He  has  progressed  from  a  tight,  wry 
pop  music  into  more  difficult  forms,  incorporating  as- 
pects of  many  different  disciplines.  As  well  as  a  solo 
artist,  Eno  has  collaborated  with  many  people;  he  be- 
came a  major  force  in  the  emerging  music  of  the  '80s  as 
producer  of  such  adventurers  as  Ultravox,  Talking 
Heads,  New  York  no-wave  bands,  Devo,  U2  and  oth- 
ers. 

Here  Come  the  Warm  Jets,  Eno's  first  foray  as  a 
solo  artist,  features  sharply  crafted,  cerebral  pop  songs 
that  put  equal  emphasis  on  quirky  music  and  chatty, 
surrealistic  lyrics — an  endearing  novelty  record  with  bi- 
zarre but  affecting  songs  that  no  one  else  could  have 
made. 

Taking  Tiger  Mountain  (By  Strategy)  finds  Eno 
flirting  with  Chinese  communism  and  dream  psychol- 
ogy as  grist  for  his  lyric  mill.  The  tone  of  the  music  is 
darker  overall  than  on  the  first  album;  though  Eno  was 
already  beginning  to  show  a  mistrust  of  pop  forms,  the 
songs  here  are  filled  with  humor  and  joy  and  his  con- 
tinuing taste  for  experimentation. 

By  Another  Green  World,  Eno  was  enhancing  his 
work  with  crystal-clear  production.  Much  of  the  album 
features  beautiful,  fragile  instrumentals,  leaving  the 
manic  rock  tone  of  the  first  two  albums  behind.  Elec- 
tronics play  a  greater  role,  and  Eno  all  but  abandons 
standard  pop  forms  for  a  less-formulaic  sound  that 
presages  his  future  ambient  work. 

Discreet  Music  (as  well  as  his  two  collaborations 
with  Robert  Fripp)  was  first  devised  while  Eno  was 
recovering  from  an  auto  accident,  and  it  marks  his  ex- 
perimental break  from  pop  forms,  using  classical  struc- 
tures as  the  basis  for  tape  loops  and  manipulations.  The 
result  is  striking  and  haunting,  filled  with  beauty  and 
apprehension,  paralleling  the  minimalist  music  being 
made  by  Steve  Reich  and  Philip  Glass. 

Before  and  After  Science  was  the  apex  of  Eno's 
pop  work,  a  collection  of  ten  lyrical  songs — ranging 
from  bouncy,  eccentric  pop  ("King's  Lead  Hat")  to 
wistfully  pastoral  songs  ("Spider  and  I,"  "Through 
Hollow  Lands") — that  smack  of  vast  distances.  The 
pivotal  work  of  Eno's  career,  it  sees  him  spanning  whole 
musical  worlds,  but  from  this  point  on,  his  involvement 
with  pop  music  was,  for  a  long  time,  relegated  to  pro- 
duction work. 

Music  for  Films,  which  introduced  Eno's  subse- 
quent focus,  consists  of  fragments  done  over  the  years 
as  possible  soundtracks  for  imaginary  movies.  (Eno's 
work  has  since  appeared  on  several  actual  soundtracks.) 
Totally  instrumental,  the  album  features  a  return,  with 
greater  sophistication,  to  the  work  of  Discreet 
Music — a  conscious  attempt  to  imply  subtle  moods  and 
settings  through  electronically  manipulated  sound. 

Ambient  music,  which  goes  directly  against  West- 
ern tradition  by  not  demanding  explicit  attention  from 
the  listener,  was  introduced  on  Music  for  Airports,  a 
stark  but  hypnotic  collection  of  sounds  especially  com- 
posed for  airport  sound  systems  to  inure  passengers  to 
flying  and  death.  Whether  successful  (or  even  ever  used) 


222 


in  or          the 

up  the  of 

in  the  mid- '70s,,,  Eno  nu- 

merous (with  SOL  Ayerv-CaJe-Nico, 

Bowie,  Cluster,  Jon  Hfcidi,  etc. }  that 

him  to  in  <a&  well  as 

of  to 

pop.  In  1977,  he  op         the  Ger- 

duo  Cluster  (aka  Moebius  and  RoedeIiiis}--~ 
first  Mm  on  a  0n  After 

Science — on  an  eponymous  LP  which 

in  the  direction  of  mood-evoking  electroEics, 
successful  is  the  1978  collaboration,  After  the  Heat*  an 
alluring — occasionally  compelling— collection  of  in- 
struiuentals  thai  deftly  avoid  the  pitfalls  of  mu- 

sic, plus  three  tracks  with  vocals  of  varying  ( 

declaimed,  one  sung,  a  third  sung  tot  played  back- 
wards). (Old  Land  is  a  selection  of  tracks  from 
LPs.) 

The  Plateaux  of  Mirror,  with  Harold  Bndd, 
Eno  expanding  Ms  ambient  work  to  multi-dimensional 
proportions,  while  My  Life  In  the  Bosh  of  Ghosts, 
with  David  Byrne,  allows  him  to  indulge  his  fascination 
with  African  and  other  Third  World  rhythms,  with  the 
latter  made  more  intriguing  through  the  mixture  of  these 
rhythms  aad  found  speech  and  music  tapes.  Possible 
Musks  is  an  exploration  of  different  areas  of  ethno- 
musicology  with  experimental  Canadian  trumpeter  Jon 
Hasseil. 

By  On  Land,  Eno  had  polished  his  ambient  music 
into  a  dense,  evocative  representation  of  terra  incognita. 
Though  sometimes  obscure  and  always  devoid  of  lyrics, 
the  work  shows  Eno  at  his  most  expressive,  with  sound 
paintings  that  exist  somewhere  between  ancient  mantra 
and  avant-garde. 

Invited  to  do  the  music  for  a  film  about  the  Apollo 
space  missions,  Eno  used  all  of  his  inspiration  about  the 
grandeur  and  mystery  of  man's  walking  on  the  moon  to 
create  Apollo  Atmospheres  &  Soundtracks,  recorded 
in  conjunction  with  his  brother  Roger  and  longtime  col- 
laborator, Daniel  Lanois  (also  known  for  his  solo  pro- 
duction work  with  Martha  and  the  Muffins  and  others; 
he  issued  a  solo  album  in  the  late  *80s).  Avoiding  any 
sensationalistic  (or  even  typical  space/rocketry)  sounds, 
it's  another  hauntmgly  poetic  collection  of  ambient 
pieces,  written  and  played  variously  by  all  three  musi- 
cians. 

Thursday  Afternoon  is  a  61 -minute  instrumental 
piece  (logically  enough  issued  only  on  CD)  created  to 
accompany  a  VHS  cassette  of  "video  paintings"  by 
Christine  Alicino.  The  soothing  spaciousness  of  the 
soundtrack  ambience  belies  its  compositional  sophisti- 
cation, as  explained  in  the  liner  notes. 

Roger  Eno's  Between  Tides  sounds  even  more  like 
movie  soundtrack  music  than  much  of  the  Music  for 
Films  LPs — if  you  play  it  at  45  rpm.  The  undynamic 
arrangements  of  the  soft  sounds  of  a  clarinet,  a  string 
quartet  and  a  dash  of  flute  frame  piano  melodies  that 
capture  a  plaintive,  oddly  American  feel  (at  least  some 
of  that  intentional).  Roger  chipped  in  on  the  Music  for 
Films  HI  LP,  the  first  of  that  series  featuring  some 
tracks  not  primarily  by  Brian.  Standout  cuts  are  those  by 
Harold  Budd,  John  Paul  Jones  and  Brian  himself 
(though  not  the  ones  teaming  him  with  his  U2  co- 
producer  Daniel  Lanois).  Also  of  note  is  the  track  li- 


censed fvrn  Soviit  M  fea  anJ 

Tfecrernn 

ts  the 

co£J&:t:tta~-%m  etevui-d'^c  set  all 

of  hi%  «*vo  ,iihrn>  through  for  X 

an  otherwise  uRA\a«aK£  LP  of 

as  "Seven  '  ami  **Tt3e 

Tonight."  to  the 

ti0r  ot  the  M0rt  d*e  one-LF 

'$  &  asd 

compilation— ten  of  the  artist**         *a\es          his 
few        records  {excluding  ? 

ful  fTfee  two  > 

is  the  CD         or  More 
Frank,  The  Set 

Green  World,  and  After  *nd 

Working  for  the  in 

JoSra  Caie  s  for  Use  In          the 

following  year,  in- 

clined to  resume  ringing,  AIM!  the  oo  an 

album.  For  all  the  a  by  the  two 

have  been,  it's  a  that  Wrong  Way  Up 

turned  oat  to  be  an  pop  record,  a 

subversion  of  Top  40  to  the  pair's 

syncratic  (but  utterly  s 

ambience  and  Cafe's  lyricism,  as  well  as  the 

pair  s  contrasting  voices  (and  the  whole  thing 

in  a  masterfully  subtle  K  Wrong  Way  Up  Is 

a  marvel,  a  tuneful  and  catchy 
likability  belies  its  highbrow  ( not  to  the 

partners'  reported  disharmoEy,  in  the  cover 

art's  dagger  graphics).  It's  to  remember  when  ci- 
ther Gate  or  Eno  has  sounded  or  wanner,  and 
their  co-writing  has  an  easy,  relaxed  feel.  With  the 
American  Southwest  surfacing  as  a  repeated  theme  in 
such  songs  as  the  rollicking  "Crime  in  the  Desert**  and 
"The  River,"  variations  in  the  partnership's  balance 
keep  the  album  in  constant  stylistic  motion.  "In  the 
Backroom,"  the  irresistible  "Been  There,  Done  That** 
and  "Spinning  Away"  take  their  cues  from  three  dif- 
ferent decades  of  R&B,  while  "Lay  My  Love"  and 
"One  Word"  follow  that  same  dance-pop  arc  into  the 
technologized  present.  Magic.  [sg/i/jg] 

See  also  David  Bowie,  David  Byrne,  Fripp  &  Em>, 
Phil  Martzawra,  Talking  Heads, 

EPMD 

Strictly  Business  (Fresh)  1988  • 

Unfinished  Business  (Fresh)  1989  • 

Business  as  Usual  (Def  Janv-Cobmbio)  1991  • 

K-SOLO 

Tell  the  World  My  Name  (Atlantic)  1 990  * 

While  Long  Island  rappers  Erick  Sermon  and  Par- 
rish  Smith — aka  EPMD-— have  modestly  adequate 
writing/production  skills,  a  generally  positive  outlook 
and  realistic  values,  a  bad  habit  of  repeating  themselves 
and  Sermon's  cotton-mouthed  delivery  are  significant 
impediments  to  enjoying  their  records.  Why  they've 
been  so  successful  is  something  of  a  mystery. 

Strictly  Business  uses  routine  samples  (Steve 
Miller,  Bob  Marley,  etc.)  without  much  imagination; 
except  for  the  title  track*  s  anti-drug  message  and  the 
idea  of  a  dance  called  "The  Steve  Martin,"  mis  unam- 
bitious debut  is  no  thing. 

223 


The  casually  amateurish  self-production  of  Unfin- 
ished Business  is  its  most  engaging  asset:  Sermon  and 
Smith  sound  like  a  couple  of  kids  fooling  around  in  their 
basement,  rapping  about  nothing  in  particular,  attempt- 
ing to  sing  a  line  or  two,  using  some  favorite  records  for 
cut-in  jokes  and  generally  amusing  themselves  while  the 
tape  deck  runs.  But  other  than  a  jokey  and  commend- 
able condemnation  of  drunk  driving  ("You  Had  Too 
Much  to  Drink1'),  the  winsomely  autobiographical 
"Please  Listen  to  My  Demo"  and  a  second  installment 
of  the  first  LP's  "Jane"  sex  saga,  Unfinished  Business 
is  pretty  lame. 

Despite  the  title,  Business  as  Usual  is  anything  but: 
EPMD  turns  up  the  heat  with  a  newly  aggressive  stance 
and  smoothly  charged-up  backing  tracks.  While  Ser- 
mon's rapping  has  improved  a  bit,  he's  no  match  for  his 
partner,  who  comes  on  like  an  angry  linebacker  in  rug- 
ged no-slang-barred  cuts  like  *Tm  Mad,"  "Hardcore" 
and  "Brothers  on  My  lock/'  The  pair  seems  a  little 
unsteady  with  their  new  power,  however:  a  cautionary 
track  about  sexually  transmitted  disease  is  mostly  an 
excuse  for  a  dumb-ass  bragging  session  between  a  man 
and  his  bozack  (penis). 

K-Solo  (Kevin  Madison),  another  Long  Island  na- 
tive, had  been  in  a  pre-EPMD  group  with  Smith,  who 
arranged  for  him  to  appear  on  Unfinished  Business 
("Knick  Knack  Patty  Wack")  and  produced  and  played 
keyboards  on  TeH  the  World  My  Name.  The  rough- 
edged  rapper's  a-n-n-o-y-i-n-g  gimmick  of  spelling 
rhymes  on  "Spellbound*'  is  a  terrible  opener,  and  "The 
Messenger"  praises  (and  includes  a  speech  by)  Minister 
Farrakhan,  but  the  stark  strength  of  the  autobiographical 
"Fugitive"  and  the  anti-drug  "Tales  from  the  Crack 
Side"  are  memorably  effective,  and  "Your  Mom's  in 
My  Business"  offers  a  witty  perspective  on  parental 
meddling.  [i] 

ERASURE 

Voncferiancf  (Mute-Sire)  1986  « 

\  Doesn't  Hove  to  Be  EP  (nr/Mute)  1 987  « 

"he  Circus  (Mute-Sire)  1 987  • 

"he  Two  Ring  Circus  (Mute-Sire)  1 987  • 

"he  Innocents  (Mute-Sire-Reprise)  1988  • 

Irackers  Internationa!  EP  (Mute-Sire-Reprise}  1 988  • 

Midi  (Mute-Sire-Reprise)  1989  « 

Vince  Clarke's  post-Yazoo  band  is  a  duo  with  Andy 
Jell,  a  tremulously  melodramatic  singer  who  initially 
K>re  a  creepy  vocal  resemblance  to  Clarke's  former  part- 
icr,  Alison  Moyet.  The  music  on  Wonderland  likewise 
lounds  like  Yazoo  (bizarre,  considering  that  Bell  co- 
vrote  most  of  them).  On  one  hand,  it's  disconcerting; 
m  the  other,  Yazoo  was  a  fine  band,  and  Clarke's  more 
han  welcome  to  keep  up  the  good  work,  regardless  of 
who  with.  The  best  tracks  ("Heavenly  Action"  and 
"Oh  r Amour")  are  memorable  pop  confections.  (The 
CD  adds  two  tracks.) 

Erasure* s  second  album  was  released  twice:  the  one- 
disc  The  Circus  and,  later,  as  a  double  12-inch  set  of 
remixes  and  re-recordings.  (The  second  version's  CD 
has  seven  extra  tracks. )  Although  the  original  LP's  ma- 
terial is  mostly  cut  from  the  same  synth-dance  cloth  as 
the  first  record,  the  arrangements  here  are  richer,  more 
intricate  and  inventive.  Unfortunately,  Bell's  flat  deliv- 
ery of  the  pessimistic  and  strife-ridden  romance  lyrics 


leaves  them  unaffectiRg  and  whiny;  he  even  the 

plainly  lascivious  "Sexuality"  and  "Sometimes"  with 
a  sickening  lack  of  enthusiasm.  This  is  the  sort  of  mis- 
ery that  deserves  to  be  left  alone.  ("It  Doesn't  Have  to 
Be,"  which  leads  off  the  album,  was  first  released  on  t 
pre-LP  12-inch.) 

The  Two  Ring  Circus — an  abridged  set  of  songs 
with  a  revamped  running  order  and  a  side  of  orchestral 
versions — is  a  significantly  better  record,  as  the  elon- 
gated remixes  open  up  the  instrumentation  while  down- 
playing the  vocals.  The  powerful  "Hideaway,"  a 
sweepingly  melodic  number  about  a  young  person  com- 
ing out  of  the  closet,  gets  the  most-improved  award, 
Three  songs  (one  reprised  from  Erasure's  first  LP)  that 
eschew  synthesizers  for  strings,  pianos,  horns  and  tim- 
pani not  only  indicate  healthy  stylistic  Catholicism,  they 
coax  Bell  into  far  more  emotive  performances. 

Stephen  Hague  produced  The  Innocents,  an  OMD- 
like  textured  dance-pop  collection  that  hasn't  got  many 
good  songs  beyond  "A  Little  Respect"  and  "Heart  of 
Stone."  But  clever  arrangements  that  don't  all  sound 
exactly  the  same  render  the  nebulous  romantic  lyrics 
superfluous;  toning  down  Bell's  maddening  delivery 
helps  immeasurably.  (The  CD  adds  "When  I  Needed 
You"  and  the  probably  inevitable  "River  Deep,  Moun- 
tain High.") 

The  self-produced  Crackers  Internationa!  mini- 
album  contains  four  new  (and  otherwise  non-LP)  songs, 
highlighting  Bell's  flamboyant  vocals  on  the  hi-NRG 
"Stop!"  and  "Knocking  on  Your  Door"  (presented  in 
two  mixes  each). 

Emboldened  by  global  stardom,  Erasure  stretched 
themselves  a  bit  in  the  vastly  superior  Wild!,  which 
adds  a  welcome  dynamic  assortment  of  styles  to  the 
duo's  usual  disco  chugalug.  Revealing  new-found  re- 
straint, variety  and  artistry,  Wild!  has  delicate  ballads, 
a  piano  instrumental  and  gentle  techno-pop  to  recom- 
mend it.  Standouts:  the  giddy '  'Star"  and  the  Latinesque 
"La  Gloria."  [i] 

See  also  Depeche  Mode,  Yazoo, 


ERIC  B.  &  RAKiM 

Paid  in  Full  (4th  £  B'way)  1987* 

Follow  the  Leader  (Uni)  1 988  • 

Let  the  Rhythm  Hit  'Em  (MCA)  1 990  • 

Queens  homeslice  Eric  B.  (Barrier)  is  the  DJ  and 
Strong  (Long)  Islander  Rakim  (William  Griffin)  is  the 
rapper;  as  the  latter  sings  in  "I  Ain't  No  Joke,"  "I  hold 
the  microphone  like  a  grudge/Eric  B.  hold  the  record  so 
the  needle  don't  budge."  Beginning  with  a  brilliant 
summer  of  '86  single,  "Eric  B.  Is  President,"  on  an 
obscure  Harlem  label,  Eric  B.  and  Rakim  proved  them- 
selves if  not  the  hardest,  certainly  the  most  technically 
intricate — both  musically  and  lyrically — rap  duo 
around.  Their  follow-up,  "Paid  in  Full,"  inspired  more 
than  30  (1)  different  mixes;  the  standout  was  Coldcut's 
"Seven  Minutes  of  Madness,"  which  introduced  Ye- 
menite singer  Ofra  Haza  to  the  international  pop  audi- 
ence through  the  miracle  of  sampling.  (Eric  B.  and 
Rakim  themselves  pioneered  the  musical  appropriation 
of  James  Brown  in  their  mixes,  initiating  hip-hop's  al- 
most obligatory  homage  to  the  Godfather  of  Soul.) 

Paid  in  Full  is  a  spectacular  debut  LP  that  includes 
new  mixes  of  "Eric  B.  Is  President"  and  its  flipside, 


224 


**M>  Melody/'  Rakun's  lyne^  OR  the  dart's  p 

ftc  joy  of  nsoney,  ^ith  the 
of 
mgly  serving  as  an  end  in  itself. 

While  can't          to  off  the  of 

his  own  the  duo 

on  the  on  the  of  ft;,\ 

delivery  of  the 

f  credit  Stevie  Blass  Griffin  I,  con- 

vention, the  mix  doesn't  so  the 

the  beat  as  into  a 

mid-point,  allowing  vocals,         and  a  of 

insenimenfs  and  to  even  out. 

Loaded  with  Rakim's          power,  the  Let 

the  Rhythm  Hit  $Eni  and  the 

style,  laying  thickly  textured  tracks— a  unique 
of  sturdy  beats  and  woozy  late-night  — 

increasingly  sophisticated  raps.  The  of 

"In  the  Ghetto"  (not  the  Elvis  song)  and  "Step  Back" 
make  them  exceptionally  effective;  tracks  like  "Un- 
touchables*' and  "Run  for  Cover"  raise  the  energy 
up  with  the  duo's  usual  musical  invention.  The  CD 
the  title  track's  12-inch  remix  as  a  bonus,  [rg/t] 

ROKY  ER1CKSON  AND  THE 
ALIENS 

Roky  Erickson  and  the  Aliens  (nr/CBS)  1980 

The  Evil  One  (415)  1981  [CD]  fPink  Dysfr)  1987  • 

S  Think  of  Demons  (w/Edset)  1987 

ROKY  ERICtCSON 

Roky  Erickson  EP  {Fr.  Sponge)  1977 

Clear  Night  for  Love  EP  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 985 

(nr/Fundameotal  Music)  1988 
Don't  Slander  Me  (Pink  Dust)  1 986  • 
Gremlins  Have  Pictures  (Pink  Dust)  1986  (fir/Demon) 

1990* 

The  Holiday  inn  Topes  {Fr.  Fan  Club)  1987 
Live  at  the  Ritz  1 987  (Fr.  Fan  Oub)  1 988 
Reverend  of  Karmk  Youth  (Skydad)  1 990  * 

ROKY  ERICKSON  AND  THE 
EXPLOSIVES 

Casting  the  Runes  (nr/Frve  Hours  Back)  1987 

ROKY  ERICKSON  BAND 

Two  Headed  Dog  EP  (Fr.  Fan  dub)  1 988 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Where  the  Pyramid  Meets  the  Eye:  A  Tribute  to  Roky 

Erickson  (Sire)  1 990  <!> 

Roky  Erickson  estabEshed  his  reputation  as  a  raving 
looney  way  back  in  the  *60s  as  lead  singer  of  Texas' 
infamous  13th  Floor  Elevators,  whose  acid-driven  ga- 
rage mysticism  made  the  group  one  of  the  psychedelic 
era's  greatest.  Since  then,  Erickson's  sporadic  musical 
career  has  yielded  a  slew  of  often-amazing  records  that 
have  established  the  perpetually  troubled  artist  (whose 
problems  with  drugs  and  mental  illness  have  attained 
near-legendary  status)  as  a  formidable  cult  figure.  And 
while  he's  regarded  by  many  as  a  mere  curio/novelty, 
Erickson  is  in  fact  a  quirky,  original  talent  whose  genius 
lies  in  an  uncanny  ability  to  turn  his  psychic  struggles 
into  compelling  music  that,  at  its  best,  is  both  pro- 
foundly unsettling  and  strangely  accessible. 

The  Elevators  fell  apart  in  the  late  '60s,  when  Erick- 


wn  a  \i2*u  „*  a 

to  WU'J  cnrairM1  jr%,  seai^R  f  n  A  He 

2 "»  rcctvir*  *n*ii  l!»e  of  Ac 

'70s,         Jt          <tf  s.n^Icv  and  th*. 

EP  trussed  in  IWX  M 
of  the  FPS  for  the 

CK  LP  <ihc  tt*e  of  is  five 

s  Tht,  w  an 

o*"  s  ex- 

pressing his         dLkm^m 

sjtp  as  "I  Walked 

a  Zombit*'  and  "Creature         tihc  Atom  in 

a  voice  fhas  hc*$  the  at 

he  w, 
1st  Sm  *n  an  rfob, 

the  *  and  Bill  ** 

trie  I  into  a  that  s 

aud  less 

than  the  for 

**Yotfre  Miss  Me"  >,  but  just 

for  The  Evi  five 

from  the  UK  the  *"Ti*Q- 

Dog"  I  and        five  the 

(that's  "Bloody  LP  is 

Ttey're  tad 

splatter-ilm  teal  nxk'n'roS! 

viction.  The  best  bet,  however,  is  the  CD* 

which  collects  the  of  I  Thliik  of 

Demons,  created  as  an  of  the        UP, 

is  another  fine  choice,  as  it  a          of  the  Q>*s 

fifteen  songs. 

The  five  songs  oa  Clear  Nigfet,  in 

with  a  fudimeiitary  quartet,  on  a         of 

restraint.  **Yon  Don't  Love  Me  Yet"  is  folk; 

the  title  track  recalls  Creectence's  rag-teg  tattadiy.  Skfc 
Two  Is  a  bit  wilder,  culminating  in  "Don't  Slander 
Me,"  an  angrily  defensive  accusatory  diatribe.  The  EP 
does,  however,  contain  "Starry  Eyes/'  which  can  only 
be  described  as  Roky's  Buddy  Holly  tribute. 

Don't  SSaracler  Me — cut  with  a  quintet  that  includes 
assorted  ex- Aliens  (electric  autotarpist  Miller 
them)  aad  ex- Jefferson  Airplane/Hot  Tuna  Jack 

Casady— was  recorded  for  (but  rejected  by)  British  CBS 
in  the  early  '80s,  but  not  released  uotil  19S6.  Although 
half  of  the  songs  appear  in  different  versions  on  earlier 
releases  (including  three  on  dear  Night),  it's  typically 
gripping.  The  inclusion  of  two  Holly-inspired  pop  tunes 
makes  for  a  bizarre  contrast  to  **Bmn  the  Flames/1'  a 
number  originally  done  for  the  Return  of  the  Living 
Dead  soundtrack. 

Erickson  quit  recording  again  in  tfee  mid-*80s,  twit  a 
steady  stream  of  releases — of  varying  levels  of  quality — 
has  persisted.  Gremlins  Have  Pictures  is  an  interesting 
if  erratic  hodgepodge  of  tracks  ranging  from  1975  to 
1982,  solo  and  with  three  different  groups  (the  Explo- 
sives, the  Aliens  and  Blieb  Alien):  some  thrilling,  some 
shoddy,  all  loony.  (The  CD  adds  previously  released 
1980- vintage  bonus  tracks.) 

The  Holiday  Inn  Tapes  is  simply  an  atrocity,  a 
pathetic  guy  in  a  hotel  room  fooling  around  on  an  acous- 
tic guitar.  Even  fans  shouldn't  bother.  On  the  other 
hand,  despite  the  appalling  boot-quality  sound  of  live 
at  the  Ritz,  this  documeat  of  an  Austin  show  (February 
1987)  which  begins  with  **  You're  Gonna  Miss  Me"  and 
runs  through  "Bloody  Hammer"  with  bracing  guitar 


225 


work  by  Will  Sextoo  is  worth  hearing,  especially  for  the 
incidental  stage  remarks. 

Casting  tlit  Runes  mates  Roky *s  twisted  worldview 
with  a  hard,  crunching  band,  Recorded  on  various  Texas 
stages  circa  '79,  it  unleashes  menacing  renditions  of 
such  grisly  Brickson  classics  as  "Don't  Shake  Me  Lu- 
cifer" and  "Bloody  Hammer,'*  plus  a  weird  version  of 
the  mush-pop  oldie  "I  Love  How  You  Love  Me," 
Highly  recommended,  especially  to  fans  of  The  Evil 
One.  Reverend  of  Karmic  Youth  is  an  interesting  ar- 
tifact: six  acoustic  solo  tones  from  1985,  plus  six  live 
band  tracks  from  Casting  the  Runes. 

In  1990,  Erickson  was  arrested  in  a  bizarre  mail- 
fraud  mix-up  and  institutionalized  once  again.  Through 
the  efforts  of  a  longtime  fan  at  the  label,  this  latest  round 
of  tribulations  inspired  the  assembly  of  Where  the  Pyr- 
amid Meets  the  Eye,  a  benefit  disc  featuring  nineteen 
covers  (22  on  the  cassette)  of  assorted  Roky  composi- 
tions, by  artists  as  diverse  as  ZZ  Top,  R.E.M.,  Doug 
Sahm,  Bongwater,  Julian  Cope,  T-Bone  Burnett  and  the 
Jesus  &  Mary  Chain.  It's  a  mixed  bag  but,  overall, 
Pyramid  is  remarkably  effective.  The  fact  that  such 
intensely  personal  material  can  stand  up  to  such  a  wide 
variety  of  interpretations  makes  it  clear  that,  whatever 
his  personal  problems,  Erickson  is  an  uncommonly 
gifted  songwriter  whose  work  deserves — but  is  not 
likely  to  find — a  wider  audience.  fjy/i/hd] 


ESG 

ESGEP  (99)1 981 

ESG  Says  Dance  to  the  Beat  of  Moody  EP  (99)  1 982 

Come  Away  with  ESG  (99)  1 983 

ESG  (Row  Wow)  1991 

Who  would  have  imagined  that  four  sisters  and  a  pal 
from  the  South  Bronx  would  emerge  as  one  of  the  most 
dynamic  bands  that  New  York  could  offer  at  the  top  of 
the  '80s?  (Or  that  they  would  pop  up  again  in  1987  .  .  .) 
Mixing  a  solid  combination  of  dub,  chant  and  beat, 
ESG — simply  drums,  bass  and  vocals — virtually  stole 
the  cosmic  show  with  their  first  release,  a  six-song  EP 
with  a  live  side  and  a  phenomenal  studio  side  recorded 
under  the  hand  of  British  producer  Martin  Hannett 

Their  second  EP,  produced  by  99  Records  head  Ed 
Bahlman,  is  not  quite  as  crisp  as  the  debut,  but  no  less 
enjoyable,  a  brilliant  synthesis  of  rhythm  and  restraint. 
To  say  the  following  album  stayed  in  a  similar  vein  and 
improved  little  over  live  shows  of  the  same  material 
would  be  to  damn  a  fine  record  with  faint  praise.  ESG 
offers  bouncy  funk  instead  of  funk  pretensions  and  el- 
egant simplicity  in  place  of  mere  primitivism.  [jw/mf] 

ESSENTIAL  LOGIC 

Essential  Logic  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1979 

Beat  Rhythm  News  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 979 

LORA  LOGIC 

Pedigree  Charm  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982 

Essential  Logic  quickly  outlived  its  usefulness  as  a 
vehicle  for  Lora  Logic,  once  a  member  of  X-Ray  Spex, 
and  a  most  distinctive  talent.  The  original  lineup — 
featured  on  the  band's  eponymous  four-song  debut — 
includes  two  guitars,  two  saxes  (including  Logic 
herself)  and  a  clunky  rhythm  section;  a  loose  but  com- 


fortable ensemble.  Logic's  song  writing  had  yet  to 
bloom,  though  her  vocal  style  was  already  developing, 

She  was  still  loopy  but  lovable  on  Beat  Rhythm 
News,  but  her  singing  had  become  highly  stylized  with 
a  distinct  edge.  A  tighter  rhythm  guitarist  replaced  the 
uninspired  duo  of  the  EP,  and  Essential  Logic  soared. 
The  music's  vivacity  is  occasionally  undercut  by  tinny 
production  and  a  tendency  to  ramble,  and  Lore's  growth 
as  a  writer  and  performer  warranted  more  versatile  back- 
ing. The  next  Logical  step:  a  solo  career. 

Logic  continued  to  evolve  on  her  first  solo  outing. 
Her  voice  —  much  better  produced  —  has  a  slightly  softer, 
jazzy  inflection,  and  her  eclectic  writing  assumes  a 
poppy  sheen.  Even  hitherto  impenetrable  lyrics  reveal  a 
translucent  clarity  in  spots.  Businesslike  dance  rhythms 
and  fewer  straying  sax  excursions  take  additional  steps 
towards  accessibility.  Pedigree  Charm  is  a  delight. 

Abandoning  rock'n'roll,  Logic  —  along  with  former 
bandmate  Poly  Styrcne  —  wound  up  becoming  a  Hare 
Krishna  devotee  and  playing  in  a  (religious)  cult  band. 


EURYTHMICS 

In  the  Garden  (nr/RCA)  1  981  * 

Sweet  Dreams  (Are  Made  of  This)  (RCA]  1  983  « 

Touch  (RCA)  1  983  « 

Touch  Dance  (RCA)  1984  « 

1  984  (For  the  Love  of  Big  Brother)  (RCA)  1  984  « 

Be  Yourself  Tonight  (RCA)  1  985  * 

Revenge  (RCA)  1986* 

Savage  (RCA)  1987* 

We  Too  Are  One  (Arista)  1  989  * 

Greatest  Hits  (Arista)  1  991  <J> 

DAVE  STEWART 

Lily  Was  Here  (nr/Anxious)  1  990  • 

DAVE  STEWART  AND  THE 
SPIRITUAL  COWBOYS 

Dave  Stewart  and  the  Spiritual  Cowboys  (Arista)  1  990  « 
Fresh  from  the  unlamented  ruins  of  the  Tourists, 
Annie  Lennox  and  Dave  Stewart  formed  Eurythmics,  at 
first  to  pursue  then*  love  affair  with  Germanic 
experimental/electronic  music  and  attempt  a  translation 
of  it  into  a  peculiarly  British  form.  Co-produced  by 
Conny  Plank  and  featuring  an  intriguing  assortment  of 
musicians  —  Blondie  drummer  Clem  Burke,  members  of 
Can  and  D.A.F.,  composer  Karlheinz  Stockhausen's 
son  Marcus  —  the  alluring  debut  album  (still  unreleased 
in  the  US  a  decade  later)  is  filled  with  lyrical  love  songs 
and  gently  strident  social  anthems,  like  "All  the  Young 
(People  of  Today)"  and  "Your  Time  Will  Come."  Em- 
powering it  all  are  Lennox's  captivating,  flexible  but 
strong  vocals  and  a  commitment  and  humor  that  turn 
potentially  pretentious  material  into  unaffected,  poetic 
work. 

From  such  humble,  non-mainstream  beginnings  was 
a  new  chart-topping,  trendsetting  group  created.  Sweet 
Dreams  (Are  Made  of  This)  —  thanks  mostly  to  the 
monotonic  dirge  of  the  same  name  —  took  off  and  lofted 
the  pair  into  world  prominence,  a  success  they  main- 
tained on  Touch  by  proving  themselves  capable  of  enor- 
mous stylistic  and  instrumental  variety,  as  well  as 
exceptional  songwriting.  From  lovely  ("Here  Comes 
the  Rain  Again")  to  jaunty  ("Right  by  Your  Side")  to 


226 


r 'Who's  Thai  Girl?"  J  ar*d  » "The 

Cut"*),  To*cii  is  an 

chicly  styled  To 

of  an  of  i 

with  vocals,          of  is»  in- 

strumental*)   by  and 

was  as  Touch 

The  1984          — as  the          of  a 
the  film's  director*  not  exactly  the  hut  "mu- 

sic derived  from  Eurythmics'  original  scored—finds  the 
moviog  further  into  rhythmic  as 

0n  the  crazed  cut-up  stylings  of  *4Sexcriroe*f  and  "Don- 
bleplttsgood."  A  but  record, 

clearly  not  one  intended  to  be          as  a 
in  the  group's  development. 

The  haxd-edged,  relatively  low-tech  Be 
Tonight  marks  a  real  change  in  the  duo's  thinking.  Ex- 
citing, catchy  soul-rock  ("Would  I  Lie  to  You?"},  in- 
sipid, aggravating  soul-rock  ("I  Love  You  Like  a  Ball 
and  Chain"),  two  swell  duets  ("Adrian,"  with  Elvis 
Costello;  *  'Sisters  Are  Doin'  It  for  Themselves/'  with 
Aretha  Franklin),  plus  five  more  tracks  all  have  an  un- 
derlying stylistic  consistency.  That's  a  new  twist  for 
Eurythmics,  but  one  they  seem  capable  of  handling. 
Retooling  into  an  '80s  Motown  factory  might  seem  a 
little  selfconscious,  but  they  carry  it  off  with  aplomb  and 
even  a  bit  of  heart. 

Taking  an  unexpected  but  worthwhile  hell-hath-no- 
fury  detour,  the  breakup  of  Lennox's  marriage  yielded 
the  vituperative  lyrics  of  the  blunt  and  aptly  titled  Re- 
venge. '  *To  run  away  from  you/was  all  that  I  could  do,  * ' 
from  "Thorn  in  My  Side,"  is  only  the  tip  of  the  impas- 
sioned album's  iceberg;  other  songs  ( 4t  A  Little  of  You/  * 
"The  Last  Time,"  "Missionary  Man")  turn  a  scornful 
postmortem  into  deeply  felt  cries  that  reverberate  in  Len- 
nox's remarkable  vocal  cords.  There  are  draggy  spots 
that  overdo  the  musical  sentiment  but,  by  and  large,  this 
is  one  of  the  pair's  best  records. 

No  such  luck  on  the  following  year's  Savage,  a 
shoddy  mess  of  scant  merit.  Where  Revenge  made  fine 
use  of  a  small,  crack  collection  of  studio  hands  to  flesh 
out  the  material  in  a  variety  of  luxurious  idioms,  Savage 
relies  on  a  bed  of  chilly  soundalike  computer  programs 
and  multi-tracked  vocal  gimmicks.  (Discounting  Stew- 
art's guitar  work  and  the  all-acoustic  "I  Need  You," 
only  "Wide  Eyed  Girl"  sounds  as  if  human  beings 
played  on  it.  Both  add  crowd  noises,  perhaps  to  under- 
score the  point.)  The  wooden  material  has  static 
rhythms,  a  shortage  of  melodies  and  entirely  too  few 
hooks;  the  mostly  miserable  lyrics  suggest  continental 
sophistication  and  thoughtful  emotional  reflection  but 
fizzle  in  a  hurried  blur  of  triviality,  obscurity  and  seem- 
ing creative  apathy. 

We  Too  Are  One  isn't  nearly  as  bad — electric  gui- 
tars and  a  bit  of  soul  (backing  vocals  are  by  Charlie 
Wilson  of  the  Gap  Band)  provide  the  humanity  missing 
from  Savage — but  such  improvements  can't  overcome 
the  duo's  songwriting  fatigue.  Bland  arrangements  of 
dashed-off  melodies  and  lyrics  that  are  among  Euryth- 
mics' worst  make  this  a  barely  adequate  effort.  "Don't 
Ask  Me  Why"  (a  return,  along  with  the  blunt  "You 
Hurt  Me  (And  I  Hate  You),"  to  the  subject  of  post- 
romance  recriminations)  is  solidly  catchy,  as  is  the 
stomping  title  track,  which  goes  on  too  long.  But  when 
a  usually  articulate  and  intelligent  band  settles  for  such 


o&  "i  My  M>  ?  Cry," 

it's  s 

the  «e*  m  cal- 

endar  M  a  onJ 

of 

and  on  fcv 

McLaren  aaJ 

tion  Jag- 

ger  and  Bob  i  fa  Wj 

Here,  a  Ms 

own  Anxious  He  a 

side          OR  ami  the 

Cowboys,  an  LP, 

lie         Into  the  a  tot 

As  and  a  as  he  is  a 

lyricist,  Stewart  at 

with  all  the  of  a 

offering  up  as  "Kiag  of  the  Hypocrites** 

and  "Fashion  Bomb"  f  **$!»"§  you  can  see 

it  in  tier  eyes/Radioactive          her        to  her  >. 

See 
Ram&mes,  Fearggtl  Sharkey, 


forever  Everlasting  fWamer  Bros.)  * 

A  pinky  white  from  Ice-T's  Syndi- 

cate, Southern  California's  Evertast  f  pre- 

ceded Vanilla  Ice's  by  an  A 

for  effort,  though  his  skills  don't  his 

spirits.  The  dude*s  got  the          down  pot  and 
impressively  in  doubletime  ("Syndicate  Soldier")  — 
what  he  needs  now  are  topics  that  the 

self-hype.  Despite  the  narrow  focus,  a  couple  of  killer 
tracks  marie  Everiast  as  a  comer:  "Fuck  Everyone/* 
which  carries  good-natured  belligerence  to  new 
heights,  and  the  inspired  4*I  Got  the  Kaack/*  a  rip- 
roaring  gem  that  samples  "My  Sharona."  QyJ 

EVERYTHING  BUT  THE  GIRL 

Eden  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1  984  • 

Everything  but  the  Girl  f  Bktnco  y  Negro-Sire!  1984 

Love  Not  Money  (Blanco  y  Negro-Sire)  1  985  * 

Angel  EP  (nr/Bianco  y  Negro)  1985 

Baby,  the  Stars  Shine  Blight  (Blanco  y  Negro-Sire) 

1986« 

Come  on  Home  EP  (nr/Bkmco  y  Negro)  1986 
Don't  Leave  Me  Behind  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1  986 
Idlewild  (Blanco  y  Negro-Sire}  1  988  • 
These  Early  Days  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1  988  • 
Driving  EP  [CD]  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1990  • 
The  Language  of  Life  (Atlantic)  1990  • 

TRACEY  THORN 

A  Distant  Shore  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1982  +  1  985  « 

BEN  WATT  AND  ROBERT  WYATT 

Summer  into  Winter  EP  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1982  • 

BEN  WATT 

North  Marine  Drive  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1983  * 

Individually  and  as  Everything  but  the  Girl,  Ben 
Watt  (guitar,  keyboards,  vocals,  songs)  and  Tracey 
Thorn  (vocals,  guitar,  songs)  have  been  prominent  in- 


227 


novatots  in  England's  back-to-jazz  neo-fx>p  movement. 
The  popularity  of  artists  like  Sade,  Swing  Out  Sister  and 
the  Style  Council  (whose  first  album  featured  Thorn  and 
Waft  on  one  song)  Is  due  in  no  small  part  to  the  pair's 
counter-current  efforts,  helping  to  lay  the  critical 
groundwork  for  acceptance  of  this  lovely  but  thoroughly 
un-rock  style. 

While  also  a  member  of  the  Marine  Girls,  Thorn  cut 
A  Distant  Shore,  a  brief  album  of  nostalgic  singer/ 
songwriter  modernism  with  little  more  than  an  acoustic 
guitar  for  accompaniment.  Her  somewhat  monotonous 
delivery  hampers  the  effort,  but  a  version  of  the  Velvet 
Underground's  stylistically  apropos  "Femrne  Fatale" 
helps  considerably. 

Prior  to  EBTG,  Watt  had  recorded  on  his  own  as 
well  as  in  conjunction  with  Robert  Wyatt,  The  five-song 
Summer  into  Winter  is  a  disappointing  collaboration; 
the  quietly  colorful  minimal  arrangements  of  guitar 
(Watt)  and  piano  (Wyatt)  are  undercut  by  Watt's  moany 
lead  vocals.  It's  too  bad:  Wyatt's  voice  is  much  more 
enjoyable,  and  might  have  made  something  of  these 
vague,  atmospheric  songs  had  he  done  more  of  the  sing- 
ing. On  North  Marine  Drive,  a  wisp  of  airy  melodi- 
cism  with  only  a  guest  saxophonist  joining  Watt,  the 
percussionless  tracks  still  manage  nicely  syncopated, 
quasi-Latin  rhythms;  Watt's  fine  guitar  playing  and  sin- 
cerely artless  singing  make  it  a  quiet  pleasure.  (One  CD 
contains  both  records. ) 

Named  after  a  shop  in  Hull,  Everything  but  the  Girl 
debuted  hi  January  1982  with  a  three-song  British  single 
that  included  Cole  Porter's  "Night  and  Day."  The  duo's 
first  album,  Men,  is  a  charming,  fragile  record  deli- 
cately filled  with  winsome  songs  that  drift  in  and  out  of 
neo-jazz-pop  stylings  but  are  never  less  than  appealing 
and  attractive.  Showing  enormous  growth  as  a  vocalist, 
Thorn  makes  the  songs  memorable  even  when  the  music 
is  too  low-key  to  stand  out  on  its  own.  With  harmonies 
that  recall  such  wonders  of  the  '60s  as  the  Association, 
understated  pop  creations  prove  Everything  but  the  Girl 
to  be  an  exceptional,  unconventional  band. 

Everything  but  the  Girl,  the  American  version  of 
Eden,  is  a  drastically  different  record,  with  six  substi- 
tutions, (The  entire  second  side  of  the  US  release  is 
new. )  The  overall  feel  of  the  two  albums  is  similar,  but 
fans  should  seek  out  both  versions,  as  there's  hardly  a 
dud  among  the  eighteen  selections.  (The  US  album  isn't 
on  CD,  and  the  British  CD  offers  no  extra  tracks.) 

Love  Not  Money  carries  the  pair  away  from  jazz 
and  into  a  pure  pop  approach  that  is  more  accessible 
and  immediately  appealing.  The  album  leads  off  with 
the  alluring  "When  All's  Weir*  and  continues  with 
further  literate  considerations  of  growing  up  and  get- 
ting along,  including  "Ugly  Little  Dreams,"  which  is 
dedicated  to  actress  Frances  Farmer.  The  US  edition 
adds  * 'Heaven  Help  Me"  and  a  version  of  Chrissie 
Hynde's  "Kid." 

The  Angel  EP  features  one  affecting  song  from  Love 
Not  Money,  a  version  of  "Easy  as  Sin"  sung  by  Watt 
(instead  of  Thorn,  as  it  appears  on  the  first  US  LP),  plus 
two  non-album  tracks  that  rank  among  the  duo's  finest. 
"Pigeons  in  the  Attic  Room"  and  "Charmless  Callous 
Ways"  sound  like  demos,  Thorn  alone  with  guitar  and 
piano  respectively,  singing  at  her  most  emotionally  di- 
rect. 

The  cover  of  Baby,  the  Stars  Shine  Bright  notes 


that  it  was  "arranged  for  orchestra  by  Ben  Watt."  In- 
deed,  other  than  his  guitar  playing,  a  prominent  rhythm 
section  and  a  pianist/organist,  the  musical  backing  con- 
sists of  strings,  horns  and  a  choir.  Fortunately,  Thorn's 
rich  voice  and  the  pair's  soaringly  melodic  carry 

it  off  without  losing  momentum.  The  music  is 
sappy  nor  dull;  the  orchestra's  role  is  supportive  without 
shirking  center  stage.  Like  classic  Diorme  Warwick 
sides,  rock'n'roll  energy  and  excitement  is  channeled 
into  subtle  sophistication  that  brings  the  music  to  life  in 
vivid  colors.  Pointedly  topical  lyrics  on  "Sugar  Finaey" 
(for  Marilyn  Monroe)  and  "Little  Hitler"  don't  under- 
cut the  songs*  delicate  beauty;  other  standouts  are 
"Don't  Leave  Me  Behind,"  "Fighting  Talk"  and 
"Cross  My  Heart." 

The  Come  on  Home  EP  features  two  versions  of  a 
sweeping  ballad  from  Baby,  the  Stars,  a  classic  C&W 
weeper  by  Thorn  called  "Draining  the  Bar"  and  an 
ill-advised  stab  at  "I  Fall  to  Pieces."  Don't  Leave  Me 
Behind  is  another  song  from  the  same  LP,  with  B-side 
covers  of  Jimmy  Webb's  "Where's  the  Playground,  Su- 
sie" sung  by  Watt  and  Bacharach's  "Alfie"  sung  by 
Thorn. 

Taking  a  turn  towards  self-contained  simplicity, 
Watt  and  Thorn  recorded  Idlewild  with  only  a  small 
set  of  sidemen  adding  keyboards,  bass  and  horns. 
Thorn's  lyrics  have  never  been  this  introspective  or  re- 
vealing; the  plainly  articulated  longings  and  autobio- 
graphical expositions  resonate  through  "Oxford 
Street,"  "Blue  Moon  Rose,"  "Apron  Strings"  and 
"Shadow  on  a  Harvest  Moon"  like  a  rainy  day.  With 
understated,  superficially  mild-on-arrival  music,  this  is 
an  achingly  sad  record,  filled  with  quiet  grief  and  deep 
disappointments.  (The  British  version  includes  a  cover 
of  Danny  Whitten's  "I  Don't  Want  to  Talk  About  It," 
which  became  the  duo's  biggest  UK  hit  to  date— but 
was  left  off  the  US  release.) 

These  Early  Days  includes  a  remix  of  one  bitter- 
sweet song  from  IdlewMd  and  adds  Watt's  "Dyed  in  the 
Grain,"  Thorn's  "Another  Day,  Another  Dollar"  and 
country  star  Paul  Overstreet's  "No  Place  Like  Home." 

Thorn  and  Watt  recorded  The  Language  of  Life  in 
Los  Angeles  with  Tommy  LiPuma,  known  for  his 
slick  productions  of  Miles  Davis  and  George  Benson. 
The  sound  is  a  natural  evolution  of  the  duo's  prior 
moves  towards  a  classic  (i.e.,  pre-rock)  pop  presen- 
tation. By  rejecting  it  out  of  hand  as  a  bid  for  com- 
mercial acceptance  (which  it  partly  was),  lots  of 
people  missed  the  album's  strengths,  especially  the 
improvement  in  both  partners'  voices  and  songwriting. 
Granted,  some  of  the  songs  would  have  sounded  more 
sincere  without  the  studio  glitz  and  passionless 
contempo-jazz  session  players,  but  Thorn's  "Meet  Me 
in  the  Morning"  and  Watt's  "The  Road"  (featuring 
saxman  Stan  Getz,  whose  bossa  nova  work  was  an 
early  influence  on  the  duo)  are  keepers  that  stand  up 
with  the  pair's  best.  And  the  cover  of  Womack  and 
Womack's  "Take  Me"  hints  at  what  they're  aiming 
for:  sophisticated,  romantic  adult  pop. 

The  Driving  EP  features  a  "radio  edit"  of  the  al- 
bum's overproduced  single  plus  the  umpteenth  cover  of 
Tom  Waits'  "Downtown  Train,"  with  Watt  handling 
the  lead  vocals.  [i/ws] 

See  also  Grab  Grab  the  Haddock,  Marine  Girls, 
Style  Council, 


228 


EX 

1 980 

Is  (Hoi  Mom  1982 

of  Labour  (Hoi.  VG2|  1983 
TumuMHo!.FAI)1983 

Rob  the  EP  1 983 

for  a  (Hoi.  Pig 

1983 

(Hoi  1985 

1936  (The  Spanish  EP  (Hoi.  Ron 

1986 

Too  Mony  Cowboys  fMorefam)  1 987 
Live  in  Wroclaw  (Hoi  R«J|  1987 

Hoods  Up!  You're  Free  (Hoi  ExJ  1988 
Awro!  Guerrilla  (Hoi  ExJ  1988  (Homestead J 1989 
loggers  and  Smoggers  f  HoS.  Ex)  1 989  * 
Dead  fish  EP  (Hoi.  Ex)  1990  » 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Support  the  Miners'  Strike  (Hoi  Records  Against 

Thoatcbism}  1985 

This  hard-edged  Dutch  anarcho-pimk  collective  ad- 
heres to  only  the  purest  ideals  in  rock  music.  Since 
1980,  the  Ex  has  uncorked  an  endless  stream  of  do-it- 
themselves  vinyl  and  tapes  on  a  variety  of  label  names 
(finally  settling  on  Ex  Records  in f  88).  Following  Crass' 
example  (if  not  quite  that  group's  sound;  the  Ex  has  a 
cutting  Gang  of  Four  rhythmic  edge  and  something  of  a 
Fall-lie  declamatory  style),  the  Ex  use  their  work  as  a 
sonic  and  graphic  vehicle  to  promote  a  wide  range  of 
left-wing  socio-political  causes.  Along  with  the  piercing 
and  articulate  punk  rock,  most  of  the  Ex's  albums  con- 
tain vast  amounts  of  printed  material. 

Disturbing  Domestic  Peace  includes  a  bonus  live 
single  and  an  illustrated  lyrics  booklet.  History  Is 
What's  Happening  is  a  studio  rendition  of  the  band's 
1981  live  set.  Dignity  of  Labour  is  a  four-single  box 
that  focuses  on  the  decline  of  a  paper  mill  factory  near 
where  some  of  the  Ex  were  squatting.  An  illustrated 
book  explaining  the  issue  keeps  the  songs'  political  con- 
tent from  being  overlooked;  instrumentation  includes 
saxophone  and  marimba. 

Jon  Langford  (Mekons/Three  Johns),  an  occasional 
figure  in  the  world  of  Ex,  entered  the  picture  as  the 
producer  of  Tumult;  he  also  plays  drums  on  the  four- 
song  Rob  the  Spermbank  12-inch.  The  record's  poster 
announces  "hometaping  is  killing  record  companies 
.  .  .  and  it's  about  time." 

The  Ex  employs  such  musical  implements  as  organ, 
beer  crates  and  oil  barrels  on  the  double  Blueprints  for 
a  Blackout  album,  further  expanding  its  sonic  palette 
with  guest  musicians.  A  poster  and  info  packet  about  the 
eviction  of  a  massive  Amsterdam  squat  accompany  the 
LP. 

The  Ex  moved  to  support  striking  British  coal  min- 
ers in  1984,  organizing  a  benefit/agit-prop  tour  and  re- 
leasing a  joint  live  album  with  several  likeminded  bands. 
Pokkeherrie  is  a  collection  of  new  songs  the  group  had 
performed  on  an  anti-military  tour.  The  double  7-inch  of 
songs  from  and  concerning  the  Spanish  Revolution  came 
with  (or  vice  versa)  a  140-page  book  about  that  chapter 
of  1930s  anti-fascist  history. 

The  double-LP  Too  Many  Cowboys — which  was 
released  in  the  US,  complete  with  a  24-page 
newspaper— combines  live  and  studio  recordings  of 


such  "Olym- 

pigs,"  "VmyecttoV  asd  **Hc?m  On  Sel    the 

Air  '  A  liw  :i  the 

Ex  t  Up!  Yov're  of  its 

John  Peel  i  '13,  "85  and  '86s. 

ar 

and  a  of 

A  cf  de- 

ihered  at 

voca's,  is  one  of  the  Ex's 

the  of  "EvoHuion 

1 4 1,**  the  of  at  Mc» 

Donna's*  and  "Welcome  *o  the  Asylum/*  an  cm 

Holland's  of 

&  i  tie  Ex's  ) 

the  its  and 

a  few  Yokth 

Lee  and  Ttiurston  Moore  as  well  as 

and  a  like  "Shopping 

Street*'  are  are  far  re- 

strained. 

With  Langforf  Dead          (a 

10-inch  record        a  3-mcb  CD)  is  one  of  the  Ex's 
stirring  yet,  as  the  at  bow  the 

record  business  has 

[mg] 


(EX)CAT  HEADS 

See 


EXECUTIVE  SLACKS 

Executive  Sbcb  EP  (Red)  1983 

You  Can't  Hum  When  You're  Dead  f  Fwmtemertd}  1 984 

Nausea  ( Fundamental)  1985 

Rre  and  Ice  { Fundamental)  1986 

FAHRENHEIT  451 

House  of  Morals  EP  (Active)  :  966 

Philadelphia's  Executive  Slacks  started  out  playing 
a  searing  combination  of  electronics*  goitatfvocals  and 
percussion.  On  the  trio's  first  EP»  Matt  MtreHo  sings 
with  hysterical  urgency  and  unnerving  calm  white  spew- 
ing white-hot  guitar  noise  out  over  steady,  pulsing 
Residents-like  backing  complete  with  found  tape  noises. 
The  impact  is  gratingly  industrial  but  also  emotional — it 
isn't  the  sheer  assault  that  makes  you  uneasy,  it's  the 
whole  demented  concoction. 

You  Can't  Hum  When  You're  Dead  combines  all 
four  tracks  from  Executive  Slacks  with  a  subsequent 
three-song  EP,  The  latter  material,  produced  by  ex- 
Killing  Joke  bassist  Youth  (an  obvious  influence),  is 
moie  ominously  bass-heavy  and  less  scathing — though 
equally  powerful,  thanks  to  screamed  vocals  and  dis- 
turbing effects. 

Nausea  continues  in  a  similar  style  without  any 
letup.  The  band  and  Youth  refuse  to  temper  their  taste 
for  unsettling  din,  and  "In  and  Oaf  ranks  with  any- 
thing by  Killing  Joke  or  Chrome  for  sheer  intensity. 
Elsewhere,  Executive  Slacks  diversiies  into  other  styles 
and  moods,  including  electronics  expert  John  Young's 
deft  use  of  hip-hop/daece  rhythms*  an  acoustic  guitar 
tapestry,  pulsing  metallic  percolations  and  several  ter- 
rific instrumental . 


229 


The  self-produced  Fire  and  Ice  Is  the  baud's  most 
accessible  record,  dominated  by  a  crucial  arrival:  per- 
cussionist Bobbie  Rae.  His  propulsive  style  adds  a  live- 
lier, more  human  feel  to  the  group's  cold,  technological 
framework.  While  a  version  of  Gary  Glitter's  "Rock  & 
Roll"  is  entertaining  (if  predictable),  the  more  original 
"Wide  Fields"  is  built  around  the  hook  from  the  Spen- 
cer Davis  Group's  *Tm  a  Man." 

Soon  afterward,  Marello  retired  to  pursue  his  art 
career.  Meanwhile,  in  Hew  Jersey ,  a  band  called  Fahr- 
enheit 451  were  establishing  themselves  with  a  some- 
what similar,  if  smoother  sound.  Their  sole  release,  a 
four-song  EP,  melds  art-rock  guitar,  funky  bass, 
Stranglers-like  keyboard  swells  and  dominant  neo-Latin 
percussion;  Athan  Maroulis'  charismatic  vocals  (very 
Doors/Bauhaus-inspired)  top  off  an  interesting  record. 
When  Fahrenheit  451  crumbled  in  '87,  Maroulis  joined 
up  with  Rae  and  Young,  added  a  guitarist  and  proceeded 
as  Executive  Slacks,  evolving  into  a  strangely  compel- 
ling merger  of  hard  rock  and  techno-wave,  with  Marou- 
lis' melodramatics  in  pleasant  contrast  to  the  synthetic 
drum/keyboard  textures,  loud  heavy  metal  guitar  and 
Rae's  rhythmic  pyrotechnics.  [i/gef] 

EXPLODING  WHITE  MICE 

In  a  Nest  of  Vipers  EP  (Greasy  Pop-Big  Time)  1 985 
Brute  Force  and  Ignorance  (Aus.  Festival)  1 988 
Exploding  White  Mice  (Ger.  Normal)  1 990  * 

Taking  their  name  from  Rock' 'n' Roll  High  School 
and  most  of  their  sound  from  Rocket  to  Russia,  this 
Adelaide  quintet  has  done  its  damnedest  to  be  Austra- 
lia's own  Ramones.  But  while  the  familiar  song  skele- 
tons and  Paul  Gilchrist's  Joey-esque  delivery  are  in  clear 
debt  to  the  bmdders,  the  Mice  add  a  distinct  garage 
element  (credit  Radio  Birdman),  especially  on  the  early 
recordings. 

The  six-song  In  a  Nest  of  Vipers  swells  with  rau- 
cous bareback  guitar  energy  and  catchy  pop-rock  tunes. 
Covering  "Pipeline"  provides  some  contrast  to  the  Ra- 
monesy  " Burning  Red"  and  a  hard-rocking  rundown  of 
Bo  Diddley's  "Let  the  Kids  Dance."  While  the  other 
originals  are  fun  but  forgettable,  "Dangerous"  caps  the 
EP  off  with  a  varied  scramble  of  raunchy  guitars. 

Brute  Force  and  Ignorance  evolves  that  hit-and- 
run  freestyle  spirit  into  more  of  a  late- '70s  pop-punk 
sound,  replicating  the  Ramones'  light  touch  with  cling- 
ing choruses  and  obvious  progressions  (as  on  "Worry 
About  Nothing"  and  "Bury  Me").  Faster  cuts  ("Un- 
invited") really  spotlight  the  Mice's  adrenaline-soaked 
sizzle. 

The  studio  side  of  Exploding  White  Mice  contains 
such  memorable  tunes  as  the  pogo-speed  "Intuition" 
and  the  aptly  titled  "Do  the  Crunch";  the  live  side 
displays  more  of  the  Mice's  raw  power  than  any  of  the 
group's  studio  work.  [mg] 

EXPLOITED 

Punb  Not  Dead  (nr/Exploited-Secret)  1 981  (nr/Link) 

1989* 

On  Stage  (nr/Exploited)  1981 

Troops  of  Tomorrow  (nr/Secret)  1 982  (nr/Link)  1 989  • 
Lefs  Start  a  War . . .  Said  Maggie  One  Day  (Combat) 

1983« 


Horror  Epics  f  Combo!)  1 985  ® 

Live  at  the  White  House  f  Combat  Core)  1 985 

Totally  Exploited  f  nr/Blashadabee-Dojo)  1 986  • 

Jesus  Is  Dead  EP  (Combat  Core)  1 986 

live  and  LoudlS  (nr/Link)  1987 

Death  Before  Dishonour  (Rough  Justice-Combat)  1 987  * 

Punk's  Alive  for/Skunx)  1988 

Live  Lewd  Lust  (or/Grand  Slam)  1989  * 

Led  by  outspoken  spike-haired  shouter  Wattle 
Buchan,  Edinburgh's  Exploited  are  one  of  the  UK's 
most  successful  and  enduring  political  thrash  bauds. 
Musically  harsher,  darker  and  cruder  than  their  '77  fore- 
fathers, these  gruff  yobbos  vent  unrestrained  and  bot- 
tomless anger  against  their  enemies — the  army, 
warmongers,  Margaret  Thatcher  (pictured  on  one  album 
cover,  cited  in  the  title  of  another  and  the  subject  of 
assorted  songs)  and  other  symbols  of  government  au- 
thority. As  mainstream-uncommercial  as  the  Exploited 
are,  a  huge  hardcore  audience — in  the  UK  and  increas- 
ingly in  the  US — have  made  Wattie  and  an  ever-shifting 
set  of  accomplices  highly  regarded  genre  stars. 

Although  hampered  by  muffled  sound,  Pimks  Not 
Dead  is  full  of  angry,  gritty  anthems  of  pain  and  frus- 
tration, including  "I  Believe  in  Anarchy,"  "Blown  to 
Bits"  and  "Royalty."  On  Stage  repeats  much  of  the 
same  material  but  has  bootleg-level  audio  quality,  wors- 
ened by  the  clear- vinyl  pressing. 

Troops  of  Tomorrow  has  a  crisp,  clean  guitar 
sound,  and  the  lyrics  are  a  bit  easier  to  understand,  but 
the  improved  production  doesn't  mean  the  Exploited  has 
gotten  slick — the  rough  and  tumble  assault  is  still  wild- 
eyed  and  unstoppable.  The  title  song  was  written  by  the 
Vibrators;  "Sid  Vicious  Was  Innocent"  is  one  of  the 
record's  more  interesting  arguments. 

An  entirely  new  lineup — Karl,  Wully  and  Billy — 
joins  Wattie  for  Let's  Start  a  War.  The  production 
backslides  into  the  murk  a  bit,  but  the  band's  fervor 
pushes  forward  and  Wattie's  singing  is,  if  such  a  thing 
is  possible,  rawer  and  less  melodic.  A  variety  of  tempos 
offers  hope  for  a  brighter  future,  but  there's  really  noth- 
ing new  going  on  here. 

The  Dracula  cover  and  title  of  Horror  Epics  sug- 
gests a  flirtation  with  the  Damned's  old  horror  turf,  but 
the  title  track  veers  more  towards  Black  Sabbath,  with 
the  rhythm  guitars  displaced  by  Willie's  thundering 
drum  attack  and  moaning  lead  guitar  figures;  echo  on 
the  vocals  furthers  the  comparison  to  mid-'70s  metal. 
Several  other  songs  are  variants  on  that  style;  the  whole 
outing  benefits  from  Wattie's  growing  production  prow- 
ess. The  lengthy  numbers  are  standard  Exploited  issue, 
but  a  tiny  hint  of  experimentalism  is  creeping  in  amid 
the  stylistic  complacency.  The  best  tune — and  certainly 
one  of  the  band's  catchiest  ever — is  "Maggie,"  which 
repeatedly  calls  the  Prime  Minister  a  bad  name. 

Live  at  the  White  House  was  recorded  in  Washing- 
ton, DC,  in  April  1985  and  features  a  selection  of  the 
Exploited' s  most  popular  tunes.  The  four-song  Jesus  Is 
Dead  12-inch  captures  yet  another  lineup  with  clarity  and 
venom.  (Willie's  drumming  is  again  a  highlight;  Nig's 
spectacular  guitar  playing  is  a  welcome  addition. )  For  the 
first  time,  the  Exploited's  instruments  are  clearly  artic- 
ulated and  separated  in  the  mix;  what  a  difference  real 
dynamics  and  seemingly  well-rehearsed  arrangements 
make.  A  solid,  fiery  punk  record  with  powerful  lyrics 
about  a  drug  bust,  televangelism  and  "Politicians." 


230 


Willie         Nig  the 

ia  a 

shims  the  Al- 

though the  is 

any  in  the  band's  bits  of 

la  fake  on  "Power  Struggle,"  a  hnef 

on  "Police  Informer,"  the  cm 

"Sexual  Favours" )          up  the  to 

time.  fept  i] 

EXPLORERS 

The  Explorers  (nr/Virgin)  1 985  • 

& 

Crock  the  Whip  (Rdotivityl  1 988  ® 
Up  in  Smoke  f  Relativity}  1 989  • 

PLAYERS 

Christmas  (Rykodisc)  1989  4» 

On  their  own  as  the  Explorers,  post-Roxy  Musicians 
Hiil  Manzanera  and  Andy  Mackay— joined  by  singer 
James  Wraith  and  a  collection  of  familiar  session 
cohorts — make  polite,  sophisticated  pop/dance  music 
with  no  edge.  Although  superficially  not  that  different 
from  the  music  Roxy  was  making  towards  the  end,  The 
Explorers  is  undistinguished,  lacking  memorable  songs 
and  Ferry's  unique  touch.  (Wraith's  obvious  attempt  at 
imitation  on  "Venus  De  Milo'*  isn't  exactly  flattery.) 
Not  bad,  just  not  what  you'd  hope  for  from  artists  of  this 
caliber. 

Dispensing  with  the  group  name,  the  American 
Crack  the  WMp  retrieves  three  cuts  from  The  Bxptar* 
ers,  adding  five  leftovers  from  the  same  '84  sessions 
and  another  five  dance-conscious  tracks  of  more  recent 
vintage.  Manzanera  and  Mackay  do  nice  work  on  the 
mediocre  material,  but  the  dominant  character  here  is 
Wraith.  Where  he  was  mildly  annoying  on  the  first  al- 
bum, his  mannered  singing  has  turned  obnoxious — a 
pompously  melodramatic  mixture  of  vocal  styles  bor- 
rowed from  Ferry,  Erasure  and  Spandau  Ballet. 

The  following  year,  the  remaining  six  songs  from 
The  Explorers  were  coupled  with  the  same  number  of 
new  recordings  and  issued  as  Up  in  Smoke.  With 
Wraith  again  being  a  pompous  nuisance.  Manzanera 
and  Mackay  occasionally  chip  in  with  nifty  instrumental 
bits,  but  the  songs  and  production  are  so  lacking  in 
personality  that  it's  hardly  worth  the  wait. 

The  Players  are  a  no-tech  instrumental  band  led  by 
Andy  Mackay;  Christmas  (executive-produced  and 
"co-presented"  by  Manzanera,  who  doesn't  play  on  it) 
is  a  delightful  folky  collection  of  33  old-fashioned  tra- 
ditional songs  of  the  season,  played  with  mucho  gentle 
gusto  on  banjo,  fiddle,  oboe,  clarinet,  accordion  and 
acoustic  guitar.  [i] 

See  also  Phil  Manzanera,  Roxy  Music, 

EXTRABALLE 

Exfrraballe  EP  (Fr.  Carrara)  1 979 
Sales  Romances  (Fr.  CBS)  1980 
BdrabaHe  (Fr.  CBS)  1981 

On  their  self-titled  EP,  Extraballe — whose  drummer 
at  the  time  was  Michel  Peyronel,  brother  of  Heavy  Metal 
Kids/UFO  keyboardist  Danny — offered  high-speed  re- 
fried  punk-a-boogie  with  hot  axework  and  little  else. 
Thereafter,  the  band  became  nothing  more  than  a  name 


by  \ ra^h <t         Ickx,  who.  the 

en  k«}.  k«*i 

!>plC4l  3  SCA, 

JL  of  Ie«v!iLd>  for  a 

Thew*s 

L"st5  of  vying  fw  of  the 

{The  for  Ro- 

mances Si- 

F6x;  ^ 

a  for  the 

a  pity  he  couldn't  the 

A 

EYELESS  IN  GAZA 

CB  1 981 

in  Rox  R*d) 

Fob  I  So  Wei  f  Nor.  1 982 

Drumming  ff» 

Rust  Reel  fed)  1983 

Bock  from  the  Rains  f  nr/Owry  1 986  * 

Kodak  Rwn  f  nr/Cliwry  fed)  1 987 

Transience  1989» 

MARTYN  BATES 

Letters  Written  {nr/Cberry  Red)  1 982 
Hie  Return  of  me  (rn/Cheny  Red)  1 987  • 

Love  Smasfted  on  a  Rock  1 988 

Letters  to  a  Scattered  Family  1 990  » 

Named  for  Aidous  Huxley's  ode  to  integrity, 

Eyeless  in  Gaza  consisted  of  Bates  and 

bassist/keyboaixiist  Peter  Becker, 
voice  and  instrumentation  on  the  first  album,  a  beiter- 
than-decent  stab  at  hook-filled  The  tasteful 

music  is  marred  only  occasionally  by  overly  anguished 
vocals.  Caught  in  Ffea  has  a  mote  flavor  at 

first,  then  rapidly  devolves  into  humpbacked  squalor. 
This  one-and-a-half-disc  (LP/EP)  set  shows  a  hint  of 
progress,  with  the  vocals  held  in  tighter  rein.  Caught  in 
flux,  indeed. 

Pate  Hands,  released  only  in  Norway,  is  fairly 
dissolute — a  meandering,  largely  impromatk»al  at- 
tempt to  make  music  out  of  aimless  doodles.  Drwu- 
mleg  the  Beating  Heart  (also  included  in  its  entirety  on 
the  cassette  of  Back  from  the  Rate)  finds  the  duo 
streamlining  their  sound  to  good  effect,  relying  on 
church  organ  leads  and  spontaneous  rhythm  approaches. 
If  the  vocals  could  be  relieved  of  their  melodrama,  these 
fellows  might  have  something  here. 

Back  from  the  Rains  has  a  charming,  Aztec 
Camera-like  beat-pop  sound;  Bates*  vocals  aren't  quite 
up  to  it,  but  the  duo  (aided  by  a  drummer  and  a  female 
backing  singer)  shows  a  real  facility  for  shimineriBg 
studio  arrangements.  Just  shy  of  being  commercial,  this 
is  nonetheless  a  delight. 

After  that  record,  Becker  left  the  group  and  Bates 
began  a  solo  career,  an  idea  he  had  first  tested  with  a 
pre-Gaza  cassette  and  1982'  s  10-inch  Letters  Written. 
Using  strings  and  a  rhythm  section  on  Hie  Return  of 
the  Quiet,  Bates  pushes  crudely  towards  airy  soul  and 
catchy  techno-bop,  but  the  arrangements  have  an  unfin- 
ished quality  and  his  unsubtle  singing  rarely  gets  in 
emotional  synch  with  the  material.  And  while  the  cover 
of  Bacharach/David's  "Look  of  Love"  is  a  nice  idea, 
his  execution  is  agonizing. 

Bates*  latest  effort,  handsomely  produced  by  Paul 


231 


Sampson  (who  Is  best  known  for  his  went  in  and  with  Kodak  Ghosts  Run  Amok,  a  198Q-*86  singles  land 

the  Primitives  but  was  actually  once  Bates1  bandmate  in  more)  compilation,  chronicles  Eyeless  in  Gaza's  devei- 

the   Reluctant  Stereotypes),   manages  to  make  his  opment  from  idiosyncratic  home-brew  experimentaticn 

voice — showing  better  control  than  in  the  past — more  through  ragged  melodicism  to  full-blown  pop.  This  is 

palatable  than  ever  before.  With  the  star  handling  gui-  really  for  fans;  newcomers  are  instead  recommended  to 

tar,  harmonica  and  banjo,  a  skilled  trio  (bass,  drums,  the  later,  easier-to-Iike  albums.  (The  double-play  cas- 

clarinet)  helps  him  realize  the  songs  on  the  utterly  pre-  sette  appends  Caught  In  Flux. )  Transience  Blues  is  a 

sentable  Letters  to  a  Scattered  Family  as  textured,  collection  of  Eyeless  rarities.                               yw/i] 
shimmering  pop  and  rock  full  of  nuance  and  character. 
(The  CD  adds  the  entire  contents  of  The  Return  of  the 
Quiet.) 


232 


F    F    F    F    F    F    F    F 


TO 

Face  to  Face  f  EpcJ  1 984 
Confrontation  fEpic)  1985 
One  Big  Day  f Mercury)  1988  • 

Depending  on  where  on          to 

Face's  first  record,  the  Boston  quintet  is  a  fasci- 

nating blend  of  hip-hop  and  rock'n'roll  or  a  noxious 
pre-fab  MTV  creation.  Four  producers  worked  on  tibe 
album,  yielding  both  the  annoying  hit  single  "10-9-8" 
and  a  gripping  piece  of  political  consciousness,  "Under 
the  Gun,"  on  which  Arthur  Baker  (who  produced  both 
tracks)  drum-programs  and  scratch-mixes  the  band  into 
an  exciting  new  realm.  (A  subsequent  12-inch  further 
elaborates  on  "Under  the  Gun** — fifteen  minutes' 
worth — with  two  remixes.) 

Confrontation  was  mostly  co-produced  by  Baker 
and  Ed  Stasium.  Except  for  the  increasing  number  of 
ballads,  the  band  rocks  enthusiastically,  leaning  into  the 
rhythmic  material.  Singer  Laurie  Sargent  remains  a 
strong  presence ,  but  the  routine  presentation  and  sound 
make  this  Confrontation  too  radio-ready  to  be  interest- 
ing. 

Why  Anton  Fier  would  be  needed  to  produce  an 
album  that  sounds  like  a  tasteful  countryfied  cross  be- 
tween Scandal  and  the  Motels  is  a  mystery,  but  that's 
the  story  on  One  Big  Day.  In  a  further  misuse  of  talent, 
Syd  Straw  and  Bemie  Worrell  contribute  to  the  tune- 
fully bland  proceedings.  [i] 

FAD  GADGET 

See  Frank  Tovey. 

FAHRENHEIT  451 

See  Executive  Slacks. 

JAD  FAIR 

See  Half  Japanese. 

FAIRGROUND  ATTRACTION 

Perfect  EP(rrr/RCA)l  988  « 

The  first  of  a  Million  Kisses  (RCA)  1 988  « 

find  My  Love  EP  (nr/RCA)  1 988  « 

A  Smile  n  a  Whisper  EP  (nr/RCA)  1 988  • 

Ay  Fond  Kiss  (nr/RCA)  1 990  • 

Scottish  vocalist  Eddi  Reader  had  sung  behind  the 
Gang  of  Four,  Alison  Moyet  and  Eurythmics;  joined  by 
guitarist/sangwriter  Mark  Nevin  (a  onetime  sideman  of 
Jane  Aire's)  and  a  lightweight  rhythm  section  (Simon 
Edwards  plays  an  acoustic  guitarron  in  Men  of  bass)  she 
led  the  short-lived  Fairground  Attraction,  a  folky  star  in 
the  UK  jazz-pop  heavens .  The  First  of  a  Million  Kisses 
is  the  quartet's  only  full  album,  a  wonderful,  bewitching 
romance  of  airy  music  and  Reader's  strong,  supple 


voice,  hat  the  ele- 

gance I  "A  in  a  Whisper")  to 

("Perfect"*  to  Ct  r'Mooa  on  the 

Rain")  to  f**FiBd  My 

Love"  I  to  C*CUu«"),  the 

fill  to 

CTlhe  CD          two 

the  EP,  an  a 

tion  of  "Mystery  Train."  I 

The  by  a        of  EPs 

it;  I  in 

aon-LP  I A  In  a  Ins  the 

of  Palsy  Clinch  Mid- 

night.") After  up  in  the 

summer  of  '89,  the  Ay  Fond 

Kiss,  a  of  and  for  a 

on  the  Find  My  L0ve  EP.  p] 

See         A 


MARIANNE  FA1THFULL 

Broten  English  (blond)  1979  • 
Dangerous  Acquaintances  (bland}  1 981 

A  Chikk  Adventure  f  WondJ  1 983  * 
Strange  Weather  fbtond}  1987  * 

Blazing  Away  f  Wand}  1 990  « 

MARK  1SHAM/MAR1ANNE 
FA1THFUIL 

Trouble  in  MM  (blond  Visual  Arts)  V936 

Resuming  her  recording  career  after  a  of  seven! 
years,  erstwhile  '60s  pop  singer  Maritime  Faithfull  pre- 
sents a  whole  new  persona  on  these  intensely  individual 
and  powerful  albums.  Armed  with  a  life-roughened 
voice  filled  with  suffering  and  rage,  ami  backed  by  bril- 
liantly original  electro-rock,  she  grapples  with  mostly 
political  subjects  on  Broken  English  and  even  includes 
a  fascinating  interpretatioii  of  John  Leonon's  "Worittng 
Class  Hero/1  For  Dangerous  Acquaintances,  Faithful! 
takes  a  more  resigned  outlook,  and  sings  of  relation- 
ships and  the  passage  of  time  with  strength  awl  depth. 

Although  the  music  on  it  is  less  exemplary » A  CMds 
Adventure  continues  her  harrowing  voyage.  Other  than 
the  political  commentary  of  * 'Ireland,"  the  soap  con- 
centrate on  personal  struggles,  with  only  a  glimmer  of 
hope  ("Ashes  in  My  Hand")  emerging  from  the  other- 
wise bleak  appraisal. 

Despite  co-billing  with  composer/horn  player  Mark 
Isham,  Faithfull  merely  sings  two  songs  on  die  Trouble 
in  Mind  soundtrack  album.  The  cool  jazz  of  the  title 
track  for  Alan  Rudolph's  1986  film  offers  a  foretaste  of 
the  direction  she  took  on  her  next  record,  Strange 
Weather.  Cast  as  a  sophisticated  chanteuse  (the  echoes 
of  Dietrich  and  Lotte  Lenya  are  duly  noted  in  Terry 
Southern's  liner  notes),  Faithfull  confronts  a  far-ranging 
program  (blues,  swing,  folk,  Tin  Pan  AUey)  with  del- 


233 


icate  accompaniment  by  Lou  Reed's  sidemen  C  Fernando 
Saunders,  Robert  Quine  and  J.T.  Lewis)  as  well  as  Mac 
Rebbeeack,  strings  and  a  horn  section.  An  old  spiritual 
("Sign  of  Judgment" )  connects  beautifully  with  Faith- 
full's  emotional  conviction;  two  tunes  from  the  early 
^Qs—/4 Boulevard  of  Broken  Dreams"  aEd  the 
schmoozy  "Penthouse  Serenade** — are  also  rich  and 
wonderful.  On  the  downside,  a  new  version  of  "As 
Tears  Go  By"  is  mainly  academic  and  her  reading  of 
Dylan's  "I'll  Keep  It  with  Mine"  is  simply  horrible. 
Blazing  Away  is  a  career  retrospective  recorded  live 
at  St.  Anne's  Cathedral  in  Brooklyn.  Producer  Ha!  Will- 
ner  assembled  a  dream  band  anchored  by  longtime 
Faithfiill  collaborator  Barry  Reynolds  on  guitar;  former 
Lounge  Lizards  Dougie  Bowne  (drums)  and  Marc  Ribot 
(guitar)  mesh  powerfully  with  keyboards  played  by 
Garth  Hudson  and  Dr.  John.  FaithfuIFs  vocal  interpre- 
tations have  never  been  so  intelligent  or  convincing  t  and 
she  unveils  definitive  versions  of  "Working  Class 
Hero,"  "Strange  Weather"  and  "Sister  Morphine7' 
(and  another  unnecessary  recording  of  "As  Tears  Go 
By*' ).  The  set  includes  five  songs  from  Broken  English 
and  only  one  mediocre  new  original,  a  studio  rendition 
of  the  country-flavored  title  track.  But  on  searing  new 
versions  of  "Ballad  of  Lucy  Jordan"  and  "Why'd  Ya 
Do  It?,"  Faithful!  proves  she's  a  singer  for  the  ages,  a 
Billie  Holiday  figure  for  a  generation  too  contused  for 
the  blues.  [i/ws] 

FAITH  NO  MORE 

We  Core  a  Lot  (Mordam)  1 985  +  1 987 
Introduce  Yourself  (Slash)  1 987  « 
The  Real  Thing  (Slash-Reprise)  1989  • 

San  Francisco's  Faith  No  More  began  on  the  indie 
scene's  Marshall  plan,  playing  a  muscular  mongrel  rock 
mix  containing  funk,  metal,  hip-hop,  hardcore  and  key- 
boards that  punks  could  easily  appreciate.  Leading  off 
with  the  dynamic  and  inspirational  chant/roar  of  "We 
Care  a  Lot,"  the  first  album  (a  Matt  Wallace  production 
that  was  remastered  and  reissued  after  the  band's  second 
LP)  attempts  too  many  things  (none,  except  perhaps 
"Greed,"  as  memorable  as  the  title  track)  and  lacks  the 
songwriting  tools  to  be  really  effective,  but  it  does  offer 
a  solid  dose  of  street-level  guitar  power  to  those  revolted 
by  arena  bands. 

Apparently  unconcerned  by  the  danger  of  seeming 
like  a  one-song  band,  the  quintet  redid  "We  Care  a 
Lot"  with  new  topical  lyrics  for  Introduce  Yourself,  a 
blistering,  conceptually  refined  album  built  around  Jim 
Martin's  well-integrated  metal  guitar,  Mike  Bordin's  su- 
perb drumming  and  Chuck  Mosley's  coarse  vocals  and 
real-life  lyrics.  Having  located  a  solid  stylistic  core, 
Faith  No  More's  careful  digressions  into  rappish  rhythm 
riot  (and  other  areas)  became  part  of  a  clear-cut  sound, 
supported  by  much  improved  songwriting  (like  "Intro- 
duce Yourself, "  which  namechecks  a  good  chunk  of  the 
record  industry,  and  "R'n'R,"  which  is  blurted  in  a 
hard-rock  analogue  to  Grandmaster  Flash's  "The  Mes- 
sage"). 

Mosley  was  sacked  in  1988  and  replaced  by  Mike 
Patton,  a  quivery  young  vocalist  who'd  obviously  seen 
Anthony  Kiedis  front  the  Red  Hot  Chili  Peppers  more 
than  once.  Dispensing  with  any  remaining  eccentrici- 
ties, Faith  No  More  rolled  all  of  its  assets  (giving  new 


prominence  to  Roddy  Bottom's  keyboards)  into  a  tight 
commercial  ball  on  The  Real  Thing,  thereby  joining 
Living  Colour  as  one  of  the  very  few  electrifying  bed- 
rock bands  to  remain  clearly  outside  both  the  aid 
pop  spheres.  Despite  Patterns  tiresome  vocals  and  the 
repetitive  songs,  the  record's  syncopated  street-level 
power  (and  the  catchy  "Epic")  hit  a  nerve,  and  Faith 
No  More  became  one  of  !99CTs  few  credible  success 
stories.  fil 


Einzeihaft  (A&M)  1 982 
Junge  Roemer  (A&M)  1984  * 
3  (A&M)1 986  • 
Emotional  (Sire)  1986« 
Wiener  Bint  (Sire)  1 988  * 

Faico  ( Johann  Hoelcel)  is  something  of  a  hero  in  Ms 
native  Austria;  although  he  sings  (in  a  random  pastiche 
of  accented  English  and  German)  like  an  arch,  conti- 
nental smoothie,  his  shtick  is  slick,  thematically  sim- 
pleminded  chart  fare,  syncopated  and  fashionably 
automated  (lots  of  synth,  computerized  drams  with  roto- 
tom  and  cymbal  overdubs).  The  best  parts  of  EinzeJhaft 
(co-produced  with  his  songwriting  partner,  keyboardist 
Robert  Ponger)  are  tedious  rock;  the  tracks  that  have 
earned  him  international  visibility  ("Der  Kommissar,'* 
a  US  hit  when  badly  covered  in  English  by  After  the 
Fire;  "Maschine  Brennt")  are  repulsive  pseudo-funk 
with  obnoxiously  patronizing  attempts  at  African- 
American  lingo,  accents  and  music,  sung  in  a  consti- 
pated gurgle  as  appealing  as  hearing  someone  vomit 
outside  your  window. 

On  Junge  Roemer,  Ponger' s  generally  lighter 
touch — leaning  towards  Philly  soul  in  tone  if  not 
content — cuts  a  lot  of  the  crap  to  expose  a  boring  col- 
lection of  tepidly  delivered  songs.  On  the  other  hand, 
Falco's  third  LP  is  a  grotesque  monstrosity.  With  two 
new  collaborators  replacing  Ponger,  Faico  essays  a  cul- 
tural outreach  program  with  such  garishly  overpro- 
duced, overlong  thumpers  as  "Vienna  Calling"  (7:40) 
and  "Rock  Me  Amadeus"  (8:20).  Each  repeats  a  cloy- 
ing riff  or  chorus  endlessly  while  all  manner  of  gim- 
micky mix  tricks  (spoken  word,  scratching,  dub  echo, 
sound  effects,  etc.)  attempt  to  obscure  Falco's  regurgo 
blather.  Think  of  an  endless  loop  of  Queen's  "We  Will 
Rock  You"  with  less  melody  and  you'll  get  an  idea  of 
what  a  nightmare  this  is.  To  cap  things  off  in  maximally 
tasteless  fashion,  he  debases  Dylan's  "It's  All  Over 
Now,  Baby  Blue"  as  a  sneery  lounge  singer,  complete 
with  spoken  asides.  What  a  jerk!  (For  masochists, 
3 — brilliantly  mastered,  incidentally — runs  over  50  min- 
utes, even  on  vinyl.) 

Faico  seems  a  bit  of  a  manipulated  wimp  on  Emo- 
tional, a  record  to  which  he  contributed  some  of  the 
lyrics  and  none  of  the  music.  Producers  Rob  and  Ferdi 
Bolland  are  in  complete  control,  writing  and  playing 
almost  everything  except  guitars  and  sax.  The  (mis-) 
concept  album  ranges  from  ABC-like  slick  soul  to  psy- 
chopathic shrieking;  Faico  is  as  awful  as  ever,  babbling 
the  verbose  bilingual  lyrics  with  auto-pilot  enthusiasm 
and  the  assistance  of  mega-tracked  female  backing  vo- 
cals. The  wildly  bombastic  production  and  pervasive 
low-brow  mentality  here  cries  out  for  Jim  Steinman  to 
produce  Falco's  next  record. 


234 


Thankfully,  thai  didn't  to          on 

The  ely  side  and 

by  the  B011and&  dispenses  with  the  sink,  ICJLMIM 

Fako  to  carry  on  over 

that  more  or  less  Of  course,  the 

is  utterl>  lows  a.s  **,     , 

Ridc,\  Again"  i|  which          the  how-can-*e-miss«you- 
if-you-lwon*t-go-away?  question)        "Garbo"  I  "a  md- 
of   Aptorodife  Venus"!.    Fafco 

to  sing  on  the  album's  second  side,  which 
clumsy  aim  at  souK  power  balladry  and 
acteristic  styles,  ending  with  a  sequencer- and- 

sitar-flavored  rendition  of  Steely  Dan's  "Do  It  Again," 


TAV  FALCO'S  PANTHER  BURNS 

See  Panther  Bums. 

mil 

Live  of  the  Witch  Trids  (Step  Forward-IRS)  1 979  • 

Dragnet  (nr/Step  Forward)  1 979  • 

Totale's  Turns  (If  s  Now  or  Never)  (sir/Rough  Trade}  1 980 

Grotesque  (After  the  Gramme)  (Rough  Trade)  1 980 

Early  Years  77-79  (Faulty  Produds)  1981 

Slates  EP  (Rough  Trade)  1981 

Live  In  London,  1 980  [tope]  (or/Chaos)  1 982 

Hex  Enductton  Hour  (nr/Kamera)  1 982  « 

Room  to  Live  (nr/Kamera)  1982 

A  Part  of  America  Therein,  1 981  (Cottage)  1 982 

Perverted  by  Language  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1983  » 

Kicker  Conspiracy  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 983 

Fall  in  a  Hole  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1983 

The  Wonderful  and  Frightening  World  of  the  Fall 

(Beggars  Banquet-PVQ  1984  • 
Call  for  Escape  Route  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 984 
Hip  Priest  and  Kamerads  (nr/SNuation  2)  1 985  • 
This  Nation's  Saving  Grace  (Beggars  Baoquet-PVC) 

1985* 

The  Fall  EP  (PVQ  1986 
Bend  Sinister  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1986  • 
Domesday  Pay-Off  (Big  Time)  1 987 
There's  a  Ghost  in  My  House  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet) 

1987 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 987 
The  Fall  In:  Palace  of  Swords  Reversed  (Cog 

Sinister-Rough  Trade)  1 987  • 
The  Frenz  Experiment  (Big  Time)  1988  • 
Victoria  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 988 
I  Am  Kurious  Oranj  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1988  • 
Jerusalem  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1988  « 
Cab  It  Up/Dead  Beat  Descendant  EP  (nr/Beggars 

Banquet)  1989 

Seminal  Live  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1989  « 
Extricate  (Cog  Sinister-Fontana)  1 990  • 
Dredger  EP  (nr/Cog  Sinister-Phonogram)  1990 
458489  A  Sides  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1990  4> 
458489  B  Sides  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 990  « 
Shiftwork  (nr/Fontana)  1 991  • 

Formed  in  Manchester  in  1977,  the  Fall  has  attracted 
a  cult  following  in  numerous  corners  of  the  globe,  but 
has  managed  to  bend  commercial  necessities  to  its  own 
needs  and  carve  no  small  chart  success  in  the  UK,  Fall 
fans  are  rabid,  and  the  group*  s  influence  on  likeminded 


she  US, 

New  ami  be 

by  E 

Aiti  the 

£fee          h**  a  of 

Aid  so  IK 

rock  the 

hah  to  and  the 

of  a          of 

respect  in  Ictt  of  cester  cx;s,ca!  circles 
joa  enjoy  the  &oun<2&  or  noa,  the  Fall  a  crucial 

diffLtvute  m  music,  aad  ttut  cuicte. 

and  two 

to  fine  at  UK 

trie  .fee 

surf  LP,  Live  at  tie  Trials,  in 

an  two-day 

did  f  i  to 

well-organized  At 

punk's  and 

tension.  Smith  and  ibass,  pi- 

ano, guitar)  drip  on  like  "Rebellions 

Jukebox"  and  "Crap         2'Like  to  Bkw*,*1 
ally  relatively  the 

Dragnet  followed  with  a  as  well 

as  a  new  lineup.  The  irst  to  Scan- 

Ion's  scratchy,  {which  lias 

played  a  major  role  in  the          ever  since),  Dragpet  is 
not  one  of  the  Fall's  test  efforts,  but  it 

two  classic  numbers,  "Spectre  \s.  Rector"  and  **A  Fig- 
ure Walks." 

By  the  time  of  their  fits!  live  album,  T«teie*s 
Turns — recorded  in  late  '79  and  early  *SG — the  Fall  bad 
consolidated  a  more  commanding  style,  it's  no 

easier  on  the  aurals.  Jagged,  lately  recitative  md 
oblivious  to  musical  convention,  Smith's  witty  repartee 
carries  the  show  as  the  band  lurches  md  grouts 
noisily.  Not  for  neophytes. 

Grotesque  removes  the  Fall  even  timber  from  the 
world  of  easy  listening.  The  songs  are  mostly  one-or- 
two-chord  jams  played  too  slowly  to  be  hardcore,  but 
structured  similarly.  Smith  grafts  on  socio-political  lyr- 
ics that  would  be  more  interesting  on  p«|>er  than  accom- 
panied by  this  one-ta3ce-live-m-the-stud»  atouality. 

All  of  the  Fall's  pre-LP  singles  (by  a  lineup  wits 
keyboardist  Una  Baines  and  guitarist  Martin  Bramah, 
who  went  off  together  to  form  the  Blue  Orchids)  are  on 
one  side  of  Early  Years;  the  other  collects  later  7-inch 
efforts.  One  imagines  that  Public  Image  listened  to  the 
'77  vintage  "Repetition"  a  couple  of  times  before  map- 
ping out  their  first  LP. 

The  10-inch  Slates  has  six  tracks  with  substantially 
better  production  than  the  Fall's  preceding  ventures;  ev- 
idence of  much  greater  studio  effort  abounds.  While  still 
not  quite  Abba-smooth,  several  numbers,  especially 
4 'Fit  and  Working  Again**  and  "Leave  the  Capitol/* 
are  as  close  to  enjoyable,  routine  (ahem)  rock  as  the  Fall 
had  ever  come.  A  solid  record  of  greater  potential  ap- 
peal than  just  to  cultists* 

Part  of  Hex  Induction  Hour  was  recorded  in  Ice- 
land, a  nation  where  the  Fall's  music  had  a  major  cul- 
tural impact.  An  expanded  lineup  with  two  drummers 
turns  the  sound  large  and  rhythm-conscious;  despite  a 
resulting  tendency  to  lumber  along  at  a  slow,  methodi- 
cal pace,  some  of  the  tracks  are  intriguingly  off  the 


235 


conamoE  Fall  path,  (The  German  CD  on  the  Line 

label  includes  early  as  bonus  cuts.  I 

Room  to  Live  features  a  sparser,  less  rhythmic 
sound  than  Hex  Endrnctitoii  Hour,  occasionally  return- 
ing to  Grotesque's  flirtation  with  raw  rockabilly.  Smith 
is  in  top  lyrical  form,  with  pungent,  views  of 

British  life:  "Marquis  Cha  QwT  offers  biting  commen- 
tary on  the  Falklands  War. 

Tteee  live  Fall  albums  emerged  around  this  time.  A 
Part  of  America  Therein  was  taped  at  five  gigs  on  a 
US  tow,  The  sound  quality  varies  considerably  from 
track  to  track,  but  the  performances  arc  uniformly 
strong,  particularly  the  epic  "N.W.R.A."  Even  better, 
though,  is  Fall  to  a  Hole,  a  two-disc  authorized  bootleg 
released  only  in  New  Zealand.  Recording  quality,  exe- 
cution and  song  selection  ( mostly  from  Hex  and  Room 
to  Live)  are  superb.  The  Live  in  London,  1980  cassette 
was  recorded  in  front  of  a  none-too-enthusiastic  audi- 
ence at  Acklam  Hall;  it's  of  dubious  legal  origin,  listing 
neither  songwriting  nor  publishing  credits.  Drawing 
mostly  from  Grotesque  and  Slates,  it  warrants  mention 
due  to  sharp  performances  (except  for  * 'Prole  Art 
Threat,"  which  falls  apart)  and  very  good  sound  qual- 
ity. 

The  Fall's  next  studio  LPt  Perverted  by  Language, 
marked  a  brief  return  to  Rough  Trade.  On  the  first  record 
with  Smith's  new  American  wife  Brix  as  co-guitarist, 
they  chug  away  with  more  conviction  than  ever,  partic- 
ularly on  the  relentless  "Smile"  and  "Eat  Y'self  Fit- 
ter." Hindsight  now  shows  it  to  be  priming  the  audience 
for  what  was  to  follow:  the  John  Leckie-produced  Woo- 
derfttl  and  Frightening  WorM  of  the  Fail,  easily  one 
of  the  band's  best  records.  Strengthened  by  Brix's  song- 
writing  and  gutsy  guitar,  the  Fall  are  able  to  beckon  a 
variety  of  styles  with  panache.  All  nine  tracks  (eleven 
on  the  American  release,  which  adds  "C.R.E.E.P." 
and  "No  Bulbs,"  the  latter  from  the  subsequent  Call 
for  Escape  Route  EP)  jump  out,  highlighted  by  the 
fierce  "Lay  of  the  Land/7  "Elves"  and  the  almost  Syd 
Barrett-like  "Disney's  Dream  Debased/* 

Hip  Priest  and  Kamerads  is  a  compilation  of  the 
band's  releases  on  the  Kamera  label.  Except  for  a  live 
version  of  "Mere  Pseud  Mag  Ed. /'  there's  nothing  oth- 
erwise unavailable,  but  it  does  offer  a  good  introduction 
for  the  uninitiated.  The  tape  and  CD  have  extra  tracks. 

With  what  at  this  point  seems  like  an  embarrassment 
of  riches,  the  Fall  unleashed  This  Nation's  Saving 
Grace.  Tracks  like  the  (gasp!)  synthesized  and  dance- 
able  *'L.A/'  and  the  contemporaneous  45,  "Cruisers 
Creek/'  reveal  that  the  Fall  is  no  longer  averse  to  com- 
mercial potential,  but  it's  really  just  a  new  type  of  ammo 
added  to  the  arsenal. '  'Bombast' '  builds  a  guitar  din  that 
would  make  Sonic  Youth  jealous,  while  "Paintwork" 
and  "I  Am  Damo  Suzuki"  (a  song  about  Can's  onetime 
lead  singer)  are  two  of  the  strangest  things  they've  ever 
done.  The  US  release  substitutes  "Cruisers  Creek"  for 
"Barmy/'  which  subsequently  turned  up  on  the  epon- 
ymous American  EP,  alongside  four  other  45  cuts,  like 
an  unlikely  cover  of  Gene  Vincent's  "Rollin'  Dany." 
(To  confuse  matters  further,  Beggars  Banquet  issued 
three  of  the  five  songs  on  a  1985  US  12-inch.) 

Named  for  a  novel  by  Vladimir  Nabokov,  Bend 
Sinister  is  a  rather  gloomy,  dark  sounding  record;  mi- 
nor keys  and  Joy  Division-like  guitar  riffing  dominate 
tracks  like  "US  80's~90's"  and  "Gross  Chapel — 


British  Grenadiers.  * '  But  then  in  the  middle  of  all  thai  is 
"Shoulder  Pads,"  one  of  the  poppies! t 

they've  ever  done.  Multi-instrumentalist 
Rogers  has  become  the  Fall's  chief  sound-shaper,  pro- 
viding all  kinds  of  odd  synths  and  guitar  fills  aid  em- 
bellishments. Pcraesiiay  Pay-Off,  the  equivalent  US 
release  to  Bend  Sinister,  switches  song  order  a  bit  and 
substitutes  singles  from  the  same  approximate  period, 
such  as  "Hey!  Luctani"  and  a  cover  of  R.  Dean  Tay- 
lor's "There's  a  Ghost  in  My  House/'  The  four-song 
Peel  Sessions  disc  (from  November  1978)  predates  the 
Fall's  debut  album;  two  of  the  numbers  are  on  that  LP, 
the  other  two  arc  otherwise  unreleased.  A  must  for  fans, 

The  Fall  In:  Palace  of  Swords  Reversed  is  a  com- 
pilation of  Rough  Trade  singles,  fhpsides  and  LP  tracks 
from  1980  to  1983,  released  on  Smith's  own  label.  The 
Frenz  Experiment  is  an  unusual  LP — almost  a  Smith 
solo — with  lower-key  backing  than  usual,  and  more 
willfully  obscure  lyrics  than  ever,  particularly  on  "Ath- 
lete Cured"  and  the  very  odd  "Oswald  Defence  Law- 
yer/' Rogers,  no  longer  a  fulltime  band  member* 
produced  and  gave  it  the  most  detailed  sound  of  any  Fall 
record.  Adding  to  their  growing  reputation  as  an  able 
and  imaginative  cover  band,  Frenz  includes  a  totally 
delightful  version  of  the  Kinks'  ** Victoria/'  (The  orig- 
inal UK  LP  includes  a  bonus  single  of  "Mark4!!  Sink 
Us"/* 'Bremen  Nacht  Run/') 

Recent  Fall  side  projects  have  established  the  group 
in  other  fields.  Smith  expanded  the  idea  from  the  "Hey! 
Luciani"  45  into  a  play  which  ran  in  London.  The  Fall 
wrote  the  adequate  but  uneventful  vocal  music  (which 
the  group  performed  as  live  accompaniment  in  Amster- 
dam, Edinburgh  and  England,  then  committed  to  vinyl 
as  the  I  Am  Kurioiis  Oranj  album)  for  /  Am  Curious 
Orange,  a  ballet  by  Michael  Clark's  experimental  dance 
company.  A  pair  of  EPs  were  drawn  from  the  album: 
Jerusalem  (the  William  Blake  song)  was  released  as  a 
boxed  pair  of  7-inch  singles  (with  a  postcard)  and  as  a 
3-inch  CD,  with  three  more  LP  tracks,  one  of  them  in  a 
drastically  altered  version.  Cab  It  Up  (the  Mark  E. 
Smith  song)  comes  on  a  12-inch  with  live  renditions  of 
"Kurious  Oranj"  and  "Hit  the  North"  and  a  new  song 
("Dead  Beat  Descendant**)  from  the  then-imminent 
Seminal  Live. 

Despite  its  title,  the  Fall's  1989  album  mixes  a  side 
of  new  material  (casual  and  largely  self-indulgent  studio 
efforts)  with  a  dynamic  and  cavalier  side  of  live  oldies, 
such  as  "Cruisers  Creek,"  "L.A./'  "Pay  Your  Rates," 
"2  by  4"  and  "Victoria."  Although  hardly  an  ideal 
artistic  coda,  that  record  proved  to  be  Brix's  farewell, 
thereby  ending  an  extremely  productive  Fall  era.  In  mid- 
'89,  her  marriage  to  Mark  collapsed  and  she  left  the 
group,  turning  the  Adult  Net,  her  side  project,  into  a 
fulltime  endeavor. 

The  Fall's  recovery  from  their  loss  was  surprisingly 
quick  and  complete:  by  the  following  year's  remarkable 
Extricate  (which  features  Martin  Bramah's  short  return 
to  the  fold;  he  and  keyboardist  Marcia  Schofield  left  in 
mid- '90),  the  only  remaining  evidence  of  Brix's  exist- 
ence is  in  Smith's  transparently  vindictive  lyrics.  Pro- 
duction by  Smith,  Craig  Leon,  Adrian  Sherwood  and 
Coldcut  effectively  picks  up  the  thread  of  the  Fall's 
progress  with  Ettle  incident,  allowing  Smith  to  unbur- 
den himself  in  extraordinarily  fine  musical  settings. 
With  nothing  in  common  except  for  the  articulate  poetic 


236 


the  first          song*- -"Sing*  Harp>,**  *Tm 
Frank/'  "Bill  h  Dead"  aad  the  "Block 

One"— are  the  Foil's  best- 

ever  creations.  While  the  rest  of 
the  cool  "Telephone  Thing/"  a  CoUkut  €«%srl 

isn't  as  the  of  the 

Fall's  durability  and  {The  12- 

of 
entitled  "Dredger/*  and  a  limited-edition  1 

Chronicling  the  Brix  serving  a* 

of  an  extension  to  of  Swords  Reversed), 

4584S9  A          is,  as  billed,  a  of  the  Fall's 

between  "84  and  '89.  The 

tracks— including   such  as  **Rollin* 

Dany,"  "L.A./"  **Hcy!  Luciani,"  "There's  a  Ghost  in 
My  House"  and  "Victoria"- — fellow  the 
its  pop  orientation  aid  stylistic  redeploy- 

ments. Completing  the  job,  the  double-album  458489  B 
Sides  collects  all  of  the  remaining  from  the 

em's  singles,  including  remixes:  3!  in  all.  A  major 
to  fans  who've  been  stymied  by  the  band's 
di&cography. 

Fall  CDs  usually  add  a  few  concurrent  singles  and 
B-sides;  their  US  LPs  usually  add  the  A-side  of  a 
not  OB  the  British  LP.  For  instance,  1987's  "Hit  the 
North"  shows  up  on  the  CD  of  Freaz  (in  the  UK,  along 
with  four  other  bonus  cuts).  Bend  Sinister  adds  "Liv- 
ing Too  Late'*  and  "Auto-Tech  Pilot"  on  the  CD;  both 
of  those,  plus  "Town  and  Country  Hobgoblins/*  arc  on 
the  UK  cassette.  [i/dgs] 

See  also  Adult  Net,  Blue  Orchids,  Marc  Riley  with 
the  Creepers, 

f  AILING  JOYS 

Omega  EP  (Aus.  Volition)  1 989 

Wish  List  (Volition-Nettwerk-IRS)  1990  « 

Clear-voiced  singer/songwriter  Suzie  Higgie  gets 
rich,  electric  rock  backing  from  her  bandmates  on  Wish 
List,  the  Sydney  quartet's  first  longplayer.  Although 
Higgie's  refined  delivery  suggests  a  West  Coast  Debbie 
Harry,  guitarist  Stuart  Robertson  sounds  like  a  reformed 
metalhead,  cranking  up  the  contrast  in  a  tastefully  loud 
surge.  If  the  band  flirts  shamelessly  with  mainstream 
radio,  the  album  has  an  undercurrent  of  recklessness  and 
individuality  that  shores  it  up  on  songs  like  the  barely 
contained  "Shot  in  Europe/*  the  industrialized  "Puppy 
Drink"  and  the  ominous  "Tunnel  Vision/'  The  CD 
adds  a  bonus  track,  "Shelter/*  [i] 

FALSE  PROPHETS 

Poise  Prophets  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1986 
implosion  (Alternative  Tentacles}  1 987 

Don't  be  thrown  by  the  irreverent  religious  imagery 
on  False  Prophets:  after  they  get  through '  'Invokation' ' 
and  "Seven  Deadly  Sins,"  this  punk-rocking  New  York 
five-piece  trains  its  obviously  educated  intelligence  on 
more  traditional  hardcore  themes  Hke  war,  authority, 
violence  and  rebellion.  The  Prophets  mediate  the  punk 
onslaught  with  dynamics  and  tempos  that  don't  all  run 
on  overdrive,  but  there's  nothing  remarkable  about  their 
debut. 

Implosion,  produced  by  living  legend  Giorgio  Go- 
melsky,  is  light  years  better,  breaking  uncharted  ground 


MS  the 

of  a  kd  1%  a 

a  **it  *& 

43d 

«4sd  ea- 

N«fl  hwt  It] 

CAT 

T«3  *&n  Giyf? 

wilt?  o  EP  Gil  |  1990  • 

a  "Tom  Ver- 

laine."  this 

pop         off- 

on  Ike  assi  *E» 

Wefre  the 

of  a  the  Cat  is 

strictly  a  bite  to  the 

get  fax  and 

a 

The  EP  a«S  the 

ily  Cat  "Place          t 

Name/*  a 

and  a  and  the 

"Theme  from  'The  Cat*."  ft] 

FAMILY  FUN 

Sec  Spore  Ne#ros. 

MICK  FARREN 

(Mono)  Hie  Canworow  Gran  frw/Tramalbnisc}  1970 


Vompires  Stote  My  lunch  Money  f  m/Logo)  1  978  * 

MICK  FARREN  &  THE  DEVIANTS 

Screwed  Up  EP  1977 

DEVIANTS 

Human  Gorbog®  (nr/PsytM  1984 

MICK  FARREN  &  WAYNE 
KRAMER 

Who  Shot  You  Dutch?  EP  (Spedr*)  1  987 

Mick  Farren  —  music  journalist,  novelist,  vocalist, 
founding  member  of  the  (Social)  Deviants  and  Pink 
Fairies,  MotSrfiead  songwriter,  etc,  —  cut  Ms  fiist  solo 
album  witb  a  nascent  version  of  the  Fairies  immediately 
upon  leaving  the  Deviants  in  1969.  He  left  te  spotlight 
for  awhile,  but  returned  in  '77  with  a  four-song  7-inch 
on  Stiff  that  has  its  moments  bat  is  hardly  a  milestone. 

Released  at  the  height  of  the  ptB&  wave  but  spring- 
ing from  a  much  deeper  creative  well.  Vampires  Stole 
My  Luracfe  Money  is  Fanea*s  solo  ma&teiwork.  With 
musical  assistance  from  Wilko  Johnson,  Chrissie  Hynde 
and  others,  he  dishes  out  a  harrowingly  feooe&t  collec- 
tion of  songs  about  drinking,  dissolution,  depression, 
self-destruction  and  desperation.  About  as  powerful  as 
rock  gets,  this  nakedly  painful  LP  is  most  definitely  not 
recommended  to  sissies,  bom-again  Christians  or  pro- 
hibitionists. 

Relocating  to  New  York  several  years  later,  Fawen 
pursued  a  number  of  musical  endeavors  with  ex-MC5 
guitarist  Wayne  Kramer.  In  February  1984,  joined  by 
ex-Fairies  Larry  Walls  and  Duncan  Sanderson  and  a 
drummer,  the  pair  did  a  loose-limbed  London  gig  (billed 
as  the  Deviants)  at  DingwaPs,  recorded  and  released  as 

237 


Human  Gari»ge.  The  material  mixes  selections  from 
Vampires  ("I  Want  a  Drink"  md  Frank  Zappa's 
"Trouble  Coming  Every  Day"),  Kramer's  solo  work 
("Ramblin'  Rose"),  Wallis  ("Police  Car")  and  simi- 
larly casual  items  like  4iScrewed  Up,"  "Takin'  L.S.D," 
and  "Outrageous  Contagious/'  No  points  for  tightness 
or  tuning,  but  a  neat  artifact  nonetheless. 

Three  songs  from  The  Last  Words  of  Dutch  Schultz, 
an  fctR&B  musical" — based  on  death-bed  ramblings  by 
the  prohibition-era  gangster — written  and  performed  by 
Farren  and  Kramer,  comprise  the  1987  12-inch.  The 
powerful  title  track  (sung  by  Kramer  and  produced  by 
Don  Was)  is  clever  funk-rock  rendered  giggly  by  a  disco 
chorus  repeating  the  phrase  throughout  the  number;  the 
others  are  more  theatrical  and  modestly  appealing,  [i] 

See  also  Hawkwind,  Motdrhead,  Social  Deviants. 


FAST 

For  Sole  fRecca)  1980 

leather  Boys  from  the  Asphalt  Jungle  fRecca)  1 981 

Before  he  moved  into  oversexed  Eurodisco,  the  late 
guitarist/songwriter  Miki  Zone  spent  a  decade,  begin- 
ning in  the  early  '70s,  leading  various  versions  of 
Brooklyn's  own  Anglo-pop  Fast.  A  pioneering  and  ex- 
citing force  on  the  Doits-era  club  scene  and  a  great 
example  of  bootstrapping,  the  Fast — which  included  vo- 
calist Paul  Zone  and,  for  some  years,  a  third  Zone 
brother—made  a  handful  of  ingeniously  derivative  sin- 
gles (updating  '60s  pop-art  rock  and  '70s  glam)  and 
self-released  an  album  in  1980.  Pulling  together  tracks 
from  various  sessions  produced  by  Ric  Ocasek,  Richard 
Gottehrer,  Bobby  Orlando,  Ian  North  and  Zone  himself, 
For  Sale  (the  cover  a  loving  parody  of  The  Who  Sell 
Out)  is  a  patchy  collection  of  inconsistent  sounds  and 
styles,  and  less  than  representative  of  the  group's  rep- 
ertoire. It  does,  however,  contain  some  wonderful 
tunes,  including  "Kids  Just  Wanna  Dance,"  "Boys 
Will  Be  Boys"  and  the  winsome  "It's  Like  Love,"  as 
well  as  the  quartet's  punky  interpretation  of  "These 
Boots  Are  Made  for  WalkinV 

Recorded  in  one  studio  effort  as  a  duo  of  Paul  and 
Mild,  Leather  Boys  also  fails  to  convey  much  of  what 
made  the  Fast  so  much  fun,  but  a  few  good  songs  (no- 
tably "Skinny  Kids  &  Bigger  Bullies"  and  Ian  North's 
"Girls  in  Gangs")  make  it  a  heartwarming  souvenir  for 
fans.  (Two  who  remember  are  Chris  Stein  and  Debbie 
Harry,  who  covered  Miki's  "Comic  Books"  as  a  bonus 
track  on  Def  Dumb  &  Blonde.) 

By  1982,  the  Fast  was  well  past  kitschy  power  pop, 
and  dabbling  in  dance  music  with  a  single  containing  a 
simple  electro-dance  version  of  the  Supremes*  "Love  Is 
Like  an  Itching  hi  My  Heart."  Subsequently  shifting 
their  base  of  operations  abroad,  the  brothers — playing 
disco  under  the  name  Man  to  Man — hit  the  UK  charts  in 
late  1986,  a  victory  cut  short  by  Miki's  fatal  illness  a 
year  later.  [i] 

FASTBACKS 

Fastbacb  Play  Five  of  Their  Favorites  EP  (No  Threes) 

1982 

Every  Day  is  Saturday  EP  (No  Threes)  1 984 
...  and  His  Orchestra  (PopLlama  Products)  1987 


Bike-Toy-Cbck-Gift  (Bus  Stop)  1988 

Very,  Very  Powerful  Motor  f  Poplbma  Products}  1 990 

With  future  Young  Fresh  Fellow  Kurt  Bloch  provid- 
ing the  kicky  songs  and  formidable  rock'n'roll 
power,  Seattle's  Fa&tbacks  made  irregular  contributions 
to  the  world  of  recorded  music  throughout  the  '80s, 
turning  up  on  numerous  compilations  and  occasionally 
issuing  records  of  their  own.  Guitarist  Lulu  Gargiuto 
and  bassist  Kim  Wamick  play  hit-and-miss  with  the 
melodies  on  the  casually  unpretentious  .  .  .  and  Hfe 
Orchestra,  but  everyone  winds  up  sharing  a  good  lime 
anyway.  Besides  B  loch's  charming  pop-rock  ditties, 
drummer  Richard  Stuverad  chips  in  with  one  number, 
and  the  group  does  an  impressive  (if  incongruous)  load, 
hard  cover  of  Sweet's  "Set  Me  Free." 

Bike-Toy-Clock-Gift  is  a  live  album — sixteen 
tracks  from  mid- '88 — issued  only  on  cassette.  Recorded 
as  a  trio  of  Bloch  (by  then  a  moonlighting  Fellow), 
Wamick  and  a  different  drummer  (although  Gargiulo 
puts  in  several  vocal  appearances),  Very,  Very  Fow- 
erfal  Motor  gives  Bloch' s  pop-rooted  songs  power- 
house rock  arrangements  that  overwhelm  some  of  them; 
in  her  rougher  vocal  moments,  Wamick  sounds  like  a 
more  melodically  astute  Joan  Jett.  Cool  cover:  "Apol- 
ogies" by  the  Pointed  Sticks.  [i] 

See  also  Young  Fresh  Fellows. 

FAST  FLOYD  AND  THE  FAMOUS 
FIREBIRDS 

Devil's  Daughter  (Kingpin)  1 983 

Early  Mink  DeVille  sideman  Fast  Floyd  (vocals/ 
guitar)  fronts  this  red-hot  San  Francisco  R&B  quintet, 
"  breathlessly  belting  out  sizzling  numbers  (most  of  them 
covers)  like  "You  Talk  Too  Much,"  "Wish  You 
Would'*  and  "Got  the  Water  Boiling."  Floyd's  punk- 
abilly  whoop — like  Tav  Falco  on  steroids  or  Lux  Inte- 
rior minus  the  punk  kitsch — adds  gusto  to  the  frenzied 
atmosphere;  Franco  St.  Andrew  blows  a  homy  enough 
tenor  sax  to  steam  up  some  windows  of  his  own.  Cap- 
ping off  this  dynamite  blast  of  retro-styled  party  rock, 
the  nudie  cover  shot  of  '50s  sex  queen  Candy  Ban  nuz- 
zling up  to  a  phonograph  perfectly  captures  the  album's 
goodnatured  sleaze.  [i] 

FATAL  FLOWERS 

Fatal  Flowers  (nr/WEA)  1985 
Younger  Days  (Atlantic)  1986 
Johnny  D.  Is  Backl  An  Album  by  the  Fatal  Flowers 

(Atlantic)!  989  • 
Pleasure  Ground  (nr/Mercury)  1990  • 

Growing  up  in  Holland  must  be  a  strange  experience 
for  kids  with  rock'n'roll  dreams.  This  Amsterdam  quar- 
tet began  blandly  enough,  playing  inoffensive  charac- 
terless rock  on  its  first  two  albums,  the  second  of  which 
offers  the  first  glimmer  of  the  group's  truly  weird  (or 
truly  stupid)  approach:  a  punky  rendition  of  "Gimme 
Some  Truth,"  recorded  nearly  a  decade  after  Genera- 
tion X's  definitive  cover  of  the  John  Lennon  song. 

Produced  in  Woodstock  by  Mick  Ronson,  Johnny 
D.  delves  deeply  into  evidently  unintended  nostalgia: 
these  guys  don't  seem  to  realize  how  dated  they  sound. 
(I  mean,  really,  how  long  has  it  been  since  anyone 


238 


an  "Rock  and         Star"  ^ 

into  rock'n'roll 

the  the  *7Ck  & 

if  **  Love"  still  in  the  in 

to  the         of  the  arc 

"Here's  in 

all  his  and  more;  How  he  he  was 

only  joking/But  he  he's  just  " 

Sounding  like  an  tic- 

jukebox  and  ml 

eai-opening  discoveries,  the  go 

over  the  top  on  Pfeasur*  Ground,  by 

Ronson.    Stumbling  of    African- 

Americans,  they  go  wild  covering  Arthur  's  1%8 

vintage  ** Funky  Street,'*  complete  with  wafa-wah 
and  dated  cliches  ("We're  grooving  in  the  city/We've 
got  to  get  down  with  it").  Elsewhere,  the  oblivious 
timewarpers  reproduce  Kiss-like          riffs,  the 

J.  Geils  Band,  Bad  Company,  the  Rolling  Stones  and 
'70s  Pink  Floyd,  adopt  an  Arlo  Guthrie  voice  ffor 
l*Rage  Out")  and  close  the  UP  with  a  Bowie-styled 
cover  of  Roxy  Music's  "Both  Ends  Burning. "  Amaz- 
ing. (Memo  to  the  band's  lawyer:  it's  considered  poor 
form  to  claim  writing  credit  for  world-famous  songs. ) 

W 

FAT  BOYS 

Fat  Boys  (Sutra}1 984 

The  Fat  Boys  Are  Back!  (Sulra)  1 985 

Big  &  Beautiful  (Sutra)  1986 

The  Best  Part  of  the  Fat  Boys  (Sutra)  1 987  • 

Crushin'  (Tin  Pan  Appte-PoSydor)  1987  • 

Coming  Back  Hard  Again  (Tin  Part  Appte-Potydor) 

1988* 

Kmsh  on  You  (or/Blatant)  1 988  « 
On  and  On  (Tin  Pan  Apple-Mercury)  1989  • 

In  a  medium  like  rap,  it  helps  to  have  a  gimmick, 
and  this  Brooklyn  trio — originally  known  as  the  Disco 
3 — had  several.  While  most  rappers  brag  about  what 
great  lovers  they  arc,  Prince  Maride  Dee  (Mark  Mo- 
rales), Buff  Love  (Darren  Robinson)  and  Kool  Rock-ski 
(Damon  Wimbley)  brag  about  what  great  eaters  they 
are.  In  this,  then*  claim  to  originality  is  undisputed. 
Gimmick  number  two  is  Buff  the  Human  Beat  Box  (not 
to  be  confused  with  Doug  E.  Fresh,  the  self-proclaimed 
Original  Human  Beat  Box),  who  uses  lips,  cheeks  and 
tongue  to  create  a  surprisingly  varied  array  of  rhythmic 
noises.  The  group's  raps  are  also  gimmicky,  while  the 
well-produced  (on  the  early  records,  by  Kurds  Blow) 
backing  tracks  employ  full-scale  instrumentation  and 
were  quick  to  cross  rap  with  reggae  and  rock.  If  the  Fat 
Boys  weren't  the  most  talented  crew  in  the  business, 
they  were  at  least  consistently  good  fun. 

The  Best  Part  of  the  Fat  Boys  is  indeed  that,  as  it 
compiles  ten  tracks  from  the  first  three  albums  and  has 
everything  you'd  ever  need  to  hear  by  them:  "Fat 
Boys,"  "The  Fat  Boys  Are  Back,"  "AH  You  Can  Eat," 
"Hard  Core  Reggae,"  "Sex  Machine,"  etc.  The  more 
extensive  Knish  on  You  repeats  seven  from  The  Best 
Part  and  adds  seven  more  of  the  same  vintage, 

Crushin',  a  mild  but  winning  party  collection  of 
mainstream  cuts  with  boundless  entertainment  spirit  and 
unfailing  good  humor,  has  the  trio's  collaboration  with 


the  i"Vripe«u"*  but  few 

A  rap  of  "He  f        *          fey 

»4  i  of 

Louse"  I  in  the  tht 

i  as         M  "Aw  for 

the  far  A  am 

On         On  has  a  few 
"If  It  Ain't  If  s 

>,  this  m  she 

the  tno 

it— -Is  a  of  and 

01  the  old  pa- 

nache. A  at  tfets  LP 

the  Fat  out  of 

Sec 

SHANE  FAUBERT 

See  Cheepskates 

Fowl  (nr/Pdydor)  1971  1979 

Few*  So  For  fnr/PofydorJ  1972  1979 

The  Faust  Tap«  (nr/Vtrgin)  1973 

1979  (Cuneiform)  1 990  • 
Faust  fV  ffw/Vfrgio!  1973 
Muroc  aid  Etsewtwsre  fw/RecotwiwoifedJ  1984 
The  Last  LP  (m/RaeomnMncied}  1988 

Although  Faust  was  one  of  the 
influential  (especially  cm  the  noise  and  industrial  gen- 
eration, starting  with  Cabaiet  Voltaire)  of  the  eariy-f7G$ 
German  progressive-rock  experimenters,  the  group's 
work  has  never  been  widely  known  outside  of  narrow 
confines.  Faust's  first  album  appeared  the  year  as 
Kraftwerk's,  but  the  group  disbanded  two  years 
without  ever  enjoying  much  coiumacial  success  (or 
even  international  exposure)  and  has  thus  become  fairly 
obscure,  although  its  work  has  been  kept  in  print  via 
reissues. 

Released  as  a  dramatic  pictene  disc— an  X-ray  of  i 
hand  embedded  in  clear  vinyl  and  packaged  in  a  trans- 
parent sleeve — Faust  consists  of  three  long,  post- 
psychedelic  jams,  each  composed  of  a  couple  of  ideas 
loosely  strung  together.  The  group  uses  droning  fez 
guitar,  primitive  electronics,  silences,  piano  tinkMngs, 
warbled  vocals,  cabaret  accents,  tape  manipulation  and 
probably  at  least  one  kitchen  sink.  The  way  Faust  throws 
these  elements  together  suggests  dada  music  for  the  elec- 
tronic age. 

Faust  So  Far,  the  group's  best  all-around  album,  is 
far  more  tightly  structured,  boasting  actual  songs  like 
"It's  a  Rainy  Day,  Sunshine  Girl*'  and  "Mamie  Is 
Blue,"  which  makes  something  out  of  abrasive  elec- 
tronic bursts,  wah-wah  guitar  and  minimal  vocals.  As 
the  album  was  recorded  in  1972,  some  tracks  include 
twangy  distorted  guitar/plucky  bass  jams.  Bizarre  little 
experiments  pop  up  between  songs:  overlays  of  effects- 
treated  guitars  and  the  like ,  sort  of  a  Carman  analogue 
to  the  Mothers'  early  sound  adventures. 


239 


Although  it's  just  a  collection  of  various  experiments 
organized  semi-cohercntiy,  The  Faust  Tapes  is  most 
impressive  in  terms  of  sheer  sonic  invention.  You  never 
know  what's  coming  next:  an  electronic  mantra  with 
chanting  in  a  made-up  language  is  followed  by  a  tape 
collage  of  radio,  kitchen  sounds  and  someone  climbing 
stairs.  A  moment  later,  almost-industrial  electronics 
play  over  a  funky  rock  beat. 

Faust  IV  isn't  as  consistently  innovative  as  the 
band's  earlier  albums,  though  it  still  arrived  five  years 
ahead  of  its  time.  "Krautrock/*  a  parody  of  longwioded 
German  bands  of  the  era  that  were  heavy  on  atmosphere 
and  light  on  content,  goes  on  so  long  that  it  winds  up 
indistinguishable  from  its  target. 

The  two  posthumous  albums  contain  odds  and  ends 
of  notable  interest  to  serious  Faust-ians,  but  novice  lis- 
teners would  be  better  off  sticking  with  the  first  four. 

[si] 


FEAR 

The  Record  (Slash)  1982 
More  Beer  f  Recess)  1 985  » 

Fear  was  an  early  standout  on  the  Los  Angeles  hard- 
core scene  but  quickly  grew  beyond  its  boundaries. 
Skilled,  varied,  instrumentaily  confident  and  inventive, 
Fear  invests  Hie  Record  with  searing  rock'n'roll  and  a 
wild-eyed  sense  of  humor  that  seems  somehow  whole- 
somely good-natured.  Lee  Ving  (who  has  also  pursued 
a  busy  and  successful  acting  career)  sings  like  a  drunk 
baseball  fan  bellowing  in  the  bleachers,  roaring  like  a 
lout,  but  completely  intelligible,  which  allows  funny — if 
disturbingly  nasty  with  regard  to  women  and 
homosexuals — lyrics  to  rise  above  the  well-ordered  din. 
Guitarist  Philo  Cramer  tosses  instrumental  cleverness 
into  the  material,  making  Fear  something  of  a  cross 
between  the  Dictators  and  Dickies. 

Although  artistically  redundant,  More  Beer  is  as 
loud,  fast  and  viciously  sarcastic  as  ever.  The  sporadic 
inter-song  patter  is  more  amusing  than  the  actual  tunes 
themselves  (which  are  in  fact  pretty  stupid),  but  there's 
something  pathetically  wonderful  about  Fear,  like  a  dog 
that  you  don't  really  like  but  keep  around  anyway  be- 
cause he's  so  faithful  and  predictable.  (The  best  Fear  on 
record  remains  The  Decline  of  Western  Civilization 
soundtrack  LP,  where  Ving  raises  audience  baiting  to  a 
sidesplitting  art  and  a  bandrnate  coins  a  new  usage  for  a 
traditional  colloquialism.)  [i] 


FEARLESS  IRANIANS  FROM 
HELL 

Fearless  Iranians  from  Hell  EP  (Boner)  1 986 

Die  for  Allah  (Boner)  1987 

Holy  War  (Boner)  1988 

Foolish  Americans  (Boner)  1990  • 

While  some  punk  bands  cover  current  world 
affairs — like,  say,  Iran's  Moslem  fanaticism — in  their 
topical  onslaught,  only  this  powerful  San  Antonio  hard- 
core outfit  can  lay  claim  to  an  actual  Iranian  (along  with 
two  former  Butthole  Surfers)  in  its  lineup.  The  7-inch 
EP  offers  such  topical  tone  poems  as  "Blow  Up  the 
Embassy";  Die  for  Allah  (the  cover  of  which  repre- 
sents Ayatollah  Khomeini)  boasts  such  blistering  speed 


tunes  as  "Life  Inside  Iran,"  "Iranians  on  Bikes,"  "Da 
for  Allah"  and  "Chant/*  which  is  recited  in  Pars! 

In  danger  of  running  their  joke  into  the  desert  sand, 
the  Fearless  ones  broaden  their  horizons  a  little  on  Holy 
War.  So  while  "Faction/1  the  anti-Iraqi  **  All  in  a  Day's 
Work/'  "Kneel  to  No  One"  and  the  title  track  continue 
the  frenzy  of  fanatical  nationalism  (just  how  serious 
are  these  guys?),  other  songs  ("Burn  the  Books/* 
"Dogsperm")  hie  to  more  familiar  hardcore  concerns. 
In  any  case,  the  noisy  playing  is  first-rate  punk. 

Relegating  the  late  Iranian  leader  to  a  dignified  back 
cover  portrait  but  dedicating  the  album  to  Mm,  FIFH 
sharpens  their  political  focus  on  the  metal-geared  Fool- 
ish Americans,  attacking  Salman  Rushdie,  George 
Bush  and  Americans  (for  looking  down  at  Iran).  [i] 

FEAR  OF  STRANGERS 

Fear  of  Strangers  (Fauily  Products)  1 982 

LONESOME  VAL 

Lonesome  Vo!  (Bar/None-Restless)  1 990  * 

This  Albany,  New  York,  quartet  was  known  as  tbe 
Units  until  a  dispute  with  the  San  Francisco  band  of  the 
same  name  led  to  a  new  handle.  Fear  of  Strangers 
mixes  simple,  melodic  rock  with  clever  topical  lyrics 
(making  the  group  an  early  entrant  in  the  neo-protest 
revival),  drawing  strength  from  the  presence  of  three 
songwriters.  The  music  is  fresh  and  catchy  if  a  bit  naive; 
Val  Haynes,  a  strong,  clear-toned  vocalist  showing 
traces  of  Joan  Baez  amid  the  rock  stylings,  provides 
most  of  the  band's  (and  album's)  character. 

Going  solo  with  a  mild  country  twang,  Haynes  (and 
Fear  of  Strangers  bassist  Steve  Cohen)  relocated  to  New 
York  City,  where  years  spent  working  local  clubs 
brought  widespread  critical  acclaim  and,  finally,  a  re- 
cording contract.  Lonesome  Val  begins  with  an  uplift- 
ing, infectious  charmer  ("To  Be  Young")  and 
continues  with  a  defiant  rocker  ("You  Won't  Say  You 
Love  Me'*),  but  the  remainder  of  Haynes'  songs  plod 
along  slowly  and  cautiously,  lacking  the  exuberance  that 
would  have  given  them  real  life.  [i] 

FEEDT1ME 

Feedtime  (Aus.  Aberrant)  1 985 
Shovel  (Aberrant-Rough  Trade)  1988 
Cooper-S  (Aberrant-Rough  Trade)  1 988  • 
Suction  (Aberrant-Rough  Trade)  1 989  • 

Descended  from  pre-hardcore  punk  and  electric 
blues,  this  Australian  trio  offers  a  fast  and  loud  journey 
down  Tylenol  territory,  playing  it  dark,  dank,  dense  and 
devastatingly  simple.  "Ha  Ha,"  the  first  track  on  Feed- 
time,  pulses  with  deepness,  guitar  sawing  in  repetitive 
circles  like  the  mating  call  of  a  didgeridoo,  with  vocals 
that  are  pure  low-frequency  growl.  The  grumbled  "I've 
got  a  Pontiac/gasoline/Pontiac/gasoline"  of  "Fastbuck" 
evokes  images  of  Big  Black's  "Kerosene"  with  high- 
intensity  drumming  and  hard,  repeating  chords.  (The 
guitarist  often  plays  with  a  bottleneck,  which  sounds 
pretty  amazing  when  cranked  up  to  eleven. )  An  urge  to 
experiment  and  fuse  mismatched  genres  with  each  other 
leads  to  a  stylistic  square  dance,  as  blues  pairs  off  with 
punk  and  metal  meets  mantra.  Everything  is  shaken 
down  until  it  pounds.  Even  an  air  of  shimniery  progres- 
sive folk  crops  up  in  the  vocals  of  "All  Down."  Lis- 


240 


to  is  )cw  ear 

bat  si's  the  agonv 

If  your  out  Ust  week,  no 

You  won't  at  all          ye*  gel  to 

the  of  gui- 

tar at  your        but         a          of 

and  on  the  title  cut  a»d  a 

to  the  of  or 

any  of  that  didn't  to 

in         tune,  ait 

music  that  is  totally  bits  but 

given  of  a  twist  to          it  the 

Cwjper-S  to 

cover  versions,  the  ("Street 

Fighting  Man,"*  **FIay  with  Fire"  and  two  An- 

("We've  Get  Oat  of  This  Place"), 

Boys  ("Fun  Fun  Fun**),  ("Loudmouth"}, 

Slade  (  "Hear  Me  Calling"  }  and  with  its 

spirited  roar,  feedback  slide  and  an  occa- 

sionally untuned  bass.  Without  on 

Feedtime,  it's  safe  to  that          of  the 

authors  would  be  able  to  recognize  in 

these  rumbling  renditions. 

Feedtime  bid  farewell  to  the  world  with  Suction,  an 
all-original  swansong  that  (for  more  than  half  the 
record)  runs  tidy,  occasionally  ttmcftil 
the  usual  floor-scraping  guitar  noise,  such  pre- 

viously tested  accents  as  horns,  harmonka,  acoustic  gui- 
tar and  femme  vox.  (The  barking  canines  on  "Drag 
Your  Dog/*  however,  are  new.)  While  the  merits  of 
balancing  oppression  and  allure  depends  on  your  per- 
spective towards  ear  abuse,  there*  s  no  questioning  Feed- 
time's  purposeful  expression.  [*e/i] 


FEELiES 

Crazy  Rhythms  (Stiff)  1980  (Ger.  Urn]  1986  (ASM) 

1990  • 

The  Good  Earth  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1  986  * 
No  One  Knows  EP  (Coyote-Twln/Tone)  1  986 
Only  Life  (Coyote-A&M)  1  988  • 
Time  far  a  Witness  (Coyote-A&M)  1  991  « 

TRYPES 

The  Explorers  Hold  EP  (Coyote)  1  984 

YUNG  WU 

Shore  Leave  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1987 

SPEED  THE  PLOUGH 

Speed  the  Plough  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1989 
Wonder  Wheel  [CDJ  (East  Side  Digital)  1  991  * 

These  New  Jerseyites  are  the  stuff  of  legend  and 
cults.  Led  by  guitarists  Glenn  Mercer  and  Bill  Million 
(originally  featuring  future  avant-star  drummer  Andy 
Fisher,  aka  Anton  Fier),  the  Feelies  dressed  like  nerdy 
preppies  and  paid  only  passing  attention  to  the  conven- 
tional demands  of  rock'n'roll.  Even  during  the  original 
band's  period  of  highest  visibility,  for  example,  live 
dates  in  New  York  tended  to  be  infrequent  and  often  fell 
on  holidays. 

Crazy  Rhythms  is  far  more  unequivocal  than  the 
group's  performances.  Mercer  and  Million  draw  inspi- 
ration from  the  Byrds,  Television  and  the  Velvet  Un- 
derground,  emphasizing  the  interplay  of  their  electric 
guitars  above  all  else.  The  rigid  vocals  and  lyrics  take  a 
back  seat  to  the  pure  textures  of  the  driving  rockers  and 


its 

a  f  A 

the  ctj  CD  IK! 

j  of  It 

Black"  *»  11  » 

In  the          that  the  but 

aiui  tilt 

YctfLNew  is  aa^ 

the  Trypes,  «iad!          Wu, 

they  ail  play 
and          a 

aid  the  of  and  the 

Underground. 

are  the  in- 

of  the  and  Tfee  is  a 

not         yet,  fa*  ill  its 
an 
fee 

to —  OD  the  of 

"Love  You  To"  do 

to  the 

fore,  thse  Trypes  t 

The  tad 

are 

In  the  mid-'SOs,  awl  the 

as  a 

the  Trypes)  awl 
Weckerman.  The 

album,  co-produced  by  Pete  Buck,  in  1986.  Tie  Good 
Earth  its  feel  iwl 

acoustic  guitars,  but  and 

the  intricately  woven  surfaces; 
ally  pierce  the  atmospheric  tapestry.  and 

display  their  taut  control  even  as  ttiey're 
away  madly  in  rapturous  acceleration;  the 
are  extraordiiiarily  beautiful.  When  their  voices  join  for 
spirited  Eam»Eics»  you  know  it  was  worth  the  wait.  Tie 
fow-soag  No  One  Knows  is  a          1 2-inch 
joining  "The  High  Road"  and  "Slipping  (Into  Some- 
thing)" from  the  LP  wife  wonderful  covers  of  die 
Beatles'  *4She  Said,  Site  Said"  and  Neil  Young's  "Se- 
dan Delivery." 

Dave  Weckennan  is  the  eolfeusia&ticatly  informal 
lead  vocalist  and  songwriter  in  Yung  Wo — the  Fcelfcs 
augmented  by  Trypes  keyboard  player  lofaa  Baumgtrt- 
ner.  Shore  Leave  leans  towards  acoustic  guitars  and 
simplified  dramming  for  a  rustic  sound  that  exchanges 
the  Feelies'  neurotic  suburban  intensity  for  a  coaatry- 
fied  gentleness.  Influence-revealing  covers  of  Pbil 
Manzanera/Brian  Eno  ( "Big  Day"  )v  the  Stones  ( "Child 
of  the  Moon")  and  NeM  Young  ("Powctefingor")  are 
intriguing  but  a  bit  on  the  plain  side. 

While  preserving  the  laconic  electro-folk  drone  of 
The  Good  Earth  on  (My  Life,  an  album  of  amazingly 
exacting  sound  and  performances*  the  Feelies  .pin  it 
with  riveting  songs  of  breathless  electricity*  The  first 
side  takes  things  as  they  come,  gently  laying  out  catchy 
songs  like  'Too  Much,"  *4Higtier  Ground"  and  "The 
Undertow"  to  warm  the  mood  with  statety-driffcmg- 
towards-dull  restraint*  like  aa  invocation  to  autumn.  But 
the  pace  quickens  on  the  second  half,  as  the  obsessively 
brisk  "Too  Far  Owe"  and  the  breakneck  "Away"— 
strong  songs  given  exhilarating  performances,  and  a 
clear  tie  to  the  Feelies1  past— lead  up  to  the  album's 


closer,  a  boiling  cover  of  Lou  Reed's  "What  Goes  On*' 
(don't  miss  Mercer's  amazing  solo)  that  overtly  renews 
the  band's  Velvet  Underground  links. 

Speed  the  Plough  Is  John  Baumgartner's  band;  Bill 
Million  co-produced  Speed  the  Plough  and  guests  on 
one  track.  Although  STP's  hypnotically  simple  songs 
strongly  resemble  the  Feelies"  work,  the  six-person 
lineup  (including  one  other  Trype  alumnus)  plays  them 
on  a  variety  of  instruments,  subtly  supplementing  gui- 
tar, bass  and  drums  with  keyboards,  reeds,  woodwinds, 
horns,  accordion  and  more. 

Like  an  uptight  square  the  morning  after  a  drunken 
orgy.  Time  for  a  Witness  finds  the  Feelies  in  a  new 
frame  of  mind,  downplaying  crystalline  precision  and 
emotional  intensity  for  a  fleshed-out  sonic  reinvention 
that  embraces  old  Bob  Dylan  songwriting  structures  and 
a  trancey  Haight-Ashbury  acid-rock  feeling  with  free- 
wheeling enthusiasm  rather  than  anxious  determination. 
Not  to  overstate  it:  a  casual  listener  may  not  notice  any 
drastic  change  between  the  albums,  but  there's  defi- 
nitely a  newly  relaxed  sensibility  at  work  here.  Rather 
than  tone  things  down,  the  Feelies  spread  them  out,  and 
if  the  album  lacks  ferocious  intensity  or  wistful  beauty, 
this  resonant  and  brilliant  record  is  their  most  nchly 
textured  and  engrossing  work  yet. 

Turning  to  another  media,  the  high  school  reunion 
scenes  in  Jonathan  Demme's  Something  Wild  show  the 
Feelies  (credited  as  the  Willies)  performing  shards  of 
five  songs,  including  "I'm  a  Believer,"  "Crazy 
Rhythms"  and  "Fame,"  with  tentative  Bowiesque  lead 
vocals  by  Weckerman.  Uy/jl/i] 

JOHN  FELICE  &  THE 
LOWDOWNS 

See  Real  Kids. 

FELT 

Crumbling  the  Antiseptic  Beauty  EP  (nr/Cherry  Red) 

1981  « 

The  Splendour  of  Fear  EP  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1 984  * 
The  Strange  Idols  Pattern  and  Other  Short  Stories 

(nr/Cherry  Red)  1 984 

Ignite  the  Seven  Cannons  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1 985  • 
Ballad  of  the  Band  EP  (nr/Creation)  1986 
Let  the  Snakes  Crinkle  Their  Heads  to  Death  (nr/Creation) 

1986« 

Rain  of  Crystal  Spires  EP  (nr/Creation)  1 986 
Forever  Breathes  the  Lonely  Word  (nr/Creation)  1 986  • 
Poem  of  the  River  EP  (Creation-Relativity)  1 987  • 
The  Final  Resting  of  the  Ark  EP  (nr/Creation)  1 987 
Gold  Mine  Trash  (PVC)  1 987  • 

The  Pictorial  Jacbon  Review  (Creation-Relativity)  1 988  « 
Train  Above  the  City  (nr/Creation)  1 988  « 
Me  and  a  Monkey  on  the  Moon  (nr/el-Cherry  Red) 

1989* 
Bubblegum  Perfume  (nr/Creation)  1 990  • 

Aided  at  the  outset  by  a  second  guitarist,  a  rhythm 
section  and  little  more,  Birmingham  singer/songwriter 
Lawrence  Hayward  fashioned  a  career  in  homage  to 
Tom  Veriaine  without  once  attempting  to  play  his  mu- 
sic. On  Crumbling  the  Antiseptic  Beauty,  Felt  pat- 
terns itself  after  Television's  guitar  interplay,  with 
occasional  understated  vocals  that  cross  Veriaine  and 


Lou  Reed.  The  instrumental  passages  are  the  true 
points  here,  as  the  guitarists  are  both  melodic  and  sym- 
pathetic to  each  other.  Odd,  derivative  but  exciting  and 
evidently  ambitious. 

Felt  settled  down  and  in  on  the  tetter-produced 
Splendour  of  Fear  ( like  the  debut,  a  six-song  1 2-mch  I, 
unwinding  the  guitars  into  a  gentle  mantra-like  caress 
with  no  sharp  comers.  Sparingly  matched  with  quiet 
vocals,  the  hypnotic  melodic  drone  can  sound  almost 
new  agey,  but  the  quartet's  music  is  intended  to  engage, 
not  to  lull. 

With  The  Strange  Idols  Pattern  (produced  by  John 
Leckie),  Lawrence  and  his  trio  refined  Felt  into  a  strik- 
ingly attractive  sound:  clear  guitar  notes  sparkle  from 
every  direction  in  a  jewel-like  blend  that  recalls  Tele- 
vision without  quite  imitating  it.  A  nylon-string  fla- 
menco piece  ("Crucifix  Heaven")  demonstrates  diverse 
stylistic  faculties;  the  virtuosity  of  lead  guitarist  Maurice 
Deebank — listen  to  his  solo  on  "Whirlpool  Vision  of 
Shame" — is  also  quite  impressive. 

Gold  Mine  Trash  is  a  fascinating  developmental 
chronicle  of  Felt's  Cherry  Red  years:  singles,  album 
tracks  and  a  fine  pair  of  1984  demos.  The  UP  ends  on  a 
pivotal  note:  "Primitive  Painters,"  an  obsessive  1985 
British  indie-chart  hit  (with  guest  vocals  by  Cocteau 
Twin  Liz  Fraser)  which  incorporates  swirling  organ  for 
an  entirely  new  effect. 

Moving  to  the  Creation  label,  Felt — by  this  time  a 
stable  quartet  including  keyboardist  Martin  Duffy  and 
stalwart  drummer  Gary  Ainge — was  enormously  pro- 
ductive in  1986,  beginning  with  Ballad  of  the  Band. 
The  nearly  unlabeled  12-inch — two  light-sounding  Dyl- 
anish  songs  and  two  piano  pieces — was  produced  by 
another  Cocteau  Twin,  Robin  Guthrie,  and  contains  the 
instrumental  "Ferdinand  Magellan,"  Lawrence's  sec- 
ond tribute  to  great  explorers.  ("Vasco  de  Gama"  was 
on  Strange  Idols  Pattern.)  The  next  release,  Let  the 
Snakes  Crinkle  Their  Heads  to  Death,  is  a  brief  in- 
strumental album  that  notably  lacks  a  second  guitarist. 
The  pleasant  but  trivial  collection  consists  of  ten  perky 
cuts  ("Lawrence's  songs  coloured  in  by  Martin")  that 
rush  by  in  less  than  nineteen  minutes.  Although  one  or 
two  of  the  simple  pieces  hold  to  the  group's  prior  sound, 
most  don't;  organ  takes  a  prominent  role  and  there's 
little  of  the  familiar  instrumental  blend. 

Vocals  and  another  guitarist  make  a  welcome  return 
on  Forever  Breathes  the  Lonely  Word,  a  finely 
wrought  album  with  Dylanesque  characteristics  on 
which  Lawrence  sings  exactly  like  Veriaine,  adding  a 
nifty  Lou  Reed  imitation  on  "September  Lady"  and 
"Grey  Streets."  Lyrically,  he's  in  top  form,  expressing 
religious  doubt  in  "All  the  People  I  Like  Are  Those 
That  Are  Dead"  and  questioning  a  lover's  fidelity  in 
"Gather  Up  Your  Wings  and  Fly."  Duffy's  percolating 
Hammond  organ  (no  clichexl  sounds  of  the  '60s)  adds  a 
wonderful  component  to  these  songs,  especially  "Down 
but  Not  Yet  Out,"  giving  them  all  new-found  energy 
and  texture.  Easily  Felt's  best  record  to  that  point,  For- 
ever Breathes  the  Lonely  Word  is  unlike  anything  else 
in  the  group's  catalogue.  The  worthy  Rain  of  Crystal 
Spires  12-inch  matches  a  pair  of  LP  tracks  with  two 
quick  B-sides. 

After  that,  Felt  produced  a  couple  of  radically  dif- 
ferent EPs,  The  six-song  Poem  of  the  River,  produced 
in  the  main  by  Mayo  Thompson,  makes  good  use  of 


242 


jnJ  puno.  d>wn  the 

jusuis  ftw  a  rwh  ifaji  ^tjggssu 

the  Smith*  md  A/tec  Tlte 

Ark,  b>  Outline,  to  and  largely  4«.vus* 

tsc,  a  forgettabiv  that  ha*  two  songs 

*ith  locals,  an  and 

mo 

With  Thomas  over  to  a 

in  the  fold,  Fell  the  Pfc- 

"quickly  on  *"  T*o 

of  Duffy's 

on  the  EP  t  fill  one 

concise  Lawrence  to  on  the  re- 

verse. Resembling  a  stepped-down  of 

Breathes,  those  Lawrence's 

fixation  f  net  the 

cisely  Dylanesque  "How  Spook  Got  Her  Man"  and 
"Don't  Die  on  My  Dootstep,"  which  Bob  and 

Lou  together)  suggest  the  early  Velvet  Underground*  s 
lighter,  melodic  side. 

Gary  Ainge  f  vibes,  drums)  and  Martin  Duffy  (pi- 
ano) are  the  only  Feltists  credited  on  Train  the 
City,  although  Lawrence  accepts  responsibility  for  ti- 
tling seven  of  their  eight  jazz  instrumentals  thai  com- 
prise the  record.  Sort  of  a  follow-up  to  Let  the  Snakes 
Crinkle  Their  Heads  to  Death,  this  is  a  perfectly  fine 
cocktail-hour  detour  but,  given  Lawrence's  noa- 
participatioE,  hardly  an  essential  purchase. 

Beautifully  produced  by  Adrian  Borland,  Me  and  t 
Monkey  0w  the  Moon  is  a  full-fledged  album  of 
sprightly,  unstylized  pop  songs  handsomely  performed 
by  Duffy  (mostly  playing  electronic  keyboards),  Ainge, 
a  bassist  and  two  new  guitarists  (one  of  whom  adds  a 
neat  country  steel  accent  to  several  cuts).  Lawrence's 
songs  are  exceptional,  revealing  autobiographical  notes 
and  sensitive  contemplations  of  personal  issues.  Beyond 
the  album's  tender  love  songs,  "Down  an  August  Path** 
considers  mortality  and  faith;  4 'Budgie  Jacket*'  recalls 
an  episode  of  child  molestation  ( "He  thought  that  I  was 
a  little  girl/Because  I  looked  so  pretty"),  while  "Mobile 
Shack"  acknowledges  the  inspirational  power  of  Tele- 
vision. As  it  proved  to  be  the  band's  swansong,  Me  and 
a  Monkey  oro  tfoe  Moon  ends  Felt  on  a  superb  high 
note. 

Format  complications:  a  1988  Creation  CD  unites 
Poem  of  the  River  and  Forever  Breathes  the  Lonely 
Word,  a  1986  UK  Cherry  Red  CD  and  cassette  joins 
Crumbling  the  Antiseptic  Beauty  and  The  Splendour 
of  Fear,  the  Strange  Idols  Pattern  cassette  and  CD 
also  include  Ignite  the  Seven  Cannons,  The  Pktoral 
Jackson  Review  is  likewise  joined  with  Train  Above 
the  City.  The  20-track  Buhhleguin  Perfume  is  a  post- 
humous compilation.  [cpi/i] 


BRYAN  FERRY 

These  Foolish  Things  (Atlantic)  1 973  * 
Another  Time,  Another  Place  {Atlantic)  1 974  * 
Let's  Stick  Together  (Atlantic)  1976  • 
Extended  Play  EP  (fir/Island)  1976 
In  Your  Mind  (Atlantic)  1 977  • 
The  Bride  Stripped  Bare  (Atlantic)  1 978  • 
Boys  and  Girls  (Warner  Bros.)  1 985  • 
Windswept  EP  (nr/EG-Polydor)  1985 


lit®  Na  m  ,  5  f  87  » 

left  Sfctk  I?  1 90S  * 

Tf»          cf          SP  WSG-VVjpni  » 

Ke'fi          to  Go  I?  *  • 

t'mv'iG}  *989  £ 

life-  20  tifs 

The  • 

»a%e%  of  review  $„ 

the  viYtCs  of  Roxy  Mu\:c  h;&  s*ik>  as  an 

it  trt  feis 

as          Masse          m  of  «x,»»te<u:e  ta  iht 

the  ^nurdhvjkiRg         hi  cnc* 
fcus  hjd  h**r-r&&h;n£  stvf*st;c  :ni^aepc«r 

at  tola  sc*  -ij^^nua  to  the  ccfttrar>, 

let          PCM  <«  the  wav  for 
to  "be  ." 

A  shocking          %OT  Ri  ^>  Md^ic*  hip 
(with  the  Accee.  on  rocks 

th*  dit^nc*.  the  s 

and  F%.n>*s  suavely 

I  For  a  of  obvious  this  gap 

over  the  ytars  to  the          of 
ability,  J  With  a  that 

drummer  Pan!  a^         as  Bd* 

die  Jobion,  Ferry  his  way 

ing  '60s  as          Dylan's  %*A 

A-Gottna  Fall"  the  "You  Won't  See  Me"  and 

the  Stones*  ^ Sympathy  for  the  Devil M 
this  waipecl  70s  but 

Another  Time,  Anottier  ifae 

drawing  on  various  for  like  "The  *!R* 

Crowd,"  **You  Are  My  SiinsMne,"  "It  Ain't  Me 
Babe"  and  **Smoke  Gets  in  Your  Eyes,"  Only  the  title 
song  is  an  original. 

For  Let's  Stick  Together,  Ferry  Into  the 

vaults  and  selected  five  Roxy  Music  songs  (four 
the  band's  first  LP)  and  did  something  with  them:  recot 
the  vocals,  presented  alternate  versions  or  simply  re- 
edited/remixed  the  tracks.  Some  of  ttese  fine,  but 
a  ftinlced-ep  "Re-Make/Re-Modef'  is  too  revisionist  for 
words.  The  record  is  fleshed  out  with  a  brace  of  neat 
new  covers,  including  the  wonderful  title  track,  "Shame 
Shame  Shame"  and  the  Everiy  Brothers*  <4Price  of 
Love."  A  strange  assemblage  with  some  janing  con- 
trasts; still.  Let's  Stick  Togetlier  has  more  great  tacks 
than  any  of  Ferry's  other  solo  records,  (The  CD^3  EP 
that  followed  contains  four  album  cuts,  incJudiDg  "The 
Price  of  Love"  and  "Shame  Sfeause  Shame";  the  sob- 
sequent  12-mch  has  two  substitutions.) 

In  Your  Mmd,  produced  during  a  period  of  Roxy 
inactivity,  is  Ferry's  first  "normal"  solo  album — all  of 
the  material  is  new  and  original— but,  bereft  of  a  gim- 
mick and  lacking  the  involvement  of  his  usual  collabo- 
rators, falls  sticct  of  Ferry's  best  work.  Despite  a  few 
good  tunes  ("This  Is  Tomorrow/*  "Tokyo  Joe"),  the 
bland  sound  allows  little  of  Ferry's  brilliance  to  shine 
through,  and  the  writing  is  not  up  to  snuff. 

Inspired  by  his  bioken  romance  with  onetime  Roxy 
LP  cover  model  Jerry  Hall,  Tlte  Bride  Stripped  Bare  is 
Fetry  at  his  most  emotionally  translucent.  The  hybrid 
approach — half  new  originals,  half  appropriate 
revivals — and  backing  by  a  new  coterie  of  unstylish 


243 


session  pros  (including  Waddy  Wachtel,  Neil  Hubbard 
and  Alan  Spenner)  make  it  radically  different  in  both 
construction  and  sound.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  intensely 
gripping  ("Sign  of  the  Times,"  Lou  Reed's  "What 
Goes  OB");  others  are  subtler  and  less  rewarding.  A 
mixed  success. 

When  Roxy  Music  finally  ceased  to  exist,  Ferry's 
solo  career  took  on  new  significance.  Unfortunately,  his 
own  music  is  not  that  different  from  end-time  Roxy 
Music:  perfectionist  studio  technique  and  seamless  pro- 
duction of  songs  that  are  at  best  bland  and  frequently 
lifeless.  Despite  its  extraordinarily  sleek  veneer.  Boys 
and  Girls  (dedicated  to  Ferry's  late  father)  is  so  short 
on  tunes  that  several  of  the  numbers  rely  on  fatiguing 
one-note  vamps  to  carry  them  along.  Exceptional  lyrics 
might  allow  one  to  overlook  such  inadequacy,  but 
there's  nothing  much  happening  on  that  front,  either. 
It*s  impossible  to  dislike  the  album  with  any 
enthusiasm — considerable  care,  thought  and  effort  ob- 
viously went  into  its  creation — still,  the  lack  of  even  a 
trace  of  extremism  or  subversiveness  is  unforgivable. 

The  similarly  restrained  B£te  Notre  confirms  that 
palatable  adult  music  is  Ferry's  future.  That  wonderful 
voice  has  become  the  only  important  ingredient;  what 
he's  singing  doesn't  seem  so  important  anymore.  But 
this  record's  better  melodic  development  and  a  wider 
variety  of  danceable  tempos  than  on  Boys  and  Girls  are 
palpable  signs  of  life;  the  involvement  of  ex-Smiths  gui- 
tarist Johnny  Marr  as  a  player  and  the  co-writer  of  one 
near-exciting  song  ("The  Right  Stuff")  is  another  pos- 
itive touch.  All  things  considered,  "Limbo,'*  "Kiss  and 
Tell"  and  "Day  for  Night"  are  coolly  inviting  and  lik- 
able enough,  given  the  diminished  expectations  one  now 
brings  to  Bryan  Ferry  albums. 

With  no  new  music  forthcoming,  Ferry's  British  la- 
bel began  issuing  old/retrospective  items.  The  Let's 
Stick  Together  EP  is  available  as  a  remix  on  CD-3  and 
CD-5  (with  totally  different  accompanying  tracks)  as 
well  as  12-inch  vinyl  (also  different);  the  Price  of  Love, 
another  remix,  comes  on  CD-3  and  12-inch,  both  with 
alternate  mixes  of  "Don't  Stop  the  Dance"  and  two 
additional  items. 

Street  Life  is  a  poorly  annotated  two-record  career 
retrospective:  twenty  songs  drawn  from  Roxy  Music  as 
well  as  solo  releases,  stretching  from  "Virginia  Plain" 
to  Boys  and  Girls*  "Slave  to  Love."  Also  combining 
Roxy  and  pre-Bdte  Noire  Ferry  tracks,  Ultimate  Col- 
lection adds  a  new  mix  of  "Let's  Stick  Together"  to  a 
skimpier  overlapping  selection.  The  1989  release  enti- 
tled Bryan  Ferry  is  a  boxed  set  of  These  Foolish 
Things,  Let's  Stick  Together  and  Boys  and  Girls. 

See  also  Roxy  Music.  [i] 

FETCH1N  BONES 

Cabin  Flounder  (DB)  1 985  • 
Bad  Pumpkin  (DB-Capitol)  1 986 
Galaxy  500  (Capitol)  1987  * 
Monster  (Capitol)  1 989  * 

SKEETERS 

Wine,  Women  and  Walleye  (DB)  1 988  • 

Like  the  sublimely  seedy  roadside  joints  of  Ameri- 
ca's rural  South — where  you  can  shoot  pool,  buy  fishing 
worms  and  have  your  lawnmower  repaired  all  in  the 
same  room — Fetchin  Bones  are  dedicated  to  the  sort  of 


unexpected  variety  that  somehow  seems  to  work.  OR 
their  debut  album,  the  North  Carolina  quintet  an 

exciting  mix  of  revved-up  rock,  country  twang,  folk, 
blues  and  swing*  driving  it  all  home  with  unrestrained 
energy  and  unpolished  charm.  The  crazed  quaver  in 
singer  Hope  Nicholls'  voice  provides  the  heart  of  the 
Bones'  sound;  three  songs  without  her  lead  vocals  arc 
the  album's  weakest  cuts.  Producer  Don  Dixon  admi- 
rably translates  the  group's  wild-eyed  persona  to  vinyl, 
but  this  is  a  band  that  must  be  seen  live  for  a  full  grasp 
of  their  eclectic  frenzy.  Delightfully  different  graduates 
of  the  R.E.M. -inspired  school  of  Southern  pop.  (The 
CD  and  cassette  add  three  tracks.) 

Although  docked  a  few  fun  points  for  a  lack  of  fo- 
cus, Bad  Pumpkin  basically  stays  the  course,  with 
equally  direct  Dixon  production,  rough-hewn  playing, 
strong  original  songs  and  more  inspired  NichoIIs  war- 
bling. Gary  White's  spicy  guitar  work  and  bassist  Danna 
Pentes*  violin  contributions  provide  a  lot  of  the  instru- 
mental flavor;  Marc  Mueller  keeps  things  moving  along 
at  a  brisk  pace  with  lickety-split  country  dramming. 

The  self-assured  spunk  of  Galaxy  500  is  immedi- 
ately evident;  a  lineup  shift  (Mueller  and  White  are 
gone,  replaced  by  Clay  Richardson  and  Errol  Stewart) 
also  contributes  to  the  clear  and  feverish  dynamo.  The 
Bones'  control  is  clearly  demonstrated  by  the  juxtapo- 
sition of  the  wikfn'funky  "Sammy"  with  the  sweeping 
prettiness  of  "Steamwhistle."  Alternating  between  a 
guttural  growl,  a  delicate  folk  sensibility  and  a  half- 
dozen  other  voices,  Nicholls  is  a  commanding  vocalist; 
the  songs  rise  and  fall  strictly  on  her  sing-so.  (The  CD 
adds  six  tracks.) 

Monster  proved  to  be  Fetchin  Bones*  last  hurrah, 
and  it's  a  bang-up  finale.  With  Ed  Stasium's  powerful 
but  disciplined  production  lending  new  focus  to  the 
band's  brashly  metallic  lurch,  Monster  is  simulta- 
neously the  Bones'  most  commercial  album  and  their 
best.  Nicholls  has  never  sounded  more  inspired  or  pos- 
sessed, frantically  spitting  out  the  likes  of  "Love 
Crushin*,"  "Bonework"  and  "Say  the  Word"  with  a 
renewed  sense  of  purpose.  Indeed,  Monster's  best  mo- 
ments suggest  that,  if  they'd  been  inclined  to  stick 
around,  Fetchin  Bones  might  have  carved  themselves  a 
niche  playing  heavy  metal  for  people  with  a  sense  of 
humor.  (Following  the  split,  several  ex-Bones  reorga- 
nized as  Second  Skin.) 

On  their  own,  Mueller  and  White  formed  the 
Skeeters  with  bassist  Marco  Heeter  and  issued  Wine, 
Women  and  Walleye,  a  charmingly  ragged  rock/pop/ 
folk-rock  record  produced  by  Tim  Lee.  White's  Neil 
Young-ish  guitar  solos  spiff  up  intriguing  material  with 
a  smartass  streak  that  surfaces  in  tunes  like  "Slummin" 
and  "Center  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,"  There's  even 
a  raving  surf-twang  instrumental  number  called  "Porno 
Rock."  Neat.  [kh/i/hd] 


FIELDS  OF  THE  NEPHIL1M 

Burning  the  Fields  EP  (nr/Tower)  1985  (nr/Situotion  Two) 

1987 

Returning  to  Gehenna  EP  (nr/Jungle)  1 986 
Dawnrazor  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1 987  • 
The  Nephilim  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1988  • 
EHzium  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 990  • 
Earth  Inferno  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 991  • 


244 


Although  thev        J'r<?ni  Sievenjge  i  a  ;<n*n 

of  London  t,  :o  H  anil 

music,  amid 

i>ut  of  a  western,  and 

spurs  clicking.  The  band's  is  Sifters 

of  Mcrc>  and  Ennio  Momconc;  dark,  vtv 

ca*s  coiled  a  layered         of 

gUlt4T&. 

the  is  a  EP;  to 

mixes  then-current  singles        B-sides, 
of  them  later  to  the  UK  CD  of  the  quintet's 

first  full-length  is  an  cre- 

ation, with  ("Slowkill,"  the  title 

I,  but  the  Sisters'  is  so  that  if 

to  overshadow  the  Nephs*  qualities.  fTbe  US 

version  of  the  LP  excises  "Reanhnator," 

non-LP  British  singles,  including  "Blue  Water/*) 

The  Neptiillm  is  a  magnum  forward  to  a  less 

derivative,  more  atmospheric  sound.  Reminiscent  in 
spots  of  early  Pink  Floyd  and  Joy  Division,  the 
voiced  songs  arc  much  longer  aid  imbued  with  a  cine- 
matic, soundtrack-like  feel,  hitting  fill  stride  on  the 
solemn  epic  "Last  Exit  for  the  Lost"  and  the 
"Chord  of  Souls." 

A  12-inch  harbinger  of  the  next  album  (the  CD  of 
which  contains  it),  1989's  ambitious  "Psychonaut"  Is  a 
nine-minute  psychedelic  wash  of  icy  organ  and  pulsing 
beats.  Smoother  than  The  Nepfeitim,  with  no  traces  of 
the  early  western  flavor,  Eliziiiiii  tantalizes  the  senses 
with  a  headful  of  dreamlike  sounds,  coming  to  a  peak  in 
44 Wail  of  Sumer,"  the  best  song  they've  recorded  to 
date.  Carl  McCoy's  singing  has  mellowed — he  sounds 
like  a  burnt,  brooding  Jim  Ken — and  the  choirlike  ef- 
fects instill  a  sense  of  palpable  awe.  [gef] 


FIELD  TRIP 

Beautiful  (Ruby)  1989 
Headgear  (Stash)!  990  • 

It  must  be  tough  growing  up  post-modern  in  a  place 
called  Pleasanton,  but  these  four  young  Northern  Cali- 
fomians  don't  seem  to  have  been  ruined  by  the  experi- 
ence. On  Beautiful,  singing  rites-of-passage  originals 
like  "Coming  of  Age, "  "No  Friends'*  and  "Where  Did 
I  Go  Wrong?"  in  a  character-filled  voice,  guitarist/ 
songwriter  Jim  Galbraith  orients  the  rocking  pop  band 
towards  Minneapolis,  although  his  mandolin  playing 
and  a  guest  harmonica  spot  make  it  clear  that  Held  Trip 
is  headed  somewhere  else.  The  record  is  a  bit  wet  be- 
hind the  ears,  but  full  of  scruffy  promise. 

Despite  the  orthodontic  cover,  Headgear  is  a 
grown-up  album  with  better  material,  adult  concerns, 
confident  melodic  power  and  a  clarified  set  of  influ- 
ences. Some  songs  set  a  course  towards  the  Meat  Pup- 
pets; elsewhere,  the  group  deftly  incorporates  country 
accents  with  brisk  enthusiasm  and  nifty  three-part  har- 
mony. With  fine  playing  and  tunes  that  make  last  Mends 
on  one  spin.  Headgear  is  a  delight.  [i] 


FIGURES  ON  A  BEACH 

Swimming  EP  (Metro-America)  1 983 
Standing  on  Ceremony  (I  Square-Sire)  1987 
Rgures  on  a  Beach  (I  Square-Sire)  1989  • 


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of  rpCrtXin.n^,  I*R«>  trici    5  frAts  fe*p* 

nui^e  HarJ  to  ca>%  »% ,  V«"»L  F*  ^**f  th  .A  o  thw 

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/ed   Sinp«.  MiR4^  ^A  the 

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Ultmox  and 

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a  bit 
are  obviously  skilltd  and  but  the        had 

on 
White  the  st>h*tic  are  still 

on  on  a  the 

of  the  group's  flip  set          in  A 

rtly  01 

of  the  hooky          are  and  snl> 

Kaczyn%ki's  delivery  ase 

of  the  ironically  H,rioas  lynch.  The 
here  is  a  pounding  01 

Turner  Overfnve's  *4Y0«  Ain't  Yet"  that 

seems  on  as  i  pj 

FINE  YOUNG  CANNIBALS 

Bms  Young  CanfAcik  (IRS)  1 985  * 
The  Raw  &  the  Cooked  (fRS)  1989  • 
The  Raw  &  the  Remk  ftRS-MCAJ  1990  4> 

FactlcMalisin  led  to  the  of  the  Beat; 

when  the  two  mainniai  Genoa!  Public,  the  cA- 

ers  locked  set  to  lade  from  sight.  But  the 
by  guitarist  Andy  Cox  and  Dmwl  Steefc,  joined 

by  fine  young  vocalist  Roland  Gift,  has  proven  a  con* 
mercialfy  propitious  venture.  Fine  Y©wig  Cmmiyai& 
approaches  modern  R&B  md  soil  from  a  number  of 
fresh  rock  perspectives,  but  it's  really  Giff  s  Motown* 
ish,  richly  emotional  vocals  that  ignite  origii^s  ifce 
4tJohimy  Come  Home"  and  "Don't  Ask  Me  to 
Choose,"  as  well  as  ft  rousing  cover  of  Elvis  Ptesky's 
*  ^Suspicious  Minds. '  * 

Following  that  first  album,  the  band  tamed  to  film 
projects.  Gift  played  prominent  dramatic  roles  in  19S7's 
Sammy  and  Rosie  Get  Laid  and  1989's  Scandak  me 
entire  band  contributed  an  annoying  imsiBtserpretatioii  of 
the  Buzzcocks*  "Ever  Fallen  in  Love"  (late  recycled 
for  the  band's  second  album)  to  S^omMmg  WiM.  Mean- 
while, as  Gift  was  off  malang  like  a  movie  star,  Steele 
and  Cox  whipped  up  a  h$|$t~teii  daaceable  side  project 
calted  2  Men  a  Dram  Machine  &  a  Trumpet,  releasing 
a  1988  IRS  12-inch,  "Tked  of  Getting  Pushed 
Around." 

Opening  with  the  distinctive  drum/guitar  intro  of 
"She  Drives  Me  Crazy,"  The  Raw  &  the  Cooked 
plucked  FYC  oat  of  me  alternative  trenches  and  seat  the 
trio  spiralling  up  the  charts.  Another  crafty  salad  of 


245 


pseudo-Motown  soul  and  contemporary  dance  rock,  the 
album  topped  the  charts,  sold  more  than  three  million 
copies  and  bagged  a  Grammy  nomination.  Although  the 
songs  are  structurally  solid  and  melodically  appealing, 
the  arrangements  are  diabolical,  favoring  monotonous 
grooves,  with  a  relentless  synthesized  dram  thwack  and 
robotic  guitar  scrubbing.  Add  in  the  fatigue  factor  of 
Gift's  mannered  Prince-Iy  falsetto,  and  The  Raw  &  the 
Cooked  starts  to  grate  well  before  the  second  song 
starts.  The  delightful  '60s  jump  of  **Good  Thing"  and 
the  swoony  '50s  swing  of  "Tell  Me  What*'  provide 
respite  from  the  album's  tick-tock  tempos,  but  "Ever 
Fallen  in  Love"  ends  it  in  on  a  headache  high. 

No  doubt  moved  by  FYC's  success  as  well  as  the 
trio's  sluggardly  production  pace,  the  record  company 
assembled  a  remix  album  that  offers  two  versions  each 
of  "She  Drives  Me  Crazy,"  "I'm  Not  the  Man  I  Used 
to  Be'*  and  "I'm  Not  Satisfied,'*  as  well  as  solitary 
danceable  overhauls  of  * 'Good  Thing,"  "Johnny  Come 
Home"  and  others.  Unlike  many  such  cash-ins,  The 
Raw  &  the  Remix  offers  significant  variations  on  the 
original  tracks,  with  added  raps  (by  Monie  Love  on 
"She  Drives  Me  Crazy")  and  major  stylistic  adjust- 
ments (Nellee  Hooper  and  lazzie  B  put  the  Soul  II  Soul 
stamp  on  one,  "I'm  Not  the  Man  I  Used  to  Be,"  while 
Smith  &  Mighty  do  a  dub  dissection  on  another).  The 
CD  and  cassette  add  two  more,  including  a  "Mayhem 
Rhythm  Remix"  of  2  Men's  "Tired  of  Getting  Pushed 
Around."  [i] 

See  also  (English)  Beat. 

FiNGERPRlNTZ 

The  Very  Dab  (Virgin  Infi)  1 979 
Distinguishing  Marks  (Virgin)  1 980 
Beat  Noir(Stfff)  1981 

JACQUI  BROOKES 

Sob  Stories  (MCA)  1 984 

It's  difficult  to  categorize  Fingerprintz,  which  may 
explain  why  the  group  never  garnered  a  large  following. 
The  primitively  recorded  first  album  occupies  a  dark, 
throbbing  zone  of  bobbing  pop  and  wry-to-bizaire  lyrics 
("Punchy  Judy,"  "Beam  Me  Up  Scotty").  Leader/ 
guitarist  Jimme  O'Neill's  Scottish  accent  and  offbeat 
songwriting  combine  to  chilling  effect  on  the  cnme- 
obsessed  narratives  ' 'Fingerprince' '  and  "Wet  Job' ' ;  the 
former's  music  also  suggests  a  valid  response  to  reggae/ 
dub  influence. 

The  considerably  slicker  Distinguishing  Marks,  in 
contrast,  is  pure  pop  in  extremis — musically,  anyway. 
The  songs  hum  like  a  finely  tuned  motor,  with  producer 
Nick  Garvey  removing  any  rough  sonic  edges.  Only  the 
relentlessly  perverse  lyrics  betray  a  refusal  to  play  by 
the  book;  O'Neill's  disjointed  visions  are  inspired  by 
pulp  fiction,  police  blotters  and  hospital  charts.  A  catchy 
collection  that  all  sounds  like  hit  single  material. 

Beat  Noir  took  yet  another  ISO-degree  turn,  away 
from  pop  and  towards  a  rock/funk  fusion.  Finally  in 
synch  with  the  times,  Fingerprintz  delivered  a  stunning, 
idiosyncratic  package  of  heavy  bass  lines,  winsome  mel- 
odies and  O'Neill's  thematic  fetishes  (paranoia,  frustra- 
tion). The  album  was  kinky  enough  to  catch  on  in  rock 
clubs,  but  too  peculiar  to  reach  a  broader  audience.  (The 
US  version  deletes  two  songs.)  Drenched  hi  atmo- 
sphere, it  remains  a  compelling  work. 


O'Neill  subsequently  co-wrote,  co-produced  and 
played  on  an  excellent  album  by  singer  Jacqui  Brookes 
before  launching  Ms  new  group,  the  Silencers.  Drum- 
mer Bogdan  Wiczling  (no  longer  dubbed  Bob  Shilling, 
as  on  The  Very  Dab)  worked  on  that  record  as  well* 
and  later  toured  and  recorded  with  Adam  Ant.  fsi] 

See  also  Silencers. 

KAREN  FINLEY 

The  Truth  Is  Hard  to  Swallow  (Pow  Wow)  1 988 

Controversial  New  York  performance  artist  Finley 
comes  on  like  a  nutty  pornographic  Mark  E.  Smith  on 
one  side  of  her  album,  which  puts  music  of  widely 
varying  sorts  (raga-rock,  semi-industrial  funk,  hip-hop, 
African  chorale,  etc.)  under  her  obsessive  sexual  rants. 
("The  Constant  State  of  Desire,"  a  live  1987 
recording — before  a  mildly  appreciative  audience — of  a 
solo  piece,  completes  the  album.)  Finley's  work  is 
strong  stuff  of  arguable  artistic  merit,  but  she's  not  that 
far  removed  from  other  modem  verbal  extremists,  and 
there's  nothing  wrong  with  her  backing  tracks.  [i] 

TIM  FINN 

Escapade  (Oz-A&M)  1983 

Big  Canoe  (nr/V5rgin)  1986  (Virgin}  1988  • 

Tim  Finn  (Capitol)  1 989  • 

Singer  Tim  Finn  successfully  carved  out  an  identity 
distinct  from  his  band,  Split  Enz,  with  his  first  solo 
album,  Escapade.  On  his  own,  he's  milder,  sweeter 
and  more  conventional  (though  still  worth  the  time). 
The  precedent  for  Escapade  can  be  found  in  the  roman- 
tic grandeur  of  Split  Enz's  True  Colours'  "I  Hope  I 
Never."  One  track  here,  the  moving  "Not  for  Noth- 
ing," is  a  bona  fide  lump-in-the-throat  masterpiece. 

Apparently,  the  meager  sales  of  Escapade  were  a 
major  setback  to  Finn's  solo  career.  Released  in  Europe 
in  '86,  Big  Canoe  only  came  out  domestically  after 
brother  Neil  went  big-time  with  Crowded  House— and 
then  as  a  budget  LP.  Anyway,  it's  a  middling  effort, 
with  overproduction  and  mega-arrangements  (a  classic 
Split  Enz  weakness)  dulling  the  emotional  edge  of 
Finn's  bittersweet  crooning.  He's  still  boss  on  "Don't 
Bury  My  Heart,"  a  haunting  ballad,  and  the  lightheaded 
rocker  "Water  into  Wine." 

No  doubt  eager  to  emulate  brother  Neil's  success 
with  Crowded  House,  Tim  next  teamed  up  with  the 
same  label  and  producer  (Mitchell  Froom).  Despite  the 
overly  slick  presentation,  Tim  Finn  sometimes  hits  the 
mark,  especially  on  the  rowdy  "Birds  Swim  Fish  Fly" 
and  "Not  Even  Close,"  which  turns  self-pity  into  af- 
fecting melodrama.  What  Finn  really  needs  here, 
though,  is  an  editor/producer  willing  to  pare  these  smart 
songs  down  to  essentials,  not  one  who  will  continue  to 
encourage  his  weakness  for  excessive  ornamentation. 

In  late  '90,  Finn  took  the  plunge  and  joined  Crowded 
House  in  time  to  take  an  active  role  in  the  group's  third 
album.  [jy] 

See  also  Crowded  House,  Split  Enz. 

FIRE  ENGINES 

Lubricate  Your  Living  Room  (nr/Pop:  Aural)  1 980 
Aufgeladen  und  Bereft  fur  Action  und  Spass  (Past 
America)  1981 


246 


WIN 

Uhb!  Baby  (A  Trash  Icon}  1937 

(nr/V«rgm}  1 988  * 

Fire  the  of  the         Scot- 

crop  1979:  rock- 

'n'roll on  raw  (via          dm  and 

or 

The  ao  just 

fire  and 

Tte  group's  two  A  lot  of 

overlap:  the  American  with  the  title 

two  of  the  band's  catchier  the  pufitk-coimtty- 

ftavored  "CMidysMn"  (with  ridiculously 
strings)  and  "EverytMngs  Roses.'*  It  the 

tedious  "Lubricate  Your  Living  Room  Pi.  2"  with  the 
more  exciting  '"Meat  Whiplash.'*  Using 
without  regard  to  typical  pop  traditions,  the  bet 

ruggedly  handsome  Fire  Engines— a  Scottish  of 

the  Contortions  and  early  Television — will  and 

scratch  their  way  into  your  heart  if  you  let  them. 

Fire  Engines  guitarist  David  Henderson  and  key- 
boardist Russell  Bum  went  on  to  form  Win,  a  subver- 
sive sextet  that  brings  an  equally  iconoclastic  set  of 
wonderful  ideas  to  bear  on  soal-dance-jazz-pop.  (Imag- 
ine a  collaboration  between  Marc  Bolan  and  Prince  for 
a  hint  of  the  possibilities.)  Despite  a  superficially  slick 
and  accessible  exterior — complete  with  synthesizers,  fe- 
male backup  singers  and  samples — Win's  records  arc  as 
idiosyncratic  and  delightfully  unsettling  in  their  own 
way  as  the  old  group.  lgf/I3 


FIREHOSE 

Rogin',  Full-On  (SST)  1986* 

ifnfSST)1987* 

Sometimes  EP  (SST)  1988  • 

fROMOHIO(SST}1989» 

flyin'  the  Ronne!  (Columbia)  199]  * 

BOOTSTRAPPERS 

Bootetrappers  (New  Alliance)  1 989  * 

Bom  out  of  tragedy,  flREHOSE  began  after  the 
1985  death  of  Mkmtemen  guitarist  D.  Boon  in  a  car 
crash.  Knowing  there  was  no  way  to  recapture  Boon's 
burly  bluster,  bassist  Mike  Watt  and  drummer  George 
Hurley  didn't  try  to  find  someone  to  fill  those  iconoclas- 
tic shoes.  Instead,  they  recruited  another  kind  of  dude 
entirely  in  the  person  of  ed  fROMOHIO  (aka  Ed  Craw- 
ford). A  more  restrained  presence  than  the  raucous 
Boon,  not  to  mention  a  prettier  singer,  Ed  settled  right 
into  the  driver* s  seat  on  Ragin',  Fill-On.  This  bracing 
LP  jumps  all  over  the  map,  from  edgy  rockers  ("Choose 
Any  Memory")  to  absorbing  mood  pieces  ("The  Can- 
dle and  the  Flame")  to  acoustic  reveries  (**This  .  .  ."). 
First  note  to  last,  there's  a  prickly,  intangible  integrity 
to  the  band  that  the  restless  Boon  would  have  admired. 

On  iPn,  the  Hosers  are  more  self-assured,  more 
articulate  and  just  as  freewheeling.  Ed  really  steps  out 
on  the  propulsive  "Anger,"  an  unnerving  portrayal  of 
rage,  and  "For  the  Singer  of  REM,"  a  devastating  par- 
ody of  that  band.  Watt  gets  his  turn  at  the  mic,  too, 
delivering  an  amusingly  disjointed  rap  (following  Min- 
utemen  tradition,  he  calls  it  a  spiel)  on  "Me  &  You, 
Remembering."  Unpredictable  and  unpretentious, 
flREHOSE  has  the  exciting  aura  of  a  group  in  constant 


u>  foU  "*  f»e  M  AR> 

The  fern- 

t*o  8>f  f  Hit  vt         c*n  IPn. 

"Tm  TSL  ^ 

&  the  start  of 

wrkik  yet  folk 

t**Vastopo/'\  wi>  ,' 

Cets  Header*  >,  » "Whispenn*  While  Ho! 

"  U  *  K 

\  "Liberty  for  Our  Pne^f  * »,          a 
( "Let  the  *  I   4% 

to  flREHOSE  is  like  ou* »  &         be*t 

the  and 

Watt  and  tip 

for  the  Ite 

zest, 

the  |  No  seal  ^ast  Sots  cf 

Ijyl 
See  also  Dos, 

Word  Sctfac!  (UA)  1979  • 

Going  Deof  for  a  living  { UA)  1 980  • 

Red  SBes  Over  1981  • 

Reveal  (nr/Arisia)  1988  » 

Head  fw/Ansta)  1989  • 
Going  Red  for  a  fThe  UA  Yaan)  1990  * 

JOHN  WATTS 

One  Moro  Twfs*  f  nr/EMi  J 1 982 
Th«  fasbwg  McxW  frw/EM)  1983 

A  frequently  excellent  hut  widely  outfit, 

Fischer-Z  was  primarily  a  vehicle  for  John  Watts,  a 
singer/guitarist/soagwriter  whose  vocals  and 

semi-Eeiuotic  outlook  provided  its  character.  A  flair  for 
intricate  but  accessible  arrangements  and  novel  sabject 
matter  made  Fischer-Z  both  easy  to  like  and  haw!  to 
dismiss. 

Word  Sated,  produced  by  Mike  Hewlett  and  re- 
corded as  a  quartet,  dispkys  Watts  in  the  process  of 
searching  out  an  ego,  still  sharing  songwritsng,  credits 
and  vocal  chores  with  the  others.  It's  an  impressive 
debut  album,  full  of  great  songs,  fine  musIcitn&Mp  ad 
stylistic  variety,  all  colored  by  Watts*  reedy  voice. 

With  the  same  personnel  and  producer,  Going  Deaf 
for  a  Living  uses  a  sparer  sound,  downplaying  she  key- 
boards in  favor  of  Cars-like  simplicity,  best  exemplified 
on  **So  Long/*  An  odd  direction  for  a  second  rwoid, 
but  the  band's  attributes  remained  unchanged,  and  if  s 
as  good  as  the  first. 

Red  Skies  Over  Paradise  is  a  solo  album  waiting  for 
someone  to  inform  the  other  membefs  of  tite  group. 
Watts  co-produced,  played  the  keyboards  and  allowed 
his  songwriting  to  become  entirely  self-indulgent.  With 
a  serious  baritone  replacing  the  plaintive  tenor  (it's  al- 
ways a  bad  sign  when  singers  change  their  voices)  and 
no-nonsense  message  lyrics,  there's  alot  wrong  with  this 
disappointing  album,  despite  four  or  five  good  numbers. 

Not  surprisingly.  Watts  then  went  solo.  The  material 
on  One  More  Twist  is  a  bit  forced  and  clearly  less 
interesting  man  his  earlier  writing,  with  only  a  Torn 
Robinson-sounding  single,  "One  Vote/*  showing  any 
real  signs  of  life. 


247 


After  The  Iceberg  also  failed  to  ignite  his 

solo  career,  Watts  the  Flscher-Z  moniker— 

without  bothering  to  reform  the  original  banii— for  Re- 
veal and  Fish's  Head.  Though  discs  hardly 
amount  to  a  stunning  comeback,  each  contains  enough 
bright  moments  to  suggest  that  Watts  shouldn't  be 
counted  out  just  yet.  The  cleverly  titled  Going  Red  for 
a  Salad  is  an  ample  condensation  of  the  original  band's 
first  three  albums,  containing  about  half  of  each. 

[i/fad] 

FISH  & 

R$h  &  Roses  (Lost-Twtn/Tone)  1 987 

We  Are  Happy  to  Serve  You  f  Homestead)  1 989 

LES  BATTERIES 

Noisy  Champs  (Fr.  AYAA}  1 987 

Fish  &  Roses  just  may  be  the  friendliest-sounding 
band  that  can  trace  its  roots  back  to  NYC's  !ate-*70s  no 
wave  scene.  Formed  in  the  fall  of  1985  by  drummer 
Rick  Brown  (ex-Information,  V-Effect),  bassist  Sue 
Gamer  (ex- Vietnam,  Last  Round  Up)  and  keyboard 
player  David  Sutter,  Fish  &  Roses*  decision  to  eschew 
guitar  gives  the  material  a  feel  that  is  both  convoluted 
and  light.  While  the  group's  sound  can  be  compared  to 
Virginia's  Oithotoeics  or  France *s  Etron  Fou,  the  songs 
have  a  political  dimension  that  has  more  in  common 
with  the  Minutemen. 

Both  of  Fish  &  Roses'  records  are  excellent.  The 
full-length  We  Arc  Happy  to  Serve  You  (produced  by 
Thurston  Moore)  may  be  a  better  introduction  than  the 
seven-song  Fish  &  Roses,  since  it  includes  the  classic 
"Hillbilly  in  a  Can"  (Georgia-born  Gamer's  best  re- 
corded vocal  turn)  and  a  wide  selection  of  other  post- 
beat  hoot.  Those  looking  for  Rick  Brown's  coolest 
singing,  however,  are  advised  to  seek  out  Noisy 
Champs  by  Les  Batteries,  his  drum  trio  with  Etron 
Fou's  Guigou  Chenevier  and  Charles  Hayward  (of  Quiet 
Sun/This  Heat  fame).  On  this  singular  LP,  Rick  howls 
a  cover  of  Harry  Partch's  "The  Letter"  that  is  abso- 
lutely breathtaking.  [be] 

FISHBONE 

Fishbone  EP  (Columbia)  1985  • 

In  Your  Face  (Columbia)  1 986 

If s  a  Wonderful  Life  (Gonna  Have  a  Good  Time)  EP 

(Columbia)  1 987 

Truth  and  Soul  (Columbia)  1988  • 
Ma  and  Pa  EP  (nr/Epic)  1 989  • 
Benin'  in  the  Boneyard  EP  (Columbia)  1 990  • 
The  Reality  of  My  Surroundings  (Columbia)  1991  * 

One  of  America's  greatest  and  most  overlooked 
bands,  this  rowdy  gang  from  LA  specializes  in  ska  with 
overtones  of  go-go,  funk  and  rock.  (Imagine  George 
Clinton  producing  the  first  Beat  LP.)  On  the  Fishbone 
EP,  their  sense  of  humor  is  surpassed  only  by  the  six 
tracks'  non-stop  hyperkinetic  energy.  Whether  the  lyrics 
are  socially  relevant  ("Another  Generation"  and  espe- 
cially "Party  at  Ground  Zero")  or  just  plain  silly 
("Ugly"),  the  vim  and  vigor  level  is  maintained.  If  you 
can  sit  still  throughout  this,  you're  probably  dead. 

In  Your  Face  is  branded  with  a  then-uncommon 
"EXPLICIT  LYRICS— PARENTAL  ADVISORY" 


warning,  but  the  real  warning  should  be  to  fans,  With 
David  Kahne's  inappropriately  slick  production,  tbe 
band  mellowed  out  considerably  for  their  debut  long- 
player.  Nothing  wrong  with  trying  a  new  direction,  but 
several  cuts  here  are  just  MOR  soul-rock,  and  that's 
simply  not  what  this  bunch  is  cut  out  to  play.  The  lyncs 
are  nowhere,  too — the  promising  title  "Post  Cold  War 
Politics"  is  an  instrumental .  Back  to  the  drawing  board. 

It's  a  Wonderful  Life,  also  produced  by  Kahne,  is 
a  Christmas  EP  that  puts  a  casual  ho-ho-ho  twist  in  your 
stocking.  The  title  tone  is  actually  the  least  interesting  of 
the  four  gratuitous  charmers;  the  soulful  disenchantment 
of  "Slick  Nick,  You  Devil  You"  ("Spilling  Jack 
Daniels  all  over  the  drapes/Tattoos  on  his  arms  and 
knees/I  never  thought  Santa  Claus  would  be  such  a 
sleaze")  and  the  ftinked-out  "lust  Call  Me  Scrooge" 
are  the  real  winners.  A  welcome  gift  to  cheer  up  any 
celebration. 

Shot  in  the  foot  by  a  poor  sequencing  job  and  a 
baffled  record  company,  the  brilliant  Truth  and  Soul 
should  have  been  Fishbone's  breakthrough.  While  the 
first  side  is  distinguished  only  by  a  scorching  metallic 
cover  of  Curtis  Mayfield's  "Freddie's  Dead,"  the  sec- 
ond half  is  a  dazzling  grand-slam  of  the  band's  vibrant 
stylistic  array.  From  the  party  anthem  "Bonin'  in  the 
Boneyard"  to  the  scalding  anti-racist  "Slow  Bus 
Movin'  (Howard  Beach  Party),"  the  near-hardcore  of 
"Subliminal  Fascism"  to  the  soulful  "Ghetto  Sound- 
wave" and  the  acoustic  (!)  racial-unity  ballad 
"Change,"  it  updates  and  rivals  Sly's  finest  work. 

Abortive  sessions  produced  by  the  Jungle  Brothers 
figure  prominently  in  the  Bonin'  EP,  which  couples  two 
radical  revisions  (one  of  them  completely  X-rated)  of 
the  two-year-old  title  track  with  three  insane  B-sides, 

Over  a  year  in  the  making  (eighteen  engineers  are 
credited),  the  sprawling  Reality  of  My  Surroundings 
reprises  much  of  Truth  and  Soul's  spirit  and  sound,  but 
is  far  more  ambitious  in  scope  and  philosophy.  Utilising 
the  format  of  a  rap  album  (lots  of  mini-songs  and  chatter 
between  the  longer  ones),  Fishbone  tackles  even  more 
styles  than  before:  while  their  characteristic  punkfunk- 
rockska  is  prominent,  the  band  also  explores  Sly  Stone- 
land  ("Everyday  Sunshine"),  Funkadelia  ("Behavior 
Control  Technician")  and  even  psychedelic  territory 
( "Those  Days  Are  Gone"),  finishing  the  album  off  with 
the  brilliant  "Sunless  Saturday,"  which  manages  to  be 
the  band's  most  radio-ready  single  and  one  of  its  most 
poignant  lyrics  to  date  ("I  see  the  shards  of  shattered 
dreams  in  my  street/I  face  the  morning  with  my  custom- 
ary sigh").  And  although  Kahne  carries  an  associate 
producer  credit,  most  of  the  production  (and  all  of  the 
songwriting)  was  done  by  the  band.  Once  again,  they 
sequenced  the  best  tracks  towards  the  end  but,  despite 
the  occasional  misfire,  Reality  is  Fishbone's  best  and 
most  important  album  yet. 

While  the  septet's  manic  stage  act  belies  the  mem- 
bers' considerable  talents  as  musicians,  Fish  (Phillip 
Fisher)  is  the  group's  secret  weapon.  A  soulful  blend  of 
Charlie  Watts,  Keith  Moon  and  assorted  great  jazz 
drummers,  he's  guested  on  tracks  by  Little  Richard  and 
Bob  Dylan.  Various  'Bones  have  stomped,  yelled  or 
blown  on  records  by  Jane's  Addiction,  Keith  Levene, 
Thelonious  Monster  and  the  Red  Hot  Chili  Peppers. 

[dgs/i/ja] 


248 


See  Kids 


• 
the  1 983  • 

1 987  • 

• 

Hits:  One  Thing  to  • 

Ink  (bnpod-MCA)  1991  * 

like  a 

Synth-heavy  of  the 

early  '80s,  London's  Fixx  the  Fix), 

immeasurably  for  a        by  Mine's  abil- 

ity to  sculpt  their  and  uncover 

have  to  suc- 

cessful, regularly  drawing  a  of  hits 

etch  album.  Shuttered  Room  "Red  Skies"  and 

*  'Stand  or  Fall  *  * ;  Reach  the  "One  Thing 

Leads  to  Another"  and  "Saved  by  Zero"; 
has  "Are  We  Ourselves?"  Showing  remarkable  consis- 
tency, they  are  all  equally  unpleasant  and  trivial.  (Not 
too  surprisingly,  the  Fixx's  American  success  has  been 
met  by  nearly  total  UK  indifference. ) 

React,  a  "greatest  hits  live"  package,  contains  per- 
formances, recorded  at  two  late- 1 986  Canadian  shows, 
of  every  one  of  those  songs,  plus  three  especially 
wretched  new  studio  cuts.  One  Thing  Leads  to  An* 
other  also  includes  the  original  versions  of  those  mem- 
orable tunes  (except  that  '*Startd  or  Fall'*  is  live)  and 
more,  several  in  alternate  mixes.  The  rock-oriented 
Calm  Animals,  the  Fixx's  first  album  for  a  new  label, 
has  no  songs  worth  mentioning. 

Returning  to  its  former  corporate  home  after  a  three- 
year  recording  hiatus,  the  Fixx  raised  guitar's  rote  on 
Ink,  managing  a  fair  INXS  impression  in  spots  but  oth- 
erwise doing  what  the  group  has  always  done  with  no 
significant  evidence  of  either  fatigue  or  imagination. 

[i] 

FLAG  OF  CONVENIENCE 

Life  on  the  Telephone  EP  (PVQ  1982 

FOC 

Should  I  Ever  Go  Deaf  EP  (nr/MCM)  1 987 
Northwest  Skyline  (nr/MCM)  1987 
War  on  the  Wireless  Set  (MCM  America)  1 988 
Exiles  EP  (nr/MCM)  1988 

When  Pete  Shelley  disbanded  the  Buzzcocks  in 
March  1981,  guitarist  Steve  Diggle  and  drummer  John 
Maher  formed  Hag  of  Convenience,  Diggie  had  played 
the  Dave  Davies  role  in  the  group — writing  and  singing 
his  two  or  three  songs  per  LP,  getting  an  occasional 
A-side,  and  improving  all  the  while — so  it  was  logical 
for  him  to  cany  on  the  Buzzcocks'  frantic,  ambitious 
pop  as  Shelley  opted  for  techno-blip  dance  music. 
Sadly,  they  labored  long  in  obscurity,  releasing  only 
four  singles  between  1981  and  *86. 

Life  on  the  Telephone,  a  US  12-inch  with  two  ver- 
sions of  the  title  track  and  a  pair  of  other  songs,  is 


ttee  K» 

a 

on  the  Set, 

*81-"S6  <  jr&H  one  45,  **Ne%( 

?»  ES  imt  the        of 

the 
y"  is  a  * 

km  The  real  is 

of  M>  Mmd,"  one  of  fey 

of  the  4  sass  )  for  thai 

HP,  WAS  the  up, 

"Back  of  My  Mind"  I  as  IB  Mjr 

and  ted  she 

1  that  was  1110  Ms 

quit  '86,  bat  en 

the  PQC  as  his 

first  real  I  sits  in  on  p 

War  on  the 

on 

as  and 

Skyline"  and  in  My 

arc 

sivc.  I  All  on  1  Ever  C®          are 

on  ) 

la  1988,  a 

band,  including  Gary  Couzens,  of  a 

then-unknown  (he 

had  left  after  one  single,  **$Q  Voting" ),  on 
tar.  The  resulting  EP  over  the  rest  of 

FOCs  canon.  Virtually  i  thai 

was,  "Exiles"          a  "Borecksm^-styk 
into  a  furious  verse  and  a  piiedriving  chorus.  A 
powered  hit  heard  by  few,  it  proved  that  the  writer  of 
"Fast  Cars**  and  **Harmoriy  in  My  Head*'  was  still 
capable  of  greatness.  The  HP's  three  are 

nearly  as  good. 

Ignored  by  the  press  and  ifee  public,  the 
guitarist  changed  Ms  bumfs  name  to  Btizzcocks  FOC, 
after  a  massive  Paris  concert  was  unexpectedly  adver- 
tised imder  Ac  past/present  moniker,  Wten  the  recturis- 
tened  group  issued  a  single  ("Sunset"  b/w  ttie  vastly 
superior  4tLife  with  Ae  Lk»s")»  the  press  stepped  ig- 
noring Diggle  long  enough  to  howl  in  predictable  exit- 
rage.  While  that  led  (iodiiectly)  to  the  1 W  Bnzzeocks 
reunion,  it  also  meant  the  end  of  FOC  and  its 
lineup'.  On  their  own,  Couzens  and  dmmmer  Chri* 
Goodwin  wasted  little  time  in  forming  a  new  group,  «fee 
High.  IM 

See  also  Buzzcocks,  High. 

FLAMING  LIPS 

The  Floming  lips  (Lovely  Sorts  of  Deo*}  1 985  { Restless) 

1987* 

Hear  »MPWcDwr)l  986  • 
Oh  My  GoffdU! ...  the  flaming  Ups  {Restless}  1 987  » 
Telepathic  Surgery  (Restless)  1 989  « 
Unconsciously  Screarain'  EP  (Atavistic)  1990 
b  a  Priest  Driven  AmbufcwKe  (Restiess)  1990  • 

MERCURY  REV 

Yerself  fe  Steam  (Rougti  Trade)  T991  • 


249 


The  Flaming  Lips  play  around  with  the  same  sort  of 
cartoon-psychedelia  imagery  used  by  lots  of  similarly 
inclined  combos,  but  these  disenfranchised  Oklahomans 
(led  by  songwriter/guitarist  Wayne  Coyne)  possess  wit 
and  ingenuity  most  of  the  acid-addled  competition  lacks. 
From  its  uniquely  disgusting  front  cover  to  the  brilliant 
alienation  anthem  i4My  Own  Planet,"  The  flaming 
Lips  shows  considerably  more  promise  than  just  about 
anything  else  in  the  college-radio  underground's 
drooling-garage-thrash  brigade. 

Hear  It  Is  fulfills  some  of  that  promise.  While  af- 
fectionately borrowing  riffs  here  and  there,  the  Lips 
(now  a  trio,  with  Coyne  inheriting  vocal  duties  from  his 
now-departed  brother  Mark)  show  real  originality,  bal- 
ancing the  rockin*  grange  of  "With  You"  and  "Jesus 
Shootin'  Heroin"  with  softer  acoustic  passages.  One 
CD  collects  the  contents  of  the  first  two  records,  adding 
a  version  of  "Summertime  Blues"  that's  considerably 
closer  to  Blue  Cheer  than  Eddie  Cochran. 

The  inventively  self-produced  Oh  My  Gawd! I!  is  a 
surprisingly  mature  and  confident  work,  with  more  con- 
sistent material  and  performances.  Odes  to  paranoia 
(* 'Everything's  Explodin'  "),  unselfconsciously  anach- 
ronistic Pink  Hoydisms  ("One  Million  Billionth  of  a 
Millisecond  on  a  Sunday  Morning")  and  moments  of 
genuine  sensitivity  ("Love  Yer  Brain"),  allow  Oh  My 
Gawd!!!  to  transcend  the  Lips'  wacky-cuit-band  image, 
marking  them  as  one  of  the  American  heartland's 
brightest — if  least  likely — new  hopes. 

Unfortunately,  Telepathic  Surgery  is  a  competent 
but  uninspired  time-filler,  lacking  the  manic  unpredict- 
ability that  made  its  predecessors  special.  Rather  than 
attempting  to  reconcile  their  disparate  components  into 
a  cohesive  style,  the  Lips  stick  mainly  to  a  straightfor- 
ward rockish  approach  that  only  serves  to  make  them 
sound  more  like  everybody  else.  Curiously,  Telepathic 
Surgery's  most  exciting  numbers  (not  counting  a  two- 
and-a-half  minute  monologue  on  UFOs)  are  the  two  CD 
bonus  tracks:  the  frantic  "Fryin'  Up"  and  "Hell's  An- 
geFs  Cracker  Factory,"  a  mind-melting  23-minute  jam 
that  would  do  Hawkwind  proud. 

In  a  Priest  Driven  Ambulance  is  an  impressive 
return  to  form,  with  stronger  material,  committed  per- 
formances and  imaginative  production — in  short,  all  the 
fiin  and  intensity  missing  from  Telepathic  Surgery. 
Coyne  has  developed  into  a  skillful  enough  songwriter 
to  draw  deep  emotional  truths  out  of  his  cartoonish  (and 
sporadically  religion-obsessed)  lyrical  imagery  without 
sacrificing  meaning  or  humor.  Similarly,  the  retooled 
band  (a  quartet  again,  with  a  new  drummer  and  an  added 
second  guitarist)  demonstrates  new-found  finesse,  lift- 
ing such  ravers  as  "Unconsciously  Screamin'  "  and 
"Mountain  Side"  into  the  stratosphere,  and  adding  an 
audible  sense  of  discovery  to  introspective  items  like 
"Stand  in  Line"  and  "Five  Stop  Mother  Superior 
Ram."  The  album  ends  with  a  rendition  of  the  Louis 
Armstrong  classic  "What  a  Wonderful  World"  that's 
both  reverent  and  playful.  (Incidentally,  the  packaging 
resorts  to  an  old  Phil  Spector  ruse,  listing  all  of  the 
tracks'  running  times  as  3:26.) 

The  limited-edition  Unconsciously  Screamin'  EP 
(with  a  dandy  holographic  sleeve)  teams  the  title  track 
with  three  otherwise-unreleased  outtakes  from  the  Am- 
bulance sessions.  Like  early  pressings  of  Oh  My 


Gawd!!!  and  Ambulance,  and  the  Restless  reissue  of 
the  debut  EP,  it's  on  colored  vinyl. 

Mercury  Rev  is  a  quintet  that  was  formed  in  Buffalo, 
NY,  prior  to  guitarist  John  "Dingus"  Donahue's  join- 
ing the  Flaming  Lips.  (He  appears  on  Ambulance,  an 
album  co-produced  by  his  Mercury  Rev  bandmate,  bass- 
ist Dave  Fridmaim.  )  After  eighteen  months  in  the  Lips, 
Donahue  put  Rev  back  in  gear  and  completed  the  long- 
simmering  Yerself  Is  Steam.  pyj 


Sneakers  EP  (Snazz)  1968  (Hoi.  Skycfog)  1975 
Supersnazz  (Epic)  1969  (nr/Edsel)  1986  (CBS  Special 

Products)  1990® 

Flamingo  (Kama  Sutra  J  1  970  (nr/Big  Beat)  1  990  • 
Teenage  Head  (Kama  Sutra)  1971  (nr/Dojo)  1990  « 
This  Is  the  Ffamin  Groovies  (Ger.  Kama  Sutra-Metronome) 

1975 

Flamingo/Teenage  Head  (nr/Buddah)  1  975 
Shake  Some  Action  (Sire)  1  976  • 
Still  Shakin  (Buddah)  1976 
Slow  Death  EP  (nr/United  Artists)  1976 
Flamin'  Groovies  Now  (Sire)  1  978 
Jumpin'  in  the  Night  (Sire)  1  979 
Flamin'  Groovies  '68  (Fr.  Eva)  1983 
FSamin'  Groovies  70  (Fr.  Eva)  1  983 
Bucketful  of  Brains  (Voxx)  1  983 
Slow  Death,  Live!  (Fr.  Lolita)  1983 
The  Gold  Star  Tapes  (Fr.  Skydog)  1  984 
Live  at  the  Whisky  A  Go-Go  79  (Fr.  Lolita)  1  985 
Roadhouse  (nr/Edsel)  1986 
One  Night  Stand  (nr/ABC)  1  987  • 
Groovies'  Greatest  Grooves  (Sire)  1  989  <i> 
The  Rockfield  Sessions  (Aus.  Aim)  1989 

Starting  out  in  San  Francisco  as  early  as  1965  (pre- 
dating the  Grateful  Dead),  the  Flamin  Groovies  have 
always  been  out  of  step  with  the  rock  world.  Ten  years 
before  anyone  knew  about  bands  releasing  their  own 
independent  records,  the  Groovies  issued  a  10-inch 
mini-album,  Sneakers;  in  the  '70s,  when  that  same  do- 
it-yourself  spirit  was  inspiring  countless  innovative 
bands  to  try  and  challenge  the  old  boundaries,  the 
Groovies  retreated  to  make  albums  of  beat  group  nos- 
talgia, wearing  period  clothes  and  refusing  to  acknowl- 
edge that  times  had  indeed  changed. 

Always  more  cult-popular  and  influential  than  com- 
mercially successful,  the  Groovies,  led  by  irascible  but 
talented  guitarist/singer  Cyril  Jordan  and  (until  1971) 
singer/guitarist  Roy  A.  Loney,  always  embodied  the 
rebellious,  youthful  spirit  that  fueled  punk,  but  held 
tenuously  to  their  musical  roots  —  '50s  American  rock- 
'n'roll and  '60s  British  pop.  In  effect,  they  provided 
inspiration  for  countless  bands  (how  many  covers  of 
"Slow  Death"  can  you  name?),  and  are  legendary  for 
good  reason. 

The  Groovies'  recording  career,  generally  more  ex- 
citing on  hit-and-run  singles  than  in  a  sustained  album 
situation,  began  with  the  competent  amateurism  of 
Sneakers  —  Loney  originals  played  with  great  energy 
and  a  slight  psychedelic  undercurrent  —  and  continued 
on  their  major-label  debut,  Super  snazz,  which  encom- 
passes a  variety  of  disparate  rock'n'roll  styles  (peaking 
with  killer  versions  of  Little  Richard's  "The  Girl  Can't 


250 


It"  and          Cochran's  "SonHrthBf  EKe"  5  hut  H 
impressive  and 

f  flic  »*4&  <a> 

Is  the  in  i  arc  the 

strongest  efforts,  of  irnpftH&i 

and  to  in 

to   the   era's 

Loney's  the  Groo\ie.s 

Chns  Wilson  and 

ing  In  a  The  to 

up  with  the  as 

and,  in  1972,  the  that 

close  one  of  the  band's  and          the 

Only  didn't  exactly  work  out  thai  way 

collected  as  Tib®  Rockfield 
first  seven  efforts  a         of  rock'n'roll 

(inducting  the  absolutely  classic  "Slow  b;w 

"Tallafaa&sie  Lassie"  I,  a  B-side  of  Chuck  Berry's  "Lit- 
tle Queenie"  and— most  importantly— -two 
of  the  Groovies*  new        that  wouldn't  for 

years.  When  the  Groovies  finally  with  the 

Edmunds-produced  Shake  Some  Acton  in  1976,  It  was 
those  two  "72  leftovers — "You  Tore  Me  Down"  and 
the  amazing,  apocalyptic  Byrds-tike  title  — which 
most  relected  the  group's  power-pop  reonentation. 

Still  Shaldn  was  rushed  out  by  their  old  label  ( Bud- 
dah  and  Kama  Sutra  being  related)  as  a  last  chance  to 
cash  in,  combining  tracks  from  Fteainfo  and  Teenage 
Head  with  a  1971  live-in-the-$tudio  side. 

Meanwhile,  the  Groovies  were  busy  reversing  into 
the  future.  Now  and  Jempiii'  in  the  Night  delve  further 
into  the  past,  mixing  studiously  reproduced  British  In- 
vasion { and  related  '60s  American )  standards  with  sound- 
alike  originals.  While  these  records  are  faintly  ridiculous 
and  too  historically  reverent  to  be  taken  very  seriously, 
both  contain  catchy,  melodic  pop  tunes  that  are  impos- 
sible to  disdain.  Besides  including  the  band's  fine 
4  *  Yeah  My  Baby,"  Now  faithfully  revisits  the  Stones 
(* 'Paint  It,  Black,"  "Blue  Turns  to  Grey"),  the  Beatles 
( *  'There's  a  Place" )  and — perhaps  most  convincingly — 
the  Byrds  ( "Feel  a  Whole  Lot  Better").  Produced  with- 
out Edmunds,  Jumpin*  in  the  Night  is  less  effective, 
with  such  inadvisable  digressions  as  Warren  Zevon's 
"Werewolves  of  London"  and  Bob  Dylan's  "Abso- 
lutely Sweet  Marie"  joining  the  Beatles  ( '  *  Please  Please 
Me")  and  Byrds  ("5D,"  "It  Won't  Be  Wrong"  and 
"Ladyfriend"). 

The  Groovies  didn't  issue  any  new  recordings  be- 
tween 1979  and  1987,  leading  to  suspicions  that  the 
band  had  ceased  to  exist.  During  that  period,  however, 
ongoing  European  (especially  French)  interest  prompted 
the  release  of  numerous  reissues,  compilations  and  vin- 
tage concert  material.  Slow  Death,  Live!  and  its  equiv- 
alent American  release,  Bucketful  of  Brains,  date  from 
a  1971  Filhnore  West  show;  Hoadhouse  is  a  British 
repackage  combining  tracks  from  the  two  Kama  Sutra 
albums.  Groovies'  Greatest  Grooves,  a  graphics- 
encoded  24-track  CD,  contains  most  of  the  non-covers 
from  the  band's  three  Sire  albums,  as  well  as  five  non- 
originals  and  some  earlier  classics,  like  "Teenage 
Head,"  "Slow  Death"  and  "Tallahassee  Lassie." 

Although  a  modest  return  by  any  measure,  Cyril, 
bassist  George  Alexander  and  three  new  bandmates  did 


a  new  ,r.  Out 

Vk&t  58  *S  di>  <'t'*O,   «  W4i 

in  on  K  »e  aaJ 

of  eta**:*  r  "  " 

Acttv*B,"  "$"..**  '  to  well  «* 

Paw!  and  &*  "Kurkft."  the 

Me  2&J  If  tuft         a  to 

a  the 

that  Jordan's          is  mil  m  t:  ft! 

See  also  Km  f^f 


in  EP 

Re*  Di»  Jets  !  990 

Go  Go  1991  • 

Led  by  01'  bc> 

of  of 

this  trio  t 

HiH,  of  the 

the  real  0W 

on 
the  Flat         Jets  the 

of 

the  of  The 

loose,  and  Dealer's  vo- 

cals         all  the  of  a 

OyJ 

FLATMATES 

Hetppy  All  the  Time  EP  f  or/Subway  1  987 

You're  Gonna  Cry  EP  fur/Subway 
Shimmer  EP  f  fir/Subway  1  988 

Janice  Long  Session  EP  (nr/Night  Tretds-Stefige 

1988 

Heaven  Knows  EP  f  or/Subway  Ogonwstbnl  19S8 
Love  and  Death  fThe  Ffatocrtes  8^-89}  fCD} 

Organisafionl  1990» 

Over  the  course  of  four  years,  England's 
unleashed  a  series  of  loudly  perfect  two-to-ltirce-ffliiiiite 
pop  blasts,  ail  on  singles  or  four-song  12-mdi  EPs,  That 
they  Bever  made  an  album  is  a  telling  clue  to  the  cpar- 
tef  $  aesthetic,  favoring  toe  fix  of  one  radio-feasly  mas- 
terpiece over  the  cumbersome  yearly  compiling  of  a 
"major'*  work.  Had  the  Sfatagri-Las  (perhaps  fronted 
by  Nico!  )  been  backed  by  the  Buzzcocks,  the 
would  have  been  souimates. 

From  the  quartet's  teart-grabbmg  first  single  (**I 
Cottld  Be  in  Heaven*  *)  to  its  exquisite  feedback  finale 
("My  Empty  Head'*),  the  Ratmates*  approidi  re- 
mmned  consistent,  wiA  only  a  gradual  upgrading  of 
sound  quality  marking  the  years.  How  Jewels  lice 
*4Heaven  Knows"  and  "Turning  You  Bltte**  avoided 
becoming  international  smashes  is  beyond  compKiien- 
sion.  The  20-track  postfiumons  Lore  and  Death  CD 
gathers  together  most  of  the  band's  woric,  adding  a  few 
glittering  odds  and  ends.  twnj 

FLESH  EATERS 

EP(Upsetter)  1979 

No  Questions  Asked  {Upsetter}  1  980 

A  Minute  to  Pray,  o  Second  to  Dfe  (Way}  1  981 


251 


Forever  Com©  Today  {Ruby}  1 982 

A  Hard  Road  to  Follow  (Upsetter)  1 983 

Greatest  Hits-Destroyed  by  Fire  (SST)  1986 

Live  f  Homestead!  1 988  • 

Prehistoric  fits  Vol.  2  f  SST}  1 990  ® 

Dragstiip  Riot  f  SST}  1 991  • 

Young  poets  on  the  East  Coast  were  originally  at- 
tracted to  punk  by  its  simplicity,  directness  and  mallea- 
bility. Most  prominently,  Patti  Smith  and  Richard  Hell 
found  tot  crudely  executed  rock'n'roll  provided  the 
perfect  backdrop  for  their  verbal  barrages.  Though  less 
celebrated,  California's  Chris  Desjardins  made  equally 
ambitious  records  with  a  constantly  changing  set  of 
Flesh  Eaters  that  virtually  amounted  to  a  who's  who  of 
Los  Angeles'  new  wave  notables.  Singing  in  a  style  akin 
to  Hell's  delirious  hysterics,  Chris  D.  turns  morbid, 
sensational  subjects  like  murder,  vampirism  and  necro- 
philia into  diverting  entertainment  through  relentlessly 
intense  lyrics.  And  though  their  demented  tone  will 
drive  off  most  listeners,  Ms  albums  bear  hearing. 

Like  most  visionary  types,  Mr.  D.'s  report  card  was 
often  branded  "doesn't  work  well  with  groups,"  which 
makes  it  tough  for  him  to  maintain  a  consistent  lineup 
(Plugz  guitarist  Tito  Larriva  and  then-guitarist  Stan 
Ridgway  headed  the  list  of  early  cohorts).  To  capture  at 
least  a  glimpse  of  said  vision,  Desjardins  finally  bor- 
rowed an  existing  band — LA's  flower-punk  Flyboys — to 
record  the  first  Flesh  Eaters  EP.  'Twas  a  wise  choice: 
the  trebly,  hyperkinetic  playing  matches  him  lunge  for 
lunge  on  four  breathless  numbers,  including  the  well- 
beyond-Costello  conflagration  "Radio  Dies  Scream- 
ing.** 

Cramming  fourteen  tracks  into  25  minutes,  No 
Questions  Asked  uses  the  simplest  punk  structures  to 
illustrate  such  overbearing  tales  as  "Cry  Baby  Killer" 
(the  name  comes  from  an  early  Jack  Nicholson  film), 
"Suicide  Saddle"  and  "Dynamite  Hemorrhage."  A  for- 
mative effort. 

By  comparison,  A  Minute  to  Pray  is  like  seeing 
Technicolor  after  a  grimy  home  movie.  Partial  credit 
goes  to  a  stellar  band  that  includes  the  Blasters*  Dave 
Alvin  and  X*s  John  Doe  and  DJ.  Bonebrake,  but  pri- 
marily it's  due  to  Chris  D.'s  increased  flamboyance.  He 
roars  instead  of  snarling,  and  his  tunes  are  lively  and 
varied  horror-movie  stuff.  Highlights:  "Digging  My 
Grave,"  "See  You  hi  the  Boneyard"  and  "Divine 
Horseman."  For  fans  of  carnival  tun  houses. 

Forever  Came  Today  reverts  to  a  spot  about  mid- 
way between  the  first  two  LPs,  but  it's  still  riveting.  The 
rudimentary  quality  of  the  band  matters  little  when  Chris 
tears  into  epics  of  sweaty  desperation  like  "The  Wed- 
ding Dice' '  and  "Drag  My  Name  in  the  Mud. "  A  Hard 
Road  to  Follow  features  a  revamped,  lineup  and  is  the 
closest  Chris  D.  has  come  to  a  conventional  attack. 
With  the  group  offering  its  own  warped  approximation 
of  hard  rock,  he  chews  through  a  fetid  batch  of  tunes 
that  includes  "Life's  a  Dirty  Rat"  and  the  Sam  and 
Dave  classic,  "I  Take  What  I  Want." 

Although  Desjardins  abandoned  the  Flesh  Eaters 
moniker  for  his  more  introspective  late-'80s  work,  the 
band's  rabid  followers  were  left  with  a  variety  of  com- 
pilations. The  first  SST  collection  contains  relevant 
tracks  from  all  the  albums  and  adds  a  few  rarities,  in- 
cluding the  previously  unissued  "Hard  Road  to  Follow" 


and  "Lake  of  Burning  Fire"  and  an  alternate  version  of 
"Impossible  Crime." 

While  Prehistoric  Fits  unearths  no  totally  buried 
treasures,  it  does  dust  off  a  few  more  early  tracks  fall 
previously  issued)  and  makes  a  nice — if  not  totally 
essential—companion  piece.  Lovingly  compiled  and 
packaged  with  appropriate  trashiness,  the  career- 
spanning  live  LP  is  a  welcome  document  of  the  thug- 
gish,  proto-metal  stomp  the  band  (depending  on  who  it 
included)  was  so  adept  at  serving  up  in  concert. 

Following  the  Divine  Horsemen  and  the  one-off 
Stone  by  Stone  project,  Chris  D.  reformed  the  Flesh 
Eaters  in  late  1990.  In  keeping  with  its  title,  the  sprawl- 
ing double-LP  Dragstrip  Riot  emphasizes  D.'s  woozy, 
pulp-fiction  persona-hopping  rather  than  his  more  fun- 
damentalist «z/2?m<2-punk  ravings.  The  all-new  lineup 
(especially  masterful  guitarist  Wayne  James)  proves  po- 
tent enough  to  keep  pace  without  clinging  to  their  lead- 
er's tornado-swept  coattails,  whether  the  context  is 
quietly  malicious  delta  blues  ("The  Youngest  Profes- 
sion"), Alice  Cooper-via-Jim  Thompson  power-metal 
("Sugarhead  and  Panther  Breath")  or  stripped-down 
docudrama  (the  ten-minute  title  track),  not  to  mention  a 
handful  of  territory-defining  covers  (from  the  Groovies' 
"Slow  Death" — one  of  the  two  items  deleted  from  the 
CD  version — to  Mott  the  Hoople's  "The  Moon  Up- 
stairs"). Length  alone  makes  Dragstrip  Riot  tough  to 
handle  in  one  sitting,  but  it's  hard  to  imagine  taking  it 
off  in  the  middle.  [jy/dss] 

See  also  Divine  Horsemen. 


FLESH  FOR  LULU 

Flesh  for  Luiu  (nr/Polydor)  1 984 
Blue  Sisters  Swing  EP  (nr/Hybrid-Statik)  1 985  * 
Big  Fun  City  (Caroline)  1 985  « 
Long  Live  the  New  Flesh  (Beggars  Banquet- 
Hughes-Capitol)  1 987  • 

Plastic  Fantastic  (Beggars  Banquet-Hughes-Capitol) 
1989» 

The  ready  adaptability  of  this  Brixton  quartet  en- 
abled them  to  rise  from  the  ashes  of  London's  ill-fated 
Batcave  scene — a  curious  association  to  begin  with, 
since  these  mascaraed,  leather-clad  poseurs  are  more 
closely  related  to  old-fashioned  rock  than  gothic  grave- 
robbing.  With  undisguised  superstar  aspirations,  they 
signed  to  Polydor  and  released  two  excellent  singles 
("Restless"  and  "Subterraneans").  The  self-titled  al- 
bum that  followed,  despite  the  inclusion  of  both  songs, 
sinks  into  the  mire,  an  overlong,  overproduced  '80s 
punk  take  on  the  Rolling  Stones  (check  the  cover  of 
"Jigsaw  Puzzle"),  a  commodity  for  which  there  is  no 
pressing  demand. 

Retreating  to  the  world  of  independent  labels,  Flesh 
for  Lulu  released  the  controversial  (some  deemed  the 
cover  art  sacrilegious)  Blue  Sisters  Swing  EP.  An  un- 
expected and  most  impressive  change  of  course,  the  five 
tracks  rock  with  verve  and  abandon,  sometimes  ap- 
proaching heavy  metal.  Best  song  title:  "I  May  Have 
Said  You're  Beautiful,  but  You  Know  I'm  Just  a  Liar." 
Big  Fun  City  marks  yet  another  transformation. 
Though  sticking  to  rock,  traces  of  other  musical  styles 
enter  the  mix:  funk,  country- western,  punk-pop.  Still  a 
bunch  of  vain  poseurs,  their  musical  changes  don't  fol- 


252 


low  any  iTht  t"K  CD 

} 

Forever  the  charnelecro,  for  Lulu  d»d 

on  LHe  the 

This          i!  s  in  the 

Is  set—  atxtjp- 

"1  Go  Craz>,  *  far  Lulu's  to 

the  of  the  liira  r?f 

Wonderful,  got  a  lot  of  the  LP  is 

for  Amencan  *  I  Go  Craj>"  I  left  off 

the  British  edition  I  Mid  "Siamese  Twist"  are  as 

is  this  record  gets;  the  is 

AOR  syntfa/guitar  rock* 

With  Fantastic,  of 

"alternative"  rock,  by 

Mark  0pitz*s  decidedly  commercial  shten,  the 

tries  yet  to  that  golden  ring.  Tte 

starts  out  strong  with  the  frantic  "Decline  and  Fair*  and 
the  heavenly  pure  pop  of  "Every  Little  Word,"  but  is 
soon  overcome  by  a  dark  blur  of  genericism, 
only  momentarily  by  some  laughably  lame  Syncs  and 
the  title  trade's  echoes  of  "Hot  in  the  City."  In  fact, 
beyond  its  lack  of  sales,  there's  little  to  distinguish  this 
effort  from  a  BilSy  Idol  album. 

FLESHTONES 

Up-Front  EPf IRS)  1980 
Romap  Gods  (IRS)  1981 
Blast  Off  ftapej  f  RO1R)  1 982  fCDJ  f FT.  Danceteda) 

1990  4» 

Hexbreakeri  (IRS)  1983 
Speed  Connection  (Fr.  8R5J  1985 
Speed  Connection  II  (IRS)  1985 
Ffeshtones  vs.  Reality  (Eroergo)  1 987  • 
The  Fleshfones:  Living  Legends  Ssr.es  (ftS)  '989  o 
Soul  Madrid  (Sp.  knpoafck)  1989 

FULL  TIME  MEN 

Fast  Is  My  Name  EP  (Coyote)  1 985 

Your  Face  My  Fist  (Coyote-Twira/Tane)  1 988 

PETER  ZAREMBA'5  LOVE 
DELEGATION 

Spread  the  Word  (Moving  Target)  1986 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Time  Bomb!  The  &ig  Bong  Theory  (Skydad)  1 988 

New  York's  Fleshtones  are  caught  in  the  common 
contradiction  of  selfconsciously  seeking  to  re-create  the 
unselfconsciousness  of  '60s  rock'n'roll,  pre-Sgt.  Pep- 
per and  pre-psychedeiia.  In  other  words  r  they've  put  a 
lot  of  thought  and  effort  into  becoming  a  mindless  party 
band.  Although  the  Fleshtones  only  occasionally  fully 
capture  their  high  spirits  in  the  studio,  the  payoff  is 
swell  when  they  do.  Nobody  else  rocks  quite  like  these 
guys  on  a  good  date. 

Dp-Front's  five-song  menu  includes  a  fake  surf  in- 
strumental and  a  jumped-up  account  of  the  Stones' 
"Play  with  Fire."  Frontman  Peter  Zaiemba's  humor- 
ously tough  approach  comes  through  loud  and  clear,  but 
the  recording's  cleanness  borders  on  aridity. 

The  Fleshtones  take  a  big  leap  forward  on  Roman 
Gods  by  adding  new  personality  and  passion  to  the  beat, 
as  witnessed  by  *Tve  Gotta  Change  My  Life"  and 
"Let's  See  the  Sun."  However,  the  album's  standout 


ncs  Jtc  i*?  be 

"Pit  %k^  Yard* 

Hr«u%  s*J-&ivi<ted  M  fhe  CO*CT  of 

Lee  Defse%\  *  f¥n>"  a*i  the 

!*m  for 

and  en  it* 

If$  and 

for  .  fcr  lis- 

tening 

ts  the  an  ex- 

of 

%  and  t>> 

*  *         its 
*          Scene, "  i 
and  the  all 

roll  and          in  the  of  the 

ever  i         on  the  An 

The  only  w  ay  to  that  so  do 

it  live,  as  ard  CHI  the 

vinyl  as  It         two  the 

ConaecfioB  was  in  bit  to 

the  second,  at  a  1985 

show  in  the  US         LK. 

nically  casual.  Speed  II  Is  a 

old-fashioned  warts" n*ail  concert  all 

the  rock  the 

muster.  Especially  is  *"Knijpiiieii 

Like  Medley,,"  as  well  as  "Return  to  the 
House"  and  "Wind  Out,"  the  gui* 

tar  by  Pete  Buck  of  R.E.M. 

Buck  also  collaborated  with  Keith 

Strong  on  the  first  Full  Time  Men  record*  a  teee-song 
12-inch.  Altibotigh  pleasantly  uiKhallenging,  the  slightly 
retro-minded  cotmtryi&h  pop  tones  would 
from  a  more  confident  YocaSist  than  Staaig.  CcHicocting 
a  fuller  version  of  the  side  band  (without  farther  in- 
volvement by  Buck,  although  Ac  EFs  "I  Got  Wheels" 
twos  up  again),  Streng  made  a  full  album  with  ttooe- 
fourths  of  the  Resfatones — Gordon  Spaeth 
harmonica),  Bill  Milhlzer  (drams)  and  Robert  Wauen 
(bass) — and  a  spare  guitarist.  A  batsman's  bolkiay  of 
rocking  originals  and  cool  covers  <*>y  Marvin  Giye  ami 
the  Creation — now  that's  versatility!)  enfhimiasticatly 
pkyed  lay  a  studio  full  of  tow-rent  superstars.  Your 
Face  My  Fist  is  as  easily  enjoyable  as  it's  meaat  to  be. 

Undeterred  by  the  outside  world's  lack  of  interest,, 
Ate  Fksktooes  continue  to  pursue  party  mrvaaa  with 
Fleshtojies  vs.  Realty.  Typically,  te  results  vary; 
though  the  high  points  are  sublime;  die  snarling  prehis- 
toric Kinks  guitars  of  **Way  Up  Heve,"  fee  aise-tte- 
dead-  soul  fervor  of  "Whatever  Makes  You  Hapfjy,**  a 
swift  remake  of  "Treat  Her  Like  a  Lady**  and  so  CD* 
(The  CD  adds  one  track,) 

The  20-soag  Living  Legeails  complalicM  starts  witii 
the  best  tracks  from  Up-Front  and  Roman  Gods,  adds 
an  odd  three-song  selection  from  Hexbreaker!  and  then 
starts  piling  on  the  rarities;  the  dynamic  *4  American  Beat 
*84"  (from  the  Bactwfor  Party  soundtrack),  SCMOW  sin- 
gles and  a  pair  of  previously  unissued  covers. 
Rockalcious— but  hold  on  to  your  copy  of  Hex- 
breaker!  all  the  same.  Soul  Madrid,  a  double-live  al- 
bum, was  recorded  and  released  in  Spain, 


253 


Despite  relentless  good  humor,  Zaremba's  Love 
Delegation  LP  (with  Streng»  a  horn  section  and  such 
guest  vocalizers  as  Barrence  Whitfield)  illustrates  the 
dangers  of  unchecked  '60s  camp  revivalism — it  sounds 
more  disposable  than  dynamic.  "Turn  Me  on  Again" 
and  Aretha's  "Save  Me"  bum  real  good,  but  fluff  like 
"Shama  Lama  Bing  Bang"  and  a  pseudo-heavy  remake 
of  Lee  Hazelwood's  "Some  Velvet  Morning"  (which 
Thin  White  Rope  does  better)  are  more  typical  of 
Spread  the  Word's  dippy  spirit. 

Time  Bomb!,  ostensibly  a  various  artists  compila- 
tion, features  variously  permutated  side  projects  by 
Fteshtones  and  their  pals,  along  with  non-LP  tracks  from 
the  band  proper.  Love  Delegation,  Full  Time  Men,  Ac- 
tion Combo,  Cryin*  Out  Loud,  Mad  Violets  and  Wild 
Hyenas  all  toss  in  OK  cuts,  but  the  disc  really  catches 
fire  on  the  Action  Dogs'  sizzling  **I  Can't  Get  Through 
to  You/'  starring  Peter  Case,  and  the  mothergroup's  "I 
Was  a  Teenage  Zombie/'  from  the  film  of  the  same 
name.  [jy/i] 


FLIPPER 

Atbum-Gefjerk  Flipper  (Subterranean)  1 982 

Biov/n  Chunks  [tape]  (ROIR)  1984  [CD]  (ROIR-Important) 

1990  4» 

Gone  Rshin'  (Subterranean)  1 984 
Public  Flipper  Limited  Live  1980-1985  (Subterranean) 

1986 
Sex  Bomb  Baby!  (Subterranean)  1 988  » 

ANY  THREE  INITIALS 

Ruins  of  America  (Subterranean)  1 988    ^ 

NEGATIVE  TREND 

We  Don't  Play,  We  Riot  (Subterranean)  1 982 

Like  a  45  slowed  down  to  sub-LP  pace,  San  Fran- 
cisco's Flipper  delivers  a  flawless  impression  of  a 
downed-out  hardcore  band.  The  harsh  music  lumbers 
and  creaks,  oozing  feedback  all  the  way,  while  the 
singer  (bassist  Will  Shatter  or  bassist — yes,  that's 
right — Brace  Lose)  moans  and  shouts  painfully.  Flipper 
could  be  your  car  on  the  verge  of  a  total  breakdown  or 
your  worst  hangover  nightmare  amped  up  to  brain- 
splitting  volume.  And  yet,  for  all  the  intentional  slop- 
piness  and  gratuitous  noise,  not  to  mention  the 
superficial  shock  of  Album  tunes  like  "Life  Is  Cheap" 
and  "Shed  No  Tears,"  Flipper  can  be  uplifting.  Under- 
neath the  tumult  you'll  find  compassion,  idealism  and 
hope,  best  represented  by  *  'Life' '  ( *  'the  only  thing  worth 
living  for").  That  kind  of  moral  statement  takes  cour- 
age. 

Blow'n  Chunks  is  a  primo  live  tape  of  the  band 
onstage  in  New  York,  November  1983.  Playing  all  the 
hits  that  made  them  a  legend — like  "Love  Canal"  and 
"Ha  Ha  Ha" — as  well  as  previewing  some  songs  that 
made  it  onto  the  next  LP,  the  quartet  drones  along  like 
a  factory  shutting  down  for  the  weekend,  a  stunning  roar 
of  guitar  noise  and  bass  pounding  that  is  simply  the 
ultimate  loud  rock'n'roll  imaginable.  A  real  classic  al- 
bum, and  the  ideal  floor-clearer  for  any  club. 

Flipper's  second  studio  album,  Gone  Fishin', 
makes  an  ambitious  effort  to  add  unexpected  sonic  com- 
ponents to  the  din.  With  vocals  taking  a  clearly  predom- 
inant role,  oddities  like  clavinet,  sax,  piano  and  even 
open  spaces  (!?!?)  lurk  around,  while  newly  sophisti- 


cated rhythms  (as  on  the  consti/synco-pated  "First  the 
Heart")  and  a  relatively  restrained  mix  make  Flipper 
resemble  a  "normal"  band  at  times.  If  all  you  want 
from  Flipper  is  a  visceral  thrill,  try  the  live  tape;  if  you 
want  to  understand  their  creative  mind,  Gone  FfaMa%  is 
the  ideal  synthesis  of  sickness  and  health. 

Perhaps  sensing  that  stages  held  the  key  to  truest 
FMpperhood,  the  band's  next  release  was  the  two-record 
career-spanning  concert  compilation,  Public  Upper 
Limited.  (The  PiL  parody  here  is  revenge  for  that 
group's  apparent  appropriation  of  Flipper's  generic  la- 
belling concept  for  their  1986  Album.)  Wrapped  in  a 
foldout  poster-cwm-" Flipper  on  Tour"  game,  the  LP 
offers  a  fine  selection  of  tracks,  from  "Love  Canal"  to 
"Sex  Bomb"  to  "Life"  to  * 'Flipper  Blues."  (Locales 
include  San  Francisco,  New  York,  Toronto,  Washing- 
ton, DC,  and  Los  Angeles.)  The  obnoxious  onstage 
patter  only  adds  to  the  mind-boggling  raucous  entertain- 
ment. 

Shatter's  death  in  December  1987  (from  a  heroin 
overdose)  ended  Flipper's  on-again-off-again  existence 
once  and  for  all,  but  didn't  stanch  the  vinyl  flow.  Sex 
Bomb  Baby  I  compiles  all  of  Flipper's  singles  (six  sides) 
and  tracks  from  sampler  albums,  going  as  far  back  as 
the  group's  1979  recorded  debut  on  Subterranean's  first 
release,  the  SF  Underground  collection.  The  cassette 
adds  three  live  tracks  from  the  1980  Live  at  Target 
compilation;  limited  quantities  of  the  album  contain 
Bruce  Lose's  solo  single  as  a  bonus. 

Any  Three  Initials,  a  Shatter  side  project,  was  re- 
corded in  1986.  Joined  by  three  local  musicians  (two 
from  the  band  Bad  Posture),  Shatter  is  the  lyricist  and 
singer  on  A3I's  Ruins  of  America,  a  varied  album  of 
country  music,  dirge-rock,  PiL-esque  anti-pop  and  other 
related  styles,  with  subject  matter  as  diverse  as  meteoric 
conditions  and  humanist  philosophy.  When  the  going 
gets  rough,  the  ghost  of  Flipper  rises  from  the  platter; 
other  tracks  might  be  by  anybody  but  that  group. 

Shatter  and  Flipper  drummer  Steve  DePace  were  in 
a  pre-Flipper  band  called  Negative  Trend,  which  re- 
leased the  four-song  We  Don't  Play,  We  Riot,  recorded 
in  1978,  on  Subterranean.  [jy/i] 

FLOAT  UP  CP 

See  Rip  Rig  +  Panic. 

FLOOR  KISS 

See  Bush  Tetras. 

ROSIE  FLORES 

See  fScreamin'  Sirens! 

FLOUR 

See  Breaking  Circus,  Rifle  Sport. 

KLAUS  FLOURIDE 

See  Dead  Kennedys. 

FLOWERS 

See  Icehouse. 


254 


FLOY  JOY 

into  lft«  Hot  f  «r/V>g,fV!  1 9S4 

<n  lh«  of  (w-Vrgin)  1986  • 

Was  produced  cJ  thin  English  &uice- 

music  tno\  LPsn  giving  it  4  fu^-hlown  wash  «"»!?  hon*.*. 
and  hsgh-tech  ke\s  to  com- 

success.  On         the  Hot,  ind 

Ward  (with  Was 

and  out  their  music  with         and  stvle, 

allowing  Carroll  Thompson's  s*eU,  big  voice  to  dom- 
inate the  record, 

Thompson  and  Ward  out 

C  resurfacing  a  few  years        in  t  Everyda> 

People)  leaving  Michael  Ward  to 

Desy  Campbell  and  bassist-dram  pxogrammer/co-vmter 
Robert  E.  Clarke  and  put  a  Fln> 

loy.  The  second  LP  is  more  appealing  for  its 
(the  title  track— which  received  fine  in  a  1987 

cover  by  Alison  Moyet — is  excellent  I         its  occasion- 
ally sterile  Was-oriented  dance-soul-funk  performances , 


FLUID 

Punch  n  Judy  f  Rayon)  1986  • 
Clear  Black  Paper  f  Sub  Pop)  1 988  * 
Roadmouth  (Sub  Pop)  1 989  * 
due  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1990* 

Formed  from  a  pair  of  prominent  Denver  punk 
groups,  Fluid  sets  to  reviving  the  Stooges  and  MC5 
(minus  the  outlook  and  outrage)  and  reliving  '60s 
garage-punk  and  folk-rock  on  its  raunchy-sounding  self- 
produced  debut.  Punch  n  Judy  benefits  from  the  quin- 
tet's obvious  knowledge  of  Creem's  classics,  but  the 
twin-guitar  attack  and  John  Robinson's  vocals  are  nei- 
ther retro-cool  nor  distinctive,  and  the  haphazard  song- 
writing  rarely  yields  anything  memorable. 

Adding  Grand  Funk,  the  Amboy  Dukes  and  Alice 
Cooper  to  its  stylistic  reference  library,  Fluid  updates 
punchy  riff-based  guitar  rock  with  a  measured  dose  of 
post-punk  noise  on  Clear  Black  Paper  (the  CD  and 
cassette  of  which  also  contain  Punch  n  Judy).  Caught 
indecisively  between  the  past  and  the  present,  the  LP 
cruises  along  on  a  fairly  even  keel  with  only  limited 
success.  Try  as  they  might,  the  band's  best  efforts — 
simply  functional  songs  like  "Cold  Outside/*  "Try, 
Try,  Try"  and  "It's  My  Time" — just  don't  pack  enough 
sonic  power  to  ignite. 

Producer  Jack  Endino  fixed  that  problem  on  the  geo- 
metrically more  intense  Roadmouth,  sharpening  up  a 
wailing  knife  of  dual  guitars  over  which  Robinson  snarls 
tensely  controlled  vocals  with  real  conviction.  Besides 
significantly  better  playing,  Fluid  comes  up  with  greatly 
improved  '60s-derived  material:  "Ode  to  Miss  Lodge," 
"Twisted  &  Pissed"  and  the  monumental  "Fool's 
Rule." 

The  six-song  Glue  (which  has  Roadmouth  added  to 
its  cassette  and  CD)  cranks  the  Fluid  motor  even  more. 
Starting  with  a  spectacular  cover  of  a  little-known 
Troggs'  song  ("Our  Love  Will  Still  Be  There")  that 
kicks  out  the  Jams  with  charging  neo-mod  catchiness, 
producer  Butch  Vig  captures  up  a  buzzing  punky  blitz, 
pouring  flammable  Fluid  across  the  entire  audio  spec- 
trum and  igniting  it  with  cool  tunes  like  "Black  Glove" 
and  the  hooky  "Pretty  Mouse."  [i] 


OF 


J  HP 


to  Coving 

^982  ,nr'Qne  JJ**  Hctcn;  *9S?  » 
The  U  4.fc* 

fjw'On*  L^«  • 

Jnr/Or*  • 

of  the  !  And  cf  il  ^ 

of 

tet  ih& 

the  of  the  Lit- 

tle i  is  one  of  the 

u$e  as 

the  medium  for 

views  the  of 

has  always  itself  for 

standardv—  Strive  to  a  tweKe* 

and  a 
The         has  a  of  so  its 

crisp  and  The  is 

that  it's  all        of  military.  a&  in  the  way  the 

vocals  the         of  a  the 

graphics,  "melodies"         lyrics         to 

the  politics}  are  all  an4  white,  and  the 

sterility  m  to  the  converted.  Flux's 

monochromatic  is 

The  New  reissue—  solid 

punk  on  a  stylishly  loedVdcar  12-inch—  ^ 

the  three  tiornble  dtam-noise'n'scxtaming 
the  1984  "TaMng  a  Liberty"  on  the 

Ellminatii^  punk  and  reducing  the  political  content, 
Flux's  original  and  often  Uncmrved  Block 

leans  a  bit  towards  the  industrial  world,  alternating  mus- 
cular mid-tempo  rock  (which  aod 

melody  for  a  change)  and  bizarre  free-form  ambient 
improvisations,  in  which  drums  as  instrumental 

blasts  aad  distorted  sound  effects  leap  in  and  out  of  the 
sparse  mix.  Ug/i] 

FLYBOYS 

See  Choir  Invisible. 

FLYING  COLOR 

Flying  Color  fGriftw-Frortier}  1987 

HECTOR 

Hector  (Cry^ovislw)  1  988 

Though  hardly  revivalist,  the  first  LP  by  this  Bay 
Area  quartet  abounds  with  unrepentant  Beatlephilia, 
with  generous  servings  of  ringing  choruses,  exquisite 
guitar  splashes  and  endearingly  ragged  harmonies. 
Sweetly  stunning  sensitive-but-not-wimpy  pop-rock 
items  like  "Dear  Friend"  and  "One  Saturday*"  stand 
out,  but  Hying  Color  is  equally  adept  with  rock  songs 
("I'm  Your  Shadow/'  "Believe  Believe*').  Unfortu- 
nately, guitarist  Richard  Chase  —  author  and  singer  of 
the  memorably  melancholic  "It  Doesn't  Matter'*  and 
"Bring  Back  the  Rain"  —  jumped  ship  shortly  after  this 
album  was  finished,  and  Flying  Color  apparently  dis- 
solved. 

Bassist  Hector  Penalosa's  solo  effort  —  on  New 
York's  Cryptovision  label,  which  had  released  Flying 


255 


Color's  debut  single — includes  contributions  from 
Chase  and  Hying  Color  drummer  John  Stuart  ( who  sings 
lead  on  one  song),  but  Penalosa  handles  virtually  all  of 
the  remaining  instruments  himself.  For  the  most  part, 
this  immensely  likable  effort  offers  a  less  rocking  ver- 
sion of  Flying  Color's  sweetly  melancholy  jangle.  But 
the  whooping  rocker  "Northwest  Trip"  and  the  haunt- 
ing violin-dominated  instrumental  "Manuela"  (both  cu- 
riously buried  on  Side  Two)  indicate  that  there's  more 
to  Hector  than  just  power  pop.  Here's  hoping  his  de- 
parture won't  keep  Flying  Color  from  fulfilling  the 
promise  of  this  debut.  [hdj 


The  Flying  Lizards  (Virginf  1 979 
Fourth  Wall  (nr/Virginl  1981 
Top  Ten  (nr/Statik)  1 984  • 

DAVID  CUNNINGHAM 

Grey  Scale  (nr/Piano}  1 980 

Led  by  pianist  David  Cunningham,  the  Flying  Liz- 
ards started  as  (and  largely  continued  to  be)  a  novelty 
group  that  took  classic  rock  songs  and  reduced  them  to 
parody  with  neo-Kraftwerk  synthesizer  minimalism  and 
robotic  deadpan  vocal  readings  (as  epitomized  on  the 
eponymous  debut  album  by  "Summertime  Blues"  and 
"Money").  The  serious  work  shows  Cunningham  lean- 
ing towards  the  arty  high-tech  drone  of  Tangerine 
Dream,  though,  and  that  suffers  from  comparison  with 
the  inspired  lunacy  of  the  comedy  turns. 

Foertti  Wall  attempts  to  evolve  a  happy  medium, 
with  helpers  including  New  Yorkers  Pat  Palladm  and 
Peter  Gordon  and  new-jazz  artist  Steve  Beresford.  Cun- 
ningham moves  uneasily  between  electro-pop  and  trance 
music  (as  in  Steve  Reich  and  Philip  Glass).  Well- 
produced  and  interesting  as  individual  songs,  but  it  fails 
to  jell  as  an  album. 

He  attempts  strictly  serious  music  on  Grey  Scale, 
improvising  on  the  piano  by  allowing  the  course  of  the 
music  to  be  altered  by  random  outside  events.  Though 
the  technique  derives  from  John  Cage,  the  result  falls 
closer  to  Reich  and  Terry  Riley. 

Following  a  long  layoff,  the  Lizards  returned  in  1984 
with  Top  Ten,  another  wacky  album  of  demented  rock- 
'n'roll revisionism,  this  time  assaulting  the  songwriting 
of  Little  Richard,  Jimi  Hendrix,  James  Brown,  Leonard 
Cohen,  Larry  Williams  and  others.  Purists  and  musical 
conservatives  will  find  this  impossible;  keep  an  open 
mind  and  forget  about  the  originals,  and  you'll  be 
amazed  at  Cunningham's  arcane  wit  and  inventive 
dissection/reconstruction  skill.  [sg/i] 


F  MACHINE 

See  Simon  F. 


FOC 

See  Flag  of  Convenience. 

FOETUS  INC. 

Sink  (Self  Immolation-Wax  TraxI)  1 990  • 


YOU'VE  GOT  FOETUS  ON  YOUR 
BREATH 

Deal  fnr/Self  Immolation)  1 981 
Ache  fnr/Self  Immolation)  1 982 

OFF  THE 
WHEEL 

Hole  (Self  tmmoIation-ZE-PVC)  1984  • 

Nail  (Self  Immolation -Some  Bizzare-Homesteod)  1 985  • 

WISEBLOOD 

Dirtdish  (K.422-Some  Bizzare-Relativity)  1986  • 

FOETUS  ALL-NUDE  REVIEW 

Bedrock  EP  (Self  Immolation-Some  Bizzare-RelativHy) 
1987 

Sfrinkfist  EP  (Wdowspeak)  1 988  * 

FOETUS  INTERRUPTUS 

Thaw  (nr/SeSf  Immolation-Some  Bizzare)  1 988  ® 
Rife  (no  label)  1989 

Thank  goodness  for  rock'n'roll — otherwise,  what 
hope  would  there  be  for  people  like  Jim  Thirlwell  (aka 
Clint  Ruin,  Scraping  Foetus  off  the  Wheel,  Foetus  Uber 
Frisco,  Phillip  and  His  Foetus  Vibrations,  You've  Got 
Foetus  on  Your  Breath,  Foetus  Art  of  Terrorism,  etc.)? 
Although  enormously  talented  and  possessed  of  a  wide 
and  masterful  sonic  palette,  it's  virtually  impossible  to 
pin  down  just  what  the  Australian-born/English- 
launched  New  Yorker  does.  Suffice  it  to  say  his  projects 
are  all  characterized  by  violence,  intensity,  irreverence, 
abrasion,  unpredictability  and  an  incredible  grasp  of 
music-making's  never-ending  possibilities  to  disturb. 

The  only  thing  to  do  with  Hole,  Foetus'  first  Amer- 
ican release,  is  to  jump  in  and  pray  you  survive.  The  LP 
has  a  little  of  everything:  industrial  cacophony  ( "Clothes 
Hoist"),  high  political  drama  ( "I'll  Meet  You  in  Poland 
Baby*'),  spare  crypto-blues  ("Sick  Man"),  demented 
surf  music  ("Satan  Place"),  something  sick  built  on  a 
swing  beat  ("Water  Torture"),  the  Batman  theme  and 
lots  more.  Played  at  a  confusion  level  that  makes  Christ- 
mas Eve  at  K-Mart  seem  placid,  the  cadences  would  do 
Test  Dept.  proud  and  the  lyrics  might  upset  Frank  Zappa. 
Simply  put,  you've  never  heard  anything  like  this  before. 
(The  album's  US  edition  adds  a  bonus  disc  containing  all 
four  songs  from  1985  12-inch  singles  by  You've  Got 
Foetus  on  Your  Breath  and  Foetus  Uber  Frisco  plus  a  rare 
compilation  track.) 

Nail  is  another  delicious  voyage  into  Foetus'  fe- 
vered world.  From  the  soundtrack-styled  opening 
("Theme  from  Pigdom  Come"),  through  a  generally 
cinematized  concept  collection  of  high-octane  rants — 
sort  of  Birthday  Party  with  a  sense  of  humor  meets 
latter-day  Pink  Floyd---Foetus  goes  about  his  usual  busi- 
ness, layering  sound  on  sound,  insult  on  injury.  An 
apparently  nonexistent  instrumental  entitled  "!"  is  the 
LP's  definitive  existential  high  point,  but  such  vehement 
audio  orgies  as  "The  Throne  of  Agony"  and  the  '40s- 
jazzy  "Descent  into  the  Inferno"  provide  plenty  clever 
lyrical  competition. 

Wiseblood  is  a  duo  of  Clint  Ruin  and  ex-Swan/ 
producer  Roli  Mosimann,  assisted  on  Dirtdish  by  Robert 
Quine,  Hahn  Rowe  of  Hugo  Largo,  Norman  Westberg  of 
the  Swans  and  Phoebe  Legere.  While  the  pair  shares  mu- 
sic writing  chores  (thereby  diluting  Foetus'  awesome 


256 


power),  leaving  Ruin  in  charge  of  words  and  vocals  en- 
sures that  the  familiar  growled  litany  of  sexually  charged 
insanity  will  be  as  damaging  to  the  psyche  as  ever.  (What 
does  "The  Fudge  Punch"  suggest  to  you?)  So  if  the  LP 
lacks  a  full  load  of  explosive  Foetus  audio  dynamite, 
there's  more  than  enough  ugliness  and  venom  here  to 
obliterate  a  roomful  of  hoodlums. 

The  title  track  of  Bedrock  (most  assuredly  not  about 
Fred  and  Wilma's  hometown)  fills  one  side  of  the  EP 
and  plays  at  45  rpm;  the  four  crunching  rants  on  the 
back  run  at  33.  "Diabolus  Musica"  and  "Shut"  are 
really  one  slow-starting  instrumental  that  revs  up  to 
noise  concrete  (complete  with  machine  guns,  metallic 
clangs  and  animal  noises)  strong  enough  to  peel  layers 
off  a  boulder  at  a  hundred  paces;  meanwhile,  the  vitu- 
perative and  deliciously  vulgar  "Bedrock"  (and  its  al- 
ternate take,  "Bedrock  Strip")  is  a  guttural  Tom  Waits- 
like  swing  rap  sneered  over  acoustic  bass  and  bongos. 
One  version  adds  horns  and  a  backing  chorus;  both  fea- 
ture an  industrial-strength  rusty-door  guitar  solo. 

Clint  Ruin,  Lydia  Lunch  and  a  host  of  celebrity 
percussion-pounders  whip  up  a  rhythm  riot  on  the  title 
track  of  Stinkiasi  as  the  happy  couple  chant  the  title  and 
make  halfhearted  sex  noises.  "Meltdown,"  the  EP's 
other  main  track,  is  a  three-part  Lunch  recital  accom- 
panied by  a  full-scale  rock  attack  and  such  Ruinous 
sound  effects  as  car  crashes,  foghorns  and  violin  scrap- 
ings. Unfortunately,  nothing  in  the  grooves  is  half  as 
striking  as  the  record's  copulatory  cover. 

Broiling  up  an  explosive  sonic  smorgasbord  in  a  free- 
fire  zone,  Foetus  completely  outdoes  himself  on  Thaw, 
an  album  so  intense  mat  it  makes  his  previous  platters 
seem  like  tune-ups.  His  arsenal  here  includes  machine 
guns,  clanging  industrial  percussion,  a  symphony  or- 
chestra and  virulent  lyrics  about  suitably  violent  subject 
matter  spewed  out  in  a  voice  so  shredded  it  would  give 
Freddy  Krueger  the  willies.  Unpredictably  amid  the  suc- 
cessive pin-you-to-the-wall  onslaughts,  Foetus  drops 
back  and  whispers  a  verse  or  two  over  acoustic  piano  and 
string  bass  (or,  in  one  case,  sitar  and  tabla).  Oppressive 
in  the  most  rewarding  fashion  imaginable,  Thaw  (which 
concludes  with  the  charming  "A  Prayer  for  My  Death") 
is  the  score  to  a  film  I  would  be  terrified  to  see. 

Following  Thaw's  release,  Thirl  well  formed  Foetus 
Corruptus — borrowing  Raymond  Watts  (of  the  like- 
minded  Pig)  and  members  of  Prong  and  the  Swans — 
and  went  off  to  do  a  European  tour,  an  event 
documented  on  the  double-LP  Rife  authorized  boot. 

The  Sink  compilation  (another  two-disc  set)  digs  all 
the  way  back  to  the  very  beginning  ( 198 1's  "OKFM," 
by  Foetus  Under  Glass)  in  its  coverage  of  the  madness 
that  is  Foetus,  compiling  twenty  (mostly  EP)  tracks 
from  all  phases  of  his  career.  While  the  set  contains 
some  rarities  and  loads  of  great  music,  the  odd  selection 
logic  reproduces  nearly  all  of  Bedrock  and  both  sides  of 
Foetus  Art  Terrorism's  1984  single  ("Calamity  Crush" 
b/w  "Catastrophe  Crunch"),  the  latter  of  which  is 
merely  an  instrumental  scratch  remix.  [i] 

See  also  Lydia  Lunch. 


ELLEN  FOLEY 

Spirit  of  St.  Louis  (Cleveland  Inf  I)  1 981 

Ellen  Foley  made  other  solo  albums  after  gaining 
fame  in  the  performing  company  of  Meat  Loaf,  but  this 


one  is  very  different.  It  was  produced  by  "my 
boyfriend" — Mick  Jones  of  the  Clash — and  features  his 
band  in  toto  plus  its  musical  associates  (Tymon  Dogg, 
Mickey  Gallagher,  etc.)  as  her  accompaniment.  Addi- 
tionally, half  the  songs  are  new  (and  otherwise  unis- 
sued) Strummer/Jones  compositions;  three  others  are 
Dogg's.  Coming  right  after  the  loose,  throwaway  feel  of 
Sandinista! ,  Jones  did  an  about-face  and  created  pre- 
cious arty  backing  that  strains  Foley 's  vocal  talent  be- 
yond endurance.  Her  interpretive  abilities  disappear 
under  the  weight  of  such  screamingly  pretentious  tripe 
as  "The  Death  of  the  Psychoanalyst  of  Salvador  Dali." 
(What  books  were  those  boys  reading?)  A  bizarre  Clash 
footnote.  [wk/i] 


FOLK 

Fire  and  Chrome  EP  (nr/Karbon)  1985 
Goodnight  Irony  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 987 

KING  BLANK 

Mouth  Off  EP  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 988 
The  Real  Dirt  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 988  * 

IAN  LOWERY  GROUP 

King  Blank  To  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 989  (Beggars 

Banquet-RCA)  1990* 

Heir  to  the  existential  angst  of  such  late-'70s  lumi- 
naries as  John  Lydon  and  Tom  Verlaine,  England's  Ian 
Lowery  (whose  first  recorded  musical  strivings  were 
with  a  late-*70s  punk  band,  the  Wall)  talk-sings  in  that 
wonderfully  curdled  sneer  we've  heard  a  million  times 
before.  But  few  do  it  as  well. 

Lowery  has  had  his  current  moves  down  pat  since 
the  days  he  fronted  the  Folk  Devils.  Goodnight  Irony 
reeks  with  attitude;  the  band  rocks  hard  and  sullen  as 
Lowery  grunts,  gasps  and  snarls.  Tracks  like  "Evil 
Eye,"  "English  Disease"  and  "Beautiful  Monster" 
would  all  seem  dumb  without  his  theatrical  flair. 

Going  out  on  his  own  under  the  King  Blank  moni- 
ker, Lowery  continued  his  wicked  ways  on  the  three- 
track  Mouth  Off,  featuring  the  input  of  Screaming  Blue 
Messiahs  honcho  Bill  Carter,  who  produced  and  played 
on  one  song  and  co-wrote  two.  With  the  Messiahs  back- 
ing him  on  the  title  track,  Lowery  seems  newly  danger- 
ous, even  throwing  in  a  good  imitation  of  a  shivering  fit. 

Lowery  then  assembled  some  sympathetic  sidemen 
and  turned  King  Blank  into  a  real  band.  Mimicking 
Dylan's  Bringing  It  All  Back  Home  on  the  cover  of 
The  Real  Dirt,  Lowery  broadened  his  range  without 
any  reduction  in  arrogance.  Thanks  to  his  versatile  side- 
men,  he's  able  to  touch  on  rockabilly,  woozy  ballads, 
vicious  boogie,  a  chugging  throwback  to  the  Velvet  Un- 
derground ("Uptight"),  even  bogus  country  music 
("Bulletproof  t,"  as  in  crucifix).  Nasty  and  delectable. 

Renaming  King  Blank  (with  only  a  drummer 
change)  to  give  himself  star  billing,  the  Ian  Lowery 
Group  made  its  debut  with  an  outstanding  album.  King 
Blank  To  features  harsh,  clanging  guitars,  unpleasantly 
throbbing  beats  and  an  avalanche  of  knotty,  clenched- 
fist  lyrics  from  the  uptight  Mr.  L.  High  points:  the  om- 
inous "A  Kind  of  Loathing"  ("The  only  help  that  I'd 
give  you  is  to  hand  you  your  pills/ And  close  your  eyes 
when  you're  gone"),  the  rollicking  "Never  Trust  Me" 
(* 'Crack  that  bottle  Jack  and  we'll  kill  this  rage  in  our 
souls1*)  and  other  sagas  of  revenge  and  regret,  [jy] 


257 


THE  DIN 

Eat  My  Dust  Cleanse  My  Soul  [tape]  (Religious)  1984 

(Homestead)  1985 
Take  off  Your  Skin  (PVC)  1 987 

Pseudonymous  singer  Dredd  Foole  (Dan  Ireton)  was 
a  longtime  friend  and  musical  associate  of  the  Mission 
of  Burma;  the  Bostonian  borrowed  that  group,  redubbed 
it  the  Din  and  had  it  back  Mm  on  an  early  single.  Vol- 
cano Suns — a  Burma  offshoot — fulfilled  the  same  role 
on  Eat  My  Dust,  originally  released  on  cassette  but 
reissued  on  vinyl.  Recorded  live  to  two-track  and  in- 
cluding covers  of  the  Doors*  "People  Are  Strange,"  the 
Animals'  "I'm  Crying"  and  Iggy's  "I  Got  a  Right," 
the  LP  reveals  Foole  to  be  a  tuneless  bellower;  his  wob- 
bly marble-mouthisms  fit  strangely  with  the  skillfully 
played  demi-punk  garage  music.  Enthusiasm  may  not 
be  a  problem,  but  melody  sure  is. 

Take  off  Your  Skin,  which  uses  the  same  Din  (Pe- 
ter Prescott,  Jon  Williams  and  Jeff  Weigand  of  Volcano 
Suns,  plus  guitarist  Kenny  Chambers,  soon  to  join  Bul- 
let LaVolta),  manages  to  make  something  more  listen- 
able  out  of  Ireton' s  devolved  oral  emissions.  By  noising 
up  the  music  and  harnessing  a  more  controlled  singing 
style,  the  LP  hits  a  workable — almost  Crampsian — 
equilibrium  that's  plug  ugly  but  bracing  in  its  forceful 
post-punk  courage.  [ij 

See  also  Mission  of  Burma,  Volcano  Suns. 

FOOL  KILLERS 

See  True  West. 

FOOLS 

Sold  Out  (EMI  America)  1 980 
Heavy  Mental  (EMI  America)  1981 
World  Dance  Party  (PVC)  1985 
Wake  Up  ...  It's  Alive!!!  (PVC)  1 988  ® 

After  an  auspiciously  flip  debut — "Psycho 
Chicken,"  the  hysterical  barnyard  parody  of  Talking 
Heads*  "Psycho  Killer" — Boston's  Fools  proved  to  be 
neither  funny  (intentionally  or  otherwise)  nor  musically 
enthralling  on  either  Sold  Out  or  Heavy  Mental,  de- 
spite the  best  efforts  of  accomplished  producers  (Pete 
Solley  and  Vini  Poncia,  respectively).  After  several 
years  of  national-scene  silence,  the  Fools  returned  with 
World  Dance  Party  in  1985,  sporting  a  half-new  lineup 
and  a  bit  of  sunny  cowpoke  vapidity  called  "Life  Sucks 
.  .  .  Then  You  Die." 

The  club-rocking  live  album,  recorded  in  Boston  in 
early  1987  by  the  same  humorless  but  competent  quar- 
tet, includes  terrible  versions  of  "Mack  the  Knife"  and 
"The  Sound  [sic]  of  Silence"  along  with  equally  en- 
thralling originals,  almost  none  drawn  from  prior  al- 
bums, [i] 

FOOLS  DANCE 

See  Cure. 

FOR  AGAINST 

Echelons  (Independent  Project)  1987 

December  (Independent  Project)  1 988  • 

In  the  Marshes  EP  (Independent  Project)  1 990 


For  Against  are  one  of  the  best  new  American  bands 
of  the  late  '80s,  but  that's  a  secret  the  US  new  music 
public  has  yet  to  discover,  possibly  because  the  trio 
hails  from  the  unlikely  mecca  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska. 
Although  obviously  influenced  by  the  UK  post- Joy  Di- 
vision sound,  For  Against  add  their  own  distinct  ripple; 
singer  Jeffrey  Runnings'  frantic  bass  and  Greg  Hill's 
charging  drums  are  unusual  for  such  atmospheric  music. 
Yet  all  through  Echelons,  the  echoed  sound  of  guitarist 
Harry  Dmgman  arouses  a  berserk  fireworks  show  ca- 
reening like  a  thousand  power  drills.  Pin  it  to  the  non- 
stop rhythm  section  and  Runnings'  boyishly  sweet 
catchy  pop  voice,  and  For  Against  are  a  waterfall  of 
sound.  When  the  tempo  slows  down,  they  draw  you  in 
like  a  hypnotist,  as  on  the  tantalizing  six-minute  closer, 
"Broke  My  Back." 

December  is  a  stunner,  a  high-water  mark  for  UK- 
inspired  American  music.  Dmgman  pulls  out  all  the 
stops  for  a  neo-psychedelic  spiderweb  of  sound.  Run- 
nings' bass  lines  are  also  more  forceful,  well  supported 
by  Hill's  Stewart  Copeland-on-speed  bashing,  a  pulsing 
drive  marked  by  rapid  cymbal  rolls  and  floor  torn  flour- 
ishes. There's  greater  scope,  too,  from  the  slow  door- 
bell chime  of  "The  Effect,"  the  moody,  emotional 
collapse  of  the  title  track  and  the  brave  despair  of  "The 
Last  Laugh"  to  the  exciting  arousal  of  "Clandestine 
High  Holy"  and  "Stranded  in  Greenland."  A  remark- 
able and  ambitious  effort. 

In  the  Marshes  is  a  10-inch  artifact  of  1986  demos. 
Predating  both  albums,  these  six  tracks  bear  little  rela- 
tion to  their  manic  pop  thrill  (especially  with  Hill  sup- 
planted by  a  no-frills  drum  machine).  Attempting  a 
4AD-style  chamber  atmosphere,  For  Against  succeeds 
only  twice,  on  the  bitter  "Purgatory  Salesman"  and  the 
spindly  "Amnesia." 

Dmgman  and  Hill  departed  in  "89  to  form  the  Mil- 
lions, while  Runnings  has  switched  to  guitar  and  re- 
cruited three  new  For  Against  members.  [jr] 


FORGOTTEN  REBELS 

This  Ain't  Hollywood  . . .  (Can.  Star)  1 983 
In  Love  with  the  System  (Can.  Star)  1 984 
The  Pride  and  the  Disgrace  (Can.  Other  People's  Music) 

1985 

Surfin'  on  Heroin  (Restless)  1 988  * 
(Unfilled)  (Restless)  1989* 

CHRIS  HOUSTON  AND  THE  SEX 

MACHINE 

Hate  Filled  Man  (Can.  Caucasian)  1986 

Ridiculous  but  fun,  these  Ontario  glam  punks  lead 
off  their  first  LP  with  a  buzz-saw  version  of  Gary  Glit- 
ter's "Hello  Hello"  and  then  blast  a  perfect  merseybeat 
melody  into  the  Ramonized  present.  Elsewhere,  they 
cover  "Eve  of  Destruction,"  go  "Surfin  *  on  Heroin" 
and  vent  their  frustration  about  the  balance  of  rock  trade 
in  "England  Keep  Yer  Stars."  Throughout,  singer 
Mickey  DeSadist  fights  off  an  overactive  echo  chamber 
as  the  other  three  Rebels  pound  out  efficient  wall-of- 
guitar  punk. 

The  second  LP  finds  the  revamped  Rebels  in  a  much 
more  aggressive  mood,  cursing  a  lot  and  resembling 
Sham  69  on  shoutalong  choruses  like  "Bomb  the  Boats 
and  Feed  the  Fish"  and  "In  Love  with  the  System."  In 


258 


spots,  DeSadist  affects  an  outdated  Johnny  Rotten  voice. 
The  subject  matter  is  similarly  well-trod:  "Rich  and 
Bored,"  "Elvis  Is  Dead,"  "The  Punks  Are  Alright" 
(rewriting  the  Who's  "Kids  Are  Alright").  Also,  the 
playing  is  fancier,  with  dynamics  and  arrangements  that 
often  resemble  early  Clash.  It's  a  weird  mixture:  pop- 
punk/straight  punk.  Not  very  inventive,  but  a  highly 
enjoyable  throwback. 

A  new  gang  of  Rebels  (DeSadist  and  guitarist  Mike 
Mirabella  are  still  in  charge)  cropped  up  in  1988  with  an 
American  album  containing  all-new  recordings  of  pre- 
viously released  songs.  Surfra'  on  Heroin  retreads 
"Bomb  the  Boats,"  "Elvis  Is  Dead,"  "I'm  m  Love 
with  the  System"  and  others,  adding  a  couple  of  topical 
new  compositions  (like  "A.I.D.S.")  for  good  measure. 
The  vibrant,  loud  punk-rock  sound  recalls  the  Dead 
Boys  or  Generation  X;  low-brow/high-energy  songwnt- 
ing  that  crosses  the  Monkees  with  the  Ramones  gives 
the  Rebels  a  solid  basis  for  their  polite  blow-torch  as- 
sault. If  a  total  lack  of  originality  can  be  excused, 
Surfin*  on  Heroin  is  a  big  fun  date.  But  who  played  the 
organ? 

DeSadist  (now  spelled  DeSadest)  is  the  only  origi- 
nal Rebel  on  (Untitled).  The  material  is  as  derivative 
and  uneven  as  ever,  but  a  capable  new  guitarist  (Jeffrey 
Dee)  and  crisp,  roaring  sound  give  the  LP  a  powerful 
charge.  Over  the  course  of  this  zany  set,  the  quartet 
delves  into  Bowiesque  glam  ("Wild  Eyed  Darlin'  "), 
gets  a  good  fix  on  Johnny  Thunders  ("The  Girl  Can't 
Come"),  trashes  Tommy  Roe's  "Dizzy"  and  parodies 
Johnny  Cash  in  the  offensively  vulgar  "I  Gotta  Axe." 
Capping  off  the  silliness  is  "Science  Fiction  Double 
Feature,"  a  dumb  name-check  of  B-movie  stars.  The 
(Untitled)  CD  also  contains  the  Surfin'  on  Heroin  LP. 

Bassist  Chris  Houston — who  went  under  the  name 
Pogo  Au  Go  Go  on  In  Love  with  the  System — put  his 
own  dixieland  version  of  "Surfing  on  Heroin"  on  Hate 
Filled  Man,  a  casual  solo  outing  (with  a  wacky  astro- 
turf  cover!)  that  followed  his  departure  from  the  Rebels. 
But  that  song  is  all  that  connects  the  two  career  phases. 
Houston  exercises  his  cultural  misanthropy  in  a  mixture 
of  rudimentary  studio  tracks  and  even  simpler  solo  live 
performances  that  have  nothing  in  common  with  glam 
punk  except  the  fear  of  conventionalism.  From  the 
woozy  blend  of  trumpet,  piano,  simple  drums  and  bass 
on  "Ecstasy  of  Ignorance"  to  the  tremolo  electric  guitar 
ravings  of  "Baby  Jesus  Looks  Like  Elvis"  to  the  funky 
rock  of  "Negative  Groove,"  Houston  demonstrates  a 
quick  wit  and  enough  musical  skill  to  make  this  strange 
album  more  than  a  little  entertaining.  [i] 

ROBERT  FORSTER 

See  Go-Betweens. 

FORTUNATE  SONS 

See  Barracudas. 

45  GRAVE 

Sleep  in  Safety  (Enigma)  1983 

Autopsy  (Restless)  1 987  • 

Only  the  Good  Die  Young  (Restless)  1989  <f> 

SILVER  CHALICE 

Evil  Birds  EP(XES)  1985 


Celebrity  Skin  EP  (Triple  X)  1990  • 

Los  Angeles'  45  Grave  were  the  leaders  of  the  1981 
death-rock  explosion  that  also  birthed,  among  others, 
Christian  Death  and  Dance  with  Me-era  TSOL.  The 
group  was  a  breath  of  fresh  graveyard  air  and,  unlike 
many  serious  gloomsters,  always  kept  tongue  firmly  in 
cinematic  cheek.  Playing  with  punky  venom  and  a  slick 
metallic  sound  (the  goth-horror  edge  made  it  an  abso- 
lutely prescient  mix),  the  fearsome  foursome  (later  a 
quintet)  was  led  by  Phoenix-bred  guitarist  Paul  B.  Cut- 
ler and  his  vampiric  inamorata,  vocalist  Mary  '  'Dinah 
Cancer"  Sims,  rounded  out  by  ex-Germs  drummer  Don 
Bolles  and  bassist  Rob  Graves  (Ritter),  also  a  member 
of  the  Bags  and  Gun  Club. 

The  legendary  "Black  Cross  "/"Wax"  single  and 
three  cuts  on  the  seminal  Hell  Comes  to  Yotir  House 
compilation  inaugurated  45  Grave's  career  in  '81,  es- 
tablishing the  blend  of  Cutler's  crisp,  offbeat  riffing  and 
Cancer's  artless,  icy  shrieks.  By  the  time  their  first  al- 
bum shambled  in,  Paul  Roessler  had  joined,  adding  his 
effervescent  keyboards  into  the  macabre  brew.  The  con- 
sistently creepy  Sleep  in  Safety  contains  most  of  the 
band's  best  songs:  multi-textured  creations  like  "Insur- 
ance from  God,"  "Dream  Hits"  and  "Phantoms"  (an 
'82  single),  the  catchy  "Evil,"  a  delightfully  unex- 
pected Ventures-like  instrumental  ("Surf  Bat"),  the 
giddy  "45  Grave' '  theme  song  and  a  fist- waving  anthem 
("Partytime,"  redone  the  following  year  as  the  B-side 
to  a  snazzy  version  of  Alice  Cooper's  "School's  Out"). 

By  '85,  Cutler  and  Cancer  had  split,  effectively  end- 
ing the  band.  Cutler  went  on  to  a  prominent  and  influ- 
ential career  as  a  record  producer  and  session  player, 
and  joined  Dream  Syndicate  in  1986.  Autopsy  was  com- 
missioned to  fill  in  some  gray  areas,  mainly  document- 
ing early,  punky  material:  the  first  single,  demo  versions 
of  later  hits,  a  hilarious  compilation  track  ( "Riboflavin- 
flavored,  Non-carbonated,  Polyunsaturated  Blood") 
and  nine  previously  unreleased  songs. 

Meanwhile,  Graves  and  Bolles  formed  Silver  Chal- 
ice with  producer/guitarist  Geza  X;  the  group  also  in- 
cluded a  guitar-playing  songwriter  and  poppy  singer 
Kim  Komet.  Despite  the  name  and  crypto-metal  art- 
work, the  quintet's  one  EP  (released  on  Geza's  label)  is 
surprisingly  unthreatening  and  unpunky,  a  small-scale 
rock-pop  effort  with  neither  style  nor  personality. 

A  few  years  later,  45  Grave  began  doing  irregular 
West  Coast  reunion  tours.  The  full-length  Only  the 
Good  Die  Young  captures  an  '88  Hollywood  gig  with 
ace  sound  quality.  The  invigorated  original  quartet 
shreds  through  all  the  big  numbers  and  a  bevy  of  en- 
trancing new  songs,  including  "Sorceress,"  "Akira 
Raideen,"  the  rib-tickling  * 'Fucked  by  the  Devil"  and  a 
surreal  version  of  Dave  Brabeck's  jazz  classic  "Take 
Five"  (the  jumping-off  point  for  a  psychedelicized  Cut- 
ler solo  interlude).  Ritter  died  of  an  OD  in  1990. 

Bolles'  current  outfit,  Celebrity  Skin,  comes  on  like 
a  high-octane  mix  of  early  Cheap  Trick,  Hanoi  Rocks 
and  the  Dickies.  The  three-song  (four  on  CD)  Celebrity 
Skin  EP  offers  two  doses  of  humorous  hard  pop  with  a 
snaky  glam  edge  ("Monster"  and  Abba's  reliable 
"S.O.S.")  and  a  filler  metallic  instrumental  ("Clown 
Scare").  Nice  try.  [i/gef] 

See  also  D.C.3,  Dream  Syndicate,  Pat  Ruthen- 
Smear,  Thelonious  Monster. 


259 


FOUNDATION 

Voyage  (Fartblossom  Enterprises)  1 986 
Tied  Up  with  a  Monkey  (DS!)  1 988 

For  proof  that  underground  music  thrives  outside  of 
big  cities,  consider  the  Washington,  DC,  suburb  of  Re- 
ston,  Virginia,  a  planned  community  originally  built  by 
the  Mobil  Corporation.  One  of  a  fine  array  of  young 
bands  that  exist  there,  distinct  from  their  DC  peers, 
Foundation  explores  a  thoughtful  punk/rock  hybrid  with 
some  interesting  twists. 

Recorded  as  a  quartet,  the  23-minute  Voyage  mini- 
album  includes  "Winter  Vision,"  an  instrumental  that 
treads  dangerously  close  to  a  '70s  wizards  and  warlocks 
sound,  as  well  as  some  above-average  rockers  ("Half- 
way to  50,"  "It's  Not  as  Bad")  and  the  title  track,  a 
mixture  of  pop-punk  and  new  wave  cheesiness  that  is 
somewhat  reminiscent  of  a  certain  Psychedelic  Furs 
song.  Foundation's  bassist,  lead  guitarist  and  drummer 
each  share  lead  vocal  duties,  sacrificing  continuity  but 
adding  variety  to  a  set  of  songs  that  might  otherwise  go 
stale. 

After  a  lineup  change,  the  trio  wound  up  on  a  Virginia 
label,  which  released  the  remarkably  mature  Tied  Up 
with  a  Monkey.  Intricate  punky  rockers  like  "Emo 
O.D."  and  "Walking  on  Stilts"  are  great  tracks,  as  is  the 
band's  theme  song,  "Foundation."  A  hardcore  sendup 
("Must  You  Keep  Us  Awake  with  Your  Constant  Uri- 
nating' ' )  and  a  cover  of  the  Byrds'  *  *The  World  Turns  All 
Around  Her"  are  also  worth  hearing.  [icm] 

4  SKINS 

The  Good,  the  Bad  &  the  4  Skins  (nr/Secret)  T982 

A  Fistful  of  4  Skins  (nr/Syndicate)  1 983 

From  Chaos  to  1984  (nr/Syndicate)  1984 

The  Wonderful  World  of  the  4  Skins:  The  Best  of  the  4 

Skins  (nr/Link)  1 987 

A  Few  4  Skins  More  Volume  1  (nr/Link)  1 987 
A  Few  4  Skins  More  Volume  2  (nr/Link)  1 987 
Live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1989 

One  of  the  mainstays  of  second- wave  Brit-punk, 
London's  harsh  and  serious  4  Skins — not  as  intense  as 
Crass,  but  far  more  earnest  than  Sham  69 — endured 
major  lineup  changes  (they  went  through  four  lead  sing- 
ers including,  at  one  point,  the  quartet's  manager)  long 
enough  to  record  three  albums  in  the  early  '80s. 

The  studio  side  of  The  Good,  the  Bad  &  the  4 
Skins  starts  out  with  a  delightful  ska-beat  tune  ( "Plastic 
Gangsters")  and  then  turns  angry  skinhead  generic  for 
shoutalongs  like  "Justice"  and  "Yesterdays  Heroes." 
The  seven-song  live  side  is  equally  forbidding  (Pan- 
ther's vocals  are  especially  unpleasant). 

With  only  bassist  Hoxton  Tom  remaining  from  the 
first  LP,  A  Fistful  of  4  Skins  moderates  a  more  musical 
punk  sound  that  makes  adequate  material  (the  group's 
lyrics  are  actually  pretty  sharp)  easy  to  take  but  hard  to 
remember.  Packaged  in  one  sleeve,  the  first  two  albums 
were  later  reissued  in  toto  as  A  Few  4  Skins  More 
Volume  1. 

The  4  Skins'  last  release  before  splitting  in  late  '84 
was  the  live  From  Chaos  to  1984,  recorded  in  a  studio 
before  an  audience  of  invited  friends.  That  album  com- 
prises one  disc  of  the  double  A  Few  4  Skins  More 
Volume  2;  the  other  is  a  rarities  compilation  of  the 


group's  earliest  efforts,  B-sides  and  other  obscure 
ephemera  for  the  hardcore  hardcore.  The  sixteen-track 
Wonderful  World  retrospective  collects  up  a  definitive 
sampling  of  singles,  album  cuts  and  compilation  con- 
tributions, [i] 

Touch  Sensitive  (Arista)  1 984 

Although  he  was  one-third  of  an  ultra-successful 
band,  Foxton  had  to  try  and  relaunch  his  career  virtually 
from  ground  zero  after  Paul  Weller  bagged  the  Jam  in 
1982.  Surprisingly,  the  bassist's  first  solo  album  is  quite 
good,  and  happily  free  of  any  attempt  to  recapture  the 
sound  which  made  him  a  star.  With  a  four-man  band 
and  a  bunch  of  guests,  Foxton  sings  and  plays  ten  orig- 
inal tunes  in  a  number  of  styles,  from  busy  dance-rock 
to  wistful  big-production  pop.  Throughout,  he  adapts 
his  bluff  voice  as  best  he  can;  ingenuous  earnestness  is 
a  strong  suit.  The  lyrics  regularly  mention  loss,  individ- 
ual responsibility  and  uncertainty — it's  obvious  the 
Jam's  end  was  a  traumatic  experience — but  Touch  Sen- 
sitive is  a  promising  (albeit  unsuccessful)  new  begin- 
ning for  a  sincere,  talented  performer.  [i] 

See  also  Jam. 


JOHN  FOXX 

Metamatic  (nr/Metal  Beat-Virgin)  1980 

John  Foxx  (Can.  Virgin)  1981 

The  Garden  (nr/Meta!  Beat-Virgin)  1981 

The  Golden  Section  (nr/Metal  Beat-Virgin)  1983 

In  Mysterious  Ways  {nr/Metal  Beat-Virgin)  1 985  • 

After  three  albums  as  lead  vocalist,  John  Foxx  (Den- 
nis Leigh)  left  Ultravox  to  pursue  a  solo  career.  A  prime 
factor  in  the  group's  original  sound,  Foxx  was,  by  ex- 
tension, a  major  influence  on  the  new  romantic  move- 
ment that  followed  in  its  wake.  Fortunately,  both 
Ultravox  and  Foxx  solo  continued  to  make  music  of 
quality  and  distinction. 

Metamatic  is  Foxx's  first  venture  alone  into  the 
world  of  synthesizers,  Ultravox's  subsequent  instrument 
of  choice.  In  emulation  of  his  own  work  and  Conny 
Plank's  production  on  Ultravox's  Systems  of  Romance, 
Foxx  (aided  by  another  synthesist  and  a  bassist)  finds 
the  perfect  counterpart  for  his  themes  of  alienation  and 
dislocation  in  sterile,  minimalist  electronic  sounds.  His 
vocals  are  oddly  distant,  like  echoes,  but  the  record  has 
an  honesty  and  directness  that  are  quite  affecting.  (John 
Foxx  is  a  Canadian  compilation  that  rearranges  a  num- 
ber of  songs  from  Metamatic.) 

The  Garden  is  a  lush,  thick  paean  to  Foxx's  Cathol- 
icism and  the  mysticism  that  has  always  lurked  beneath 
his  austere  urbanity.  Pastoral  in  tone,  the  album  flour- 
ishes under  a  denser  sound,  replete  with  acoustic  instru- 
ments that  offset  the  onslaught  of  synthesizers.  Foxx's 
themes  remain  the  same,  which  is  good,  and  his  song- 
writing  and  flair  for  imagery  reach  new  peaks  on  mas- 
terpieces like  * 'Europe  After  the  Rain"  and  "Walk 
Away,"  which  provide  melancholic  views  of  familiar, 
mysterious  worlds. 

Co-produced  by  Foxx  and  Zeus  B.  Held,  The 
Golden  Section  has  a  bizarrely  Beatlesque  sound  on 
several  tracks,  mildly  resembling  the  Fab  Four's  late- 


260 


career  psychedelia.  Foxx  is  his  usual  enigmatic,  inven- 
tive self,  spinning  moody  creations  that  neatly  sidestep 
synthesizer  cliches;  the  only  flaw  is  in  his  dramatic  vo- 
cals. "Endlessly"  (also  a  single)  is  the  album's  clear 
standout,  a  magnificent  multi-level  pop  creation  that 
parallels  Foxx's  former  group's  development  while 
clearly  displaying  a  character  all  his  own.  The  cassette 
version  has  six  extra  tracks. 

In  Mysterious  Ways  deals  largely  in  romantic  cli- 
ches (e.g.,  "Stars  on  Fire,"  "This  Side  of  Para- 
dise")— m  some  cases  the  title's  even  the  dominant 
lyric! — and  the  bombast  quotient  is  sometimes  height- 
ened by  overuse  of  female  backing  vocals  (girl-groupy 
on  "Enter  the  Angel,"  gospelly  on  "This  Side  of  Par- 
adise"). But  Foxx's  earnest,  electro-rock  casanova 
charm  somehow  makes  it  work.  From  the  dance-rock  of 
"What  Kind  of  Girl"  to  the  Astral  Weeks-mess  of 
"Morning  Glory,"  the  mix  may  not  be  all  that  original, 
but  it's  still  consistently  entertaining.  [sg/i/jg] 

See  also  Ultravox. 


FRANK  CHICKENS 

We  Are  Frank  Chickens  (nr/Kaz)  1 984 
The  Best  of  Frank  Chickens  [CD]  (nr/Kaz)  1 987  • 
Get  Chickenized  (nr/F!ying  Lecords)  1987  • 
Club  Monkey  (nr/Flying  Lecords)  1989  * 

The  two  Japanese  women  (Kazuko  Hohki,  Kazumi 
Taguchi)  who  comprise  Frank  Chickens  are  both  proud 
of  and  amused  by  their  country's  diverse  cultural  con- 
tributions to  the  world.  On  one  hand,  the  debut  album 
pays  tribute  to  Ninja  warriors  and  emotional  Enka  bal- 
lads, but  the  duo  also  sings  with  mock  reverence  on 
"Mothra,"  named  for  a  classic  low-budget  monster 
movie.  Lyrics  and  liner  notes  are  both  hilarious  and/or 
absurd  (see  "Shellfish  Bamboo").  Musically  mixing 
synth-pop  (created  in  the  main  by  the  English  writing/ 
production  team  of  Steve  Beresford  and  David  Toop) 
with  funk  and  jazz,  the  Chickens  also  incorporate  Jap- 
anese musical  traditions.  Very  entertaining. 

Taguchi  became  an  ex-Chicken  and  was  replaced  by 
Atsuko  Kamura  prior  to  Get  Chickenized.  Lyrics  are 
even  more  preposterously  campy  than  before,  this  time 
dealing  mostly  with  observations  of,  and  experiences 
with,  Western  culture.  "Yellow  Toast"  concerns  being 
a  hip  but  exploited  flavor-of-the-month  in  England; 
"You  think  we  are  full  of  Zen/But  we  prefer  lots  of 
yen/We  are  stupid  little  Japs/ And  you  are  splendid  En- 
glish chaps."  Other  songs  are  not  as  bitter  and  sarcastic 
as  that,  instead  addressing  subjects  ranging  from  non- 
sensical Japanese  lessons  to  female  wrestling.  The  pre- 
mature fifteen-track  Best  of  Frank  Chickens  draws 
from  the  debut  LP  and  early  45s. 

Always  in  danger  of  being  viewed  strictly  as  a  nov- 
elty act,  Frank  Chickens  manage  to  avoid  such  trappings 
by  remaining  uniquely  bizarre.  Club  Monkey  tells  a 
story  about  "Monkey  People*'  who  eat  dogs  as  a  drug 
and  burn  dead  bodies  so  they  can  revive  them  as  ghosts. 
After  repression  by  the  English  squashes  these  time- 
honored  traditions,  they  plot  a  revolution,  to  be  led  by  a 
kung  fu  movie  star.  Got  that?  There  might  be  something 
in  there  about  animal  rights;  if  so,  it's  a  lot  more  amus- 
ing than  a  similar  message  from  Morrissey.  Musically, 


the  Chickens  offer  the  same  oddball  melange  as  earlier 
albums,  and  the  lyrics  are  as  farcical  as  ever.       [dgs] 


TO 
HOLLYWOOD 

Welcome  to  the  Pfeasuredome  (ZTT-JsIand)  1984  • 
Liverpool  (ZTT-Island)  1 986  • 

HOLLY 

Blast  (Uni)  1989® 

Hollelujah  EP  {nr/MCA)  1990  ® 

Dreams  That  Money  Can't  Buy  {nr/MCA}  1 991  ® 

PAUL  RUTHERFORD 

Oh  World  (4th  &  B'way)  1 989  ® 

In  one  of  rock's  most  spectacular  hypes  (certainly 
the  greatest  since  Malcolm  McLaren  first  perpetrated  the 
Pistols  swindle),  Frankie  Goes  to  Hollywood — a  minor 
hi-NRG  dance  outfit  with  genealogically  fascinating  or- 
igins in  the  '70s  Liverpool  scene — became  a  highly  con- 
troversial and  enormously  successful  UK  chart 
phenomenon  in  1984,  thanks  to  the  combined  talents  of 
producer  Trevor  Horn  and  critic-turned-propagandist 
Paul  Morley,  via  their  ZTT  label.  The  blatant  homo- 
erotica  of  "Relax"  got  Frankie  banned  on  English  radio 
while  the  leather-bar  setting  of  its  accompanying  video 
earned  them  similar  turndowns  on  television.  'Two 
Tribes,"  an  inchoate  condemnation  of  the  nuclear 
threat,  complete  with  thundering  dancebeat,  continued 
the  band's  phenomenal  rise.  Having  reached  dizzying 
heights  via  what  seemed  like  dozens  of  remixes  of  the 
two  songs,  all  that  remained  for  the  icon  of  a  million 
clever  T-shirts  was  to  record  an  album.  And  (thanks  to 
the  uncredited  musical  skills  of  former  Ian  Dury  side- 
men,  it  was  later  revealed)  make  one — or,  precisely, 
two — they  did. 

Welcome  to  the  Pleasuredome  has  four  sides  of  the 
Frankies  in  all  their  artificial/superficial  glory.  From  the 
hits  (the  two  pre-LP  singles  plus  "War"  and  "Welcome 
to  the  Pleasuredome")  to  the  pits  ('Terry  Cross  the 
Mersey,"  "Do  You  Know  the  Way  to  San  Jose,"  "The 
Power  of  Love"),  Frankie  say,  "We  may  not  be  able  to 
do  it  ourselves,  but  when  you  care  enough  you  get  the 
very  best  to  cover  for  us."  A  brilliant  load  of  bullshit, 
served  with  as  much  panache — marketing  and 
musical — as  the  1980s  could  muster. 

It  proved  increasingly  difficult  for  the  pseudo-group 
to  even  appear  to  work  together  harmoniously,  and  the 
prospects  of  a  second  album  seemed  remote.  Nonethe- 
less, Liverpool  was  eventually  cobbled  together  and 
issued:  eight  long  songs  that  mimic  the  sound  but  pos- 
sess none  of  the  Oz-like  glory  that  was  Frankie.  With 
the  golden  goose  laying  nothing  but  plastic,  the  group 
collapsed  in  1987. 

After  surviving  an  altogether  embarrassing  legal  al- 
tercation with  his  former  label,  lead  singer  Holly 
Johnson  began  a  solo  career,  issuing  the  bland-as-beans 
Blast  with  no  residual  Frankieness  (other  than  a  few 
vocal  gimmicks).  Clearly  more  skilled  as  a  songwriter 
than  he  will  ever  be  as  a  vocalist,  Johnson  provides 
himself  with  goodnatured  soul-pop-dance  tunes  (pro- 
duced by  Dan  Hartman  and  others)  but  lacks  the  talent 
and  personality  to  personalize  them  on  record.  If  David 
Bowie  ever  decides  to  remake  Young  Americans,  he 


261 


should  ask  Johnson  to  return  some  of  these  stylistic 
borrowings.  HoIIelujah  contains  half  a  dozen  remixes. 

Frankie's  other  vocalist,  Paul  Rutherford,  shaved 
off  his  moustache  and  stepped  into  the  dance  club  spot- 
light with  a  slick  series  of  shallow  neo-soul  and  house 
singles,  some  produced/performed  by  ABC.  A  compi- 
lation of  UK  hits  and  more,  Oh  World  is  a  routine 
dance  record  that  reveals  Rutherford  to  have  a  person- 
ably  plain  voice  and  no  special  aptitude  for  this  sort  of 
music.  [ij 

See  also  Big  in  Japan. 

FREAKWATER 

See  Eleventh  Dream  Day. 

FREIHEIT 

See  Munchener  Freiheit. 

FRENCH,  FRITH,  KAISER, 
THOMPSON 

See  Henry  Kaiser. 

FRANK  FRENCH  AND  KEVN 
KINNEY 

See  Drivin'  n'  Cryin' . 

DOUG  E.  FRESH  &  THE  GET 
CREW 

Oh,  My  God!  (Reality)  1986 

The  World's  Greatest  Entertainer  (Reality)  1988  <J> 

Typical  of  the  fast-moving  New  York  rap  scene, 
these  two  albums  by  Doug  E.  Fresh  (Davis) — the  orig- 
inal human  beatbox,  and  one  of  the  leading  young  rhym- 
ers to  pick  up  from  the  original  old-schoolers  like 
Grandmaster  Flash  and  Kurtis  Blow — sound  amazingly 
quaint  after  only  a  few  years.  Far  removed  from  the 
strong  content  and  intense  beats  of  the  Public  Enemy/ 
N.W.A.  generation,  Fresh  runs  a  moderate  course,  with 
a  bit  of  reggae  toasting,  polite  tracks  and  very  little 
attitude.  Originally  partnered  with  Ricky  Dee  (who  later 
went  solo  as  Slick  Rick),  Fresh — like  nearly  all  MCs 
until  the  late  '80s — stuck  with  12-inch  singles,  scoring 
a  1985  international  hit  with  "The  Show  (Oh,  My 
God)." 

Oh,  My  God!  makes  good  use  of  live  musicians 
(trumpeter  Jimmy  Owens,  synthesist  Bernard  Wright, 
etc.)  and  contains  an  anti-abortion  number;  The 
World's  Greatest  Entertainer  also  uses  real  players 
(including  drummer  Charlie  Drayton),  boasts  several 
tracks  co-produced  by  P.E.'s  Bomb  Squad  and  ends 
with  a  thoughtful  rap  about  visiting  Africa.  [i] 

See  also  Slick  Rick. 

FRESHLY  WRAPPED  CANDIES 

I  Like  You  (T.E.C.  Tones-Ralph)  1 989  • 

Mental  health  professionals  know  that  it's  healthy  to 
let  the  child  inside  you  come  out  and  play  every  now 
and  then.  Freshly  Wrapped  Candies  do  it  in  the  record- 
ing studio.  Most  of  I  Like  You  sounds  either  like  a 
polite  juvenile  version  of  the  Butthole  Surfers  or  kin- 


dergarten teachers  on  acid;  even  when  the  musical  style 
is  avant-rock  vignettes,  it  gets  topped  with  nonsense 
lyrics  sung  in  goofball  voices.  Most  of  the  songs  (rang- 
ing from  just  over  ten  seconds  to  almost  ten  minutes) 
feature  only  guitars  and  vocals,  but  others  actually  get 
their  titles  from  their  instrumentation,  like  "Flute(s)" 
and  "Majestic  Popular  Keyboarding."  (Unfortunately, 
"Voltage  Regulator"  doesn't  fit  into  that  category.)  On 
the  down  side,  several  tracks  annoyingly  emulate  a 
Walkman  with  dying  batteries.  Freshly  Wrapped  Can- 
dies' collective  elevator  might  not  make  it  all  the  way  to 
the  top  floor,  but  they  do  provide  goofy,  mildly  irritat- 
ing fun  in  a  nicely  art-damaged  kind  of  way.  But  don't 
play  it  for  your  therapist.  (The  CD  contains  seven  bonus 
tracks.)  [dgs] 

FREUR 

Doot—Doot  (Epic)  1983 

Get  Us  Out  of  Here  (nr/CBS)  1 985 

UNDERWORLD 

Underneath  the  Radar  (Sire)  1 988  ® 
Change  the  Weather  (Sire)  1 989  ® 

An  insular  and  intentionally  remote  British  art-pop 
band,  Freur  was  originally  identified  only  by  an  unpro- 
nounceable squiggle  rather  than  a  proper  name.  When 
the  gimmicky  hubbub  subsided,  all  that  was  left  for 
posterity  was  Boot — Boot's  title  track,  four  magnificent 
minutes  of  lilting,  haunting  synthesizer  ambience  with 
quirky  vocals  and  choral  backing. 

Freur  faded  from  sight  after  a  second  album  met 
with  even  less  response,  but  four-fifths  of  the  quintet 
returned  in  1988  as  the  Underworld,  an  enigmatic  but 
more  commercially  geared  organization.  Rupert  Hine's 
production  of  Underneath  the  Radar  gives  it  a  sturdy 
dance  backbone  and  the  familiar  sound  of  late- '80s  Brit- 
ish techno-beat;  Heaven  17  leaning  towards  the  Thomp- 
son Twins.  A  shade  above  average  with  a  fair  share  of 
ideas  and  invention,  but  still  nothing  to  compare  with 
the  participants'  one  extraordinary  item. 

If  singer  Karl  Hyde  were  Michael  Hutchence, 
"Change  the  Weather"  would  be  an  INXS  single,  but 
the  song  is  not  typical  of  the  unchallengingly  accessible 
album  named  for  it.  Loudly  textured  modern  rock  played 
on  guitars  and  keyboards,  Change  the  Weather  has 
better  vocals,  more  focus  and  personality  (some  of  it 
evidently  borrowed  from  more  successful  groups)  than 
the  Underworld's  debut.  Presentably  chart- worthy  with- 
out being  vile — these  days,  that's  quite  a  feat.  [i] 

GAVIN  FRIDAY  AND  THE  MAN 
SEEZER 

See  Virgin  Prunes. 

FRIGHTWIG 

Cat  Farm  Faboo  (Subterranean)  1 984 
Faster,  Frightwig,  Kill!  Kill!  (Caroline)  1986 
Phone  Sexy  EP  (Boner)  1 990  • 

With  songs  like  "My  Crotch  Does  Not  Say  Go," 
"Hot  Papa"  and  "Vagabondage,"  the  women  of  San 
Francisco's  Frightwig  make  no  bones  about  their  topical 
focus  on  Cat  Farm  Faboo.  The  provocative  lyrics' 
blunt  observations  on  aspects  of  love  would  be  more 


262 


worth  considering  if  not  for  the  band's  awful  noise,  a 
disorganized  tumult  of  screechy  vocals  and  sloppy  gui- 
tar droning. 

Bolstered  by  a  new  member  and  a  soft  spot  for 
tempo  and  harmonic  coordination,  the  quartet  got 
Beefheart  sideman  Eric  Drew  Feldman  to  co-produce 
and  contribute  a  bit  of  keyboards  to  Faster,  Frightwig 
(the  title  a  nicely  ironic  poke  at  filmmaker  Russ 
Meyer).  Playing  a  moderate  form  of  Flipperesque 
grind-rock  with  prominent  lumbering  bass  and  guitars 
that  sound  like  they  might  be  on  fire,  Frightwig  puts 
its  satirical  outrage  (and  outrageous  satire)  to  good  use 
in  songs  like  "Punk  Rock  Jail  Bait,"  "Crazy  World" 
and  "American  Xpress"  (guitarist  Susan  Miller's  bi- 
zarre travelogue).  Finishing  the  record  on  a  genuinely 
tender  note,  "I  Am  Here  Alone"  compresses  the 
band's  surging  music  into  a  gentle  bed  of  noise,  while 
"Freedom"  gets  a  handsome  folky  chorus  together  for 
a  touching  gospelly  plea. 

By  the  time  Redd  Kross'  McDonald  brothers  arrived 
to  produce  the  six-song  Phone  Sexy,  Frightwig  had  be- 
come a  trio,  with  only  founding  bassist/singer  Deanna 
Ashley  and  guitarist/singer  Rebecca  Tucker  remaining 
from  the  previous  lineup.  (Sister  Double  Happiness 
drummer  Lynn  Perko  completes  the  package.)  Kicking 
out  the  hard-rock  jams  with  kitschy  chanted  vocals  and 
guitar  feedback  on  a  remake  of  "American  Xpress," 
Frightwig  comes  off  like  Julie  Brown  doing  a  heavy 
metal  parody;  covering  Shonen  Knife's  "Public  Baths" 
they  sound  like  the  Runaways  with  bigger  amplifiers.  Is 
this  progress  or  what?  [i] 

ROBERT  FR1PP 

Exposure  (EG-Polydor)  1979  (Editions  EG)  1985  * 
Under  Heavy  Manners/God  Save  the  Queen 

(EG-Polydor)  1 980 

Let  the  Power  Fall  (Editions  EG)  1 981  • 
The  League  of  Gentlemen  (EG-Polydor)  1 981  +1 985 
Network  EP  (nr/EG)  1985  (EG)  1991  • 

ROBERT  FRiPP/THE  LEAGUE  OF 
GENTLEMEN 

God  Save  the  King  (Editions  EG)  1985  • 

ROBERT  FRIPP  AND  THE 
LEAGUE  OF  CRAFTY 
GUITARISTS 

Live!  (Editions  EG)  1 986  « 

TOYAH  &  FRIPP 

The  Lady  or  the  Tiger  (Editions  EG)  1 986  « 

SUNDAY  ALL  OVER  THE  WORLD 

Kneeling  at  the  Shrine  (EG)  1 991  • 

In  the  last  half  of  a  seven-year  hiatus  between  King 
Crimsons,  Robert  Fripp — self-styled  thinking-mail's 
musician  and  guitarist's  guitarist— played  axeman/ 
producer  to  the  stars  (David  Bowie,  Peter  Gabriel, 
Blondie,  Talking  Heads,  Brian  Eno,  Hall  and  Gates,  the 
Roches)  and  cut  a  series  of  solo  LPs  reflecting  his  then- 
current  obsessions. 

The  loosely  autobiographical  Exposure  is  the  clos- 
est Fripp  has  come  to  a  pop  effort,  with  guest  vocals  by 
Gabriel,  Daryl  Hall,  Peter  Hammill  and  Terre  Roche. 
Interlarded  with  tape-loop  guitar  episodes  and  enigmatic 
spoken-word  communiques  from  several  sources,  the 


record  manages  to  overcome  the  self-referential  pre- 
ciousness  inherent  in  such  an  enterprise — but  just 
barely. 

Under  Heavy  Manners/God  Save  the  Queen  of- 
fers two  concepts  for  the  price  of  one;  both,  unfortu- 
nately, are  flops.  The  first  half  gets  "Frippertronics"  off 
to  a  bad  start  with  a  suite  of  samey,  lackluster  perfor- 
mances. It  was  Eno  who  showed  Fripp  this  two-tape- 
recorder  strategy  that  allows  accumulation  of  rich 
textures.  In  performance,  Fripp  would  build  towering 
edifices  of  looped  guitar  sound  and  then  spin  stunning 
lead  solos  over  them.  The  loops  remained  on  tape;  the 
solos  didn't,  thus  the  best  parts  of  the  concerts  'that 
produced  God  Save  the  Queen  never  made  it  onto  the 
record.  Under  Heavy  Manners,  Fripp's  first  stab  at 
"discotronics"  (his  version  of  dance-oriented  rock) 
sounds  less  austere  than  impoverished,  despite  a  mem- 
orable David  Byrne  vocal. 

The  next  pair  of  LPs,  continuing  Fripp's  self- 
appointed  "Drive  to  1981,"  gamely  picked  up  the 
pieces.  Let  the  Power  Fall  continues  the  Frippertronics 
methodology  of  God  Save  the  Queen;  although  both 
were  recorded  during  the  same  1979  tour,  this  album's 
loops  provide  a  far  greater  wealth  of  sounds,  moods  and 
ideas — Fripp's  editing  skills  evidently  having  improved 
with  time.  However,  several  bootlegs  documenting 
Frippertronics  with  the  leads  intact  remain  definitive,  as 
much  as  Fripp  may  detest  them. 

Harnessing  himself  and  keyboardist  Barry  Andrews 
(ex-XTC)  to  an  adequate  rhythm  section  (that  included 
future  Gang  of  Four  bassist  Sara  Lee),  Fripp  created  the 
one-shot  League  of  Gentlemen  band/tour/LP  and  firmly 
claimed  his  dance-rock  territory.  A  typical  League  cut 
took  a  simple  medium-to-fast  backbeat  over  which  Fripp 
and  Andrews  locked  horns,  with  melodic  development 
emerging  slowly,  surely,  subtly.  On  the  1980  tour,  Fripp 
played  marvelous  leads,  on  the  LP  (whose  cover  art  is, 
oddly  enough,  by  Danielle  Dax),  they  are  replaced  by 
spoken-word  in-jokes.  God  Save  the  King  is  a  revised, 
remixed,  remastered  single-disc  distillation  of  Under 
Heavy  Manners/God  Save  the  Queen  and  The  League 
of  Gentlemen  albums. 

In  the  mid- '80s,  Fripp  founded  a  guitar  school  in 
West  Virginia  and  set  about  teaching  the  instrument  to 
disciples  in  most  extraordinary  fashion  The  all-acoustic 
League  of  Crafty  Guitarists  (his  students)  album,  con- 
ceived as  an  educational  challenge  and  recorded  in  con- 
cert at  George  Washington  University,  features 
seventeen  diligent  pupils  performing  pastoral  Fripp  in- 
strumentals  with  delicacy  and  quiet  appeal.  (The  LP 
does  contain  one  lengthy  and  alluring  Frippertronics 
piece  for  good  electric  measure.)  Without  the  master  on 
hand,  some  of  Fripp's  students  also  recorded  New  Mu- 
sic for  Acoustic  Guitar  Ensemble,  issued  on  cassette 
around  '89. 

Another  school  project  provided  the  basis  for  The 
Lady  or  the  Tiger,  wherein  Fripp's  missus,  singer/ 
actress  Toy  ah  Willcox  (who  has  an  extensive  record 
catalogue  of  her  own,  beginning  in  the  late  '70s),  recites 
Frank  R.  Stockton's  1882  story  (and  its  sequel,  The 
Discourager  of  Hesitancy)  over  a  mild  bed  of  incon- 
spicuous guitar  textures  composed  by  Fripp  and  per- 
formed with  the  League  of  Crafty  Guitarists.  Sunday  All 
Over  the  World  is  Fripp's  new  rock  band.  [mf/i] 

See  also  King  Crimson,  Shriekback. 


263 


& 

(No  Pussyfooting)  (Antilles)  1973  (EG)  1981  • 
Evening  Star  (Antilles)  1975  (EG)  1981  • 

+ 

I  Advance  Masked  (A&M)  1 982 
Bewitched  (A&M)  1 984  ® 

The  two  early  collaborations  between  Fripp  and  ex- 
Roxy  Music  muckraker  Brian  Eno  are  excursions  into 
effete  electronics,  with  Fripp  simply  playing  his  guitar 
through  Eno's  synthesizers/tape  recorders.  The  resulting 
side-long  montages  of  loosely  structured  sound  on  the 
first  album  are  pleasant  and  recall  the  work  of  Terry 
Riley.  Evening  Star  breaks  no  new  ground;  it  is  more  a 
re-exploration  of  similar  terrain. 

What  did  Fripp  and  Policeman  Andy  Summers  do 
on  their  summer  vacations?  Using  a  wide  harmonic  pal- 
ette, they  recorded  I  Advance  Masked,  a  duet  LP 
whose  primary  mood  is  tranquility,  although  Fripp  the 
soloist  ultimately  reveals  himself  in  ecstatic  flights  of 
fancy. 

As  the  sequel  proved,  however,  Andy  Summers  is 
no  Brian  Eno.  Given  another  brief  reprieve  from  pro- 
ducing those  lighter-than-air  guitar  textures  for  the  Po- 
lice, he  thickens  the  mix  with  electronic  muck,  leaving 
little  solo  space  for  himself  or  Fripp,  who  co-wrote  only 
half  the  material  on  Bewitched;  the  rest  is  Summers' 
alone.  Maybe  they  were  too  busy  toying  with  the  synth- 
pop  trappings  that  dominate  the  record  to  bother  playing 
much  guitar.  [jw/mf] 

See  also  Brian  Eno,  Andy  Summers. 

FRED  FRITH 

Guitar  Solos  (nr/Caroline)  1974 

Gravity  (Ralph)  1 980  (East  Side  Digital)  1 991  • 

Speechless  (Ralph)  1981  * 

Live  in  Japan  (Jap.  Recommended)  1 982 

Cheap  at  Half  the  Price  (Ralph)  1 983 

The  Technology  of  Tears  (SST)  1988  • 

The  Top  of  His  Head  (Bel.  Crammed)  1 990  • 

Step  Across  the  Border  [CD]  (RecRec-East  Side  Digital) 

1990* 
Guitar  Solos  Complete  [CD]  (East  Side  Digital)  1991  • 

FRED  FRITH  ET  AL 

Guitar  Solos  2  (nr/Caroline)  1976 
Guitar  Solos  3  (Rift)  1979 

If  Fred  Frith  were  remembered  only  for  being  the 
guitarist  in  Henry  Cow  he  would  be  just  another  shad- 
owy figure  in  the  history  of  art-rock.  Instead  he  pursued 
a  unique  and  influential  solo  career  in  the  '80s  that  made 
its  mark  on  leading  avant-gardists  worldwide.  Frith' s 
sessioneering  and  collaborative  work  has  figured  prom- 
inently on  records  by  Material,  the  Golden  Palominos, 
Brian  Eno,  John  Zorn  and  others.  Massacre,  his  trio 
with  the  Material  rhythm  section,  produced  an  unfor- 
gettably powerful  record.  His  duo,  Skeleton  Crew,  be- 
guiled audiences  all  over  the  world.  He  has  played  and 
recorded  effectively  with  Voice  of  America,  compiled 
three  early  records  of  avant-guitar  playing  (Guitar  So- 
los 1,  2  and  3;  Complete  consists  of  1  plus  the  Frith 
contributions  to  2  and  3)  and  recorded  duet  LPs  and  live 
tapes  of  varying  quality  with  Cow  drummer  Chris  Cut- 
ler, saxophonist  Lol  Coxhill,  guitarists  Henry  Kaiser 
and  Rene  Lussier  and  others. 


But  Frith' s  most  engaging  work  was  for  Ralph,  the 
Residents'  label.  Structurally,  the  records  resemble 
Henry  Cow's  early  album  in  that  they,  like  Frith  him- 
self, tend  not  to  stay  in  one  place  long  enough  to  try  the 
attention  span  of  neophytes.  As  such  they  are  perfect 
vehicles  for  corrupting  straitlaced  rock'n'rollers  into  this 
world  of  joyful  noise,  which  can  include  anything  from 
polytonal  polyrhytherama  to  Eastern  European  folk 
tunes  to  a  taped  snippet  by  New  York's  13th  Street 
Puerto  Rico  Summertime  Band. 

Gravity  was  recorded  with  members  of  several 
bands,  the  most  substantial  contributions  coming  from 
Sweden's  Zamla  and  the  Maryland-based  Muffins  (not 
Martha's).  Frith's  bass,  guitar  and  violin  are  prominent, 
yet  merged  into  a  whole  that  is  stronger  than  its  dove- 
tailed parts,  all  held  together  by  ingenuity  and  force  of 
will.  Yes,  "Dancing  in  the  Streets"  is  a  cover  of  you- 
know-what. 

Speechless  continues  the  process  with  a  greater  em- 
phasis on  reeds  that  should  give  Henry  Cow  fans  a  strong 
sense  of  deja  vu — yet  Cow  never  did  anything  this 
strong.  Many  of  Frith's  melodies  are  influenced  by  the 
same  strain  of  European  folk  music  that  inspired  Bela 
Bart6k.  Helping  out  are  Etron  Fou  Leloublan  on  one 
side  and  Massacre  on  the  other.  (Some  of  the  latter' s 
material  has  turned  up,  rearranged,  on  Massacre's  al- 
bum and  during  Skeleton  Crew  gigs.)  Endlessly  fasci- 
nating, this  is  Frith's  best  solo  record. 

Cheap  at  Half  the  Price  marks  not  one  departure 
but  several.  For  the  first  time  on  a  solo  album,  Frith 
sings.  The  songs  are  edgy  whimsy  squeezed  out  in  a 
weird  high-pitched  tone,  except  "Same  Old  Me," 
whose  rough  lyrics  emerge  in  a  tape-slowed  drawl  over 
angry  riffing.  Much  of  the  record,  especially  instrumen- 
tal tracks,  suffers  from  an  experiment  in  recording  "at 
home  on  a  4-track." 

For  those  ready  to  graduate  from  the  prog-rock 
safety  of  the  Ralph  platters  to  something  harder  and 
weirder,  there's  Live  in  Japan,  which  captures  Frith's 
"guitars  on  the  table"  approach,  concentrating  not  on 
standard  instruments  but  on  homemade  ones  that  are 
plucked,  raked,  abraded  and  assaulted  with  a  variety  of 
objects.  The  two  discs  can  be  bought  separately  or  to- 
gether in  a  black  corrugated  box  containing  booklets  in 
English  and  Japanese.  A  must  for  noise  fans. 

Much  of  Frith's  work  in  the  late  '80s  was  oriented 
towards  film  and  theater  scores.  The  Technology  of 
Tears  offers  not  one  but  three  of  Frith's  dance-company 
commissions.  Two  sides  of  the  double  album  contain 
the  titular  piece,  created  in  1986  with  John  Zorn,  an 
occasional  scat  vocalist  and  fake-art  turntable  manipu- 
lator Christian  Marclay.  Although  largely  a  flighty  and 
disjointedly  arhythmic  effort,  parts  do  coalesce  with  the 
arcane  logic  of  Frith's  structuralism.  The  high-strung 
and  disturbing  "Jigsaw"  (also  from  '86,  with  trombon- 
ist Jim  Staley)  and  the  enticingly  diverse  episodes  of 
"Propaganda"  ('87)  each  fill  a  side. 

Assembled  from  enormously  varying  sources,  Step 
Across  the  Border  is  a  very  bizarre  version  of  a  film 
soundtrack.  Besides  previously  unissued  live  and  studio 
recordings  covering  a  decade,  three  continents  and 
countless  musical  variations,  the  26  selections  include 
items  from  Massacre,  Skeleton  Crew  and  Cheap  at  Half 
the  Price.  As  such,  this  is  as  much  a  Frith  retrospective 
as  it  is  a  new  work.  But  without  the  movie  to  connect 


264 


the  dots,  it's  impossible  to  discern  what  internal  logic 
makes  these  individually  intriguing  snippets  fit  together. 

[mf/ij 

See  also  Golden  Palominos,  Henry  Cow,  Henry  Kai- 
ser, Material,  Skeleton  Crew. 

FROGS 

The  Frogs  (Frogs)  1988 

it's  Only  Right  and  Natural  (Homestead)  1989 

There  is  very  little,  uh,  "hard"  information  avail- 
able regarding  the  Frogs.  Purported  brothers  Jimmy  and 
Dennis  Fleming  were  first  noted  on  the  "thank  you"  list 
for  Die  Kreuzen's  Cows  and  Beer  EP  back  in  '82. 
Since  then,  the  Milwaukee  duo  has  done  a  lot  of  home 
recording,  resulting  in  two  LPs.  The  first  is  a  curiously 
out-of-time  blend  of  Anglo-clever  pop-cliches,  heavily 
referential  to  Roy  Wood  and  Sparks  but  with  some  un- 
usual Christian/smut  lyrics  tossed  into  the  stew.  That 
few  people  noted  its  release  is  no  great  surprise. 

Then,  according  to  rumor,  the  Frogs  began  to  send 
around  cassettes  of  a  similarly  appointed  second  LP, 
backed  with  some  examples  of  the  pair  "goofing 
around."  The  latter  caught  the  ear  of  Gerard  Cosloy, 
then  head  of  Homestead  Records,  and  some  of  the  songs 
were  issued  as  the  Frogs'  second  LP.  Declaring  them- 
selves leaders  of  the  "Gay  Supremacist"  movement, 
the  Flemings/Frogs  caused  a  lot  of  ruckus  with  their 
(presumably)  tongue  in  cheek  lyrical  thrust.  Encased  in 
a  sleeve  showing  a  little  boy  wearing  a  pink  triangle 
badge,  songs  like  "Been  a  Month  Since  I  Had  a  Man" 
and  "These  Are  the  Finest  Queen  Boys  (I've  Ever 
Seen)"  generated  an  enormous  amount  of  pissed-off 
press,  but  the  crazy  Tyrannosaurus  Rex-like  psychedelia 
and  the  weird  aura  created  by  the  lyrics  deserve  to  be 
heard.  "I've  Got  Drugs  (Out  of  the  Mist)"  was  cer- 
tainly among  1989's  most  played  songs  at  this  house. 
Since  the  release  of  It's  Only  Right  and  Natural,  the 
Flemings  toured  once  (with  Couch  Flambeau's  Jay 
Tiller  helping  out)  but  have  otherwise  been  silent. 
More's  the  pity.  [be] 

FRONT  242 

Geography  (Bel.  RRE)  1982  (WaxTrax!)  1987  • 
No  Comment  EP  (Wax  Traxi)  1 987  • 
Official  Version  (Wax  Trax!)  1987  • 
Back  Catalogue  (Wax  Traxi)  1 987  <{> 
Front  by  Front  (Wax  Traxi)  1 988  « 
Tyranny  for  You  (Epic)  1991  • 

That  avant-garde  industrial  dance  music  produced 
by  Belgian  art  terrorists  could  compete  in  the  1991 
American  mainstream  says  much  for  the  progress  of  the 
digital  beat  through  the  '80s.  While  Front  242's  early 
records  (best  exemplified  by  their  debut  album,  Geog- 
raphy) were  firmly  rooted  in  the  clinically  crisp  syn- 
thesized sound  of  Kraftwerk  and  Cabaret  Voltaire,  the 
group's  initial  approach  was  no  more  threatening  than 
Depeche  Mode. 

When  Richard  23  joined  founding  members  Daniel 
Bressanutti,  Patrick  Codenys  and  Jean-Luc  De  Meyer  in 
1983,  however,  Front  242  *s  sound  began  moving  away 
from  alternative  pop  and  into  harder,  trans-European 
disco  garnished  with  politically  relevant  samples.  A  se- 
ries of  12-inch  singles  (later  assembled  with  other  '82- 


'85  material  for  Back  Catalogue)  and  the  six-track 
mostly  instrumental  No  Comment  chronicle  this  pro- 
gression, but  the  music  remained  stark  and  controlled;  it 
wasn't  until  Official  Version  that  Front  242  truly  be- 
came a  distinctive  force. 

Ranging  from  the  subliminal  pop  of  **  Quite  Un- 
usual" through  the  pummelling  industrial  dance  of 
"Aggresiva  Due,"  mixing  up  sub-symphonic  instru- 
mentation on  "Slaughter"  and  using  sampled  bible- 
thumpers  to  frightening  effect  on  "Angst,"  Official 
Version  at  last  captured  the  band's  potential  on  tape. 
Having  already  established  a  reputation  for  demonic 
audio-visual  performances,  the  album  helped  Front  242 
emerge  from  relative  obscurity  to  become  a  significant 
cult  force,  selling  loads  of  records  all  over  the  world. 

Front  by  Front  took  this  confrontational  manifesto 
a  logical  step  further.  Images  of  control,  power  and  war 
are  evident  in  titles  like  "Until  Death  (Us  Do  Part)"  and 
"Terminal  State,"  and  in  the  frequent  use  of  militaristic 
beats  and  samples.  But  variety  again  abounds:  "First 
In/First  Out"  takes  their  dancefloor  obsession  closer  to 
the  mainstream,  while  vocal  tracks  ("Circling  Over- 
land" and  "Headhunter  V  3.0")  use  dark  imagery  to 
commercial  gain.  (As  a  single,  "Headhunter"  became 
Front's  anthem.) 

The  long  wait  prior  to  Tyranny  for  You  was  marked 
by  one  unexceptional  single  ("Never  Stop")  and  a  li- 
censing deal  to  just  the  sort  of  mega-corporation  their 
imagery  and  music  so  frequently  attacks.  But  anyone 
imagining  a  temperate  performance  from  the  band 
would  have  been  disappointed:  released  at  the  start  of 
the  Gulf  War,  Tyranny's  edge  matches  its  era.  With  a 
fuller  sound  and  less  use  of  straightforward  songs,  it's  a 
soundtrack  to  the  chaos  of  a  violent  world.  The  "Trag- 
edy for  You"  single  aside,  vocals  appear  sparingly — the 
chorus  of  "recession,  regression,  repression"  on 
"Gripped  by  Fear"  is  consciously  unnerving — but  the 
hard  dance  feel  is  ever  present  on  semi-instrumentals 
like  "Moldavia"  and  "Neurobashing."  [tf] 

See  also  Revolting  Cocks. 

FUGAZI 

Fugazl  (Dischord)  1 988 
Margin  Walker  EP  (Dischord)  1989 
13  Songs  [CD]  (Dischord)  1990  • 
Repeater  (Dischord)  1 990  « 

As  the  figurehead  and  backbone  of  Washington 
DC's  punk  scene  throughout  the  '80s,  singer/guitarist 
Ian  MacKaye  has  led  the  Teen  Idols,  Minor  Threat,  Egg 
Hunt  and  Embrace;  his  latest  band  (and  the  city's  new- 
est musical  legend)  is  the  culmination  of  it  all,  a  new 
rock  music  built  on  a  hardcore  foundation. 

Fugazi's  impressive  debut,  a  seven-song  12-inch, 
blends  an  early-DC  hardcore  sensibility  with  a  mature, 
objective  outlook  and  crisply  produced  mid-tempo  songs 
that  are  dynamic,  aggressive  and  accessible.  ("Waiting 
Room"  is  an  especially  catchy  shoutalong,  with  a  style 
of  call-and-response  vocals  that  have  scant  punk  prece- 
dent.) Both  MacKaye  and  former  Rites  of  Spring  vo- 
calist Guy  Picciotto  have  traded  their  punk  anger  for  an 
introspective,  almost  poetic  vision,  using  abstractions  in 
strongly  structured  compositions  like  "Bulldog  Front" 
and  "Give  Me  the  Cure"  (a  contemplation  on  death). 
The  combination  of  MacKaye*  s  and  Picciotto 's  abilities 


265 


gives  the  quartet  a  rare  strength;  the  two  singer/ 
songwriters  complement  each  other  perfectly. 

Margin  Walker — another  12-inch,  this  one  with  a 
deeply  distasteful  cover  photo — illustrates  just  how  far 
Fugazi's  four  have  come  since  their  hardcore  begin- 
nings. The  bracing  EP  oozes  confidence — in  MacKaye's 
melodic  guitar  work,  the  tight,  fluid  rhythm  section,  the 
incisive  lyrics  and  the  sharply  arranged  vocal  ex- 
changes. The  songs  are  great,  from  the  raging  title  track 
to  the  funky  Gang  of  Founsh  verses  and  poppy  chorus  of 
"And  the  Same"  to  the  thickly  chorded  "Lockdown." 
Continuing  to  develop  the  stylings  he  began  with  Minor 
Threat,  MacKaye  manages  to  make  the  expletives  in  the 
vigorously  monotonal,  part  spoken  "Promises"  sound 
somewhat  eloquent. 

Fugazi  put  the  relatively  slick  sound  of  Margin 
Walker  up  on  blocks  and  stripped  it  down  to  the  bare 
essentials  for  the  group's  first  full-length  LP.  Repeater 
is  the  blueprint  for  a  post-hardcore  world,  a  stunning 
and  adventurous  new  stage  in  Fugazi's  development. 
The  title  track — indicative  of  the  album  at  large — offers 
a  more  powerful  three-minute  burst  than  anything  on  the 
first  two  records,  with  a  dizzying  bass  line,  speedy, 
powerful  drumming  and  a  repetitive  squeal  that  is  barely 
recognizable  as  guitar.  Repeater's  only  disappointment 
is  its  weak  lyrics;  both  MacKaye  and  Picciotto  do  a  lot 
of  finger-pointing  at  Joe  Average,  but  the  overzealous 
pontification  should  not  be  a  distraction  from  what  is 
otherwise  an  amazing  album. 

13  Songs  combines  Fugazi  and  Margin  Walker  on 
one  CD;  the  CD  of  Repeater  adds  the  3  Songs  7-inch. 

[icm/i] 

See  also  Minor  Threat,  Pailhead,  Rites  of  Spring. 


FULL  FATHOM  FIVE 

The  Cry  of  a  Falling  Nation  (Link)  1 987 

4a.m.  (Link)  1988® 

Multinational  Pop  Conglomerate  (Link)  1989  * 

Proof  that  serious  Midwest  post-punk  exists  outside 
of  the  usual  locales,  this  trio  from  Iowa  City,  Iowa, 
(hometown  of  the  wonderful  Dangtrippers)  builds  a  vin- 
tage Bob  Mould  wall-of-rhythm-guitar  sound  and  tops  it 
off  with  winsome  Shoesy  vocals  on  The  Cry  of  a  Fall- 
ing Nation,  a  neat  declaration  of  style.  Since  he  hasn't 
got  the  pipes  to  compete  straight-on  with  his  own  surg- 
ing guitar  power,  Boston  native  Eric  Melcher  solves  the 
problem  (on  record,  at  least)  by  relaxing  and  floating 
above  the  pop-rooted  dm.  Unfortunately,  that  makes  his 
clumsy/serious  lyrics  all  too  audible. 

Despite  a  general  reduction  in  the  sugar  content,  4 
a.m.  offers  pretty  much  the  same  thick  guitar  rock  as  the 
first  LP.  Amid  the  familiar  roar,  unwarranted  stylistic 
digressions  (like  the  jazzy  piano  backing  of  "The  Firing 
Line")  suggest  ambitions  that  may  be  beyond  the  band's 
ken.  And  what  is  the  inexplicable  "Paula's  First  Piano 
Recital" — a  live  instrumental  that  could  be  exactly  as 
billed — doing  on  the  album? 

With  a  new  face  behind  the  skins  and  a  reaffirmation 
of  the  first  album's  rich,  tuneful  rock  approach,  Melcher 
delivers  his  best-sounding  songs  yet  on  Multinational 
Pop  Conglomerate.  But  one  nagging  problem  remains. 
To  quote  from  the  marvelously  catchy  **A  Little  Hope": 


"As  the  world  runs  the  course  of  entropy/We  tend  to 
think  that  it  will  all  come  down  next  week."  Help! 


Full  Force  (Columbia)  1  985 
Full  Force  Get  Busy  1  Time!  (Columbia)  1986 
Guess  Who's  Comin'  to  the  Crib?  (Columbia)  1  987  ® 
Smoove  (Columbia)  1  989  ® 

The  six  members  of  Brooklyn's  Full  Force  —  three 
brothers  and  three  others  —  write,  play,  sing  and  produce 
themselves  as  well  as  other  artists.  In  a  very  short  time, 
boundless  energy  and  a  positive  outlook  have  turned 
Paul  Anthony,  Bowlegged  Lou,  B-Fine  and  their  three 
associates  into  a  remarkably  successful  full-service  hit 
machine  and  one  of  the  most  influential  organizations  m 
"black  music." 

Full  Force  first  found  fame  by  creating  and  perform- 
ing the  music  for  U.T.F.O.'s  "Roxanne,  Roxanne" 
smash.  They  did  the  same  for  Lisa  Lisa  and  Cult  Jam, 
yielding  huge  hits  in  "I  Wonder  If  I  Take  You  Home," 
"Head  to  Toe"  and  "Lost  in  Emotion."  Their  own 
debut  album  ties  things  up  in  a  neat  package,  with 
"United,"  a  track  that  features  U.T.F.O.,  Lisa  Lisa 
with  Cult  Jam  and  the  Real  Roxanne  with  Howie  Tee.  It 
also  includes  an  answer  to  their  own  (rhetorical)  song, 
"Girl  If  You  Take  Me  Home."  Full  Force  is  nothing 
but  genuine  urban  contemporary  music,  a  vibrant  mix  of 
rap,  rhythm,  soul  and  rock. 

Get  Busy  I  Time!  displays  the  same  stylistic  dex- 
terity. Whether  they're  juicing  up  a  mellow  soul  tune 
("Temporary  Love  Thing,"  "Body  Heavenly")  with 
restrained  beatbox  percussion,  harmonizing  over  a  busy 
scratch  track  ("Never  Had  Another  Lover,"  "So 
Much"),  or  showing  their  affection  for  Sly  Stone  ("Old 
Flames  Never  Die"),  Full  Force  absorbs  and  processes 
various  influences  into  a  unique  collection  of  dance 
sounds. 

In  a  strangely  directed  crossover  bid,  the  cover  of 
Guess  Who's  Comin'  to  the  Crib?  shows  a  white  sub- 
urban family  breaking  out  over  the  Full  Force  record  in 
the  hands  of  their  sunglasses-sporting  little  girl.  Musi- 
cally, the  band  is  on  an  energy  rush,  busying  up  the 
tracks  with  synth  horns,  complex  vocal  arrangements 
and  all  sorts  of  percussion  action.  Downplaying  the  bal- 
lads for  a  funkier  streetwise  rhythm  sound,  Full  Force 
employs  dialogue,  slang,  sound  effects  and  turntable 
tricks  to  enliven  the  dance-ready  cuts  and  provide  sur- 
prises at  every  sonic  turn.  An  entertaining  record  that, 
cover  aside,  isn't  especially  geared  to  appeal  across 
color  (or  format:  check  out  "Black  Radio")  lines, 

Smoove  is  so  diverse,  accomplished  and  easily  ap- 
pealing that  it  doesn't  take  much  imagination  to  envi- 
sion Full  Force  hosting  a  Saturday  night  variety  show  on 
network  television.  Besides  carefully  thanking  every- 
body under  the  sun,  the  polite  sextet  runs  a  master  class 
in  modern  African-  American  music,  setting  their  songs 
in  handsome,  lush  productions  with  enough  rhythm  to 
move  even  the  most  casual  listener  onto  the  dancefloor. 
The  program  contains  rap,  soul  (a  reverent  medley  of 
classics  from  Motown,  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
avoids  any  single  stylistic  identification),  mild  house 
(with  guest  vocals  by  Samantha  Fox)  and  new  jack 


266 


swing,  all  walking  a  rare  line  between  street  credibility 
and  mainstream  accessibility.  [tr/i] 

See  also  VTFO. 


See  Fleshtones. 

The  Fun  Boy  Three  (Chrysalis)  1  982 

Waiting  (Chrysalis)  1 983 

The  Best  of  Fun  Boy  Three  (Chrysalis)  1 984  • 

It  came  as  quite  a  surprise  when,  at  the  height  of  the 
Specials'  popularity,  vocalists  Terry  Hall  and  Neville 
Staples  and  rhythm  guitarist  Lynval  Golding  broke  away 
to  form  their  own  self-contained  group,  making  an  off- 
beat LP  that  spawned  two  UK  hit  singles  and  took  a 
large  step  towards  injecting  an  African-based  influence 
into  the  new  pop  music  vocabulary.  On  The  FEU  Boy 
Three,  the  trio's  imaginative  use  of  various  conven- 
tional and  exotic  instruments — though  the  emphasis  is 
on  vocals  and  percussion — is  countered  by  a  pervasively 
dark,  pessimistic  feel,  more  so  on  the  US  edition,  which 
places  most  of  the  brooding  stuff  on  Side  Two.  Dick 
Cuthell  (horns)  and  Bananarama,  whom  the  Fun  Boys 
backed  in  return,  occasionally  brighten  the  proceedings. 

Waiting,  produced  by  David  Byrne,  follows  that 
somber  avenue  much  further,  using  assorted  jazzy  styles 
in  minor  keys  to  express  cynicism  in  'The  More  I  See 
(the  Less  I  Believe),"  tell  a  harrowing  tale  of  molesta- 
tion on  "Well  Fancy  That!"  and  explode  the  mythical 
side  of  young  romance  on  "The  Tunnel  of  Love."  The 
centerpiece  of  the  album,  however,  is  "Our  Lips  Are 
Sealed" — the  Go-Go's  hit  written  by  Hall  and  Jane 
Wiedlin — given  a  dramatically  different  reading  here, 
slowed  to  dirge  speed  and  laden  with  heavy  atmosphere 
and  a  resigned  feel,  yet  somehow  played  with  a  preter- 
natural lightness.  A  remarkable  track  on  a  phenome- 
nally powerful  album. 

The  ever-restless  Hall  left  the  band  in  '83  to  form 
another  trio,  the  Colour  Field,  a  move  which  prompted 
a  concise  Fun  Boys  compilation:  nine  album  selections 
plus  Bananarama's  (featuring  FB3)  "Really  Saying 
Something"  and  a  lazy  version  of  George  Gershwin's 
"Summertime."  Hall's  bandmates  stuck  together  as 
Sunday  Best,  working  with  ex-Selecter  vocalist  Pauline 
Black.  Dg/i] 

See  also  Colour  Field,  Specials. 

FUNKY  KINGS 

See  Jules  Shear. 

FURYO 

See  U.K.  Decay. 

FUZZBOX 

See  We've  Got  a  Fmzbox  and  We're  Gonna  Use  It. 

FUZZTONES 

Leave  Your  Mind  at  Horn©  (Midnight)  1 984 
Lysergic  Emanations  (nr/ABC)  1 984  (Pink  Dust)  1 985 


Live  in  Europe  (Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 987  • 
Nine  Months  Later  EP  {Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 988 
Creatures  That  Time  Forgot  (Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1  989 

(Skyclad)  1 990  • 

In  Heat  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1989  • 
Hurt  on  Hold  EP  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 989 
Action  EP  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 990  • 

JAY 
THE 

Live  EP  (Midnight)  1 984 

THE 
JAYMEN 

Drive  It  Home!  (Ger.  Music  Maniac)  1 987 
Missing  Linb  (Skyclad)  1989 

PEEL 

Extra  Kicks  [tape]  (Limp)  1980 

New  York's  garage-rocking  Fuzztones — Rudi  Pro- 
trudi,  Deb  O'Nair  and  three  lesser-named  cohorts — do 
their  wild  Crampabilly  thing  on  Leave  Your  Mind  at 
Home,  seven  numbers  recorded  live.  The  sound  ap- 
proaches bootleg  quality,  but  that  hardly  matters — the 
shrieks  and  demented  guitar  solos  here  don't  exactly  call 
out  for  laser-level  fidelity.  Raveup  enthusiasm  is  all  that 
counts,  and  that's  exactly  what  the  record  delivers. 

Lysergic  Emanations  is  a  fab  studio  LP,  released 
originally  in  the  UK  and  then,  with  new  graveyard  cover 
art  (by  Protrudi)  and  two  different  tracks,  in  the  States. 
(It's  also  available  as  a  pic  disc. )  The  sound  is  pure  '60s 
garage  punk — the  Seeds,  Chocolate  Watch  Band,  Yard- 
birds,  Animals,  ?  and  the  Mysterians,  Standells,  Shad- 
ows of  Knight — produced  clearly  but  without  any 
excessive  slickness.  Absolutely  first  rate. 

In  fine  early  '60s  rock'n'blues  tradition,  the  1984 
live  EP  consists  of  the  Fuzztones  backing  up  veteran 
grandmaster  Screamin'  Jay  Hawkins  on  four  of  his  clas- 
sics, including  "I  Put  a  Spell  on  You"  and  "Constipa- 
tion Blues." 

Live  In  Europe  is  preferable  to  Leave  Your  Mind 
in  most  areas:  fidelity,  audience  participation  and  song 
selection  are  all  superior.  The  only  weak  link  is  the 
band:  with  the  onset  of  either  boredom  or  laziness,  they 
sleepwalk  through  this  date.  The  Fuzztones'  original 
lineup  fell  apart  not  long  after  but,  as  Creatures  That 
Time  Forgot  certifies  (in  screaming  day-glo),  not  with- 
out leaving  quite  a  legacy.  Single  and  compilation  tracks 
are  interspersed  with  demos  (neanderthal  stomps 
through  "The  Witch"  and  the  otherwise  unavailable 
"Fabian  Lips"  really  stimulate  the  adrenal  glands)  and 
deadpan  interviews  from  sources  as  unlikely  as  The 
Larry  King  Show  and  Finnish  radio.  Priceless. 

Protrudi  relocated  to  Los  Angeles  and  assembled  an 
all-new  Fuzztones,  largely  with  fellow  New  York  ex- 
patriates. This  edition  had  precious  little  in  common 
with  its  antecedent — instead  of  energized  '60s  raunch, 
the  emphasis  is  on  sludgy,  sub-Steppenwolf  biker  rock 
(although,  applying  a  you-can-fool-some-of-the-people- 
all-of-the-time  mentality,  the  psychedelic  trappings  re- 
main unchanged).  Kindred  chameleonic  spirit  Ian 
Astbury  (who'd  soon  regress  backward  to  the  exact 
same  spot  where  had  Rudi  arrived)  helped  the  band 
procure  the  record  contract  that  yielded  In  Heat,  a  jum- 
bled mess  of  styles  that'd  fit  easily  into  Astbury 's  closet. 


267 


The  few  involving  moments — the  incongruous  anti-draft 
missives  "It  Came  in  the  Mail"  and  the  self-explanatory 
"Me  Tarzan,  You  Jane" — date  back  to  the  band's  first 
incarnation.  Newer  Protrudi  compositions  like  "Nine 
Months  Later"  and  "Hurt  on  Hold,"  both  of  which 
appear  on  In  Heat  and  their  respective  EPs,  are  at  once 
listless  and  noisily  monochromatic  (though  the  Hurt  on 
Hold  EP  boasts  a  fair  rendition  of  the  Troggs'  "Can't 
Control  Myself").  Action's  four  songs  further  prove 
the  Fuzztones'  original  reactionary  philosophy  to  have 
been  right  on  (man). 

Between  the  Fuzztones'  East  and  West  Coast  eras, 
Protrudi  assembled  the  laymen,  a  short-lived  reverb  in- 
strumental trio.  With  recording  quality  that  would  make 
a  bootleg  dealer  blush,  both  the  full-length  German  al- 
bum and  the  eight-song  American  mini-LP  (no  overlap; 
the  latter  boasts  a  nutty  live  version  of  "Batman")  are 
the  fun-filled  results  of  an  informal  1986  session  and 
sound — thanks  in  no  small  part  to  the  genuine-article 
songs  and  properly  reverent  originals — like  long-lost 
Link  Wray  outtakes. 

Before  the  Fuzztones,  Rudi  and  Deb  were  at  the 
center  of  Tina  Peel,  a  loosely  constructed  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania,  power-pop  troupe  that  also  tangentially 
involved  future  actress/Bongwaterite  Ann  Magnuson. 
The  Extra  Kicks  tape  contains  perhaps  rock's  best 
poodle-in-the-microwave  ditty  ("Fifi  Goes  Pop")  and  a 
mind-numbing  selection  of  penile  paeans — two  of  which 
("Wang  It"  and  "Exception  to  the  Ruler")  can  also  be 
found  on  the  legendary  You'll  Hate  This  Record  com- 
pilation, [dss/i] 

See  also  Headless  Horsemen. 

F-WORD 

Like  It  or  Not  Live  (Posh  Boy)  1 978 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Beach  Blvd  ( Posh  Boy)  1979 
Tooth  &  Nail  (Upsetter)  1980 


SLAVES 

The  Slaves  (Happy  Hermit-IRS)  1 990  • 

Though  considered  outsiders,  F-Word  nevertheless 
bullied  their  way  into  the  Los  Angeles  '77  punk  scene 
by  virtue  of  a  pummeling,  primal  sound  led  by  guitaris 
Dim  Wanker  and  a  truly  remarkable  singer,  Rick  L 
Rick.  Playing  at  hyper  tempos  long  before  hardcore 
(only  the  Oils  were  as  fast),  the  quartet  never  capturec 
its  flashpaper  assault  in  the  studio,  leaving  only  a  live 
album  recorded  at  San  Francisco's  Mabuhay  Gardens  ir 
February  '78. 

Not  only  was  Like  It  or  Not  Live  the  first  LP  re 
lease  on  the  pivotal  Posh  Boy  label,  it's  the  first  Wesi 
Coast  punk  album  from  an  era  when  most  groups  stud 
to  7-inch  singles.  Covers  of  the  New  York  Dolls'  "Bac 
Girl"  (great  choice,  so-so  rendition),  the  Germs'  "Shut- 
down" (before  the  Germs  were  a  big  deal),  the  Stooges' 
"No  Fun"  Pistolized  and  the  Animals'  "I'm  Crying' 
prove  F- Word's  roots-punk  credibility,  but  it's  the  wile 
and  gutsy  originals — the  punishing  "Do  the  Nihil"  and 
the  equally  merciless  (in  more  ways  than  one)  "Hillside 
Strangler" — that  still  hold  up. 

F-Word  was  short  lived,  and  Rik  L.  Rik  (dropping 
his  c's  along  the  way)  latched  onto  San  Francisco's 
Negative  Trend  in  time  for  that  group's  appearance  on 
the  seminal  LA  punk  compilation,  Tooth  &  Nail.  (The 
five  worthy  cuts  of  his  that  appear  on  the  Beach  Blvd 
sampler,  although  not  credited  as  such,  also  apparentl) 
feature  Negative  Trend.)  In  *82,  he  released  a  terrific 
solo  single  ("Dominique"  b/w  "Soul  Power"). 

Rik's  recent  re-emergence,  however,  is  a  less  pleas- 
ant development.  The  Slaves  are  strictly  sterile  classic- 
rock  pap:  tired,  undemanding,  melodramatic  hard  wank. 
Not  only  does  The  Slaves  bastardize  both  songs  from 
his  old  single,  the  group's  neo-metal  version  of  Joy 
Division's  "Transmission"  is  appalling.  Refuse  this 
refuse.  [jr] 

See  also  Flipper. 


268 


Peter  Gabriel  (Atco)  1  977® 

Peter  Gabriel  (Atlantic)  1 978  ® 

Peter  Gabriel  (Mercury)  1 980  ® 

En  Deutsches  Album  (Ger.  Charisma)  1980  {nr/Virgin) 

1987® 

Peter  Gabriel  (Geffen)  1982  ® 
Deutsches  Album  (Ger.  Charisma)  1 982  (nr/Virgin) 

1987« 

Peter  Gabriel/Peter  Gabriel  [tape]  (nr/Charisma)  1 983 
Plays  Live  (Geffen)  1983* 
Music  from  the  Film  Btrdy  (Geffen)  1 985  • 
So  (Geffen)  1 986  « 
Sledgehammer  EP  (nr/Virgin}  1 986 
Big  Time  EP  (nr/Charisma)  1 987  <J> 
Passion:  Music  for  The  Last  Temptation  of  Christ  (Geffen) 

1989* 
Shaking  the  Tree:  Sixteen  Golden  Greats  (Geffen) 

1990<l> 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Passion-Sources  (Real  World-Virgin)  1989  * 

As  Genesis'  original  lead  vocalist,  Peter  Gabriel  was 
the  grand  old  man  of  the  theatrical/commercial  wing  of 
the  mildly  progressive  art-rock  movement.  He  aban- 
doned that  position  in  1975  for  a  solo  career,  and  has 
successfully  positioned  himself  as  the  prototypically  in- 
dividualistic world  musician.  His  work  is  marked  by 
dark  humor,  mature  intelligence,  strong  compositional 
skill  and  excellent,  often  innovative  use  of  rhythm  and 
electronics. 

Like  unnumbered  issues  of  a  magazine,  his  first  four 
albums  are  titled  only  with  his  name,  which  appears  in 
the  same  typeface  and  position  on  each.  (The  fourth 
Peter  Gabriel  was  issued  as  Security  by  his  American 
label,  a  move  Gabriel  did  not  endorse.) 

The  symphonic  pretensions  of  the  first  Peter  Ga- 
briel power  a  dramatic  perception  of  personal  and  glo- 
bal apocalypse.  Produced  by  Bob  Ezrin,  and  featuring 
the  playing  of  Robert  Fripp,  Tony  Levin,  Steve  Hunter 
and  the  London  Symphony  Orchestra,  the  album's  dark 
rock  songs  ("Solsbury  Hill,"  "Modern  Love")  on  Side 
One  are  paired  with  disturbing  visions  of  armageddon 
("Slowburn,"  "Here  Comes  the  Flood")  on  Side  Two, 
delivered  in  a  wall  of  sound  that  fills  in  every  musical 
corner. 

In -contrast,  the  second  Peter  Gabriel,  produced  in 
Holland  by  Fripp,  employs  the  spare  and  uncluttered 
sound  popularized  by  the  punk  movement.  (Although 
you  would  hardly  mistake  this  for  a  punk  album,  Gab- 
riel does  neatly  display  his  cognizance  and  support  of 
what  was  going  on  with  the  song  "D.LY.")  The  new 
method  showed  Gabriel  condensing  his  songs  into  tight 
units  linked  by  themes  of  paranoia.  Freed  from  the  onus 
of  art-rock,  Gabriel  presents  his  most  obsessive  and  per- 
sonal compositions  (e.g.,  "On  the  Air,"  "Perspec- 


tive"), packets  of  insight  that  are  misleadingly 
restrained.  (A  1983  British  cassette  combines  the  first 
two  records.) 

Gabriel  returned  to  a  fuller  sound  on  his  third  al- 
bum, emphasizing  striking  electronics  developed  over 
unusual  rhythms  and  delivered  with  seeming  despera- 
tion. The  ballads  of  social  violence  and  urban  fear — 
including  "I  Don't  Remember"  and  "Family 
Snapshot" — feature  lyrics  and  intricate  music  finally 
blended  (under  producer  Steve  Lillywhite's  direction) 
into  perfectly  integrated  high  pop.  "Biko,"  a  haunting 
political  anthem  about  the  South  African  martyr,  and 
the  internationalist  "Games  Without  Frontiers"  reveal 
Gabriel's  deepening  commitment  to  global  issues  and 
social  action. 

The  fourth  Peter  Gabriel  refines  this,  drawing  fur- 
ther on  exotic  rhythms  (from  Africa,  Asia  and  America) 
with  a  musique  concrete  technique  made  possible  by  the 
Fairlight  synthesizer,  which  allows  unlimited  manipu- 
lation of  recorded  sounds.  Gabriel  delivers  his  exami- 
nations of  fear  and  disaster  with  an  oddly  paradoxical 
new  emphasis  on  hope  and  restraint,  displaying  his  usual 
fine  craft  and  quality.  "Shock  the  Monkey,"  "I  Have 
the  Touch"  and  "Kiss  of  Life"  are  among  the  best 
things  he's  ever  done,  combining  all  of  his  strengths — 
lyrical,  melodic,  structural  and  experimental — into  brac- 
ingly  original  pop  music  with  a  solid  footing. 

Peter  Gabriel  numbers  three  and  four  were  both 
issued  (separately)  in  Germany — and  later,  on  CD  only, 
in  the  UK — under  the  name  (Bin)  Deutsches  Album, 
with  Gabriel  singing  all  the  lyncs  in  German  (as  trans- 
lated by  Horst  Konigstein).  Not  every  song  holds  up 
equally  well  to  the  linguistic  reworking:  "Spiel  ohne 
Grenzen"  ("Games  Without  Frontiers")  and  "Schock 
den  Affen"  ("Shock  the  Monkey"),  for  example,  gain 
tension  and  emotional  power  in  German,  but  the  lan- 
guage is  too  harsh  for  fragile  songs  like  "Biko"  and 
"Contact." 

Three  live  tracks,  recorded  in  1979  and  1980,  ap- 
pear on  the  second  edition  of  the  Bristol  Recorder,  a 
combination  album/magazine  issued  by  a  small  English 
label  in  1981,  a  forerunner  of  Gabriel's  full-length  live 
album.  The  two-disc  Plays  Live  was  recorded  in  Amer- 
ica in  1982  (although  some  acknowledged  "cheating" 
was  later  done)  and  features  a  good  recap  of  his  solo 
career,  relying  most  heavily  on  the  two  most  recent 
records.  The  four-piece  band  includes  Tony  Levin  and 
Larry  Fast.  (The  double-CD  contains  the  entire  album; 
in  Britain,  fans  on  a  budget  could  also  choose  an  ab- 
breviated single  disc.) 

In  the  mid- '80s,  Gabriel  began  doing  film  sound- 
tracks. For  the  Birdy  score,  he  wrote  new  material  and 
adapted  previous  recordings.  Although  it's  uncommon 
to  hear  sustained  instrumental  work  from  someone  so 
known  for  vocal  music,  the  score  is  audibly  identifiable, 
and  provides  a  fascinating  glimpse  into  his  adaptational 


269 


thinking.  A  strongly  affecting  work,  a  major  challenge 
met  admirably  with  style  and  character. 

So,  Gabriel's  first  new  studio  album  in  four  years,  is 
another  adventurous,  varied  and  striking  record,  with 
atypically  self-reflective  lyrics,  some  of  them  clearly 
demarcating  a  past-present-future  boundary.  (The  cover 
portrait  also  suggests  an  attitudinal  change  of  some 
sort,)  Gabriel's  characteristically  sophisticated  music 
touches  on  funk  ("Sledgehammer'*),  lightly  gospel- 
inflected  balladry  (''Don't  Give  Up,"  with  prominent 
vocals  by  Kate  Bush),  folk  ("In  Your  Eyes,"  with  vo- 
cal backing  by  Jim  Kerr  and  others)  and  catchy  dance- 
rock  ("Big  Time,"  featuring  Stewart  Copeland  on 
drums).  The  commercial  sound  and  resultant  big-time 
success  of  the  record  led  to  complaints  that  Gabriel  had 
compromised  himself  artistically  but,  on  its  own  merits, 
So  doesn't  support  such  carping. 

The  Sledgehammer  12-inch  EP  contains  a  dance 
mix  of  the  title  track,  an  extended  edit  of  "Biko,"  the 
non-LP  "Don't  Break  This  Rhythm"  and  a  remix  of 
1982's  "I  Have  the  Touch. "  The  cassette  and  CD  of  the 
Big  Time  EP  have  different  track  assortments,  but  both 
include  three  non-LP  items. 

Beginning  in  1982  with  his  pivotal  role  in  the 
WOMAD  festival  and  organization,  Gabriel  has  made 
ethnic  world  music  a  major  focus  of  his  work.  Via  the 
Real  World  label,  he  has  brought  out  records  by  artists 
from  a  wide  variety  of  cultures,  and  his  own  music  has 
become  increasingly  intertwined  with  traditional  styles 
well  outside  Western  forms.  In  creating  the  soundtrack 
for  Martin  Scorsese's  Last  Temptation  of  Christ,  Ga- 
briel first  made  field  recordings  (a  selection  of  which 
are  compiled  on  Passion-Sources)  from  musicians  in 
such  places  as  Turkey,  Senegal,  Egypt  and  Morocco. 
Those  provided  the  inspiration  (and,  in  some  cases, 
actual  material)  for  his  original  compositions  on  the 
two-record  Passion.  This  extraordinary  mating  of 
modern  and  ancient  musics  unifies  an  enormous  geo- 
graphic spread  into  a  vaguely  Middle  Eastern  sound 
that  is  utterly  engrossing  in  its  multitudinous  use  of 
instruments  and  Gabriel's  deft  manipulation  of  atmo- 
spheric sounds  into  narrative  music  of  exceptional 
beauty  and  drama. 

Snaking  the  Tree  edits  Gabriel's  solo  oeuvre  to 
reflect  his  current  concerns.  There's  only  one  track  from 
the  first  album  ("Here  Comes  the  Flood"  also  appears, 
but  in  a  brand-new  acoustic  piano  rendition)  and  noth- 
ing from  the  second;  other  than  token  choices  from  Pas- 
sion and  Youssou  N'Dour's  The  Lion  that  are  unlikely 
to  be  on  many  fans'  top-sixteen  lists,  the  material  comes 
entirely  from  the  third  and  fourth  Peter  Gabriel  albums 
and  So.  Still,  the  compilation  does  cover  most  of  the 
essentials,  with  only  "Contact,"  "Kiss  of  Life"  and 
"D.I.Y."  standing  out  as  notable  omissions.  [sg/i] 

DIAMANDA  GALAS 

The  Litanies  of  Satan  (Y)  1982  (Mute-Restless)  1988  • 

Diamanda  Galas  (Metalanguage)  1 984 

The  Divine  Punishment  (nr/Mute)  1 986  (Mute-Restless) 

1989 

Saint  of  the  Pit  (nr/Mute)  1 986  (Mute-Restless)  1 989 
The  Divine  Punishment  &  Saint  of  the  Pit  [CD] 

(Mute-Restless)  1988* 


You  Must  Be  Certain  of  the  Devil  (Mute-Restless)  1 988  • 
Masque  of  the  Red  Death  Trilogy  [CD]  (Mute-Restless) 

1989® 
Plague  Mass  (Mute)  1991  4> 

Radical  Southern  California  avant-garde  diva  Ga- 
las' first  record,  The  Litanies  of  Satan,  was  not  a 
heavy-metal  prayer  but  rather  a  vocal  adaptation  of  a 
poem  by  Charles  Baudelaire.  Using  many  electronic 
modifications  (many  learned  during  her  working  with 
such  exemplary  contemporary  composers  as  lannis  Xe- 
nakis),  Galas  created  a  disturbing  and  provocative 
piece  that  was  almost  topped  by  the  composition  on 
the  album's  second  side,  the  amusingly  titled  but  har- 
rowing "Wild  Women  with  Steak-Knives  (The  Homi- 
cidal Love  Song  for  Solo  Scream)" — an  endurance- 
defying  unaccompanied  stream  of  hideous  vocal 
noises. 

Besides  showcasing  her  astonishing  voice  and  real 
knowledge  of  electronic  manipulation,  the  two  pieces 
on  Diamanda  Galas  display  her  social  conscience: 
"Panoptikon"  is  based  on  Jeremy  Bentham's  1843  pro- 
posal for  a  prison  where  the  inmates  could  be  kept  under 
constant  observation  by  unseen  captors,  and  "Tragou- 
thia  Apo  to  Aima  Exoun  Fonos"  translates  from  the 
Greek  as  "Song  from  the  Blood  of  Those  Murdered." 

Desperate  times  lead  to  desperate  actions.  The  Di- 
vine Punishment,  Saint  of  the  Pit  and  You  Must  Be 
Certain  of  the  Devil  comprise  Masque  of  the  Red 
Death,  "the  plague  mass,"  Galas'  strident  but  striking 
response  to  AIDS,  sparked  by  her  brother's  1986  death. 

The  Divine  Punishment  is  a  collection  of  somehow 
appropriate  Old  Testament  quotes  delivered — in  every- 
thing from  a  glass-breaking  soprano  to  an  urgent  whis- 
per to  a  depraved  shriek  to  a  wicked  multi-voiced 
regurgo  rumble — over  droning  synthesizer  music  with 
jarring  sonic  effects.  The  more  operatic  Saint  of  the  Pit 
sets  French  decadent  poetry  (by  Baudelaire,  Nerval  and 
Corbiere)  into  wild  vocal  excursions,  accompanied  by 
keyboards  that  vary  from  subtle  atmospherics  to  melo- 
dramatic horror-movie  organ.  Galas'  astonishingly  var- 
ied singing  styles  and  the  hypnotic  effect  of  the  record's 
three  claustrophobic,  obsessive  pieces  makes  Saint  of 
the  Pit  a  powerful  document  of  suffering. 

Completing  the  trilogy  on  a  conceptual  high  note, 
Galas  fills  You  Must  Be  Certain  of  the  Devil  with 
lyrically  specific  (mostly)  original  songs,  played  with 
backing  musicians.  The  record  gets  off  to  a  bracing  start 
with  a  unique  a  cappella  interpretation  of  "Swing  Low 
Sweet  Chariot' '  and  continues  in  an  unassuming  electro- 
rock  vein  as  Galas  warbles,  sometimes  singing  counter- 
point with  herself  in  multi-track  arrangements,  using 
voice  as  both  a  percussion  and  melodic  instrument.  The 
audio  intimacy  here  exaggerates  emotional  intensity  be- 
yond legal  limits. 

The  Divine  Punishment  and  Saint  of  the  Pit  are 
contained  on  one  CD;  the  limited  edition  two-CD 
Masque  of  the  Red  Death  Trilogy  is  a  complete  set  of 
all  three  albums. 

Plague  Mass  is  a  bravura  live  album  recorded  in 
October  1990  at  New  York's  Cathedral  of  St.  John  the 
Divine  and  includes  the  recorded  premier  of  *  *  There  Are 
No  More  Tickets  to  the  Funeral,"  a  new  section  of  the 
ongoing  work. 


270 


500 

Today  (Aurora)  1 987  (Rough  Trade)  1 991  • 
On  Fire  (Rough  Trade)  1989  • 
Blue  Thunder  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 989  • 
This  Is  Our  Music  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  @ 

Jumping  off  a.  Chemical  Imbalance  flexidisc,  Galaxie 
500 's  singsongy  psychedelic  "Oblivious"  was  so  sweet 
and  lo-fi  that  it  might  have  been  actual  innocence  instead 
of  the  Velvet  Underground's  received  ghost.  Today, 
which  features  a  rendition  of  Jonathan  Richman's 
"Don't  Let  Our  Youth  Go  to  Waste,"  confirmed  it:  this 
trio  (based  in  New  York  but  formed  in  Boston;  all  three 
are  Harvard  alumni)  may  sound  as  ragged  and  ambitious 
as  your  first  guitar  plugged  into  your  first  amp,  but  they 
had  a  way  with  dirge  and  seemed  to  mean  every  note. 
With  plaints  like '  *I  don't  wanna  stay  at  your  party/I  don't 
wanna  talk  with  your  friends/I  don't  wanna  vote  for  your 
president/I  just  wanna  be  your  tugboat  captain, ' '  Galaxie 
500  made  a  virtue  of  lethargy.  (The  CD  adds  two.) 

On  Fire  acknowledges  a  past  master  of  mopery  with 
an  unsanctimonious  cover  of  George  Harrison's  "Isn't 
It  a  Pity."  This  second  release  shapes  out  the  spaces 
between  Dean  Wareham's  proto-strum  and  whine/wail, 
Naomi  Yang's  exceptionally  melodic  bass  lines  (the 
band's  true  emotional  center)  and  Damon  Krukowski's 
economical  drumming.  Kramer  (producer  of  the  band's 
entire  output  to  date)  throws  in  enough  reverb  and  echo 
to  nearly  cover  lyncs  like  "I  stood  in  line  and  ate  my 
Twinkie"  beneath  a  fuzzy  warm  sonic  blanket.  Ware- 
ham's  lead  guitar  lines  are  clearer  and  more  confident 
here  and,  with  nice  touches  like  saxophone  on  "Decom- 
posing Trees,"  the  songs  are  immersion  chambers  of 
atmosphere. 

This  Is  Our  Music  is  slicker  and  features  more 
dynamic  crescendos — in  places  the  trio  sounds  like  a 
treble-free  low-tech  Feelies — but  the  melodies  aren't  as 
engaging  as  on  the  first  two  discs.  For  the  adventurous, 
there's  a  feeling  cover  of  Yoko  Ono's  "Listen,  the  Snow 
Is  Falling."  The  EP  reprises  "Blue  Thunder"  from  On 
Fire  (with  a  sax  part  added)  and  features  a  powerful 
cover  of  New  Order's  '  'Ceremony"  as  well  as  two  other 
non-LP  tracks.  [mp] 


GAME  THEORY 

Blaze  of  Glory  (Rational)  1 982 

Pointed  Accounts  of  People  You  Know  EP  (Rational)  1 983 

Distortion  EP  (Rational)  1984 

Dead  Center  (Fr.  Lolita)  1984 

Real  Nighttime  (Rational-Enigma)  1985 

The  Big  Shot  Chronicles  (Rational- Enigma)  1 986 

Lolita  Nation  (Rational-Enigma)  1987  • 

2  Steps  from  the  Middle  Ages  (Enigma)  1 988  • 

Tinker  to  Evers  to  Chance  (Rational-Enigma)  1 990  <J> 

VEIL 

1000  Dreams  Have  Told  Me  (Plastic  Medium)  1984 

Game  Theory  is  a  clean,  and  for  a  time,  mildly  psy- 
chedelic, pop  band  from  northern  California,  which 
means  their  departures  from  conventional  meat-and- 
potatoes  reality  are  more  quirky  than  trippy.  Like  most 
over-educated  popsters,  they  tend  towards  wimpiness — 
at  which  times  the  arcane  lyrics  don't  help — but  the  hip 
catchiness  of  the  songs  mostly  keeps  them  out  of  trouble. 


With  awfully  thin  sound  and  more  enthusiasm  than 
skill,  the  young  guitar-and-keyboards  quartet  made  its 
promising  debut  on  the  self-released  Blaze  of  Glory. 
Switching  drummers,  Game  Theory  then  returned  with 
the  schizy  six-song  Pointed  Accounts.  The  first  side  is 
light;  guitarist/singer  Scott  Miller's  songs  are  slightly 
off-kilter,  with  cryptic  lines  ("She  likes  metal  and  glass 
exact" — huh?),  but  the  hooks  make  them  go  down 
smoothly.  Bassist/singer  Fred  Juhos  carries  things  fur- 
ther out  on  the  second  side  with  two  tunes,  including  "I 
Wanna  Get  Hit  by  a  Car."  Juhos'  vision  is  darker  and 
somewhat  more  intriguing,  but  he  isn't  Miller's  equal  as 
a  tunesmith. 

The  five-song  Distortion,  co-produced  by  Michael 
Quercio  of  the  Three  O' Clock,  is  fuller,  if  not  as  fresh 
sounding  as  the  debut.  Unfortunately,  the  more  baroque 
presentation  makes  Miller's  fey  falsetto  and  fragile  mel- 
odies sound  too  precious.  Pleasant  listening,  and  the 
good  ideas  are  still  there,  but  it  doesn't  draw  you  in. 
Dead  Center  compiles  the  two  EPs,  adding  three  extra 
items. 

Real  Nighttime,  the  band's  second  album,  was  pro- 
duced by  Mitch  Easter,  with  Quercio  and  others  helping 
out.  Miller  wrote  all  the  songs,  except  for  a  cover  of 
Alex  Chilton's  Big  Star-era  "You  Can't  Have  Me." 
The  wispy  vocal  sound  unsurprisingly  crosses  the  Three 
O'Clock  with  Let's  Active,  but  the  music  is  tougher  and 
more  unpredictable  than  either  influence.  Whiny  melod- 
ica,  jagged  guitar  lines,  ominous  percussion  and  noisy 
sound  effects  lace  through  the  arrangements,  creating  an 
odd  but  often  productive  tension.  By  consciously  un- 
dercutting power-pop  convention,  Game  Theory  steers 
Real  Nighttime  into  uncharted  terrain  that,  for  the  most 
part,  gives  them  something  to  sing  about. 

Sticking  with  Easter  and  paraphrasing  John  Cheever 
for  its  title,  The  Big  Shot  Chronicles  lights  the  after- 
burners for  aggressively  electric  pop,  louder  and  more 
powerful  than  anything  in  Game  Theory's  past.  Miller's 
new  lineup  without  Juhos  doesn't  fool  around,  keeping 
the  arrangements  relatively  unadorned;  unfortunately, 
his  fly-away  singing  (self-described  here  as  a  "misera- 
ble whine"  and  later  characterized  as  "my  usual  ob- 
noxious vocals")  can  sound  silly  competing  with  stacks 
of  highly  amplified  rock;  restrained  songs  that  lean  to- 
wards acoustic  guitars  (e.g.,  "Erica's  World,"  "Where 
You  Going  Northern")  provide  a  more  conducive  set- 
ting. With  a  swell  organ  hook,  the  catchy  "Crash  into 
June"  hits  just  the  right  balance  and  is  hummably  mem- 
orable. 

The  ambitious  and  occasionally  bizarre  two-disc 
Lolita  Nation  adds  synthesizers  and  assorted  crazy 
noises  to  an  inconsistent  set  of  songs — delivered  in  un- 
predictable lengths — and  immerses  them  (especially  on 
Side  Three)  in  tape  experimentation,  spoken-word 
bridges  and  other  audio  ephemera.  This  new  lineup — a 
resourcefully  vocal  quintet,  here  assisted  by  longtime 
band  associates — provides  variegated  support  that  works 
wonders  some  of  the  time  but  falls  flat  in  spots.  Guitarist 
Donnette  Thayer  sings  commendable  lead  on  a  few 
tunes,  but  isn't  the  strong  counterpoint  to  Miller  that 
would  prevent  the  onset  of  listening  fatigue. 

The  same  five-person  Game  Theory  then  returned  to 
power  pop  earth  with  an  uninterrupted  set  of  discrete 
songs  on  2  Steps  from  the  Middle  Ages.  The  band's 


271 


light  melange  of  wispy  vocals,  acoustic/electric  guitars 
and  gently  colorful  keyboards  makes  an  unfailingly 
pleasant  (except  for  the  clunky  distraction  of  Gil  Ray's 
drumming)  and  intelligent — but  utterly  uninvolving — 
sound.  The  bland  consistency  of  both  Miller's  strained 
(and  hookless)  melodies  and  Easter's  uneventful  pro- 
duction damns  2  Steps  to  a  familiar  monotony. 

Along  with  Miller's  amusingly  self-deprecating  liner 
notes  and  substantial  samples  of  every  prior  Game  The- 
ory record  (only  his  songs),  the  ample  22-cut  Tinker  to 
Evers  to  Chance  compilation  offers  charming  new  re- 
cordings (by  an  ad  hoc  band)  of  several  old  songs — two 
reclaimed  from  Blaze  of  Glory — and  a  remix  of  Pointed 
Accounts'  "Penny,  Things  Won't." 

Prior  to  joining  Game  Theory,  Donnette  Thayer  led 
Sacramento's  Veil  (not  related  to  the  contemporaneous 
British-based  quartet),  a  slightly  tacky  melodic  rock 
quartet,  whose  competent  but  colorless  1984  LP  of  her 
songs  was  produced  by  Scott  Miller  and  engineered  by 
former  GT  drummer  Dave  Gill.  After  leaving  Game 
Theory,  Thayer  joined  up  with  Steve  Kilbey  of  the 
Church  to  form  Hex.  The  latest  GT  lineup  features  Quer- 
cio  and  ex-Thin  White  Rope  drummer  Jozef  Becker, 
Ray  having  shifted  from  percussion  to  guitar  and  key- 
boards, [jl/i] 

See  also  Hey.. 

PHIL  GAMMAGE 

See  Certain  General. 

GANG  GREEN 

Drunk  and  Disorderly,  Boston  MA  EP  (Deluxe)  1 986 

Another  Wasted  Night  (Taang!)  1986  * 

P.M.R.C  Sucb  12"  EP  (Taang!)  1987 

You  Got  It  (Roadracer)  1 987  • 

181 B4U  EP  (Roadracer)  1988® 

Older...  (Emergo)l 989  * 

Can't  Live  Without  It  (Emerge)  1 990  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

This  Is  Boston  Not  LA  (Modern  Method)  1982 

Led  by  singer/guitarist  Chris  Doherty,  Boston's 
greatest  beer-soaked  contribution  to  the  skate-punk 
genre  began  as  a  faster'n'louder  hardcore  trio,  with 
seven  sketchy  smears  (e.g.,  "Snob,"  "Kill  a  Commie" 
and  "Rabies")  averaging  under  a  minute  each  on  a 
1982  scene  compilation.  A  breakup  (during  which 
Doherty  played  in  Jerry 's  Kids),  lineup  changes  and  a 
handful  of  singles  and  EPs  followed,  then  Another 
Wasted  Night.  Cogent  power  and  a  notable  melodic 
sense  marks  the  quartet  as  a  superior  breed  of  punk. 
Doherty 's  Lemmylike  shriek  is  a  fiendish  attribute,  as  is 
Chuck  Stilphen's  occasional  blitzkrieg  solos.  "Skate  to 
Hell"  is  a  rallying  cry  for  skateboarders;  the  other  orig- 
inals are  convincing  thrash.  While  the  decision  to  cut  a 
slow  but  incompetently  irreverent  cover  of  Til  Tues- 
day's "Voices  Carry"  (complete  with  synthesizer  riff) 
probably  had  more  to  do  with  local  band  politics  than 
musical  taste,  it's  still  a  good  giggle.  Both  the  cassette 
and  CD  add  bonus  tracks.  (The  green-vinyl  P.M.R.C. 
EP — which  features  a  priceless  cover  photo  of  Doherty 
and  Til  Tuesday's  Aimee  Mann  together — contains  two 
versions  of  "Voices  Carry,"  plus  "Skate  Hate"  and 
"Protect  &  Serve.") 


You  Got  It  finds  an  overhauled  four-piece  again 
celebrating  Budweiser  and  boards  with  ace  playing  and 
a  stringent  mid-tempo  punk  sound.  (Kudos  to  lead  gui- 
tarist Fritz  Erickson.)  The  anthemic  "We'll  Give  It  to 
You"  and  "Born  to  Rock"  are  blistering  statements 
(skatements?)  of  teen  party  solidarity;  "L.D.S.B." 
("let's  drink  some  beer")  typifies  the  band's  commit- 
ment to  hedonistic  irresponsibility. 

The  casual-sounding  five-song  I81B4U  offers  yet 
another  homage  to  beer  ("Bartender"),  its  side  effects 
("Lost  Chapter")  and  sex  ("Put  Her  on  Top")  all  pro- 
duced with  a  dull  meta-metallic  roar  by  Daniel  Rey; 
meanwhile,  a  bratty  protest  against  "Rent"  returns  to 
the  band's  punky  roots. 

Claiming  "I'm  Still  Young"  with  little  conviction, 
Gang  Green  skates  into  a  new  stage  of  life  on  the  roar- 
ingly  dynamic  Older  .  .  .  (the  punny  cover  art  com- 
pletes the  ellipsis  with  the  inevitable  Budweiser),  a 
great  leap  forward  by  these  aging  veterans.  Driven  by 
the  rhythm  section's  charging  gallop,  Doherty's  frantic 
shouts  and  Erickson' s  full-throttle  arena-scale  guitar  lift 
the  quartet  out  of  small-scale  adolescent  punk  to  em- 
brace metal,  speed-rock  and  regular  ol'  hard  rock.  While 
"Church  of  Fun"  and  the  acoustic/orchestrated  power 
"Ballad,"  which  closes  the  LP  on  an  absurdly  funny 
note  (actually,  it's  D),  restate  old  values,  other  songs 
acknowledge  other  subject  matter. 

The  louder-than-bombs  Can't  Live  Without  It  (no 
points  for  guessing  what  the  title  might  refer  to:  these 
guys  have  long  since  raised  their  obsession  with  beer  to 
a  total  lifestyle)  was  recorded  live  in  London  at  the 
beginning  of  1990.  Covering  such  classics  as  "We'll 
Give  It  to  You,"  "Voices  Carry"  and  "Rabies"  with 
clear,  dynamic  sound,  the  fifteen-track  onslaught  is  a 
breathless  power  surge  that  could  probably  pulverize 
concrete.  [i] 

See  also  Jerry's  Kids,  Mallet-Head. 

GANG  OF  FOUR 

Damaged  Goods  (nr/Fast  Product)  1978 

Entertainment!  (Warner  Bros.)  1 979 

Gang  of  Four  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1 980 

Solid  Gold  (Warner  Bros.)  1981 

Another  Day/Another  Dollar  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982 

Songs  of  the  Free  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982 

Hard  (Warner  Bros.)  1 983 

At  the  Palace  (nr/Phonogram)  1 984 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1986 

The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 990  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  • 
A  Brief  History  of  the  Twentieth  Century  (Warner  Bros.) 

1990<J> 
Mall  (Polydor)  1991  4» 

If  the  Clash  were  the  urban  guerrillas  of  rock'n'roll, 
Leeds'  Gang  of  Four  were  its  revolutionary  theoreti- 
cians. The  band's  bracing  funk-rock  gained  its  edge 
from  lyrics  that  dissect  capitalist  society  with  the  cool 
precision  of  a  surgeon's  scalpel. 

The  Gang  saw  interpersonal  relationships — 
"romance,"  if  you  must — as  politics  in  microcosm,  a 
view  that  gives  Entertainment!  its  distinctive  tartness. 
Jon  King  declaims  brittle  sentiments  with  the  self- 
righteous  air  of  someone  who  couldn't  get  to  first  base 
with  his  girlfriend  the  previous  evening.  The  basic  back- 


272 


mg  trio  of  bassist  Dave  Allen,  drummer  Hugo  Buraham 
and  guitarist  Andy  Gill  chums  up  a  brutal,  nearly  un- 
embellished  accompaniment  on  this  challenging  album 
debut. 

Solid  Gold  delves  further  into  a  quicksand  of  dis- 
content. More  choppy  rhythms  and  pared-down  arrange- 
ments drive  home  cries  of  despair  like  *  'Paralysed," 
"Cheeseburger"  and  "What  We  All  Want."  Not  the 
sort  of  thing  to  pack  discos,  but  as  compelling  as  a 
steamroller 

Songs  of  the  Free  is  a  more  upbeat  dance  of  death. 
With  Allen  off  to  form  Shriekback,  new  bassist  Sara  Lee 
(fresh  out  of  Fripp's  League  of  Gentlemen)  and  Joy 
Yates'  backing  vocals  relieve  the  gloom  of  "We  Live  as 
We  Dream,  Alone"  and  (with  typical  irony)  contribute 
to  the  dancefloor  success  of  the  anti-militaristic  "I  Love 
a  Man  in  a  Uniform."  King's  impassioned  delivery,  the 
songs'  on-target  attacks  on  society's  ills  and  the  band's 
musical  wallop  make  Songs  of  the  Free  one  of  the  most 
stirring,  innovative  "rock"  albums  you  can  find. 

Unfortunately,  the  Gang's  next  outing  exposed  an 
aesthetic  about-face  of  Stalinesque  proportions.  Inap- 
propriately co-produced  by  Ron  and  Howard  Albert 
(Crosby  Stills  and  Nash,  Firefall),  Hard  shifts  from  a 
political  to  a  personal  frame  of  reference;  King  drones 
lyrics  against  dirge-like  music.  It  might  be  symbolic  of 
disillusionment.  It's  certainly  a  sorry  end  to  the  group's 
career.  Drummer  Hugo  Bumham  left  months  prior  to 
Hard's  release  (there  is  no  drummer  credited  on  the 
LP);  the  Gang  pressed  on  for  a  bit  before  disbanding  in 
1984. 

At  the  Palace  (Hollywood's,  that  is)  is  a  souvenir 
of  the  Gang's  final  tour.  With  Steve  Goulding  replacing 
Burnham  (who  briefly  sat  in  with  ABC  before  joining 
Illustrated  Man,  later  becoming  Shriekback' s  manager 
and  then  an  A&R  executive),  the  album  listlessly  re- 
hashes better  days.  Farewell,  comrades!  (The  cassette 
has  two  bonus  salvos.) 

To  relieve  between-album  tension,  the  band's  US 
label  twice  released  12-inch  EPs  consolidating  British 
singles.  Gang  of  Four  contains  "Armalite  Rifle"  from 
the  band's  1978  Damaged  Goods  three-song  debut,  a 
non-LP  flipside  and  both  sides  of  the  then-current  "Out- 
side the  Trains  Don't  Run  on  Time"  45  (both  later 
re-recorded  for  Solid  Gold).  Another  Day/Another 
Dollar  contains  both  sides  of  the  "To  Hell  with  Pov- 
erty" single  and  another  non-LP  flip  ("History's 
Bunk!") — all  required  listening  for  fans — plus  two  live- 
in-London  versions  of  Solid  Gold  songs  that  show  the 
Gang's  prime-time  concert  intensity. 

Rendering  the  one-session  Peel  EP  (from  January 
'79)  redundant,  the  eleven-song  album  (available  in  the 
US  on  CD  and  cassette  as  The  Peel  Sessions)  offers  that 
artifact  as  well  as  return  visits  to  the  BBC  radio  studios 
from  July  '79  and  March  '81.  Not  quite  an  alternate 
greatest  hits,  the  full-length  collection  nonetheless  of- 
fers such  Gang  classics  as  "To  Hell  with  Poverty,"  "At 
Home's  He's  a  Tourist"  and  "I  Found  That  Essence 
Rare,"  all  rendered  with  stiff-backed  ferocity. 

In  1988,  guitarist  Andy  Gill  released  a  solo  single 
and  produced  the  music  for  a  Derek  Jarman  film.  In 
1990,  as  he  and  King  reunited  and  began  working  on  a 
new  Gang  of  Four  record  (releasing  only  a  single  by 
year's  end),  the  monumental  20-song  Brief  History  of 
the  Twentieth  Century  compilation  (with  liner  notes 


by  Greil  Marcus)  was  issued  to  indoctrinate  a  new  gen- 
eration. 

The  new  Gang  LP,  Mall,  was  well  worth  the  wait. 
Without  trying  to  jump  the  bandwagon  they  helped 
launch,  King  and  Gill — aided  by  various  rhythm  sec- 
tions and  backup  singers — get  back  in  the  old  groove 
with  ease,  doing  an  updated  (but  not  selfconsciously  so) 
version  of  the  band's  essence  that  is  as  bracingly  polit- 
ical and  musically  potent  as  ever.  The  inclusion  of  a 
Vietnam  War  drama  ("F.M.U.S.A.")  is  weird  but  ex- 
tremely effective;  other  songs  attack  consumer  culture 
and  American  politics  with  varying  (but  generally  high) 
degrees  of  musical  and  lyrical  success.  (The  cover  of 
Bob  Marley's  "Soul  Rebel*'  is  white-boy  lame.)  Sound- 
ing in  spots  like  the  Clash's  funky  dance  side,  Mall 
easily  justifies  the  Gang  of  Two's  return,  proof  that  not 
all  legends  should  stay  out  of  the  action.  [si/i] 

See  also  Illustrated  Man,  Shriekback. 

NICK  GARVEY 

See  Motors. 

GAS 

Emotional  Warfare  (nr/Polydor)  1 982 

From  the  Cradle  to  the  Grave  (nr/Good  Vibrations)  1 983 

Frequently  compared  to  Elvis  Costello,  and  some- 
times even  to  Graham  Parker  and  the  Clash,  the  Gas 
were  more  of  the  punk-pop-mod  school  of  outfits  like 
the  Jam  and  Chords.  Emotional  Warfare,  a  ripping 
pop  LP,  shows  the  trio's  sharp  attack  and  some  of  the 
busiest  music  this  side  of  the  Buzzcocks.  "Definitely  Is 
a  Lie"  and  "Losing  my  Patience"  are  the  kind  of  aural 
pummels  one  never  expects  from  music  so  catchy;  sim- 
ilarly, the  band's  vitality  masked  the  incredibly  bitter 
lyrics  by  singer  Donnie  Burke,  an  intelligent  yet  disil- 
lusioned and  terminally  unsatisfied  frontman.  Imagine 
someone  who'd  been  left  in  the  lurch  by  a  thousand 
women  and  you'd  still  have  trouble  imagining  Burke 's 
bleak  anger.  By  comparison,  the  young  Costello  seems 
complacent  in  comparison.  Emotional  Warfare  indeed! 

The  title  track  of  From  the  Cradle  to  the  Grave 
(which  sets  the  theme  for  the  LP)  predates  the  Godfa- 
thers' Birth,  School,  Work,  Death  by  four  years,  stat- 
ing almost  exactly  the  same  pessimistic  outlook  on  life  in 
Britain.  While  the  battering  ram  of  Burke's  rage  and  de- 
spair continues,  it's  married  here  to  a  more  somber 
sound,  with  pretty  piano,  light  tempos  and  atmospheric 
guitar.  This  soundtrack  for  a  tear-gushing  movie  of  an 
unhappy  life  was  ignored  by  the  Gas'  older  fans  who  pre- 
ferred their  fast  and  loud  origins ,  and  avoided  by  the  post- 
punk  doom  and  gloom  school.  The  LP  faded  without 
much  fanfare,  as  did  the  band  soon  thereafter.  Ur3 

GAWK 

See  Ritual  Tension. 

GAYE  BYKERS  ON  ACID 

Everythang's  Groovy  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 986 
Nosedive  Karma  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 987 
Drill  Your  Own  Hole  (PFX-Caroline)  1 987 
The  Janice  long  Session  EP  (nr/Night  Tracks-Strange 
Fruit)  1 988 


273 


Stewed  to  the  Gills ....  (Caroline)  1 989  • 
Groovedivesoapdisch  (nr/Bleed)  1989 
Cancer  Planet  Mission  (nr/Naked  Brain)  1 990  • 
Pernicious  Nonsense  (nr/Naked  Brain)  1991® 

Crazy  times  and  the  enormous  reach  of  rock'n'roll 
have  made  the  challenge  of  turning  conscious  weirdness 
into  a  commercial  property  increasingly  difficult,  one 
that  few  neophytes  are  equal  to.  As  arbiters  of  grebo, 
the  dirty,  ugly  Bykers,  a  post-pop-culture  quartet  from 
Leicester,  cross  leather-clad  Mad  Max  apocalyptics  with 
late~'60s  London  people's-band  values  to  forge  a 
forward-looking/backward-thinking  image . 

Produced  by  Jon  Langford  (Three  lohns/Mekons), 
the  12-inch  Everytfiang's  Groovy  EP  is  plodding  and 
dull,  with  unnecessarily  silly  lyrics  that  attempt  to  com- 
bine '60s  underground  memorabilia  with  punk's  ag- 
gressive snottiness.  A  feeble  attempt,  but  the  band  sur- 
vived, seemingly  propelled  by  the  strength  of  its  name 
alone. 

If  Nosedive  Karma  demonstrates  a  bit  of  maturity, 
it  brings  the  band  from,  say,  fourth  grade  to  sixth.  The 
use  of  sound  bites  from  Star  Trek  throughout  the  record 
is  one  of  its  more  unappealing  features;  the  samples' 
haphazard  placement  makes  them  seem  like  an  end  in 
themselves.  "Don't  Be  Human  Eric,  Let's  Be  Frank" 
stands  out  as  the  Bykers'  best  tune  up  to  this  point,  a 
catchy  pop-punk  ditty  that  tries  to  tell  a  semi-intelligible 
story  with  a  minimum  of  nonsensical  '60s  references. 
(The  first  two  EPs  were  later  reissued  as  Groovedive- 
soapdisch. ) 

Drill  Your  Own  Hole  was  produced  with  maximum 
gimmickry  (and,  compared  to  the  band's  previous  work, 
supreme  ability)  by  Alex  Fergusson  (ATV/PTV)  and 
includes  a  cover  of  a  song  by  radical  hippiedom's  leg- 
endary Edgar  Broughton  Band.  The  intentionally  cha- 
otic noisy  guitar  rock  (dressed  up  in  wah-wan  and 
moronic  solos)  shows  some  improvement  in  skill  and 
lyrics  (which  still  rely  on  drug  culture  jokes);  the  self- 
conscious  posturing  is  spottily  ear-catching  but  basically 
horrible. 

Stewed  to  the  Gills  suggests  that  the  post-grebo 
Bykers  might  have  finally  learned  a  lesson;  in  lieu  of  TV 
snippets  and  antiquated  lifestyles,  the  quartet  takes  sub- 
tle jabs  at  current  pop  and  underground  culture,  shrugs 
off  fancy  production  (Langford  again  did  the  honors) 
and  surrenders  to  sloppy  musical  technique.  The  result 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkably  disjointed  mock-concept 
albums  ever,  a  creation  of  purposeless  nonsense  for  non- 
sense's sake,  fraught  with  casual,  easily  missed  micro- 
parodies.  Bravo. 

Come  1990,  and  the  cavalier  Bykers  seem  to  care 
less  than  ever.  In  the  case  of  Cancer  Planet  Mission, 
however,  that  very  lack  of  forethought  produced  an  un- 
commonly likable  platter  of  noisy  trash.  Although 
you're  not  likely  to  find  anything  useful  in  its  grooves, 
there's  a  whole  lot  of  real  good  nothing  going  on  here. 
The  scattershot  mixture  of  filthy  grunge-metal,  swampy, 
reggae-like  dub  and  adrenaline-laced  punk  is  utterly  un- 
fathomable; the  songs  are  surrounded  with  frightening 
bits  of  sampled  noise  (industrial  and  otherwise),  ethnic 
music,  and  whatever  they  could  pinch  off  TV. 

The  Janice  Long  Session  (recorded  in  '87)  contains 
radio-broadcast  versions  of  three  songs  from  the  first 
two  EPs  and  one  from  Drill  Your  Own  Hole,  [i/icm] 


See  Charged  G.B.H. 

Let's  Go  Scare  Al  (Cork)  1 988  (Polydor)  1 990  ® 
Billy's  Live  Bait  {Polydor)  1 990  • 

Hailing  from  Spam-town  (Austin,  Minnesota,  home 
of  Hormel),  the  Gear  Daddies  serve  up  slices  of  Amer- 
icana Norman  Rockwell  forgot  to  paint.  The  low-budget 
Let's  Go  Scare  Al  showcases  singer-guitarist  Martin 
Zellar's  somber,  country-tinged  songs.  (Although  gui- 
tarist Randy  Broughten  often  plays  pedal  steel  and  a 
snippet  of  a  Bob  Wills  tune  finds  its  uncredited  way  in, 
this  is  definitely  a  rock  band.)  Zellar's  lyrics  are  popu- 
lated with  small  town  folks  having  trouble  coping  with 
life:  tear-in-my-beer  music  without  the  false  sentimen- 
tality. These  guys  would  get  ran  out  of  Nashville  on  a 
rail,  but  they'd  probably  be  welcome  in  the  other  Aus- 
tin. 

On  Billy's  Live  Bait,  the  quartet  upgrades  its  sound 
and  rocks  more  forcefully,  with  Zellar  and  Broughten 
bouncing  guitar  rhythms  off  one  another.  The  portraits 
here  are  maybe  a  shade  less  grim  than  on  Let's  Go 
Scare  Al,  but  it's  still  no  laugh-fest.  In  fact,  the  album's 
only  real  humorous  moment — an  untitled  ditty  about  a 
guy  who  dreams  of  riding  the  Zamboni  machine  used  to 
smooth  an  ice  rink — comes  after  the  supposedly  final 
song.  Alas,  even  that  wish  goes  unfulfilled.  [ds] 

BOB  GELDOF 

Deep  in  the  Heart  of  Nowhere  (Atlantic)  1 986  ® 
Love  Like  a  Rocket  EP  [CD]  (nr/Mercury)  1987  • 
The  Vegetarians  of  Love  (Atlantic)  1 990  <t> 
Love  or  Something  EP  (nr/Mercury)  1 990  ® 

In  mid- 1986,  after  making  enormous  efforts  on  be- 
half of  others,  ex-Boomtown  Rat  Bob  Geldof  took  a  few 
steps  in  his  own  behalf,  writing  an  autobiography  (Is 
That  It?)  and  signing  a  solo  record  deal.  Best  heard  on 
CD  or  cassette  (the  vinyl  version  has  three  fewer  tracks; 
others  are  truncated),  Deep  in  the  Heart  of  Nowhere 
bears  the  onerous  marks  of  Rupert  Mine's  tritely  com- 
mercial overproduction,  but  also  contains  some  swell 
tunes  and  affecting  lyrics.  "This  Is  the  World  Calling" 
and  the  outstanding  "Pulled  Apart  by  Horses"  (amaz- 
ingly omitted  from  the  vinyl  version,  but  wisely  in- 
cluded on  the  UK  Love  Like  a  Rocket  EP,  along  with 
another  of  the  deletions,  two  mixes  of  the  title  song  and 
'"This  Is  the  World  Calling")  both  resemble  Rat  tracks 
and  allude  to  recent  experiences;  "In  the  Pouring  Rain" 
could  easily  have  come  from  The  Fine  Art  of  Surfac- 
ing. The  record  contains  some  true  wretchedness  (the 
melodramatically  recited  "The  Beat  of  the  Night")  that 
will  confirm  skeptics'  worst  fears  about  Geldof's  ego, 
but  this  is  by  no  means  a  bad  showing.  Musical  sup- 
porters here  include  Dave  Stewart,  Annie  Lennox, 
Midge  Ure,  Brian  Setzer,  Eric  Clapton  and  Alison 
Moyet. 

Four  years  later,  with  Mine  again  producing  and  ex- 
Rat  Pete  Briquette  on  bass,  Geldof  adopted  a  jolly  and 
appealing  neo-folk  approach  for  The  Vegetarians  of 
Love,  a  casual  and  light,  mostly  acoustic,  album  that 
gains  a  mild  Irish  accent  from  violin,  accordion  and 
pennywhistle.  But  while  the  sensitively  played  music 


274 


sounds  lighthearted,  Bob  hasn't  changed  his  outspoken 
and  pointed  (but  amusingly  couched  and  casually  con- 
versational) lyrical  ways.  After  ironically  listing  all  the 
things  he  doesn't  care  about  in  "The  Great  Song  of 
Indifference,"  Geldof  spends  the  rest  of  the  album  air- 
ing his  philosophical  and  emotional  angst.  "Crucified 
Me"  is  a  quietly  bitter  love  song;  "The  Chains  of  Pain" 
addresses  several  world  crises  with  a  cry  of  optimism; 
"The  End  of  the  World"  and  "Thinking  Voyager  2 
Type  Things"  go  all  existential.  "I'm  thinking  big 
things,"  he  sings,  "I'm  thinking  about  mortality/I'm 
thinking  it's  a  cheap  price  that  we  pay  for  existence." 

The  CD  edition  of  the  1990  EP  picks  the  rockingest 
and  poppiest  tune  (co-written  with  Dave  Stewart)  from 
Vegetarians  and  adds  a  trio  of  non-LP  cuts,  two  of 
which  ("Out  of  Order"  and  "One  of  the  Girls,"  played 
on  garage  guitar  and  accordion)  are  well  worth  hearing. 
The  four-song  12-inch  replaces  "One  of  the  Girls"  with 
a  remix  of  "The  Great  Song  of  Indifference."  [i/pn] 

See  also  Boomtown  Rats. 


GENE  LOVES  JEZEBEL 

Promise  (nr/Situation  Two)  1983  (Geffen)  1987  * 
Bruises  EP  (Can.  Beggars  Banquet-Vertigo)  1 983 
Immigrant  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 984  (Situation 

Two-Relativity)  1 985  • 
Desire  EP  (Relativity)  1985 
Discover  (Beggars  Banquet-Geffen)  1986  ® 
The  House  of  Dolls  (Beggars  Banquet-Geffen)  1987  ® 
Kiss  of  Life  (Beggars  Banquet-Geffen)  1 990  ® 

For  most  of  Promise,  Welsh  twins  Jay  and  Michael 
Aston  generate  a  powerful,  dense  sound  that  falls  some- 
where between  U2,  Adam  Ant  and  Public  Image:  thickly 
textured  guitars  coloring  a  driving  beat  under  aggres- 
sively impassioned,  generally  tuneless  vocals  that  occa- 
sionally lapse  into  YokOnoesque  wailing.  The  songs 
have  a  decidedly  sexual  air,  but  it's  the  sheer  din — 
roughly  produced  but  convincing — that  makes  Promise 
worth  repeated  listenings.  Numbers  that  don't  go  for 
maximum  impact  peddle  a  sensitive,  spacious  attrac- 
tiveness that  suggests  considerable  range  and  skill. 
(Bruises  is  a  six-song  precis  of  the  alburn. ) 

On  the  enjoyable,  atmospheric  Immigrant,  intelli- 
gently produced  by  John  Leckie,  the  Jezebels  (acknowl- 
edging a  five-piece  lineup)  resemble  a  pop-sensitized 
version  of  Bauhaus,  a  gritty  U2  or  a  smacked-out  Duran 
Duran.  "Always  a  Flame"  is  aggro-dance  rock  with  a 
walloping  beat  and  a  real  melody;  "Shame"  has  similar 
attributes,  plus  a  catchy  refrain.  The  US  edition  of  the 
LP  appends  Promise's  "Bruises,"  a  solid  number 
which  brings  all  of  the  band's  U2  tendencies  to  the  fore. 
("Worth  Waiting  For"  is  equally  Bonoesque.)  The  De- 
sire 12-inch  combines  two  mixes  of  that  song  with  three 
album  tracks  for  a  dose  of  Gene  Loves  Jezebel's  best 
side. 

"Desire"  also  appears  on  Discover,  the  band's  first 
American  major-label  release  (a  development  reflecting 
their  burgeoning  haircut-based  popularity  on  college  ra- 
dio and  in  alternative  media)  and  their  first  to  feature 
veteran  London  guitarist  James  Stevenson  (Chelsea, 
Generation  X).  Beyond  "Desire,"  however,  Discover 
wavers  from  obnoxious  (the  Lotte  Lenya-meets- 
Bauhaus  sound  of  "Heartache,"  the  annoying  push  of 
"Sweetest  Thing")  to  melodious  ("Kick"  and  "A 


White  Horse,"  which  suggest  a  mild  New  Order  influ- 
ence). Throughout,  Michael  Aston  warbles  miserably  in 
an  unmusical  voice  which  blends  the  worst  excesses  of 
Siouxsie  and  Bono;  it  hardly  matters  how  well  Gary 
Lyons'  production  renders  the  instrumentation  as  long 
as  the  vocal  mic  stays  on.  (The  British  tape  configura- 
tion adds  eight  live  tracks  recorded  in  Nottingham  in 
early  1986.  Original  pressings  of  the  UK  album  included 
a  bonus  disc  entitled  Glad  to  Be  Alive  of  the  same 
performance.) 

A  transparent  effort  to  commercialize  the  Jezebels 
made  The  House  of  Dolls  their  most  listenable— that's 
not  to  say  likable — record  yet.  Excepting  a  pair  of  songs 
("The  Motion  of  Love"  and  "Suspicion")  handled  by 
Jimmy  lovine,  the  LP  was  produced  by  Peter  Walsh 
(Simple  Minds,  China  Crisis,  Peter  Gabriel's  live  LP), 
who  multi-tracks  Aston' s  vocals  (without  completely 
curbing  his  habit  of  yelping  and  wailing  unexpectedly) 
and  surrounds  them  in  clearly  articulated  and  tuneftil 
arena  guitar  rock,  leaving  the  impression  that  GU  is  on 
the  verge  of  discovering  a  most  unpleasant  hybrid  of 
Van  Halen,  U2  and  a  billy  goat. 

Michael  Aston 's  subsequent  departure  from  the 
group  left  Jay  in  the  driver's  seat  for  the  slow-moving 
and  uninspired  Kiss  of  Life.  "Jealousy"  and  "Evening 
Star"  follow  the  LA-styled  hard-rock  path  laid  down  on 
The  House  of  Dolls,  but  the  general  tone  is  far  less 
overbearing  this  time.  ("Tangled  Up  in  You"  is  virtu- 
ally a  folk  song;  acoustic  guitar  is  prominent  through- 
out.) Cutting  away  the  bombast,  however,  reveals 
insipid  lyrics  ("Why  can't  I/see  you  smile/Just  once  in 
a  while/Let  me  see  you  smile"  forms  the  intellectual 
body  of  one  seven-minute  song),  simpleminded  musical 
ideas  and  a  serious  shortage  of  personality.  [i] 

See  also  All  About  Eve.  ' 


GENERAL  PUBLIC 

...All  the  Rage  (IRS)  1984® 
Hand  to  Mouth  (IRS)  1 986  • 

RANKING  ROGER 

Radical  Departure  (IRS)  1988  • 

DAVE  WAKEL1NG 

No  Warning  (IRS)  1991  <t> 

After  terminating  the  perfect  Beat,  leader  Dave 
Wakeling  and  color  commentator  Ranking  Roger 
(Charlery)  stuck  together  to  form  General  Public,  which 
ultimately  involved  other  2-Tone  veterans.  It's  hard  to 
hear  why  the  Beat  had  to  die  for  General  Public  to  live, 
but  evidently  the  pair  felt  they  needed  to  leave  some 
people  and  other  career  baggage  behind.  Although  an 
unequal  trade,  General  Public  upheld  the  commitment 
to  excellence  that  hallmarked  the  Beat. 

Ex-Clashman  Mick  Jones  plays  guest  guitar  on  the 
first  LP  (although  just  where  on  this  democratic  under- 
taking is  impossible  to  peg);  Aswad's  brass  section  and 
Gary  Barnacle  also  pitch  in.  For  their  part,  Wakeling 
and  Roger  craft  passionate  pop,  packed  with  clever 
tempo  shifts,  in  several  styles:  a  happy  Motown  bounce 
("Tenderness"  and  the  romantic  "Never  You  Done 
That"),  textured  drama  ("General  Public,"  the  politi- 
cal "Burning  Bright")  and  a  bluebeat  kick  ("Where's 
the  Line").  On  the  negative  side,  GP  engage  in  annoy- 
ing verbal  play  on  "Hot  You're  Cool"  and  "As  a  Mat- 


275 


ter  of  Fact."  Some  tracks  go  on  too  long  and  a  few  of 
the  arrangements  are  overly  busy,  but  those  are  small 
quibbles.  AH  the  Rage  is  a  rich,  mature  album  filled 
with  intelligence  and  invention  from  a  band  fairly  burst- 
ing with  talent. 

The  second  and  final  installment  in  the  General  Pub- 
lic saga  was  Hand  to  Month,  a  milder  and  less  striking 
record.  The  well-rehearsed  lineup  of  six  (augmented  by 
ex-Beatman  Saxa,  Caspar  Lawal  and  others)  exudes  an 
air  of  relaxed  precision  on  an  easygoing  pop  program 
that  shows  little  evidence  of  creative  exertion.  Although 
hardly  exceptional,  'Too  Much  or  Nothing"  is  the  al- 
bum's best  track;  "Faults  and  All"  and  "Murder,"  with 
snappy  horn  charts,  echo  the  first  record  but  don't  build 
on  it.  All  in  all,  the  music  goes  down  smoothly  enough, 
but  without  any  lasting  impression. 

In  1988,  with  their  long  partnership  at  an  end,  Rank- 
ing Roger  and  Wakeling  each  set  out  to  launch  solo 
careers.  Adding  semi-melodic  singing  to  his  vocal  rep- 
ertoire, Roger  got  so  far  as  making  Radical  Departure, 
a  socially  conscious  but  duff  album  of  pop  and  dance- 
rock  originals  that  holds  little  value  for  fans  of  his  prior 
endeavors.  Wakeling  never  left  the  starting  gate.  Al- 
though IRS  promised  a  1989  release  for  an  album  enti- 
tled The  Happiest  Man  in  the  World,  the  record 
wasn't  completed  and  Wakeling  left  the  music  business. 
But  that  isn't  quite  the  end  of  the  story.  In  1991,  the 
album — or  some  version  thereof — was  issued  as  No 
Warning.  [i] 

See  also  (English)  Beat. 

GENERATION  X 

Generation  X  (Chrysalis)  1 978  ® 
Valley  of  the  Dolls  (Chrysalis)  1 979  & 
Kiss  Me  Deadly  (Chrysalis)  1981  » 
Dancing  with  Myself  EP  (nr/Chrysalis)  1981 
The  Best  of  Generation  X  (nr/Chrysalis)  1 985 

Appearing  on  the  London  punk  scene  shortly  after 
the  Sex  Pistols,  Generation  X  was  an  extraordinary  but 
ill-fated  outfit  that  issued  five  tremendous  singles,  one 
classic  album  and  some  real  dross.  It  also  launched  the 
mega-career  of  Billy  Idol  and  the  ditzy  Sigue  Sigue 
Sputnik,  developments  one  must  weigh  when  consider- 
ing the  band's  historical  significance. 

With  Idol  as  the  band's  voice  and  image  and  guitar- 
ist Bob  "Derwood"  Andrews  providing  its  rock  power, 
Generation  X  broke  a  lot  of  punk  conventions,  and  were 
ultimately  ostracized  by  their  peers  for  refusing  to  be  (or 
even  feign  being,  as  many  others  did)  anti-commercial. 
Their  breakup  can  be  viewed  as  a  parallel  to  the  dis- 
persal of  the  original  punk  spirit,  although  Billy  Idol's 
phoenix-like  ascent  to  world  chart  domination  is  equally 
indicative  of  the  subsequent  salability  of  that  ethos. 

Following  a  string  of  tremendous  45s  ("Your  Gen- 
eration," "Wild  Youth,"  "Ready  Steady  Go" — all  in- 
cluded on  the  US  version  of  the  first  LP)  that  crossbred 
punk  insolence  with  kitschy  '60s  pop  culture  to  produce 
catchy,  roaring  anthems  for  disaffected  youth,  Genera- 
tion X's  debut  album  bore  out  their  promise — not  a  bum 
track  in  the  bunch.  A  commercial  streak  didn't  preclude 
a  punky  outlook  or  closeness  to  their  audience;  while  the 
songs  don't  threaten  the  established  order,  they  do  retain 
a  cocky  irreverence  that  made  Generation  X  more  than 
a  latter-day  Mott  the  Hoople.  Generation  X,  regardless 


of  the  reputational  damage  Billy  Idol  may  have  subse- 
quently caused,  is  a  classic  record.  The  superior  US 
version  deletes  "Listen,"  "The  Invisible  Man"  and 
"Too  Personal" — all  fairly  unessential — and  adds  the 
two  single  sides  ("Wild  Youth"  and  "Your  Genera- 
tion") omitted  from  the  UK  album,  a  definitive  John 
Lennon  cover  ("Gimme  Some  Truth")  and  the  amazing 
pioneering  reggae-mix  of  "Wild  Dub  " 

Valley  of  the  Bolls,  produced  by  Ian  Hunter,  pales 
in  comparison.  Two  or  three  numbers  (e.g.,  "Running 
with  the  Boss  Sound,"  "King  Rocker")  recall  the  sonic 
magnificence  of  the  early  singles,  but  the  surrounding 
tracks  leave  much  to  be  desired.  A  typical  sophomore- 
record  material  shortage. 

Kiss  Me  Deadly,  recorded  after  Idol  and  bassist 
Tony  James  (co-writer  with  Idol  of  the  band's  songs) 
had  sacked  Andrews  and  drummer  Mark  Laff,  is  a 
shoddy  affair,  containing  only  the  wonderful  "Dancing 
with  Myself"  to  recommend  it.  Their  moniker  truncated 
to  Gen  X,  Idol  and  James  employed  once  and  future 
Clash  drummer  Terry  Chimes  and  a  trio  of  guitar  stars — 
Steve  Jones,  John  McGeoch  and  Chelsea's  James 
Stevenson — but  the  spirit  was  gone  from  the  music,  and 
the  LP  is  merely  a  pale  shadow  of  the  band's  early 
glories.  Indeed,  by  the  time  of  its  release,  Idol — under 
the  tutelage  of  ex-Kiss  manager  Bill  Aucoin — had  al- 
ready declared  himself  a  solo  act. 

In  recapitulating  all  three  records,  The  Best  Of 
catches  just  about  everything  worth  saving  off  the  sec- 
ond and  third  albums  ( "Valley  of  the  Dolls, ' ' '  'Running 
with  the  Boss  Sound,"  "King  Rocker,"  "Dancing  with 
Myself")  but  omits  a  couple  of  early  masterpieces.  For 
the  best  of  Generation  X,  you  could  still  do  worse  than 
the  American  Generation  X.  [i] 

See  also  Billy  Idol,  Sigue  Sigue  Sputnik, 

GERMS 

(Gl)  (Slash)  1979 

What  We  Do  Is  Secret  (Slash)  1981 

Germicide-Live  at  the  Whisky  [tape]  (ROIR)  1982 

Let  the  Circle  Be  Unbroken  (Gasatanka)  1 985 

Lion's  Share  (Aus.  Ghost  o'Darb)  1 985 

Rock  n'  Rule  (XES)  1 986 

In  retrospect,  it's  easy  to  dismiss  the  Germs  as  the 
epitome  of  LA's  early  identipunk  scene.  Singer  Darby 
Crash  (Paul  Beahra)  was  a  barking  spikey-haired  brat, 
an  alarming  adolescent  combination  of  Johnny  Rotten's 
snarling  vocal  ferocity  and  Sid  Vicious'  self-destructive 
cool.  Three  years  after  the  band's  first  live  performance 
(at  the  Whisky  in  1977),  Crash  died  of  a  drug  overdose, 
reportedly  self-inflicted  in  morbid  tribute  to  Vicious' 
own  fatal  OD  in  1979. 

Germicide,  a  cassette  release  of  that  first  show,  re- 
inforces that  notion.  The  tape  is  a  raw  documentary  of 
spirited  incompetence,  with  Crash  ranting  through  "Sex 
Boy"  and  the  rather  prophetic  "Suicide  Madness"  in  a 
cynical  bawl.  Behind  him,  the  band  plods  along  with  all 
the  cheer  of  a  migraine.  A  good  third  of  the  tape  consists 
of  Crash  trading  obscene  insults  with  the  crowd.  Also  of 
note:  a  tortuous  disembowelment  of  the  Archies'  "Sugar 
Sugar." 

After  that,  (GI)  is  a  revelation,  a  kinetic  outburst  of 
brute  punk  force.  Two  years  of  tightening  and  a  new 
drummer  (Don  Bolles,  later  of  45  Grave)  turned  the 


276 


Germs  into  a  manic  punk  locomotive,  speeding  along 
with  Damned  intensity  in  spite  of  tinny  production  by 
Joan  Jett.  Aside  from  the  overlong  live  "Shut  Down," 
the  songs  go  by  in  a  breathless  rush,  fueled  by  Pat 
Smear's  staccato  fuzz  guitar  and  Crash's  sometimes 
confused  but  often  potent  punk  protest  imagery.  A  key 
album  in  the  development  of  American  hardcore. 

What  We  Do  Is  Secret,  a  posthumous  bow  to 
Darby,  packages  what's  left  of  the  Germs'  recorded 
legacy  on  a  12-inch  mini-album.  The  material  includes 
a  1977  stab  at  Chuck  Berry's  "Round  and  Round"  with 
X  drummer  D  J.  Bonebrake,  an  outtake  from  (GI)  and 
live  tracks  recorded  in  late  1980,  shortly  before  his 
death.  Lion's  Share  is  an  Australian  compilation  con- 
taining live  cuts  and  assorted  rarities. 

Recorded  under  battle  conditions  by  Geza  X  on  a 
four-track,  the  fair-sounding  Rock  n'  Rule  documents  a 
motley  but  amusing  1979  Christmas  party  at  the 
Whisky — the  noise  of  flying  bottles  crashing  onstage 
only  adds  to  the  grimy  charm.  Let  the  Circle  Be  Un- 
broken is  another  document  of  the  band's  chaotic  con- 
cert existence.  [df/i] 

See  also  45  Grave,  Pat  RuthenSmear. 

GHOST  DANCE 

See  Sisters  of  Mercy. 

GIANT  SANDWORMS 

Will  Wallow  and  Roam  After  the  Ruin  EP  (Boneless)  1 980 

GIANT  SAND 

Valley  of  Rain  (Enigma)  1985 

Ballad  of  a  Thin  Line  Man  (nr/Zippo)  1 986 

Storm  (What  Goes  On)  1988 

The  Love  Songs  (Homestead)  1 988  « 

Long  Stem  Rant  (Homestead)  1989  • 

Giant  Songs:  The  Best  of  Giant  Sand  (nr/Demon)  1 989  « 

Giant  Sandwich  (Homestead)  1 989  • 

Swerve  [CD]  (Amazing  Black  Sand)  1 990  « 

BAND  OF  BLACKY  RANCHETTE 

The  Band  of  Blacky  Ranchette  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 985  • 
Heartland  (nr/Zippo)  1986 
Sage  Advice  (nr/Demon)  1 990  • 

Guitarist/singer/pianist  Howe  Gelb  moved  from 
Pennsylvania  to  Tucson,  Arizona,  in  the  late  '70s  and 
formed  the  Giant  Sandworms,  a  quartet  preserved  on  a 
white-vinyl  7-inch  EP:  five  nifty  songs  of  off-kilter 
electro-rock  that  owes  rudimentary  debts  to  Roxy  Mu- 
sic, Devo  and  XTC. 

Five  years  of  local  influence  later,  only  Gelb  and 
three  syllables  of  his  band's  name  remain.  Bassist  Scott 
Garber  and  two  drummers  (playing  on  different  cuts) 
join  him  on  Valley  of  Rain,  a  brash  outpouring  of  dusty 
Southwestern  rock.  Gelb's  enthusiastic  vocals  and  the 
charging,  well- written  music  set  this  apart  from  other 
bands  of  the  region  (and  those  from  LA  who  fancy 
themselves  cultural  expatriates)  who  mix  cowboys  into 
their  music.  Green  on  Red's  Chris  Cacavas  adds  piano 
to  one  song. 

The  next  Giant  Sand  incarnation  resulted  from  the 
departure  of  one  drummer  and  the  arrival  of  Paula  Jean 
Brown  (vocals/guitar),  who  had  served  a  short  tenure 
(taking  Jane  Wiedlin's  spot)  in  the  Go-Go's.  Ballad  of 
a  Thin  Line  Man  moves  in  acoustic  circles,  adding 


equal  parts  of  country  and  bracing  Neil  Youngesque 
electricity.  Gelb  and  Brown  harmonize  richly;  his  songs 
about  real  life  with  an  uncommon  outlook  just  keep 
getting  better.  Guests  on  the  LP  include  Falling  James 
(Leaving  Trains),  who  co-wrote  and  sings  "Last  Legs," 
a  smokey  piano  ballad  with  an  atmospheric  '30s  feel.  A 
peppy  cover  of  Johnny  Thunders'  "You  Can't  Put  Your 
Arms  Around  a  Memory"  speeds  up  the  song  and  adds 
piano,  but  keeps  its  basic  sound  intact  with  mangy  sing- 
ing and  noisily  strummed  guitar. 

Storm  is  the  best  Giant  Sand  record  to  that  point. 
Brown  moved  over  to  bass,  Garber  left  and  Neil  Harry 
joined  to  play  almost  imperceptible  pedal  steel.  (Drum- 
mer Tom  Larkms  was  still  maintaining  his  concurrent 
membership  in  both  Giant  Sand  and  Naked  Prey. )  Crisp 
production  plays  up  Gelb's  guitarings,  which  sound  re- 
markably like  Neil  Young  at  his  grungiest;  at  times,  his 
vocals  hit  an  unnerving  Lou  Reed  plateau.  The  band  is 
in  fine  and  sophisticated  form,  mixing  up  styles  with 
aplomb.  Burgh-oriented  songs  like  "Town  with  Little 
or  No  Pity/'  "Bigger  Than  That"  and  "Town  Where 
No  Town  Belongs"  (which  opens  on  the  same  riff  as 
Cheap  Trick's  "She's  Tight")  demonstrate  abundant 
talent  and  wit,  especially  in  the  lyrics  department.  A 
distinctive  and  invigorating  album. 

The  fractious  scat-singing  of  "Almost  the  Politi- 
cian's Wife"  and  the  shambling  beatnik  prose  of  "Fin- 
gernail Moon,  Barracuda  and  Me"  are  about  the  only 
streams-of-outre-consciousness  to  trickle  over  the  sides 
of  The  Love  Songs'  solid,  Band-like  dam  of  chunky 
riffs  and  churning  organ  (Gelb  and  Green  on  Red's  Chris 
Cacavas  switch  off  on  keys).  The  restraint  only  inten- 
sifies the  wallop  packed  by  Gelb's  lyrics.  "One  Man's 
Woman/No  Man's  Land"  is  a  litany  of  betrayal,  with 
Gelb  carefully  piling  on  the  cliches  ("One  man's  meat 
is  another  man's  poison  .  .  .")  until  he  delivers  the 
kicker  ("One  man's  woman  is  ...  another  man's 
woman").  It's  positively  jolting,  as  is  the  medicine- 
show  blues  "Wearing  the  Robes  of  Bible  Black."  A 
misguided  Teutonic  cover  of  Leiber  and  Stoller's  "Is 
That  All  There  Is?"  suggests  that  Gelb  has  spent  en- 
tirely too  much  time  in  Europe  but,  digested  in  its  en- 
tirety, The  Love  Songs  is  Giant  Sand's  most  consistent, 
clear  disc.  Another  significant  development  is  the  ar- 
rival of  drummer  John  Convertmo,  who  has  stuck  with 
Gelb  ever  since.  (Original  copies  of  the  LP  came  with  a 
bonus  7-inch;  the  CD  and  cassette  add  the  tracks.) 

Long  Stem  Rant  finds  both  its  greatest  strength  (a 
contagious,  breathless  spontaneity)  and  its  greatest 
weakness  (a  surfeit  of  tangled  loose  ends)  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  its  creation — a  sleepless,  cathartic  one- 
weekend  spurt  of  near-total  improv  that  followed  hot  on 
the  heels  of  Gelb  and  Brown's  divorce.  That  helps  ac- 
count for  the  raw  emotion  that  pours  from  Gelb  on 
"Loving  Cup,"  but  the  electric  intensity  that  he  and 
Convertino  (the  entire  band  here)  generate  can  only  be 
traced  to  more  supernatural  sources  (and  isolation  in  a 
windowless  barn — pictured  on  the  cover — where  it  was 
recorded).  Seconds-long  stretches  of  jazzy,  freewheel- 
ing raves,  though  often  niftily  titled  ("Patsy  Does  Dy- 
lan," "Lag  Craw")  add  little  aesthetically,  but  do 
contribute  to  the  you-are-there  atmosphere. 

Swerve  mates  the  best  elements  of  the  last  two  re- 
leases, tempering  Rant's  scalding  emotionalism  with 
more  strictly  implemented  structure.  There's  a  blurry, 


277 


almost  numb  feel  to  the  matter-of-fact  fatalism  of 
''Can't  Find  Love' '  and  the  mumbling  "Sisters  &  Broth- 
ers" (which  can  easily  be  traced  back  to  his  relationship 
with  Brown),  and  the  mercurial  jamfests  appear — by 
dint  of  title  ("Swerver,"  "Swerving,"  "Swervette") 
and  sound  (a  desolately  creeping  art-blues  wave) — to 
have  been  hacked  from  a  single  piece  of  rough  cloth. 
The  cover  of  Dylan's  "Every  Grain  of  Sand"  features 
backing  by  Poi  Dog  Pondering  and  that  other  guests 
include  Juliana  Hatfield  (Blake  Babies),  Falling  James, 
Steve  Wynn  and  Chris  Cacavas. 

Folks  wanting  to  test  these,  er,  waters  can  dip  eus- 
tachia  into  two  equally  worthy  pools.  Giant  Songs 
draws  pretty  evenly  from  the  first  four  Giant  Sand  discs, 
adding  three  tracks  from  Heartland.  The  Giant  Sand- 
wich CD  is  a  particularly  good  choice,  as  it  nearly  dou- 
bles the  LPs  number  of  what  Gelb's  notes  call  "shy" 
(read:  hard  to  find)  songs  and  steps  rather  confidently 
forward  with  some  previously  unheard  material,  like  the 
very  early  "Artists"  and  a  very  different,  starkly  emo- 
tional reading  of  "Black  Venetian  Blind." 

The  Band  of  Blacky  Ranchette  is  Gelb's  parallel 
country-western  outfit,  in  which  he  indulges  a  passion 
for  Hank  Williams  and  Jimmie  Rodgers.  Though  sel- 
dom unauthentic  (Gelb's  Appalachian  roots  break  the 
soil  of  every  track),  Blacky 's  eponymous  bow  is  only 
marginally  distinct  from  Giant  Sand.  Covers  of  "Evil" 
(with  manic  slide  guitar  sawing  by  Rainer  Ptacek)  and 
Neil  Young's  "Revolution  Blues"  diverge  only  in 
Gelb's  drawling  delivery.  Heartland  is  more  unique 
— only  the  angst-ridden  "Roof's  on  Fire"  is  the  least 
bit  Sand-y — and  emphasizes  the  western  half  of  the 
C&W  equation  in  its  high  lonesome  duskiness.  Gelb's 
weary  weathered  croon  gives  an  empathetic  kick  to 
the  wistful  title  track  and  "Moon  Over  Memphis," 
and  he  proves  himself  a  solid  roadhouse  piano  player 
as  well. 

Recorded  piecemeal  over  several  sessions  in  '89  and 
'90,  Sage  Advice  further  westernizes  the  sound — a 
rending  version  of  Waylon  Jennings*  "Trouble  Man" 
underscores  the  outlaw  feel — by  generously  slathering 
Gelb's  spooky  high-desert  ballads  with  dobro  and  pedal 
steel.  Blacky  sneaks  back  onto  Sand  territory  again,  as 
well — reinventing  Long  Stem  Rant's  "Loving  Cup"  as 
a  western  swing  two-step  and  again  as  a  mournful, 
Williams-esque  croon  (the  latter  retitled  "Blanket  of 
Stars").  The  CD  of  Sage  Advice  lassos  six  of  Heart- 
land's best  tracks  as  a  bonus.  [i/dss] 

See  also  Low  Max. 


ALEX  GIBSON 

Passionnel  EP  (Faulty  Products)  1 981 
Suburbia  (Enigma)  1984 

BPEOPLE 

BPeople  (Faulty  Products)  1981 

Petrified  Conditions  1979-1981  (Restless)  1986 

PASSIONNEL 

The  Apostle  EP  (Enigma)  1 984 
Our  Promise  (Enigma)  1 985 

Alex  Gibson  (vocals,  guitar,  main  songwriter)  led 
LA's  BPeople  for  several  years  around  the  turn  of  the 
decade.  Beginning  as  the  Little  Cripples,  the  quartet 
(with  the  ubiquitous  Paul  Cutler  on  bass)  turned  into 


BPeople  after  singer  Michael  Gira  left  for  New  York 
(forming  Circus  Mort  and  then  the  Swans).  The  epon- 
ymous 1981  eight-song  mini-album  consists  of  dark, 
moody  music  somewhere  between  Joy  Division  and  Soft 
Cell,  neither  as  jarring  or  desperately  distorted  as  the 
former,  nor  as  pervasively  pop  as  the  latter.  On  the 
positive  side,  there's  smart  use  of  sax  and  organ,  but  at 
times  the  music  seems  to  be  pulling  in  different  direc- 
tions, and  poetic  license  should  not  be  granted  for  lyrics 
like  "We,  they,  it,  that"  (an  actual  line!). 

Petrified  Conditions  —  a  full  album  of  original  re- 
cordings (some,  but  not  all,  previously  issued  on  BPeo- 
ple and  other  vinyl)  remixed  in  1984-'  85  by  Gibson  and 
Paul  B.  Cutler  —  is  a  more  convincing  introduction  to 
BPeople'  s  artsy  sophistication.  The  sonic  and  stylistic 
variety  is  impressive,  and  Gibson's  songwriting  displays 
structural  abilities  far  beyond  the  punk  club  milieu  in 
which  the  band  existed.  A  worthwhile  archaeological 
find. 

After  BPeople  collapsed,  Gibson  wrote,  singlehand- 
edly  performed  and  produced  Passionnel,  an  excellent 
four-song  12-inch  of  wide-screen  rock,  made  grandiose 
with  timpani  and  long  strains  of  synthesizer  that  lurk 
prominently  in  the  near-background.  Very  English  in 
sound  —  like  Simple  Minds  or  Ultravox  —  but  not  partic- 
ularly derivative,  Passionnel  is  a  remarkable  achieve- 
ment for  an  individual,  and  a  frighteningly  good  piece 
of  theater  in  itself. 

Not  content  with  the  confusion  level  his  career  had 
engendered  up  to  that  point,  Gibson's  next  move  was  to 
create  a  band  called  Passionnel.  The  Apostle  (including 
a  surprisingly  straight  cover  of  the  Beatles'  "Glass  On- 
ion") offers  rhythmic  rock  of  varying  intensity,  from 
even-handed  ("Make  Like  You  Like  It")  to  intense 
sheets  of  dense  sound  ("Everything  Golden"),  over 
which  Gibson  spills  emotional,  semi-tuneful  vocals.  Oc- 
casionally chaotic  to  the  point  of  unpleasantness,  else- 
where delicate  and  pretty,  The  Apostle  is  striking,  but 
not  always  for  the  right  reasons. 

Gibson  scored  Penelope  Spheeris'  punk  film,  Sub- 
urbia, the  results  of  which  occupy  one  side  of  the  sound- 
track album.  Performed  with  only  Passionnel'  s  drummer 
joining  him,  the  music  consists  of  brief,  aggressive  rock 
instrumentals  that  rely  on  drums  for  drive  and  sharp- 
edged  guitar  for  flavor.  Several  pieces  sound  as  if  they 
might  have  been  edited  from  a  long  jam  session  (hard  to 
imagine  given  the  size  of  the  band);  other  portions  cre- 
ate a  somber,  relaxed  mood  with  synthesizer  and  piano. 

Released  under  the  Passionnel  moniker,  Our  Prom- 
ise pairs  the  contents  of  The  Apostle  on  one  side  with 
five  new  tracks.  Well-crafted,  cleanly  produced  and  var- 
ied (within  Gibson's  limited  musical  field),  the  songs 
make  some  impact  but  leave  only  a  faint  impression. 


GIBSON  BROS 

Build  a  Raft  [tape]  (Old  Age)  1  986 
Big  Pine  Boogie  (OKra)  1988  (OKra-Homestead)  1988 
Dedicated  Fool  (Homestead)  1  989 
The  Man  Who  Loved  Couch  Dancing  (Homestead) 
1991  • 

GIBSON  BROS/WORKDOGS 

Punk  Rock  Truck  Drivin'  Song  of  a  Gun  (Homestead) 
1990 


278 


Columbus,  Ohio,  may  not  be  the  crazed  rockabilly 
capital  of  America,  but  the  Gibson  Bros — a  noisy  min- 
imalist quartet  which  includes  rock-critic-turned- 
drummer-turned-guitarist-and-singer  Don  Howland  (ex- 
Great  Plains) — are  doing  their  level  best  to  put  the  town 
on  the  map  without  resorting  to  B-movie  junk  culture  or 
hiccups.  Although  often  compared  to  the  Cramps  (also 
from  Ohio,  as  it  happens),  the  Gibsons  cast  a  wider 
musical  net,  digging  their  wildly  reverbed  guitars, 
super-simple  drumming  and  Jeff  Evans'  frantic  vocals 
into  obscure  blues  and  hillbilly  tunes,  gospel  classics 
and  derivative  originals  (where  the  lyrics  can  get  pretty 
bizarre),  all  with  equal  fervor.  Not  always  focused — or 
tuned  up — enough  to  be  enjoyable,  the  willfully  hapless 
Gibson  Bros  are  still  capable  of  deep  wit  and  high  ex- 
citement. 

Big  Pine  Boogie  boasts  the  hysterical  mantra  of 4  'Bo 
Diddley  Pulled  a  Boner,"  while  Dedicated  Fool  (on 
which  the  group  dispenses  with  bass  and  has  a  guest 
saxman  on  two  songs)  has  clearer  crappy  production 
and  reveals  a  taste  for  rock'n'roll  ("Tight  Capris," 
Elvis  Presley's  "Trying  to  Get  to  You,"  Alice  Cooper's 
4  'Caught  in  a  Dream' ' )  amid  the  blues  ( *  'No  Way  to  Get 
Along"),  gospel  ("Lone  Wild  Bird")  and  junkabilly 
("Poor  White  Trash"). 

The  quartet  then  undertook  a  joint  project  with  the 
Workdogs,  a  skilled  Hoboken  rhythm  section  that  has 
recorded  on  its  own  and  backed  Half  Japanese,  the  Vel- 
vet Monkeys  and  others.  Drummer  Scott  Jarvis  and 
bassist-singer-songwriter  Rob  Kennedy  temper  the  Gib- 
sons into  quick  semi-respectability,  discouraging  the  ex- 
cesses of  their  intentional  amateurism  in  favor  of  loose- 
limbed,  unfancy  country,  rock  and  rockabilly. 
Gathering  up  enough  eighteen-wheeler  songs  to  justify 
the  album  title,  the  Gibdogs  also  rev  up  a  version  of 
"Shakin'  All  Over"  and  such  originals  as  "Talk  Italian 
to  Me."  [i] 

See  also  Great  Plains. 

JERRY  GIDDENS 

See  Walking  Wounded. 

BRUCE  GILBERT 

See  Dome,  Wire. 

MICHAEL  GIRA 

See  Circus  Mort,  Alex  Gibson,  Lydia  Lunch,  Swans. 

GIST 

See  Young  Marble  Giants. 

GIZMOS 

The  Gizmos  EP  (Gulcher)  1976 
Amerika  First  EP  (Gulcher)  1 977 
Gizmos  World  Tour  EP  (Gulcher)  1 978 
Never  Mind  the  Sex  Pistols  Here's  the  Gizmos  EP 
(Gulcher)  1978 

DOW  JONES  &  THE 

INDUSTRIALS/GIZMOS 

Hoosier  Hysteria  (Gulcher)  1 980 


CLAN  AND 

THE 

The  Kenne  Highland  Clan  and  the  Exploding  Pidgins 

(Stanton  Park)  1 987 

While  the  serious  end  of  the  new  wave  was  busy 
rewriting  the  rules  of  the  game,  this  motley  crew  of 
fanzine  writers,  Marines  and  Richard  Meltzer  fans  (the 
label's  name  is  a  tribute  to  his  1972  book)  were  goofing 
around  the  college  town  of  Bloomington,  Indiana,  issu- 
ing records  of  their  silly  songs.  The  music  on  the  EPs 
(all  7-inch  singles,  each  containing  four  to  seven  short 
tunes  like  "Pumpin'  to  Playboy,"  "Human  Garbage 
Disposal,"  "Gimme  Back  My  Foreskin"  and  "Tie  Me 
Up")  is  fresh-faced  fratboy  guitar  pop  going  on  garage 
rock,  but  the  alternately  obnoxious/funny  lyrics  are  em- 
blematic of  the  mentality  that  continues  to  prevail  in 
much  of  the  alternative  rock  world.  (Incidentally, 
World  Tour  is  "Live — in  the  studio.") 

By  the  time  of  the  fourth  EP  (which  includes  a  mis- 
titled  cover  of  the  Pistols'  "Did  You  No  Wrong"),  the 
Gizmos  had  undergone  a  number  of  lineup  changes  and 
were  nearing  a  final  incarnation  with  guitarist/singer 
Dale  Lawrence  writing  most  of  the  songs.  On  their  side 
of  Hoosier  Hysteria  (shared  with  another  Bloomington 
quartet),  the  Gizmos  play  no-frills  rock'n'roll  that  tears 
down  "Progressive  Rock"  and  pokes  tasteless  fun  at 
"Dead  Astronauts."  Closing  out  with  a  punked-up  ver- 
sion of  Al  Green's  "Take  Me  to  the  River"  (T.  Heads 
had  already  been  there),  the  Gizmos  bade  farewell. 

Years  later,  original  Gizmos  vocalist  Ken  Highland 
(a  Marine  who  had  to  leave  the  band  when  he  was 
stationed  in  Maryland)  returned  to  vinyl  duty  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. Singing  and  playing  original  retro-garage 
rockers  with  shifting  sidemen  on  an  album  he  shares 
with  a  related  '60sish  pop-rock  group  called  the  Explod- 
ing Pidgins,  Highland  displays  the  same  unfettered  en- 
thusiasm as  ever— and  a  welcome  adult  mentality,  [i] 

See  also  Crawlspace,  Vulgar  Boatmen. 

GIZZARDS 

See  MX-80  Sound. 

GLASS  EYE 

Mario  EP  (no  label)  1985 

Huge  (Wrestler)  1986 

Bent  by  Nature  (Bar/None-Restless)  1988  « 

Christine  EP  (Bar/None-Restless)  1989 

Hello  Young  Lovers  (Bar/None-Restless)  1 989  • 

From  the  very  first  bars  of  its  six-song  debut, 
Austin's  Glass  Eye  staked  out  an  utterly  distinct  spot  on 
the  cusp  of  pop  and  the  avant-garde.  With  edgy  vocals 
over  herky-jerky  rhythms  and,  slithering  under  it  all, 
Brian  Beattie's  groaning,  jazzy  fretless  bass  lines,  the 
quartet's  music  is  sparse,  angular  and  seemingly  im- 
mune to  genre  divisions. 

Guitarist  Kathy  McCarty's  plaintive  vocals  wear  a 
bit  thin  on  Mario  (Beattie  sings  one  song),  but  there's 
already  ample  evidence  of  daring  songwriting  that  strad- 
dles the  line  between  artiness  and  genuine  fun  and  emo- 
tion. An  acoustic  piano  provides  a  welcome 
counterpoint  to  the  plinky  electronic  keyboards. 

Drummer  Scott  Marcus  and  keyboardist/singer 
Stella  Weir  left  after  Huge  and  were  replaced,  respec- 


279 


lively,  by  Dave  Cameron  and  Sheri  Lane  for  the  ambi- 
tious Bent  by  Nature  and  Christine.  Two  of  the  EP 
tracks  are  on  the  album,  and  all  five  are  on  the  CD, 
including  the  intriguing  Latin  essay  of  "Perder  la  Guer- 
ra,"  the  goofy  metallic  "Ballad  of  Abraham  Lincoln" 
("oh,  how  he  hated  to  shave!")  and  a  cover  of  Paul 
Simon's  "Cecilia." 

In  a  surprising  turn,  Marcus  and  Weir  rejoined  Glass 
Eye  prior  to  Hello  Young  Lovers.  The  reconstituted 
group's  unique  sound  isn't  very  different,  although 
richer  and  more  fleshed-out  this  time.  (The  democratic 
songwriting  and  increased  instrumental  versatility 
doesn't  hurt  any.)  Most  importantly,  Glass  Eye  contin- 
ues to  come  up  with  lovely  melodies,  challenging 
rhythms  and  affecting  lyrics,  on  stunning  tracks  like 
"God  Take  All"  and  "The  Crooked  Place." 

Outside  the  group,  McCarty  contributed  a  solo  cover 
of  Daniel  Johnston's  "Living  Life"  to  the  1989  Bar/ 
None  sampler,  Time  for  a  Change.  Weir  and  Marcus 
also  play  in  a  band  called  Prohibition,  while  Beattie  has 
produced  LPs  for  the  Dead  Milkmen  and  Ed  Hall.  In 
late  1990,  Glass  Eye  launched  a  spoof-metal  side  project 
under  the  name  Monikker.  [ws] 


GLEAMING  SPIRES 

Songs  of  the  Spires  (Posh  Boy)  1981 
Life  Out  on  the  Lawn  EP  (Posh  Boy)  1 982 
Walk  on  Well  Lighted  Streets  (Posh  Boy-PVC)  1983 
Funk  for  Children-Party  EP  (Vodka)  1 984 
Welcoming  a  New  Ice  Age  (Tabb)  1 985 

For  much  of  the  '80s,  Les  Bohem  (bass/vocals)  and 
David  Kendrick  (drums)  led  a  dual  existence  as  mem- 
bers of  LA's  Gleaming  Spires  and  as  the  rhythm  section 
of  Sparks.  Both  had  been  in  the  punk-oriented  Bates 
Motel;  their  subsequent  work  together  has  taken  two 
divergent  paths.  The  first  Spires  album  is  full  of  catchy, 
synthesizer-strewn  silliness  ("Are  You  Ready  for  the 
Sex  Girls?, ' '  *  'How  to  Get  Girls  Through  Hypnotism' ' ) , 
while  Life  Out  on  the  Lawn  is  more  arty  and  serious, 
allowing  electric  guitar  and  wailing  sax  to  routinize  the 
sound,  if  not  their  bizarre  outlook.  While  a  somber  cover 
of  "Somewhere"  (from  West  Side  Story)  demonstrates 
a  continuing  flair  for  incongruity,  this  approach  is  far 
less  entertaining  or  original  than  their  jollier  early  work. 

As  of  Walk  on  Well  Lighted  Streets,  the  Spires 
became  a  quartet  and  the  stylistic  influence  of  their 
Sparks  experience  is  beginning  to  show.  The  lyrics  are 
more  bizarre  than  ever,  while  the  music  manages  to  be 
simultaneously  catchy  and  quirky,  throbbing  with  drive 
but  punctuated  with  oddball  effects  and  gimmicky  pro- 
duction by  Stephen  Hague.  Best  tune:  "A  Christian 
Girl's  Problems." 

Funk  for  Children  consists  of  four  tracks  on  one 
side  and  extended  versions  of  two  on  the  flip.  The  title 
tune  incorporates  a  children's  chorus  and  "party"  per- 
cussion for  novelty  effect,  but  is  otherwise  boring.  Two 
numbers  are  essentially  bubblegum  rock-pop — robust 
and  catchy,  similar  to  the  Spires'  early  efforts.  The  pro- 
gram is  rounded  out  with  a  Zappa  soundalike,  "Brain 
Button."  Unfortunately,  the  remix  side  features  the 
wrong  two  songs. 

Welcoming  a  New  Ice  Age  isn't  as  funny  as  other 
Spires'  endeavors,  but  its  uncanny  resemblance  to  con- 
temporaneous Sparks  records  makes  one  wonder  when 


Russell's  voice  is  going  to  appear  and  push  Bohem's 
aside.  [i] 

See  also  Devo,  Sparks. 


GLOVE 

Blue  Sunshine  (nrAVonderland-Polydor)  1 983  (Rough 

Trade)  1990® 

The  band  is  named  after  the  villain  in  Yellow  Sub- 
marine, the  record  after  a  variety  of  LSD;  the  cover  is  a 
'60s  memorabilia  scrapbook.  This  one-off  project  by 
Banshee  bassist  Steve  Severin  and  Cure  leader  Robert 
Smith  (at  the  time  also  the  Banshees  guitarist)  sounds 
much  like  their  own  bands  crossed  with  the  Beatles, 
circa  1967.  The  ten  pseudo-psychedelic  ditties  (thirteen 
on  the  reissue's  CD)  show  neither  participant  in  top 
form,  although  the  single  "Like  an  Animal"  (with 
Siouxsie-like  guest  vocalist  Landray)  and  "Mr.  Alpha- 
bet Says"  do  stand  out.  Not  a  band  to  make  a  career  of, 
but  good  harmless  fun.  [dgs] 

See  also  Cure,  Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees, 


CRISPIN  HELLION  GLOVER 

THE  BIG  PROBLEM  ^  the  solution.  The  Solution  =  LET  IT 

BE.  (Restless)  1 989  ® 

For  a  truly  bewildering  experience,  try  listening  to 
this  indescribable  sideshow  by  actor  Crispin  Glover 
(River's  Edge,  Back  to  the  Future).  And  try  is  the  op- 
erative word:  there's  no  guaranteeing  anyone's  ability  to 
endure  this  entire  program  of  cut-up  found  stories  and 
neurotic  songs.  Barnes  and  Barnes  provide  the  appro- 
priately unsettled  music  for  the  album's  bizarre  musical 
escapades,  which  include  a  multi-part  homage  to  mas- 
turbation, Charlie  Manson's  "Never  Say  'Never'  to  Al- 
ways" and  a  tearful  version  of  "These  Boots  Are  Made 
for  Walking."  [i] 

See  also  Barnes  &  Barnes. 


JEREMY  GLUCK  WITH  NIKKI 
SUDDEN  &  ROWLAND  S. 
HOWARD 

See  Barracudas. 


GOBBLEHOOF 

GobbleHoof  EP  (New  Alliance)  1 990 

The  fact  that  J  Mascis  (Dinosaur  Jr. )  is  the  drummer 
on  this  six-song  12-inch  ensures  a  measure  of  fanzine- 
level  interest  for  the  Massachusetts  group's  debut.  How- 
ever, the  person  who  really  makes  GobbleHoof  worth 
hearing  is  vocalist  Charles  Nakajima  (formerly  a  band- 
mate  of  Mascis'  in  Dinosaur's  hardcore  precursor,  Deep 
Wound),  less  a  singer  than  a  dramatic  (not  melodra- 
matic) speaker  with  a  commanding  presence.  As  gui- 
tarist Tim  Aaron  reels  off  competent  postmodern 
grungerock  (complete  with  wah-wah  and  all  the  trim- 
mings), Nakajima  recounts  his  lyrics  in  a  weary,  reso- 
nant deep  voice,  occasionally  reaching  out  to  embrace 
melody  notes  but  generally  tying  the  band's  sound  up  in 
a  distinctive,  attention-grabbing  package.  [i] 

See  also  Dinosaur. 


280 


GO-BETWEENS 

Send  Me  a  Lullaby  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1981 

Very  Quick  on  the  Eye-Brisbane,  1981  (Aus.  Man  Made) 

1982 

Before  Hollywood  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 983  • 
Springhill  Fair  (nr/Sire)  1 984 
Metals  and  Shells  (PVC)  1 985 
The  Able  Label  Singles  EP  (nr/Situatbn  Two)  1986 
Liberty  Belle  and  the  Black  Diamond  Express  (Big  Time) 

1986® 

Tallulah  (Big  Time)  1987® 

16  Lovers  Lane  (Beggars  Banquet-Capitol)  1988  ® 
1978-1990  (Beggars  Banquet-Capitol)  1990  ® 

ROBERT  FORSTER 

Danger  in  the  Past  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1990 

(Beggars-Banquet-RCA)  1991  ® 

One  of  the  most  critically  respected  and  cultily 
adored  neo-pop  bands  to  emerge  from  Australia,  Bris- 
bane's Go-Betweens  began  in  1977  as  a  Dylan-inflected 
duo  but  had  expanded  to  a  more  original-sounding  trio 
by  the  time  Send  Me  a  Lullaby  was  recorded.  With 
shades  of  Television  and  the  Cure,  the  cool  but  not 
chilly  LP  offers  a  charming  view  that  isn't  overly 
pop — no  slick  gimmickry  here — and  songs  that  are  more 
fascinating  lyrically  than  melodically.  Remarkably,  the 
band's  jagged,  slightly  coarse  guitar  sound  has  little 
trouble  accommodating  occasional  intrusive  blurts  of 
blank  sax  noise.  Very  Quick  on  the  Eye  is  a  collection 
of  outtakes  and  demos,  some  of  which  made  it  onto 
Lullaby. 

Before  Hollywood  is  a  major  improvement — more 
tunefulness,  stronger  harmonies,  less  stridency — 
suggesting  R.E.M.  and  Aztec  Camera  a  bit.  The  Go- 
Betweens,  however,  are  clearly  not  just  like  anybody. 
Outstanding  tracks:  "Two  Steps  Step  Out,"  "Dusty  in 
Here"  and  the  utterly  wonderful,  airy  "Cattle  and 
Cane."  A  marvelous,  invigorating  record. 

Four  Go-Betweens  recorded  the  more  mellifluous 
Springhill  Fair  in  France,  making  it  so  smooth  and 
well-ordered  that  it  verges  on  commercialism.  They  still 
make  genteel  pop  music,  but  color  it  with  guest  key- 
boards, strings,  horns  and  even  (gasp!)  synthesizer.  For- 
tunately, the  Go-Betweens  write  such  musically 
pleasant,  lyrically  fascinating  and  intelligent  songs  that 
even  creeping  complexity  and  slickness  can't  seriously 
damage  their  appeal. 

Liberty  Belle  leaves  a  few  more  rough  edges  intact 
than  its  predecessor.  The  songwriting  is  again  sharp  and 
the  sound  nicely  augmented  with  light  touches  of 
strings,  vibes,  bassoon,  accordion  and  Tracey  Thorn's 
backing  vocals — all  without  even  approaching  over- 
production. (The  CD  adds  two  numbers.)  Metals  and 
Shells  is  a  get-acquainted  compilation  for  America, 
where  the  band  has  yet  to  break  much  ground.  The  Able 
Label  Singles  reissues  the  band's  two  earliest  45s:  "the 
first  four  songs  we  ever  recorded. " ' 

Tallulah  sounds  like  a  stab  at  creating  an  essential 
yuppie  acquisition.  There's  isn't  anything  very  different 
going  on,  it's  just  so  much  more  slick  and  professional 
sounding  than  ever  before.  Now  a  five-piece,  they've 
incorporated  a  violinist/oboist  (!)  who  adds  relatively 
little,  since  they  have  often  thrown  in  a  few  odd- 
instrument  sidemen.  Songwriters  Grant  McLennan  and 
Robert  Forster  are  not  in  top  form  at  all,  especially 


obvious  on  "The  House  That  Jack  Kerouac  Built,"  a 
song  that  ought  to  be  a  lot  livelier  and  possess  sharper 
lyrics  if  such  a  venerated  name  is  going  to  be  invoked. 
They  will  do  better  next  time. 

And  better  they  did.  16  Lovers  Lane  proffers  ten 
bittersweet,  smart  relationship  songs  that  find  Forster 
and  McLennan  at  their  most  lyrically  acute.  The  music 
is  even  more  impressive,  replacing  Taiulah's  gloss 
with  a  clean  but  intimate  sound,  effectively  incorporat- 
ing Amanda  Brown's  violin  and  oboe  into  the  mesh  of 
Forster  and  McLennan's  intertwined  guitars.  Amid  such 
consistent  quality,  highlights  include  the  single  "Was 
There  Anything  I  Could  Do?"  and  "You  Can't  Say  No 
Forever"  ("My  world's  tumbling  down/Stone  by  stone 
to  the  ground/Please  take  out  the  garbage").  This  one 
really  works. 

In  early  1990,  having  reached  such  a  high  point,  the 
Go-Betweens  went  their  separate  ways.  The  posthumous 
1978-1990  (two  discs  on  vinyl,  one  CD)  collects  album 
tracks,  singles,  a  radio  session  item  and  one  outtake;  22 
songs  in  all.  Like  any  set  of  this  type,  the  selection  is 
debatable — the  final  two  albums,  for  instance,  are  rep- 
resented by  such  weak  cuts  as,  respectively,  "Kerouac" 
and  "Streets  of  Your  Town" — but  it's  still  a  fitting 
farewell  to  a  band  that  will  be  missed. 

Given  the  length  of  time  Forster  was  the  Go- 
Betweens'  main  voice,  it's  easy  (if  not  necessarily  fair) 
to  compare  his  solo  debut,  Danger  in  the  Past,  to  the 
band's  work.  There's  nothing  drastically  different  in  his 
songwriting  techniques;  he  still  blends  lilting  melodies 
and  a  relaxed  delivery  with  sweet  and  sour  lyrics.  But 
here  he  travels  to  Berlin,  employing  Mick  Harvey  (Nick 
Cave's  chief  Bad  Seed  and  a  member  of  Crime  &  the 
City  Solution)  as  producer,  and  engaging  the  services  of 
Bad  Seed/die  Haut  drummer  Thomas  Wydler  and  former 
Bad  Seed  guitarist  Hugo  Race.  Harvey  (who  also  plays 
several  instruments  on  the  LP)  gives  Forster  a  somewhat 
more  eerie  backdrop  than  he  had  with  the  Go-Betweens, 
and  it  brings  the  darker  side  of  his  songs  more  to  the 
fore.  Although  the  bands  in  which  Forster  and  Harvey 
began  were  at  the  opposite  ends  of  Australia's  rock  spec- 
trum, their  collaboration  works  surprisingly  well. 

See  also  Hex.  [i/dgs] 


VIC  GODARD  &  THE  SUBWAY 
SECT 

What's  the  Matter  Boy?  (nr/Oddball-MCA)  1 980  + 

1982 

Songs  for  Sale  (nr/London)  1982 
A  Retrospective  (1 977-81 )  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 984 

VIC  GODARD 

T.R.O.U.B.LE.  (Upside)  1 986 

Although  the  Subway  Sect  shared  stages  with  the 
Clash,  Sex  Pistols  and  Buzzcocks  as  far  back  as  1976, 
the  group's  debut  vinyl  was  a  1978  single;  their  first 
longplayer  didn't  follow  until  two  years  later.  (The  Sect 
did  record  an  album  in  '78  for  Clash  manager  Bernard 
Rhodes,  but  it  was  never  released.  As  a  result,  Bristol- 
born  singer-songwriter-arranger  Vic  Godard  broke  up 
the  band,  and  original  drummer  Mark  Laff  joined  Gen- 
eration X.) 

By  1980,  the  Sect  had  reformed  (at  least  once). 
Several  of  these  early  hard  guitar-pop  incarnations  are 


281 


chronicled  on  A  Retrospective,  which  consists  of  two 
singles  and  a  radio  broadcast  from  '78,  a  cut  from  that 
lost  LP  plus  a  1981  45  side.  The  evidence  is  plain  that 
the  early  Subway  Sect  had  incorporated  a  strong  Buzz- 
cocks  influence  (plus  flashes  of  Lou  Reed  and  Televi- 
sion), and  that  Godard  was  a  talented  musician  slowly 
fashioning  an  identity. 

By  the  time  they  finally  got  to  make  an  album, 
the  Sect  had  again  been  revamped  and  was  serving 
merely  as  a  backing  band  for  Godard,  who  had  devel- 
oped into  a  skillful  vocalist  with  a  budding  predilection 
for  folky,  low-key,  non-aggressive — hell,  non-rock! — 
music.  Considering  the  band's  background,  What's  the 
Matter  Boy?  is  a  surprising  belated  debut.  The  cover  is 
terrible  and  Rhodes'  production  is  totally  flat,  but  the 
charming  songs'  upbeat  freshness  and  originality  (start 
with  " Enclave")  more  than  compensates  for  the  flimsy 
presentation. 

The  Subway  Sect  (who  transmuted  the  following 
year  into  JoBoxers)  may  share  titular  credit  with  Vic  on 
Songs  for  Sale — a  collection  of  homages  to  (and  one 
cover  of)  his  idol,  Cole  Porter — but  Godard  is  entirely 
in  charge.  Abandoning  rock'n'roll  completely,  Songs 
for  Sale  is  a  wonderful  record  of  concise  pop  creations 
delivered  in  a  cool,  suave  voice.  Proving  himself  a  mas- 
terful runesmith  and  crooner,  Godard  manages  to  update 
1930s/'40s  Tin  Pan  Alley  without  resorting  to  mimicry 
or  selfconsciousness.  As  produced  by  Alex  Sadkin,  the 
memorable,  sturdy  tunes  sound  of  the  period  without 
being  corny.  Sure  it's  a  pose,  but  Godard  is  evidently 
sincere  in  his  nostalgic  affection,  and  he  makes  the  mu- 
sic his  own  with  real  panache. 

Finally  emerging  as  a  solo  artist,  Vic  made 
T.R.O.U.B.L.E.,  a  brasher,  more  ambitious  and  al- 
most equally  winning  swing  record  with  one  Porter  tune 
and  eleven  lively  originals.  Dance  rhythms  of  the  '40s 
subtly  seasoned  with  horns  and  a  spot  of  accordion  en- 
ergize the  giddy  romance  of  songs  like  "The  Devil's  in 
League  with  You,"  "Caribbean  Blue"  and  "Stop  That 
Girl."  "Out  of  Touch,"  a  snazzy  guitar  instrumental 
that  could  have  come  from  a  '60s  spy  flick,  is  an  in- 
triguing change  of  pace.  [i] 

GOD  BULLIES 

Plastic  Eye  Miracle  [tape]  (Mad  Queen)  1 988  (Ger. 

Amphetamine  Reptile-GlHterhouse)  1 989 
Mamawombwomb  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 989 
Dog  Show  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 990  * 
Join  Satan's  Army  EP  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 990 

They  cover  such  songs  as  Link  Wray's  "Preacher 
Man' '  and  Terry  Jacks'  *  'Which  Way  You  Goin'  Billy. '  * 
Every  other  word  out  of  their  mouths  has  to  do  with  god 
in  some  shape  or  form.  There  are  enough  sermons  em- 
bedded between  the  notes  to  stock  a  religious  radio  sta- 
tion. One  song  even  begins  with  a  sweet  little  girl 
singing  a  hymn.  But  make  no  mistake  about  it:  gospel 
this  ain't.  The  God  Bullies  are  everything  Sister  Mary 
Elizabeth  warned  you  about. 

Formed  in  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  the  God  Bullies 
debuted  in  1988  with  the  single  "All  I  Want  Is  My 
Mamma"  (a  different  recording  of  which  appears  on 
Mamawombwomb)  and  followed  that  with  the 
cassette-only  half-live/half-studio  Plastic  Eye  Miracle 
(later  vinylized  in  Germany).  Hooking  up  with  Amphet- 


amine Reptile,  the  quartet  has  proceeded  apace,  record- 
ing songs  like  "Monster  Jesus,"  "Red  Blood"  and 
"Let's  Go  to  Hell"  with  and  without  the  Jesus  Goes  to 
Hell  Singers  (Mary  Kate  Murray  and  Tabatha  Predo- 
vich). 

As  the  voice  of  the  beast,  Mike  Hard  has  learned  his 
lessons  well  from  the  Sisters  of  Mercy:  a  slow,  deep 
growl  interspersed  with  a  glazed-eyed  psycho  laugh  so 
gleeful  and  ghoulish  that  you  wonder  if  it's  an  act  or  just 
the  Halidol  wearing  off.  Guitarist  (and  electronic  key- 
boardist, but  fear  not:  no  pseudo  strings  here)  David  B. 
Livingstone  works  in  a  harsh  and  nyarling  style  on  Ma- 
mawombwomb and  in  a  grungier  and  scuzzier  vein 
with  bassist  Mike  Corso  for  Dog  Show.  On  the  former's 
"Sex  Power  Money,"  the  guitar  twists  like  a  slug  in  the 
garden.  In  "Follow  the  Leader,"  a  megaphoned  tribute 
of  sorts  inspired  by  Jim  Jones,  the  voice  exhorts  "All 
my  children,  my  little  sheep,  let's  go  to  heaven  in  a 
tangled  heap"  while  the  guitar  squirms  in  sinew-grunge. 
Like  Foetus,  this  band  revels  in  badness.  Religion  and 
death,  murder  and  death,  suicide  and  death,  psychosis 
and  death.  It's  all  locked  within  the  music's  hard,  guts- 
iiber-alles  grooves. 

The  version  of  "Act  of  Desire"  on  Mamawomb- 
womb (the  song  also  appears  in  a  live  rendition  on 
Plastic  Eye  Miracle)  opens  with  a  loop  of  "Art  Link- 
letter,  Art  Linkletter"  and  a  repeated  "do  it  now,"  then 
proceeds  to  introduce  burbling  synthesizers  that  tweet 
like  the  filaments  of  a  1950s  Frankenstein  lab,  interlaid 
with  soft  sirens,  followed  by  television  sermonizer  Jack 
Van  Impe  preaching  the  evils  of  rock'n'roll  music. 

After  Dog  Show,  drummer  Adam  Berg  was  replaced 
by  Tony  Oliveri  of  the  Cows,  who  made  his  debut  on 
the  double  7-inch  Join  Satan's  Army  EP:  three  mutated 
covers  (including  Hot  Chocolate's  "You  Sexy  Thing") 
and  the  metal-parody  title  track.  |'e] 

GODFATHERS 

Hit  by  Hit  (Link)  1986® 

Birth,  School  Work,  Death  (Epic)  1988  * 

More  Songs  About  Love  and  Hate  (Epic)  1 989  * 

Cause  I  Said  So  EP  (nr/Epic)  1 988  » 

Out  on  the  Floor  EP  (nr/Epic)  1 990  • 

Unreal  World  (Epic)  1991  <!> 

Remember  Dr.  Feelgood?  How  'bout  Eddie  and 
the  Hot  Rods?  Well,  if  the  white-hot  pre-punk  R&B/ 
rock'n'roll  of  those  two  bands  means  anything  to  you, 
chances  are  you'll  love  the  early  Godfathers — formed 
by  London  brothers  Peter  (vocals)  and  Chris  (bass/ 
vocals)  Coyne,  initially  as  the  Syd  Presley  Exper- 
ience— to  death.  Not  coincidentally,  the  late  Vic  Maile 
(original  producer  of  both  the  Feelgoods  and  Hot 
Rods)  was  at  the  helm  for  the  first  three  Godfathers 
discs.  (He  died  shortly  after  the  completion  of  More 
Songs.)  With  lyrics  of  working  class  angst  in  a  Britain 
where,  as  Peter  Coyne  sings  in  "The  Strangest  Boy," 
"My  future's  past,  already  gone  and  been,"  the  God- 
fathers lay  out  the  worst-case  scenario  of  the  Pistols' 
"No  future  in  England's  dream":  a  landscape  of  pov- 
erty, drugs  and  desperation.  Unlike  the  punks  of  yore, 
though,  the  Godfathers  remain  motivated,  if  only  by 
sexual  and  material  desires  and  a  stubborn  streak  of 
self-preservation.  Punk  meets  mod  at  the  bottom  of  the 
social  barrel. 


282 


Hit  by  Hit  presents  a  band  already  sporting  a  re- 
markably clear  vision.  Titles  like  "I  Want  Every- 
thing," "This  Damn  Nation,"  "I  Want  You"  and 
"I'm  Unsatisfied,"  replete  with  explosive  riffing  and 
angry  vocals,  tell  you  nearly  all  you  need  to  know 
about  how  the  Godfathers  saw  their  lot  in  Maggie 
Thatcher's  England.  A  strong  cover  of  John  Lennon's 
"Cold  Turkey,"  and  a  version  of  Rolf  Harris*  "Sun 
Arise"  that  makes  Alice  Cooper's  sound  sickly  round 
out  an  essential  debut. 

Birth,  School,  Work,  Death  is  even  tougher  and 
more  focused  than  Hit  by  Hit.  The  dynamic  title  track 
and  "'Cause  I  Said  So"  are  the  high  points  of  a  record 
that  just  seethes  with  the  anger  and  aggression  that 
seems  to  have  all  but  gone  out  of  non-hardcore  British 
post-punk  rock. 

The  fatalistic  vision  articulated  on  the  song  "Birth, 
School,  Work,  Death"  fully  flowers  on  More  Songs 
About  Love  and  Hate  (which  could  just  as  easily  have 
been  titled  More  Songs  About  Resignation  and  Fate). 
Whereas  the  Godfathers  could  once  sing  "I  Want  Ev- 
erything," they  now  realize  that  dream  (such  as  it  was) 
is  behind  them.  "Life  Has  Passed  Us  By"  (which  iron- 
ically offers  the  music  hall  ambience  of  the  Stones' 
Between  the  Buttons  and  the  Small  Faces  Ogden's  Nut 
Gone  Flake),  "How  Low  Is  Low?,"  "Those  Days  Are 
Over"  and  "This  Is  Your  Life"  (which  ends  with  one 
guitar  chord  being  hit  more  than  75  times)  are  all  bleak 
views  of  a  life  where  things  only  get  worse.  At  this  point 
the  group  seems  to  live  by  Pete  Townshend's  old  maxim 
that  great  rock'n'roll  spells  out  your  troubles,  then  lets 
you  dance  all  over  them.  They  certainly  offer  little  hope 
of  any  other  cure  for  what  ails  them. 

Although  marked  by  increased  allusions  to  '60s  in- 
fluences, Unreal  World  doesn't  get  overly  retroid  (the 
fab  cover  of  the  Creation's  "How  Does  It  Feel  to  Feel" 
marches  the  song  straight  into  the  '90s).  In  fact,  it's 
pretty  well  rooted  in  the  here-and-now,  largely  due  to 
producer  Steve  Brown  (previously  their  engineer  and 
mixer,  taking  over  from  Maile)  and  new  lead  axeman 
Chris  Burrows  (replacing  Kris  Dollimore),  who  doesn't 
hesitate  to  wield  wah-wah  with  a  modem  flair.  Also 
welcome  is  the  increase  in  vocal  harmonies  (especially 
a  high  voice/low  voice  gambit  not  unlike  Squeeze's). 
End  to  end,  a  catchy,  rocking  album — in  fact,  if  any- 
thing, the  second  half  (with  gems  like  "Something 
About  You"  and  the  Beatlesque  psychedelic  sarcasm  of 
"I  Love  What's  Happening  to  Me")  is  better  than  the 
first!  [ds/jg] 

GODFLESH 

Godflesh  (nr/Silverfish)  1988  (nr/Earache)  1990 

(Earache-Combat)  1991  « 
Streetcleaner  (nr/Earache)  1990  (Earache-Combat) 

1991  • 
Slavestate  EP  (Earache-Combat)  1 991  • 

SWEET  TOOTH 

Soft  White  Underbelly  EP  (nr/Staindrop-Earache)  1990 

Ex-Napalm  Death  guitarist  Justin  Broadrick  formed 
Godflesh  in  1988  upon  his  departure  from  Head  of  David 
(in  which  he  was  the  drummer).  Godflesh  is  a  sonic 
bulldozer,  its  ultra-low  tunings  and  distant,  disembod- 
ied vocals  (not  unlike  Pornography-era  Cure)  creating 
a  bass-heavy  lava  flow  of  sound  even  more  engulfing 


than  early  Swans,  or  Sabbath  at  half-speed.  (Bassist 
G.  Christian  Green  is  said  to  own  Geezer  Butler's  old 
amp.)  Comprised  of  a  surgically  precise  drum  machine, 
Head  of  David-like  tornado  guitar,  bass  from  another 
dimension  and  a  mind-melting  array  of  tape  loops  and 
effects,  the  band  projects  almost  no  midrange — the  high 
frequencies  skitter  over  the  anesthetizing  throb  of  the 
low.  Basically,  it's  heavy  as  hell,  and  there's  nothing 
metal  or  hardcore  about  Godflesh  except  the  imagery 
and  the  damage. 

Streetcleaeer  is  more  industrial,  more  cluttered  and 
even  more  overwhelmingly  powerful  and  destructive 
than  the  debut.  Sounds  attack  from  all  angles  (some  cuts 
include  a  second  guitarist);  elements  that  seemingly 
have  nothing  to  do  with  each  other  frequently  run  si- 
multaneously. With  the  exception  of  the  pulsing  "Dead 
Head"  (one  of  four  CD  bonus  tracks),  this  album  jolts 
where  the  debut  grooved. 

In  a  discographical  tangle  of  singles,  EPs  and  bo- 
nus cuts,  Godflesh' s  third  phase — basically  their  ver- 
sion of  dance  music — gradually  coalesced.  The  first 
LP's  1990  reissue  on  Earache  includes  two  brand-new 
cuts,  among  them  the  staggering  "Wounds,"  a  dance 
track  so  hard  that  it  hurts:  this  twelve-minute  interga- 
lactic  shooting  gallery  of  beats  and  effects  wipes  the 
floor  with  the  entire  Chicago/Belgium  axis  (actually,  a 
Godflesh/Al  Jourgensen  collaboration  has  been  ru- 
mored). The  four-song  Slavestate  EP  finds  the  band 
charging  full-on  into  an  industrial-dance  realm,  giving 
Streetdeaner's  lurch-and-crunch  the  twist  of  a  rhyth- 
mic basis.  The  concurrent  "Slateman"  single  found 
that  format  mutated  into  yet  another  shape,  lofting  a 
soaring  vocal  melody  over  one  of  the  most  pulverising 
riffs  in  the  band's  catalogue. 

Sweet  Tooth  is  a  side-project  trio — Broadrick,  Head 
of  David  bassist  Dave  and  a  hyper-complex  drummer 
named  SDK  (of  Chicago's  Slab) — that  combines  ele- 
ments of  Godflesh  and  HoD  into  a  wild,  almost  jazz-like 
rock  unit  that  thrusts  and  jolts  with  more  fluidity  than 
(and  nearly  as  much  innovation  as)  its  parental  units. 

Da] 


GOD'S  LITTLE  MONKEYS 

New  Maps  of  Hell!  (Alias)  1 989  ® 

MALCOLM'S  INTERVIEW 

Breakfast  in  Bedlam  (nr/Special  Delivery)  1987 

To  compete  in  the  global  village,  today's  self- 
respecting  skiffle  group  has  to  have  more  up  its  sleeve 
than  an  enthusiastic  rendition  of  "Rock  Island  Line." 
Besides  a  strong  streak  of  radical  politics,  God's  Little 
Monkeys — an  acoustic/electric  quartet  (formerly  known 
as  Malcolm's  Interview)  from  York,  England — 
demonstrates  a  wonderfully  broad  stylistic  reach  on  the 
excellent  New  Maps  of  Hell!,  following  an  old  standard 
like  "Pay  That  Money  Down"  with  the  African-styled 
chanting  of  "Hangman  Botha,"  and  grouping  the  a  cap- 
pella  folk  of  "Sea  Never  Dry"  with  the  Billy  Bragg- 
styled  "Where  Were  You?"  and  the  Poguesy  rock  of 
"Tory  Heart."  Elsewhere,  taking  good  advantage  of 
tradition  while  ignoring  restrictions  on  what  musical  re- 
gions are  open  to  them,  the  group  delves  into  rock  and 
other  styles,  all  led  by  the  rich  vocals  of  guitarist  Jon 
Townend  and  keyboardist  Jo  Swiss.  [i] 


283 


GO-GO'S 

Beauty  and  the  Beat  (IRS)  T981  • 
Vacation  (IRS)  1982® 
Talk  Show  (SRS)  1984® 
Go-Go's  Greatest  (IRS)  1990  4> 

OF 

House  of  Schock  (Capitol)  1 988  ® 

GRACES 

Perfect  View  (A&M)  1 989  • 

The  enormous  commercial  success  of  Beauty  and 
the  Beat  in  America  was  not  only  a  welcome  break- 
through for  new  music,  but  proof  that  an  all-female 
band  could  make  it  big  without  a  man  pulling  the  strings 
and  without  resorting  to  an  image  grounded  in  male 
fantasy,  be  it  sex  kitten  or  tough  leatherette.  The  album 
mixes  honest  pop  with  healthy  infusions  of  rock'n'roll 
and,  besides  containing  two  bona  fide  hit  singles  ("We 
Got  the  Beat"  and  "Our  Lips  Are  Sealed"),  provides  a 
refreshingly  different  point  of  view  on  some  familiar 
themes  ("Lust  to  Love,"  "Skidmarks  on  My  Heart"). 

If  not  as  exuberant  or  confident  as  its  predecessor, 
Vacation  is  at  least  more  ambitious.  The  quintet  sounds 
distinctive  and  skillful,  but  the  songs  generally  fall  short 
of  the  standards  set  by  Beauty  and  the  Beat.  The  ex- 
ceptions, however,  are  delightful:  the  crisp,  wistful  title 
track,  "I  Think  It's  Me"  and  the  bubbly,  modernized 
girl-group  sound  of  "This  Old  Feeling." 

The  third  album  exchanges  the  wise  punk-pop  pro- 
duction hand  of  Richard  Gottehrer  for  a  more  challeng- 
ing experience  with  Martin  Rushent.  Talk  Show 
attempts  a  major  revamp,  turning  up  the  rock  energy  on 
all  fronts:  Gina  Schock's  drumming  receives  new  prom- 
inence in  the  mix  while  guitars  blaze  with  added  bite. 
As  on  the  first  two  LPs,  the  material  includes  a  few  great 
singles  ("Turn  to  You,"  "Head  Over  Heels"  and  "Yes 
or  No,"  the  last  co-written  by  guitarist  Jane  Wiedlin 
with  Ron  and  Russell  Mael),  plus  a  lot  of  forgettable 
filler.  After  all  that,  the  first  alburn  remains  the  band's 
best. 

After  guitarist  Jane  Wiedlin  left  for  a  solo  career,  the 
group  pressed  on  for  a  while,  but  disbanded  in  May 
1985  without  recording  again.  Joined  by  guitarist  Char- 
lotte Caffey,  Belinda  Carlisle  made  her  solo  debut  the 
following  year. 

Drummer  Gina  Schock  took  a  few  years  off  and  then 
unveiled  a  short-lived  band.  Schock  sings  and  co-wrote 
the  songs  on  House  of  Schock  with  bassist  Vance  De- 
Generes;  the  backing  trio  surprisingly  includes  a  drum- 
mer who  takes  her  place  on  half  the  tracks.  Gottehrer 's 
deft  production  provides  a  bright,  appealing  sound,  but 
Schock's  limited  voice  and  songs,  both  equally  inoffen- 
sive, are  easily  forgotten. 

While  the  pop  world  was  unwittingly  awaiting  the 
multi-platinum  arrival  of  another  West  Coast  female 
trio,  Caffey,  Meredith  Brooks  and  Gia  Ciambotti  formed 
the  Graces,  an  obviously  sound  idea  ruined  by  commer- 
cial ambition.  Rather  than  let  the  group  find  its  own  use 
for  three  complementary  voices,  executive  producer 
Jimmy  lovine  threw  an  army  of  producers  (including 
Carlisle's  svengali  of  schlock,  Rick  Nowels),  songwrit- 
ers and  session  pros  at  the  project,  burying  Perfect  View 
in  a  slick  but  ineffectual  wash.  If  the  Graces  had  any 
personality,  you'd  never  know  it  from  this  bland  piece 
of  product. 


In  1990,  after  reuniting  for  a  one-off  charity  perfor- 
mance, the  Go-Go's  decided  to  give  it  another  try.  By 
year's  end,  an  unnecessary  compilation — hits,  dubious 
album  selections  and  a  worthless  new  run-through  of 
"Cool  Jerk,"  first  covered  on  Vacation — was  in  the 
stores  and  the  Go-Go's  were  on  the  road  again,  [ks/i] 

See  also  Belinda  Carlisle,  Jane  Wiedlin. 


The  Golden  Palominos  (OAO-Cel!uioid)  1 983  © 
Visions  of  Excess  (Celluloid)  1 985  • 
Blast  of  Silence  (Celluloid)  1 986  • 
A  Dead  Horse  (Celluloid)  1 989  • 

The  Golden  Palominos — an  above-average  avant- 
funk  album — would  have  been  a  milestone  if  it  had 
sounded  anything  like  the  Palominos'  New  York  gigs. 
At  one  memorable  show,  the  lineup  included  bandleader 
Anton  Fier  (drums),  David  Moss  (drums/noise),  Arto 
Lindsay  (guitar/vocals),  John  Zom  (reeds),  Bill  Laswell 
(bass)  and  Jamaaladeen  Tacuma  (bass).  The  double 
rhythm  section  packed  a  wallop  in  unison,  but  more 
often  the  players  broke  off  into  intense  and  fascinating 
duets  and  trios. 

On  the  first  record,  the  Palominos  add  (Mark  Miller, 
Fred  Frith,  Nicky  Skopelitis)  and  subtract  (most  often 
Tacuma  and  Moss)  players  while  preserving  the  basic 
material,  tossing  in  a  couple  of  new  things  ( *  'Hot  Seat, ' ' 
a  song  mostly  by  Miller,  and  "Cookout,"  a  Fier  per- 
cussion piece).  Those  who  knew  the  magic  of  the  Pal- 
ominos' noise/funk  synthesis  firsthand  will  regret  Pier's 
decision  to  go  for  the  trendier  Material  sound  in  his 
co-production  with  Laswell.  Still,  when  Lindsay  rakes 
his  untuned  guitar  and  lets  out  a  trademark  yelp,  or  Zorn 
lowers  some  fragment  of  a  clarinet  under  water  and 
gurgles  with  weird  ferocity,  you  know  you're  hearing  a 
trace — just  a  trace — of  the  real  thing. 

The  second  phase  of  Pier's  Palomino  experiment 
took  an  entirely  different  direction,  converting  a  loose 
caravan  of  talent  into  an  unstable  side-group  which  spo- 
radically performs  and  records  in  countless  permuta- 
tions and  combinations.  Visions  of  Excess  is  a  brilliant 
neo-pop  album  of  tuneful,  lyrical  songs  featuring  such 
luminaries  as  Michael  Stipe,  John  Lydon,  Richard 
Thompson,  Jack  Bruce,  Chris  Stamey,  Henry  Kaiser 
and  Jody  Hams.  As  producer,  drummer  and  co-writer 
of  the  songs,  Fier  is  on  stylistically  unprecedented 
ground  careerwise,  but  his  control  and  taste  are  impec- 
cable. A  version  of  Moby  Grape's  " Omaha"  sung  by 
Stipe  is  a  truly  incisive  piece  of  '80s  psychedelia  (with 
a  crazed  Kaiser  breakdown  solo)  that  sounds  like  a  pop 
hit;  "(Kind  of)  True"  and  "Buenos  Aires,"  both  star- 
ring talented  newcomer  Syd  Straw,  are  equally  memo- 
rable. Lydon's  "The  Animal  Speaks"  is,  well,  what 
you  might  expect  from  him.  Just  so  no  one  should  forget 
where  this  project  is  coming  from,  the  LP  closes  with  an 
Arto  Lindsay  extravaganza,  "Only  One  Party."  Essen- 
tially a  revue  of  1985's  semi-underground  stars  and 
sounds,  Visions  of  Excess  is  one  disc  everyone  should 
own. 

Blast  of  Silence  continues  the  Palominos'  singular 
existence,  employing  many  of  the  same  people  as  Ex- 
cess (but  notably  not  Stipe  or  Lydon),  while  extending 
the  musical  family  to  incorporate  Peter  Blegvad,  Don 
Dixon,  T-Bone  Burnett  and  other  meta-stars.  The  Pal- 


284 


ominos'  previous  rotating  ensemble  work  raised  expec- 
tations of  the  unexpected,  but  this  plain  album  has 
nothing  to  equal  its  predecessor's  extraordinary  content. 
Except  for  Straw  singing  Peter  Holsapple's  "Dia- 
mond," the  material  isn't  especially  interesting;  the  per- 
formances are  routine  and  the  darkening  outlines  of  a 
repeatable  formula  discourage  faith  in  the  future  of 
Pier's  creative  vision  and  energy. 

Fier  pretty  much  ditched  the  supersession  concept 
for  A  Dead  Horse,  building  this  version  of  the  Palomi- 
nos around  a  more  consistent  lineup  of  Laswell  and 
Skopelitis,  with  Numbers  Band  singer/guitarist  Robert 
Kidney  (who  performed  on  Blast  of  Silence  and  wrote 
"The  Animal  Speaks"  on  Visions  of  Excess),  ex- 
Information  Society  vocalist  Amanda  Kramer  and  a  few 
guests,  including  Bernie  Worrell  and  Mick  Taylor.  Sim- 
ilarly, the  big-rock  style  of  the  previous  two  discs  gives 
way  to  a  calmer,  more  atmospheric  approach  All  seven 
songs  are  in-house  creations  (three  by  Kidney,  four  by 
Fier/Skopelitis/Kramer);  Kidney's  plaintive  singing  and 
Kramer's  multi-tracked  harmonies  provide  a  surpris- 
ingly pleasant  alternative  to  playing  spot-the-star. 

[mf/i/hd] 

GONE 

"Lefs  Get  Real  Real  Gone  for  a  Change"  (SST)  1 986  « 
Gone  II— But  Never  Too  Gone!  (SST)  1986 

Black  Flag  guitarist  Greg  Ginn  has  pursued  numer- 
ous side  projects  in  recent  years.  Gone  is  an  instrumen- 
tal power  trio  that  could  use  a  vocalist  as  well  as  more 
organized  power;  the  first  album  (named  after  an  Elvis 
Presley  remark)  meanders  aimlessly  like  a  badly  run 
rehearsal  session. 

The  song-things  on  Gone  II  (cover  artwork  by  Ginn) 
are  more  coherent  and  tolerable,  but  still  fall  short  of 
justifying  the  band's  existence.  Riffs  with  solos  make 
good  interludes,  but  sixteen  unengaging  pieces  in  a  row 
do  not  a  good  time  make.  Is  the  worlc^eady  for  heavy 
metal  wallpaper?  Still,  give  Andrew  Weiss  well-earned 
credit  for  bitchin  bass  work.  [i] 

See  also  Henry  Rollins. 

GONE  FISHIN' 

See  Windbreakers . 

GOOD  MISSIONARIES 

See  Alternative  TV. 

GOO  GOO  DOLLS 

Goo  Goo  Dolls  (Mercenary-Celluloid)  1 987 

Jed  (Death-Enigma)  19899 

Hold  Me  Up  (Metal  Blade-Warner  Bros.)  1990  <J> 

Like  vintage  Replacements  (their  most  obvious  in- 
fluence) or  early  Cheap  Trick,  Buffalo,  New  York's 
Goo  Goo  Dolls  brandish  soaring/searing  grunge-garage 
powerpunkpop.  Although  recorded  two  years  apart,  the 
trio's  first  two  albums  are  virtual  carbon  copies  of  each 
other,  with  flashes  of  brilliance  amid  silly  covers  and 
scrawny  adolescent  yapping. 

As  the  Goos  tightened  up  their  act,  they  moved  into 
the  raucous  stylistic  space  the  'Mats  were  abandoning, 
and  the  effervescent  Hold  Me  Up  really  delivers  the 


goods,  focusing  a  variety  of  hard-rocking/good- 
humored  impulses  into  a  solid,  distinctive  sound  all  its 
own.  An  exhilarating  rollercoaster  of  Ramonesy  riffs 
and  insistent  hooks,  the  Goo  Goo  Dolls  write  cool  orig- 
inals and  make  good  use  of  two  covers:  the  Plimsouls' 
44 A  Million  Miles  Away"  and  Prince's  "I  Could  Never 
Take  the  Place  of  Your  Man,"  a  tongue-in-cheek  take 
with  guest  vocals  by  Lance  Diamond,  a  schmaltzy 
crooner  (who  also  contributed  his  stylings  to  Jed's 
crunching  rendition  of  Creedence's  "Down  on  the  Cor- 
ner"). Essential  for  fans  of  Cheap  Trick  and  cheap  beer. 

[ja] 


ROBERT  GORDON  WITH  LINK 
WRAY 

Robert  Gordon  with  Link  Wray  (Private  Stock)  1 977 
Fresh  Fish  Special  (Private  Stock)  1978 

ROBERT  GORDON 

Rock  Billy  Boogie  (RCA)  1979 

Bad  Boy  (RCA)  1980 

Are  You  Gonna  Be  the  One  (RCA)  1 981 

Too  Fast  to  Live,  Too  Young  to  Die  (RCA)  1 982 

Live  at  Lone  Star  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 989  * 

Robert  Gordon  Is  Red  Hot  [CD]  (Ger.  Bear  Family) 

1989* 

Singer  Robert  Gordon  made  one  of  the  sharpest 
volte-faces  in  musical  memory  when  he  left  New  York 
pseudo-punkers  Tuff  Darts  to  reappear  as  a  freeze-dried 
'50s  rocker,  complete  with  sideburns,  pompadour,  a 
songbook  of  Sun  Records  oldies  and  authentic  guitar 
icon  Link  Wray  in  tow. 

Superficial  trappings  aside,  Gordon's  strongest  asset 
is  his  magnificent  voice — a  clear,  clean  baritone  rarely 
heard  in  pop  music  of  any  stripe.  His  debut  album, 
Robert  Gordon  with  Link  Wray,  is  suffused  with 
rockabilly  material  (songs  from  Carl  Perkins,  Gene  Vin- 
cent, Billy  Lee  Riley  and  Eddie  Cochran),  but  the  ac- 
companiment by  the  Wildcats  is  more  contemporary, 
with  Wray  contributing  sizzling  guitar  licks. 

Fresh  Fish  Special  (named  after  Elvis  Presley's 
haircut  in  Jailhouse  Rock — as  typical  an  homage  as  the 
use  of  the  Jordanaires)  is  more  of  the  same,  with  barely 
more  sophisticated  tunes.  The  odd  track  here  is  Bruce 
Springsteen's  "Fire,"  which  was  a  hit  for  the  Pointer 
Sisters.  Nevertheless,  its  inclusion  proved  Gordon 
didn't  need  to  rely  exclusively  on  nostalgia. 

Besides  the  addition  of  echo,  Rock  Billy  Boogie 's 
distinction  is  the  replacement  of  Wray  with  nimble  gui- 
tarist Chris  Spedding  and  its  inclusion  of  "Black 
Slacks,"  a  jivey  Gordon  signature  number.  On  Bad 
Boy,  Gordon  seems  to  be  evolving  from  the  '50s  into 
the  '60s  via  schlockier  songs  (Roy  Orbison's  "Up- 
town," Kris  Jensen's  "Torture"). 

Gordon's  time-traveling  into  the  present  continues 
on  Are  You  Gonna  Be  the  One,  his  most  accessible 
album  for  those  who  don't  worship  at  the  House  of 
Butchwax.  Despite  his  '50s  fixation,  Gordon  best  puts 
across  those  songs  without  a  25-year-old  aroma. 

Too  Fast  to  Live,  Too  Young  to  Die  is  a  compila- 
tion of  tracks  from  all  the  preceding  albums  except  Bad 
Boy,  plus  a  live  version  of  "Black  Slacks"  and  previ- 
ously unreleased  recordings  of  two  Marshall  Crenshaw 
songs. 


285 


A  more  recent  concert  document,  Live  at  Lone 
Star,  finds  Gordon  running  through  a  classic  rock'n'roll 
program  onstage  in  New  York,  sharply  backed  by  Sped- 
ding,  bassist  Tony  Gamier  and  drummer  Anton  Fig. 
Starting  with  "The  Way  I  Walk"  and  running  through 
"Twenty  Flight  Rock,"  "Mystery  Train,"  "Black 
Slacks,"  "Fire"  and  ten  more,  the  great-sounding 
record  proves  that  Robert  Gordon  is  still  a  master  of  the 
form.  [si/i] 

GORDONS 

Future  Shock  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 980  +  1 988  ® 
The  Gordons  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1  982  +  1988  ® 
Vol.  2  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1984 

BA1LTER  SPACE 

Nelsh  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 987 

Tanker  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1988 

Grader  Spader  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1988 

Thermos  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 990  (Matador)  1 991 

In  1988,  when  the  Gordons'  long  out-of-print  Fu- 
ture Shock  EP  was  re-released  on  12-inch  to  coincide 
with  Bailter  Space's  emergence,  the  New  Zealand  trio 
was  retrospectively  praised  with  frequent  comparisons 
to  Sonic  Youth.  But  back  in  1980,  when  the  7-inch  first 
appeared,  there  simply  were  no  precedents.  Renowned 
locally  for  punishingly  loud  and  relentless  live  shows, 
the  Gordons'  vinyl  matched  progressive  punk  song  writ- 
ing and  aggression  with  an  uncategorizably  deliberate 
yet  extreme  wall  of  flailing  sheetrnetal  guitar. 

The  eponymous  seven-song  follow-up,  recorded  and 
mixed  in  22  hours,  almost  entirely  relinquishes  the 
band's  punk  genetics  in  favor  of  spatial  control  and 
mood  dynamics;  still  harsh  and  as  heavy  as  anvil  jew- 
elry, the  pace  is  less  the  point,  with  jagged  chords  and 
evocative  song  structures  edging  the  vocals  into  far  less 
prominence.  (The  Gordons  CD  appends  Future 
Shock's  contents.)  With  simpler  riff-plus-chorus  con- 
structions elevated  mainly  by  John  Halvorsen's  manic- 
depressive  guitar-maiming,  Vol.  2  comes  surprisingly 
close  to  user-friendliness. 

In  1987,  Halvorsen  reunited  with  the  Gordons'  other 
guitarist,  Alister  Parker,  to  form  Bailter  Space,  lining 
up  drummer  Hamish  Kilgour  (also  concurrently  in- 
volved in  a  Clean  reunion  and  backing  Chris  Knox)  as 
well.  With  ex-Gordon  drummer  Brent  McLaughlin  as 
engineer,  and  far  more  expansive  production  than  the 
former  band,  Nelsh  quite  naturally  sounds  like  the  Gor- 
dons several  years  on:  songs  more  familiarly  structured, 
vocals  still  subservient  and  weak,  guitar  still  inventive 
(albeit  less  abrasive),  keyboards  now  filling  spaces  for- 
merly occupied  by  feedback  and  overdrive. 

The  more  confident  and  considered  Tanker,  an  LP 
of  well-constructed  songs  displaying  varied  intentions 
and  style,  lacks  the  old  recklessness  but  substitutes  a 
heretofore  hidden  morose  pop  skill,  as  well  as  vocals  no 
more  melodic  nor  less  arresting  than  those  of  Ian  Curtis. 
Add  a  sharpened  instrumental  prowess — oddly  reflec- 
tive of  Sonic  Youth  (of  all  things) — and  you  wind  up 
with  an  excellent  time-capsule  condensation  of  1988 
independent  music  at  its  apex.  (The  spin-off  EP  is  cu- 
riously Gordonized,  with  appropriately  B-side  mate- 
rial.) 

Thermos,  with  McLaughlin  reclaiming  dram  chores 
to  complete  the  tail-biting  cycle,  actually  ups  both  the 


discordance  and  pop  quotient  for,  at  its  frequent  best,  a 
monumentally  alluring  weave  of  soothing  smooth  and 
seething  dysphonia. 

(A  rather  dissimilar  Boston  band  calling  themselves 
the  Gordons  issued  an  indie  album  entitled  100  Holi- 
days in  '88,  creating  some  potential  confusion  for 
overzealous  mail-order  consumers.)  [ab] 

See  also  Clean,  Tall  Dwarfs. 

L 

See  Depeche  Mode 

ROBERT  GORL 

See  Deutsche  Amerikanische  Freundschaft. 

GOVERNMENT 

Legless  Bull  EP  (Dischord)  1981 

Make  an  Effort  EP  (Fountain  of  Youth)  1982 

Boycott  Stabb  (Dischord-Fountain  of  Youth)  1983  (Giant) 

1988 

Joyride  (Fountain  of  Youth)  1984  * 
The  Fun  Just  Never  Ends  (Fountain  of  Youth)  1 985  ® 
Give  Us  Stabb  or  Give  Us  Death  EP  (Mystic)  1 985 
Live  on  Mystic  (Mystic)  1985 
Government  Issue  (Fountain  of  Youth)  1986  (Giant) 

1986« 

You  (Giant)  1 987  * 
Crash  (Giant)  1 988  * 
Strange  Wine  E.P.  (Giant)  1 988  ® 
Joyride/The  Fun  Just  Never  Ends  [CD]  (Giant)  1 990  * 
Beyond  (Rockville)  1991  « 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Four  Old  7"s  on  a  1 2"  (Dischord)  1 985 

One  of  America's  longest-running  hardcore  shows, 
Washington  DC's  Government  Issue  is  a  multi-faceted 
band  that  has  been  widely  underrated,  despite  a  large 
and  noteworthy  catalogue  that  dates  back  to  1981 .  Fol- 
lowing an  early  release  on  Dischord  (the  ten-song  Leg- 
less Bull  7-inch,  later  compiled  on  Four  Old  7"s),  the 
band — which  initially  included  bassist  Brian  Baker,  bet- 
ter known  as  a  member  of  Minor  Threat — cut  the  un- 
prepossessing Make  an  Effort,  exhibiting  minor  flashes 
of  potential  brilliance.  "No  Way  Out'*  and  "Twisted 
Views"  are  run-of-the-mill  quickies,  but  "Teenager  in 
a  Box"  is  a  well-crafted  indicator  of  things  to  come. 

Mainman/vocalist  John  Stabb  Schroeder  led  a  nota- 
bly diminished  Government  Issue  into  a  holding  pattern 
on  Boycott  Stabb,  sticking  close  to  'core  style  in  a 
series  of  brisk  soundalikes,  only  one  (a  new  version  of 
"Sheer  Terror,"  a  song  included  on  both  Legless  Bull 
and  Make  an  Effort)  reaching  the  two-minute  mark. 
Produced  by  Minor  Threat's  Ian  MacKaye,  the  record 
isn't  dreadful,  it's  just  generic. 

The  GIs  began  to  display  marked  maturity  and  a  bit 
of  stylistic  independence  on  1984's  Joyride,  loudly  co- 
produced  by  Baker.  With  improvements  in  Tom  Lyle's 
guitar  work  and  Schroeder  "s  singing,  and  the  arrival  of 
Mike  Fellows,  the  quartet's  third  bassist  (and  most  com- 
petent to  date),  Joyride  takes  a  few  cautious  steps  away 
from  hardcore  orthodoxy,  (Admittedly,  the  heavy  metal 
insinuations  of  "Joyride"  and  "Notch  to  My  Crotch" 
are  not  necessarily  a  step  in  the  right  direction.)  Odd 
inclusions:  a  sludgy  but  tuneful  cover  of  "These  Boots 


286 


Are  Made  for  Walkin,"  the  second  version  of  "Hall  of 
Fame"  (from  Boycott  Stabb)  and  another  (uncredited) 
version  of  ** Sheer  Terror." 

With  another  change  of  bassist  and  Baker  continuing 
as  co-producer,  GI  made  its  last  real  hardcore  record, 
The  Fun  Just  Never  Ends  (also  issued  on  a  joint  CD 
with  Joyride,  adding  a  live  version  of  **  Vanity  Fare"  as 
a  bonus).  Slowed  to  a  solid  mid-tempo  chug,  "Written 
Word"  and  "The  Next  Time"  are  neat  and  tuneful 
class-of-'77  rockers,  proof  that  Government  Issue  was 
not  just  a  face  in  the  crowd. 

Opening  with  a  thickly  melodic  hypno-instrumental 
("Visions  and  ?"),  Government  Issue  (aka  GI-5) 
edges  the  band  away  from  its  roots.  The  second  track, 
"They  Know,"  uses  hardcore  as  a  stepping-off  point, 
and  then  abandons  the  format  entirely,  turning  literally 
post-punk  on  the  next  song,  "Locked  Inside."  With 
Lyle  playing  keyboards  (organ  on  the  backwards 
"Memories  Past" — ha  ha)  and  even  electric  sitar  (on 
the  misbegotten  psychedelia  of  "Last  Forever"),  the 
album  touches  a  number  of  memorably  melodic  bases, 
sounding  in  spots  like  mid-period  Hiisker  Du  and/or 
mid-period  Damned.  (The  CD  and  cassette  add  a  bonus 
of— you  guessed  it — "Sheer  Terror.") 

Having  found  its  voice,  GI  (sporting  a  tremendous 
new  rhythm  section)  ran  with  it  on  the  next  two  albums, 
both  of  which  are  great.  Produced  by  Lyle,  You  is  a 
paragon  of  pop  punk  precision,  a  masterwork  of  metic- 
ulous playing  and  abundant  hooks.  Stabb' s  emergence 
as  an  American  Dave  Vanian  of  sorts  isn't  as  weird  as  it 
sounds,  and  gangly  backing  vocals  provide  flip  contrast 
on  catchy  songs  like  "Jaded  Eyes"  and  the  Clashy  cho- 
rus of  "Man  in  a  Trap."  Special  favorites:  "Caring 
Line"  and  "Where  You  Live." 

The  apex  of  GFs  studio  career,  Crash  is  something 
of  a  musical  summary  of  the  band's  eight-year  history. 
Each  track  sounds  as  if  it  had  been  assembled  on  a 
loom,  with  fibers  of  hardcore,  punk,  pop  metal  and  even 
early- '80s  new  wave  knitted  together.  Strong  cuts  in- 
clude "Time  Will  Rearrange,"  "For  Ever"  and 
"Strange  Wine." 

Strange  Wine  is  a  ten-track  collection:  the  titular 
album  cut,  new  decelerated  studio  renditions  of  "I'm 
James  Dean"  and  "Teenager  in  a  Box"  (both  from  the 
band's  earliest  days)  and  a  live  retrospective  recorded  at 
CBGB  in  August  '87.  [icm/i] 

See  also  Minor  Threat. 


HUW  GOWER 

See  Records. 


GRAB  GRAB  THE  HADDOCK 

Three  Songs  by  Grab  Grab  the  Haddock  EP  (nr/Cherry 

Red)  1 984 
Four  More  Songs  by  Grab  Grab  the  Haddock  EP 

(nr/Cherry  Red)  1985 

This  terminally  cute  London  quartet  with  the  daft 
name  spun  off  from  the  defunct  Marine  Girls  but,  unlike 
former  bandmate  Tracey  Thorn  (who  went  on  to  form 
Everything  but  the  Girl),  Alice  Fox  and  her  crew  still 
hawk  the  chaotic  tunelessness  that  made  the  Marine 
Girls  so  insufferable. 


The  first  EP  has  a  sparse,  almost  minimalist  feel; 
even  the  use  of  atypical  pop  instrumentation  (maracas, 
conga  drum,  cello)  does  little  to  alleviate  the  disjointed 
clatter.  Fox's  childlike  caterwauling  further  adds  to  the 
annoyance.  Four  More  is  a  slight  improvement — clear 
melodies  and  a  near-logical  organization  level  enhance 
the  tracks.  Guitarist/songwriter  Lester  Noel  takes  over 
vocal  chores  on  "Last  Fond  Goodbye,"  a  bright  pop 
song  that  provides  the  12-inch's  only  worthwhile  inter- 
lude, [ag] 

See  also  Marine  Girls. 

GRACE  POOL 

Grace  Pool  (Reprise)  1988  • 
Where  We  Lrve  (Reprise)  1 990  <}> 

Prior  to  forming  the  suavely  commercial  Grace  Pool 
with  singer  Elly  Brown,  New  York  guitarist  Bob  Riley 
was  the  drummer/keyboardist  in  Rage  to  Live  (Brown 
guested  on  the  band's  first  album)  and  also  played  in  the 
Love  of  Life  Orchestra.  Produced  with  deft  touches  of 
synthesizer  ambience  and  quiet  grandeur  by  Steve  Nye 
(whose  work  with  Japan  is  duly  noted  in  his  efforts 
here),  the  quintet's  debut  is  an  attractive-going-on-glib 
haute  pop  record  with  catchy  songs,  fine  harmonies  and 
intricately  subtle  arrangements. 

Riley  and  Brown  are  the  only  original  Pool-mates  in 
the  reconstituted  quartet  (drummer  Frank  Vilardi  is  on 
the  album  but  not  in  the  band);  Riley  produced  the 
folkier  second  album  with  less  sonic  flair  than  Nye. 
While  the  sensitively  poetic  lyrics  are  easy  to  overlook 
in  favor  of  the  sweeping  melodies,  Where  We  Live  just 
isn't  as  striking  or  memorable  as  the  debut.  [i] 

See  also  Rage  to  Live. 

GRACES 

See  Go-Go's. 

GRANDMASTER  FLASH  AND  THE 
FURIOUS  FIVE 

The  Message  (Sugar  Hill)  1 982 
Greatest  Messages  (Sugar  Hill)  1983 
On  the  Strength  (Elektra)  1988  « 

GRANDMASTER  MELLE  MEL  AND 
THE  FURIOUS  FIVE 

Work  Party  (Sugar  Hill)  1984 
Stepping  Off  (Sugar  Hill)  1 985 

GRANDMASTER  FLASH 

They  Said  It  Couldn't  Be  Done  (Elektra)  1 985 

The  Source  (Elektra)  1986 

Ba-Dop- Boom-Bang  (Elektra)  1987® 

GRANDMASTER  FLASH/ 
THE  FURIOUS  FIVE/ 
GRANDMASTER  MELLE  MEL 

The  Greatest  Hits  (Sugar  Hill)  1 989 

Although  they  were  not  rap's  first  stars,  Grandmas- 
ter Flash's  galvanizing  1982  hit  'The  Message"  was 
the  earliest  record  to  demonstrate  the  form's  potential 
for  socio-political  commentary  and,  preceding  Run- 
DMC,  initially  served  to  convey  rap's  excitement  to  an 
audience  beyond  urban  blacks.  Unfortunately,  most  of 
Flash's  early  raps  were  of  the  let's-party-and-teil-our- 


287 


zodiac-signs  variety,  with  absolutely  no  consciousness, 
political  or  otherwise — good  for  dancing,  but  not  very 
stimulating.  (Despite  his  star  billing,  DJ  Flash  is  not  the 
rapper;  lead  vocals  are  by  Melle  Mel,  Rahiem  and  oth- 
ers. Adding  to  the  credit-where-due  confusion,  most  of 
the  crew's  early  songwriting  and  performing  was  done, 
in  large  part,  by  the  Sugar  Hill  house  band.) 

Greatest  Messages  splits  the  difference  between 
hard-edged  social  realism  and  mindless  partytime,  from 
"Freedom"  (their  first  hit)  and  "Flash  to  the  Beat"  to 
"Survival  (Message  II)"  and  "New  York,  New  York" 
(the  follow-up  to  "The  Message").  The  cassette  has 
two  bonus  tracks.  What  the  LP  doesn't  include  is  Melle 
Mel's  brilliant  1983  anti-cocaine  song,  "White  Lines 
(Don't  Don't  Do  It),"  the  music  for  which,  inciden- 
tally, was  lifted  from  a  Liquid  Liquid  instrumental. 

Following  a  bitter  legal  dispute  over  contracts  and 
ownership  of  the  name,  the  band  split  in  two:  most  of 
the  members  remained  with  Grandmaster  Flash  (Joseph 
Saddler),  dropped  the  "Furious  Five"  appellation  and 
signed  to  Elektra;  Melle  Mel,  who  also  got  to  wear  the 
Grandmaster  crown,  recruited  a  mostly  new  FF  and 
stuck  with  Sugarhill.  The  former's  They  Said  It 
Couldn't  Be  Bone  is  a  strained  effort  to  diversify  and 
make  up  for  lost  time  and  momentum.  There's  a  rapped- 
up  version  of  Fats  Waller's  "The  Joint  Is  Jumpin',"  a 
Run-DMC  imitation  unoriginally  entitled  "Rock  the 
House"  and  two  soulful  all-singing  tunes.  Only  "Sign 
of  the  Times"  dips  into  topicality,  employing  a  sound 
reminiscent  of  "White  Lines." 

The  Source,  which  travels  a  number  of  awfully  fa- 
miliar verbal  and  musical  roads,  makes  a  regular  point 
of  arguing  Flash's  significance  and  supremacy.  "Fastest 
Man  Alive,"  the  audio  ve*rit£  "Street  Scene,"  the  hack- 
neyed music-rap  marriage  of  "Style  (Peter  Gunn 
Theme)"  and  the  pretend-live  "Freelance"  make  more 
personal  introductions  and  absurd  claims  than  a  conven- 
tion of  used  car  salesmen.  As  a  routine  party  record,  it 
fulfills  all  the  minimal  obligations;  as  proof  of  Flash's 
creativity  and  ability  to  grow  with  the  times,  it's  a  sad 
example  of  commercial  wheel-spinning. 

The  word  funky  gets  an  aromatically  literal  interpre- 
tation in  Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang's  "Underarms,"  an 
amazingly  tasteless  put-down  about  bad  smells.  Other- 
wise, the  LP  avoids  The  Source's  hype  to  concentrate 
on  praising  women  ("Them  Jeans"),  cars  ("Big  Black 
Caddy"),  parties  ("House  That  Rocked")  and  self- 
reliance  ("Get  Yours").  Interpolations  of  other  peo- 
ple's music,  including  a  lamely  belated  cover  of  Queen's 
"We  Will  Rock  You"  with  other  stuff  stitched  in,  don't 
prevent  Ba-Dop-Boom-Bang  from  being  run-of-the- 
mill. 

When  members  of  Grandmaster  Flash  and  the  Furi- 
ous Five — specifically  Mele-Mel  (new  spelling),  Scor- 
pio and  Cowboy — reunited,  the  result  was  the  distinctly 
superior  On  the  Strength.  The  record  gets  off  to  a  killer 
start  with  the  streetwise  "Gold";  the  side  ends  with 
"King,"  a  moving  gospel-tinged  tribute  to  MLK.  (The 
intervening  tracks  are  routine  bragging,  with  only 
Flash's  deadly  turntable  work  on  "Yo  Baby"  for  diver- 
sion.) Side  Two's  bizarre  highlight  is  a  rock-rap  cover 
of  "Magic  Carpet  Ride"  (shades  of  "Walk  This 
Way").  Mr.  Steppenwolf  himself,  John  Kay,  sings  it; 
Flash's  gang  raps  on  the  chorus  and  adds  a  few  sections 
that  I  don't  recall  from  the  twenty-year-old  original. 


Stepping  Off  is  a  compilation;  the  two-record  1989 
Greatest  Hits  contains  Sugar  Hill-era  tracks  by  all  of 
the  original  crew's  various  permutations.  [i] 

See  also  Duke  Bootee. 


DAVE  GRANEY 

See  Moodists. 


Message  Man  (nr/ke)  1977 

Walking  on  Sunshine  (Epic)  1979 

Love  in  Exile  (nr/lce)  1 980 

My  Turn  to  Love  You  (Epic)  1 980 

Live  at  Netting  Hill  (nr/lce)  1981  +  1984 

Can't  Get  Enough  (nr/lce)  1981  +  1983 

Killer  on  the  Rampage  (Ice-Portrait)  1982  • 

Going  for  Broke  (Ice-Portrait)  1 984  * 

All  the  Hits  (nr/K-Tel)  1984 

Born  Tuff  (Ice-Portrait)  1 986  ® 

File  Under  Rock  (nr/Blue  Wave-Parlophone)  1988 

(Enigma)  1990® 
Harmless  Piece  of  Fun  EP  (nr/Blue  Wave-Pariophone) 

1988® 

Hits  (nr/Starr-Polydor)  1 988  • 
Walking  on  Sunshine:  The  Very  Best  of  Eddy  Grant 

(nr/Blue  Wave-Parlophone)  1 989  ® 
Barefoot  Soldier  (Ice-Enigma)  1990  <!> 

Three  expatriate  Caribbeans  plus  two  Englishmen 
equalled  the  Equals,  whose  blend  of  pop-rock,  psyche- 
delia, blues,  R&B  and,  of  course,  a  slight  Carib  accent 
yielded  a  wildly  diverse  and  uneven  batch  of  singles  and 
albums  in  the  late  '60s.  Despite  their  problems,  they 
amassed  a  few  Top  10  hits,  including  the  oft-revived 
(most  recently  by  Grant  himself)  "Baby  Come  Back," 
a  smash  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  in  1968.  Several  of 
their  other  hits  now  sound  like  utter  tripe,  but  "Black 
Skin  Blue  Eyed  Boys"  and  the  LP  track  "Police  on  My 
Back"  (covered  by  the  Clash)  show  just  how  talented 
they  could  be. 

The  group  provided  a  musical  (and  music-business) 
education  for  its  Guyana-born  guitarist/chief  songwriter/ 
leader  (but  not  lead  singer)  Eddy  Grant,  who  eventually 
left  to  go  solo  and  set  up  his  own  record  company,  Ice. 
He  plays  almost  everything  on  his  studio  albums,  except 
sometimes  bass  and/or  drums,  plus  horns  (when  he 
doesn't  use  synthesizer  instead). 

Message  Man  was  a  dodgy  start,  yet  Grant  imme- 
diately began  forging  his  own  reggae  style  ("Jamaican 
Child")  and  continued  the  interracial/cultural  theme  be- 
gun with  the  Equals  ("Cockney  Black"). 

Walking  on  Sunshine  shows  his  potential  in  full 
flower:  "Living  on  the  Frontline"  is  a  superb  electronic- 
reggae  single,  and  its  remarkable  extension  into  "The 
Frontline  Symphony"  on  the  LP  is  a  lengthy  tour  de 
force  that  features  a  mock-classical  vocal  section.  The 
title  track  and  "Say  I  Love  You"  (a  monster  hit  in 
Nigeria)  add  extra  value  to  an  LP  already  well  worth 
owning. 

Love  in  Exile  showcases  Grant  working  in  various 
soul  styles  (like  the  Teddy  Pendergrass-ish  semi-funk  of 
the  title  track),  albeit  with  his  own  oddly  inflected  vo- 
cals. "Preaching  Genocide"  is  the  one  exception,  a 
long  mutant  calypsoid  political  chant,  but  all  in  all  it's 


288 


only  musical  water-treading,  and  inferior.  My  Turn  to 
Love  Yosi  is  the  same  record  with  an  alternate  title  and 
graphics. 

The  live  album  is  an  excellent  display  of  both 
Grant's  talent  as  a  performer  and  his  best  solo  songs  up 
to  that  point.  It  also  makes  available  about  half  the 
otherwise  rare  songs  from  Message  Man.  Despite  the 
usual  live  record  drawbacks  —  it  needn't  have  been  a 
double  —  its  best  is  mighty  good. 

Can't  Get  Enough  is  Grant's  "I'm  a  love  man" 
album,  but  it's  great  for  what  it  is,  as  the  catchy  num- 
bers take  full  advantage  of  Grant's  genre-bending  and 
blending.  (The  reissue  adds  a  nifty  instrumental,  'Time 
Warp,"  that  was  originally  available  as  the  B-side  of 
*  'Electric  Avenue.  '  *  ) 

The  rock-oriented  Killer  on  the  Rampage  is  Grant's 
most  consistent  album  to  date,  as  well  as  his  biggest 
commercial  success  in  the  US.  "Electric  Avenue"  (the 
most  rock-based  track,  save  for  some  muscular  guitar 
playing  here  and  there)  may  prove  to  be  an  anthem  of 
classic  stature,  and  cuts  like  the  title  track  and  "I  Don't 
Wanna  Dance"  demonstrate  how  Grant's  songwriting 
has  matured. 

Proof  that  Killer  was  no  fluke:  although  none  of 
Grant's  subsequent  albums  have  high  points  quite  as 
great  as  "Electric  Avenue,"  all  are  quite  enjoyable  and 
nearly  as  varied.  Going  for  Broke  includes  the  theme 
song  of  the  Romancing  the  Stone  (only  a  smidge  of 
which  made  the  film's  final  cut),  the  wry  Afro-Carib 
"Political  Bassa-Bassa"  and  some  strong  rockish 
tracks.  Born  Tuff  has  a  more  varied,  less  rockified  ap- 
proach and  a  super  title  tune  that's  something  of  a  more 
confident  companion  to  "Living  on  the  Front  Line."  If 
the  album  —  on  which  Grant  performs  nearly  every 
note  —  doesn't  begin  all  that  strongly,  it  does  gather 
steam. 

Grant  also  plays  virtually  all  of  File  Under  Rock 
and  Barefoot  Soldier,  both  of  which  maintain  the  qual- 
ity level.  The  former  isn't  that  much  rockier  than  Going 
for  Broke,  but  it  does  include  a  tribute  to  Chuck  Berry 
and  a  decent  remake  of  "Baby  Come  Back"  (the  orig- 
inal still  rules,  though).  Barefoot  Soldier  is  stylistically 
quite  varied:  Carib-beat,  reggae,  folk,  country-rock 
(yup)  and  a  bracing  protest  rocker,  "Restless  World." 
Social  consciousness  is  prominent  on  the  LP,  which  (at 
least  in  the  US)  includes  his  infectious  anti-apartheid 
tune,  "Gimme  Hope  Jo'  Anna,"  an  early-'88  UK  hit.  If 
some  of  the  lyrics  are  obscure  or  dopey,  Grant  compen- 
sates with  his  usual  charm,  sincerity  and  catchy  musical 
settings. 

Harmless  Piece  of  Fun  contains  "Electric  Ave- 
nue," "Born  Tuff,"  two  swell  tracks  from  File  Under 
Rock  plus  a  couple  of  new  items.  Walking  on  Sun- 
shine is  a  pretty  good  best-of,  except  that  it  ignores 
"Bom  Tuff."  Dgl 


GRAPES  OF  WRATH 

The  Grapes  of  Wrath  EP  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1  984 
September  Bowl  of  Green  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1  985 

(Capitol)  1986 
Treehouse  (Capitol)  1  987  * 
Now  and  Again  (Nettwerk-Capitol)  1  989  • 

Playing  muscular  power  pop,  this  Vancouver  trio  in 
its  early  days  alternately  resembled  Southeastern  bands 


like  Let's  Active  and  West  Coast  folk-rockers  like 
Translator.  The  impressive  four-song  EP  is  a  little  short 
on  personality  but  locates  a  viable  commercial  midpoint 
between  the  radio  and  the  road.  Guitarist  Kevin  Kane  is 
a  proficient  instrumentalist  and  a  fair  vocalist;  drummer 
Chris  Hooper  indicates  his  enthusiasm  by  overplaying. 

September  Bowl  of  Green  retrieves  one  fine  song 
(* 'Misunderstanding,"  which  Chris  Stanley  might  have 
written)  from  the  EP,  but  puts  different  versions  of  it 
(and  another  swell  tune,  "Love  Conies  Around")  on 
the  album's  Canadian  and  American  editions.  The  latter 
replaces  the  original  tracks  with  similar  but  inferior  pro- 
ductions and  mixes  by  Red  Rider  chief  Tom  Cochrane. 
While  the  Canadian  cassette  adds  bonus  tracks,  the  US 
LP  release  deletes  a  harmonious  rendition  of  the  Beatles* 
"If  I  Needed  Someone." 

Cochrane  produced  all  of  Treeliouse,  giving  Grapes 
of  Wrath  a  crisp,  clear  sound,  filled  with  airy  guitar 
picking,  subdued  if  busy  drumming  and  delectable 
multi-voice  arrangements.  Neither  novel  nor  progres- 
sive, Treehouse  is  simply  flawless  electric  pop  written 
and  played  with  skill  and  taste. 

Adding  keyboard  player  Vincent  Jones,  Grapes  of 
Wrath  became  a  quartet  in  time  for  Now  and  Again, 
another  delectable  record.  Producer  Anton  Fier  wraps 
some  of  the  songs  in  quietly  lush  orchestrations;  while 
the  gamble  doesn't  pose  a  grave  threat  to  the  band's 
personality,  neither  is  it  distinct  improvement.  Tunes 
performed  straight  are  the  most  easily  appealing;  key- 
boards (some  played  by  guest  star  Chuck  Leavell)  pro- 
vide an  agreeable  extra  dimension.  Repeating  a  peculiar 
(for  a  band  with  no  country  personality,  that  is)  instru- 
mental feature  of  Treehouse,  Pete  Kleinow  adds  pedal 
steel  guitar  to  a  few  numbers.  [i] 


GRAVEDIGGER  FIVE 

AH  Black  and  Hairy  (Voxx)  1 984 
The  Mirror  Cracked  (Voxx)  1 987 

On  their  first  album,  this  now-defunct  San  Diego 
quintet  puts  down  groovy,  authentic-sounding  (credit 
the  production  by  label  owner  Greg  Shaw)  garage  punk 
with  convincing  '60s  clumsiness  and  sincerity.  Any 
band  that  covers  a  song  ("All  Black  and  Hairy")  by 
Screamin'  Lord  Sutch  is  already  a  few  rungs  up  the  cool 
ladder;  the  Gravediggers  further  add  to  the  fun  with  a 
singer  who  fairly  approximates  the  legendary  T.S.  Bon- 
niwell  and  perfectly  evocative  arrangements  and  licks. 
If  AH  Black  and  Hairy  were  twenty  years  old,  it  would 
now  be  a  collectors'  item. 

Perhaps  with  that  future  possibility  in  mind,  the  first 
side  of  The  Mirror  Cracked  consists  of  rehearsals  and 
perfectly  serviceable  outtakes  (mostly  covers;  one  track 
features  Paula  Pierce  of  the  Pandoras)  from  All  Black 
and  Hairy.  The  lo-fi  live  side,  from  a  1984  gig,  repeats 
three  of  the  same  songs,  including  the  title  song  and  the 
cool  prehensile  sexism  of  "Be  a  Caveman."  [i] 


GREATER  THAN  ONE 

Dance  of  the  Cowards  (nr/Kunst  =  Kapital)  1988  < 
London  (Wax  Traxl)  1989* 
G  Force  (Wax  Trax!)  1 989  • 
Index  EP  (Wax  Traxin  991  • 


289 


Compared  to  other  industrial  dance  bands,  this  Lon- 
don duo  (Lee  Newman  and  Michael  Wells)  is  pretty 
easy  on  the  ears,  assembling  their  version  of  synth 
rhythms,  found-sound  samples  and  occasional  chanted 
vocals  with  a  reasonably  light  touch.  Not  that  the  four- 
sided  London  (which  expands  Dance  of  the  Cowards 
by  six  tracks)  doesn't  rattle  the  walls  now  and  then,  but 
GTO  tends  to  enfold  often  political  (occasionally  oper- 
atic) real-life  samples  (the  prosaic  "Now  Is  the  Time," 
presented  in  two  mixes  here,  includes  Martin  Luther 
King's  "I  Have  a  Dream"  speech  and  calisthenic  direc- 
tions) in  a  supportive  ambient/rhythmic  bed  rather  than 
jam  on  the  audio  verite*  just  to  pump  up  the  tumult. 

The  duo  favors  its  own  voices  and  stronger  beats  on 
G  Force,  but  the  record  is  still  fairly  accessible.  GTO 
isn't  exactly  bursting  with  ideas,  but  then-  work  is  not 
without  imagination  ("Why  Do  Men  Have  Nipples?" 
snatches  some  dopey  Alaskan  TV  dating  show,  sur- 
rounding it  with  snappy  synth  percolations)  or  the  power 
to  provide  diverting  entertainment,  on  or  off  club  floors. 

[i] 


The  Mark,  Don  &  Mel  E.P.  (New  Age)  1 983 

Born  in  a  Barn  (Homestead)  1984 

Naked  at  the  Buy,  Sell,  and  Trade  (Homestead)  1 985 

Sum  Things  Up  (Homestead)  1987  • 

Colorized!  (nr/Diabolo)  1 989 

The  Midwest  not  only  provides  a  home  to  this  ca- 
sually intellectual  Columbus,  Ohio,  quintet,  it  also  in- 
forms their  post-collegiate  cultural  outlook.  Following 
the  eight-song  Mark,  Don  &  Mel  mini-album  (a  gid- 
dily rudimentary  introduction  to  the  band's  non-caloric 
pop),  the  offhandedly  XTC-styled  folk-rock  of  Born  in 
a  Barn  supports  witty  lyrics  about  "Lincoln  Logs"  (ol* 
Abe's  face  appears  all  over  the  crypto-religious  cover), 
"Rutherford  B.  Hayes"  and  the  "Columbus  Dispatch. " 
Singer/guitarist  Ron  House's  tentative  voice  lends  un- 
avoidable humility  to  the  simply  conceived  but  emi- 
nently likable  tunes. 

Great  Plains  Naked  at  the  Buy,  Sell,  and  Trade  is 
even  better,  a  wonderful  topical  romp  that  knowingly 
tweaks  the  underground  rock  culture  ("Letter  to  a  Fan- 
zine"), the  king  of  music  television  ("Dick  Clark") 
and  themselves  ("Real  Bad,"  "Origin  of  My  Silly 
Grin").  Silly  but  never  unsenous,  Great  Plains  is  a 
breath  of  fresh  ah*  in  the  non-mainstream  rock  scene. 
Excellent. 

Not  only  does  Sum  Things  Up  cap  things  off,  it 
cranks  them  up,  with  the  loudest  production  sound  the 
band  has  ever  used.  This  is  a  bad  thing,  as  the  group's 
carefree  spirit  and  charming  wit  wilts  in  such  a  brash 
environment.  The  punk  psychedelia  of  "The  Wind 
Blows,  the  Law  Breaks"  (featuring  Mark  Wyatt  on  or- 
gan), for  instance,  is  not  just  clumsy,  it's  also  too  far 
outside  the  band's  frame  of  reference  to  be  taken  seri- 
ously; elsewhere,  sloppy  guitar  playing  is  amplified  into 
hair-raising  ineptitude.  There  may  be  a  few  good  songs 
buried  underneath  the  overcharged  arrangements,  but 
wearing  other  people's  clothes  ill  suits  the  once  great 
Great  Plains.  (The  cassette  and  CD  have  two  bonus 
tracks.)  Colorized!  is  a  compilation.  [i] 

See  also  Gibson  Brothers. 


GREAT  UNWASHED 

See  Clean. 

JOHN  GREAVES  &  PETER 
BLEGVAD 

Kew.  Rhone.  (nr/Virgin)  1977 

JOHN  GREAVES 

Accident  (Europe)  1982 

LONGHOUSE 

Longhouse  (Warner  Bros.)  1 988  • 

LODGE 

Smell  of  a  Friend  (Antilles  New  Directions)  1 988  • 

John  Greaves  (ex-Henry  Cow;  music,  keyboards) 
and  Peter  Blegvad  (ex-Slapp  Happy;  lyrics,  guitar)  es- 
say a  jazzy  theatricality  on  Kew.  Rhone.,  a  stunning 
joint  endeavor  with  vocalist  Lisa  Herman.  Featuring  a 
large  cast  of  new  music  sidepeople,  the  album  is  con- 
sistently lyrical  and  lovely,  incredibly  precise  and  en- 
duringly  intelligent. 

On  his  first  solo  venture,  Greaves  encompasses  a 
wide  variety  of  sounds  and  moods.  Some  of  the  instru- 
mentation on  Accident  recalls  Henry  Cow,  and  Greaves 
employs  the  Cow  principle:  if  a  particular  sound  doesn't 
pull  you  in,  one  on  the  next  cut  might,  and  all  the  songs 
are  distinct  unto  themselves,  even  on  first  listening. 
Greaves'  singing,  however,  is  too  flat  and  unemotive  to 
sustain  interest. 

Released  just  prior  to  the  Lodge  alburn,  Longhouse 
(produced  by  Anton  Fier)  is  a  showcase  for  Herman's 
original  modern-pop  stylings.  Something  of  an  analogue 
to  Laura  Nyro  recordings,  the  LP  is  finely  commercial 
and  supremely  tasteful,  but  not  at  all  adventurous. 

Herman  guests  on  Smell  of  a  Friend,  the  only  issue 
so  far  from  the  Lodge,  an  arty  and  semi-commercial 
project  formed  by  Greaves  with  Fier,  guitarist  Jakko 
Jakszyk  and  two  Blegvads:  Peter  and  his  singing  brother 
Kristoffer.  The  album  brings  intriguing  ideas  and  tech- 
niques to  bear  on  what — superficially,  at  least — are 
straightforward  jazzy  pop  songs,  loading  them  with  del- 
icate content.  Like  a  painting  whose  fascinating  details 
and  subtle  plans  are  revealed  only  upon  close  examina- 
tion, Smell  of  a  Friend  rewards  careful  listening  with  a 
dose  of  the  intelligence  that  went  into  crafting  it. 

See  also  Peter  Blegvad,  Henry  Cow.  [mf/i] 

GREEN 

EP  (Gang  Green)  1984 
Green  (Gang  Green)  1 986  • 
Elaine  MacKenzie  (Pravda)  1988  • 
White  Soul  (Hoi.  Megadisc)  1 989  • 
Bittersweet  EP  (Bel.  Megadisc-Play  It  Again  Sam)  1991 
White  Soul  &  Bittersweet  [CD]  (Widely  Distributed) 
1991  • 

LILACS 

The  Lilacs  Love  You!  EP  (Widely  Distributed-Pravda)  1 991 
Drawing  inspiration  from  the  Kinks,  Prince,  Small 
Faces  and  Motown,  Chicago's  Green  revolves  around 
singer/guitarist  Jeff  Lescher,  an  ace  songwriter  able  to 
shift  between  a  stirring  pop-rock  voice,  ear-pinning 
scream  and  scarifying  gospelly  falsetto.  On  the  debut 
EP  (a  four-song  7-inch),  the  trio  overcomes  rudimen- 


290 


tary  production  values  to  skirt  nostalgia  and  introduce 
Lescher's  mix  of  '60s  Anglo-melodicism  ( "Gotta  Getta 
Record  Out,"  "Better  Way"),  punky  rock  ("Not  Go- 
ing Down  (Anymore)")  and  soul  ("I  Don't  Wanna  Say 
No").  Amateurish  but  inspired. 

Re-recorded  versions  of  those  songs  join  ten  new 
ones  on  Green,  another  inadequately  produced  but  pa- 
tently brilliant  collection  of  weirdly  derivative  originals 
played  with  spirit  and  innate  power.  Occasionally  pe- 
destrian lyrics  (as  on  "Big  in  Japan")  don't  interfere 
with  the  amazing  rugged  pop  tunes,  a  unique  and  ener- 
getic pairing  of  merseybeat  and  punk.  "She's  Not  a 
Little  Girl"  seemingly  takes  its  chorus  straight  out  of 
the  Hollies  songbook;  "Technology"  employs  a  catchy 
Bolanesque  bop;  "For  You"  and  "Curry  Your  Favor" 
are  ballads  that  display  a  tender,  sensitive  side.  "I  Play 
the  Records"  introduces  the  group's  Prince  influence, 
while  "She,  Probably"  is  achingly  beautiful.  An  inde- 
pendent album  that  easily  surpasses  much  of  the  main- 
stream competition.  (The  CD  adds  three  bonus  tracks.) 

Elaine  MacKenzie  (neat  cover  painting  by 
Lescher — look  for  the  original  textured  paper  sleeve) 
unveils  a  new  rhythm  section.  Bassist  Ken  Kurson  com- 
posed and  delivers  a  pair  of  bilious  demi-punk  tunes, 
supplying  albumwide  backing  vox  as  well;  otherwise, 
the  writing  and  singing  is  all  Lescher's.  Courageous 
ballads  about  screwed-up  romance  (including  the  haunt- 
ing "She  Was  My  Girl")  coexist  with  Kinksy  nostalgia 
("Saturday  Afternoon,"  complete  with  subtle  French 
horn  accompaniment),  a  frantic  Princely  falsetto  raveup 
("My  Love's  on  Fire")  and  the  two-speed  "Can't  Seem 
to  Get  It  Thru  My  Head,"  which  somehow  nails  the 
Association  to  the  Miracles.  Endearingly  corny  puns 
and  silly  concepts  demean  songs  like  "Youth  in  Asia" 
and  "Radio  Caroline"  but  the  group's  overwhelming 
spirit  and  conviction  handily  saves  the  day  (The  Euro- 
pean CD  adds  both  sides  of  the  1988  REM  single— 
"My  Tears  Are  Dry"  and  "Love  on  Thin  Air" — named 
in  response  to  R.E.M/s  Green  album.) 

Hooking  up  with  a  Dutch  label  (which  issued  the 
band's  catalogue  on  CD),  Green — sporting  a  new 
drummer — released  another  great  collection  of  memo- 
rable romantic  pop  songs.  White  Soul  (which  ironically 
downplays  the  group's  R&B  side)  benefits  from  two 
significant  steps  forward:  improved  production  quality 
and  the  consistency  and  maturity  of  Lescher's  songwrit- 
ing.  (No  more  punny  nonsense  or  obviously  derivative 
tributes.)  Subtle  emotions  and  striking  melodies  fill  sim- 
ply executed  gems  like  "She's  Heaven,"  "Night  After 
Night,"  "Monique,  Monique"  and  "I  Know";  Kur- 
son's  boppy  "My  Sister  Jane"  is  a  delightful  pop-punk 
vestige  of  his  hardcore  background. 

Green's  first  release  with  bassist  Clay  Tomasek  (ex- 
Slammin'  Watusis)  in  the  lineup,  the  ace  Bittersweet 
EP  consolidates  all  of  Lescher's  many  stylistic  impulses 
into  five  fine  new  songs.  The  '60s-soul  title  track  gam- 
bles with  lush  strings  and  horns  but  laces  it  all  up  in  a 
spectacular  vocal;  "I'll  Have  Her"  is  alluring  pop;  the 
brutish  hard-rock  guitars  and  punky  backing  cheers  of 
"Maybe  You're  Right"  are  topped  off  with  an  invei- 
gling Kinksy  melody  and  Gary  Numan  synth  for  a  really 
strange  effect.  Lescher  unloads  his  professional  frustra- 
tions in  "The  Record  Company  Song,"  a  wry  torrent  of 
regret  ("I'll  do  anything  you  ask/My  will  is  broke  and 


I'm  tired  and  sad")  set  to  an  amazingly  catchy  rock 
tune.  (The  belated  American  release  of  White  Soul  in- 
cludes Bittersweet.) 

The  Lilacs,  Kurson 's  post-Green  quartet,  made  its 
debut  in  early  '91  with  a  four-song  7-inch  of  his  witty 
post-adolescent  rock  and  pop  originals,  produced  by  Jim 
Ellison  of  Material  Issue.  [ij 

D.  GREENFIELD/JJ.  BURNEL 

See  Stranglers. 

ON  RED 

EP  (Green  on  Red)  1981 

Green  on  Red  (Down  There)  1982  (Enigma)  1984 

Gravity  Talks  (Slash)  1983 

Gas  Food  Lodging  (Enigma)  1985  +  1987  ® 

No  Free  Lunch  (Mercury)  1 985 

The  Killer  Inside  Me  (Mercury)  1 987  ® 

Here  Come  the  Snakes  (Restless)  1 989  ® 

Live  at  the  Town  and  Country  Club  (nr/China-Polydor) 

1989 
This  Time  Around  (nr/China)  1 989  (China-Polydor) 

1990<j> 
Scapegoats  (nr/China)  1991  ® 

CHRIS  CACAVAS  AND 
JUNKYARD  LOVE 

Chris  Cacavas  and  Junkyard  Love  (Heyday)  1989  » 

JACK  WATERSON 

Whose  Dog?  (Heyday)  1988  • 

WILD  GAME 

Rhythm  Roundup  (Dangerous  Rhythm)  1 984 

CHUCK  PROPHET 

Brother  Aldo  ( Fire)  1990« 

Many  of  California's  psychedelic  revival  bands  orig- 
inally drew  on  spacey/chaotic  sources  like  the  Velvet 
Underground,  Pink  Floyd  or  classic  trance-inducers  like 
the  Serpent  Power.  But  early  records  by  the  Phoenix, 
Arizona-born  Green  on  Red  alternately  recall  the  fuzz- 
ified  raunch  of  the  Electric  Prunes/Seeds  and  the  merry 
flower  power  of  the  Strawberry  Alarm  Clock.  Filling  the 
seven  tracks  of  Green  on  Red  (not  actually  their  debut: 
that  was  a  little-known  self-released  1981  red- vinyl  12- 
inch,  with  five  songs  and  no  overlap)  with  buzzing  gui- 
tars, droning  organ  and  pretty  melodies,  the  quartet 
delivers  transcendental  lyrics  in  a  monotonic  stupor  that 
precisely  suggests  total  pharmaceutical  oblivion.  Good 
studio  sound  helps  convey  the  sincere  nostalgia. 

Gravity  Talks  has  a  simplified  and,  in  one  spot, 
Dylanized  feel.  (The  title  track  uses  chipper  organ  and 
reeling  vocals  to  evoke  "Most  Likely  You  Go  Your 
Way  (And  I'll  Go  Mine).")  Elsewhere,  Green  on  Red 
largely  abandons  its  previous  style  in  favor  of  unembel- 
lished  rock  and  folk-rock.  At  the  LP's  relative  weirdest, 
Chris  Cacavas'  organ-playing  sounds  like  several  genres 
from  the  '60s,  but  only  mildly;  Gravity  Talks  never 
becomes  as  intentionally  mannered  as  its  predecessor. 
Unfortunately,  Dan  Stuart's  not  much  of  a  singer  and 
his  songwriting  could  likewise  be  stronger. 

Gas  Food  Lodging  introduces  guitarist  Chuck 
Prophet  IV  to  the  lineup  and  adopts  a  full-scale  coun- 
tryfied  sound,  a  mangy  cowpoke  hybrid  somewhere  be- 


291 


tween  Pat  Garrett-era  Dylan  and  old  Neil  Young. 
Stuart's  boozy  singing  suits  the  sloppy  playing  and 
demi-melodies;  the  band's  comfortable  enthusiasm  cov- 
ers a  lot  of  the  record's  flaws.  (Original  US  copies  were 
pressed  on  green  vinyl  and  as  a  10-inch;  the  CD  adds  a 
track.) 

The  country-rocking  No  Free  Lunch  makes  it  hard 
to  believe  that  Green  on  Red  was  ever  remotely  con- 
nected to  psychedelia.  At  its  most  effective,  the  mini- 
album  includes  a  cover  of  Willie  Nelson's  'Tunny  How 
Time  Slips  Away."  Otherwise,  the  band  tries  far  too 
hard  to  fit  into  the  boots  of  hard-drinkin' ,  populist- 
minded  Amuhricuhns  for  the  contents  to  be  taken  seri- 
ously. The  music  is  adequate  (for  a  loose,  amateurish 
C&W  bar  band),  but  the  fake  accents  and  predictable 
lyrical  imagery  turn  this  would-be  sincerity  into  a  pre- 
tentious muddle. 

With  drummer  Keith  Mitchell,  fresh  from  work  with 
David  Roback  and  Kendra  Smith,  joining  the  lineup,  the 
freeway  cowboys  oddly  add  gospelly  backup  singers  to 
the  country-blues-rock  melange  on  The  Killer  Inside 
Me,  roughly  produced  by  Jim  Dickinson.  Stuart's  raspy 
whine  announces  itself  as  the  record's  only  consistent 
focal  point;  alternately  overblown  and  ragtag  arrange- 
ments don't  help  selfconscious  tunes  like  "Clarkes- 
ville"  and '  'No  Man's  Land' '  stand  on  their  own  slender 
merits. 

Backed  by  a  local  lineup  featuring  Alex  Chilton 
bassist  Rene  Coman  and  co-producer  Jim  Dickinson, 
Stuart  and  Prophet  immersed  themselves  in  Memphis 
ambience  to  record  the  loose  and  likable  Here  Come 
the  Snakes,  an  overtly  Stonesy  record  that  travels  the 
backroads  of  American  music  to  fine  effect.  Again 
switching  easily  among  rock,  blues  and  country  idioms, 
what's  left  of  Green  on  Red  sounds  relaxed  and  confi- 
dent, a  warm  and  boozy  vehicle  for  Stuart's  amusingly 
wry  regrets  and  social  observations.  For  once,  Green  on 
Red  has  realized  its  downwardly  mobile  ambitions. 

Getting  Glyn  Johns  to  produce  This  Time  Around, 
the  Stuart/Prophet  duo  (backed  by  Coman,  a  drummer 
and  an  old-fashioned  keyboard  player)  keep  messing 
around  in  old  Stones  turf,  but  the  resonant  Memphis 
mood  that  made  sense  of  the  previous  LP  is  in  short 
supply  here.  Lacking  conviction  (or  at  least  credibility), 
the  new  songs  (like  the  dismal  "Pills  and  Booze"), 
while  of  a  similar  mind,  are  more  by-the-number  con- 
structions than  emotional  outpourings. 

Keyboardist  Chris  Cacavas  sings  simple,  unassum- 
ing rock  and  country-rock  originals  (with  a  nifty  jazz 
slant  on  "Blue  River")  in  a  pleasant  voice  on  his  fine 
solo  debut,  produced  by  Steve  Wynn.  Free  of  his  old 
band's  obligation  to  sound  wasted,  Cacavas  digs  into 
similar  roots  and  comes  up  with  clearheaded,  plain- 
spoken  songs  about  love  and  loss,  leaving  out  the  am- 
bience and  attitude  in  favor  of  perceptive  lyrics  and 
stout  melodies.  (The  CD  and  cassette  add  a  bonus 
track.) 

Jack  Waterson,  who  was  Green  on  Red's  bassist  up 
through  The  Killer  Inside  Me,  also  made  his  solo  debut 
in  '89.  With  primary  instrumental  backing  by  a  drum- 
mer and  ex-Long  Ryder  bassist  Tom  Stevens  (who  also 
played  guitar  and  produced),  the  acoustic/electric 
Whose  Dog?  is  one  of  those  records  that  was  probably 
more  fun  to  make  than  it  is  to  hear.  Waterson  is  neither 
a  talented  singer  nor  a  substantial  songwriter,  and  the 


album  is  too  loosely  organized  to  build  on  his  efforts. 
Prior  to  joining  Green  on  Red,  Chuck  Prophet  had  a 
San  Francisco  quartet  called  Wild  Game.  The  seven- 
song  Rhythm  Roendup  is  rather  a  stylistic  roundup, 
with  songs  that  favor  early  Dexys  (with  R&B  horns  and 
blurted  vocals),  crisp  country  (with  Nashville  guitar), 
Jam-like  Joe  Jackson  rock  and  acoustic  hootenanny  folk. 
Weird  but  promising. 

Prophet's  solo  record — slow,  sparsely  produced 
swamp/country  rock  (imagine  Johnny  Cash,  John  Hiatt 
and  John  Fogerty  swapping  songs)  with  snappy  guitar 
frills — is  actually  a  duo  effort  with  singer  Stephanie 
Finch,  who  provides  honeyed  balance  to  Prophet's 
rough  voice.  The  material  on  Brother  Aldo  is  simple 
and  homey,  flimsy  but  adequate  to  the  pair's  approach, 
which  favors  mood  more  than  content.  [i] 

See  also  Danny  &  Dusty,  Giant  Sandworms,  Naked 
Prey,  Opal 

Come  on  Down  EP  (Homestead)  1 985 
Dry  as  a  Bone  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1 987  ® 
Rehab  Doll  (Sub  Pop)  1 988  • 

More  than  any  other  single  band,  Seattle's  Green 
River  (named  after  a  local  serial  killer)  was  responsible 
for  the  rise  of  long-haired  dudes  in  Sub  Pop  T-shirts 
standing  around  in  clubs,  shaking  their  manes  like  so 
many  lost  Status  Quo  guitarists.  It's  tough  to  hold  that 
existence-as-a-bad-influence  against  the  group  though 
since,  in  its  prime,  Green  River  was  a  commanding  and 
awesome  unit,  and  one  of  the  first  post-punk  units  to 
recapitalize  the  word  ROCK.  The  combination  of  Mark 
Arm's  full-throated  Ig-chunk  vocals  and  the  band's 
powerful  downer-punk-blues-shit  still  sound  mighty 
nice. 

Rehab  Doll  (the  CD  and  cassette  of  which  add  Dry 
as  a  Bone)  is  the  best  example  of  Green  River's  neck- 
twitching  meta-bunk,  and  even  includes  a  few  guest 
moans  by  Sonic  Youth's  Kim  Gordon.  The  band  dis- 
solved when  Mr.  Arm  rejoined  original  guitarist  Steve 
Turner  (who  appears  on  the  six-song  Come  on  Down) 
to  form  Mudhoney.  Green  River  is  less  formalist  and 
fuzz-specific  than  Mudhoney,  but  it's  easy  to  discern  the 
latter' s  roots  on  this  earlier  vinyl  scuzz.  [be] 

See  also  Mother  Love  Bone,  Mudhoney. 

GREGORY'S  FUNHOUSE 

Obey  (Big  Chief)  1988* 

Brooklyn's  own  Gregory  Ambrose  Pittman  intones 
rude  sexual  euphemisms  in  a  stunningly  sepulchral  bass 
voice  straight  out  of  *  'The  Monster  Mash' '  as  his  skilled 
sidemen  sling  out  winningly  poppy  goth  rock  (with  nods 
to  early  Alice  Cooper)  on  this  amusing  novelty  record. 
Upholding  the  gimmick  through  ten  tracks — including 
the  wittily  dictatorial  "I  Give  It,  You  Take  It"  and  a 
leering  cover  of  "Go  Away,  Little  Girl" — while  keep- 
ing the  guitars  on  a  consistent  fuzz  boil  make  Obey  an 
impressive  (and  embarrassingly  entertaining)  oddity. 

[i] 

CL1VE  GREGSON 

Strange  Persuasions  (nr/Demon)  1985  • 

Welcome  to  the  Workhouse  (nr/Special  Delivery)  1990  • 


292 


CLIVE  GREGSON  &  CHRISTINE 
COLLISTER 

Home  and  Away  [tape]  (nr/Eleventh  Hour)  1 986 

(Cooking  Vinyl-Flying  Fish)  1 987  ® 
Mischief  (nr/Special  Delivery)  1987  (Rhino)  1988  ® 
A  Change  in  the  Weather  (nr/Special  Delivery)  1989 

(Rhino)  1 990  • 
Love  Is  a  Strange  Hotel  (Rhino  New  Artists)  1 990  <f> 

With  minimal  outside  contributions  on  drums,  horns 
and  backing  voices,  Strange  Persuasions,  the  first  solo 
record  by  former  Any  Trouble  leader  Clive  Gregson,  is 
a  one-man  show  that  plainly  lays  out  its  author's  heart- 
break and  pain.  In  "Summer  Rain,"  a  deeply  personal 
stunner  actually  based  on  a  friend's  experiences,  the 
Mancunian  singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer  ques- 
tions the  wisdom  of  a  court's  child-custody  decision; 
elsewhere  Gregson  limns  love  lost  and  mistakes  made 
with  self-critical  resignation.  Over  simple  music  that  is 
attractive  and  effective,  Gregson  sings  with  pride  and 
dignity,  making  this  a  deeply  moving  document  of  sin- 
cere, honest  emotions  set  into  song. 

Gregson  then  formed  a  lasting  partnership  with  Isle 
of  Man-born  vocalist  Christine  Collister,  a  guest  on 
Strange  Persuasion  who,  like  Gregson,  has  toured  and 
recorded  with  Richard  Thompson.  The  folky  Home  and 
Away — recorded  at  a  handful  of  acoustic  1986  gigs  and 
chez  Gregson — handsomely  blends  her  deep,  strong 
voice  with  his  on  a  broad  assortment  of  originals  (Any 
Trouble  material  like  "Northern  Soul"  and  "Ail  the 
Time  in  the  World,"  as  well  as  tunes  from  Strange 
Persuasion)  and  classics  (Merle  Haggard's  "Mama 
Tried,"  Carl  Perkins'  "Matchbox,"  Larry  Williams' 
"Slow  Down")  that  is  as  warmly  likable  as  it  is  unaf- 
fected. 

Mischief  fits  the  same  heartfelt  songwriting  and  rich 
singing  into  full-blown  arrangements,  many  of  them 
tastefully  rocked  up  with  drums  (by  Any  Trouble  alum- 
nus Martin  Hughes)  and  electric  guitars.  Gregson's 
striking  melodies  and  deeply  incisive  lyrics  are  more 
than  adequate  to  the  stronger  environment;  the  duo's 
voices  rise  to  the  occasion  as  well,  making  Mischief  an 
easy  record  to  like  (except  perhaps  by  crabby  folk  purist 
misled  by  the  pair's  habit  of  performing  with  just  Greg- 
son's  acoustic  guitar).  Highlights:  "Everybody  Cheats 
on  You,"  the  unflattering  "I  Specialise,"  the  mourn- 
fully romantic  "We're  Not  Over  Yet"  and  the  reluc- 
tantly happy  "This  Tender  Trap." 

Gregson  and  Collister  successfully  raised  their  am- 
bitions and  widened  their  stylistic  reach  on  A  Change  in 
the  Weather,  an  even  better  collection  of  songs  and 
settings.  Joining  their  voices  in  more  intricate  harmo- 
nies and  testing  out  more  complex  material,  the  duo 
soars  through  poignant  essays  on  wife  abuse  ("This 
Is  the  Deal"),  mortality  ("How  Weak  I  Am"),  the 
hollowness  of  pop  stars  and  culture  ("Jumped  Up 
Madam,"  the  CD-bonus  "Temporary  Sincerity")  and 
overdriven  children  ("Talent  Will  Out").  On  a  lighter 
note,  Gregson  reveals  an  abiding  enthusiasm  for  Elvis 
Presley  with  the  witty  and  personal  "(Don't  Step  in) 
My  Blue  Suede  Shoes,"  to  which  Collister  adds  a  rock- 
ing rendition  of  the  King's  own  "Tryin'  to  Get  to  You. " 
A  tremendous  record  without  one  mediocre  or  ineffec- 
tual track. 

Rather  than  build  on  A  Change  in  the  Weather,  the 


duo  next  cut  a  simple  acoustic  collection  of  quiet  cover 
versions  with  no  outside  assistance.  From  the  delight- 
fully surprising  (lOcc's  "Things  We  Do  for  Love")  to 
the  solid  (Merle  Haggard's  "Today  I  Started  Loving 
You  Again,"  Bruce  Springsteen's  "One  Step  Up")  and 
the  sappy  (Jackson  Browne's  "For  a  Dancer"),  Love  Is 
a  Strange  Hotel  has  a  quiet,  casual  charm  but  not  much 
backbone.  Many  of  the  selections  are  far  from  standards 
(Aztec  Camera's  "How  Men  Are,"  Paul  Carrack's 
"Always  Better  with  You,"  the  Boo  Hewerdine/Darden 
Smith  title  tune),  which  leaves  the  unadorned  demo-like 
performances  to  stand  on  their  own,  and  they're  alto- 
gether too  unprepossessing  for  that. 

Released  earlier  in  1990,  Welcome  to  the  Work- 
house provides  a  fine  footnote  to  Gregson's  early  career 
with  ten  previously  unreleased  demos  and  outtakes  re- 
corded alone  or  with  simple  accompaniment  between 
1980  and  1985.  Any  Trouble  songs  ("I'll  Be  Your 
Man")  in  drastically  different  form,  band  versions  of 
"This  Tender  Trap"  and  "Standing  in  Your  Shadow" 
(both  now  in  the  duo's  repertoire),  an  acoustic  cover  of 
Michael  Jackson's  "She's  Out  of  My  Life"  and  several 
otherwise  unavailable  Gregsongs  make  this  a  rich,  sig- 
nificant collection.  [i] 

See  also  Any  Trouble, 

GRID 

See  Dave  Ball. 

GRONG  GRONG 

See  King  Snake  Roost. 

GROOVE  B  CHILL 

Starting  from  Zero  (A&M)  1 990  * 

Moving  into  the  daisy  age,  other  rap  crews  have 
begun  taking  cues  from  De  La  Soul  and  the  Jungle 
Brothers,  rejecting  pimp/gangster  B-boy  roles  for  ingra- 
tiating, soul-based  middle-class  positivity.  This  intelli- 
gent suburban  New  York  trio's  debut  (two  tracks, 
including  the  delightful  "Top  of  the  Hill,"  were  pro- 
duced by  the  genre's  acknowledged  master,  Prince  Paul) 
has  some  witty  samples,  a  few  entertaining  bouts  of 
casual  group-singing  and  two  good  numbers:  "Hip  Hop 
Music"  (a  clear  discussion  of  rap's  significance)  and 
*  'Reminiscin'  "  (a  charming  musical  memory  with  non- 
sampled  quotes  from  Otis  Redding,  Al  Green,  the  As- 
sociation). Though  clearly  promising,  Starting  from 
Zero  hasn't  got  quite  enough  personality  for  serious 
fun.  [i] 

GUADALCANAL  DIARY 

Watusi  Rodeo  EP  (Entertainment  on  Disc)  1 983 
Walking  in  the  Shadow  of  the  Big  Man  (DB)  1984 

(Elelctra)1985* 
Jamboree  (Elektra)  1986 
2  X  4  (Elektra)  1987« 
Flip-Flop  (Elektra)  1989® 

This  underappreciated  Georgia  quartet  distinguished 
itself  from  any  number  of  smart,  tuneful  American  gui- 
tar combos  by  combining  accessible  songcraft  with  pro- 
vocatively twisted  lyrics.  Singer/guitarist  Murray 
Attaway's  songs  reflect  a  bizarre  variety  of  far-flung 


293 


interests,  from  a  preoccupation  with  the  supernatural  to 
a  fascination  with  American  cultural  imperialism;  the 
band  delivers  them  all  with  rootsy  irony. 

Conveying  a  sense  of  wonder  as  well  as  a  sense  of 
humor,  Watusl  Rodeo — which  doesn't  include  the  song 
of  the  same  name — is  an  appealing  debut,  with  four 
fine,  offbeat  numbers  (most  notably  "Michael  Rocke- 
feller" and  "Dead  Eyes,"  both  later  re-recorded  on 
Jamboree)  and  sturdy  playing. 

"Watusi  Rodeo,"  a  rollicking  tale  of  American 
cowboys  pillaging  African  wildlife,  does  appear  on 
Guadalcanal's  first  longplayer,  Walking  in  the  Shadow 
of  the  Big  Man.  Produced  on  the  cheap  by  Don  Dixon, 
the  album  presents  rocking  explorations  of  several  of 
Attaway's  pet  themes:  religious  fanaticism  ("Why  Do 
the  Heathen  Rage?"),  Civil  War  mythology  ("Trail  of 
Tears")  and  spontaneous  human  combustion  ("Fire 
from  Heaven").  There's  also  a  pair  of  enjoyable  instru- 
mentals,  plus  an  unlikely  (though  somehow  appropri- 
ate) rendition  of  "Kumbayah." 

Jamboree,  produced  by  mainstream  Southern-rock 
specialist  Rodney  Mills  (with  two  additional  tracks 
helmed  by  Englishman  Steve  Nye),  features  upgraded 
sound  quality  and  contains  some  fine  tunes,  but  overall 
the  album  is  more  competent  than  inspired.  Standout 
tracks  include  "Pray  for  Rain,"  "Fear  of  God"  and  the 
title  tune,  all  of  which  take  dark  views  of  religious  faith; 
"Country  Club  Gun"  and  "Cattle  Prod"  (smartass  red- 
neck character  studies);  and  "I  See  Moe,"  which  uses 
the  head  Stooge  as  a  metaphor  for  unchecked  personal 
aggression. 

Dixon — and  inspiration — returned  for  the  smashing 
2  X  4,  on  which  the  group's  members  dip  into  their 
shadowy  art-rock  pasts  (Attaway  once  fronted  a  Yes 
cover  band)  to  finally  create  music  as  distinctive  as  the 
lyrics.  "Litany  (Life  Goes  On),"  "Newborn"  and 
"Winds  of  Change"  sport  big,  ambitious  arrangements 
that  suit  their  subject  matter  just  fine;  "Lips  of  Steel"  is 
an  effective  stab  at  space-rock,  while  "Say  Please"  and 
"Let  the  Big  Wheel  Roll"  make  rude  cowpunk  noise. 
Perhaps  most  impressive,  however,  is  "3  AM,"  Att- 
away's quietly  harrowing  account  of  alcoholism.  The 
CD  adds  a  good  cover  of  the  Beatles'  "And  Your  Bird 
Can  Sing." 

Flip-Flop,  which  proved  to  be  Guadalcanal's  final 
album,  finds  drummer  John  Poe  emerging  as  a  worthy 
songwriter,  supplanting  guitarist  Jeff  Walls  as  Guadal- 
canal's auxiliary  composer.  Poe's  moralistic  rockers 
"Pretty  Is  as  Pretty  Does"  and  "The  Likes  of  You"  are 
among  Flip-Flop's  highlights,  alongside  Attaway's  sar- 
donically wistful  "Always  Saturday,"  the  psychedelic 
"Fade  Out"  and  the  wacky  singalong  "...  Vista." 

When  last  heard  from,  Attaway  was  working  on  a 
solo  album  and  Poe  had  joined  Love  Tractor.  [hd] 

GUMBALL 

See  B.A.L.L 


GUN  CLUB 

Fire  of  Love  (Ruby)  1 981  • 
Miami  (Animal)  1 982 
Death  Party  EP  (nr/Animal)  1983  • 
The  Las  Vegas  Story  (Animal)  1 984 


The  Birth  the  Death  the  Ghost  (nr/ABC)  1 984  • 

Sex  Beat  81  (Fr.  Lolita)  1984 

Two  Sides  of  the  Beast  (nr/Dojo)  1 985 

Danse  Kalinda  Boom:  Live  in  Pandora's  Box  (nr/Dojo) 

1985 

Mother  Juno  (Fundamental)  1987  ® 
Pastoral  Hide  and  Seek  (nr/Fire)  1 990  • 

LEE 

Flamingo  EP  (nr/Statik)  1 985 
Wildweed  (nr/Statik)  1985 

Jeffrey  Lee  Pierce  pulled  the  Gun  Club  together  in 
LA  around  his  obsession  with  the  blues.  But  being  un- 
seasoned, young,  middle-class,  white  and  barely  able  to 
play  guitar  didn't  mean  he  had  to  be  to  the  blues  what 
the  Cramps  are  to  rockabilly.  For  Pierce,  the  blues  is  a 
highly  personal  medium  through  which  he  can  (and 
does)  broadcast/exorcise  inner  demons. 

Fire  of  Love  is  bona  fide  mutant  blues,  with  Pierce 
using  the  musical  structures  and  lyrical  imagery  for  his 
own  ends.  Exciting,  intense — even  cathartic — and  badly 
(if  appropriately)  recorded,  with  a  dash  of  punk  leav- 
ening, this  also  has  homey  and  effective  touches  like 
bits  of  violin  and  slide  guitar  (by  Ward  Dotson  and 
Jeffrey  Lee).  Miami  expands  to  include  a  little  folk, 
country  and  pop-rock  without  diluting  the  strength  one 
whit,  not  even  via  harmony  vocalizing  (by  a  pseudon- 
ymous Debbie  Harry,  for  one).  Producer  and  Animal 
magnate  Chris  Stein  does  procure  a  clearer  sound,  al- 
though bringing  Pierce 's  generally  strong  Jim  Morrison- 
styled  vocals  to  the  front  of  the  mix  does  focus  attention 
on  his  disconcerting  tendency  to  hit  notes  sharp.  (The 
cassette  adds  tracks  from  the  Death  Party  EP. ) 

The  next  couple  of  turbulent  years  yielded  little  of 
value.  Death  Party  dates  from  Pierce's  1983  sojourn  in 
New  York  with  a  pick-up  edition  of  Gun  Club  that  in- 
cludes Bush  Tetras  drummer  Dee  Pop  and  guitarist  Jim 
Duckworth  from  Panther  Burns;  it's  a  lackluster  episode 
that  can  safely  be  forgotten.  The  lineup  of  the  first  two 
albums  is  documented  live  on  the  poorly  recorded,  in- 
differently performed  Sex  Beat  81  LP;  the  somewhat 
better  live  album  on  ABC — recorded  at  various  LA 
shows — features  a  later  lineup,  with  pre-Fire  of  Love 
guitarist  Kid  Congo  Powers  back  in  the  Club  following 
his  stint  with  the  Cramps.  There's  an  overlap  of  five 
songs;  The  Birth  also  has  several  otherwise  unreleased 
numbers. 

By  The  Las  Vegas  Story,  the  Club  was  properly 
reconstituted  (notwithstanding  a  switch  of  bassists  that 
brought  ex-Legal  Weapon/future  Sister  of  Mercy  Patri- 
cia Morrison  into  the  band).  Even  with  the  realigned 
sound  and  some  guest  guitar  from  Blaster  Dave  Alvin, 
it's  an  uneven  album.  Evidently  intended  as  a  snapshot- 
mosaic  portrait  of  America,  with  Pierce  attempting  to 
carve  himself  a  Morrison/ John  Fogerty  niche,  it  simply 
doesn't  wash.  That's  not  to  say  it's  bad— just  too  unfo- 
cused and  ineffectual  for  its  ambitious  goal.  (The  issue 
is  further  confused  by  opening  Side  Two  with  Pharaoh 
Sanders'  * 'Master  Plan"  and  following  it  with  "My 
Man  Is  Gone  Now,"  from  Porgy  and  Bess.)  Finally, 
it's  instrumentally  too  sloppy/punky  for  the  Middle 
America  saga  it  aspires  to  be.  (The  cassette  has  a  bonus 
track:  *  *  Secret  Fires . ' ' ) 

With  that,  the  Gun  Club  fell  apart  again.  As  a  post- 
humous live  record  and  the  two-disc  live/studio  compi- 


294 


lation  Two  Sides  of  the  Beast  were  released,  Pierce 
made  his  solo  album,  WOdweed.  Although  typically 
erratic  and  idiosyncratic,  it's  his  best  and  most  fully 
formed  work  since  Fire  of  Love.  Produced  in  London 
by  Craig  Leon,  it's  crisply  played  by  a  good  little  band, 
and  Pierce  helps  himself  surprisingly  well  on  lead  gui- 
tar. All  nine  songs  are  strong;  if  at  times  the  lyrics  seem 
offhand,  the  music  backs  it  up.  He  has  apparently  be- 
come a  consistently  worthwhile  songwriter;  one  can 
only  hope  that  he  gets  a  chance  to  develop  even  further. 
(There's  also  a  bonus  45  which  features  silliness  like  a 
drunken  Pierce  reciting  a  strange  poem  as  if  he  plans  to 
become  his  generation's  William  S.  Burroughs.) 

Pierce  then  reformed  the  Gun  Club  with  Powers  and 
a  dandy  new  rhythm  section.  Produced  in  Berlin  by 
Robin  Guthrie  of  the  Cocteau  Twins,  Mother  Juno  is 
one  of  the  band's  best  LPs  yet.  "The  Breaking  Hands" 
(a  single  which  resembles  some  of  Wildweed),  is  rel- 
atively ornate;  the  rest  takes  a  no-frills  approach,  some- 
times more  hard-rock  than  usual  but  entirely  suited  to 
Pierce 's  typically  grim  visions.  The  album  cover  paint- 
ing (by  Claus  Castenskiold,  known  for  his  Fall  sleeves) 
captures  the  mood:  through  a  car  windshield  revealing  a 
pair  of  dice  and  a  plastic  Jesus,  we  see  a  forlorn  couple 
driving  through  the  desert,  a  booze  bottle  on  its  side  on 
the  seat  between  them.  The  man's  face  is  grim;  the 
woman's  got  her  eyes  covered,  but  can't  help  peeking. 

[id 

See  also  Barracudas,  Legal  Weapon,  Pontiac  Broth- 
ers, Sisters  of  Mercy. 

GURU  JOSH 

Infinity  (Deconstruction-RCA)  1 990  • 

Paul  Walden  was  not  the  only  former  rock'n'roll 
musician  to  be  converted  by  Britain's  dance  explosion 
of  the  late  1980s.  He  was,  however,  one  of  the  first 
(after  Adamski)  to  recognize  the  masses  swaying  to 
records  at  all-night  raves  as  a  potential  audience.  Arriv- 
ing on  stage — often  uninvited — with  portable  keyboards 
and  a  sax  player  by  the  name  of  Mad  Mick,  the  self- 
proclaimed  Guru  quickly  became  a  fixture  at  such 
events,  noted  as  much  for  his  audacious  behavior  as  his 
acid  house  melodies.  With  the  track  "Infinity,"  sepa- 
rated from  other  squiggly  keyboard  instrumental  by 
dint  of  its  haunting  saxophone  melodies,  he  created  a 
dance  anthem  and  a  massive  hit  single.  But  by  the  time 
he  could  deliver  an  album  of  the  same  name,  the  scene 
had  slowed  down,  and  the  Guru's  constant  self- 
promotion  had  alienated  much  of  his  audience.  Leaving 
aside  the  embarrassing  live  cover  versions  of  "Louie 
Louie"  and  "Popcorn" — which  suggest  that  the  perfor- 
mance quality  at  raves  was  lower  than  the  audience's 
drug-colored  memories — Infinity  is  a  high-quality 
electro-dance  record,  Ml  of  lush  melodies  and  warm 
instrumentals.  [tf] 


GUT  BANK 

The  Dark  Ages  (Coyote)  1 986 

Gut  Bank  was  a  Hoboken,  NJ,  quartet  whose  orig- 
inal lineup  included  Sonic  Youth  drummer  Bob  Bert  as 
its  "token  male."  The  band's  sole  LP  (recorded  after 
Bert's  departure;  the  configuration  here  includes  a  fe- 
male drummer  and  a  male  rhythm  guitarist)  was  co- 
produced  with  Roger  Miller  and  features  a  combination 
of  neo-noise  guitar  crunch  and  songwritmg  reminiscent 
of  Patti  Smith  at  her  most  Stones- worshipful.  Beyond 
the  fact  that  The  Dark  Ages  is  a  decent  record,  the 
band's  straight-ahead,  high-energy  shows  prefigured 
those  of  later  non-'60sish  gal  combos  like  L7,  Babes  in 
Toy  land  et  al.  Gut  Bank  were  victims  of  severe  anti- 
female  backlash  in  the  fanzine  press,  but  didn't  hang 
around  long  enough  to  destroy  their  detractors.  [be] 

GUTTERBOY 

See  Kraut. 

GWAR 

Hell-O!  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 988  * 

Scumdogs  of  the  Universe  (Metal  Blade-Warner  Bros.) 

1990<t> 

To  judge  Gwar  on  its  musical  merits  is  like  judging 
Kiss  by  its  lyrics  or  the  Butthole  Surfers  by  Gibby's 
singing  ability.  To  an  even  greater  extent  than  any  of  its 
illegitimate  forefathers,  songs  and  musicianship  are  just 
one  of  the  many  props  in  the  totality  of  Gwar,  the  grand- 
est guignol  of  heavy  metal.  Claiming  to  be  the  spawn  of 
aliens  stranded  in  Antarctica,  Gwar  (originally  a  bunch 
of  creative  college  students  from  Richmond,  Virginia) 
perform  in  bizarre  papier-mache*  variations  on  suits  of 
armor;  their  psychotically  theatrical  show  includes  mock 
decapitations,  bestiality,  gallons  of  stage  blood  and  a 
vocalist  with  a  three-foot  fake  penis. 

By  any  standard,  Hell-O!  is  a  terrible  album — the 
songwriting,  playing  and  production  (a  rare  sub-par  job 
by  Kramer)  are  below  demo  quality,  and  the  vocals  are 
nothing  but  toneless  yelling.  However,  the  lyrics  are 
hilarious,  and  the  album  boasts  some  of  the  funniest 
liner  notes  in  rock  history,  a  series  of  conceptual  car- 
toons that  includes  a  photocopy  of  Picasso's  Guernica 
(retitled  "Kickasso's  Gwar-nica")  defaced  with  Gwar 
regalia. 

Scumdogs  of  the  Universe  is  a  big  improvement, 
elevating  Gwar  at  least  to  the  musical  status  of  an 
independent-label  thrash  band.  But  there  is  one  memo- 
rable track,  "Horror  of  Yig,"  wherein  Gwar  meets  its 
ideal  production  team:  Hypo  Luxa  and  Hermes  Pan  (aka 
Al  Jourgensen  and  Paul  Barker  of  Ministry),  who  should 
have  done  the  whole  album.  [ja] 


295 


Nina  Hagen  Band  (nr/CBS)  1979  • 

Unbehagen  (nr/CBS)  1980 

Nina  Hagen  Band  EP  (Columbia)  1980 

NINA  HAGEN 

Nunsexmonkrock  (Columbia)  1 982 
Fearless  (Columbia)  1 983 
Nina  Hagen  in  Ebtasy  (Columbia)  1 985 
Punk  Wedding  EP  (Can.  Amok)  1 988 
Nina  Hagen  (Ger.  Mercury)  1 989  ® 

Although  bom  in  East  Berlin,  one-of-a-kind  singer/ 
songwriter  Nina  Hagen  is  restricted  by  no  national 
boundaries,  working  and  living  in  Germany,  England 
and  America.  Her  radical  approach  to  vocal  expression  is 
consistently  bizarre — she  runs  the  gamut  from  quirky 
sing-song  (a  la  Lene  Lovich,  whose  "Lucky  Number" 
gets  a  translation/transmutation  on  Unbehagen)  to  an 
anguished  howl  ( much  of  Nunsexmonkrock )  Through- 
out, Hagen  projects  amazing  intensity  as  well  as  a  con- 
sistent and  total  lack  of  selfconsciousness  in  both 
delivery  and  subject  matter. 

Nina  Hagen  Band,  her  first  LP,  is  relatively  re- 
strained; all-German  vocals  mask  the  subject  matter  for 
non-linguists.  (Although  "TV-Glotzer"  is  an  adapta- 
tion of  the  Tubes'  "White  Punks  on  Dope.")  A  ser- 
viceable rock  trio  provides  generic  rock'n'roll  backing 
which  she  easily  upstages,  even  without  dipping  far  into 
her  seemingly  bottomless  bag  of  vocal  tricks. 

Unbehagen  is  light  years  better.  While  the  band 
(expanded  to  a  much-improved  quartet  that  later  re- 
corded on  its  own  as  Spliff)  offers  convincing,  precise 
modern  rock  with  neat  keyboard  work,  Hagen  sings, 
screams,  growls,  whispers  and  wails  her  way  through 
nine  gripping  tales  of  decadence.  Listening  to  Unbe- 
hagen is  like  stumbling  into  a  monster's  lair — feelings 
of  revulsion  and  transfixion  mingle  to  make  this  true 
rock-at-the-edge  art. 

The  American  Nina  Hagen  Band  EP  is  a  10-inch 
with  a  pair  of  songs  from  each  of  the  first  two  albums, 
including  both  aforementioned  cover  versions. 

Hagen  recorded  Nunsexmonkrock  in  New  York 
with  a  band  that  includes  both  Paul  Shaffer  and  Chris 
Spedding,  To  describe  it  as  wild  hardly  suffices — the 
drugs-sex-religion-politics-mystical  imagery  that  spills 
out  is  nearly  incomprehensible  in  its  bag-lady  solipsism, 
but  the  music  and  singing  combine  into  an  aural  bed  of 
nails  that  carries  stunning  impact.  It  almost  doesn't  mat- 
ter that  Hagen  sticks  to  English;  what  counts  is  the  phe- 
nomenal vocal  drama.  Her  range  seems  limitless,  and 
the  countless  characters  she  plays  make  this  fascinating. 

Conceptually  outdoing  herself  again,  Hagen  enlisted 
Giorgio  Moroder  and  Keith  Forsey  to  produce  Fearless 
in  California;  unlike  most  of  their  projects,  however,  the 
artist  emerges  as  the  dominant  force.  The  album  finds 
her  in  a  dance  frame  of  mind,  singing  about  club  life 


("New  York  New  York"),  enlisting  the  Red  Hot  Chili 
Peppers  for  a  rap  number  ("What  It  Is"),  doing  the 
funky  Hare  Krishna  ("I  Love  Paul")  and  generally  act- 
ing the  warped  disco  queen  while  opening  her  Felix  the 
Cat  bag  of  voices  to  roam  operatic  to  munchkin,  Grace 
Jones  to  Mr  T.  It's  not  clear  whether  this  alliance  with 
naked  commercialism  was  expected  to  deliver  a  hit 
record;  Hagen's  rampant  individuality  almost  precludes 
mass  comprehension,  let  alone  full-scale  popularity. 
Nonetheless,  Fearless — which  bears  out  its  title — is 
hypnotic  and  hilarious.  One  of  her  best  records. 

Reflecting  Hagen's  continuing  fascination  with  Los 
Angeles,  Ekstasy  pursues  a  similar  set  of  mental  and 
musical  notions.  "Universal  Radio"  and  "Gods  of 
Aquarius"  are  straightforward  (well  .  .  .)  and  catchy 
dance  rock  with  (why  not?)  metaphysical  lyrics.  "Rus- 
sian Reggae"  (shades  of  Unbehagen's  "African  Reg- 
gae") and  "1985  Ekstasy  Drive"  are  Hagenized  metal; 
her  "Lord's  Prayer"  adds  new  meaning  to  the  word 
sacrilegious.  But  then,  for  different  reasons,  so  do  her 
versions  of  "My  Way"  (take  that,  Sid  Vicious!)  and 
Norman  Greenbaum's  "Spirit  in  the  Sky." 

Hagen's  1987  marriage  to  an  18-year-old  hardcore 
kid  inspired  her  to  cut  a  four-song  EP  about  it  the  fol- 
lowing year.  The  self-produced  Punk  Wedding  giddily 
celebrates  the  event  in  English,  German,  rock  and  punk 
variations  littered  with  the  sound  of  wedding  bells  and 
the  wedding  march.  One  hopes  the  couple's  happiness  is 
more  enduring  than  this  amusing  but  trivial  effort. 

Nina  Hagen  is  another  mishmash  of  kitsch  ("Viva 
Las  Vegas"),  '70s  rock  (Janis  Joplin's  "Move  Over"), 
religiosity  ("Ave  Maria")  and  original  visions 
("Michail,  Michail  (Gorbachev  Rap),"  "Live  on 
Mars").  But  Zeus  B.  Held's  witless  (and,  on  the  oldies, 
disastrous)  dance  production  (with  incongruous  Hen- 
dnx  quotes)  is  a  straitjacket,  and  leaves  Hagen — who 
makes  no  effort  to  escape — sounding  like  a  guest  singer 
on  a  Grace  Jones  record.  Snore.  [i] 

PAUL  HAIG 

Rhythm  of  Life  (nr/Crepuscule-lsland)  1983 

Paul  Haig  EP  (Crepuscule-lsland)  1 984 

Swing  in  '82  (nr/Crepuscule-lsland)  1985 

The  Warp  of  Pure  Fun  (nr/Crepuscule-lsland)  1 985  • 

European  Sun:  Archive  Collection  1982-1 987  (Bel. 

Crepuscule)  1 988  • 
Paul  Haig  (nr/Grca-Virgin)  1 989  • 
R.O.L  (nr/Grca-Virgin)  1990  • 

For  his  first  album  following  the  dissolution  of  Scot- 
land's Josef  K,  singer-guitarist-keyboardist  Paul  Haig 
enlisted  some  impressive  sidemen — including  Anton 
Fier,  Tom  Bailey  and  Bernie  Worrell — and  producer 
Alex  Sadkin.  A  mostly  pleasant  but  unexceptional  and 
uneven  record,  the  synth-driven  tracks  on  Rhythm  of 
Life  variously  resemble  lighter-hearted  versions  of  New 


296 


Order  and  the  Human  League.  Haig  demonstrates  a 
danceable  solution  that  doesn't  bang  on  your  head;  some 
of  the  numbers,  however,  do  drag  along  tunelessly,  re- 
placing invention  with  mere  repetition  and  nuance  with 
clumsiness.  The  subsequent  American  EP  offers  five- 
ninths  of  the  album  (a  wise  condensation)  as  remixed  by 
an  obscure  New  York  club  DJ.  By  leaving  off  a  couple 
of  dogs,  it  makes  a  better  musical  introduction. 

The  Warp  of  Pure  Fun  teams  him  with  ex- 
Associate  Alan  Rankine  for  a  slicker,  more  adventurous 
and  entertaining  excursion.  Haig's  not  much  of  a 
singer — a  little  dramatic  and  gruff  for  the  dance-poppish 
material — but  the  nimble  arrangements  and  some  resil- 
ient melodies  cover  such  deficiencies.  "The  Only 
Truth"  crosses  New  Order  with  the  Thompson  Twins 
and,  like  "Love  &  War,"  features  Bernard  Sumner  on 
guitar;  "Heaven  Help  You  Now"  injects  a  bit  of  folk 
into  synth-rock.  A  triumph  of  style  over  substance,  but 
a  likable  record  with  some  fine  moments. 

European  Sun  compiles  several  of  Haig's  singles 
(including  his  first  solo  effort,  "Running  Away")  and 
unreleased  recordings  from  '82  through  '87.  A  near- 
rockabilly  cover  of  Suicide's  "Ghost  Rider"  is  neat,  as 
is  "The  Executioner,"  a  disturbing  collaboration  with 
Cabaret  Voltaire.  [i] 

See  also  Josef  K. 

HAIRCUT  ONE  HUNDRED 

Pelican  West  (Arista)  1982® 
Paint  and  Paint  (nr/Polydor)  1 983 

NICK  HEYWARD 

North  of  a  Miracle  (Arista)  1 983  * 
Postcards  from  Home  (nr/Arista)  1 986  * 
I  Love  You  Avenue  (nr/Wamer  Bros.)  1 988  (Reprise) 
1989® 

NICK  HEYWARD  AND  HAIRCUT 
ONE  HUNDRED 

The  Best  of  Nick  Heyward  and  Haircut  One  Hundred 

(nr/Arista)  1989® 

One  of  1982's  bright  new  chart  groups,  the  six  en- 
ergetic young  Londoners  of  Haircut  One  Hundred  cre- 
ated a  crisp  mixture  of  melodic  pop  and  African- 
American  and  Latin  rhythms,  seasoned  with  horns  and 
an  occasional  dash  of  jazz.  Haircut's  funk-oriented 
songs  tend  to  be  a  bit  samey  (placing  three  of  them— - 
"Favourite  Shirts,"  "Lemon  Firebrigade"  and  "Ma- 
rine Boy" — together  on  the  American  version  of 
Pelican  West  doesn't  help);  their  pop  songs  are  more 
successful.  "Love  Plus  One"  and  "Fantastic  Day"  are 
delightful,  near-perfect  confections  with  hooks  that  will 
snare  even  the  tone  deaf;  "Snow  Girl"  and  "Surprise 
Me  Again"  run  a  close  second. 

Following  leader/singer  Nick  Hey  ward's  departure 
for  a  solo  career,  Haircut  promoted  percussionist  Mark 
Fox  to  frontman  and  recorded  the  agreeably  bland  Paint 
and  Paint,  which  reprises  Pelican  West's  chirpy  hum- 
mability  but  not  its  flashes  of  ironic  wit.  The  group 
eventually  dissolved,  and  drummer  Blair  Cunningham 
went  on  to  stints  with  the  Pretenders  and  Echo  and  the 
Bunnymen. 

Heyward,  meanwhile,  launched  his  solo  career  with 
the  pristmely  produced  (credit  Geoff  Emerick)  North  of 
a  Miracle,  an  awesomely  pleasant  outing  that's  every- 


thing a  disposable  pop  record  should  be.  Filled  with 
layered  vocals  ("Whistle  Down  the  Wind"  sounds  re- 
markably like  the  Association)  and  peppy  music  played 
by  a  large  collection  of  studio  hands  (including  Steve 
Nieve),  the  album  finds  Heyward  gracefully  adopting  a 
more  adult  persona  with  no  loss  in  tunefulness. 

But  there's  a  line  between  disposable  and  useless, 
and  Hey  ward's  technically  proficient  but  emotionally 
empty  I  Love  You  Avenue  crosses  it.  With  the  songs 
divided  into  brassy,  insubstantial  dance-pop  and  sappy 
singer-songwriterism,  this  self-produced  disc  is  sorely 
lacking  in  both  character  and  fun.  [ks/i/hd] 

Calling  All  Girls  EP  {50  Skidillion  Watts)  1 977 

1/2  Gentlemen/Not  Beaste  (nr/Armageddon)  1  980 

Loud  { nr/Armageddon)  1981 

Horrible  EP  (Press)  1983 

Our  Solar  System  (Iridescence)  1 984 

Sing  No  Evil  (Iridescence)  1984 

Music  to  Strip  By  (50  Skidiiiion  Watts)  1 987  9 

Charmed  Life  (50  Skidillion  Watts)  1988  ® 

The  Band  That  Would  Be  King  (50  Skidillion  Watts) 

1989® 
We  Are  They  Who  Ache  with  Amorous  Love  (T.E.C. 

Tones-Ralph)  1990® 

HALF  JAPANESE/VELVET 
MONKEYS 

Big  Big  Sun  [tape]  (K)  1986 

JAD  FAIR 

The  Zombies  of  Mora  Tau  EP  (nr/Armageddon)  1 980 

(Press)  1982 

Everyone  Knew  ...  but  Me  (Press)  1 982  +  1 985 
Monarchs  (Iridescence)  1 984 
Best  Wishes  (Iridescence)  1987 
Great  Expectations  (Ger.  Bad  Alchemy)  1 988 
Greater  Expectations  [CD]  (Psycho  Acoustic  Sounds) 

1991  ® 

JAD  FAIR  AND  KRAMER 

Roll  Out  the  Barrel  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 988  « 
The  Sound  of  Music  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990  ® 

JAD  FAIR  AND  DANIEL 
JOHNSTON 

Jad  Fair  and  Daniel  Johnston  (50  Skidillion  Watts)  1 989  • 

COO  COO  ROCKIN  TIME 

Coo  Coo  Party  Time  (50  Skidillion  Watts)  1 990  • 

Within  and  without  Half  Japanese,  Maryland  (by 
way  of  San  Francisco)  genius  Jad  Fair,  America's  pre- 
eminent and  enormously  influential  idiot  savant  of  re- 
vealingly  primitivist  rock,  has  built  his  professionally 
amateurish  career  on  a  uniquely  honest  and  unselfcon- 
scious  approach  to  music  making.  Originally  compris- 
ing Jad  and  his  brother  David  (what  must  mom  and  dad 
have  thought?),  1/2  Jap's  early  records  were  noisy  and 
slapdash;  untuned  guitars  and  an  uncertain  backup  band 
provided  minimalist  settings  from  art  rock  to  pre-punk. 
The  Fairs  recorded  Calling  All  Girls  alone,  cram- 
ming nine  uninhibitedly  neurotic  songs  ("Shy  Around 
Girls,*'  "Dream  Date,"  "The  Worst  I'd  Ever  Do") 
onto  a  crude  and  unsettling  7-inch. 

Heavy  on  the  percussion  and  making  no  claims  to 
melody,  1/2  Gentlemen/Not  Beasts  is  a  three-record 


297 


boxed  set  (!)  that  combines  eiementary  musicianship 
and  electronics  with  tuneless  vocals  bursting  with  angst 
and  ennui  Nods  to  Devo,  the  Ramones  and  Iggy  Pop 
(whose  "Fun  Time"  gets  crushed)  indicate  that  the 
atonal,  jagged  results  are  no  accident.  Many  favorite 
punk  tunes  are  "covered"  with  surprising  results. 

Loud  expands  the  music's  range,  with  help  from 
six-part  accompaniment,  including  horns,  more  guitar 
and  almost  avant-garde  drumming.  The  tendency  to- 
wards jazz  doesn't  strip  Half  Japanese  of  its  atavistic 
charm  or  chaotic  raucousness.  Loud  includes  a  dirge- 
like  rendition  of  Jim  Morrison's  "The  Spy." 

Horrible,  the  pair's  first  release  after  a  long  vinyl 
silence,  is  a  five-song  12-inch  obsessed  with  ghouls  and 
horror  movies.  "Thing  with  a  Hook"  matches  the  tale 
of  a  one-handed  insane  man-beast  "pulling  heads  off 
boy/girlfriends  down  in  lover's  lane"  with  truly  dis- 
tressing music;  other  tracks  are  about  "Vampire"  and 
"Rosemary's  Baby."  Where  the  Cramps  do  this  type  of 
cinematic  craziness  for  fun,  Half  Japanese  sounds  gen- 
uinely tormented. 

Music  to  Strip  By,  produced  (and  played  on)  by 
Kramer  (the  Shimmy-Disc  mogul  who  had  been  a  main- 
stay of  Shockabilly)  and  pressed  on  clear  red  vinyl,  is  a 
relatively  sophisticated  and  appealing  outing  by  a  full- 
fledged  band  that  might  have  actually  rehearsed  a  few 
times.  Working  without  his  brother,  Jad  is  comfortably 
in  control,  singing  typically  strange  lyrics  in  a  typically 
artless  voice.  "Stripping  for  Cash"  reflects  a  recent 
news  item; '  'My  Sordid  Past"  and  the  countryfied  *  'Oui- 
ja  Board  Summons  Satan"  scan  like  what  they  probably 
are — lifts  from  a  supermarket  tabloid.  "Sex  at  Your 
Parents'  House"  would  be  funnier  if  it  weren't  being 
sung  with  apparent  conviction  by  an  adult.  Versions  of 
"La  Bamba,"  Fats  Domino's  "Blue  Monday"  and 
Willie  Dixon's  "Hidden  Charms"  add  to  the  stability  of 
this  eminently  likable  22-song  album. 

David  Fair  rejoined  the  band  (which  at  this  point 
included  Don  Fleming  of  Washington  DC's  Velvet 
Monkeys,  with  whom  Half  Japanese  once  shared  a  live 
cassette  release)  on  Charmed  Life,  contributing  lyrics 
as  well  as  guitar  and  harmonica.  This  solidly  entertain- 
ing record  finds  a  presentably  casual  form  for  Jad's  won- 
derful (and  not  at  all  creepy)  way  of  looking  at  life. 
Gripped  in  the  throes  of  romance  ("I  always  thought 
love  would  change  things/ And  now  I  know,"  he  sings), 
Jad  gushes  about  romance,  poets  and  miracles  with  in- 
fectious conviction,  making  songs  like  "Penny  in  the 
Fountain,"  "Miracles  Happen  Every  Day"  (with  fine 
sax  work  by  John  Dreyfuss)  and  the  mildly  bitter  "One 
Million  Kisses"  exemplary  outpourings  of  informed  na- 
ivete'. (The  cassette  and  CD  have  ten  bonus  tracks, 
bringing  the  total  to  31!) 

Besides  Fleming  (guitar)  and  producer  Kramer  (or- 
gan, bass),  The  Band  That  Would  Be  King  gets  in- 
strumental contributions  from  Fred  Frith  and  John  Zorn. 
(No  David  Fair  this  time.)  Fortunately,  all  that  talent 
doesn't  impede  Jad's  ability  to  be  himself — he  just  has 
to  sing  a  little  louder  to  be  heard  over  the  friendly  hub- 
bub. Taking  on  more  varied  subject  matter  (which  now 
seems  clearly  fictionalized  and  not  at  all  personal)  than 
the  rapturous  Charmed  Life,  this  30-song  collection 
visits  "Daytona  Beach,"  reveals  "My  Most  Embarrass- 
ing Moment,"  delivers  the  "Curse  of  the  Doll  People" 
and  attacks  "Ventriloquism  Made  Easy."  A  lot  of  the 


songs  are  fragmentary,  and  the  music — a  sloppy  mess  oi 
guitars,  harmonica  and  saxophones — sounds  largely  im- 
provised, but  a  few  tunes  ("Some  Things  Last  a  Long 
Time,"  "Postcard  from  Far  Away,"  etc.)  are  genuine!) 
delightful. 

Compared  to  We  Are  They  Who  Ache,  however, 
The  Band  That  Would  Be  King  is  a  mainstream  mas- 
terpiece. With  a  rotating  stack  of  fellow  noisemakers, 
Jad  manages  to  deliver  some  quietly  cogent  (if  unex- 
ceptional) performances  ("The  Titanic,"  "All  of  Me," 
"Three  Rings,"  "Secret"  and  a  few  others),  but  a  siz- 
able chunk  of  the  record  is  unlistenably  indulgent  non- 
sense. A  couple  of  thrashy  rock  covers  ("Gloria," 
"Going  Home,"  "Up  and  Down")  are  lost  in  amateur- 
ish overmodulation  and  should  really  have  stayed  in  the 
cassette  recorder;  other  tracks  are  just  noisy  improvs  in 
the  musical  sandbox. 

Jad's  solo  records  have  generally  been  weirder  than 
Half  Japanese's,  but  that's  a  rather  rarefied  judgment. 
Everyone  Knew  .  .  .  but  Me  contains  29  sessions 
(mostly  originals  about  girls,  but  two  James  Brown  cov- 
ers as  well)  of  him  whining  and  vocalizing  (singing  isn't 
exactly  the  word  for  it),  accompanying  himself  on  what 
sound  like  pots,  pans  and  guitar.  Emerging  amid  all  the 
painful  primitivism,  however,  is  touching  defenseless- 
ness,  a  pitiful  lack  of  social  abilities  and  success. 

The  one-man  Best  Wishes,  recorded  between  1982 
and  1985,  is  a  collection  of  42  brief  instrumentals,  all 
titled  either  "O.K."  or  "A.O.K."  Listenable?  Yes — in 
brief  spurts,  as  long  as  you  keep  the  volume  down  and 
don't  pay  too  close  attention.  Creatively  significant?  Er, 
no. 

To  call  Jad's  non-solo/non-band  efforts  "collabora- 
tions" would  be  misleading.  He  simply  proceeds,  blind- 
ers on,  to  do  his  "thing"  while  his  partner  du  joui 
scurries  to  keep  up.  There's  precious  little  give  and 
take,  and  therein  lies  the  difficulty  with  the  pair  of  vir- 
tually interchangeable  Fair/Kramer  outings.  As  a  skilled 
producer,  Kramer  contributes  plenty  of  atmosphere,  but 
little  (needed)  direction.  Roll  Out  the  Barrel  is,  by  a 
nose,  the  better-realized  of  the  two:  24  short  tracks  (in- 
cluding nine  condensed  covers  from  sources  as  oddly 
appropriate  Bob  Dylan,  whose  "Subterranean  Home- 
sick Blues"  is  turned  into  an  unintelligible  B-movie 
jungle  hunt  score,  and  Hoagy  Carmichael)  that  offer  up 
some  steep  peaks  and  deep,  deep  valleys.  Sound  of 
Music  repeats  virtually  all  the  above  tricks,  but  dons  the 
sensible  shoes  of  (college)  radio-readiness,  thereby  bull- 
dozing most  of  the  peaks. 

The  Daniel  Johnston  disc  (which  really  oughta  be 
subtitled  "Dueling  Neuroses")  is  much  more  gripping, 
if  somewhat  painful  to  endure.  The  instrumentation  on 
Fair's  earlier  work  may  have  been  amateurish,  but  the 
toy  piano  and  de-tuned  guitar  here  is  positively  novitiate. 
Johnston  bubbles  over  with  the  album's  best,  most  hy- 
peractively  excited  moment  ("I  Met  Roky  Erickson"), 
but  the  handful  of  co-written  pieces  (like  the  squalling 
"Frankenstein  Conquers  the  World")  occasionally  de- 
liver. Most  moving  though,  is  the  duo's  take  on  Phil 
Ochs'  "Chords  of  Fame,"  which  has  rarely  rung  truer. 

Declaring  himself  the  King  of  Coo  Coo  Rockin 
Time,  David  Fair  takes  his  solo  band  out  for  a  spin  on 
Coo  Coo  Party  Time,  a  casual  and  kooky  rock'n'roll 
record  with  one  foot  in  the  '50s  and  the  other  in  a 
typically  Fairian  can  of  '80s  whimsy.  With  John  Drey- 


298 


fuss'  sax  blaring  in  the  foreground,  Fair  (who  wrote  all 
the  lyrics  and  painted  the  creepy  cover)  sings  about  such 
vintage  subjects  as  "All-Night  Drive-In  Movie  Party," 
"Rock  Me  Daddy-O"  and  "Oldsrnobile  Girl  Magnet 
88"  and  agitates  for  more  good  music  in  "Plenty  of 
Room  on  the  Radio,"  the  anti-CD  "Put  Records  Back 
in  the  Record  Store"  (ironic,  considering)  and  "Coo 
Coo  Record  Party  Time,"  which  offers  this  great  sug- 
gestion: "If  you  buy  a  record  that  you  don't  like/Don't 
be  upset  by  that/Just  get  an  iron  and  heat  it  up/ And  iron 
the  record  flat/Iron  out  all  the  old  songs/Until  it's  smooth 
again/Then  scratch  in  a  new  line  round  and  round/With 
a  knife  or  the  point  of  a  pin."  [sg/i/dss] 

See  also  Daniel  Johnston,  Maureen  Tucker,  Velvet 
Monkeys. 


Back  in  the  D.H.S.S.  (nr/Probe  Plus)  1 985  • 
The  Trumpton  Riots  EP  (nr/Probe  Plus)  1 986  ® 
Back  Again  in  the  D.H.S.S.  (nr/Probe  Plus)  1987  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1988  ® 
ACD  [CDJ  (nr/Probe  Plus)  1989  • 

This  entertaining  Liverpool  quintet  emerged  from 
total  obscurity  to  become  a  dominant  British  indie  chart 
regular  in  the  first  half  of  1986.  Playing  low-key  garage- 
punk  singalong  ditties  (imagine  a  cross  between  Mark 
Riley  and  Jonathan  Richman),  the  Biscuits  like  to  name 
names — songs  on  Back  in  the  D.H.S.S.  include 
"Fuckin'  'ell,  It's  Fred  litmus,"  "The  Len  Ganley 
Stance"  and  "99%  of  Gargoyles  Look  Like  Bob  Todd." 
Throughout,  they  remain  completely  unassuming,  and 
exhibit  a  dry,  sarcastic  wit.  A  top-notch  debut. 

The  Trumpton  Riots  EP  is  a  little  heavier— with 
raw  drive  and  distorted  synths,  the  snarling  title  cut  and 
"Architecture,  Morality,  Ted  and  Alice"  are  both  rem- 
iniscent of  the  early  Stranglers.  Side  Two  lightens  up 
with  the  more  hilarious  "1966  and  All  That."  Fans 
should  look  for  the  edition  which  adds  a  fifth  track,  "All 
I  Want  for  Christmas  Is  a  Dukla  Prague  Away  Kit,"  the 
best  soccer  song  since  the  Fall's  "Kicker  Conspiracy," 

Half  Man  Half  Biscuit  called  it  quits  in  1987,  hence 
the  title  of  their  second  album,  Back  Again  in  the 
D.H.S.S.  (Department  of  Health  and  Social  Services— 
where  Britons  get  their  unemployment  checks).  Some 
of  the  Trumpton  Riots  cuts  are  reprised,  as  is  the  pen- 
chant for  titles  with  real-life  stars  ("Rod  Hull  Is  Alive — 
Why?"  and  "The  Bastard  Son  of  Dean  Friedman"). 
The  band  is  a  bit  tighter  this  go-around,  and  has  cleaner 
(but  hardly  what  you'd  call  glossy)  production.  The 
record's  highlight  is  "Dickie  Davies  Eyes,"  which  con- 
tains the  inspirational  verse,  "And  all  those  people  who 
you  romantically  like  to  still  believe  are  alive  are  dead/ 
So  I'll  wipe  my  snot  on  the  arm  of  your  chair/as  you  put 
another  Roger  Dean  poster  on  the  wall."  No  folks,  it 
doesn't  get  any  better  than  this. 

Apparently  bored  with  the  dole,  HMHB  reformed 
and  began  playing  again  in  1990.  Along  came  the  ACD 
compilation,  seventeen  tracks  taken  from  Back  Again 
and  Peel  sessions,  plus  live  versions  of  material  from 
the  first  album  and  Trumpton  Riots.  Catchy,  irreverent 
and  always  funny  (even  if  their  humor  is  on  the  level  of 
football  hooligans),  it's  good  to  have  this  crew  around 
again.  Ever  hear  a  crowd  shout  "Fuckin'  'ell,  it's  Fred 
Titmus!"  on  cue?  [dgs] 


s. 

See  King  Missile  (Dog  Fly  Religion). 
See  Wild  Seeds. 

OF 

Garbage  Rock!  EP  (Twin/Tone)  1 987 

Headburn  EP  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 987 

Garbageburn  (nr/What  Goes  On)  1 988 

Four  from  the  Bottom  [tape]  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 988 

Singles  Going  Nowhere  (Ger.  Amphetamine 

Reptile-Glitterhouse)  1 990  • 
Death  of  a  Fly  EP  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 990 
Live  EP  (Silt  Breeze)  1990 
Winged  EP  (Forced  Exposure)  1990 

Revered  and  reviled  (both,  generally,  for  all  the 
wrong  reasons)  by  post-mods  scattered  across  many 
lands,  this  Minneapolis  (but  don't  think  that  reveals 
anything)  trio  has  consistently  chiseled  out  the  most 
physically  and  cerebrally  assaultive  post-hardcore  you'll 
ever  hear.  Leader  Tom  Hazelmyer,  who  pulled  stints  in 
both  Otto's  Chemical  Lounge  and  the  Marines  (not  a 
band),  has  become  a  counter-counterculture  guru  of 
sorts  for  folks  whose  righteous  disaffection  extends  to 
most  things  "alternative."  His  persona,  aptly  self- 
assessed  as  "sexist,  homophobic,  pro-vivisectionist 
straight-edge  litterbug,"  colors,  with  varying  degrees  of 
irony,  virtually  all  the  plentiful  releases  on  his  own  Am- 
phetamine Reptile  label. 

Halo  of  Flies  initially  doled  out  tightly  wound,  in- 
tricately improvisational  punk  rock  in  impossibly  lim- 
ited editions  that  believers  prize  like  slivers  of  the  True 
Cross.  Those  who  missed  out  can  catch  up  with  Four 
from  the  Bottom,  a  cassette  that  compiles  the  entire 
contents  of  the  band's  four  AmRep  7-inches,  or  the 
similar  Singles  Going  Nowhere  (the  cover  of  which  is 
a  careful  tribute  to  the  Buzzcocks*  Singles  Going 
Steady),  which  omits  a  few  of  those  tracks  but  adds  a 
two-song  salvo  (a  cover  of  the  Creation's  "How  Does  It 
Feel  to  Feel"  and  the  MC5's  "I  Want  You  Right  Now" 
retitled  "Drunk  in  Detroit")  that  hints  at  Halo's  live 
power.  Both  are  bracing  samplers  of  the  band's  sub- 
three-minute  virtuosity. 

Moving  up  to  12-inch  releases,  Halo  displays  greater 
savvy  in  both  studio  usage  and  song  structure;  though 
the  intensity  dips  just  a  notch  on  Garbage  Rock!,  Ha- 
zelmyer's  spinning,  Hendrix-on-Carbona  guitar  implo- 
sions occur  regularly  enough  to  sate  the  feedback- 
dependent.  Headburn,  however,  brings  it  all  together, 
with  disjointed  lyrics  that  have  become  more  violent 
(apocalyptic,  even)  in  their  reflexive  response  to  the 
outside  world.  What's  more,  the  rhythm  section's  brute 
force  can  be  felt  for  the  first  time.  Combined  in  the  UK 
as  Garbageburn,  these  two  discs  provide  the  easiest 
entree  into  an  otherwise  hermetically  sealed  universe. 

Between  breakups,  Halo  of  Flies  continues  to  spo- 
radically disgorge  small-scale  releases.  Death  of  a  Fly 
retreats  to  basic  sonic  cruelty,  while  Winged  takes  a 
sharp  U-turn  towards  conceptual  territory  with  an  all- 
covers,  all-insect  bill  of  fare,  highlighted  by  a  version  of 
the  Cramps'  * 'Human  Fly."  It's  the  live  EP,  however, 
that  best  captures  the  surly  Halo  spirit,  from  the  opening 


299 


"This  whole  fucking  city  needs  a  haircut!"  through  the 
screeching  coda  of  " Ballad  of  Extreme  Hate,"  Ha- 
zelmyer  and  his  unit  reassert  their  place  as  an  essential 
kink  in  the  gears  of  alternative  rock's  gravy  train. 

[dss] 

LUCY  HAMILTON 

See  Lydia  Lunch, 

PETER  HAMMILL 

Nadir's  Big  Chance  (nr/Charisma)  1975  (Blue  Plate) 

1990® 

A  remark  by  Johnny  Rotten  citing  Peter  Hammill's 
Nadir's  Big  Chance  as  an  influence  cast  a  brief  but 
bright  UK  hip-media  spotlight  on  an  artist  who  has  oth- 
erwise spent  most  of  his  long  career  in  the  shadows. 
(Lydon  later  publicly  insulted  Hammili — not  rotten 
enough?) 

In  1966,  while  at  university  in  Manchester,  the 
London-born  Hammili  formed  Van  der  Graaf  Genera- 
tor, a  progressive-rock  band  that  had  just  enough  suc- 
cess to  remain  an  active  loss-leader  for  years.  Not  as 
hollowly  contrived  as  many  likeminded  explorers, 
VdGG's  guitar-bass-drums-organ-sax  lineup  featured  no 
virtuosos.  Actually,  the  band's  chief  instrument  was 
HammiU's  baritone  voice,  able  to  swoop  into  adjacent 
registers  and  rasp  wickedly  like  nobody's  business.  If 
anything  has  put  people  off  Hammili,  it's  been  the  oc- 
casional overkill  of  his  delivery  and  lyrics,  which  com- 
monly concern  extremists,  and  the  direst  contortions 
into  which  intellect  and  emotion  can  twist  each  other. 
He  has  no  compunction  about  singing  from  a  point  of 
view  which  he — or  we — may  only  inhabit  at  a  moment 
of  extraordinary  emotional  duress. 

Until  the  group's  demise  in  1978,  Hammili  split  his 
studio  time  between  Van  der  Graaf  (ten  LPs)  and  solo 
recordings  made  with  some  or  all  of  his  bandmates.  The 
most  influential  and  best  remembered  of  these  is  the 
1975  LP  (Hammill's  fifth)  for  which  he  assumed  the 
identity  of  "anarchic"  teenager  Rikki  Nadir.  While 
some  tunes  and  arrangements  may  be  simpler  than  his 
usual,  none  of  it's  really  punk,  rather  more  like  Munky 
Dory,  though  less  image-conscious,  much  bleaker, 
more  confessional  and  barely  produced  at  all.  A  stimu- 
lating, affecting  record. 

Hammili  has  continued  to  churn  out  solo  LPs  (even 
to  this  day  with  the  help  of  ex-VdGG  people,  as  well  as 
ex- Vibrators  guitarist  John  Ellis).  Musically,  he  has 
modernized  somewhat,  but  he's  still  his  own  unpreten- 
tiously pretentious  self.  Or  is  that  pretentiously  un- 
pretentious? [jg] 

HAND  OF  GLORY 

See  LeRoi  Brothers. 

HANGMANS  BEAUTIFUL 
DAUGHTERS 

Trash  Mantra  EP  (nr/Dreamworld)  1 987 

The  Hangmans  Beautiful  Daughters  (Voxx)  1989 

Daniel  Treacy  of  the  TV  Personalities  co-produced, 
plays  keyboards  and  wrote  a  few  songs  for  this  trippy 
London  quartet  (named  for  a  1968  Incredible  String 


Band  album),  whose  sound  isn't  as  kooky  or  stylized  as 
his.  On  the  12-inch  EP  and  the  overlapping  (all  six 
tracks)  album,  Emily  Brown  sings  mildly  psychedelic 
'60s  pop  in  a  wispy,  imperfect-pitch  voice  as  her  three 
bandmates  play  droney  (but  brisk)  12-string  folk-rock 
with  cute  accents  like  finger  cymbals  and  harpsichord. 
Things  improve  a  bit  when  guitarist  Gordeen  Dawson 
sings  lead  on  the  modish  * 'Something  About  Today," 
but  the  disappointing  fact  is  that  the  group's  image  is 
more  colorful  than  its  music.  [i] 

HAPPY  FLOWERS 

Songs  for  Children  EP  (Catch  Trout)  1 985 

Now  We  Are  Six  EP  (Catch  Trout)  1 986 

Making  the  Bunny  Pay  (Catch  Trout)  1987 

My  Skin  Covers  My  Body  (Homestead)  1 987 

I  Crush  Bozo  (Homestead)  1988 

Oof  (Homestead)  1989* 

Too  Many  Bunnies  (Not  Enough  Mittens)  [CD] 

(Homestead)  1 989  « 
Lasterday  I  Was  Been  Bad  (Homestead)  1 990  * 

LANDLORDS 

Hey!  Its  a  Teenage  House  Party!  (Catch  Trout)  1 985 
Our  Favorite  Songs!  EP  (Catch  Trout)  1 987 

This  Charlottesville,  Virginia,  duo  of  Mr.  Anus 
(Charlie  Kramer)  and  Mr.  Horribly-Charred-Infant 
(John  Beers)  has  built  a  distinctive  and  unexpectedly 
productive  career  out  of  tuneless  sub-garage  childhood- 
trauma  rants.  The  pair's  spontaneously  composed  pri- 
mal scream  tragicomedies  recount  a  litany  of 
prepubescent  horrors  with  an  oddly  compassionate  mix 
of  humor  and  pathos,  adding  up  to  a  surprisingly  com- 
pelling aesthetic  that's  unlike  anything  else  in  under- 
ground rock. 

Making  the  Bunny  Pay  (a  12-inch  which  compiles 
the  band's  two  early  7-inch  EPs:  the  three-cut  Songs  for 
Children  and  the  six-song  Now  We  Are  Six),  My  Skin 
Covers  My  Body  and  I  Crush  Bozo  all  effectively 
evoke  a  harrowing  world  of  junior  angst;  titles  like 
"Mom  and  Dad  Like  the  Baby  More  Than  Me, "  "I  Wet 
the  Bed  Again,"  "All  My  Toys  Hate  Me,"  "There's  a 
Worm  in  My  Hand"  and  "I  Saw  My  Picture  on  a  Milk 
Carton"  give  a  good  indication  of  the  songs'  contents. 
(And,  for  those  not  artistically  inclined  towards  Happy 
Flowers'  jolly  preference  for  indulgent  inarticulate  rage 
over  traditional  musicaliry,  about  all  the  entertainment 
value  they  are  likely  to  provide.)  These  enormously 
entertaining  records  are,  to  put  it  as  mildly  as  possible, 
an  acquired  taste. 

Oof  covers  similar  subject  matter,  but  vague  hints  of 
accessibility  can  be  heard  (if  you  listen  real  close) 
creeping  into  such  numbers  as  "BB  Gun"  and  "There's 
a  Soft  Spot  on  the  Baby's  Head";  Messrs.  Anus  and 
Infant  even  attempt  the  blues  on  "Ain't  Got  NothinV 
Most  shockingly,  though,  Oofs  final  track,  a  cover  of 
Yoko  Ono's  "Mrs.  Lennon,"  actually  conforms  to  tra- 
ditional Western  notions  of  melody  and  song  structure. 
(On  CD  and  cassette,  that  song  is  followed  by  one  of  the 
two  bonus  tracks,  "Charlie  Said  the  F-word  Again.") 

Though  it'll  still  probably  sound  like  a  bunch  of 
noise  to  your  mom,  Lasterday  I  Was  Been  Bad  ("re- 
corded live  in  the  studio  ...  no  mixing,  no  dubbing") 
makes  a  few  more  lurches  hi  the  direction  of  melody, 
with  fairly  straightforward  covers  of  Big  Star  ("Thir- 


300 


teen")  and  UFO  ("I  Don't  Want  to  Share"),  hard- 
rockish  originals  "Call  Me  Pudge"  and  *  If  This  Gun 
Were  Real  (I  Could  Shoot  You  and  Sleep  in  the  Big  Bed 
with  Mommy),"  and  the  serenely  womblike  instrumen- 
tal "Embryo."  Still,  "Not  a  Happy  Birthday,"  "Leave 
Me  Alone"  and  "I  Shouldn't  Have  Eaten  That  Stuff" 
demonstrate  that  the  Rowers  haven't  yet  outgrown  their 
bangin'-and-yellin'  stage  just  yet. 

Too  Many  Bunnies  (Not  Enough  Mittens)  is  a 
26-item  CD  compilation:  LP  tracks,  singles,  outtakes, 
compilation  cuts  and  "I  Crush  Bozo,"  which  had  ap- 
peared as  one  of  two  cassette-only  bonuses  on  the  album 
of  the  same  name.  (The  tape  version  of  My  Skin  Cov- 
ers My  Body — an  LP  which  contains  a  remake  of  Songs 
for  Children's  "Mom,  I  Gave  the  Cat  Some  Acid" — 
also  has  two  extra  tracks,  but  neither  appears  here.) 

Before  forming  Happy  Flowers,  Kramer  (guitar)  and 
Beers  (vocals)  were  half  of  the  Landlords,  a  freewheel- 
ing punk  band  with  an  incisive  sense  of  satire  but  no 
special  musical  ments.  (Landlords  bassist  Eddie  Jetlag 
continues  to  wield  his  influence,  penning  liner  notes  for 
several  Happy  Flowers  records.)  The  band's  lone  album 
offers  intelligently  ironic  songs  about  rape,  bigotry, 
kids,  suicide  and  nihilism;  the  7-inch  EP  (recorded  after 
the  Flowers  were  underway)  contains  nose-thumbing 
punk-pop  covers  of  "The  Night  Chicago  Died,"  Leon- 
ard Cohen's  "Suzanne"  and  two  more.  [hd/i] 

HAPPY  HATE  ME  NOTS 

Scrap  EP  (Aus.  Waterfront)  1 987 
Out  (Waterfront-Rough  Trade)  1 988  « 

Playing  power  pop  with  muscle,  this  Sydney 
quartet — sort  of  a  punkier,  street-level  Hoodoo  Gurus — 
fills  Scrap  with  six  spunky  songs  about  love  and  intro- 
spection that  are  both  fresh-sounding  and  high  on 
buoyant  energy.  Guitarists  Paul  Berwick  and  Tim 
McKay  intertwine  and  interact — one  a  warm  box  filled 
with  enough  fuzz  to  choke  a  lint  screen,  the  other  drip- 
ping shimmering  droplet$  of  clear,  clean  shine — in 
"This  Is  the  Wrong  World."  Horn  (on  "Go  Away"), 
piano  (on  "Blue  Afternoon")  and  choral  refrains 
throughout  paint  the  other  songs  with  frown-proof  com- 
mercialism that  never  stoops  to  please. 

Berwick's  amusedly  pessimistic  lyrics  ("Things 
Wearing  Thin,"  "Think  About  Tomorrow,"  "Modern 
Times")  and  strong  rock'n'roll  vocals  give  Out's  fast- 
paced  and  sturdy  tunes,  occasionally  punctuated  by  a 
horn  section,  a  Jam-like  intensity.  Producer  Rob 
Younger  (ex-Radio  Birdman)  captures  the  live-and-loud 
sound  with  all  of  the  quartet's  nuance  intact,  making 
Out  a  robust  demonstration  of  the  Hate  Me  Nots'  amaz- 
ing ability  to  give  songs  a  wallop  without  knocking  the 
pop  stuffing  out  of  them. 

By  the  end  of  '90,  the  Hate  Me  Nots  had  recorded  an 
album's  worth  of  new  material,  with  an  eye  towards  '91 
release.  fe/i] 

HAPPY  MONDAYS 

Squirrel  and  G-Man  Twenty  Four  Hour  Party  People 
Plastic  Face  Camt  Smile  (White  Out)  (nr/Factory) 
1987® 

Bummed  (nr/Factory)  1988  (Elektra)  1989  • 

Madchester,  Rave  On  (nr/Factory)  1 989  • 


Hallelujah  EP  (Elefcfra)  1989® 

Peel  Session  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 990  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1 991  ® 
Piils'nThriISs  and  Bellyaches  (Elelctra)  1 990  @ 

To  call  Manchester's  Happy  Mondays  one  of  the 
most  significant  and  influential  rock  groups  to  emerge  in 
England  since  the  Smiths  would  not  be  an  indulgence  in 
hyperbole.  Together  since  1981,  the  Mondays  came  to 
prominence  as  leaders  of  the  late-'80s  British  rave 
scene,  a  hedonistic  party-oriented  club  culture  charac- 
terized by  its  participants'  preference  for  baggy  clothes, 
LSD  and  the  euphoric  drug  Ecstasy  (the  E  of  countless 
song  titles).  The  Mondays*  carefully  evolved  sound — an 
odd,  trancelike  hybrid  of  '60s  flower-power  rock, 
cheesy  '70s  R&B  and  '80s  acid  house,  accompanied  by 
the  straining,  stream-of-unconsciousness  words  of  vo- 
calist Shaun  Ryder — became  the  blueprint  for  numerous 
local  (later  global)  imitators.  A  sextet  that  includes 
dancer/drug-tester  Bez  (Mark  Berry),  the  Mondays  are 
favorites  of  the  British  tabloids,  which  have  made  much 
of  the  members'  controlled-substance  exploits  and  gen- 
erally daft  behavior. 

Those  searching  for  the  key  to  the  Mondays'  success 
won't  find  it  on  the  bizarrely  titled  debut,  a  rather  low- 
key  batch  of  mostly  meandering  funk  tunes,  produced 
with  no  apparent  flourishes  by  John  Cale.  Over  such 
transparent  and  repetitive  backing,  it's  hard  not  to  notice 
how  off-key  Ryder's  vocals  are.  Although  "Oasis," 
"24  HR  Party  People"  and  "Kuff  Dam"  are  all  de- 
signed to  reflect/support  the  burgeoning  dance  phenom- 
enon, the  record  is  no  timeless  pop  classic.  One  surprise: 
the  gloomy  Cure-like  intro  to  "Cob  20." 

Martin  Hannett  (the  legendary  punk-era  producer 
who  died  of  a  heart  attack  in  1991)  stepped  in  to  pro- 
duce the  livelier  Bummed,  the  Mondays'  pivotal  re- 
lease. (Available  in  DAT  for  you  techno  hounds. )  Over 
liquid,  hypnotic  grooves  supplied  by  what  has  become 
an  extremely  competent  band,  Ryder  spouts  frequently 
unintelligible  lyrics  that,  by  his  own  admission,  don't 
mean  anything  but  lend  the  songs  a  quirky  character. 

A  Vince  Clarke  remix  of  Bummed 's  "Wrote  for 
Luck"  appended  to  the  album's  CD  edition  spelled  out 
the  discofied  direction  the  band  was  to  take  on  its  next 
British  release,  the  Madchester,  Rave  On  EP,  length- 
ened and  issued  in  the  US  as  Hallelujah.  Employing  no 
less  than  four  remixers,  the  seven-track,  five-song 
American  edition  is  a  great  dance  record.  Whether  it 
rewards  casual  listening  depends  on  one's  tolerance  for 
lysergically  loosened  music  that  quite  noticeably,  and 
successfully,  sounds  a  bit  off. 

Having  made  a  sizable  commercial  impression  in 
Great  Britain,  the  Mondays  then  released  their  bid  for 
world  domination.  Pills'n'Thrills  and  Bellyaches  is  a 
luscious  hodgepodge  of  the  dodgiest  of  post-punk 
influences — a  Labelle  quote  on  "Kinky  Afro,"  the  Sal- 
soul  string  sound  on  "Dennis  and  Lois,"  the  "Sweet 
Jane"  references  on  "Harmony" — all  reinforced  by  the 
sturdy  production  of  Steve  Osborne  and  Mane  DJ  Paul 
Oakenfold.  More  so  than  on  the  other  records,  Ryder's 
uncensored  rough-hewn  lyrics  (when  understandable) 
are  offhandedly  funny,  as  in  the  fashion  tribute  of 
"Loose  Fit." 

The  Peel  Session  EP,  which  was  recorded  in  1989, 
contains  three  songs:  "Tart  Tart,"  "Mad  Cyril"  and 
"Do  It  Better."  [db] 


301 


PEARL  HARBOR  AND  THE 
EXPLOSIONS 

Pearl  Harbor  and  the  Explosions  (Warner  Bros.)  1 980 

Don't  Follow  Me,  I'm  Lost  Too  (Warner  Bros.)  1 981 
Pearls  Galore!  (Island)  1 984 

Pearl  Harbor  and  the  Explosions  came  out  of  San 
Francisco's  early  new  wave  scene,  but  their  lone  album 
consists  of  bouncy  little  pop  tunes  suitable  for  FM  radio: 
watered-down  soul  and  funk  overtones  topped  off  by 
Pearl  E.  Gates'  theatrical  vocal  posturings.  Danceably 
forgettable. 

Harbour  (dropping  Gates  and  adopting  the  British 
spelling)  hit  her  stride  as  a  solo  artist  on  Don't  Follow 
Me,  I'm  Lost  Too,  a  headlong  plunge  into  rockabilly 
and  similarly  ancient  styles.  Smothered  by  producer 
Mickey  Gallagher  in  waves  of  flutter  echo,  Pearl  wails 
like  a  demon,  obviously  happy  to  have  a  sympathetic 
setting.  "Fujiyama  Mama"  and  "At  the  Dentist"  rock 
wildly  with  old-fashioned  panache;  "Heaven  Is  Gonna 
Be  Empty"  takes  a  more  countryfied,  though  equally 
quaint,  approach.  This  one's  a  memorable  instant  party. 

A  belated  follow-up  produced  by  Richard  Gottehrer 
employs  twenty  musicians — from  Ellie  Greenwich  to 
Chris  Spedding  to  Masa  Hiro  Kajiura — for  more  fun  in 
the  old  world.  Harbour  starts  off  by  covering  that  1963 
Rocky  Fellers  chestnut,  "Killer  Joe,"  and  then  launches 
into  a  program  of  girl-group  soundalikes  that  quiver 
with  melodic  conviction  and  shake  with  appropriate, 
cliche-free  backing.  Sounding  uncannily  like  Kirsty 
MacColl  in  spots,  Pearls  Galore!  is  a  winning  collec- 
tion of  tunes  by  a  talented,  adaptable  vocalist  who 
should  be  far  better  known  than  she  is.  [jy/i] 

See  also  Chrome,  Henry  Kaiser. 

JOHN  WESLEY  HARDING 

It  Happened  One  Night  (nr/Demon)  1 988  * 

God  Made  Me  Do  It:  The  Christmas  EP  (Sire-Reprise) 

1989« 

Here  Comes  the  Groom  (Sire-Reprise)  1 989  « 
The  Name  Above  the  Title  (Sire-Reprise)  1 991  • 

Onto  a  stage  that  has  already  supported  three  de- 
cades of  witty  and  wise  topical  troubadours  strides  En- 
gland's John  Wesley  Harding  (real  name:  Wesley 
Harding  Stace),  well-armed  to  find  a  place  among  the 
ghosts  of  Bob  Dylan,  Phil  Ochs,  Elvis  Costello  and 
Billy  Bragg.  Wes'  folky  debut,  a  friendly  but  uncon- 
vincing acoustic  album  recorded  live  in  London,  offers 
simple  tales  about  common  people  and  humorously 
pointed  satire.  (There's  an  especially  clever  number 
about  Live  Aid.)  He's  not  a  strong  melodicist,  and  his 
lyrics  can  be  a  bit  artless,  but  Harding's  voice  and  per- 
sonality are  disarming,  and  a  few  of  the  songs  ("The 
Devil  in  Me,"  "Famous  Man,"  "You  and  Your  Ca- 
reer") are  quite  pungent. 

With  three  new  tunes,  a  handsome  cover  of  Madon- 
na's "Like  a  Prayer"  and  a  wacky  nine-minute  natter 
between  Wes  and  the  inimitable  Viv  Stanshall,  the 
promising  God  Made  Me  Do  It  (the  title  a  lyric  from 
"Here  Comes  the  Groom,"  included  on  the  EP)  indi- 
cates what  Harding  can  do  in  a  studio  with  an  ace  band 
(dubbed  the  Good  Liars)  that  includes  ex-Attractions 
Pete  and  Brace  Thomas. 


Crisply  produced  by  Andy  Paley,  and  reprising  sev- 
eral numbers  from  the  live  LP,  the  delightful  Here 
Comes  the  Groom  is  a  fine  modem  realization  of  the 
same  honest  singing  and  playing  that  typified  England's 
pub-rock  graduates,  informed  by  a  solid  knowledge  of 
pop  music  and  its  traditions.  (In  a  no-tech  variation  on 
spot-that-sample,  Wes  makes  reference  to  everyone 
from  the  Everly  Brothers  to  Steve  Miller  to  Junior 
Walker  to  John  Otway.)  With  a  load  of  great  (non- 
topical)  songs,  the  album's  only  problem  is  Harding's 
too-cozy-by-half  relationship  with  the  melodies  and 
phrasing  of  early  Elvis  Costello. 

If  Wes  spent  too  much  of  the  last  album  hanging 
around  Elvis'  house  picking  things  up,  The  Name 
Above  the  Title  simply  backs  up  a  truck  to  the  Mac- 
Manus  residence  and  tries  to  cart  it  all  away.  While 
Harding  doesn't  sound  as  if  he's  intentionally  trying  to 
imitate  anybody,  there's  no  getting  around  the  way  it 
comes  out.  And  while  he  brings  plenty  of  talent  and 
originality  (especially  the  lyrics,  which  are  strictly  his 
own  style)  to  this  enjoyable  and  intelligent  party,  the 
frequent  resemblance  to  Costello  gives  what  is  in  fact  a 
fine  album  a  waxy  air  of  familiarity.  [i] 

HARD-ONS 

Smell  My  Finger  (Aus.  Waterhouse)  1 986 

Hard-Ons  (Big  Time)  1987 

Hot  for  Your  Love,  Baby  (Aus.  Waterfront)  1 987 

Worst  of  the  Hard-Ons  (nr/Vinyl  Solution)  1987 

Dickcheese  (Taang!)  1988  « 

Love  Is  a  Battlefield  of  Wounded  Hearts  (Taang!)  1 989  ® 

Yummy!  (Aus.  Waterfront)  1 990 

STUPIDS  AND  HARD-ONS 

No  Cheese!  (Aus.  Waterfront)  1988 

Possessing  roughly  the  same  obsessions  as  a  B -grade 
nerd  comedy,  Australia's  premier  surf-punks  sing  about 
farting,  kissing,  sex  and  rejection  with  various  levels  of 
goodnatured  crudity.  The  Sydney  trio — Blackie  (gui- 
tar), Keish  (drums/vocals)  and  Ray  (bass/artwork) — 
has  been  tooling  around  since  1980,  having  a  good 
pubescent  laugh  and  playing  some  really  great  tuneful 
punk  rock. 

Ray's  "granny"  drawing  on  the  original  Australian 
issue  of  Smell  My  Finger  was  nixed  for  the  US,  where 
the  title  was  changed  as  well  (to  Hard-Ons).  But  the 
songs — from  teen  angst  punk  with  Descendents-like 
melodies  to  more  lash'n'thrash  like  "Dancing  Girls" — 
remained  untouched. 

More  bubblepunk  than  raw  bashing,  Hot  for  Your 
Love,  Baby  has  "I  Wanted  Everything,"  in  which 
Keish  and  crew  sound  like  spoiled  schoolkids  on  a  ram- 
page. While  the  upfront  vocals  on  "Love  Song  for 
Cindy"  could  be  an  elementary  school  poetry  project, 
there's  catchy  redemption  in  its  sophomoric  simplicity. 
The  album's  British  edition  (on  Vinyl  Solution)  adds 
the  raveup  "All  Set  to  Go." 

With  between-track  vignettes  and  high-speed  slash- 
ers like  "Fuck  Society*'  and  "Yuppies  Suck,"  the 
heavier-sounding  Dickcheese  thrusts  the  Hard-Ons  to- 
wards metal.  The  vinyl  has  eighteen  tracks;  the  CD  and 
cassette  add  three,  including  a  rendition  of  Kiss'  "Rock 
and  Roll  All  Nite."  (No  Cheese!  is  an  eight-song  doc- 
ument of  the  Hard-Ons'  tour  with  British  hardcore  hu- 
morists, the  Stupids.) 


302 


Love  Is  a  Battlefield  brings  the  Hard-Ons  back  to 
pop  punk,  though  the  tunes  are  generally  less  memora- 
ble than  the  group's  early  singles.  While  some  songs 
seem  genuinely  romantic  (the  nifty  "I  Don't  Wanna  See 
You  Cry")  and  others  lay  belly-up,  there's  mindless  fun 
in  the  Satan-shrouded  "Kill  Your  Mum"  and  the 
scrubbed-clean  "Missing  You,  Missing  Me."  The  CD 
adds  a  bonus  bone. 

Yummy! 's  "Feast  on  Flesh"  revs  to  hardcore  ve- 
locity, and  a  few  guitar  twists  distinguish  "Something  I 
Don't  Want  to  Do,"  but  few  other  tracks  stand  out  as 
they  breeze  along.  Still,  the  band's  acoustic  bludgeon- 
ing of  "Stairway  to  Heaven"  is  carefree,  basic  and 
amusing — a  fair  description  of  the  Hard-Ons  as  well. 

[nag] 

HARM  FARM 

Spawn  (Alias)  1 990  • 

Nice  Job,  Einstein  (Alias)  1991  * 

Because  of  their  San  Francisco  home,  prominent  use 
of  violin  and  spirited  instrumental  forays  into  ethnic 
territories,  Harm  Farm  has  no  doubt  gotten  used  to  see- 
ing the  name  Camper  Van  Beethoven  mentioned  in  the 
first  paragraphs  of  their  clippings.  CVB's  hijacking  of 
original  violinist  Morgan  Fichter  would  have  doomed 
lesser  bands,  but  Harm  Farm  survived,  stronger  than 
ever.  Drummer  Noah  Chasin  deftly  jumped  to  fiddle, 
and  Melanie  Clarin  (who  played  vital  roles  in  the  ex- 
ceptional recorded  outputs  of  both  the  Cat  Heads  and 
Donner  Party)  stepped  in  behind  the  skins.  Produced  by 
Henry  Kaiser,  Spawn  is  Appalachian  mountain  music 
on  a  skewer,  waved  about  in  all  directions,  raising  up 
dust,  and  spearing  bits  of  whatever  it  finds.  The  quartet 
is  at  its  impressive  best  on  wild  twisted-tempo  medleys 
like  "Sleep/Senor  Tuchus"  and  "Snapdragons  Green- 
eyedgirl,"  and  at  its  excusable  worst  on  the  intention- 
ally silly  (but  still  fairly  irritating)  "Clams."  Strong 
debut.  [sm] 

See  also  Camper  Van  Beethoven,  Cat  Heads,  Don- 
ner Party. 

HARMONY 

See  Boogie  Down  Productions. 

CHARLIE  HARPER 

See  U.K.  Subs. 

JODY  HARRIS 

It  Happened  One  Night  (Press)  1982 

JODY  HARRIS  AND  ROBERT 
QU1NE 

Escape  (Lust/Unlust)  1981 

Jody  Harris  has  worked  with  such  New  York  lumi- 
naries as  the  Raybeats  and  James  White  and  the  Blacks, 
but  remains  one  of  the  most  underrated  guitarists  on  the 
scene.  His  schizophrenic  solo  album  proves  him  to  be 
an  accomplished  composer  as  well,  turning  his  talents 
toward  straight  pop  ("It  Happened  One  Night"),  rock- 
abilly ("I'm  After  Hours  Again"),  blues  ("You  Better 
Read  This  Before  You  Sign")  and  various  forms  of 
jazz,  from  be-bop  to  Stephane  Grappelli.  Harris  amply 


proves  that  old  forms  can  be  given  new  life,  especially 
with  his  exquisite,  modernistic  guitar  work. 

Along  with  Robert  Quine  (Richard  Hell's  Voidoids, 
later  of  Lou  Reed's  band)  Harris  made  the  beautiful 
Escape,  which  drifts  through  a  plethora  of  styles — 
Frippist  drone  tunes,  jazz,  country  swing — and  proves 
that  these  two  consistently  surprising  guitarists  are  even 
more  surprising  than  suspected.  Though  hardly  rock, 
Escape  has  a  vitality  and  joy  missing  in  most  music 
today,  and  so  much  fun  it's  sexy.  Highly  recommended. 

[sg] 

See  also  James  Chance,  Richard  Hell,  Raybeats, 
Lou  Reed. 

JOEY  HARRIS  AND  THE 
SPEEDSTERS 

See  Beat  Farmers. 

JERRY  HARRISON 

The  Red  and  the  Black  (Sire)  1 981 
Casual  Gods  (Sire)  1 987  • 

JERRY  HARRISON:  CASUAL 
GODS 

Walk  on  Water  (Fly-Sire)  1 990  « 

BONZO  GOES  TO 
WASHINGTON 

"5  Minutes7'  EP  (Sleeping  Bag)  1984 

All  of  the  Talking  Heads  have  participated  in  extra- 
curricular musical  activities,  and  guitarist/keyboardist 
Harrison  is  no  different — only  less  successful.  Recorded 
during  the  band's  1981  sabbatical,  The  Red  and  the 
Black  continues  the  pan-ethnic,  cross-rhythmic  musical 
explorations  of  Remain  in  Light — not  a  surprise,  since 
many  of  the  auxiliary  Heads  (like  Adrian  Belew,  Bernie 
Worrell  and  Nona  Hendryx)  also  appear  on  Harrison's 
record.  The  results  are  fairly  funky,  albeit  in  a  relaxed, 
slow-motion  way. 

A  few  years  later,  Harrison  joined  bassist  Bootsy 
Collins  in  a  hip-hop  groove  for  the  "5  Minutes"  12- 
inch,  a  found-sound  dance  record  (in  three  mixes)  that 
uses  Reagan's  notorious  "We  begin  bombing  .  .  ."ex- 
temporization. 

Harrison's  second  album,  Casual  Gods,  leads  with 
its  chin:  the  cover  and  inner  sleeve  photos  show  hordes 
of  poor  Brazilians  working  under  horrendous  conditions 
as  goldminers.  The  music,  however,  is  slick  rock-funk 
with  lyrics  that  are  serious  but  not  radical.  Harrison, 
who's  not  a  bad  singer  (his  voice  sounds  a  bit  like  John 
Gale's),  doesn't  write  songs  so  much  as  techno  grooves 
with  sketchy  melodies;  his  accomplished  cohorts  play 
with  chops  but  little  feeling. 

With  the  Heads  on  indefinite  hiatus,  Harrison  threw 
himself  into  Walk  on  Water,  earnestly  creating  a  con- 
trasting variety  of  finely  crafted  (if  a  bit  clunky)  songs: 
bottom-heavy,  soul-tinged  rock  ("Flying  Under  Ra- 
dar"), charming  Headsy  pop  ("Never  Let  It  Slip"), 
weird  Cale-ish  dissonance  ("The  Doctors  Lie")  and  a 
quiet  lullaby  ("Sleep  Angel"),  with  a  minor  smattering 
of  socio-political  conscience  ("I  Cry  for  Iran,"  "Cow- 
boy's Got  to  Go,"  "Facing  the  Fire").  Collaborating 
with  the  Thompson  Twins,  Dan  Hartman,  Bernie  Wor- 
rell, former  Modern  Lover  bandmate  bassist  Ernie 


303 


Brooks  and  others,  Harrison  still  lacks  the  adequate  mu- 
sical inspiration  and  vocal  character  that  would  make 
Walk  on  Water  a  feat  for  the  ears.  [rnp/i] 

See  also  Talking  Heads, 


KooKoo  (Chrysalis)  1981 
Rodcbird  (Geffen)  1986® 

Def,  Dumb  &  Blonde  (Sire-Reprise)  1989  ® 

Once  More  into  the  Bleach  (Chrysalis)  1 989  • 

The  Complete  Picture:  The  Very  Best  of  Deborah  Harry 

and  Blondie  (nr/Chrysaiis)  1 991  ® 

Stepping  out  of  Blondie  for  her  first  solo  spin,  a 
collaboration  with  Nile  Rodgers  and  Bernard  Edwards 
of  Chic  (plus  a  little  help  from  bandmate  Chris  Stein), 
KooKoo  finds  Harry  out  of  her  depth.  Trying  to  insert 
herself  into  their  musical  format,  she  strains  for  vocal 
personae  (serious  romantic  and  quasi-politically  street- 
wise) to  which  she  is  unsuited.  About  a  third  of  the 
record  is  moderately  successful  infectious  funk-pop.  For 
all  of  its  shortcomings,  however,  the  then-controversial 
pairing  with  the  pre-crossover  Chicmen  still  stands  as  an 
example  of  the  adventurous  and  prescient  trailblazing 
that  had  typified  Harry  and  Stein  within  Blondie. 

The  couple  lost  the  next  few  years  to  Stein's  ex- 
tended and  debilitating  illness,  although  Harry  did  con- 
tribute a  song  to  the  1985  Krush  Groove  soundtrack  and 
pursue  the  acting  side  of  her  career.  Regrettably,  Rock- 
bird,  Harry's  first  attempt  at  a  real  comeback  after 
Stein's  recovery,  is  nearly  a  cipher.  Although  nicely 
produced  (by  J.  Geils  Band  keyboardist/songwriter  Seth 
Justman),  and  starting  strong  with  the  bouncy  "I  Want 
You,"  the  album  carries  little  overall  impact.  There 
aren't  many  catchy  tunes;  the  lyrics  are  surprisingly  flat. 
"Secret  Life"  is  particularly  annoying  for  announcing  a 
revelation  but  saying  nothing  at  all.  The  song  that  most 
recalls  Blondie's  lovable  playfulness  is  "French  Kis- 
sin',"  but  Harry  had  no  hand  in  writing  it. 

While  Harry  did  little  recording  over  the  next  few 
years,  fans  got  a  chance  to  see  her  in  Hair  spray  and  on 
TV's  Wiseguy,  where  she  portrayed  (natch)  a  rock 
singer. 

Considering  how  badly  their  career  is  going,  it's 
ironic  that  the  Thompson  Twins  wrote  and  co-produced 
the  best  song  on  Def,  Dumb  &  Blonde.  "I  Want  That 
Man"  is  a  kicky  love  song  with  an  immediate  hook  and 
delightfully  flip  lyrics.  (Their  other  contribution,  "Kiss 
It  Better,"  is  patented  TT  bounce-pop  that  Harry  coos 
alluringly.)  Otherwise,  the  surprising  reunion  with 
Blondie  producer  Mike  Chapman  yields  one  handy  re- 
minder of  that  band's  surging  '60s  guitar  pop  ("Maybe 
for  Sure")  and  a  lot  of  dull  stylistic  retreads.  The  CD 
adds  four,  including  the  old-fashioned  "Bike  Boy"  and 
Harry's  crisp  rendition  of  the  Fast's  kitschy  "Comic 
Books." 

Once  More  into  the  Bleach  is  a  dance-mix  compi- 
lation. Besides  an  assortment  of  Blondie  hits,  it  features 
Harry's  solo '  'Rush  Rush"  (from  Scarface)  plus  a  hand- 
ful of  tracks  from  KooKoo  and  Rockbird.  [jg/i] 

See  also  Blondie. 


HARRY  CREWS 

See  Lydia  Lunch. 


2541  EP  (SST)  1 988  • 
Intolerance  (SST)  1 989  • 

Admiral  of  the  Sea  EP  (Rough  Trade)  1991  • 
The  Last  Days  of  Pompeii  (Rough  Trade)  1 991  • 

Popular  perceptions  of  Husker  Dii's  implosion  cast 
Bob  Mould  as  the  wounded  victim  and  Grant  Hart — 
drummer,  singer,  songwriter — as  the  problem  child.  Al- 
though Mould  vented  the  depths  of  his  disillusion  and 
anger  on  1989's  Workbook,  Hart  got  in  the  first  word 
on  the  plucky  title  track  of  a  1988  three-song  12-inch, 
painting  the  split  in  terms  of  a  couple's  first  apartment — 
the  number  of  which  just  happened  to  coincide  with  the 
band's  office/studio  address.  (Hart  denied  that  was  his 
intent  but  few  believed  him.)  In  any  case,  "2541"  is  a 
touchingly  sad  acoustic  folk-rock  number  with  a  typi- 
cally catchy  melody. 

A  moving  description  of  Hart's  pain  as  well  as  an 
assertion  of  his  survival,  Intolerance — a  simply 
played  one-man-band  solo  project  that  avoids  familiar- 
ity by  using  '60s-style  organ  as  the  most  prominent 
rhythm  instrument-— deals  with  more  than  one  trau- 
matic aspect  of  his  life.  The  obsessively  driven  (with 
strings)  "Fanfare  in  D  Major  (Come,  Come)"  (re- 
made from  the  EP,  as  was  "2541,"  which  gets  a 
much  rockier  arrangement  with  surprisingly  Mouldish 
vocals)  and  the  shambling  (complete  with  dentist  drill) 
"You're  the  Victim"  are  clearly  aimed  at  Mould.  In 
the  same  vein,  the  Dylanesque — with  wailing  harmon- 
ica and  a  killer  chorus — "Now  That  You  Know  Me" 
discusses  a  relationship  in  vague  terms  that  could  ap- 
ply to  the  band.  But  "The  Main"  is  about  drug  ad- 
diction, and  the  solemn  "She  Can  See  the  Angeles 
Coming"  recalls  the  band's  manager,  Dave  Savoy, 
who  committed  suicide  in  1987. 

In  late  '89,  Hart — now  sticking  to  vocals  and 
guitar — formed  Nova  Mob,  a  rock  trio  with  a  really 
good  bassist  and  an  inferior  drummer.  (Nova  Mob  was 
also  the  name  of  an  obscure  but  historically  significant 
late- '70s  Liverpool  outfit  that  included  Julian  Cope, 
Budgie  and  Pete  Wylie.)  Written  and  performed  as  a 
rock  opera,  The  Last  Days  of  Pompeii  is  a  weirdly 
produced  (and,  for  the  genre,  typically  oblique)  concept 
album  that  is  part  madness  and  part  fascinating  ambi- 
tion. As  a  vehicle  for  quixotic  lyrics  about  ancient  his- 
tory and  space  exploration,  the  simple  music  balances 
Hart's  pop-ulism  and  sweeping  rock  ideas  with  sure 
strength,  if  not  much  ingenuity.  (But  don't  be  too  sur- 
prised if  you  find  yourself  idly  humming  a  tune  called 
"Wernher  Von  Braun.") 

Released  as  a  preview  of  the  Pompeii  LP,  Admiral 
of  the  Sea  contains  two  mixes  of  its  clunky  organ- 
churning  title  track  (a  showcase  for  drummer  Michael 
Crego's  shortcomings),  a  single  mix  of  the  catchy  "The 
Last  Days  of  Pompeii,"  an  instrumental  mix  of  a  third 
album  track  and  a  HveVloud  "I  Just  Want  to  Make  to 
Love  to  You,"  recorded  in  Switzerland.  [i] 

See  also  Httsker  Dtt. 


304 


RICHIE  HASS  &  THE  BEATNIKS 

See  Zoogz  Rift. 

JON  HASSELL 

See  Brian  Eno. 

DIE  HAUT 

Schnelles  Leben  (Ger.  Monogram)  1 982 

Headless  Body  in  Topless  Bar  (Ger.  Whafs  So  Funny 

About)  1988 
Die  Hard  (Ger.  Whafs  So  Funny  About)  1 990 

DIE 

Burnin'  the  Ice  (nr/Illuminated)  1 983 

Rising  out  of  Berlin's  post-punk  bleakness,  die  Haut 
("the  skin")  is  a  largely  instrumental  quartet  with  Beef- 
heartian  and  psychedelic  overtones  but  possessing  a  dis- 
ciplined ferocity  that  yields  a  strikingly  Germanic 
sound.  Sctraelles  Leben  is  a  seven-song,  eighteen- 
minute  disc  that  utilizes  terse  bass  and  dram  rhythms 
topped  with  scratchy  guitar  work,  rarely  settling  into  a 
tonal  center.  Five  of  the  tracks  are  vocal-less  and  tend  to 
lack  development  and  textural  variety.  Not  so  much 
produced  as  simply  recorded,  in  many  places  vocals  are 
conspicuous  by  their  absence. 

Die  Haut  enlisted  the  services  of  Birthday  Party 
singer  Nick  Cave  for  Burain'  the  Ice  and  even  gave 
him  co-billing.  Cave  supplies  all  vocals  and  lyrics  (for 
four  of  the  seven  cuts),  generating  an  air  of  leader  and 
backing  band.  Much  of  the  manic  double-guitar  work  on 
Schnelles  Leben  turns  into  psychedelic  droning  behind 
Cave's  bellowing,  but  at  least  the  songwriting  and  pro- 
duction show  improvement. 

The  band  wasn't  heard  from  again  until  1988's 
Headless  Body  in  Topless  Bar  (the  title  courtesy  of  a 
legendary  New  York  Post  headline),  an  album  halved 
between  instrumental  and  vocal  tracks,  the  latter  featur- 
ing Cave,  Anita  Lane  and  a  handful  of  Bad  Seeds  (die 
Haut's  drummer,  Thomas  Wydler,  is  also  in  Cave's 
ensemble).  In  the  band's  guest-less  work,  early  influ- 
ences have  been  replaced  by  the  distorted  metallic  guitar 
(by  Jochen  Arbeit  and  Rainer  Lingk)  riding  atop  Wyd- 
ler's  adept  rhythms.  But  the  results  are  the  same:  the 
work  still  sounds  like  unfinished  songs  and  is  of  mini- 
mal interest.  The  vocal  side,  however,  has  more  char- 
acter^). Cave's  contribution  is  a  cover  of  "Just 
Dropped  In  (To  See  What  Condition  My  Condition  Was 
In),"  that  laughable  1968  attempt  at  groovy  psychedelia 
from  none  other  than  Kenny  Rogers.  Bad  Seed  guitarist 
Kid  Congo  Powers  is  featured  for  two  cuts  more  similar 
to  die  Haut's  own  work;  it  sounds  as  though  he's  the 
missing  vocalist.  Lane's  "The  Bells  Belong  to  the 
Ashes"  is  largely  motionless  art-noise  with  lots  of  tim- 
pani (thankfully,  she  speaks  rather  than  sings).  Die  Haut 
knows  how  to  collaborate,  but  not  a  whole  lot  else. 

[dgs] 

See  also  Nick  Cave  and  the  Bad  Seeds,  Lydia  Lunch, 

HAVALINAS 

The  Hovalinas  (Elektra)  1990  • 

Rejoining  another  former  member  of  the  Rockats 
(British  stand-up  bassist  Smutty  Smith),  New  York 


singer/guitarist  Tim  Scott  McConnell  ended  (or  at  least 
shelved)  his  trend-jumping  solo  career  by  forming  a 
tough  and  dusty  California  trio  with  ex-Plugz/Cnizados 
drummer  Chalo  Quintana.  A  selfconscious  cowboy  rock 
album  played  on  acoustic  instruments,  The  Havatlnas 
(deftly  produced  by  Don  Gehman,  who  does  much  the 
same  work  for  John  Mellencamp)  sets  McConneirs  any- 
style-in-a-storm  songs  into  an  atmospheric  and  ener- 
getic— but  ultimately  unconvincing — campfire  stew,  [i] 
See  also  Cruzados,  Plugz,  Rockats,  Tim  Scon. 

HAVANA  3  A.M. 

See  Clash. 

GREG  HAWKES 

See  Cars. 

Hawkwind  (UA)  1970  (nr/Sunset)  1975 

In  Search  of  Space  (UA)  1 971  ® 

Doremi  Faso!  Latido  (UA)  1972 

Space  Ritual  (UA)  1973 

Hall  of  the  Mountain  Grill  (UA)  1 974  • 

Warrior  on  the  Edge  of  Time  (Atco)  1 975 

Road  Hawks  (nr/UA)  1976  (nr/Fame)  1984 

Astounding  Sounds,  Amazing  Music  (nr/Charisma)  1 976  ® 

Masters  of  the  Universe  (nr/UA)  1 977  (nr/Fame)  1 982  • 

Quark  Strangeness  and  Charm  (Sire)  1 977  ® 

P.X.R.5  (nr/Charisma)  1979  ® 

Live  79  (nr/Bronze)  1 980 

Repeat  Performance  (nr/Charisma)  1 980 

Levitation  (nr/Charisma)  1 980  ® 

Sonic  Attack  (nr/RCA)  1981 

Church  of  Hawkwind  (nr/RCA)  1982 

Choose  Your  Masques  {nr/RCA)  1 982 

Hawkwind  Friends  and  Relations,  Volume  1  (nr/Flicknife) 

1982» 

Zones  (nr/Flicknife)  1983  • 
Bring  Me  the  Head  of  Yuri  Gagarin  (nr/Demi-Monde) 

1983® 

Independent  Days,  Volume  1  EP  (nr/Flicknife)  1 984 
Hawkwind  Friends  and  Relations:  Twice  Upon  a  Time 

(Volume  2)  (nr/Flicknife)  1 984  « 
This  is  Hawkwind,  Do  Not  Panic  (nr/Flicknife)  1984 
Hawkwind  Friends  and  Relations,  Volume  3  (nr/Flicknife) 

1985» 

The  Chronicle  of  the  Black  Sword  (nr/Flicknife)  1 985  • 
Space  Ritual,  Volume  2  (nr/APK)  1985  • 
Ridicule  (nr/Obsession)  1 985  * 
Independent  Days,  Volume  2  (nr/Flicknife)  1986 
Anthology,  Volume  1  (nr/Samurai)  1 986  • 
Anthology,  Volume  2  (nr/Samurai)  1 986  ® 
Anthology,  Volume  3  (nr/Samurai)  1 986  • 
Quark  Strangeness  and  Charm/PXR.5  [tape] 

(nr/Charisma)  1986 

The  Collection  (nr/Castle  Comm.)  1 986  « 
Live  1970-1973  (nr/Dojo)  1986  « 
Angels  of  Death  (nr/RCA)  1 986 
Out  &  Intake  (nr/Flicknife)  1 987  • 
Early  Daze  (nr/Thunderbolt)  1 987  « 
British  Tribal  Music  (nr/Start)  1 987  • 
The  Official  Picture  Log  Book  (nr/Flicknife)  1987 


305 


Live  Chronicles  (GWR-Profile)  1988 
Levitation/Live  '79  (nr/Castle  Comm.)  1 988  • 
The  Xenon  Codex  (GWR-Enigma)  1988  • 
The  Text  of  Festival  (nr/Thunderbolt)  1 988  ® 
Spirit  of  the  Age  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  • 
Zones/Stonehenge  [CD]  (nr/Flicknife)  1988  ® 
The  Best  of  Hawkwind,  Friends  &  Relations  [CD] 

(nr/Flicknife)  1 988  @ 

Night  of  the  Hawk  (nr/Power  House)  1 989  • 
Stasis  (The  UA  Years)  (nr/EMI)  1 990  • 
Acid  Daze  Volume  1  (nr/Receiver)  1990  • 
Acid  Daze  Volume  2  (nr/Receiver)  1 990  • 
Acid  Daze  Volume  3  (nr/Receiver)  1990  • 
Space  Bandits  (GWR-Roadracer)  1990  • 
Palace  Springs  (Roadracer)  1 991  • 

HAWKLORDS 

25  Years  On  (nr/Charisma)  1978  +  1982  • 
EP  (nr/Flicknife)  1981 

Greasy  Truckers  Party  (nr/UA)  1972 

Revelations  (Glastonbury  Fayre)  (nr/Revelation)  1 972 

Travellers  Aid  Trust  (nr/Flicknife)  1 988  • 

Earthed  to  the  Ground  (nr/Flicknife)  1 984  ® 

DAVE  THE 

OF 

The  Agents  of  Chaos  (nr/F!icknife)  1 988  ® 

Captain  Lockheed  and  the  Starfighters  (nr/UA)  1974  • 
Lucky  Leif  and  the  Long  Ships  (nr/UA)  1 975  (nr/Beat 

Goes  On)  1987® 
Freq  EP  (nr/Flicknife)  1 984 
Test-Tube  Conceived  (nr/Demi-Monde)  1 986  * 
Hype  (nr/See  for  Miles)  1 989  ® 
Live  at  the  Queen  Elizabeth  Hall  (nr/Clear)  1 989 

LLOYD  LANGTON  GROUP 

Outside  the  Law  (nr/Flicknife)  1 983 
Night  Air  (nr/Flicknife)  1985 

Time  Space  and  Lloyd  Langton  Group  (GWR-Restless) 
1988 

HUW  LLOYD-LANGTON 

Like  an  Arrow  (nr/Gas)  1 986 

MELODIC  ENERGY  COMMISSION 

Stranger  in  Mystery  (Can.  Energy)  1 979 

STEVE  SWINDELLS 

Fresh  Blood  (Atco)  1980 
Messages  (nr/RCA)  1981 

NIK  TURNER 

Sphynx  Xitintoday  (nr/Charisma)  1 978 

Hawkwind's  influence  has  been  extensive,  if  often 
indirect  and,  when  acknowledged  at  all,  done  so  grudg- 
ingly. The  group's  faults  (most  notably  a  chronic  ten- 
dency towards  excess)  have  generally  been  over- 
criticized  to  the  exclusion  of  its  virtues:  that  gargantuan 
and  impenetrable  pre-metal/hardcore  drone,  those  great 
riffs,  that  inexorable  drive  to  destinations  unknown.  Un- 
fashionable in  Britain  for  most  of  its  existence  and  un- 
known outside  of  a  cult  following  in  the  US,  Hawkwind 
has  often  been  judged  offensive  merely  for  existing.  If 
that  isn't  pure  punk  .  .  . 


Through  a  checkered  twenty-years-plus  history, 
Hawkwind  has  been  ruled  either  by  a  dictator  under  the 
guise  of  near  anarchy  or  by  a  purported  leader  with  no 
control  at  all.  Whichever  it  be,  Dave  Brock  has  been  the 
lineup's  only  constant  through  40  or  so  personnel 
changes.  A  busker  who  did  a  stint  in  the  Dharma  Blues 
Band  (preserved  on  anthologies  of  early  British  blues), 
he  formed  Group  X — which  became  Hawkwind  Zoo 
and  then  Hawkwind — in  London  in  1969.  Since  then, 
Brock  has  written  and  sung  the  great  majority  of  the 
material  and  played  most  of  the  guitar,  not  to  mention  a 
fair  amount  of  synthesizer. 

Hawkwind's  first  album  is  an  unexciting  hodge- 
podge of  street  folk/blues,  riff-rock  and  electronics,  with 
Nik  Turner's  sax  and  flute  thrown  in.  The  LP's  indul- 
gent improvisations  fit  in  with  the  band's  rebellious  hip- 
pie image,  as  evinced  by  their  early  drug  busts  and 
indefatigable  benefit-playing,  which  initially  got  them 
positive  attention  in  the  alternative  culture  media.  Sta- 
cia,  a  voluptuous  (and  frequently  topless)  dancer  who 
joined  in  1971,  also  drew  attention  to  the  group  and 
probably  had  some  influence  on  it;  she  eventually  got  a 
full  vote  in  Hawkwind  affairs. 

Despite  its  intricate,  attractive  unfolding  sleeve  (de- 
signed by  the  late  Barney  Bubbles),  In  Search  of  Space 
is  pretty  lukewarm;  the  sole  song  of  canonical  note  here 
is  "Master  of  the  Universe."  Most  important,  though, 
the  aforementioned  musical  elements,  along  with  a  more 
explicit  science-fiction  orientation,  can  now  be  heard  as 
a  stylistic  blend,  integrating  Turner,  electronics  gremlin 
Dik  Mik  and  newly  added  synthesizer  player  Del  Dett- 
mar.  Some  of  the  electro-noise/saxoid  drone  bears  a 
strange  resemblance  to  subsequent  mid-song  blasts  by 
early  Roxy  Music,  whose  own  electronics  specialist  Eno 
had  resided,  like  Dik  Mik,  in  London's  funky  Ladbroke 
Grove. 

Doreml  Fasol  Latido  is  Hawkwind's  first  strong 
album.  The  band's  intensity  was  lifted  a  notch  or  two  by 
the  manic  hyper-drive  of  new  bassist  and  occasional 
guitarist  Ian  "Lemmy"  Kilmister,  who  had  played  in 
'60s  beat  group  the  Rockin'  Vicars  and  horrible  drum- 
merless  psychedelicians  Sam  Gopal.  Also,  Robert  Cal- 
vert,  who'd  drifted  into  the  group's  periphery,  began  to 
shape  its  mythology,  writing  and  declaiming  some  of  its 
lyrics,  just  as  Turner's  own  writing  was  starting  to 
emerge. 

Earlier  the  same  year,  Hawkwind  had  played  at  a 
London  benefit  concert  for  the  Greasy  Trackers,  an  al- 
ternative music  organization.  The  subsequent  double 
live  album  included  a  full  side  of  Hawkwind  but,  more 
significantly,  an  outtake  from  it,  the  queerly  poppy 
space-chug  "Silver Machine."  Penned  by  Brock  (under 
his  then-wife's  name),  it  was  released  as  a  single  and 
became  Hawkwind's  only  UK  hit— a  huge  one,  which 
didn't  appear  on  LP  until  years  later.  That  success  fi- 
nanced the  tour  chronicled  on  Space  Ritual.  The  double 
live  LP  (from  London  and  Liverpool)  includes  versions 
of  "Master  of  the  Universe"  and  two-thirds  of  Doremi's 
songs  (although  two  had  chunks  cut  out);  the  new  ma- 
terial included  Calvert  and  Brock's  synth-embroidered 
recitations  of  scary  scenarios  (e.g.,  the  armageddon 
classic  "Sonic  Attack")  penned  by  Calvert  and  their 
new  buddy,  noted  sci-fi  novelist  Michael  Moorcock. 
The  LP  is  solid  to  super,  and  not  as  longwinded  as  you 
might  imagine. 


306 


Dik  Mik  departed  before  Hall  of  the  Mountain 
Grill  and  was  replaced  by  violin-wielding  keyboardist 
Simon  House;  Calvert  left  to  do  Ms  solo  albums.  By 
Warrior  on  the  Edge  of  Time,  Dettmar  had  gone  too, 
and  Alan  Powell  picked  up  the  slack  for  injured  drum- 
mer Simon  King,  subsequently  playing  alongside  him. 
House  added  formal  musical  knowledge  and  skill  for  a 
fuller,  often  more  melodious  brew.  The  actual  sound  of 
the  discs  was  also  clearer,  which  pointed  up  the  anarchy 
of  the  droning  psychedelic  raveups. 

Hall  of  the  Mountain  Grill's  highlights  include  the 
rampaging  "Psychedelic  Warlords  (Disappear  in 
Smoke)"  and  Lemmy's  bleak  "Lost  Johnny"  (co- 
written  by  Mick  Farren).  Warrior  on  the  Edge  of  Time 
has  four  tracks  co-written  by  Moorcock,  who  makes  a 
murky,  overly  echoed  thespian  debut  on  two  of  them.  It 
also  sports  Brock's  own  rocking  pseudo-mythology 
("Magnu")  and  a  quiet,  thoughtful  tune  ("The  De- 
mented Man"),  as  well  as  "Kings  of  Speed,"  released 
as  a  single.  The  latter' s  B-side  was  "Motorhead"; 
Lemmy  took  that  name  for  the  band  he  formed  after 
being  sacked  from  Hawkwind  following  a  1974  on-tour 
Canadian  drug  bust.  (Although  it  ceased  to  exist  in  re- 
ality, the  Lemmy  lineup  resurfaced  in  fiction  as  the 
protagonists — dubbed  the  Hawklords,  led  by  "Baron 
Brock" — in  a  trilogy  of  books  by  Moorcock  and 
Michael  Butterworth.) 

By  that  point,  Hawkwind  had  achieved  all  it  ever 
would,  in  terms  of  trailblazing;  since  then,  it's  all  been 
refinements,  variations,  even  regurgitations.  This  isn't 
to  say  none  of  the  subsequent  albums  are  any  good,  just 
not  particularly  original,  and  move  in  a  more  normal 
direction.  When  the  band  switched  UK  labels  from  UA 
to  Charisma,  UA  decided  to  do  some  summing  up. 
Road  Hawks  is  a  fine  retrospective,  and  includes  "Sil- 
ver Machine";  Masters  of  the  Universe  is  a  strong 
secondary  collection. 

Astounding  Sounds  noticeably  backed  off  from  the 
heaviness  of  the  Lemmy  era.  His  replacement,  Paul  Ru- 
dolph (ex-Pink  Fairies),  had  lots  of  zip,  just  no  overkill. 
Meanwhile,  Calvert  had  returned,  more  fully  part  of  the 
band  than  ever.  Almost  every  cut  is  quite  good  but  too 
long  by  half,  except  for  the  single  "Kerb  Crawler," 
which  is  sharp  and  to  the  point.  More  internal  problems: 
Turner  was  asked  to  leave;  Rudolph  and  Powell,  alleg- 
edly engaging  in  power  play  tactics,  got  the  boot. 

So  next  came — what  else? — one  of  Hawkwind' s 
best,  most  pop-oriented  albums.  Quark  Strangeness 
and  Charm  features  tuff  tracks  like  "Hassan  I  Sahba" 
(clever  mating  of  Hawkwind's  patented  drone  with  Mid- 
dle Eastern  music)  and  the  delightfully  rollicking  (!) 
title  tune. 

P.X.R.5  contains  some  gems'n'junk  cut  in  '77  and 
'78,  including  three  previously  unreleased  live  tracks 
and  two  cuts  with  Brock  playing  everything  but  drums. 
House  departed  to  play  with  Bowie's  touring  band,  and 
the  Hawks'  subsequent  US  trek  so  depressed  Brock  that 
he  quit  and  sold  his  guitar.  He  soon  joined  up  with  the 
Sonic  Assassins  (with  whom  Hawkwind  had  done  a 
one-off  gig  in  '77):  Calvert,  songwriting  bassist  Harvey 
Bainbridge  and  drummer  Martin  Griffin,  With  the  ad- 
dition of  keyboardist  Steve  Swindells  (ex-String  Driven 
Thing/Pilot),  Hawkwind  was  reconstituted  .  .  .  sort  of. 

For  legal  reasons,  and  to  reflect  a  new  direction,  the 
group  was  christened  the  Hawklords.  Fliply  futuristic  in 


lyrical  slant,  and  more  succinct  and  modern  (almost — 
gasp — new  wave)  in  sonic  approach,  25  Years  On  is 
immediately  likable  and  catchy,  if  surprisingly  light- 
weight. (King  and  House  made  contributions  in  the  LP's 
early  stages.)  But  the  'Lords  started  playing  the  old 
songs  live  and  blessed  the  release  of  P.X.R.5;  soon  they 
transmuted  back  into  Hawkwind  and  signed  to  Bronze. 
(Repeat  Performance  is  a  fine  distillation  of  the  Cha- 
risma era,  although  it  omits  "Hassan  I  Sahba.") 

After  Live  *79,  Swindells  left  to  make  his  solo  LPs, 
become  an  outspoken  member  of  the  gay  musical  com- 
munity and  turn  into  a  hotshot  club  DJ.  Tim  Blake  (ex- 
Gong)  joined  in  his  stead,  while  Griffin  was  replaced  by 
Ginger  Baker  (!).  None  of  this,  however,  could  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  of  Calvert  (back  to  his  solo  career); 
Levitation  is  bland  and  tame,  its  main  grit  supplied  by 
newly  returned  guitarist  Huw  Lloyd-Langton,  who'd  left 
Hawkwind  after  cutting  the  very  first  album  a  decade 
earlier!  (Levitation  and  Live  '79  were  later  paired  and 
reissued  jointly  in  all  three  formats.) 

Griffin  returned  to  replace  Baker,  and  Bainbridge 
and  Brock  took  up  the  keyboard  slack  for  the  departed 
Blake  as  the  band  moved  over  to  RCA.  Actually,  as 
they  started  to  do  Sonic  Attack — somewhat  of  a  return 
to  the  earlier  Hawkstyle  and  less  playful  lyrical  stance — 
Griffin  came  down  with  German  measles,  and  the  other 
three  started  hi  on  the  very  electronic  Church  of  Hawk- 
wind  LP.  In  any  case,  the  net  impression  left  by  the 
three  RCA  albums  is  of  a  hard,  heavy  and  humorless 
band,  but  one  often  capable  of  being  grimly  evocative; 
the  generous  Angels  of  Death  compilation  is  an  apt 
summary. 

At  this  point,  the  band  began  a  prolific  association 
with  the  Flicknife  label.  The  union's  first  issue — the 
Hawkwind  Zoo  EP — contains  an  alternate  version  of 
"Hurry  Sundown"  (presumably  recorded  before  the 
first  album),  a  live  "Kings  of  Speed"  and  the  early  (and 
surprisingly  erotic)  "Sweet  Mistress  of  Pain."  The  12- 
inches  that  followed — some  with  newly  recorded  mate- 
rial (e.g.,  "Night  of  the  Hawks,"  with  Lemrny 
guesting) — were  later  collected  on  two  volumes  of  In- 
dependent Days. 

The  three  Friends  and  Relations  discs  consist  of 
outtakes,  concert  recordings,  demos,  side  projects,  re- 
lated bands,  etc.  Volume  1  has  live  Hawkwind,  Hawk- 
lords  and  Sonic  Assassins  ('77  and  '78),  plus  studio 
sides  by  Hawkwind,  Nik  Turner's  Inner  City  Unit  and 
Michael  Moorcock's  Deep  Fix,  but  the  series  goes 
downhill  from  there.  (Volume  3  is  absolutely  bottom- 
of-the-barrel  scrapings.)  The  best  two-thirds  of  all  three 
is  crammed  onto  the  1988  CD,  The  Best  of  Hawkwind, 
Friends  and  Relations. 

Zones  is  a  punchy  live  LP  featuring  the  pre-  and 
post-RCA  lineups  (including  Nik  Turner,  who  rejoined 
in  '82);  This  Is  Hawkwind,  Do  Not  Panic,  recorded 
live  at  Stonehenge  in  the  summer  of  '84  (with  a  bonus 
12-inch),  shares  its  title  with  the  band  biography  pub- 
lished around  the  same  time.  (On  CD,  Zones  is  piggy- 
backed with  an  album's  worth  of  live  cuts  from 
Stonehenge.) 

In  '85,  after  some  realignment,  Hawkwind  endeav- 
ored to  make  its  first  all-new  LP  in  three  years.  With 
Turner  reforming  Inner  City  Unit,  Bainbridge  took  on 
keys  and  synth  exclusively,  while  singing/ writing  bassist 
Allan  Davey  and  drummer  Danny  Thompson  (son  of  the 


307 


same-named  Pentangle  bassist)  completed  the  lineup. 
With  Moorcock's  help  (but  not  actual  participation), 
The  Chronicle  of  the  Black  Sword  successfully  adapted 
his  popular  EWc  sword-and-sorcery  sagas,  possibly  the 
band's  most  disciplined,  ambitious  undertaking  yet. 
Even  better  is  Live  Chronicles  (from  the  '85  tour), 
which  includes  versions  of  most  of  that  record,  numbers 
from  the  RCA  years  and  even  "Magnu"  and  "Master  of 
the  Universe."  Hawkwind  could  still  smash  and  slash. 

With  two  rhythm  sections  (Davey/Thompson  and 
Bainbridge/Griffin)  sharing  the  work,  Out  &  Intake  is 
dominated  by  songs  spotlighting  band  members  other 
than  Brock — including,  on  two,  Nik  Turner  in  a  guest 
role.  Some  of  the  material  is  new,  some  old  but  not  the 
work  of  these  musicians  (like  the  two  Calvert  numbers). 
Hodgepodgey  but  good. 

The  next  year,  using  Motorhead  producer  Guy  Bid- 
mead,  Hawkwind  came  up  with  The  Xenon  Codex,  an 
entertaining  romp  through  familiar  territory  with  some 
enjoyable  twists,  like  the  "Magical  Mystery  Tour"-ish 
vocals  and  cinematic  sweep  of  the  "Neon  Skyline/Lost 
Chronicles"  medley,  and  the  comedic  hijinks  of  "Good 
Evening." 

The  (Hawk) winds  of  change  swept  through  once 
again.  Lloyd-Langton  went  off  to  follow  his  own  muse 
(such  as  it  was/is),  Thompson  gave  way  to  Richard 
Chadwick,  and  a  young  ex-schoolteacher  (?!)  named 
Bridgett  Wishart  stepped  in  as  lead  and  harmony  vocal- 
ist (and  onstage  mime).  The  results,  on  Space  Bandits, 
are  intriguing  but  uneven.  Tuneful  female  vocals  make 
a  neat  change  on  "Images,"  which  otherwise  has  all  the 
earmarks  of  a  typical  Hawks  hyperdrive  romp  (i.e., 
overlong  but  enjoyable);  "Black  Elk  Speaks"  features  a 
Native  American  declaiming  the  words  of  the  19th- 
century  Sioux  prophet;  half  of  Side  Two  offers  unset- 
tling atmospherics  and  uneasy  dreams.  Prodigal  son 
Simon  House  is  a  welcome  musical  presence  through- 
out, but  for  personal  reasons  did  not  continue  with  the 
group  after  the  recording. 

As  for  the  rest  of  the  Hawkwind  albums  listed  above, 
they  are  almost  all  live  recordings,  like  Bring  Me  the 
Head  of  Yuri  Gagarin  and  Early  Daze,  both  tapes 
from  the  personal  collection  of  In  Search  of  Space-era 
bassist  Dave  Anderson,  and  Ridicule,  also  from  the 
same  time  frame.  Likewise,  Text  of  Festival  is  a  double 
album,  with  both  the  expected  songs  and  side-long  jams. 
For  what  it's  worth,  the  (not  scrupulously  labelled)  An- 
thology series  later  came  out  as  the  Acid  Daze  series 
which,  in  CD  form,  is  on  two  discs. 

The  Official  Picture  Log  Book  is  vinyl  picture  discs 
of  Chronicle,  Out  &  Intake  and  Do  Not  Panic,  plus  an 
interview  disc,  badge  and  poster.  The  Collection  is  a 
best-of  that  doesn't  contains  the  "hits'*  in  their  original 
versions.  ("Silver  Machine"  is  the  only  one  explicitly 
marked  live,  but  most  of  it  is.)  The  studio  material 
includes  two  old  blues  standards,  done  straight.  A  cou- 
ple of  tracks  seem  like  arbitrarily  edited  jams;  in  fact, 
there  are  a  surprising  number  of  awkward  moments 
(tracks  starting  by  fading  in,  abrupt  edits,  etc.).  All  the 
same,  much  of  it  is  really  pretty  good. 

In  the  solo  album  department,  there's  Brock's  batch 
of  demos,  Earthed  to  the  Ground,  "recorded  at  home 
while  waiting  for  Hawkwind  to  get  going  again."  The 
writing  and  playing  are  pretty  thin,  although  the  odd 


number  like  "Green  Finned  Demon"  suggests  it 
would've  been  worth  an  EP. 

Much  better  is  The  Agents  of  Chaos,  which  is  ev- 
idently just  him  (guitars  and  synths)  with  the  limited 
assistance  of  someone  named  Crum  (four  pseudo-Terry 
Riley/new  agey  instrumentals  credited  to  Crum  are  not 
great  recommendations).  It's  safe  to  say  that  the  best  of 
Agents  has  been  done  better  with  Hawkwind,  but  if  you 
have  all  the  other  studio  albums  (heh,  heh)  and  are  just 
dying  for  another,  help  yourself.  (Flicknife  combined 
the  two  Brock  solos  on  one  compact  disc.) 

Calvert's  Captain  Lockheed  is  a  deluxe  concept 
album  dramatizing  the  true  story  of  an  airplane  disas- 
trously modified  into  an  unstable,  unsafe  machine  (aka 
the  Widow  Maker).  The  project  is  ambitiously  outfitted 
with  Rudolph,  Lemmy,  King,  Dettmar,  Turner,  Brock, 
plus  Eno  (!)  and — reading  dialogue,  yet — Viv  Stanshall 
and  Jim  Capaldi,  all  overseen  by  Roy  Thomas  Baker. 
Despite  some  decent  tracks,  the  talk  segments  are  just 
plain  awkward,  and  make  it  impossible  for  the  songs  to 
sustain  a  flow. 

Another  Calvert  concept  album,  Lucky  Leif  argues 
that  the  Vikings  really  discovered  America.  Is  this  trip 
necessary?  Some  of  it's  just  plain  silly.  Produced  by 
Eno,  music  dominated  by  Rudolph,  with  House  and 
Turner  along  for  the  ride.  Other  participants:  Winkie 
Brian  Tumngton,  Roxy  bassist  Sal  Maida  and  Moor- 
cock on  banjo. 

Freq  is  Calvert's  industrial  record,  in  a  sense.  Five 
of  the  six  tracks  (played  on  guitar  and  synths  by  him  and 
two  cohorts)  relate  to  the  workplace;  the  other  is  about 
a  bomb  squad.  Kernels  of  good  ideas/images  abound, 
but  the  only  one  that's  well  and  fully  realized  is  "All  the 
Machines  Are  Quiet,"  a  song  about  being  on  strike.  The 
weirdness  ante  is  upped  by  the  inclusion  of  union-related 
conversations  and  speeches  scattered  throughout  the  al- 
bum. Calvert  suffered  a  heart  attack  and  died  at  the  age 
of  43  in  the  summer  of  1988. 

The  best  of  the  solos  is  Swindells'  Fresh  Blood.  It's 
just  him  (producing,  too),  with  Lloyd-Langton,  King 
and  ex- Van  der  Graaf  Generator  bassist  Nic  Potter.  It 
sounds  like  Thin  Lizzy  meets  Graham  Parker  with  a 
rocket  up  his  ass.  Narsty.  Roger  Daltrey  sang  Swin- 
dells' "Bitter  and  Twisted"  in  the  soundtrack  of  his 
film,  McVicar. 

As  for  Del  Dettmar,  he  resurfaced  in  the  Vancouver 
area  in  the  Melodic  Energy  Commission,  making  new 
age  music  before  there  was  such  a  thing,  and  cosmic 
hippy-dippy  mystic  electronic  folk.  Blech. 

Believe  it  or  not,  the  Travellers  Aid  double  LP,  cut 
at  various  late-*80s  free  festivals  in  Great  Britain,  isn't 
a  load  of  crap.  Despite  the  billing,  not  much  of  it  is 
Hawkwind,  though:  one  and  a  half  okay  tracks,  plus  one 
great  one  by  Agents  of  Chaos.  Nik  Turner  brings  up  the 
rear  with  a  crowd  sing-along  of  "Silver  Machine."  In 
between  is  very  promising  punky  hard-rock  to  a  ska  beat 
by  Culture  Shock,  Tubilah  Dogs  (Hawkwind-cwm-Blue 
Oyster  Cult  that  kind  of  works),  some  variable  but 
amusing  punk  (Hippy  Slags,  Screech  Rock),  two 
decent-to-good  reggae  bands  (Israel  Movement  and 
Rhythmites)  and  some  goofballs  (2000  D.S.,  Radio 
Magnolia  and  Ozric  Tentacles),  some  of  which  is  grue- 
somely  interesting.  [jg] 

See  also  Inner  City  Unit,  Motorhead. 


308 


BONNIE  HAYES  WITH 
THE  WILD  COMBO 

Good  Clean  Fun  (Slash)  1982 
Brave  New  Girl  (Bondage)  1984 

Bonnie  Hayes  (Chrysalis)  1987  • 

Originally  known  around  San  Francisco  as  the 
Punts,  singer  Bonnie  Hayes  and  her  backing  trio  take 
the  grossly  overused  pure  pop  formula  and  actually  man- 
age to  turn  it  interesting  again  on  Good  Clean  Fun.  She 
follows  in  the  tradition  of  early  Blondie  and  the  Go- 
Go's  by  making  bright,  simple  melodies  hop  and  skip 
incessantly.  Hayes  and  crew  avoid  the  monotony  that 
sometimes  plagues  their  counterparts  by  downplaying 
the  preciousness  and  incorporating  a  wide  variety  of 
influences,  including  jazz  and  R&B. 

Hayes'  1987  major-label  album  employs  a  larger 
backing  band  and  a  brand-name  producer  (Stewart 
Levine),  but  nothing  can  stop  the  vim  and  infectious 
enthusiasm  of  this  adorable  one-woman  pop  dynamo. 
Hayes  writes  mature  songs  about  romance  from  a  gin- 
gerly hopeful,  self-reliant  standpoint  and  performs  them 
with  pristine,  airy  simplicity  that  at  one  point  ("The 
Real  Thing")  precisely  resembles  Todd  Rundgren  at  his 
most  joyfully  upbeat.  [jy/i] 

HAYSi  FANTAYZEE 

Battle  Hymns  for  Children  Singing  (RCA)  1 983 

Battle  Hymns  is  one  of  the  most  willfully  annoying 
records  of  all  time.  With  Paul  Caplin  pulling  the  strings, 
singing  characters  Jeremiah  Heaiy  and  Kate  Garner 
spew  out  juvenile  nonsense  lyrics  attached  to  bouncy 
dance  rock,  tricked  out  with  gimmicky  production  to 
make  it  reach  maximum  quirky  obnoxiousness.  A  few 
tracks  (like  the  McLarenesque  square-dance  rocker 
"Shiny  Shiny"  and  the  Bow  Wow  Wow-like  "More 
Money")  are  fine  for  very  occasional  listening,  but  en- 
during this  entire  album  in  one  sitting  is  like  having 
painful  dentistry  performed  by  an  overbearing  three- 
year-old.  Garner  made  some  solo  records  after  the  Lon- 
don group  evaporated;  Healy  has  done  some  remixes 
(including  the  Clash)  and  recorded  for  Boy  George's 
label  as  the  Ezee  Posse.  [i] 

OFRA  HAZA 

Yemenite  Songs  (nr/Globestyle)  1985  * 
Fifty  Gates  of  Wisdom  (Shanachie)  1 987  « 
Shaday  (Sire)  1988* 
Desert  Wind  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

Whether  or  not  music  is  indeed  the  universal  lan- 
guage, the  fact  is  that  if  you  slap  on  a  contemporary 
dance  beat,  people  will  buy  just  about  anything,  no 
matter  how  exotic  its  origins.  Such  is  the  case  with 
Yemenite  singer  Ofra  Haza,  who  funked  up  ancient  He- 
brew music  and  became  the  international  darling  of  folks 
who  would  never  bother  to  borrow  an  ethnic  record 
from  the  public  library. 

After  her  sinuous  singing  was  sampled  by  Coldcut 
onto  a  remix  of  Eric  B.  and  Rakim's  "Paid  in  Full"  and 
from  there  onto  M/A/R/R/S'  "Pump  Up  the  Volume"  in 
1987,  Haza — a  huge  pop  star  at  home  in  Israel — gave  a 


rethink  to  three  selections  from  her  traditional-minded 
Yemenite  Songs  (issued  in  the  US  as  Fifty  Gates  of 
Wisdom)  and  rocked  them  into  the  late  20th  century  on 
her  next  album.  Bits  of  Shaday  (mostly  done  with  Brit- 
ish producer  Wally  Brill)  are  intriguing  blends  of  strange 
and  familiar  sounds  (a  bit  reminiscent  in  approach  to 
Monsoon),  but  most  of  the  LP  is  horrible  globopop 
disco  (in  English)  that  could  almost  be  mistaken  for 
Gloria  Estefan. 

With  production  by  Arif  Mardin  and  Thomas  Dolby 
(as  well  as  Haza  and  her  longtime  collaborator/manager, 
Bezalel  Aloni),  Haza  settled  down  on  Desert  Wind, 
forging  a  subtler,  more  organic  hybrid.  Making  a  self- 
conscious  effort  to  maintain  a  connection  to  her  musical 
roots  while  reaching  out  for  mainstream  appeal,  Haza 
locates  a  fascinating  midpoint  between  the  Middle  East 
and  the  Midwest  on  "Ya  Ba  Ye,"  "I  Want  to  Fly"  and 
"Da' Asa";  elsewhere,  she  drops  instrumental  and  vocal 
accents  into  otherwise  characterless  concoctions  and,  on 
two  tracks,  succumbs  to  Dolby's  high-tech  irrelevancy. 

[i] 


HEAD 

A  Snog  on  the  Rocb  (nr/Demon)  1987  ® 
Tales  of  Ordinary  Madness  (nr/Virgin)  1988  ® 
Intoxicator  (nr/Virgin)  1 989  ® 

Led  by  Gareth  Sager  (ex-Pop  Group/Rip  Rig  + 
Panic/Float  Up  CP)  and  featuring  guitarist  Nick  Shep- 
pard  (a  onetime  Cortina  who  played  in  the  Clash's  mis- 
erable afterlife),  this  loopy  Bristol  rock  quintet — a 
casually  clever  in-joke  that's  not  hard  to  share — has  a 
jolly  old  tune  on  its  first  album,  indulging  in  fake  sea 
chanteys  and  traditional  folk  songs,  sending  up  Elvis 
Presley  and  making  mincemeat  of  assorted  rock  (i Con- 
ventions. Clevedon  Pier's  commanding  Iggy-like  voice 
and  the  band's  ever-changing  musical  approach  makes 
A  Snog  on  tne  Rocks  as  unpredictable  as  a  Three  Johns 
record,  but  a  lot  easier  on  the  ears. 

The  stronger  Tales  of  Ordinary  Madness  (on 
which  the  slightly  refigured  group  uses  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent set  of  pseudonyms)  turns  Head's  light  on  ram- 
bunctious, occasionally  panoramic  rock  (with  horns  and 
piano  as  well  as  load  guitar  and  mighty  rhythms),  taking 
in  quite  a  bit  of  stylistic  ground.  The  funky  *'Get 
Fishy,"  which  sounds  like  Foetus  getting  busy  with  the 
J.  Geils  Band,  follows  the  brassy  theatricality  of  "Ma- 
chete Vendetta";  complete  with  strings,  the  jazzed-out 
"1000  Hangovers  Later"  evokes  swanky  nightclub  dis- 
solution with  a  distinct  Nick  Cave  bent,  while  "32a" 
gives  an  Exile  on  Main  Street  treatment  to  the  subject 
of  jukebox  addiction.  Crazy,  and  loads  of  fun. 

Co-produced  by  Michael  Jonzun  (brother  of  New 
Kids  on  the  Block  svengali  Maurice  Starr),  Head's  rock, 
funk  and  soul  are  disappointingly  unambitious — even 
sappy — on  Intoxicator,  a  flat-sounding  album  that  dis- 
plays no  more  than  a  glimmer  ("Under  the  Influence  of 
Books")  of  the  previous  records'  feverish  invention, 
humor  or  radicalism.  Pier's  dramatic  voice  gives  the 
songs  most  of  their  character;  otherwise,  both  the  ma- 
terial and  presentation  (with  the  exception,  on  both 
fronts,  of  the  brisk  Sager-produced  pop  of  "B'Goode  or 
Be  Gone")  are  entirely  lusterless.  [i] 

See  also  Rip  Rig  +  Panic. 


309 


JOWE  HEAD 

See  Swell  Maps. 

(THEE)  HEADCOATS 

See  Thee  Mighty  Caesars. 

HEADLESS  HORSEMEN 

Can't  Help  but  Shake  (Resonance)  1987 
Gotta  Be  Cool  EP  (Resonance)  1 988 

CHRIS  SUCH  AND  HIS 

EP  (Chaos)  1989 

The  Fuzztones  (as,  they  existed  in  NYC)  were  '60s 
garage  snazz  with  a  smirk.  The  Tryfles  were  the  same, 
but  with  reverence.  When  the  two  split  and  melded,  the 
resultant  Headless  Horsemen  began  to  rebuild  a  lost  past 
somewhere  between  the  Flamin  Groovies  and  Easy- 
beats.  Initially  a  trio  overly  inclined  towards  acne-era 
Who,  by  the  time  they  hit  vinyl,  the  re-aligned  Horse- 
men foursome  had  invented  a  more  stylistically  singular 
pop  music,  spanning  quiet  introspection  to  hyperkinetic 
blueball  odes.  Echoing  Green  in  their  Kmksian  roman- 
ticism of  lust  and  longing,  the  Horsemen  also  shuffled 
frontmen  and  moonlighted  occasionally  as  Chris  Such 
and  the  Savages  (incisive  Anglo-rock  esoterica  name), 
playing  spirited  covers  of  familiar  beat  rockers.  Inter- 
estingly, the  Such  EP  was  recorded  and  mixed  in  stereo, 
then  folded  into  mono  by  an  overzealous  label  owner 
striving  for  "authenticity,"  accounting  for  some  odd 
sound  levels.  The  Headless  Horsemen  disbanded  as  the 
decade  turned.  [ah] 

See  also  Fuzztones. 

HEAD  OF  DAVID 

Dogbreath  EP  (nr/Blast  First)  1986 

LP(nr/Blast  First)  1986 

CD  [CD]  (nr/BIast  First)  1 986  * 

The  Saveana  Mixes  EP  (nr/BIast  First)  1987 

Dustbowl  (Blast  First-Dutch  East  India)  1 988  9 

White  Elephant  (nr/BIast  First)  1989  • 

Progenitors  of  Britain's  extremist  grindcore  scene, 
Head  of  David  (who  hail  from  the  industrial  backwater 
of  Dudley,  near  the  Birmingham  birthplace  of  Black 
Sabbath)  may  not  have  been  the  first  band  to  blur  the 
line  between  industrial  music  and  grunge  metal,  but  one 
need  look  no  further  than  their  calculated,  incessant 
pounding  to  witness  its  near  obliteration.  The  virulent 
sterility  of  Dogbreath  suggests  what  Big  Black  might 
have  sounded  like  had  Steve  Albini  been  obsessed  by 
Black  Sabbath's  Paranoid:  an  overwrought  guitar  bar- 
rage and  sinister,  neanderthal  machine  rhythms  (best 
put  to  use  on  a  faithfully  compulsive  cover  of  Suicide's 
"Rocket  USA"). 

LP  (digital  copies,  which  include  Dogbreath' s  four 
tracks,  are  appropriately  dubbed  CD)  is  at  once  more 
minimalist  and  more  selfconsciously  anti-emotional.  It's 
blessedly  easy,  though,  to  ignore  such  stunted,  sub- 
Sonic  Youth  lyrical  fixations  as  "Joyride  Burning  X" 
and  * 'Snuff  Rider  MC"  since  the  dense,  omnivorous 
metalslide  sweeps  up  the  lot  with  fascinating,  twisted 
grace.  Producer  John  Fryer  extracts  more  surprises  from 
the  band's  hermetic  sound  on  the  Saveana  Mixes  EP, 
including  some  noirish  ambience  on  "Adrenicide." 

By  Dustbowl,  Head  of  David  had  removed  most  of 


the  electro-shock  trappings  (except  for  the  devastatingly 
powerful  rhythm  machine)  in  order  to  be  cast  as  tequila- 
swiggin',  Harley-ridin'  zombies  from  the  Planet  Hopper 
Dennis,  that  is.  While  the  psychotic  Americana 
overkill  quickly  surpasses  mere  laughability  on  its  way 
up  the  scale  from  Police  Academy  to  (Monty  Python's) 
Killing  Joke,  Head  of  David  pull  off  the  stiff-limbed 
metal  swagger  with  all  the  necessary  thuggishness.  Once 
again,  production  (this  time  by  Albini  in  the  why  flesh) 
saves  the  day  by  submerging  most  of  the  verbiage.  After 
Dustbowl,  drummer/singer  Justin  Broadrick  (who  had 
been  serving  concurrently  as  the  guitarist  in  Napalm 
Death)  left  to  form  the  even  more  abrasive  Godflesh. 
Head  of  David  pressed  on  as  a  three-piece,  but  hadn't 
issued  any  new  material  by  the  end  of  1990. 

White  Elephant's  eight  tracks  are  drawn  from  a 
pair  of  John  Peel  radio  sessions  ( 1986  and  '87).  [dss] 

See  also  Godflesh,  Napalm  Death. 

TOPPER  HEADON 

See  Clash. 

LAM.F.  (nr/Track)  1977  (nr/Jungle)  1984  ® 

Live  at  Max's  Kansas  City  (Max's  Kansas  City)  1 979 

D.T.K.— Live  at  the  Speakeasy  (nr/Jungle)  1 982 

JOHNNY  THUNDERS  &  THE 
HEARTBREAKERS 

LAM.F.  Revisited  (nr/Jungle)  1984 

D.TX  LAM.F.  (nr/Jungle)  1984  4> 

Live  at  the  Lyceum  Ballroom  1984  (nr/ABC)  1984 

(nr/Receiver)  1 990  ® 

The  New  York  club  circuit's  first  supergroup,  the 
Heartbreakers  originally  (circa  1975)  consisted  of 
ex-NY  Dolls  Johnny  Thunders  (Genzale)  and  Jerry  No- 
lan, ex-Television  bassist  Richard  Hell  and  ex-nothing 
guitarist  Walter  Lure.  Hell  quit  to  go  solo  and  was  re- 
placed (in  only  the  most  technical  sense)  by  Billy  Rath; 
the  band  moved  to  England  and  recorded  a  technically 
disappointing  debut  LP,  L.A.M.F.,  for  Track  Records. 
The  irony  of  that  label's  name  was  not  lost  on  Heart- 
breakers  fans,  who  suspected  that  the  group's  move  to 
Britain  was  motivated  primarily  by  the  UK's  heroin- 
maintenance  program.  So  feeble  was  the  album's  mix 
that  drummer  Jerry  Nolan  actually  quit  over  it,  though 
the  material  itself  shows  the  band  to  be  masters  of  the 
stripped-down,  souped-up  arrangement  later  copied  by 
many  punk  groups. 

The  Heartbreakers  subsequently  returned  to  New 
York,  where  they  performed  an  endless  succession  of 
"farewell"  gigs  with  various  pickup  drummers,  most 
often  Ty  Styx.  One  of  these  shows  was  preserved  for  the 
Live  at  Max's  LP,  an  ultimate  party  record — loud  and 
sloppy  with  lots  of  dirty  talk — and  probably  the  best 
official  document  of  any  local  band  of  the  era. 

In  1982,  a  1977  London  performance  was  sprung 
from  the  vaults  and  released  as  D.T.K. — Live  at  the 
Speakeasy.  Recorded  with  Nolan,  it  presents  the  darker 
side  of  the  ambience  that  pervades  the  Live  at  Max's 
set,  if  only  because  the  band  has  a  more  secure  drum- 
mer. Clearly  the  Johnny  Thunders  show,  the  LP  exposes 
some  incredibly  sloppy  playing,  self-righteous  audience 
baiting  and  a  few  devolved  lyrics  (like  a  reworking  of 


310 


"Can't  Keep  My  Eyes  on  You"  into  "Can't  keep  my 
cock  in  you.") 

Another  live  release — this  one  from  a  March  '84 
show  at  London's  Lyceum — turned  up  a  few  years  later, 
showing  how  far  the  Heartbreakers  had  come  and  how 
little  they  had  changed.  The  program  is  a  full-fledged 
Thunders  retrospective:  the  Dolls'  "Personality  Crisis," 
the  Heartbreakers'  "BornTo(o)  Lo(o)se,"  his  solo  "So 
Alone"  and  a  couple  of  chestnuts  (like  "Pipeline"  and 
"Do  You  Love  Me?")  from  his  youth.  The  show  is  hot 
and  reasonably  coherent,  with  fine  singing  by  JT  and 
Lure;  clear  production  helps  immeasurably. 

In  1984,  Thunders  (assisted  by  Tony  James)  re- 
mixed L.A.M.F.  to  repair  its  miserable  sound,  and  the 
Heartbreakers'  lone  studio  album  was  given  a  much 
improved  and  much-needed  second  life  as  L.A.M.F. 
Revisited.  The  same  label  later  paired  the  remixed 
record  with  the  Speakeasy  live  album,  dubbing  this  max- 
imum punk  package  D.T.K  L.A.M.F. 

The  Heartbreakers  played  a  reunion  show  in  New 
York  in  late  '90;  Thunders  died  in  April  1991.  [jw/i] 

See  also  Richard  Hell,  New  York  Dolls,  Sex  Pistols, 
Television,  Johnny  Thunders. 

HEART  THROBS 

Cleopatra  Grip  (Elektra)  1990  « 

Playing  gutsy  girls'n'guitars  rock-pop,  the  Heart 
Throbs — a  quintet  from  Reading,  England — have  a  nifty 
melodic  sound  that  ages  the  Primitives  from  adoles- 
cence into  young-adulthood.  The  Heart  Throbs  win 
brownie  points  by  resisting  the  temptation  to  add  what 
would  be  trendy  but  superfluous  J&M  Chain-styled 
noise.  Guitarist  Rose  Carlotti  (augmented  by  her  bass- 
playing  sister,  Rachel)  gives  the  songs  a  strong  vocal 
personality;  the  band's  three  male  members  underpin 
the  dynamic,  full-bodied  arrangements  with  a  mid- 
Atlantic  stylistic  accent  that  occasionally  recalls  Holly 
and  the  Italians.  Richly  produced  by  Gil  Norton,  about 
half  of  Cleopatra  Grip  is  as  good  as  any  likeminded 
group  around  (we're  talking  total  decimation  of  Trans- 
vision  Vamp,  Voice  of  the  Beehive,  Darling  Buds, 
etc.).  "Tossed  Away,"  "Dreamtime"  and  "Here  I 
Hide"  all  show  a  real  intuitive  sense  for  what  makes  a 
good  pop  tune  memorable.  But  not  all  of  the  songs  hit 
the  same  sublime  nirvana;  while  the  band  puts  on  a  bold 
face  for  this  debut  album,  too  often  they  sound  like  they 
haven't  got  a  clue  what  to  do.  And  someone  really  needs 
to  help  these  guys  with  lyrics,  which  run  from  fine  to 
completely  awful.  [i] 

HEAVEN  17 

Penthouse  and  Pavement  (nr/B.E.F.-Virgin)  1981  • 

Heaven  17  (Arista)  1982 

The  Luxury  Gap  (Virgin-Arista)  1 983  « 

How  Men  Are  (Virgin-Arista)  1 984  • 

Endless  (nr/virgin)  1 986  <!> 

Pleasure  One  (Virgin)  1 986  « 

Teddy  Bear,  Duke  &  Psycho  (nr/Virgin)  1988 

(Virgin-Caroline)  1989* 

After  disproving  all  accusations  of  synthesizers  as 
limited  vehicles  of  expression,  the  British  Electric 
Foundation — a  multifarious  offshoot  of  the  Human 
League — got  their  Heaven  17  alter-ego  underway  with 


Penthouse  and  Pavement.  Lyrically,  the  album  ranges 
from  silly  to  exciting;  musically,  it's  an  almost  flawless 
blend  of  funk  and  electronics,  highlighted  by  the  pres- 
surized new-dance  fever  of  "(We  Don't  Need  This) 
Fascist  Groove  Thang." 

The  American  Heaven  17  release  deletes  three 
tracks  from  Penthouse  and  Pavement  and  replaces 
them  with  the  top-notch  pop  soul  of  "Let  Me  Go"  and 
"Who  Will  Stop  the  Rain,"  both  from  the  UK  edition 
of  The  Luxury  Gap.  (The  American  release  of  that 
album  swapped  them  for  two  of  the  three  tracks  omit- 
ted from  Heaven  17.)  In  all  of  its  incarnations,  The 
Luxury  Gap  contains  "Crushed  by  the  Wheels  of  In- 
dustry," "Temptation"  and  "We  Live  So  Fast,"  all 
stellar  examples  of  Heaven  17's  chartbound  craftsman- 
ship: catchy,  toe-tapping  dance-pop  with  horns,  guitars 
and  an  orchestra  providing  musical  depth  behind 
Ian  Craig  Marsh  and  Martyn  Ware's  synthesizers. 
Glenn  Gregory's  gruff  vocals  aren't  immediately  mel- 
lifluous, but  they  suit  the  material  and  ambience  per- 
fectly. 

With  B.E.F.  the  Concept  falling  onto  the  scrapheap 
of  progress,  Heaven  17  (named  for  an  LP  cover  pictured 
in  A  Clockwork  Orange)  made  a  third  album,  graced 
with  another  awful  cover  painting.  How  Men  Are  fea- 
tures an  expanding  cast  of  musicians  and  concomitant 
sprawl — "And  That's  No  Lie"  runs  over  ten  tedious 
minutes!  The  LP  has  a  few  lively  cuts — "This  Is  Mine" 
and  "Sunset  Now"  in  particular — but  is  otherwise  over- 
blown, indulgent  and  excessive. 

Endless  is  a  poshly  packaged,  limited-edition, 
career-spanning  retrospective  issued  originally  on  cas- 
sette but  later  offered  on  CD.  Besides  such  essentials 
as  "(We  Don't  Need  This)  Fascist  Groove  Thang," 
"Crushed  by  the  Wheels  of  Industry,"  "Let  Me  Go" 
and  "We  Live  So  Fast,"  the  collection  includes  a 
"Heaven  17  Megamix"  medley  and  an  alternate  ver- 
sion of  "Let's  All  Make  a  Bomb"  (from  either  the 
first  or  second  album,  depending  on  your  national  ori- 
entation). The  tape  has  four  additional  selections,  in- 
cluding "Play  to  Win"  and  a  new  recording  of  "Song 
with  No  Name." 

Pleasure  One,  recorded  in  various  studios  over  a 
seventeen-month  (hmmm  .  .  .)  span,  uses  scads  of 
guest  musicians  and  vocalists  to  flesh  out  an  accessible 
collection  of  upbeat  dance  numbers  held  to  almost  rea- 
sonable song  lengths.  (Interestingly,  at  this  juncture,  the 
stylistic  gap  between  Heaven  17  and  the  Human  League 
has  never  been  narrower.)  "Contenders,"  "Trouble" 
and  "Free"  are  the  strongest  tracks. 

Incapable  of  any  further  innovation,  and  with  the 
novelty  of  soul-styled  electronic  dance  music  having 
long  since  worn  off,  Heaven  17  (like  their  former  mates 
in  Human  League)  reached  the  late  '80s  lacking  a  strong 
identity:  too  many  bands  sound  like  this  now.  Despite 
the  trio's  efforts  to  tart  things  up  with  incongruity  (heavy 
rock  guitar,  Barry  White  mush,  pseudo-jazz,  wailing 
blues  harp),  Teddy  Bear,  Duke  &  Psycho  keeps  re- 
turning to  the  chattering  funky  bounce  and  schmaltzy 
strings  of  every  other  H17  record.  When  Gregory  isn't 
crooning  arch  love  songs,  the  lyrics  moralize  about  tele- 
vision, self-reliance,  personal  freedom  and  war.  Hey 
everybody,  let's  party  like  it's  1984!  [sg/i] 

See  also  British  Electric  Foundation,  Human 
League. 


311 


HECTOR 

See  Flying  Color. 


&  THE 

Richard  He!l  EP  (Ork)  1976 
Blank  Generation  (Sire)  1977  +  1990  • 
Richard  Hell/Neon  Boys  EP  (Shake)  1980 
Destiny  Street  {Red  Star)  1982  (nr/ID)  1988  © 
Funhunt  [tape]  (ROSR)  1990 

RIP.  [tape]  (ROIR)  1984  [CD]  (ROIR-Important)  1990  <!> 

With  his  fierce  poetic  nihilism,  Richard  Hell  embod- 
ied and  helped  set  the  initial  style  for  '70s  punk  rock.  He 
founded  the  Neon  Boys  with  Tom  Verlaine  in  1971; 
several  years  later,  they  changed  the  name  to  Televi- 
sion. He  co-founded  the  Heartbreakers  with  Johnny 
Thunders,  thereby  injecting  a  poetic  intelligence  into 
mindless  self-destruction,  and  went  solo  as  a  venerable 
figure  before  most  future  new  wave  stars  had  even 
formed  a  band.  Malcolm  McLaren  used  Hell's  mode  of 
dress  as  the  prototype  for  punk  style. 

Employing  the  double  guitar  threat  of  Ivan  Julian  and 
Robert  Quine  (later  a  Lou  Reed  sideman)  and  drummer 
Marc  Bell  (a  former  member  of  the  horrifying  Dust  who 
departed  to  become  Marky  Ramone  for  several  years), 
Hell  formed  the  Voidoids,  whose  unwavering  individu- 
alism kept  the  group  out  of  the  big  time  while  producing 
a  demanding  and  impressive  corpus  of  work.  "I  was  say- 
ing let  me  out  of  here  before  I  was  even  born,"  opens 
Hell's  masterpiece,  "(I  Belong  to  the)  Blank  Genera- 
tion," on  the  7-inch  Richard  Hell  EP,  which  also  in- 
cludes "Another  World"  and  "You  Gotta  Lose." 

That  lyric  sums  up  Hell's  attitude,  which  he  ex- 
panded and  perfected  on  Blank  Generation  with  a 
new  version  of  the  title  track  and  such  powerful  state- 
ments as  "Love  Comes  in  Spurts"  (an  old  tune  the 
Heartbreakers  recycled  into  "One  Track  Mind")  and 
"New  Pleasure."  The  album  combines  manic  William 
Burroughs-influenced  poetry  and  raw-edged  music  for 
the  best  rock  presentation  of  nihilism  and  existential 
angst  ever.  Hell's  voice,  fluctuating  from  groan  to 
shriek,  is  more  impassioned  and  expressive  than  a  le- 
gion of  Top  40  singers.  (Besides  solid  liner  notes,  the 
1990  CD  adds  two  tracks — "I'm  Your  Man,"  a 
non-LP  B-side  from  '79,  and  "All  the  Way,"  a  Sina- 
tra cover  done  for  the  Smithereens  soundtrack — and 
substitutes  an  inferior  alternate  version  of  "Down  at 
the  Rock  and  Roll  Club.") 

After  a  gap  of  three  years  (during  which  Hell  issued 
only  one  single,  produced  by  Nick  Lowe),  the  7-inch 
Richard  Hell/Neon  Boys  appeared,  featuring  grimly 
touching  songs  by  the  modern  Voidoids  on  one  side  and 
old  demos  by  the  Neon  Boys  on  the  other. 

Destiny  Street  shows  a  more  contemplative  Hell, 
with  even  sharper  imagery  and  guitar  work  (again  cour- 
tesy of  the  stunning  and  underrated  Robert  Quine)  and 
expressively  painted  poetry.  Supported  by  Fred  Maher's 
crisp  drumming  and  produced  with  little  fanfare  by  Alan 
Betrock,  Hell  offers  a  second  version  of  "The  Kid  with 
the  Replaceable  Head"  (first  heard  on  the  '78  Lowe- 
helmed  single),  "Destiny  Street"  and  covers  of  Them's 
"I  Can  Only  Give  You  Everything"  (okay),  the  Kinks' 
"I  Gotta  Move"  (good)  and  Dylan's  "Going  Going 


Gone"  (great).  Ruthless  yet  touchingly  romantic,  Rich- 
ard Hell  may  be  rock's  last  real  visionary. 

A  re"sum6  of  Hell's  post-Television  decade,  from  his 
1975  days  with  the  Heartbreakers  through  1984  sessions 
in  New  Orleans,  R.I.P.  is  inevitably  his  least  polished 
and  most  inconsistent  work,  which  may  be  why  it  sums 
up  his  style  so  well.  Neither  as  mannered  as  his  first  LP 
nor  as  professional  as  his  second,  this  collection  show- 
cases his  most  uninhibited  singing  on  retreads,  live  takes 
and  previously  unissued  material.  The  liner  notes 
(signed  with  the  artist's  real  name — Lester  Meyers)  de- 
scribe the  tape  as  Richard  Hell's  swansong,  but  he  did 
begin  playing  out  again,  with  a  short-lived  new  band,  a 
few  months  after  its  release. 

Despite  shitty  sound  quality,  the  live  performances 
(from  '78,  '79  and  '85)  on  Fimhiint  are  totally  worth 
hearing  and  occasionally  extraordinary.  Three  different 
sets  of  Voidoids  (including  an  otherwise  undocumented 
lineup  with  Jody  Harris  and  Anton  Fier)  follow  Hell 
through  enthusiastic  renditions  of  his  own  best  tunes  and 
such  surprising  borrowings  as  the  Stones'  "I'm  Free" 
and  Jimi  Hendrix's  "Crosstown  Traffic."  [sg/mf/i] 

See  also  Heartbreakers,  Robert  Quine,  Ramones, 
Lou  Reed,  Television. 

HELLMENN 

Herbal  Lunacy  EP  {Aus,  Waterfront)  1 987 

Bastard  Sons  of  1 0,000  Maniacs  EP  (Aus.  Waterfront) 

1988 
Mourning  of  the  Earth  (Aus.  Waterfront)  1 990 

Early  on,  these  representatives  of  the  rowdy  Sydney 
surf-punk  crowd  showed  only  glimmerings  of  ability 
that  might  lift  them  above  the  garage-grunge  mass — and 
oh,  those  inane  lyrics!  On  the  LP,  a  lot  of  the  audible 
words  are  still  dopey  (one  decent  set  are  borrowed  from 
someone  else's  poem).  Yet  the  band  also  shows  some 
real  melodic  strength  as  they  add  folk-rock  and  other 
musical  elements  to  their  now-potent  noise-rock.  Too 
bad  screamer  Ben  Brown  can't  sing;  the  more  demand- 
ing the  song,  the  worse  he  sounds.  [jg] 

HELMET 

See  Band  of  Susans. 

NONA  HENDRYX 

Nona  (RCA)  1983 

The  Art  of  Defense  (RCA)  1 984 

The  Heat  (RCA)  1985 

Female  Trouble  (EMI  America)  1 987  • 

SkinDiver  (Private  Music)  1 989  * 

Following  a  mainstream  hard-rock  solo  album  in  the 
'70s,  ex-Labelle  singer  Hendryx  upped  her  hipness  quo- 
tient considerably  in  the  '80s.  Co-produced  by  Material, 
Nona  features  an  all-star  cast  of  Talking  Heads  and 
Go-Go's,  as  well  as  Laurie  Anderson,  Nile  Rodgers, 
Jamaaladeen  Tacuma  and  Sly  Dunbar.  The  dance-funk 
is,  unfortunately,  more  stimulating  on  paper  than  disc; 
Hendryx  is  a  powerful  singer  and  there  are  some  slick 
production  moves,  but  the  tunes  (with  the  exception  of 
the  memorable  "Keep  It  Confidential")  are  too  shape- 
less to  be  gripping. 

On  The  Art  of  Defense,  again  teamed  with  Material 
(as  well  as  much  of  the  preceding  LP's  cast,  plus  Afrika 


312 


Bambaataa  and  Eddie  Martinez),  Hendryx  sings  seven 
long  songs  about  passion  with  passion,  obliterating  any 
possible  emotional  impact  with  numbing  one-note,  one- 
beat  repetition.  Technically  excellent  and  funky  as  hell, 
the  album  is  also  boring  beyond  words. 

Produced  in  large  part  by  Bernard  Edwards  and 
Arthur  Baker,  The  Heat  is  a  lot  better.  The  songs — 
more  melody,  less  bombast — take  maximum  advantage 
of  the  musical  interplay  possible  with  electronic  percus- 
sion and  studio  wizardry.  Hendryx  evidently  still  be- 
lieves that  any  line  worth  singing  is  worth  singing  half 
a  dozen  times,  but  the  well-arranged,  muscular  backing 
tracks  keep  moving,  so  things  don't  wind  down — even 
when  she  drills  a  lyric  into  the  ground.  "If  Looks  Could 
Kill  (D.O.A.)"  is  a  return  to  her  soul  roots;  Keith  Ri- 
chards guests  on  "Rock  This  House,"  providing  trade- 
mark rhythm  riffing  that  fits  just  right. 

Sounding  in  spots  very  much  like  Peter  Gabriel's 
So  album,  Female  Trouble — dedicated  to  Winnie 
Mandela — is  another  unpredictable  jumble  of  styles 
(synth-dance,  rock,  Prince-like  funk,  etc.),  songwrit- 
ers, producers  (mainly  Hendryx,  Dan  Hartman  and  the 
System)  and  guest  musicians.  Hendryx's  irrepressible 
full-throttle  approach  makes  this  an  invigorating  blast,  a 
tough-minded  party  record  about  sex  and  sexual  poli- 
tics. 

After  four  studio  free-for-alls,  Hendryx  finally 
grabbed  the  reins  of  creative  responsibility  on  Skin- 
Diver,  making  a  concerted  effort  to  focus  her  music  in 
one  direction  for  a  change.  Co-producing  with  Private 
Music  boss  (and  Tangerine  Dream-er)  Peter  Baumann, 
Hendryx  wrote  the  material,  played  synthesizer  and  did 
all  the  dram  programs.  Following  the  Gabrielesque  path 
introduced  on  Female  Trouble,  the  songs  on  this  re- 
strained, atmospheric  and  frequently  alluring  album 
float  along  as  if  in  a  dream  state;  dispensing  with  the 
kinetic  power  and  diversity  of  Hendryx's  previous  LPs, 
the  masterful  SkinDiver  reveals  substantially  more  per- 
sonal artistry.  [i] 


JOE  HENRY 

Talk  of  Heaven  (Profile)  1986 

Murder  of  Crows  (Coyote-A&M)  1 989  » 

Shuffletown  (Coyote-A&M)  1 990  4> 

While  there  has  been  substantial  support  for  modern 
folk  music  at  the  grass-roots  level,  singer/songwriters 
who  aren't  folkies  and  don't  play  any  identifiable  brand 
of  rock  or  pop  are  still  something  of  an  anomaly  in  the 
post-punk  world.  Produced  by  Anton  Fier  and  backed 
by  a  bunch  of  old-time  rock  stars  (ex-Rolling  Stone 
Mick  Taylor,  ex-Allman  Brother  Chuck  Leavell), 
singer/guitarist  Henry  makes  an  intelligent  but  charac- 
terless showing  on  Murder  of  Crows,  a  record  whose 
solid  material  and  styleless  performances  are  as  unas- 
sailable as  they  are  unmemorable. 

Produced  by  T-Bone  Burnett  and  recorded  live- 
to-two-track  in  a  brief  studio  session  with  more 
sympathetic  players,  the  acoustic  Shuffletown  is  im- 
measurably better,  a  poetic  statement  whose  evocative 
power  and  casual  instrumental  excellence  recalls  prime 
Van  Morrison.  Henry  proves  himself  here  to  be  a  real 
singer,  filling  his  plain  voice  with  confident  power  and 
conveying  the  haunted  power  of  someone  who  truly 
feels  his  lyrics.  ffl 


Legend  (Virgin)  1973  (Red)  1979  [CD]  (East  Side  Digital) 

1991  ® 
Unrest  (nr/Virgin)  1974  (Red)  1974  [CD]  (East  Side 

Digital)  1991  • 
Concerts  (nr/Caroline)  1 976 
Western  Culture  (nr/Broadcast)  1979  (nr/Recommended) 

1980® 

Desperate  Straights  {nr/VSrgin}  1 975  (nr/Recommended) 

1982 
in  Praise  of  Learning  (nr/Virgin}  1975  (Red)  1979  [CD] 

(East  Side  Digital)  1 991  • 

ART 

Hopes  and  Fears  (Random  Radar)  1978 
Winter  Songs  (Ralph)  1979 
The  World  as  It  Is  Today  (nr/Re)  1 981 
Winter  Songs/The  World  as  It  U  Today  [CD] 
(nr/Recommended)  1987  ® 

FRED  FRITH/CHRIS  CUTLER 

Live  in  Prague  and  Washington  (nr/Re)  1 983 
Live  in  Moscow,  Prague  and  Washington  [CD] 
(nr/Recommended)  1 990  ® 

Sirens  and  Silences/Work  Resumed  on  the  Tower  (nr/Re) 

1984® 
Letters  Home  (nr/Re)  1 986  ® 

DAGMAR  KRAUSE 

Supply  &  Demand  (Hannibal)  1 986  ® 

Tank  Battles  (nr/Antilles  New  Directions)  1988  ® 

Lumpy  Gravy-era  Zappa,  free  jazz,  early  King 
Crimson,  serial  music — Henry  Cow  (the  group's  name 
is  a  truncation  of  American  composer  Henry  Cowell) 
brought  all  of  these  influences  to  bear  on  its  early  music. 
Coming  together  at  Cambridge  University,  these  tal- 
ented British  composers/multi-instrumentalists  (fore- 
most among  them  guitarist/violinist  Fred  Frith,  who  has 
since  become  a  new  music  capo  in  New  York,  and 
drummer/noisemaker  Chris  Cutler,  who  has  a  sound  like 
no  other  percussionist  in  rock)  could  seem  at  times  less 
a  rock  band  than  a  contemporary  chamber  ensemble. 

The  group's  first  LP,  known  as  Legend  in  the  UK 
and  just  Henry  Cow  in  the  States,  is  an  admirable  if 
somewhat  impersonal  and  occasionally  thin  statement  of 
purpose.  Skillfully  arranged  and  very  well  played,  it 
nevertheless  at  times  displays  an  awkward  rigidity  when 
it  means  to  be  bitingly  austere.  Humor,  such  as  it  is, 
shows  up  only  in  the  titles  ("Teenbeat"  and  "Nirvana 
for  Mice").  And  GeofT  Leigh's  anemic  sax  playing — 
when  he  tries  to  really  "blow,"  you  feel  like  calling  an 
ambulance — gives  the  record  an  overly  attenuated  feel. 
(The  BSD  CD  of  Legend  has  two  extra  tracks.) 

The  first  side  of  Unrest,  where  Leigh  is  replaced  by 
bassoon/oboe  player  Lindsay  Cooper,  is  a  substantial 
improvement,  and  contains  some  of  the  most  full-bodied 
music  Cow  ever  put  on  record.  Cooper's  sound  steers 
the  group  away  from  the  American  jazz  influence  and 
grounds  it  more  solidly  in  European  art  music,  where  a 
better  time  is  had  by  all.  The  band's  unique  wit  and 
invention  are  on  full  display  here,  from  the  audacious 
Yardbirds  deconstruction  ("Bittern  Storm  Over  Ulm") 
to  the  somber  starkness  of  "Ruins."  Side  Two  presents 


313 


the  band's  first  (unfortunate)  foray  into  the  realm  of 
muslque  concrete  and,  while  not  entirely  worthless,  isn't 
nearly  as  compelling  as  the  three  superior  compositions 
that  comprise  Side  One.  (The  ESD  CD  adds  two  bonus 
outtakes  from  the  same  sessions.) 

While  Henry  Cow  really  had  nothing  in  common 
with  Slapp  Happy  (other  than  an  utter  lack  of  commer- 
cial recognition  and  some  related  hipness  in  certain  cir- 
cles), the  two  bands — both  then  signed  to  Virgin — 
joined  forces.  Dialectical  Marxists  that  they  were,  the 
Cow  people  figured  that  a  merger  with  their  dissimilar 
labelmates  would  create  a  unique  synthesis.  (Or  so  they 
told  the  music  press  at  the  time — insiders  suggest  that 
the  band  really  just  wanted  to  poach  vocalist  Dagmar 
Krause).  The  union's  first  fruit,  the  predominantly 
Happy  Desperate  Straights,  is  a  hit-and-miss  affair  that 
boasts  some  really  stunning  high  points,  including  the 
brooding  "Bad  Alchemy"  (the  first  collaboration  be- 
tween Slapp  Happy  guitarist  Peter  Blegvad  and  then- 
Cow  bassist  John  Greaves;  their  subsequent  work 
together  has  also  been  outstanding). 

Cow  dominated  In  Praise  of  Learning,  which  ini- 
tially seems  like  another  great  A-side/lousy  B-side  deal, 
but  proves  far  more  problematic  than  that.  The  first  side 
contains  just  two  cuts:  Anthony  Moore/Peter  Blegvad' s 
"War,"  which  melds  music  worthy  of  Kurt  Weill  to 
some  witty,  bitter  Blegvad  mythologizing,  and  Cow 
keyboardist  Tim  Hodgkinson's  "Living  in  the  Heart  of 
the  Beast,"  a  musical  magnificence  nearly  sunk  by  its 
lyrics.  It's  not  that  the  political  analysis  is  way  off  base, 
but  concepts  this  cerebral  defy  the  anthemic  spirit  the 
band  so  clearly  wants  to  evoke.  Nice  try,  but  basically 
a  longwinded  preach  to  the  most  likely  converted.  The 
otherwise  excellent  "Beautiful  as  the  Moon-Terrible  as 
an  Army  with  Banners"  (sandwiched  between  two  dull 
"free"  pieces)  suffers  from  pretty  much  the  same  prob- 
lem. (The  ESD  CD  has  an  added  track.) 

That  much- vaunted  Marxist  synthesis  failed  to  ma- 
terialize; instead,  the  tensions  among  the  various  players 
broke  up  Slapp  Happy,  and  Henry  Cow  ended  up  with 
Krause  after  all.  This  Cow  lineup  would  not  endure,  but 
survived  long  enough  to  perform  the  gigs  that  make  up 
the  Concerts  double  LP.  Side  One  is  a  beautifully  ren- 
dered song  cycle,  framed  by  "Beautiful  as  the  Moon" 
and  featuring  a  couple  of  previously  unrecorded  num- 
bers; Side  Two  features  Robert  Wyatt  ducting  with 
Krause  on  "Bad  Alchemy"  and  Ms  own  "Little  Red 
Riding  Hood  Hits  the  Road,"  as  well  as  an  unessential 
rendition  of  Unrest's  "Ruins";  the  second  disc  contains 
group  improvs  of  varying  success.  This  was  effectively 
the  last  of  Henry  Cow;  while  the  band  regrouped  in  1978 
(sans  Dagmar)  to  record  the  superb  Western  Culture — 
its  most  chamber-like  effort  ever,  comprising  two  side- 
long instrumental  compositions  by  Cooper  and  Hodgkin- 
son — the  band's  days  as  a  performing  unit  were  through. 

Cutler,  Fnth  and  Krause  continued  to  record  as  the 
Art  Bears.  More  song-based  than  Henry  Cow  ever  was, 
the  Art  Bears  melded  Cow's  leftist  politics  with  a  per- 
sonal sense  of  despair  that  deepened  over  the  span  of 
three  albums — pretty  impressive  considering  that  Hopes 
and  Fears'  first  song  is  Brecht/Eisler's  "On  Suicide." 
All  three  records  are  bracing,  involving,  original  works; 
Frith 's  composing  is  trenchant  in  any  number  of  song 
idioms,  and  lyricist  Cutler  is  equally  effective  at  oblique 
poeticizing  (many  of  Winter  Songs'  lyrics  are  allego- 


ries based  on  friezes  in  the  Amiens  Cathedral)  and  direct 
observation  (The  World  as  It  Is  Today  is  a  plainspo- 
ken  depiction  of  the  nightmare  of  capitalism).  The 
instrumentation  and  production — often  involving  back- 
wards and  off-speed  recording,  both  Frith  and  Cutler 
intent  on  exploiting  the  possibilities  of  the  studio  as  a 
compositional  tool — are  first  rate. 

When  Frith  (by  this  point  residing  in  New  York) 
decided  to  concentrate  on  his  Stateside  musical  activi- 
ties, Cutler  and  Krause  enlisted  two  instrumentalists — 
Lindsay  Cooper  (who  also  took  over  composing  chores) 
and  harpist/accordionist  Zeena  Parkins — to  form  News 
from  Babel.  Even  more  introspective  than  the  Art  Bears, 
News  from  Babel's  songs  tackled  modern  alienation 
from  a  dour,  skewed  angle  but  occasionally  let  in  a 
glimmer  of  hope;  witness  Work  Resumed  on  the  Tow- 
er's  "Anno  Mirabilis."  Robert  Wyatt's  vocals  domi- 
nate the  band's  second  album,  Letters  Home.  Both 
records  are  worthy  efforts,  but  since  Cooper  isn't  as 
much  of  a  sonic  adventurer  as  Frith,  they  lack  the  edgy 
daring  of  the  Art  Bears'  best. 

In  the  mid-to-late  '80s,  Krause  recorded  albums  of 
songs  by  two  composers  some  believe  she  was  born  to 
sing — Brecht/ Weill  (Supply  &  Demand)  and  Harms 
Eisler  (Tank  Battles).  Hodgkinson  and  Cooper  have 
released  solo  LPs  (much  of  the  latter 's  work  has  been  in 
film  soundtracks),  and  Cooper  and  Cutler  spent  time  in 
David  Thomas'  band.  The  seemingly  inexhaustible  Cut- 
ler has  also  been  running  the  exemplary,  adventurous 
Recommended  label  (which  put  out  a  nifty,  noisy  set  of 
Frith/Cutler  improvs  in  1983,  later  reissuing  it  on  CD 
with  a  lengthy  1989  performance  recorded  in  the  Soviet 
Union)  since  the  late  '70s;  he  wound  up  in  Pere  Ubu 
when  that  band  relaunched  itself  in  1987.  [gk] 

See  also  Peter  Blegvad,  Fred  Frith,  John  Greaves, 
Material,  Anthony  More,  Skeleton  Crew,  David  Tho- 
mas. 

HERRERA  &  THE  HANDOUTS 

See  Cheepskates. 

HE  SAID 

See  Dome. 

HETCH  HETCHY 

See  Oh-OK. 

BOO  HEWERDiNE  AND 
DARDEN  SMITH 

See  Bible. 

HEX 

Hex  (First  Warning)  1989  (First  Waming-Rykodisc) 

1990« 
Vast  Halos  (First  Warning-Rykodisc)  1 990  « 

JACK  FROST 

Jack  Frost  (Arista)  1991  • 

Evidently  unable  to  sate  his  creative  impulses  with 
the  Church  and  his  solo  career,  the  multi-talented  Steve 
Kilbey  formed  a  side  group  with  Donnette  Thayer,  late 
of  Game  Theory.  On  Hex,  he  uses  modest  portions  of 


314 


guitar,  keyboards  and  percussion  to  sketch  out  light, 
ambient  backing  for  her  airy  vocal  excursions.  Poised 
dangerously  close  to  the  brink  of  arty/poetic  vagueness, 
the  duo  manages  to  stay  on  terra  firma  for  most  of  the 
record,  holding  track  lengths  to  sustainable  limits  and 
structuring  material  so  that  it  flows  rather  than  drifts. 

Recorded  with  a  drummer,  Vast  Halos  takes  an  en- 
tirely different  approach:  full-bodied  arrangements  of 
clear-cut  songs  with  layers  of  Thayer's  multi-tracked 
harmonies.  More  accessible  but  less  distinctive  than  the 
first  album,  Vast  Halos  resembles  a  toned-down  Church 
record  with  a  different  singer  as  well  as  a  suave  (post- 
paisley?)  successor  to  California  flower-pop. 

With  one  side  group  underway,  Kilbey  launched  an- 
other, with  Grant  McLennan,  late  of  the  Go-Betweens. 
Joined  by  a  drummer  and  string  and  horn  players,  the 
two  share  vocals,  guitar  and  bass  (overachiever  Kilbey 
also  plays  keyboards  and  drums)  on  Jack  Frost,  a  fine 
collection  of  collaborative  originals  that  don't  so  much 
add  their  individual  styles  as  cross  them  in  various  ways, 
from  acoustic  duo  folk  ("Civil  War  Lament," 
"Thought  That  I  Was  Over  You")  to  suave  and  moody 
electro-pop  ("Threshold")  to  noise-flecked  rock  ("Ev- 
ery Hour  God  Sends")  to  eerie  atmospherics  ("Number 
Eleven").  The  CD  adds  a  song.  [i] 

See  also  Church,  Game  Theory,  Go-Betweens. 

RICHARD  X.  HEYMAN 

Actual  Size  EP  (N.R.  World)  1 986 

Living  Room!!  (N.R.  World)  1988  (Cypress)  1990  • 

Hey  Man!  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1 991  <f> 

With  some  minor  assistance,  multi-talented  New 
York  power-popper  Heyman  does  it  all — vocals,  gui- 
tars, keyboards,  drums,  etc. — on  his  six-song  EP  and 
sparkling  debut  album  (an  impressive  8-track  home- 
brew job  which  was  remixed  and  slightly  resequenced 
for  reissue  with  a  new  cover).  Despite  the  closeted  solo 
environment,  Heyman' s  music — a  smoothly  accom- 
plished and  undated  collection  of  tuneful  styles — is 
warmly  realized  in  well-written  songs  filled  with  sub- 
tlety (like  the  typewriter  on  "Local  Paper")  rather  than 
eccentricity.  [i] 

NICK  HEYWARD 

See  Haircut  One  Hundred. 

JOHN  HIATT 

Hangin'  Around  the  Observatory  (Epic)  1 974  • 

Overcoats  (Epic)  1975 

Slug  Line  (MCA)  1979 

Two  Bit  Monsters  (MCA)  1 980 

All  of  a  Sudden  (Geffen)  1982 

Riding  with  the  King  (Geffen)  1983  +  1989 

Warming  Up  to  the  Ice  Age  (Geffen)  1 985  +  1 989 

Bring  the  Family  (A&M)  1 987  • 

Slow  Turning  (A&M)  1988* 

Y'AII  Caught?  The  Ones  That  Got  Away  1 979-1 985 

(Geffen)  1 989  • 
Stolen  Moments  (A&M)  1990  • 

After  recording  an  unnoticed  pair  of  promising  but 
stylistically  confused  Nashville  country-soul-rock- 
gospel-singer-songwriter  albums — Hangin'  Around 
the  Observatory  (really  good)  and  Overcoats  (a  bit 


bland),  which  tip  a  hat  to  everyone  from  Bob  Dylan  to 
Al  Green,  Leon  Russell  to  Billy  Joel — Indiana's  John 
Hiatt  exploded  onto  the  new  wave  scene  in  1979,  a 
fiercely  original  soul-inflected  rock  character  likened  to 
Elvis  Costello,  Graham  Parker  and  Joe  Jackson,  but 
wholly  his  own  man.  Despite  their  underwhelming  com- 
mercial success,  all  of  his  albums  testify  to  an  excep- 
tional talent,  both  as  a  much-covered  songwriter  and  as 
an  intense,  emotional  performer. 

SMg  Line  is  Hiatt' s  rawest  and  most  powerful  LP, 
with  appropriately  rudimentary  production  highlighting 
dynamic  playing  on  a  full  set  of  angry  songs.  Drawing 
with  genuine  conviction  on  both  reggae  and  fiery  R&B 
styles,  Hiatt  invests  "Madonna  Road,"  "You're  My 
Love  Interest,"  "The  Negroes  Were  Dancing"  and 
other  tracks  with  bitterness,  insightful  intelligence  and 
occasional  tenderness,  making  it  a  stunning  work  by  an 
exciting  artist. 

Two  Bit  Monsters  essentially  repeats  Slug  Line's 
style,  but  with  less  bite.  Several  tunes  ("Back  to  Nor- 
mal," "Good  Girl,  Bad  World,"  "String  Pull  Job") 
are  comparably  impressive,  but  the  album  is  less  fo- 
cused and  nearly  haphazard,  Hiatt' s  venom  sears 
through,  but  it's  not  his  best  work. 

Tony  Visconti  produced  AM  of  a  Sudden,  sympa- 
thetically if  incongruously  displaying  the  songs  in  a 
complex,  highly  arranged  setting  that  works  to  good 
advantage  most  of  the  time.  Amid  a  nod  to  rockabilly 
("Doll  Hospital")  and  a  dose  of  Motown  ("Getting 
Excited"),  excellent  songs  like  "Something  Happens" 
and  "I  Look  for  Love' '  get  filtered  once  through  Hiatt's 
expanding  musical  sensibilities  and  then  through  Vis- 
conti's  synth-rocking  Bowieness,  making  it  a  strange 
collision  of  seemingly  irreconcilable  styles. 

Hiatt's  bumpy  career  subsequently  brought  him  into 
contact  with  Nick  Lowe  and  Lowe's  manager,  Jake  Riv- 
iera The  former  produced  and  led  the  backing  band  on 
one  side  of  Riding  with  the  King;  the  latter  loaned  an 
eye-popping  motorcycle  for  the  front  cover  photo  The 
record's  other  side  was  produced  by  Scott  Matthews  and 
Ron  Nagle;  Matthews  and  Hiatt  are  the  only  musicians 
on  those  tracks.  Although  it  may  be  down  to  the  allot- 
ment of  material,  Lowe  comes  up  the  loser;  on  his  side, 
Hiatt  affects  a  languid  swamp  sound  that  doesn't  convey 
much  excitement.  He  comes  alive  only  for  such 
Matthews/Nagle-produced  tracks  as  "Death  by  Misad- 
venture," "Say  It  with  Flowers"  and  "I  Don't  Even 
Try,"  prime  songs  given  modest  but  appealing  treat- 
ment. 

Veteran  mush-rock  producer  Norbert  Putnam  got  the 
nod  for  Wanning  Up  to  the  Ice  Age.  On  the  first  track, 
"The  Usual,"  he  smothers  Hiatt  in  raucous  heavy  metal 
guitars  and  arena-scale  drums;  fortunately,  that's  not  the 
only  sound  on  this  weird  record,  which  also  contains  a 
great  soul  duet  with  Elvis  Costello  ("Living  a  Little, 
Laughing  a  Little"),  an  emotion-laden  ballad  ("When 
We  Ran")  and  other  typically  on-the-mark  slices  of 
Hiatt's  cynical  viewpoint  ("She  Said  the  Same  Things 
to  Me,"  "Number  One  Honest  Game").  The  mix  is 
consistently  too  rock-oriented — these  aren't  dance 
tracks,  for  crying  out  loud! — but  Hiatt's  subtle  vocals 
keep  things  in  balance.  (Footnote:  "The  Usual"  resur- 
faced a  few  years  later,  sung  by  Bob  Dylan  and  rocker 
Fiona  in  the  movie  Hearts  of  Fire.) 

Hiatt's  career  was  going  nowhere  fast  and  his  per- 


315 


sonal  life  was  no  picnic,  either.  Luckily,  for  his  next 
outing  (and  label),  Hiatt  hit  on  a  far  more  rewarding 
format.  Alone  in  an  LA  studio  for  four  days  with  just 
Lowe,  guitarist  Ry  Cooder  (with  whom  Hiatt  has  often 
played),  veteran  session  drummer  Jim  Keltner  and  a 
hands-off  producer,  he  cut  an  extraordinary  album  of 
uncommon  simplicity  and  candor.  Ruggedly  real  and 
honest  in  extremis,  Bring  the  Family  has  bottomless 
emotional  depth  and  sonic  spaces  the  size  of  sinkholes. 
The  well-played  music  only  serves  to  focus  attention  on 
that  gritty,  passionate  voice,  serving  up  new  melodies 
and  words  reflecting  the  maturation  and  authority  Hi- 
att's  hard  travelling  has  earned  him. 

An  attempt  to  recapture  that  magic  with  the  same 
four  collaborators  ran  aground  over  business  deals,  and 
the  album  was  instead  recorded  with  David  Lindley, 
Dave  Mattacks  and  John  Doe.  Upon  completion,  how- 
ever, that  record  was  scrapped  and  the  process  recom- 
menced with  producer  Glyn  Johns  and  Hiatt' s  road 
band,  the  Goners,  plus  some  guests.  The  rustic  Slow 
Turning  has  some  of  Family's  sonic  attributes  (if  not 
its  exciting  immediacy),  with  the  bonus  of  Hiatt' s  in- 
creasingly confident  and  optimistic  outlook.  The  paren- 
tal warmth  of  "Georgia  Rae"  and  "Slow  Turning" 
offsets  the  lonely  uncertainty  of  the  gospellish  "Is  Any- 
body There?"  and  the  stormy  love  in  "Feels  Like 
Rain,"  while  the  joyous  liberation  of  "Drive  South"  is 
tempered  by  the  suicidal  mundanity  of  "Ride  Along." 
Utterly  likable  but  lacking  emotional  starch,  Slow 
Turning  is  an  uneven  ride  that  could  use  more  gas  and 
colorful  scenery. 

Again  produced  by  Johns,  Stolen  Moments  electri- 
fies Hiatt  in  more  ways  than  one.  Tastefully  fired-up 
arrangements  match  Hiatt 's  exuberance,  the  perfect 
complement  to  his  articulate  songs'  deepening  insights 
about  such  familiar  topics  as  faith,  family  and  self- 
awareness.  Finally  accepting  peace  and  happiness  as  a 
wonderful  gift,  Hiatt  puts  on  a  powerfully  melodic  va- 
riety show  here,  sending  pop  songs  ("Child  of  the  Wild 
Blue  Yonder,"  "Real  Fine  Love")  soaring,  gently  wah- 
wahing  life  into  a  romantic  Philly  soul  tune  ("Bring 
Back  Your  Love  to  Me"),  rocking  out  (the  riff  in  "The 
Rest  of  the  Dream"  is  lifted  from  AC/DC's  "You  Shook 
Me  All  Night  Long")  and,  surprisingly,  paying  repeated 
homage  to  Bob  Dylan.  Rewriting  "Every  Grain  of 
Sand"  in  the  haunting  "Through  Your  Hands"  and 
echoing  "Girl  from  the  North  Country"  in  the  somber 
"Thirty  Years  of  Tears,"  Hiatt  makes  fine  and  fair  use 
of  a  few  pages  from  the  Dylan's  songbook. 

Released  four  years  after  his  departure  from  Geffen 
Records,  Y'AH  Caught  reviews  Hiatt' s  work  on  that 
label  as  well  as  his  earlier  two-album  MCA  career.  A 
concise  refresher  course  for  those  arriving  late  in  the 
story,  Y'AIl  Caught  is  organized  stylistically  in  a  par- 
tially successful  bid  to  downplay  the  lurching  album-to- 
album  inconsistency.  [i] 

SARA  H1CKMAN 

Equal  Scary  People  (Four  Dots)  1 989  (Elektra}  1989  • 
Shortstop  (Elektra)  1 990  « 

An  endless  stream  of  competent  singer/songwriters 
have  emerged  in  the  acoustic-guitar  backwash  of 
Suzanne  Vega  and  Tracy  Chapman,  but  very  few  have 


the  versatile  artistry  of  Sara  Hickman.  This  North 
Carolina-born  Texan  has  a  marvelous  voice — at  once 
sweet  and  sexy — that  can  gently  croon  a  folk  lullabye 
and  hold  its  own  in  a  polite  rock'n'roll  arrangement. 
With  winning  songs  that  are  emotionally  resonant  and 
a  little  loopy,  Equal  Scary  People  (initially  issued  by  a 
Texas  indie)  is  an  album  that  easily  stands  out  in  a 
soundalike  crowd.  Cool  enough  to  make  peace  with 
James  Brown  in  a  solemn,  bluesy  upended  version  of 
"This  Is  a  Man's  World"  and  unselfconscious  enough 
to  write  a  soppy  "Song  for  My  Father,"  Hickman  takes 
some  chances  on  her  first  LP  and  comes  through  with 
the  warm  intimacy  of  an  old  friend. 

David  Kershenbaum's  overzealous  adult-contem- 
porary production  on  Shortstop  seems  designed  to  cast 
Hickman  as  a  young  Joni  Mitchell.  (Denny  Fongheis- 
er's  big-beat  drumming  and  Larry  Klein's  fretless  bass 
cliches  are  particularly  annoying.)  Hickman's  willing 
participation,  especially  on  the  jazzy  "I  Couldn't  Help 
Myself,"  in  this  sleek  commercial  effort  is  disappoint- 
ing in  light  of  her  first  album's  easygoing  openness,  but 
she  rises  to  the  challenge  with  exquisite  vocal  control 
and  clever,  inventive  songs  on  such  diverse  topics  as 
Salvador  Dali,  American  hostages,  sisterly  love  and  the 
foibles  of  male  sexuality.  [i] 


H1CKO1DS 

WeVe  in  It  for  the  Corn  (Toxic  Shock)  1 987  +  1 988 

Hard  Corn  EP  (Toxic  Shock)  1988 

Waltz  a  Crossdress  Texas  (Toxic  Shock)  1 989 

Cure  the  Butthole  Surfers'  hallucinatory  madness 
but  not  their  Texas  junk-culture  mentality  or  careening 
noise.  Add  country-western  rhythms  and  some 
re  wed-up  guitar  licks,  and  that  pretty  much  describes 
Austin's  zealous  Hickoids,  America's  only  hard-corn 
(white  thrash?)  band.  Whether  they're  adding  lyrics  to 
a  familiar  TV  theme  ("Williamanza")  or  delivering  a 
cruel  ode  to  one-armed  farmers  ("O.A.F.  Anthem"), 
the  band's  colorful  guitar  work,  four-on-the-fioor  punk 
overdrive  and  depraved  sense  of  humor  ("Animal  Hus- 
bandry" mates  man  and  cow)  make  We're  in  It  for  the 
Com  a  raucous  and  funny  souvenir  of  the  Lone  Star 
state.  (The  cassette  adds  four  bonus  cuts.) 

Following  the  7-inch  Hard  Corn  EP  (two  originals 
and  two  freewheeling  covers:  "Corn  Foo  Fighting"  and 
Jackson  Browne's  "Take  It  Easy"),  the  Hickoids  ease 
up  on  the  punk  for  more  of  a  Tex-Mex/country  flavor  on 
the  relatively  slick  second  album,  Waltz  a  Crossdress 
Texas.  Using  steel  guitar,  piano,  trumpet  and  (yes!) 
flugelhorn,  well-played  jokes  about  transvestites,  beer, 
sex  and  trucks  are  loaded  with  local  color  and  the  Hick- 
oids' winningly  sociopathic  outlook.  [i] 


HIGH 

Somewhere  Soon  (London)  1 990  4> 

Formed  by  ex-Stone  Roses  guitarist  Andy  Couzens 
and  drummer  Chris  Goodwin  (both  ex-Hag  of  Conve- 
nience), this  Manchester-area  quartet  plays  effortlessly 
appealing  modern  atmos-pop  (y 'know— ringing  guitars, 
acoustic  piano,  breathy  vocals  and  a  little  bit  of  cello 
when  it  fits  the  mood)  of  no  great  consequence.  Signed 


316 


after  one  gig,  the  High  don't  do  anything  wrong  on  their 
relaxed  and  pleasant  album,  but  that's  about  the  stron- 
gest praise  they  deserve.  [i] 
See  also  Flag  of  Convenience. 

KENNE  HIGHLAND  CLAN 

See  Gizmos. 

HOLGER  KILLER 

A  Bunch  of  Foulness  In  the  Pit  (nr/Cheny  Red)  1 984 
Hyperprism  (Jap.  Wave)  1 985 
Oben  im  Eck  (nr/Mute)  1 986  • 

Virtually  the  only  English  on  Miller's  first  album 
(released  originally  by  the  German  Ata  Tak  label)  is  the 
translated  title;  otherwise,  you're  on  your  linguistic 
own.  Hardly  the  horrorshow  the  billing  might  have  you 
imagine,  the  former  Palais  Schaumburg  member  con- 
veys bemusement  and  tension  rather  than  squalor  or 
desperation,  using  overlaid  (and  not  always  musically 
related)  instrumental  lines  (mostly  keyboards  and,  if  my 
dictionary  guessed  correctly,  percussion),  detached  vo- 
cals, plus  found  sounds  and  assorted  blips  and  squeaks. 
While  the  effect  is  not  exactly  pleasant — although  a  few 
songs,  notably  "Jonny  (du  Lump),"  are — it  is  riveting, 
and  Miller  is  masterly  at  aurally  painting  a  scene  in 
living  color. 

Miller's  collaborators  on  Oben  im  Eck,  a  revised 
version  of  Hyperprism  (retitled  for  a  track  which  ap- 
pears on  it  in  two  versions),  include  keyboardist  Izumi 
Kobayashi  and  vocalist  Kaon  Kano,  as  well  as  Billy 
Mackenzie  (Associates).  Sampling  keyboards  have 
opened  new  creative  worlds  for  sonic  experimentalists 
like  Miller,  allowing  him  to  electronically  manipulate 
sounds  that  were  not  so  long  ago  uncontrollable  and 
available  only  on  tape.  Although  parts  of  the  LP  have  an 
offbeat  Japanese  flavor,  sections  that  are  noisy  or  child- 
like take  a  much  more  neo-European  approach,  suggest- 
ing such  sonic  adventurers  as  Foetus  or  Renaldo  and  the 
Loaf.  Ostensibly  a  set  of  songs,  the  album's  rambling 
and  colorful  collections  of  sounds  have  little  cohesion; 
even  the  multilingual  lyrics  (one  song's  written  by  Tom 
Verlaine)  add  scant  structure  to  this  dadaist  picnic,  [i] 

HILT 

See  Skinny  Puppy, 

PETER  H1MMELMAN 

This  Father's  Day  (Orange)  1986  (Island)  1986 

Gematria  (Island)  1 987  « 

Syneslhesia  (Island)  1989* 

From  Strength  to  Strength  (Epic)  1991  « 

SUSSMAN  LAWRENCE 

Hail  to  the  Modern  Herol  (Bigger  Than  Life)  1980 

(Regency)  1980 
Pop  City  (Orange)  1984 

Minneapolis  quintet  Sussman  Lawrence  works  very 
hard  to  sound  like  early  Elvis  Costello  on  their  first 
outing,  although  singer/guitarist  Peter  Himmelman's  vo- 
cals tend  to  favor  Phil  Lynott  more.  The  songs,  which 
are  clearly  derivative  of  Costello  and  Joe  Jackson,  are 
still  sharp  enough  to  be  entertaining.  Absurdist  pop  cul- 


ture lyrics  add  some  originality;  smart  playing  and  solid 
production  also  give  this  dubious  venture  its  limited 
validity. 

Pop  City — a  double-album  with  21  songs  in  a  num- 
ber of  styles — is  far  less  imitative  and  proves  this  likable 
band  to  be  highly  skilled  and  creative,  smoothly  skip- 
ping across  genres  (often  several  times  per  song)  to  play 
everything — jazz-R&B-rock-pop — with  abundant  good 
spirits  and  a  commitment  to  nothing  but  making  simply 
enjoyable  music.  (Only  reservation:  some  of  the  lyrics 
are  clumsy  and/or  trite.) 

Sussman  Lawrence  vanished  when  Himmelman 
opted  to  continue  his  career  under  his  own  name — 
remarkably,  the  other  four  band  members  remained  as 
his  sidemen.  TMs  Father's  Day,  a  doleful  and  sensitive 
singer/songwriter  record  (with  some  polite  rock  arrange- 
ments) dedicated  to  Himmelman's  late  father,  was  orig- 
inally released  on  the  band's  label.  After  a  video  (for 
"Eleventh  Confession")  became  an  MTV  hit,  Island 
reissued  it.  Free  of  the  imitative  amateurness  of  early 
efforts,  Himmelman's  love,  passion  and  intelligence 
come  to  the  fore  in  a  strong  display  of  craft  and  talent. 

Gematria,  recorded  in  just  three  days,  is  an  uplift- 
ing explosion  of  joyful  ensemble  playing  that  shows 
how  tight  and  sympathetic  these  guys  are.  Himmelman's 
lower-case  lyrics  are  fairly  meaningless  (and  worse,  pre- 
tentious in  spots)  but  his  music  has  spirit,  power  and 
clarity  that  far  outweigh  such  concerns. 

Himmelman's  religious  orthodoxy  doesn't  intrude 
on  Synesthesia,  but  a  growing  resemblance  to  Billy  Joel 
(plus  frequently  colorless  songwriting  and  production) 
is  more  than  enough  to  curdle  the  album.  Between  dull 
electric  raveups  and  oh-so-sensitive  semi-acoustic  ef- 
forts, only  such  tastefully  full-bodied  ensemble  efforts 
as  **A  Million  Sides"  and  "Surrender"  have  the  right 
type  and  amount  of  starch  to  endow  the  songs  with 
melodic  power.  (The  CD  and  cassette  have  three  bonus 
tracks.)  [i] 


HINDU  LOVE  GODS 

See  R.EM. 


HIS  NAME  IS  ALIVE 

Livonia  (4AD)  1990® 

Having  successfully  tested  its  American  scouting 
skills  on  Boston  (home  of  Throwing  Muses  and  the 
Pixies),  London's  4AD  label  ventured  to  Michigan  and 
signed  this  curious  studio  creation,  whose  album  is 
named  for  its  hometown.  Crystal-voiced  singers  Karin 
Oliver  and  Angie  Carozzo  deliver  the  lyrics  over  War- 
ren Defever's  simple  and  semi-formed  constructs  of  gui- 
tar, bass  and  noises  that  owe  debts  to  Fripp/Eno  drones 
and  anyone  that  ever  fooled  around  with  a  reel-to-reel 
tape  deck.  Somewhere  between  Hugo  Largo's  stately 
restraint  and  rankly  amateurish  diddlings  (frequently  a 
mix  of  the  two,  occasionally  just  the  latter),  Livonia  is 
an  artistic  mountain  that  didn't  need  climbing.  The  wo- 
men's voices  are  far  more  attractive  than  anything  in 
Defever's  small  bag  of  tricks,  but  neither  side  of  this 
equation  would  stand  on  its  own.  If  the  two  pieces  don't 
really  go  together  in  any  organic  way,  each  at  least 


317 


offers  the  other  an  uncommon  way  to  make  an  impres- 
sion. Making  this  whole  thing  seem  just  a  bit  weirder, 
Defever  is  a  member  of  Elvis  Hitler's  raunchy  rock 
band,  the  drummer  of  which  guests  here.  [i] 

See  also  Elvis  Hitler. 


ROBYN  HITCHCOCK 

Black  Snake  Diamond  Role  (nr/Armageddon)  1981 

(Glass  Fish-Relativity)  1986  ® 
Groovy  Decay  (nr/Albion)  1 982  ® 
I  Often  Dream  of  Trains  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 984  (Glass 

Fish-Relativity)  1986® 
Exploding  in  Silence  EP  (Relativity)  1 986 
Groovy  Decoy  (Glass  Fish-Relativity)  1986  ® 
Invisible  Hitchcock  (Glass  Fish-Relativity)  1986  ® 
Eye  (Twin/Tone)  1 990  ® 

ROBYN  HITCHCOCK  AND  THE 
EGYPTIANS 

Fegmanial  (Slash)  1985® 

Gotta  Let  This  Hen  Out!  (Relativity)  1 985  ® 

Element  of  Light  (Glass  Fish- Relativity)  1986  ® 

Globe  of  Frogs  (A&M)  1988® 

Queen  Elvis  (A&M)  1989® 

Robyn  Hitchcock's  entire  body  of  work — both  as 
leader  of  the  Soft  Boys  and  as  a  solo  performer — 
remains  one  of  the  great  undiscovered  treasures  of  mod- 
ern pop  music.  Psychedelic  pop  of  the  '60s  provides  the 
touchstone  for  his  melodic,  emotional  compositions,  but 
Hitchcock  blends  his  own  ideas  with  those  of  John  Len- 
non,  Syd  Barrett,  Captain  Beefheart,  the  Doors  and 
Byrds  to  create  music  that  advances  the  tradition  rather 
than  merely  recapitulating  it. 

Black  Snake  Diamond  Role,  his  first  solo  salvo, 
opens  with  two  jaunty  music-hall  ditties  but  quickly 
descends  to  Hitchcock's  typical  deranged  concerns.  He 
offers  a  sardonic  knock  at  authority  in  "Do  Policemen 
Sing?"  (which  features  a  chorus  like  a  frenzied  hail  of 
blows)  and  a  melodic,  cracked-crystal  ballad,  "Acid 
Bird,"  whose  mood  and  production  could  stand  proud 
next  to  "Eight  Miles  High."  Alternate  takes  on 
emotion — "Meat"  (all  brash)  and  "Love"  (all  heart) — 
finish  off  each  side. 

Groovy  Decay,  produced  by  Steve  Hillage,  has  a 
smoother  sound  that  somewhat  undermines  the  dark 
emotion  and  irony  that  are  Hitchcock's  greatest 
strengths.  Still,  great  songs  gleam  through  the  mix. 
"Fifty  Two  Stations"  stunningly  captures  the  alterna- 
tion of  rage,  resignation  and  hope  that  follows  the  fail- 
ure of  love,  while  "St.  Petersburg"  views  only  the  black 
side.  "Grooving  on  an  Inner  Plane"  blends  an  arch 
rap-styled  vocal  into  a  fluid  groove  (Sara  Lee  is  the 
album's  bassist)  with  stirring  results.  In  a  surprising 
move  four  years  later,  Hitchcock  did  it  his  way  by  put- 
ting out  the  revisionist  Groovy  Decoy.  With  almost  an 
identical  set  of  songs,  the  entirely  reordered  Decoy  uses 
only  four  of  Decay's  recordings,  substituting  simple  but 
effective  demos  produced  (and  played  on)  by  onetime 
Soft  Boys  bassist  Matthew  Seligman  for  the  rest.  The 
results  are  a  bit  rudimentary  next  to  the  original  release, 
but  Hitchcock  fans  will  want  to  hear  both. 

After  nearly  two  years  of  self-imposed  retirement, 
Hitchcock  returned  in  1984  with  a  surprising,  mostly 
acoustic  album,  I  Often  Dream  of  Trains.  Performing 


nearly  all  the  instruments  and  vocals  himself,  he  echoed 
the  solo  work  of  his  models — Barrett  in  the  amiably 
slapdash  production  and  Lennon  on  an  aching  ballad, 
"Flavour  of  Night."  The  album  features  Hitchcock's 
usual  balance  of  bitterness  and  weirdness  in  unusual 
settings,  rounded  off  with  piano  nocturnes  at  the  start 
and  finish.  Two  bizarre  a  cappella  close-harmony 
essays — "Uncorrected  Personality  Traits"  (about  diffi- 
cult children  when  they  grow  up)  and  "Furry  Green 
Atom  Bowl"  (about  life's  biological  processes) — make 
this  one  of  the  stranger  outings  in  a  career  dedicated  to 
strangeness. 

Fegmania! ,  which  features  several  old  Soft  Boy  cro- 
nies in  a  new  band,  the  Egyptians,  shows  Hitchcock 
polishing  the  best  aspects  of  his  craft  to  a  new  sheen, 
achieving  a  mature  merger  of  lyric  with  melody  (par- 
ticularly on  the  morbidly  catchy  "My  Wife  &  My  Dead 
Wife"  and  the  beautiful  emotional  study,  "Glass") 
which  sacrifices  none  of  the  urgency  that  brings  his  best 
songs  to  life.  He  has  also  continued  to  hone  his  sound, 
adding  instruments  to  create  a  rich,  ringing  production 
that  highlights  his  superb  guitar  textures  and  Andy  Met- 
calfe's  moody  bass  lines  amid  a  variety  of  settings. 

Gotta  Let  This  Hen  Out!  is  an  essential  live  album 
recorded  April  '85  at  London's  Marquee.  Sampling  all 
of  his  prior  albums  for  items  like  "Brenda's  Iron 
Sledge,"  "Heaven,"  "My  Wife  and  My  Dead  Wife," 
and  tossing  in  the  acerbic  "Listening  to  the  Higsons"  (a 
non-LP  single  that  contains  the  live  album's  title,  bor- 
rowed from  a  Higsons  song),  Hitchcock  and  the  three 
Egyptians — Metcalfe,  Morris  Windsor  and  Roger 
Jackson — do  a  fine  job  of  putting  the  songs  across  in 
crisp,  energetic  fashion.  A  great  introduction  for  neo- 
phytes and  a  treat  for  fans.  (Exploding  in  Silence,  avail- 
able on  picture  disc,  contains  six  live  cuts,  only  half  of 
them  from  the  album.) 

Except  for  a  creeping  trace  of  self-conscious 
weirdness-for-its-own-sake  in  the  lyrics,  the  exception- 
ally melodic  Element  of  Light  is  another  terrific  addi- 
tion to  Hitchcock's  oeuvre.  The  descending  drama  of 
"If  You  Were  a  Priest,"  the  arcing  delicacy  of  "Win- 
chester" and  "Airscape,"  as  well  as  the  moody  re- 
straint of  "Raymond  Chandler  Evening"  put  the  well- 
rehearsed  Egyptians  (especially  Metcalfe  on  fretless 
bass)  to  fine  use,  while  still  leaving  Hitchcock's  plain 
but  appealing  voice  a  clear  field  in  which  to  operate. 
Most  of  the  record  is  unmistakably  Hitchcock,  although 
it  does  include  two  eerie  Lennon  re-creations:  "Some- 
where Apart"  and  "Ted,  Woody  and  Junior." 

Recycling  a  Soft  Boys  LP  title,  Invisible  Hitchcock 
is  a  compilation  of  assorted  outtakes  dating  from  1981- 
'85.  A  few  songs  (like  "Grooving  on  an  Inner  Plane") 
had  previously  surfaced  in  different  versions,  but  most 
are  heard  here  for  the  first  time.  The  simple  recording 
quality  and  mostly  non-electric  performances  with  var- 
ious assortments  of  sidemen  are  entirely  adequate,  if  not 
strictly  consistent.  Invisible  may  not  be  crucial  but  it  is 
certainly  illuminating,  and  a  handful  of  rough  gems 
("All  I  Wanna  Do  Is  Fall  in  Love,"  "Trash,"  "Give 
Me  a  Spanner,  Ralph,"  "I  Got  a  Message  for  You") 
make  it  a  worthwhile  purchase. 

Thanks  to  the  power  of  college  radio  and  the  music 
press,  Hitchcock's  growing  popularity  brought  him  a 
contract  with  A&M,  which  released  his  American 
major-label  debut.  Unfortunately,  Hitchcock's  ob- 


318 


scurely  lucid  liner  notes  on  Globe  of  Frogs  are  more 
fascinating  than  the  album,  which  neglects  tuneful  song- 
writing  in  favor  of  big  beat  exercises  that  would  mask 
insubstantial  content  with  busy  production.  "Flesh 
Number  One  (Beatle  Dennis)"  and  "Chinese  Bones" — 
beautiful  pop  confections  featuring  R.E.M.  guitarist 
Pete  Buck— keep  things  from  sulking,  but  "Balloon 
Man"  and  the  title  track,  while  both  likably  silly,  un- 
derscore Hitchcock's  annoying  tendency  to  be  selfcon- 
sciously absurdist. 

Queen  Elvis  is  the  nadir  of  Hitchcock's  by  now 
substantial  body  of  work.  The  song  structures  are  overly 
familiar,  the  weirdness  seems  forced  and,  worst  of  all, 
the  emotions  don't  seem  real.  He  seems  to  have  tapped 
out  the  veins  he'd  mined  so  rewardingly  for  more  than 
a  decade. 

Eye  is  Hitchcock's  finest  release  since  the  first  ex- 
plosion of  his  post-Soft  Boys  career.  Like  I  Often 
Dream  of  Trains,  this  is  a  predominantly  acoustic  solo 
effort  on  which  he  casts  off  the  influence  of  bandmates 
and  producers  to  create  a  work  of  astonishing  delicacy, 
beauty,  honesty  and  power.  As  if  to  underscore  the  im- 
provement, "Queen  Elvis"  is  easily  superior  to  any- 
thing on  the  LP  with  which  it  shares  only  a  title. 
"Linctus  House"  is  a  gorgeous  meditation  on  flagging 
love  with  the  achingly  drawn-out  chorus  "I  don't  care 
anymore."  "Executioner"  teases  the  entrails  of  another 
failed  romance  ("I  know  how  Judas  felt/But  he  got 
paid").  But  the  record  opens  with  the  jaunty  proclama- 
tion "I'm  in  love  with  a  beautiful  girl,"  so  maybe  things 
aren't  so  bad  after  all.  In  any  case,  Eye  finds  Hitchcock 
still  playing  complex  guitar  figures,  bending  song  struc- 
tures and  laying  bare  his  emotions  as  no  one  has  since 
Barrett  recorded  his  dementia-in-progress.  [mp/i] 

See  also  Soft  Boys. 


ELVIS  HITLER 

Disgraceland  (Wang head)  1987  (Restless)  1988  • 
Hellbilly  (Restless)  1 989  • 

As  any  good  marketing  executive  will  tell  you,  one 
key  to  successfully  introducing  a  new  product  is  an  ef- 
fectively descriptive  name.  So  when  a  young  singer/ 
guitarist  decides  to  call  himself  Elvis  Hitler,  he'd 
better  not  be  counting  on  a  career  in  new  age  harpsi- 
chord music,  knowhutlmean?  Fortunately,  this  fiery 
Michigan  'billyrocker  can  handle  the  handle,  as  he  and 
three  rugged  sidemen  (one  of  whom  moonlights  as  His 
Name  Is  Alive)  roar  through  familiar-sounding  origi- 
nals that  cross  the  Cramps,  Mojo  Nixon  and  the  Stray 
Cats.  Disgraceland  has  such  convincingly  obvious  an- 
thems to  delinquency  as  "Hot  Rod  to  Hell"  and  "Live 
Fast,  Die  Young"  as  well  as  the  dubiously  topical 
"Rocking  Over  Russia"  and  a  few  numbers  about  an- 
other feller  named  Elvis.  But  the  album's  ingenious 
highlight  is  "Green  Haze  (Pt.  I  &  H),"  a  demento 
hybrid  in  which  EH  sings  the  Green  Acres  theme  over 
"Purple  Haze." 

Hellbilly  is  louder  and  harder,  a  less  stylized  but 
still  exciting  dish  of  overamped  guitars,  raw  vocals  and 
drummer  Darnian  Lang's  swampy  backbeat.  Besides 
covering  "Ballad  of  the  Green  Berets"  and  borrowing 
"(Ghost)  Riders  in  the  Sky"  (for  "Showdown"),  little 
Elvis  pokes  fun  at  glam-rockers  ("Hang  'Em  High"), 
car-nuts  ("Gear  Jammin'  Hero"  and  "Crush,  Kill,  De- 


stroy' ' ) ,  saving  his  least  judgmental  sentiments  for  vam- 
pires and  other  horror-movie  monsters.  [i] 
See  also  His  Name  Is  Alive. 

HITMEN 

Aim  for  the  Feet  (Columbia)  1 980 
Torn  Together  (Columbia)  1 981 

London's  Hitmen — not  the  unrelated  Australian 
group,  a  contemporaneous  outgrowth  of  Radio  Bird- 
man— debuted  with  a  DIY  debut  single  ("She's  All 
Mine"  b/w  "Slay  Me  with  Your  45")  of  razor-sharp 
rhythm'n'pop  which  meshed  terse  but  tasty  guitar  and 
keyboards  over  snappy  bass  and  drums,  topped  by  Ben 
Watkins'  Graham  Parker-cwm-David  Bowie  vocals.  Yet 
on  Aim  for  the  Feet,  re-recorded  versions  of  those 
songs  fall  flat;  it  takes  repeated  listenings  to  discover 
that  they — along  with  a  passel  of  other  tunes  as  good 
and  better— have  fallen  victim  to  colorless,  punchless 
production. 

With  producer  Rhett  Davies  at  the  helm  on  Tom 
Together,  the  quartet  fares  far  better,  crafting  a  succes- 
sion of  cleverly  arranged  and  smartly  played  hooks  that 
grow  more  impressive  (not  to  mention  catchier)  with 
each  hearing.  The  format  incorporates  more  modern, 
Ultravoxian  elements  while  avoiding  the  inherent 
pitfalls — until  Side  Two,  that  is,  which  is  alternately 
arty  and  bathetic  instead  of  hewing  to  the  earlier,  earth- 
ier approach. 

Ex-Hitmen  guitarist  Pete  Glenister  later  turned  up 
recording  and  touring  with  Bojangles,  Terence  Trent 
D'Arby's  band.  [jg] 

See  also  Youth  &  Ben  Watkins. 

SUSANNA  HOFFS 

See  Bangles. 

MYRA  HOLDER 

Four  Mile  Road  (Coyote)  1 989  • 

One  of  the  few  expatriates  of  the  late-'70s  Winston- 
Salem,  North  Carolina  pop  scene  who  never  played  in 
or  produced  the  dB's  or  Let's  Active,  New  York  singer/ 
guitarist  Myra  Holder  got  help  from  some  of  her  old 
crowd  on  this  Chris  Stamey-produced  solo  debut.  (Faye 
Hunter,  Mitch  Easter  and  brother  Gene  Holder  ail  put  in 
brief  appearances.)  Other  than  one  spunky  track  re- 
corded in  1981,  Four  Mile  Road  offers  nicely  sung 
adult  pop  and  rock— folky  enough  in  spots  to  resemble 
10,000  Maniacs  a  bit — that  avoids  obvious  stylization  in 
favor  of  unadorned  purity  and  easy  allure.  Besides  such 
creditable  originals  as  "Rosa"  and  "Billy,"  Holder  in- 
cludes reverent  covers  of  Roy  Orbison  ("It's  Over") 
and  Alex  Chilton  ("Blue  Moon").  [i] 

HOLIDAY 

See  Oh-OK. 

JOOLS  HOLLAND 

Jools  Holland  and  His  Millionaires  (IRS)  1 981 
Jools  Holland  Meets  Rock'a'Boogie  Billy  (IRS)  1984 
World  of  His  Own  (IRS)  1990* 

This  flamboyant  pianist — a  cigar-chomping  hustler 
able  to  energize  even  the  most  blas6  audience — provided 


319 


much  of  the  zest  on  Squeeze's  first  three  albums.  For  his 
solo  debut,  Jools  adopted  a  less  contemporary  stance, 
playing  old-fashioned  bar-room  romps  with  energy  and 
panache.  Produced  by  Glyn  Johns,  the  record  contains 
one  classic  oldie  ("Bumble  Boogie")  and  rollicking 
originals,  some  co-written  with  Chris  Difford. 

Leaving  his  Millionaires  behind,  Rock'a'Boogie 
Billy  reunites  Holland  with  once-and-future  Squeeze 
drummer  Gilson  Lavis;  otherwise,  the  self-produced  al- 
bum was  recorded  solo  "at  the  back  room  of  Holland's 
home  (which  accounts  for  the  authentic  sound)."  The 
eight  tracks,  including  four  Difford  collaborations  and 
the  old  "Flip,  Flop  &  Fly,"  offer  more  rustic  uptempo 
friskiness  soaked  with  American  barrelhouse  and  rag- 
time atmosphere — imagine  a  young  Jerry  Lee  Lewis  in 
prime  condition  with  no  religious  hangups.  Turn  it  up 
and  hoist  a  few! 

When  Squeeze  reformed  in  1985,  Holland  was  back 
in  the  piano  seat,  and  stayed  through  the  group's  '89 
tour  documented  on  A  Round  and  a  Bout.  With  instru- 
mental assists  from  his  ex-bandmates  and  numerous 
other  artisans,  World  of  His  Own  provides  an  impres- 
sive sampling  of  Holland's  various  talents.  There's 
Squeezy  synth-pop,  plenty  of  boogie-woogie,  some 
horn-fed  R&B,  even  a  New  Orleans-cwm-ska  version  of 
the  Lee  Dorsey- Allen  Toussaint  classic  "Holy  Cow." 
To  top  it  off,  Holland  throws  in  a  bizarre  but  captivating 
modern  instrumental  number  featuring  keyboards,  pedal 
steel  and  harp  (the  stringed  kind).  Really  wild,  Jools! 
Unlike  Holland's  past  albums,  which  always  had  some- 
thing of  a  novelty  feel,  World  of  His  Own  is  serious 
fun,  and  by  far  Ms  best  solo  record  yet.  [i/ds] 

See  also  Squeeze. 

HOLLY  THE  ITALIANS 

The  Right  to  Be  Wan  (Virgin-Epic)  1981 

HOLLY  VINCENT 

Holly  and  the  Italians  (Virgin-Epic)  1982 

Chicago-born  singer/guitarist  Holly  B.  Vincent 
formed  her  band  in  Los  Angeles,  but  it  took  a  1979 
move  to  England  to  secure  a  recording  deal.  An  early 
single  released  there  ("Tell  That  Girl  to  Shut  Up'*) 
established  her  tough  pop-rock  style  and  briefly  cap- 
tured the  full  attention  of  the  British  press  and  public. 
The  band's  sole  album  was  hindered  by  numerous  prob- 
lems (like  firing  the  producer  halfway  through  and  start- 
ing from  scratch  with  another,  losing  the  drummer  in 
midstream  and  having  to  find  a  replacement)  and  wasn't 
finished  until  over  a  year  later,  but  it  was  well  worth  the 
wait.  Richard  Gottehrer's  production  fits  the  melodic 
rock  songs  perfectly,  melding  the  hybrid  LA/London 
sound — with  glimpses  of  the  Ramones,  Blondie  and 
Cheap  Trick — into  a  powerful  and  original  creation.  The 
songs  (mostly  Vincent's)  concern  troubled  romance, 
successful  romance,  teenage  rebellion  and  kitsch  cul- 
ture; her  convincing  delivery  gives  them  import,  and  the 
catchy  phrases  and  solid  rock  foundation  make  it  a  mas- 
terful record  by  an  important  young  talent. 

The  Right  to  Be  Italian  wasn't  a  commercial  suc- 
cess and  Holly  broke  up  the  band,  opting  instead  for  a 
solo  career.  Her  stunning  LP,  produced  by  Mike 
Thome,  has  a  misleading  title  and  bears  little  resem- 
blance to  its  predecessor.  Holly  and  the  Italians  plays 


up  her  voice  and  songs,  providing  ample  room  for  far- 
reaching  emotional  expression;  the  striking,  atmospheric 
music  is  based  on  violin  and  keyboards  as  much  as 
guitar.  (The  American  release  has  one  different  cut  and 
much  better  sequencing. )  Although  Vincent  took  some 
flak  for  recording  a  totally  overhauled  version  of  the 
Buffalo  Springfield's  "For  What  It's  Worth,"  she  does 
manage  to  make  something  new  and  different  out  of  the 
well-known  tune.  Elsewhere,  sensitive,  moody  origi- 
nals like  * 'Samurai  and  Courtesan"  and  "Uptown"  con- 
trast with  upbeat  rockers  like  "We  Danced"  and 
"Honalu,"  all  displaying  a  unique  viewpoint  in  subtly 
evocative  lyrics.  Even  more  than  its  predecessor,  this  is 
an  incredible  album  by  an  enormously  gifted  singer, 
writer  and  performer. 

Vincent  has  not  made  a  record  under  her  own  name 
since,  although  she  did  duet  with  Joey  Ramone  on  a  45 
of  **I  Got  You  Babe"  and  served  a  brief,  unrecorded 
stint  in  the  Waitresses.  In  1988,  Britain's  Transvision 
Vamp  made  a  run  at  international  stardom  with  "Tell 
That  Girl  to  Shut  Up. "  [i] 

See  also  Eastern  Bloc. 

ROBERT  HOLMES 

See  Red  Guitars. 

PETER  HOLSAPPLE  & 
CHRIS  STAMEY 

See  dB's. 

HOLY  COW 

Call  It  What  You  Will  (Head  Chunk)  1 986 

Suggested  Reading/Apocalypse  Cow  (Head  Chunk)  1 988 

New  England's  Holy  Cow  are  merchants  of  the  ma- 
cabre, partaking  equally  of  the  dark  intensity  of  Bau- 
haus  and  the  bleak,  forceful  pound  of  the  Swans. 
Though  mohawked  lead  vocalist  Chris  Means  occasion- 
ally sounds  a  bit  too  much  like  Peter  Murphy  for  com- 
fort, he  is  able  to  conjure  up  a  seething  well  of  rage, 
nausea  and  utter  dislocation,  rendered  with  such  author- 
ity that  it  can't  help  but  work.  The  band  takes  the  best 
elements  of  the  gothic  and  industrial-noise  genres,  yet 
belongs  wholly  to  neither — theirs  is  an  older,  weirder 
tradition  harking  back  to  prime  local/literary  inspiration 
H.P.  Lovecraft. 

Call  It  What  You  Will  is  a  patchwork  affair,  jump- 
ing from  an  avant-garde  experiment  to  the  Christian 
Death-like  crawl  of  "Ichorous  Pus"  and  metal-machine 
mantra  of  "Work"  to  the  punkishly  brisk  '*  Black  & 
White"  and  the  gruesomely  catchy  "Lady  Cadava. ' '  On 
"Noises,"  a  pulsing,  strumming,  neo-acoustic  gloom- 
pop  number,  all  the  vocals  save  for  the  chorus  are  back- 
wards. 

By  its  sophomore  effort,  Holy  Cow  had  turned 
meaner  and  harder,  grabbing  onto  a  pretty  original  (but 
definitely  not  pretty)  and  far  more  unified  sound.  The 
record  is  broken  up  into  thematic  halves.  Each  of  the 
four  songs  (not  counting  a  closing  instrumental)  on  the 
Suggested  Reading  side  puts  a  favorite  horror  short  story 
to  hyper-distorted  bass  riffs.  The  results:  ftighteningly 
good  songs  like  the  ferocious,  bone-chilling  "Rep 
Fuck"  (inspired  by  Stephen  King's  Gramma).  The  al- 


320 


bum's  slightly  less  gripping  flipside,  Apocalypse  Cow, 
is  a  live  document,  highlighted  by  an  intense  medley  of 
their  own  "God"  and  "39  Lashes"  (from  Jesus  Christ 
Superstar).  [gef] 

The  Origami  Sessions  EP  (Dischord)  1990 
As  Is  (Dischord)  1 990 

There  may  be  an  awful  record  on  the  Dischord  label, 
but  I've  yet  to  hear  it.  Like  such  labelmates  as  Fugazi, 
Washington  DC's  Holy  Rollers  combine  the  hardness  of 
punk  with  the  melodicism  of  pop  to  create  sparklingly 
listenable  songs  that  pound  and  pummel  while  making 
you  feel  good,  too. 

Besides  bassist  Joe  Aronstamn  and  guitarist  Marc 
Lambiotte,  Maria  Jones  rounds  out  the  trio  with  loud, 
clear  dramming  that  can  be  fast  and  hard,  or  click  and 
clatter  in  palpitating  textures  (as  in  "Freedom  Asking" 
or  the  percussion-dominated  "Head  On").  Throughout 
As  Is  she  shifts  seamlessly  from  one  feeling  and  inten- 
sity to  another;  she's  not  just  adequate,  she's  good. 
(Like  her  bandmates,  she  sings  lead  and  backup.) 

Most  of  the  songs  on  the  loud  and  crisp  As  Is  are 
full-speed  ahead,  but  the  band's  not  above  a  little  acous- 
tic country  style  balladeering  in  "Johnny  Greed."  Like 
the  poppier  side  of  the  Seattle  bands,  they  play  with 
dynamics;  even  when  things  ease  down,  high-energy 
intensity  is  never  more  than  a  few  seconds  away.  Just 
when  you  think  "Greed"  is  gonna  wimp  away  like  a 
Simon  &  Garfunkel  oldie,  it  bursts  into  a  screaming 
shriek  of  guitar  fury.  "Ode  to  Sabine  County,"  mean- 
while, could  be  the  political  side  of  the  Minutemen  re- 
incarnated, with  its  chanted  vocals  and  alternately 
pulsing  and  racing  guitars.  (The  Origami  Sessions  is  a 
four-track  LP  preview.)  ['e] 

HONEYMOON  KILLERS 

Honeymoon  Killers  from  Mars  (Fur)  1984 

Love  American  Style  (Fur)  1985 

Let  It  Breed  (Fur)  1986 

Turn  Me  On  EP  (Buy  Our)  1 988 

Take  It  Off!  EP  (Buy  Our)  1 989  • 

Calling  the  Honeymoon  Killers'  debut  disc  a  bad 
album  is  about  as  informative  as  calling  Catch  a  Fire  a 
reggae  record:  it's  just  a  generic  description.  This  New 
York  four-piece  (not  to  be  confused  with  a  Belgian  band 
named  after  the  same  1970  psychotronic  cinema  classic) 
is  firmly  rooted  in  the  aesthetics  of  the  splatter  drive-in, 
where  badness  is  just  the  starting  point.  The  fake  voo- 
doo music,  recorded  in  "four  track  horror  fidelity,"  is 
abrasive  and  primitive — like  the  Cramps  with  less- 
commercial  instincts  and  an  even  sicker  sense  of  humor. 
More  a  curio  than  anything  anyone  would  ever  want  to 
listen  to,  Honeymoon  Killers  from  Mars  is  at  least  an 
entertaining  curio.  Think  of  it  as  aural  pain  in  the  ser- 
vice of  black  humor.  Or  think  of  it  as  obnoxious 
incompetence — you'll  be  neither  alone  nor  unjustified. 
But  miss  it,  and  you'll  never  get  to  hear  the  world's 
worst  version  of  "Who  Do  You  Love." 

After  half  of  the  band  split,  guitarist  Jerry  Teel  and 
bassist  Lisa  recruited  drummer  Sally  for  Love  Ameri- 
can Style,  another  crunching  descent  into  lighthearted 


sonic  warfare,  recorded  at  CBGB  in  such  a  way  as  to 
suggest  the  sound  of  a  bottomless  pit.  The  squeals, 
screams,  beats  and  roars  hung  on  van-speed  rockabilly 
that  strolls  around  like  a  dissipated  hog  caller  don't  al- 
ways engage,  but  it's  perfect  accompaniment  for  late- 
night  movie  viewing  with  the  TV  sound  off.  And  miss 
the  ultimate  garage  grunge  version  of  "Batman"  at  your 
peril. 

Lei  It  Breed  ends  with  a  version  of  the  Blue  6yster 
Cult's  "Godzilla"  that  falls  right  in  with  the  album's 
horror  motif.  "Day  of  the  Dead"  eulogizes  that  classic 
cinematic  series;  "Brain  Dead  Bird  Brain"  suggests  a 
future  project  for  some  current  film  student  to  contem- 
plate. Trimming  the  musical  insanity  a  tad  without  giv- 
ing up  any  of  their  intensity,  the  Killers  try  a  few 
numbers  that  are  relatively  straightforward.  Investing 
more  hi  vocals,  the  women  chime  in  with  Jerry  for  a 
neat  X/Cramps-like  effect;  they  also  exchange  bass  and 
drum  chores  on  the  brief  "Zoo  Train." 

The  Killers  expanded  to  a  quartet  with  the  addition 
of  guitarist  Cristina  (ex-Pussy  Galore)  and  became  an 
even  noisier  proposition,  as  evidenced  on  Turn  Me  On. 
Songs  like  "Choppin*  Mall"  (basically  a  reworking  of 
the  pre-Who  High  Numbers'  already  derivative  *Tm 
the  Face"),  "Octopussy,"  "Flophausen"  and  "Finger- 
lickin'  Spring  Chicken"  demonstrate  abundant  junk- 
cinema  wit;  the  music  shows  continued  development 
and  structural  strength. 

Within  Take  It  OffTs  day-glo  sleeve  (in  itself  a 
radical  time-frame  jolt  for  these  orthodox  back-to-the- 
stone-agers),  the  Killers  dole  out  six  more  glistening 
slabs  from  their  well-stocked  abbatoir.  Back  to  being  a 
trio  (those  members  do  seem  to  disappear  rather  quick- 
ly), the  group  struts  its  primordial  stuff  on  "I'm  Glad 
My  Baby's  Gone"  and  six  tantalizingly  trashy  minutes 
of  "The  Sexorcist."  Talk  about  your  drive-in  massa- 
cres! [jl/i/dss] 

See  also  Pussy  Galore. 


HOODOO  GURUS 

Stoneage  Romeos  (Big  Time-A&M)  1983  * 
Mars  Needs  Guitarsl  (Big  Time-Eiektra)  1985  ® 
Blow  Your  Cool!  (Big  Time-Elektra)  1 987  • 
Magnum  Cum  Louder  (RCA)  1 989  ® 
Kinky  (RCA)  1991  • 

Australia  has  produced  few  bands  as  crazily  enter- 
taining as  Sydney's  Hoodoo  Gurus,  whose  roots  inter- 
sect with  the  early  Scientists.  Who  else  would  dedicate 
their  debut  album  to,  among  other  pop  culture  giants, 
American  TV  sitcom  stars  Larry  Storch  and  Arnold  Zif- 
fei?  That  their  music  is  an  invigorating  combination  of 
cow-punk,  garage-rock  and  demi-psychedeiia  only 
makes  it  better  fun.  "(Let's  All)  Turn  On"  is  as  good  as 
any  Lyres  song;  "In  the  Echo  Chamber"  has  the  mad 
abandon  of  prime  Cramps;  "I  Want  You  Back"  is  win- 
some teen-angst  power  pop  with  a  deadly  hook;  "I  Was 
a  Kamikaze  Pilot"  resembles  the  Fleshtones  and  dis- 
plays a  brilliant  sense  of  absurd  humor.  (Think  about 
that  title  again .  .  . )  Stoneage  Romeos  is  a  great  record. 

Mars  Needs  Guitars  I  boasts  a  hip  title,  spiffy  cover 
art,  characteristically  kitschy  thank-yous  and  a  top-notch 
opening  tune  in  "Bittersweet."  But  while  the  band's 
spirit  is  as  willing  as  ever,  an  ill-considered  mix  and 


321 


several  clumsy  arrangements  hamper  the  rough'n'ready 
delivery,  losing  the  melodies  in  the  impressive  raveup 
playing.  Such  promising  numbers  as  the  title  track, 
"Like  Wow-Wipeout"  and  the  countryfied  "Hayride  to 
Hell"  don't  come  off  the  way  they  should;  the  Gurus 
can  definitely  make  better  albums  than  this. 

The  improved  Blow  Your  Cool!  still  isn't  quite  it, 
despite  lively  electric  sound,  plenty  of  offhand  wit, 
crisp,  energetic  playing  and  hardy  melodies.  Increased 
emphasis  on  vocal  harmonies  distinguishes  Side  One; 
backup  by  the  Bangles,  blending  nicely  with  songwriter 
Dave  Faulkner's  appealing  voice  on  "What's  My 
Scene"  and  "Good  Times,"  helps  put  those  tunes  over 
the  top.  The  fine  "I  Was  the  One"  takes  a  similar  tack 
without  them.  Lest  anyone  misjudge  the  Gurus'  inten- 
tions, the  record  quickly  turns  (and  stays)  a  lot  tougher. 
Wild  geographically  minded  cave  stompers  like  "Where 
Nowhere  Is,"  "Hell  for  Leather,"  "In  the  Middle  of 
the  Land"  and  "On  My  Street"  are  happily  hard-nosed 
and  noisy;  "Party  Machine,"  which  closes  the  LP,  is 
virtually  a  tribute  to  the  Fleshtones. 

Patient  fans  were  finally  rewarded  bigtime  with  the 
spiffy  Magnum  Cum  Louder,  a  confident,  catchy  col- 
lection that  cuts  the  stylistic  affectations  to  focus  all  of 
the  group's  strengths  on  songs  that  stick.  The  classic 
power-pop  trick  of  mixing  acoustic  and  electric  rhythm 
guitars  enlivens  the  album,  especially  "Come  Any- 
time," an  unbelievably  catchy  blast  of  layered  vocals, 
guitars  and  handclaps  that  springs  from  the  same  well  as 
"I  Want  You  Back."  Elsewhere,  Brad  Shepherd  un- 
leashes a  firestorm  of  raucous  guitar  energy,  slamming 
out  AC/DC  riffrock  in  "Axegrinder,"  raving  up  "I 
Don't  Know  Anything"  and,  for  contrast,  adding  atmo- 
spheric, barely  controlled  feedback  to  the  haunting, 
stately  "Shadow  Me."  [i] 

See  also  Scientists. 

PETER  HOPE  &  RICHARD  KIRK 

See  Cabaret  Voltaire. 

BRENT  HOSIER 

See  Plan  9. 

HOTHOUSE  FLOWERS 

People  (London)  1 988  « 
Home  (London)  1990<t> 

How  one  feels  about  Hothouse  Flowers  depends 
very  much  on  one's  attitude  towards  (and  tolerance  for) 
bombast.  The  five  members  of  this  Dublin  group  are  all 
talented  musicians;  vocalist/keyboardist  Liam  O  Maon- 
lai  has  a  fine  voice  and  sings  from  the  heart.  But  there's 
a  tendency  to  bludgeon  virtually  every  song  to  death, 
slowly  building  each  up  to  a  gut- wrenching  climax,  with 
6  Maonlai  singing  for  his  life  as  the  piano  pounds  and 
the  backing  voices  wail.  To  some  listeners  this  may 
spell  S-O-U-L,  but  others  will  beg  for  R-E-L-I-E-F. 
That  said,  many  Bruce  Springsteen  and  Joe  Cocker  fans 
(to  name  just  two  popular  bombast-kings)  will  probably 
find  this  just  what  the  doctor  ordered. 

People  is  the  shorter  of  the  two  albums,  and  earns 
some  additional  points  for  the  songs  "I'm  Sorry," 
(which  contains  a  rare  bit  of  humor)  and  "Don't  Go." 
Home  features  guest  appearances  by  Steve  Nieve  and 


Daniel  Lanois,  and  contains  a  version  of  Johnny  Nash's 
pop-reggae  classic  "I  Can  See  Clearly  Now"  that'll 
blow  your  socks  off.  [ds] 

HOUSEMARTINS 

Flag  Day  EP  (nr/Gol  Discs)  1985 

Sheep  EP  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1986 

Happy  Hour  EP  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1 986 

London  0  Hull  4  (Go!  Discs-Elektra)  1986  • 

Think  for  a  Minute  EP  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1 986 

Caravan  of  Love  EP  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1 986 

The  People  Who  Grinned  Themselves  to  Death  (Go! 

Discs-Elektra)  1987® 
There  Ss  Always  Something  There  to  Remind  Me  EP 

(nr/Go!  Discs)  1988® 
Now  Thafs  What !  Call  Quite  Good!  (nr/Go!  Discs) 

1988® 

As  the  cover  of  their  first  EP  boasts,  this  quartet 
from  Hull  (actually,  only  drummer  Hugh  Whittaker's 
from  the  city;  the  rest  wound  up  there  for  various  rea- 
sons) are  quite  good,  creating  distinctive,  finely  crafted 
pop  songs.  Flag  Day  is  an  outstanding  debut,  four  pol- 
ished tunes  that  are  memorable  and  intelligent.  No  fey 
pop  wimps  here.  The  melancholy  title  track  laments  the 
economic  deterioration  of  Great  Britain;  the  punchy  and 
percussive  "Stand  at  Ease"  offers  an  unusual  view  of 
militarism.  "You"  is  bright,  bouncy  pop  with  spectac- 
ular harmonies;  "Coal  Train  to  Hatfield  Main"  is  a 
country  stomp.  Paul  Heaton's  vocals  shine  throughout, 
providing  an  integral  part  of  the  Housemartins'  overall 
charm. 

They  followed  with  Sheep:  three  fine  pop  songs  plus 
an  extraordinary  a  cappella  cover  of  Curtis  Mayfield's 
uplifting  "People  Get  Ready"  and  a  choir-filled  gospel 
song.  As  the  sleeve  states,  "The  Housemartins  are  my 
bestest  band."  Happy  Hour  propelled  the  House- 
martins  headfirst  into  the  top  of  the  UK  charts  (no  mean 
feat  for  a  band  on  an  independent  label)  and  earned 
them  an  American  record  contract.  Exuberant  guitar  pop 
at  its  best,  the  title  song  is  a  humorous  dig  at  the  yuppie 
lifestyle. 

After  Happy  Hour  came  a  brilliant  debut  album. 
London  0  Hull  4  (a  play  on  an  age-old  soccer  rivalry), 
a  dozen  perfect  pop  jewels  (including  "Sheep"  and 
"Hag  Day"),  firmly  established  the  band's  position  as 
crown  princes  of  the  three-minute  pop  classic.  From  the 
lusty  bounce  of  "Happy  Hour"  to  the  gospel  tones  of 
"Lean  on  Me,"  the  Housemartins  are  lyrically  literate 
and  musically  precise. 

Think  for  a  Minute  continues  the  band's  ascent  to 
stardom.  Five  flawless  tracks,  including  the  title  song 
(remixed  from  London  0  Hull  4)  and  a  delightful  ex- 
cursion into  rap  music  entitled  "Rap  Around  the 
Clock." 

Caravan  of  Love  (the  title  track  is  an  Isley/Jasper/ 
Isley  song)  confirms  the  quartet's  spiritual  side  and  ap- 
titude for  gospel  stylings  with  five  songs  of  praise  done 
a  cappella.  Considering  Heaton's  voice,  this  is  as  nat- 
ural and  comfortable  an  inclination  as  their  usual  pop 
trappings. 

Personnel  and  musical  changes  marred  the  band's 
second  album,  The  People  Who  Grinned  Themselves 
to  Death.  Heaton's  lyrics,  once  pointed  and  exact,  have 
become  obtuse  and,  in  some  instances  ("Me  and  the 


322 


Farmer,"  "I  Can't  Put  My  Finger  on  It"),  downright 
inane.  The  title  track,  "You  Better  Be  Doubtful"  and 
the  solemn  "Johannesburg"  provide  some  good  mo- 
ments, but  the  majority  of  songs  lack  the  immediate 
impact  of  previous  Housemartins  records.  (The  LP's  US 
version  contains  a  bonus  45  of  "Caravan  of  Love"  b/w 
"The  Day  I  Met  Jesus.")  It's  clear  from  this  album  the 
band's  pop  throne  might  be  in  jeopardy — a  supposition 
turned  fact  when  they  disbanded  months  after  its  re- 
lease. 

The  Housemartins'  final  UK  single,  "There  Is  Al- 
ways Something  There  to  Remind  Me"  (not  the 
Bacharach/David  tune),  is  included  on  Now  That's 
What  I  Call  Quite  Good!,  a  posthumous  double  album 
whose  24  tracks — hits,  album  material,  B-sides,  radio 
sessions  and  unreleased  songs — span  the  band's  entire 
career.  Though  London  0  Hull  4  remains  the  essential 
Housemartins  disc  to  own,  Now  That's  What  I  Call 
Quite  Good  offers  a  fine  overview.  [ag/hd] 

See  also  Beats  International,  Beautiful  South. 

HOUSE  OF  FREAKS 

Monkey  on  a  Chain  Gang  (Rhino)  1 987  ® 

Tantilla  (Rhino)  1989® 

All  My  Friends  EP  (Rhino)  1989  ® 

Anyone  skeptical  of  a  two-piece  rock'n'roll  band 
should  immediately  check  out  Virginia-to-California 
transplants  Bryan  Harvey  and  Johnny  Hott.  What  makes 
House  of  Freaks  work  is  not  the  novelty  of  the  guitar 
V drums  lineup,  but  Harvey's  guitar  and  vocals,  which 
jump  out  at  you  with  all  urgency  and  stripped-down 
emotionalism.  Furthermore,  Hott's  industrial-strength 
drumming  and  Harvey's  terrific  songs  that  draw  on 
American  folklore  and  mythology  from  the  days  of  the 
slave  trade  up  through  the  atomic  era  make  for  a  win- 
ning combination  of  punch  and  intelligence.  The  Mon- 
key on  a  Chain  Gang  CD  adds  two  bonus  tracks. 

Produced  by  John  Leckie,  the  masterful  TantlUa  is 
liberally  sprinkled  with  lyrical  expressions  of  the 
Freaks'  Southern  (and  religious)  heritage.  Over  mem- 
orably original  music  that  smolders  with  repressed  pas- 
sion and  explodes  in  gloriously  liberated  choruses, 
Harvey  castigates  the  memory  of  Jim  Crow  racism 
("White  Folk's  Blood"),  summons  up  the  Civil  War 
("Big  Houses"),  questions  religious  faith  ("The  Righ- 
teous Will  Fall,"  "I  Want  Answers")  and  ruminates  on 
his  roots  ("Family  Tree").  The  duo's  unabashed  rock 
edge  invests  the  catchy  folk  melodies  with  sturdy  power; 
a  piano/organ-playing  guest  adds  a  bit  of  subtle  texture 
to  the  band's  ample  resources.  Absolutely  first-rate. 

Little  on  the  six-song  All  My  Friends,  however, 
comes  close.  Guest  horns  (a  nice  touch)  don't  make  up 
for  the  listless  material's  tossed-off  melodies  or  stylistic 
dilettantism;  the  lyrics  (about  pop  star  reality  and  arma- 
geddon)  have  scant  cultural  resonance.  "Pass  Me  the 
Gun,"  a  dissonant  and  downcast  effort  that  sounds  like 
a  Tantilla  outtake  is  the  record's  only  bright  spot. 

[ds/i] 

HOUSE  OF  LOVE 

The  House  of  Love  (Creation-Relativity)  1988  « 

The  House  of  Love  (Ger.  Creation- Rough  Trade)  1 988  « 

The  House  of  Love  (Fontana-PolyGram)  1 990  • 


A  Spy  in  the  House  of  Love  (nr/Fontana)  1990  (Fontarta) 

1991  • 

The  Smiths'  massive  success  rewrote  the  rules  for 
British  indie  bands,  laying  a  perilous  path  for  artists 
whose  non-rnainstream  musical  ideas  masked  serious 
commercial  aspirations.  For  a  group  like  London's 
House  of  Love,  the  realities  of  building  substantial  pop- 
ularity on  the  Creation  label  into  full-fledged  pop  star- 
dom proved  disastrous,  and  nearly  ended  its  career  after 
one  album. 

Originally  a  quintet  with  three  guitarists,  House  of 
Love  caught  England's  attention  with  its  third  single, 
the  insidious  Jesus  &.  Mary  Chain-meets-the-Left  Banke 
three-chord  pop  of  "Christine,"  later  the  leadoff  track 
of  the  quartet's  (typically)  untitled  debut  album  (the 
cover  pictures  two  band  members).  While  the  self- 
produced  music  on  this  effectively  uncomplicated  LP 
explores  some  of  the  same  stately  and  weird  '60s  ele- 
vations as  the  psychedelic  Rolling  Stones  and  the  Bun- 
nymen,  singer/guitarist  Guy  Chadwick's  reassuring 
deadpan  also  conjures  up  Velvet  Underground  tension 
and  occasionally  dips  into  a  quixotic  Robyn  Hitchcock 
drone.  "Road"  accentuates  a  nifty  up-and-down  guitar 
line;  the  vacuous  "Love  in  a  Car"  echoes  away  into 
oblivion  with  grace  and  beauty. 

After  The  House  of  Love  became  a  sizable  UK  hit, 
the  band  signed  to  PolyGram  and  spent  the  better  part  of 
two  years  making  a  follow-up.  The  second  untitled  al- 
bum (generally  known  abroad  as  Fontana)  was  re- 
corded, scrapped  and  redone,  ultimately  employing  four 
different  producers  in  four  separate  bouts  of  recording. 
Lead  guitarist  Terry  Bickers  quit  amid  the  turmoil  in 
early  '90,  and  hasn't  been  adequately  replaced  since. 
Despite  its  painful  creation,  the  album  (butterfly  cover) 
proves  to  be  surprisingly  well  crafted  and  consistently 
great,  easily  bettering  the  debut. 

Built  around  a  sharp  new  version  of  " Shine  On" 
(the  band's  first  single,  from  1987),  The  House  of  Love 
has  a  placid  atmosphere  that  keeps  the  songs'  edgy  mood 
from  being  immediately  apparent.  Having  endured  ar- 
tistic crisis,  the  House  of  Love  now  has  the  dexterity  to 
bring  off  the  crackling  "Hannah"  and  "I  Don't  Know 
Why  I  Love  You"  as  well  as  the  temerity  to  attempt  the 
quiet  tribute  of  "Beatles  and  the  Stones."  Meanwhile, 
"In  a  Room"  and  "32nd  Floor"  slither  menacingly, 
little  eruptions  shimmering  up  from  the  depths. 

The  German  compilation  collects  up  early  singles, 
offering  a  primitive  but  more  exciting  view  of  the  band's 
beginnings  than  the  debut  album.  If  nothing  else,  it's 
worth  owning  for  two  fantastic  (and  otherwise  rare) 
B-sides:  "Plastic"  and  the  ebullient  "Nothing  to  Me." 

Far  less  compelling  is  the  later  compilation,  known 
as  A  Spy  in  the  House  of  Love  because  of  the  Anais 
Nin  novel  prominently  displayed  on  the  cover.  A 
fourteen-track  patchwork  of  three  unreleased  leftovers 
from  the  abandoned  second  album  and  outtakes  that 
were  subsequently  used  as  B-sides,  it's  not  hard  to  un- 
derstand why  these  efforts  were  deemed  inadequate  or 
relegated  to  supporting  roles.  Nevertheless,  it  is  an  eco- 
nomical purchase  for  fans  who  may  have  missed  some 
of  the  preceding  year's  multi-format  singles.  [jr] 

HOUSE  OF  SCHOCK 

See  Go-Go's. 


323 


CHRIS  HOUSTON  AND 
THE  SEX  MACHINE 

See  Forgotten  Rebels. 

PENELOPE  HOUSTON 

See  Avengers. 

ROWLAND  S.  HOWARD 

See  Barracudas,  Birthday  Party,  Crime  and  the  City 
Solution,  Lydia  Lunch,  Nikki  Sudden,  These  Immortal 
Souls. 

& 

VACATION 

See  Windbreakers. 

H.P. 

...  And  There  Was  Light  EP  (Matador)  1 989 
Beyond  It  AH  (Roughneck-Fire)  1990  <!> 
The  Sunshine  (Roughneck-Fire)  1991  ® 

Raised  and  originally  based  in  Innsbruck,  Austria, 
Hans  Platzgumer  and  Frank  Puempel  had  toured  Europe 
with  several  bands  (and  managed  prolific  recording  ca- 
reers as  precocious  teens)  before  relocating  to  New  York 
in  mid-'89  as  H.P.  Zinker.  Produced  by  Wharton  Tiers 
and  recorded  with  a  drum  machine,  .  .  .  And  There 
Was  Light  opens  with  a  cover  of  Led  Zeppelin's 
"Dancing  Days";  from  there,  the  weird  original  mate- 
rial fuses  metal  with  classical,  punk,  jazz,  folk  and 
noise.  The  rumblin'  rockers  and  intricate,  intriguing 
soundscapes  would  be  a  lot  easier  to  take  seriously  in  a 
voice  that  didn't  so  unmistakably  recall  Elmer  Fudd; 
still,  the  song  writing  and  imagination  resonate  long  af- 
ter the  initial  laughter. 

Beyond  It  All  adds  drummer  Dave  Wasik  and  shows 
dramatic  improvement  on  all  fronts.  The  power-trio  for- 
mat enables  Zinker  to  create  looming,  pristine  riffs  (not 
unlike  Dinosaur  Jr.)  amid  the  neo-classicism,  shades  of 
Sabbath  and  balls-out  rock.  Lengthy  instrumental  pas- 
sages make  for  some  startling  updates  on  early- '70s  pro- 
gressive but,  unlike  the  icons  of  that  genre,  Zinker 
seldom  wanders  into  excess  or  incoherence.  Platzgumer 
no  longer  sounds  even  remotely  like  a  cartoon,  and  the 
lyrics  ("Some  of  the  triangles  have  four  sides/ And  some 
have  five/ And  some  of  them  have  five  raised  to  the  fifth 
power  of  sides")  are  likewise  no  joke.  [ja] 

H.R. 

See  Bad  Brains. 

HUANG  CHUNG 

See  Wang  Chung. 

HUDSON-STYRENE 

See  Paul  Marotta. 

HUGO  LARGO 

Drum  (Relativity)  1987  (Opal-Warner  Bros.)  1988  • 
Mettle  (Opal-Warner  Bros.)  1989  * 


Responding  to  the  predominance  of  noisemongers 
on  the  New  York  downtown  hipster  scene,  rock  critic- 
tumed-Glenn  Branca  sideman  Tim  Sommer  took  a  turn 
for  the  ethereally  haunting  and  formed  Hugo  Largo:  two 
bassists,  an  electric  violinist  and  indescribable  vocalist 
Mimi  Goese.  Dram,  a  sublime  seven-song  mini-album 
produced  in  part  by  Michael  Stipe,  builds  a  remarkable 
bridge  between  new  age  airiness  and  sturdy  new  wave 
experimentation.  While  Goese's  voice  dives  and  glides 
as  if  airborne,  the  three  instruments  (plus  a  touch  of 
guitar)  play  at  a  measured  tempo  that  belies  their  power; 
lyrics  are  diverted  into  evocative,  mesmerizing  sounds. 
Although  the  originals  are  substantially  engaging,  an 
almost  unrecognizable  rendition  of  Ray  Davies' 
"Fancy"  provides  a  beautiful  highlight.  (The  1988  re- 
issue on  Brian  Eno's  label  is  remixed  and  contains  two 
additional  tracks.) 

With  violinist  Hahn  Rowe  stepping  forward  as  chief 
producer,  Mettle  has  a  clearer,  more  vibrant  sound.  As 
the  group  serves  up  memorable  melodies  on  pieces  like 
"Turtle  Song"  and  "Hot  Day,"  Goese  executes  daring 
vocal  feats.  Like  the  debut,  Mettle  builds  to  a  dramatic 
climax  near  the  end  with  "Nevermind."  After  Hugo 
Largo  played  its  last  gig  in  the  summer  of  1989,  the 
foursome  scattered  into  assorted  projects  and  careers, 
although  a  new  incarnation  of  the  group  surfaced  two 
years  later.  [i/ws] 

HULA 

Cut  from  Inside  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 983 
Murmur  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1984 
1,000  Hours  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1986 
Shadowland  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 986 
Voice  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 986 
Cut  Me  Loose  EP  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 987 
Threshold  (Red  Rhino-Fundamental)  1987  • 
VCI  EP  (Wax  Traxl)  1988 

JOHN 

Jessica  in  the  Room  of  Lights  (nr/Technical)  1986 

Formed  in  Sheffield  by  guitarist/tape  manipulator 
Ron  Wright,  Hula  furrowed  a  techno-industrial-multi- 
media  path  unmistakably  influenced  by  Cabaret  Voltaire 
(whose  Stephen  Mallinder  produced  their  first  single), 
yet  fused  with  their  own  esoteric  impulses  into  a  unique 
strain  of  future-shock  rock.  Hula  undercut  its  cluttered 
rhythms  and  flanged,  ranting  vocals  with  seriously 
funky  bass  and  a  disorienting  melodic  undertow;  the 
media-overload  of  their  live  shows  (employing  at  least 
a  dozen  film  projectors)  combined  with  the  pulverizing 
music  to  build  a  mindbomb  of  epic  proportions. 
Throughout  its  career,  Hula  released  its  best  work  on 
45s,  keeping  LPs  more  deliberately  experimental. 

Cut  from  Inside  and  Murmur  veer  between  funk, 
tribal,  jazz-ish  territory  and  noise;  although  the  band's 
fascination  with  media  sometimes  led  it  down  aural 
blind  alleys  of  tape-loops  and  grating  noise,  the  hypno- 
ambient  grooves  of  "Tear-Up"  and  "Mother  Courage" 
are  both  timely  and  prescient. 

By  1985,  however,  serious  self-indulgence  began  to 
creep  in.  The  two-record  1,000  Hours  combines  a  thin- 
sounding  live  LP  with  a  side  each  of  more  singles- 
oriented  material  and  ominous,  ambient  drone. 
Likewise,  Shadowland — a  mostly  improvised  sound- 
track to  an  art  exhibit — is  meandering  and  badly  re- 


324 


corded  drivel.  Voice,  which  includes  three  songs 
produced  by  Mute  supremo  Daniel  Miller,  is  relatively 
coherent  and  accessible,  yet  ironically  less  interesting. 
It  does,  however,  contain  one  ace  dance  track  ("Poi- 
son"). 

The  excellent  Threshold  singles  compilation  is  by 
far  Hula's  best  release;  it's  also  the  only  one  that  con- 
sists predominantly  of  the  throbbing,  brutal  techno-funk 
upon  which  the  band  built  its  reputation.  The  CD  and 
cassette  tack  on  three  extra  cuts. 

Following  the  1988  demise  of  Red  Rhino,  Hula  (by 
then  just  Wright  and  bassist  John  Avery)  disappeared 
from  view.  The  band's  last  release  (its  first  on  Wax 
Trax!)  was  a  dreary  "dance"  version  of  Hendrix's 
"Voodoo  Chile,"  aptly  subtitled  "Very  slight  return." 

Avery 's  LP  contains  quiet,  ambient  instrumentals  in 
an  Eno/Bowie/Sylvian  vein — hypnotic,  cold  atmo- 
spheres that  would  have  made  an  excellent  soundtrack 
to  a  Wim  Wenders  film.  [ja] 

Hereafter  (Nate  Starkman  &  Son)  1 988 

This  turn-of-the-decade  LA  quintet  featured  such  fu- 
ture stars  of  the  California  underground  as  drummer 
Dennis  Duck  (Dream  Syndicate),  guitarist  Juan  Gomez 
(Romans)  and  keyboardist  Bill  Noland  (Wall  of  Voo- 
doo). Although  Human  Hands  never  recorded  an  album 
proper,  a  limited-edition  (and  now  hopelessly  rare)  two- 
disc  demos/live  compilation  was  issued  by  Independent 
Projects  in  1982,  later  followed  by  a  posthumous  retro- 
spective. Assembling  Human  Hands'  few  singles,  com- 
pilation contributions  and  a  few  items  from  the  first  LP, 
Hereafter  is  an  intriguing  document  of  an  ambitious 
outfit  with  lots  of  good  ideas  and  uncommon  influences. 
Pleasantly  comparable  in  spots  to  pop  groups  like  the 
Monochrome  Set  or  Yachts,  but  also  capable  of  disturb- 
ing art/jazz  angles  and  fringey  experiments  (like  Duck's 
percussion/found-sound/tape  manipulation  piece,  "In 
the  Heart  of  China"),  Human  Hands  are  not  the  missing 
link  or  anything.  But  Hereafter  does  add  a  neat  para- 
graph to  West  Coast  rock  history.  [i] 

See  also  Dream  Syndicate,  Wall  of  Voodoo. 

HUMAN  LEAGUE 

Dignity  of  Labour  Pts.  1-4  EP  (nr/Fast  Product)  1979 
Reproduction  (nr/Virgin)  1979  (Virgin)  1988  ® 
Travelogue  (Virgin  Infl)  1980  (Virgin)  1988  « 
Dare  (A&M)  1981  ® 
Fascination!  EP  (A&M)  1 983 
Hysteria  (A&M)  1 984  • 
Crash  (Virgin-A&M)  1 986  • 
Greatest  Hits  (Virgin-A&M)  1 988  « 
Romantic?  (Virgin-A&M)  1990  * 

LEAGUE  UNLIMITED  ORCHESTRA 

Love  and  Dancing  (A&M)  1982  • 

PHILIP  OAKEY  &  GIORGIO 
MORODER 

Philip  Oakey  &  Giorgio  Moroder  (Virgin-A&M)  1985  • 

LOOT! 

Loot!(nr/Homa)1990 

It  took  a  near-fatal  lineup  overhaul,  two  develop- 
mental albums  and  a  fortuitous  partnership  with  the  right 


producer  to  put  the  Human  League  in  a  position  to  cre- 
ate the  record  that  would  make  them,  for  a  time,  the 
unchallenged  world  champs  of  synthesizer  pop.  Inter- 
estingly, the  group  that  topped  the  charts  in  1982  with 
"Don't  You  Want  Me"  bears  almost  no  resemblance  to 
the  dour  trio  that  recorded  * 'Being  Boiled"  for  Fast 
Product  in  1978. 

The  first  two  albums  were  the  work  of  Sheffield's 
Phil  Oakey,  Ian  Craig  Marsh,  Maityn  Ware  (all  synth/ 
vocals)  and  Philip  Adnan  Wright,  who  handled  vis- 
ual chores.  Reproduction  suffers  from  a  simplistic 
approach — high-tech  primitivism — given  added  monot- 
ony by  Oakey's  frequently  deadpan  vocals.  Amid  all  the 
glum  sonic  novelties  (like  "You've  Lost  That  Loving 
Feeling"),  the  atmospheric  "Morale"  and  the  surpris- 
ingly poppy  "Empire  State  Human"  indicated  promise 
for  the  future  and  brought  the  League — at  a  time  when 
such  a  notion  seemed  farfetched — some  success  on  the 
British  charts. 

Travelogue  is  much  better,  broadening  the  palette 
to  include  a  wide  variety  of  subtle  synthesizer  shadings, 
from  the  arcane  to  the  sublime,  and  introducing  vastly 
improved  material.  Lyrical  subjects  concern  science- 
fiction  and  kitsch  culture.  Although  still  emotionally 
ambivalent,  Travelogue  is  warmer  and  more  fun  than 
its  predecessor,  and  suggested  a  direction  for  the  band  to 
pursue. 

And  pursue  it  they  did.  After  a  schism  sent  Marsh 
and  Ware  off  as  the  British  Electric  Foundation,  Oakey 
and  Wright  revamped  the  Human  League  with  four  new 
members  (Ian  Burden,  Susanne  Sulley,  Joanne  Gather- 
all  and  ex-Rezillo  guitarist  Jo  Callis)  and  a  rededication 
to  danceable  pop  music.  That  intent,  along  with  pro- 
ducer Martin  Rushent — whose  skills  dovetailed  with  al- 
most all  of  the  band's  shortcomings  (almost  all — there's 
no  cure  for  Oakey 's  crooning) — ultimately  led  to  such 
interplanetary  hits  as  "Don't  You  Want  Me"  and  "Love 
Action  (I  Believe  in  Love)."  The  irresistible  mix  of 
state-of-the-art  technology  and  old-fashioned  pop-single 
formulae  set  millions  of  toes  tapping,  although  the  Dare 
LP  contains  much  headier  and  heavier  stuff  as  well. 
With  incredible  ambience  and  subtle  tension, 
"Seconds" — about  the  Kennedy  assassination — is,  in 
fact,  the  LP's  unheralded  best  track.  A  great  record,  and 
not  just  for  its  popular  songs. 

The  trailblazing  (for  white  rockers,  that  is)  remix 
album,  Love  and  Dancing,  pays  titular  homage  of  sorts 
to  Barry  White  and  contains  Rushent' s  revamped  ver- 
sions of  seven  cuts  from  Dare,  plus  one  extra  tune. 
Some  of  the  record  bears  listening  to;  other  parts,  how- 
ever, are  either  repetitively  dull  or  noisily  annoying. 

Subsequently  proven  incapable  of  delivering  a 
timely  follow-up  to  sustain  their  new-found  mega- 
stardom,  the  Human  League  had  to  make  do  with  stop- 
gap singles,  two  of  which  were  compiled  on  the 
Fascination!  EP.  "Mirror  Man"  is  pedestrian  but 
catchy;  "(Keep  Feeling)  Fascination"  (which  appears 
here  in  its  original  form  and  an  extended  remix),  how- 
ever, is  ruined  by  awful  sick-cow  vibrato  on  the  syn- 
thetic horns. 

Three  years  after  Dare,  following  a  pitched  battle 
with  their  commercial  insecurities,  the  League  finally 
came  up  with  Hysteria.  Following  a  traumatic  split  with 
Rushent,  the  band  itself  produced  the  LP  with  Chris 
Thomas  and  Hugh  Padgham,  wisely  omitting  the  prior 


325 


45s  in  favor  of  new  songs,  some  of  which  are  quite 
good.  Stretching  styles  to  encompass  a  subtler,  tender 
side,  the  ballads  ("Louise,"  "Life  on  Your  Own") 
provide  the  record's  most  engaging  moments,  although 
they  exacerbate  Oakey's  vocal  limitations.  Taking  an 
ill-advised  political  turn,  "The  Lebanon'*  offers  sim- 
pleminded  drama  with  a  pop  hook;  "Don't  You  Know 
I  Want  You"  is  an  almost-clever  attempt  to  acknowl- 
edge and  recycle  the  sound  (and  title)  of  their  biggest 
hit. 

During  another  Human  League  hibernation,  Oakey 
collaborated  with  Giorgio  Moroder,  first  on  a  song  for 
the  Electric  Dreams  film  soundtrack,  then  continued  the 
partnership  for  a  joint  album.  Giorgio  wrote  the  music 
and  produced;  Phil  added  lyrics  and  sang;  Arthur  Bar- 
row and  Richie  Zito  provided  the  backing  tracks  on, 
respectively,  synth  and  guitar.  With  a  bouncy,  upbeat 
sound,  it's  an  unchallenging  bit  of  fun  that  could  easily 
be  mistaken  for  a  jollified  League  record  were  it  not  for 
Moroder 's  lighthanded,  deft  arrangements  and  percolat- 
ing tunes.  "Good-bye  Bad  Times"  and  a  reprise  of 
"Together  in  Electric  Dreams"  stand  out,  but  the  rest  is 
almost  as  immediately  enjoyable. 

In  a  desperate  maneuver  to  locate  a  functional  mu- 
sical personality,  the  Human  League  enlisted  the  stun- 
ningly successful  pop-funk  team  of  Jimmy  Jam  and 
Terry  Lewis  to  produce  and  co-write  the  absurdly  mis- 
begotten Crash.  The  imprudent  collaboration  produced 
a  collection  of  musical  nightmares:  preening  soul  bal- 
lads ("Human,"  "Love  Is  All  That  Matters")  that 
Oakey  isn't  up  to  singing,  fraudulent  funk  workouts 
("Swang,"  "Jam,"  "I  Need  Your  Loving")  that  only 
underscore  the  band's  emotional  sterility  and  inadequate 
dance-rock  ("Money,"  "Love  on  the  Run")  that  trails 
the  field's  cutting  edge  by  a  few  years.  Like  the  cover's 
intentionally  out-of-focus  photograph,  this  halfhearted 
effort  falls  well  short  of  nominal  quality  standards. 

When  another  couple  of  years  had  passed  without 
productive  noise  from  the  League's  camp,  Greatest 
Hits  arrived  to  keep  the  band's  name  in  circulation.  This 
non-chronological  assembly  of  a  dozen  singles,  from 
1978's  "Being  Boiled"  through  1986's  "Human,"  is 
not  a  very  compelling  reminder  of  why  anyone  ever 
took  this  music  seriously.  Although  bits  and  pieces  stand 
up  to  the  test  of  a  few  years'  time,  the  cream  of  this  crop 
is  more  like  crap.  (The  American  edition  deletes  "To- 
gether in  Electric  Dreams.") 

Disproving  rumors  of  non-existence,  a  five-piece 
Human  League  (Oakey,  Catherall  and  Sulley,  joined  by 
recent  arrivals  on  guitar  and  keyboards)  resurfaced  with 
the  labored  and  dull  Romantic?  in  1990.  Half  a  dozen 
producers  (including  the  long-missing  Martin  Rushent) 
vainly  try  to  breathe  life  into  the  weak  songs,  even 
adding  a  few  house  elements  in  hopes  of  helping  the 
once-futurist  group  catch  up  with  the  present. 

After  leaving  the  League,  Callis  formed  a  group 
called  SWALK;  Loot!  is  Ian  Burden's  new  band,  [i] 

See  also  British  Electric  Foundation,  Heaven  17, 
Shake. 


HUMAN  SEXUAL  RESPONSE 

Figure  14  (Eat-Passport)  1980 
In  a  Roman  Mood  (Passport)  1981 


A  most  promising  (but  ultimately  unsuccessful) 
band  from  Boston,  the  seven-person  HSR  (including 
four  vocalists!)  explored  sexual  identities,  both  physical 
and  mental,  on  Figure  14,  as  on  the  wonderful  "What 
Does  Sex  Mean  to  Me?"  Elsewhere,  there's  a  healthy 
irreverence  towards  the  famous  and  the  neurotic,  with 
sex  never  quite  out  of  the  picture.  Leanings  in  the  di- 
rection of  art  rock,  led  by  singer  Larry  Bangor's  Tom 
Verlaine-style  vocals,  occasionally  get  HSR  in  trouble, 
coming  off  too  cute. 

In  a  Roman  Mood  is  darker  and  more  oblique  than 
Figure  14,  showcasing  the  band's  growing  lyrical  com- 
plexity regarding  human  beings  and  what  they  expect 
from  each  other.  Again  their  nervous  rhythms — over  an 
entire  LP — don't  produce  anything  outstanding.  Human 
Sexual  Response  makes  background  music  for  difficult 
relationships. 

The  band  broke  up  in  1982  and  spawned  several 
offshoots.  A  reunion  show  took  place  on  Halloween 
1984.  [gk] 

See  also  Zulus. 


HUMAN  SWITCHBOARD 

The  Human  Switchboard  EP  (Under  the  Rug)  1977 
Human  Switchboard  Live  (no  label)  1980 
Who's  Landing  in  My  Hangar?  (Faulty  Products)  1981 
Coffee  Break  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 982 

BOB  PFEIFER 

After  Words  (Passport)  1 987  * 

MYRNA 

Human  Touch  EP  (OKra)  1989 

Transplant  the  early  Velvet  Underground  to  the  late 
'70s,  trade  that  band's  kinkier  concerns  for  conventional 
male-female  issues,  and  you've  got  Kent,  Ohio's  Hu- 
man Switchboard  in  a  nutshell.  Repeated  disclaimers 
aside,  leader  Bob  Pfeifer  sings  in  a  dry,  ironic  style 
suggestive  of  young  Lou  Reed,  and  Myrna  Marcarian's 
wobbly  organ-playing  adds  an  amateurish  tint  that 
evokes  White  Light/White  Heat. 

The  Human  Switchboard  debuted  with  a  junky- 
sounding  7-inch  (mixed  by  Pere  Ubu's  David  Thomas) 
whose  four  songs  clearly  (if  ineptly)  demonstrate  the 
two  sides  of  the  trio's  sound.  "Distemper"  and  "Shake 
It,  Boys"  are  straight  garage  rock,  while  "San  Fran- 
cisco Nights"  is  a  total  Lou  Reed  imitation. 

On  the  Switchboard's  sole  studio  album,  Who's 
Landing  in  My  Hangar?,  Pfeifer  creates  a  neurotic, 
high-strung  persona  that  makes  for  gripping  listening. 
Two  uptempo  cuts  ("Book  on  Looks"  and  "(I  Used  to) 
Believe  in  You")  celebrate  the  ups  and  downs  of  ro- 
mance, while  the  LP's  high  point,  "Refrigerator  Door," 
carefully  weaves  an  intriguing  web  of  personal  details. 
It  all  seems  embarrassingly  confessional,  which  is  a 
pretty  neat  trick. 

The  Switchboard's  other  two  releases  are  live  re- 
cordings that  overlap  material  extensively  with  Hangar; 
both  are  interesting,  if  redundant.  The  1980  disc,  an 
authorized  bootleg,  features  Marcarian's  haunting  ren- 
dition of  "Downtown."  Coffee  Break  is  from  a  No- 
vember 1981  Cleveland  radio  broadcast. 

Time  mellows  even  a  sourpuss  like  Pfeifer,  it  seems. 
Without  the  Switchboard  behind  him  (though  ex- 


326 


members  of  the  defunct  group  appear  on  After  Words), 
he's  looser,  more  willing  to  play  off  the  rhythms,  which 
themselves  are  less  constricted  than  before.  Pfeifer's 
still  got  an  obvious  affinity  for  Lou  Reed's  plain-spoken 
approach  to  interpersonal  tales,  offering  diary-like  ac- 
counts in  "She  Always  Smiled"  and  "I'm  Better  for 
You."  In  "Knock-Knock,"  he  finally  succumbs  to  the 
urge  to  do  a  straight  Reed  imitation.  Otherwise,  worth- 
while. 

Myrna  Marcarian's  solo  EP  may  leave  folks  wishing 
she'd  stepped  out  sooner.  Apart  from  a  track  in  a  Switch- 
board vein  that  finds  her  sounding  unpleasantly  like 
Stevie  Nicks,  she  successfully  tackles  some  tough,  driv- 
ing rockers  here,  assisted  by  nimble  guitarist  Jack 
Johnson  and  ex-Switchboard  drummer  Ron  Metz. 

B/jy] 


HUMMINGBIRDS 

loveBUZZ  (rooArt-PoIyGram)  1990  4> 

Australia's  Hummingbirds  play  an  agreeable  form 
of  brisk  guitar-band  pop  that's  hypnotic  in  small  doses, 
but  soporific  at  full-CD  (55  minutes)  length.  With  clas- 
sicist Mitch  Easter  producing,  the  Sydney  quartet's  de- 
but emphasizes  a  ringing  blend  of  male  and  female 
three-part  harmonies,  generating  a  sweet,  airy  vibe  with 
unabashed  guitar  energy.  While  toned-down  efforts  like 
"Everything  You  Said"  (which  resembles  a  juiceless 
Primitives)  occasionally  threaten  preciousness,  the 
rhythm  section  kicks  hard  enough  in  songs  like 
"Blush,"  "Word  Gets  Around"  and  "Get  on  Down" 
to  keep  the  record  in  a  good  gear.  [jyl 


IAN  HUNTER 

Short  Back  n'  Sides  (Chrysalis)  1 981 

Ian  Hunter  emerged  as  an  early  patron  saint  of 
punk — quite  a  feat  considering  that  the  movement  was 
allegedly  based  on  the  rejection  of  his  generation  of  old 
wave  musicians.  Hunter's  popularity  with  the  young 
rebels  stemmed  primarily  from  his  salad  years  as  leader 
of  Mott  the  Hoople  and  was  based  on  attitude  as  much 
as  music.  In  the  late  '60s  and  early  '70s,  Hunter  and 
band  were  down-to-earth,  streetwise  blokes  who  voiced 
a  sense  of  disillusionment  and  failure  instead  of  indulg- 
ing in  the  fantasy  and  self-aggrandizement  typical  of  so 
many  big-league  rockers.  Punks  of  the  later  '70s  saw 
themselves  as  fighting  against  the  same  climate  of  un- 
reality and  vanity. 

Specifics:  Beginning  with  Mott's  debut,  Mott  the 
Hoople,  you  can  hear  the  tight,  driving  guitar  of  Mick 
Ralphs,  later  appropriated  in  whole  by  the  Clash,  Pis- 
tols and,  most  pointedly,  Generation  X.  Mott's  "Vi- 
olence" and  The  Hoople 's  "Crash  Street  Kids"  both 
forecast  with  uncanny  accuracy  the  emergence  of  a 
new  generation  of  disaffected,  angry  kids.  Hunter  pro- 
duced Gen  X's  second  LP,  Valley  of  the  Dolls.  The 
late  Guy  Stevens,  who  pulled  Mott  together  and  pro- 
duced their  first  four  LPs,  produced  the  Clash's  Lon- 
don Calling. 

Mick  Jones  joined  with  long-time  Hunter-mate  Mick 
Ronson  to  produce  lan's  sixth  solo  effort,  Short  Back 
n*  Sides,  an  ambitious,  unfocused  LP  with  a  Clash- 


family  guest  list  that  covers  more  styles  than  a  single 
record  should.  Still,  Hunter  continues  to  be  the  straight- 
shooter  that  originally  endeared  him  to  his  "kids." 

OyJ 
& 

Hunten  &  Collectors  (Aus.  White  Label)  1 982 

Hunters  &  Collectors  (Oz-A&M)  1 983 

Fireman's  Curse  (nr/Virgin)  1983 

The  Jaws  of  Life  (Slash)  1984 

Way  to  Go  Out  (Aus.  White  Label)  1 985 

Human  Frailty  (IRS)  1986* 

Living  Daylight  EP  (IRS)  1987  ® 

Whaf s  a  Few  Men  (Aus.  White  Label)  1 987  • 

Fete  (IRS)  1988o 

Ghost  Nation  (Atlantic)  1990  • 

Collected  Works  (IRS)  1990  <i> 

At  the  outset,  Melbourne's  Hunters  &  Collectors 
offered  an  Australian  response  to  the  Fall:  an  unremit- 
tingly bleak  and  powerful  ensemble  capable  of  horren- 
dous noise,  gripping  drama  and  slithery  funk.  They  do 
all  three  on  both  eponymous  albums,  which  are  almost 
entirely  different  records.  The  Australian  release  is  a 
self-produced  double-album  with  only  three  tracks  com- 
mon to  the  UK/US  single  disc  of  the  same  name,  which 
Mike  Hewlett  produced.  (And  remixed  *  Talking  to  a 
Stranger.")  Utterly  oblique  lyrics  (and  a  credit  to  the 
band  as  a  whole  for  'lyrics,  music,  artwork,  manage- 
ment") typify  this  enigmatic  album.  Fans  of  challeng- 
ing, noisy  rock  and  rhythm  should  enjoy,  if  not 
understand,  this;  real  enthusiasts  would  do  well  to  seek 
out  both  versions. 

It  took  a  while  to  locate  another  American  label 
courageous  enough  to  take  the  band  on,  but  eventually 
Slash  saw  their  way  clear  to  releasing  The  Jaws  of  Life, 
recorded  in  Germany  with  Conny  Plank.  Thanks  to  nor- 
mal cover  info,  it  becomes  possible  to  compliment  bass- 
ist John  Archer  and  drummer  Doug  Falconer  for  their 
dominant  rhythm  work,  suggest  that  guitarist  Mark  Sey- 
mour let  someone  else  attempt  to  sing  next  time  and 
praise  keyboard  player  Geoff  Crosby  for  the  nifty  cover 
assemblage.  Way  to  Go  Out  is  a  live  album  recorded  in 
Melbourne  in  the  summer  of  '84. 

Human  Frailty  was  the  band's  long-delayed  IRS 
debut  (a  1983  deal  with  the  label  had  fallen  through  at 
the  eleventh  hour).  One  immediately  notices  the  more 
mainstream  sound — or  at  least  as  close  as  they  can  get  to 
one  and  still  retain  some  of  their  trademarks.  The  un- 
orthodox horn  section  (trumpet,  trombone  and  French 
horn)  plays  conventional  parts,  and  there's  a  lot  more  in 
the  way  of  background  vocals.  Fans  of  the  band's  early 
work  simply  won't  believe  that  several  cuts,  especially 
the  Top  40-flavored  "Throw  Your  Arms  Around  Me," 
are  actually  the  work  of  the  band  credited  on  the  album 
cover.  While  Human  Frailty  doesn't  lack  in  quality  per 
se,  Hunters  &  Collectors  have  certainly  done  more  in- 
teresting music  than  this. 

"Inside  a  Fireball,"  which  opens  the  five-track  Liv- 
ing Daylight  EP  (a  three-songer  back  home),  indicates 
that  all  is  well;  while  not  as  art-noisy  as  early  work,  the 
record  at  least  has  the  punch  and  bite  its  predecessor 
lacks.  It  also  contains  remixed  versions  of  "The  Slab" 
and  "Carry  Me"  from  The  Jaws  of  Life.  (The  entire 


327 


EP  is  appended  to  the  American  Human  Frailty  CD.) 

Fate  (originally  released  in  Australia  as  What's  a 
Few  Men)  is  accessible,  has  a  nice  clear,  guitar-driven 
sound  and  its  share  of  catchy  hooks;  nothing  to  alienate 
the  casual  listener.  What  sets  the  group  apart  here  is 
Seymour's  vivid  word  pictures  and  urgent  delivery.  His 
vocals  have  improved  a  lot  over  the  years;  on  Fate  he 
sounds  like  he's  wound  pretty  tight,  but  never  resorts  to 
histrionics.  Highlights:  the  semi-hit  "Back  on  the 
Breadline"  and  the  haunting,  anti-militaristic  CD-only 
"What's  a  Few  Men?,"  an  account  of  an  Aussie  fight- 
ing for  the  British  army.  Although  almost  undetectable, 
there  are  thirteen  ( ! )  guest  artists  augmenting  the  seven- 
piece  band. 

Ghost  Nation  is  more  relaxed;  acoustic  and  slide 
guitars  figure  prominently  and  several  tracks  feature 
somewhat  awkward  background  vocals  (some  supplied 
by  Crowded  House  leader  Neil  Finn).  But  with  only  a 
few  exceptions  (the  plaintive  "Lazy  Summer  Day," 
"The  Way  You  Live"),  no  songs  really  stand  out. 
"Running  Water,"  a  fearful  view  of  the  environmental 
future,  sounds  an  awful  lot  like  Midnight  Oil,  and  this 
band  has  never  had  to  imitate  anyone  before.  Hunters  & 
Collectors  just  don't  stand  out  the  way  they  once  did. 

Barring  the  obligatory  "Talking  to  a  Stranger," 
Collected  Works  only  acknowledges  material  recorded 
during  the  band's  IRS  era.  Considering  how  much  their 
sound  has  changed,  the  sixteen-track  collection  doesn't 
serve  any  valuable  purpose.  A  real  Hunters  &  Collectors 
compilation  would  have  to  go  back  further  than  this. 

See  also  Deadly  Hume.  [i/dgs] 


BILL  HURLEY  WITH  JOHNNY 
GUITAR 

See  Inmates, 

HUSKER  DU 

Land  Speed  Record  (New  Alliance)  1 981  (SST)  1 987  « 

Everything  Falls  Apart  (Reflex)  1 982 

Metal  Circus  (Reflex-SST)  1 983  « 

Zen  Arcade  (SST)  1 984  • 

New  Day  Rising  (SST)  1985* 

Flip  Your  Wig  (SST)  1985« 

Candy  Apple  Grey  (Warner  Bros.)  1 986  • 

Sorry  Somehow  EP  (nr/Warner  Bros.)  1 986 

Warehouse:  Songs  and  Stories  (Warner  Bros.)  1 987  * 

Hiisker  Du  emerged  from  the  punk  rock  scene;  vast 
improvements  in  songwriting  over  the  years  may  have 
changed  the  shape  of  their  music,  but  they  never  lost 
their  firm  attachment  to  bracing,  loud  guitar  rock.  Al- 
though failing  to  achieve  the  mainstream  success  of 
R.E.M.  or  even  the  Replacements,  the  often  exhilarat- 
ing Minneapolis  trio  was  hugely  popular  and  influential 
(and  has  grown  legendary)  in  certain  circles,  maintain- 
ing its  vision,  integrity  and  dedication  to  independent 
music  to  the  end.  With  Bob  Mould's  impassioned  talk- 
shout-singing  and  masterful  guitar  overlaid  with  feed- 
back and  amplifier  distortion,  Greg  Norton's  straight- 
ahead  driving  bass  and  Grant  Hart's  only  slightly  less 
demented  singing  and  excessive  drumming,  the  Hiiskers 
piled  on  the  pop  hooks  in  their  songs  to  the  point  of 
explosion,  creating  a  startling  rush  of  momentum. 


The  live  Land  Speed  Record  is  basically  a  tour 
document  from  a  year  in  which  they  covered  a  lot  of 
land  and  took  a  lot  of  speed — a  cheap  recording  that 
only  hints  at  any  juice  the  performance  may  have  con- 
tained. In  those  days,  the  group  was  naturally  sloppy, 
and  this  disc  captures  the  mess  but  not  the  overkill 
power. 

Everything  Falls  Apart,  in  fact,  puts  everything 
back  together.  While  the  band  hadn't  totally  mastered 
the  studio,  this  is  a  great  improvement  over  the  live 
record.  And  it  offers  the  first  taste  of  pop-oriented  things 
to  come:  a  cover  of  Donovan's  " Sunshine  Superman." 

Metal  Circes  marks  a  giant  leap  forward.  With  this 
brief  seven-song  disc,  Hiisker  Dii  began  to  reach  for  a 
broader  audience.  The  often  misconstrued  title  refers 
not  to  heavy  metal  (an  area  of  exploration  for  many 
hardcore  bands),  but  to  the  flat  gray  solidity  of  alloys, 
which  fairly  describes  the  record.  Metal  Circus  is  a 
collection  of  anthems,  slow  and  fast,  with  twisted,  abra- 
sive guitar  licks  and  twisted  lyrics.  The  rousing  Mission 
of  Burma-ish  "It's  Not  Funny  Anymore"  is  the  most 
potent  track,  but  "Diane"  is  the  most  haunting,  a  Hart- 
penned  power  dirge  about  rape  and  murder.  When  he 
screams  the  title  over  and  over,  it  sounds  like  "dying." 
A  monster  song  from  a  heavy  record. 

After  Metal  Circus,  Hiisker  Dii  released  a  7-inch 
statement  of  purpose,  the  totally  gonzoid  cover  of 
"Eight  Miles  High."  The  single  brings  together 
Mould's  love  of  jangly  '60s  pop  with  the  band's  adren- 
aline charge.  Punk  covers  of  '60s  songs  generally  de- 
volve into  camp,  but  this  one  retains  the  flavor  of  the 
original  without  compromising  the  sonic  blitz. 

Zen  Arcade,  an  ambitious  double-record  concept 
album  about  the  strange  adventures  of  a  kid  leaving 
home,  covers  more  ground  than  Greyhound  and  is  suc- 
cessful a  surprisingly  high  percentage  of  the  time.  The 
band  plays  acoustic,  psychedelic  and  unabashedly 
poppy  songs;  when  it's  good,  the  material  is  among 
their  best.  A  straight  rocker,  "Turn  on  the  News,"  de- 
serves to  be  a  classic.  Unfortunately,  there's  also  some 
over-reaching  and  self-indulgent  dross,  possibly  related 
to  the  one-take  production  technique.  As  on  Sandi- 
nista!,  it  isn't  really  filler;  still,  backwards  tape  loops 
and  extended  drones  dilute  the  effect. 

By  contrast,  New  Bay  Rising  is  as  tight  as  a  duck's 
behind,  and  that's  waterproof.  The  band  flails  the  hell 
out  of  the  kind  of  loping  melodies  currently  ringing  out 
of  the  New  South.  The  album  is  LOUD,  intense,  fiinny, 
accessible  and  downright  catchy.  From  the  opening  cut, 
in  which  Mould  just  screams  "new  day  rising"  over  and 
over  above  a  rising  tide  of  triumphant  sound,  to  the 
elliptical  closer,  "Plans  I  Make,"  they  do  the  Dii  with 
nary  a  false  step.  Seldom  have  hooks  been  this  power- 
ful, nor  full-throttle  punk  this  melodic. 

The  Hiiskers'  final  SST  release,  Flip  Your  Wig,  is 
positively  brilliant — fourteen  unforgettable  pop  tunes 
played  like  armageddon  were  nigh.  The  production  is 
taut  and  claustrophobic,  pushing  the  busy,  anechoic 
drums  right  into  your  head,  competing  with  Mould's 
precise  stun-assault  guitar  wash  and  vocals.  Besides  the 
compressed,  efficient  Top  40  sound  of  "Makes  No 
Sense  at  All"  (one  of  1985's  best  45s),  the  LP  boasts 
such  classic  fare  as  the  loving,  fragile  "Green  Eyes," 
the  boppy,  bubbleguramy  "Hate  Paper  Doll"  and  the 
somberly  psychedelic  (complete  with  backwards  guitar) 


328 


of  "Don't  Know  Yet/'  which  closes  things  out  in  ap- 
propriately enigmatic  fashion. 

Following  the  Replacements  to  Warner  Bros., 
Husker  Dii  self-produced  Candy  Apple  Grey  with  an 
equally  unselfconscious  lack  of  commercial  consider- 
ation, sacrificing  nary  a  drop  of  energy  nor  an  ounce  of 
spirit.  (They  did,  however,  cut  back  to  a  mere  ten 
songs.)  Too  many  cuts  start  with  the  same  brief  Hart- 
beat,  but  the  charged,  varied  music  and  never-better 
reflective,  adult  lyrics  on  Mould's  six  compositions  pro- 
vide a  seductive  wallop.  "Sorry  Somehow"  (with  sur- 
prising Deep  Purple  organ),  "Don't  Want  to  Know  If 
You  Are  Lonely"  and  "Dead  Set  on  Destruction"  are 
typically  staggering  rock  numbers;  "I  Don't  Know  for 
Sure"  sounds  good  but  resembles  "Makes  No  Sense  at 
All"  a  tad  too  much.  Two  all-acoustic  numbers  ("Too 
Far  Down' '  and  '  'Hardly  Getting  Over  It' ' )  demonstrate 
the  band's  flexibility  and  a  casual  disregard  for  punk 
convention.  While  more  diverse,  Candy  Apple  Grey 
ultimately  falls  a  bit  short  of  FMp  Your  Wig  in  intensity 
and  impact. 

The  British  Sorry  Somehow  12-inch  contains  "All 
This  I've  Done  for  You"  (also  from  Candy  Apple 
Grey),  acoustic  live  versions  of  one  track  each  from  the 
previous  two  albums  and  "Fattie,"  an  all-noise  studio 
recording.  The  same  year,  American  Warners  issued  a 
12-inch  of  "Don't  Want  to  Know  if  You  Are  Lonely" 
with  a  terrible  live  "Helter  Skelter"  and  a  numbingly 
repetitive  eight-minute  studio  track  ("All  Work  and  No 
Play")  on  the  flipside. 

It  took  wrangling  with  (and  concessions  to)  Warner 
Bros.,  but  the  group  was  able  to  prevail  and  release  the 
ambitious  two-disc  Warehouse:  Songs  and  Stories,  on 
which  Hart  and  Mould  co-produced  and  evenly  split  the 
song  writing.  Neither  sprawling  nor  start-to-finish  essen- 
tial, this  twenty-song  collection  breaks- no  new  ground 
and  is  short  on  variety  but  still  quite  enjoyable — the 
thick  sound  is  in  itself  sensually  satisfying.  With  fine 
tracks  strewn  randomly  throughout,  the  album's  strong- 
est side  is  its  third  (with  the  hypnotically  swirling  "It's 
Not  Peculiar,"  the  folky  "No  Reservations"  and  the 
late-'60sish  "Tell  You  Why  Tomorrow");  other  nota- 
ble cuts  are  "She  Floated  Away,"  a  rocking  sea  chan- 
tey, "Standing  in  the  Rain"  and  "Ice  Cold  Ice." 

Hart  quit  or  was  fired  in  December  1987,  and  Husker 
Dii  broke  up  shortly  thereafter.  Ijl/i] 

See  also  Grant  Hart,  Bob  Mould. 

PARTHENON  HUXLEY 

Sunny  Nights  (Columbia)  1 988  * 

Not  his  real  name;  the  Parthenon  bit  may  be  a  tip  of 
the  hat  to  his  high  school  days  in  Greece.  On  this  debut 
LP,  Huxley  engages  in  thoughtful  whimsy  ("Between 
the  sacred  and  the  profane/Runs  a  crooked  yellow  line/ 
you  dance  around  from  lane  to  lane  .  .  .").  The  music 
is  power  pop  that's  equally  skewed,  though  not  equally 
effective;  its  cleverness  tends  to  overpower  melodies 
that  seem  to  deserve  better.  (He  co-produced  with  David 
Kahne.)  Promising  all  the  same.  [jg] 

HUXTON  CREEPERS 

1 2  Days  to  Paris  (Big  Time)  1 986 

Keep  to  the  Beat  (Big  Time-Polydor)  1 988  • 


This  quartet  from  Melbourne,  Australia,  plays  gritty 
Stonesish  rock  and  harmony-laden  Byrdsy  folk-rock  on 
their  first  American  LP,  which  might  easily  be  mistaken 
for  the  work  of  an  American  "heartland"  band.  The 
Huxton  Creepers  could  use  a  more  mellifluous  singer 
than  Rob  Craw — graffness  when  he  strains  is  a 
problem — but  Ms  guitar  interplay  with  Paul  Thomas, 
supported  by  a  fluid,  strong  rhythm  section,  makes  12 
Days  an  unfailingly  engaging  record.  Guest  Hammond 
work  (on  one  song — a  second,  indicated  on  the  back 
cover,  was  somehow  omitted  from  the  US  LP!)  by  ex- 
Procol  Harum  organist  Chris  Copping  is  more  eyebrow- 
raising  than  ear-opening. 

The  follow-up  is  an  equally  inoffensive  collection, 
highlighted  by  the  high-spirited  and  eminently  catchy 
"Rack My  Brains"  and  "Visually."  Craw's  vocals  tend 
to  venture  into  perilous  adenoidalism,  but  the  rest  of  the 
band  is  still  sharp,  the  material  fresh.  Though  these  two 
albums  are  hardly  essential,  Huxton  Creepers  traffic  in 
the  kind  of  commercial  rock  that  has  made  stars  out  of 
lesser  (and  less-talented)  mortals.  [i/db] 


HYBRID  KIDS 

Hybrid  Kids  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1 979 
Clows  (nr/Cheiry  Red)  1 980 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Miniatures  (nr/Pipe-Chenry  Red)  1980 

Ivories  (nr/Strike  Back)  1985 

What  happens  when  Jah  Wobble  meets  country 
clods  the  Wurzels  for  a  raveup  on  Kate  Bush's  greatest 
hit?  You  get  Jah  Wurzel's  version  of  "Wuthering 
Heights,"  zonked-out  reggae  with  quizzical  vocals  in  a 
back-country  accent,  that's  what.  Actually,  this  is  Mor- 
gan Fisher,  ex-Mott  the  Hoople  keyboardist,  pretending 
(with  a  dab  of  help  from  uncredited  friends — he  himself 
is  billed  as  "producer/director")  to  be  a  baker's  dozen 
different  acts  having  a  go  at  their  fave  tunes.  What 
purports  to  be  British  Standard  Unit  takes  a  pretty  amus- 
ing off-the-wall  industrial-synth  whack  at  "D'Ya  Think 
I'm  Sexy,"  but  most  of  the  rest  of  Hybrid  Kids  tends 
to  be  gratuitously  high  in  the  ozone,  or  tediously  puerile 
(or  both).  Nice  version  of  Sun  Ra's  "Enlightment" 
[jic],  allegedly  by  Combo  Satori,  ail  the  same. 

Miniatures,  conceived,  compiled  and  edited  by 
Fisher,  is  a  widely  variegated  collection:  51  tracks  (of 
no  more  than  a  minute  apiece)  by  just  as  many  artists. 
(No  relation  to  the  Residents'  Commercial  Album  of 
the  same  year,  which  Fisher  first  learned  of  when  he 
invited  the  Residents  to  chip  in  a  track;  they  medley 
4  'We're  a  Happy  Family' '  with  "Bali  Ha'  i. " )  Fred  Frith 
encapsulates  the  history  of  Henry  Cow  in  one  minute; 
Andy  Partridge  encapsulates  me  history  of  rock'n'roll  in 
twenty  seconds;  Neil  Innes  strums  as  his  five-year-old 
son  sings  and  drums  "Cum  on  Feel  the  Noize";  Quentin 
Crisp  rants  about  the  evils  of  music;  artist  Ralph  Stead- 
man  (also  responsible  for  the  LP  cover)  plaintively  sings 
John  Donne.  Trivial,  indulgent,  amusing  and  educa- 
tional. M 

PAUL  HYDE  AND  THE  PAYOLAS 

See  Payolas. 

329 


HYPNOlOVEWHiEL 

Turn!  Turn!  Burn!  (Fabian  Aural  Products)  1 988 
Candy  Mantra  (Fabian  Aural  Products)  1990  • 
Space  Mountain  (Alias)  1 991  • 

A  fine  quartet  originally  from  Long  Island,  Hyp- 
noiovewheel  carry  a  kinda  avant-garage  ethos  into  all 
sorts  of  unexpected  places.  Refusing  to  be  pinned  down 
to  any  one  stylistic  board,  the  group  wiggles  around 
through  a  wide  array  of  psychedelic  pop,  punk  and 
garage-mush  puddles.  That  they're  able  to  do  so  without 
seeming  like  a  bunch  of  lost  ponies  is  testament  to  their 
ability  to  create  a  genuinely  cordial  mix  of  low-ball 
guitar-rant  and  tossed-off  melodic  hooks.  (Hypnolove- 
wheel's  music  bears  textural  similarities  to  the  Embar- 
rassment.) When  they  come  up  with  something  that's 
potentially  too  catchy,  Dave  Ramirez  and  Steve  Hunkms 
bury  it  under  a  small  load  of  six-string  noise. 

As  a  tendency  to  write  funny  lyrics  has  been  tem- 
pered with  age,  all  of  the  band's  records  are  easily  com- 
mendable to  hepsters  and  squares  alike.  Nice,  a-generic, 
non-flash  all-purpose  pop-noise  is  a  too  rare  commodity 
these  days.  V°c] 

HYPNOTICS 

See  Thee  Hypnotics. 

HYPSTRZ 

Hypstrz  Live  EP  (Bogus-Twin/Tone)  1979 
Hypstrization!  (Voxx)  1 980 


The  Mighty  E.P.  (Midnight)  1986 
Sho'  Hard!  (Treehouse)  1988 

Although  barely  considered  worth  a  footnote  today 
(cross-reference  under  "singleminded"  and  "energy 
OD"),  the  Hypstrz  were  nevertheless  radical  in  their 
own  special  time  and  place,  blasting  through  '60s  ga- 
ragemania  in  late- '70s  Minneapolis,  purposefully 
stamping  their  frantic  rifferama  into  countless  pubescent 
brains,  personalizing  punk  in  a  subversively  idiosyn- 
cratic (and  decidedly  song-onQuted)  manner,  thereby 
paving  the  way  for  the  Twin  City  sound  of  the  early 
'80s. 

Voxx  quickly  followed  up  the  manic  four-song 
7-inch  debut  on  Bogus  with  a  full  album  of  live  Hypstrz 
(fifteen  stripped-down  classics:  "96  Tears,"  "Slow 
Death,"  "Midnight  Hour,"  "Riot  on  Sunset  Stop," 
etc.).  That  no-studios  policy  was  wisely  upheld  on  Mid- 
night's live  EP  six  years  later  but  sadly  ignored  by  Tree- 
house,  which  plopped  the  retitled  band  of  Batsons  (Ernie 
and  Billy;  guitars  and  vocals  respectively)  plus  new 
rhythm  section  in  a  salon  de  recording  with  brand-name 
indie  producer  Lou  Giordano  to  "polish"  their  now 
(nominally)  original  songs.  Onstage,  the  Mofos  roared 
as  unrestrainedly  as  their  predecessors,  but  on  Sho' 
Hard!,  the  fury  is  reeled  in  to  showcase  mediocre  song- 
writing  and  recycled  formulaic  garage  pop.  Tellingly, 
the  standout  track  is  an  MC5  cover.  (The  cassette  con- 
tains extra  tracks.)  [ab] 


330 


ICE 


ICEHOUSE 

icehouse  (Chrysalis)  1  981  • 

Primitive  Man  (Chrysalis)  1  982  • 

Fresco  EP  (Chrysalis)  1983 

Sidewalk  (Chrysalis)  1984® 

Measure  for  Measure  (Chrysalis)  1  986  • 

Man  of  Colours  (Chrysalis)  1987  ® 

Great  Southern  Land  (Chrysalis)  1989  * 

FLOWERS 

Icehouse  (Aus.  Regular)  1980 

For  the  record,  Icehouse  began  as  Flowers.  For  its 
first  US/UK  album,  the  Sydney,  Australia  band  renamed 
itself  after  the  title  of  the  Flowers  LP,  subtracted  one 
cut,  remixed  and  resequenced  it.  Icehouse's  debut  LP 
effectively  mates  emotional  tension  with  the  streamlined 
efficiency  of  modern  synthesizer  outfits.  "Icehouse" 
and  "Can't  Help  Myself,"  in  particular,  exploit  the 
contrast  between  smooth  surfaces  and  frontman  Iva 
Davies*  anxious  singing.  Despite  inconsistent  material, 
this  is  a  promising  start. 

Unfortunately,  Davies  let  it  all  go  to  his  head  on 
Primitive  Man,  hiding  the  underrated  band  and  declar- 
ing allegiance  to  empty  stylishness.  By  emphasizing  the 
elegance  in  his  artful  compositions  and  restricting  his 
passions  to  poses,  Davies  ends  up  with  slick,  pretty 
product  that  neither  demands  nor  encourages  listener 
involvement.  (It  does,  however,  contain  the  global  hit 
single,  "Hey  Little  Girl,"  a  remarkable  Roxy  Music 
simulation.) 

That  song,  two  others  from  Primitive  Man,  plus 
two  new  tracks  of  forgettable  roaring  rock  comprise  the 
Fresco  EP,  evidently  issued  to  capitalize  on  the  band's 
sudden  commercial  emergence. 

Sidewalk  is  a  tedious  two-voiced  exercise:  fake 
Bryan  Ferry  (hey  —  doing  it  once  may  be  cute,  but  two 
albums  in  a  row  is  lame!)  and  histrionic  guitar  rock; 
occasionally  the  two  are  blended  together  in  a  misbe- 
gotten vision  of  Roxy  Metal.  Melt  this  sucker  down. 

While  retaining  the  mannered  Ferry  imitation  in 
spots,  Measure  for  Measure  adds  an  equally  artificial 
version  of  David  Bowie  (circa  Lodger)  and  drops  Side- 
walk's over-energized  sandtrap.  "No  Promises"  is  the 
atmospheric  pop  hit  (one  of  three  cuts  on  which  ex- 
Japan  drummer  Steve  Jansen  plays;  Eno  receives  an 
all-LP  credit  for  backing  vocals,  treated  piano  and  key- 
boards), but  other  songs  are  more  memorable.  (Most 
are  less.)  Smooth,  crafty  and  pointless. 

The  unfocused  but  blatantly  commercial  Man  of 
Colours  tries  a  little  of  this  (ersatz  Roxy,  imitation 
Bowie)  and  a  little  of  that  (semi-fake  Hall  and  Gates,  a 
halfhearted  stab  at  Billy  Idol's  neighborhood).  Davies' 
voice  briefly  resembles  Barry  Manilow's  on  the  mega- 


hit  single,  "Crazy"  (which  also  appears  in  two  needless 
bonus  remixes  on  the  CD),  a  hollow  slab  of  romantic 
melodrama.  Gates  co-wrote  and  sings  on  "Electric 
Blue,"  which  sounds  like  an  INXS  discard. 

Great  Southern  Land  is  a  ten-song  compilation 
named  for  the  song  Icehouse  contributed  to  the  Young 
Einstein  soundtrack;  the  CD  and  cassette  add  a  dance 
mix  of  "No  Promises. ' '  [jy/i] 


ICE-T 

Rhyme  Pays  (Sire)  1 987  * 

Power  (Sire)  1988* 

The  Iceberg/Freedom  of  Speech  ...  Just  Watch  What  You 

Say  (Sire)  1 989  • 
O.G.  Original  Gangster  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1 991  4> 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  convincing  indications 
that  Los  Angeles  wasn't  going  to  sit  out  the  East  Coast 
hip-hop  revolution,  rapper  Ice-T  quickly  proved  the 
equal  of  any  New  York  MC.  On  Rhyme  Pays,  working 
over  energetic  tracks  programmed  and  produced  by  Af- 
rika  Islam,  Ice  (who  had  already  made  his  film  debut  in 
1984's  Bredkin'}  puts  a  little  flair  into  the  presentation, 
using  a  toaster  singsong,  other  vocal  styles  and  assorted 
theatrical  gimmicks  to  make  detailed  tales  of  sex,  par- 
ties, wealth,  criminal  activity  and  jail  more  absorbing 
and  distinguished  than  they  might  otherwise  be.  A 
strong  debut  but,  in  retrospect,  hardly  the  peak  of  his 
career.  (And  the  mix  stinks:  his  voice  is  way  too  low.) 

Ice-T  made  great  strides  on  Power,  a  dynamic  and 
confident  shift  into  solidly  delivered  ambivalently  pos- 
itive messages  built  on  his  unassailable  street  cred.  (Ac- 
knowledging mixed  loyalties,  Ice-T  allows  "I'm  not 
here  to  tell  ya  right  or  wrong/I  don't  know  which  side  of 
the  law  you  belong . " )  So  if  there's  no  clear-cut  moral  in 
the  violent  first-person  criminality  of  "Drama"  or 
"High  Rollers,"  Ice-T  does  stop  short  of  endorsing  the 
gangster  life.  His  sex  rap  ("Girls  L.G.B.N.  A.F.")  pulls 
no  punches  but  doesn't  get  abusive  and  does  recom- 
mend safe  sex;  the  anti-dope  "I'm  Your  Pusher"  prof- 
fers music  in  place  of  drugs,  folding  in  Curtis  Mayfield's 
original  "Pusher  Man"  for  added  impact. 

Responding  to  the  climate  of  censorship  by  attack- 
ing it  and  defying  it,  Ice-T  made  the  hard  and  intense 
Iceberg,  a  great-sounding  but  disturbingly  confused 
mixture  of  right-on  politics  and  repulsive  vulgarity. 
"I'm  a  pimp  and  a  player  and  a  hustler  and  kinda  a 
mack  and  a  poet,"  he  raps  in  "The  Iceberg,"  the  crude 
spew  that  follows  the  amazing  "Shut  Up,  Be  Happy," 
in  which  Jello  Biafra  declaims  martial  law  edicts  over 
the  ominous  toll  of  "Black  Sabbath."  Similarly,  while 
Ice-T  attacks  ignorance,  sexism  and  drug  addiction 
(in  the  powerfully  atmospheric  "You  Played  Your- 
self") and  attacks  the  narrowmindedness  of  radio  pro- 
grammers and  governmental  complicity  in  narcotics 
("This  One's  for  Me"),  the  amoral  gangster  rap  of 

331 


"Peel  Their  Caps  Back'*  and  the  grisly  sonic  joke  of 
"Black'n'Decker" — overtly  posed  as  an  ironic  com- 
ment about  the  violence  in  Ice's  lyrics — take  the  oppo- 
site stance.  [i] 
See  also  Jello  Biafra. 


Icicle  Worb  (Arista)  1 984  • 
The  Small  Price  of  a  Bicycle  (Chrysalis)  1 985  • 
Seven  Singles  Deep  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 986  • 
Understanding  Jane  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1986 
Who  Do  You  Want  for  Your  Love?  EP  (nr/Beggars 

Banquet)  1 986 
Up  Here  in  the  North  of  England  EP  (nr/Situation  Two) 

1986 
If  You  Want  to  Defeat  Your  Enemy  Sing  His  Song 

(Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1987  ® 
Numb  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 988  ® 
Blind  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1988  • 
Little  Girl  Lost  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 988  • 
Motorcycle  Rider  EP  (nr/Worb-Epic)  1 990  • 
Permanent  Damage  (nr/Epic)  1 990  • 
Melanie  Still  Hurts  EP  (nr/Epic)  1 990  • 

"Whisper  to  a  Scream  (Birds  Fly),"  which  leads  off 
this  Liverpool  trio's  debut  album,  is  a  brilliant  pop  sin- 
gle filled  with  sparkling  guitars,  a  hook-laden  chorus 
and  Chris  Sharrock's  surprisingly  powerful,  creative 
drumming.  Unfortunately,  nothing  else  on  the  LP  is 
nearly  as  good.  It's  typical.  Icicle  Works'  prolific  career 
has  been  extremely  inconsistent,  with  only  brief  flashes 
of  similar  inspired  creativity. 

The  Small  Price  of  a  Bicycle  has  its  moments  of 
listenable  (if  ponderous)  guitar-pop,  but  is  marred  by 
singer/guitarist  Robert  Ian  McNabb's  self-important  lyr- 
ics and  weak  melodies. 

As  six  of  its  seven  songs  also  appear  on  the  band's 
first  two  albums,  Seven  Singles  Deep  is  an  unessential 
compilation  of  two  years'  worth  of  A-sides.  (The  cas- 
sette, however,  adds  seven  bonus  tracks.) 

In  a  pivotal  year  for  the  group,  Icicle  Works  issued 
three  new  singles:  "Understanding  Jane"  is  the  band's 
best-ever  song,  a  terse  and  spunky  piece  of  singalong 
rock.  "Who  Do  You  Want  for  Your  Love?"  is  fine, 
unassuming  pop,  but  "Up  Here  in  the  North  of  En- 
gland," McNabb's  verbose  contemplation  on  the  cul- 
tural gaps  between  English  regions,  is  bad,  verbose 
pomp.  While  all  three  songs  turned  up  on  the  next  al- 
bum, the  12-inch  EPs  are  worth  investigating  for  their 
non-LP  tracks.  Understanding  Jane  has  three  live  ver- 
sions of  Bicycle  songs;  Who  Do  You  Want  for  Your 
Love?  has  a  good  live  "Understanding  Jane"  and  not- 
so-good  live  covers  of  the  Clash  ("Should  I  Stay  or 
Should  I  Go")  and  the  Doors  ("Roadhouse  Blues"); 
Up  Here  in  the  North  of  England  has  stately,  occa- 
sionally handsome  studio  covers  (with  clarinet  and  sax- 
ophone) of  songs  by  Robert  Wyatt,  the  Band  and  Spirit. 
His  regrettable  vocal  resemblance  to  Neil  Diamond 
and  Anthony  Newley  notwithstanding,  McNabb  sounds 
confident  and  mature  on  If  You  Want  to  Defeat  Your 
Enemy,  an  album  of  increased  sophistication  and  am- 
bition, skillfully  produced  by  Ian  Broudie.  The  quality 
of  "Understanding  Jane"  and  "Who  Do  You  Want  for 
Your  Love?"  is  made  even  more  conspicuous  by  the 
leaden  tracks  which  surround  them.  (For  casual  sleeve 


scanners  who  may  recognize  the  titles,  "When  You 
Were  Mine"  and  "Walking  with  a  Mountain"  are  not 
covers.)  The  tape  adds  two;  the  CD  four. 

All  but  one-quarter  ("Whipping  Boy")  of  the  12- 
inch/CD  Numb  EP  turned  up  on  the  terrible  Blind,  a 
mixed-up  mainstream  mush  of  loud  rock,  quiet  soul  and 
gutless  ftink.  If  there  were  any  worthwhile  songs,  the 
stylistic  blur  wouldn't  be  a  problem,  but  the  variety  does 
nothing  to  sell  the  weak  material.  (The  only  semi-good 
song,  "High  Time,"  is  also  on  Numb.)  The  Little  Girl 
Lost  EP  adds  a  second  album  track  and  two  new  items, 
only  one  of  which  (the  folky  "One  Time")  is  note- 
worthy, [i] 


Don't  Stop  EP  (Chrysalis)  1 981  • 

Billy  Idol  (Chrysalis)  1982® 

Rebel  Yell  (Chrysalis)  1983® 

Whiplash  Smile  (Chrysalis)  1986  • 

Vital  Idol  (nr/Chrysalis)  1986  (Chrysalis)  1987  • 

Idol  Songs:  1 1  of  the  Best  (nr/Chrysalis)  1 988  ® 

Charmed  Life  (Chrysalis)  1 990  • 

PLAYBOYS 

Steve  Stevens  Atomic  Playboys  (Warner  Bros.)  1 989  ® 

After  Generation  X's  demise,  Billy  Idol  packed  his 
bags  and  moved  to  New  York,  got  himself  managed  by 
former  Kiss  svengali  Bill  Aucoin  and  began  recording 
with  local  players  and  producer/drummer  Keith  Forsey 
(Giorgio  Moroder's  prot6ge*).  The  first  results  of  that 
union — a  four-song  EP — had.  only  an  awkward  but  en- 
tertaining cover  of  "Mony  Mony"  and  a  phenomenal 
five-minute  edit  of  Gen  X's  "Dancing  with  Myself"  to 
recommend  it.  (Interestingly,  the  belated  CD  credits  the 
track  to  "Billy  Idol  with  Generation  X.") 

Billy  Idol  and  a  series  of  generally  noxious  videos 
made  the  former  William  Broad  a  huge  star  while  pro- 
viding erstwhile  fans  of  his  original  band  with  an  ideo- 
logical dilemma:  was  he  new  wave's  ultimate 
Frankenstein  mutation  or  an  arena-metal  fraud  trading 
on  his  now-dubious  punk  roots?  In  any  case,  the 
record — a  marriage  of  Moroder's  trademark  Midnight 
Express  sequencer  sound  and  a  throbbing  rock  beat — 
proved  to  be  a  lode  of  memorable  hits  ("White  Wed- 
ding," "Hot  in  the  City,"  "Love  Calling").  Steve 
Stevens'  caricatured  Ronson/Thunders  guitar  wildness 
noisily  matches  Idol's  macho  postures  and  sneering  vo- 
cals; the  powerfully  built  modem  rock  band  has  subtlety 
and  near-metal  strength.  An  album  to  despise  while  you 
hum  along. 

With  only  writing  partner  Stevens  held  over  from 
the  first  record,  Idol  kept  the  same  producer  and  formula 
on  Rebel  Yell,  another  collection  of  hits  that  ran  hot 
("Rebel  Yell,"  "Blue  Highway"),  cool  ("Eyes  With- 
out a  Face,"  "Catch  My  Fall")  and  both  ("Flesh  for 
Fantasy").  Refined  and  carefully  groomed  for  platinum 
success,  it's  an  undeniably  good  rock'n'roll  record  that 
is  also  reprehensible  for  its  phoniness  and  calculation. 

Whiplash  Smile  repeats  the  recipe:  Forsey,  Stevens 
and  a  duotone  program  of  hard/soft  songs.  Characteris- 
tically, the  staggering  guitar  riffarola  of  "Worlds  For- 
gotten Boy"  runs  directly  into  the  engagingly  modest, 
sweet- voiced  technobilly  of  "To  Be  a  Lover."  The 


332 


problem  here  is  that  there's  no  wind  in  Idol's  sails:  he 
takes  it  easy  and  relies  too  heavily  on  his  partner's  py- 
rotechnics. Unlike  Idol's  previous  records,  his  vocals 
here  lack  the  gism  that  made  his  hits  soar  with  enthu- 
siasm and  energy.  With  second-rate  material  (the  nota- 
ble "To  Be  a  Lover"  is  a  non-original)  and  Idol  out  of 
contention,  Stevens  easily  steals  the  spotlight;  all  of  the 
record's  best  moments  are  his. 

Naturally,  that  was  a  cue  the  partnership  was  over. 
The  guitarist  went  off  and  eventually  made  a  terrible 
every-style-imaginable  solo  album  with  a  shrill  metal 
singer.  Except  for  a  shallow  interest  in  the  blues, 
Stevens'  axework  here  reveals  nothing  new;  a  carbon- 
copy rendition  of  the  Sweet's  "Action"  is  about  as 
clever  as  Atomic  Playboys  gets. 

The  release  of  Charmed  Life  was  delayed  and 
nearly  overshadowed  by  Idol's  serious  motorcycle  crash 
in  February  1990.  Haunted  by  the  ghost  of  Jim  Morrison 
(a  crummy  version  of  "L.A.  Woman"  is  only  the  most 
overt  evidence  of  Idol's  interest  in  the  Doors),  the 
Forsey-produced  record  has  less  blazing  guitar  than 
usual,  reaching  for  a  charged  atmosphere  rather  than 
hooks  and  explosive  rock  power.  But  since  the  songs  are 
deadly  dull,  the  absence  of  instrumental  diversion  makes 
them  seem  endless.  Even  Billy's  'billy  cover — Jody 
Reynolds  1958  "Endless  Sleep" — sacrifices  momentum 
for  mood  and  winds  up  flat.  The  only  tunes  that  work 
are  an  unpretentious  three-chord  singalong  ("Love  Un- 
chained") and  "Cradle  of  Love,"  a  simple,  restrained 
rock'n'roll  single  that  seethes  with  echo  and  passion. 

Available  in  the  UK  for  two  years  before  its  Amer- 
ican release,  Vital  Idol  is  a  remixed  greatest  hits  LP: 
extended  versions  of  such  Idolisms  as  "White  Wed- 
ding," "Mony  Mony,"  "Catch  My  Fall,"  "Dancing 
with  Myself"  and  "Flesh  for  Fantasy."  With  a  lot  of 
material  overlap,  Idol  Songs  is  simply  a  collection  of  hit 
singles  in  their  original  versions.  [i] 

See  also  Generation  X. 

IGGY  AND  THE  STOOGES 

See  Stooges. 

ILLUSTRATED  MAN 

Illustrated  Man  EP  (Capitol)  1984 

I'm  not  sure  if  I-Man's  brief  and  miserable  existence 
quite  qualified  it  as  a  supergroup:  Hugo  Burnham  (ex- 
Gang  of  Four),  Roger  Mason  (a  Gary  Numan  sideman), 
Rob  Dean  (ex- Japan)  and  Australian  singer/bassist 
Philip  Foxman.  I  hope  not,  because  this  overbearing, 
overproduced,  soul-free  dance-funk  hardly  reflects  well 
on  any  of  the  participants.  Actually,  if  they  had  lost 
Foxmanr— his  voice  was  the  band's  worst  feature — 
Illustrated  Man  might  have  had  a  future.  Instead,  this  is 
just  corporate  bandwagon-jumping  of  no  merit.  [i] 

See  also  Gang  of  Four,  Japan. 

INCA  BABIES 

The  Big  Jugular  EP  (nr/Black  Lagoon)  1984 

Rumble  (nr/Black  Lagoon)  1985 

Surfin'  in  Locustland  EP  (nr/Black  Lagoon)  1985 

This  Train  (nr/Black  Lagoon)  1986 

Opium  Den  (Black  Lagoon-Fundamental)  1987 

Evil  Hour  (Communion)  1988  • 


There's  not  much  to  say  about  early  releases  by 
Manchester's  Inca  Babies  beyond  noting  that  the  band 
makes  every  conceivable  effort  to  be  the  Birthday  Party. 
Each  member  emulates  his  BP  counterpart,  but  the  Inca 
Babies  lack  the  original's  power  and  completely  miss 
the  dark  humor.  Even  the  song  titles  on  the  early  records 
have  a  familiar  ring:  "16  Tons  of  Fink/'  "Cactus 
Mouth  Informer,"  "Luecotomy  Meat  Boss."  Real 
tribute-band  stuff. 

Adding  a  member  for  Opium  Den,  Inca  Babies 
toned  down  the  Birthday  Party-isms  and  enhanced  their 
presentation  with  raw  psychedelia  and  some  dirty  (if 
dilettantish)  country-blues.  Lead  singer  Harry  S  com- 
bines his  Nick  Cave  imitation  with  a  gratuitous  and 
phony  Southern  accent  (the  American  South,  that  is). 
Still,  Opium  Den  shows  that  the  band  is  capable  of 
producing  work  with  their  own  signature  on  it,  or  at 
least  drawing  from  more  than  one  influence.  (But  the 
inclusion  of  lyrics  is  an  ill-advised  move.) 

The  next  year,  the  Babies  came  up  with  Evil  Hour, 
a  solid  piece  of  work  following  in  its  predecessor's  style. 
They're  not  re-inventing  the  wheel  here,  but  they  have 
developed  into  their  own  band.  Although  tempos  occa- 
sionally approach  hardcore  velocity  on  Side  Two  (usu- 
ally at  the  expense  of  hooks),  there  are  actually  melodies 
you  might  find  yourself  humming  later  on,  lots  of  nifty 
organ  washes  (courtesy  of  Clint  Boon  of  Inspiral  Car- 
pets) and  really  nice  clear-but-raw  sound.  And  by  now 
I  believe  that  Harry  just  happens  to  sound  like  Nick 
Cave.  [dgs] 

INCORPORATED  THANG  BAND 

See  George  Clinton. 

INDIGO  GIRLS 

Indigo  Girls  EP  (Indigo)  1986 
Strange  Fire  (indigo)  1987  (Epic)  1989  « 
Indigo  Girls  (Epic)  1989* 
Nomads-Indians-Saints  (Epic)  1990  * 

Graduates  of  Atlanta's  folk  scene,  Indigo  Girls'  ba- 
sic formula  is  simple:  two  women,  two  voices,  two 
guitars  With  strong  harmonies  that  mix  folk  influences 
and  church  choir  cadences,  the  duo's  albums  build  from 
the  contrasting  sensibilities  of  Amy  Ray,  whose  lyrics 
and  delivery  have  a  jagged  rock-conscious  emotional 
edge,  and  the  more  sweet-toned  and  sentimental  Emily 
Saliers.  The  songs  are  non-narratives  that  use  religious 
and  naturalist  metaphors  to  describe  personal  struggle; 
beneath  the  language  and  shirt-sleeve  sincerity  (both  of 
which  have  taken  flak  for  being  overly  precious),  the 
Girls  are  about  the  strain  of  self-understanding  and  the 
yearning  for  love  as  an  absolute. 

Although  it  sounds  like  it  was  recorded  in  a  closet, 
the  debut  EP  has  some  bright  moments,  such  as  "Life- 
blood,"  with  its  rich  pop  melody  and  boost  of  percus- 
sion, and  "Finlandia,"  an  a  cappella  hymn  with 
flawlessly  pitched  vocals.  Strange  Fire  is  also  spotty: 
the  slow  ballads  just  sound  sleepy,  and  moments  of 
crucial  intensity  come  off  more  like  Judy  Blume  novels. 
But  the  title  track  shows  just  how  much  Ray  and  Saliers 
can  accomplish  on  their  own:  a  single  strum  of  Ray's 
guitar  feels  as  big  as  a  decade,  and  the  interplay  of 
voices  and  guitars  creates  rhythmic  balance  and  a  beau- 


333 


tiful  dynamic.  "Crazy  Game,"  "Make  It  Easier"  and 
the  mandolin-accompanied  "I  Don't  Wanna  Know"  are 
also  standouts. 

Despite  the  move  to  a  major  label,  the  differences 
between  Strange  Fire  and  Indigo  Girls  are  subtle.  To- 
gether with  producer  Scott  Litt,  Ray  and  Saliers  take  a 
few  more  chances  with  embellishments — members  of 
Hothouse  Flowers  help  out  on  two  tracks  (including  the 
single  "Closer  to  Fine"),  and  a  Michael  Stipe-less 
R.E.M.  backs  Ray  on  the  country-rockish  "Tried  to  Be 
True."  Stipe  delivers  a  beautiful  backing  vocal  on  "Kid 
Fears,"  a  cutting  chronicle  of  lost  innocence.  But  the 
pair's  indelible  harmonies  remain  at  the  forefront;  hav- 
ing learned  to  better  manipulate  and  regulate  their  emo- 
tionalism, Saliers  and  Ray  make  Indigo  Girls  their  most 
consistent  work. 

By  Nomads-Indians-Saints,  the  Girls  are  getting 
too  good  at  their  own  formula.  Instead  of  strategic  dy- 
namics, they  settle  for  straightforward  folk-rock,  and 
about  half  the  album  feels  redundant.  However,  Ray's 
"Welcome  Me"  is  as  lonely  as  a  walk  down  a  deserted 
street,  while  Saliers'  melody  in  "Watershed"  offers  a 
more  cheerful  antidote.  [kss] 

INDIVIDUALS 

Aquamarine  EP  (Infidelity)  1981 
Fields  (Plexus)  1 982 

This  New  York  quartet  bears  some  resemblance  to 
bands  like  the  (early)  dB's,  whose  Gene  Holder  pro- 
duced both  records;  musically,  however,  the  Individu- 
als' arty  pretentiousness  makes  them  sound  like  a  poor 
copy  of  the  Cure  or  a  less  aggressive  Gang  of  Four. 

Aquamarine's  five  numbers  are  spartan  in  both  ar- 
rangement and  melody.  Despite  characteristically 
sprightly  guitars  and  simple  drum  figures,  style  sup- 
plants substance,  and  there's  nothing  much  lurking  be- 
hind the  hip  artifice. 

Fields  has  more  fully  realized  sound,  with  good  vo- 
cal harmonies  and  studio  effects;  still,  the  songs  are 
unmemorable  and  the  performances  rather  tepid.  The 
one  number  that  does  stand  out,  "Dancing  with  My 
Eighty  Wives,"  is  rather  senseless,  but  mixes  real  song- 
writing  acumen  with  an  interesting  arrangement — and  a 
definite  group  identity  for  a  change. 

Individuals  guitarist/singer  Glenn  Morrow  followed 
his  muse  into  Rage  to  Live;  Janet  (bass/vocals)  and 
Doug  (drums)  Wygal  formed  a  band  that  bears  their 
surname;  guitarist  Jon  Klages  went  on  to  play  solo  and 
with  Richard  Lloyd.  [i] 

See  also  Rage  to  Live,  Wygals. 

IN  EXCELSIS 

See  U.K.  Decay. 

INFORMATION  SOCIETY 

Information  Society  (Tommy  Boy-Reprise)  1 988  • 
Hack  (Tommy  Boy-Reprise)  1 990  • 

A  chilling  illustration  of  the  danger  of  technology 
falling  into  the  wrong  hands,  the  Minneapolis-bred  In- 
formation Society  dresses  up  inane  techno-disco  tunes 
in  post-industrialist  cliches,  funk/hip-hop  pretensions 
and  found-sound  actualities.  On  the  Fred  Maher- 
produced  first  album,  the  quartet  plays  shallow  and 


poorly  sung  electro-pop — a  lighter  variation  on  Minis- 
try's early  records — that  takes  its  cues  from  Kraftwerk, 
OMD,  Giorgio  Moroder  and  the  Human  League.  (The 
CD  is  graphics-encoded.) 

With  Amanda  Kramer  gone  from  the  group,  the  re- 
maining three — Kurt  Valaquen,  Paul  Robb  and  James 
Cassidy — go  seriously  over  the  top  on  Hack,  a  sonic 
collage  that  attempts  to  make  some  statement  about 
modern  techno-culture  by  surrounding  (and  invades)  ten 
remarkably  stupid  (and  melodically  similar)  songs  with 
scratched-in  cut-ups,  TV  bites,  phone  calls,  instrumen- 
tals  and  other  trivia.  As  the  cover  art  warns,  Hack  isn't 
art — merely  the  noise  of  boys  with  toys.  [i] 

See  also  Golden  Palominos. 

INMATES 

First  Offence  (Radar-Polydor)  1979 
Shot  in  the  Dark  (Polydor)  1 980 
True  Live  Stories  (Fr.  Lolita)  1984 
Five  (Fr.Lolita)  1984 
Fast  Forward  (nr/Sonet)  1 989  * 

BILL  HURLEY  WITH  JOHNNY 
GUITAR 

Double  Agent  (nr/Demon)  1 985 

Britain's  Inmates  had  a  big  American  radio  hit  in 
1979  with  a  cover  of  the  Standells'  "Dirty  Water"; 
overall,  their  records  sound  like  a  cross  between  early 
Stones  and  early  Dave  Edmunds.  Drawing  on  realistic- 
sounding  originals  plus  well-chosen  oldies,  the  Inmates 
don't  offer  anything  new,  but  make  good,  primal  rock- 
'n'roll. First  Offence  contains  * 'Dirty  Water"  as  well 
as  Jimmy  McCracklin's  "The  Walk"  and  Don  Covay's 
"Three  Time  Loser"  (one  of  several  tracks  employing 
the  Rumour  brass  section).  Thanks,  no  doubt,  to  com- 
mon icons,  there  are  audible  similarities  to  everyone 
from  Creedence  Clearwater  to  Robert  Gordon. 

Adding  a  permanent  drummer  to  the  lineup,  the  In- 
mates made  Shot  in  the  Dark,  dredging  up  the  old 
Jagger/Richards  gem,  "So  Much  in  Love,"  the  Music 
Machine's  "Talk  Talk"  and  some  real  obscurities.  Fun, 
but  too  faceless  to  make  any  difference. 

Singer  Bill  Hurley  went  off  to  form  a  group  called 
the  Big  Heat,  and  the  Inmates  pressed  on  for  a  while 
with  original  Eddie  and  the  Hot  Rods  vocalist  Barrie 
Masters.  The  1984  live  album  reprises  both  the  Inmates' 
best-known  tracks  ("Dirty  Water,"  "The  Walk")  and 
the  early  Hot  Rods'  (Bob  Seger's  "Get  Out  of  Den- 
ver"), adding  the  Doors'  "Love  Me  Two  Times"  and 
some  originals. 

After  the  Big  Heat  cooled  down,  Hurley  made  a  solo 
album  in  collaboration  with  ex-Count  Bishops  axeman 
Johnny  Guitar.  A  little  of  this  (R&B,  soul)  and  that 
(sentimental  country),  the  solid  but  plain  Double  Agent 
features  contributions  from  Inmates  guitarist  Peter 
Gunn. 

Hurley  and  the  other  original  Inmates  reconvened  in 
the  late  '80s  and  recorded  Fast  Forward  with  the  band's 
old  producer,  Vic  Maile,  shortly  before  his  death,  [i] 

INNER  CITY  UNIT 

Pass  Out  (nr/Riddle)  1980 

The  Maximum  Effect  (nr/Avatar)  1 981 

Punkadelic  (nr/Fliclcnife)  1982 


334 


The  Presidents  Tapes  (nr/FIicknife)  1 985 
New  Anatomy  (nr/Demi-Monde)  1 985 

If  you  can  accept  the  notion  that  Hawkwind  was 
the  original  punk-psychedelic-heavy-metal-dada  fusion 
band,  then  it  makes  perfect  sense  that  saxophonist  Nik 
Turner  should  lead  the  humorous  Inner  City  Unit,  a 
devolving  London  five-piece  whose  music  is  so  far  over 
the  edge  that  it  almost  defies  comprehension.  Taking 
mind-expanding  drugs  is  theoretically  essential  to  ap- 
preciation here,  but  the  frantic  and  funny  rock-with- 
horns  of  "Watching  the  Grass  Grow,"  "Space 
Invaders"  and  "Cars  Eat  with  Autoface"  (all  on  Pass 
Out  and,  in  alternate  versions,  on  Pimkadelic)  update 
the  Hawkwind  legend  with  style  and  energy  that  anyone 
can  enjoy.  Had  the  Bonzo  Dog  Band  spent  the  '70s 
attending  muddy  rock  festivals,  this  might  have  been  the 
outcome. 

The  first  side  of  Pimkadelic  dredges  up  different 
takes  of  four  Pass  Out  songs;  the  album  (subtitled  "Re- 
vaulting  from  the  volts")  also  contains  five  previously 
unreleased  compositions,  including  the  band's  earliest 
explorations,  the  wacky  "God  Disco"  and  "Disco 
Tango."  In  a  gambit  truly  worthy  of  old  hippies, 
"Bildeborg"  has  two  bandmembers  singing  different 
lyrics  and  melodies  in  the  left  and  right  channels. 

ICU  pokes  gentle  fun  at  Turner's  back  pages  on  The 
Presidents  Tapes,  an  amusing  but  somewhat  disap- 
pointing album.  Singing  topical  songs  like  "World  of 
LSD,"  "Big  Foot"  and  "Stonehenge  Who  Knows?" 
the  group  uses  organ,  flute  and  production  effects  to 
evoke  the  period.  Despite  the  flashes  of  satirical  inspi- 
ration, too  many  normal-sounding  tracks  and  a  shortage 
of  left-field  sax  noise  keep  The  Presidents  Tapes  from 
being  a  revelation.  [i] 

See  also  Hawkwind. 


INNOCENCE  MISSION 

The  Innocence  Mission  (A&M)  1 989  • 

On  paper,  this  tasteful  Pennsylvania  quartet  has  it 
all:  a  distinctive  singer  in  keyboardist  Karen  Peris,  well- 
crafted  arty  folk-pop  songs  with  intelligent,  substantial 
lyrics,  delicately  skillful  musicianship.  On  record,  how- 
ever, the  Innocence  Mission  sounds  like  a  once- 
sprightly  group  that's  had  the  life  washed  out  of  it. 
Lacking  the  resonant  eccentricities  of  10,000  Maniacs 
or  the  artistic  depth  of  the  Cocteau  Twins,  this  polished 
veneer  of  adult  refinement  is  much  easier  to  admire  than 
enjoy.  [i] 


Clint  Boon's  vintage  organ  sound.  Ironically,  an  all- 
American  idiom  that  wouldn't  get  any  likeminded  State- 
side band  out  of  the  garage  has  made  the  Inspirals  a 
major  chart  attraction  in  contemporary  England.  The 
quintet  goes  so  far  as  to  pay  its  respects  with  a  brisk 
cover  of  "96  Tears"  on  the  five-song  Plane  Crash  EP 
(produced  by  ex-Chameleon  Dave  Fielding),  otherwise 
relying  on  its  own  simple  creations,  which  are  precisely 
tailored  for  the  Inspirals'  thickly  surging  rock. 

The  four  new  tunes  on  Trainsurfing  hint  at  the 
band's  biggest  shortcoming:  shallow  and  ineffectual 
songwriting  (by  Boon  and  guitarist  Graham  Lambert). 
"Butterfly"  and  "Causeway"  are  adequate  fodder  for 
the  band's  narrow  range  of  sensuous  textures  but  are 
way  too  flimsy  to  hold  up  on  their  own  merits.  Although 
the  title  track  of  Joe  (by  which  time  Tom  Hingley  had 
taken  over  the  vocals  from  original  singer  Stephen  Holt; 
bassist  Martin  Walsh  had  replaced  David  Swift)  is  for- 
gettably  lame,  the  flipside  of  the  EP  introduces  two  of 
the  band's  few  good  songs:  the  Doors  meet  the  Electric 
Prunes  in  the  droney  "Directing  Traffic,"  while  San 
Francisco  acid-rock  gets  a  colorful  revisit  in  "Commer- 
cial Rain."  Recorded  immediately  after  the  Joe  ses- 
sions, the  four-track  Peel  EP  includes  "Directing 
Traffic"  and  a  terrible  organ-colored  rendition  of  the 
Stones'  "Gimme  Shelter,"  as  well  as  Hingley *s  first 
recorded  swipe  at  Plane  Crash's  "Keep  the  Circle 
Around." 

Cool  as  ****  (the  title  is  a  sanitization  of  the  Cow 
label's  T-shirt  parody  on  a  British  milk-ad  slogan) 
weakly  introduced  Inspiral  Carpets  to  America  with  a 
compilation  of  "Joe,"  a  subsequent  B-side  and  all  three 
tracks  from  the  "Find  Out  Why"  single,  including  the 
numbing  sixteen-minute  "Plane  Crash"  jam  (not  to  be 
found  on  the  EP  of  the  same  name).  Wow,  man — this 
shit  is  groovy! 

By  the  time  Inspiral  Carpets  got  around  to  recording 
a  full  album,  their  international  discography  was  hope- 
lessly out  of  synch.  As  a  result,  the  American  version  of 
Life  omits  "Besides  Me"  to  add  an  overzealous  remake 
of  "Commercial  Rain,"  two  items  from  the  three-song 
Island  Head  EP  and  another  song  from  those  sessions. 
The  resulting  sixteen-track  extravaganza  is  way  too 
much  of  an  occasionally  good  thing,  surrounding  ap- 
pealing songs  like  the  sturdily  melodic  "This  Is  How  It 
Feels,"  the  Stranglersish  "Song  for  a  Family,"  the 
poppy  "Move"  and  a  new  unimproved  version  of  "Di- 
recting Traffik"  with  far  too  many  inferior  soundalikes. 

[i] 


INSPIRAL  CARPETS 

Plane  Crash  EP  (nr/Playtime)  1988 

Trainsurfing  EP  (nr/Cow)  1 989 

Joe  EP(nr/Cow)  1989 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 989  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1 991  • 
Cool  as  ****  EP  (Cow-Rough  Trade)  1 990  <l> 
Life  (Cow-Mute-Elektra)  1990  • 
Island  Head  EP  (nr/Cow-Mute)  1990  • 
She  Comes  in  the  Fall  EP  (nr/Cow-Mute)  1 990  • 
The  Beast  Inside  (Cow-Mute-Elektra)  1991  <f> 

Emerging  on  the  Manchester  scene  alongside  Happy 
Mondays  and  Stone  Roses,  Inspiral  Carpets'  notable 
innovation  in  the  retro-groove  psychedelipop  stakes  is 


INTELLIGENT  HOODLUM 

The  intelligent  Hoodlum  (A&M)  1990  « 

On  the  best  moments  of  his  debut  album,  the  Intel- 
ligent Hoodlum  (aka  Tragedy  aka  Percy  Chapman)  raps 
passionately  about  the  lousy  state  of  the  world.  Backed 
by  hard,  unadorned  beats  from  ace  producer  Marley 
Marl,  he  leads  a  furious  chant  against  racism  in  "No 
Justice,  No  Peace"  and  bristles  with  righteous  anger  on 
"Black  and  Proud."  He  still  sounds  like  a  kid,  which 
gives  even  venomous  diatribes  like  "Arrest  the  Presi- 
dent" an  appealing  fresh  edge.  Elsewhere,  though  the 
man  resorts  to  predictable  bragging  and  party-down  top- 
ics, the  aggressive  tracks  continue  to  crackle.  [jy] 


335 


INTERSTELLAR  VILLAINS 

See  Scientists. 

IN  THE  NURSERY 

Temper  EP  (nr/Sweotbox)  1 985 
Twins  (nr/Sweatbox)  1 986  • 
Koda  (Wax  Trax!)  1988® 
Counterpoint  (Wax  Trax!)  1 989  • 
L'esprit  (Wax  Trax!)  T990  ® 

Originally  a  fraternal  duo  of  Klive  and  Nigel  Hum- 
berstone,  Sheffield's  In  the  Nursery  added  a  drummer 
and  a  female  singer  to  further  explore  its  bizarre  brief: 
complex  military-industrial  music  with  classical  preten- 
sions. The  band's  early  efforts — a  number  of  12-inch 
singles,  EPs  and  the  Twins  album,  all  of  which  are 
represented  on  the  Counterpoint  compilation — range 
from  restrained  atmospherics  (the  breaking  waves  and 
gothic  organ  of  1985's  "Arm  Me  Audacity"  resemble 
soundtrack  music  for  Dark  Shadows}  to  brutal  assem- 
blies of  martial  beats,  obscure  vocals,  synthesized  ac- 
cents and  strings  (as  on  Temper's  shrieking  "Breach 
Birth"  and  Twins'  title  track).  Meanwhile,  bowed  elec- 
tric bass  provides  striking  counterpoint  to  the  tingly 
strings  in  1987*s  "Blind  Me,"  an  unsettling  mix  of  cries 
and  spoken  dialogue.  (The  Counterpoint  CD  adds  an 
alternate  mix  of  "Breach  Birth"  and  two  more  tantrums 
from  Temper. ) 

Except  for  the  scarcity  of  vocals,  the  ambitious  Koda 
would  be  best  described  as  operatic.  Mainly  using  clas- 
sical instrumental  sounds  and  percussion,  the  stirring 
record  glides  smoothly  from  moody  film  music  to  march- 
able  stridency,  all  of  it  seemingly  designed  to 
accompany — or  evoke — theatrical  action.  If  Art  of  Noise 
scored  a  German  war  epic,  this  might  be  the  result. 

Lifting  Koda's  portentous  military  cloud,  the  Hum- 
berstones  turned  over  a  romantic  leaf  on  L'esprit,  a 
graceful  album  of  surprising  gentleness  that  conjures  up 
balletic  images.  Vocals  play  a  significant  role  for  the 
first  time:  "Sesudient,"  "Retaliation"  and  "The  Pearl" 
all  float  on  Dolores  Marguerite  C.'s  whispery  French 
crooning;  "To  the  Faithful"  opens  the  record  with  the 
brothers'  surprisingly  pleasant  pop  tones.  Besides  occa- 
sional somber  passages,  L'esprit  does  roll  out  the  tim- 
pani and  rat-a-tat-tat  snare  drum  in  "Traumerei,"  but 
the  dramatic  intrusion  only  serves  to  heighten  the  al- 
bum's serene  impact.  [i] 

1NXS 

INXS  (Aus.  Deluxe)  1980  (Atco)  1984  • 
Underneath  the  Colours  (Aus.  Deluxe)  1981  (Atco) 

1984* 

Shabooh  Shoobah  (Atco)  1982  • 
Inxsive  (Aus.  Deluxe)  1 982  • 
Dekadance  EP  (Atco)  1983 
The  Swing  (Atco)  1 984  • 
Listen  Like  Thieves  (Atlantic)  1 985  • 
Kick  (Atlantic)  1987* 
X  (Atlantic)  1 990  * 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Dogs  in  Space  (Atlantic)  1987 

MAXQ 

Max  Q  (Atlantic)  1 989  « 


It  took  these  six  Australians  (three  of  them  broth- 
ers) from  Sydney  a  long  time  to  develop  into  some- 
thing America  wanted  to  hear;  INXS  is  dull  rock  that 
sounds  like  a  less  musical  Joe  Jackson  or  a  no-soul 
Graham  Parker.  Underneath  the  Colours — like  its 
predecessor,  issued  in  the  US  only  after  the  band  had 
become  successful — has  much  better  audio  quality  (al- 
though no  one  bothered  to  integrate  the  drums  into  the 
mix)  and  shifts  the  focus  among  keyboards,  sax  and 
guitar  in  a  vain  effort  to  vitalize  the  underwhelming 
songs. 

Shabooh  Shoobah,  with  good  loud  production  by 
Mark  Opitz  (and  one  Farriss  brother  mysteriously  miss- 
ing from  the  credits),  was  the  first  INXS  album  to  be 
released  in  the  US  and  UK.  Despite  major  strides  in 
several  areas,  on  the  whole  it's  still  not  a  happening 
record.  A  few  outstanding  numbers  do  display  growth  hi 
personality  and  style:  "The  One  Thing"  sews  a  bunch 
of  riffs  together  into  an  energetic,  dense  fabric,  while 
"Soul  Mistake"  generates  a  foreboding  mood  and 
"Don't  Change"  gets  up  a  good  head  of  textured  rock 
steam. 

Following  an  Australian  label  change,  the  group's 
previous  record  company  issued  Inxsive,  a  compilation 
that  includes  outtakes  and  obscurities  as  well  as  hits. 

Four  songs  from  Shabooh  Shoobah  (three  extended 
remixes  plus  a  wholly  new  version  of  a  fourth)  comprise 
the  club-oriented  Dekadance  EP.  If  not  specifically  bet- 
ter, the  six-rninute  edit  of  "The  One  Thing"  is  certainly 
longer. 

The  Swing  proved  to  be  the  first  INXS  LP  of  any 
real  significance,  moving  the  group  clearly  into  the 
mainstream  of  modern  dance-rock  with  the  inclusion  of 
the  suavely  insistent  "Original  Sin,"  produced  by  Nile 
Rodgers.  (The  record  was  otherwise  done  under  the 
direction  of  Nick  Launay.)  "Burn  for  You"  is  another 
highlight,  using  a  female  backing  chorus  to  affect  an 
amusing  resemblance  to  Roxy  Music.  On  the  other 
hand,  "I  Send  a  Message"  finally  reveals  INXS'  enor- 
mous potential  to  annoy:  a  basically  tuneless  song  synth- 
funked  into  repetitive  and  grating  obnoxiousness. 
Elsewhere,  The  Swing  offers  strong  beats,  mannered 
vocals  and  a  unified,  au  courant  sound. 

Produced  by  Chris  Thomas,  Listen  Like  Thieves  is 
crisp,  lively  rock  with  as  little  vocal  posturing  as 
Michael  Hutchence  seems  capable  of,  and  substantial 
aggressive  guitar  work  where  required.  The  title  tune, 
"What  You  Need"  and  "This  Time"  all  have  solid 
melodies,  strong  rhythms  and  decisive  hooks.  "Shine 
Like  It  Does"  attempts  to  generate  a  folk-rock  sensibil- 
ity with  moderate  success;  other  tracks  are,  at  worst, 
negligible. 

With  Hutchence  launching  an  acting  career  (in  Dogs 
in  Space)  and  emerging  as  a  pin-up  sex  god  for  teenag- 
ers, INXS  made  the  completely  vapid  Kick,  again  using 
Thomas  to  dress  up  the  mediocre  material.  (Needless  to 
add,  it  became  their  biggest  seller,  shifting  upwards  of 
four  million  copies.)  The  inappropriate  and  unconvinc- 
ing meta-political  consciousness  of  a  few  lyrics  doesn't 
improve  what  is  essentially  tuneless  video-dance-rock; 
the  contrived  poses  on  the  sleeve  indicate  what  really 
makes  INXS  run.  Ludicrous  soul  pretensions  only  un- 
derscore just  how  phony  INXS  is.  Kick  does  contain 
one  consolation:  a  plodding  version  of  the  Aussie-punk 
classic,  "The  Loved  One,"  originally  recorded  in  the 


336 


late  '60s  by  Melbourne's  groovy  Loved  Ones  and  first 
covered  by  INXS  on  a  1981  single. 

While  the  band  took  a  three-year  break  from  record- 
ing, Hutchence  did  a  side  project,  singing,  co-writing 
and  co-producing  an  album  with  Ollie  Olsen  (ex- 
WhMywirid),  a  patron  saint  of  Australia's  rock  under- 
ground. Their  joint  approach  gives  Max  Q  a  bit  of  a 
Midnight  Oil  feel,  with  more  politics  and  a  rougher  rock 
sound  than  INXS.  The  use  of  synthesizers  and  strings 
keeps  Max  Q  from  being  exactly  earthy,  but  the  record's 
got  a  certain  energy  and  forthrightness  that  makes  it  an 
intriguing  superstar  aside. 

That  indulgence  over,  Hutchence  got  down  to  plat- 
inum tacks  with  his  usual  crew  and  made  the  dire  X  (no, 
it's  not  their  tenth  album).  Weak  hooks  jammed  roughly 
into  weaker  (and  obviously  self-derivative)  songs,  mel- 
odies that  go  absolutely  nowhere,  well-intentioned  lyr- 
ics of  stunning  vacuity  and  an  absurd  funk-groove-and- 
harmonica  single  ("Suicide  Blonde")  that  crosses  U2 
and  Blondie — those  are  X's  good  points.  The  only  mem- 
ber of  the  group  who  comes  off  well  here  is  bassist 
Garry  Gary  Beers,  and  he's  stuck  on  the  same  old  riffs. 
Compared  to  this  halfbaked  exercise,  INXS's  previous 
records  now  seem  more  like  profound  artistic  achieve- 
ments, [i] 

See  also  Whirlywirld. 


IPPU-DO 

Normal  (Jap.  Epic-Sony)  1979 
Real  (Jap.  Epic-Sony)  1980 
Radio  Fantasy  (nr/Epic)  1981 
Lunatic  Menu  (nr/Epic)  1 982 
Some-Times  (Jap.  Epic-Sony)  1 982 
Live  and  Zen  (Jap.  Epic-Sony)  1 985 

MASAM1  TSUCH1YA 

Rice  Music  (nr/Epic)  1982 

Led  by  androgynous,  Bowiesque  guitarist  Masami 
Tsuchiya,  this  Japanese  trio  stepped  into  the  commercial 
void  created  by  Yellow  Magic  Orchestra's  decreased 
group  activity.  It's  hard  to  make  out  what  the  songs  are 
really  about  since  most  have  only  a  chorus  or  bridge  in 
English,  but  the  lyrics  seem  simpleminded  enough 
— themes  of  romantic  fantasy,  travel  and  technology 
evidently  dominate.  Tsuchiya' s  voice  is  high  but  gutsy 
and  always  in  control  (even  when  yelling) — he's  got  his 
shtick  down  pat,  and  his  guitar  playing  fits.  Ippu-Do 
alternates  between  modernized  arrangements  of  '50s  and 
early  '60s  vocal  pop-rock  melodies  and  steaming,  heart- 
pounding  rock'n'roll,  sometimes  in  the  same  song.  They 
also  use  reggae  syncopation  and  synthesizers,  so  all 
bases  are  covered—^xcept  originality.  (Lunatic  Menu 
and  Some-Times  are  anthologies  of  the  other  LPs.) 

,  It  sounds  like  these  fellas,  especially  Tsuchiya,  pos- 
sess the  ability  to  go  further  but  just  aren't  sure  how. 
Tsuchiya  gives  it  a  try  on  his  solo  LP  with  lots  of  help 
from  YMO's  Ryuichi  Sakamoto,  though  several  tracks 
include  members  of  Japan  (the  band)  and  Bill  Nelson  on 
e-bow  guitar.  Most  successful  when  he  tries  to  mildly 
funkify  Japanese  music,  with  further  cross-fertilization, 
Tsuchiya  could  be  a  real  innovator. 

By  1985*s  live  album,  Ippu-Do  was  just  a  duo,  aided 
by  two  ex-members  of  Japan  (with  whom  Tsuchiya 
toured  and  recorded)  plus  English  bass  ace  Percy  Jones. 


Despite  its  recent  vintage,  the  album  portrays  the  band 
treading  musical  water  with  jagged,  arty  treatments  of 
old  material  (the  group's  and  Tsuchiya's),  plus  a  ver- 
sion of  the  Zombies*  "Time  of  the  Season."  Despite 
stylistic  growth,  Ippu-Do  needs  new — not  old — content 
to  make  it  meaningful .  [jg] 

See  also  Japan. 


GREGORY  ISAACS 

In  Person  {nr/Trojan}  1 975  +  1 983 

Al!  1  Have  Is  Love  (nr/Trojan)  1976  (nr/Tad's)  1983 

The  Best  of  Gregory  Isaacs  Vol.  1  (Jam.  GG)  1 977 

Cool  Ruler  {nr/Front  Line)  1 978 

Soon  Forward  (nr/Front  Line)  1 979 

Showcase  EP  (Jam.  Taxi)  1 980 

The  Lonely  Lover  (nr/Pre)  1 980  ® 

Extra  Classic  (Shanachie)  1 981 

The  Best  of  Gregory  Isaacs  Vol.  2  (Jam.  GG)  1 981 

The  Early  Years  (nr/Tro[an)  1981  * 

More  Gregory  (Mango)  1981  • 

The  Sensational  Gregory  Isaacs  (nr/Vista)  1 982 

Lover's  Rock  (nr/Pre)  1982 

Mr.  Isaacs  (Shanachie)  1982  ® 

Night  Nurse  (Mango)  1982  ® 

Crucial  Cuts  (nr/Virgin)  1983 

Out  Dehl  (Mango)  1983® 

Reggae  Greats  (Live)  (Mango)  1984  • 

Live  at  the  Academy  Brixton  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 984  * 

Private  Beach  Party  (RAS)  1 985  ® 

Easy  (nr/Tad's)  1985 

Watchman  of  the  City  (Rohit)  1987  ® 

Victim  (nr/C&E)  1987® 

Sly  and  Robbie  Presents  Gregory  Isaacs  (RAS)  1988  « 

Red  Rose  for  Gregory  (RAS)  1 988  ® 

I.O.U.  ( RAS)  1989® 

Slum  (In  Dub)  (nr/Buming  Sounds)  1989 

My  Number  One  (Heartbeat)  1 990  ® 

Call  Me  Collect  (RAS)  1 990  » 

Cool  Ruler/Soon  Forward  (Front  Line)  1990  <!> 

Once  Ago  (Front  Line)  1 990  <}> 

Dancing  Floor  (Heartbeat)  1990  « 

Come  Again  Dub  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 991 

Love  Is  Overdue  (nr/Network)  1991  • 

GREGORY  ISAACS  AND  DENNIS 
BROWN 

Two  Bad  Superstars  (nr/Buming  Sounds)  1 984 
Judge  Not  (Greensleeves)  1984  « 
No  Contest  (Music  Works)  1 989  ® 

The  Cool  Ruler,  Gregory  Isaacs,  is  one  of  the  best- 
loved  and  most  durable  reggae  singers.  Highly  prolific 
(he  writes  nearly  all  his  material)  and  business-savvy 
(he  runs  his  own  Jamaican  label,  African  Museum), 
Isaacs'  voice  is  still  the  key  to  his  success.  His  delivery 
is  marked  by  a  combination  of  ice  and  fire  rare  even 
among  soul  singers — an  urgent  longing,  tempered  with 
cool  control.  Although  comparable  to  a  Jamaican  Al 
Green  or  Marvin  Gaye,  Isaacs  is  a  completely  unique 
stylist.  His  repertoire  is  equal  parts  lovers  rock  and  Rasta 
protest;  the  link  is  his  seductive  delivery.  Whether  he's 
urging  romance  or  reform,  the  call  to  action  will  give 
you  goosebumps. 

Like  many  popular  reggae  performers,  however, 


337 


Isaacs'  recording  career  is  a  confusing  jumble.  His  early 
work  involved  a  number  of  producers.  Sensational,  for 
instance,  has  one  side  produced  by  Rupie  Edwards  and 
one  by  Ossie  Hibbert,  resulting  in  a  mix  of  hits  ("Black 
and  White,"  "Mr.  Know  It  All")  and  duds.  Extra 
Classic  compiles  his  work  with  Pete  Weston  and  Lee 
Perry,  as  well  as  his  first  self-produced  sessions.  While 
also  spotty,  the  record  offers  early  proof  of  Isaacs'  au- 
thority and  strength  as  a  songwriter. 

Isaacs'  career  began  to  move  under  the  guidance  of 
producer  Alvin  Ranglin.  Their  collaboration  is  chroni- 
cled on  the  two  excellent  Best  Of  collections.  Though 
available  only  as  Jamaican  imports,  these  consistently 
strong  LPs  are  worth  finding,  and  crucial  for  fans.  An- 
other Ranglin/Isaacs  session,  lit  Person  (which  includes 
the  UK  hit,  "Love  Is  Overdue")  is  available  on  Trojan, 
along  with  an  LP  produced  by  Sidney  Crooks,  All  I 
Have  Is  Love.  Both  are  of  mixed  quality,  but  Trojan 
took  the  best  from  each  and  combined  them  with  a  third 
batch  (produced  by  Winston  "Niney"  Holness)  for  The 
Early  Years,  good  all  the  way  through 

For  his  next  career  phase,  Isaacs  chose  to  produce 
himself.  Despite  weak  covers  of  the  Temptations'  "Get 
Ready"  and  Billy  &  Vera's  "Storybook  Children,"  Mr. 
Isaacs  has  bold,  assured  singing  and  at  least  one  classic, 
"Slave  Master." 

Virgin's  Front  Line  label  then  released  two  incon- 
sistent albums,  subsequently  culling  the  best  tracks  for 
an  edition  of  the  Crucial  Cuts  series;  still,  it's  pretty 
weak.  The  outstanding  Soon  Forward,  however, 
launched  his  collaboration  with  Sly  Dunbar  and  Robbie 
Shakespeare.  The  title  song  of  that  record  also  appears 
on  the  Showcase  EP,  released  on  Sly  and  Robbie's  Taxi 
label,  which  adds  a  version  of  Bob  Marley's  "Slave 
Driver."  Although  tight  and  lively  from  start  to  finish, 
the  record  allows  Isaacs'  personality  to  be  somewhat 
overshadowed  by  the  duo's  fine  playing.  Besides  his 
work  with  Sly  and  Robbie,  Isaacs  began  an  association 
with  Roots  Radics,  another  fine  Jamaican  session  band, 
that  would  last  several  LPs. 

The  Lonely  Lover  and  More  Gregory  contain  his 
finest  middle-period  work.  Both  feature  excellent  back- 
ing (divided  between  the  Radics  and  Dunbar/ 
Shakespeare)  and  a  steady  stream  of  high-quality 
material.  Best  of  all,  Isaacs  is  singing  at  the  peak  of  his 
form.  More,  in  particular,  firmly  establishes  his  lover- 
boy  persona  in  an  easygoing  groove  that  lasts  for  all  ten 
cuts.  Once  Ago  pairs  the  two  records  on  CD  and  cas- 
sette. 

In  contrast,  Isaacs'  work  on  Island  is  marred  by 
inconsistency.  Both  Night  Nurse  and  Out  Deh!  boast 
first-rate  singing  and  playing  (by  Roots  Radics),  but  the 
material  is  erratic,  frequently  weak — more  a  series  of 
gestures  than  songs.  To  compensate,  perhaps,  two  live 
albums  were  released  around  the  same  time.  The  song 
selection — an  essential  greatest  hits — is  similar  on  both, 
but  the  Brixton  set  has  the  edge,  featuring  a  horn  section 
and  a  more  enthusiastic  performance. 

A  short  period  of  inactivity  was  broken  in  1985  by 
the  release  of  Private  Beach  Party.  In  a  clear  effort  to 
lighten  the  load,  Isaacs  enlisted  the  help  of  an  outside 
producer,  Augustus  Clarke,  and  several  songwriters. 
The  result  is  his  best  album  in  years — a  fresh,  diverse 
package. 

Easy  maintains  his  rule;  the  sensual  crooning  is  as 


lilting  and  refreshing  as  a  cold  mint  julep  on  a  Caribbean 
beach.  In  "Cool  Ruler  Come  Again,"  Gregory  an- 
nounces that  "he  was  only  taking  a  nap."  Both  the  title 
track  and  "Love  Is  Overdue"  are  absolute  Gregory. 

Isaacs  remained  prolific,  recording  LPs  of  his  own 
material  with  a  variety  of  producers  for  a  few  small 
labels.  While  none  of  these  mid-' 80s  releases  are  par- 
ticularly distinct,  each  of  them  demonstrates  nicely  how 
Isaacs'  smooth  and  sexy  formula  is  as  dependable  as 
Smokey  Robinson's,  and  how  his  professionalism  and 
talent  have  withstood  the  test  of  time. 

Isaacs  had  a  big  late- '80s  hit  with  "Rumours," 
which  then  turned  up  on  Red  Rose  for  Gregory.  This  is 
the  lonely  lover  of  days  gone  by,  complete  with  his 
famous  sexy  moans  and  mannerisms.  From  the  title 
track  to  the  evocative  "Teacher's  Plight"  to  "Rough 
Neck"  (on  which  he's  joined  by  the  Mighty  Diamonds), 
Gregory  is  in  his  glory. 

Isaacs'  next  huge  hit  was  "Big  All  Around,"  an- 
other in  a  series  of  collaborations  with  Dennis  Brown. 
The  pair  included  that  song  on  their  joint  No  Contest,  a 
mixture  of  solo  performances  and  duos.  Their  sensual 
voices,  with  rootical  foundations  in  Gussie  Clarke's 
state-of-the-art  production,  makes  this  album  a  must. 
"Easy  Life"  and  "Jealousy"  are  crucial  combination 
tracks.  The  earlier  Judge  Not  only  pairs  Isaacs  and 
Brown  vinylistically:  each  man  keeps  to  his  own  side  of 
the  platter.  Lacking  the  collaborative  fire  of  No  Con- 
test, it's  rather  boring. 

My  Number  One  is  a  compilation.  Come  Again 
Dub  is  the  companion  to  Call  Me  Collect.  [bk/aw] 

CHRIS  ISAAK 

Silvertone  (Warner  Bros.)  1 985  ® 
Chris  Isaak  (Warner  Bros.)  1 987  * 
Heart  Shaped  World  (Reprise)  1 989  9 

The  look  of  a  sensitive  young  Elvis  .  .  .  moody, 
atmospheric  tunes  .  .  .  sweet,  brooding  vocals  .  .  . 
heaps  of  twangy  guitar.  Chris  Isaak  has  his  shtick  down 
cold,  that's  for  sure.  Happily,  this  retro  package  offers 
more  than  selfconscious  imagery.  At  his  best,  Isaak 
summons  up  the  deep  hurt  of  classic  blues  or  the  soaring 
spirits  of  footloose  rockabilly.  On  Silvertone »  consult 
the  swinging  "Livin'  for  Your  Lover"  or  "Western 
Stars,"  a  lazy,  loping  piece  of  sagebrush  hokum.  On 
Chris  Isaak,  try  the  quietly  menacing  "You  Owe  Me 
Some  Kind  of  Love"  or  "Blue  Hotel,"  the  woeful 
sound  of  a  tortured  soul  crying  for  help.  No  wonder 
Isaak's  been  compared  to  Roy  Orbison. 

Heart  Shaped  World  has  more  of  the  wonderful 
same,  from  the  high  and  lonesome  "I'm  Not  Waiting" 
to  the  slo-mo  "Blue  Spanish  Sky"  to  "Wrong  to  Love 
You,"  a  quietly  driving  tale  of  romantic  woe.  Upon 
release,  this  entrancing  LP  inspired  the  same  chart  ac- 
tion as  its  predecessors  (i.e.,  none).  But  wonders  never 
cease:  After  a  walk-on  in  Jonathan  Demme's  Married  to 
the  Mob,  Isaak  contributed  the  gorgeously  despondent 
"Wicked  Game,"  one  of  World's  finest  moments,  to 
the  soundtrack  of  David  Lynch's  Wild  at  Heart.  By 
early  '91,  the  boy  had  himself  a  bona  fide  hit.  [jy] 

MARK  ISHAM 

See  Marianne  FaithfulL 


338 


ISM 

A  Diet  for  the  Worms  (SIN.)  1 983 
Constantinople  EP  (Broken)  1985 
I  Think  I  Love  You  (The  Hits  That  Missed  1 982-1 989} 
[CD]  (no  label)  1990® 

A  Diet  for  the  Worms  is  hysterically  funny  New 
York  hardcore  with  a  tasteless  baby-being-delivered 
cover  and  gutbusting  numbers  like  "Shitlist,"  "Vege- 
tarian at  a  Barbeque,"  "Life  Ain't  No  Bowl  of  Brady 
Bunch"  and  the  classic  "John  Hinckley  Jr.  (What  Has 
Jodie  Done  to  You?)."  The  band  (not  to  be  confused 
with  a  similarly  named  Elliott  Sharp  outfit)  plays  at 
easily  followable  speed  and  has  a  reasonably  articulate 
bellower  in  Jism,  who  gives  the  long  winded  lyrics 
(mostly  his)  appropriate  exercise.  A  good,  scatological 
laugh  for  the  vulgar  at  heart. 

On  Constantinople,  Jism  and  his  band  connect  with 
their  roots,  slam-dunking  songs  by  the  Residents  and 
the  Fugs  with  reverent  but  rowdy  enthusiasm.  Rather 
than  hardcore,  Ism  here  plays  restrained  rock  with  piano 
and  relative  subtlety.  Judging  by  this  EP,  Ism  is  devel- 
oping a  novel  time  warp,  mixing  various  breeds  of  out- 
rage into  a  hybrid  all  its  own. 

The  post-Constantinople  tracks  (several  of  them 
previously  unissued)  on  the  self-issued  I  Think  I  Love 
You  retrospective  confirm  Ism's  singularity,  but  the  (in- 
tentionally) unfinished  sound  of  the  vaguely  pomp-rock 
"Excerpt  from  Sermon  for  the  Watchdog"  and  instru- 
mental "Theme"  cushions  their  force  a  little  too  much. 
Far  better  are  items  reclaimed  from  the  band's  many 
compilation  contributions  (notably  Jism's  ode  to  polit- 
ical activism,  "Nixon  Now  More  Than  Ever")  and  the 
long-lost  first  single,  a  Flipper-gum  version  of  the  Par- 
tridge Family  "classic"  that  gives  the  collection  its 
title — not  to  mention  the  inspiration  for  the  jocularly 
offensive  cover.  [i/dss] 

IT  BITES 

The  Big  Lad  in  the  Windmill  (Virgin-Geffen)  1986  « 
Once  Around  the  World  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  * 
Once  Around  the  World  EP  (Virgin-Geffen)  1 988  « 
Eat  Me  in  St.  Louis  (Virgin-Geffen)  1 989  • 
Sister  Sarah  EP  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 989  * 

Hailing  from  Cumbria,  a  remote  northern  county  of 
England,  It  Bites  plays  energetic,  carefully  produced 
(by  Alan  Shacklock)  chart-pop  that  adds  considerable 
offbeat  spunk  to  the  easy-listening  sounds  of  peppy  out- 
fits like  Haircut  One  Hundred.  The  Big  Lad  in  the 
Windmill  has  the  merry  attitude  (if  not  the  extraordi- 
nary talent)  of  early  lOcc:  unexpected  styles  and  noises 
abound  in  a  shiny  rush  of  giddy  melodicism.  While 


hardly  groundbreaking,  this  provincial  quartet  is  agree- 
ably paranormal.  (In  a  taste  of  things  to  come,  the  al- 
bum was  resequenced  for  US  release. ) 

Cutting  three  tracks  from  the  Steve  Hillage-produced 
sophomore  album,  It  Bites'  American  label  issued  the 
five-song  Once  Around  the  World,  a  showcase  for  the 
once-offbeat  band's  new  sound:  blandly  energetic  and 
annoying  dance-rock  that  apparently  takes  its  cues  from 
Genesis. 

Eat  Me  in  St.  Louis  further  complicates  the  inter- 
national discography.  Rather  than  issue  the  band's 
heavy  and  boring  third  album  (loudly  produced  by 
Mack)  intact,  Geffen  combined  half  of  it  with  two  tracks 
each  from  The  Big  Lad  and  the  Once  Around  the 
World  EP.  Sister  Sarah  is  a  3-inch  CD  of  an  album 
track  with  three  B-sides.  Bl 

ITS  IMMATERIAL 

Ifs  Immaterial  EP  (nr/Ark)  1985 

Life's  Hard  and  Then  You  Die  (Siren-Virgin-A&M)  1986  ® 

Song  (nr/Siren-Virgin)  1990  ® 

More  bizarreness  from  the  Liverpool  art  college  set. 
In  this  case,  the  Manchester  duo  of  John  Campbell  and 
Jarvis  Whitehead  plus  myriad  friends  (including  the 
Christians,  whose  Henry  Priestman  was  an  Itsy  in  the 
group's  early  days).  On  Life's  Hard,  It's  Immaterial 
cooks  up  a  fascinating  musical  hybrid  that  touches  var- 
iously on  synth-pop,  atmospheric  art-rock,  recitation 
and  a  unique  brand  of  English  country  music.  It  may 
remind  you  of  early  OMD,  Pete  Townshend,  Talking 
Heads,  even  Ronnie  Lane's  late- '70s  gypsy-rock  aggre- 
gation Slim  Chance — which  is  to  say  there's  a  lot  going 
on  in  this  mix.  The  only  thing  missing  is  an  identity. 
That  identity  finally  turned  up  four  years  later  on 
Song,  an  ironic  title  for  an  album  that's  more  a  collec- 
tion of  stories  put  to  music  than  actual  songs.  (There's 
not  a  chorus  anywhere  to  be  found.)  Whitehead' s 
tracks — flowing,    repetitive    patterns,    mainly    based 
around  piano — function  as  a  soundtrack  for  Campbell's 
lyrics,  which  he  both  sings  and  speaks  in  a  pleasant  but 
limited  voice.  The  effect  is  often  hypnotic— something 
like  Philip  Glass  meets  Marc  Almond— but  unless 
you're  drawn  in  by  the  words,  you  may  find  the  going  a 
bit  tedious.  This  is  music  best  listened  to  when  distrac- 
tions are  at  a  minimum;  don't  expect  to  hear  it  in  dance 
clubs.  tdsl 

See  also  Christians. 

DEBORA  IYALL 

See  Romeo  Void. 


339 


JACK  FROST 

See  Hex. 

JACKOFFICERS 

See  Butthole  Surfers. 

JACK  RUBIES 

Fascinatin'  Vacation  (TVT)  1 989  • 

See  the  Money  in  My  Smile  (TVT)  1 990  • 

Everyone  views  romance  in  their  own  way,  but  Ian 
Wright,  the  singer  of  London's  Jack  Rubies,  has  a  very 
strange  way  of  expressing  affection.  On  the  first  song  of 
the  quintet's  debut,  he  offers  "to  be  hung,  drawn  and 
quartered**  to  "Be  with  You";  in  "You're  So  Wild," 
after  describing  the  "spontaneous  combustion  ...  in 
my  heart,"  he  admits  to  being  "overcome  .  .  .  when 
you  stuck  out  your  tongue  at  that  man."  The  band's 
unassuming  acoustic/electric  music — a  pleasant  pop 
style  of  no  special  character — isn't  nearly  as  colorful, 
but  does  provides  a  hospitable  enough  atmosphere  for 
the  offbeat  musings. 

More  diverse  and  complex  arrangements  on  the  Pat 
Collier-produced  follow-up  decrease  the  prominence  of 
Wright's  frank  Lloyd  Cole-ish  vocals  in  favor  of  raising 
the  band's  overall  personality  profile.  A  substantial  and 
thoughtful  album,  with  bits  of  western  country  flavor, 
See  the  Money  in  My  Smile  could  be  the  prelude  to 
something  great.  [i] 

JACKS 

See  Beat  Farmers. 

JOE  JACKSON 

Look  Sharp!  (A&M)  1979* 

I'm  the  Man  (A&M)  1979* 

The  Harder  They  Come  EP  (nr/A&M)  1 980 

Beat  Crazy  (A&M)  1 980  * 

Jumpirt' Jive  (A&M)  1981  * 

Night  and  Day  (A&M)  1982* 

The  Real  Men  EP  (Ho!.  A&M)  1 982 

Mike's  Murder  (A&M)  1 983 

Body  and  Sou!  (A&M)  1 984  * 

Big  World  (A&M)  1986* 

Will  Power  (A&M)  1987  (A&M-Mobile  Fidelity)  1988  • 

Live  1980/86  (A&M)  1988* 

Tucker  (A&M)  1988* 

Blaze  of  Glory  (A&M)  1989* 

Stepping  Out:  The  Very  Best  of  Joe  Jacbon  (nr/A&M) 

1990® 
Laughter  &  Lust  (Virgin)  1991  <J> 

What  songs!  What  hair(lme)!  What  shoes!  Look 
Sharp!  sounded  as  striking  as  its  cover  photo  looked, 
and  Joe  Jackson  was  unduly  anointed  a  member — 


alongside  Graham  Parker  and  Elvis  Costello — of  En- 
gland's angry  young  troubadours  club.  (Ironically, 
Jackson  was  the  first  of  the  three  to  really  sell  records  in 
America,  largely  due  to  the  wry  "Is  She  Really  Going 
Out  with  Him?,"  which  was  a  hit  single.)  Smart  but 
minus  Elvis'  overt  intellectualism  or  artiness,  or  Park- 
er's great  white  soul  man  pose,  Jackson's  songs  mixed 
cheek,  edge  and  a  self-deprecating  wit  that  set  him  apart 
from  his  more  serious  peers.  Maybe  all  the  lyrics  don't 
sound  as  clever  now  as  they  seemed  back  then,  but  stuff 
like  "Happy  Loving  Couples"  and  "Pretty  Girls"  took 
the  pulse  of  post-adolescent  heebie-jeebies,  and  kicked 
a  little  butt,  too. 

Much  of  the  material  on  the  follow-up,  I'm  the 
Man,  dates  from/is  an  extension  of  Look  Sharp!, 
though  several  songs  up  the  bile  quotient,  notably  "On 
Your  Radio"  and  "Don't  Wanna  Be  Like  That."  The 
rewed-up  lyrics  are  balanced  by  catchy  high-speed  pop- 
rock  (as  on  the  title  tune  and  "Get  That  Girl")  and  that 
affecting  approximation  of  genius,  "It's  Different  for 
Girls."  The  LP  may  lack  the  crispness  and  consistent 
impact  of  its  predecessor,  but  it's  a  strong  and  enduring 
platter. 

That  Jackson  was  seeking  an  alternative  to  the  fast- 
paced  rock'n'roll  of  his  first  two  albums  was  signaled  by 
The  Harder  They  Come  EP  (a  straight  reggae  reading 
of  the  Jimmy  Cliff  song,  plus  two  Jackson  originals) 
and  then  trumpeted  in  no  uncertain  terms  by  Beat 
Crazy,  his  final  LP  with  his  original  tight-knit  band. 
Jackson  put  it  bluntly  in  the  liner  notes:  "This  album 
represents  a  desperate  attempt  to  make  some  sense  of 
Rock  and  Roll.  Deep  in  our  hearts,  we  knew  it  was 
doomed  to  failure.  The  question  remains:  Why  did  we 
try?"  The  attempt  seems  less  desperate  than  just  plain 
confused,  and  its  failure  makes  the  LP  the  least  satisfy- 
ing of  his  initial  salvo. 

With  the  Joe  Jackson  Band  dissolved,  Joe  took  a 
musical  detour,  recording  Jumpin'  Jive,  a  tribute  to 
Louis  Jordan:  cool  jazz  vocals  over  mock  big-band 
swing.  Obviously  enjoying  himself  (for  once),  Jackson 
romps  his  way  through  "Is  You  Is  or  Is  You  Ain't  My 
Baby"  and  related  gems  from  the  Louis  Jordan/Cab 
Galloway  school  of  hepness.  Jackson's  production  is 
warm  and  loving,  and  though  Jumpin T  Jive  was  a  clear 
respite  from  the  official  progress  of  his  music,  the  album 
is  enormous  fun  and  holds  up. 

Night  and  Day  proved  to  be  Jackson's  most  suc- 
cessful outing  since  Look  Sharp!,  although  the  urban/ 
Latin  flavor  bears  not  the  slightest  resemblance  to  the 
white-hot  sound  of  his  early  days.  The  Latin  rhythms 
seem  somehow  less  honest  even  man  the  buoyant  bop  of 
Jumpin'  Jive,  yet  Jackson  is  obviously  sincere.  The 
Real  Men  EP  is  "Real  Man"  from  Night  and  Day  plus 
three  more  from  the  LP  with  vocals  in  Spanish. 

Jackson's  next  departure — an  intended  film  sound- 
track— proved  to  be  something  of  an  embarrassment. 


340 


Months  after  the  Mike's  Murder  album  (billed  as  mu- 
sic from  the  film)  appeared,  the  James  Bridges  picture 
still  hadn't,  and  rumors  circulated  over  which  problems 
were  causing  the  delay;  while  the  decision  not  to  use 
Jackson's  music  was  one  of  them,  that  could  hardly 
have  been  the  prime  problem.  Regardless,  it's  Jackson 
at  his  least  assured,  and  the  most  notable  item  is  "Mem- 
phis/' whose  organ  line  and  rhythm  are  lifted  straight 
from  the  Spencer  Davis  Group's  "Gimme  Some  Lov- 
inV 

Jackson  survived  that  debacle  to  make  Body  and 
Soul,  an  ambitious  attempt  to  simplify  and  repersonal- 
ize  the  recording  process  as  much  as  possible.  With  a 
distant,  light  sound — quite  in  contrast  to  the  stuffy  close- 
ness of  most  contemporary  records — and  '50s  jazz  styl- 
ings  tinged  by  an  ongoing  affection  for  Latin  music,  the 
record  has  plenty  of  atmosphere,  and  contains  some  of 
his  strongest,  most  mature  songwriting.  Unlike  his  pre- 
vious time-tunnel  trip,  Body  and  Soul  eschews  period 
re-creation  (except  on  the  cover)  in  favor  of  a  wistful 
ambience  indicative  of  Jackson's  distaste  for  much  mod- 
ern music. 

The  three-sided  Big  World  was  recorded  live  di- 
rectly to  a  digital  stereo  master  with  a  small  band  at  a 
three-day  New  York  concert  engagement  staged  espe- 
cially for  that  purpose  in  January  1986.  With  no  post- 
production  tinkering  of  any  sort,  the  fifteen  new  songs — 
some  about  current  world  political  affairs,  others  about 
societal  issues — are  reproduced  on  two  discs  as  accu- 
rately as  possible.  Stylistically,  Big  World  is  a  return  to 
stripped-down,  lightly  seasoned  jazzy  rock.  A  little  self- 
important  (the  rampantly  multi-lingual  booklet  smacks 
of  grandstanding)  and  creatively  inconsistent,  but  an 
impressively  ambitious  effort. 

Redolent  with  unrestrained  pomposity,  the  ironically 
titled  Will  Power  is  an  instrumental  album  that  mixes 
Jackson's  least  interesting  film-score  composition  style 
with  the  "overture  for  two  pianos"  which  turned  into 
the  title  track.  The  type-tree  cover  and  the  inside  photo 
of  the  suffering  artist,  sitting  dejectedly  alone  in  a  huge 
studio,  merely  indicate  the  imagined  depths  of  this  triv- 
ial self-indulgence.  While  Jackson  may  be  impressed  by 
his  ability  to  convince  an  orchestra  to  play  his  melodra- 
matically panoramic  music,  it's  unlikely  anyone  else 
will  find  this  exercise  especially  rewarding. 

The  conceptually  masterful  live  album  is  divided 
into  four  different  creative  eras;  each  side  presents  a 
different  incarnation  of  the  Joe  Jackson  Experience .  Side 
One,  recorded  in  Manchester  and  Holland  in  1980,  fea- 
tures material  from  the  first  three  albums,  played  with 
his  original  backing  trio.  Side  Two  (1983),  recorded 
with  a  keyboard-laden  quintet  in  Sydney,  Australia,  is 
billed  as  "The  Night  and  Day  Tour"  but  contains  only 
"Cancer"  from  that  album.  Instead,  it  draws  further 
from  the  same  three  records,  offering  the  second  (this 
time  a  cappella)  rendition  of  'Is  She  Really  Going  Out 
with  Him?"  on  the  LP.  Side  Three  (1984),  recorded  in 
Sydney  and  Melbourne  during  the  horn-heavy  "Body 
and  Soul  Tour,"  again  includes  that  song,  only  this  time 
in  an  acoustic  version;  Side  Four  (1986)  hails  from 
Canada  and  Japan  and  features  a  straight  electric  rock 
quartet  doing  selections  (including  "Breaking  Us  in 
Two,"  "It's  Different  for  Girls"  and  "Jumpin*  Jive") 
from  various  albums. 

Comparing  Mike's  Murder  with  Tucker  shows  that 


Jackson  learned  not  to  make  the  same  mistake  twice. 
Although  the  latter  picture  was  a  commercial  flop,  it 
was  a  Francis  Ford  Coppola  flop,  and  at  least  had  some 
artistic  raison  d'etre.  To  his  credit,  Jackson's  music  is  of 
a  piece  with  the  project's  high  quality:  a  cinematic  use 
of  '4Qs-style  jazz,  with  a  spot  of  artistic  license,  allow- 
ing for  a  few  anachronistic  styles  and  production  tech- 
niques. But  it's  deftly  crafted,  credible  staff — there's 
even  an  apparent  nod  to  Thelonious  Monk — that  creates 
its  moods  welt 

Blaze  of  Glory  is  a  concept  album  that's  not  a  con- 
cept album.  You  can  imagine  him  saying,  "On  this 
concept  album,  every  song  can  stand  on  its  own,"  a 
self-defeating  approach  that  virtually  defies  the  realiza- 
tion of  any  overriding  plan.  Still,  the  idea — a  rock'n' 
roller  of  Jackson's  generation  followed  from  frustrated 
childhood  to  chastened  but  wistful  adulthood — is  not  so 
fancy  that  it  really  needs  much  elucidation.  Indeed,  the 
songs  can  stand  alone,  and  most  are  unquestionably  co- 
gent and  catchy  (faves  include  "Nineteen  Forever"  and 
"The  Human  Touch").  In  the  process,  Jackson  answers 
the  Beat  Crazy  question:  rock  may  no  longer  be  his 
message,  but  it  still  can  be  a  swell  medium,  [jw/i/jg] 

JACOBITES 

See  Nikld  Sudden. 

JAH  LION 

See  Lee  Perry. 

JAM 

In  the  City  (Polydor)  1977® 

This  Is  the  Modem  World  (Polydor)  1977  » 

All  Mod  Cons  (Polydor)  1 978  * 

Setting  Sons  (Pol/dor)  1 979  * 

Sound  Affects  (Polydor)  1 980  • 

The  Jam  EP  { Polydor)  1982 

The  Gift  (Polydor)  1982* 

The  Bitterest  Pill  EP  (Polydor)  1982 

Beat  Surrender  EP  (Polydor)  1982 

Dig  the  New  Breed  (Polydor)  1982  * 

Snap!  (Polydor)  1983 

All  Mod  Cons/Setting  Sons  [tape]  (nr/Polydor)  1983 

Sound  Affects/The  Gift  [tape]  (nr/Polydor)  1 983 

Compact  Snap!  [CD]  (Polydor)  1 984  • 

The  Peel  Session  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 990  • 

How  ironic  that  the  band  from  the  class  of  '77  that 
seemed  to  stand  least  for  the  tenets  of  punk  at  the  outset 
should  wind  up  the  one  that  remained  truest  to  them 
over  the  long  haul.  The  Jam's  refusal  to  compromise 
their  ideals  and  integrity  during  a  six-year  career  tends 
to  polarize  reactions  to  them.  In  the  end,  once-common 
complaints  about  unoriginality  and  Paul  Weller's  lack  of 
vocal  prowess  are  overshadowed  by  their  accomplish- 
ments as  songwriters,  musicians  and  commentators,  but 
mostly  by  the  Jam's  living  proof  that  a  band's  commer- 
cial success  need  not  divorce  it  utterly  from  its  fans  or 
sense  of  purpose.  The  trio's  parting  at  the  end  of  1982 
can  be  looked  at  as  symbolic  of  victory  (a  courageous 
decision  not  to  become  pointless  dinosaurs  in  the  UK, 
where  they  were  virtually  superstars)  or  failure  (they 
were  never  able  to  achieve  more  than  modest  success  in 
America,  despite  plenty  of  effort  on  the  part  of  both  the 


341 


Jam  and  their  label)  or  just  as  an  indication  that  Welter's 
ever-changing  moods  had  led  him  away  from  the  Jam's 
rockVsoul  aesthetic  towards  more  "stylish"  pursuits. 
Regardless,  the  Jam  left  behind  a  recorded  legacy  as 
important  as  any  the  new  wave  produced. 

Black  mohair  suits,  smart  white  shirts,  skinny  ties, 
stylish  razor-cut  hair,  Rickenbacker  guitars — on  In  the 
City  the  Jam  were  the  new  mods,  emerging  from  a  sea 
of  spiky-haired  leather-and-chain-clad  punks.  They  may 
have  looked  different,  but  their  energy  level  gave  no 
ground,  as  Weller's  jagged,  choppy  double-tracked  gui- 
tar led  the  attack  over  Bruce  Foxton' s  busy,  melodic 
bass  lines  and  Rick  Buckler's  stiff-backed  drumming. 
The  songs  themselves  are  as  taut  and  well  manicured  as 
the  group,  but  match  the  explosiveness  and  attitude  of 
the  punks  easily  enough  to  establish  an  indisputable  kin- 
ship to  bands  like  the  Sex  Pistols  and  Clash.  (It  was  no 
surprise  when  the  Pistols  swiped  the  riff  for  "Holidays 
in  the  Sun"  from  Weller's  "In  the  City.") 

If  the  songs  and  playing  of  In  the  City  are 
derivative — especially  of  The  Who  Sings  My  Gener- 
ation and  '60s  Motown — there's  no  arguing  that  the 
Jam  was  speaking  to  a  generation  for  whom  it  was  all 
new.  Also,  the  main  points — youth  regaining  pop  cul- 
ture from  the  grasp  of  conservative  people  with  old- 
fashioned  ideas,  the  individual  vs.  the  crowd — were 
well  taken  by  the  group's  growing  British  following. 

This  Is  the  Modern  World,  recorded  just  months 
after  In  the  City  was  released,  is  a  cleaner-produced 
version  of  its  predecessor,  breaking  little  new  ground. 
The  songs  themselves  are  hit-and-miss,  with  "The  Mod- 
ern World,"  "Standards"  and  "All  Around  the  World" 
(a  brilliant  single  added  to  the  US  version  of  the  LP)  the 
obvious  standouts. 

Since  they  had  by  then  spawned  dozens  of  neo-mod 
soundalikes,  the  Jam  needed  a  change  of  direction,  and 
on  All  Mod  Cons,  Weller  rose  to  the  challenge.  Prior 
inconsistency  is  replaced  by  an  album  that  explores  new 
avenues  with  almost  complete  success,  while  never 
straying  too  far  from  the  band's  roots.  Weller's  writing 
showed  him  to  have  blossomed  into  a  major-league  tune- 
smith,  as  well  as  a  lyricist  possessing  a  keen  eye  for 
detail  and  a  refreshing  sense  of  the  vagaries  of  his  own 
position.  While  retaining  a  great  deal  of  the  Who  influ- 
ence, the  Jam  also  began  to  incorporate  other  sources. 
(Especially  Ray  Davies,  which  resulted  not  only  in  a  hit 
version  of  the  Kinks*  "David  Watts"  but  also  in  the 
biting  social  commentary  of  "Mr.  Clean.")  "In  the 
Crowd"  gives  Weller  a  chance  to  open  up  as  a  guitarist 
and  proves  that  he's  more  than  just  a  Townshend  copy- 
ist. All  Mod  Cons  is  a  brilliant  record. 

Setting  Sons  takes  five  songs  from  a  scrapped  con- 
cept album  about  three  friends  who  meet  after  much  of 
England  has  been  destroyed  by  atomic  war  and  com- 
bines them  with  four  even  bleaker  tracks,  then  lightens 
up  by  ending  the  LP  with  a  version  of  the  uplifting 
"Heatwave."  The  album  is  the  Jam's  most  somber — 
not  that  any  of  their  records  are  big  on  humor — but  it  is 
also  their  most  effective.  Weller's  songs  stick,  and  the 
beauty  of  his  melodies  provides  stark  contrast  to  the 
blackness  of  his  lyrical  vision. 

Perhaps  as  a  conscious  change  from  the  heaviness  of 
Setting  Sons,  Sound  Affects  is  more  danceable  and,  for 
the  most  part,  less  pointed,  although  songs  like  "That's 
Entertainment"  are  hardly  cheerful.  The  rage  is  still 


there,  but  it's  channeled  into  fiery  playing  and  singing, 
loosening  up  somewhat  on  the  lyrics. 

The  Jam  EP — five  songs  previously  released  on 
singles — served  mostly  as  an  interim  measure  between 
LPs,  but  includes  essential  tracks — "Absolute  Begin- 
ners," "Funeral  Pyre" — as  well  as  the  Who's  arcane 
"Disguises." 

The  Gift  explores  a  lot  of  new  territory  on  songs 
like  "Trans-Global  Express"  and  "Precious,"  where  a 
strong  funk/Latin  rhythm  fueled  by  loads  of  percussion 
is  heavily  in  evidence.  The  album  takes  a  lot  of  chances 
and  doesn't  always  succeed;  some  of  the  rhythmic  ex- 
periments sound  forced,  others  fall  victim  to  overly 
dense,  ponderous  production.  The  Gift  has  its 
moments — notably  "Happy  Together,"  "Ghosts"  and 
the  Motownish  "Town  Called  Malice."  It  also  offers 
some  evidence  as  to  why  Weller  may  have  felt  the  band 
had  exhausted  its  possibilities. 

The  Bitterest  Pill  (named  for  an  emotional  song 
with  one  of  Weller's  best  vocals)  shows  the  band  forg- 
ing still  further  into  the  realm  of  R&B.  Although  not 
recorded  as  such,  the  five  tracks  form  a  cohesive  work. 

Beat  Surrender,  containing  the  Jam's  last  studio 
work  together,  was  released  as  a  British  double-45  and 
an  American  12-inch.  The  driving  title  track  is  abso- 
lutely smashing,  and  the  four  accompanying  tracks  are 
swell  as  well,  including  a  lively  rendition  of  Curtis  May- 
field's  "Move  on  Up."  The  record  is  additionally  note- 
worthy for  its  audible  indications  of  Weller's  subsequent 
direction  with  the  Style  Council. 

Dig  the  New  Breed,  issued  after  the  band's  split  had 
been  announced,  is  an  honest,  retrospective  live  album 
(complete  with  bum  notes)  recorded  at  gigs  during  var- 
ious stages  of  the  Jam's  career — a  powerful  parting  shot. 
Snap!  is  an  awesome  two-disc  career  compilation  (in- 
cluding a  remixed  "Funeral  Pyre"  and  a  demo  version 
of  "That's  Entertainment")  which  was  later  abridged 
and  issued  on  CD  as  Compact  Snap! 

Recorded  in  April  '77,  The  Peel  Session  contains 
versions  of  three  songs  from  the  group's  debut  album, 
plus  the  title  track  of  the  then-yet-to-be-released  This  Is 
the  Modern  World,  that  are  barely  distinguishable 
from  the  originals,  save  for  the  fact  that  these  sound 
about  a  thousand  times  better.  A  worthwhile  investment 
for  real  fans. 

In  the  Jam's  wake,  Weller  formed  the  Style  Council 
with  ex-Merton  Parka  keyboardist  Mick  Talbot.  Foxton 
launched  a  short-lived  solo  career.  Buckler  formed  Time 
(UK)  with  ex-Tom  Robinson  Band  guitarist  Danny  Kus- 
tow  and  issued  a  handful  of  singles  in  the  mid-' 80s. 

See  also  Bruce  Foxton,  Style  Council.  [ds/i] 

JAMES 

Village  Fire  EP  (nr/Factory)  1985 

Stutter  (Blanco  y  Negro-Sire)  1 986 

Strip-mine  (Blanco  y  Negro-Sire)  1 988  • 

One  Man  Clapping  (nr/One  Man-Rough  Trade)  1 989  • 

Gold  Mother  (Fontana)  1 990  4> 

Manchester's  winsome  and  demure  James  proffer  a 
folksy,  intricate  version  of  pop  with  top-notch  percus- 
sion and  vocals  that  range  from  baritone  to  falsetto, 
often  in  the  same  verse.  Village  Fire  collects  five  tracks 
from  the  band's  first  two  singles,  presenting  a  diverse 
range:  from  folk  enhanced  with  numerous  layers  of 


342 


acoustic  guitar  to  re  wed-up  funk  and  keen-edged  punk. 

Stutter,  produced  by  Lenny  Kaye,  proved  to  be  a 
rather  surprising  first  album  for  the  quartet.  Unlike  the 
singles,  the  LP  adheres  to  one  particular  style  of 
music — loud  semi-acoustic  folk.  Tim  Booth's  vocals 
lurch  around  poorly  arranged  songs  that  are  not  all  that 
memorable;  gaining  focus  has  inadvertently  obscured 
some  of  James'  strengths.  Potential  for  greatness  exists 
in  several  tracks — the  accelerating  "Skullduggery," 
"So  Many  Ways/*  "Why  So  Close"  (an  amazing  re- 
mix from  Village  Fire)  and  "Just  Hip" — but  the  album 
fails  to  realize  it. 

Fortunately,  Strip-mine  sets  things  to  right.  Crys- 
talline production  by  Hugh  Jones  makes  the  most  of  the 
band's  alluring  and  intelligent  folk-pop.  ("Charlie 
Dance,"  "Ya  Ho"  and  "Stripmining"  are  highlights.) 
Gavan  Whelan's  uncommon  around-the-beat  dramming 
and  Booth's  imaginative  vocals  outline  the  songs,  leav- 
ing guitarist  Larry  Gott  (doubling  on  keyboards  and 
flute)  to  delicately  paint  them  in  with  bright  colors. 
Where  James  dragged  its  heels  on  Stutter,  the  fre- 
quently delightful  Strip-mine  kicks  them  up  in  the  air, 
as  if  an  artistic  weight  had  been  lifted. 

Booth's  onstage  emergence  as  a  theatrical  Momssey 
wannabe  ruins  the  live  One  Man  Clapping,  recorded  in 
Bath  at  the  end  of  1988.  While  the  other  three,  aug- 
mented by  a  keyboard  player,  rough  up  the  songs  (only 
two  come  from  Strip-Mine;  three  are  from  Stutter) 
with  cavalier  enthusiasm,  Booth  puts  on  an  insufferable 
demonstration  that  overwhelms  the  music's  subtlety  and 
underscores  the  pretentiousness  of  his  lyrics.  (The  CD 
and  cassette  add  a  track. ) 

Marking  a  switch  in  Manchester  style  loyalties  from 
the  Smiths  to  house-pop,  Gold  Mother  introduced  the 
new  James,  a  grandiosely  dramatic  seven-piece  (Whe- 
lan  is  gone;  the  lineup  now  includes  a  trumpeter  and 
violinist)  playing  long,  instrumentally  overloaded  po- 
etic rock  epics.  (Comparisons  to  the  early  Waterboys 
are  not  unwarranted.)  Booth's  lyrics  have  never  been 
this  self-important — preaching  revolution  in  "Govern- 
ment Walls , ' '  damning  religion  hi  *  *God  Only  Knows , ' ' 
slagging  off  a  woman  in  "How  Was  It  for  You"  and 
enigmatically  celebrating  childbirth  in  the  title  track — 
but  he  winds  up  sounding  foolish  rather  than  fiery.  In- 
spiral  Carpets  provide  backing  vocals  on  "Gold 
Mother."  [ag/i] 

BRIAN  JAMES 

See  Damned,  Lords  of  the  New  Church. 

JAMS 

See  Justified  Ancients  ofMu  Mu. 

JANE'S  ADDICTION 

Janes  Addiction  (Triple  X)  1 987  • 
Nothing's  Shocking  (Warner  Bros.)  1988  • 
Ritual  de  lo  Habitual  (Warner  Bros.)  1 990  • 

PSI  COM 

Worktape  1  [tape]  (Right  Brain]  1984 
Psi-ComEP(Mohini)1985 

These  obnoxious  Los  Angeles  giam-punk  poseurs 
recorded  most  of  their  debut  album  (pressed  on  clear 
vinyl)  live,  onstage  at  the  Roxy  in  Hollywood.  Perry 


Farrell  sings  in  an  aggressive  womanly  warble  as  his 
three  bandmates  pound  out  competent  but  unoriginal 
post-'70s  rock.  "My  Time"  and  the  dramatic  "Jane 
Says,"  both  played  with  acoustic  guitar,  show  the  group 
capable  of  moderate  musical  achievement,  but  most  of 
the  record — especially  "Sympathy"  (for  the  Devil)  and 
Lou  Reed's  "Rock  V  Roll" — sounds  like  the  work  of 
an  incompetent  Aerosmith  cover  band.  And  Farrell' s 
effete  habit  of  interjecting  the  word  "motherfucker" 
merely  frosts  the  album's  maggotry. 

As  guitarist  David  Navarro  and  the  lumbering  rhythm 
section  work  themselves  into  a  dull  sub-Led  Zeppelin 
metallic  stupor  on  the  rambling  Nothing's  Shocking, 
Farrell' s  double-tracked  screech  delivers  smugly  self- 
obsessed  lyrics — repeating  favorite  lines  over  and 
over — as  if  his  idiotic  free-form  musings  were  somehow 
significant.  A  new  version  of  "Jane  Says'*  allows  Farrell 
to  give  the  two-chord  song  an  even  more  mannered  vocal 
performance;  the  rest  of  the  amorphously  tuneless  ma- 
terial runs  either  hot  ( "Had  a  Dad' ' )  or  cool  ( *  *Summer- 
time  Rolls** ) ,  with  a  laughably  crude  funk-rhythm  detour 
("Idiots  Rule'*).  Farrell' s  skillful  front-cover  sculpture 
of  two  nude  women — joined  at  the  shoulder  and  hip — 
with  pierced  nipples  and  their  heads  ablaze  is  the  album's 
only  effective  piece  of  artistic  creativity. 

Pulling  himself  further  into  a  private  world  of  self- 
congratulatory  decadence  (the  inclusion  of  a  methadone 
bottle  on  the  back  cover's  botanica  shelf  is  bad  news, 
whatever  the  intention),  Farrell  fills  the  absurd  Ritual 
de  lo  Habitual  with  pretentiously  irrational  ravings  that, 
when  they  manage  to  coagulate  into  coherence,  describe 
the  joys  of  shoplifting  ("Been  Caught  Stealing,"  the 
pathetic  bleat  of  a  spoiled  rich  asshole  that  inexplicably 
begins  with  barking  dogs),  masochism  ("Ain't  No 
Right"),  his  supposed  solidarity  with  black  people 
("No  One's  Leaving")  and  a  nebulous  eleven-minute 
opus  about  a  m6nage  a  trois  ("Three  Days").  The 
band's  swirling  demi-metal — still  limited  by  Navarro 's 
inadequacy  as  a  guitar  hero — is  loudly  functional,  but 
Farrell's  expanding  ego  and  detachment  make  the  album 
unbearable.  (Because  of  the  front  cover  sculpture's 
graphic  sexuality,  Ritual  was  also  released  in  an  alter- 
nate sleeve  that  simply  offers  the  text  of  the  First 
Amendment.) 

Although  no  one  in  the  pre-Jane's  Addiction  Psi 
Com  is  identified  by  name,  it's  impossible  to  miss  Far- 
rell's unmistakable  Siouxsie-like  warble  amid  the  swirl- 
ing, atmospheric  rock,  a  proficiently  transparent 
imitation  of  the  Banshees  and  Cure.  After  undergoing 
some  lineup  shifts,  the  group  finally  splintered  when  the 
guitarist  and  drummer  became  Hare  Krishnas.  Post-EP 
bassist  Dino  Paredes  subsequently  formed  Red  Temple 
Spirits.  [i] 

JAPAN 

Adolescent  Sex  (Ariola-Hansa)  1 978  • 
Obscure  Alternatives  (Ariola-Hansa)  1978  • 
Quiet  Life  (nr/Ariola-Hansa)  1979  (nr/Fame)  1982  • 
Gentlemen  Take  Polaroids  (nr/Virgin)  1980  • 
Tin  Drum  (nr/Virgin)  1981  • 
Assemblage  (nr/Hansa)  1981  (nr/Fame)  1985 
Japan  (Virgin-Epic)  1 982 
Adolescent  Sex/Obscure  Alternatives  [tape] 
(nr/Ariola-Hansa)  1 983 


343 


Oil  on  Canvas  (nr/Wgin)  1 983  • 

Exorcising  Ghosts  (nr/Virgin)  1 984  ® 

A  Souvenir  from  Japan  (nr/Ariola-Hansa)  1989  © 

Titles  (nr/Virgin}  1 982  (Blue  Plate)  1 990  • 

Dreams  of  Reason  Produce  Monsters  (nr/Virgin)  1 987  • 

JANSEN/BARBIERI 

Worlds  in  a  Small  Room  {nr/Virgin}  1986  • 

Shining  EP  (nr/Virgin}  1 987 
Catch  the  Fall  (nr/Virgin}  1987  • 
Second  Sight  EP  (nr/Virgin}  1 987 

RAIN  TREE 

Rain  Tree  Crow  [CD]  (Virgin)  1 991  ® 

In  one  of  rock's  most  remarkable  examples  of  boot- 
strapping, South  London's  Japan  pulled  themselves  up 
from  lowly  beginnings  as  a  ludicrously  overdressed 
glam-punk-pose  band  who  (badly)  emulated  the  New 
York  Dolls  and  Alice  Cooper  to  finish,  five  years  later, 
as  one  of  England's  most  sophisticated  art-rock  outfits, 
earning  the  respect  of  their  peers  and  branching  out  into 
such  fields  as  sculpture  and  photography. 

Adolescent  Sex  introduces  Japan  in  all  its  guitar- 
rock  misery,  playing  such  Bowie-influenced  tripe  as 
"Wish  You  Were  Black"  with  less  style  than  a  sense  of 
urgency.  Obscure  Alternatives  adds  more  keyboards 
but  still  relies  on  Rob  Dean's  buzzing  guitars  and  David 
Sylvian's  sneery  vocals  for  its  sound.  (Ill-advised  digres- 
sions into  reggae  and  funk  are  strictly  dilettante  poses.) 
The  songs  are  fairly  unmelodic,  the  production  nonde- 
script. With  a  quick  listen,  you  might  mistake  this  for  a 
junior-league  Stones  imitation. 

Japan  entered  the  modem  world  with  Quiet  Life. 
The  choice  of  producer  John  Punter — who  had  worked 
with  Roxy  Music  and  Bryan  Ferry — was  significant,  as 
the  band's  sights  had  shifted  from  gutter-glam  to  elegant 
decadence.  A  cover  of  the  Velvet  Underground's  "All 
Tomorrow's  Parties"  allows  Japan — and  especially 
Sylvian,  sporting  a  totally  revised  singing  voice — to 
show  off  their  new  suave  reserve,  relying  on  sequenc- 
ers, Mick  Kara's  proto-funk  basswork  and  generally 
understated  aplomb.  Around  this  time,  Japan  also  re- 
leased a  marvelous  non-LP  single  of  Smokey  Robin- 
son's "I  Second  That  Emotion." 

On  the  excellent  Gentlemen  Take  Polar oids,  Sylvi- 
an's  debonair  Ferryisms — more  shyly  quiet  than 
dissipated — are  met  by  Karn's  astonishing  fretless  bass 
work,  Richard  Barbieri's  wide-ranging  keyboard  work 
(incorporating  Asian  and  other  traditions)  and  Steve 
Jansen's  inventive  dramming.  (Jansen  is  Sylvian's 
brother;  their  family  name  is  Batt. )  The  technically  ex- 
quisite and  musically  adventurous  sound  is  loaded  with 
atmosphere,  yet  displays  a  very  light  touch.  Sylvian's 
songs  are,  however,  very  hard  to  hold,  as  many  lack  a 
backbone  and  waft  along  with  little  evident  structure. 

Tin  Drum  presents  Japan  at  peak  form,  playing  sub- 
tle creations  with  intricate  rhythms  and  tightly  controlled 
dynamics.  Spare  but  strong  drumming  (abetted  by 
Karn's  rubbery  bass)  provides  needed  propulsion,  and 
the  breadth  of  influences — from  Middle  Eastern  to 
funk — color  the  music  a  number  of  fascinating  shades. 
Having  almost  totally  escaped  pop  constraints,  Japan's 
sound  here — except  for  a  few  runes  (especially 


"Ghosts")  that  strongly  resemble  latter-day  Roxy 
Music — is  a  willowy  fabric  of  interwoven  threads. 

Assemblage  is  a  collection  of  songs  from  the  band's 
pre-Vkgin  period,  including  "Adolescent  Sex,"  "Quiet 
Life,"  "I  Second  That  Emotion"  and  "All  Tomorrow's 
Parties."  (The  cassette  version  adds  remixes,  an  extra 
studio  track  and  three  otherwise  unreleased  live  record- 
ings. Years  later,  the  same  album — expanded  by  two 
extra  Obscure  Alternatives  tracks — was  issued  as  A 
Souvenir  from  Japan.)  In  a  new  effort  to  interest 
America,  Epic  issued  Japan,  which  is  actually  Tin 
Drum  minus  two  tracks,  plus  three  from  Gentlemen 
Take  Polaroids. 

Oil  on  Canvas  is  a  crystalline  live  set  featuring 
Ippu-Do  guitarist  Masami  Tsuchiya  as  an  adjunct  mem- 
ber. The  two  records  offer  a  good  cross-section  of  the 
band's  repertoire,  adding  some  previously  unrecorded 
ambient  doodling.  When  Japan's  long-rumored  dissolu- 
tion finally  came  to  pass,  Virgin  issued  Exorcising 
Ghosts,  a  two-record  anthology  of  their  later  work. 

While  the  band  still  appeared  to  be  an  ongoing  prop- 
osition, Kam  (real  name:  Anthony  Michaelides)  re- 
corded Titles,  essentially  a  showcase  for  his  proficient 
bass  stylings  and  ability  to  play  a  multitude  of  wood- 
winds and  keyboards.  Featuring  such  guests  as  Jansen, 
Barbieri  and  Ricky  Wilde  (!),  it's  all  very  impressive 
but  rather  vague  and  pointless. 

After  Japan,  Karn  did  lots  of  session  work,  formed 
the  short-lived  Dalis  Car  with  Peter  Murphy  of  Bauhaus 
and  then  made  a  second  solo  album.  Dreams  of  Reason 
Produce  Monsters,  a  collaboration  with  Jansen  that 
features  Sylvian's  Ferryesque  vocals  on  two  songs,  is 
another  tastefully  appointed,  highly  accomplished  waste 
of  time.  Orchestral  arrangements  and  a  choir  don't  make 
the  slow-moving  instrumentals  any  more  involving. 
Meanwhile,  all  the  textural  achievement  buries  the  two 
exceedingly  Japan-ese  songs  in  the  sonic  wash. 

After  releasing  an  album  under  their  own  names, 
Jansen  and  Barbieri  became  the  Dolphin  Brothers;  their 
guest-filled  Catch  the  Fail,  and  the  two  EPs  drawn 
from  it,  follow  in  Japan's  delicate  footsteps,  but  take  a 
simpler,  less  distant  path  and  stop  to  rock  out  a  bit  now 
and  again.  Between  Jansen' s  singing  (a  weak  imitation 
of  his  former  bandmate's)  and  the  duo's  lackluster  song- 
writing  (the  pretentious  lyrics  are  a  bigger  problem  than 
the  vague  melodies),  Catch  the  Fall  is  a  needless  foot- 
note to  Japan's  fine  career. 

After  six  years  of  scattered  and  sporadic  collabora- 
tions, the  four  key  members  of  Japan  temporarily  united 
to  record  a  one-off  album  during  1989  and  early  '90, 
releasing  it — after  almost  a  year  of  titular 
consideration — under  the  name  Rain  Tree  Crow.  With 
the  majority  of  the  LP  "written  as  a  result  of  group 
improvisations"  (a  neat  trick  in  eight  studios  spread 
across  Europe),  Rain  Tree  Crow  is  split  almost  evenly 
between  soundscapes  and  more  conventional  "songs." 
Although  employing  some  outside  musicians  (including 
Nelson  and  guitarist  Phil  Palmer),  the  album  doesn't 
sound  drastically  different  from  any  of  their  previous 
work  together,  but  successfully  revives  Japan's  late- 
period  neo-tribal  rhythms  and  vaguely  Asian  feel.  Some 
of  the  looser  instrumentals  recall  Sylvian's  excesses  in 
that  realm,  but  the  lovely  "Blackwater"  and  "Cries  and 
Whispers"  inhabit  ballad  territory,  while  the  oddly  ur- 
gent neo-fusion  of  "Blackcrow  Hits  Shoe  Shine  City" 


344 


breaks  unfamiliar  ground.  Perfect  for  late-night  ambi- 
ence, [i/ja] 
See  also  Illustrated  Man,  lppu-Do,  Peter  Murphy, 
Ryuichi  Sakamoto,  David  Sylvian. 

THE 

Reckless  Country  Soul  EP  (Praxis)  1982 
Fervor  EP  (Praxis)  1 983  (EMI  America)  1 984 
Lost  &  Found  (EM!  America)  1985 
Still  Standing  (EMI  America)  1986  © 
Thunder  and  Fire  (A&M)  1989  ® 

In  1981,  as  the  legend  goes,  Jason  Ringenberg  left 
his  daddy's  Illinois  hog  farm  for  the  bright  lights  of 
Nashville  and  promptly  stumbled  upon  guitarist  Warner 
Hodges  and  bassist  Jeff  Johnson  in  a  gutter.  With  drum- 
mer Perry  Baggs,  they  became  Jason  and  the  Nashville 
Scorchers,  and  recorded  a  bunch  of  tunes  on  a  4-track 
during  a  draaScen  night  in  the  studio.  The  resulting 
Reckless  Country  Soul  EP,  a  7-inch  released  by  a  local 
indie  label,  is  rough-hewn  and  half-realized,  but  enough 
to  help  the  band  earn  a  rep  as  the  best  country-metal- 
thrash  band  in  the  state  of  Tennessee. 

Rigorous  touring  and  a  rep  for  wild  shows  helped 
spread  the  Scorchers'  noisy  mutant  gospel.  They  play 
tighter  and  nastier  on  the  12-inch  Fervor,  displaying 
Ringenberg' s  knack  for  clever  songwriting.  The  band 
signed  to  a  major  label,  dropped  Nashville  from  their 
name,  and  saw  their  second  EP  reissued  with  the  addi- 
tion of  a  smoking  version  of  Bob  Dylan's  "Absolutely 
Sweet  Marie/' 

Lost  &  Found  puts  the  Scorchers  in  the  forefront  of 
an  ever-growing  country-punk  genre,  only  they've  got 
the  roots  others  lack:  Hodges'  folks  toured  with  Johnny 
Cash,  Baggs'  dad  sang  gospel  and  Johnson  was  reared 
in  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains.  More  than  just  a  pedigree 
to  brag  about,  the  band's  genuine  hick  beginnings  make 
them  a  lot  less  inhibited  and  more  apt  to  cross  from  cool 
to  corny,  punk  to  heavy  metal  without  fretting  much 
about  it.  There's  great  tension  between  Ringenberg' s 
two  sides — bible-quoting,  straitlaced  country  boy  and 
yelping,  flailing,  demon-possessed  madman — and  the 
cigarette-chomping,  white-noise-mongering  Hodges. 
On  Lost  &  Found,  Jason  and  the  Scorchers  burn  like 
nothing  since  General  Sherman's  troops  marched 
through  Georgia. 

Still  Standing  was  produced  by  Tom  Werman 
(Cheap  Trick,  Motley  Criie,  Poison),  who  captured  the 
Scorchers'  melodic  power  without  overdoing  it  or  push- 
ing any  obvious  commercial  concessions  down  their 
throats.  The  folky  "Good  Things  Come  to  Those  Who 
Wait"  and  the  equally  optimistic  "Crashin*  Down"  are 
as  pretty,  memorable  and  uplifting  as  anything  they've 
done;  " Shotgun  Blues"  and  " Ghost  Town"  give 
Hodges  plenty  of  encouragement  to  unleash  his  wildest 
electric  dreams.  A  charging  cover  of  "19th  Nervous 
Breakdown"  acknowledges  the  band's  clear  debt  to  the 
Stones  and  proves  that  Jason  and  the  boys  know  just 
how  to  treat  a  piece  of  classic  rock. 

By  the  time  the  Scorchers  delivered  their  long-come 
(and  long-gone:  they  broke  up  soon  afterwards)  third 
album,  the  group  was  sporting  a  second  guitarist  and  a 
new  bassist.  Rather  than  successfully  integrating  the 
group's  stylistic  impulses,  Thunder  and  Fire  divides 
them  into  reheated  rockers  that  short  the  Scorchers'  per- 


sonality and  semi-acoustic  country  numbers  that  seem 
out  of  place.  With  Jason's  good-ol'-boy  voice  under- 
cutting Hodges'  raucous  guitar  fury  (and  vice  versa) 4 
only  "Bible  and  a  Gun"  (co-written  by  Steve  Earle), 
Phil  Ochs'  propulsive  "My  Kingdom  for  a  Car"  and  the 
bluesy  "Away  from  You"  mix  up  a  truly  potent  blend. 

[ep/i] 

JAYHAWICS 

The  Jayhowb  (Bunkhouse)  1 986 
Biue  Earth  (Twin/Tone)  1 989  ® 

Numerous  young  American  bands  have  attempted  to 
recapture  the  soulful  spirit  of  country-rock  as  pioneered 
by  Gram  Parsons,  but  few  have  come  as  close  to  getting 
it  right  as  the  Jayhawks.  Where  similarly  inclined  com- 
bos have  used  the  sound  as  little  more  than  a  stylistic 
affectation,  this  Minneapolis  quartet  captures  Parson's 
sense  of  fatalistic  moralism,  remaining  scrupulously 
faithful  to  their  musical  sources  yet  never  seeming 
contrived — despite  the  fact  that  frontraan  Mark  Olson's 
Midwestern  drawl  is  often  a  dead  ringer  for  GP's,  and 
his  songs  cover  similar  emotional  ground. 

The  Jayhawks  is  an  auspicious  debut;  the  band 
stakes  out  its  derivative  style  with  so  much  spirit  that  it 
almost  sounds  original.  The  playing  (particularly  gui- 
tarist Gary  Louris)  is  clean  and  economical;  the  material 
is  largely  uptempo  and  lighthearted.  The  regretful  "The 
Liquor  Store  Came  First"  gives  a  hint  of  the  increased 
emotional  depth  to  come. 

Though  it's  largely  a  piecemeal  assemblage  of  tracks 
recorded  as  demos  by  a  then-unstable  lineup,  Blue 
Earth  is  a  mature,  cohesive  work  that  certifies  the  Jay- 
hawks*  significance.  Olson's  material  is  more  skillful 
and  streamlined  than  before,  and  the  band  plays  with  a 
thoughtful  restraint  that  intensifies  the  emotional  gravity 
of  such  numbers  as  "Two  Angels"  and  "Commonplace 
Streets,"  and  the  humor  of  "Red  Firecracker"  and 
"Dead  End  Angel/'  [hd] 

JAZZ  BUTCHER 

A  Bath  in  Bacon  (nr/Glass}  1 982  9 

A  Scandal  in  Bohemia  (nr/Glass)  1984  * 

The  Gift  of  Music  (nr/Glass)  1 984  • 

Sex  and  Travel  (nr/Glass)  1985  • 

Bloody  Nonsense  (Big  Time)  1 986 

Big  Questions  (The  Gift  of  Music  Vol.  2)  (nr/Glass) 

1987« 

Fishcotheque  (Creation-Relativity)  1 988  « 
Spooky  (Can,  Creation-Mercury)  1 988  • 
Big  Planet  Scarey  Planet  (Genius)  1 989  • 
Cult  of  the  Basement  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  • 
Edward's  Closet  (nr/Creation)  1991  « 

JAZZ  BUTCHER  AND  HIS 
SIKKORSK1S  FROM  HELL 

Hamburg  (Get.  Rebel)  1985 
Hard  EP  (nr/Glass)  1986 

JAZZ  BUTCHER  VS.  MAX  EIDER 

Conspiracy  EP  (nr/Glass)  1 986 

JAZZ  BUTCHER  CONSPIRACY 

Distressed  Gentlefolk  (Big  Time)  1 986  « 

MAX  EIDER 

The  Best  Kisser  in  the  World  (Big  Time)  1 987  « 


345 


In  ten  years,  the  Jazz  Butcher  has  undergone  more 
transformations  than  most  bands  do  in  several  lifetimes. 
Led  by  the  Jazz  Butcher  (aka  Butch;  in  truth,  Pat  Fish) 
himself,  it  is,  regardless  of  incarnation,  his  lyrical  wit- 
ticisms and  humorous  critiques  around  which  the 
group's  music  revolves. 

The  debut  LP,  A  Bath  In  Bacon,  is  for  all  intents 
and  purposes  a  one-man  show.  Butch  plays  a  startling 
array  of  instruments,  from  guitar  to  xylophone,  and  em- 
ploys a  legion  of  session  musicians  to  help  create  an 
album  that  encompasses  an  awesome  variety  of  styles. 
Good  ideas  abound  in  songs  like  "Love  Zombie,"  "Sex 
Engine  Thing"  and  "Gray  Flannelette";  there's  just 
some  uncertainty  as  to  where  they're  going. 

The  second  album  was  recorded  by  a  stable  quartet 
that  included  ex-Bauhaus  bassist  David  J.  Almost  ex- 
clusively in  a  folky  pop-punk  format,  the  songs  are 
better-developed  and  reach  logical  conclusions.  Among 
the  gems  are  a  hysterical  anti-macho  anthem  "Real 
Men"  ("Some  things  never  change/Notice  how  they 
never  sit  together  on  buses?")  and  "Southern  Mark 
Smith." 

The  Gift  of  Music  is  a  collection  of  single  sides,  an 
excellent  package  that  affirms  the  band's  folk-punk  com- 
mitment. Of  special  note  is  an  early  up-tempo  version  of 
"Southern  Mark  Smith"  and  the  pop  gospel  "Rain." 

Sex  and  Travel  is  the  Jazz  Butcher's  crowning 
achievement.  The  eight  near-perfect  tracks  run  the 
gamut  from  funk  to  folk  to  country-western  and  punk. 
Butch 's  lyrics  aim  high;  subject  matter,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  determines  the  style  of  each  song.  "President 
Reagan's  Birthday  Present"  addresses  the  problems  of 
America,  Russia  and  nuclear  arms  with  a  healthy  chunk 
of  dance  funk.  "Holiday"  uses  a  typewriter  backing 
track  and  cabaret  stylings  to  make  light  of  the  staid 
British  persona;  the  frantic  adrenaline  punk  of  "Red 
Pets"  tackles  preconceptions  about  Russians  ("Every- 
one says  they  lift  weights/Except  for  me,  I  think  they're 
great").  All  this,  plus  two  great  pop  tunes:  "Big  Sat- 
urday" and  "Only  a  Rumour."  (One  CD  joins  Sex  and 
Travel  with  A  Scandal  in  Bohemia.) 

With  a  new  bassist  replacing  David  J  (off  to  rejoin 
his  old  bandmates  in  Love  and  Rockets),  the  rechris- 
tened  Jazz  Butcher  and  His  Sikkorskis  from  Hell  issued 
the  live  Hamburg  LP  and  an  EP,  Hard,  which  picks  up 
where  Sex  and  Travel  left  off,  adding  blues  and  mer- 
seybeat  to  the  seemingly  bottomless  bag  of  musical 
tricks.  Bloody  Nonsense  is  an  American  collection  that 
includes  some  of  the  above-mentioned  tracks. 

Leaving  the  rest  of  the  band  by  the  wayside,  Butch 
and  guitarist  Max  Eider  then  released  a  four-song  12- 
inch,  Conspiracy.  The  best  things  on  it  are  the  title 
track,  a  clever  play  on  rap  music,  and  the  hilarious 
homage  "Peter  Loire." 

With  Butch  and  Max  as  the  nucleus,  a  newly  formed 
Jazz  Butcher  Conspiracy  recorded  Distressed  Gentle- 
folk. A  Jazz  Butcher  record  by  any  other  name,  this 
album  reveals  the  usual  diversity — folk  ("Still  in  the 
Kitchen"),  funk  ("Big  Bad  Thing"),  country- western 
("Falling  in  Love")  and  pop  ("Angels,"  "Nothing 
Special") — as  well  as  Butch's  ever-incisive  wit,  which 
is  in  rare  form  on  the  track  "Domestic  Animal." 

Shortly  after  Distressed  Gentlefolk,  Eider  resigned 
his  Butchership  for  a  solo  career.  Best  Kisser  in  the 
World  is  a  beautifully  romantic  record  consisting  of  soft 


rock  ballads  and  jazzy  torch  songs.  Max's  vocals  repli- 
cate Butch's  almost  exactly;  only  lyrical  content  pro- 
vides a  decisive  difference.  If  the  Jazz  Butcher  has  a 
sane  and  serious  alter-ego,  Max  Eider  is  he. 

In  1988,  a  two-person  Jazz  Butcher  (Butch  and 
Kizzy  O'Callaghan)  released  the  fifth  proper  LP,  Fish- 
cotheque,  proving  the  Butcher  to  be  as  resilient  as  he  is 
prolific.  Reorganization  has  had  no  effect  whatsoever  on 
Butch's  abilities,  and  this  record  rivals  Sex  and  Travel 
in  its  brilliance.  "Next  Move  Sideways,"  "Living  in  a 
Village"  and  "Chickentown"  are  sterling. 

Big  Questions  is  an  assortment  of  tracks  (including 
"Groovin'  in  a  Bus  Lane,"  "Rebecca  Wants  Her  Bike 
Back"  and  "Olof  Palme")  drawn  from  previous  re- 
leases by  the  Jazz  Butcher,  Sikkorskis  from  Hell,  Jazz 
Butcher  vs.  Max  Eider  and  the  Jazz  Butcher  Conspir- 
acy. Limited  quantities  of  the  original  pressing  con- 
tained a  live  7-inch  EP. 

As  Butch  insists  in  his  liner  notes,  Spooky  "is  not 
an  LP;  it  is  a  single  and  a  radio  session  nailed  together 
for  your  amusement."  A  smoky  cover  of  the  titular 
Classics  IV  hit  and  an  extended  version  of  Fishco- 
theque's  silly  chicken  rap  "The  Best  Way"  highlight 
the  new  stuff,  and  the  Montreal  radio  broadcast  sounds 
quite  all  right. 

By  Big  Planet  Scarey  Planet,  Butch  had  acquired  a 
fairly  steady  group  of  sidemen,  losing  not  a  morsel  of 
his  keen  wit  or  musical  individuality.  He  even  reveals  a 
renewed  vitriolic  vigor  in  "Bicycle  Kid"  (a  hilarious 
tale  of  working-class  juvenile  delinquency)  and  "Do  the 
Bubonic  Plague"  (a  lethal  dance  craze).  Sharply  obser- 
vant and  masterfully  executed,  this  is  a  record  from  one 
band  that  has  well  earned  its  reputation  for  eclecticism. 
Sheer  entertainment. 

Cult  of  the  Basement  opens  with  an  instrumental 
that  sounds  like  the  Ventures  performing  at  a  Greek 
wedding.  A  Mediterranean  refrain  wafts  through  the  rest 
of  the  LP,  subtly  linking  the  thirteen  cuts  into  what  is  as 
close  to  a  "concept"  album  as  the  Jazz  Butcher  is  likely 
to  make.  (What  the  concept  might  be,  however,  is  any- 
one's guess.)  Nevertheless,  on  "The  Onion  Field" 
Butch  manages  to  flawlessly  replicate  Nick  Cave's 
stripped-down  gothic  atmospherics.  And  faced  with 
song  titles  like  "Daycare  Nation"  and  "Turtle  Bait"  and 
a  sweet  lullaby  called  "Fertiliser,"  one  can  only  smile 
and  enjoy.  If  the  wild  psychedelic  raveup  of  "Panic  in 
Room  109"  is  totally  incongruous,  it's  also  perfectly  in 
synch  with  the  rest  of  this  wonderful  collection. 

Edward's  Closet  is  an  unessential  compilation  con- 
taining "Spooky"  and  an  assortment  of  album  tracks 
from  1987-'90.  [ag/db] 

See  also  Love  and  Rockets. 


JAZZY  5 

See  Afrika  Bambaataa. 

JAZZY  JEFF 

On  Fire  (Jive)  1985 

The  original  Jazzy  Jeff  offers  solid  rap  action  with  a 
strong,  clear  delivery,  significantly  cliche-reduced 
rhymes  and  a  variety  of  socially  responsible  concerns  on 
his  debut  album,  On  Fire.  He  warns  about  "King  Her- 
oin (Don't  Mess  with  Heroin),"  shows  a  real  soft  spot 


346 


for  "My  Mother  (Yes  I  Love  Her)"  and  asks  the  DJ  to 
"Mix  So  I  Can  Go  Crazy"  and  "Rock  It  (Rock  It)." 
Electric  guitar,  inventive  percussion  and  clever  mix 
gimmickry  (by  Bryan  "Chuck"  New  and  Phil  Nicholas 
of  the  Willesden  Dodgers)  give  this  a  fairly  familiar 
sound,  but  Jazzy  Jeff  is  an  above-average  rapper,  [tr] 

(DJo)  JEFF  &  THE 

PRINCE 

Rock  the  House  (Word  Up-Jive)  1 987  +  1 988  • 
He's  the  DJ.,  Km  the  Rapper  (Jive)  1 988  • 
And  in  This  Corner . . .  (Jive)  1 989  • 

Although  both  use  the  same  handle,  the  same  pro- 
ducer and  are  (were)  both  on  the  Jive  label,  the  Jazzy 
Jeff  (Townes)  turntable  master  who  is  teamed  up  with 
Will  Smith  (aka  the  Fresh  Prince,  star  of  stage  and 
sitcom)  is  entirely  different  from  the  earlier  rapper 
named  Jazzy  Jeff.  However  it  came  to  pass,  the  upshot 
is  that  these  rnega-successful  clean-cut  young  men  from 
Philadelphia — purveyors  of  mild-mannered  middle- 
class  rap — are  the  ones  people  know. 

Amid  routine  boasts  and  human  beat  box  exhibi- 
tions, Rock  the  House  introduces  the  17-year-old 
Smith's  friendly  singsong  delivery  and  engagingly  hap- 
less persona  on  the  PG-rated  story,  "Just  One  of  Those 
Days"  (an  approach  later  developed  by  Young  MC). 
The  album's  only  similar  track,  "Girls  Ain't  Nothing 
but  Trouble,"  is  a  gentle  gender  gripe  that  samples  the 
/  Dream  of  Jeannie  theme  and  earns  a  rebuke  from 
female  rapper  Ice  Cream  Tee  elsewhere  on  the  LP. 
(Rock  the  House's  reissue  replaces  the  original  hit  sin- 
gle version  of  "Girls"  with  an  extended  remix.) 

Sensing  the  correct  path  to  lasting  fame  and  fortune, 
the  duo  and  their  associates  consigned  most  of  the  tra- 
ditional hip-hop  on  He's  the  D.J,  (which  sold  several 
million  copies)  to  a  bonus  disc  of  scratch  tracks  (plus  a 
truly  cruddy  live  performance  from  1986).  That  left  the 
main  album  to  showcase  their  unabashed  suburban  prep- 
piedom  and  bubblegum  stylings  in  lighthearted  raps  like 
"Parents  Just  Don't  Understand"  (a  comic  complaint 
about  middle-class  fashion  oppression),  "Charlie 
Mack-The  First  Out  the  Limo"  and  "A  Nightmare  on 
My  Street,"  which  weaves  a  personal  tale  around 
Freddy  Krueger,  complete  with  audio  bites  from  A 
Nightmare  on  Elm  Street. 

Except  for  a  couple  of  obligatory  boasts  and  trib- 
utes, the  dapper  duo  severed  its  vestigial  ties  to  street- 
level  rap  (the  closest  the  Fresh  Prince — on  his  way  to 
TV  stardom — comes  to  sounding  tough  is  an  acknowl- 
edged joke)  on  the  third  album,  turning  instead  to 
broadly  accessible  pop  entertainment.  With  intricately 
arranged  musical  tracks  surrounding  the  beat,  And  in 
This  Corner  .  .  .  delivers  a  witty  and  winning  collec- 
tion of  engaging  stories  in  which  the  cocky  rapper  keeps 
getting  clobbered— by  a  boxer  ("I  Think  I  Can  Beat 
Mike  Tyson"),  a  thief  ("Who  Stole  My  Car?"),  a 
crooked  travel  agent  ("Everything  That  Glitters  (Ain't 
Always  Gold)")  and  even  the  supernatural  ("Then  She 
Bit  Me").  [i] 

JEAN  PAUL  SARTRE  EXPERIENCE 

The  Jean  Paul  Sartre  Experience  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun) 
1986 


Love  Songs  (NZ  Flying  Nun}  1 987 
love  Songs  (Communion)  1988  • 
The  Size  of  Food  (Communion)  1 989  • 

Mankind  may  be  condemned  to  experience  the  lim- 
itations of  its  own  will  with  nothing  beyond  nothingness 
staring  down  from  the  sky  but,  as  long  as  a  copy  of  a 
Jean  Paul  Sartre  Experience  record  exists,  there  will 
always  be  something  out  there  ...  for  your  stereo. 
There  will  be  gentle  and  warm  guitar  chords,  boy-next- 
door  vocals  and  delicately  produced  melodies.  The  JPSE 
may  be  nothing  more  than  a  simple  janglepop  band  but 
they're  one  of  the  globe's  best. 

Born  in  a  suburb  of  Christchurch,  New  Zealand  in 
1984,  the  Jean  Paul  Sartre  Experience  paid  for  the  re- 
cording of  the  first  EP  with  a  government  grant,  yet  the 
sounds  of  their  shoestring  put  slick  megabudget  crap  to 
shame.  On  "Fish  in  the  Sea,"  an  ounce  of  water  sloshes 
from  one  tiny  cup  to  another  as  a  tingling  triangle  plings 
delicately.  A  hand  knocking  on  a  block  of  wood  punc- 
tuates **  Walking  Wild  in  Your  Firetime"  like  a  tom-tom 
in  a  hazy  beatnik  coffee  house,  as  a  soft  voice  sings 
"I've  got  weapons  and  I've  got  hope  and  I've  got  guns 
and  I've  got  rope  .  .  .  and  I  don't  know  what  I  feel" 
before  xylophone  tangs  out  a  repeat  of  the  tune.  The 
result  is  plain-wrap  majesty:  simple,  uncluttered,  satis- 
fying. 

Their  quartet's  second  vinyl  outing  isn't  as  good:  too 
many  Love  Songs  sound  the  same.  The  album  concen- 
trates on  song-craft  rather  than  texture,  making  the  light- 
weight nature  of  their  genre  very  obvious.  From  the 
whisper-breath  blues  of  "All  the  Way  Down"  through 
the  sweet-soul-tinged  "Let  There  Be  Love"  and  on  to 
the  herky-jerky  sparse  funk  of  "Crap  Rap,"  Sartre  wind 
their  way  through  eight  songs  about  relationships  and 
one  staggering  pop  song  about  rain. 

The  US  album  of  the  same  name  is  actually  the  first 
EP  plus  four  of  the  tracks  (six  on  the  CD)  from  the 
original  Love  Songs.  It  would  have  been  nice  if  the  funk 
and  wiggle-guitar  of  "Let  That  Good  Thing  Grow" 
could  have  been  included  in  place  of  the  slow,  sleepy 
harmonies  of  "Grey  Parade,"  but  otherwise  this  US 
album  is  truly  the  best-of.  Highly  recommended. 

The  Size  of  Food  is  larger  in  scope,  expanding  upon 
the  band's  wild  fluctuations  between  atmosphere,  irri- 
tation and  pure  pop.  The  economical  arrangements  high- 
light the  hazily  wafting  melodies  that  swirl  around  the 
basic  rock  format,  creating  remarkably  different  settings 
for  the  kaleidoscopic  variety  of  the  songs,  from  shim- 
mering pop  to  hazy  psychedelia  and  hypnotic  ambience. 
Essential.  ['e/ja] 

MARC  JEFFREY/PLAYTIME 

See  Certain  General. 


JELLYBEAN 

Wotupski!?!  EP  (EMI  America)  1984 
Just  Visiting  This  Planet  (Chrysalis)  1 987  * 
Rocks  the  Mouse!  (Chrysalis)  1988  * 
Spillin'  the  Beans  (Atlantic)  1991  <J> 

New  York  mixer/producer  (Madonna,  Jocelyn 
Brown,  Hall  &  Gates,  etc.)  John  ** Jellybean"  Benitez 
stepped  out  under  his  own  name  for  the  first  time  on  the 
five-song  Wotupski!?!  mini-album.  The  only  problem 


347 


is  he  doesn't  play  or  sing  on  it.  Nor  did  he  write  any  of 
the  material.  Benitez  did,  however,  produce  it,  bringing 
together  such  powerful  friends  as  Nile  Rodgers,  Ma- 
donna, John  Robie  and  Dan  Hartman  to  create  one  long 
instrumental  and  a  batch  of  dance  numbers.  Best  track: 
an  otherwise  unrecorded  Madonna  composition,  "Side- 
walk Talk." 

Three  years  later,  the  Great  Delegator  returned  to 
the  creative  world  with  a  full-length  hands-off  album, 
Just  Visiting  This  Planet.  Besides  producing  and  some 
arranging,  just  what  did  the  diminutive  doyen  get  sad- 
dled with  this  time?  Drum  programming  on  seven  of  the 
eight  light  and  infectious  dance  songs,  background  vo- 
cals on  three,  synthesizers  on  two;  he  actually  takes 
credit  for  writing  one.  As  strange  an  approach  as  Jelly- 
bean takes,  he  certainly  can't  be  faulted  for  assembling 
a  spectacular  cast  and  assigning  the  lead  vocals  to  a 
talented  trio:  Adele  Bertei,  Elisa  Fiorillo  and  Steven 
Dante".  Leave  your  brain  at  the  door  and  get  down! 

Following  the  credo  that  a  mixer  mixes,  Jellybean 
then  mixed  himself  up  a  an  extended  compilation  of 
songs  from  his  two  albums  and  released  the  results — 
including  two  versions  of  "The  Real  Thing'*  and  six 
minutes  of  "Sidewalk  Talk" — as  Jellybean  Rocks  the 
House! 

The  all-new  Spillin'  the  Beans  introduces  the  latest 
trio  of  vocal  debutantes;  the  CD  has  four  bonus  12-inch 
mixes.  [i] 

See  also  Adele  Bertei. 


JELLYFISH 

Bellybutton  (Charisma)  1 990  <f> 

BEATNIK  BEATCH 

At  the  Zulu  Pool  (Industrial)  1 987 
Beatnik  Beatch  (Atlantic)  1 988  © 

In  one  of  the  rare  second  chances  afforded  a  band  by 
the  record  industry,  San  Francisco  drummer/singer 
Andy  Sturmer  and  keyboardist  Roger  Manning  (not  the 
folkie)  survived  the  failure  of  Beatnik  Beatch  (a  forget- 
table pop-rock  quartet  whose  one  boring  indie  album — 
shorn  of  five  tracks  and  bolstered  by  four  better  new 
songs  for  its  retitled  major-label  reissue — makes  half- 
baked  attempts  at  wit  while  managing  to  sound  like  a 
younger  Supertramp)  to  reinvent  themselves  as  Jellyfish 
and  fake  their  way  into  retro- '60s  psychedelic  success. 
Marketing  is  a  wonderful  thing,  baby. 

If  not  for  the  band's  outrageous  junk-store  clothes 
and  the  album's  spectacular  art  direction,  it's  unlikely 
many  would  have  taken  Bellybutton — an  occasionally 
catchy  but  more  often  dull  amalgam  of  pop  songs 
blithely  stitched  together  from  bits  of  the  Beatles  (Ab- 
bey Road-era),  Beach  Boys,  Cheap  Trick  and  (most  of 
all)  Squeeze — as  anything  of  stylistic  note.  Despite  the 
presentation,  the  record  isn't  even  faintly  psychedelic; 
considered  apart  from  the  image,  Bellybutton  is  too 
transparently  derivative  (and  lacking  inspiration)  to 
merit  any  serious  attention.  [i] 


JERRY'S  KIDS 

Is  This  My  World  (X-Claim)  1 983  (Ger.  Taangl-Funhouse) 

1987* 
Kill  Kill  Kill  (Taangl)l  989  » 


This  Is  Boston  Not  LA  (Modem  Method)  1 982 

Boston  cranked  up  its  loudest  hardcore  bellow  in  the 
early  '80s  with  the  likes  of  Gang  Green,  SS  Decontrol, 
the  F.U.'s  and  Jerry's  Kids,  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of 
metal-meets-hardcore  thrash.  The  Kids  pummel  with 
spearing  guitars,  grinding  rhythms  and  hammering  vo- 
cals. 

Jerry's  Kids  first  made  their  presence  known  in  the 
seven  minutes  it  took  them  to  blast  out  six  songs  on  the 
TMs  Is  Boston  Not  L.A.  scene  compilation.  With 
shrieks  of  "help  me!**  and  "let  me  out!,"  * 'Desperate" 
simulates  a  shackled  soul  straggling  to  break  free,  while 
"Pressure"  slows  and  speeds  to  searing  effect. 

With  guitarist  Chris  Doherty  of  the  temporarily  de- 
funct Gang  Green  in  the  lineup  (Kids  drummer  Brian 
Betzger  joined  Gang  Green  when  Doherty  restarted  it), 
bassist  Rick  Jones  replaced  his  brother  Bryan  on  vocals 
for  Is  This  My  World,  which  reveals  more  complexity 
and  packs  more  impact  than  the  first  set.  (Their  parents 
reportedly  forbid  Bryan  to  perform  live  after  he  broke 
his  leg  at  a  gig.)  The  virulent  intensity  of  songs  like 
"Cracks  in  the  Wall,"  "No  Time,"  "Lost"  and  "Is 
This  My  World"  makes  the  alburn  a  hardcore  classic. 

After  a  couple  of  years  off,  a  revised  Jerry's  Kids 
(still  fronted  by  Rick  Jones  and  guitarist  Bob  Cenci) 
returned  in  1986,  but  didn't  release  anything  new  for 
several  years.  The  new  Kids  harness  some  of  the  orig- 
inal blurring  speed  on  solid  crunchers  like  "Fire,"  "Bad 
Trip"  and  "Back  Off,"  but  there's  a  weightier  demi- 
metal  bottom  to  most  of  Kill  Kill  Kill.  While  the  LP 
generally  delivers  tight,  driving  mature  rock  power, 
"Breathe  and  Fuck"  trudges  in  relatively  lead  boots. 
Meanwhile,  the  pulsing  "Satan's  Toy"  summons  up  a 
religious  demon  or  two  with  subliminal  speech  and  an 
evangelical  preacher.  (The  CD  includes  both  albums.) 

See  also  Gang  Green.  [mg] 

JESTERS  OF  DESTINY 

See  JeffDahl  Group. 

JESUS  AND  MARY  CHAIN 

Just  Like  Honey  EP  (nr/Bbnco  y  Negro)  1 985 

Psychocandy  (Reprise)  1985  * 

Some  Candy  Talking  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 986 

April  Skies  EP  {nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 987 

Happy  When  It  Rains  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 987 

Darklands  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 987  * 

Darklands  (Blanco  y  Negro-Warner  Bros.)  1 987  « 

Sidewalking  EP  (Blanco  y  Negro-Warner  Bros.)  1988 

Barbed  Wire  Kisses  (Blanco  y  Negro-Warner  Bros.) 

1988© 

Blues  from  a  Gun  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 989  • 
Automatic  (Blanco  y  Negro-Warner  Bros.)  1 989  * 
Head  On  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 989  « 
Roller-coaster  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 990  « 

By  blithely  combining  power-pop  melodies  with 
industrial-strength  guitar  noise  and  lowbrow  lyrical  per- 
versity, the  Jesus  and  Mary  Chain — Glasgow  brothers 
Jim  and  William  Reid,  bassist  Douglas  Hart  and  rotating 
drummers — created  a  sound  that  can't  quite  be  described 
as  new,  but  does  stand  miles  apart  from  anything  that's 
been  done  before.  If  nothing  else,  what  the  Reids 


348 


dredged  up  from  the  Velvet  Underground  has  inspired 
endless  imitation. 

Awash  in  feedback  and  fuzz,  tunes  and  drones,  wit 
and  vulgarity,  Psycfaocandy  is  the  quintessential^ 
tense,  claustrophobic  soundtrack  to  these  pressurized, 
multiphasic  times — easy  listening  for  troubled  teens. 
The  band's  three  exceptional  pre-LP  singles  ("Never 
Understand,'*  " You  Trip  Me  Up,"  " Just  Like  Honey") 
are  only  the  most  immediately  striking  of  the  fourteen 
cuts;  such  others  as  '"Inside  Me,"  "Cut  Dead"  and 
"Sowing  Seeds"  further  illustrate  the  group's  variety, 
imagination  and  ability  to  enthrall.  (The  American  CD 
helpfully  appends  the  post-LP  single,  "Some  Candy 
TaMng.") 

Typical  of  the  Reids'  determined  anti-conformism, 
Darklands  all  but  eliminates  the  characteristic  crazed 
sound  of  the  first  LP,  leaving  skeletal  guitar-pop 
songs — menacingly  restrained  and  drenched  in  echo — 
colored  only  occasionally  with  familiar  washes  of  fuzz 
guitar.  Displaying  a  notable  mid-'60s  Dylan  influence 
(check  the  verses  of  "Deep  One  Perfect  Morning")  and 
delivering  their  best  song  yet,  "Happy  When  It  Rains," 
the  album  predictably  put  off  fickle  fans  and  critics  dis- 
appointed by  the  stylistic  regression.  Nonetheless, 
"April  Skies,"  "Down  on  Me,"  "Darklands,"  "Nine 
Million  Rainy  Days"  and  "Fall"  ("I'm  as  dead  as  a 
Christmas  tree  .  .  .  ")  stand  proudly  as  exceptional  and 
truly  original  pop  fare  for  the  '80s.  (Incidentally,  for  a 
thoughtful  if  hyperbolic  analysis  of  the  band's  early 
stages,  read  John  Robertson's  1988  biography.) 

One  of  J&M's  fetishes  is  to  release  singles  in  as 
many  different  formats  as  possible.  As  a  result,  there  are 
numerous  12-inch  and  10-inch  EPs,  double-pack  7-inch 
singles  and  CD  EPs  (some  of  which  are  listed  above) 
which  add  live  tracks,  acoustic  demos,  remixes,  out- 
takes  and  other  ephemera.  A  batch  of  those,  with  the 
addition  of  a  cool  T.  Rexy  new  single,  "Sidewalking," 
comprise  Barbed  Wire  Kisses  (B-sides  and  More): 
sixteen  (twenty  on  the  CD  and  cassette)  arcane  tales 
from  the  Chain's  darkside.  Not  a  cohesive  album  and  far 
from  consistently  excellent,  it  offers  a  helpful  recapitu- 
lation of  what  the  group  does  in  its  spare  time.  Targets 
include  the  Beach  Boys  (the  demented  slaughter  of 
"Kill  Surf  City"  and  a  semi-reverent  version  of  "Surfin 
USA")  and  Bo  Diddley  (a  devolved  rendition  of  "Who 
Do  You  Love"  and,  on  the  tape/CD,  a  similar-sounding 
tribute,  "Bo  Diddley  Is  Jesus").  Not  a  quick  fix  for 
fanatics  lacking  a  complete  collection,  Barbed  Wire 
Kisses  merely  points  the  direction  in  which  the  obscu- 
rities lie. 

The  devastating  Dylanized  T.  Rexisms  of  "Blues 
from  a  Gun"  (the  12-inch  EP  adds  three  non-LP  tracks, 
two  of  which — including  the  killer  surf  dementia  of 
"Penetration,"  unrelated  to  any  other  song  by  that 
name — also  appear  on  the  CD-3,  rounded  out  with  a 
lovely  near-acoustic  version  of  Smokey  Robinson's 
"My  Girl")  previewed  Automatic,  a  lazy  but  enter- 
taining album  the  Reids  recorded  with  no  assistance 
other  than  a  live  drummer  on  one  song.  (The  mindless 
synth-drums  are  one  of  the  record's  main  problems. )  No 
longer  in  search  of — or  shying  away  from — the  ultimate 
guitar  distortion,  the  Reids  hold  to  a  loud  down-the- 
middle  sound  over  which  Jim  can  sing  what  have  be- 
come fairly  predictable  lyrics.  Still,  their  incisive  pop 
sense  makes  "Blues  from  a  Gun,"  the  Lou  Reedish 


"Halfway  to  Crazy"  and  another  irresistible  single, 
"Head  On,"  which  sticks  a  venerable  rock'n'roll  riff 
into  a  song  that  seems  to  allow  a  bit  of  warped  positiv- 
ism into  the  band's  perverse  fantasies  of  self- 
degradation:  "I'm  taking  myself  to  the  dirty  part  of 
town/Where  all  my  troubles  can't  be  found."  (The  CD 
adds  an  acoustic/strings  version  of  "Drop"  sung  by 
William  and  a  pointless  dance/noise  instrumental, 
"Sunray.") 

The  CD-3  of  the  Head  On  EP  (a  three-song  12- 
inch)  has  a  remix  of  the  acoustic  "Drop"  (without  the 
strings)  and  two  non-LP  tracks:  "In  the  Black"  and 
"Break  Me  Down."  (The  "Head  On"  7-inch  was  is- 
sued in  four  different  sleeves,  with  four  different 
B-sides.) 

Despite  a  concerted  effort  to  rain  Leonard  Cohen's 
"Tower  of  Song,"  the  only  good  thing  on  the  Roller- 
coaster  EP  is  "Lowlife,"  a  buzzing  tune  with  a  new 
(for  the  Chain)  chord  progression  and  loads  of  tremolo 
guitar  noise;  the  by-the-numbers  "Rollercoaster"  has 
half  a  hook  and  way  too  much  echo.  [i] 

See  also  John  Moore  and  the  Expressway,  Primal 
Scream. 


JESUS  JONES 

Liquidizer  (nr/Food)  1989  (Food-SBK)  1990  • 
Live  EP  (Food-SBK)  1 990  <!> 
Right  Here,  Right  Now  EP  (nr/Food)  1990  * 
Doubt  (Food-SBK)  1991  4> 

Led  by  Drano-gargling  vocalist/guitarist  Jesus  H. 
Jones  (Mike  Edwards),  this  scruffy  English  quintet  that 
owes  a  major  stylistic  debt  to  Pop  Will  Eat  Itself  made 
quite  an  initial  splash,  playing  busy,  sample-heavy 
dance  rock.  Producer  Craig  Leon  helps  load  the  grooves 
of  Liquidizer  with  constant  activity:  ringing  telephones, 
sirens,  meaty  power  chords,  squealy  feedback  and  in- 
sistent disco  drum  beats.  That  the  album  is — with  one 
exception,  a  sluggish  redo  of  Crazyhead's  "I  Don't 
Want  That  Kind  of  Love" — basically  a  set  of  variations 
on  one  brilliant  song  ("Move  Mountains")  shouldn't 
discourage  potential  disciples.  Judicious  CD  track  pro- 
gramming is  recommended. 

Live  captures  the  band  in  Chicago,  performing  four 
songs  from  the  debut  (including,  of  course,  "Move 
Mountains")  and  a  new  one,  "Barry  D,  Is  Next  to 
Cleanliness,"  a  profane  sample-thon.  The  very  vocal 
audience  adds  to  the  fun. 

Doubt  avoids  the  debut's  repetitiveness,  but  it 
doesn't  lack  any  of  the  hyperactive  rhythms.  Edwards 
(also  the  band's  songwriter)  apparently  took  criticisms 
of  Liquidizer  to  heart,  and  endeavored  to  mix  things  up 
a  bit.  He  sprinkles  superb,  shuffling  dance  rock  ("In- 
ternational Bright  Young  Thing,"  "Right  Here,  Right 
Now")  with  slower,  more  thoughtful  morsels  (most  no- 
tably the  XTC-echoing  "Welcome  Back  Victoria")  and 
one  exceptionally  grating  noisefest  ("Stripped").  The 
American  edition  contains  one  track  ("Are  You  Satis- 
fied") not  included  on  the  UK  album.  [db] 

JESUS  LIZARD 

Pure  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989  « 
Head  (Touch  and  Go)  1 990  • 
Goat  (Touch  and  Go)  1 991  • 


349 


Following  Scratch  Acid,  bassist  David  Win.  Sims 
went  off  to  play  in  Steve  Albini's  Rapeman  and  then 
rejoined  singer  (er  .  .  .  )  David  Yow  hi  the  Jesus  Liz- 
ard, a  Chicago-based  group  (originally  using  a  drum 
machine  but  later  incorporating  a  human  skinbeater) 
co-produced  by  Albini.  With  exceptional  guitar  playing 
by  Duane  Denison,  the  barbed  five-song  Pure  drifts 
towards  the  windy  city's  relentless  industro-drive  with- 
out relinquishing  any  of  Yow's  ability  to  terrify.  (And  if 
you  can't  find  a  trace  of  Neil  Sedaka  in  the  carefully 
credited  ''Breaking  Up  Is  Hard  to  Do"  instrumental, 
you're  not  alone. ) 

Distorted  vocals  and  masterfully  controlled  arrange- 
ments introduce  new  realms  of  dramatic  power  to  the 
Jesus  Lizard  experience  on  the  full-length  Head.  In  "If 
You  Had  Lips"  and  "Waxeater,"  the  group  hangs  sharp 
objects  and  crude  lyrics  from  rising  and  falling  riffs; 
lightening  the  instrumental  assault  in  "Pastoral" 
squeezes  maximum  benefit  from  Yow's  conscientiously 
off-key  crooning;  key  changes  in  the  instrumental 
"Tight  *n  Shiny"  cap  off  this  impressive  and  abrasive 
sophistication  program.  (The  Head  CD  also  contains 
Pure.)  ffl 

See  also  Phantom  309,  Rapeman,  Scratch  Acid. 

JET  BLACK  BERRIES 

Sundown  on  Venus  (Pink  Dust)  1 984 
Desperate  Fires  (Pink  Dust)  1986 
Animal  Necessity  (Restless)  1988 

NEW  MATH 

They  Walk  Among  You  EP  (41 5)  1 982 
Gardens  (Brain  Eater)  1 984 

Under  their  original  New  Math  handle  this  omi- 
nously entertaining  five-man  psychedelic  outfit  from 
Rochester,  New  York  is  alternately  dirgeiike  and  urgent 
on  They  Walk  Among  You,  a  five-song  12-inch  that 
delivers  ponderously  intoned  poetic  lyrics  over  thick 
rock  backing.  Heavyweight  bass  and  drums  support  rea- 
sonably normal  guitar  and  pulsing  organ  for  a  complex 
blend  of  sounds  that  defies  easy  description.  "Invoca- 
tion" pays  stately  homage  to  the  devil  and  would  prob- 
ably impress  Roky  Erickson;  the  magnificent  title  track 
recalls  (if  no  one  else  does)  Atomic  Rooster's  * 'Death 
Walks  Behind  You." 

Gardens  offers  seven  new  imprecations  and  tales  of 
madness.  The  music  is  grander,  more  open  and  less 
malevolent;  New  Math  reins  in  the  rhythmic  power  a 
wee  bit  and  moves  Mark  Schwarz's  organ  drone  and 
Kevin  Patrick's  lead  vocals  to  the  fore.  The  effect  may 
not  be  the  one  desired,  however,  as  the  band  sounds 
more  accessible  but  less  striking  this  way.  Still,  it's  the 
work  of  a  talented,  unique  group  with  sicko  ideas. 

Without  undergoing  any  personnel  changes,  the 
quintet  became  the  Jet  Black  Berries  and  issued  Sun- 
down on  Venus,  an  offbeat  concept  album  that  almost 
carries  off  an  attempt  to  meld  two  familiar  cultural  idi- 
oms, science-fiction  and  westerns.  The  music  is  polite 
California  cowpunk  (think  Green  on  Red  or  Dream  Syn- 
dicate, occasionally  colored  by  faint  synth  noises);  the 
lyrics  describe  showdowns  between  bad  hombres  and 
masked  men  in  space  suits.  (A  brief  run-through  of 
Ersel  Mickey's  obscure  classic  "Bluebirds"  neither  aids 
nor  impedes  the  effort.)  Unfortunately,  the  Berries  don't 
bother  to  develop  their  imaginative  notion  musically, 


letting  what  might  have  been  a  fascinating  record  drift 
into  mediocrity.  (The  cassette  release  adds  six  bonus 
tracks — also  included  as  a  one-sided  disc  in  original 
pressings  of  the  LP — of  similar  rock,  a  surprising  slice 
of  Gary  Glitter  singalong  pop,  the  old  group's  dirge- 
pound  rock  and  even  another  version  of  "They  Walk 
Among  You.") 

Produced  with  likable  simplicity  and  directness, 
Desperate  Fires  is  a  taut  album  of  western-leaning  rock- 
pop  that  hardly  resembles  the  group's  early  work,  but 
makes  a  convincing  case  for  the  validity  of  this  new 
direction.  Patrick's  voice  suits  the  material;  unassuming 
songs  like  "Kid  Alaska,"  "The  Flesh  Element"  and  the 
rockabilly  "Sweet  Revenge"  pack  a  wicked  kick. 

Animal  Necessity  continues  the  Berries'  (now  a 
sextet)  appealing  casual  affair  with  musical  styles  of  the 
American  Southwest.  Fans  of  Green  on  Red,  Giant  Sand 
and  Naked  Prey  should  especially  appreciate  the  al- 
bum's dusty  melodies,  snappy  country  drumming  and 
roughly  strummed  electric  guitars.  Guitarist  Gary 
Trainer  and  drummer  Roy  Stein  (whose  songwriting  is 
developing  nicely)  both  contribute  plainspoken  tunes 
with  occasionally  offbeat  lyrics.  [i] 


JFA 

Blatant  Localism  EP  (Placebo)  1981  ® 

Valley  of  the  Yokes  (Placebo)  1 983  • 

JFA  (Placebo)  1 984  • 

Mad  Garden  EP  (Placebo)  1984  • 

Live  (Placebo)  1 985  • 

Nowhere  Blossoms  (Placebo)  1988  ® 

These  Phoenix,  Arizona  skate-punks— the  name  was 
originally  an  acronym  for  Jodie  Foster's  Army — are  ma- 
jor figures  on  the  Southwest  hardcore  scene.  Besides 
touring  extensively  and  releasing  lots  of  records,  their 
Placebo  label  is  the  most  active  outlet  in  the  area,  and 
has  issued  discs  by  a  number  of  cool  underground  bands. 
Blatant  Localism  is  a  7-inch  whose  six  songs  race 
along  cohesively  at  warp  speed  with  vocals  that  mostly 
defy  comprehension.  There's  an  eponymous  number  ex- 
plaining the  group's  name,  a  relatively  prolix  exposition 
on  "Beach  Blanket  Bong-Out"  and  a  four-second  dis- 
play of  counting.  Valley  of  the  Yakes  stretches  fifteen 
songs  out  to  fill  a  12-inch,  slowing  things  down  in  spots, 
but  not  doing  much  to  increase  vocal  articulation.  Still, 
a  crisp,  well-played  slice  of  hardcore  with  real  drive  and 
commitment,  plus  two  great,  normal-sounding,  reverb- 
splattered  surf-guitar  instrumentals:  "Walk  Don't  Run" 
and  "Baja."  (One  CD  contains  both  records.) 

JFA  exposes  increased  sophistication  and  wit,  start- 
ing with  a  backwards  snippet  called  "Deltitnu"  and 
continuing  by  tempering  the  thrash  with  variety,  under- 
statement and  other  interesting  digressions.  In  a  fit  of 
major  cleverness,  JFA  crash  the  Ventures  into  the  Dead 
Kennedys  for  "Pipetruck"  and  cover  both  David  Bowie 
and  George  Clinton  during  the  course  of  the  album. 
(JFA's  funky-butt  turn  on  the  latter' s  "Standin  on  the 
Verge"  is  nifty.)  A  bit  unfocused,  but  much  more  than 
a  simple  hardcore  record.  Standout  track:  "The  Day 
Walt  Disney  Died."  (The  CD  also  includes  the  Mad 
Garden  EP  that  followed  JFA.) 

Mad  Garden,  a  four-song  12-inch  with  a  wrestling 
cover  and  a  new  bassist  in  the  lineup,  encompasses 
more-or-less  straight  speedrock  plus  one  milder  (non- 


350 


surf)  instrumental  with  singer  Brian  adding  keyboards. 
The  live  album  was  recorded  in  1984,  at  gigs  in  New 
York  and  Pittsburgh. 

Adding  acoustic  guitar,  more  keyboards  (piano/ 
organ)  and  pacifistic  lyrics,  JFA  (with  old  bassist  Mike 
C.  back  in  the  fold)  grew  up  on  Nowhere  Blossoms,  an 
album  of  tight,  occasionally  pretty  rock  that  rarely 
cruises  anywhere  near  punk  power.  As  excellent  as  the 
music  is,  the  lower  noise  threshold  leaves  the  rough, 
tune-shy  vocals  glaringly  inadequate.  (He  does  fine  on 
a  completely  straight  horn-based  rendition  of  James 
Brown's  "I  Feel  Good,"  however.)  Proving  they 
haven't  outgrown  their  bratty  sense  of  humor,  JFA  in- 
cludes a  complete  (and  great)  rendition  of  the  classic 
"Signifyn'  Monkey"  sung  a  cappella  by  some  old  man 
on  a  Chicago  street  corner.  [i] 

JIMMY  K 

See  Johnny  Thunders. 

J1NG 

See  Shirts. 

RICHARD  JOBSON 

The  Ballad  of  Etiquette  (nr/Cocteau)  1981 

An  Afternoon  in  Company  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1982 

Ten  Thirty  on  a  Summer  Night  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 983 

The  Right  Man  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1986 

1 6  Years  of  Alcohol  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 987 

Badman  (nr/Parlophone)  1 988  • 

ARMOURY  SHOW 

Waiting  for  the  Floods  (EMI  America)  1985 

It's  nice  to  see  musicians  with  the  courage  of  their 
convictions.  After  turning  the  Skids  into  a  joke  with  his 
absurd  pretensions,  Richard  Jobson — on  his  way  to  a 
career  as  a  television  host — effetely  pursued  poetry  and 
preciousness,  allying  himself  with  assorted  artsy  types. 
Meanwhile,  his  onetime  bandmate  Stuart  Adamson  got 
on  with  Big  Country,  turning  the  Skids'  anthemic  Scot- 
tishness  into  a  salable  guitar-rock  commodity. 

Released  the  same  year  as  the  Skids  ended,  Jobson' s 
first  solo  album,  The  Ballad  of  Etiquette,  was  a  col- 
laboration with  Virginia  Astley,  John  McGeoch  and 
someone  named  Josephine.  The  LP,  released  on  Bill 
Nelson's  Cocteau  label,  consists  of  the  would-be'poet's 
recitations  over  lovely  music,  some  of  it  adapted  from 
pieces  by  Debussy  and  Britten.  Piano,  clarinet,  flute, 
sax  and  guitar  provide  a  much  more  enticing  component 
than  Jobson' s  unpleasantly  accented  readings. 

Alternating  spoken  passages  and  artless  singing,  and 
playing  piano  and  guitar,  Jobson  (with  such  sitting-room 
associates  as  pianist  Cecile  Bruynoghe,  reedman  Steven 
Brown,  Blaine  Reininger,  Astley  and  Durutti  Columnist 
Vini  Reilly)  fills  the  two  discs  of  The  Right  Man  with 
the  audio  equivalent  of  an  especially  boring  and  preten- 
tious Masterpiece  Theatre.  To  be  fair,  the  dramatic  story 
('Ten  Thirty  on  a  Summer  Night")  that  fills  Side  Four 
is  engrossing,  and  the  music  is  lovely,  but  beware  of 
ex-punks  reciting  lines  like  "In  Aragon  I  lost  a  love/The 
Pyrenees  so  high  above/To  England  hailed  away  from 
Spain/I  promise  you  I  am  happy  to  be  here  again." 

Issued  as  a  record  with  an  illustrated  booklet  con- 
taining exactly  the  same  text,  16  Years  of  Alcohol  is  a 


spoken-word  autobiographical  memoir  in  seventeen 
parts,  occasionally  accompanied  by  glimmers  of  key- 
board music.  The  writing  is  incisive  and  captivating,  but 
the  presentation  is  perplexing:  it's  not  something  anyone 
would  listen  to  twice,  and  who  would  bother  reading 
this  were  it  not  included  with  an  album? 

Amid  all  this  serious  art,  Jobson  took  some  time  to 
join  with  Russell  Webb  (ex-Skids),  John  McGeoch  and 
John  Doyle  (both  ex-Magazine)  to  form  the  short-lived 
Armoury  Show,  a  band  whose  resemblance  to  Big 
Country  didn't  escape  notice.  Waiting  for  the  Floods  is 
not  a  bad  album,  it's  just  a  shame  Jobson  had  to  take 
such  a  long  way  'round  to  get  back  to  where  he  started. 

See  also  Skids.  [i] 

JODY  GRIND 

One  Man's  Trash  Is  Another  Man's  Treasure  (Safety 

Net-DB)1990» 

The  Jody  Grind's  debut  album  caught  on  with  the 
college-rock  audience,  but  just  about  the  only  style  this 
Atlanta  trio  doesn't  touch  is  rock'n'roll.  Displaying  the 
well-oiled  versatility  of  a  lounge  act  and  a  healthy  rev- 
erence for  schmaltz,  the  Jody  Grind  (unintentionally 
borrowing  its  name  from  a  late-'60s  British  group)  skips 
from  Duke  Ellington  to  country-western  to  flamenco  to 
demented  delta  blues  to  Burt  Bacharach  and  the  Gersh- 
wins  at  the  drop  of  a  high  hat.  Evenly  split  between 
covers  ( "Peter  Gunn,"  "Wishin*  andHopin,"  "It  Ain't 
Necessarily  So")  and  originals  like  the  hilariously  mor- 
bid "Death  of  Zorba,"  One  Man's  Trash  resembles  a 
cabaret  revue  more  than  a  cohesive  album,  but  singer 
Kelly  Hogan  Murray's  captivating  melodramatics  steady 
even  the  most  outrageous  stylistic  takeoffs.  (The  CD 
adds  one  song. )  [kss] 

DAVID  JOHANSEN 

David  Johansen  {Blue  Sky)  1978 
In  Style  (Blue  Sky)  1979 
Here  Comes  the  Night  (Blue  Sky)  1 981 
Live  It  Up  (Blue  Sky)  1982 
Sweet  Revenge  (Passport)  1984  « 
Crucial  Music:  The  David  Johansen  Collection  (CBS 
Special  Products-Relativity)  1 990  <t> 

BUSTER  POINDEXTER 

Buster  Poindexter  (RCA)  1987  • 
Buster  Goes  Berserk  (RCA)  1 989  « 

Having  escaped  his  magnificently  sordid  reputation 
as  the  decadent  voice  and  face  of  the  New  York  Dolls, 
singer  David  Johansen  managed  to  earn  himself  a  place 
in  mainstream  rock  circles.  While  keeping  a  firm  grip  on 
the  musical  values  that  originally  inspired  the  Dolls, 
Johansen  crafted  a  uniquely  urban  style  that  suits  his 
rough-throated  singing  as  well  as  his  Lower  East  Side 
personality. 

David  Jo's  solo  debut  was  a  very  successful  launch, 
containing  most  of  the  songs  for  which  he  came  to  be 
known.  "Funky  but  Chic,"  "Donna,"  "Frenchette" 
and  "Cool  Metro"  (three  of  which  were  co-written  by 
ex-bandmate  Syl  Sylvain)  are  played  in  grand  post- 
CBGB  fashion  by  some  of  the  Bowery's  best  vets.  Bet- 
ter than  bar-band  but  decidedly  unslick,  David 
Johansen  perfectly  transforms  an  insolent  punk  into  a 
rock'n'roll  adult. 


351 


Without  destroying  his  urban  soul,  In  Style  makes 
an  effort  to  clean  and  dress  up  Johansen's  sound.  Add- 
ing synthesized  strings  and  horns,  attempting  overam- 
bitious  stylistic  experiments  and  relying  on  decidedly 
sophomore-slump  material,  In  Style's  two  good  tracks 
("She"  and  "Melody")  are  lost  in  the  morass.  The 
failure  of  In  Style  undoubtedly  inspired  the  misdirected 
Here  Comes  the  Night,  an  ill-conceived  stab  at  making 
Johansen  simultaneously  into  a  heavy  metal  shouter  and 
a  sensitive,  poetic  artist.  A  lot  of  very  talented  people 
had  their  hands  in  this  project,  but  weak  songs  and  the 
lack  of  cohesion  make  it  a  disaster. 

Fortunately,  Live  It  Up  put  Johansen's  career  right 
back  on  course.  With  his  longstanding  reputation  as  a 
great  performer  and  empirical  evidence  of  a  well- 
received  live  promotional-only  record  made  for  radio  in 
1978,  it  was  a  judicious  tactic  to  cut  a  live  album  for 
regular  release.  Benefiting  from  carefully  chosen  classic 
tunes  and  Johansen's  extraordinary  skill  as  a  song  in- 
terpreter, Live  It  Up  is  a  great  party  record  by  a  great 
singer.  Johansen  comes  alive! 

Relieved  of  his  CBS-affiliated  record  contract,  Jo- 
hansen concentrated  on  performing  (appearing  regu- 
larly in  New  York  as  his  suave  alter-ego,  Buster 
Poindexter)  for  over  a  year  before  returning  to  the  vi- 
nyl jungle  with  Sweet  Revenge.  Sharing  the  bulk  of 
the  songwriting  and  production  with  keyboard  player 
Joe  Delia  and  joined  in  a  half-dozen  studios  by  a  large 
collection  of  sidemen,  Johansen  disconnects  from  the 
R&B  rootsiness  that,  to  some  extent  at  least,  had  al- 
ways characterized  his  work,  replacing  it  with  strong, 
synth-heavy  rock  that  would  be  regrettable  were  it  not 
for  distinctive  vocals  and  witty  songwriting.  Some  of 
the  record  flops,  but  "Heard  the  News,"  complete 
with  ersatz  Spanish  newscaster,  blends  Latin  American 
political  commentary  with  one  of  the  catchiest  melo- 
dies of  his  career.  "King  of  Babylon"  is  a  clever  nov- 
elty item. 

Crucial  Music  is  a  well-chosen,  if  rather  skimpy, 
ten-track  sampler  drawn  from  the  Blue  Sky  albums, 
with  an  unsurprising  focus:  six  songs  come  off  the  first 
LP,  although  several  are  actually  from  the  live  record. 

Johansen  finally  hit  the  big  time  when  he  allowed  his 
part-time  persona,  adult  jazz/blues  smoothie  Buster 
Poindexter  (also  the  longtime  name  of  his  music  pub- 
lishing company),  to  take  over  his  career.  Aided  by  a 
New  York  club  residency  and  regular  television  appear- 
ances (on  Saturday  Night  Live),  Buster's  debut  album 
with  the  horn-heavy  non-rock  Banshees  of  Blue  (led  by 
Joe  Delia)  did  the  trick.  The  generally  lighthearted  romp 
through  cabaret  and  swing  styles  of  the  '30s  and  *40s 
recalls  both  Spike  Jones  and  Cab  Calloway,  blending 
sweet  nostalgia  with  gruff  crooning.  Given  the  incon- 
sistent, scattershot  program  (a  schmaltzy  ballad,  one 
terrible  rocker,  another  cover  of  "House  of  the  Rising 
Sun"  done  as  a  torch  song,  a  few  other  misdirected 
duds),  the  choice  of  a  sprightly  pre-lambada  soca  num- 
ber, "Hot  Hot  Hot,"  as  a  single  was  a  stroke  of  genius; 
it  did  the  chart  trick  and  guaranteed  Buster*  s  continued 
existence. 

Buster  Goes  Berserk  more  or  less  repeats  its  pre- 
decessor's formula,  but  with  less  quirkiness  and  more 
party-animal  posturing.  On  the  album's  only  two  orig- 
inal tunes,  Johansen  attempts  to  bridge  the  gap  between 


the  Buster  persona  and  Ms  "real"  self,  but  not  enough 
to  keep  the  album  from  sounding  amiably  redundant. 

[i/hd] 


See  10,000  Maniacs. 

HIS 
H-BOMBS 

Giddy  Up  Girl  EP  (Deco)  1 980 

Rollin'  Through  the  Night  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 986 

Evan  Johns  and  the  H-Bombs  (Jungle)  1986 

Bombs  Away  (Speedo-Rykodisc)  1 989  ® 

Please  Mr.  Santa  Glaus  [CD]  (Rykodisc)  1 990  • 

Rockit  Fuel  Only!  (Rykodisc)  1991  4> 

Jerry  Lee  Lewis  worshiper  (who  claims  to  have 
blown  his  hero  off  the  stage  on  a  good  night!)  and 
certified  lunatic  of  the  geetar,  Evan  Johns  simply  per- 
sonifies the  most  incendiary  and  rebellious  elements  of 
rock'n'roll.  A  teenaged  Virginia  hellion  who  appren- 
ticed in  the  DC  bar  circuit  under  the  legendary  Danny 
Gatton,  Johns  formed  the  H-Bombs  in  1979  and  made 
the  reelin'  rockabilly  10-inch  Giddy  Up  Girl  in  1980. 
The  four  songs  are  roughly  recorded,  but  blueprint  the 
searing  six-string  mayhem  that  has  marked  Johns'  best 
work. 

It  wasn't  until  a  move  to  Austin,  a  stint  with  the 
LeRoi  Brothers  and  a  Grammy  nomination  for  his  fea- 
tured participation  in  the  Big  Guitars  from  Texas 
Trash  Twang  and  Thunder  compilation  LP  that  Johns' 
name  began  to  spread  across  the  land  he'd  already  criss- 
crossed time  and  time  again.  Roiiin'  Through  the 
Night,  a  1982  session  unreleased  until  Jello  Biafra  came 
across  it  four  years  later,  is  the  pinnacle  by  which 
Johns — and  any  other  purveyors  of  roots-surf-guitar- 
billy-boogie — must  forever  be  measured.  With  second 
guitarist  Mark  Korpi's  taut  speed  runs  setting  the  pace, 
EJ  provides  fireworks  galore  on  cuts  like  "Madhouse," 
"Sugar  Cookie"  and  "Do  the  Dootz."  Put  this  album 
on  a  90-minute  cassette  with  The  Best  of  ZZ  Top  and 
drive  till  you  die  happy. 

Released  the  same  year,  Evan  Johns  and  the 
H-Bombs  gathers  three  years  of  scattered  sessions  for  a 
predictably  less-focused  set,  highlighting  Johns'  love  of 
Tex-Mex,  blues  and  country,  as  well  as  head-stompin' 
rock. 

The  H-Bombs  backed  Eugene  Chadbourne  on  the 
berserk,  twisted  Vermin  of  the  Blues  before  making  the 
relatively  polished  and  consistently  superb  Bombs 
Away.  Producer  (and  erstwhile  Springsteen  sideman) 
Gary  Tallent  manages  to  squeeze  the  band  into  a  clear, 
vibrant  framework  without  obliterating  the  trademark 
hog-wild  spirit  of  Johns'  best  outings.  The  seasonal  and 
primarily  instrumental  Please  Mr.  Santa  Glaus  is  a 
holiday  postcard  that  features  a  polka,  the  fiddle-fueled 
"Little  Cajun  Drummer  Boy,"  a  raging  "Telstar"  and 
plenty  of  free-style  pickin'  throughout 

Rockit  Fuel  Only!,  while  allowing  for  the  broad 
stylistic  whims  of  its  creator  (like  a  surprising  compas- 
sionate piano  ballad,  "Prove  It  to  Each  Other"),  also 
rocks  harder  than  anything  since  Rollin'  Through  the 


352 


Night.  "Juvenile  Delinquent,"  "Boogie  Disease"  and 
"Little  Scene  Setter"  are  among  the  rip-it-up  corkers 
that  keep  Evan  Johns  among  rock'n'roll's  guitar  elite. 

[sm] 
See  also  Eugene  Chadboume,  LeRoi  Brothers. 


HOLLY  JOHNSON 

See  Frankle  Goes  to  Hollywood. 


Forces  of  Victory  (Mango)  1 979  ® 

Bass  Culture  (Mango)  1 980  • 

LKJinDub(nr/Isiand)1980 

Making  History  (Mango)  1984 

Reggae  Greats  (Mango)  1 984  ® 

In  Concert  with  the  Dub  Band  (Shanachie)  1 985  • 

Tings  an'  Times  (Shanachie)  1 991  * 

POET  AND  THE  ROOTS 

Dread  Beat  an'  Blood  (Heartbeat)  1978  (Front  Line) 

1990® 

Poet  and  social  critic  (as  the  name  Poet  and  the 
Roots  suggests)  Linton  Kwesi  Johnson — born,  in  Ja- 
maica, raised  in  London — helped  bridge  the  gap  be- 
tween reggae  and  punk,  inftising  the  music  with 
powerful  political  content  and  an  urge  for  freedom 
rooted  in  his  experience  as  a  black  man  living  in  Brix- 
ton. 

Dread  Beat  an'  Blood  was  a  call  to  arms,  a  dark 
commemoration  of  police  harassment  and  social  repres- 
sion of  blacks  told  in  a  forceful  but  strangely  spiteless 
manner.  Speaking  his  poems  over  absolutely  flawless 
throbbing  reggae,  Johnson  uses  the  patois  of  the  streets 
to  speak  to  his  audience,  calling  for  brotherhood  and 
vigilance.  The  clean,  supple,  vibrant  music  and  inci- 
sive, pointed  words  make  it  a  powerful  and  memorable 
political  statement.  Highly  recommended.  (The  1990 
reissue — no  vinyl — contains  two  extra  tracks.) 

Forces  of  Victory  continues  Johnson's  call  to  ac- 
tion. Again  supported  by  feverish  reggae,  Johnson's 
voice  gains  greater  range  and  expressiveness  while  his 
poetry  speaks  of  dire  truths,  and  sounds  increasingly 
complex,  compact  and  expert.  Muscular,  dramatic  stuff. 

Bass  Culture  expands  Johnson's  style,  including 
more  humor  and  even  a  shy,  touching  love  song.  The 
music  is  sparer  and  more  coherent,  and  Dennis  BovelTs 
co-production  slickens  the  sound  just  enough  to  remove 
its  rough  edges.  Johnson  is  no  less  determined  on  his 
political  numbers,  but  it's  nice  to  know  there  are  other 
things  on  his  mind  as  well. 

LKJ  in  Dub  is  a  tribute  to  Bovell's  engineering 
talents;  while  it  has  little  to  do  with  the  Linton  Kwesi 
Johnson  canon,  it's  an  interesting  and  successful  exam- 
ple of  dub  technique. 

During  a  four-year  sabbatical,  Johnson  worked  as  a 
journalist.  He  then  reunited  with  Bovell  for  Making 
History,  a  " comeback"  album  as  vital  as  any  they  had 
made  together. 

The  two-disc  In  Concert  documents  Johnson's 
strength  and  onstage  presence.  Though  hardly  perfunc- 
tory (the  performances  are  all  first-rate),  it's  still  a 
greatest-hits-live  package,  and  shouldn't  deter  listeners 


from  acquiring  any  or  all  of  the  studio  LPs. 
Greats  is  a  compilation. 

Seven  years  after  Making  History,  Johnson  re- 
peated the  feat  with  the  all-new  Tings  an*  Times,  an 
upbeat  but  stringently  critical  album  that  is  at  once  tra- 
ditional and  modem.  Backed  by  Bovell  and  a  collection 
of  ace  players  (including  a  violinist!),  LKJ  considers 
"Di  Good  Life"  as  well  as  "Di  Anfinish  Revalue- 
shan,"  attempting  to  make — as  he  discusses  in  the  first 
track — * 'Sense  outa  Nansense."  [sg/bk/i] 

See  The  The. 


JESSE  JOHNSON'S 

Jesse  Johnson's  Revue  (A&M)  1 985  ® 

JESSE  JOHNSON 

Shockadeiica  (A&M)  1986  * 

Every  Shade  of  Love  (A&M)  1988  ® 

Former  Time  guitarist  Johnson  reckons  himself  an- 
other pretender  to  Prince's  throne.  His  first  solo  album, 
Jesse  Johnson's  Revue,  reeks  of  conscious  imitation, 
from  the  chronic  pink  color  scheme  to  the  band's  care- 
fully shaped  mustaches.  The  self-produced  music  like- 
wise favors  a  mixture  of  his  former  band  and  Prince's 
Purple  Rain;  not  unpleasant,  occasionally  catchy  ("I 
Want  My  Girl" ),  but  no  threat  to  the  reigning  monarch. 

Although  Prince's  influence  is  still  evident  on 
Shockadelica  (check  "A  Better  Way"),  Johnson's  ob- 
vious talent  and  stylistic  dexterity  diminishes  the  sig- 
nificance of  such  comparisons.  The  accomplishment  of 
leading  a  ten-piece  band  (seven  instrumentalists  and  two 
female  vocalists)  and  ending  up  with  clear,  well- 
organized  sound  is  impressive  in  and  of  itself.  The  LP 
features  a  funky  duet  with  Sly  Stone  ("Crazay")  and  a 
diverse,  appealing  set  of  danceable  songs  with  a  sur- 
prising ending:  Johnson  sings  a  message  of  hope  on  the 
touching  "Black  in  America,"  accompanied  only  by 
acoustic  guitars,  synthetic  strings  and  a  small  chorus. 

Dispensing  with  his  band  (a  drummer,  saxophonist 
and  female  vocalist  are  credited)  for  a  harder-edged  solo 
effort,  Johnson  uses  Every  Shade  of  Love  to  show  off 
his  Hendrix-influenced  guitar  work.  The  eight  tracks 
revolve  around  skittish  strumming  as  much  as  surging 
keyboards,  and  those  tracks  that  dig  bottomless  holes 
with  endless  one-chord  vamps  lose  listener  interest  in 
short  order.  The  delightful  title  tune  and  "I'm  Just 
Wanting  You"  are  notable  exceptions.  [i] 

See  also  Time. 

DANIEL  JOHNSTON 

Songs  of  Pain  [tape]  (Stress)  1 980 

Don't  Be  Scared  [tape]  (Stress)  1982 

The  What  of  Whom  [tape]  (Stress)  1 982 

Yip/Jump  Music  [tape]  (Stress)  1983  (Homestead)  1989 

Hi,  How  Are  You  [tape]  (Stress)  1 983  (Homestead)  1 988 

Retired  Boxer  [tape]  (Stress)  1984 

Respect  [tape]  (Stress)  1985 

Continued  Story  [tape]  (Stress)  1985 

Live  at  SXSW  [tape]  (Stress)  1 990 

1990  (Shimmy-Disc)  1990* 


353 


JAD 

JOHNSTON 

Jad  Fair  and  Daniel  Johnston  (50  Skidillion  Watts)  1 989  • 

Troubled  enough  to  be  institutionalized  and  talented 
enough  to  be  taken  seriously,  this  West  Virginian  (who 
has  lived  since  1984  in  Austin,  Texas)  has  written  and 
recorded — solo,  in  the  most  primitive  lo-fi  circum- 
stances imaginable,  accompanying  his  vulnerably  boy- 
ish voice  with  piano  and,  on  occasion,  chord  organ, 
guitar,  even  old  jazz  records — a  vast  and  remarkable 
body  of  songs.  Often  disturbing,  nearly  pathetic,  some- 
times beautiful,  Johnston's  music  is  at  once  freakshow 
exploitation  and  fringe- weird  genius,  an  uncomfortable 
but  extraordinary  mixture  of  art  and  madness.  Although 
influential  fans  and  national  exposure  on  MTV's  Cutting 
Edge  show  helped  make  Johnston  a  full-fledged  cult 
figure  in  1985,  incarceration  (at  the  end  of  '86  and  again 
in  '88)  has  made  his  "career"  intermittent  and  unpre- 
dictable. 

Johnston  began  his  haphazard  and  bizarre  musical 
trek  by  self-releasing  a  series  of  homemade  tapes. 
Played  simply  but  skillfully  on  piano,  Songs  of  Fain — 
jolly-sounding  outpourings  of  deep  alienation  ("Griev- 
ances," "Joy  Without  Pleasure,"  "Like  a  Monkey  in  a 
Zoo")  and  misbegotten  romance  ("An  Idiot's  End," 
"Urge"),  as  well  as  an  expression  of  religious  faith — is 
lucid  and  stunningly  incisive,  casually  cogent  and  artis- 
tically invigorating.  On  the  other  hand,  Don't  Be 
Scared  is  inconsistent  and  disjointed,  with  really  muddy 
sound,  but  there  are  some  really  good  songs  (like  the 
Neil  Young-y  "Evening  Stars").  As  musically  accom- 
plished and  clear  as  Songs  of  Pain  but  significantly 
more  revealingly  confessional,  The  What  of  Whom  is 
quietly  harrowing,  a  riveting  collection  that  cuts  to  the 
quick,  plaintive  cries  for  help  set  in  gracefully  tender 
melodies  accompanied  by  piano. 

Johnston  first  reached  vinyl  with  Homestead's  1988 
reissue  of  Hi,  How  Are  You.  Despite  the  muffled  sound 
and  toy  instruments,  there's  no  mistaking  the  inspired 
wit  and  riveting  honesty.  "Big  Business  Monkey"  at- 
tacks an  employer  with  venom  and  clever  rhymes;  "I'll 
Never  Marry,"  "Walking  the  Cow"  and  "She  Called 
Pest  Control"  allude  to  romantic  problems.  While  "Hey 
Joe"  rewrites  "Hey  Jude,"  the  anguished  autobiograph- 
ical complaints  of  "Keep  Punching  Joe"  is  ingenuously 
sung  over  a  big-band  swing  record. 

The  two-record  Yip/Jump  Music  is  more  consistent 
in  sound  and  style,  performed  almost  entirely  on  chord 
organ  and  less  motivated  by  anger.  The  lyrics  offer  en- 
thusiastic elegies  to  "The  Beatles,"  "God"  and 
"Casper  the  Friendly  Ghost"  while  exploring  personal 
issues  in  "Sorry  Entertainer,"  "I  Live  for  Love"  and 
"I  Remember  Painfully,"  but  the  album's  standout  is 
"King  Kong,"  an  extended  and  erudite  a  cappella  plot 
summary  and  analysis. 

Continuing  his  tape-capades,  Johnston  next  released 
Retired  Boxer,  an  uneven  but  generally  high-quality 
nine-song  set  that  includes  a  reminiscence  about  Daniel 
by  an  unidentified  acquaintance,  a  Christmas  greeting 
and  the  moving  "I'll  Do  Anything  but  Break  Dance  for 
Ya,  Darling."  Johnston's  piano  playing  on  this  cassette 
is  among  his  best  ever. 

Respect  is  a  very  strong  effort,  an  eighteen-song 
extravaganza  that  contains  the  remorseful  "An  Angel 


Cry,"  a  solemn  cover  of  the  once-goofy  "A  Little  Bit  of 
Soap,"  the  winsomely  winning  "I  Know  What  I  Want" 
and  the  poorly  recorded  but  sharply  worded  "Just  Like 
a  Widow."  Besides  "Go"  and  the  laughably 
speeded-up  "Fast  Go,"  there's  "Dream,"  a  marvelous 
piece  of  spoken-word  prose,  a  grimly  offbeat  interpre- 
tation of  "Heartbreak  Hotel"  and  much  more.  Brilliant. 

Recorded  as  badly  as  possible,  the  electric  Texas 
Instruments  back  Johnston  on  five  Continued  Story 
tracks  (including  a  "Cadillac  Ranch"  parody  entitled 
"Funeral  Home");  Bill  Anderson  and  Rick  Morgan 
each  contribute  to  a  tune  or  two  as  well.  Played  on  two 
guitars,  "Ain't  No  Woman  Gonna  Make  a  George  Jones 
Outta  Me"  is  a  left-field  winner,  as  is  Johnston's  mea- 
sured piano  version  of  "I  Saw  Her  Standing  There,"  the 
rocking  "Ghost  of  Our  Love"  and  "Girls."  There's 
more  disposable  nonsense  than  usual,  but  not  enough  to 
outweigh  the  good  stuff.  The  bootleg-quality  Live  at 
SXSW  (the  title  refers  to  the  annual  South  by  Southwest 
music-biz  convention)  finds  Daniel  and  his  acoustic  gui- 
tar enthusiastically  performing  with  strength  and  confi- 
dence at  three  Austin  venues:  an  auditorium  and  two 
record  stores.  The  delightful  ten-song  program  includes 
"Casper,"  two  versions  each  of  "Silly  Love"  and  "Do 
You  Really  Love  Me." 

Following  a  joint  album  with  Jad  Fair  (who,  in  com- 
parison to  Johnston,  seems  about  as  weird  as  an  insur- 
ance salesman),  Daniel  made  1990,  which  consists  of 
four  live  tracks  (from  1988)  and  a  half-dozen  profes- 
sional studio  recordings,  one  with  instrumental  assists 
from  drummer  Steve  Shelley  and  guitarist  Lee  Ranaldo 
of  Sonic  Youth.  (Producer  Kramer  plays  on  the  mag- 
nificent "Some  Things  Last  a  Long  Time,"  a  bewitch- 
ing song  co-written  with  Fair.)  Clear  sound,  well- 
recorded  piano  and  a  touch  of  echo  on  the  vocals  don't 
damage  Johnston's  basic  virtues,  but  neither  do  they 
make  these  songs — most  of  which  are  strongly 
religious — any  more  widely  palatable  than  they  would 
have  been  on  a  two-dollar  cassette.  If  the  eccentricities 
of  Johnston's  damaged  mind  aren't  an  impediment  to 
enjoyment,  sound  quality  is  certainly  not  an  issue,  [i] 

See  also  Half  Japanese,  Texas  Instruments. 

JOHNSTON 

The  Trouble  Tree  (Bar/None-Restless)  1 990  • 

With  an  artless,  slightly  strangled  voice  and  melodic 
rock/country  songs  that  show  plenty  of  promise  but 
could  use  a  lot  more  development  and  meatier  presen- 
tation than  they  receive  here,  Kansas-to-Hoboken 
singer/guitarist  Johnston  makes  an  indifferent  debut  on 
The  Trouble  Tree,  produced  by  Chris  Butler.  Played  at 
various  volume  levels  (all  without  much  color)  by  a 
rudimentary  acoustic/electric  trio,  Johnston's  naive, 
emotive  writing  conveys  simple,  painfully  honest  ideas 
with  no  hint  of  mystery.  [i] 

JOINED  AT  THE  HEAD 

See  Controlled  Bleeding. 

JON  &  THE  NIGHTRIDERS 

Surf  Beat  '80  (Voxx)  1980 

Recorded  Live  at  Hollywood's  Famous  Whisky  A  Go-Go 
(Voxx)  1 981 


354 


Splashback!  EP  (Invasion)  1982 

Charge  of  the  Nightriders  (Enigma)  1983 

Stampede!!  (Norton)  1990 

Although  probably  still  in  nursery  school  when  gui- 
tar instrumentals  filled  the  American  record  charts, 
twang-bar  king  John  Blair  and  Ms  three  cohorts  bril- 
liantly re-create  the  innocence  and  excitement  of  that 
long-lost  genre.  With  resplendent,  ringing  tones,  vibrato 
and  mountains  of  reverb,  Surf  Beat  '8©  pays  homage 
with  fourteen  numbers,  including  a  few  soundalike  orig- 
inals and  a  selection  of  covers  that  proves  the  band's 
dedication  to — and  familiarity  with—their  forebears. 
All  of  the  tracks  sound  the  same,  but  that's  the  idea. 
Great! 

The  live  LP  reprises  some  of  the  studio  record's 
items,  but  incorporates  new  material  and  spot-on  rendi- 
tions of  additional  classics  like  "Pipeline"  and  "Hawaii 
Five-O."  Splashback!,  produced  by  the  legendary  Shel 
Talmy  (to  no  particular  effect,  other  than  perhaps  spir- 
itual), features  a  six-minute  medley  that  touches  on 
eleven  instantly  recognizable  melodies  in  one  seamless 
nostalgia  romp.  Charge  of  the  Nightriders  is  a  com- 
pilation. 

Self-billed  as  "America's  No.  9  Surfing  Band,"  the 
unshakably  orthodox  Nightriders  reclaimed  their  piece 
of  the  beach  on  the  self-produced  Stampede!!,  another 
cleanly  played,  reverb-soaked  collection  of  standards 
("Wild  Weekend"),  originals  ("Beneath  the  Reef," 
"Storm  Dancer")  and  obscurities  ("Minor  Chaos," 
"The  Breeze  and  I"),  some  goosed  by  George  White's 
period  sax  work. 

As  if  any  further  proof  of  scholarship  in  his  chosen 
field  were  needed,  Blair  put  down  his  guitar  long  enough 
to  assemble  The  Illustrated  Discography  of  Surf  Music 
(1961-1965).  [i] 


GRACE  JONES 

Portfolio  (Island)  1 977  • 

Fame  (island)  1978 

Muse  (Island)  1979 

Warm  Leatherette  (Island)  1 980  © 

Nighiclubbing  (Island)  1981  « 

Living  My  Life  (Island)  1982* 

Island  Life  (Island)  1 985  • 

Slave  to  the  Rhythm  (Manhattan  Island)  1 985  ® 

Inside  Story  (Manhattan)  1986  « 

Bulletproof  Heart  (Capitol)  1989  • 

At  the  outset  of  her  singing  career,  model-cwm- 
actress  Grace  Jones  was  a  musical  product  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  word,  more  or  less  invented  by  artist  Jean- 
Paul  Goude.  When  new  wave  became  the  dance-club 
staple  around  the  turn  of  the  decade,  this  glamorous 
disco  diva  sailed  into  the  genre  on  an  airbrush  Jetstream, 
performing  slickly  produced  covers  of  mainstream  mod- 
ern material  borrowed  from  Chrissie  Hynde,  Bryan 
Ferry  et  al.,  while  mixing  in  a  safe  dose  of  thumped-up 
funk. 

Warm  Leatherette  (named  for  the  Normal's  pio- 
neering 1978  new  wave  electro  single,  which  she  has 
the  guts  and  insight  to  cover)  was  the  first  Jones  disc  to 
embrace  this  formula;  Nightdubbing  followed  suit,  uti- 
lizing songs  by  Iggy  and  Sting.  The  balance  of  this  LP 
features  a  slightly  more  fluid  vocal  style  than  the  mono- 
tone that  rules  the  previous  album. 


Living  My  Life  shows  Grace  maturing,  escaping 
the  restrictive  machinations  that  had  controlled  her.  The 
material  allows  more  personality  to  show  through,  and 
songs  like  **My  Jamaican  Guy*'  and  "Nipple  to  the 
Bottle"  show  the  Sly-and-Robbie  reggae  rhythm  team 
to  be  more  into  the  music  at  this  point.  Island  Life 
recaps  her  career  to  that  point,  compiling  such  tracks  as 
"La  Vie  en  Rose/'  "Pull  Up  to  the  Bumper"  and 
"Love  Is  the  Drug,"  adding  * 'Slave  to  the  Rhythm,"  a 
new  single  taken  from  a  subsequent  album  which  was 
released  almost  immediately  thereafter. 

Some  bizarre  business  dealings  must  have  led  to  the 
one-off  alliance  of  Island  and  Manhattan  Records  to 
jointly  issue  Slave  to  the  Rhythm.  Trevor  Horn  pro- 
duced this  outrageous,  astonishing  so-called  biography, 
including  inter-track  recitations,  recollections  and  inter- 
view bites  and  creating  theatrically  massive  orchestra- 
tions. The  songs — written  by  a  collective  of  Horn,  Bruce 
Woolley  and  others — aren't  intrinsically  strong  or  inter- 
esting, but  the  ZTT  Big  Beat  Colossus  does  such  a  job 
filling  the  grooves  with  beats,  strings,  horns,  vocals, 
keyboards  and  god  knows  what  else  that  the  material 
counts  for  relatively  little.  But  by  the  same  token, 
Grace's  vocal  contribution  to  this  audio  love  fest  seems 
disconcertingly  expendable. 

Returning  to  the  real  world  for  a  relatively  routine 
(but  still  Grace-ious)  outing,  Jones  wrote  Inside  Story 
with  Bruce  Woolley  and  produced  it  with  Nile  Rodgers; 
her  collaborators  also  played  most  of  the  LP's  music. 
The  lyrics  contemplate  such  offbeat-going-on-dada  top- 
ics as  "Hollywood  Liar,"  "Victor  Should  Have  Been  a 
Jazz  Musician"  and  "Chan  Hitchhikes  to  Shanghai," 
while  the  music  dully  retreads  various  familiar  late-' 80s 
high-tech  sounds.  Grace's  voice  is  fine,  but  this  is  not 
one  of  her  more  invigorating  records. 

Continuing  on  a  path  back  to  dull  rhythmic  func- 
tionality, Jones  attempts  a  surrender  to  the  hit  parade  on 
Bulletproof  Heart,  employing  David  Cole  and  Robert 
Clivilles,  the  crass  slicksters  behind  Seduction  and 
C  +  C  Music  Factory,  on  three  tracks.  Her  songwriting 
(in  collaboration  with  co-producer  Chris  Stanley)  has 
never  been  worse  ( "Crack  Attack' '  sounds  like  the  work 
of  a  gradeschooler  ordered  to  write  a  poem  against 
drugs);  her  awkward  delivery  only  makes  this  bad  scene 
worse.  Uw/i] 


HOWARD  JONES 

Human's  Lib  (Eleldra)  1 984  • 
The  12-Inch  Album  (nr/WEA)  1984  • 
Dream  into  Action  (Elektra)  1985  * 
Action  Replay  EP  (Elektra)  1986 
One  to  One  (Eleldra)  1 986  • 
Cross  That  Line  (Elektra)  1 989  • 

Starting  out  as  something  of  an  '80s  answer  to  early 
Marc  Bolan,  Howard  Jones  is  a  well-scrubbed  ex-hippie 
embracing  humanist  principles  and  possessing  acute  pop 
sensibilities.  Times  being  what  they  are,  he  doesn't  play 
acoustic  guitar  with  a  bongo  drummer  on  the  side,  he 
controls  an  array  of  sophisticated  electronic  keyboards, 
singing  earnest,  reflective  lyrics  of  personal  awareness 
and  individualist  philosophy.  Human's  Lib,  produced 
mainly  by  Rupert  Hine,  boasts  a  few  warm  techno-pop 
standouts — "New  Song,"  "Pearl  in  the  Shell"  and 


355 


"What  Is  Love?" — which  stop  just  short  of  over- 
perkiness  or  saccharine  platitudes. 

Dream  Into  Action,  which  employs  more  outside 
musicians  (horns,  vocalists,  a  cellist)  to  vaiy  the  sound, 
serves  up  another  dose  of  engaging  nouveau-pop 
(* 'Things  Can  Only  Get  Better/'  "Life  in  One  Day," 
"Like  to  Get  to  Know  You  Well").  The  album  does, 
unfortunately,  contain  an  extremely  duff  howler, 
"Bounce  Right  Back."  The  12-Inch  Album  compiles 
six  hits  in  their  remixed  forms. 

Taking  advantage  of  Jones'  massive  American  pop- 
ularity, Elektra  issued  Action  Replay,  a  collection  of 
five  alternate  versions  and  remixes  of  songs  from  Dream 
into  Action  and  other  sources,  plus  the  previously  un- 
released  "Always  Asking  Questions." 

For  One  to  One,  producer  Arif  Mardin  put  Jones  in 
the  studio  with  a  full  complement  of  backup  musicians, 
thereby  focusing  attention  on  him  as  writer/singer.  The 
conservative  cover  portrait  reflects  an  overall  stylistic 
retrenchment:  the  once-colorful  elf  has  become  part  of  a 
mainstream  adult  pop  machine.  He  hasn't  sold  out — 
nothing  about  Jones  was  ever  that  outre*  to  begin  with — 
but  the  shift  leaves  the  soul-inflected  One  to  One 
noticeably  short  on  twink  and  charm. 

Jones  attempts  to  engage  his  musical  gears  more 
aggressively  on  the  heavyhearted  Cross  That  Line  and 
partially  succeeds.  Besides  the  familiar  HoJo  bounce  of 
"Everlasting  Love,"  the  mostly  self-produced  album 
stretches  to  encompass  a  solo  piano  piece,  funky  dance 
tunes  with  horns,  a  waltz  played  on  Fairlight  strings, 
new  age  ambience,  a  blast  of  raunchy  electric  guitar  and 
other  stylistic  digressions.  While  the  melancholy  lyrics 
about  a  troubled  relationship  coming  to  a  disappointing 
end  give  the  record  emotional  gravity,  the  same  seri- 
ousness prevents  the  music  from  reaching  escape  veloc- 
ity. Impressive  in  its  ambitious  stylistic  variety,  Cross 
That  Line  is  an  aimless  adventure  with  only  a  few 
gripping  chapters.  [i] 

MARTI 

Unsophisticated  Time  (A&M)  1 985 
Match  Game  (A&M)  1986® 
Used  Guitars  (A&M)  1 988  « 
Any  Kind  of  Lie  (RCA)  1990* 

COLOR  ME  GONE 

Color  Me  Gone  EP  (A&M)  1 984 

Color  Me  Gone's  one  EP  introduced  a  nice,  reedy 
vocalist  in  guitar-playing  Marti  Jones;  rich  arrangements 
and  clear  production  allowed  her  to  draw  everything  out 
of  the  six  agreeable  songs.  Without  really  holding  to  any 
one  style,  the  Ohio  quartet  flirts  with  radio  rock,  neo- 
ethnic  Americana,  country  (in  that  mode,  the  downcast 
"Hurtin*  You"  is  the  best  thing  here)  and  '60sish  folk- 
rock,  winding  up  pleasant  but  unmemorable. 

Jones'  solo  debut — brilliantly  produced  by  future 
husband  Don  Dixon,  who  also  plays  most  of  the  instru- 
ments on  it — draws  strength  from  a  very  astute  selection 
of  tunes.  She  covers  songs  by  the  dB's,  Bongos,  Cos- 
tello  and  Dixon  in  a  clear  voice  on  this  delightfully 
unprepossessing  album. 

Match  Game  follows  roughly  the  same  pattern, 
adding  songs  by  David  Bowie  ("Soul  Love'*),  Marshall 
Crenshaw  ("Whenever  You're  on  My  Mind")  and  Free 
("Soon  I  Will  Be  Gone")  to  the  prior  album's  returning 


writing  collective.  Given  a  comfortable  setting  by  Dix- 
on* s  sparkling  studio  work,  Marti  shines  on  tracks 
played  by  such  prestigious  supporters  as  Crenshaw, 
Mitch  Easter,  Richard  Barone,  Gary  Barnacle,  Paul  Car- 
rack,  T-Bone  Burnett  and  Darlene  Love. 

Boding  well  for  an  autonomous  future,  Don'n'Marti 
co-wrote  three  songs  for  the  third  chapter  in  a  by-now- 
familiar,  but  no  less  enjoyable,  book.  Used  Guitars 
gets  major  contributions  from  Crenshaw  and  Janis  Ian 
(!),  adding  songs  by  John  Hiatt  ("The  Real  One,"  "If 
I  Can  Love  Somebody")  and  Graham  Parker  ("You 
Can't  Take  Love  for  Granted"),  plus  instrumental  as- 
sists by  the  Woods,  Easter  and  the  Uptown  Horns.  lan's 
"Ruby"  stretches  Jones  into  smoky  piano  balladry 
that's  a  bit  out  of  keeping  with  the  sprightly  pop  else- 
where, but  might  be  the  key  to  long-overdue  commer- 
cial success. 

Any  Kind  of  Lie  raises  the  stakes  in  a  tasteful  but 
determined  effort  to  make  Marti  a  star.  Using  a  stable 
band  and  only  two  outside  writing  submissions  (Clive 
Gregson's  "Second  Choice"  and  Loudon  Wainwright's 
"Old  Friend"),  Dixon  loads  the  songs  up  with  every 
time-tested  trick  in  the  pop-country-rock  singer/ 
songwriter  manual,  making  for  a  carefully  arranged 
record  that  tries  to  consolidate  a  wide  range  of  success- 
ful stylistic  referents,  from  Suzanne  Vega  to  Linda  Ron- 
stadt  to  Bonnie  Raitt.  A  fine  album  to  be  sure,  but  it's 
unsettling  to  hear  this  down-home  gal  turned  out  in  such 
cosmopolitan  duds.  [i] 

See  also  Don  Dixon. 

STEVE  JONES 

Mercy  (Gold  Mountain-MCA)  1987  • 

Fire  and  Gasoline  (Gold  Mountain-MCA)  1 989  ® 

The  ex-Pistol  guitarist,  known  for  his  chunky  chords 
and  rough'n'randy  attitude,  caught  followers  off  guard 
with  Mercy,  a  solo  debut  that  allows  low-key,  senti- 
mental moments — like  the  title  track,  the  hopelessly 
sappy  "Love  Letters"  and  others — to  mingle  with  the 
rock  numbers.  Although  Jones  is  no  vocalist,  he  gamely 
sing-speaks  his  way  through  the  record,  assisted  only  by 
two  drummers  and  a  pair  of  keyboardists.  "Drugs 
Suck"  is  a  terrible  track  that  reveals  a  healthy  attitude; 
Mercy  isn't  Jones*  best  post-Pistols  work,  but  it's  by  no 
means  his  worst. 

That  onus  falls  on  Fire  and  Gasoline.  An  unforgiv- 
able plodding  replay  of  the  Pistols'  "Did  You  No 
Wrong"  shrieked  by  W.  Axl  Rose  and  Ian  Astbury 
(also  the  alburn's  co-producer  and  songwriting  collab- 
orator) reduces  Jones  to  auto-cannibalism;  the  rest  of 
this  serviceable  but  unnecessary  record  either  emulates 
the  Cult  or  settles  into  self-parody.  Ironically,  Cult  gui- 
tarist Billy  Duffy  upstages  Jones  on  "Get  Ready"  with 
an  electrifying  solo.  [i] 

See  also  Duron  Duran,  Iggy  Pop,  Professionals, 
Sex  Pistols. 

JONES  VERY 

See  Articles  of  Faith. 

JOOLZ 

Never  Never  Land  (nr/Abstract)  1 985 
Hex  (nr/EMI)  1987  (nr/Anagram)  1990  « 


356 


Bold,  beautiful  and  British,  modern-day  poet  Joolz 
Is  one  of  a  kind.  Though  her  main  arena  is  literature 
(publishing  two  fine  books),  she  has  made  a  number  of 
records  of  considerable  potency  and  vision.  Following  a 
couple  of  singles  on  which  she  was  backed  by  Jah  Wob- 
ble's funkisms,  Never  Never  Land  is  an  unaccompa- 
nied album  of  spoken-word  poetry,  delivered  in  a  style 
that  owes  something  to  John  Cooper  Clarke.  Joolz  re- 
lays essential  thoughts  on  the  bewildering  facets  of 
small-town  life  in  Bradford,  captures  the  attitudes  and 
vernacular  of  UK  culture,  celebrates  love  and  freedom, 
and  rages  at  injustice,  hypocrisy  and  betrayal  in  pieces 
that  are  by  turns  observational,  defiant,  romantic,  satir- 
ical and  touching.  The  live  closer — a  passionate,  anti- 
nuke  call-to-arms  (''Jerusalem") — strikes  a  particularly 
fierce  nerve. 

The  even  better  Hex  adopts  a  more  ambitious  tack, 
with  help  from  singer/guitarist  Slade  the  Leveller  and 
drummer  Rob  Heaton,  both  of  New  Model  Army.  (Joolz 
has  managed  the  band  and  painted  its  record  covers. )  The 
pair  provides  a  sympathetic  musical  backdrop  for  her  res- 
onant poems  (some,  like  the  upbeat  "Protection,"  cross 
the  line  to  become  actual  songs).  In  particular,  the  mov- 
ing "Requiem"  is  beautifully  bittersweet;  "House  of 
Dreams"  is  nearly  as  good.  Throughout,  the  diverse  mu- 
sic is  exemplary,  from  pulsing  rock'n'roll  and  synthe- 
sizer tapestries  to  more  atmospheric,  soundtrack-like 
compositions.  (The  Anagram  CD  adds  three  single  sides 
also  done  with  New  Model  Army.)  [gef] 

See  also  New  Model  Army. 

JOSEF  K 

The  Only  Fun  in  Town  (nr/Postcard)  1 981  (Bel.  PSay  It 

Again  Sam)  1 990  • 

Heaven  Sent  EP  (nr/Supreme  Infl  Editions)  1 987 
Young  and  Stupid/Endless  Soul  (nr/Supreme  Int'l  Editions) 

1 987  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 990  « 

A  leading  light  in  Scotland's  neo-pop  revival,  Josef 
K  attempted  an  uneasy  marriage  of  pop  form  and  psy- 
chedelic sensibilities  on  a  string  of  melancholic  singles, 
all  contained  on  their  one  original  album.  Singer  Paul 
Haig  is  the  only  member  identified  by  name,  and  his 
presence  is  certainly  the  strongest  here.  There  is  a  fra- 
gility in  Josef  K's  gentle  but  foreboding  work,  produced 
in  darkest  wall-of-molasses  sound,  that  suggests  an  in- 
tensity of  thought  comparable  to  Joy  Division's.  (Some 
of  Haig's  subsequent  solo  work  sounds  a  lot  like  New 
Order.)  But  the  album — which  was  first  recorded  in 
1980,  scrapped  and  then  redone  with  largely  different 
material  from  scratch  the  following  year — never  reaches 
the  level  of  animation  found  in  the  singles,  and  it  was 
neither  surprising  nor  inappropriate  when  the  group 
broke  up  shortly  after  its  release.  Dank  but  intriguing. 

Heaven  Sent  and  Young  and  Stupid/Endless  Soul 
are  both  posthumous  affairs,  consisting  of  singles,  out- 
takes,  demos  and  John  Peel  sessions.  Ironically,  these 
two  records  contain  the  band's  best  material.  "Heaven 
Sent,"  "Radio  Drill  Time"  and  "Heart  of  Song"  are 
nothing  short  of  pure  pop  brilliance,  surprisingly  unaf- 
fected by  the  passage  of  time.  Josef  K  were  the  defin- 
itive Scottish  neo-pop  masters,  and  their  legacy  lives  on 
in  many  of  the  groups  currently  emerging  from  that 
land.  [sg/ag] 

See  also  Paul  Haig. 


JOY  DIVISION 

An  Ideal  for  Living  EP  for/Enigma)  1 978  (or/Anonymous) 

1978 

Unknown  Pleasures  (Factory)  1 979  (Qwest)  1 989  ® 
Closer  (Factory)  1 980  (Qwest)  1 989  • 
Still  (nr/Factory)  1981  (Qwest)  1991  ® 
The  PeeS  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  ]  986  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 987  ® 
Substance  (Qwest)  1 988  ® 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  {nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 990  ® 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Something  About  Joy  Division  (It.  Vox  Pop)  1 990 

Emerging  from  the  industrial  desolation  of  Manches- 
ter and  originally  known  as  Warsaw,  Joy  Division  ex- 
pressed, in  uncompromising  terms,  the  angst  of  the  great 
wrong  place  in  which  we  live,  and  their  updating/ 
refinement  of  the  oppressive  weight  of  heavy  metal  mu- 
sic combined  with  singer  Ian  Curtis'  tormented  lyrics 
and  Martin  Hannett's  crystalline  production  to  make  a 
qualitative  leap  onto  totally  original  ground.  The  band 
came  to  an  end  when  Curtis  hung  himself — hours  before 
they  were  to  leave  on  their  first  American  tour,  thus 
(though  it  may  be  cynical  to  say  so)  proving  the  strength 
of  his  convictions.  The  surviving  trio,  with  one  new 
member,  continued,  finding  far  greater  commercial  suc- 
cess as  New  Order. 

Following  the  self-release  of  the  7-inch  An  Ideal  for 
Living,  a  skillful  but  rather  unexceptional  quartet  of 
Bowie-influenced  guitar  punk  songs,  Joy  Division  did 
tracks  for  a  local  compilation  and  then  signed  with  the 
incipient  Factory  label.  (Three  of  these  early  tracks,  as 
well  as  other  rarities,  can  be  found  on  the  Substance 
compilation.) 

Unknown  Pleasures  contrasts  the  message  of  decay 
and  bemused  acceptance  of  life's  paradoxes  with  the 
energy  and  excitement  of  a  band  set  loose  in  a  studio  for 
the  first  time.  The  tension  of  originality  constrained  by 
inadequate  instrumental  skills — simple  synthesizers  and 
guitar  set  against  the  Peter  Hook/Stephen  Morris  rhythm 
section's  more  obvious  punk  roots — gives  the  record  a 
powerfully  immediate  air;  Hannett  glazes  the  chilling, 
despondent  music  (including  the  classic  "She's  Lost 
Control")  with  a  Teutonic  sheen,  fusing  medium  and 
message  into  a  dark,  holistic  brilliance.  The  grim  songs 
are  punctuated  by  the  sounds  of  ambulance  sirens  and 
breaking  glass,  picturing  a  world  speeding  towards  in- 
comprehensible chaos.  Very  highly  recommended. 

With  group  and  producer  gaining  confidence  and 
ambition,  Closer  sounds  emptier  and  more  distant,  with 
occasional  use  of  strangely  distorted  synthesizer  and 
jagged  shards  of  guitar,  both  played  by  Bernard  Al- 
brecht  (aka  Dicken  aka  Sumner).  Meanwhile,  a  dislo- 
cated Curtis  meanders  through  a  world  that  has  robbed 
him  of  joy  and  hope.  From  the  blunt  anomie  of  "Iso- 
lation" to  the  accusatory  chorus  of  the  martial-beat  **A 
Means  to  an  End"  to  the  somber  piano-based  "The 
Eternal,"  Curtis*  commanding  vocals  dominate  the 
record.  On  Closer,  refinement  of  the  Joy  Division  ethos 
produces  a  purgatory  of  sound  and  words.  A  stunning, 
deeply  personal  album. 

More  than  a  year  after  Curtis'  suicide  (in  May  1980, 
immediately  prior  to  the  release  of  both  Closer  and  the 
band's  single  best-known  song,  "Love  Will  Tear  Us 
Apart"),  Joy  Division's  outtakes  were  gathered  (along 


357 


with  a  few  previously  issued  rarities)  on  one  disc  of  the 
two-record  Still.  (The  second  record  documents  the 
group's  final  concert.)  Besides  four  previously  unissued 
tracks  from  the  Unknown  Pleasures  sessions,  Still  con- 
tains a  long,  enthusiastic  (but  carefully  controlled)  ren- 
dition of  the  obviously  influential  Velvet  Underground's 
"Sister  Ray,"  also  recorded  live.  One  of  the  most  no- 
table aspects  of  the  album's  engrossing  concert  half  is 
the  inclusion  of  "Ceremony,"  a  then-new  song  that 
would  provide  the  bridge  between  Joy  Division  and  New 
Order  as  the  latter' s  first  single.  As  a  compilation,  Still 
lacks  the  coherent  intensity  of  the  other  two  albums,  but 
features  a  good  representation  of  the  various  facets  of 
Joy  Division's  intimate,  desperate  music. 

Both  of  Joy  Division's  John  Peel  sessions  (January 
1979  and  November  1979)  were  issued  on  four-song 
EPs  and  later  compiled  onto  an  album.  Since  both  con- 
tain material  the  group  had  not  yet  recorded,  these  ar- 
tifacts are  of  immense  interest.  The  first  previews 
"Transmission"  and  "She's  Lost  Control,"  while  the 
second  boasts  a  brilliant  rendition  of  "Love  Will  Tear 
Us  Apart"  and  a  foretaste  of  "Twenty  Four  Hours." 

Also  of  enormous  historical  value  is  the  Substance 
CD  (also  available,  in  the  UK,  on  DAT),  which  in- 
cludes a  seven-track  "appendix"  to  the  vinyl  album's 
ten  songs.  This  posthumous  antidote  to  Joy  Division's 
willful  obscurity  draws  almost  nothing  from  the  band's 
two  albums,  instead  focusing  on  singles,  rarities  and  the 
band's  early  contributions  to  Factory  and  Fast  label  com- 
pilations. Although  annoyingly  unannotated,  Substance 
offers  both  non-LP  classics  ("Transmission,"  "Love 
Will  Tear  Us  Apart")  and  high-quality  esoterica  (like 
"Atmosphere,"  a  gently  oppressive  number  first  issued 
on  a  French  flexi-disc). 

Although  there  aren't  any  household  names  on  it 
(judging  by  the  accented  English,  a  lot  of  them  may  be 
Italian),  the  tribute  album  is  quite  wonderful,  an  imag- 
inative (and  refreshingly  un-derivative)  assortment  of 
interpretations  that  preserve  Joy  Division's  dark  mood 
in  settings  that  range  from  gentle  piano  ballads  ("Love 
Will  Tear  Us  Apart"  performed  by  the  Carnival  of 
Fools)  and  mild  acid-pop  (Allison  Run's  "Ceremony") 
to  the  manic  guitar  storm  of  "Atmosphere"  played  by 
Hitchcock's  Scream.  The  only  thing  missing  is  P.  J.  Pro- 
by's  legendary  version  of  "Love  Will  Tear  Us  Apart": 
"Why's  the  room  so  gol-damed  cold?"  [sg/i] 

See  also  New  Order. 

BRUCE  JOYNER 

See  Unknowns. 

PHIL  JUDD 

See  Swingers. 

JULES  AND  THE  POLAR  BEARS 

See  Jules  Shear. 

JULUKA 

See  Johnny  Clegg  &  Savuka. 

SYLVIA  JUNCOSA 

See  SWA,  To  Damascus. 


Straight  Out  the  Jungle  (Jdiers-Wariock-Gee  St.)  1 988  • 
Done  by  the  Forces  of  Nature  (Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

Along  with  their  friends  De  La  Soul  and  A  Tribe 
Called  Quest,  New  York's  Jungle  Brothers  helped  lib- 
erate rap  from  the  stereotype  of  the  macho  aggressor. 
Like  the  original  JB — James  Brown — these  JBs  are  ver- 
satile, upbeat  and  relentlessly  funky.  Straight  Out  the 
Jungle  boasts  an  abundance  of  loose,  swinging  jams, 
including  the  cheerfully  lewd  "Jimbrowski,"  social 
commentary  inspired  by  Marvin  Gaye's  "What's  Going 
On"  and  "I'll  House  You,"  an  exuberant  blend  of  hip- 
hop  and  house. 

Done  by  the  Forces  of  Nature  vaults  the  Jungle 
Brothers  into  the  major  leagues  with  a  heap  of  soulful 
energy  and  some  of  the  warmest,  most  personable  raps 
on  the  planet.  Anybody  who  can  resist  the  propulsive 
momentum  of  "Beyond  This  World"  and  "What  'U* 
Waitin  *4'?"  probably  didn't  have  a  pulse  to  quicken. 

Hy] 
JUNKYARD 

See  Dag  Nasty. 

JUSTIFIED  ANCIENTS  OF  MU  MU 

1 987  (What  the  Fuck's  Going  On?)  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1 987 

1 987  The  JAMS  45  Edits  EP  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1 987 

Who  Killed  the  JAMS?  (nr/KLF  Comm,)  1988 

Shag  Times  EP  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1989  » 

The  History  of  the  JAMS  a.Jca.  the  Timelords  (TVT)  1 989  » 

DISCO  2000 

"I  Gotta"  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1987 

"One  Love  Nation"  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1 988 

"Uptight"  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1989 

KLF 

The  What  Time  is  Love  Story  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1 990  ® 
Chill  Out  (nr/KLF  Comm.)  1 990  (Wax  Trax!)  1 991  • 
The  White  Room  (Arista)  1 991  4> 

BILL  DRUMMOND 

The  Man  (nr/Creation)  1987  (Bar/None-Restless)  1989  • 

ORB 

A  Huge  Ever  Growing  Pulsating  Brain  That  Rules  from  the 
Centre  of  the  Ultraworld  EP  (nr/Wau!  Mr  Modo) 
1989 

Adventures  Beyond  the  Ultraworld  (Mercury)  1 991  <t> 

SPACE 

Space  (nr/Space-KLF  Comm.)  1 990  * 

With  synthesizers,  sampling  and  the  dominance  of 
dance  helping  to  pry  the  skeletal  fingers  of  basic 
values — old-farty  things  like  melody,  lyrics  and 
originality — from  their  traditional  vise  grip  on  popular 
music,  the  world  is  wide  open  for  such  high-concept 
jokers  as  Bill  Drummond.  Although  America  has  largely 
been  spared  his  mischievous  machinations,  the  UK  has 
been  Drummond's  lab,  a  proving  ground  for  a  series  of 
colorful  sonic  marketing  experiments,  one  of  which 
topped  the  singles  charts  in  1988. 

Born  in  Scotland  but  arriving  in  the  music  biz  via  the 
1977  Liverpool  scene,  Drummond  was  a  founding  mem- 
ber of  Big  in  Japan,  launched  the  Zoo  label  with  Dave 
Balfe  and  then  became  the  manager  of  Echo  and  the 
Bunnymen  and  the  Teardrop  Explodes.  (He  was  largely 


358 


responsible  for  some  of  the  more  outlandish  escapades 
of  the  former  and  was  celebrated  in  song  by  Julian  Cope 
of  the  latter. )  Later,  as  an  A&R  man,  he  worked  with 
Youth's  wretched  Brilliant,  a  mid-' 80s  group  whose 
lasting  cultural  significance  amounts  to  its  inclusion  of 
ex-Zodiac  Mindwarp  keyboardist/guitarist  Jimmy 
Cauty,  with  whom  Drummond  concocted  the  Justified 
Ancients  of  Mu  Mu  (JAMS)  and  launched  a  label, 
Kopyright  Liberation  Front  (KLF), 

Rapping  and  shouting  inspired  nonsense  in  exagger- 
ated Scottish  accents  over  a  diverse  collection  of  stolen 
artifacts  (from  Queen  to  Led  Zeppelin  to  Dave 
Brubeck),  the  JAMS — billing  themselves  as  King  Boy 
D  and  Rockman — pasted  together  the  energetic  1987,  a 
loopy  dance  album  that  isn't  unlike  a  lot  of  sampled 
records,  but  proceeds  from  an  entirely  different  cultural 
understanding.  As  the  JAMS  neglected  to  obtain  any 
clearances,  however,  the  LP  was  promptly  sued  out  of 
circulation  by  Abba's  attorneys.  (After  its  commercial 
withdrawal  and  destruction,  a  re-edited  1987  EP— with 
all  of  the  illicit  borrowings  unceremoniously  deleted — 
was  offered  to  consumers  in  exchange  for  their  original 
copies  of  what  had  become,  in  a  stroke,  an  unbelievably 
valuable  collector's  item.) 

Who  Killed  the  JAMS?  offers  more  of  the  same 
post-hip-hop  fun,  pumping  up  Eurobeat  with  bites  from 
your  favorite  records — Hendrix's  "Foxey  Lady,"  Sly 
Stone's  " Dance  to  the  Music,"  etc. — thrown  in  whole- 
sale. At  times  using  relevant  sound  bites  to  answer  a 
spoken  remark  (as  in  Dickie  Goodman  cut-in  records), 
the  LP  merrily  pisses  on  itself  but  reveals  a  viciously 
self-serving  and  proto-racist  outlook  in  "King  Boy's 
Dream,"  a  short  rap  delivered  over  an  insane  hacking- 
cough-and-finger-pop  percussion  track:  "I  ain't  no 
B-boy/I  hate  that  shit/Those  golden  chains  and  Def  Jam 
hype."  In  other  words,  it's  okay  for  me  to  copy  the 
work  (both  conceptually  and  literally)  of  African- 
Americans,  but  don't  mix  me  up  with  mat  culture. 

The  History  of  the  JAMS  expands  the  six-track 
Shag  Times  compilation  by  two  items.  Both  versions 
contain  three  of  the  group's  1987  singles  (the  non- 
Beatlesque  "All  You  Need  Is  Love,"  the  Houstonized 
"Whitney  Joins  the  JAMS"  and  the  Petula  Clark-based 
gospel  "Downtown")  plus  "Don't  Take  Five  (Take 
What  You  Want)"  from  the  first  LP  and  two  cuts 
("Candyman"  and  the  Sly-stolen  "Burn  the  Bastards," 
retitled  "Burn  the  Beat"  on  the  US  record)  from  the 
second.  To  that,  History  adds  "Porpoise  Song"  (a 
Donna  Summer  jam  from  Who  Killed  the  JAMS?)  and 
"Doctorin*  the  Tardis,"  a  genuine  (if  inexplicable)  UK 
summer-of-'88  chart-topper — the  title  and  lyrics  refer  to 
the  Doctor  Who  TV  program — stitched  together  from 


glam-rock  classics  by  Gary  Glitter  and  the  Sweet  and 
released  under  the  Tirnelords  pseudonym.  Typical  of  the 
duo's  penchant  for  self-amusement,  they  celebrated 
their  victory  with  a  DIY  book  entitled  The  Manual  (How 
to  Have  a  Number  One  the  Easy  Way), 

Abandoning  one  guise  (but  retaining  Disco  2000, 
the  entity  responsible  for  an  entertaining  1989  45  of 
Stevie  Wonder's  "Uptight"  that  sounds  like  Banan- 
arama  on  a  rap  tip),  Drummond  and  Cauty  became  the 
KLF  and  released — in  numerous  mixes—a  fairly 
straightforward  house  record,  "What  Time  Is  Love?" 
Elevating  what  is  barely  a  song  to  absurd  heights,  The 
What  Time  Is  Love  Story  is  ostensibly  a  collection  of 
"cover  versions  and  soundalikes. "  In  the  meantime,  the 
KLF  had  already  moved  away  from  such  thumping  and 
kineticism  and  were  claiming  preeminence  in  the  ab- 
surdly named  ambient  house  field  with  Chill  Out,  a 
50-mimite  snooze  of  slowly  alternating  organ  chords 
over  which  Fleetwood  Mac,  radio  news  reports,  Elvis 
Presley,  a  steel  guitar  (etc.)  are  gently  laid.  Sounding 
like  nothing  so  much  as  an  accidental  recording  of  1970 
Pink  Floyd  sessions  during  which  all  the  participants 
have  either  left  or  fallen  asleep,  it's  a  dull  joke  with  no 
punchline,  and  lacks  any  trace  of  original  musical  merit. 

Continuing  to  explore  spacey  trance  music,  Cauty 
formed  the  Orb,  a  side  band  with  Alex  Patterson,  and 
began  recording  an  Orb  album.  The  duo  managed  to 
release  one  excellently  titled  crap  EP  before  splitting; 
the  disc  (billed  as  "ambient  house  for  the  E  genera- 
tion") contains  one  endless  side-long  mixture  of  water 
noises  and  some  incidental  bits  of  Minnie  Riperton's 
"Lovin'  You"  (damn,  wish  I  still  had  my  Tangerine 
Dream  LPs ! )  and  two  shorter  versions  thereof,  both  with 
prominent  drum  beats.  (After  the  Orb  partnership 
ended,  Cauty  reportedly  erased  Patterson's  tracks  and 
finished  the  work-in-progress  on  his  own,  releasing  it 
under  the  Space  moniker.) 

On  a  completely  different  note,  Drummond' s  solo 
album  is  a  tastefully  understated  country-rock  collection 
of  original  songs  with  backing  from,  among  others, 
nearly  all  of  the  Triffids  and  the  Voice  of  the  Beehive. 
Although  the  Man's  vocals  and  melodic  sense  both  fall 
somewhat  short  of  good,  his  confidence  and  clever  lyr- 
ical wit  makes  a  good  go  of  the  sarcastic  "Julian  Cope 
Is  Dead"  (a  very  belated  answer  to  Cope's  "Bill  Drum- 
mond Said"),  "Ballad  for  a  Sex  God"  and  the  pseudo- 
sappy  autobiography  of  "I  Believe  in  Rock  &  Roll/'  In 
addition,  the  exuberant  "I'm  the  King  of  Joy"  puts  a 
Scottish  accent  to  Jonathan  Richman-like  folk  pop  and 
winds  up  the  album's  easy  highlight.  [i] 

See  also  Big  in  Japan,  Julian  Cope,  Zodiac  Mind- 
warp  and  the  Love  Reaction,  Youth  <&  Ben  Watkins. 


359 


HENRY  KAISER 

Studio  Solo  (Metalanguage)  1 981 

If s  a  Wonderful  Life  (Metalanguage)  1 984 

Marrying  for  Money  (Ger.  Minor  Music)  1 986 

Devil  in  the  Drain  (SST)  1 987 

Those  Who  Know  History  Are  Doomed  to  Repeat  It  (SST) 

1988® 

Re-Marrying  for  Money  (SST)  1 988  <!> 
Hope  You  Like  Our  New  Direction  (Reckless)  1 991  ® 

HENRY 

Heart's  Desire  (Reckless)  1 990  • 

FRED  &  HENRY 

With  Friends  Like  These  (Metalanguage)  1 979 
Who  Needs  Enemies?  (Metalanguage)  1 983 
With  Enemies  Like  These,  Who  Needs  Friends?  [CD]  (SST) 
1987® 

FRENCH,  FRITH,  KAISER, 
THOMPSON 

Live,  Love,  Larf  &  Loaf  (Rhino)  1987  ® 
Invisible  Means  (Windham  Hill)  1990  ® 

CRAZY  BACKWARDS  ALPHABET 

Crazy  Backwards  Alphabet  (SST)  1987 

HENRY  KAISER  AND  SERGEI 
KUR1OKHIN 

Popular  Science  (Rykodisc)  1989  4> 

If  you're  In  the  market  for  a  brilliant  postmodern 
guitar  hero,  you  could  do  a  whole  lot  worse  than  Henry 
Kaiser.  This  Bay  Area  diver/filmmaker/musician  has  ap- 
peared on  more  than  50  records  since  the  early  '70s, 
ranging  from  total  improvisations  to  jazz  to  experimen- 
tal and  progressive  rock.  While  augmenting  his  flawless 
techniques  with  a  wide  array  of  electronic  effects,  Kai- 
ser has  familiarized  himself  with  the  ethnic  musics  of 
Southeast  Asia,  India  and  Japan,  yet  recently  cited  Jerry 
Garcia  as  a  personal  guitar  fave. 

Studio  Solo  and  It's  a  Wonderful  Life  are  solo  LPs 
that  find  Kaiser  building  dazzling  architechtomc  solos, 
from  ghostly  and  ghastly  textures  to  cartoonlike  goofs  to 
disjointed  bluegrass,  blues  and  jazz  constructions.  The 
key  to  Kaiser's  strategy  is  never  to  play  the  same  thing 
twice,  making  his  records  and  solos  endlessly  listen- 
able. 

Kaiser  adds  a  Synclavier  to  the  mix  on  Devil  in 
the  Drain,  allowing  him  to  record  impossible  lines 
and  create  otherworldly  textures.  The  title  track  is 
built  around  a  hilarious  text  by  children's  writer  Dan- 
iel Pmkwater. 

Kaiser  wails  in  a  power-trio  format  on  Re-Marrying 
for  Money  (an  expanded  reissue  of  the  German  Mar- 
rying for  Money),  where  he's  supported  by  Hilary 
(bass)  and  John  (drums)  Hanes  (who  were  once  the 
mainstays  of  Pearl  Harbor  and  the  Explosions),  both 


subsequently  of  the  Henry  Kaiser  Band.  John  Aber- 
crombie,  Bruce  Anderson  (of  MX-80  Sound)  and  Glenn 
Phillips  join  them  for  a  series  of  improvised  electrified 
raveups  (including  Cream's  "I'm  So  Glad"). 

Kaiser  returns  to  his  roots  on  Those  Who  Know 
History,  which  includes  a  side-long  version  of  the 
Grateful  Dead  classic  "Dark  Star"  (integrating  other 
Dead  hits)  as  well  as  "Ode  to  Billie  Joe"  and  the  theme 
from  The  Andy  Griffith  Show,  But  this  record  doesn't 
hold  a  candle  to  the  Henry  Kaiser  Band's  live  gigs.  A 
particularly  exceptional  night  (actually,  two)  is  docu- 
mented on  Heart's  Desire,  a  program  made  up  mainly 
of  covers  that  stretch  from  the  Band  to  Stockhausen. 
Bruce  Anderson  and  original  Dead  keyboardist  Tom 
Constanten  help  make  this  one  of  the  greatest  and  hip- 
pest  live  bands  you  never  heard.  (The  CD  has  fewer 
selections  than  the  double  album,  but  each  contains 
some  different  renditions  of  the  same  songs.) 

With  Enemies  Like  These,  Who  Needs  Friends? 
contains  heretofore  unreleased  improvised  live  perfor- 
mances by  Kaiser  and  former  Henry  Cow  guitarist  Fred 
Frith,  along  with  some  gems  from  their  two  previous 
duo  albums.  The  two  plonk,  bang  and  drone  around  on 
guitars,  keyboards,  violin  and  a  particularly  volatile 
(electronic)  set  of  Linndrums.  Equally  loose  and  diffi- 
cult are  the  duets  with  Russian  Synclavierist  Sergei  Ku- 
riokhm  on  Popular  Science.  Kaiser  gooses  the 
Synclavier  himself  on  this  disc,  which  is  divided  pretty 
equally  into  duets  and  solo  excursions. 

Kaiser  revisits  '70s  progressive  rock  on  Crazy 
Backwards  Alphabet,  his  not-entirely  successful  link- 
up with  amazing  drummer  John  French  (formerly 
Drumbo  of  Captain  Beefheart's  Magic  Band),  the 
hockey-influenced  Swedish  drummer/vocalist  Michael 
Maksymenko  and  ex-Dixie  Dregs  bassist  Andy  West. 
Gnarly  instrumentals  are  unfortunately  forced  to  share 
space  with  distracting  vocals. 

Live,  Love,  Larf  &  Loaf  is  a  much  more  pleasant 
supergrouping  in  which  Kaiser,  French  and  Frith  (on 
bass)  are  joined  by  British  folk-rock  guitar  wiz  Richard 
Thompson.  The  LP  combines  excellent  post-Beefheart 
compositions  by  French  with  Thompson's  acid-etched 
Anglo-mysticism  and  a  remarkable  Okinawan  pop  song, 
"Hai  Sai  Oji-San."  This  is  eclecticism  at  its  finest. 
Unfortunately,  the  second  episode,  Invisible  Means, 
sounds  incomplete,  like  a  joke  that  doesn't  come  off. 
(Although,  considering  the  releasing  label,  perhaps  it 
did.)  Far  from  unlistenable,  with  the  odd  magnificent 
moment,  the  record  is  just  spotty.  [rg] 

See  also  Fred  Frith. 


HARRY  KAKOULLI 

See  Squeeze. 


360 


BIG 

Long  Live  the  Kane  (Cold  ChifHn'-Wamer  Bros.)  1 988  • 
It's  a  Big  Daddy  Thing  (Cold  ChiHin'-Reprise)  1989  • 
Taste  of  Chocolate  (Cold  Chiliin'-Reprise)  1 990  • 

A  pivotal  figure  in  one  sphere  of  the  mid- '80s  rap 
scene,  Brooklyn's  Big  Daddy  Kane  (Antonio  Hardy)  is 
the  quintessential  smooth  operator,  an  influential  party 
MC  (and  would-be  '70s  soul  crooner)  with  a  convincing 
hard-edged  style  and  an  inconsistent,  occasionally  dis- 
mal, lyrical  outlook.  Produced  by  Marley  Marl,  Long 
Live  the  Kane  lists  the  gold- wearing  ladykilier's  many 
talents  and  achievements  with  more  skill  than  wit  and 
includes  an  entertaining  goof  with  longtime  associate 
Biz  Markie  as  well  as  an  ill-advised  stab  at  singing 
("The  Day  You're  Mine").  Showing  a  taste  for  topi- 
cality, Kane  delves  into  Muslim  Afrocentricity  in 
"Word  to  the  Motherland)"  and  paints  a  Utopian  fan- 
tasy (in  'Til  Take  You  There")  where  crime,  welfare 
and  crack  are  unknown,  but 4 'fresh  Gucci  wear  is  only 
$5.99!" 

Announcing  "I  Get  the  Job  Done,"  Kane  demon- 
strates his  fiery  power  on  the  masterful  It's  a  Big  Daddy 
Thing.  When  he's  not  engaging  in  raw  boasts  and  put- 
downs  (some  of  which  recycle  rhymes  from  the  first 
LP),  Kane's  raps  attack  racism  and  self-destruction, 
promote  pride  and  celebrate  the  next  generation  (in  the 
reggae-styled  "Children  R  the  Future").  The  smug 
playboy  jive  of  "On  the  Move"  is  easy  to  ignore,  but 
the  crude  sex  tales  of  "Pimpin'  Ain't  Easy"  (complete 
with  a  gratuitous  expression  of  anti-gay  hatred)  is  a 
pernicious  development  in  Kane's  repertoire. 

Taking  advantage  of  stardom's  perks,  Kane  built 
some  inter-generational  bridges  on  Taste  of  Chocolate. 
Barry  White  ( "All  of  Me" )  and  Rudy  Ray  Moore  ( *  'Big 
Daddy  vs.  Dolemite")  guest  on  the  mellow-sounding 
LP,  an  intelligently  mature  triumph  which  switches  eas- 
ily from  sex-machine  egotism  and  gauzy  romantic  soul 
to  incisively  astute  and  realistic  street  politics  (like 
"Dance  with  the  Devil"  and  the  surprisingly  poppy 
"Who  Am  I,"  co-written  and  rapped  with  Gamilah  Sha- 
bazz).  Typical  of  Kane's  newly  raised  consciousness, 
"No  Damn  Good"  sounds  misogynist,  but  only  disses 
women  who  don't  respect  themselves.  [i] 

MICK  KARN 

See  Japan,  Peter  Murphy. 

EDWARD  KA-SPEL 

See  Legendary  Pink  Dots,  Skinny  Puppy. 

KATRINA  AND  THE  WAVES 

Walking  on  Sunshine  (Can.  Attic)  1 983 
Katrina  and  the  Waves  2  (Can.  Attic)  1 984 
Katrina  and  the  Waves  (Capitol)  1985  • 
Waves  (Capitol)  1985» 
Break  of  Hearts  (SBK)  1 989  • 

K1MBERLEY  REW 

The  Bible  of  Bop  (Press)  1982 

WAVES 

Shock  Horror!  (nr/Attermath)  1 983 


Like  ex-bandmate  Robyn  Hitchcock,  Kimberley 
Rew  survived  the  end  of  the  Soft  Boys  to  take  further 
forays  into  melodious  '60s  folk-rock  and  psychedelia, 
as  the  eight  tracks  (seven  previously  released)  on  his 
1982  solo  release  prove.  Working  with  the  dB's,  ex- 
Soft  Boys  and  a  new  group  called  the  Waves,  Rew 
doesn't  pursue  weirdness  as  avidly  as  Hitchcock  does, 
but  the  singer/guitarist/keyboardist  has  a  neat  winner 
with  The  Bible  of  Bop. 

Rew  and  the  Waves  subsequently  became  a  fulltime 
proposition,  a  sympathetic  and  commercially  potent  out- 
let for  his  ace  song  writing.  The  Anglo-American  quar- 
tet's other  major  asset  is  singer/guitarist  Katrina 
Leskanich,  a  Kansas  native  with  a  strong,  flexible  voice 
equally  suited  for  full-tilt  pop  harmonies  and  belt-it-out 
rock'n'roll.  The  band  melds  a  diverse  collection  of 
styles,  personalities  and  ethnic  backgrounds. 

The  low-budget  Shock  Horror!  contains  early  ver- 
sions of  eight  songs,  only  a  few  of  which  have  since 
surfaced  on  the  band's  albums.  "Strolling  on  Air,"  cut 
with  a  former  bassist,  is  an  especially  rich  find;  the  other 
tunes  (except  for  an  MC5-ish  raver,  "Atomic  Rock- 
'n'Roll")  are  typically  engaging  but  not  particularly 
well  recorded.  Interesting  and  certainly  no  embarrass- 
ment. 

Walking  on  Sunshine  contains  such  absolutely  bril- 
liant songs  as  "Going  Down  to  Liverpool"  (cleverly 
covered  by  the  Bangles,  who  could  spot  a  tune  worth 
singing)  and  the  infectious  title  track.  Guarantee:  hear 
this  record  once  and  you'll  find  yourself  humming  at 
least  one  track  from  it  a  week  later.  It  flows  magnifi- 
cently from  start  to  end,  and  subsumes  individual  ac- 
complishments into  a  true  group  effort.  A  greatest  hits 
album  the  first  time  out. 

KATW  2  takes  a  harder-rocking  bent,  downplaying 
the  tunefulness  slightly  to  highlight  jumping  numbers 
like  "She  Likes  to  Groove,"  the  nutty  "Maniac  House" 
and  a  powerful,  Janis  Joplin-like  blues,  "Cry  for  Me." 
Pointing  up  the  band's  only  weakness,  the  lyrics  to 
"Mexico"  (written  by  bassist  Vince  de  la  Cruz)  don't 
achieve  much  in  the  way  of  profundity;  the  soaring  vo- 
cals and  ethnic-flavored  simplicity,  however,  make  that 
a  strictly  academic  problem.  Other  great  tracks:  "Red 
Wine  and  Whisky"  and  "The  Game  of  Love."  Not  as 
glorious  as  the  debut,  but  a  boss  record  nonetheless. 

Katrina  and  the  Waves  consists  entirely  of  songs 
from  the  first  two  albums,  but  they've  all  been  re- 
recorded or  remixed.  In  most  cases,  it's  an  improve- 
ment, exposing  untapped  realms  of  both  pop  and  power, 
but  the  second  "Going  Down  to  Liverpool"  obliterates 
the  atmosphere  and  the  hooky  melody  of  the  original  in 
an  absurdly  overheated  arrangement.  With  that  one  ca- 
veat, Katrina  and  the  Waves  is  otherwise  a  delight. 

Evidencing  mild  signs  of  commercial  selfconscious- 
ness,  Waves  isn't  as  charming,  although  several  of  the 
tunes  boast  all  the  attributes  that  make  the  band  so  ap- 
pealing. Foamy  Hammond  organ,  prominent  in  spots, 
matches  Leskanich' s  newly  soul-ized  singing  to  push 
the  group  towards  a  Stax  sound.  Although  the  songs 
(only  two  of  them  by  Rew,  previously  the  band's  main 
writer)  aren't  as  memorable,  they're  solid  enough  to 
make  this  a  reasonably  pleasing  record. 

Break  of  Hearts  is  a  horrendously  wrongheaded 
comeback  bid  that  shows  the  Waves  to  be  utterly  obliv- 


361 


ious  to  their  own  strengths.  With  the  exceptions  of  the 
peppy  Tex-Mex-styie  ' 'Rock V Roll  Girl"  and  the 
Cheap  Trickish  pop-metal  "Rock  Myself  to  Sleep,"  it's 
bland,  overprocessed  commercial  slop,  with  Katrina 
(who  sports  a  metal-chick  makeover  on  the  album 
cover)  shrilly  belting  over  characterless  backing  tracks. 
And  the  Waves  have  no  one  but  themselves  to  blame  for 
this  disaster,  since  they  get  the  production  credit. 
See  also  Soft  Boys.  [i/hd] 

KATYDIDS 

Katydids  (Reprise)  1990® 

As  produced  by  Nick  Lowe,  this  London  quintet's 
fine  debut  mixes  its  pop  metaphors  and  age  sensibilities 
in  generally  delightful  fashion.  The  perky  adolescent 
songs  ("Stop  Start,"  "Heavy  Weather  Traffic," 
"Lights  Out  (Read  My  Lips)/'  "Dr,  Key")  layer 
American-born  Susie  Hug's  pretty  voice  (with  harmo- 
nies by  co-writer/guitarist  Adam  Seymour,  a  veteran 
jingle  singer;  the  pair  met  at  a  Big  Bam  Boo  session) 
into  Banglesque  allure  over  the  band's  tastefully  brisk 
backing.  When  the  group  delves  into  more  mature  rock 
("Miss  Misery"),  folk-rock  ("Chains  of  Devotion") 
and  country  ("What  Will  the  Angels  Say?,"  its  melody 
evidently  cribbed  from  early  Elvis  Costello),  however, 
she  sings  with  less  of  an  edge.  [i] 

IAN  KEAREY  +  GERARD 
LANGLEY 

See  Blue  Aeroplanes. 

TOMMY  KEENE 

Strange  Alliance  (Avenue)  1982 

Back  Again  (Try  . . .  )  EP  (Dolphin)  1 984 

Places  That  Are  Gone  EP  (Dolphin)  1 984 

Songs  from  the  Film  (Geffen)  1 986 

Run  Now  EP(Geffen)  1986 

Based  on  Happy  Times  (Geffen)  1 989  « 

As  the  jacket  blurb  on  Strange  Alliance  attests, 
Keene's  music  does  bear  some  superficial  resemblance 
to  the  Only  Ones  and  early  U2,  though  without  their 
depth  or  charisma.  (Audible  influences  also  include  the 
Beatles  and  the  Byrds.)  The  first  album  contains  eight 
immediately  likable,  if  melancholic,  tunes,  every  one  a 
winner.  (A  later  pressing  adds  a  subsequent  single.) 
Keene's  reedy  voice,  chiming,  arpeggiated  guitar  chords 
and  occasional  piano  make  for  a  lightweight  but  appeal- 
ing blend.  On  all  of  the  records  through  Run  Now,  two 
of  Keene's  former  bandmates  from  Washington,  DC's 
Razz  accompany  him  on  bass  and  drums. 

Back  Again  (Try  .  .  *  )  offers  two  cool  covers, 
recorded  live  at  the  Rat  in  Boston,  and  two  studio  orig- 
inals. Roxy  Music's  "All  I  Want  Is  You" — why  didn't 
anyone  think  of  doing  that  sooner? — and  the  Stones' 
"When  the  Whip  Comes  Down"  show  Keene's  rock- 
'n'roll abilities,  while  the  title  track  and  "Safe  in  the 
Light"  are  in  more  of  a  Tom  Petty  power  pop  vein,  and 
quite  striking  at  that.  Places  That  Are  Gone  mixes  five 
originals  with  Alex  Chilton's  "Hey!  Little  Child."  All 
of  the  memorable  melodies  are  underscored  by  strong 
vocal  harmonies,  yet  the  delivery  retains  a  gutsy,  even 
abrasive,  edge. 

Finally  signed  to  a  major  label,  Keene  hooked  up 


with  producer  Geoff  Emerick  (Badfinger,  Split  Enz, 
Nick  Heyward)  to  make  Songs  from  the  Film,  a  further 
refinement  of  his  virtues  with  occasionally  more  sub- 
stantial lyrics.  The  standout  is  a  different  version  of 
"Places  That  Are  Gone,"  but  the  new  compositions  are 
good  and  sturdy  in  their  own  right.  The  sole  non-original 
is  a  weirdly  "normal"  version  of  Lou  Reed's  "Kill 
Your  Sons." 

Run  Now  adds  another  enjoyable  chapter  to  the 
Keene  canon,  despite  the  occasional  unease  in  what  he 
says  and  the  way  that  he  says  it  ("I  Don't  Feel  Right  at 
All"  )  The  closest  to  a  dud  is  the  commercial  title  track, 
which  is  not  offensive,  just  inconsequential.  (That  num- 
ber was  produced  by  Bob  Clearmountain;  the  rest  was 
overseen  by  the  team  of  T-Bone  Burnett  and  Don  Dix- 
on.)  The  HP's  closer  is  a  good  live  version  of  "Kill 
Your  Sons." 

The  growing  tension  and  melancholy  in  Keene's  lyr- 
ics belies  the  melodic  power  and  contagiously  confident 
sound  of  Based  on  Happy  Times,  an  excellent,  over- 
cast album  that  alternately  resembles  Pleased  to  Meet 
Me-era  Replacements  and  the  darker  side  of  Let's  Ac- 
tive. Keene's  songwriting  (with  some  assistance  from 
Jules  Shear)  has  never  been  better;  the  playing  and  pro- 
duction (by  bassist  Joe  Hardy,  drummer  John  Hampton 
and  Keene)  is  spot-on,  except  for  the  strings  that  intrude 
in  several  arrangements.  Pete  Buck  guests  on  a  pair  of 
tunes,  including  the  record's  sole  stinker:  an  unpleas- 
antly bluesy  cover  of  the  Beach  Boys'  '  'Our  Car  Club.  '  ' 


KIRK  KELLY 

Go  Man  Go  (SST)  1  988  • 

Affected  enough  to  drop  his  g's  but  too  self  con- 
scious to  omit  the  resulting  apostrophes  in  his  liner 
notes,  earnest  neo-folkie  Kirk  Kelly  gives  his  Robert 
Zimmerman  fixation  (with  a  side  order,  on  "Heroes  of 
Tomorrow,"  of  Phil  Ochs)  a  full  airing  on  Go  Man  Go. 
This  solipsistic  one-man  (two,  if  you  count  producer 
Brian  Ritchie's  bass  contribution  to  one  song)  acoustic 
album  is  so  derivative  of  Bob  Dylan  (etc.)  that  maybe 
AJ.  Weberman  should  consider  rooting  through  Kelly's 
trash.  [i] 

PAUL  KELLY  AND  THE  DOTS 

Talk  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1981 
Manila  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1  982 

PAUL  KELLY 

Post  (Aus.  White  Label)  1  985 

PAUL  KELLY  &  THE 
MESSENGERS 

Gossip  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1987  (A&M)  1987  « 

Under  the  Sun  (A&M)  1988* 

So  Much  Water  So  Close  to  Home  (A&M)  1  989  • 

After  releasing  three  Australian  albums  in  the  early 
'80s,  Adelaide's  Paul  Kelly  put  together  a  quartet  called 
the  Coloured  Girls  (wisely  billed  as  the  Messengers  in 
the  US;  the  international  dichotomy  was  later  resolved 
by  dumping  the  original  moniker  entirely).  Originally  a 
24-song  double  album  back  home,  Gossip  arrived  in 
America  as  a  fifteen-track  single  disc  (the  CD  has  two 
more).  In  any  case,  the  LP  reveals  Kelly  to  be  an  ex- 


362 


pressive  if  limited  singer  and  an  extraordinary  song- 
writer, with  an  especially  keen  eye  for  lyrical  detail  and 
a  wide-ranging  catalogue  of  musical  influences  in  his 
stylistic  arsenal.  Perhaps  the  best  comparison  is  to  early 
Graham  Parker,  although  Kelly  leans  more  towards 
folk,  blues  and  some  pop  in  place  of  Parker's  preference 
for  country  and  R&B.  Gossip  has  plenty  of  local  color, 
but  the  pain  at  the  root  of  most  of  these  songs  is  uni- 
versal. 

Under  the  Sim  rocks  a  bit  harder,  though  its  pro- 
duction is  equally  lean  and  minimal.  What  stands  out 
are  the  songs,  beautifully  realized  stories  put  to  record. 
Kelly's  got  the  rare  ability  to  introduce  detailed  charac- 
ters and  substantial  scenarios  in  three  minutes.  Check 
out  "To  Her  Door,"  "Don't  Stand  So  Close  to  the 
Window"  (or,  for  that  matter,  any  track  here)  for  proof. 
(Again,  the  US  and  Australian  editions  differ.) 

Kelly  recorded  his  next  album  in  America,  working 
with  R.E.M.  producer  Scott  Litt.  So  Much  Water  So 
Close  to  Home  (the  title  comes  from  a  Raymond  Carver 
short  story  that  Kelly  condenses  into  the  album's  most 
chilling  song)  finds  the  singer/guitarist  at  his  most  sub- 
dued and  thoughtful,  although  "Sweet  Guy"  and  "No 
You"  are  two  of  his  most  vicious  rockers  yet.  It's  the 
first  album  he's  done  that's  "produced"  in  any  sense 
(he  even  allows  a  bit  of  reverb  on  some  of  his  vocals), 
and  also  his  least  Australian,  although  "Pigeon/ 
Jundamurra"  is  based  on  the  true  story  of  an  Aboriginal 
freedom  fighter.  [ds] 

KLARK  KENT 

See  Stewart  Copeland, 

JACK  KETCH  AND  THE 
CROWMEN 

See  Thee  Mighty  Caesars. 

KID  CREOLE  AND  THE 
COCONUTS 

Off  the  Coast  of  Me  (ZE)  1980 

Fresh  Fruit  in  Foreign  Places  (ZE-Sire)  1 981 

Wise  Guy  (ZE-Sire)  1982 

Tropical  Gangsters  (nr/ZE-lsland)  1982  • 

Doppelganger  (ZE-Sire)  1 983 

Cre-Ole:  The  Best  of  Kid  Creole  and  the  Coconuts 

(nr/ZE-lsland)  1984  +  1990® 

In  Praise  of  Older  Women  and  Other  Crimes  (Sire)  1 985 
I,  Too,  Have  Seen  the  Woods  (Sire)  1 987  * 
Private  Waters  in  the  Great  Divide  (Columbia)  1990  <1> 

COCONUTS 

Don't  Take  My  Coconuts  (EMI  America)  1 983 

COAT1 

The  Former  Twelve  Year  Old  Genius  (nr/Virgin)  1 983 

In  an  interview,  black  Bronxite  August  "Kid  Cre- 
ole" Darnell — writer,  singer,  producer — once  alluded 
to  not  being  able  to  play  reggae  as  well  as  Bob  Marley 
or  salsa  as  well  as  Tito  Puente,  but  possibly  being  able 
to  combine  the  two  styles  better  than  anyone  else,  Dar- 
nell's internationalist  fusion  was  one  of  the  freshest  new 
sounds  of  the  "80s,  drawing  together  strains  of  Latin, 
reggae,  calypso,  disco,  rap  and  rock  into  a  unique 


sound.  Add  to  his  vision  and  smarts  an  amiable  partner 
in  "Sugar  Coated"  Andy  Hernandez  (aka  Coati  Mun- 
di),  the  singing/dancing  Coconuts  and  a  medley  of  tal- 
ented sidepeople,  and  you  have  one  of  the  most 
formidable  bands  around. 

Off  the  Coast  of  Me  introduces  Darnell  and  com- 
pany's unusual  sound  (more  Latin-tinged  here  than  on 
later  records).  Although  the  material  isn't  strong  enough 
to  make  this  more  than  adequate,  its  uniqueness  and 
danceability,  along  with  the  Kid's  occasionally  risque* 
wordplay,  are  enough  to  suggest  the  band's  potential. 

Launching  a  conceptual  album  trilogy,  Fresh  Fruit 
in  Foreign  Places  stands  as  Kid  Creole's  tour  de  force, 
a  musical  odyssey  in  which  the  Kid  and  the  Coconuts  set 
off  from  New  York  in  search  of  the  elusive  Mimi.  The 
flavor  of  the  music  changes  with  each  stop  on  the  jour- 
ney, providing  a  perfect  setting  for  the  band  to  display 
its  mastery  of  intercontinental  bop.  Each  cut  is  an  ad- 
venture ,  and  the  album  works  as  well  as  any  rock  con- 
cept UP.  A  major  achievement. 

After  the  perfect  realization  of  Fresh  Fruit,  nearly 
anything  would  have  been  a  letdown.  Wise  Guy  (enti- 
tled Tropical  Gangsters  outside  the  US)  follows  the 
concept,  but  much  more  loosely.  The  material  is  far  less 
adventurous,  with  Fresh  Fruit's  wonderful  diversity 
toned  down  in  favor  of  a  straighter  dance  music  ap- 
proach. As  a  commercial  move  it  worked,  at  least  in 
Europe,  where  two  tracks  ("Stool  Pigeon"  and  "I'm  a 
Wonderful  Thing,  Baby'*)  became  hit  singles  and  ele- 
vated Darnell  to  stardom. 

Doppelganger  is  posited  as  the  continuation  of  "the 
saga. ' '  In  this  installment,  the  Kid  is  cloned  by  King  Nig- 
nat's  evil  scientist.  The  songs  don't  all  move  the  story 
along  in  narrative  fashion — they  sound  more  like  the  dis- 
junct score  of  a  Broadway  musical — but  that's  fine,  since 
each  stands  as  a  marvelous  example  of  Darnell's  multi- 
farious brilliance.  Mixing  '40s  be-bop  with  Carib-beat, 
reggae,  country,  funk,  salsa  and  something  like  highlife, 
the  record  sparkles  with  a  cover  of  "If  You  Wanna  Be 
Happy"  (a  1966  American  hit  for  the  Jimmy  Castor 
bunch  as  "Hey  Leroy")  as  well  as  such  original  frolics 
as  "The  Lifeboat  Party"  and  "Bongo  Eddie's  Lament." 
Sung  partially  in  Spanish,  "Survivors"  laments  the 
death  of  rockers  from  Frankie  Lymon  to  Sid  Vicious. 

In  Praise  of  Older  Women,  while  less  spectacular, 
is  still  another  (ca)rousing  success,  a  collection  of  wit- 
tily written,  sublimely  arranged,  energetically  per- 
formed songs.  "Endicott"  (cleverly  verbose), 
"Caroline  Was  a  Drop-Out"  (a  nasty  character  study), 
"Particury  Int'rested"  (exaggerated,  showy  torch 
song) — to  name  but  three — all  reflect  the  Kid's  wonder- 
ful attitude  and  outlook.  With  Coati  Mundi  and  the  Co- 
conuts, plus  a  stageful  of  sidemen,  King  ("self- 
appointed  in  Feb.  this  year")  Creole  demonstrates  his 
stylistic  transcendence  by  making  every  track  different 
but  identifiable;  no  longer  a  mere  genre  dabbler,  he's 
developed  the  Kid  Creole  format. 

On  I,  Too,  Have  Seen  the  Woods,  Darnell  seems  to 
be  treading  water  a  bit  within  that  format.  Although  he 
introduces  female  singer  Haitia  Fuller  to  share  lead  vo- 
cals with  him,  her  overall  impact  is  fairly  negligible.  As 
always,  there  are  some  very  good  tunes  (especially 
"Dancin*  at  the  Bains  Douches"  and  "Call  It  a  Day"); 
Darnell's  words  are  typically  clever  and  insightful.  On 
the  whole,  though,  the  music  seems  less  innovative, 


363 


succumbing  to  repetition  of  previously  charted  lands. 
(Hernandez's  "El  Hijo"  is  a  near  carbon-copy  of  his 
1980  dance  hit  "Me  No  Pop  I.")  Good,  but  hardly 
top-notch. 

Showing  tons  more  imagination  and  inspiration, 
Darnell  bounced  back  to  fall  artistic  strength  with  the 
marvelously  entertaining  Private  Waters  in  the  Great 
Divide,  a  diverse  party  of  singular  wit  and  intelligence. 
While  the  lyrics  of  songs  like  "(No  More)  Casual  Sex" 
and  "He's  Takin'  the  Rap"  demonstrate  an  awareness 
of  changing  times,  the  music  still  comes  in  time- warped 
from  a  tropical  dance-happy  era  somewhere  around 
1940;  the  only  track  that  even  acknowledges  rap  bends 
it  ail  out  of  shape.  (How  many  other  hip  dance  records 
released  in  1990  can  claim  such  stylistic  nonconfor- 
mity?) There  is  a  reggae-styled  love  song,  however,  a 
surf-pop  harmony  exhibition  and  "Lambada,"  the  in- 
tent and  irony  of  which  is  unclear.  Mundi  is  only  a 
minor  player  here  (Darnell  acknowledges  his  departure 
in  the  self-referential  "Funky  Audrey  and  the  Coconut 
Rag,"  which  Hernandez  co-wrote),  but  the  Coconuts 
are  in  full  effect,  providing  a  campy  foil  in  such  fizzy 
delights  as  "Laughing  with  Our  Backs  Against  the 
Wall"  and  "Funky  Audrey."  Not  a  bad  banana  in  this 
bunch. 

The  UK-only  Cre-Oie  compilation  includes  all  the 
band's  1981-'83  British  hits  (and  then  some),  with  such 
classic  Darnellisms  as  "Stool  Pigeon,"  "I'm  a  Won- 
derful Thing,  Baby"  and  "Annie,  I'm  Not  Your 
Daddy,"  as  well  as  "Me  No  Pop  I." 

The  Coconuts'  solo  album,  produced  by  Darnell  to 
resemble  a  stage  revue  (complete  with  crowd  sounds 
and  stage  introductions),  is  rife  with  innuendo  and  ap- 
parent internecine  squabbling.  Despite  the  billing,  Dar- 
nell sings  the  introductory  title  track  without  the  three 
ladies;  the  inclusion  of  "If  I  Only  Had  a  Brain"  (from 
Wizard  ofOz)  might  be  someone's  idea  of  an  editorial 
comment.  Otherwise,  it's  a  typically  rich,  clever  dance- 
funk-Carib-salsa-tango  stew,  and  the  Coconuts'  smooth 
harmony  vocals  are  as  appealing  as  ever. 

Coati  Mundi  has  done  some  odd  musical  projects  in 
his  time  (including  a  production  job  for  Germany's  Pal- 
ais Schaumburg!),  and  the  singing  vibraphone/keyboard 
player's  solo  album  is  no  less  idiosyncratic  in  lyrical 
outlook.  In  addition  to  the  clever  title  reference  to  Stevie 
Wonder,  the  irrepressibly  funny  Hernandez  also  paro- 
dies "Grand  Master  Flush  and  the  Fluffy  Five"  and 
"Kurtis  Bluff"  on  the  rap  jape  "Everybody's  on  an  Ego 
Trip."  While  the  album  cleverly— and  occasionally 
buoyantly — mixes  soul,  salsa  and  disco,  it  also  suffers 
from  Hernandez's  simply  trying  too  hard.  [ds/i/jy] 

KID  FROST 

Hispanic  Causing  Panic  (Virgin)  1 990  « 

The  Chicano  hip-hop  translation  by  Kid  Frost  (Ar- 
turo  Molina  Jr.)  involves  more  than  dropping  Spanish. 
Although  some  of  the  tracks  on  Hispanic  Causing 
Panic  are  nearly  generic,  the  LA  rapper  brings  his 
own  positive  cultural  identity  to  such  outstanding 
tracks  as  "La  Raza,"  "Hold  Your  Own,"  "In  the 
City"  and  "Homicide."  Using  a  perilous  bass-heavy 
sound  and  sparing  percussion  accents  (with  such  added 
ingredients  as  sax,  metal  guitar  and  harmonica),  Kid 


Frost  cuts  a  distinctive  figure,  making  Hispanic  not 
just  a  fine  album,  but  a  significant  cultural  develop- 
ment. M 

KID  'N  PLAY 

2  Hype  (Select)  1988* 

Kid  'n  Pla/s  Funhouse  (Select)  1990  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

House  Party  Soundtrack  (Motown)  1 990  • 

Along  with  DJ  Jazzy  Jeff  and  the  Fresh  Prince,  New 
York's  Kid  'n  Flay  are  among  the  best  of  the  lite  rap- 
pers, middle-class  performers  whose  pursuit  of  pop  star- 
dom' doesn't  preclude  exciting  grooves.  Christopher 
Reid  (Kid) — he  of  the  towering  fade — and  Christopher 
Martin  (Play)  concentrate  on  shameless  self-promotion, 
but  brag  with  such  frisky  good  humor  that  it's  hard  to 
object.  And  the  quick  interplay  of  these  two  wise  guys 
simulates  a  live  feel  missing  from  much  contemporary 
rap.  2  Hype  features  the  snappy  "Rollin'  with  Kid  'n 
Play"  and  "Undercover,"  a  cheatin'  morality  tale 
guest-starring  the  Real  Roxanne.  Funhouse  has  the  ex- 
plosive "Energy,"  perhaps  the  guys'  best  yet,  and  the 
title  track,  also  spotlighted  in  then-  delightful  feature 
film  House  Party.  The  soundtrack  includes  boss  tracks 
by  Public  Enemy  ("Can't  Do  Nuttin'  for  Ya  Man"), 
L.L.  Cool  J,  Full  Force  and  other  fine  folks.  [jy] 

STEVE  K1LBEY 

See  Church,  Hex. 

K1LBURN  AND  THE  HIGH 
ROADS 

Handsome  (nr/Dawn)  1975  (nr/Pye)  1977  (nr/Sequel) 

1990* 

Wotabunchl  (nr/Warner  Bros.)  1 978 
Upminster  Kids  (nr/PRT)  1 983 

Although  new  wave  was  still  two  years  away,  the 
London  music  scene  of  1975  wasn't  all  Queen  and  the 
Rolling  Stones;  pub-rock  bands  were  making  fresh  and 
exciting  music,  laying  the  groundwork  for  more  radical 
outfits  to  follow.  Some  included  musicians  whose  skills 
came  in  very  handy  when  the  dam  broke  in  1977; 
Kilburn  and  the  High  Roads,  named  after  a  highway 
sign,  included  Ian  Dury,  saxman  Davey  Payne  (a  future 
Blockhead)  and  Keith  Lucas,  who  changed  Ms  name  to 
Nick  Cash  and  helped  found  the  group  999.  During  a 
commercially  frustrating  career  that  lasted  from  1970  to 
1976,  the  Kilbums  were  cult-popular  and  influential. 
Their  records  serve  as  neat  reminders  of  a  wonderful 
band. 

An  album  cut  in  1974  was  shelved  due  to  record 
company  politics;  the  band's  debut  was  in  fact  their 
second  recording.  (That  first  LP,  Wotabunch!,  was 
dredged  up  and  finally  released  once  Duty's  solo  career 
took  off,)  The  subsequently  recorded  Handsome  con- 
tains much  of  the  same  material  (co-written  by  Dury 
with  pianist  Russell  Hardy)  that  the  group  had  used  the 
first  time.  Got  that? 

Handsome  is  musically  low-key,  featuring  Dury's 
clever  Cockney  wordplay  and  a  bit  of  high-powered 
blowing  from  Payne,  but  it  leans  overly  towards  under- 


364 


statement,  touching  on  rockin'  '50s  styles  and  dapper 
'40s  lounge  subtlety  to  make  it  a  generally  debonair 
record  not  above  some  raving.  Upmiitster  Kids  is  a 
reissue  of  Handsome  with  several  tracks  deleted,  [i] 
See  also  Ian  Dury,  999. 

CATS 

Hands  Down  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1 986 
Hammer  EP  (Texas  Hotel)  1 988 

The  ascendancy  of  R.E.M.  created  a  major  band 
boom  in  Athens,  Georgia,  but  some  of  the  resulting 
combos  would  have  been  best  left  within  the  privacy  of 
the  members'  imaginations.  Kilkenny  Cats,  for  exam- 
ple, put  their  R.E.M.  influences  to  good  use  on  the 
A-side  of  a  1984  single,  "Attractive  Figure/*  where 
singer  Tom  Cheek's  highly  derivative  mumbling  was 
interspersed  with  a  buzzy  guitar  melody.  Hands  Down 
attempted  to  incorporate  a  metal  feel,  but  the  quintet's 
two  guitars  are  about  as  thick  as  paper;  the  bigger  prob- 
lem is  that  Cheek  seems  to  be  laboring  under  the  art- 
hippie  assumption  that  a  bunch  of  unconnected  images 
strung  together  makes  a  song.  Even  the  album's  prettiest 
moment,  "Morning  Song,"  is  simply  R.E.M, 's  "Gar- 
dening at  Night"  twelve  hours  later.  The  six-song 
Hammer  EP,  performed  by  a  one-guitarist  quartet,  is 
marginally  less  tedious.  [kss] 

KILLDOZER 

Intellectuals  Are  the  Shoeshine  Boys  of  the  Ruling  Elite 

(Bone  Air)  1 984  (Bone  Air-Touch  and  Go)  1 989  « 
Snakeboy  (Touch  and  Go)  1 985  • 
Burl  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1986 
Little  Baby  Buntin'  (Touch  and  Go)  1987  • 
1 2  Point  Buck  (Touch  and  Go)  1 988  » 
For  Ladies  Only  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989  +  1 990  • 

This  Madison,  Wisconsin  trio  would  have  you  be- 
lieve that  they're  truly  moonshine-swilling,  small 
mammal-torturing  dudes  who  do  a  whole  lot  more  than 
just  kiss  their  cousins — and  they  back  it  up  with  one  of 
the  most  twisted  (not  to  mention  influential)  sounds 
since  the  days  of  field  recording.  Imagine  the  most  prim- 
itive country  blues  you've  heard  impaled  on  shards  of 
Birthday  Party  distortion.  Sure,  they're  hicks  from  the 
wrong  side  of  the  tracks — in  one  of  the  few  American 
burgs  to  have  fallen  under  Socialist  rule  this  half- 
century.  The  resultant  (uneasy)  mix  of  brawn  and  brains 
makes  Killdozer  as  likely  to  quote  Ed  Gein  as  Voltaire — 
and  do  both  with  a  smirk, 

Intellectuals  owes  quite  a  bit  to  the  shadowy  swamp 
tales  of  Creedence  Clearwater  Revival  (more  than  just 
the  cover  of  "Run  Through  the  Jungle");  singer/bassist 
Michael  Gerald's  spookily  incisive,  virulent  invective  is 
riveting.  When  he's  picking  at  his  own  psychic  scabs 
(as  on  "A  Man's  Gotta  Be  a  Man  to  Be  a  Man"),  it's 
hard  not  to  shudder  with  empathy.  When  he's  tugging  at 
someone  else's,  though,  the  desire  to  slap  him  is  over- 
whelming. Fortunately,  the  former  situation  prevails  by 
a  large  measure.  Key  line:  "If  there's  one  thing  in  this 
world  I  cannot  understand,  it's  that  there's  so  many 
things  I  cannot  understand." 

Snakeboy  all  but  bursts  with  those  things.  In  an 
abdomen-emptying  growl  midway  between  Howlin* 


Wolf  and  Leonard  Cohen,  Gerald  bellows  tense  mono- 
logues from  radically  diverse  points  of  view;  children 
being  torn  away  from  dead  mothers  give  way  to  swag- 
gering sex  prowlers  (like  the,  er,  protagonist  or  **King 
of  Sex").  The  album's  crawling  trek  through  the  lives 
of  folks  who  could  never  have  been  contenders  (and 
know  it)  is  reminiscent  of  prime  Cave,  but  the  everpre- 
sent  danger  of  seeming  overwrought  is  neatly  avoided 
by  secreting  a  laugh — in  this  case  a  parodic  version  of 
Neil  Young's  "Cinnamon  Girl" — in  some  dark  corner. 
On  Burl,  which  is  otherwise  loaded  with  electro-shock 
folk  songs  all  about  murder,  deception  and  plagues  in 
the  best  pre- Woody  Guthrie  tradition,  the  gut-buster  is, 
coincidentally,  again  a  cover  (Jessi  Colter's  'Tm  Not 
Lisa"). 

Little  Baby  Bimtin*  (which  might  as  well  be  sub- 
titled More  Songs  About  Building  Collapses  and  Cas- 
tration) travels  much  the  same  terrain,  only  at  much 
slower  speed.  That's  a  plus,  because  Killdozer  is  more 
effective  when  lumbering  along  slowly  enough  to  make 
novices  check  the  power  supply.  With  Bill  Hobson's 
fractured  guitar  barrages  bisecting  Gerald's  fat, 
anaconda-like  basslines,  12  Point  Buck  is  the  best 
sounding  Killdozer  record.  The  shtick,  however,  has 
seen  better  days. 

Issued  as  a  boxed  set  of  singles  before  being  rein- 
carnated as  an  LP,  For  Ladles  Only  collects  Killdozer's 
agribusiness/performance-art  interpretations  of  a  passel 
of  Have  a  Nice  Bay-quality  (if  not  exactly  era)  Top  40 
hits  (including  " American  Pie*'  and  "Hush")  in  much 
the  same  way  a  thoughtless  child  would  collect 
butterflies — swooping  down  and  pinning  their  flapping 
wings,  allowing  the  hapless  victims  to  tear  themselves 
apart.  Versions  of  "Funk  #49"  (James  Gang),  "Good 
Lovin'  Gone  Bad"  (Bad  Company)  and  even  '*One  Tin 
Soldier"  (from  Billy  Jack}  are  neither  pisstakes  nor 
homages;  these  guys  don't  hate  or  love  the  songs,  they 
simply  act  as  though  they'd  written  'em.  Intellectuals 
and  Snakeboy  are  packaged  on  one  CD;  Buntin'  and  12 
Point  Buck  are  on  another.  [dss] 

KILLDOZER  85 

See  Sharky's  Machine. 

KILLING  JOKE 

Almost  Red  EP  (nr/Malicious  Damage)  1 979  (or/Island) 

1981  (EG)1990« 
Killing  Joke  (EG)  1980* 
what's  THIS  for ...  I  (EG)  1 981  • 
Revelations  (Malicious  Damage-EG)  1 982  • 
Birds  of  a  Feather  EP  (Malicious  Damage-EG)  1 982 
"Ha"  EP  (Malicious  Damage-EG)  1982 
Fire  Dances  (EG)  1 983  « 
Night  Time  (EG)  1985* 

Brighter  Than  a  Thousand  Suns  (EG-Virgin)  1 986  • 
Outside  the  Gate  (EG)  1 988  • 
The  Courtald  Talks  (Invisible)  1 989 
An  Incomplete  Collection  (EG)  1990  « 
Extremities,  Dirt  &  Various  Repressed  Emotions  (Noise 

lnf*l-RCA)1990« 

London's  Killing  Joke  are  practitioners  of  intellec- 
tual dance-thrash-rock  with  a  penchant  for  apocalypse. 


365 


Originally  something  like  Birthday  Party  but  more  re- 
strained and  rhythmic,  singer/keyboardist  Jaz  Coleman, 
bassist  Youth  (Martin  Glover),  guitarist  Geordie  and 
drummer  Paul  Ferguson  launched  the  tumultuous  group 
on  its  voyage  through  intense,  angry  records  of  striking 
strength  and  fringe  weirdness. 

Killing  Joke  is  an  imaginative  interface  between 
heavy  metal  and  new  wave.  With  a  few  synthesizer 
incursions,  the  music  fields  a  basic  guitar/bass/drums 
attack,  filtered  through  distortion  and  tone  modulation. 
Pounding  and  pulsating  at  breakneck  speed  with  occa- 
sional funk  or  reggae  overtones,  the  songs  ("War- 
dance,"  "Tomorrow's  World,"  "Bloodsport")  are 
coldly  compelling  doomsday  anthems. 

what's  THIS  for  .  .  . !  brings  funk  to  ambient  mu- 
sic, implying  feeling  sublimated  in  a  chaotic  world.  The 
retreat  from  empathy  and  communication  doesn't  pre- 
vent inventive  guitar  work  that  hides  steady,  rhythmic 
alterations  against  repetitious,  thumping  drums — the 
postmodern  dance.  (The  first  two  albums  were  later 
paired  on  a  double-play  cassette. ) 

Revelations  returns  to  the  brutal  stride  of  Killing 
Joke,  racing  atonally  towards  total  collapse,  social  and 
otherwise.  Conny  Plank's  co-production  hinders  the 
sound,  trying  to  normalize  the  enchanting  wrongness  of 
the  group.  Perhaps  expecting  the  end  of  the  world,  Cole- 
man and  Geordie  vanished  to  Iceland  before  the  album 
was  released  and  worked  with  bands  there,  notably 
Theyr. 

Birds  of  a  Feather,  the  first  release  after  the  band's 
traumatic  reorganization,  showcases  a  more  accessible 
Killing  Joke,  less  shrill  and  more  tuneful,  yet  retaining 
all  of  the  manic  depression.  The  10-inch  "Ha"  was 
recorded  live  in  Toronto,  proving  that  this  is  a  trend,  not 
a  fluke.  Both  boast  excellent  production  by  Plank  and 
the  band.  (A  cassette  joining  "Ha"  and  Fire  Dances 
was  later  issued.) 

Fire  Dances  continues  in  this  manner,  but  with  fur- 
ther sonic  refinement.  "Rejuvenation,"  "Frenzy"  and 
"Feast  of  Blaze"  all  rank  with  Killing  Joke's  very  best; 
Fire  Dances  is  a  frighteningly  solid  album.  After  a  sab- 
batical of  nearly  two  years,  Night  Tune  was  released  in 
1985.  Still  concentrating  on  sharpening  their  overbear- 
ing presence  by  incorporating  some  space  amidst  the 
fury,  it  contains  "Love  Like  Blood,"  their  catchiest 
number  (and  biggest  UK  hit  single)  yet. 

Following  another  two-year  layoff,  Killing  Joke  re- 
turned in  1987  with  Brighter  Than  a  Thousand 
Suns,  toning  down  the  trademark  guitar  thunder  in  fa- 
vor of  synths,  a  big  dancefloor  beat  and  more  of  the 
melodicism  explored  on  "Love  Like  Blood."  Fans  of 
the  easy  nihilism  of  their  earlier  efforts  will  have  to  be, 
patient  and  attentive  for  this  one.  "Sanity"  is  a  great 
single;  several  other  cuts  are  just  as  good.  Although 
more  palatable  than  ever,  the  album  still  packs  too 
much  of  a  wallop  to  warrant  any  real  sell-out  accusa- 
tions. 

The  same  cannot  be  said  for  the  abominable  Outside 
the  Gate,  an  obvious  attempt  at  slick  commerciality  and 
the  Joke's  only  disposable  joke.  Gaudy  keyboard  ar- 
rangements swamp  the  atypically  anemic  guitar,  energy 
is  non-existent  and  Coleman' s  lyrical  frothings  on  bom- 
bast like  "America"  seem  forced.  The  band  wisely 
broke  up. 

When  Killing  Joke  reformed  over  a  year  later,  there 


was  renewed  resolve  to  recapture  the  old  formula.  New 
drummer  Martin  Atkins  (PiL/Brian  Brain/Ministry)  pro- 
vided a  visceral  shot  in  the  arm,  and  a  1989  US  tour 
proved  they  could  still  write  and  play  new  songs  as 
arresting  and  aggressive  as  the  early  classics. 

Released  on  Atkins'  label,  The  Courtald  Talks  is  a 
lecture  given  by  Jaz  and  Geordie,  a  spoken-word  aside 
while  the  next  studio  album  was  gestating.. Bassist  Paul 
Raven,  who'd  replaced  Youth  after  Revelations,  re- 
joined just  hi  time  for  Extremities,  Dirt  &  Various 
Repressed  Emotions,  a  whopper  of  a  comeback.  Easily 
one  of  Killing  Joke's  finest  LPs,  it  has  all  the  intoxicat- 
ing intensity  and  righteous  fury  absent  from  Outside  the 
Gate,  mated  with  a  modem,  Ministry-like  feel.  The 
throbbing  juggernaut  "Money  Is  Not  Our  God"  and 
scalding  pound  of  "The  Beautiful  Dead"  are  only  the 
tip  of  a  tightly  composed  musical  iceberg,  primed  by 
Atkins'  powerful  dram  work  and  Geordie' s  scorchingly 
obtuse  chording. 

An  Incomplete  Collection  is  a  boxed  set  of  Killing 
Joke,  what's  THIS  for  ...  !,  Revelations,  Fire 
Dances  and  Night  Time.  [sg/dgs/gef] 

See  also  Youth  &  Ben  Watkins. 


KING 

Steps  in  Time  (Epic)  1 984 
Bitter  Sweet  (Epic)  1 985  • 
The  1 2"  Tape  [tape]  (nr/CBS)  1 986 

PAUL  KING 

Joy  (Epic)  1987* 

From  the  ashes  of  promising  rock-ska  band  the  Re- 
luctant Stereotypes,  Coventry  singer  Paul  King  decided 
to  go  for  the  gold  ring  with  a  crass  chart-geared  quartet 
he  thoughtfully  named  after  himself.  Launched  in  1983, 
the  colorfully  uniformed  King  (the  group)  served  a  nox- 
ious, unmelodic  pseudo-funk  concoction  that  got  an  in- 
explicably favorable  response:  "Love  &  Pride"  and 
"Won't  You  Hold  My  Hand  Now"  became  hits.  Pro- 
duced (and  drummed  on)  by  Richard  James  Burgess, 
Steps  in  Time  is  filled  with  alarmingly  stupid  lyrics, 
fickle  stylistic  dabbling,  arena-rock  attributes  and  art- 
school  pretensions.  Awful. 

Bitter  Sweet  is  precisely  more  of  the  same.  (In  fact, 
the  American  edition  includes  "Won't  You  Hold  My 
Hand  Now"  for  the  second  time!)  Ex-Member  Adrian 
Lilly  white  plays  the  drums,  resulting  in  some  improve- 
ment in  that  area,  but  King  (the  singer) 's  overbearing, 
tuneless  vocals  still  dominate  the  band's  unpleasant 
sound.  The  best  thing  about  this  LP  is  its  lyric  sheet, 
which  offers  no  end  of  unintended  giggles.  (The  1986 
cassette  EP  collects  the  12-inch  mixes  of  King's  five 
best-known  singles.) 

King's  solo  career  began  with  Joy,  an  all-American 
mock- white-soul  album  masterminded  by  one  of  the  ac- 
knowledged titans  of  that  dubious  genre,  Dan  Hartman. 
Dispensing  with  glam-pop  gimmickry,  Hartman  pro- 
duced the  record  with  commercial  savvy,  giving  prom- 
inent roles  to  the  Uptown  Horns  and  session  singers. 
King  wisely  curbs  his  past  excesses  and  gets  by  on  what 
he  has:  a  mediocre  but  well-controlled  sub-Paul  Young 
voice.  The  songs  are  nothing,  but  at  least  they're  not 
annoying.  [i] 

See  also  Reluctant  Stereotypes. 


366 


DEE  DEE  KING 

See  Ramones. 

KING  BLANK 

See  Folk  Devils. 

KING  CRIMSON 

Discipline  (Warner  Bros.)  1 981  • 

Beat  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982  • 

Three  of  a  Perfect  Pair  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984  ® 

The  Compact  King  Crimson  (EG)  1 987  © 

Centered  around  guitarist  extraordinaire  Robert 
Fripp,  King  Crimson  was  a  seminal  band  of  our  time. 
Formed  originaliy  in  1969,  the  band  had,  from  the  out- 
set, pivotal  influence  on  both  heavy  metal  and  art-rock. 
The  ever-principled  Fripp  refused  to  let  Crimson  be- 
come a  dinosaur  and  broke  up  the  band  in  1974,  retreat- 
ing from  the  tour-album-tour  grind  to  do  solo  and 
session  work  as  a  self-styled  "mobile  compact  unit." 
One  of  his  endeavors,  the  dance-rock  oriented  League 
of  Gentlemen,  spurred  Fripp  to  reincarnate  King  Crim- 
son at  the  start  of  the  1980s.  Consisting  of  guitarist/ 
vocalist  Adrian  Belew,  Chapman  Stick/bassist  Tony 
Levin  and  drummer  Bill  Bruford  (the  only  pre-split  vet 
other  than  Fripp),  the  current  (at  least  recent)  Crimson 
is  a  cutting-edge  patchwork  of  modern  influences:  dance 
music,  art-rock,  mysticism,  minimalism. 

Discipline  introduces  the  new  cast  of  characters  and 
displays  their  attempt  at  cerebral  dance  rock;  Fripp  is  at 
least  as  interested  in  touching  the  mind  as  the  heart.  Not 
really  songs,  these  pieces  are  unfolding  musical  sculp- 
tures, played  with  precision  and  rare  imagination,  a 
mostly  successful  synthesis  of  ambition,  simplicity  and 
Kraftwerkian  clarity. 

Beat  achieves  Fripp 's  long-sought  union  of  mind, 
soul  and  body,  centering  around  the  anniversary  of  Jack 
Kerouac's  On  the  Road.  An  ode  to  the  beat  generation, 
the  album  elucidates  Crimson's  past  and  purpose,  meld- 
ing Frippertronic  tape  techniques  in  equal  partnership 
with  Belew 's  manic  physicality.  Picking  up  foreign 
rhythms  and  electronic  overdubs,  the  players  push  their 
instruments  into  a  new  form,  akin  to  fusion  and  art-rock, 
but  miles  beyond  either,  and  beyond  description  as  well. 

Three  of  a  Perfect  Pair  is  the  most  disjunct  album 
in  recent  memory,  from  a  band  that  prided  itself  on 
carefully  matched  contradictions.  The  Left  Side  sports 
four  of  Adrian  Belew 's  poorer  songs  and  a  self- 
derivative  instrumental;  the  flip  is  nearly  all- 
instrumental,  nearly  free-form,  nearly  brilliant.  As  a 
bonus,  the  LP  ends  with  * 'Larks'  Tongues  in  Aspic  Part 
III,"  the  last  in  a  distinguished  series  of  rhythmically 
skewed  tours  de  force.  Apparently  the  Frippressive 
"discipline"  that  forged  the  critically  acclaimed  pop/art 
synthesis  of  the  first  two  latter-day  Crimson  albums  is 
not  a  permanent  condition. 

The  Compact  King  Crimson  mixes  tracks  by  the 
group's  final  incarnation  and  items  from  the  original 
band's  earliest  albums.  [sg/mf] 

See  also  Adrian  Belew,  Robert  Fripp,  Fripp  &  Eno. 

KING  KURT 

Ooh  Wallah  Wallah  (nr/Stiff)  1 983 
Road  to  Rack  &  Ruin  (Ralph)  1 985 


Second  Album  (nr/Stiff)  1986 
Last  Will  and  Testicle  (GWR-Restless)  1988 
Live  and  Rockin'  (nr/Ltnk)  1989 
Destination  Demoland  (nr/Link)  1 990 

This  bunch  of  British  goofballs  (originally  known  as 
Rockin'  Kurt  and  the  Sour  Krauts)  picks  up  where  nov- 
elty songs  like  "Stranded  in  the  Jungle"  and  "Alley 
Oop"  left  off.  They  mix  big-band  R&B-flavored  rock- 
abilly with  a  crazed,  comic  book  mentality  and  lots  of 
drums.  Dave  Edmunds  produced  the  boisterous  debut 
LP,  which  raucously  proffers  such  non-classics  as  "Bo 
Diddley  Goes  East"  and  "Destination  Zulu  Land."  A 
bit  too  formulaic  for  mega-fun,  but  a  good  smirky  laugh 
nonetheless. 

KK's  Second  Album,  known  semi-officially  as  Big 
Cock  (thanks  to  the  monstrous  rooster  on  the  cover),  is 
great,  a  wildly  out-of-control  ride  through  a  half-dozen 
areas  of  iighthearted  rock'n'roll  tun.  Side  One  kicks  off 
with  an  energetic,  distinguished  version  of  Eddie  Coch- 
ran's  "Nervous  Breakdown"  and  ends  with  an  uncred- 
ited  voice  that  sounds  suspiciously  like  Nigel  Planer 
(Neil  of  The  Young  Ones}  lost  in  a  jazzy  novelty  number 
called  "Billy."  "Horatio"  recalls  the  inimitable  Ten- 
pole  Tudor;  "Pumpm'  Pistons"  leers  like  a  drunk  in  a 
strip  joint;  the  horrific  thought  of  there  being  a  '  'Momma 
Kurt"  is  enough  to  power  this  greasy  R&B  number 
along.  (The  disc  was  released  in  both  black  and  red 
vinyl;  the  tape  has  two  extra  tunes.) 

Road  to  Rack  &  Ruin  is  an  American  mini-album 
culled  from  tracks  on  the  first  LP  plus  a  couple  that 
wound  up  on  the  second;  Live  and  Rockin'  is  a  concert 
document  from  Japan.  [i] 

KING  MISSILE  (DOG  FLY 
RELIGION) 

Fluting  on  the  Hump  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 987  • 
They  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 988  « 

KING  MISSILE 

Mystical  Shit  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990  • 
The  Way  to  Salvation  (Atlantic)  1 991  4> 

DOGBOWL 

Tit!  (An  Opera)  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 989 

Cyclops  Nuclear  Submarine  Captain  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 991 

JOHN  S.  HALL  &  KRAMER 

Real  Men  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 991  • 

Underappreciated  and  understated  metaphysical 
comedy  music  comes  in  strange  forms.  This  is  one  of 
them.  With  words  by  singer  John  S.  Hall  and  music  by 
guitarist  Dogbowl,  beefed  up  by  Kramer's  production 
and  auxiliary  musicianship,  New  York's  King  Missile 
(Dog  Fly  Religion)  produced  two  uneven  yet  insinuat- 
ing records  of  bellicose  nubbins  concerning  the  secret 
guilts  and  torments  of  modern  lowlife  scum.  On  the 
original  band's  two  albums,  Hall's  black  humor  meshes 
nicely  with  Dogbowl's  more  romantic  inclinations; 
when  the  latter  departed,  he  took  the  parenthetical  por- 
tion of  the  moniker  with  him.  (Both  LPs  are  contained 
on  a  single  cassette;  the  They  CD  adds  two  bonus  tracks 
to  the  basic  20-song  menu.) 

Post-partum,  Dogbowl  cranked  out  Tit!  (An  Op- 
era), an  ambitiously  skanky  (although  decidedly  non- 
operatic)  collection  of  scratchy,  wistful  love  ditties  that 
ooze  by  on  a  tide  of  guitar,  cello,  organ  and  Hawaiian 


367 


lap  steel.  Kramer  produced  and  performs  on  Tit!,  but 
not  on  Mystical  SMt,  where  Hall  steps  to  the  fore, 
joined  by  frequent  Bongwater  guitarist  Dave  Rick  and 
When  People  Were  Shorter  multi-instrumentalist  Chris 
Xefos.  The  revamped  King  Missile  sounds  more  fo- 
cused than  before,  with  the  humor  coming  off  as  con- 
ceptual rather  than  jokey.  And  Hall  has  a  new-found 
penchant  for  monologuish  material  such  as  "Gary  & 
Melissa"  (detailing  a  couple's  sexual  explorations)  and 
"Jesus  Was  Way  Cool."  (The  Tit!  cassette  contains 
seven  bonus  tracks;  the  Mystical  Shit  CD  contains 
Fluting  on  the  Hump.)  [rg] 

KING  SNAKE  ROOST 

From  Barbarism  to  Christian  Manhood  (Aus.  Aberrant) 
1987  (Aberrant-Amphetamine  Reptile)  1989 

Things  That  Play  Themselves  {Aus.  Aberrant)  1 988 
(Aberrant-Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 989 

Ground  into  the  Dirt  (Aberrant-Amphetamine  Reptile) 
1990* 

GRONG  GRONG 

Grong  Grong  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 985 

Delta  blues,  as  interpreted  by  disaffected  urban 
bookworms,  has  to  be  post-punk's  most  over-explored, 
under-realized  vein.  Partly  because  they  harbor  no  fan- 
tasies about  bein'  down  in  the  swamp,  moonshine  bottle 
in  hand,  and  partly  because  they  go  after  riffs  like  a  pit 
bull  after  a  mailman,  Sydney,  Australia's  King  Snake 
Roost  waste  no  time  in  making  believers  out  of  casual 
listeners. 

On  the  1987  debut,  the  fat,  wriggling  basslines  of 
Michael  Raymond  (since  departed)  are  impaled  on  rusty 
skeins  of  Charles  Tolnay's  thug-jazz  guitar.  A  feverish 
disc  indeed.  The  follow-up  leans  more  towards  the  mod- 
ern world,  with  nods  to  pre-Modem  Dance  Ubu  (in  the 
bleating  "Fried")  and  a  long-overdue  tribute  to  the  Leg- 
endary Stardust  Cowboy  ("The  Ledge  Does  Vegas"). 
About  the  only  misstep  was  not  corrallin*  the  Ledge  for 
a  guest  shot. 

Recorded  Stateside  with  dairyland  production  leg- 
end Butch  Vig,  Ground  into  the  Dirt  proffers  a  sound 
at  once  burlier  and  more  graceful,  not  unlike  Killdozer 
fused  with  Funkadelic.  Even  with  all  four  members  shar- 
ing writing  chores,  there's  a  frightening  degree  of  sin- 
gleminded  aberrance — from  singer  Peter  Hill's  bizarro 
haikus  ("I  Am  Hog"  in  its  entirety:  "Call  me  hog.  I  am 
hog.  Curly  tail.  I  am  hog.")  to  bassist  David  Quinn's 
malevolent,  Burroughs-like  cut-ups  ('Travel  Was  a 
Meat  Thing")  Start  here  and  work  backwards. 

Tolnay  previously  led  Grong  Grong,  where  his  fine 
abstract-expressionist  guitar  mist  was  subordinate  to  a 
series  of  overly  pious  Birthday  Party  eulogies  like  "Poor 
Herb"  and  "Louise  the  Fly."  Too  bad.  [dss] 

KINGS  OF  WYOMING 

Kings  of  Wyoming  (Community  3}  1 989 

Comely  if  amateurish,  this  New  York  trio  led  by 
Community  3  prexy/producer  Albert  Garzon  (guitar,  pi- 
ano, vocals,  production)  plays  gentle  folk-pop  that  goes 
one  for  eight  on  the  group's  brief  album.  Singing  lead 
(with  Garzon's  harmonies  adding  a  warm  undercurrent) 
on  "Janelle,"  bassist  Cathy  Crane's  pretty  high  voice 
focuses  the  rudimentary  arrangement  and  covers  the  un- 


exceptional playing.  The  remaining  tracks,  however, 
suffer  to  varying  degrees  from  her  uncertain  pitch  and/or 
Garzon's  plain  voice.  [i] 

KING  SWAMP 

King  Swamp  (nr/Virgin)  1988  (Virgin)  1989  ® 
Wiseblood  (Virgin)  1990<!> 

Here's  a  sad  tale  of  promise  quickly  squandered. 
Featuring  bass-ace-turned-top-producer  Dave  Allen 
(Gang  of  Four,  Shriekback)  and  fronted  by  wailin'  Wal- 
ter Wray,  King  Swamp  debuted  with  a  brawny,  exciting 
set  of  anthemic  rockers  like  "Man  Behind  the  Gun," 
"Is  This  Love?"  and  "Year  Zero."  If  the  potential  for 
arena-rock  bombast  seems  high,  King  Swamp  is  too 
much  fun  to  worry  about  it.  By  Wiseblood,  however, 
all  of  the  worst  tendencies  in  the  band  (reduced  from  a 
quintet  to  a  trio,  still  starring  Allen)  come  to  the  fore. 
Undistinguished,  crass  material  would  be  tiring  enough, 
but  Wray  bellows  with  the  obnoxious  panache  of  Roger 
Daltrey  at  his  most  operatic.  Sad.  [jy] 

See  also  Shriekback. 

KING  TEE 

Act  a  Fool  (Capitol)  1 988  « 

At  Your  Own  Risk  (Capitol)  1 990  • 

The  detailed  playboy 's-night-out  tale,  set  over  a  pair 
of  sampled  guitar  chords  and  a  James  Brown  shout,  that 
opens  Compton  rapper  King  Tee's  first  LP  pretty  much 
pegs  the  lifestyle  to  a  (sorry)  T.  Nothing  else  on  Act  a 
Fool — which  includes  an  informal  rank  session,  "Bag- 
gin'  on  Moms,"  an  influenza  sound-effects  joke  called 
"I  Got  a  Cold"  and  a  serious  ode  to  "Guitar 
Playin'  " — comes  close,  but  producer  DJ.  Pooh  makes 
his  mark  with  tracks  that  are  effectively  spare  and  mu- 
sical. 

Tee  wastes  most  of  the  harder-sounding  At  Your 
Own  Risk  alternately  vamping  and  rambling  through 
loose,  barely  structured  rhymes  that  go  nowhere  slowly. 
(People  with  nothing  to  say  probably  shouldn't  make 
rap  records.)  When  he  finally  fixes  on  a  subject,  it's 
screwin'  his  friend's  wife  (in  "Skanless").  Besides  the 
impressive  commentary  of  "Time  to  Get  Out,"  a  seri- 
ous and  well-stated  message  to  gang  members  and  black 
youth,  the  album's  only  original  idea  is  "Diss  You,"  a 
boring  rap  that  makes  its  bed  on  the  Stones*  "Miss 
You."  ("Do  Your  Thing,"  meanwhile,  bites  "Satis- 
faction" as  an  unnamed  Valley  dude  praises  Tee  for 
"crossing  over  into  rock'n'roll,  man!")  At  your  own 
risk.  [i] 

KEVN  KINNEY 

See  Drivin'  n'  Cryin' . 

RICHARD  H.  KIRK 

See  Cabaret  Voltaire. 

KITCHENS  OF  DISTINCTION 

Elephantine  EP  (nr/One  Little  Indian)  1989  * 
Love  Is  Hell  [nr/One  Little  Indian)  1989  (One  Little 

Indian-Rough  Trade)  1 990  • 
Strange  Free  World  (One  LitHe  Indian-A&M)  1 991  <|> 


368 


On  its  first  album,  this  London  trio  plays  seriously 
dramatic,  intensely  human  music  dominated  by  Julian 
Swales'  delayed,  swirling,  lost-in-space  guitar.  It  cas- 
cades from  every  direction,  an  otherworldly  out-of-body 
experience.  While  the  material  is  first-rate  (see  "Prize" 
and  'The  3rd  Time  We  Opened  the  Capsule,"  as  well 
as  the  sparkling  *4In  a  Cave"),  it's  that  guitar — 
seemingly  five  guitars  in  one — that  probes  new  depths, 
twinkling,  glistening,  ravishing  One  doesn't  so  much 
listen  to  such  a  dreamy,  echoing,  caressing  LP  as  absorb 
it;  from  start  to  finish,  Love  Is  Hell  flows  like  syrup  on 
pancakes.  The  US  CD  and  cassette  tack  on  the  earlier 
UK  "Elephantine"  single  and  its  three  B-sides.  [jr] 


KLF 

See  Justified  Ancients  ofMu  MM. 


What  Do  You  Know,  Deutschland  (Ger.  Slcysaw)  1 986  ® 
Don't  Blow  Your  Top  (Wax  Trax!)  1 988  ® 
UAIOE  (Wax  Trax!)  1 989  ® 
Naive  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  © 

This  Hamburg  quartet  (later  a  trio)  began  by  pro- 
viding soundtracks  for  friends'  performance  art  in  Paris, 
and  their  music  has  maintained  a  certain  pan-European 
cinematic  quality  ever  since.  Often  tagged  as  an  indus- 
trial band,  KMFDM  (whose  acronym  is  most  frequently 
explained  as  Kein  Mitleid  Fur  Die  Mehrheit,  which 
translates  as  "no  pity  for  the  majority")  do  indeed  pro- 
duce dark,  throbbing  post-modern  noise.  But  they  also 
toy  with  heavy  metal,  disco  and  hip-hop — often  within 
the  same  song. 

Their  debut  album  gathers  up  early  singles  under  the 
title  of  its  strongest  track.  A  grim  dance  beat  inter- 
spersed with  samples  concerning  US  foreign  policy — 
"America  is  here  to  stay,"  the  German  audience  is 
told — the  cut  displays  KMFDM 's  political  awareness 
and  fondness  for  found  sound,  although  the  sampling 
would  ease  its  way  out  of  the  group's  music  along  with 
the  disappearance  of  its  only  British-born  member. 
Other  numbers  are  reminiscent  of  the  The  in  sheer  in- 
tensity; a  few  sparse  dance  tracks  fill  out  the  program. 

Hauling  in  Adrian  Sherwood  to  produce  most  of 
Don't  Blow  Your  Top  yielded  obvious  results:  a  sim- 
pler, slower  and  more  stripped-down  record,  verging  on 
dub  as  much  as  on  harsh  rock.  Most  of  the  relatively 
spare  tracks  push  the  synthesized  rhythms  right  up  front, 
adding  electronic  accents,  occasional  vocals  and  found- 
sound  ephemera  almost  as  afterthoughts.  With  the 
arched  eyebrow  of  dubious  tourists  visiting  America  for 
the  first  time,  "What  a  Race"  satirically  samples  sports 
commentators;  the  frequent  use  of  TV  bites  preserves 
the  same  sense  of  cultural  bewilderment. 

UAIOE  finds  KMFDM  embracing  rap  to  excellent 
effect  on  cuts  like  "Ganja  Rock"  and  "Murder,"  the 
latter  an  exemplary  marriage  of  industrial  and  hip-hop. 
Elsewhere,  the  group  either  rocks  out  like  metal  mani- 
acs, or  just  hammers  home  an  intensive  dance  beat: 
what  UAIOE  lacks  in  cohesion  it  makes  up  for  in  in- 
spiration. 

Following  two  aggressive  singles — the  morbid  "Vi- 
rus" and  the  excellent  guitar-driven  "Godlike,"  a  dif- 


ferent version  of  which  appears  on  the  CD — Naive  adds 
female  singers  for  the  title  track's  warped  disco,  funk 
riffs  for  **Piggybank"  and  a  wider  use  of  German  vo- 
cals. KMFDM's  most  accomplished  release  to  date, 
Naive  benefits  from  full  sound  and  attention  to  the  beat. 

[tf] 


SeeX. 


See  U.K.  Subs,  Vibrators. 
See  Tall  Dwarfs. 

KOAL  AND  THE 
TR1LL1ONA1RES 

Ronald  Koal  and  the  Trillionaires  (No  Other)  1 982 

DRAGSTERS 

Stoked  (Great  Jones)  1 989  • 

RONALD  KOAL  BAND 

White  Light  (Watertower)  1991  <j> 

On  their  1982  album,  the  Trillionaires — a  semi- 
modern  Ohio  rock  quintet — come  on  like  a  kitschy  Sub- 
urbs. Koal  has  one  of  those  melodramatic  Anthony 
Newley-type  voices,  but  doesn't  sound  selfconscious 
about  it;  the  songs  are  cinematic  and  campy,  with  sub- 
ject matter  like  "Check  the  Attic"  and  "Beast  in  the 
Cellar."  The  *60sish  "(Theme  from)  Girl  World" 
achieves  the  same  B -mo vie  effect  without  words. 

Years  later,  two  of  the  Trillionaires  (not  including 
Koal)  resurfaced  in  New  York's  Dragsters,  a  quartet 
dedicated  to  twang-and-sax  beach  instrumental  but 
open  to  the  occasional  vocal  by  guitarist  Todd  Novak. 
Stoked  soaks  in  the  exact  same  cars-sun-surf-film  nos- 
talgia as  every  other  album  by  bands  that  pray  to  Dick 
Dale  and  Duane  Eddy,  but  the  harmony-filled  Beach 
Boys  sound  of  "Waikiki"  and  P.F.  Sloan's  "Anywhere 
the  Girls  Are"  wisely  add  a  musical  dimension  that 
prevents  the  surrounding  tracks  from  sliding  into  twist- 
able  tedium.  [i] 


(COMMUNITY  FK 

The  Vision  and  the  Voice  (Independent  Project)  1 983 
Close  One  Sad  Eye  (Independent  Project)  1985 

SAT1VA  LUVBOX 

No  Sleep  for  the  Evil  (Splatco)  1989 

Kommunity  FK  arose  from  the  LA  avant-garde 
gloom  scene  with  a  sound  somewhere  between  Joy  Di- 
vision, Christian  Death  and  Savage  Republic.  The  Vi- 
sion and  the  Voice  is  an  excellent  album,  starting  with 
its  Boschian  cover  art  depicting  naked  figures  cavorting 
and  fornicating  around  a  giant  red  penis.  Patrick  Mata's 
clear,  soaring  vocals  nicely  match  his  minimalist  guitar 
work.  The  trio  isn't  afraid  to  try  different  ideas — from 
primitive  art-punk  with  ominous  synthesizer  effects 


369 


through  dense,  doomy  punk  noise  and  blur-thrash  to 
neo-industnal  experiments  resembling  a  milder  Neubau- 
ten.  Gripping,  lurking  bass  comes  to  the  fore  on  l  'Un- 
known to  You"  and  the  circular,  rhythmic  "We  Will 
Not  Fall" 

The  band  split  and  reformed  repeatedly,  keeping 
Mata  and  drummer  Matt  Chaikin  as  the  only  constants. 
One  stable  stretch  in  1984  allowed  the  creation  of  the 
similarly  satisfying  Close  One  Sad  Eye,  released  late  in 
'85.  The  rough,  punk/industrial  edges  had  been 
smoothed  out  to  a  Comsat  Angels/Tuxedomoon  sheen, 
and  the  Joy  Division  influence  (especially  on  the  dra- 
matic drone  of  "Junkies"  and  the  "Love  Will  Tear  Us 
Apart"-ish  "Trollops")  is  noticeably  greater.  A  full- 
time  keyboardist  integrates  synth  into  the  compositions, 
and  Mata's  vocals  are  far  more  theatrical  and  dynamic 
The  haunting  "Something  Inside  Me  Has  Died"  is  not 
only  the  standout  track  on  the  LP,  but  one  of  the  finest 
gothic  anthems  by  any  American  group  (In  1990,  both 
albums  were  scheduled  to  be  issued  on  CD  by  Da.\i/ 
Chameleon.) 

Mata  spent  the  latter  half  of  the  '80s  alternating 
between  England,  where  he  formed  bands  with  bassists 
Cam  Campbell  (of  Andi  Sex-Gang  notoriety)  and  Eddie 
Branch  (ex-UK  Decay/Furyo),  and  Los  Angeles,  where 
he  continued  to  shuffle  ineffectual  KFK  lineups  and 
work  with  other  groups,  but  Sativa  Luvbox  is  the  only 
project  of  his  to  actually  result  in  a  record  so  far. 


ICONIC 

Konk  Party  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1  982  (Celluloid)  1  983  • 
Yo  (nr/Crepuscule-lsland)  1983  • 
Konk  Jams  (Dog  Brothers)  1988  ® 

Slick  and  supple  New  York  big-band  funk;  Konk's 
seven-piece  lineup  includes  three  horn  players  and  a 
vocalist  who  doubles  on  conga  drum.  The  sound  leans 
Latinward,  with  scads  of  percussion  and  sharp  arrange- 
ments, plus  some  subtle  dub  effects  thrown  in  for  good 
measure.  Clocking  in  at  over  23  minutes,  the  four  songs 
on  the  Konk  Party  EP  are  indeed  for  partying,  and  best 
heard  on  a  mammoth  boombox 

Konk  laid  low  for  a  while,  resurfacing  with  the  in- 
clusion of  "Love  Attack"  on  the  soundtrack  (and  al- 
bum) of  Bright  Lights,  Big  City.  (Konk  had  in  a  sense 
launched  its  film  career  several  years  earlier  when  trum- 
pet player  Richard  Edson  —  who  had  been  the  original 
drummer  in  Sonic  Youth  —  started  acting  in  pictures  like 
Stranger  Than  Paradise  and  Platoon.) 

Konk  Jams  is  a  collection  of  extended  remixes 
(some  with  vocals)  that  downplay  the  funk  and  the  brass 
for  a  powerful  reliance  on  rhythm  and  amusing  audio 
gimmickry.  [i] 

KOOL  G  RAP  &  DJ  POLO 

Road  to  the  Riches  (Cold  Chillin'-Wamer  Bros.)  1989  • 
Wanted:  Dead  or  Alive  (Cold  Chillin'-Warner  Bros.) 

1990» 

Produced  and  co-written  by  Marley  Marl,  Road  to 
the  Riches  is  a  perfectly  adequate  but  hardly 
distinguished-sounding  vehicle  for  New  York  rhymer 
Kool  G  (Nathaniel  Wilson).  Unfortunately,  the  young 
MC's  routine  raps  about  women,  words  and  wealth  — 


delivered  with  an  in-your-face  lisp — defuse  the  tracks' 
potential. 

Like  a  lot  of  young  hustlers  hustled  into  debuts  they 
weren't  prepared  for,  Kool  G  made  a  much  more  im- 
pressive showing  on  his  stronger  second  go-'round  The 
LP  leads  off  on  a  powerful  note  with  the  memorably 
grim  reality  check  of  "Streets  of  New  York,"  an  insin- 
uating, mellow  groove  with  a  hip  sax 'n* piano  arrange- 
ment. What  follows  is  a  violent  police  drama  ( "Wanted. 
Dead  or  Alive")  produced  at  high  anxiety  by  Enc  B, 
and  an  entertaining  all-star  anti-racism  jam  with  Big 
Daddy  Kane  and  Biz  Markie.  But  the  LP  isn't  all  dope- 
the  rough  language  and  crude  promises  of  "Talk  Like 
Sex"  and  "Death  Wish"  are  vile,  some  of  the  tracks  are 
conceptually  weak  and  G's  speech  impediment  under- 
cuts his  delivery  [i] 


DEE 

Koo!  Moe  Dee  (Rooftop-Jive)  1 986  • 
How  Yo  Like  Me  Now  (Rooftop-Jive)  1 987  • 
Knowledge  is  King  (Jive-RCA)  1 989  ® 
African  Pride  EP  (Jive)  1 990  • 
Funke,  Funke  Wisdom  (Jive)  1991  • 

Using  a  stone-cold  serious  tone  that  does  not  en- 
courage disagreement,  popular  New  York  rapper  Kool 
Moe  Dee  (Mohandas  Dewese),  a  former  third  of  the 
Treacherous  Three,  puts  his  positive  social  messages 
plus  the  usual  braggadocio  to  medium-weight  rhythm 
tracks,  many  of  them  enhanced  by  loping  synth-bass 
lines,  electronic  horns  and  other  musical  ingredients 
The  versatile  vocalist's  records  earn  their  mainstream 
appeal  by  tempering  the  music  and  taking  a  firm  stand 
against  violence  and  sexual  irresponsibility. 

The  first  album's  "Go  See  the  Doctor"  offers  a 
slangy  but  detailed  warning  about  venereal  disease, 
"Little  Jon"  characterizes  a  young  hoodlum  as  a  loser 
not  a  hero;  "Monster  Crack"  warns  kids  against  mess- 
ing with  drugs. 

How  Ya  Like  Me  Now  experiments  with  one-chord 
funk  vamps  instead  of  mere  beats,  and  quotes  James 
Brown,  Paul  Simon  and  others.  But  the  raps  aren't  as 
captivating  as  before,  and  the  cuts  tend  to  drag.  "No 
Respect,"  recited  to  an  adaptation  of  Aretha's  "Re- 
spect," tells  a  powerful  cautionary  tale  of  a  street  hus- 
tler's downfall  and  joins  the  self-serving  title  tune  as  a 
highlight. 

Back  in  control  with  another  masterful  blend  of  up- 
lifting rhymes,  inventive  music  and  no-nonsense  deliv- 
ery, Moe  Dee  pushes  his  don't-steal-it/earn-it 
philosophy  in  the  appealing  Knowledge  Is  King,  an- 
nouncing "I  Go  to  Work"  over  a  dramatic  brassy  film 
noir  track,  defending  his  bachelorhood  in  "They  Want 
Money,"  prizing  intelligent  women  in  "All  Night 
Long"  and  promoting  education  the  title  track.  "Pump 
Your  Fist' '  wraps  up  the  album  in  a  wide-ranging  dis- 
cussion of  racism,  history  and  contemporary  urban  life 

The  African  Pride  12-inch  contains  three  mixes  of 
"God  Made  Me  Funky,"  a  remix  of  "Knowledge  Is 
King"  and  two  other  tracks.  [i] 


PETER  KOPPES 

See  Church. 


370 


KRAFTWERK 

Kraftwerk  1  (Ger.  Philips)  1971 

Kraflwerk  2  (Ger.  Philips)  1972 

Kraftwerk  (nr/Verttgo)  1 972 

Rolf  and  Florian  (Vertigo)  1 973 

Autobahn  (Vertigo)  1974  (Warner  Bros.)  1984  (Elekfra) 

1988® 

Radio  Activity  (Capitol)  1975  • 
Excelier  8  (nr/Vertigo)  1975 
Trans-Europe  Express  (Capitol)  1977  ® 
The  Man  Machine  (Capitol)  1 978  • 
Elektro  Kinetik  (nr/Vertigo)  1981 
Computer  World  (Warner  Bros.)  1981  (Elektra)  1988  ® 
Techno  Pop  EP  (nr/EMi)  1983 
Electric  Cafe  (Warner  Bros.)  1 986  (Elektra)  1 988  ® 
The  Mix  (Elektra)  1991  • 

Kraftwerk  (German  for  "power  station")  began  in 
the  electronic  metal  trend  that  erupted  in  Germany  in  the 
early  1970s.  Although  quiet  in  recent  years,  the  four- 
piece  synthesizer  group  showed  amazing  resiliency  for 
more  than  fifteen  years,  tightening  its  electro-pop  for- 
mula to  fit  smoothly  into  art-rock  and,  later,  disco. 
Kraftwerk  essentially  created  the  sonic  blueprint  from 
which  the  British  new  romantic  and  techno-pop  move- 
ments arose,  and  provided  the  essential  technology  for 
much  of  hip-hop. 

Autobahn  is  built  around  an  epic  version  of  the  title 
track,  a  bizarre  hit  single  that  broke  the  band  as  a  com- 
mercial property  in  numerous  countries.  Enchanting  in 
its  simplicity,  hypnotic  in  its  construction,  the  song  in- 
troduces the  repetition  typical  of  all  Kraftwerk  music, 
but  the  record's  other  pieces  are  less  inspired  synthe- 
sizer noodling. 

Radio  Activity  coincided  with  a  change  of  image 
that  sliced  away  beards  and  hair  and  converted  Kraft- 
werk from  aging  hippies  into  modern  sonic  engineers; 
greater  use  of  repetition  and  purposeful  self-limitation  is 
evident,  though  there  is  no  breakthrough. 

The  robotic  Trans-Europe  Express  placed  mecha- 
nistic aspects  of  the  music  up  front,  in  a  brilliant  epiph- 
any of  style.  Rhythms  and  themes  recur  throughout, 
with  little  emotion  expressed  in  the  vocals;  lyrics  em- 
phasize the  dehumanization  suggested  by  the  production 
and  delivery.  Recommended. 

The  Man  Machine  further  builds  on  the  develop- 
ments of  Trans-Europe  Express,  with  the  one  human- 
izing effect — background  music — yielding  to  Star  Wars 
noises.  More  work  with  manipulated  vocals — especially 
on  the  title  track  and  "We  Are  the  Robots" — takes  the 
automaton  stance  to  the  limit.  Despite  the  science  fiction 
themes  and  heavy  musical  repetition,  the  album  has  in- 
ventive, catchy  compositions  and  an  eerie  warmth. 
Highly  recommended. 

Computer  World  broke  years  of  silence,  bringing 
Kraftwerk  into  a  world  that  had  largely  embraced  and 
vindicated  their  social  and  musical  visions.  Technically 
advanced  machinery  yields  sharper,  brighter  music,  but 
otherwise  Kraftwerk  haven't  tampered  with  their  style, 
except  to  shift  their  thematic  content  from  science-fiction 
to  industrial  documentary.  Excellent  synthesizer  pop. 

The  musics  Kraftwerk  helped  launch — British  post- 
rock  industrial  sounds  and  rhythm-is-everything  dance 
grooves — come  full  circle  on  Side  One  of  the  long- 
awaited  Electric  Cafe.  The  virtually  interchangeable 


'Technopop"  and  "Musique  Non-Stop"  take  sparse, 

simple,  unvarying  percussion  tracks  and  add  bits  of 
treated  vocals,  synthetic  noises  and  quasi-instrumental 
effects  On  the  reverse  are  three  straightforward  (albeit 
numbingly  repetitive)  songs  that  use  actual  melodies, 
singing  and  lyncs.  While  the  second  side  is  certainly 
listenable,  even  Kraftwerk  fans  will  find  this  brief  al- 
bum disappointingly  short  on  ideas  and  content. 

There  are  German-language  versions  of  many,  if  not 
all,  of  Kraftwerk 's  albums.  There  have  also  been  sev- 
eral compilations  released  in  the  UK.  In  1988,  the  group 
signed  with  Elektra,  which  reissued  some  of  their  cata- 
logue. The  Mix  is  a  drastically  remixed  best-of. 

[sg/i] 

KRAMER 

See  Carney-Hild-Kramer,  Half  Japanese,  King  Mis- 
sile (Dog  Fly  Religion). 

WAYNE  KRAMER 

See  Mick  Farren,  MC5,  Johnny  Thunders. 

DAGMAR  KRAUSE 

See  Henry  Cow. 

KRAUT 

An  Adjustment  to  Society  (Cabbage)  1 983 
Whetting  the  Scythe  (Cabbage)  1984 
Night  of  Rage  (New  Red  Archives)  1 989 
The  Movie  [CD]  (New  Red  Archives)  1 990  * 

GUTTERBOY 

Gutterboy(DGC}1990® 

One  of  New  York's  most  deserving  punk  legends, 
Kraut  made  their  live  debut  opening  for  the  Clash  in 
1981  and  went  on  to  play  a  big  part  in  the  city's  bur- 
geoning hardcore  scene.  On  its  first  album,  the  quartet 
throws  off  awesomely  dense  but  distinct  slabs  of  post- 
Pistols/Clash  guitar  chords  while  galloping  along  at  a 
good  clip.  Although  genuine  ex-Pistol  Steve  Jones 
played  guitar  on  three  songs  ("Onward,"  "Sell  Out" 
and  "Kill  for  Cash"),  the  spotlight  remains  firmly  fixed 
on  Doug  Holland,  one  of  punk's  best-ever  string  smash- 
ers. The  urban  reality/armageddon  lyncs  are  only  a  bit 
above  the  usual  monosyllabic  protest,  but  no  matter. 
(Jones  also  performed  with  the  band  on  occasion,  and  a 
version  of  the  Pistols'  "Bodies"  appears  on  the  Kraut 
live  compilation,  Night  of  Rage.) 

Whetting  the  Scythe,  a  brief  nine-song  album, 
finds  Kraut  abandoning  punk  for  tasteful  demi-metal, 
using  doubled  guitar  leads  and  charging,  articulated 
power  at  more  moderate  tempos.  It's  a  partially  suc- 
cessful variant,  easier  to  follow  than  hyperdrive  punk. 
Kraut  has  the  chops,  the  intelligence  and  (occasionally) 
the  songs  to  make  something  really  unique. 

After  doing  some  unfinished  sessions,  Holland  left 
to  become  a  Cro-Mag  and  was  replaced  by  Chris  Smith 
(ex-Battalion  of  Saints).  The  new  lineup  completed 
three  of  those  hard-rock  items  in '  85 ,  but  Smith  drowned 
and  Kraut  threw  in  the  towel.  Singer  Davy  Gunner  and 
drummer  Johnny  Feedback  (under  the  names  Dito  and 
Johnny  Koncz)  went  on  to  form  Gutterboy.  The  Movie, 


371 


a  27-track  CD ,  combines  the  three  previously  unreleased 
tracks  with  both  studio  albums  in  their  entirety. 

An  attempt  to  glorify  punk  mggedness  as  stylish 
tough-guy  sexuality  (undershirt  chic!),  Gutterboy  is  a 
remarkably  contrived  quartet  produced  to  sound  like  a 
street-level  cross  between  Brace  Springsteen  and  U2. 
With  Dito  getting  outside  songwriting  assists  (probably 
on  lyrics,  which  are  well-suited  to  the  group's  mission), 
the  material  is  obvious  but  entertaining;  the  foursome's 
playing  is  as  exciting  and  credible  as  their  carefully 
manicured  looks.  [  jg/i] 

See  also  Cro-Mags, 

LENNY 

Let  Love  Rule  (Virgin)  1989  • 
Mama  Said  (Virgin)  1991  <f> 

Like  some  musical  castaway  wandering  back  into 
civilization  two  decades  after  Woodstock,  this  young 
do-it-yourselfer,  who  was  barely  born  when  the  flower- 
power  hippie/soul  era  of  his  imaginings  ended,  sings 
drippy  idealistic  songs  about  love  and  harmony  to  sim- 
ple feel-good  music  that  rolls  baroque  Beatle  pop,  Joe 
Cocker  gospel  and  Sly  Stone  soul — all  with  Billy  Pres- 
ton's effusiveness — into  a  mock  nostalgic  trip  for  those 
too  young  to  have  any  actual  memories.  A  reasonably 
good  singer  who  plays  guitar,  drums  and  keyboards  on 
the  vintage-sounding  Let  Love  Rule,  Kravitz  is  emo- 
tionally insufferable,  whether  testifying  to  the  uncon- 
trollable joys  of  love  ("I  Built  This  Garden  for  Us"), 
whipping  up  a  fraternal  frenzy  in  the  title  track  or  de- 
livering an  obnoxiously  effete  condemnation  of  racism 
("Mr.  Cab  Driver").  [i] 

KRYST  THE  CONQUEROR 

See  Misfits. 

K-SOLO 
SQ&EPMD. 


Kursaal  at  the  end  of  the  band's  first  go-round)  and 
produce  records  for  various  people.  Graeme  Douglas, 
whom  Wicks  replaced,  joined  Eddie  and  the  Hot  Rods, 
and  wrote  their  best  songs. 

The  Kursaals'  first  two  LPs  are  thinly  produced 
countryish  rock'n'roll,  bolstered  considerably  by 
Birch's  witty  lyrics.  The  Great  Artiste  does  contain 
what  may  be  the  earliest  recorded  cover  of  a  Nick  Lowe 
composition,  "Television,"  later  done  to  better  effect 
by  Dave  Edmunds, 

With  Mike  Batt  producing,  the  group  tried  some- 
thing completely  different  on  Golden  Mile,  an  eclectic 
musical  travelogue  through  rock'n'roll's  root  styles 
from  swing  to  Spector  to  ska  to  '60s  pop-rock.  The 
album  is  a  little-known  treasure,  similar  in  concept  to 
the  Turtles'  equally  ignored  and  enjoyable  Battle  of  the 
Bands. 

By  the  time  of  Five  Live,  the  Kursaals  had  almost 
totally  weeded  out  their  country  strain  and,  showing  the 
influence  of  the  punk  revolution  going  on  around  them, 
got  into  music  with  a  more  driving  beat.  The  band's  last 
hurrah,  the  'Television  Generation"  single,  is  great, 
proof  positive  that  the  band  had  seen  the  new  light. 
What  else  could  they  do  but  break  up? 

And  what  else  could  they  do  after  releasing  In  for  a 
Spin — a  best-of  featuring  nine  cuts  from  the  first  three 
albums,  "Television  Generation"  and  five  unreleased 
tracks  (including  one  later  recorded  by  Birch's  next 
group,  the  Records) — but  reunite  for  another  album? 

Tour  de  Force — an  all-new  studio  album  by  the 
reformed  group — sounds  like  a  record  the  Kursaals 
might  have  made  in  1978  had  they  stayed  together.  With 
only  a  song  titled  "Pre-Madonna"  as  a  token  gesture  to 
topicality,  the  LP  melds  all  the  best  elements  of  what  the 
group  initially  had  to  offer.  Good  to  see  that  ten  years 
haven't  affected  these  guys  a  bit,  or  dulled  Birch's  way 
with  words;  he  remains  one  of  the  most  disarmingly 
clever  lyricists  this  side  of  Nick  Lowe.  [ds] 

See  also  Eddie  and  the  Hot  Rods,  Records. 


ED  KUEPPER 

See  Laughing  Clowns,  Saints. 

KUKL 

See  Sugar  cubes. 

SERGEI  KURIOKHIN 

See  Henry  Kaiser. 

KURSAAL  FLYERS 

Chocs  Away  (nr/UK)  1975 

The  Great  Artiste  (nr/UK)  1975 

Golden  Mile  (nr/CBS)  1976 

Five  Live  Kursaals!  (rtr/CBS)  1977 

In  for  a  Spin:  The  Best  of  the  Kursaal  Flyers  (nr/Edsel) 

1985® 
A  Former  Tour  de  Force  Is  Forced  to  Tour  (nrAVaterfront) 

1988* 

This  seminal  pub-rock  outfit  is  more  of  interest  for 
what  the  individuals  did  after  the  group  split  than  for  the 
band's  own  recordings.  Drummer  Will  Birch  went  on  to 
found  the  Records  (with  guitarist  John  Wicks,  briefly  a 


DAVE  KUSWORTH 

See  Nikki  Sudden. 


FELA  ANIKULAPO  KUTi 

Feia's  London  Scene  (nr/EMI)  1970 

Fela  Ransome-Kuti  and  Africa  '70  with  Ginger  Baker: 

Live!  (Signpost)  1 972  « 
Gentlemen  (nr/Creole)  1979 
Everything  Scatter  (nr/Creole)  1979 
Black-President  (Capitol)  1981 
Original  Sufferhead  (Capitol)  1982 
Army  Arrangement  (Remix)  (Celluloid)  1 985  » 
Shuffering  and  Shmiling  (Celluloid)  1985  • 
Army  Arrangement  (Celluloid)  1 985  • 
No  Agreement  (Celluloid)  1 985 
Upside  Down  (Celluloid)  1986  • 
2,000  Black  (Celluloid)  1986 
Mr.  Follow  Follow  (Celluloid)  1986 
Volume  One  and  Two  (Celluloid)  1 987 
Teacher  Don't  Teach  Me  Nonsense  (Mercury)  1 987  * 
Overtake  Don  Overtake  Overtake  (Shanachie)  1 990  <l> 
The  Best  of  Fela  (Oceana-Celluloid)  1 990  • 


372 


FELA  AND  AFRIKA  70 

Shakora(nr/EMI)1972 

Zombie  (Mercury)  1977  (Celluloid)  1985  • 

FELA  ANIKULAPO  KUTI  AND 
EGYPT  80 

Live  in  Amsterdam  (Capitol)  1 984 
Beasts  of  No  Nation  (Shanachie)  1 989  • 

FELA  ANIKULAPO  KUTI  AND 
ROY  AYERS 

Music  of  Many  Colours  (Celluloid)  1 986  * 

One  of  the  world's  true  musical  revolutionaries,  Fela 
Ransome-Kuti's  life  and  work  embody  most  of  the  con- 
tradictions inherent  in  any  major  collusion  of  Western 
and  African  styles  of  thought  and  art.  Born  in  Lagos, 
Nigeria  in  1938  to  an  affluent  Christian  family  and  ed- 
ucated in  London,  Fela  was  just  another  minor  highlife 
bandleader  until  he  received  funk's  call  via  Sierra  Leo- 
nese  James  Brown-imitator  Geraldo  Pino  in  1966.  By 
weaving  funk  rhythms  into  highlife,  Fela  developed 
Afrobeat,  a  mesmerizingly  potent  style  he  has  spent 
years  refining. 

Most  of  Fela's  recorded  pieces  take  up  to  an  entire 
side  of  an  LP,  beginning  slowly,  with  a  lengthy  electric 
piano  and/or  saxophone  introduction  (Fela  plays  both 
instruments)  before  breaking  into  exuberant  horn  fan- 
fares, followed  by  call-and-response  vocals  between 
Fela  and  chorus  and  interlocking  polyrhythmic  percus- 
sion patterns. 

During  a  1968  Los  Angeles  stint  with  his  group 
Koola  Lobitas,  Fela  was  introduced  to  American  black 
radical  politics,  Fela's  stock  rose  considerably  when 
EMI  released  Fela's  London  Scene  in  1970,  leading  to 
a  friendship  and  collaboration  with  ex-Cream  drummer 
Ginger  Baker.  (Their  Live!  album  provides  a  fairly  tame 
example.)  Nigerian  authorities  tormented  the  band- 
leader after  his  triumphant  return  from  London  in  the 
early  '70s,  for  as  Fela's  fame  grew,  so  did  his  influence. 
(Fortunately,  Kuti's  name  translates  as  "He  who  ema- 
nates greatness,  who  has  death  inside  his  quiver  and 
who  cannot  be  killed  by  human  entity.")  Castigatory 
songs  about  government  corruption  (on  Black- 
President's  "I.T.T.  (International  Thief  Thief),)"  mil- 
itary fascism  ("Zombie,"  on  the  album  of  the  same 
name)  and  national  apathy  ("Army  Arrangement,"  dit- 
to), sung  by  a  rich  marijuana  smoker  with  a  couple  of 
dozen  wives  who  isolated  himself  in  a  concrete  fortress 
called  the  Shrine,  challenged  the  local  authorities  in  a 
manner  they  couldn't  ignore. 

Since  1974,  Fela  has  been  arrested  several  times  for 
various  crimes;  during  a  particularly  vigorous  1981 
crackdown,  a  beating  by  soldiers  left  him  temporarily 
incapable  of  playing  saxophone.  His  most  recent  incar- 
ceration came  in  1984,  on  the  eve  of  his  first  major 
American  tour.  Arrested  on  a  trumped-up  money- 
smuggling  rap,  he  was  released  from  his  five-year  sen- 
tence after  two  years,  thanks  to  intercession  by  Amnesty 
International. 


Celluloid  began  re-releasing  some  of  Fela's  many 
records  in  1985.  Upside  Down  dates  from  1976;  N© 
Agreement  from  1977.  But  the  most  controversial  of 
these  was  Bill  Lasweil's  remix  of  Army  Arrangement, 
on  which  he  added  tracks  by  keyboardist  Bemie  Wor- 
rell, drummer  Sly  Dunbar  and  talking  drummer  Aiyb 
Dieng.  This  reportedly  displeased  Fela  greatly,  and  one 
need  only  compare  the  remix  with  the  rough  yet  stirring 
original  to  understand  why.  Roy  Ayers  joins  Fela  on 
Music  of  Many  Colors  (originally  released  on  Phono- 
disk  in  1980),  eliciting  the  vibraphonisf  s  meatiest  play- 
ing ever.  Zombie  is  one  of  the  classics  of  the  Celluloid 
batch. 

PolyGram  cashed  in  on  Fela's  successful  and  long- 
delayed  1987  American  tour  by  releasing  one  of  his  hits 
from  the  show,  Teacher  Don't  Teach  Me  Nonsense. 
The  wild  master  hadn't  lost  his  chops.  Beats  of  No 
Nation  is  a  fine  example  of  vintage  Fela,  while 
O.D.O.O.  is  simply  spectacular.  With  compact  disc 
technology  catching  up  to  Fela's  long-form  Afrobeat 
creations,  the  two  half-hour  compositions  that  comprise 
the  disc  provide  ample  room  for  ensemble  workouts, 
saxophone  solos,  high  guitar  stepping,  polyrhythmic 
noodling  and  call-and-response  groovulation.  Indeed, 
Fela  even  reprises  his  classic  "Zombie"  in  the  middle 
of  the  title  track.  [rg] 

KWAME  FEATURING  A  NEW 
BEGINNING 

The  Boy  Genius  (Atlantic)  1 989  » 

KWAME  AND  A  NEW 
BEGINNING 

A  Day  in  the  Life:  A  Pokadelick  Adventure  (Atlantic) 

1990« 

With  one  foot  in  the  old  school  (courtesy  of  pro- 
ducer Hurby  "Luv  Bug"  Azor)  and  an  easy  feel  for 
daisy-age  soul-pop,  this  bright  young  New  York 
rapper — whose  middle-class  values  aren't  so  different 
from  the  overtly  Afrocentric  Native  Tongue  crew — 
brings  a  neat  nerdy  element  to  his  first  album.  On  The 
Boy  Genius,  Kwam6  (Holland)  comes  off  as  the  love- 
struck  overachiever  next  door,  a  goodnatured  and  up- 
beat rhymer  with  inventive  ideas,  lightweight  beats  and 
easy  charm. 

A  Day  in  the  Life  is  even  better,  a  colorful  and 
musically  diverse  self-willed  world  of  polka-dots  in  the 
freewheeling  "Bone  Age."  Although  posited  as  a  con- 
cept album  about  the  high-schooler's  quotidian  exist- 
ence, the  record  largely  relies  on  phone  messages  to 
connect  some  of  the  oh-so-vaguely  related  autobio- 
graphical tales  and  boasts.  If  A  Day  hi  the  Life  isn't  all 
it's  cracked  up  to  be,  Kwam^'s  youthful  exuberance  and 
imaginative  tracks  still  make  it  uncommonly  entertain- 
ing- [Pn] 


373 


ILL 


LACH 

Contender  (Gold  Castle)  1991  4> 

As  a  pivotal  figure  in  getting  the  New  York  anti-folk 
scene  up  and  running,  singer/guitarist/pianist  Lach  was 
evidently  too  busy  being  an  impresario  to  make  a  record 
until  most  of  his  Mends  had  taken  their  vinyl  shots. 
Contender  has  no  problem  dispensing  with  acoustic 
guitar  formalism;  as  produced  by  Tom  Goodkind  of  the 
Washington  Squares,  the  album  employs  a  nimble 
rhythm  section  and  mild  electric  backing,  giving  the 
central  acoustic  strums  a  rich  and  strong  setting.  ( "Hard 
Time"  and  ''Steven  Said"  break  on  through  to  overt 
rock.)  Lach  hasn't  got  much  of  a  voice,  and  his  tunes 
don't  exactly  send  you  home  humming,  but  he's  an 
enthusiastic  character  who  brings  more  imagination  to 
faux-folk  than  many  of  his  better  known  peers.  Best 
song:  "The  Edie  Effect,"  a  wry  attack  on  Warholian 
poseurs.  [ij 


LADYSMiTH  BLACK 

Induku  Zethu  (Shanachie)  1984  • 
Ulwandle  Oluncgwele  (Shanachie)  1 985  « 
Inala  (Shanachie)  19869 
Shaka  Zulu  (Warner  Bros.)  1 987  * 
Umthombo  Wamanzi  (Shanachie)  1 988  • 
Journey  of  Dreams  (Warner  Bros.)  1 988  * 
Two  Worlds  One  Heart  (Warner  Bros.)  1 990  « 
Classic  Tracks  (Shanachie)  1 990  <J> 

Led  by  Joseph  Shabalala — who  formed  the  ten-man 
group  almost  30  years  ago  and  has  been  recording  with 
it  for  two  decades — Ladysmith  Black  Mambazo  is  one 
of  South  Africa's  most  popular  ensembles.  For  sheer 
vocal  ecstasy,  few  organizations  can  equal  its  lush,  com- 
forting and  sophisticated  choral  harmonies  sung  in  the 
open  mbube  style.  Simultaneously  sorrowful  and  opti- 
mistic, the  music  originated  in  South  African  dormito- 
ries housing  immigrant  workers  who'd  left  their 
townships  and  families  for  employment  in  the  area's 
diamond  and  gold  mines. 

Mbube  is  characterized  by  a  cappella  harmonies  and 
short  phrases,  either  sung  in  unison  or  against  an  over- 
lapping call-and-response  pattern.  Reflecting  on  matters 
both  familial  and  spiritual,  the  music  is  tied  closely  to 
the  group's  Zulu  culture.  They  generally  sing  in  Zulu; 
the  occasional  English-language  songs  are  a  pleasant 
shock. 

Noted  ethno-music  appropriator  Paul  Simon  got 
wind  of  Ladysmith  Black  Mambazo  and,  despite  the 
African  National  Congress'  cultural  boycott  of  South 
Africa,  recorded  part  of  Graceland  with  them  in  Johan- 
nesburg and  London.  (He  also  featured  the  group  on 
two  subsequent  tours  and  produced  Shaka  Zulu.)  All 
that  American  attention  led  to  the  group's  remarkable 


commercial  exploitation  by  7-Up,  which  adapted 
"Beautiful  Rain"  from  that  album  for  a  TV  spot. 

On  Umthombo  Wamanzi,  Mambazo  changes  its 
strategy  slightly,  emphasizing  ensemble  work  rather 
than  cail-and-response  structures  or  a  leader  singing 
over  backing  voices;  this  accentuates  their  irregular 
punctuations  and  stop-start  rhythms.  As  with  previous 
records,  it  provides  an  almost  overwhelming  atmosphere 
of  emotional  power  and  grace.  The  unadorned  human 
voice  has  rarely  sounded  so  godlike. 

Shabalala  and  Mambazo  pay  tribute  to  Paul  Simon, 
Miriam  Makeba,  Hugh  Masekela  and  god  (although  not 
exactly  in  that  order)  on  Journey  of  Dreams,  ending 
the  record  with  a  lovely  gentle  rendition  (in  English)  of 
"Amazing  Grace"  that  features  Simon. 

Taking  the  regrettably  inevitable  step  into  fusion, 
Mambazo  recorded  some  of  Two  Worlds  One  Heart 
with  musical  backing.  At  the  mixture's  mildest  point, 
Mambazo  sings  the  handsome  *  'Rejoice"  over  tradi- 
tional instruments  with  no  harm  done.  But  Shabalala'  s 
duet  with  American  gospel  star  Marvin  Winans  (which 
employs  synthesizers)  is  an  incongruity  next  to  the 
group's  unaccompanied  efforts,  and  the  funk  track  co- 
written  and  co-produced  by  George  Clinton  makes  it 
sound  as  if  Mambazo  were  merely  sampled  into  the 
mix  —  an  undesirable  effect  considering  whose  album 
it  is. 

Although  consistent  enough  to  sound  like  it  was  re- 
corded in  one  go,  Classic  Tracks  is  a  compilation  of 
tracks  from  the  group's  first  two  dozen  or  so  albums.  As 
annoying  as  the  lack  of  annotation  may  be,  there's  no 
faulting  the  music,  which  is  unfailingly  magical. 


LA1BACH 

Through  the  Occupied  Netherlands  [tape]  (Hoi.  Staal) 

1984 

Laibach  (Yugoslavian  Slcuc)  1  985 
Rekapitulation  1  980-84  (Ger.  Walter  Ulbricht)  1  985  • 
Nova  Akropola  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1  985  (Wax  Trax!) 

1986» 

Baptism  (Ger,  Walter  Ulbricht)  1  986  » 
Opus  Dei  (Mute-Wax  Traxl)  1987  » 
Panorama/Die  Liebe  EP  (Wax  Trax!)  1  987 
Let  It  Be  (Mute-Enigma)  1  988  © 
Sympathy  for  the  Devil  EP  (Mute-Restless)  1988  • 
Macbeth  (Mute-Restless)  1990  • 

Formed  in  1979  in  Ljubljana,  the  capital  of  the  Yu- 
goslavian republic  of  Slovenia,  Laibach  (the  city's  Ger- 
man name)  set  out  to  revitalize  Slovenian  culture  and 
create  a  mythic  persona  through  careful  manipulation  of 
the  group's  image.  As  much  theater  as  music,  Laibach 
often  used  to  appear  in  the  uniforms  of  the  Nazis  who 
occupied  Ljubljana  during  WW  II,  and  has  made  a 


374 


point,  on  record,  of  highlighting  the  connection  between 
Western  rock  and  capitalism. 

The  double-album  boxed-set  Rekapitulation  sum- 
marizes Laibach's  first  four  years  of  recording  and  con- 
tains some  of  the  band's  most  innovative  material: 
strange  mixtures  of  rock,  jazz,  disco  and  ambience  with 
occasional  Wagnerian  overtones.  Sieved  through  an 
Eastern  European  consciousness,  this  combination  pro- 
vides unique  flavors,  ranging  from  astonishing  beauty  to 
totalitarian  menace. 

Though  released  in  1985,  most  of  the  material  on 
Laihach  was  recorded  years  earlier  and  is  also  con- 
tained on  Rekapitulation.  The  poorly  recorded 
Through  Occupied  Europe  offers  two  live  perfor- 
mances, adding  little  to  the  studio  versions  of  material 
also  found  on  Rekapitulation. 

By  the  time  Laibach  recorded  Nova  Akropola,  the 
band  had  picked  up  a  following  in  Western  Europe  and 
received  a  lot  of  attention  in  the  music  press.  Nova 
Akropola  is  a  more  sophisticated  undertaking  than  ear- 
lier efforts,  furthering  the  group's  music  and  concept. 
Wagnerian  horns  sound  over  the  surging  beats  of  sci- 
ence fiction  armies,  while  singer  Milan  Fras  growls  lyr- 
ics in  a  gravely  basso.  Two  songs  use  nationalistic 
speeches  by  Marshal  Tito  as  lyrics;  while  the  intent  is 
ironic,  not  the  faintest  smile  is  discernible. 

Baptism,  a  second  double  set,  is  the  soundtrack  to  a 
play  done  with  the  theater  branch  of  the  New  Slovenian 
Art  movement,  of  which  Laibach  is  a  part.  The  album 
uses  tape  loops,  beats,  horns  and  chants  and  is  far  more 
atmospheric  than  the  group's  more  pop-oriented  work. 
With  the  exception  of  half  a  side  that  sounds  to  be  an 
"appropriation"  of  an  old,  scratchy  opera  record,  this  is 
excellent,  innovative  music. 

Four  of  Baptism's  shorter,  livelier  tracks  are  ap- 
pended to  the  CD  of  Opus  Dei,  at  the  time,  Laibach's 
poppiest  and  most  conceptually  ambitious  record.  It 
contains  fascist-tinged  covers  of  Queen's  "One  Vision" 
and  the  Eurodisco  hit  "Life  Is  Life,"  sung  in  German 
with  grandiose  horns  and  a  marching  beat.  (Panorama/ 
Die  Liebe  is  a  12-inch  containing  two  tracks  from  Nova 
Akropoia  and  two  other  items.) 

Laibach  has  always  maintained  that  Western  pop 
music  is  nothing  more  than  capitalism,  that  rock  stars 
should  be  viewed  as  successful  businessmen  and  that 
concerts  are  akin  to  political  rallies  for  canned  rebellion. 
After  Opus  Dei,  the  group  took  the  logical — albeit 
radical — step  of  attacking  pop  icons  by  parodying  them. 
Laibach's  version  of  Let  It  Be  (an  LP  the  group  con- 
siders the  Beatles'  worst)  realizes  the  entire  album  (mi- 
nus the  title  track)  as  melodramatic  drinking  and  fighting 
songs,  with  horns,  synthesized  strings  and  military 
beats.  The  female  choir  version  of  "Across  the  Uni- 
verse," deadpan  with  faint  Slovenian  accents  and  tin- 
kling harpsichord,  is  at  once  hilarious,  chilling  and 
beautiful.  The  similarly  conceived  Sympathy  for  the 
Devil  locks  onto  that  one  song,  reinterpreting  it  six  times 
(which  is  at  least  two  too  many),  as  disco,  rock,  acid 
house,  etc.,  including  one  merciless  send-up  of  its  pre- 
tensions to  evil. 

Perhaps  realizing  that  they  had  painted  their  pop 
efforts  into  a  corner,  Laibach's  next  release  was  an 
amazing  soundtrack  to  New  Slovenian  Art's  version  of 
Macbeth.  Combining  the  better  attributes  of  Baptism 


with  a  sense  of  restraint  and  atmosphere  not  heard  since 
the  early  days,  Macbeth  is  one  of  their  best  albums  yet. 

[si] 


LA 

And  the  Mystery  Goes  On  EP  (Bel.  Soundwork)  1 985 

Peep  Show  EP  (Bel.  Soundwork)  1986 

Every  Soul  by  Sin  Oppressed  (nr/Big  Disk)  1 987 

Scorpio  Rising  EP  (Bel.  Sex  Wax)  1988 

Death  Race  2000  (Hay  St  Again  Sam)  1 989  ® 

Experiment  5n  Terror  (Bel.  PSay  It  Again  Sam)  1990 

Kustom  Kar  Kompetition  (Play  it  Again  Sam-Caroline) 

1991  « 

In  the  wake  of  the  Birthday  Party  came  a  worldwide 
wave  of  psychoswampabilly  rockers  who  took  that 
band's  manic-depressive  bluesrock  and  turned  it  into  a 
music  genre.  Belgium's  La  Muerte  was  one  of  those 
bands.  With  growling,  howling  French  and  English  vo- 
cals, stop/start  frenzy  and  a  guitar  that  at  times  does 
nothing  more  than  squeal  with  feedback  shavings,  And 
the  Mystery  Goes  On  out-Parties  the  Birthday  Party, 
delivering  a  four-song  gothic  dose  of  angst  and  aggres- 
sion. The  entire  lyrics  of  the  fierce  "Massacre"  are 
"whooaaah"  and  "suffering,"  voiced  in  a  deviled 
frenzy  of  a  howl  over  a  hard-crunched  drum  pound  and 
feedback  shivers  of  guitar;  the  outstanding  "Blues, 
Heaven  or  Hell"  veers  from  tense  to  burning  through  a 
dark,  crawling  labyrinth. 

There's  not  much  difference  between  Mystery  and 
the  five-song  Peep  Show.  The  latter  contains  a  swamp- 
beat  re-arrangement  of  Syd  Barrett's  "Lucifer  Sam" 
that  squiggles  with  warped  guitar,  tweets  off  into  space- 
rock  territory  and  climaxes  with  a  feedback  crescendo; 
there's  also  a  phone  sex  tape,  "Blues,  Heaven  or  Hell" 
and  two  new  BP-styled  tracks. 

Every  Soul  by  Sin  Oppressed  finds  La  Muerte  ca- 
pable of  far  greater  intricacy,  incorporating  harmonica, 
acoustic  guitar  and  a  more  slowly  woven  web  of  tension 
in  "The  Rope's  Around  Your  Neck"  and  "Mannish 
Boy."  "So  Bad"  crosses  into  psychobilly,  while 
"You're  Not  an  Angel"  continues  their  parallel  devel- 
opment with  Nick  Cave's  work,  sounding  like  a  com- 
panion piece  to  "From  Her  to  Eternity." 

The  four  tracks  on  Scorpio  Rising  take  four  differ- 
ent directions.  The  title  tune  introduces  sampling  and 
dialogue  cut-ups  in  a  collage  of  air  raid  control  room 
talk,  newscasts,  TV/movie  bites  and  laugh  boxes,  all 
slathered  over  a  slowly  shifting  base  of  feedback.  The 
percussion  in  "Lost  My  Mind"  sounds  like  a  bullet 
doing  a  tap-dance;  the  monster  growl  screams  could 
pass  for  demonic  possession  at  your  next  exorcism. 
"Shoot  in  Your  Back"  (which  also  turns  up  on  Death 
Race  2000)  continues  to  reflect  Cave's  influence,  while 
"Hellfire"  is  a  foray  into  a  loud  psychedelia. 

La  Muerte' s  first  American  release,  Death  Race 
2000,  has  harder  and  sparser  percussion;  guitar  chords 
are  grungier,  even  metallic  at  times.  The  faintly  post- 
industrial  production  style  occasionally  obscures  the 
Cave/BP  influence,  but  the  monster  scream  hasn't 
changed  a  bit.  Imagine  away  the  beat  on  "Ecoute  Cette 
Priere,"  and  you've  got  the  same  dark  bluesy  undula- 
tions as  ever.  ['e] 


375 


LANDLORDS 

See  Happy  Flowers. 


ANITA  LANE 

See  Nick  Cave. 


MARK  LANEGAN 

See  Screaming  Trees. 


CO VI  LANGER  AND  THE 

I  Want  the  Whole  World  EP  (nr/Radar)  1 979 

Splash  (nr/F-Beat)  1 980 

Hope,  Honour,  Love  (nr/Demon)  1 988 

The  big  disappointment  of  Clive  Longer*  s  solo  ca- 
reer is  that  he  doesn't  give  it  top  priority.  Presumably 
freed  from  financial  pressures  by  co-producing  numer- 
ous hit  records  for  Madness,  Dexys  and  others,  the  tal- 
ented singer/guitarist — -judging  by  his  lack  of 
"product" — seems  to  take  only  passing  interest  in  mak- 
ing records  of  his  own. 

As  chief  songwriter  for  the  late  Deaf  School,  Langer 
successfully  mated  the  music  hall  tradition  with  highly 
melodic  rock'n'roll,  topped  off  with  anxious  lyrics  about 
modern-day  pressures — i.e. ,  a  cross  between  the  Kinks 
and  Roxy  Music.  His  solo  works  are  more  personal,  and 
lean  decidedly  to  the  Ray  Davies  school,  partly  because 
Langer' s  weary  singing  has  a  similar  charm. 

The  five  tunes  on  I  Want  the  Whole  World  are 
nearly  perfect  vignettes  of  anger,  tenderness  and  regret, 
performed  with  casual  ingenuousness.  Though  less  ef- 
fective, Splash  has  its  moments,  including  the  charming 
"Had  a  Nice  Night"  and  the  embarrassingly  abject 
"Splash  (A  Tear  Goes  Rolling  Down)."  Elvis  Costello 
produced  two  of  the  tracks. 

Hope,  Honour,  Love  summarizes  the  album  and 
the  EP,  adding  "Even  Though"  from  a  subsequent  sin- 
gle. Clive  Langer  seems  like  a  guy  you  wouldn't  mind 
inviting  to  your  house  for  dinner,  [jy] 

See  also  Deaf  School. 


The  Power  of  Lard  EP  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 988  • 
The  Last  Temptation  of  Reid  (Alternative  Tentacles) 

1990® 

Jello  Biafra  brings  his  voice,  record  label  and  sense 
of  humor  to  the  Lard  party;  guitarist  Al  Jourgensen  and 
bassist  Paul  Barker  (both  of  Ministry)  whip  up  a  batch 
of  pounding  semi-industrialized  rock  with  drummer  Jeff 
Ward.  A  casual  and  exciting  bit  of  supergrouping,  The 
Power  of  Lard  (a  three-song  12-inch)  demonstrates  the 
fun  potential  in  this  seemingly  unlikely  alliance. 

The  excellent  full-length  album  (no  duplication) 
standardizes  the  Lard  concept,  resolving  itself  into  a 
more-or-less  even  mix  of  the  Dead  Kennedys  and  Min- 
istry. (And  is  thus  equally  recommendable  to  fans  of 
both.)  Loopy  topical  lyrics  lighten  the  driving  music's 
dominance-and-submission  power;  a  martial-beat  cover 
of  "They're  Coming  to  Take  Me  Away"  merrily  con- 
firms the  project's  open-ended  aesthetic.  [i] 

See  also  Jello  Biafra,  Dead  Kennedys,  Ministry,  Re- 
volting Cocks. 

LA'S 

The  La's  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1990  (Go!  Discs-London)  1991  * 
One  of  the  few  new  British  pop  groups  to  evince  the 
influence  of  '60s  beat,  rather  than  psychedelia  or  punk, 
this  distinctive  Liverpool  quartet — which  favors  acous- 
tic guitars  and  folky  harmonies  but  delivers  taut  electric 
rock  as  well — echoes  groups  like  the  Hollies,  Searchers 
and  Beatles  on  its  fine  debut  album,  produced  by  Steve 
Lilly  white.  Singer  Lee  Mavers  writes  profoundly  tune- 
ful songs  with  thoughtful  words  and  sings  them  with  a 
skilled  mixture  of  pop  allure  ("There  She  Goes"  is  a 
falsetto  gem)  and  pub-band  sturdiness  ("Failure"  is  an 
odd  bit  of  garage  punk).  Beyond  melodic  assets,  the 
La's — who,  to  their  credit,  never  employ  contemporary 
dance  beats  here — make  good  use  of  rhythm  as  well. 
"Liberty  Ship"  has  the  seafaring  tempo  to  match  its 
lyrical  metaphor,  while  "Way  Out"  pairs  a  measured 
drum/rhythm  guitar  beat  with  double-time  lead  figures 
and  "Freedom  Song"  uses  the  oompah  swing  of  a  Kurt 
Weill  number.  Very  impressive.  [i] 


GERARD  LANGLEY  + 
KEAREY 

See  Blue  Aeroplanes. 


IAN 


LAQUAN 

Notes  of  a  Native  Son  (4th  &  B'way)  1 990  • 

With  a  live  band  and  backing  singers  on  every  track, 
this  precocious  Los  Angeles  teenager's  debut  album 
(produced  by  Bell  Biv  Devoe  studio  associates  Richard 
Wolf  and  Bret  Mazur)  has  the  panoramic  sound  of  big- 
league  soul,  an  exceptionally  posh  musical  setting  for 
real  hip-hop.  Looking  beyond  that  stylistic  innovation, 
Laquan's  an  extremely  articulate  rapper  who  goes  easy 
on  the  clich6s  and  slang  to  deliver  a  serious  god-praising 
black-pride  message  with  grace  and  dignity — but  he  has 
too  little  style  to  fully  electrify  the  handsome  grooves. 


LAST 

LA  Explosion!  (Bomp!)  1979 

Fade  to  Black  EP  (Bompl)  1 982 

Painting  Smiles  on  a  Dead  Man  (Fr.  Lolita)  1983 

Confession  (SST)  1 988  • 

Awakening  (SST)  1 989  • 

Although  heavily  indebted  to  the  sounds  of  the  '60s 
(they  touch  freely  on  surf-rock,  psychedelia,  folk-rock, 
etc.)  Los  Angeles'  Last — formed  in  1976  and  led  by 
three  Nolte  brothers — play  with  modern-day  punk  in- 
tensity. L.A.  Explosion!  is  a  near-perfect  debut,  marred 
only  by  flat  production.  The  performances  are  stunning, 
with  Virus  Matare**s  authentic  Vox/Farfisa  organ  riffs 
adding  color  to  the  melodic  guitar  leads  and  Joe  Nolte' s 
distinctive  vocals.  Every  track  holds  up,  especially  the 
hypnotic  rocker  "She  Don't  Know  Why  I'm  Here"  and 
a  surf-inspired  ode  to  lost  youth,  "Every  Summer  Day . ' ' 

The  12-inch  Fade  to  Black  EP  shows  that  the  Last 
are  indeed  a  group  worth  taking  seriously.  The  four 


376 


tracks  are  darker  and  moodier,  yet  the  melodies  are  so 
enticing  It's  a  crime  this  stuff  can't  find  a  commercial 
opening. 

Amidst  personnel  changes,  and  facing  an  uncertain 
future,  the  Last  released  a  French-only  second  album. 
Painting  Smiles  on  a  Dead  Man  is  another  winner, 
moving  the  organ  up  front  and  showcasing  vocals  that 
are  at  once  more  confident  and  demanding.  Although 
one  of  Los  Angeles*  most  gifted  groups,  the  Last  split 
up  in  1985. 

A  new  Last — Joe  and  Mike  Nolte,  plus  three 
newcomers — resurfaced  unexpectedly  in  1988  with  a 
neat  album  produced  by  All  leader  Bill  Stevenson. 
(David  Nolte — now  in  Wednesday  Week — had  been  in 
a  very  early  version  of  the  Descendents,  Stevenson's 
group.)  Energized  '60s  power  pop  remains  the  Last's 
stock  in  trade,  and  they've  lost  none  of  their  pep  or 
melodiousness.  The  Noltes'  new  songs  have  a  resigned, 
cynical  edge  ("And  They  Laugh,"  "Going  Gone," 
"Everywhere  You  Turn"),  but  the  music  belies  that 
with  ringing  Byrdsy  guitars,  mild  keyboards  and  appeal- 
ing harmonies. 

Again  produced  by  Stevenson,  Awakening  makes 
no  stylistic  changes  in  composition  but  benefits  from  a 
toughened  attack.  Giving  clear  play  to  the  band's  dual 
affinities  for  punk  and  paisley  pop,  the  crisply  tuneful 
album  ranges  from  souped-up  covers  of  the  Beatles 
("She  Loves  You")  and  the  Shirelles  ("Baby  It's 
You")  to  a  great  ballad/rocker  "You,"  the  Farfisa- 
heavy  pop  of  "Book  of  Life"  and  the  intense  "Garden 
Grow,"  punctuated  by  Dave  Nazworthy's  furious  snare 
rolls.  (Both  Matar£  and  David  Nolte  make  cameo  ap- 
pearances.) 

Footnotes:  Alex  Gibson  designed  the  sleeve  of  a 
1978  Last  single.  Matar6  has  become  a  well-known  LA 
record  producer  (Divine  Weeks,  Angst,  Leaving  Trains, 
etc.)  and  co-founded  Trotsky  Icepick.  Drummer  Dave 
Nazworthy  splits  his  time  between  the  Last  and  the 
Chemical  People.  In  1988,  the  Last  ended  a  curious 
habit  of  not  playing  outside  California,  an  isolationist 
(lazy?)  policy  that  had  been  in  force  for  fourteen  years. 

[cpl/i/jr] 

See  also  All,  Chemical  People,  Trotsky  Icepick. 

BILL  LASWELL 

Baselines  (Celluloid-Elektra-Musician)  1 983  • 
Hear  No  Evil  (Venture-Virgin)  1 988  * 

PRAXIS 

Praxis  EP  (Celluloid)  1 984 

Erstwhile  Material  mainman  Laswell  released  his 
first  solo  album  right  around  the  time  people  began  to 
realize  that  his  talents  extend  beyond  excellent  bass 
playing  into  the  conceptual  stratosphere.  Baselines'  gut- 
bucket  funk  foundation  and  experienced  experimental- 
ism  provide  a  convincing  re'sume'  for  his  subsequent 
work  as  producer  to  the  stars  (Mick  Jagger,  Yellowman, 
Herbie  Hancock,  Motorhead,  Afrika  Bambaataa,  etc.). 
Guests  here  include  fellow  Materialists  Michael  Bein- 
horn  (a  frequent  co-writer  on  the  LP)  and  Martin  Bisi, 
percussionist  Ronald  Shannon  Jackson,  the  ubiquitous 
Fred  Frith  and  avant-noisemaster  extraordinaire  David 
Moss. 

Following  group  albums  with  Massacre  and  duo  re- 


cordings with  John  Zom  and  bass  saxist  Peier  Brotz- 
mann  (as  well  as  Praxis,  a  bass-and-drum-machine 
outing  that  unites  the  avant-garde  Laswell  with  the  hip- 
hop  Laswell  in  an  admirable  experiment  that  doesn't 
quite  jell),  Laswell  essayed  another  disc  under  his  OWE 
name  in  1988.  Joined  by  violinist  Shankar,  guitarist 
Nicky  Skopelitis  and  a  small  group  of  equally  sophisti- 
cated players,  he  wrote  and  produced  Hear  No  Evil,  an 
album  of  hauntingly  beautiful  instnimentals  with  reso- 
nances of  exotic  cultures  adding  depth  to  the  simple 
compositions.  Lovely.  [mf/i/gk] 

See  also  Golden  Palominos,  Material, 


LAUGHING  CLOWNS 

Laughing  Clowns  EP  (Aus.  Missing  Link)  1979 
Sometimes  ...  the  Fire  Dance  EP  (Aus.  Prince  Melon} 

1980 

3  EP  (Aus.  Prince  Melon)  1981 
Mr.  Uddich  Schmuddich  Goes  to  Town  (Aus.  Prince 

Melon)  1982 

Laughing  Clowns  (nr/Red  Flame)  1982 
Laughter  Around  the  Table  (nr/Red  Fiame)  1 983 
Law  of  Nature  (nr/Hot)  1 984 
History  of  Rock  n'  Roll  Volume  One  (Aus.  Hot)  1 985 
Ghosts  of  an  ideal  Wife  (Aus.  Hot)  1 985 

ED  KUEPPER 

Electrical  Storm  (Aus.  Hot)  1986 
Rooms  of  the  Magnificent  (nr/Hot)  1 987 
Not  a  Soul  Around  EP  (nr/Hot)  1987 
Everybod/s  Got  To  (Aus.  True  Tone)  1 988  (True 

Tone-Capitol)!  989  « 
Happy  as  Hell  EP  (Aus.  True  Tone)  1989 

TODAY  WONDER 

Today  Wonder  (Ger.  Rattlesnake)  1 990  « 

After  the  Saints  broke  up  in  1978  (and  before 
Chris  Bailey  started  the  group  up  again)  guitarist/ 
songwriter  Ed  Kuepper  returned  to  Sydney  to  form  a 
band  with  a  couple  of  early  Saints  alumni.  The  result- 
ing quintet,  dubbed  the  Laughing  Clowns,  included 
sax  and  electric  piano  and  was  topped  off  with  Kuep- 
per's  odd  voice:  he's  a  slightly  lower-pitched,  nasal 
and  nastier  Robert  Smith,  limited  in  range,  but  a  com- 
manding presence. 

The  Clowns'  strange  but  remarkably  bracing  debut 
EP  features  piano  that  both  meshes  its  timbral  resonance 
with  Kuepper' s  guitar  chording  and  co-states  the  melo- 
dies with  the  sax,  as  well  as — at  one  point — providing 
an  unnervingly  calm  anchor  while  the  drums  ran  wild. 
The  romantic  and  musical  cliches  of  supper-club/movie 
jazz  go  berserk  in  an  astonishingly  eloquent  yet  intense 
statement  of  disillusionment  and  frustration. 

Oddly  enough,  the  manic  energy  and  tunefulness 
seemed  to  dissipate — over  the  course  of  two  additional 
EPs — in  favor  of  despair,  ennui,  cynicism  (or  just  sar- 
casm?) and  decidedly  less  lustrous  music,  in  both  text 
and  texture.  The  addition  of  a  trumpeter  on  3  does  pro- 
vide a  spark,  only  to  be  neutralized  by  satirically  dis- 
cordant riffing.  By  this  point,  the  moments  of  musical 
anarchy  seem  less  passionate  than  perverse. 

On  Mr.  Uddich  Schmuddich  Goes  to  Town,  a 
shift  in  the  lineup  brought  in  a  new  saxman  and  bassist 
(playing  acoustic  stand-up)  and  dropped  the  pianist.  The 


377 


tracks  are  more  succinct,  and  the  overall  impression  is 
that  of  consolidation  and  retrenchment. 

The  Red  Flame  Laughing  Clowns  is  a  compilation 
that  includes  both  Prince  Melon  EPs  plus  three  tracks 
from  the  alburn. 

By  Laughter  Around  the  Table,  the  Clowns' 
sound  had  coalesced  into  something  resembling  the  Cure 
gone  avant-jazz.  The  sax  playing  states  melody  lines 
and  provides  some  credible  solos,  but  the  overall  effect, 
with  one  exception,  is  too  willfully  abrasive  and  reaches 
beyond  its  musical  grasp,  especially  the  drumming. 

The  arrangements  on  Law  of  Nature  continue  to 
step  on  Kuepper's  melodies — they're  never  harmoni- 
cally brought  out  to  their  fullest.  Also,  the  occasional 
awkwardness  or  disjointedness  of  his  bitter  lyrics  is  un- 
intentionally emphasized  by  this  kind  of  non- 
production,  a  frustrating  undercutting  of  Kuepper's 
compositional  efforts. 

By  the  time  they  cut  History  of  Rock  n'  Roll  Vol- 
ume One,  though,  all  the  gears  meshed.  The  Clowns 
turn  out  music  perversely  unillustrative  of  the  title,  but 
with  its  own  dark  force  and  rich,  occasionally  abrasive 
textures:  swaggenng,  punching  horns,  sedate,  melodic 
piano,  scratchy,  tinny  guitar  and  sliding,  stretching 
acoustic  bass,  all  underpinned  by  frenetic  but  authori- 
tative drums.  Bravo! 

Unfortunately,  that  apotheosis  didn't  last.  Ghosts  is 
more  controlled  than  Law  of  Nature,  clarity-wise  as 
well  as  compositionally,  but  as  before  it's  awkward,  the 
lapses  of  the  drums  and  sax  seem  unnecessarily  (if  un- 
intentionally) overemphasized.  The  songs  seem  to  be 
making  gestures  in  the  direction  of  more  "normal" 
structure  and  style  without  any  commitment  to  that  (or 
any  other)  direction. 

Gone  solo,  Kuepper  grasped  some  key  elements  of 
the  later  Clowns  sound  (notably  the  use  of  horns  to 
voice  songs'  signature  riffs)  but  otherwise  opted  to  skin 
it  back  to  much  more  conventional  and  accessible  folk- 
rock  on  Electrical  Storm.  Rooms  of  the  Magnificent 
took  this  to  another  level,  displaying  much  musical  va- 
riety, even  within  the  same  number:  "Show  Pony"  is  a 
quiet,  folkish  tune  which  adds  horns,  which  gives  way 
to  "Suzie  Q"-ish  riffing  that  becomes  a  coda  nearly  as 
long  as  the  song,  as  guitars  and  piano  flail  away  like  the 
end  of  "Layla"  gone  angry  "Also  Sprach  the  King  of 
Euro-Disco"  mates  a  faintly  "Zarathustroid"  chord  se- 
quence, a  James  Bondish  guitar  lick,  cool  female  back- 
ing voices,  and  a  killer  horn  riff. 

All  of  this  supports  lyncs  which  twist  clich6s,  mak- 
ing them  sardonic  (or  flat-out  bizarre)  via  voice-tone, 
juxtaposition  or  both.  The  album  should  have  gotten 
him  more  attention  in  America,  and  it  did:  Capitol 
picked  up  Everybody's  Got  To,  although  nothing  came 
of  it,  commercially  speaking.  Too  bad — it's  a  further 
refinement  of  the  distinctively  blended  arrangements  of 
the  previous  two  albums:  intelligent,  infectious  rock- 
'n'roll that,  without  being  at  all  avant,  sounds  like  no- 
body else.  (Not  a  Soul  Around  takes  its  title  track  from 
Everybody's  Got  To,  adding  two  from  Rooms  and  the 
title  track  of  Electric  Storm.) 

With  his  career  going  absolutely  nowhere,  Kuepper 
dropped  everyone  in  his  band  except  drummer  Mark 
Dawson,  became  Today  Wonder  and  cut  an  acoustic 
folk  LP  that  includes  "If  I  Were  a  Carpenter."  Has  he 
lost  it?  Well,  no.  "Carpenter"  ain't  so  hot,  but  most  of 


the  rest  (including  treatments  of  two  other  chestnuts, 
"I'd  Rather  Be  the  Devil"  and  "Hey  Gyp")  is.  It's 
impressive  to  hear  how  full  acoustic  guitars,  drums,  a 
cardboard  box  and  a  little  echo  can  sound;  Kuepper's 
voice  (in  a  slightly  lower  register  here)  is  even  better 
than  before.  Inspirational  love  song  opening:  "I've  de- 
signs on  you  that  come  from  dirty  books."  [jg] 
See  also  Saints, 


LAUGHING  HYENAS 

Come  Down  to  the  Merry  Go  Round  EP  (Touch  and  Go) 

1987 

You  Can't  Pray  a  Lie  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989  • 
Life  of  Crime  (Touch  and  Go)  1 990  • 

While  three-fourths  of  this  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 
group  lays  down  routine  post-punk  rock  with  steady, 
measured  beats  (Jim  Kimball  is  a  fine  drummer)  and 
serious  guitar  aggression  by  Larissa  Strickland,  front- 
man  John  Brannon  unleashes  intelligently  irascible/ 
creepy  lyrics  in  a  merciless  animal  shriek  that  will  have 
you  instinctively  swallowing  to  check  if  your  throat 
hurts 

The  six-song  12-inch  EP,  produced  (as  were  the 
next  two  records)  by  Butch  Vig,  lays  out  the  Hyenas' 
basic  plan,  but  there  isn't  enough  equilibrium  between 
the  understated  music  and  the  overdone  vocals  to  be 
convincing.  Bits  work,  but  Brannon *s  full-throttle  ef- 
forts leave  his  bandmates  in  the  dust. 

You  Can't  Pray  a  Lie  gets  the  balance  right.  Strick- 
land's charged  contributions  (it  sounds  like  she's  been 
listening  to  her  Rapeman  records)  give  the  singer  a  high- 
intensity  run  for  his  money.  Ironically,  while  the  chal- 
lenge inspires  Brannon  to  greater  feats  of  frenzy,  his 
roars — mixed  to  a  nearly  equal  footing  with  the  music — 
become  easier  to  endure,  if  not  exactly  enjoy. 

Continuing  to  organize  its  four-wheel  drive  into  real 
forward  motion,  the  Laughing  Hyenas  lash  out  with 
unified  vehemence  on  Life  of  Crime,  honoring  the  spir- 
itual memory  of  those  legendary  Ann  Arbor  forefathers, 
the  Stooges.  While  the  music  heats  up,  Brannon  cools 
down  a  bit  here  and  there,  showing  signs  that  he  could 
yet  become  an  effective  rock  growler  rather  than  a 
fringe-weird  screamer.  (Both  eight-song  albums  are 
contained  on  a  single  CD. )  [i] 


PETER  LAUGHNER 

Peter  Laughner  (Koolie)  1 982 

ROCKET  FROM  THE  TOMBS 

Life  Stinks  (Jack  Slack)  1990 

As  chronicler  of — and  prime  mover  in — the  ground- 
breaking Cleveland  underground  scene  of  the  early  '70s, 
Peter  Laughner  (who  died  m  1977)  galvanized  one  of 
the  most  disparate  collections  of  musicians  imaginable 
into  a  potent  and  influential  (if  ultimately  short-lived) 
force.  While  crediting  his  prescience,  his  eulogists  all 
too  often  ignore  the  sheer  quality  of  Laughner' s  own 
original  musical  talent.  Though  Lou  Reed  was  his  major 
influence  (particularly  as  a  vocalist),  Laughner' s  work 
can  scarcely  be  narrowcast  as  simply  tributary.  The  post- 
humous album  (gleaned  from  demos  and  a  brace  of  live 
shows)  reveals  a  folkier  side;  nods  to  Ramblin'  Jack 
Elliott  (on  "Rag  Baby")  and  Richard  Thompson  (the 


378 


melancholy  "Baudelaire")  don't  obscure  the  true,  life- 
affirming  essence  of  an  original. 

Rocket  from  the  Tombs,  alternately  "led"  by 
Laughner,  David  Thomas  (later  of  Pere  Ubu)  and/or 
Stiv  Bators  (then  merely  the  ex-lead  singer  of  Youngs- 
town  glitter-bozos  Mother  Goose),  kept  the  flames  of 
Detroit  stun-rock  raging  through  the  early  '70s.  Life 
Stinks,  culled  from  a  local  radio  broadcast,  showcases 
the  band  at  its  best,  melding  searing  shock  guitar  (by 
Laughner  and  Gene  O'Connor,  who  later  copped  the 
nom  de  punque  Cheetah  Chrome)  with  spaced-out  Ger- 
manic doodle  on  tracks  like  "30  Seconds  Over  Tokyo," 
"Life  Stinks"  (both  Laughner  compositions  that  would 
grace  the  Ubu  catalogue)  and  "Ain't  It  Fun"  (a  future 
Dead  Boys  staple).  The  lovingly,  exhaustively  anno- 
tated set  (which  comes  with  a  bonus  7-inch  featuring 
"Transfusion"  co-written  by  Laughner  and  his  ex- wife, 
Cleveland  poet/musician  Charlotte  Pressler)  also  in- 
cludes a  bevy  of  lesser-known  tracks  that  attest  to  the 
band's  intuitive  futurism.  Anyone  attempting  to  divine 
the  roots  of  punk  will  certainly  have  their  rod  set  awhirl 
here,  [dssj 

See  also  Dead  Boys,  Pere  Ubu. 

CYND1  LAUPER 

She's  So  Unusual  (Portrait)  1984  ® 

True  Colors  (Portrait)!  986  « 

A  Night  to  Remember  (Epic)  1 989  « 

She's  So  Unusual  certainly  didn't  sound  like  a 
multi-platinum  record  on  first  listen,  but  that  just  goes  to 
show  you.  Originally  recognized  as  the  only  memorable 
member  of  New  York's  unlamented  Blue  Angel,  Lau- 
per's big  voice  grew  to  scarifying  proportions  under  the 
sympathetic  production  of  Rick  Chertoff »  supported  by 
the  able  playing  of  Eric  Bazilian  and  Rob  Hyman,  lead- 
ers of  Philadelphia's  then-obscure  Hooters.  Lauper's 
songwriting  was  just  getting  started,  so  the  album  draws 
on  outside  material — a  potentially  disastrous  mine- 
field— which  proved  superb,  from  the  Brains'  "Money 
Changes  Everything"  (much  better  in  Lauper's  live 
45  version  than  on  the  album's  somewhat  turgid  rendi- 
tion) to  Prince's  unforgettable  "When  You  Were  Mine" 
and,  of  course,  Robert  Hazard's  "Girls  Just  Want  to 
Have  Fun."  With  talent,  easy  confidence  and  self- 
deflating  humor,  the  colorful  Lauper  won  countless 
hearts,  injecting  warmth  and  graciousness  into  the 
mega-pop  world. 

Two  years  later,  the  inevitable  letdown  of  True  Col- 
ors is  fairly  serious  as  Lauper,  who  co-produced  and 
co-wrote  most  of  the  material,  takes  bad  spills  on  both 
fronts.  While  "Maybe  He'll  Know"  and  "True  Col- 
ors" are  wholeheartedly  wonderful,  "Change  of  Heart'* 
and  a  cover  of  Marvin  Gaye's  "What's  Going  On"  are 
sabotaged  by  overzealousness  (especially  the  bombastic 
drumming)  on  the  former  and  blandness  on  the  latter. 
Considering  what  a  unique  and  remarkable  singer  Lau- 
per is,  the  squandering  of  her  gifts  on  this  uninspired, 
halfbaked  throwaway  is  tragic. 

Seemingly  with  nowhere  to  go  but  up,  Lauper  then 
made — after  a  lengthy  delay  during  which  the  record 
was  advertised  in  Billboard  as  Kindred  Spirit — a 
record  that  is  even  worse.  Reeking  of  commercial  trep- 
idation, A  Night  to  Remember  showcases  a  no-two- 
the-same  set  of  vocal  guises  in  service  of  mediocre, 


often  bizarre  material  by  various  hits-for-hire  songwrit- 
ers. "My  First  Night  Without  You"  recaptures  some  of 
Lauper's  brassy  allure,  but  an  artist  whose  initial  pop- 
ularity sprang  from  her  charmingly  casual  aplomb 
shouldn't  sound  this  anxious.  Scratchy  snippets  of  im- 
itation Appalachian  folk,  coy  novelties  ("Like  a  Cat," 
"Insecurious"),  a  Joan  Armatrading  soundalike,  a 
melodramatic  Spectorish  torch  song — it's  all  here,  and 
none  of  it  works.  [I] 

See  also  Blue  Angel. 

HAY 

Lava  Hay  (Nettwerk-Polydor)  1 990  <J> 

On  its  American  debut,  this  Toronto  duo  sounds  like 
half  the  Bangles.  Steve  Berlin's  hack-in-a-coffee-house 
rock  production  (lose  the  flute,  guys)  lays  too  heavy  a 
burden  on  Michele  Gould  and  Suzanne  Little,  who  write 
nice  but  unspectacular  folk-pop  romances  and  sing  them 
with  liquid,  uplifting  harmonies.  Lava  Hay  is  certainly 
talented,  but  Lava  Hay  doesn't  have  the  magic  (or  even 
the  hooks)  to  be  anything  more  than  a  passing  warm 
breeze.  [i] 

Beyond  Barbecue  (SST)  1986 
Sasquatch  Rock  {SST}  1987  ® 

As  part  of  an  effort  to  change  its  image  and  expand 
its  scope  beyond  the  confines  of  punk,  SST  signed  this 
surf-guitar  quartet  from  Lawndale  (the  Southern  Cali- 
fornia town  where  the  label  is  based)  and  released  two 
albums  of  winning  twang.  Staking  a  claim  on  '60s  West 
Coast  beach  instrumental,  Lawndale  plays  original 
compositions  (plus  occasional  offbeat  borrowings,  like 
"Interstellar  Caravan,"  credited  to  Pink  Floyd  and 
Duke  Ellington)  with  unaffected  enthusiasm  and  spunk. 
The  only  indication  of  the  band's  '80s  orientation  is 
song  titles  like  "The  Story  of  Vanna  White,"  "The 
Days  of  Pup  &  Taco,"  "March  of  the  Melted  Army 
Men"  and  "Sasquatch  Rock." 

The  second  album  has  a  less-specific  period  feel  and 
exchanges  Mosrite  clarity  for  ambitious  clutter  (adding 
fuzzbox,  harmonica  and  even  a  fleeting  "Robert  Plant 
vocal"  on  "Take  Five,"  which  quotes  "Whole  Lotta 
Love"),  but  both  promise  a  refreshing  dip  into  delight- 
ful, if  well-charted,  waters.  [i] 

LAWSON  SQUARE  INFIRMARY 

See  Triffds. 

LAZY  COWGIRLS 

Lazy  Cowgirls  (Restless)  1985 

Tapping  the  Source  (Bompl)  1987 

Third  Time's  The  Charm  (Aus.  Grown  Up  Wrong)  1 988 

Radio  Cowgirl  (Sympathy  for  the  Record  Industry)  1 989 

How  It  Looks:  How  It  Is  (Sympathy  for  the  Record 

Industry)  1 990 

By  the  time  a  pair  of  ne'er-do-well  Hoosier  punks 
rechristened  themselves  Axl  and  Izzy  and  headed  west 
to  the  promised  land,  the  core  of  Vincennes,  Indiana's 
Lazy  Cowgirls  had  already  blazed  that  trail,  absorbing 
many  of  the  same  substances  (both  aurally  and  other- 
wise) while  retaining  the  ingrained  grittiness  and  knee- 


379 


jerk  bad  attitude  that  marks  'em  as  true  punks.  The 
quartet's  self-titled  debut  is  a  near-perfect  crystallization 
of  everything  that  was  right  about  pre-Anglomaniac 
punk:  the  Dictators'  fuck-'em-if-they-can't-take-a-joke 
mentality,  the  Dolls'  loving  R&B  butchery  and  (most 
importantly)  the  Ramones'  strum  urn/ bang  "subtlety." 
On  the  first  Cowgirls  album,  "Time"  and  "Drugs"  are 
especially  Bradda-like  in  their  eloquently  monosyllabic 
exploration  of  said  subjects. 

Realizing  that  a  repeat  performance  might  brand 
them  as  nostalgists,  combined  with  a  bit  of  bonding  with 
speed-poet  auteur  Chris  D.,  the  Cowgirls  were  pushed 
to  create  their  masterwork— -the  amphetaminized  Tap- 
ping the  Source.  The  bitterness  that  lurks  just  beneath 
Allen  Clark's  hyperspeed  Sandy  Nelson  beats  makes 
songs  like  "Heartache"  and  "Goddamn  Bottle"  (per- 
haps the  finest  cry-in-your-suds  punk  tune  ever)  truly 
affecting.  This  no-hope  factory-town  blues  just  can't  be 
learned;  the  Cowgirls  are  steeped  in  it. 

Third  Time's  the  Charm  (which  features  a  side- 
splitting side-long  interview  with  the  band)  is  a  bit  flat 
but,  even  when  the  music  veers  towards  standard  hard- 
core structures,  there's  layers  of  subtext  (about  only  the 
most  pressing  subjects,  of  course:  liquor,  cheatin'  and 
the  Christianization.  of  Larry  Flynt). 

Radio  Cowgirl,  which  documents  one  of  the  band's 
legendary  excessive  live  sets  (minus  the  sorely  missed 
visual  aspect  of  the  diminutive  and  balding  dervish 
frontman  Pat  Todd),  boasts  chafing-at-the-bit  covers  of 
the  Saints'  "Know  Your  Product"  and  the  Ramones' 
"Carbona  Not  Glue."  It's  also  notable  as  the  first  re- 
lease on  Sympathy  for  the  Record  Industry,  a  prolific 
label  that  repeatedly  attests  to  the  huge  impact  Todd  and 
company  have  had  on  their  city's  punk  scene. 

Alleged  to  be  the  band's  swansong,  How  It  Looks 
never  downshifts  from  overdrive,  but  the  wheels  are 
often  left  spinning.  Generic  blitzkrieg  bops  like  "Teen- 
age Frankenstein"  and  "Sex  Kittens  Compare  Scratch- 
es" are  conceptually  hackneyed  and  musically 
shopworn.  Then  again,  Todd's  sneering  delivery  alone 
can  carry  hate  missives  like  the  title  track  and  the  very 
Pagans-like  "D.I.E.  in  Indiana."  If  they've  indeed  rid- 
den into  the  smog-shrouded  sunset  for  the  last  time,  the 
Lazy  Cowgirls  have  left  quite  a  legacy — and  staked  a 
pretty  secure  claim  to  being  the  Last  True  Punk  Rock 
Band.  [dss] 


LEAD  INTO  GOLD 

See  Ministry, 

LEAGUE  OF  CRAFTY 
GUITARISTS 

See  Robert  Fripp. 

LEAGUE  OF  GENTLEMEN 

See  Robert  Fripp. 

LEAGUE  UNLIMITED 
ORCHESTRA 

See  Human  League, 


PAUL  LEARY 

See  Butthole  Surfers. 

LEAVING  TRAINS 

Wei!  Down  Blue  Highway  (Bemisbrain-Enigma)  1 984 

Kill  Tunes  (SSI)  1986® 

Fuck  (SST)  1987® 

Transportationai  D.  Vices  (SST)  1 989  • 

Sleeping  Undeiwater  Survivors  (SSI)  1991  • 

Co-produced  by  Rain  Parader  David  Roback  and 
featuring  a  guest  drummer  from  Gun  Club  and  a  key- 
board player  from  Green  on  Red,  Well  Down  Blue 
Highway  makes  it  clear  that  Leaving  Trains,  a  Pacific 
Palisades  trio,  is  well-connected  in  the  California  nuevo- 
rock/folk/blues  community.  Unlike  many  new  bands, 
they  don't  sound  like  R.E.M.  and  are  neither  psyche- 
delic, country  nor  otherwise  '60s-derived,  which  makes 
Well  Down  Btae  Highway  individual,  but  hard  to  char- 
acterize. Falling  James'  introspective  songs  and  unaf- 
fected, clumsy  vocals  form  the  basis  of  the  sound  and 
personality,  eschewing  complexity,  hooks  and  smooth- 
ness in  favor  of  dry,  blunt  rock'n'roll 

With  Kill  Tunes,  the  Trains  opt  for  a  bopping  punk 
edge.  The  LP  is  particularly  inspired  by  the  early  Saints 
("Private  Affair"  from  Eternally  Yours  is  covered) 
and  manages  to  continuously  shift  gears,  from  shit- 
kicking  4/4  like  "She's  Looking  at  You"  and  *  "Black*' 
to  lighter  ballads  ("Light  Rain"  and  "Kinette"),  with 
an  appropriate  mixture  of  humor  ("A  Drunker  Version 
of  You"  is  a  blast),  anger,  sadness  and  restlessness. 

Fuck  debuts  a  new  lineup  with  Falling  James 
(Moreland)  as  the  quartet's  only  holdover  and  is  even 
more  of  a  slam-bang  affair.  The  songs  come  in  one- 
minute  blasts  like  "How  Can  I  Explode?" — no  frills, 
just  start  'em  up  and  let  'er  rip.  Fuck's  overall  manic 
tone  makes  it  half  the  album  Kill  Tunes  is,  but  so  long 
as  you  can  get  mounted  on  this  wild  bronco,  it's  an 
exciting  ride.  Afterwards,  the  LP  winds  up  with  a  nine- 
and-a-half-minute  dirge  called  "What  the  President 
Meant  to  Say,'*  offering  listeners  plenty  of  time  to  re- 
cuperate. 

Transportationai  D.  Vices  is  so  similar  that  it  might 
as  well  be  titled  Fuck  II.  Again  characterized  by  blink- 
and-you'll-miss-'em  4/4  blowouts  and  James'  so- 
spontaneous-they-must-be-one-take  vocals,  the  Trains 
nevertheless  integrate  a  bluesy  skanker  ("Dude  the 
Cat")  and  two  driving,  cool  rockers  ("Any  Old  Time" 
and  "You're  Never  Gonna  Love  Me  Anymore")  that 
would  do  Kill  Tunes  justice.  There's  also  a  striking 
rendition  of  the  Urinals'  (later  known  as  100  Flowers) 
anti-pop  obscurity,  "Black  Hole."  Fun  from  start  to 
finish. 

One  of  America's  most  reliable,  simple,  high-octane 
rock'n'roll  bands  with  chops,  attitude  and  commitment 
to  chaos,  Leaving  Trains  released  a  new  album,  Sleep- 
ing Underwater  Survivors,  in  early  '91  and  reportedly 
have  another  LP  in  the  can.  Stay  tuned.  [i/jr] 

KEITH  LEBLANC 

See  Tackhead, 

JACK  LEE 

See  Nerves. 


380 


TIM  LEE 

See  Windbreakers. 

to  Sorrow  EP  (Arsenal)  1981  (Triple  X)  1991  * 
>ecsth  of  Innocence  (Arsenal)  1982  (Triple  X)  1991  * 
four  Weapon  (Arsenal)  1982  (Triple  X)  1991  * 
nterior  Hearts  (Arsenal)  1986  (Triple  X)  1991  « 
jfe  Sentence  to  Love  (MCA)  1988 

No  Sorrow — five  slices  of  catchy  rock  in  an  early 
%J Avengers  mode — documents  the  earliest  version  of 
[his  Southern  California  punk  outfit,  when  it  contained 
bassist  Patricia  Morrison,  late  of  the  Bags.  With  Mor- 
rison headed  off  to  a  more  visible  career  with  Gun  Club 
and  Sisters  of  Mercy,  however,  Death  of  Innocence 
catapulted  Legal  Weapon  into  greatness,  and  is  one  of 
the  last  decade's  most  underrated  punk  albums.  From 
start  to  finish  it  goes  all-out,  song  after  darkly  astringent 
song.  Brian  Hansen's  loud,  Ramones-meet-Stones  gui- 
tar riffs  mesh  with  dynamic  rhythm  playing;  Kat  Arthur 
possesses  a  wonderfully  sensual  whiskey  voice,  like  a 
hardcore  Janis  Joplin.  From  galvanizing  rockers  like 
"Daddy's  Gone  Mad,"  *' Waiting  in  Line,"  "War  Ba- 
bies" and  a  redone  "No  Sorrow"  to  the  anti-incest 
drama  of  "Don't  Pretend"  and  the  superb,  disillusioned 
title  track,  the  material  is  tightly  arranged  and  powerful, 
replete  with  gritty  hooks  and  complex,  semi-metallic 
twists.  Members  of  the  Adolescents  help  out  on  bass 
and  rhythm  guitar. 

Wasting  no  time,  Legal  Weapon  quickly  whipped 
out  the  nearly-as-amazing  Your  Weapon,  packaged  in 
an  elaborate  fold-out  poster.  While  not  quite  as  consis- 
tent, it  has  basically  the  same  sound  as  its  predecessor, 
but  with  meatier  production  and  a  solid,  fulltirne  rhythm 
section.  Arthur  once  again  pushes  the  material — 
especially  the  epic  ballad  "Only  Lost  Today"  and  the 
bluesy-punk  anthem,  "Equalizer" — to  compelling 
heights.  On  "The  Stare,"  the  raw  mix  of  lust  and  vul- 
nerability in  her  voice  is  a  revelation. 

Legal  Weapon  signed  to  a  major  label  around  1984 
and  began  recording  an  album.  But  the  project  fizzled 
and  Interior  Hearts — a  likable  but  disappointing  LP, 
with  thin  sound  and  more  of  a  country/blues  flavor 
(again,  like  then-current  X) — appeared  on  their  own 
label  instead. 

That  record  is  a  gem  compared  to  Life  Sentence  to 
Love,  which  totally  blows.  Having  finally  done  the  big 
time  deal,  Legal  Weapon  serve  up  a  keyboard-laden 
cross  between  Heart  and  the  Cult  over  which  Arthur 
tries  to  emote.  Re-recorded  versions  of  "Interior 
Hearts"  and  "Tears  of  Steel"  from  the  previous  album 
are  not  improvements;  the  old  spark  and  power  are  no- 
where to  be  found.  A  life  sentence  to  oblivion  is  more 
like  it.  [get] 

See  also  Gun  Club,  Sisters  of  Mercy. 

LEGENDARY  PINK  DOTS 

Chemical  Playschool  [tape]  (nr/Mirrodot)  1 981 

Kleine  Krieg  [tape]  (nr/Mirrodot)  1981 

Brighter  Now  (Bel.  Terminal  Kaleidoscope- Play  It  Again 

Sam)  1982* 
Curse  (Bel.  Terminal  Kaleidoscope-Play  It  Again  Sam) 

1983* 


Faces  in  the  Fire  (Bel.  Terminal  Kaleidoscope-Play  If  Again 

Sam}!  984® 
The  Tower  (Bel  Terminal  Kaleidoscope-Hay  (t  Again  Sam) 

1984® 

Greeting  9  (It.  Materials  Sonori)  1 984 
The  Lovers  (Hot.  Ding  Dong)  1 985 
Asylum  (Bel  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 985  « 
Curious  Guy  EP  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 986 
Island  of  Jewels  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1987  • 
Stone  Circles:  A  Legendary  Pink  Dots  Anthology  (Play  It 

Again  Sam)  1987* 

Any  Day  Now  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 987  * 
The  Golden  Age  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 988  » 
Legendary  Pink  Box  (BeL  Hay  It  Again  Sam)  1 989 
The  Crushed  Velvet  Apocalypse  (PSay  It  Again  Sam) 

1990* 
The  Maria  Dimension  (Play  It  Again  Sam-Caroline)  1 991  * 

EDWARD  KA-SPEL 

Laugh  China  Doll  (Hoi.  Torso)  1 984  (nr/Play  It  Again 

Sam)  1 989  « 

Eyes!  China  Doll  (Hoi.  Scarface)  1985 
Cheykk,  China  Doll  (Hoi.  Torso)  1986 
Perhaps  Well  Only  See  a  Thin  Blue  Line  (nr/Play  It  Again 

Sam)  1989 

TEAR  GARDEN 

Tired  Eyes  Slowly  Burning  (Can.  Nefiwerk)  1 987 

(Nettwerk-Capitol)1990« 

Formed  in  London  around  1980,  the  Legendary  Pink 
Dots  relocated  to  Amsterdam  in  the  middle  of  the  de- 
cade, using  that  city  as  the  basis  for  an  enormously 
productive  and  diverse  career  that — despite  clear  crypto- 
pop  accessibility  amid  occasionally  excessive  psyche- 
delic exotica — has  remained  well  below  commercial 
radar.  Proceeding  out  of  a  hodgepodge  of  gloomy/ 
fringey/hippie  antecedents — Joy  Division,  Syd  Barrett, 
Faust,  etc. — but  adding  a  classical  sensibility,  involuted 
mythology,  found-sound  sampling  weirdness,  plus  all 
sorts  of  stylistic  cross-mingling  and  experimentation, 
Edward  Ka-Spel  (vocals,  lyrics,  keyboards),  Phil 
Knights  (aka  The  Silver  Man;  keyboards)  and  a  shifting 
collection  of  associates  have  turned  the  Legendary  Pink 
Dots  into  an  open-ended  adventure.  Although  certainly 
prone  to  enigmatic  risk-taking,  the  enormously  re- 
sourceful LPD  is  a  mellifluous  and  dynamically  re- 
strained proposition:  this  is  one  dip  into  the  rock 
netherworld  that  won't  send  you  running  for  cover.  The 
lyrics,  however — a  disturbing  onslaught  of  doom,  vio- 
lence and  apocalypse — are  a  different  story. 

After  years  of  Europe-only  releases,  the  Dots  issued 
the  Stone  Circles  compilation,  an  introductory  essay  of 
selected  album  tracks  and  one  new  track.  With  the  ice 
thus  melted,  ail  of  the  group's  subsequent  albums  have 
been  issued  Stateside  (save  for  the  limited-edition  Leg- 
endary Pink  Box  set:  three  albums'  worth  of  rarities, 
unreleased  items,  alternate  versions  and  compilation 
contributions). 

Opening  with  a  majestic  church  organ  that  suddenly 
goes  all  wobbly,  Any  Day  Now  is  a  lovely  album  of 
songs  with  strong  (dare  it  be  said — catchy?)  melodies 
and  a  blend  of  electro-pop  and  classical  arrangements. 
Ka-Spel' s  preternaturally  calm  multi-tracked  singing 
helps  focus  the  diverse  instrumentation,  which  includes 
violin,  horns  and  harmonium;  real-world  sound  effects 
add  a  strong  dramatic  element. 


381 


Lyrically,  The  Golden  Age  is  a  concept  drama  about 
a  psychopath  stalking  his  former  lover,  a  model  (?)  who 
taunts  him  from  the  TV  screen  and  magazine  pages.  The 
chilly  and  suavely  spare  continental  music — imagine  a 
dessicated  version  of  the  Pet  Shop  Boys — does  little  to 
distract  from  Ka-Spel*s  nearly  dissolute  delivery,  which 
wavers  in  and  out  of  Gary  Numanesque  melodrama. 
Elegantly,  deceptively  powerful. 

Several  tracks  on  The  Crashed  Velvet 
Apocalypse — a  pleasant  but  creatively  anemic  outing — 
interrupt  scenes  of  pastoral  musical  beauty  with  mu- 
sique  concrete  noises;  "The  Green  Gang"  runs  sitar/ 
tabla  meanderings  into  twittering  flutes  and  winds  up 
building  a  quietly  disturbing  skein  of  motorway  noise. 
"The  Death  of  Jack  the  Ripper" — an  artfully  lurid, 
slow-paced  horror  tale  accompanied  by  the  electronic 
sound  of  water  dripping — comes  as  a  grisly  jolt  on  an 
album  that  begins  with  "I  Love  You  in  Your  Tragic 
Beauty,"  an  affectingly  sad  acoustic-guitar-plus- 
accordion  pop  song  that  strongly  suggests  the  TV  Per- 
sonalities, and  ends  with  the  offbeat  but  enticing  "New 
Tomorrow/' 

The  Dots  expend  more  effort  on  The  Maria  Dimen- 
sion, a  highly  imaginative  but  relatively  straightforward 
(for  this  decidedly  bent  group)  and  consistently  engross- 
ing collection  that  romps  ambitiously — and,  more  often 
than  not,  successfully — through  colorful  '60sish  psy- 
chedelia, electronics,  disconcerting  sound  effects  and 
baroque  pop.  A  most  entertaining  and  stimulating  trip. 

Besides  making  a  handful  of  solo  albums,  the  pro- 
lific Ka-Spel  collaborated  with  members  of  Skinny 
Puppy  on  the  Tear  Garden  album.  [i] 

See  also  Skinny  Puppy. 


RAYLEMA 

See  Stewart  Copeland. 

LEMONHEADS 

Laughing  All  the  Way  to  the  Cleaners  EP  (Huh-Bag)  1986 

Hate  Your  Friends  (Taangi)  1 987 

Creator  (Taang!)  1 988 

Create  Your  Friends  [CD]  (Taang!)  1989  • 

Lick  (Taang!)!  989  • 

Lovey  (Atlantic)  1 990  • 

Favorite  Spanish  Dishes  EP  [CD]  (Atlantic)  1991  * 

Boston's  Lemonheads  must  have  great  record  col- 
lections. Throughout  a  five-year  (and  counting)  career 
fraught  with  lineup  upheavals,  the  core  (until  1990)  of 
bassist  Jesse  Peretz  and  guitarists/singers/drumniers 
Evan  Dando  and  Ben  Deily  seemed  able  to  absorb  loads 
of  different  rocks  (punk-,  hard-,  even  folk-)  and  toss  off 
nugget  after  nugget  of  pure  pop. 

The  brief  introductory  7-inch  contains  four  raw  and 
restless  poppy  punk  songs,  three  of  which  eventually 
turned  up  on  later  albums.  With  tuneless  hardcore  tan- 
trums, noisy  guitar  raunch  and  pristine  power  pop,  Hate 
Your  Friends  is  a  jarring  and  frustrating  debut  LP 
whose  jewels  ("Second  Chance,"  "Don't  Tell  Yourself 
It's  OK,"  "Uhhh"  and  the  remarkable  Saints  sounda- 
like  "Fed  Up")  luckily  manage  to  outweigh  the  dross. 

As  the  young  quartet  continued  to  do  its  growing  up 
in  public,  Creator  has  more  ambitious  arrangements, 
and  the  influence  of  such  bands  as  Mission  of  Burma 


and  the  dB's  can  be  sensed  in  songs  like  "Clang  Bang 
Clang"  (later  redone,  on  Lovey,  as  "Left  for  Dead") 
and  "Take  Her  Down."  Unfortunately,  a  couple  of 
pretty  numbers  are  marred  by  wretched  Hallmark-card 
sentiments.  One  neat  surprise:  a  fairly  reverent  cover  of 
Kiss'  old  "Plaster  Caster."  (Both  albums  were  later 
combined  on  the  Create  Your  Friends  CD.) 

In  1989,  the  same  year  Dando  served  as  the  Blake 
Babies'  bassist,  the  Lemonheads  gained  some  notoriety 
with  a  bracing,  off-the-cuff  version  of  Suzanne  Vega's 
"Luka."  That  track  (and,  on  the  CD,  an  effective  elec- 
trified stab  at  Patsy  Cline's  "Strange")  highlight  the 
schizophrenic  Lick,  which  counters  almost  every  clever 
move  (like  the  appropriation  of  the  All  in  the  Family 
theme  on  "7  Powers")  with  a  misguided  dead  end  (like 
the  trite  "Anyway"). 

(The  Lemonheads  had  a  1990  UK  hit  with  another 
cover  version,  Mike  Nesmith's  "Different  Drum."  That 
track,  and  its  two  Dando-peiuied  B-sides,  were  later 
issued  Stateside  on  Favorite  Spanish  Dishes,  a  five- 
song  CD  with  tributes  to  the  Misfits  and  New  Kids  on 
the  Block.) 

With  the  departure  of  Deily,  Dando  —  for  years  the 
group's  creative  force  and  chief  songwriter  —  stepped  to 
the  fore.  While  the  move  to  a  major  label  thankfully  did 
nothing  to  undercut  the  Lemonheads,  Dando'  s  sensitive 
side  is  very  much  in  evidence  on  Lovey.  The  R.E.M.- 
ish  "Half  the  Time,"  BOC-ish  "(The)  Door"  and  Gram 
Parsons'  "Brass  Buttons"  reveal  a  punk  kid  almost  all 
grown  up,  with  no  qualms  about  expressing  his  perhaps 
unfashionable  faves/influences.  Dando's  lyrical  preoc- 
cupations may  seem  a  little  strange  at  times:  he  quotes 
(and  discusses)  Charlie  Manson  on  "Ballarat,"  offers 
an  ode  to  pot  on  the  wah-wah  workout  "Li1!  Seed"  and 
embraces  true  mundanity  in  "Stove,"  a  song  about  get- 
ting rid  of  one.  The  sole  Lemonhead  remaining  after  a 
post-LP  split,  Dando  reportedly  performed  much  of 
Lovey  himself.  If  so,  that's  quite  an  achievement,  as  it's 
a  fine,  varied  collection.  [db] 

See  also  Blake  Babies. 

LEN  BRIGHT  COMBO 

See  Wreckless  Eric, 

LEONARDS 

The  Leonards  (Rock  Ranch)  1  988 

Considering  the  mediocrities  that  constantly  get 
signed  out  of  the  Hollywood  club  scene,  it's  amazing 
that  a  band  like  the  Leonards  can  deliver  a  red-hot  seven- 
cut  indie  album  like  this  and  still  be  ignored  by  the 
majors.  The  Leonards  contains  nothing  but  searing, 
sneering  garage  rock'n'roll  —  '60s  in  construction,  '80s 
in  energy.  The  band  has  no  pose  to  sell,  just  good  tunes 
executed  with  verve  and  skill.  Guess  that  explains  it. 


LEOPARDS 

Kansas  City  Slickers  (Moon)  1977 
Magic  Still  Exists  (Voxx)  1  988 

On  first  listen,  you'd  swear  that  the  1977  indie  al- 
bum from  Kansas  City,  Kansas  is  Muswell  Hillbillies- 
era  Kinks  —  and  on  second  and  third  listen,  as  well.  This 
talented  foursome  not  only  perfectly  re-creates  the 


382 


Kinks'  klassic  sound  (complete  with  a  spot-on  Ray  Dav- 
ies  vocal  impression  by  main  Leopard  Dennis  Fash), 
they  also  turn  out  originals  that  subtly  rewrite  various 
Kinks  tunes  without  ever  resorting  to  obvious  lifts.  Ge- 
nius. 

By  the  time  the  Leopards  got  around  to  releasing 
another  album  more  than  a  decade  later,  the  Kinks  had 
a  lower  profile  than  ever,  which  makes  Magic  Still  Ex- 
ists a  most  welcome  arrival.  On  its  opening  track,  the 
hyper  * 'Block  Party,"  the  band  threatens  to  stake  out  a 
style  of  its  own;  after  that,  Pash  and  friends  get  back  to 
business,  sounding  as  wonderfully  Kinky  as  ever. 
Here's  hoping  they  do  it  again  in  1999.  [i/hd] 


Check  This  Action  (Jungle)  1 983  {nr/Demon)  1 984 
Forget  About  the  Danger  Think  of  the  Fun  EP  (Columbia) 

1984 

Lucky  Lucky  Me  (Profile)  1985 
Protection  from  Enemies  {nr/Demon)  1 985 
Open  AH  Night  (Profile)  1986  * 
Viva  Leroi  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1989  ® 

BALLAD  SHAMBLES 

Ballad  Shambles  EP  (Skyclad)  1988 

HAND  OF  GLORY 

Far  from  Kith  and  Kin  (Skyclad)  1990  ® 

Here  Be  Serpents  (Skreamin'  Skull-Skydad)  1991  • 

It  goes  without  saying  that  no  one  in  Austin,  Texas' 
LeRoi  Brothers  is  named  LeRoi.  Debuting  on  the  un- 
pretentious Check  This  Action  as  a  trio  (singer/ 
guitarists  Steve  Doerr  and  Don  Leady  and  drummer 
Mike  Buck)  plus  a  guest  bassist,  the  LeRois  set  to  rock- 
ing without  ado,  reeling  off  energetically  unrecon- 
structed rock'n'roll/R&B  covers  (plus  a  few  originals 
that  don't  slow  down  the  party  one  bit)  in  an  unmistak- 
able Southwestern  accent.  Nothing  fancy  at  all,  just  sol- 
idly American  music  given  a  sweaty  workout. 

Adding  singer  Joe  Doerr  and  a  permanent  bassist, 
and  recutting  "Ain't  I'm  a  Dog"  (dig  that  syntax!)  from 
the  first  LP,  the  LeRois  entered  the  big  leagues  with  six 
greasy  slices  of  fun,  Forget  About  the  Danger.  Burn- 
ing with  the  hellfire  spirit  of  Jerry  Lee  Lewis  (only 
lacking  his  pumping  piano),  songs  like  "Treat  Her 
Right"  and  "D.W.I."  state  the  band's  case  with  con- 
viction and  maximum  excitement. 

With  Evan  Johns  replacing  guitarist  Don  Leady 
(who  went  on  to  form  the  Tail  Gators),  Lucky  Lucky 
Me  is  even  better—a  full  menu  of  high-energy  tunes 
played  for  keeps.  "Fight  Pure  with  Fire,"  the  zydeco- 
tinged  "The  Back  Door"  and  a  quick  history  lesson, 
"Elvis  in  the  Army,"  are  among  the  highlights.  (Pro- 
tection from  Enemies  is  the  same  album  with  an  alter- 
nate title,  cover  and  song  sequence.) 

The  following  year,  a  four-man  lineup  (Joe  Doerr  is 
gone;  Johns  has  returned  to  his  own  career,  replaced  by 
Rick  Rawls)  led  by  Steve  Doerr  and  Mike  Buck  whipped 
off  the  seemingly  effortless  Open  All  Night,  a  splendid 
slice  of  tasty  archetypal  Texas  R&B  that  shimmies  and 
howls  with  understated  eloquence  from  start  to  finish. 
(Actually,  "Ballad  of  the  LeRoi  Brothers,"  the  mock- 
serious  cowboy  ballad  which  closes  the  album,  isn't  that 
great.)  Fans  of  Dave  Edmunds  are  strongly  advised  not 
to  miss  this  one. 


Dispensing  with  the  traditional  electric  grit,  Viva 
Lcroi  finds  the  quartet  in  a  slower  and  gentler  mood 
(read  duller)  than  usual,  playing  Buddy  Holly-styled 
Texas  pop,  Doug  Sahm-speed  rock,  country  and  a  little 
lightweight  N'Orleans  gumbo  with  so  little  pep  and  zest 
that  it  sounds  as  if  someone's  baby  might  be  asleep  in 
the  next  room.  (When  new  bassist  Speedy  Sparks  sings 
a  song  that  complains  about  music  being  too  loud,  you 
know  things  have  gone  very  wrong.)  The  record  gets 
interesting  (not  exciting,  mind  you)  when  the  idioms 
bump  into  each  other,  as  in  "Mambo  Leroi,"  which 
feeds  Rawls'  Nashville-styled  picking  into  Doerr' s 
pumping  accordion,  but  otherwise  this  is  pretty  tepid. 

Joe  Doerr's  Ballad  Shambles  is  a  similar  (but  less 
rootsy  or  stylish)  quartet.  Although  hot  guitarist  Michael 
Maye  (ex~H-Bombs)  is  the  band's  main  songwriter,  the 
12-inch  EP — which  is  okay,  but  no  big  deal — contains 
two  Joe  Doerr  tunes  and  one  by  his  brother  Steve.  Fol- 
lowing that  band,  Joe  formed  the  far  superior  Hand  of 
Glory,  a  diverse  and  exciting  quartet  which  includes 
guitarist  Bill  Anderson  (a  B.S.  holdover)  and  bassist 
Tim  Swingle  (ex-Doctor's  Mob).  Mixing  up  cowboy 
rock,  blues,  Doorsy  atmospherics  and  more  with  confi- 
dence and  creativity,  Hand  of  Glory  is  a  strikingly  po- 
tent band.  Rey  Washarn  (ex-Scratch  Acid/Rapeman)  is 
the  drummer  and  co-producer  on  the  fine  Here  B«  Ser- 
pents, [i] 

See  also  Evan  Johns  and  His  H-Bombs. 


LETS  ACTIVE 

Afoot  EP  (IRS)  1983* 

Cypress  (IRS)  1 984  « 

Big  Plans  for  Everybody  (IRS)  1 986  * 

Every  Dog  Has  His  Day  (IRS)  1 988  • 

Cursed  by  chronic  cuteness,  North  Carolina's  Let's 
Active  is  probably  the  most  misunderstood  of  the 
South' s  new  pop  bands.  Though  dogged  by  a  rosy- 
cheeked  nicest-guy s-of-wimp-pop  image,  they  can  be 
downright  moody.  Led  by  wunderkind  producer/multi- 
instrumentalist  Mitch  Easter,  the  trio  began  in  1981 ,  but 
emerged  nationally  in  the  wake  of  R.E.M.,  whose  first 
two  discs  Easter  co-produced  in  his  now-fabled  Drive-in 
garage  studio.  Joining  that  band's  label,  Let's  Active 
released  a  six-song  EP,  Afoot,  bringing  new  meaning  to 
such  overused  pop  adjectives  as  crisp,  bright  and  ring- 
ing. All  the  songs,  even  those  with  melancholy  lyrics, 
emerged  hook-filled,  boppy  and  ultra-hummable. 

But  things  were  not  as  they  seemed.  Although  per- 
ceived as  the  engineer  of  the  now-sound-of-today  in 
American  guitar  pop,  Easter's  own  tastes  were  running 
towards  the  electronic  gadgetry  of  techno-rock.  Also, 
his  two  original  partners — bassist  Faye  Hunter  and 
drummer  Sara  Romweber — were  viewed  as  sidepeople, 
notwithstanding  Easter's  egalitarian  efforts  to  counter 
that  impression.  In  real  life,  the  trio  were  not  just  sim- 
ple, cheerful  popsters.  Both  Easter's  love  of  " sounds" 
and  the  band's  inner  conflicts  were  explored  on  Cy- 
press, making  it  deeper  and  more  enduring,  though  not 
as  immediately  winning  as  Afoot.  Denser,  rambling  tex- 
tural  pieces — some  wistful,  even  angry — came  to  the 
fore.  Few  records  sound  so  multi-dimensional,  and  Let's 
Active  has,  for  that  reason,  been  tagged  psychedelic — 
they  make  sounds  you  can  almost  touch.  (In  1989,  IRS 
released  a  single  CD  of  Afoot  plus  Cypress.) 


383 


Both  Romweber  and  Hunter  subsequently  left  the 
band.  Easter  did  shows  with  other  players  (including 
Windbreaker  Tim  Lee),  recording  Big  Mans  for  Every- 
body piecemeal  with  four  people,  including  Hunter  and 
two  permanent  associates:  Angie  Carlson  (the  future 
Mrs.  Easter;  guitar,  keyboards)  and  Eric  Marshall 
(drums).  Far  less  twinky  and  hardly  cute,  Big  Plans  is 
disturbingly  downcast,  a  doleful  version  of  pop  music 
that  isn't  about  sad  things,  but  still  leaves  you  feeling 
that  way.  The  album  connects  emotionally,  with  offbeat 
songs  that  really  make  an  impression. 

Adding  bassist  John  Heames  and  a  few  dBs  of  elec- 
tric power,  Every  Dog  Has  His  Day  effectively  com- 
bines Easter's  homey  studio  approach  with  co-producer 
John  Leckie's  chartworthy  British  experience.  From  the 
blazing-guitars  title  track  and  the  stomping  romance  of 
"Sweepstakes  Winner"  to  the  overtly  Beatlesque  "Mr. 
Fool,"  the  best  songs  (most  of  them  on  Side  One;  "I 
Feel  Funny"  dominates  the  flip)  are  classic  Easter:  un- 
settled emotional  lyrics  and  eccentric  pop  melodies  that 
have  him  straining  on  vocal  tiptoes  to  reach  the  hard 
bits.  [ep/i] 

See  also  Snatches  of  Pink,  Sneakers,  Windbreakers, 

KEITH  LEVENE 

2011 -Back  Too  Black  EP  (iridescence)  1 987 
Keith  Levene's  Violent  Opposition  EP  (Taang!)  1 987 
Keith  Levene's  Violent  Opposition  (Taang!)  1989  [CD] 

(Rykodisc)1989® 

Best  known  for  his  five-year  stint  in  Public  Image 
Ltd.  (ending  in  1983  when  he  was  wiped  off  the  finished 
mix  of  This  Is  What  You  Want,  resulting  in  his  dubi- 
ously legal  release  of  an  alternate  edition,  Commercial 
Zone),  guitarist  Levene  was  also  an  original  member  of 
the  Clash,  but  left  after  a  handful  of  gigs.  He  also  played 
with  Ken  Lockie  in  Cowboys  International. 

As  a  solo  artist,  Levene  hasn't  done  much  recording 
in  recent  years,  but  his  meager  output  has  managed  to 
create  an  involved  little  discography  anyway.  The  first 
EP  consists  of  simple  instrumentals — played  on  guitar, 
bass,  Fairlight  and  rhythm  machines — in  reggae,  funk 
and  industrial  veins.  The  four-song  second  EP,  with 
members  of  the  Red  Hot  Chili  Peppers,  Fishbone  and 
Thelonious  Monster  supporting,  contains  another  dub 
instrumental  (with  sax)  as  well  as  a  pointless  copycat 
version  of  Hendrix's  "If  6  Was  9"  (which  Rykodisc 
issued  on  a  3-inch  CD). 

The  confusingly  titled  1989  album  (released  simul- 
taneously on  tape  and  vinyl  by  Taang!  and  on  CD  by 
Ryko)  combines  the  two  EPs,  adding  a  trivial  ska  cover 
and  a  razor-edge  version  of  John  Lennon's  "Cold  Tur- 
key." [i] 

See  also  Public  Image  Ltd.,  Jah  Wobble. 

LEVI  AND  THE  ROCK  ATS 

See  Rockats. 

GRAHAM  LEWIS 

SeeDome,  Wire. 

LIFE  IN  A  BLENDER 

Welcome  to  the  Jelly  Days  (Fake  Doom)  1 988 


A  textbook  example  of  contemporary  New  Jersey 
college  pop,  Life  in  a  Blender  brings  ample  musical  (not 
vocal)  skills  to  witty  material  on  its  friendly  and  light- 
weight album,  nicely  produced  by  ex- Waitress  Chris 
Butler.  Don  Ralph's  nerdy  singing  (and  the  occasional 
embarrassingly  adolescent  sex  lyric)  gives  the  enterprise 
a  certain  humility  it  doesn't  really  need;  his  five  band- 
mates'  economically  neat  playing  (especially  Jon 
Gregg's  crisp  guitar  work)  is  hardly  ivory  tower  stuff. 
On  those  tracks  where  Ralph  hits  his  stride  and  gets  a 
good  grip  on  the  melody,  Welcome  to  the  Jelly  Days  is 
quite  enjoyable;  the  annoyingly  amateurish  episodes  un- 
dercut the  pleasure  but  don't  ruin  the  record.  [i] 

LIGHTNING 

Lightning  Strike  (RCA)  1 988  « 

If  you've  worn  out  your  early  Clash  records  and  still 
can't  get  enough  of  the  fiery  mid-speed  sound  of  '78 
Anglopunk,  try  this  enthusiastically  derivative  London 
quintet  for  a  good  second-hand  dose  of  intelligent  and 
tuneful  rock.  Adding  echoes  of  various  new  wave  leg- 
ends, updated  lyrics,  skillful  playing  and  a  bit  of  hip- 
hop  iconography,  Lightning  succeeds  in  reliving  a  great 
era  with  conviction  and  credibility.  The  CD  adds  one 
track.  [i] 

LIGHTNING  SEEDS 

Cloudcuckooland  (nr/Ghetto)  1989  (MCA)  1990  • 

Rock  criticism  isn't  the  only  refuge  for  failed  mu- 
sicians: many  successful  record  producers  harbor 
dreams  of  making  their  mark  on  the  other  side  of  the 
studio  glass  as  well.  Starting  in  the  '70s,  Ian  Broudie 
played  guitar  in  various  pivotal  Liverpool  bands  (Big  in 
Japan,  Opium  Eaters,  Original  Mirrors)  before  becom- 
ing a  prosperous  knob-twiddler  with  Echo  and  the  Bun- 
nymen,  the  Fall,  Icicle  Works,  etc.  In  this  new  phase  of 
his  career,  Broudie  is  the  Lightning  Seeds,  crafting  lik- 
able, occasionally  spectacular  (e.g.,  "Pure")  pop  songs 
with  finely  modulated  arrangements  that  use  new  instru- 
ments to  honor  old  values.  Cloudcuckooland' s  slick 
amalgam  of  familiar  styles  (the  obvious  borrowings 
aren't  enough  to  be  annoying)  can  turn  a  bit  glib,  but 
Broudie's  artlessly  adequate  voice  (like  Neil  Tennant's, 
but  with  more  melody  and  less  attitude)  puts  an  end  to 
that,  making  the  record's  tone  as  friendly  as  a  puppy. 
(The  CD  and  cassette  add  "Frenzy.")  [i] 

See  also  Big  in  Japan,  Original  Mirrors. 

LILACS 

See  Green. 


LILAC  TIME 

The  Lilac  Time  (nr/Swordfish)  1 987  (Mercury)  1 988  • 
Paradise  Circus  (Fontana)  1989  • 
&  Love  for  All  (Fontana)  1 990  <i> 

Abandoning  his  solo  career  and  discarding  the  Tin 
Tin  moniker  once  and  for  all,  Birmingham  singer/ 
songwriter  Stephen  Duffy  formed  a  band  with  his 
brother  Nick  and  a  rhythm  section.  Although  the  group's 
idiom  is  rustic  folk-pop  rather  than  catchy  dance  music, 
the  unfailingly  delightful  Lilac  Time  displays  the  same 


384 


perfectionist  craftsmanship  Duffy  brought  to  his  solo 
work, 

The  Lilac  Time  is  an  unprepossessing  gem,  a  col- 
lection of  jaunty  love  songs,  small-town  contemplations 
and  skeptical  bits  of  philosophy  brought  to  life  with 
simple  delicacy  on  acoustic  guitar,  mandolin,  piano, 
harmonica  and  beautiful  harmonies.  (The  two  CD  bonus 
tracks  are  "Railway  Bazaar"  and  the  elegiac  "Gone  for 
a  Burton,"  about  the  late  actor.) 

A  country-western  influence  complicates  Duffy's  ro- 
mantic songwriting  on  Paradise  Circus,  an  attractive 
but  less  glorious  album  that  fits  the  same  foiky  instru- 
mentation (plus  accordion)  into  fuller,  smoother  ar- 
rangements with  hom  and  string  accents.  Highlights: 
"American  Eyes,"  "If  the  Stars  Shine  Tonight"  and 
"The  Girl  Who  Waves  at  Trains." 

Half-produced  by  Andy  Partridge  (Duffy  collabo- 
rated with  John  Leckie  on  the  rest),  &  Love  for  All 
brings  XTC's  involuted  art-rock  arranging  style  to  bear 
on  Duffy's  far  less  intricate  tunes.  Although  electrifying 
the  Lilac  Time  (the  LP  uses  plenty  of  piano  played  by 
Billy  Bragg  sidewoman  Cara  Tivey  and  acoustic  guitar, 
but  Partridge's  tracks  rock  at  about  the  same  level  as 
Skylarking)  is  an  iffy  proposition,  songs  like  "Fields," 
the  nostalgic  "All  for  Love  &  Love  for  All"  (which 
incorporates  the  Beatles  in  both  lyrics  and  music),  "The 
Laundry' '  and  the  brilliantly  XTC-ish '  'It'll  End  in  Tears 
(I  Won't  Cry)"  work  out  fine.  But  that  leaves  the  less 
dynamic  performances  sounding  flat.  Sometimes  you 
just  can't  win.  [i] 

See  also  Stephen  Duffy. 

LIME  SPIDERS 

Slave  GirlEP  (Big  Time)  1985 
Weirdo  Libido  EP  (Aus.  Virgin)  1987 
The  Cave  Comes  Alive!  (Virgin)  1 987  * 
Headcleaner  (Aus.  Virgin)  1 988  <J> 
Volatile  (Caroline)  1 988  * 
Beethoven's  Fist  (nr/Fun  After  All)  1 990  • 

The  excellent  retro-rock  that  fills  the  Lime  Spiders' 
aptly  titled  Cave  Comes  Alive!  album  gleefully  plun- 
ders various  '60s  punk  vaults.  Rather  than  imitating  any 
specific  genre,  this  quartet  from  Sydney,  Australia  syn- 
thesizes an  original  version  of  that  musical  era  with 
searing  guitars,  Tony  Barnbach's  exceptional  bass  work, 
occasional  churning  organ,  raveup  drumming  and  Mick 
Blood's  hardy  singing.  Sketchy  but  unaffected  produc- 
tion allows  the  group  to  color  their  songs  (plus  a  swell 
cover  of  Cream's  "NSU"  and  a  couple  of  more  obscure 
non-originals)  in  different  shades  of  black  leather,  day- 
glo green  and  deep  purple. 

Slave  Girl  is  a  compilation  of  the  band's  first  two 
Australian  45s:  a  1983  double  7-inch  and  "Slave  Girl"/ 
"Beyond  the  Fringe."  Headcleaner  is  a  sixteen-track 
compilation. 

The  Spiders'  second  album  is  well  played  but  mis- 
erably plain,  utterly  lacking  The  Cave's  colorful  per- 
sonality. With  dumb  lyrics  and  pedestrian  hard-rock  that 
is  less  inspired  by  the  past  than  mired  in  it,  Volatile 
does  have  a  few  stick-to-your-ribs  tunes  ("The  Other 
Side  of  You,"  the  CD-only  "Jagged  Edge"),  but  is 
otherwise  old-fashioned  in  the  worst  possible  way.  A 
needless  dance  mix  of  the  dismal  title  track  is  among  the 
three  CD  bonuses.  [tr] 


See  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic*  Space  Negros. 

LOVERS 

Envy  (Editions  EG)  1984® 

Greed  (Virgin)  1988® 
Lust  (Eleldra)  1991  4» 

Pretty  Ugly  [CD]  (Bel.  Made  to  Measure)  1 990  ® 

Lindsay,  an  American  who  grew  up  in  Brazil,  came 
to  New  York  in  the  mid- '70s  intent  on  becoming  an 
artist.  Only  later  did  he  adopt  music  as  his  medium  and 
develop  a  unique  percussive  style  of  singing  and  playing 
guitar — generally  around  the  beat,  seldom  on  it — and  no 
melodies,  thank  you.  His  guitar  is  untuned;  his  voice 
strains  to  deliver  its  quota  of  sounds.  (Lindsay's  two 
main  vocal  influences  are  James  Brown  and  the  sound  of 
people  screwing.)  In  assembling  the  Ambitious  Lovers, 
Lindsay  balances  the  electronic  expertise  of  Peter 
Scherer  with  Brazilian  percussionists  and  injects  himself 
as  the  catalyst,  with  help  from  Mark  Miller  of  the  Toy 
Killers. 

On  Envy,  Lindsay  and  five  Lovers  recapitulate  his 
career — the  tight,  anti-melodic  structures  of  DNA,  the 
charging  funk-noise  of  the  Golden  Palominos — yet  de- 
liver something  new  as  well.  "Let's  Be  Adult"  is  an 
unabashed  dancefloor  move  and,  on  "Dora,"  Lindsay 
turns  crooner,  caressing  a  soulful  melody  anyone  could 
hum.  The  catch  is  that  it's  in  Portuguese — oh,  that  Arto! 
Lindsay's  words  are  tantalizingly  oblique,  but  there's 
nothing  oblique  about  his  record's  lusty  cry  for  recog- 
nition. 

The  Ambitious  Lovers  then  settled  down  to  a  duo  of 
Lindsay  and  keyboardist  Scherer,  although  John  Zorn, 
Vernon  Reid,  Nana  Vasconcelos  and  others  make  con- 
tributions to  Greed.  Still  frequently  spattered  with  nutty 
noises,  the  album  is  surprisingly  accessible;  Arto's  sing- 
ing (again  in  English  and  Portuguese)  rarely  requires 
listener  indulgence.  So  if  "King"  contains  some  im- 
pressive chicken  squawk  guitar  and  a  houseful  of  Latin 
percussion  instruments,  the  song  itself  is  reasonably 
mainstream.  Whether  Greed  is  viewed  as  a  commercial 
compromise  or  a  more  subtly  subversive  undertaking 
than  the  first  LP,  the  mixture  of  normalcy  and  extrem- 
ism gives  it  fascinating  dynamic  tension. 

Pretty  Ugly  consists  of  ballet  and  theater  commis- 
sions Scherer  and  Lindsay  undertook  between  the  first 
two  Ambitious  Lovers  LPs,  Mostly  instrumental,  the 
disc  offers  a  tonic  to  those  who  deemed  Greed  too 
mainstream.  This  sonic  feast,  including  the  26-minute 
title  cut,  brims  with  jarring  sounds  and  rhythms  but  it 
coheres  just  as  well — and  as  unexpectedly — as  late 
DNA  material. 

Still  reflecting  a  strong  Brazilian  influence,  the  Lov- 
ers' next  album,  Lust,  ventures  even  further  into  com- 
mercial realms  than  Greed,  eschewing  the  short,  quirky 
song  fragments  that  were  dotted  among  the  more  acces- 
sible numbers  on  the  previous  album  and  going  for  an 
overall  smoother  feel.  The  group  remains  artistically 
uncompromised,  however;  one  might  say  that  Scherer 
and  Lindsay  are  as  mersh  as  they  wanna  be.  And  as 


385 


funky,  too:  the  group's  cover  of  Jorge  Ben's  classic 
"Umbabarauma"  is  an  irresistible  dancefloor  workout. 
Lust  has  enough  of  that  unique  Lindsay  guitar  squeal  to 
keep  the  old-timers  interested,  but  traditionalists  might 
be  disappointed  that  Arto's  turning  into  an  out-and-out 
crooner — and  a  damn  good  one  at  that.  His  lyrics,  al- 
most exclusively  dealing  with  romance  and  sexuality, 
remain  as  peculiarly  trenchant  as  ever — in  that  depart- 
ment, he's  a  postmodern  Cole  Porter.  With  all  that  go- 
ing for  it,  plus  the  always  innovative  and  intriguing 
sonic  textures  Scherer  so  effortlessly  weaves,  Lest  is 
another  solid  and  dazzling  work  in  the  Ambitious  Lov- 
ers' canon.  But  what  happens  when  they  run  out  of 
deadly  sins?  [mf/i/gk] 

See  also  DNA,  Golden  Palominos,  Lounge  Lizards, 
Love  of  Life  Orchestra. 


LIQUID  LIQUID 

Liquid  Liquid  EP  (99)  1981 
Successive  Reflexes  EP  (99)  1981 
Optimo  EP  (99)  1983 

Along  with  labelmates  ESG,  Liquid  Liquid  exem- 
plified the  minimalist  funk  movement  that  swept  New 
York's  music  underground  in  1981.  The  band's  impres- 
sive five-song  debut  (one  side  recorded  live)  fuses  met- 
alphones  with  congas,  marimba  and  other  percussive 
gadgetry  to  create  hypnotic  urban-tribal  funk.  Except 
for  the  vocals,  that  goal  is  realized.  Successive  Reflexes 
also  works,  although  full-scale  production  values  alter 
the  previously  skeletal  sound. 

Optimo — four  more  songs  on  another  12-inch — 
continues  the  rhythmic  intensity,  and  is  specially  nota- 
ble for  "Cavern,"  an  insidious  and  lengthy  bass/drums 
groove  that  was  later  adopted  as  the  musical  basis  for 
Grandmaster  Flash  &  Melle  Mel's  " White  Lines  (Don't 
Don't  Do  It)."  [gf/i] 

LIVE  SKULL 

Live  Skull  EP  (Massive)  1984  • 

Bringing  Home  the  Bait  (Homestead)  1985 

Cloud  One  (Homestead)  1986 

Don't  Get  Any  on  You  (Homestead)  1 987 

Dusted  (Homestead)  1 987  « 

Snuffer  EP  (Caroline)  1 988  * 

Positraction  (Caroline)  1 989  ® 

Droning  and  dragging  rusty  guitar  streaks  and  deep 
stormy  basslines  as  dark  as  bus  exhaust,  Live  Skull 
combine  great  grating  sheets  of  guitar  shimmer  with 
deliberately  monotonous  vocals  to  create  swirling  in- 
tense tunes  that  you  couldn't  hum  if  a  loaded  gun  were 
aimed  at  your  head.  As  part  of  the  same  New  York 
avant-noisy  scene  that  spawned  Sonic  Youth,  Lydia 
Lunch  and  the  Swans,  Live  Skull  records  come  com- 
plete with  creepy  lyrics,  circular  melodies  and  nod-out 
drum  beats  designed  to  lull  you  into  their  macabre 
world. 

The  quartet  plays  slow,  grinding  hypno-rock  on  Live 
Skull;  there  are  vocals  buried  in  the  mix  but  you  won't 
notice  them  much.  The  relentless  wash  of  semi- 
organized  guitar  noise  is  clearly  the  band's  focal  point. 
The  promising  Bringing  Home  the  Bait  features  live- 
lier tempos;  some  tracks  move  along  at  a  good  tear. 
Guitar  textures  vary  from  an  atonal  din  to  Killing  Joke- 


style  ringing  quasi-metal;  parts  of  "Skin  Job"  sound 
exactly  like  Hilsker  Dii.  Newly  prominent  vocals, 
whether  by  bassist  Mamie  Greenholz  or  guitarists  Mark 
C.  and  Tom  Paine,  are  all  appropriately  snarly. 

,  Recorded  by  the  same  lineup  (as  usual,  working 
with  producer  Martin  Bisi),  Cloud  One  is  quite  similar 
to  Bringing  Home  the  Bait,  although  a  temperate 
mood,  increasing  tightness  and  undercurrents  of  mutant 
pop  melody  (in  the  title  track,  for  instance)  hold  the 
promise  of  more  widely  accessible  artistic  realms  in  the 
group's  future. 

The  live  Live  Skull  album,  Don't  Get  Any  on  You, 
was  recorded  at  CBGB  in  New  York  at  the  end  of  1986 
and  contains  brutal  dominance-and-feedback  renditions 
of  "Skin  Job"  and  "Sparky"  (from  Bait),  "I'll  Break 
You"  and  "The  Loved  One"  (from  Cloud  One),  sev- 
eral previews  of  the  upcoming  Dusted  (including  "Deb- 
bie's Headache")  and  Curtis  Mayfield's  "Pusherman" 
(Live  Skull  had  previously  issued  their  studio  version  of 
the  song  on  a  12-inch  single)  and  others.  The  cassette 
adds  "Brains  Big  Enough,"  a  live  track  recorded 
"somewhere  in  Europe." 

Bostoman  Thalia  Zedek — who  had  previously  exer- 
cised her  rant'n'roll  vocals  in  Uzi  and,  before  that,  Dan- 
gerous Birds — joined  Live  Skull  in  time  for  Dusted. 
With  her  tuneless  intensity  giving  the  band  a  solid  kick 
back  towards  anarchic  clamor,  the  album  returns  to  de- 
liberate noise  storms,  now  with  the  added  benefit  of 
maddeningly  repetitive  singing.  Make  no  mistake: 
Zedek's  the  perfect  sparkplug  for  Live  Skull,  but  one 
really  has  to  be  in  a  certain  frame  of  mind  (or  on  a  loud 
subway  train)  to  appreciate  such  baleful  cacophony. 
(The  CD  and  cassette  add  a  bonus  track.) 

Zedek's  stylistic  integration  into  the  group's  music 
is  much  better  on  Snuffer.  (All  six  songs  possess  one- 
word  titles  like  "Was,"  "Step"  and  "Straw.")  Besides 
sinking  her  deep  into  the  mix  along  with  the  other  loud 
instruments,  the  effectively  textured  record  benefits 
from  a  variety  of  tempos  and  the  complex,  interwoven 
guitar  figures.  Far  more  listenable  than  Dusted,  Snuffer 
focuses  the  band's  power  enough  to  give  it  impact. 

Sonda  Andersson  (ex-Rat  At  Rat  R)  replaced  Green- 
holz on  Positraction,  an  occasionally  excessive  but  gen- 
erally likable  song-oriented  record  that  strips  back  the 
noise  to  reveal  succinct  and  dynamic  rock  with  atmo- 
sphere and  distortion.  Mark  C.  and  Tom  Paine  have 
become  extremely  adept  at  building  interconnected  gui- 
tar lines,  and  Zedek's  strength  has  been  channeled,  at 
least  part  of  the  way,  into  emotional  expression  of  such 
hardhearted  sentiments  as  "Anger  is  a  crowbar  that  you 
must  learn  to  fight  for."  The  material  isn't  especially 
noteworthy  but,  as  an  indication  that  Live  Skull  is  will- 
ing to  come  into  the  sonic  open,  Positraction  is  a  most 
welcome  development.  (The  CD  appends  Snuffer.) 

See  also  Of  Cabbages  and  Kings.  ['e/dgs/i] 

LIVE  WIRE 

Pick  It  Up  (A&M)  1979 
No  Fright  (A&M)  1980 
Changes  Made  (A&M)  1981 

After  Advertising's  demise,  guitarist/producer  Si- 
mon Boswell  joined  singer/guitarist  Mike  Edwards'  tal- 
ented London  pub  band.  Live  Wire  had  already  released 
Pick  It  Up  (which  resembles  Kilburn  and  the  High 


386 


Roads,  or  early  Dire  Straits  without  the  flashy  guitar 
work)  when  Boswell  arrived.  Replacing  a  guitarist 
named  Chris  Cutler  (not  the  Henry  Cow  drummer),  he 
also  became  the  quartet's  producer,  introducing  a 
slicker,  more  commercial  sound.  No  Fright  has  no  sty- 
listic connection  with  Boswell' s  previous  band,  but  it's 
a  worthy  companion  to  other  modest  pub- veteran  doc- 
uments. 

Boswell  wields  far  more  audible  influence  on  the 
charmingly  popped-up  Changes  Made,  eclipsing  Ed- 
wards' Knopfleresque  rock  songs  with  his  own  delight- 
ful "Don't  Look  Now"  and  the  collaborative  "Child's 
Eye,"  which  suggest  a  gutsier  version  of  the  Records. 

See  also  Advertising.  [i] 

LIVING  COLOUR 

Vivid  (Epic)  1988® 
Time's  Up  (Epic)  1990* 
Biscuits  EP  (Epic)  1991  <!> 

Led  by  guitarist  and  chief  composer  Vernon  Reid 
(also  a  music  critic  and  co-founder  of  the  Black  Rock 
Coalition,  a  New  York  organization  of  African- 
American  bands),  Living  Colour  promises  more  than  it 
delivers  on  Vivid.  Because  the  quartet  doesn't  match 
stupid  preconceptions  about  the  kind  of  music  people  of 
color  should  and  shouldn't  play,  the  record  raised  many 
a  bigoted  eyebrow.  But  such  issues  aside,  this  is  fairly 
routine  hard-rock,  loudly  produced  by  Ed  Stasium. 
(Ironically,  one  of  the  LP's  few  funky  moments  is  con- 
tained in  a  version  of  Talking  Heads'  "Memories  Can't 
Wait.")  But  if  Vivid  is  lacking  in  the  catchy  tune/riff 
department,  at  least  the  topical  lyrics  are  substantial 
("Cult  of  Personality,"  "Open  Letter  (To  a  Land- 
lord)"), occasionally  using  ironic  humor  to  make  a 
point  ("No  I'm  not  gonna  rob/beat/rape  you,  so  why 
you  want  to  give  me  that  funny  vibe?").  Reid's  guitar 
cuts  loose  just  once  (tres  flash,  though);  Mick  Jagger's 
guest  production  of  two  tracks  makes  no  audible  differ- 
ence. 

With  a  two-million  seller  and  a  tour  opening  for  the 
Stones  behind  them,  Living  Colour  (again  working  with 
Stasium)  made  Time's  Up  from  a  position  of  consider- 
able strength.  When  Reid  vents  his  spleen  on  the  coro- 
nation of  Elvis  Presley  (in  "Elvis  Is  Dead"),  he  can 
now  get  Little  Richard  in  to  add  his  thoughts  on  the 
subject.  Ambitiously  throwing  jazzy  designs  into  occa- 
sionally thrashy  blitzkriegs,  the  guitarist  has  plenty  of 
room  to  peal  off  dizzying  riffs  (but  no  way  to  avoid 
speedrock's  usual  hollowness).  In  addition,  the  album 
has  a  stronger  Afrocentric  consciousness  than  the  first, 
most  bluntly  in  "Pride"  ("Don't  ask  me  why  I  play  this 
music/It's  my  culture,  so  naturally  I  use  it").  But  the 
band  has  more  (or  less)  to  say  on  Time's  Up:  the  catchy 
"Type"  offers  terminology  rather  than  philosophy, 
"New  Jack  Theme"  is  a  nonjudgmental  observation  and 
the  funky  "Under  Cover  of  Darkness"  (written  by 
singer  Corey  Glover)  is  personal,  not  political. 

At  this  point,  armed  with  talent  and  fame,  Living 
Colour  seems  poised  between  merely  recycling  a  stan- 
dard musical  form  as  a  vehicle  for  addressing  African- 
American  concerns  and  pioneering  a  new  style  built  on 
the  members'  rich  cross-cultural  awareness.  If  the  band 
can  make  that  transition,  the  next  Living  Colour  album 
could  be  a  major  event.  [jg/i] 


L.L.  COOL  J 

Radio  (Del  Jam-Columbia)  1985  ® 
Bigger  and  Defter  (Def  Jam-Columbia)  1 987  • 
Walking  with  a  Panther  (Def  Jam-Columbia}  1 989  • 
Mama  Said  Knock  You  Out  (Del  Jam-Columbia)  1 990  • 

Following  his  electrifying  appearance  in  Kmsh 
Groove  (the  film  that  essentially  chronicles  the  birth  of 
the  Def  lam  label  and  the  launch  of  the  Fat  Boys),  New 
York  rapper  L(a<lies)  L(ove)  Cool  J(ames  Todd  Smith) 
released  Radio,  a  great  full-length  album  ("reduced  by 
Rick  Rubin")  that  promptly  went  gold.  From  the  mon- 
ster boombox  on  the  cover  to  grooves  like  **I  Can't  Live 
Without  My  Radio"  and  "You  Can't  Dance,"  L.L. 
touches  all  the  right  cultural  totems,  delivering  his 
sharp-tongued  lines  with  adolescent  urgency  and  a  de- 
Hciously  snotty  attitude.  The  rhythm  tracks  are  stripped- 
down  and  aggressive;  raps  on  familiar  subjects  sidestep 
cliche's  and  are  clever  enough  to  warrant  repeated  lis- 
tening. 

The  double-platinum  success  of  L.L.'s  second  al- 
bum (billed  as  BAD)  proves  that  Rubin  is  unnecessary 
to  his  continuing  popularity.  Released  in  clean  and  dirty 
versions,  Bigger  and  Deffer  draws  on  redoubtable  in- 
novation to  diversify  itself  out  of  the  basic  rap  mold. 
L.L.  waxes  nostalgic  on  "Go  Cut  Creator  Go**  (which 
uses  Chuck  Berry  guitar  edits),  and  "The  Do  Wop,"  an 
imaginative  '50s/' 80s  hybrid.  "I  Need  Love"  is  a  touch- 
ingly  romantic  ballad  with  smoothly  melodic  instrumen- 
tal backing;  "Ahh,  Let's  Get  111*'  makes  considerable 
use  of  a  backing  chorus  to  set  off  the  rapid-fire  rhymes. 
Meanwhile,  back  at  the  same-old-thing  ranch,  *Tm 
Bad"  picks  up  on  a  piece  of  "The  Theme  from  Shaft," 
"Kanday"  touches  on  classic  James  Brown  and  "Get 
Down"  throws  the  kitchen  sink  into  the  hyperactive 
mix. 

While  L.L.  the  producer  comes  through  with  inven- 
tive tracks  (who  else  could  get  away  with  using  the 
Cheers  theme?)  on  Walking  with  a  Panther,  L.L.  the 
rapper  is  treading  water.  Granted,  his  boasts,  romantic 
entreaties  and  dynamic  delivery  put  most  MCs  in  the 
ground,  but  "Jingling  Baby,"  "Fm  That  Type  of  Guy" 
and  "Big  Ole  Butt" — standard  sentiments  given  above- 
average  settings — are  pretty  much  all  there  is  to  recom- 
mend this  lightweight  album. 

Cars  and  girls  still  dominate  L.L.'s  world  on  Mama 
Said  Knock  You  Out,  but  a  harder  sound  (courtesy  of 
producer  Marley  Marl)  and  a  more  aggressive  attitude 
put  back  some  of  the  intensity  and  personality  that  were 
in  short  supply  the  last  time  out.  Besides  revisiting  his 
old  neighborhood  ("Farmers  Blvd.")  and  doing  a  re- 
mix of  "Jingling  Baby,"  L.L.  describes  his  ideal 
woman  ("Around  the  Way  Girl"),  works  his  come-on 
charm  ("Mr.  Good  Bar"),  shows  off  his  mobile  home 
("The  Boomin'  System")  and  delivers  a  standard-issue 
positive  message  ( *  'The  Power  of  God' ' ) .  Except  for  an 
annoying  habit  of  repeating  phrases  over  and  over  (as  on 
the  powerful  title  track),  the  smooth  seducer  uses  his 
best  moves  to  get  the  job  done.  [i] 

BILL  LLOYD 

Feeling  the  Elephant  (Throbbing  Lobster)  1 987  (DB) 

1990* 

Although  best  known  as  half  of  the  country  duo 
Foster  &  Lloyd  (whose  hip  sensibilities  are  reflected  in 


387 


albums  with  titles  like  Faster  &  Liouder),  singer/ 
guitarist  Bill  Lloyd  started  out  as  a  power-popper.  This 
lovely  album  consists  of  song  demos  he  recorded  in 
Nashville  between  1983  and  1986.  Even  fans  of  F&L's 
exuberant  Everly  Brothers-influenced  grooves  will  be 
unprepared  for  the  rich  sounds  within:  Lloyd  displays  a 
heavy  Alex  Chilton  influence  as  he  serves  up  lush  mel- 
odies embellished  by  crisp  guitars,  topped  with  sardonic 
vocals  you'd  swear  were  lifted  from  a  Big  Star  or  dB's 
album.  Highlights:  the  woozy  psychedelia  of  "Every- 
thing's Closing  Down/'  the  melancholy  "Lisa  Anne" 
( 4  I've  got  a  hole  in  my  life  the  size  of  your  apartment' ' ) 
and  "All  at  Once  You  Unzipped,"  a  vicious  rocker. 
Country's  gain  was  clearly  rock'n'roll's  loss.  (The  two 
editions  have  completely  different  artwork;  the  second 
is  remastered.)  [jy] 

Alchemy  (Elefdra)  1979 

Field  of  Fire  (MistSur-Moving  Target)  1985  • 

Real  Time  (Celluloid)  1 987  ® 

The  former  Television  guitarist's  first  solo  album  is 
a  gem.  Assisted  by  assorted  New  York  scene  veterans, 
Lloyd  spins  a  beautiful,  understated  web  that  proves 
Mm  to  be  a  successful  songwriter,  a  limited  but  engag- 
ing vocalist  and  a  relaxed  team  player  who  never  hogs 
the  spotlight.  The  material  (especially  the  wonderful 
title  track  and  a  brilliant  ballad,  "Misty  Eyes")  pursues 
the  melodic,  sensitive  side  of  late-period  Television, 
ceding  all  the  rough  edges  and  manic  intensity  to  Tom 
Verlaine. 

Six  years  and  several  lifetimes  later,  Lloyd  returned 
from  oblivion  with  an  all-new  album,  recorded  in  Stock- 
holm with  local  musicians  and  first  released  by  a  Swed- 
ish label.  Field  of  Fire  is  another  direct  hit:  loud, 
energetic  rock  with  sturdy  melodies,  intelligent  lyrics 
and  confident  playing.  In  spots,  Lloyd's  singing  is  too 
raw-throated  to  be  pleasant,  but  the  material  holds  up 
regardless,  and  the  fine  guitar  work  is  a  fair  trade-off. 
Field  of  Fire  bears  no  resemblance  whatsoever  to  Al- 
chemy, but  is  just  as  enjoyable. 

Lloyd  recorded  the  live  Real  Time  album  in  the 
comfort  of  TV's  old  haunt,  CBGB,  with  a  bass/drums/ 
guitar  trio.  The  song  selection  draws  from  both  solo 
records,  adding  a  few  new  numbers — adapting  the  re- 
sultant diversity  without  incident — and  dredging  up 
"Fire  Engine"  for  a  bracing  opening  salvo.  Clear  pro- 
duction highlights  Lloyd's  upbeat  and  articulate  singing 
as  well  as  the  thoughtful  and  passionate  guitar  work. 
(With  the  inclusion  of  three  extra  songs  at  the  end,  the 
CD  runs  almost  an  hour.)  [i] 

See  also  Television. 

ROBERT  LLOYD 

See  Nightingales. 

HUW  LLOYD-LANGTON 

See  Hawkwind. 


LMNO3  [tape]  (Baby  Sue)  1985 

Elemen  Of>ee  Elpee  (Baby  Sue)  1986 

Pony  [tape]  (Baby  Sue)  1988  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1988 

Mumbles  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 989  • 

One-man  Atlanta  power  pop  auteur  Stephen  Fievet 
(aka  Don  W.  Seven)  is  LMNOP,  although  the  drummer 
of  a  performing  lineup  did  help  on  Eleraen  Opee  Elpee. 
(Two  non-participants  are  also  pictured  for  confusion's 
sake.)  The  ambitious  twinkster,  who  also  draws  and 
publishes  a  quarterly  Baby  Sue  magazine  and  numerous 
pamphlets,  writes  stupendous  melodies  with  substantial 
lyrics  and  sturdy  hooks,  and  loads  up  the  perky  arrange- 
ments with  rich  guitar  tracks,  adorable  vocal  harmonies 
and  febrile  invention.  Except  for  an  occasional  descent 
into  corny  puns  or  gratuitous  vulgarity  (LMNO3's  "Sit- 
ting on  Uranus"  scores  in  both  departments),  LMNOP/ 
Fievet  offers  quintessential  alternative  pop  packed  with 
intelligence  and  enthusiasm. 

The  first  cassette  offers  early  versions  of  songs  (e.g. , 
"Breakfast  Cereal,"  "Hide  in  Fiction's  Hands," 
"Sandwich  Time  for  the  Smaller  Children")  Fievet  re- 
recorded for  inclusion  on  Elemen  Opee  ESpee  and 
Pony.  Despite  rudimentary  sound  quality  (drums  espe- 
cially suffer),  it's  a  fine  starting  point. 

Following  two  more  cassette  albums,  LMNOP  fi- 
nally reached  vinyl.  The  unfailingly  perky  Elemen 
Opee  Elpee  contains  charming  and  provocative  contem- 
plations on  mendacity  ("Please  Believe  Me"),  confor- 
mity ("The  Big  Ride"),  world  peace  ("Breakfast 
Cereal")  and  the  study  of  anthropology  ("Comparitive 
[sic]  Analysis"),  all  sparked  by  crisp  production  and 
flawless  playing.  Anyone  fond  of  Shoes,  Advertising, 
Milk'n' Cookies,  Sneakers,  Three  O'Clock,  etc.  should 
find  the  record  a  most  agreeable  treat. 

Leading  off  with  the  brilliant  "Idea,"  the  Pony  tape 
(issued  on  vinyl  only  in  France)  contains  such  idiosyn- 
cratic outpourings  as  "Suggestion  for  Rock  Culture  in 
the  90s"  and  "Automobile  History."  Not  all  the  songs 
are  of  the  same  quality  as  on  the  first  vinyl  album,  but 
fans  won't  be  disappointed. 

LMNOP' s  darker  side  (no  secret  to  readers  of  the 
deeply  disconcerting  Baby  Sue)  surfaces  in  the  lyrics  of 
the  excellent  Numbles,  whose  perky  melodies  and  sim- 
ple guitar-rock  arrangements  sound  as  jolly  as  ever.  As 
Fievet' s  delightful  voice  leads  the  way,  you  may  find 
yourself  humming  to  such  provocative  lines  as  "You're 
getting  headaches  so  much  of  the  time/Your  memory 
has  run  dry  and  darkness  is  all  you  feel"  or  "How  can 
you  take  what  you've  heard  and  reverse?/!  never  thought 
bad  could  get  worse."  With  nine  of  the  best  tracks  from 
Pony  and  Elemen  Opee  Elpee  added  as  a  bonus,  the 
Numbles  CD  is  an  essential  LMNOP  purchase.  [i] 


LODGE 

See  John  Greaves. 

LORA  LOGIC 

See  Essential  Logic. 


LMNOP 

LMNOP  [tape]  (Baby  Sue)  1982  +  1984 
LMNOP  LMNOP  [tape]  (Baby  Sue)  1 984 


LONE  JUSTICE 

Lone  Justice  (Geffen)  1 985  • 
Shelter  (Geffen)  1 986  « 


388 


Maria  McKee  (Geffen)  1989  ® 

It  isn't  that  Lone  Justice's  first  album  is  bad  (it's 
not),  but  the  ballyhoo  that  preceded  the  LA  quartet's 
debut  raised  expectations  that  these  frisky  countryfied 
rock  tunes  (Linda  Ronstadt  on  speed,  perhaps,  or  Dolly 
Parton  backed  by  the  Blasters)  couldn't  possibly  satisfy. 
Maria  McKee  is  an  impressive  young  singer — an  ener- 
getic, throaty  powerhouse  with  a  Southern  twang  and  a 
slight  Patsy  Ciine  catch — and  the  band  is  solid  enough, 
but  Lone  Justice,  produced  by  Jimmy  lovine,  doesn't 
come  anywhere  near  extraordinary.  Chief  songwriter 
McKee' s  "A  Good  Heart,"  ridden  to  the  top  of  the 
British  charts  in  late  1985  by  Feargal  Sharkey,  is  far 
more  memorable  than  anything  she  penned  for  her  own 
first  record. 

Little  Steven  (a  guest  on  the  first  album)  co- 
produced  Shelter  with  lovme  and  Lone  Justice,  helping 
the  almost-entirely  overhauled  group  (here  a  loud,  vi- 
brant sextet  with  ex-Patti  Smith  Grouper  Bruce  Brody 
on  keyboards)  to  nail  down  a  dynamic  sound  that's 
something  like  the  articulate  passion  of  an  old  Van  Mor- 
rison record,  pumped  up  by  McKee' s  gospelly  fervor 
and  walloping  modern  drums.  Van  Zandt  also  co-wrote 
some  of  the  songs,  which  are  far  more  subtle  than  be- 
fore. The  first  album's  religious  content  is  supplanted 
here  by  heartfelt  emotions  about  love,  faith  and  moral- 
ity. Without  burying  her  beliefs,  McKee  universalizes 
them  in  ways  that  don't  require  listeners  to  share  any- 
thing beyond  humanity  and  sensitivity. 

On  her  solo  debut,  McKee's  voice  and  songwriting 
have  matured  and  strengthened,  and  she  sings  out  like 
she's  got  one  night  onstage  in  a  two-bit  bar  to  prove 
herself.  Unfortunately,  Mitchell  Froom's  production  is 
overbearing,  and  the  endless  parade  of  guest  musicians 
(Richard  Thompson,  guitarist  Marc  Ribot,  Waterboys 
fiddler  Steve  Wickham,  drummer  Jim  Keltner)  eventu- 
ally drains  some  of  the  album's  personality.  Still,  * 'Pan- 
ic Beach"  and  "Am  I  the  Only  One  (Who's  Ever  Felt 
This  Way?)"  are  vivid  narratives  told  with  literary  pre- 
cision, and  when  McKee  revs  into  a  twangy  stomp  (like 
the  CD-only  "Drinkm'  in  My  Sunday  Dress")  she's 
pretty  darn  irresistible.  [i/kss] 

See  also  X. 

LONESOME  VAL 

See  Fear  of  Strangers. 

ROY  LONEY  AND  THE 
PHANTOM  MOVERS 

Out  After  Dark  (Solid  Smoke)  1 979 
Phantom  Tracks  (Solid  Smoke)  1980 
Contents  Under  Pressure  (War  Bride)  1981 
Having  a  RoclcWRoll  Party  (War  Bride)  1982 
Fast  &  Loose  (Double  Dare)  1983 
The  Scientific  Bombs  Away!!!  (Aus.  Aim)  1988 

(Norton)  1989 

Singer/guitarist  Roy  Loney  assembled  the  Phantom 
Movers  after  splitting  from  the  Flamin*  Groovies  in 
1975.  While  the  Groovies  without  Loney  turned  to  mer- 
seybeat,  Byrds  covers  and  other  '60s  soundalikes,  Out 
After  Dark  finds  him  rekindling  the  pure  American 
rock'n'roll  spirit  that  originally  inspired  the  band.  Abet- 


ted by  two  ex-Groovies  (drummer  Danny  Mihrn  and 
guitarist  lames  Pencil),  Loney  excels  at  straightfor- 
ward, unsophisticated  party  music  made  strictly  for  fun. 

Phantom  Tracks  consists  of  smokin*  live  tracks 
and  new  studio  cuts  that  aren't  terribly  different  from  the 
material  on  Out  After  Dark.  The  only  change  worth 
noting  is  that  about  half  of  the  Phantom  Tracks  are 
out-and-out  rockabilly;  Out  After  Dark,  while  rooted 
in  rockabilly,  is  contemporary-sounding  rock'n'roll. 

Contents  Under  Pressure,  recorded  after  both 
Mihm  and  Ferrell  had  left  (the  former  to  launch  the 
similarly  unreconstructed  Kingsnakes  in  Europe),  goes 
off  in  a  number  of  directions:  Yardbirds-type  raveups, 
rockabilly,  ska,  heavy  metal  and  even  corporate  mush. 
A  total  failure. 

As  the  name  implies,  Having  a  Rock  VRolI  Party 
is  a  return  to  what  Loney  does  best,  and  the  results  are 
a  big  improvement  over  the  previous  outing.  The  band 
even  dips  into  the  Groovies'  catalogue  for  "Gonna  Rock 
Tonight"  and  "Dr.  Boogie."  Also  released  in  France, 
Fast  &  Loose  features  various  lineups  (Mihm  is  back) 
and  includes  a  version  of  the  Groovies'  "Teenage 
Head." 

After  another  long  absence,  Loney  returned  in  1988 
with  his  best  record  yet,  The  Scientific  Bombs 
Away!!!.  What  stands  out  in  this  jolt  of  pure  manic 
rock'n'roll  is  the  uniformly  strong  material  and  perfor- 
mances, from  the  hiccupped  neo-rockabilly  of  "Bad 
News  Travels  Fast,"  "Bip  Bop  Boom"  and  "Boyr 
Man!"  to  the  modern  rock'n'roll  of  "Ruin  Your 
Shoes,"  "Your  Best  Friend's  Number"  and  "No- 
body." There's  even  c-razy  novelty  numbers  like  "Here 
Comes  Curly"  and  "Nervous  Slim,"  the  latter  omitted 
from  the  album's  American  release.  Not  for  normals,  to 
be  sure,  these  songs  will  make  you  laugh  while  they 
rock  the  socks  off  your  feet.  [ds] 

See  also  Flamin  Groovies. 

LONGHOUSE 

See  John  Greaves. 

LONG  RYDERS 

1 0-5-60  EP(PVC)  1983* 
Native  Sons  (Frontier)  1 984  « 
State  of  Our  Union  (Island)  1 985 
Two  Fisted  Tales  (Island)  1 987  • 
Metallic  B.O.  [tape]  (Long  Ryders  Fan  Club)  1989  [CD] 
(nr/Overground)  1 990  4> 

TOM  STEVENS 

Points  of  View  EP  (Pulse)  1 982 

Born  in  the  South  but  assembled  in  California,  the 
Long  Ryders  (who  broke  up  around  the  end  of  1987) 
color  mild  '60s  revivalism  with  country  stylings  (steel 
guitar,  autoharp,  mandolin,  etc.)  on  the  five-song  10- 
5-450  EP,  produced  by  Earle  Mankey.  Pleasant  but  too 
easygoing  to  be  earthshaking,  Kentucky  native  Sid  Grif- 
fin (vocals,  assorted  stringed  instruments)  and  his  three 
bandmates  took  care  of  that  business  on  Native  Sons,  a 
stirring  dose  of  memorable  and  unpretentious  country- 
rock  that  incorporates  Highway  61  Dylan,  paisley  pop, 
Kingston  Trio  balladry  and  wild  rock'n'roll.  A  guest 
vocal  appearance  by  Gene  Clark  legitimizes  the  Long 
Ryders'  spiritual  update  of  the  Byrds'  pioneering  hy- 

389 


brid.  (Griffin  made  a  specific  literary  statement  on  be- 
haif  of  his  roots  in  1985,  when  he  edited/ wrote  a 
biography  of  Gram  Parsons.) 

State  of  Our  Union  is  a  big  disappointment,  an 
occasionally  corny  collection  of  weak  melodies,  inane 
lyrics  and  misguided  arrangements.  The  Ryders  seem  to 
have  been  fooled  by  their  own  image.  "Looking  for 
Lewis  and  Clark"  is  sung  in  a  pathetically  bad  mono- 
tone; other  tunes  that  attempt  to  align  the  band  with 
American  populist  sentiment  are  only  slightly  better. 
Produced  in  England  by  Will  Birch,  it  sounds  good  in 
spots,  but  heavyhandedness  is  clearly  no  asset. 

The  Long  Ryders  found  solid  footing  again  with  the 
less  selfconscious  Two  Fisted  Tales,  an  enjoyable  al- 
bum nicely  produced  in  a  variety  of  appealing  styles  by 
Ed  Stasium.  The  writing  is  back  up  to  snuff  and  the 
natural-sounding  presentation  makes  the  group's  ethical 
culture  far  more  palatable.  One-song  studio  visits  each 
by  the  Bangles  and  David  Hidalgo  of  Los  Lobos  are 
unobtrusive  but  unneeded — these  boys  can  handle  the 
job  nicely  by  themselves. 

Metallic  B.O.,  a  spirited  cassette-only  hodgepodge 
of  live  covers,  interview  snippets  and  general  fooling 
around,  was  assembled  posthumously  by  the  Long  Ry- 
ders' fan  club  (and  subsequently  issued  in  abbreviated 
CD  form  by  a  British  label).  With  energetically  sloppy 
renditions  of  tunes  by  everybody  from  Dylan  to  Public 
Image  Ltd.  (not  to  mention  a  dandy  version  of  Michael 
Jackson's  "Billie  Jean"),  it's  a  fine  epitaph,  outlining 
the  Ryders'  historical  pedigree  and  distilling  the  punky 
edge  that  rarely  made  it  onto  their  studio  recordings. 

On  his  early  solo  EP,  bassist  Tom  Stevens  (joined 
by  two  sidemen)  plays  guitar  and  sings  half  a  dozen 
original  melodic  pop  songs  that  wouldn't  fit  the  band's 
format  but  are  quite  appealing  on  their  own.  [i/hd] 

See  also  Danny  &  Dusty, 

•16  Dreams  EP  (nr/Head)  1987 
Spinning  EP  [nr/Head)  1 987 
Heaven's  End  (nr/Head)  1 987  * 
Collision  EP  (nr/Chapter  22}  1988 
The  World  in  Your  Eyes  (nr/Head)  1988 
Fade  Out  (nr/Chapter  22)  1988  (Rough  Trade)  1989  * 
Eternal-The  Singles  1988  (nr/Chapter  22)  1989 
A  Gilded  Eternity  (Beggar*  Banquet-RCA)  1 990  • 

Frequently  likened  to  Spacemen  3  for  their  aggres- 
sive approach  to  trance  creation,  Croydon's  Loop  create 
pulsating,  nearly  impenetrable  pieces  that  are  often 
lunkheaded  in  their  maximal  approach  to  minimalism. 
(Imagine  all  the  "NO"s  trumpeted  on  the  sleeve  of 
Metal  Machine  Musk — panning,  phasing,  instru- 
ments— replaced  by  "MORE  PLEASE!"  and  you'll  be- 
gin to  get  the  drift.)  But  more  often,  the  shadowy  quartet 
is  just  plain  dogged  in  its  pursuit  of  The  Holy  Riff; 
locating  said  icon,  Loop  clamps  down  hard,  wielding 
minor  chords  like  marrow  forks,  greedily  digging  out 
sustenance  with  all  the  insane  energy  of  the  Stooges, 
tempered  by  the  fanatical  symmetry  of  German  experi- 
menters like  Can  and  Faust. 

The  germ  of  that  fusion  is  evident  on  Loop's  first 
two  EPs.  Setting  the  tone,  the  rudimentary  drumming  of 
Bex  (the  wife  of  group  leader  Robert,  who  like  the  rest 
of  the  band,  goes  to  great  pains  to  hide  his  surname — in 


this  case,  it's  Hampson)  brings  back  fond  memories  of 
Teenage  Jesus  and  the  Jerks'  Bradley  Field.  (The  con- 
tents of  those  two  discs,  plus  an  enveloping,  drugged- 
out  version  of  Suicide's  "Rocket  USA,"  were 
repackaged  as  The  World  in  Your  Eyes. )  Collision  cut 
back  on  the  cocooning  tendencies;  Loop  covers  the  Pop 
Group's  lurching  'Thief  of  Fire,"  adding  brass  knuck- 
les to  the  original's  sinewy  threat.  Released  a  bit  too 
close  to  the  band's  similarly  titled  album  for  comfort, 
Eternal  is  a  pairing  of  Collision  and  "Black  Sun,"  a 
late-' 88  single. 

A  few  lineup  changes  (and  plenty  of  new  effects 
boxes)  later,  Loop  unleashed  the  head-nodder's  para- 
dise of  Heaven's  End,  a  mini-album  unsettling  enough 
to  suit  those  who  keep  their  noses  in  the  ether  and  feet 
planted  firmly  hi  the  gutter.  Fade  Out  heightens  the 
menace  a  notch.  With  Robert's  husky  whisper  mixed 
low,  songs  like  4 'Black  Sun"  and  "This  Is  Where  You 
End"  would  sound  like  odes  to  Baal  even  if  they  were 
about  girls  on  the  beach. 

A  Gilded  Eternity  seems  like  the  apex  of  Loop's 
trance-essential  meditation  phase.  Cursory  listens  might 
leave  the  impression  that  not  much  actually  happens  in 
any  of  these  lengthy  songs,  but  concentration  reveals 
catalytic  conversions  aplenty — from  ambient  violence 
to  Detroit-drawn  thrash.  Given  the  maelstrom  they  cut  a 
swath  through,  enervating  tests  of  dub  technique  are 
fascinating,  perhaps  pointing  the  band  in  a  less  static 
(but  no  less  hypnotic)  direction.  [dss] 

LOOT! 

See  Human  League. 

LORDS  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH 

Lords  of  the  New  Church  (IRS)  1 982  * 

Is  Nothing  Sacred?  (IRS)  1983  • 

The  Method  to  Our  Madness  (IRS)  1 984  * 

Kilter  Lords  (IRS)  1985 

Live  at  the  Spit  (nr/lltegal)  1 988 

BRIAN  JAMES 

Brian  James  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1990  * 

Formed  by  ex-Dead  Boy  Stiv  Bator  (following  a 
solo  turn  and  the  developmental  Wanderers,  which  must 
be  where  he  temporarily  parked  the  4V*  from  his  sur- 
name) with  ex-Damned/Tanz  der  Youth  guitarist  Brian 
James,  ex-Sham  69/Wanderers  bassist  Dave  Tregunna 
and  ex-Barracudas  drummer  Nick  Turner,  the  Lords 
emerged  with  a  fully  realized  debut  album  that  draws  on 
their  individual  and  collective  strengths.  Dense  and 
powerful,  with  Bator's  sneering  whine  setting  the  tone 
and  attitude,  the  Lords  combine  '60s  punk  with  '80s 
apocalyptics  to  create  an  original  sound  that  updates  the 
Stooges  for  a  post-punk  world.  Only  a  few  awful,  in- 
dulgent lyrics  (one  song  attempts  a  tribute  to  the  New 
York  Dolls  by  merely  stringing  song  titles  together) 
detract  from  the  record's  intense  dark  power.  High- 
lights: "New  Church,"  "Russian  Roulette,"  "Open 
Your  Eyes."  Cool  cover:  Balloon  Farm's  "Question  of 
Temperature." 

Live  at  the  .Spit  is  a  1982  Boston  radio  broadcast 
from  the  band's  first  American  tour.  Sounding  more  like 
friendly  punks  than  nascent  goth-rockers,  the  quartet 
delivers  basic  live  versions  of  nearly  the  entire  first  al- 


390 


bum,  punctuated  by  Stiv's  crudely  didactic  stage  patter. 
Curious  how  long  ago  1982  was?  By  way  of  introducing 
"Russian  Roulette/'  Stiv  announces  "The  other  day  we 
played  a  really  strange  game.  We  passed  around  six 
girls  and  one  of  them  had  the  clap." 

In  place  of  the  first  LP's  claustrophobic,  murky  pro- 
duction, Is  Nothing  Sacred?  substitutes  a  livelier, 
crisper  swirl;  keyboards  and  horns  contrast  the  band's 
throaty  roar.  Thus  armed,  the  Lords  unfortunately  ran 
out  of  material  after  the  first  song.  Following  the  excel- 
lent "Dance  with  Me,"  the  album  rolls  straight  down 
the  song  writing  slope,  stopping  off  only  briefly  to  ram 
through  the  Grass  Roots'  venerable  "Live  for  Today" 
to  no  audible  end.  As  a  soundtrack  for  a  gothic  punk 
horror  movie,  the  Lords'  second  album  gets  the  ambi- 
ence right,  but  that's  all. 

The  third  outing  hits  a  fair  compromise,  modulating 
both  the  volume  and  the  velocity  to  lighten  the  mood 
and  cut  the  stylishness.  As  a  result,  The  Method  to  Our 
Madness  resembles  a  cross  between  Raw  Power  and 
Rebel  Yell.  It's  the  band's  least  distinctive — but  most 
popular-sounding — record,  with  "Murder  Style," 
"Method  to  My  Madness"  (featuring  a  funny  spoken 
interjection  by  IRS  owner  Miles  Copeland)  and  a  pretty 
ballad,  "When  Blood  Runs  Cold,"  to  recommend  it. 
By  sacrificing  their  mystery  and  danger,  the  Lords  of  the 
New  Church  are  revealed  as  nice  guys  after  all. 

The  Killer  Lords  compilation  includes  not  only  re- 
mixes of  essential  album  tracks  but  a  hysterically  nasty 
mugging  of  Madonna's  "Like  a  Virgin,"  a  solid  and 
straight  reading  of  John  Fogerty's  "Hey  Tonight,"  and 
ex- Advert  Tim  Smith's  duff  but  amusing  "Lord's 
Prayer." 

Putting  the  Lords  on  ice  in  the  mid-'80s,  James 
wound  up  back  in  the  Damned  for  a  spell  and  then 
released  his  first  (!)  solo  album — a  miserably  pedestrian 
hard-rock  LP  (a  la  Steve  Jones'  post-Professionals  ef- 
forts) with  only  occasional  evidence  of  James'  past  ad- 
ventures, if  not  achievements — in  1990.  That  same 
year,  it  was  reported  that  Bators  was  forming  a  band 
with  Dee  Dee  Ramone  and  ex-Godfathers  guitarist  Kris 
Dollimore.  Before  anything  could  come  of  that  alliance, 
however,  Bators  was  struck  by  a  car  in  Paris  in  June  '90 
and  died  of  his  injuries.  [i] 

See  also  Stiv  Bators. 


LORRIES 

See  Red  Lorry  Yellow  Lorry. 

LOS  LOBOS 

...  and  a  time  to  dance  (Slash)  1 983 
How  Will  the  Wolf  Survive?  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 984  * 
By  the  Light  of  the  Moon  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 987  • 
La  Pistola  y  el  Corazon  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1988  • 
The  Neighborhood  (Slash-Warner  Bros,)  1990  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

La  Bamba  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1987  « 

Lacking  serious  competition  and  buoyed  by  the 
enormous  success  of  La  Bamba,  Los  Lobos  are  the 
Mexican-American  rock  band;  it  wouldn't  matter  if 
there  were  contenders  for  that  honor,  however— these 
four  East  Los  Angelenos  (plus  ex-Blaster  saxman  Steve 
Berlin,  who  joined  in  time  for  the  second  Slash  record) 


are  peerless  masters  of  their  music  and  a  whole  lot  more. 
They  smoothly  incorporate  vastly  divergent  styles — 
early  rock'n'roll,  jazz,  rockabilly,  norteno,  blues, 
R&B,  Tex-Mex  folk  music — into  a  colorful  patchwork. 
The  group  had  self-released  an  album  (Just  Another 
Band  from  East  L.A.)  in  the  late  '70s,  but  only  came 
to  national  attention  when  the  seven-song  and  a  time  to 
dance  appeared  in  '83.  From  a  sharp  cover  of  Ritchie 
Valens'  "Come  On,  Let's  Go"  to  the  infectious, 
accordion-powered  " Let's  Say  Goodnight,"  singer/ 
guitarist  David  Hidalgo  leads  a  spicy  romp  (in  two  lan- 
guages) back  and  forth  across  musical  borders  few  can 
traverse  with  such  ease. 

How  WiE  the  Wolf  Survive?  is  an  occasionally 
more  serious  venture,  delving  into  heavy  blues  ("Don't 
Worry  Baby")  and  tender  social  commentary  ("Will 
the  Wolf  Survive?/'  subsequently  a  country  hit  for 
Waylon  Jennings)  as  well  as  finding  time  for  a  jolly 
square  dance  ("Corrida  #1")  and  an  airy  instrumental 
("LIT  King  of  Everything").  Hidalgo's  plaintive  tenor 
and  the  group's  subtlety  and  skill  make  the  album  im- 
mediately likable;  depth  and  variety  ensure  its  enduring 
pleasure. 

Poised  on  the  brink  of  major  stardom,  Los  Lobos 
stopped  to  make  a  limp  mainstream  album,  By  the  Light 
of  the  Moon.  Under  the  usually  reliable  production  di- 
rection of  T-Bone  Burnett,  the  maturing  band  sheds  its 
nchly  complex  musical  personality  for  a  hodgepodge  of 
assimilatiomst  easy-listening  crap  and  ill-advised  stylis- 
tic dilettantism.  "Prenda  del  Alma,"  a  traditional  Span- 
ish ballad,  seems  horribly  out  of  place;  the  gritty 
"Shakin'  Shakin'  Shakes,"  co-written  by  T-Bone  and 
guitarist  Cesar  Rosas,  belongs  on  a  Blasters  record;  "Set 
Me  Free  (Rosa  Lee)"  is  a  brassy  mess  with  synth  drums. 
Only  "My  Baby's  Gone,"  a  fine  Chicago  blues,  sug- 
gests life  in  the  grooves,  but  it's  not  enough  to  salvage 
the  record. 

The  obvious  choice  to  re-create  the  music  for  La 
Bamba,  a  moronic  bio-pic  about  Ritchie  Valens'  brief 
life  and  career,  Los  Lobos  faithfully  and  enthusiastically 
recorded  the  highlights  of  his  slim  repertoire  and  vaulted 
into  the  pop  stratosphere.  The  skidillion-selling  La 
Bamba  soundtrack  album  contains  their  renditions  of 
"La  Bamba,"  "Come  On,  Let's  Go,"  "We  Belong 
Together,"  "Donna,"  and  four  more;  Brian  Setzer  (ap- 
ing Eddie  Cochran)  and  Marshall  Crenshaw  (finally  suc- 
cumbing to  the  temptation  to  play  Buddy  Holly)  each 
contribute  a  track  as  well. 

After  that  massive  success,  Los  Lobos  (consigning 
Berlin  to  a  minimal  role)  returned  to  far  more  substan- 
tial music,  and  a  different  sort  of  nostalgia,  by  making 
a  consciously  uncommercial  (at  least  for  the  American 
pop  audience)  acoustic  album  in  Spanish.  Recorded  and 
mixed  in  five  days,  the  brief  La  Pistoia  y  el  Corazdn 
wraps  the  band's  warm  and  enthusiastic  embrace  around 
traditional  Mexican  canciones  and  suitable  originals. 
Except  for  Hidalgo's  sickly  violin  playing  on  the  instru- 
mental "(Sonajas)  Mananitas  Michoacanas,"  La  Pis- 
tola  is  as  delightful  to  hear  as  it  must  have  been 
therapeutic  to  record. 

Thusly  recharged,  Los  Lobos  made  an  about  face 
and  wanged  out  The  Neighborhood,  an  amazingly  var- 
ied and  great  rock'n'roll  record  free  of  any  Latin  flavor 
whatsoever.  Aided  by  John  Hiatt,  Levon  Helm  and  Jim 
Keltner,  the  quintet  laces  into  a  blistering  boogie  snake 

391 


("I  Walk  Alone"),  a  swampy  Little  Feat-styled  rocker 
("Down  on  the  Riverbed"),  a  pulsing  Chicago  blues 
co-written  by  the  legendary  Willie  Dixon  ("I  Can't  Un- 
derstand"), a  twisting  oldie  (Jimmy  McCracklin's 
"Georgia  Slop")  and  a  twisting  original  ("Jenny's  Got 
a  Pony").  They  also  downshift  effectively  for  semi- 
acoustic  love  songs  ("Emily,"  "Take  My  Hand"),  a 
tender  lullaby  ("Little  John  of  God")  and  a  visit  to 
Johnny  Cash  country  ("Deep  Dark  Hole").  Exciting, 
evocative  and  highly  satisfying.  [i] 

LOUNGE  LIZARDS 

The  Lounge  Lizards  (EG)  1981  • 

Live  from  the  Drunken  Boat  (Europa)  1 983 

Live  79/81  [tape]  (ROIR)  1985  [CD]  (Fr.  Danceteria) 

19904> 

Big  Heart  Live  in  Tokyo  (Island)  1986 
No  Pain  for  Cakes  (Island)  1 987  • 
Voice  of  Chunk  (Jap.  Agharta)  1 989  (Verabra)  1 989  4> 

TEO  MACERO/LONDON 
PHILHARMONIC 
ORCHESTRA/LOUNGE 

LIZARDS 

Fusion  (Europa)  1984 

EVAN  LURIE 

Happy?  Here?  Now?  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1985 
Pieces  for  Bandoneon  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 989  • 
Selling  Water  by  the  Side  of  the  River  (Island)  1 990  4> 

JOHN  LURIE 

Stranger  Than  Paradise  (Enigma)  1 986  * 
Down  by  Law  (Intuition-Capitol)  1 988  « 
Mystery  Train  (RCA)  1 989  « 

Despite  some  interesting  personnel  in  their  initial 
lineup  and  a  memorable  debut  album,  New  York's 
Lounge  Lizards  will  never  be  remembered  as  anything 
more  than  an  interesting  footnote  in  rock's  history.  This 
has  less  to  do  with  the  "fake  jazz*'  label  they  took  for 
themselves  than  with  the  purely  social  nature  of  their 
rock  connection:  they  played  jazz-as-exotica  to  a  hip 
downtown  rock-club  audience. 

Nonetheless,  The  Lounge  Lizards  remains  a  minor 
masterpiece  for  the  way  it  remains  true  to  its  Monk- 
derived  jazz  (including  two  covers  of  Thelonious  Sphere 
himself)  by  subverting  it  still  further  with  Arto  Lind- 
say's atonal  guitar  playing.  Whatever  Lindsay  may  lack 
as  a  conventional  guitarist,  he  makes  up  with  an  innate 
rhythmic  savvy  that  never  fails  to  entertain  and  engage. 
Ex-Feelies  drummer  Anton  Fier,  as  a  rock  player  learn- 
ing the  jazz  ropes,  approaches  his  kit  a  bit  cerebrally, 
but  ironic  detachment  was  never  far  from  the  Lizards' 
agenda.  Saxman  John  Lurie's  compositions  here  turn 
out  to  have  been  his  best,  alternating  a  loving,  melodic 
lilt  with  film  noirish  exhilaration. 

By  the  time  of  Live  from  the  Drunken  Boat,  the 
Lurie  brothers  (John  and  pianist  Evan)  were  playing 
with  a  different  and  less  interesting  band;  the  results  are 
slight  and  forgettable.  (Lindsay  and  Fier  went  on  to  lead 
myriad  projects,  including,  respectively  and  most  nota- 
bly, the  Ambitious  Lovers  and  the  Golden  Palominos.) 
The  Lizards  joined  their  producer,  Teo  Macero  (vet- 
eran producer/arranger  of  many  a  distinguished  jazz 
record),  as  he  indulged  his  post-romantic  orchestral  fan- 


tasies with  the  London  Philharmonic  on  Fusion,  an  un- 
interesting '50s  "third  stream"  symphonic  jazz 
composition. 

The  Live  79/81  cassette  (later  issued  on  CD  as  well) 
features  sharp  performances  from  New  York  (including 
their  first  gig),  Cleveland,  London  and  Berlin.  The  core 
of  the  debut  lineup  (the  Lunes,  Fier  and  bassist  Steve 
Piccolo)  remains  intact,  but  two  other  guitarists  besides 
Lindsay  divvy  up  the  tracks.  Nine  originals,  plus  covers 
of  Thelonious  Monk's  "Epistrophy"  and  Earle  Hagen's 
classic  "Harlem  Nocturne." 

John  Lurie  went  on  to  star  in  and  score  Jim  Jar- 
musch's  film  Stranger  Than  Paradise,  the  album  of 
which  devotes  a  side  to  an  unrelated  Lune  dance  piece 
called  ''The  Resurrection  of  Albert  Ayler."  His  next 
multi-media  collaboration  with  Jarmusch  was  Down  by 
Law,  Lurie  co-starred  in  the  picture  and  composed  the 
score.  Down  by  Law  contains  his  soundtrack  music  for 
that  film — played  by  most  of  the  Lounge  Lizards  and 
even  alumnus  Lindsay — as  well  as  music  done  for  a 
Betty  Gordon  film  entitled  Variety.  Although  he  didn't 
appear  in  the  movie,  Lurie  also  composed  music  for 
Jarmusch's  next  picture,  Mystery  Train,  the  soundtrack 
LP  of  which  is  largely  made  up  of  appropriate  vintage 
rock'n'roll  and  R&B  numbers. 

Evan's  first  solo  piano  album,  Happy?  Here? 
Now?,  exhibits  an  introspective  sensitivity  not  always 
prevalent  in  the  ensemble's  work,  but  that's  not  to  say 
it's  any  less  stimulating  or  intense.  While  "Tesla's  Pi- 
geons" has  the  power  and  fury  of  a  piano  version  of 
Stravinsky  as  performed  by  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic, 
"Suite  from  Punch"  has  such  a  diversity  of  feeling,  it 
could  easily  be  the  accompaniment  to  a  silent  film. 

In  mid- '86,  a  new  incarnation  of  the  Lounge 
Lizards — the  Luries  bolstered  by  another  saxophonist 
(Roy  Nathanson)  and  a  trombonist  (Curtis  Fowlkes), 
plus  a  rhythm  section  and  guitarist  Marc  Ribot — signed 
to  Island.  While  the  one-show  Live  in  Tokyo  continues 
in  the  Lizards'  almost-jazz  tradition,  the  in-studio  No 
Pain  for  Cakes  opens  up  their  frame  of  reference  to 
include  influences  like  Erik  Satie  and  Kurt  Weill.  And 
the  group  breaks  the  word  barrier  with  John  Lurie's 
distinctive  voice  on  "Bob  and  Nico"  and  the  anecdotal 
"Where  Were  You." 

The  most  novel  aspect  of  Voice  of  Chunk  is  non- 
musical:  the  album  was  sold  by  mail-order  only.  The 
multi-part  compositions  are  surprisingly  humorless,  and 
sound  at  least  as  indebted  to  early-'70s  "progressive" 
rock  as  to  jazz,  fake  or  otherwise.  The  band's  swagger- 
ing vocal  chorus  on  Evan  Lurie's  jaunty  "Tarantella" 
doesn't  quite  right  the  emotional  balance, 

"Tarantella"  also  turns  up,  sans  vocals,  on  Evan's 
own  Selling  Water  by  the  Side  of  the  River.  His  group 
features  Jill  Jaffe's  violin  and  Alfredo  Pedernera's  ban- 
doneon  (button  accordion),  lending  quite  an  ocean- 
voyage-salon  air  to  the  tango-tinted  tunes.  The  dark, 
wistful  modalities  and  harmonies  make  the  album  more 
compelling  than  a  mere  exercise  in  good  neighbor  pol- 
icy, [mf/dgs/rs/si] 

See  also  Golden  Palominos,  Arto  Lindsay,  Marc 
Ribot. 


BUDDY  LOVE 

See  Alan  Milman  Sect. 


392 


MONIE  LOVE 

Down  to  Earth  (Bennal-Wamer  Bros.)  1990  • 

Having  made  spotlight-grabbing  cameos  with  Queen 
Latifah,  De  La  Soul,  the  Jungle  Brothers  and  Fine 
Young  Cannibals,  this  unaccented  London-born  rapper 
(Simone  Johnson)  leapfrogged  to  the  top  echelons  of 
female  MCs  with  a  brilliant  album  of  her  own.  Down  to 
Earth  follows  Latifah's  example  in  mixing  up  soul, 
hip-hop  and  house  in  a  tumult  of  musical  variety  all 
bound  together  by  staunchly  independent — and  charm- 
ingly blunt — feminist  lyrics.  Love's  prickly  charisma 
and  sharp  wit  fills  "Monie  in  the  Middle"  (an  insidi- 
ously catchy  putdown  tale  of  high  school  romance  and 
one  of  three  tracks  produced  by  FYC's  Andy  Cox  and 
David  Steele)  and  the  autobiographical  "Don't  Funk 
wid  the  Mo." 

One  of  Love's  main  topics  is  the  mistreatment  of 
women,  and  quite  a  few  tracks — "Pups  Lickin'  Bone," 
"It's  a  Shame  (My  Sister),"  "R  U  Single,"  "I  Do  as 
I  Please"  and  "Just  Don't  Give  a  Damn" — are  power- 
ful assertions  of  women's  rights  and  the  need  for  self- 
respect  in  a  hostile  environment.  Except  for  an  over- 
the-top  attack  on  pork  ("Swiney  Swiney")  and  the 
irritable  tone  that  occasionally  creeps  into  Monie' s  sing- 
song delivery  (the  repeated  "move,  damn  it!"  com- 
mand of '  'Ring  My  Bell'  *  really  grates),  Down  to  Earth 
is  a  spectacular  debut.  (The  British  vinyl  release  ini- 
tially included  a  bonus  EP  of  additional  material.)  [i] 


LOVE  AND  ROCKETS 

Seventh  Dream  of  Teenage  Heaven  (nr/Beggars  Banquet) 

1985  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1988  ® 
Express  (Beggars  Banquet-Big  Time)  1 986  • 
Earth-Sun-Moon  (Beggars  Banquet-Big  Time)  1 987  « 
Love  and  Rockets  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1989  * 

DAVID  J 

Etiquette  of  Violence  (nr/Situation  Two)  1983  * 
Crocodile  Tears  and  the  Velvet  Cosh  (nr/Glass)  1 985  • 
David  J  on  Glass  (nr/Glass)  1 986  • 
Songs  from  Another  Season  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA) 
1990* 

DANIEL  ASH 

Coming  Down  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1991  * 

From  near  oblivion  to  solid  stardom,  Love  and 
Rockets  is  the  group  that  refused  to  die.  Named  after  the 
Hernandez  brothers'  underground  comic,  Love  and 
Rockets  reunited  three-fourths  of  Bauhaus,  which  had 
broken  up  in  1983.  First,  drummer  Kevin  Haskins  joined 
guitarist  Daniel  Ash's  side-project-turned-serious  Tones 
on  Tail,  which  folded  a  year  later.  Then,  David 
j — following  his  stint  with  the  Jazz  Butcher— joined 
them  in  an  aborted  attempt  to  reform  Bauhaus.  When 
that  was  kiboshed  by  Peter  Murphy,  the  three  trans- 
muted into  Love  and  Rockets,  with  Ash  and  J  splitting 
the  vocals  and  songwriting. 

Murphy's  absence  allows  his  three  former  band- 
mates  to  avoid  any  trace  of  his  poseur  pretensions  on 
Seventh  Dream  of  Teenage  Heaven,  an  odd,  uiinerv- 
ingly  varied  album.  There's  folk-rock,  funk,  ominous 
rock  and  a  number  that  resembles  the  Moody  Blues 
crossed  with  Bow  Wow  Wow — a  huge,  boomy  drum 
sound  smothered  in  close  harmony  vocals  and  what 


sounds  to  be  a  mellotron  "Saudade,"  a  similar  (albeit 
instrumental)  piece,  blends  aspects  of  New  Order  and 
the  Dream  Academy,  The  faintly  Beatlesque,  pretty 
"Haunted  When  the  Minutes  Drag"  suggests  an  '80s 
take  on  Donovan  in  a  droney  acoustic  mode.  Neat 
record — wonder  what  it  all  means.  (The  British  CD  adds 
three  tracks  }  The  belated  American  issue  adds  "Inside 
the  Outside"  and  a  remix  of  "Dog-End  of  a  Day  Gone 
By."  In  Canada,  the  record  includes  a  version  of  the 
Temptations'  "Ball  of  Confusion"  and  several  other 
remixes. 

There's  less  stylistic  dilettantism  on  the  fine  Ex- 
press, although  disparate  variety  is  still  among  the  trio's 
hallmarks.  To  wit,  "All  in  My  Mind"  appears  on  one 
side  as  evanescent  folk-rock  and  on  the  other  as  a  dirgey 
sigh  with  echoed  snare  drum  accents.  "Kundaiini  Ex- 
press" updates  the  old  train  gambit  with  modem  ideas; 
"Yin  and  Yang  the  Flower  Pot  Man"  puts  another 
Moody  Bluesy  melody  to  a  galloping  beat;  "Love  Me" 
has  dubwise  backing  and  whispered  vocals.  Love  and 
Rockets  seem  to  be  charting  out  their  terrain  ever  more 
clearly,  concentrating  on  genres  that  work  for  them. 
(The  US  edition  adds  "Bail  of  Confusion.") 

After  two  good  records,  Love  and  Rockets  began 
lurching  this  way  and  that  as  Ash  and  J  began  asserting 
themselves  individually,  writing  and  singing  their  own 
lyrics  in  rarely  intersecting  styles.  The  self-produced 
Earth-Sun-Moon  is  an  enigmatic  bummer,  a  dull  and 
often  murky  digression  that  buries  its  few  promising 
ideas  in  echo  and  overdubbed  guitar  tracks.  Ash  comes 
up  with  flaky  lyrics  and  flaky  stylistic  ideas;  J's  work  is 
less  weird,  but  no  more  effective.  (He's  responsible  for 
the  album's  funniest  track:  the  Jethro  Tull  parody  "No 
New  Tale  to  Tell.")  Earth-Sun-Moon  has  the  earmarks 
of  a  record  cut  reluctantly  and/or  without  benefit  of 
ideas.  A  shame.  (The  CD  adds  a  "slow  version"  of  the 
LP's  lead-off  track,  "Mirror  People.") 

Those  who  bought  Love  and  Rockets  on  the 
strength  of  its  coolly  atmospheric  Top  20  single  (the 
faintly  'SOsish  "So  Alive" )  may  have  been  surprised  by 
the  rest  of  the  bizarre  distortion-heavy  album.  Ash  has 
obviously  been  listening  to  a  lot  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
Chain  records  (check  out  "No  Big  Deal"  and  "Motor- 
cycle"); J  seems  to  be  entranced  by  the  magic  of  vocal 
processing  and  string  arrangements.  Track  by  track, 
Love  and  Rockets  is  flimsy  fun;  considering  it  as  some 
unified  artistic  effort,  however,  is  utterly  impossible. 

David  J's  first  solo  record  is  an  indulgent  one-man 
affair  with  lots  of  acoustic  guitar,  a  little  electronic  per- 
cussion and  occasional  keyboards;  while  some  of  the 
songs  have  amusingly  cinematic  lyrics  ("Joe  Orton's 
Wedding,"  "With  the  Indians  Permanent"),  the  music 
is  trivial  and  the  presentation  underwhelming.  Croco- 
dile Tears  is  much  better,  an  enjoyable  singer- 
songwriter  collection  with  simply  effective  and  varied 
arrangements  (acoustic  guitar,  string  bass,  occasional 
drums,  sax  accents)  and  well-developed  songs  with 
good  melodies  and  substantial  lyrics  that  strain  the  lim- 
its of  poetic  unpretentiousness  but  more  often  wind  up 
involving  than  off-putting.  Not  all  of  it  works,  but  the 
title  track  is  fine  and  a  self-examination  entitled  "Too 
Clever  by  Half"  is  thoughtfully  perceptive.  "Stop  This 
City"  paints  an  urban  landscape  with  care  and  preci- 
sion; with  guest  flute  by  the  Jazz  Butcher,  the  fantasy 
romance  of  the  mildly  Dylanesque  "Justine"  is  a  treat. 


393 


Elsewhere,  however,  the  influence  of  Zim  overpowers 
J's  good  sense. 

David  J  on  Glass  is  a  messy  and  eclectic  collection 
of  little  merit.  The  lyrics  are  ill-considered  and  over- 
done; the  uneven  material  includes  inferior  examples  of 
the  previous  LP's  faux-folk  ("The  Conjurers  Hand"), 
effective  rockers  ("The  Promised  Land"),  an  atrocious 
piano-and-stnngs  homage  to  Kurt  Weill  ("This  Vicious 
Cabaret' ' ) ,  a  Clock  DV A  cover  ( '  '4  Hours' ' )  and  a  solo 
acoustic  demo  of  "Crocodile  Tears  and  the  Velvet 
Cosh." 

The  band  kept  him  busy  for  several  years,  and  J 
didn't  make  another  solo  album  until  1990.  Songs  from 
Another  Season  follows  nicely  from  Crocodile  Tears 
with  accomplished  and  attractive  light  folky  pop  some- 
where around  Lloyd  Cole  or  the  Waterboys.  With  sax 
and  Max  (Eider,  ex-Jazz  Butcher)  helping  out,  this  is  an 
enjoyable  and — in  light  of  L&R's  gross  unpred- 
ictability— reassuringly  low-key  album. 

Coming  Down,  Ash's  solo  debut,  takes  off  in  a 
bunch  of  different  directions — from  sedate  cocktail 
swing  to  low-key  salsa  (!)  to  somber  atmospherics  to 
jittering  dance  noise — most  fairly  understated,  several 
reflecting  the  Reidian  thrall  in  which  he  lately  seems  to 
be  gripped.  Joined  by  singer  Natacha  Atlas  and  Haskins 
(doing  a  lot  of  the  drum  programming),  Ash  comes  off 
as  flaky  as  his  band,  with  effective  originals  ("Coming 
Down  Fast"  and  the  pseudo- Velvet  "Not  So  Fast" 
could  easily  be  L&R  tracks)  and  such  bizarre  detours  as 
a  nearly  subliminal  "Day  Tripper"  cover.  [i] 

See  also  Bauhaus,  Tones  on  Tail. 


LOVE  CLUB 

Lime  Twigs  and  Treachery  (Popular  Metaphysics-MCA) 

1990<f> 

A  skilled  diva  with  a  closetful  of  unappetizing 
voices,  Deborah  Borchers  is  the  raison  d'etre  for  this 
San  Francisco  quartet,  which  delivers  her  theatrical  ad- 
ventures and  the  pretentious  lyrics  as  an  updated  varia- 
tion on  new  romantic  dance-rock.  While  Borchers* 
diversity  suggests  Danielle  Dax  or  Nina  Hagen,  what 
little  appeal  her  strident  dramatics  hold  is  drowned  out 
by  the  band's  overheated  guitar  arrangements.  Ambi- 
tious but  confused,  Love  Club  possess  substantial  skills, 
but  no  idea  how  to  make  a  record  for  anyone  but  them- 
selves, [pn] 

LOVELIES 

See  Bush  Tetras. 


DAMIEN  LOVELOCK 

See  Celibate  Rifles, 

LOVE  OF  LIFE  ORCHESTRA 

Extended  Niceties  EP  (Infidelity)  1980 
Geneva  (Infidelity)  1980 

Love  of  Life  Orchestra  was  created  by  Peter  Gordon 
(sax,  keyboards,  composition)  and  David  Van  Tieghem, 
a  talented,  smart-aleck  avant-garde  percussionist  with 
ties  to  new  music  composer  Steve  Reich.  Both  have 
gone  on  to  greater  fame  as  elder  statesmen  of  the  down- 


town music  scene  in  New  York,  but  these  early  works 
stand  as  an  important  developmental  chapter. 

Extended  Niceties  debuted  LOLO's  avant-disco  in 
fine  form.  "Beginning  of  the  Heartbreak' V'Don't, 
Don't"  is  quite  powerful,  pushed  along  by  a  vividly 
colored  piano  and  the  distinctive,  kinetic  rhythm  guitars 
of  guests  Arto  Lindsay  and  David  Byrne. 

Geneva  succumbs  to  blandness  as  Lindsay  and 
Byrne  are  supplanted  by  less-inspired  fulltimers  and 
Gordon  attempts  to  spread  his  cliched  writing  over  a 
longplayer.  Exceptions:  "Revolution  Is  Personal"  and 
"Lament,"  which  offers  the  rarity  of  a  truly  interesting 
drum  solo.  [mfj 

See  also  David  Van  Tieghem. 


LOVE  TRACTOR 

Love  Tractor  (DB)  1 982 

Around  the  Bend  (DB)  1 983 

Til  the  Cows  Come  Home  EP  (DB-Landsiide)  1984 

Wheel  of  Pleasure  (nr/Armageddon)  1985 

Double  Play  [tape]  (DB)  1986 

This  Ain't  No  Outerspace  Ship  (Big  Time)  1 987  ® 

Themes  from  Venus  (DB)  1989  » 

Athens,  Georgia's  Love  Tractor  started  out  playing 
instrumental  rock'n'roll,  with  reference  points  in  the 
non-vocal  golden  rock  era  of  two  decades  ago.  Unlike 
the  Raybeats,  they're  not  so  style-conscious,  so  you  get 
far  fewer  sly  references  to  the  Ventures  and  other  camp 
heroes,  and  more  outright  flirtation  with  fusion  and 
cocktail  lounge  muzaks.  Though  the  material  is  incon- 
sistent, Love  Tractor  never  lacks  poise. 

The  quartet  exhibits  new  polish  on  Around  the 
Bend,  seeking  to  avoid  stagnation  by  adding  vocals  on 
a  few  tracks.  Not  very  memorable  ones,  though.  The 
diverting  'Til  the  Cows  Come  Home  EP  fails  to  answer 
questions  about  Tractor's  future  path,  since  it's  a  com- 
pilation of  odds  and  ends.  Wheel  of  Pleasure  is  like- 
wise a  sampler  of  the  group's  work,  assembled  for  the 
English  market.  (In  1986,  Love  Tractor  and  Around 
the  Bend  were  joined  on  one  cassette  and  issued  as 
Double  Play.) 

Produced  (and  played  on)  by  ex-Raybeat  Pat  Irwin, 
Outerspace  Ship  sees  the  lads  plunging  wholeheartedly 
into  vocals ,  with  chirpy  singing  (led  by  guitarist  Michael 
Richmond)  that's  a  natural  extension  of  their  twinkly 
guitars.  Breezy  rockers  like  "Beatle  Boots"  and  "Car- 
toon Kiddies"  are  charming  enough,  but  such  ephemera 
ultimately  seems  like  a  dubious  achievement.  When  it's 
done,  you'll  feel  like  you've  pigged  out  on  cotton  candy. 
Weird  cover:  a  semi-funky  take  on  the  Gap  Band's 
"Party  Train/' 

Featuring  a  typically  crisp  Mitch  Easter  production 
job,  Themes  from  Venus  continues  in  the  direction  of 
Outerspace,  with  even  more  sunny,  forgettable  vocals, 
Richmond  resembles  a  less  nutty  Robyn  Hitchcock  (not 
that  we  needed  one)  this  time.  The  lightweight  instru- 
mental "Nova  Express"  inspires  fond  memories  of  the 
band's  early  days,  when  Love  Tractor  was  more  dis- 
tinctive. The  CD  adds  two.  jjy] 

LENE  LOVICH 

Stateless  (Stiff-Epic)  1979  • 
Flex  (Stiff-Epic)!  980* 


394 


New  Toy  EP  (Stiff-Epic)  1981 

No-Man's-Land  (Stiff-Epic)  1 982 

The  Stiff  Years:  Volume  One  (nr/Great  Expectations) 

1990 
March  (Pathfinder)  1 990  <!> 

Lene  Lovich  helped  pave  the  way  for  female  vocal- 
ists to  use  as  many  vocal  eccentricities  as  their  male 
counterparts,  to  be  unafraid  to  play  a  solo  instrument 
( Lovich' s  is  sax),  and — as  important  as  anything 
else — to  feel  free  to  adopt  and  project  personae  that  are 
obviously  feminine  yet  not  socially  stereotyped. 

During  her  erratic  and  sporadic  career,  the  Detroit 
native  has  made  a  batch  of  good  tracks,  but  has  yet  to 
deliver  an  entire  satisfying  LP.  This  seems  to  stem  from 
the  fact  that  she  and  husband-guitarist-songwriting  part- 
ner Les  Chappell  are  not  exactly  prolific;  even  with 
choice  selection  of  other  people's  material  (including 
songs  given  to  her  expressly  by  Thomas  Dolby  and  Fin- 
gerprintz's  Jimme  O'Neill)  she  has  released  only  four 
full  albums  in  twelve  years. 

Stateless,  her  debut  LP,  sports  a  pair  of  great  sin- 
gles: "Lucky  Number"  and  "Say  When."  But  despite 
her  distinctive  chirp'n'yodel  vocals,  the  keyboard- 
dominated  arrangements  and  the  blend  of  great  old 
American  pop-rock  with  spooky  occult  and  Balkan  over- 
tones, she  needed  more  consistent  material.  Better  pro- 
duction also  might  have  helped;  the  US  version  has  a 
reshuffled  song  order,  a  different  cover  and  a  much- 
needed  remix. 

Flex  has  a  more  modern  studio  sound  and  uses  syn- 
thesizers, adding  more  varied  vocal  colors  (and  empha- 
sizing the  distinctive  deep  male  backing  voices).  The 
songs  are  more  consistent,  yet  the  standouts,  original 
and  otherwise,  don't  quite  match  those  on  Stateless. 
The  expansion  of  Lovich' s  religio-mystical  worldview 
partially  compensates. 

New  Toy,  a  foretaste  of  No-Man's-Land,  is  a  sin- 
gle expanded  to  EP  length;  only  the  title  track  is  truly 
worthy  of  any  attention.  Surprisingly,  although  two  of 
the  songs  appear  in  slightly  altered  versions  on  the 
subsequent  LP,  "New  Toy"  itself  doesn't.  Lacking  it, 
No-Man's-Land  is  another  half-good  LP,  with  Lov- 
ich's  appropriation  of  "It's  You,  Only  You"  (from 
Holland's  Meteors)  again  demonstrating  her  ability  to 
bring  out  melody  and  create  her  own  airy,  eerie  atmo- 
sphere. 

The  long-awaited  March  is  a  mixed  blessing,  but 
it's  a  welcome  arrival  all  the  same.  While  only  "Won- 
derland" (the  single)  really  jumps  out,  most  of  the  al- 
bum is  pretty  enjoyable.  For  every  mannerism  that 
seems  a  bit  too  cutesy  or  affected,  there's  another  couple 
of  moves  that'll  make  you  sit  up  straight  in  admiration. 
(One  exception  is  "Shadow  Walk,"  on  which  Chap- 
pell's  grave  enunciations  of  the  title  sound  dangerously 
like  frog  croaks — or  belches.)  But  for  a  spot  of  bass  and 
percussion,  Lovich  and  Chappell  wrote,  produced  and 
played  it  all  themselves.  Ugl 

NICK  LOWE 

Jesus  of  Cool  (nr/Radar)  1 978  (nr/Demon)  1 989  • 

Pure  Pop  for  Now  People  (Columbia)  1 978  • 

Labour  of  Lust  (Columbia)  1 979  « 

Nick  the  Knife  (Columbia)  1982  « 

The  Abominable  Showman  (Columbia)  1 983  • 


1 6  All-Time  Lowes  ( nr/Demon}  1 984  • 

Nicb  Knack  (nr/Demon)  1 986  • 
Pinker  and  Prouder  Than  Previous  (Columbia}  1 988  * 
Basher:  The  Best  of  Nick  Lowe  (Columbia)  1 989  • 
Party  of  One  (Reprise)  1 990  • 

HIS  COWBOY 

OUTFIT 

Nick  Lowe  and  His  Cowboy  Outfit  (Columbia)  1984  • 
The  Rose  of  England  (Columbia)  1 985  * 

Once  a  teen  dream  with  London-area  pop  group  Kip- 
pington  Lodge  then  a  pub-rocker  with  Brinsley 
Schwarz,  Nick  Lowe  burst  into  new  wave  as  a  pop 
mastermind  who  could  give  you  anything  you  wanted, 
and  to  heck  with  social  significance.  The  cover  of  his 
first  solo  album  graphically  displays  his  kaleidoscopic 
versatility  in  six  different  poses/personae,  all  fairly 
sleazy.  Lowe's  tunes,  though,  are  invariably  well 
crafted,  charming  (within  a  '60s  pop  context)  and  off- 
beat enough  to  hold  attention. 

For  its  US  release,  the  wildly  diverse  Jesus  of  Cool 
was  retitled  Pure  Pop  for  Now  People  by  corporate 
wimps  (a  copout  that  continued  on  the  1990  Columbia 
CD).  Besides  a  well-scrambled  track  order,  Pure  Pop 
substitutes  the  smooth  "They  Called  It  Rock*'  for  Je- 
sus' stompy  "Shake  and  Pop"  (in  fact,  the  same  song 
with  a  different  arrangement)  and  adds  "Rollers  Show," 
a  parodic  tribute  to  the  Bay  City  Rollers.  The  US  album 
also  inserts  Lowe's  studio  recording  of  "Heart  of  the 
City"  (the  B-side  of  Stiff's  first-ever  release)  in  place  of 
the  searing  live  version  on  the  British  record.  (The  same 
live  recording,  but  with  a  Dave  Edmunds  vocal  replac- 
ing Lowe's,  appears  on  Edmunds'  Tracks  on  Wax  4.) 

Labour  of  Lust  is  a  calmer  collection,  sticking 
mostly  to  medium-tempo  rockers  played  by  the  depend- 
able Rockpile  (Lowe,  Edmunds,  drummer  Terry 
Williams  and  guitarist  Billy  Bremner).  Instead  of  sty- 
listic variety,  Lowe  concentrates  on  love  songs,  both 
silly  ("Switch  Board  Susan,"  "American  Squirm") 
and  sincere  ("Without  Love,"  "You  Make  Me").  The 
album  also  contains  his  first  (and  so  far  only)  US  hit 
single,  "Cruel  to  Be  Kind." 

Following  Labour  of  Lust,  Lowe  put  his  solo  ca- 
reer on  hold  to  assist  Edmunds  and  play  in  Rockpile.  He 
resumed  with  Nick  the  Knife,  not  surprisingly  filled 
with  more  foot-tapping  love  songs.  His  emotional  pal- 
ette had  broadened  to  include  unhappy  ("My  Heart 
Hurts,"  "Too  Many  Teardrops,"  "Raining  Raining") 
as  well  as  happy  ("Queen  of  Sheba,"  "Couldn't  Love 
You  (Any  More  Than  I  Do)")  subject  matter.  And  of 
course  there  are  the  obvious  musical/lyrical  borrowings 
Lowe-watchers  enjoy  getting  incensed  about. 

The  Abominable  Showman  is  fast  out  of  the  start- 
ing gate  with  "We  Want  Action"  and  "Raging  Eyes." 
After  that,  Lowe  turns  surprisingly  serious  on  tracks  like 
"Time  Wounds  All  Heels"  and  "Wish  You  Were 
Here."  The  album  closes  on  a  curious  (for  Lowe)  note: 
"How  Do  You  Talk  to  an  Angel"  even  has  strings. 

He  returned  to  form  on  Nick  Lowe  and  His  Cow- 
boy Outfit  (which  actually  features  almost  the  same 
band  as  on  the  preceding  album).  Once  again,  Nick 
essays  a  variety  of  pop  styles,  from  Tex-Mex  ("Half  a 
Boy  and  Half  a  Man")  to  '50s  instrumental  ("Awe- 
some"). Don't  take  the  LP  title  too  seriously;  on  a  good 
day,  Lowe  takes  nothing  seriously. 


395 


Maintaining  the  same  lineup  but  cobbling  together  a 
far  better  set  of  tunes,  Lowe  made  The  Rose  of  En- 
gland with  a  lot  more  evident  effort.  While  the  variety 
is  impressive,  the  lack  of  consistent  quality  mainly 
comes  down  to  specific  songs  Winners:  Costello's  "In- 
door Fireworks"  (predating  its  appearance  on  King  of 
America),  John  Hiatt's  "She  Don't  Love  Nobody"  and 
Lowe's  own  "Lucky  Dog/*  ""The  Rose  of  England" 
and  "(Hope  to  God)  I'm  Right. "  A  new  treatment  of  "I 
Knew  the  Bride,"  produced  by  and  performed  with 
Huey  Lewis  and  band,  is  unsettlingly  anxious  but  rea- 
sonably entertaining;  a  few  other  items  are  throwaways 
or  sappy  ballads.  Overall,  however,  The  Rose  of  En- 
gland offers  some  of  the  deepest,  most  reassuring  music 
Lowe's  done  in  ages. 

16  AE-TSme  Lowes  is  a  compilation  of  his  early 
soSo  work,  from  "So  It  Goes"  and  "Heart  of  the  City" 
through  "When  I  Write  the  Book."  Of  special  interest: 
precise  musician  credits  for  each  track.  Statisticians 
(and  those  who  feel  Lowe's  quality  level  has  been 
steadily  waning)  should  note  that  almost  half  of  these 
songs  appeared  on  his  first  album.  Nicks  Knack  is  a 
complementary  collection  of  another  sixteen  tracks,  in- 
cluding Rockpile's  "Now  and  Always,"  a  rare  B-side 
("Basing  Street")  and  a  balanced  selection  of  mostly 
second-string  material  from  Lowe's  pre-Cowboy  Outfit 
albums.  While  the  American  release  of  the  25  (or  27)- 
song  Basher — the  third  Lowe  anthology  to  date — is  un- 
derstandable since  the  first  two  never  came  out  in  the 
States,  its  British  issue  (with  track  differences  in  all 
three  formats)  is  utterly  inexplicable.  Nitpickers'  treat: 
the  American  sleeve  inadvertently  refers  to  the  first  al- 
bum as  Jesus  of  Cool. 

Pinker  and  Prouder  Than  Previous  was  recorded 
in  pieces  during  1986  and  '87  in  London  and  Texas, 
with  a  host  of  old  friends,  including  Paul  Carrack,  Terry 
Williams,  Martin  Belmont  and  John  Hiatt.  (Lowe  had 
been  instrumental  in  Hiatt' s  1987  "comeback"  album, 
Bring  the  Family.)  He  even  made  up  with  Edmunds, 
who  produced  one  song.  Reclaiming  the  straightforward 
one-take-sound  R&B/pop  magic  he  has  imparted  to 
many  proteges,  Lowe  conies  out  pub-rocking  here, 
positively  glowing  with  casual  aplomb.  Besides  the  fa- 
miliar helpings  of  spicy  rock'n'roll  and  smooth  pop, 
he  dishes  out  a  bit  of  greasy  roadhouse  R&B,  some 
maudlin  but  touching  balladeermg,  even  spots  of  cajun 
and  demi-reggae,  without  a  hint  of  selfconsciousness 
or  effort.  (Echoes  of  Rockpile  are  everywhere.)  Minor 
criticisms:  the  sequencing  doesn't  really  work,  the 
abrupt  fades  are  disconcerting  and  a  few  of  the  tunes 
(like  Graham  Parker's  "Black  Lincoln  Continental") 
don't  rate. 

After  a  solo  tour  with  Elvis  Costello,  Lowe  followed 
his  friend  to  a  new  label,  and  got  Edmunds  to  produce 
Party  of  One,  a  likable  but  shallow  return  to  simple 
songs  and  flash-free  presentation.  Carrack,  Edmunds, 
Ry  Cooder  and  Jim  Keltner  give  standard-issue  Lowe- 
isms  like  "You  Got  the  Look  I  Like"  and  "Who  Was 
That  Man"  their  easygoing  all,  picking  up  more  or  less 
where  Rockpile  left  off.  Had  Basher  expended  a  bit 
more  effort  in  the  songwriting  stage,  the  conducive  at- 
mosphere provided  here  would  have  made  Party  of  One 
as  good  as  fans  wanted  it  to  be.  Instead,  there's  only  the 
brilliant  **(!  Want  to  Build  a)  Jumbo  Ark,"  the  quietly 
soulful  "What's  Shakin'  on  the  Hill"  and  the  lyrically 


clever  "All  Men  Are  Liars'*  to  demonstrate  Lowe's 
ability  to  find  new  pearls  in  such  old  oysters.        [si/i] 
See  also  Dave  Edmunds,  Rockpile. 

IAN 

See  Folk  Devils. 

LOWLIFE 

Rain  EP  (nr/Nightshift)  1985 

Permanent  Sleep  (nr/Nightshtft)  1 986 

Diminuendo  (nr/Nightshift)  1 987 

Swirl  It  Swings  EP  (nr/Nightehift)  1 987 

From  a  Scream  to  a  Whisper  (nr/Nightshift)  1 989 

Godhead  (nr/Nightehift)  1989 

After  leaving  the  Cocteau  Twins  in  1983,  bassist 
Will  Heggie  formed  this  quartet  and  continued  playing 
atmospheric  Scottish  indie-pop,  albeit  in  a  somewhat 
darker  hue.  The  Rain  EP  sets  ringing,  occasionally 
clashing  guitars  and  echoey  deadpan  vocals  into  long, 
rhythmically  charged  songs  (some  in  a  minor  key) 
whose  deep  and  dramatic  vocals  (by  Craig  Lorentson) 
contain  a  solemn  trace  of  Joy  Division. 

Permanent  Sleep  delves  deeper  into  instrumental 
and  vocal  textures,  with  layers  of  strummed  and  picked 
guitar  and  slippery  bass  chords  (shades  of  New  Order) 
dominating  the  sound.  Despite  Lowlife's  concentration 
on  ambience,  the  affecting  "Wild  Swan"  is  a  lovely 
song,  punctuated  by  repeated  guitar  triplets  fluttering 
overhead. 

The  aptly  titled  and  excellent  Diminuendo  reduces 
Lowlife's  volume  by  stripping  the  arrangements  of  their 
thickening  ingredients,  leaving  only  the  bass,  simple 
drums  and  frugal  bits  of  guitar  and  keyboards  to  support 
the  increasingly  ambitious  and  musical  vocals.  (The 
octave-jumping  falsetto  in  "Big  Uncle  Ugliness"  and 
commanding  power  of  "Licking  Ones  Eyes"  are  indic- 
ative of  his  expanding  stylistic  range.)  While  opening 
up  the  sound  does  wonders  for  some  songs  (including 
"From  Side  to  Side,"  "Wonders  Will  Never  Cease" 
and  "Tongue  Tied  and  Twisted,"  which  really  sounds 
like  a  New  Order  track),  the  results  can  also  be  too 
dreamy,  leaving  tracks  lusterless. 

The  four  disappointing  new  songs  on  Swirl,  It 
Swings  sound  like  outtakes  from  Diminuendo,  only 
with  feeble  drumming  and  grandiose  vocals.  Named  for 
a  phrase  scratched  into  one  of  Diminuendo's  run-off 
grooves,  From  a  Scream  to  a  Whisper  is  a  1985- '88 
compilation  containing  most  of  the  1987  EP  plus  several 
tracks  from  each  of  the  three  prior  records. 

Succumbing  to  the  excesses  of  Lorentson' s  newly 
dramatized  vocal  style,  Godhead  also  marks  a  partial 
return  to  the  early  records*  busy  instrumentation.  While 
understandably  moving  to  erase  the  New  Order  compar- 
isons, the  misnamed  Godhead  lacks  the  emotional  drive 
that  sparks  all  of  Lowlife's  other  albums  and  winds  up 
labored  and  dull,  a  collection  of  unaffecting  songs  that 
plod — even  at  brisk  tempos.  [i] 

LOW  MAX 

Low  Max  EP  (Ger.  Glitterhouse)  1 988  (Skyclad)  1 989 
Spitzbube  (Ger.  Houses  in  Motion)  1 990  (Sic/clad)  1 991  • 
Singer/guitarist  Ricky  Gelb — younger  brother  of  Gi- 
ant Sand  man  Howe  Gelb  (who  drew  the  front  cover  of 


396 


Low  Max) — leads  this  Tucson,  Arizona  group,  playing 
dryly  dramatic  Southwestern  rock  in  the  wake  of  bands 
like  Green  on  Red  and  True  West.  Low  Max's  six-song 
debut  has  a  few  rough  spots  (like  pitch  and  tunings)  that 
need  work,  but  it  gets  enough  juice  from  Gelb's  affect- 
ing vocals  and  sturdy  songs  (not  to  mention  Johnny 
Macarchick's  energetic  guitar  strivings)  to  make  its 
mark. 

Rolling  more  acoustic  guitar  into  the  mix, 
Spitzbube  has  a  loose,  folky  feel — a  bit  Dylanesque  in 
spots — that  doesn't  always  encourage  Gelb's  best  sing- 
ing or  Macarchick's  most  purposeful  playing.  Still,  the 
rambly  and  reflective  songs  make  their  points  with 
plenty  of  personality.  Dan  Stuart  of  Green  on  Red  guest- 
sings  on  "You  Used  My  Name**;  Howe  Gelb  plays 
keyboards  on  "Don't  Know  Why."  [i] 

LOW  MEATO 

Low  Meato  (Ger.  Pigs  Ear)  1 989 

If  there's  a  way  to  offend  even  the  hardiest  sexual 
sensibilities,  this  talented  but  tasteless  New  York  trio 
knows  it.  Bassist  Felix  Sebacious  and  guitarist  Thruster 
H.W.  share  the  humorous  vocals  on  such  blatant  indel- 
icacies as  "Ben  Wa  Balls,"  "Penis  Power"  and  "Easy 
Girl"  (turning  responsibly  serious  on  "AIDS  Hymn," 
which  consists  of  one  repeated  line — "Stop  fucking 
around/Find  the  cure  for  AIDS"),  while  playing  skin- 
tight power  rock  with  punk,  glarn-pop,  Cheap  Trick  and 
metal  overtones.  If  their  lyrics  weren't  so  conscien- 
tiously offensive,  Low  Meato  would  be  totally  cool. 

W 


LUBRICATED  GOAT 

Lubricated  Goat  Plays  the  Devil's  Music  (Aus.  Black  Eye) 

1 987  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 989 
Paddock  of  Love  (Aus,  Black  Eye)  1 988  (Amphetamine 

Reptile)  1989 

Schadenfreude  EP  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1989 
Psychedelicatessen  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1990  * 

Some  of  the  crudest  sounds  from  Australia's  belly 
have  been  belched  up  by  Lubricated  Goat,  a  band  which 
features  two  former  members  of  Salamander  Jim.  Since 
getting  underway  in  early  '86,  Goatees  have  slipped  in 
and  out  and  back  in  again,  though  the  groans,  gristle  and 
guttural  grunts  of  Stu  Spasm  (as  well  as  the  backdrop  of 
bleating  horns  and  discordant  guitars)  have  held  steady. 

Despite  ten-cent  production  and  an  organization 
level  that  makes  playtime  in  kindergarten  seem  like  a 
crack  marching  band,  The  Devil's  Music  offers  the 
Goat's  most  inventive  montage  of  styles  and  instrumen- 
tation; beneath  the  recurring  sodomite/fatality  themes 
and  Spasm's  occasional  possessed  rants  smolders  a 
weird  core  of  blues  and  jazz  inspiration.  "Goats  and  the 
Men  Who  Ride  Them,"  one  of  several  instrumental, 
could  serve  as  a  striptease  for  strangling  hyenas;  over- 
looking the  titles,  other  vocal-less  tracks  that  could  be 
film  scores  include  "Frotting  with  Ennio"  (a  disturbed 
children's  movie,  perhaps),  "Nervequake"  (slapstick) 
and  "Anal  Injury"  (silent  comedy). 

Paddock  of  Love  emits  similar  primal  sentiments 
(with  an  emphasis  on  cannibalism),  but  at  less  obtuse 
angles.  The  Goat  forfeits  the  spontaneity  and  creativity 
of  the  first  album  in  favor  of  cohesion.  Still,  there  are 


plenty  of  furs-filled  moments  of  tightly  wound  psychotic 
gumbo.  "Funeral  on  a  Spit,"  "Promised  Land"  and 
"He  Moves  in  Mysterious  Ways." 

The  Schadenfreude  EP  winds  and  meanders  in  dis- 
sembled repetition,  lacking  humor  and  direction,  though 
the  accelerator  motion  and  skidding  distortion  of 
"Magumbo  Head"  does  briefly  relieve  the  monotony. 

The  guitar-rock  sound  may  hardly  reflect  it,  but  the 
Goat  on  Psyctiedeticatessen  includes  sampler  wrangler 
Lachlan  McLeod  (also  ex-Salamander);  Spasm  and 
longtime  drummer  Martin  Bland  both  take  credit  for 
synths  as  well.  (The  lineup  is  completed  by  a  guitar/sax 
player.)  Abandoning  the  overt  dementia  of  previous 
records,  Spasm  here  relaxes  into  a  more  integrated,  spo- 
ken pitch,  and  the  tightened-up  band  drives  the  songs 
along  with  brain-driller  riffs,  as  on  the  seasick  humor  of 
"Stroke,"  the  insidious  crawl  of  "Spoil  the  Atmo- 
sphere" and  the  flat-out  instrumental  mania  of  "Never 
Know  What  Hit  You."  [mgj 

See  also  Beasts  of  Bourbon. 


LUD1CHR1ST 

Off  the  Board  [tape]  (CBGB)  1 986 
Immaculate  Deception  (Combat  Core)  1 986 
Powertrip  (Combat)  1 988 

SCATTERBRA1N 

Here  Comes  Trouble  (Sn-Effect)  1 990  • 

New  York's  Ludichrist  takes  a  mix-and-match  ap- 
proach to  hardcore  and  speed  metal  on  its  first  studio 
album,  Immaculate  Deception.  Singer  Tommy  Christ 
keeps  pace  easily  as  the  skillful  band  abruptly  shifts 
gears  from  storming  punk  to  careening  rock  in  topical 
(frequently  irreligious)  tunes  like  "Big  Business," 
"God  Is  Everywhere,"  "Tylenol,"  "Mengele"  and  a 
tuneless  speeding  rendition  of  "Last  Train  to  Clarkes- 
ville."  (Agnostic  Fronters,  Crambsuckers  and  others 
guest.) 

Christ  and  guitarist  Glenn  Cummings  are  the  only 
holdovers  from  the  first  album  on  Powertrip,  a  compe- 
tently generic  thrash-metal  assault  whose  best  feature  is 
its  sporadically  inventive  lyrics.  Dispensing  with  the 
theological  references,  the  quintet  comes  up  with  a 
science-fiction  defense  of  rock'n'roll  ("Zad")  and  var- 
ious complaints  about  workaday  life. 

Chucking  the  problematic  band  name  and  sonic  or- 
thodoxy, Christ,  Cummings  and  guitarist  Paul  Nieder 
got  themselves  a  new  rhythm  section  and  escaped  the 
metal  ghetto  by  becoming  Scatterbrain.  A  well-rounded 
program  with  deftly  modulated  rhythms  and  carefully 
controlled  stun  strength,  Here  Comes  Trouble  touches 
up  the  Beastie  Boys  ("Earache  My  Eye"  is  a  bratty 
gang  rap),  the  Chili  Peppers  ("That's  That"  runs  a 
popping  bass  line  under  horns  and  chanted  vocals)  and 
Mozart  (Nieder  does  a  classic  Brian  May  overdub  job 
on  "Sonata  #3"),  kicking  ass  with  humor  ("Don't  Call 
Me  Dude")  as  well  as  seriousness  ("Goodbye  Free- 
dom, Hello  Mom").  Power  plus  invention  makes  Scat- 
terbrain a  bright  band.  [i] 


LUNACHICKS 

Lunachicks  EP  (nr/Blast  First-Mute  )  1 989  • 
Babysitters  on  Acid  (nr/Blast  First)  1 990  • 


397 


Stepping  into  the  garbage-rock  wrestling  ring  with  a 
four-song  EP  (issued  on  two  7-inch  singles  in  a  gatefold 
sleeve;  the  CD  came  later),  New  York's  five  Luna- 
chicks  strut  their  overdrive  guitar  noise  in  such  witless 
sloptunes  as  "Sugar  Luv,"  "Jan  Brady"  and  "Makin' 
It  (With  Other  Species)."  The  thrashy  music's  not  half 
bad,  but  Theo  Kogan's  vocals — at  best  she  resembles 
comedian  Judy  Tenuta  channeling  the  devil — are 
terrible. 

The  album  reprises  those  three  songs  and  adds  nine 
more  crudities  (like  "Octopussy"  and  the  rnild  novelty 
fun  of  "Babysitters  on  Acid")  in  the  same  vein.  Pro- 
ducer Wharton  Tiers  wisely  sharpens  up  the  instrumen- 
tal assault  in  the  direction  of  old  MC5  and  sinks  the 
improved  Kogan  halfway  into  the  mix,  but  the  Luna- 
chicks  can't  seem  to  make  up  their  mind  if  they  want  to 
be  the  Plasmatics,  the  Ramones  or  Killer  ("Teenage 
Enema  Nurses  in  Bondage")  Pussy.  [i] 

LYDIA 

Queen  of  Siam  (ZE)  1980  (Widowspeak)  1985  • 

13.13  (Ruby)  1982  (Wtdowspeak)  1988  ® 

The  Agony  Is  the  Ecstacy  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 982 

In  Limbo  EP  (nr/Doublevision)  1984  (Widowspeak)  1986 

The  Uncensored  Lydia  Lunch  [tape]  {Widowspeak) 

19854> 

Hysterie  (nr/Widowspeak)  1986  (CD  Presents)  1986  * 
Honeymoon  in  Red  (Widowspeak)  1 987  « 
Drowning  in  Limbo  [CD]  (Widowspeak)  1 989  ® 
Oral  Fixation  (Widowspeak)  1 989  ® 

LYDIA  LUNCH/MICHAEL  GIRA 

Hard  Rock  [tape]  (Ecstatic  Peace)  1 984 

LYDIA  LUNCH  AND  LUCY 
HAMILTON 

The  Drowning  of  Lucy  Hamilton  EP  (Widowspeak)  1 985 

CLINT  RUIN/LYD1A  LUNCH 

Stinkfist  EP  (Widowspeak)  1988  • 

LYDIA  LUNCH/THURSTON 
MOORE 

The  Crumb  EP  (Widowspeak)  1988  ® 

HARRY  CREWS 

Naked  in  Garden  Hills  (Widowspeak)  1 989  « 

Lydia  Lunch's  career  since  deep-sixing  Teenage  Je- 
sus and  the  Jerks  has  been  an  unpredictable  path  gov- 
erned by  boredom,  sarcasm,  romance,  perversity  and 
whatever  musicians  or  collaborators  are  convenient  at 
the  time.  Queen  of  Siam  proves,  at  the  very  least,  that 
she  can  do  more  than  just  scream  (although  her  version 
of  the  Classics  IV  hit,,  "Spooky,"  shows  she  ain't  ex- 
actly Beverly  Sills,  either).  Half  of  the  alburn  consists 
of  muted,  somber  variations  on  her  Teenage  Jesus  fear- 
and-suffering  dirges,  but  the  real  surprises  are  songs  like 
"Lady  Scarface,"  in  which  the  big  band  arrangements 
(by  Flintstones-theme  composer  Billy  Ver  Planck)  turn 
Lunch's  wry  asides  into  a  Billie  Holiday  nightmare. 

On  the  heels  of  Queen  of  Siam's  release,  Lunch 
formed  8  Eyed  Spy  with  ex-Contortions  bassist  George 
Scott,  ex- Jerk  Jim  Sclavunos  on  drums,  guitarist 
Michael  Paumgardhen  and  saxophonist/guitarist  Pat  Ir- 
win,  who  had  worked  on  Lunch's  solo  album.  The 
lifespan  of  the  group  set  a  pattern  for  Lydia' s  ventures: 


assemble  a  band,  work  with  it  for  a  while,  disband  it 
when  she  got  "bored";  six  months  later  some  vinyl 
would  appear.  (One  conglomeration,  an  alleged  blues 
abortion  called  the  Devil  Dogs,  didn't  last  long  enough 
to  be  documented.) 

13.13,  concocted  with  a  trio  of  ex-Weirdos,  was 
hypothetically  an  attempt  at  new  psychedelia;  actually  it 
revived  the  grind-and-caterwaul  of  Teenage  Jesus  as  fil- 
tered through  Metal  Box-era  PiL,  all  deviant  guitar  and 
rolling  rhythms.  Like  her  previous  stuff,  it  manages  to 
be  simultaneously  fascinating  and  annoying. 

Lunch  hung  out  in  Europe  for  a  while  with  Nick 
Cave  and  the  Birthday  Party,  a  sympathetic  association 
reflected  in  a  number  of  recordings.  The  Agony  Is  the 
Ecstacy  (a  record  she  splits  with  the  Party)  captures  an 
impromptu  London  gig  featuring  Banshees  bassist  Steve 
Several  on  feedback  guitar  and  is  easily  one  of  the  most 
extreme  Lunches  to  date.  On  the  other  hand,  a  12-inch 
single  done  with  Party  guitarist  Rowland  S.  Howard  of 
"Some  Velvet  Morning"  (an  old  Lee  Hazelwood 
song — Nancy  Sinatra  has  been  a  longtime  touchstone 
for  Lydia)  recalls  the  softer  moments  of  Queen  of  Siam. 

In  Limbo  is  a  six-track  disc  with  an  all-star  sup- 
porting crew  that  includes  Thurston  Moore  of  Sonic 
Youth  and  former  Contortion/Bush  Terra  Pat  Place. 
With  snail's-pace  tempos,  Moore's  shards  of  acrid, 
harsh  guitar  and  Lunch's  trademark  ululations,  it's  typ- 
ically rough  going,  but  recommended  for  anyone  who 
has  trouble  contending  with  an  entire  album's  worth  of 
her  clamor. 

The  Drowning  of  Lucy  Hamilton  is  the  soundtrack 
to  a  film  (The  Right  Side  of  My  Brain)  starring  Jim 
(Foetus)  Thirlwell  and  Henry  Rollins.  Lucy  Hamilton 
herself  is  actually  Lydia' s  collaborator  on  the  record, 
which  consists  of  eerie  instrumentals  orchestrated  with 
piano,  honking  bass  clarinet  (both  played  by  Hamilton) 
and  guitars  that  sound  like  they're  being  played  with  ice 
picks  and  hedge  clippers.  Something  rather  different  for 
Lunch,  and  less  like  background  music  than  most  sound- 
tracks. Drowning  in  Limbo,  as  might  be  surmised,  is 
the  CD  pairing  of  that  record  with  In  Limbo. 

Having  successfully  launched  the  Widowspeak  la- 
bel, Lunch  used  it  to  release  Hysterie,  an  ambitious 
ten-year  two-disc  career-spanning  compilation,  starting 
with  Teenage  Jesus,  recapitulating  8  Eyed  Spy  and  the 
little-known  Beirut  Slump,  and  winding  up  with  three 
recent  collaborations  (Die  Haut,  a  pre-These  Immortal 
Souls  group  and  something  called  Sort  Sol). 

Honeymoon  in  Red  was  recorded  with  members  of 
the  Birthday  Party,  Thurston  Moore  and  Genevieve 
McGuckin  (now  in  These  Immortal  Souls)  in  1982  and 
'83,  and  was  originally  going  to  be  a  Birthday  Party 
album.  When  that  band  split  up,  the  record  was  shelved. 
After  several  years'  worth  of  tinkering,  it  was  finally 
remixed  by  Clint  (Foetus)  Ruin  and  released  on  Lydia' s 
label  (The  only  BPers  whose  names  appear  on  the 
record  are  Rowland  Howard  and  the  late  Tracy  Pew; 
Nick  Cave  and  Harvey  are  credited  pseudonymously.) 
Lunch  and  the  Party  are/were  obvious  soulmates,  but 
her  input  here  is  too  often  predominant;  her  penchant  for 
slow  tempos  dilutes  the  band's  brutal  strength.  Not  a 
great  album  by  any  means,  but  of  definite  interest  to 
fans  of  those  involved.  The  CD  adds  "This  Velvet 
Morning"  from  the  Lunch/Howard  single. 


398 


Although  her  world  view  hasn't  changed, 
Stinkfist — a  collaboration  with  Clint  Ruin — could  be 
the  first  joint  effort  she  doesn't  dominate;  most  of  the 
HP's  tracks  are  primarily  instrumental,  as  Foetus  speeds 
things  along  with  a  thunder-drum/noise  guitar  assault 
akin  to  his  solo  work.  But  even  these  two  can't  make 
this  much  noise  without  a  little  help;  guests  include 
ex-Red  Hot  Chili  Pepper  Cliff  Martinez  and  ex-X  DJ. 
Bonebrake  pounding  on  things.  Lots  of  noise  and  en- 
ergy but  nothing  new,  especially  for  the  already  Foetus- 
ized 

The  Cnimb  EP  is  credited  to  Lunch,  Thurston 
Moore  and  the  Honeymoon  in  Red  Orchestra,  which 
consists  of  Lunch,  Moore,  Thirlwell  and  Howard.  It's 
not  on  your  local  soft-rock  station's  playlist,  nor  is  it 
perfect  for  the  office.  Moore  shares  vocals,  and  the 
sound  is  a  fairly  predictable,  semi-defined  sonic  crunch. 
(The  Crumb  is  included  on  the  Stinkfist  CD.) 

In  recent  years,  Lunch  has  occasionally  foregone 
musical  accompaniment  entirely  and  chosen  to  share  her 
muse  via  the  spoken  word.  The  Uncensored  tape  is  in 
this  format,  as  are  Hard  Rock  (done  with  lead  Swan 
Michael  Gira)  and  Oral  Fixation  The  last-named  cap- 
tures a  Ml-length  solo  rap  at  the  Detroit  Institute  of  Art 
from  January  1988.  As  venomous  as  her  song  lyrics  can 
get,  this  format  allows  her  to  take  a  giant  step  further. 
Sometimes  clever,  frequently  condescending  and  always 
relentless,  she  spits  out  her  observations  about  sex, 
death,  middle  class  values,  etc.  with  plenty  of  nihilistic 
passion,  but  never  offers  any  reference  point:  everything 
in  the  world  just  plain  sucks.  Lunch  never  runs  out  of 
things  to  say,  but  as  a  speaker  she  is  less  an  original 
artist  than  a  type.  The  Oral  Fixation  CD  also  includes 
The  Uncensored. 

Harry  Crews  is  a  Southern  novelist  and  professor 
whose  name  and  work  supply  the  inspiration  for  a  band 
Lunch  formed  with  Sonic  Youth  bassist  Kim  Gordon 
and  a  drummer.  (The  trio  toured  Europe  in  September 
'88.)  Naked  in  Garden  Hills,  recorded  live  in  London 
and  Vienna,  is  not  unlike  previous  Sonic  Lunches,  but 
with  quicker  tempos  than  Lydia's  usual  and  a  bit  more 
noise  than  either  might  employ  without  this  symbiotic 
provocation.  'The  Gospel  Singer"  is  especially  inter- 
esting, with  a  hard  bluesy  backing  to  almost  rapped 
vocals. 

Besides  her  recording  career,  Lunch  has  appeared  in 
underground  films  and  collaborated  with  Exene  Cer- 
venka  (of  X)  on  a  book  of  poetry.  Throughout,  she 
continues  to  project  the  most  negative  charisma  since 
Johnny  Rotten.  [rnp/dgs] 

See  also  Birthday  Party,  8  Eyed  Spy,  Einsturzende 
Neubauten,  Foetus  Inc. ,  No  Trend,  Teenage  Jesus  and 
the  Jerks. 


EVAN,  JOHN  LURIE 

See  Lounge  Lizards, 

LURKERS 

Fulham  Fallout  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1978  • 
God's  Lonely  Men  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1979 
Greatest  Hit:  Last  Will  and  Testament  (nr/Beggars 
Banquet)  1 980  • 


Final  Vinyl  EP  (nr/Ciay)  1983 

Wild  Times  Again  (Ger.  Wesetiabef}  1 988 
King  of  the  Mountain  for/Link)  1 989 
Live  and  Loudi!  (nr/Link)  1989 
This  Dirty  Town  (nr/Clay)  1 990 

New  Guitars  in  Town  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1980 

Despite  the  occasional  glimmer  of  greatness,  the 
Lurkers  were  never  much  more  than  a  lightweight, 
second-string  suburban  London  punk  band,  playing  sim- 
ple numbers  in  a  plodding  manner  over  repetitive  dram 
figures.  The  tantalizing  bits  suggested  a  much  better 
band  lurking  (sorry)  inside;  the  post-split  record  by 
southpaw  guitarist  Pete  Stride  and  part-time  Lurker 
Honest  John  Plain  (otherwise  in  the  Boys)  proves  that 
the  group  was  not  without  talent,  but  simply  lacked  the 
ability  to  express  itself  successfully. 

Fuiham  Fallout  has  the  advantage  of  crystal-clear 
sound  (thanks  to  producer  Mick  Glossop)  and  a  few 
impressive  songs  (''Ain't  Got  a  Clue,"  "Shadow"), 
but  suffers  from  tedium  and  general  punky  cloddish- 
ness.  God's  Lonely  Men  seems  to  employ  only  one 
beat;  the  overbearing  rhythm  section's  dense,  muffled 
pounding  gives  the  record  an  air  of  mock  metal.  Two 
poppier  tracks  hint  at  better  things  ahead  musically,  but 
time  had  run  out  for  the  Lurkers. 

Greatest  Hit  gathers  up  twelve  numbers  from  the 
two  LPs  and  adds  a  half-doze"  single  sides.  Surprisingly 
enough,  it's  much  better  than  either  of  the  preceding 
albums,  and  has  enough  fun  times  to  make  it  a  worth- 
while investment  in  low-brow  punk.  Not  essential,  but 
good  enough. 

The  relationship  between  the  Boys  and  the  Lurkers 
began  sometime  before  the  latter  broke  up — guitarist 
Honest  John  Plain  appears  on  two  of  the  Greatest  Hit 
tracks,  including  one  called  "New  Guitar  in  Town" — so 
it  took  only  a  melding  of  the  two  bands  to  provide 
backing  for  the  collaborative  effort  by  Stride  and  Plain. 
New  Guitars  in  Town  starts  off  with  a  Spectoresque 
version  of  Sonny  Bono's  "Laugh  at  Me"  (also  recorded 
by  Mott  the  Hoople)  and  gets  better  from  there.  Rather 
than  a  flashy  collection  of  solos  as  the  title  suggests,  the 
two  stringleaders  show  off  their  singing  and  songwriting 
more  than  guitar  pyrotechnics,  which  remain  decidedly 
in  the  background.  All  in  all,  a  delicious  collection  of 
rollicking  pop-rock,  played  with  spit  and  spirit. 

After  a  short  non-existence,  Stride,  bassist  Nigel 
Moore  and  drummer  Dan  Tozer  reformed  the  Lurkers 
with  a  different  singer  and  began  releasing  new  singles 
inna  old  punk  style.  This  Dirty  Town  (named  for  the 
reincarnated  quartet's  1982  debut)  collects  up — for  bet- 
ter and  worse — all  of  the  band's  tracks  (A's,  B's  and 
EP)  from  this  era,  demonstrating  both  a  shameless  con- 
nection to  slowed-down  Clash/Pistols  punk  and  a  little 
stylistic  progress  (note  the  keyboards  and  dub  mixing  on 
"Lets  Dance  Now").  As  ever,  the  Lurkers  rise  above 
their  chosen  genre,  but  not  enough  to  escape  it. 

In  early  1989,  again  swapping  singers  (this  time  for 
Arturo  Bassick,  who  had  been  the  Lurkers'  bassist  at 
one  early  point),  the  Lurkers  cut  the  crisply  melodic 
King  of  the  Mountain,  an  ace  mini-album  that  com- 
pares very  favorably  to  vintage  Ramones.  Judging  by 
"Barbara  Blue"  and  the  weirdly  topical  "Going  Mon- 


399 


kee  Again  (Hey  Hey  Hey),"  the  third  time  may  be 
lucky  for  the  Lurkers.The  live  album,  recorded  later  in 
*89,  is  also  loads  of  casual  fun,  energetically  recapitu- 
lating the  band's  career  in  nineteen  merry  selections, 
from  "Ain't  Got  a  Clue*'  to  "Barbara  Blue."  [i] 
See  also  Boys. 

LUSH 

Scar  EP  (nr/4AD)  1989® 
Mad  Love  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 990  • 
Gala  (4AD-Reprise)  1 990  • 

Bowing  with  the  six-song  Scar,  this  winsome  young 
London  noise-pop  quartet  combines  guitarist  Miki  Be- 
renyi's  wispy  voice  with  wanton  semi-freakout  playing. 
Although  some  songs  are  not  as  tuneful  as  they  might  be 
(Lush  stands  well  left  of  the  Primitives),  memorable 
items  like  the  thick  "Scarlet"  and  the  float-away 
"Etheriel" — both  co-written  by  Berenyi  and  guitarist 
Emma  Anderson — arrange  the  band's  basic  components 
with  naive  ingenuity. 

Cocteau  Twin  Robin  Guthrie  produced  the  four-song 
Mad  Love,  giving  the  band  a  more  intricately  textured 
sound  (turning  up  the  distorted  rhythm  guitars,  for  one 
thing)  that  only  half  suits  Lush's  skills  and  style.  While 
Berenyi  makes  the  most  of  "De-Luxe"  and  "Thought- 
forms"  (on  which  she  sounds  like  Kirsty  MacColl  front- 
ing the  Cocteaus),  Chris  Acland's  busy  drumming  isn't 
a  beneficial  contribution. 

Besides  compiling  the  EPs  in  their  entirety,  Gala 
adds  two  more  Guthrie  collaborations  (a  nifty  cover  of 
Abba's  obscure  "Hey  Hey  Helen"  and  a  much  lighter 
second  version  of  "Scarlet"),  plus  three  subsequent 
tracks  produced  by  Tim  Friese-Greene,  who  mistakenly 
divides  Lush's  music  into  distinct  segments  of  guitar 
craziness  and  overly  restrained  pop  orderliness.  [i] 

LUXURIA 

See  Howard  Devoto. 

LYRES 

The  Lyres  EP  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 981 

On  Fyre  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 984  • 

Someone  Who'll  Treat  You  Right  Now  EP  (Fr.  New  Rose) 
1985 

The  Box  Set  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 986 

Lyres  Lyres  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 986  * 

Live  at  Cantones!  (Pryct)  1 987 

A  Promise  Is  a  Promise  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 988  • 

Live  (Sp.  Impossible)  1989 

Live  1983:  Let's  Have  a  Party!!  (Pryct)  1989 

After  the  demise  of  DMZ — one  of  Boston's  most 
exciting  retro-rock-punk  bands — singer/organist  Jeff 
"Mono  Mann"  Conolly  assembled  the  Lyres  to  play 
authentic  '60s  garage  music  in  the  '80s.  Once  an  imi- 
tator of  his  heroes,  Conolly 's  talent  and  devotion  made 
him  nearly  their  equal,  and  the  Lyres'  four-song  debut 
(a  12-inch  EP  also  known  as  Buried  Alive,  after  its  lead 
track)  showcases  a  tough,  spirited  brand  of  rock'n'roll 
that  sets  the  standard  to  which  all  other  contemporary 
nostalgic  grungophiles  must  be  compared. 

On  Fyre  is  simply  the  genre's  apotheosis,  an  artic- 
ulate explosion  of  colorful  organ  playing,  surging  gui- 


tars and  precisely  inexact  singing.  Drawing  on  just  the 
right  selection  of  songwriters  (Ray  and  Dave  Davies 
each  get  tapped  once;  another  esoteric  cover  revives  a 
song  originally  recorded  by  ex-Beatie  drummer  Pete 
Best)  and  adding  his  own  brilliant  creations  (especially 
the  urgent  "Help  You  Ann,"  powered  by  phenomenal 
tremolo  guitar),  Conolly  leads  the  Lyres  on  a  nostalgic 
top  that  is  utterly  relevant  to  the  here  and  now.  The  CD, 
issued  several  years  later,  adds  eight  bonus  tunes. 

(The  Lyres'  French  label,  which  had  already  issued 
the  band's  debut  EP  and  album,  put  out  a  four-song 
12-inch  in  1985  and  then  repackaged  all  three  items  in  a 
limited-edition  hot-pink  box  the  following  year. ) 

A  few  moments  into  the  excellent  Lyres  Lyres, 
Conolly  quotes  the  riff  from  the  Grass  Roots'  "Let's 
Live  for  Today"  in  "Not  Looking  Back."  There  aren't 
any  further  citations  of  that  caliber,  but  the  entire  record 
rocks  with  a  mixture  of  Animalized  R&B,  touching  and 
melodic  barrelhouse  pop  and  raving  old-style  punk. 
Danny  McCormack's  guitar  work  is  spectacular;  Conol- 
ly's  voice  has  never  sounded  better.  Among  the  covers 
this  time  are  a  pair  by  veteran  Dutch  rocker  Wally  Tax, 
an  idol  of  Conolly's;  other  selections  may  be  even  less 
familiar  to  loyal  Casey  Kasem  fans. 

Live  at  Cantones!  is  a  compilation  of  live  cuts  (dat- 
ing from  1979-'81)  that  suffers  from  inconsistent,  often 
inadequate,  sound  quality  but  has  such  cool  tunes  as 
"Let's  Talk  About  Girls,"  "She  Pays  the  Rent" 
and — of  course — "Louie  Louie. ' '  Let's  Have  a  Party!! 
is  much  better,  a  single  live-in-the-studio  radio  broad- 
cast from  March  1983.  Conolly  is  in  fine  form,  singing 
and  organ-izing  the  Lyres  through  an  informal  history  of 
'50s  and  '60s  garage  rock,  from  Elvis  Presley/Wanda 
Jackson's  "Let's  Have  a  Party"  to  the  Human  Beinz's 
"Nobody  but  Me."  Although  still  far  from  exemplary 
audio  fidelity  (and  slightly  out  of  tune  in  spots),  this  is 
a  fine  showing  by  the  very  best. 

Never  the  most  prolific  group,  the  Lyres  let  two 
years  elapse  before  releasing  a  third  studio  album.  Just 
prior  to  A  Promise  Is  a  Promise,  recorded  by  the  Lyres' 
thirteenth  incarnation  (according  to  Pete  Frame's  de- 
tailed family  tree  on  the  gatefold),  a  three-song  12-inch 
surfaced,  containing  "Here's  a  Heart,"  a  neat  mersey- 
beat  oldie  featuring  Stiv  Bators,  and  "Touch,"  recorded 
in  Holland  with  Tax.  Both  of  those  appear  on  the  flatly 
recorded  LP,  which  marks  a  real  departure  for  the  group. 
"Every  Man  for  Himself"  flirts  with  funk;  "Feel  Good" 
is  a  soulful  rocker  with  a  vocal  that  resembles  Percy 
Faith;  "Worried  About  Nothing"  has  the  rueful  tone  of 
acoustic  Neil  Young.  Dispensing  with  most  of  the  dated 
stylization  for  about  as  modern  a  sound  as  a  group  with 
prominent  Vox  organ  can  get,  the  energy-spewing  al- 
bum drags  in  spots  but  blasts  off  in  others.  The  CD  and 
cassette  add  seven  uneven  live  tracks.  Clearly  captured 
in  a  Dutch  radio  studio,  the  Lyres  sound  a  lot  like  the 
Small  Faces  on  "She  Pays  the  Rent"  and  the  LP's 
"She's  Got  Eyes  That  Tell  Lies";  five  additional  tracks 
(including  "Help  You  Ann"),  however,  come  from 
some  other  concert  source  and  are  pretty  crappy.  (Col- 
lectors note:  the  Canadian  vinyl  edition  has  the  extra 
material  on  a  bonus  disc  and  uses  the  US  back  cover  on 
the  front.)  [cpl/i] 

See  also  DMZ,  Barrence  Whitfield  and  the  Savages. 


400 


M 

NewYork*London*Paris*Munich  (Sire)  1979 
The  Official  Secrets  Act  (Sire)  1 980 
Famous  Last  Words  (Sire)  1 982 
High  Life  Music  EP  (nr/Swahifi-Albion)  1983 
Boogie  with  a  Suitcase  (nr/Freestyle)  1 989  • 
Walking  on  the  Water  (nr/Fuego)  1 989  • 

M  (Robin  Scott)  may  stand  In  Top  40  history  as  a 
glorious  one-hit  wonder  but,  oh,  what  a  hit!  Easily  the 
highlight  of  his  first  LP,  "Pop  Muzik"  combines  the 
moronic  appeal  of  a  brilliant  semi-electronic  novelty 
record  with  the  sturdy  danceability  of  a  hot  disco  mix. 
Give  this  Englishman  (with  assists  by  Wally  Badarou 
and  Julian  Scott)  credit  for  partially  paving  the  way  for 
hip-hop  and  modem  electro-pop  in  one  fell  swoop. 
Other  cuts  on  the  LP,  such  as  ''Cowboys  and  Indians" 
and  "That's  the  Way  the  Money  Goes,"  are  just  as  silly 
but  less  immediate,  leaving  the  listener  free  to  observe 
how  much  Scott  can  sing  like  Bowie. 

He  shifted  gears  on  The  Official  Secrets  Act,  play- 
ing superficial  foolishness  against  an  underlying  current 
of  fear;  "Join  the  Party,"  "Working  for  the  Corpora- 
tion," "Your  Country  Needs  You"  and  "Official  Se- 
crets" conjure  up  murky  images  of  a  threatening  world. 
Scott  clearly  derives  pleasure  from  inventing  unexpected 
melodies  and  bending  his  tunes  with  quirky  production 
touches. 

Scott  confirmed  his  status  as  a  doodler  on  Famous 
Last  Words:  no  two  tunes  are  alike.  Everything's  a 
little  odd,  but  never  unpleasantly  so.  In  short,  this  third 
LP  possesses  only  the  limited  value  of  cleverness  in  a 
vacuum.  One  longs  for  less  calculation,  and  references 
beyond  the  studio. 

In  1981,  Scott  collaborated  on  an  album  with  Yel- 
low Magic  Orchestra  keyboardist  Ryuichi  Sakamoto.  In 
1989,  "Pop  Muzik"  was  re-released  as  a  CD  single  to, 
in  Scott's  words,  "celebrate  ten  years  of  obscurity." 

See  also  Ryuichi  Sakamoto.  [jy] 

SIPHO  MABUSE 

Sipho  Mabuse  (Virgin)  1 987  * 

Chant  of  the  Marching  (Earthworks-Virgin)  1 989  • 

British  new  wave  pioneer  Martin  Rushent  co- 
produced  and  remixed  veteran  Soweto  singer/drummer 
Mabuse's  first  American  album,  recorded  in  both  Jo- 
hannesburg and  London.  Mabuse  sings  mostly  in  En- 
glish on  the  strongly  westernized  songs,  which  blend 
African  percussion  styles  and  sounds  with  rock  guitar, 
popping  fretless  bass,  funk  horns  and  other  dance-ready 
attributes.  "Shikisha"  and  "Ti  Nyanga  (African  Doc- 
tor)" both  feature  backing  by  a  female  vocal  group  and 
are  the  most  colorfully  appealing  tracks  here;  "Burn 
Out"  (previously  issued  in  the  US  as  a  12-inch  from  a 
1985  import  LP),  with  no  African  character  whatever,  is 
just  plain  terrible. 


The  sunny  Chant  of  the  Marching,  recorded  in 
Brussels,  is  an  uplifting  mainstream  album  with  fewer 
commercial  concessions  than  its  predecessor.  (The 
American-soul  styled  "Celebration"  sounds  like  a  sin- 
cere embrace  rather  than  a  forced  attempt  to  imitate.) 
Over  a  blend  of  spirited  backup  singers,  neat  homwork 
(by  Hugh  Masekela  and  others)  and  percussion  (used  in 
more  of  a  musical  than  rhythmic  role),  Mabuse  confi- 
dently sings  his  forthright  (bilingual)  lyrics  about  the 
townships,  Mandela  and  resistance  in  a  handsome,  al- 
most unaccented  voice.  Miriam  Makeba  duets  with 
Mabuse  on  one  song.  [jj 

KIRSTY  MACCOLL 

Desperate  Character  (nr/Polydor)  1981 

Kite  (nr/Virgin)  1989  (Charisma)  1990  ® 

Free  World  EP  (nr/VSrgin)  1989  • 

Days  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1989  ® 

Don't  Come  the  Cowboy  with  Me  Sonny  Jim!  EP 

(nr/Virgin)  1990® 
Electric  Landlady  (Charisma)  1 991  ® 

Daughter  of  the  late  folk-music  giant  Ewan  Mac- 
Coll,  singer/songwriter  Kirsty  cut  a  great  two-sided  45 
for  Stiff  ("They  Don't  Know" — later  an  international 
hit  for  Tracey  Ullman — b/w  "Turn  My  Motor  On")  that 
went  nowhere,  but  she  scored  two  years  later  on  the  UK 
charts  with  the  twangy  "There's  a  Guy  Works  Down 
the  Chip  Shop  Swears  He's  Elvis"  (included  in  two 
versions  on  Desperate  Character).  For  MacColl's  first 
album,  ace  sidemen  Billy  Bremner,  Lew  Lewis  and 
Gavin  Povey  helped  her  whip  up  a  lively  rock-country- 
pop  stew  that  could  be  a  female-led  Rockpile.  Nary  a 
bad  track  in  the  bunch. 

A  second  LP  (recorded  around  '82  with  bassist  Pino 
Palladino)  was  completed  but  rejected  by  her  label  and 
went  unreleased.  In  1984,  MacColl  married  producer 
Steve  Lilly  white  (whom  she  met  at  the  sessions  for  Sim- 
ple Minds'  Sparkle  in  the  Rain)  and  they  collaborated 
on  a  single  of  Billy  Bragg's  "A  New  England,"  dras- 
tically overhauling  the  spare  tune  into  a  hitbound  pop 
extravaganza. 

In  1989,  MacColl  interrupted  her  successful  career 
as  a  backing  vocalist  (her  extensive  credits  include  both 
the  Pogues  and  the  Rolling  Stones)  to  make  the 
Lilly  white-produced  Kite,  a  mature  and  substantial  con- 
trast of  sweet  sounds  and  strong  words.  Writing  sturdy, 
wisely  provocative  songs  on  her  own  and  with  the  al- 
bum's two  main  guitarists — Johnny  Marr  (ex-Smiths) 
and  Pete  Glenister  (ex-Hitmen) — MacColl  mixes  a  va- 
riety of  fall-bodied  pop  styles  with  some  country 
("Don't  Come  the  Cowboy  with  Me  Sonny  Jim!"), 
adding  a  film  noir  story  sung  in  French,  a  pair  of  won- 
derful covers  (the  Kinks'  "Days"  and  the  Smiths'  "You 
Just  Haven't  Earned  It  Yet  Baby")  and  pointed  attacks 
on  both  Margaret  Thatcher  and  shallow  pop  stars.  Al- 


401 


luring  layers  of  marvelous  vocals  and  MacColl's  color- 
ful no-nonsense  personality  make  Kite  an  utter  delight. 

In  the  UK,  where  the  album's  "Complainte  pour 
Ste.  Catherine"  and  "You  Just  Haven't  Earned  it  Yet 
Baby"  were  CD-only  bonus  tracks,  those  songs  also 
surfaced  on  the  four-song  CD-3s  of,  respectively,  Don't 
Come  the  Cowboy  with  Me  Sonny  Jim!  and  Free 
World.  The  0ays  EP  contains  three  non-LP  tracks,  in- 
cluding a  handsome  rendition  of  the  old  country  stan- 
dard "Please  Help  Me  I'm  Falling.'1  [i] 

See  also  Pogues. 

ANDY  MACKAY 

See  Explorers,  Roxy  Music. 

MADBALL 

See  Agnostic  Front. 

MADNESS 

One  Step  Beyond  . . .  (Sire)  1 979  • 

Work  Rest  &  PSay  EP  (nr/Stiff)  1 980 

Absolutely  (Sire)  1 980  ® 

7  (nr/Stiff)  1981  (nr/Virgin}  1988  ® 

Complete  Madness  (nr/Stiff)  1982  (nr/Virgin)  1986  • 

Madness  Present  the  Rise  and  Fall  (nr/Stiff)  1 982 

(nr/Virgin)  1988  ® 
Madness  (Geffen)  1 983 
Keep  Moving  (Geffen)  1984  ® 
Mad  Not  Mad  (Geffen)  1 985  ® 
Utter  Madness  (nr/Zarjazz)  1 986  ® 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1986  • 

THE  MADNESS 

The  Madness  {nr/Virgin}  1988  • 

I  Pronounce  You  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  • 

NUTTY  BOYS 

Crunch!  (nr/Street  Link)  1 990  ® 

The  world  needs  more  bands  like  Madness.  One  of 
the  original  London  perpetrators  of  the  ska  revival,  they 
grew  from  a  silly  novelty  group  into  full-scale  interna- 
tional superstars,  beloved  by  seemingly  everyone  in  Eu- 
rope, from  tot  to  pensioner.  Though  diversity  in 
contemporary  music  is  generally  laudable,  the  faction- 
alism it  sometimes  engenders  isn't;  Madness'  ability  to 
appeal  to  different  audiences  suggests  that  pop  needn't 
always  polarize  listeners  into  incompatible  camps. 

Produced  by  Clive  Langer  and  Alan  Wmstanley, 
Madness'  records  tend  to  sound  the  same,  which  testi- 
fies more  to  their  lighthearted,  bubbly  style  of  execution 
than  any  actual  uniformity  of  material.  The  band's  in- 
spirations originally  came  (less  later  on)  primarily  from 
ska  and  the  music  hall — i.e.,  sing-along  music — though 
you're  likely  to  find  classic  rock'n'roll,  Arabic  over- 
tones, utterly  insipid  jokes,  easy-listening  pop,  incisive 
observations  on  society  (not  unlike  Ray  Davies)  and  just 
about  everything  else. 

Highlights  of  One  Step  Beyond  include  the  titular 
instrumental,  "Night  Boat  to  Cairo,"  "Chipmunks  Are 
Go!"  and  Prince  Buster's  "Madness."  (The  subsequent 
Work  Rest  &  Play  7-inch  EP  has  four  cuts,  including 
"Night  Boat.")  Absolutely  features  the  giddy  "Baggy 
Trousers"  and  "Return  of  the  Los  Palmas  7."  7  con- 


tains "Grey  Day,"  an  uncharacteristically  somber  bal- 
lad, and  "The  Opium  Eaters,"  a  tinkly  movie-music 
instrumental. 

Complete  Madness  is  highly  recommended  because 
it  collects  the  band's  many  hits,  but  in  reality  any  Mad- 
ness LP  guarantees  lively  and — dare  it  be  said? — 
wholesome  fun. 

Displaying  added  maturity  and  creative  breadth,  The 
Else  and  Fall  is  another  fine  crowd-pleaser,  with  such 
likable  fare  as  "Tomorrow's  Just  Another  Day"  and 
44 Our  House,"  a  virtual  sociology  primer  on  English 
family  life. 

The  nutty  boys  finally  did  themselves  a  favor  and 
signed  in  the  US  with  Geffen  Records,  who  managed  to 
scare  up  a  hit  single  for  the  band  in  the  form  of  "Our 
House."  That  track  is  also  included  on  Madness,  a 
compilation  of  previously  released  UK  tracks  dating 
back  to  1979.  (Madness  contains  about  half  of  The 
Rise  and  Fall  in  addition  to  oldies  like  "Night  Boat  to 
Cairo"  and  the  tender  "It  Must  Be  Love.")  Good  stuff. 

What  followed  was  a  period  of  tumult:  Madness  left 
Stiff,  keyboardist  Mike  B  arson  left  Madness  and  the 
band  set  up  their  own  Zarjazz  label.  Keep  Moving, 
their  final  LP  as  a  septet,  offers  a  full  platter  of  typically 
tuneful,  thoughtful,  lightweight  pop  songs  covering  fa- 
miliar ground,  musically  and  lyrically.  "Wings  of  a 
Dove"  incorporates  a  gospel  choir;  "Michael  Came" 
uses  a  cute  pop-culture  gimmick  to  sell  an  otherwise 
weak  number.  The  growing  vocal  skills  of  Carl  Smyth 
(aka  Chas  Smash)  and  Graham  (Suggs)  McPherson 
have  made  them  the  band's  most  recognizable  trait;  the 
others'  seemingly  effortless  playing  is  easy  to  take  for 
granted. 

Although  it  has  its  moments,  Mad  Not  Mad  is  an 
uneasy,  odd  record,  sounding  a  bit  like  Bryan  Ferry  in 
more  than  one  spot  ("Yesterday's  Men,"  "Coldest 
Day"),  offering  a  quizzical  look  at  America  ("Uncle 
Sam")  and  covering  Scritti  Politti's  beautiful  "Sweetest 
Girl"  with  little  elan.  With  Barson  gone,  keyboards  are 
played  by  Steve  Nieve  and  Roy  Davies;  a  lot  of  guest 
musicians  add  strings,  horns  and  backing  vocals.  Not 
unpleasant,  but  unsettlingly  out  of  the  Madness  main- 
stream. 

Having  achieved  far  more  success  in  eight  years 
than  these  north  Londoners  ever  imagined,  Madness  an- 
nounced its  breakup  in  September  1986.  But  late  '87 
brought  the  return  of  a  slimmed-down  band  rechristened 
The  Madness  and  early  *88  saw  the  release  of  a  self- 
titled  new  album.  Further  than  ever  from  their  ska  roots, 
the  semi-reunited  group  (McPherson,  Chris  Foreman, 
Lee  Thompson  and  Carl  Smyth,  with  help  from,  among 
others,  Specials  leader  Jerry  Dammers  and  Attractions 
Nieve  and  Bruce  Thomas)  comes  up  with  low-key,  al- 
most dour  adult  techno-pop  that,  like  Mad  Not  Mad, 
gains  in  force  with  repeat  listenings.  The  CD  includes 
four  extra  tracks. 

Following  the  dismal  failure  of  The  Madness  (it 
spent  one  week  in  the  British  Top  100),  Foreman  (gui- 
tars, keyboards,  programming)  and  Thompson  (sax  and, 
after  a  fashion,  vocals)  alone  had  the  stamina  to  con- 
tinue. The  duo  adopted  Madness'  old  nickname,  the 
Nutty  Boys,  and  made  a  new  album  on  their  own.  The 
self-produced  Crunch!  upholds  the  old  group's  stan- 
dards of  pop  craftsmanship,  returning  to  ska  beats  (not 


402 


the  full  2  Tone  environment)  with  only  slightly  less 
imagination  and  a  bit  more  casual  aplomb.  (The  CD 
adds  two. ) 

Following  the  original  Madness'  breakup,  another 
compilation  appeared.  Utter  Madness  contains  all  of 
the  band's  UK  hits  ( '  'Wings  of  a  Dove , "  4  'Our  House , ' ' 
''Michael  Came")  from  1982  to  1986.  The  CD  adds 
4 'Seven  Year  Scratch  (Hits  Megamix)."  The  John  Peel 
EP  dates  from  the  first  year  of  Madness,  1979. 

[jy/i/hd] 


MADONNA 

Madonna  (Sire)  1 983  • 

Like  a  Virgin  (Sire)  1985® 

True  Blue  (Sire)  1986® 

Who's  That  Girl  (Sire)  1987® 

You  Can  Dance  (Sire)  1 987  • 

Like  a  Prayer  (Sire)  1 989  • 

I'm  Breathless  (Sire)  1990® 

The  Immaculate  Collection  (Sire)  1 990  • 

Forget  for  a  moment,  if  you  can,  all  the  personality, 
press  and  image  that  attends  these  albums  and  consider 
their  contents.  The  first  (reissued  in  the  UK  with  an 
alternate  cover  as  The  First  Album)  consolidates  sim- 
pleminded  singles  ("Lucky  Star,"  "Borderline," 
"Holiday")  and  five  other  lengthy  numbers  for  a 
bouncy  program  of  dance  music  that  owes  a  lot  to  the 
remnants  of  disco.  The  album  is  a  bit  slick;  Madonna's 
lack  of  a  discernible  style  keeps  it  from  being  a  cre- 
atively significant  debut.  Three  producers  (Reggie  Lu- 
cas, Jellybean  Benitez  and  Mark  Kamins)  give  her 
different  sonic  settings,  but  in  every  case  the  beat  and 
the  voice — alternately  soulful  and  coquettish — are  the 
focal  points. 

Like  a  Virgin  (a  British  reissue  adds  the  alluring 
"Into  the  Groove,"  recorded  for  the  soundtrack  of  Ma- 
donna the  Actor's  film  debut,  Desperately  Seeking  Su- 
san) is  a  far  more  impressive  affair,  a  full-blown  self- 
invention  that  covers  all  the  bases  and  made  Ms. 
Ciccone  a  culture-rending  global  star.  Nile  Rodgers' 
outrageous  production  packs  the  songs  with  hooks  and 
gimmicks,  finishing  each  off  with  a  fine  sonic  shine. 
"Material  Girl,"  "Like  a  Virgin,"  "Over  and  Over," 
"Dress  You  Up"  and  others  all  served  to  build  her 
character,  fill  dancefloors  and  remain  in  pop  fans'  mem- 
ones  indefinitely.  (Incidentally,  Madonna  the  Song- 
writer was  barely  involved  in  composing  the  tunes: 
the  dreaded  Billy  Steinberg/Tom  Kelly  hook  factory, 
for  instance,  whipped  up  the  image-building  "Like  a 
Virgin"  all  by  themselves.)  Regardless  of  opinions 
about  Madonna  the  Star,  Like  a  Virgin  is  a  first-rate 
record. 

True  Blue,  on  the  other  hand,  isn't  very  good  at  all. 
Mega-successful,  yes,  but  the  clich6d  electro-dance  pro- 
duction (Madonna,  Patrick  Leonard  and  Stephen  Bray) 
and  half-baked  songwriting  keep  it  from  serious  creative 
contention.  Madonna  sings  up  a  storm,  but  her  dedica- 
tion to  musical  variety  makes  for  hit-or-miss  records, 
and  True  Blue  rarely  connects.  Only  "Open  Your 
Heart,"  with  an  unforgettably  hooky  chorus,  the  atmo- 
spheric "Live  to  Tell,"  on  which  she  resembles  Joni 
Mitchell,  and  the  corny  '50s-like  title  track  are  any 


good.  Maudlin  rubbish  ("Papa  Don't  Preach"),  mind- 
less dancearama  I  "Where's  the  Parry'*)  and  an  embar- 
rassingly amateurish  cinematic  salute  r* White  Heat"! 
are  among  the  album's  missteps. 

Who's  That  Girl,  although  virtually  billed  as  such, 
isn't  a  Madonna  album.  The  soundtrack  of  her  best- 
forgotten  1987  film  contains  tracks  by  Coati  Mundi, 
Scritti  Politti,  Club  Nouveau  and  others;  Madonna  con- 
tributes a  quartet  of  new  tones,  although  only  the  de- 
lightful "Who's  That  Girl"  is  worth  hearing. 

Flexing  her  dance-club  muscles,  Madonna  then  is- 
sued YOE  Can  Dance,  a  career-spanning  retrospective 
of  various  producers'  mundane  remixes.  "Holiday," 
"Everybody,"  "Physical  Attraction,"  "Over  and 
Over,"  "Into  the  Groove"  and  "Where's  the  Party"  all 
get  the  treatment;  the  record  also  contains  "Spotlight," 
a  previously  unissued  throwaway.  The  CD  adds  three 
more  remixes  for  a  full  program  of  moving  and  (into 
the)  grooving. 

Fully  anointed  as  the  decade's  biggest  and  most  in- 
fluential female  pop  star,  Madonna  demonstrated  her 
ability  to  craft  flawless  and  hollow  product  on  Like  a 
Prayer,  an  album/event  pretentious  enough  to  be  bathed 
in  the  scent  of  church  incense  and  conscientious  enough 
to  include  serious  information  about  AIDS  on  a  small 
insert.  Musically,  the  record  (written  and  produced  by 
Madonna  in  collaboration  with,  individually,  Patrick 
Leonard,  Prince  and  Stephen  Bray)  has  something  for 
everybody,  especially  dancers:  high  drama  ("Like  a 
Prayer"),  pseudo-Motown  ("Express  Yourself")  and 
bouncy  '50s  pop  ("Cherish"),  But  while  Madonna  is 
busy  cashing  in  with  those  catchy  hits  (and  a  Prince 
tune,  "Love  Song,"  that  never  gets  off  the  ground), 
she  also  devotes  much  of  the  record  to  personal  exor- 
cisms that  would  be  stronger  if  her  voice  bore  even  a 
trace  of  conviction.  The  grand  ballad  "Promise  to 
Try"  is  a  farewell  to  her  late  mother,  "Oh  Father" 
offers  a  lot  of  blame  and  a  bit  of  forgiveness  to  her 
dad;  "Till  Death  Do  Us  Part"  is  a  bitter  kiss-off  to  her 
ex-husband.  Enigmatically,  the  album's  closing  track, 
"Act  of  Contrition,"  is  a  wild  psychedelic  joke  that 
conflates  religion  and  squalling  guitar  noise  to  no  ap- 
preciable effect. 

That  I'm  Breathless  (subtitled  "Music  from  and 
Inspired  by  the  Film  Dick  Tracy"}  is  a  bad  record  prob- 
ably goes  without  saying,  but  it's  still  a  surprise  to  hear 
how  grotesque  the  results  of  Madonna's  theatrical  aspi- 
rations are.  Using  a  frightening  closetful  of  unsuitable 
voices  (leave  Carmen  Miranda  alone!),  Madonna  sings 
three  of  the  great  Stephen  Sondheim's  worst  toss-offs 
and  a  bunch  of  inept  genre  imitations,  culminating  in  a 
smugly  crude  spanking  number,  "Hanky  Panky."  The 
record's  only  notable  track,  "Vogue,"  is  just  an  empty 
shell  of  a  song,  style  sans  substance.  Madonna  may 
have  the  power  to  do  anything  she  cares  to,  but  this 
record  demonstrates  that  she  doesn't  have  the  talent  to 
get  away  with  it.  (In  the  next  test  of  her  abilities,  Ma- 
donna wound  up  1990  with  the  controversial  "Justify 
My  Love"  single/video/sample.) 

While  omitting  such  huge  charters  as  "Dress  You 
Up"  and  "True  Blue,"  The  Immaculate  Collection 
rounds  up  fifteen  of  Madonna's  smashes,  from  1983's 
"Holiday"  through  1990's  "Vogue,"  adding  two  new 
tunes:  "Justify  My  Love"  and  "Rescue  Me."  [i] 


403 


MAD  PROFESSOR 

See  Lee  Perrv,  Ruts. 


MAGAZINE 

Real  Life  (Virgin)  1978  (Blue  Plate)  1991  • 
Secondhand  Daylight  (Virgin)  1979  {Blue  Plate)  1991  » 
The  Correct  Use  of  Soap  (Virgin)  1 980  (Blue  Plate) 

1991  • 

Sweetheart  Contract  EP  f  nr/Vsrgsn)  ]  980 
Play.  (IRS)  1980® 

Magic,  Murder  and  the  Weather  (IRS)  1981  • 
After  the  Fact,  f  nr/Vlrgin)  1 982  (IRS)  1 982  ® 
Rays  &  Hail  1978-1981  [CD]  (Virgin)  1987  ® 
Scree:  Rarities  1978-1981  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 990  (Blue 

Plate)  1 991  • 

Singer/writer  Howard  Devoto  left  the  Buzzcocks  in 
an  effort  to  move  beyond  punk  and  power  pop  and  take 
rock  music  to  new  levels  of  complexity  and  sophistica- 
tion without  losing  the  recently  regained  energy  of  the 
form  To  this  end,  he  formed  Magazine  with  then- 
unknowns  John  McGeoch  (guitar/sax),  Barry  Adamson 
(bass),  Dave  Formula  (keyboards)  and  drummer  Martin 
Jackson  (replaced  after  just  one  LP).  They  advanced  a 
music  of  many  styles  and  moods  with  lyrics  full  of 
obfuscation  and  a  lush,  many-faceted  sound,  still  main- 
taining the  rudimentary  passion  au  courant  in  the  music 
of  1978.  Devoto  disbanded  Magazine  in  1981  to  pursue 
a  solo  career. 

Produced  by  John  Leckie,  Real  Life  sports  an  eerie 
Grand  Guignol  sound  throughout  its  nine  punchy  pop 
tunes,  including  the  Devoto/Shelley-composed  hit, 
"Shot  by  Both  Sides/'  Adamson's  driving  bass  and 
Formula's  electronics  dominate  the  presentation,  while 
Devoto  paints  a  deranged  world  of  betrayal  and  suspi- 
cion, mixing  urban  alienation  with  such  material  as  Ti- 
betan mysticism  and  the  Kennedy  assassination.  But 
beneath  the  dark  veneer  is  humor  and  top-notch  music. 

Secondhand  Daylight,  produced  by  Colin  Thurs- 
ton,  benefits  from  the  change  in  drummers — John 
Doyle's  style  is  more  fluid  and  less  chunky  than  his 
predecessor.  Devoto's  simplified  lyrics  focus  on  insur- 
mountable emotional  distances  between  people,  aurally 
realized  with  dislocated,  keyboard-heavy  music. 

The  Correct  Use  of  Soap  is  more  upbeat,  returning 
to  Real  Life's  popness  (without  the  manic  depression), 
and  shows  Magazine  to  be  a  mature  and  cohesive  band. 
The  mix  adds  an  element  of  funk,  and  Devoto  reveals  a 
Costello-like  flair  for  playful  lyrics.  The  album  includes 
some  of  Magazine's  best  songs,  including  "Sweetheart 
Contract,"  "Philadelphia"  and  "A  Song  from  Under 
the  Floorboards."  Highly  recommended.  (The  subse- 
quent 12-inch  appends  three  1980  live  performances 
from  Manchester — including  "Shot  by  Both  Sides"  and 
"Twenty  Years  Ago" — to  the  title  track.) 

Play,  records  a  1980  Australian  concert,  but  a  great 
performance  is  marred  by  production  that  distances  De- 
voto's vocals  from  the  music.  Although  guitarist  Robin 
Simon,  John  McGeoch' s  replacement,  fails  to  integrate 
fully,  the  band  is  relaxed  and  in  control,  and  the  album 
continues  in  Soap's  joyously  sardonic  vein.  "Give  Me 
Everything"  and  "Twenty  Years  Ago,"  both  otherwise 
non-LP,  are  included. 

Magic,  Murder  and  the  Weather  is  controlled  by 


Dave  Formula's  keyboards,  with  Devoto  taking  a  turn 
for  the  grotesque,  as  on  the  casual  ditty  called  "The 
Honeymoon  Killers."  The  prevalent  moods  are  sarcasm 
and  resignation,  making  Devoto's  decision  to  break  up 
the  band  almost  simultaneously  with  the  record's  release 
no  great  surprise. 

The  posthumous  After  the  Fact,  collection  was  re- 
leased in  two  drastically  different  forms,  with  only  five 
tracks  in  common.  The  British  edition  (green  cover) 
contains  an  obvious  trio  of  singles  and  seven  album 
tracks — a  nice  retrospective,  but  nothing  extraordinary. 
The  American  version  (red  cover)  contains  B-sides 
("My  Mind  Ain't  So  Open,"  a  1978  item  incorrectly 
noted  as  having  been  released  in  1977,  "Goldfinger," 
"I  Love  You,  You  Big  Dummy,"  "TV  Baby"  and 
"The  Book")  as  well  as  some  of  the  same  album  ex- 
tractions. Rays  &  Hail,  a  CD-only  retrospective  which 
almost  completely  absorbs  the  prior  UK  compilation, 
draws  on  all  of  the  band's  albums,  adding  the  original 
single  version  of  "Shot  by  Both  Sides. ' '  In  a  final  stroke 
that  makes  every  last  bit  of  Magazine's  catalogue  widely 
available,  Scree — a  carefully  annotated  collection  of 
B-sides  (and  non-LP  A-sides)  that  repeats  ten  songs 
from  the  American  After  the  Fact,  and  complements 
Rays  &  Hail — was  released.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Barry  Adamason,  Buzzcocks,  Nick  Cave 
and  the  Bad  Seeds,  Howard  Devoto,  Richard  Jobson, 
Visage. 


MAGNOLIAS 

Concrete  Pillbox  (Twin/Tone)  1 986 

For  Rent  (Twin/Tone)  1 988  * 

Dime  Store  Dream  (Twin/Tone)  1 989  * 

TOADSTOOL 

The  Sun  Highway  (Twin/Tone)  1990 

Like  a  Frankenstein  monster  assembled  to  synthe- 
size the  sounds  of  Minneapolis,  this  young  quartet 
spews  back  aspects  of  their  hometown's  Replace- 
ments, Soul  Asylum  and  Hiisker  Du  with  gusto  on 
Concrete  Pillbox,  which  they  co-produced  with  Grant 
Hart.  (Note  the  familiar  drum  sound.)  Some  of  weedy 
singer/rhythm  guitarist  John  Freeman's  songs  show 
real  melodic  and  structural  promise;  a  bit  of  power  pop 
(and  a  faint  Cheap  Trick  influence)  emerges  in  the 
group's  aggressive  playing. 

Replacements  soundman  Monty  Wilkes  co- 
produced  For  Rent,  a  looser,  better-developed  collec- 
tion that  features  a  new  bassist  and  a  snare-happy  mix. 
Roaring  out  of  the  starting  gate  with  "Walk  a  Circle," 
"Glory  Hop"  and  "Goodbye  for  Now,"  the  Mags  shed 
imitation  (save  an  abiding  Buzzcocks  influence)  for  a 
loud,  textured  personality  they  can  call  their  own.  Over 
catchy  riffs  that  put  a  nifty  twist  into  the  hard-driving 
songs,  Freeman's  voice  registers  aggression  in  both 
hoarse  rage  and  quiet  poise.  A  very  promising  sopho- 
more LP. 

Recording  the  inconclusive  Dime  Store  Dream  in 
Prince's  Paisley  Park  Studios  didn't  make  the  Magno- 
lias funky,  but  it  did  give  them  a  raging  guitar  sound.  A 
busy  new  drummer  and  producer  Jim  Rondinelli's  over- 
heated mix  interfere  with  the  group's  small-scale  charm, 
but  some  cool  songs  ("Flowin*  Thru,"  "Don't  See  That 
Girl,"  the  pseudo-Replacements  "Coming  on  Too 


404 


Strong,"  "In  My  Nightmare")  do  cut  through.  While 
Freeman's  singing  gives  the  album  its  reassuring  con- 
sistency, bits  of  vocal  syncopation  add  an  intriguing 
new  dimension. 

Concrete  Pillbox  bassist  John  Joyce  later  formed 
Toadstool  with  guitarist  Brad  White  and  a  drummer. 
Co-produced  by  Dave  Pimer  of  Soul  Asylum,  The  Sun 
Highway  is  a  promising  but  underdeveloped  debut  that 
frequently  obscures  great  lyrics  and  intriguing  ideas  (the 
jazz  horns  and  folk  forays,  f  'rinstance)  in  an  amorphous 
blur  of  loose  Vnoisy  post-punk.  [i] 

FRED  MAHER 

See  Material,  Robert  Quine. 

MALCOLM'S  INTERVIEW 

See  God's  Little  Monkeys. 

MALLET-HEAD 

Mallet-Head  (Old  Nick-Frontier)  1988  • 
Yeah  Yeah  Yeah  (Frontier-BMG)  1 990  • 

Leaving  Boston  skatepunks  Gang  Green  to  their  sty- 
listic waffle,  guitarist  Chuck  Stilphen  and  his  bass- 
wielding  brother  Glen  took  a  decisive  step  across  the 
metal  line  and  formed  Mallet-Head  with  singer  Morgan 
Keating  and  a  drummer.  Buoyed  by  Chuck's  effective 
production  and  the  occasionally  clever  lyrics  ("It  Was  a 
Blasphemy,  Was  It  a  Blast  for  You?"),  Mallet-Head  is 
crisp  and  economical  speed  metal  that  makes  its  en- 
trance with  a  brief  dub  reggae  instrumental.  (The  cas- 
sette adds  two  bonus  tracks.) 

Changing  drummers,  Mallet-Head  slowed  the  pace 
and  thickened  up  the  instrumental  tone  to  become 
bullshitless  Cult-like  hard-rockers  on  the  solidly  enjoy- 
able Yeah  Yeah  Yeah.  Keatmg's  commanding  vocals 
fit  the  part,  and  Stilphen' s  guitar  work  is  strictly  '70s 
raunch,  not  '80s  hot-finger  blur.  Packing  memorable 
melody  hooks  into  straightforward  numbers  like  "One 
Good  Reason"  and  "Rolling  Thunder,"  the  quartet  cap- 
tures the  old  bands'  surging  spirit  as  much  as  their  ex- 
citing sound.  I  wonder  if  they  know  "Nantucket 
Sleighride"  ...  [i] 

See  also  Gang  Green. 

STEPHEN  MALLINDER 

See  Cabaret  Voltaire. 

MANITOBA'S  WILD  KINGDOM 

. . .  And  You?  (Popular  Metaphysics-MCA)  1 990  • 

Where  the  Dictators  shouldered  heavy  metal  as  a 
means  to  commercialize  their  punky  pop,  Wild 
Kingdom — reuniting  that  legendary  New  York  band's 
vocalist  Handsome  Dick  Manitoba,  songwriter/bassist 
Andy  Shernoff  and  super-guitarist  Ross  the  Boss  (a  gen- 
uine metal  star  in  his  post-Dies  career  with  Manowar) — 
does  exactly  the  opposite.  Injecting  wit,  economy, 
intelligence  and  classic  pop  structure  into  heavyweight 
rock  power,  the  brief  but  utterly  satisfying  .  .  .  And 
You?  is  metal  for  those  allergic  to  the  form  and  a  sub- 
stantial post-punk  treat  for  those  partial  to  attitude-heavy 
Velvet  Underground  acolytes.  Reviving  the  Dictators' 
old  "New  York,  New  York"  and  adding  nine  equally 


potent  new  tunes  ( many  taking  a  chillingly  older'n'wiser 
cautionary  approach  to  drug-abuse  and  other  self- 
indulgence  ),  the  LP  is  a  fun-filled  blast  of  riffs  and  roars 
that  rocks  like  crazy,  a  credible  continuation  of  the  Dic- 
tators" ethos  in  a  contempo  setting.  [i] 
See  also  Dictators. 

MAN-KA-ZAM 

See  Alan  Milman  Sect. 

ReaJ  World  EP  (Happy  Hermit)  1 985 

Between  studio  stints  with  Dream  6  and  his  brother 
Jim's  Concrete  Blonde,  ex-Sparks  guitarist-turned- 
producer  Earle  Mankey — who  launched  his  solo  career 
with  a  nifty  1978  single  ("Mau  Mau"  b/w  "Crazy") 
and  an  overlapping  1981  EP — issued  the  six-song  Real 
World.  Johnette  N.  "designed"  the  cover  (the  art  is  an 
adorable  primitive  portrait  of  the  artist  by  his  son)  and, 
along  with  brother  Jim,  "yells"  on  one  track.  ''Bigger 
Than  Life"  has  tongue-in-cheek  Nick  Lowe  charm  and 
harmonies  Brian  Wilson  might  enjoy;  otherwise  Real 
World  passes  by  quickly  and  uneventfully.  [i] 

See  also  Sparks. 

BARBARA  MANNING 

Lately  1  Keep  Scissors  (Heyday)  1 988  • 

One  Perfect  Green  Blanket  EP  (Heyday)  1991  • 

WORLD  OF  POOH 

Land  of  Thirst  (NufSed)  1 989 

On  her  solo  debut,  Lately  I  Keep  Scissors,  SF 
Bay  Area  singer/songwriter  Barbara  Manning — once 
bassist/vocalist  in  Chico's  under-recorded  28th  Day — 
produces  starkly  pretty  folk-pop  ("Never  Park," 
"Scissors")  and  grungier  rock  ("Make  It  Go  Away/' 
"Something  You've  Got'*)  with  help  from  members 
of  various  San  Francisco  combos  (Flying  Color,  Don- 
ner  Party,  Cat  Heads).  The  album's  deceptively  simple 
music  (with  Ms.  M.  contributing  cello,  guitar  and  bass 
to  the  effort)  is  an  apt  reflection  of  Manning's  un- 
pretentiously personal  songwriting,  an  uneasy  balance 
of  calm  and  tumult.  (But  what  does  one  make  of  a 
musical  fan  letter  to  "Mark  E.  Smith  &  Brix"?)  The 
album's  CD  version  includes  a  stack  of  bonus  tracks, 
which  were  also  released  separately  on  vinyl  as  One 
Perfect  Green  Blanket. 

The  World  of  Pooh  has  Manning  playing  bass  and 
sharing  vocal  and  songwriting  duties  with  guitarist  Bran- 
dan  Kearney  (a  drummer  rounds  out  the  lineup).  The 
music  on  Land  of  Thirst  is  considerably  nastier  than  on 
Manning's  solo  record,  but  both  writers*  material — 
including  a  rougher-edged  remake  of  "Scissors" — is 
well-crafted  enough  that  the  approach  works.  [hd] 

ROGER  MANNING 

Roger  Manning  (SST)  1988* 

The  problem  with  most  of  New  York's  "anti-folk" 
acousticians  is  that  they  can't  shake  Bob  Dylan  out  of 
their  Woody  Guthrie  fantasies.  Wrapping  themselves  in 
the  poverty  and  left-wing  politics  of  classic  troubadours, 
their  rock  roots  make  them  selfconscious,  overly  aware 
and  ambitious:  stylemongermg  stars-in-training  rather 


405 


than  hard-traveling  trath-is-its-own-reward  balladeers. 
That's  not  to  say  the  genre  hasn't  unearthed  talented 
artists  and  worthwhile  records,  merely  that  the  price  of 
honesty  has  gone  up  over  the  years. 

On  his  engaging  first  album,  Manning  strums  a  sim- 
ple guitar  and  sings  intelligent,  occasionally  annoying, 
lyrics  in  a  weedy  tenor.  While  covering  all  the  obliga- 
tory self-referential  scene  bases  (Michelle  Shocked, 
Cindy  Lee  Berryhill  and  Woody  Guthrie  all  get  name- 
checks),  he  spends  a  lot  of  time  rambling  ("The  Hitch- 
Hikers*  Blues,"  "The  Airport  Blues,"  "The  Sicilian 
Train  Blues")  and  singing  about  women.  So  what  else 
is  new?  More  interesting  than  entertaining,  Roger  Man- 
ning offers  a  clear  lesson  in  the  neo-folk  form's 
strengths  and  contradictions.  [i] 

MANO  NEGRA 

Puta's  Fever  (Virgin)  1 990  « 

Reasonably  but  incompletely  described  as  the 
French  Pogues,  the  zany  eight-man  Mano  Negra  throw 
together  a  frenzied  ragout  of  multinationalism  on  Puta's 
Fever,  a  record — sung  in  English,  Spanish,  French  and 
Arabic — in  which  rock,  funk,  reggae,  folk,  flamenco, 
zouk,  salsa,  gospel,  jazz  and  numerous  other  pan- 
cultural  idioms  collide  in  an  exhilarating  rush  of  hyper- 
kinetic  merriment  Forget  the  boring  Gipsy  Kings — 
Mano  Negra  is  a  band  Jerry  Lewis  fans  can  really 
understand!  With  lyrics  that  are  just  as  conventional  as 
the  music,  guitarist/singer  Mami  Chao's  well-crafted 
songs  switch  settings — continents,  even — as  if  it  were 
the  most  natural  thing  for  them  to  do.  Hearing  the  album 
for  the  first  time  is  to  enter  a  dizzying  carousel  of  col- 
orful sounds  that  are  impossible  to  grasp;  becoming  in- 
timate with  Puta's  Fever  is  to  really  feel  its 
indescribable  pleasures.  [i] 

MAN  SIZED  ACTION 

Claustrophobia  (Reflex)  1 983 
Five  Story  Garage  (Reflex)  1 984 

To  be  the  coolest  band  in  Minneapolis  nowadays 
you  need  a  little  more  vision  and  talent  than  the  gallant 
Man  Sized  Action  could  muster.  But  to  be  a  cool  band 
anywhere,  all  you  need  is  this  unpretentious  lot's  com- 
mitment to  a  few  good  ideas.  Man  Sized  Action  opened 
up  punk  structures  with  distorted,  ringing  guitar,  some 
off-kilter  rhythms  and  emotionally  sung  lyrics.  Like 
Hiisker  Dii,  they  applied  a  neanderthal,  propulsive  at- 
tack to  fundamentally  poppy  songs. 

The  lo-fi  Claustrophobia,  produced  by  Hiisker 
Dude  Bob  Mould,  sets  up  powerftil  grooves,  but  never 
escapes  its  murky  dynamic.  Particularly  on  "My  Life," 
Tippy's  singing  wall  of  guitar  and  Kelly  Linehan's  sup- 
porting bass  hint  at  the  band's  ability  to  create  beauti- 
fully textured  sounds  without  sacrificing  power  or 
bracing  crudeness. 

Five  Story  Garage  adds  better  production,  better 
songs  and  a  second  guitarist.  The  quintet  generates  a 
surge  of  momentum  that  threatens  to  explode  its  punky 
pop  hooks,  making  the  album  fast,  powerful  and  sur- 
prisingly accessible.  [jl] 

ZEKE  MANYIKA 

See  Orange  Juice. 


Diamond  Head  (AfcoJ  1975  (EG)  1990  • 
K-Scope  (EG-Pofydor)  1978  (EG)  1982  • 
Primitive  Guitars  (Editions  EG)  1982  • 
Guitarissimo  75-82  (EG)  1987  • 

Southern  Cross  (nr/Expression)  1 990  • 

QUIET  SUN 

Mainstream  (Antilles)  1 975 

801  Live  (EG-Polydor)  1976  (EG)  1982  • 
Listen  Now  (nr/Polydor)  1977  (EG)  1982  • 

Wettort/Manzanera  (Geffen)  1 987 

Although  not  quite  the  founding  guitarist  in  Roxy 
Music,  Phil  Manzanera  was  one  of  its  three  enduring 
pillars,  and  his  radical  instrumental  approaches  were  as 
much  a  part  of  the  band's  early  stylistic  groundbreaking 
as  Bryan  Ferry's  equally  unprecedented  vocals. 

Before  joining  Roxy  (as  sound  mixer;  he  took  over  on 
guitar  in  early  '72),  the  debonair  Briton  who  was  raised 
in  Latin  America  spent  a  couple  of  years  in  Quiet  Sun,  a 
progressive  outfit  that  had  broken  up  but  reformed  tem- 
porarily in  1975  to  cut  a  debut  album.  Mainstream  is  a 
jazzy,  Soft  Machine-like  outing  enlivened  by  Manzan- 
era's  distortion-crazed  solos  and  slices  of  other  bizarre- 
ness  (thanks,  in  part,  to  Eno's  participation)  cutting 
through  the  sophisticated  instrumental  arrangements. 
Best  song  title:  "Mummy  was  an  asteroid,  daddy  was  a 
small  non-stick  kitchen  utensil."  The  following  year, 
drummer  Charles  Hayward  went  on  to  form  This  Heat. 

Prior  to  the  Quiet  Sun  reunion,  Manzanera  stepped 
out  of  Roxy  for  his  pleasurable  solo  debut,  the  look- 
what-I-can-do  Diamond  Head.  Joining  him  on  this  ex- 
ploration of  diverse  styles  are  Roxy  cohorts  (Eno,  Paul 
Thompson,  Andy  Mackay,  John  Wetton,  Eddie  Job- 
son),  Quiet  Sun  (the  whole  group  on  one  track)  and  the 
redoubtable  Robert  Wyatt,  who  sings  lead — in 
Spanish — on  "Frontera."  Manzanera  scarcely  opens  his 
mouth  on  the  half-instrumental  record,  leaving  Eno  the 
mic  for  the  wonderful  "Big  Day"  and  "Miss  Shapiro," 
both  of  which  strongly  resemble  Here  Come  the  Warm 
Jets. 

Manzanera' s  next  significant  side  project  (neglect- 
ing, of  course,  his  contributions  to  records  by  Nico, 
Eno,  Ferry,  John  Cale,  Mackay,  Split  Enz  and  others) 
was  801 .  Originally  assembled  to  play  a  handful  of  con- 
certs during  a  period  of  Roxy  inactivity  in  1976,  the  first 
801  consisted  of  Manzanera,  Eno,  Quiet  Sun  bassist  Bill 
MacCormick,  drummer  Simon  Phillips  and  two  others. 
Recorded  in  London,  801  Live  draws  material  from 
Diamond  Head,  Here  Come  the  Warm  Jets  and 
Mainstream,  adding  the  Beatles'  "Tomorrow  Never 
Knows"  and  the  Kinks' '  'You  Really  Got  Me, '  *  A  spec- 
tacular example  of  cross-culturalization  that  should  be 
of  serious  interest  to  Roxy  fans. 

Two  years  later,  a  studio  alburn,  employing  almost 
the  entire  performing  cast  and  then  some,  returned  801 
to  life.  Listen  Now  consists  of  new  Manzanera  compo- 
sitions and  is  actually  not  unlike  a  solo  record,  but  his 
partnership  with  MacCormick  justifies  the  group  desig- 
nation. Unfortunately,  much  of  the  record  is  conserva- 
tive and  dull,  an  overly  smooth  and  sophisticated 
collection  (maybe  it's  Kevin  Godley's  influence)  that 


406 


rarely  ignites.  The  long  pieces — mostly  vocalized  by 
Simon  Ainley  and  a  collection  of  backup  singers — are 
radio-ready  but  barely  sentient. 

During  another  Roxy  hiatus,  Manzanera  created  the 
livelier  solo-billed  K-Scope  in  collaboration  with  many 
of  801 's  players.  Clever  lyrics  sung  by  Tim  Finn  (ex- 
Split  Enz)  and  saxes  by  Mel  Collins  (ex-King  Crimson) 
are  matched  by  Manzanera' s  invigorated  (and  invigo- 
rating) guitar  work  and  Phillips'  kinetic  drumming. 
There's  calm  restraint  (like  "Cuban  Crisis*'  and  the 
endless  "Walking  Through  Heaven's  Door")  amid  the 
rock  drive  and  dance-happy  energy,  but  that  contrast 
only  gives  the  delightful  record  even  deeper  appeal. 

To  celebrate  his  tenth  anniversary  as  a  professional 
musician,  Manzanera  released  Primitive  Guitars,  a 
solo  instrumental  album  that  shows  numerous  sides  of 
his  virtuosity.  Guided  by  chronological  and  geographi- 
cal themes  mat  defy  instant  comprehension,  the  album 
stretches  the  sound  of  guitar  all  over  the  map  (much  of 
it  to  Latin  lands)  in  a  challenging  zigzag  of  styles  and 
approaches.  Except  for  one  bass  part,  Phil  plays  every- 
thing on  the  LP,  which  suffers  not  a  jot  by  the  isolation. 
As  a  fascinating  self-defined  retrospective  of  Manzan- 
era's  musical  development,  Primitive  Guitars  may  be 
lost  on  some  of  his  followers,  while  certainly  connect- 
ing with  others. 

The  lengthy  (over  54  minutes  on  vinyl!)  Guitaris- 
sirao  "collocation"  organizes  tracks  from  Manzanera' s 
solo  records  and  both  801  outings  into  four  thematic 
sections.  Careful  annotation  and  thoughtful  sequencing 
make  up  for  the  compromised  sonic  quality,  but  the  CD 
(with  four  bonus  tracks)  is  an  altogether  better  value. 

Proving  that  even  unassailably  tasteful  artists  can 
take  a  dive,  Manzanera  made  an  unfortunate  album  with 
onetime  bandmate  John  Wetton,  following  the  latter' s 
superstar  sojourn  in  Asia.  Wetton/Manzanera  is  de- 
pressing commercial  tripe  seemingly  geared  to  relaunch 
Wetton' scarcer  from  Asia' scoattails.  Strangely,  "Keep 
on  Loving  Yourself"  is  about  self-respect,  something 
this  project  pointedly  lacks. 

Manzanera' s  Latin  heritage  gets  strong  play  on 
Southern  Cross,  a  record  with  a  lot  of  taste  and  sea- 
soning but  no  strong  flavor.  Surrounding  a  glitzy  guitar- 
and-horns  rendition  of  "Guantamera"  (ably  sung  by 
Ana  Maria  Velez,  one  of  the  album's  three  lead  vocal- 
ists; Tim  Finn  is  another),  the  original  material  is  bland, 
with  political-minded  lyrics  ("Dr  Fidel,"  "A  Million 
Reasons  Why")  that  are  too  clumsy  and  vague  to  make 
any  point.  In  fact,  the  most  eloquent  track  on  the  album 
is  the  dreamy  and  steamy  titular  instrumental,  performed 
by  Manzanera  and  Brazilian  percussionist  fiasco  De 
Oliviera.  [i] 

See  also  Explorers,  Roxy  Music,  This  Heat. 


THOMAS  MAPFUMO  AND  THE 
ACID  BAND 

The  Chimurenga  Singles  1 976-1 980  (Shanachie)  1 984  • 

THOMAS  MAPFUMO  AND  THE 
BLACKS  UNLIMITED 

Gwindingwi  Rine  Shumba  (nr/Earthworks)  1 980  -I-  1 986 
Ndangariro  EP  (nr/Earthworb)  1 983  (Carthage)  1 984  • 
Mabasa  (nr/Earthworks)  1984 
Mr.  Music  (nr/Earthworks)  1 985 


Chimurenga  for  Justice  (Shanachie)  1 986 
Corruption  f  Mango)  1 989  « 
Chamunorwa  (Mango)  1 991  • 

From  nightclub  singer  to  political  firebrand,  Thomas 
Mapfumo's  career  has  elevated  him  to  near-sainthood  in 
his  native  Zimbabwe.  The  CMmarenga  Singles,  re- 
corded with  the  Acid  (as  in  bitter)  Band,  carries  an 
interesting  disclaimer:  "The  quality  of  these  tracks 
leaves  much  to  be  desired,  but  remember  they  were 
made  under  war  conditions."  Influenced  by  Voice  of 
Zimbabwe  radio  broadcasts,  Mapfumo  participated  in 
the  country's  liberation  struggle,  and  was  jailed  for  his 
troubles.  The  singles  deal  in  political  innuendo  and  are 
sung  in  the  native  Shona  language.  The  sound  is  rushed, 
as  if  time  were  of  the  essence;  as  the  cymbals  hyper- 
ventilate and  the  guitars  skitter  along  (in  plinking  imi- 
tation of  the  thumb  piano),  Mapfumo  sings  serious  and 
subtle  songs  of  revolution. 

Some  of  the  six  long  tracks  on  Ndangariro  (which 
postdate  the  material  compiled  on  The  Chimurenga 
Singles  and  Zimbabwe's  independence)  resemble  Map- 
fumo's  early  work,  but  others  foretell  his  calmer  artistic 
future.  His  later  recordings  are  more  languid  and  even 
include  some  love  songs.  The  grooves  are  lazier,  but  the 
guitar  retains  a  rapid-fire  hunt-and-peck  quality.  The 
wonderful  Chimurenga  for  Justice,  for  instance, 
blends  a  surprisingly  uninflected  loping  reggae  beat  with 
a  peppy  African  sound  and  even  an  American  soul- 
influenced  approach  on  half  a  dozen  richly  performed 
songs  about  struggle  and  praise.  Trumpets  and  two  fe- 
male vocalists  provide  sweet  counterpoint  to  Mapfu- 
mo's  husky  singing. 

Delivered  with  the  same  heavenly  allure  by  pretty 
backing  vocals,  crisp  horns  and  gently  rolling  tempos, 
the  songs  on  Corruption  grapple  with  troubles  aplenty. 
The  English-language  title  track  chants  "something  for 
something/nothing  for  nothing"  in  criticizing  the  mis- 
use of  power;  "Shabeen"  chastises  men  led  astray  by 
alcohol  and  hookers;  "Kupera  Kwevhanu"  concerns  the 
travails  endured  by  Mozambique.  Were  more  of  the 
lyrics  in  English,  accepting  the  stark  contrast  of  content 
and  presentation  might  be  more  challenging;  as  it  stands, 
however,  basking  in  the  sounds  of  Mapfumo's  marvel- 
ous music  is  no  chore  at  all.  [rg/i] 

MARC  AND  THE  MAMBAS 

See  Marc  Almond. 


MARCH  VIOLETS 

Religious  as  Hell  EP  (nr/Merciful  Release)  1982 
Natural  History  (nr/Rebirth)  1984 
Electric  Shades  (Relativity)  1985 

The  March  Violets  began  in  1981  as  one  of  Leeds* 
four  famous  drum  machine  bands,  alongside  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy,  Three  Johns  and  Red  Lorry  Yellow  Lorry. 
The  Violets  favored  stark,  primitive  rhythm-box  beats 
(as  did  the  others),  overlaid  by  Loz  Elliott's  heavy  bass 
throb  and  Tom  Ashton's  inventively  droning  guitar 
(reminiscent  of  Magazine's  John  McGeoch).  What  set 
this  quartet  apart  was  the  unique  interplay  (&  la  X  or  the 
Airplane)  between  the  two  complementary  lead 
vocalists — big,  bearded  Simon  Denbigh  and  enigmatic 
Rosie  Garland.  His  dark,  commanding  intonations  in- 


407 


tertwraed  with  her  eerie  soprano  wailing,  imbuing  the 
simplistic  material  with  a  strident,  almost  dissonant 
mystery. 

Before  a  schism  with  Andrew  Eldritch  led  the  Vio- 
lets to  start  their  own  Rebirth  label,  they  were  on  the 
Sisters'  label,  Merciful  Release,  starting  with  Religious 
as  Hell,  an  establishing  7-inch.  Natural  History  col- 
lects the  band's  early  work,  including  the  EP  (save  for 
the  odd  "Bon  Bon  Babies*'),  three  follow-up  45s  (the 
brilliant  * 'Grooving  in  Green,"  "Crow  Baby*'  and  the 
insistent  *84  dancefloor  hit,  *' Snake  Dance")  and  such 
rarities  as  the  searing  "Radiant  Boys"  (copping  the  riff 
from  the  Cure's  "Object")  and  mesmerizing  "Under- 
tow." Though  not  a  discrete  album,  Natural  History 
flows  magnificently. 

By  "Snake  Dance,"  Garland  had  departed,  replaced 
by  the  more  upbeat  Cleo  Murray.  The  lineup  held  for 
the  subsequent  "Walk  into  the  Sun"  but,  as  1985 
dawned,  Denbigh  was  squeezed  out  of  the  band  (he 
immediately  formed  Batfish  Boys).  The  first  post- 
Denbigh  45  (the  misnamed  "Deep")  laid  bare  the  Vi- 
olets* weakened  condition.  ESectrk  Shades,  the  band's 
second  compilation  album,  assembles  the  entire  con- 
tents of  the  three  later  singles:  "Snake  Dance,"  "Walk 
into  the  Sun"  and  "Deep."  With  the  dissipation  of  the 
band's  intensity,  Cleo's  thin,  pretty  lead  vocals  simply 
don't  carry  the  new  material.  The  Violets  continued  to 
surrender  to  conventionality,  obtaining  a  real  drummer 
and  crassly  exploiting  Cleo's  beauty.  After  contributing 
two  items  (including  an  amazingly  catchy  rendition  of 
the  Rolling  Stones'  "Miss  Amanda  Jones")  to  1987's 
Some  Kind  of  Wonderful  soundtrack,  the  March  Vio- 
lets faded  away.  [gef  j 

See  also  Batfish  Boys. 


A.C.  MARIAS 

One  of  Our  Girls  (Has  Gone  Missing)  (Mute-Restless) 

1989» 

When  not  working  behind  the  camera  as  a  successful 
video  clip  director,  Angela  Conway  steps  up  to  the  mic 
and  assumes  the  identity  of  cool  chanteuse  A.C.  Marias. 
On  her  quietly  atmospheric  records,  she  receives  writing 
and  production  assistance  from  Wire  guitarist  Bruce 
Gilbert,  as  well  as  former  Fad  Gadget  sideman-turned- 
bigtime-producer  John  Fryer.  The  somnolent  first  side 
of  One  of  Our  Girls — a  sheer  pastel  curtain  of  arty 
guitar  figures,  light  synth  strains,  and  dry,  wispy  vocals 
that  never  quite  achieves  song-ness — floats  by  unevent- 
fully. Fortunately,  the  rest  of  the  record  has  more  struc- 
tural starch,  and  Marias'  dance  through  an  evanescent 
field  of  gentle  art-rock  has  moments  of  real  allure,  [i] 


MARINE  GIRLS 

Beach  Party  (nr/Whaaml)  1981  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1987  « 
Lazy  Ways  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1983  • 

Except  for  flashes  of  vocal  strength  ("He  Got  the 
Girl"  is  pretty  impressive)  from  future  Everything  but 
the  Girl  woman  Tracey  Thorn,  the  Marine  Girls'  mini- 
malist debut — released  on  the  TV  Personalities' 
label — is  a  sorry  attempt  at  writing  and  performing  off- 
beat romantic  pop.  Between  Thorn's  hapless  guitar 
playing — supported  by  bits  of  percussion,  Jane  Fox's 

408 


marginally  better  bass  work  and  occasional  seagull 
sounds — and  the  quartet's  two  inept  singers  (one  of 
whom,  Alice  Fox,  would  go  on  to  form  Grab  Grab  the 
Haddock),  Beach  Party  is  a  winceable  soiree  worth 
missing. 

Produced  by  Stuart  Moxham  (Young  Marble  Giants/ 
Gist),  Lazy  Ways  is  a  lot  better,  although  still  not  a 
complete  treat.  Besides  an  overall  improvement  in  song- 
writing,  Thorn's  jazzy  playing  is  vastly  improved.  With 
the  first  album's  most  egregious  tune-mangier  gone, 
Jane  Fox's  uneven  singing  has  become  the  trio's  weak- 
est link,  and  she  dooms  a  good  chunk  of  the  album  to 
the  wrong  side  of  competence.  (Lazy  Ways  and  Beacli 
Party  were  later  combined  on  a  single  cassette  and  CD. ) 

[i] 

See  also  Everything  but  the  Girl,  Grab  Grab  the 
Haddock. 

In  Control  Volume  1  (Cold  Chillin'-Wamer  Bros.)  1988  ® 

As  many  mainstream  rappers — from  Heavy  D.  and 
Biz  Markie  to  Big  Daddy  Kane  and  Roxanne  Shant6 — 
already  know,  having  producer  Marley  Marl  (also  a 
New  York  radio  DJ)  in  control  means  great  backing 
tracks.  Keeping  his  own  voice  off  the  mic,  Marl's  album 
is  a  collection  of  collaborations  with  various  MCs,  in- 
cluding all  of  the  above,  M.C.  Shan,  the  up-and-coming 
Master  Ace  and  others.  For  all  its  diversity,  In  Control 
gives  too  much  play  to  second-string  rhymers,  leaving 
the  LP's  few  highlights  (such  as  the  Biz  twigging  Barry 
Manilow  in  "We  Write  the  Songs"  and  Shante  playing 
cute  word  games  in  "Wack  Itt" )  adrift  in  a  sea  of  verbal 
boreplay.  [i] 

BOB  MARLEY  &  THE  WAILERS 

Natty  Dread  (Island)  1 975  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  * 

Live!  (Island)  1975  (Tuff  Gong)  1990  • 

Rastaman  Vibration  (Island)  1 976  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  « 

Exodus  (Island)  1 977  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  « 

Kaya  (Island)  1 978  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  • 

Babylon  by  Bus  (Island)  1978  (Tuff  Gong)  1990  • 

Survival  (Island)  1 979  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  • 

Uprising  (Island)  1 980  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  « 

Confrontation  (Island)  1983  (Tuff  Gong)  1990  « 

Legend;  The  Best  of  Bob  Marley  and  the  Wallers  (Island) 

1984  (Tuff  Gong)  1990« 
Rebel  Music  (Island)  1 986  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  ® 
Talkin'  Blues  (Tuff  Gong)  1 991  • 

WAILERS 

Catch  a  Fire  (Island)  1 973  (Tuff  Gong)  1 990  • 
Burnin'  (Island)  1973  (Tuff  Gong)  1990  * 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  world  would  be  a  very 
different — and  vastly  poorer—place  were  it  not  for  Bob 
Marley.  Carrying  the  homegrown  sounds  of  a  small  Ca- 
ribbean island  to  Europe,  Africa  and  America,  he  is 
directly  responsible  for  a  rhythm  and  a  style  that  has 
moved  millions  and  influenced  every  form  of  popular 
music  for  the  past  two  decades.  By  exploding  Eurocen- 
tric myths  about  the  vitality  and  value  of  cultures  be- 
yond the  borders  of  Britain  and  the  US,  he  encouraged 
widespread  cultural  curiosity,  as  well  as  sparking  the 
rediscovery  of  their  heritage  by  countless  people  of 
color.  And  by  building  his  art  on  a  platform  of  esoteric 


religious  faith  and  progressive  Third  World  politics, 
Marley  demonstrated  a  rare  degree  of  defiance  and  cour- 
age for  a  global  celebrity,  and  that  has  made  him  an 
enduring  political/cultural  hero  to  many. 

In  the  early  '60s,  the  Wailin*  Wallers — basically 
Marley,  Neville  Livingstone  (aka  Bumy  Wailer)  and 
Peter  MacKintosh  (later  Tosh)— were  Jamaica's  leading 
ska  band,  taking  their  cues  from  American  R&B  as 
much  as  an  indigenous  form  called  mento.  (The  group's 
early  work  can  be  heard  on  numerous  anthologies,  in- 
cluding 1990's  The  Birth  of  a  Legend.)  They  dis- 
banded in  1966,  and  Marley  moved  to  Delaware,  but 
returned  home  in  1967,  reunited  the  old  group  and  be- 
gan fitting  together  the  pieces  of  what  would  come  to  be 
known  as  reggae:  a  riiythmic  style  that  was  then  gaining 
popularity  in  Jamaica,  belief  in  Ras  Tafari  and  its  at- 
tendant effects  (marijuana  use,  dreadlocks,  language, 
politics,  etc.)  and  a  bottom-heavy  production  sound 
learned  from  producer  Lee  Perry  and  his  studio's  mighty 
rhythm  section  (bassist  Aston  ''Family  Man"  Barrett 
and  his  drummer  brother  Carlton,  both  of  whom  became 
Waiters). 

By  title  early  '70s,  the  reggae  revolution  was  in  full 
swing  in  Jamaica,  and  the  timely  interest  of  Island 
Records  was  all  it  took  to  introduce  this  local  phenom- 
enon to  the  rest  of  the  world.  While  awfully  mild- 
sounding  now,  Catch  a  Fire  (originally  issued  in  a 
gimmicky  flip-top  cigarette  lighter  sleeve)  delivered  a 
stunning  blast  of  warm  tropical  air  and  eloquent  political 
reality  amid  the  giddy  glam-rock  of  1972  England. 
"Concrete  Jungle"  and  "Stir  It  Up"  (an  international 
hit  for  Johnny  Nash  around  the  same  time)  proved  Mar- 
ley  to  be  an  extremely  gifted  songwriter;  Tosh's  "400 
Years"  showed  that  there  was  more  to  the  quintet  than 
its  charismatic  lead  singer.  (Besides  changing  the  cover 
art,  later  editions  of  the  album  began  crediting  it  to  Bob 
Marley  and  the  Wailers.) 

Released  the  same  year,  Biirnin' — the  final  record 
by  the  original  lineup — has  a  funkier  sound  and  two 
genuine  classics:  "Get  Up,  Stand  Up"  and  "I  Shot  the 
Sheriff."  As  watered  down  as  his  interpretation  of  the 
song  is,  Eric  Clapton's  1974  hit  cover  of  the  latter  ac- 
tually helped  bring  reggae  to  the  attention  of  those  who 
hadn't  yet  met  the  real  thing. 

With  Tosh  and  Wailer  gone,  Marley  brought  in  gui- 
tarist Al  Anderson,  a  keyboard  player  and  a  female 
backing  trio  (the  I-Threes:  Judy  Mowatt,  Rita  Marley 
and  Marcia  Griffiths)  to  make  Natty  Dread.  Completely 
in  charge  and  growing  in  confidence,  Marley  demon- 
strates the  diversity  in  his  music  and  the  seriousness  of 
his  message  with  such  memorable  songs  as  the  tender 
"No  Woman,  No  Cry,"  "Revolution"  and  "Lively  Up 
Yourself,"  an  old  Wallers'  tune  given  an  updated  ar- 
rangement. 

Recorded  onstage  in  London  in  July  1975,  Live! 
(aka  Live  at  the  Lyceum)  draws  six  of  its  seven  num- 
bers from  the  preceding  two  albums,  thereby  summa- 
rizing and  expanding  upon  his  international  career  to 
that  point.  More  so  than  in  their  studio  versions,  the 
songs  ring  with  emotional  power  in  these  concert  ren- 
ditions, allowing  listeners  to  join  Marley  in  his  life- 
affirming  celebration. 

Although  not  released  until  1991,  Talkin'  Blues 
contains  intriguing  rarities  from  this  era:  seven  live 
tracks  from  a  1973  California  radio  broadcast  (with  Tosh 


but  not  Livingstone  on  hand),  a  second  \ersion  of  k%! 
Shot  the  Sheriff  *  from  the  London  recorded  for 
Live!  and  three  outtakes  from  the  Natty  Dread  ses- 
sions While  gratuitous,  the  brief  interview  bites  that 
alternate  with  these  extraordinary'  performances  are  not 
particularly  disruptive  to  the  record's  flow. 

Stylistically,  Rastaman  Vibration  builds  on  Live 
at  the  Lyceum's  loose-limbed  atmosphere.  A  ten- 
person  group  lays  down  bubbling  riddims  covering  reg- 
gaecentricity  ("Positive  Vibration,"  "Roots,  Rock, 
Reggae")  and  pointed  demands  for  justice  ("Johnny 
Was"  and  "War,"  its  lyrics  taken  from  a  1968  speech 
by  Ras  Tafari  himself,  Haile  Selassie). 

Marley  *s  first  release  after  being  wounded  in  a  De- 
cember 1976  assassination  attempt  is  a  handsomely  de- 
Evered  but  firmly  stated  outpouring  of  politics  and 
religion.  Although  Exodus  offers  upbeat  optimism  in 
"lamming,"  "One  Love/People  Get  Ready"  and  the 
title  track,  it  also  contains  imprecations  against  "Guilt- 
iness" and  "The  Heathen."  Still  capable  of  bringing 
things  down  to  an  individual  level,  "Waiting  in  Vain" 
is  one  of  Marley 's  most  touching  love  songs.  Besides 
making  good  use  of  horns,  the  Wailers  benefit  here  from 
an  adjusted  lineup  that  includes  guitarist  Junior  (Julian) 
Marvin. 

A  lyric  in  the  first  song  on  the  understated  but  en- 
ticing Kaya  aptly  describes  the  record:  "We're  taking  it 
easy/We  taking  it  slow."  At  the  outset,  the  lighter 
sounds  and  personal  lyrics  that  fill  the  sunny  grooves 
skirt  the  big  issues  for  joyful  celebrations  ( "Kaya")  and 
gentle  romance  ("Is  This  Love").  But  the  mood  slides 
straight  downhill,  from  "She's  Gone"  to  "Cnsis,"  cul- 
minating in  the  fatalistic  spiritualism  of  "Time  Will 
Tell." 

The  Wailers*  1978  tour  was  chronicled  in  Babylon 
by  Bus,  a  double  live  album  (originally  released  in  a 
nifty  die-cut  sleeve)  recorded  at  various  European  ven- 
ues. Another  flawless  Island-spanning  recap  of  hits 
given  new  resonance  onstage,  the  program  includes 
elongated  renditions  of  "Positive  Vibration,"  "Stir  It 
Up,"  "Jamming,"  "Is  This  Love?"  and  many  more. 

Al  Anderson,  who  had  returned  to  the  group  in  time 
for  Babylon  by  Bus,  again  shares  leads  with  Marvin  on 
Survival,  a  politically  significant  album  in  which  Mar- 
ley  dedicates  himself  to  Third  World  solidarity.  "Africa 
Unite,"  "Zimbabwe,"  "One  Drop"  and  "Top 
Rankin'  "  all  preach  an  international  message  and  re- 
flect Marley's  growing  stature. 

The  last  album  Marley  recorded  before  his  death  in 
1981,  caps  his  career  by  touching  on  many  diverse  el- 
ements with  his  most  profoundly  beautiful  music.  From 
the  hauntingly  political  lament  of  "Redemption  Song" 
to  the  irresistible  surge  of  "Could  You  Be  Loved"  and 
the  praises  of  "Forever  Loving  Jah,"  Uprising  comes 
straight  from  Marley's  soul. 

The  posthumous  Confrontation — which  contains 
the  excellent  and  pointed  "Buffalo  Soldier"  and  other 
worthwhile  tracks  without  quite  adding  up  to  a  real 
album — is  in  fact  an  uneven  collection  of  outtakes  and 
tracks  that  had  not  previously  been  released  outside  of 
Jamaica. 

Legend  is  a  unassailable  one-disc  compilation  of  the 
best-loved  tracks  from  Marley's  Island  catalogue;  Rebel 
Music  attends  to  the  political  side  of  his  oeuvre,  both 
celebrating  and  ghettoizing  it. 


409 


A  complete  discography  of  the  Waiters  would  in- 
clude countless  other  compilations  of  various  eras,  solo 
albums  by  Waller,  Tosh  (who,  like  Carlton  Barrett,  was 
murdered  in  1987)  and  others,  as  we!!  as  releases  by  the 
alumni  who  began  using  the  Wallers  name  again  in  the 
late  '80s.  [i] 

See  also  Alpha  Bfondy,  Judy  Mowatt. 

ZIGGY  MARLEY  AND  THE 
MELODY  MAKERS 

See  Mehdy  Makers. 

PAUL  MAROTTA 

Ag'rt-Prop  Piano  (Do  Speak)  1983 

STYRENES 

Girt  Crazy  (Mustarel)  1982 

HUDSON-STYRENE 

A  Monster  and  Hie  Devil  (Tinnitus}  1 989 

On  his  solo  album,  Marotta — a  very  early  leading 
light  in  the  Cleveland  underground  scene  with  such 
bands  as  the  Poli  Styrene  Jass  Band,  which  also  con- 
tained future  Pere  Ubuites  Anton  Fier  and  Jim  Jones- 
plays  acoustic  piano  in  a  thickly  overlapping, 
improvised  mesh  of  ambient  sound  that  can  be  consid- 
ered either  as  serious  avant-garde  music  or  a  hypnotic 
drone  for  trancing  out.  The  two  long  pieces,  much  like 
Glenn  Branca's  work  on  guitars,  go  nowhere,  but  do 
something  aurally  seductive  while  getting  there. 

As  a  fascinating  retrospective  of  a  weird  old  band, 
the  Styrenes*  album  (Marotta  produced,  co-wrote,  sings 
and  plays  piano,  guitar  and  bass  with  longtime  cohort 
guitarist  Jamie  Klimek  and  others)  is  worth  seeking  out 
for  its  odd  combination  of  styles  and  sounds.  Best  of  all, 
it  contains  the  crazed  1975  "Drano  in  Your  Veins,"  one 
of  America's  first  independent-label  new  wave  records. 

Marotta  wrote  and  organized  the  brassy  noir  jazz/ 
rock  for  A  Monster  and  the  Devil,  providing  a  textured 
and  kinetic  bed  for  vocalist  Mike  Hudson  (of  Cleve- 
land's legendary  Pagans)  to  rhythmically  riff  seedy 
hard-edged  stories  about  drug  abusers  and  assorted  los- 
ers. Hudson's  casual  conviction  and  Marotta' s  inventive 
instrumentation  gives  the  mix  of  words  and  music  a 
dramatic  energy  that's  utterly  riveting.  Recommended 
to  fans  of  Bukowski  and  Selby.  [i] 

MARS 

The  Mare  EP  (Infidelity)  1980 
78  (Widowspeak)  1 986 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

No  New  York  (Antilles)  1978 
John  Gavanti  (Hyrax)  1 981 

uYour  hair  on  cars/your  arms  detach/your  eyes  fly 
by/your  torso  in  wax/'  With  those  immortal  words  Mars 
caterwauled  into  the  hearts  of  noise  lovers  everywhere, 
marking  the  quartet's  four-song  appearance  on  No  New 
York  with  an  absolutely  total  lack  of  musical  ability, 
(All  the  other  bands  on  the  Eno-produced  compilation 
contained  at  least  one  member  who  could  play  in  the 
traditional  sense. )  A  bunch  of  New  York  art  types  who 
formed  a  band  when  that  was  considered  a  cool  New 
York  art  type  thing  to  do,  Mars  was  pretty  impressive  if 
for  nothing  else  than  singleness  of  purpose.  Often 


sounding  like  a  screeching  subway  car  driven  by  a  jab- 
benng,  convulsive  castrato,  Mars'  constantly  revulsed 
stance  made  the  rest  of  No  New  York's  l-hate-sex 
crowd  seem  like  a  bunch  of  rank  sensualists  by  com- 
parison. Arto  Lindsay  recorded  a  1978  CBGB  set  that 
comprises  the  1980  12-inch  EP;  a  few  years  later,  Jim 
(Foetus)  Thirl  well  compiled  and  remixed  the  No  New 
York  tracks,  all  but  one  song  from  the  EP  and  the 
group's  single.  The  resultant  78  is  all  the  Mars  you 
need. 

Around  the  turn  of  the  decade,  Mars  leader  Sumner 
Crane  corralled  a  bunch  of  cohorts  (including  DNA 
drummer  Ikue  Mori)  and  recorded  John  Gavanti,  a  no 
wave  adaptation  of — get  this — Don  Giovanni.  Some 
have  called  this  the  most  unlistenable  record  ever  made, 
and  that's  a  fine  invitation  indeed.  [gk] 


CARL  MARSH 

See  Shriekback. 


MARTHA  AND  THE  MUFFINS 

Metro  Music  (Virgin  InflJ  1980 
Trance  and  Dance  (nr/DinDisc)  1 980 
This  is  the  Ice  Age  (nr/DinDisc)  1 981 
Danseparc  (RCA)  1982 
Faraway  in  Time  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  • 

M+M 

Mystery  Walk  (RCA)  1984 

The  World  Is  a  Ball  (Can.  Current)  1985 

Martha  and  the  Muffins  were  originally  clever  am- 
ateurs who  had  fun  fooling  around  with  music  in  Tor- 
onto. However,  the  subtly  catchy  "Echo  Beach"  made 
them  chart  stars  in  the  UK  and  brought  their  days  of 
leisure  to  an  abrupt  halt.  A  minor  miracle  of  this  slick 
age,  Metro  Music  captures  a  mild-mannered,  unpreten- 
tious group  at  its  most  charming,  before  stress  and  self- 
consciousness  took  their  toll.  Vocalist  Martha  Johnson 
has  a  sometimes  awkward  but  always  personable  style 
of  singing  on  "Echo  Beach/'  "Indecision"  and  "Paint 
by  Number  Heart";  it's  as  if  she  walked  into  a  studio  to 
tell  what  happened  to  her  that  day  rather  than  to  per- 
form. Sax  player  Andy  Haas  adds  jazzier,  more  exotic 
flavorings  (a  la  Roxy  Music's  Andy  Mackay),  while  a 
confident  rhythm  section  preserves  the  hard  foundation 
Some  might  call  Metro  Music  wimpy,  but  a  more  sen- 
sitive observer  would  judge  it  the  result  of  introverts 
trying  to  rock,  and — on  their  own  terms — succeeding 
handily. 

The  more  mature  Trance  and  Dance  treads  less 
appealing  waters.  The  title  track  and  "Was  Ezo"  retain 
the  haunting  quality  of  "Echo  Beach,"  but  other  songs 
seem  a  little  glib  and  too  willing  to  be  cute.  Martha  and 
the  Muffins  sound  as  if  they're  having  less  run  than 
before;  second  vocalist  Martha  Ladly  (composer  of 
"Was  Ezo")  left  the  group  after  this  LP. 

The  band  painted  itself  into  a  corner  with  This  Is  the 
Ice  Age.  "Women  Around  the  World  at  Work,"  a 
catchy  stab  at  mainstream  pop-singledom,  lacks  the  in- 
nocence that  was  their  strong  point.  Much  of  the  LP 
suffers  from  arid  artiness — they're  too  cool  for  pop  but 
can't  settle  comfortably  into  another  groove  Sax  player 
Andy  Haas  left  after  this  LP. 


410 


Thus  reduced  to  a  quartet,  Martha  and  the  Muffins 
ventured  down  funky  Broadway  on  Danseparc,  adding 
a  throbbing  beat  to  the  blend.  As  a  detour,  the  title  track 
is  fine,  and  the  guest  sax  provides  a  bit  of  continuity,  but 
in  other  spots,  Johnson's  self-important  singing  grates 
and  Mark  Gane's  overdrive  guitar  can't  overcome  the 
repetitious,  overbearing  pounding.  The  tunes  that  have  a 
jazzy  pop  sensibility  are  good,  but  the  battle  between 
humming  and  bumping  is  clearly  lost  to  the  forces  of 
motion.  On  a  positive  note,  the  album  ends  with  a  beau- 
tifully textured  languid  instrumental,  "Whatever  Hap- 
pened to  Radio  Valve  Road?" 

Mystery  Walk  presents  the  penultimately  reductive 
group  of  Martha  and  Mark — billed  as  M  +  M — 
paradoxically  playing  prosaic  social-conscience  funk  on 
"Black  Stations/White  Stations"  and  rediscovering  del- 
icate, attractive  melodicism  (best  exemplified  by  "Cool- 
ing the  Medium").  Throughout,  the  record  mixes  a  less- 
aggressive  intellectual  dancefloor  sound  and  enticingly 
atmospheric,  jazz-tinged  pop.  An  excellent  return  to 
form. 

Unfortunately,  the  competent  but  aimless  World  Is 
a  Ball  provides  a  rather  chilly  denouement  to  the  band's 
career,  emphasizing  the  portentousness  of  the  Muffins' 
less-memorable  work  with  nary  a  trace  of  the  playful- 
ness that  made  the  original  band  fun.  Only  on  the  dancey 
"Song  in  My  Head"  do  Johnson  and  Gane  lighten  up 
enough  for  the  music  to  live  up  to  the  album's  title. 

A  substantial  sampler  but  by  no  means  a  definitive 
retrospective,  the  CD-only  Faraway  in  Time  compila- 
tion contains  the  entire  Metro  Music  album  plus  se- 
lected tracks  from  Trance  and  Dance  and  This  Is  the 
Ice  Age.  [jy/i/hd] 

See  also  Crash  Vegas. 

MARTINI  RANCH 

Holy  Cow  (Sire)  1 988  • 

California  musician  Andrew  Todd  and  Texas-born 
actor/filmmaker  Bill  Paxton  (director  of  Barnes  & 
Barnes'  classic  "Fish  Heads"  video)  compose  Martini 
Ranch,  a  wickedly  inventive,  visually  oriented  pop- 
culture  nuthouse  of  a  band  based  in  Los  Angeles.  Holy 
Cow  variously  resembles  the  B-52's  (whose  Cindy  Wil- 
son guests  here),  Devo  (Mark  Mothersbaugh  and  Alan 
Myers  contribute  vocally  and  instrumentally;  Bob 
Casale  produced  one  song)  and  Oingo  Boingo.  Judge 
Reinhold  whistles  on  one  tune;  Bud  Cort  vocalizes  on 
another.  Kinetic,  silly,  intelligent  and  infectious.  [i] 

MARY  MY  HOPE 

Museum  (Silvertone-RCA)  1989  • 
Suicide  Kings  EP  (Silvertone-RCA)  1 989  • 

On  the  flawed  and  unfocused  Museum,  Atlanta's 
Mary  My  Hope  simply  tried  to  do  and  be  too  much,  as 
shades  of  the  Beatles,  Doors,  Pink  Floyd,  Bauhaus, 
R.E.M.  and  U2  flit  through  the  overly  ambitious  songs, 
resulting  in  two  killer  tracks  ("Suicide  King"  and 
"Communion" ),  several  near-misses  and  several  clunk- 
ers. Producer  Hugh  Jones  does  little  to  help  untangle 
this  intriguing  but  frustrating  mess,  which  is  not  entirely 
unlike  R.E.M. 's  Fables  of  the  Reconstruction—- 
another album  made  by  a  quartet  of  Georgia  boys  out  of 
their  element  in  the  UK. 


Oddly,  the  five-song  Suicide  Kings  shreds  Museum 
and  would  have  made  a  staggering  debut.  The  album's 
two  best  cuts  are  combined  with  one  shimmering  new 
song  and  powerfully  live  "No  remix  no  overdubs  so  it 
goes"  renditions  of  two  of  the  album's  near-misses.  It 
sheds  a  whole  new  light  on  the  band,  who  produced  the 
three  new  tracks  themselves,  thank  you  very  much. 

Vocalist  James  Vincent  Hal!  left  in  1990;  Mary  My 
Hope  is  carrying  on  with  a  replacement.  [ja] 

There  Goes  the  Wonderiruck  . . .  (Chameleon)  1 989  • 
Experience  (Chameleon)  1 990  <!> 

Inspired  by  fellow  Los  Angelenos  X,  this  spunky 
sextet — which  includes  ex-Three  O'Clock  guitarist 
Louis  Gutierrez  in  a  subordinate  role — takes  tart, 
twangy  vocal  harmonies  and  sets  'em  to  a  tough  beat. 
Mary's  Danish  isn't  nearly  as  demanding,  however — 
shouters  Julie  Ritter  and  Gretchen  Seager  don't  strive 
for  the  desperate  intensity  that  came  so  easily  to  Exene 
and  John  Doe,  while  high-powered  numbers  like  "Blue 
Stockings"  and  "Don't  Crash  the  Car  Tonight"  have 
the  accessibility  of  classic  pop,  something  X  always 
found  elusive.  Womdertnick  has  these  and  other  cool 
cuts,  including  "Can  I  Have  a  Smoke,  Dude?"  and 
"Mary  Had  a  Bar." 

The  spirited  but  mostly  superfluous  Experience  fea- 
tures six  live  songs  (five  from  the  LP),  plus  a  chaotic 
Dave  Jerden-produced  studio  cover  of  Hendrix's 
"Foxey  Lady,"  complete  with  grating  horn  section 
(!?!).  Uy] 

MASSACRE 

See  Fred  Frith,  Material. 

MASTER  ACE 

Take  a  Look  Around  (Cold  Chillin'-Reprise)  1990  * 

Decent  enough  to  single  out  an  8th-grade  English 
teacher  as  a  positive  influence,  Brooklyn  rapper  Master 
Ace  uses  a  set  of  fine  Marley  Marl  tracks  to  deliver  an 
optimistic  uplift-the-race  middle-class  message  on  his 
highly  impressive  debut.  Educational  without  being  di- 
dactic, the  imaginative  young  MC  runs  down  a  new 
program  that  shrugs  off  crass  materialism  and  self- 
indulgent  boasting  without  sounding  sappy.  Take  a 
Look  Around  mixes  things  up  effectively,  partying  with 
a  better-known  labelmate  on  "Me  and  the  Biz"  while 
innovatively  adopting  a  fictional  persona  to  convey  a 
powerful  sense  of  African- American  despair  in  "The 
Other  Side  of  Town"  and  ruing  the  B-boy  errors  of  his 
youth  in  "Movin'  On."  With  talent  to  spare,  Master 
Ace  is  a  man  to  watch.  [i] 

MASTERS  OF  CEREMONY 

See  Brand  Nubian. 

MASTERS  OF  REALITY 

Masters  of  Reality  (Def  American)  1988  (Delicious  Vinyl) 

1990« 

Hailing  from  Syracuse,  New  York,  this  unapologet- 
ically  nonphotogenic  quintet,  led  by  singer/guitarist 
Chris  Goss,  kicked  around  NYC  for  some  time  before 


411 


catching  the  metallic  ears  of  producer-gum  and  Def 
American  honcho  Rick  Rubin.  The  result?  One  of  the 
heaviest,  most  inventive  hard  rock  records  of  the  '80s, 
a  heady  amalgam  of  dripping  Cream-style  blues- 
blasting,  mystical  (and  occasionally  drag-related)  lyncs 
and  Zeppelinesque  whomp.  Among  the  album's  many 
highlights  is  "The  Candy  Song,"  a  crunching  slab  of 
riff-rock  that  showcases  Goss*  unusually  smooth  and 
supple  pipes.  Unfortunately,  the  Poison-fed  MTV  gen- 
eration didn't  get  with  this  startling  alternative. 

In  an  unusual  move,  two  powerful  fans — Matt  Dike 
and  Michael  Ross — decided  the  album  needed  a  second 
shot,  and  arranged  to  reissue  it  (with  an  altered  running 
order  and  one  new  track,  *'Doraldina*s  Prophesies," 
replacing  "Sleep  Walkin'/'  now  CD-only)  on  their  la- 
bel, Delicious  Vinyl.  Meanwhile,  the  group  underwent 
a  notable  lineup  change,  replacing  axeman  Tim  Har- 
rington with  prolific  producer-guitarist  Daniel  Rey  and 
drummer  Vinnie  Ludovico  with  legendary  Samuel 
Beckett  lookalike  Ginger  Baker.  [db] 

See  also  Shrapnel. 

JAMES  MASTRO 

See  Bongos. 


MATCHING 

See  Robert  Wyatt. 


Temporary  Music  1  EP  (Zu)  1979  (nr/Red  Music)  1979 

Temporary  Music  2  EP  (nr/Red  Music)  1981 

Temporary  Music  (Fr.  Celluloid)  1 981  ® 

American  Songs  EP  (Hoi  Red  Music)  1981 

Busting  Out  EP  (ZE-isiand)  1 981 

Memory  Serves  (Celluloid-Elektra-Musician)  1981  • 

One  Down  (Celluloid-Elektra)  1 982  ® 

Red  Tracb  (Red)  1986 

Seven  Souls  (Virgin)  1 989  cj> 

MASSACRE 

Killing  Time  (OAO-Celluioid)  1982  • 

NICKY  SKOPELITIS 

Next  to  Nothing  [CD]  (Venture-Virgin)  1 989  » 

Originally  formed  to  back  Daevid  Allen  when  the 
erstwhile  Gong  leader  first  toured  the  US,  Material  be- 
gan as  a  small  core  of  New  York-based  musicians 
around  which  an  endless  string  of  interesting  one-shot 
gigging  and  recording  bands  formed.  Bassist/producer 
Bill  Laswell  alone  continues  to  use  the  Material  name, 
but  the  original  triumvirate  with  Michael  Bemhorn  (syn- 
thesizer, tapes,  vocals)  and  Fred  Maher  (drums)  made  a 
virtue  of  eclecticism,  effectively  blending  funk,  rock, 
expenmentalism  and  jazz  into  a  subtle,  credible  fusion 
music  all  their  own. 

Not  that  they  managed  it  right  away.  Temporary 
Music  1,  produced  by  Giorgio  Gomelsky,  shows  a 
promising  progressive-rock  band  toying  with  funk  and 
quickly  miring  itself  in  extraneous  noise.  But  the  funk- 
rock  fusion  takes  hold  on  the  sequel,  as  Stockhausen 
(figuratively)  meets  Moroder,  and  that  approach  didn't 
let  them  down  thereafter.  The  Temporary  Music  album 
reissues  the  two  EPs  on  one  disc,  as  does  Red  Tracks 


American  Songs,  which  features  an  intriguing  ap- 
pearance by  guitarist  Robert  Quine  on  two  new  items,  is 
just  interesting  enough  not  to  be  expendable. 

Memory  Serves  is  Material's  most  jazz-tinged  al- 
bum, with  its  complement  of  prominent  jazz  players  on 
cut  after  relentless  cut.  Guitarist  Fred  Frith  is  also  fea- 
tured, starting  an  intermittently  ongoing  alliance.  The 
procession  of  textures  is  dazzling,  the  funk  cuts  like  a 
knife  and  the  hornwork  is  disciplined  within  tight  struc- 
tures. As  ** black"  classical  and  dance  music  refined 
with  a  rock  sensibility,  Memory  Serves  is  a  highly 
original  crossover. 

One  Down  extends  the  experiment  to  urban  pop 
music  with  almost  equal  success,  aided  by  Nile  Rodg- 
ers,  Nona  Hendryx,  Frith,  Oliver  Lake  and  many  oth- 
ers. However,  it  lacks  the  edge  of  Memory  Serves,  and 
Maher 's  departure  is  probably  the  reason.  Saxophonist 
Archie  Shepp,  black-power  spokesman  and  angry  young 
man  of  '60s  jazz,  puts  in  a  politically  interesting  but 
musically  low-key  appearance  on  Hugh  Hopper's 
4 'Memories." 

In  1982,  Lasweli,  Maher  and  Frith  combined  as 
Massacre,  a  radical  power  trio  The  distinctively  skewed 
melodies  of  Killing  Time's  composed  half— mostly  on 
the  first  side,  a  brilliant  procession  of  techniques  and 
icjeas — bear  the  Frith  hallmark.  Propelled  by  the  virtu- 
oso rhythm  section,  Frith  plays  with  unprecedented 
urgency — no  cold  cerebration  here.  The  improvisations 
are  tough  and  sinewy  too,  benefiting  from  Frith's  expe- 
rience in  Henry  Cow.  Highlights:  the  bouncy  title  cut 
and  "Corridor,"  a  manic  exercise  in  machine-gun  feed- 
back. 

By  the  late  '80s,  with  Bemhorn  and  Maher  long 
gone  (both  to  producing,  although  Maher  plays  with 
Scntti  Pohtti  and  has  drummed  on  plenty  of  records, 
most  memorably  Lou  Reed's  New  York),  there  was  no 
longer  any  discernible  difference  between  Material  and 
Laswell  solo.  Still,  after  the  commercial  failure  of 
Laswell' s  not-new-age-but-an-incredible-simulation-of- 
it  Hear  No  Evil  (which  probably  flopped  because  it 
betrayed  more  active  intelligence  than  its  target  audi- 
ence wants  to  know  about),  he  adopted  the  Material 
name  for  Seven  Souls,  a  great  record  that's  as  much  a 
masterpiece  of  sheer  calculation  as  it  is  art.  (Laswell  is 
nothing  if  not  an  extremely  canny  operator. ) 

Having  worked  with  William  S.  Burroughs  on  Lau- 
rie Anderson's  Mister  Heartbreak,  Laswell  here  has 
the  author  read  from  his  novel  The  Western  Lands  over 
tracks  that  span  a  wide  area  of  world  music  turf,  mixed 
with  licks  and  samples  deployed  with  Laswell' s  usual 
taste,  innovation  and  economy.  The  percussion,  cour- 
tesy of  Sly  Dunbar  and  Aiyb  Dieng,  is  consistently  bril- 
liant. At  times  the  music  is  restive,  creating  very  delicate 
atmospheres,  Burroughs'  voice  and  text  add  appropriate 
notes  of  doom.  That  aside,  Seven  Souls  is  clearly  de- 
signed to  be  new  age  music  for  hipsters. 

Around  the  same  time  as  Seven  Souls,  guitarist 
Skopelitis — a  longtime  Laswell  crony  who  has  joined 
the  bassist  on  most  of  the  projects  he's  undertaken  since 
1982,  including  all  of  the  Golden  Palominos  records — 
released  his  first  solo  LP,  Next  to  Nothing,  With 
Lasweil,  Ginger  Baker  (drums),  Fred  Frith  (violin), 
Simon  Shaheen  (violin,  oud)  and  Dieng  (percussion), 
it's  similar  in  texture  to  Seven  Souls,  albeit  without  the 
spoken-word  content.  Along  with  that  record  and  Bak- 


412 


er's  excellent,  Laswell-produced  Middle  Passage,  Next 
to  Nothing  forms  something  of  a  triptych,  and  an  ex- 
emplary one  at  that.  [mf/gk] 
See  dsoAfrikaBambaataa,  Fred  Frith,  Golden  Pal- 
ominos, Nona  Hendryx,  Bill  Laswetl,  Robert  Quine, 
Scritti  Politti. 

MATERIAL  ISSUE 

Material  Issue  EP  (Big  BSock-Landmind)  1987 
international  Pop  Overthrow  (Mercury)  1 991  • 

Fans  of  early  Cheap  Trick,  Tom  Petty  and  Big  Star 
were  known  to  weep  tears  of  joy  upon  first  hearing 
Material  Issue's  independently  released  debut  EP  (a  six- 
song  12-inch),  co-produced  with  Jeff  Murphy  of  Shoes. 
Centered  around  the  talents  of  vocalist/songwriter/ 
guitarist  Jim  Ellison  (a  brief,  early  member  of  Green), 
the  Chicago  trio  was  playing  unashamed  Beatle/Byrdsy 
power  pop  when  it  was  decidedly  unfashionable,  and 
each  of  the  six  songs  is  its  own  distinct  three-minute 
thrill. 

Material  Issue  continued  to  record  with  Murphy, 
completing  International  Pop  Overthrow  before  sign- 
ing to  a  major  label.  One  of  the  best  power  pop  albums 
in  recent  memory,  this  gem  contains  no  less  than  four 
songs  with  girls'  names  in  the  titles.  Although  Ellison's 
occasional  inclination  towards  quantity  over  quality 
makes  some  of  the  fourteen  tracks  less  memorable  than 
others,  "Valerie  Loves  Me,"  "Renee  Remains  the 
Same,"  "This  Far  Before"  and  "Very  First  Lie"  are 
should-be  singles  of  the  first  order.  And  this  is  only 
album  number  one.  [Jal 

MAXQ 

See  INXS. 

MAZZY  STAR 

See  Opal. 

SCOTT  MCCAUGHEY 

See  Young  Fresh  Fellows, 

MCCLUSKEY  BROTHERS 

See  Bluebells. 

IAN  MCCULLOCH 

See  Echo  &  the  Bunnymen. 

MC5 

Kick  Out  the  Jams  (Elelctra)  1 969  +  1 983 

Back  in  the  USA  (Atlantic)  1 970 

High  Time  (Atlantic)  1971 

Babes  in  Arms  [tape]  (ROIR)  1983  [CD]  (Fr.  Danceteria) 

1990<t> 

Do  It  (Fr.  Revenge)  1987* 
Live  Detroit  68/69  (Fr.  Revenge)  1988  • 

Formed  in  and  around  John  Sinclair's  White  Panther 
Party,  the  Motor  City  5's  enduring  relevance  lies  less  in 
the  Detroit  quintet's  music  (the  in-concert  Kick  Out  the 
Jams  sounds  closer  to  early-'70s  heavy  metal  than  any- 
thing else)  and  more  in  the  political  attitudes  behind  that 
music;  "Kick  Out  the  Jams"  and  "Motor  City  Is  Burn- 


ing" are  obvious  harbingers  of  tk Anarchy  in  the  UK." 
Unfortunately  for  the  5,  their  Utopian  beliefs  didn't 
translate  to  vinyl  with  the  intensity  of,  say,  the  first 
Clash  album.  Led  by  Rob  Tyner's  rabble-rousing  vocals 
and  the  twin  guitar  assault  of  Wayne  Kramer  and  Fred 
"Sonic"  Smith,  Kick  Out  the  Jams  has  plenty  of  high- 
energy  rock,  with  science-fiction  noise  ( "Rocket  Re- 
ducer No.  62"  and  "Starship,"  co-credited  to  Sun  Ra) 
thrown  in  for  class.  But  would  the  revolution  be  re- 
corded by  Elektra? 

Evidently  not.  The  next  MC5  album,  produced  by 
Jon  Landau  (prior  to  his  more  financially  rewarding 
alliance  with  Brace  Springsteen),  finds  them  downplay- 
ing the  rabble-rousing  in  favor  of  claustrophobically  taut 
and  blisteringly  electric  sub-thiee-minute  odes  to  "High 
School/'  "Teenage  Lust"  and  "Shakin'  Street" 
("where  all  the  kids  meet").  The  LP  also  contains  per- 
formances of  "Tutti  Fnitti"  and  the  Chuck  Berry  title 
cut,  with  its  refrain  of  "I'm  so  glad  I'm  living  in  the 
USA."  Sarcasm?  A  timely  return  to  the  roots?  Probably 
both.  At  least  the  concise  songs  are  easier  to  like  than 
the  first  LP's  hippie-era  sprawl. 

Having  lost  their  audience  between  the  first  two  al- 
bums, the  MC5  felt  free  to  put  down  the  best  playing  of 
their  recording  career  on  the  totally  ignored  High  Time. 
Song  lengths  are  back  up,  but  the  band  stretches  out 
comfortably  on  "Sister  Anne,"  "Over  and  Over"  and 
the  jazzy  "Skunk  (Sonicly  Speaking)."  Did  the  MC5's 
circular  saga  prove  the  invincibility  of  pure  pop?  In  any 
case,  their  records  and  legend  remain  an  oft-cited  influ- 
ence on  the  nose-thumbing  irreverence  and  chaotic  en- 
ergy of  punk  groups. 

Babes  in  Arms  is  a  belated  appendix  to  the  band's 
catalogue.  It  consists  of  early  45  sides  done  for  indie 
labels,  alternate  takes  and  remixes  (some  scarcely  dif- 
ferent from  the  originals)  from  the  three  original  al- 
bums, plus  one  otherwise  unreleased  cut. 

Like  the  Stooges  and  other  groups,  numerous  live 
concert  albums  of  the  MC5  have  been  issued.  Amid  a 
rash  of  obvious  bootlegs,  the  two  French  releases  at 
least  appear  to  be  legal  issues.  Do  It  is  a  muddy  sound- 
ing radio  broadcast  from  '71  well-played  renditions  of 
eight  songs,  including  "19th  Nervous  Breakdown," 
"Tutti  Frutti"  and  John  Lee  Hooker's  "Motor  City  Is 
Burning"  alongside  "Kick  Out  the  Jams"  and  "Look- 
ing at  You."  But  beware  of  the  utterly  unlistenable 
pink-vinyl  Live  Detroit,  an  inaudible  mush  of  muffled 
noise.  W/i] 

See  also  Mick  Farren,  New  Order,  Patti  Smith,  Son- 
ic's  Rendezvous  Band,  Johnny  Thunders,  Was  (Not 
Was). 

M.C.  HAMMER 

Feel  My  Power  (Bustin')  1 987 

Let's  Get  It  Started  (Capitol)  1 988  • 

Please  Hammer  Don't  Hurt  'Em  (Capitol)  1 990  • 

The  Oakland  rapper  with  the  soul  of  an  ad  man, 
M.C.  Hammer  dominated  the  record  charts  in  1990  with 
his  second  album.  (Actually  his  second-and-a-half:  the 
self-released  Feel  My  Power  was  given  four  new  tracks 
and  reissued  as  Let's  Get  It  Started.)  Far  less  talented 
as  a  musician  (his  dancing  skills  are  exceptional)  than 
he  is  as  a  salesman,  Hammer's  primary  influence  would 
appear  to  be  Madison  Avenue.  His  records  use  familiar 

413 


songs  to  establish  audience  rapport,  adding  on  simple, 
repeated  catch  phrases  thai  people  can  easily  remember 
when,  it  comes  time  to  make  consumer  decisions.  It  was 
only  a  matter  of  weeks  before  the  title  of  the  ubiquitous 
6tU  Can't  Touch  This"  (to  the  music  of  Rick  James' 
"Superfreak")  entered  the  vernacular.  Still,  it's  hard  to 
give  critical  credence  to  a  mediocre  MC  who  pretty 
much  borrows  classical  songs  whole,  tacks  on  a  modern 
beat  and  substitutes  his  own  clumsy  vocals.  Unless 
we're  talking  the  art  of  the  deal,  Hammer's  no  artist. 
Besides  duffing  up  BB  King,  P-Funk,  Rick  James 
and  Queen,  Let's  Get  It  Started  has  the  moderately 
exciting  ""They  Put  Me  in  the  Mix"  and  a  lot  of  boring 
boasts.  Please  Hammer  takes  commercial  advantage  of 
Prince  ("Pray,"  "She's  Soft  and  Wet"),  Marvin  Gaye 
("Help  the  Children" ),  the  Chi-Lites  ( "Have  You  Seen 
Her")  and  others.  Beyond  the  intrinsic  worthiessness  of 
Hammer's  own  records,  his  crossover  success — which 
helped  make  rap  the  dominant  sound  entering  the  '90s — • 
opened  the  door  to  an  even  shallower  purveyor  of  recy- 
cled rhyming,  Vanilla  Ice.  What's  next?  [i] 

KRIS  MCKAY 

See  Wild  Seeds. 

MARIA  MCKEE 

See  Lone  Justice. 

MALCOLM  MCLAREN 

Duck  Rock  (Island)  1 983  * 

D'ya  Like  Scratchin'  EP  (island)  1984 

Fans  (Island)  1984® 

Swamp  Thing  (Island)  1 985 

MALCOLM  MCLAREN  AND  THE 
BOOTZ1LLA  ORCHESTRA 

Waltz  Darling  (Epic)  1989  • 

MALCOLM  MCLAREN  PRESENTS 
THE  WORLD  FAMOUS 
SUPREME  TEAM  SHOW 

Round  the  Outside!  Round  the  Outside!  (Virgin)  1990  4> 

Besides  being  an  imperialistic  cultural  plunderer  (a 
non-judgmental  designation),  Malcolm  McLaren  is  one 
of  rock's  true  visionaries.  His  role  in  the  formation  and 
promotion  of  the  Sex  Pistols  has  been  construed  as 
everything  from  inspired  instigator  to  Machiavellian  ma- 
nipulator, and  his  solo  career  has  been  as  righteously 
criticized  as  it's  been  influential.  The  ever-provocative 
McLaren  tends  to  bring  out  the  moral  indignation  in 
people. 

It's  hard  to  say  just  what  McLaren  does  as  an  artist. 
He's  more  an  assembler  than  a  creator,  piecing  together 
artifacts  from  various  musical  cultures  in  such  a  way 
that,  at  the  end  of  the  day,  his  own  input  seems  invis- 
ible. And  yet  his  perspective  as  hip  outsider  has  contin- 
ued to  provide  a  link  between  his  Anglo-American 
audience  and  Third  World  forms.  If  McLaren's  a  mu- 
sical tourist,  these  records  are  his  home  movies. 

Duck  Rock,  produced  by  Trevor  Horn  and  featuring 
the  rapping  World's  [sic]  Famous  Supreme  Team,  is  a 
vanguard  album  in  the  new  music/rap  crossover  move- 
ment. (The  Keith  Hating  artwork  is  equally  au  courant. ) 


It  offers  vignettes  of  hip-hop,  Appalachian  music 
(McLaren  shows  no  real  racial  preference  in  his  thiev- 
ery), African  music  and  merengue.  Instead  of  assimi- 
lating the  forms  and  reconstructing  them,  McLaren  puts 
his  actual  source  material  on  vinyl  (and  then  his  name  to 
it).  The  most  striking  cut,  '"Buffalo  Gals,"  sets  a  square 
dance  call  over  a  hip-hop  scratch  track.  D'ya  Like 
Scratchin*  plucks  three  songs  from  the  album  and  funks 
with  the  mix,  adding  two  versions  of  a  new  tune  as  well . 

Never  one  to  stand  still,  McLaren  succeeds  against 
all  odds  in  combining  hip-hop  with  opera  on  Fans.  As 
unlikely  a  synthesis  as  this  is,  McLaren  mainly  uses 
opera  for  its  recitative  form  and  story  lines  (namely 
Carmen,  Madam  Butterfly  and  Turandof)  and,  damn  it, 
the  thing  works  more  often  than  not. 

The  aptly  named  Swamp  Thing  is  a  murky  and 
bizarre  creature  grown  during  various  sessions  between 
'82  and  '84.  The  title  track  perverts  "Wild  Thing"  into 
a  nightmarish  but  enjoyable  mess  '  'Duck  Rock  Cheer' ' 
is  so  unlike  the  original  that  you'd  never  connect  the 
two,  save  for  minor  overlapping  of  mix  components; 
"Duck  Rockers/Promises"  sounds  only  slightly  more 
familiar.  "Buffalo  Love' '  has  even  less  to  do  with  *  'Buf- 
falo Gals,"  offering  instead  a  smooth  disco  creation 
breathily  sung  by  an  unidentified  woman.  "B.L  Bikki" 
combines  McLarenize  exercise  exhortations  with  opera 
and  all  sorts  of  extraneous  rubbish;  "Eiffel  Tower" 
rums  the  old  Bow  Wow  Wow  song  inside  out  to  inter- 
esting effect.  As  aggravating  as  he  often  is,  McLaren's 
work  is  invariably  fascinating  and  provocative. 

McLaren  foists  another  demented  but  entertaining 
musical  hybrid  on  the  world  in  Waltz  Darling.  Hooking 
muscular  rock-funk — starring  Bootsy  Collins  and  Jeff 
Beck — together  with  a  classical  orchestral,  McLaren 
comes  up  with  what,  at  times,  resembles  an  electrified 
version  of  Gilbert  and  Sullivan.  He  tops  this  weird  blend 
off  with  a  variety  of  female  vocalists  (the  artist  himself 
speaks  lyrics  on  a  couple  of  numbers),  swanky  dance 
lyrics  and  up-to-date  production  techniques.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  record  wanders  casually  around  its  concept — 
too  many  tracks  are  merely  standard  dance-club  fare 
with  lush  flourishes,  hardly  a  novelty — but  the  instru- 
mental "House  of  the  Blue  Danube"  and  "Algernon's 
Simply  Awfully  Good  at  Algebra,"  co-written  by  Dave 
Stewart,  are  pretty  amusing. 

Tempted  by  yet  another  stylistic  fad  he  could  at- 
tempt to  corrupt,  McLaren  reunited  with  the  World  Fa- 
mous Supreme  Team — his  hip-hop  compadres  on  Duck 
Rock — and  threw  together  a  hip-house  stew  sampling 
(intellectually,  not  electronically)  both  Shakespeare  and 
opera  for  a  dance  record  whose  bizarre  conception  is 
designed  to  be  easily  overlooked  in  the  appropriate  en- 
vironment. (I  mean,  really,  who  cares  if  the  chant  over 
a  techno-dance  groove  is  "Diva  opera  house"  rather 
than  "Love  to  love  you  baby"?)  Perhaps  angling  for 
greater  historical  recognition  (or  just  recycling  an  asset 
whose  time  hasn't  yet  passed),  McLaren  includes  an 
updated  remix  of  *  'Buffalo  Gals . ' '  [jl/i] 

See  also  Bow  Wow  Wow,  New  York  Dolls,  Sex  Pis- 
tols. 


MC  LYTE 

Lyte  as  a  Rock  (First  Priority  Music-Atlantic)  1988  • 
Eyes  on  This  (First  Priority  Music-Atlantic)  1 989  • 


414 


This  sassy  young  rapper  from  Brooklyn — no- 
nonsense  star  of  hip-hop's  burgeoning  distaff  side — 
waxes  funny,  moral  and  toughly  self-reliant  on  the 
musically  inventive  and  entertaining  Lyte  as  a  Rock. 
Not  only  is  her  assessment  of  the  sexual  battlefield  a 
refreshing  change  of  pace,  the  chip  on  Lyte's  shoulder 
yields  hysterical  and  vicious  putdowns.  Aided  by  sharp 
production,  minor  appropriations  from  Ray  Charles, 
Helen  Reddy  and  the  Four  Seasons,  Lyte  fills  her  first 
LP  with  a  number  of  strong  cuts,  like  the  introductory 
"Lyte  vs.  Vanna  White"  and  the  hit  "I  Cram  to  Un- 
derstand U." 

In  one  of  the  most  intriguing  cross-cultural  moments 
of  1988,  Lyte  appeared  in  the  video  for  Sine*ad  O'Con- 
nor's "I  Want  Your  (Hands  on  Me)."  Unfortunately, 
Eyes  on  This  doesn't  show  any  such  imagination:  Lyte 
revisits  the  same  'hood  as  her  debut,  in  good-sounding 
but  tired  expressions  of  singleminded  self-obsession  and 
rhyming  supremacy  like  "I  Am  the  Lyte"  (produced  by 
future  Brand  Nubian  Grand  Puba  Maxwell,  who  also 
collaborated  on  * 'Funky  Song"),  "Slave  2  the  Rhythm" 
and  "Throwin'  Words  at  U."  The  album's  only  flight  of 
fancy  is  "Cappucino,"  an  intriguing  but  undeveloped 
visit  to  the  afterlife.  [i/tr] 

See  also  Audio  Two. 


MC  900  FT  JESUS  WITH  DJ  ZERO 

MC  900  ft  Jesus  with  DJ  Zero  EP  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 989  * 
Hell  with  the  Lid  Off  (Nettwerk-IRS)  1 990  * 

With  his  long  legs  firmly  straddling  danceable  hip- 
hop  and  found-sound  industrialism,  Dallas'  MC  900  Ft 
Jesus  (Mark  Griffin)  uses  beats,  samples  and  scratches 
to  support  his  distorted  (non-rap)  narratives  that  proceed 
ironically  from  a  supermarket  tabloid  view  of  life  and 
religion.  While  using  far  too  many  sound  bites  from 
Public  Enemy,  the  rudimentary  EP  previews  the  album's 
"Too  Bad"  and  "Shut  Up,"  joining  them  with  a  pair  of 
retitled  remixes. 

Since  the  basic  format  is  too  uninvolving  to  sustain 
an  entire  LP,  Hell  with  the  Lid  Off  makes  a  greater 
stylistic  effort,  embracing  funk  ("Truth  Is  Out  of 
Style"),  warm  soul  ("Spaceman")  and  pulsing  techno- 
beat  ("UFO's  Are  Real").  Although  diverting  in  small 
doses  (more  suited  for  club  play),  MC  900  Ft  Jesus 
makes  shaggy  dog  music — colorfully  convoluted  but 
lacking  a  punchline.  [i] 


M.C  SHAN 

Down  by  Low  (Cold  Chillin'-Wamer  Bros.)  1987 
Born  to  Be  Wild  (Cold  Chillin'-Warner  Bros.)  1 988  • 
Play  It  Again,  Shan  (Cold  Chillm'-Warner  Bros.)  1 990  • 

Unstylish  but  top-notch,  Queens  free-sty ler  Shawn 
Moltke  supposedly  got  his  career  break  in  1983  when 
the  future  chairman  of  Cold  Chillin'  caught  him  attempt- 
ing to  steal  his  car.  (Having  Marley  Marl  for  a  cousin 
probably  helped  a  little,  too.)  With  Marl's  minimalist 
production  and  Shan's  dynamic  B-boy  raps,  the  fine 
Down  by  Law  includes  an  amateurish  pre-LP  single, 
"The  Bridge"  (about  the  Queensbridge  housing 
project),  as  well  as  the  anti-crack  "Jane,  Stop  This 
Crazy  Thing!"  and  the  classic  bad-girl  story  of  "Project 
'ho," 


Leading  off  the  ambitiously  sampled  Bora  to  Be 
Wild  with  "I  Pioneered  This"  (actually,  he  tempers  the 
claim  in  the  lyrics),  Shan  doesn't  cope  very  well  with 
sonic  competition,  coming  through  best  on  the  relatively 
spare  cuts,  like  the  historical  "They  Used  to  Do  It  Out 
in  the  Park"  and  the  autobiographical  "Back  to  the 
Basics"  ("One  day  when  me  and  Mariey  Marl  was 
playing  in  a  ditch/We  made  this  jam  that  we  knew  was 
slamming/Someday  it  would  make  us  rich").  Answer- 
ing John  Kay  in  the  title  track  is  a  neat  idea  that  fails;  the 
sax  line  running  through  "Words  of  a  Freestyle"  effec- 
tively draws  attention  away  from  the  words. 

Moving  out  from  under  Marl's  production  umbrella, 
Shan  swapped  his  Kangol  hat  and  Puma  sweats  for  a 
swanky  white  suit  and  an  adult  outlook  on  the  moder- 
ately dull  Play  It  Again.  In  good-sounding  tracks  that 
seem  to  go  on  forever,  Shan  attacks  police  injustice 
("Time  for  Us  to  Defend  Ourselves"),  expounds  on 
musical  theory  ("It  Ain't  a  Hip  Hop  Record*'),  disses 
dope  pushers  with  help  from  Richard  Pryor  ("Death 
Was  Quite  a  Surprise"),  quotes  Fats  Waller  ("It  Don't 
Mean  a  Thing")  and  even  sings  one  ( "I  Want  to  Thank 
You").  [i] 


MC  TUNES 
See  808  State. 

MDC 

Millions  of  Dead  Cops  (R  Radical)  1982  » 
Multi-Death  Corporation  EP  (R  Radical)  1983 
Smoke  Signals  (R  Radical)  1 986 
Millions  of  Damn  Christians:  This  Blood's  for  You  (R 

Radical-Boner)  1987* 

More  Dead  Cops  1981-1987  (R  Radical-Boner)  1988  * 
Metal  Devil  Cokes  (Boner)  1 989  • 
Elvis-tn  the  Rheinland  (Ger.  Destiny)  1 989  * 

Originally  launched  in  Austin,  Texas  around  1980, 
this  explosive  political  hardcore  quartet  (aka  Multi- 
Death  Corporation,  Millions  of  Dead  Children  and  Mil- 
lions of  Damn  Christians)  has  long  been  based  in  San 
Francisco.  Precise  breakneck  rock  makes  Millions  of 
Dead  Cops  a  powerful  means  by  which  to  deliver  mes- 
sages like  "John  Wayne  Was  a  Nazi"  (originally  re- 
corded and  released  on  45  when  MDC  was  known  as  the 
Stains)  and  "I  Hate  Work."  Best  title:  "Corporate 
Deathburger."  After  the  first  pressing  sold  out,  the  LP 
was  remastered  and  reissued,  ultimately  joining  More 
Dead  Cops  on  CD. 

Smoke  Signals  offers  a  more  mature  lyrical  stance 
and  challenging  post-hardcore  arrangements,  which  or- 
ganize thrash  sounds  into  a  tightly  structured  musical 
framework.  New  arrival  Gordon  Eraser's  throaty  guitar 
and  the  deft  rhythm  section  set  the  scene  for  Dave  Die- 
tor' s  clearly  enunciated  soapbox  announcements  like 
"No  More  Cops,"  "South  Africa  Is  Free,"  "Missile 
Destroyed  Civilization"  and  the  vegetarian  "Country 
Squawk."  Turning  to  cultural  concerns,  MDC  also  of- 
fers the  flavorful  "Tofutti,"  the  sarcastic  "Skateboards 
to  Hell"  and  "King  of  Thrash."  An  exceptionally  good 
record. 

Turning  non-'core,  This  Blood's  for  You  starts  out 
as  an  attack  on  religion,  but  quickly  broadens  the  free- 
fire  zone  to  include  merciless  indictments  of  Reagan 


415 


("Bye  Bye  Ronnie,"  "Guns  for  Nicaragua,"  "Who's 
the  Terrorist  Now"),  bureaucrats  ("Henry  Kissmyass- 
inger,"  Cream's  "Politician1*),  agricultural  imperial- 
ism ("Chock  Full  of  Shit"),  intolerant  punks 
("S.K.I.N.H.E.A.D.")  and  junkies  ("Your  Death 
Wish  Is  Sick1').  The  music  is  likewise  expansive:  MDC 
uses  acoustic  guitar,  melody,  guitar  solos  and  other  good 
things.  A  fine  development  from  a  deeply  committed 
and  talented  quartet. 

More  Dead  Cops  1981-1987  is  a  rarities  retrospec- 
tive, including  both  sides  of  the  band's  debut  single 
("John  Wayne  Was  a  Nazi"  b/w  "Born  to  Die"),  the 
four-song  Multi-Death  Corporation  EP,  the  three-song 
Chicken  Squawk  EP,  two  compilation  tracks  (includ- 
ing "Pay  to  Come  Along,"  an  attack  on  the  Bad  Brains) 
and  two  unreleased  covers  ("Born  Under  a  Bad  Sign" 
and  "Spanish  Castle  Magic")  from  *87. 

Despite  one  simple  acoustic  number  ("Acid  Rein- 
deer") and  a  country  stomp  ("Ain't  It  Funny"),  Metal 
Devil  Cokes  returns  MDC's  thrash  power,  with  excel- 
lent playing  and  production.  New  guitarist  Eric  Calhoun 
contributes  effectively  to  the  tight  electric  roar,  but  Die- 
tor's  delivery  and  the  band's  humorous  polemics  are 
still  the  primary  element  in  MDC's  personality.  Actu- 
ally, the  radical  content  here  is  significantly  toned  down, 
with  songs  like  "I'm  a  Knucklehead"  and  "White  Men 
in  Suits'  *  (not  to  mention  a  straight  punk  cover  of  *  'Love 
Potion  No.  9")  that  avoid  any  specific  finger-pointing 
or  protesting.  The  complete  cooking  instructions  of 
"Tofu  Spaghetti"  make  for  one  funny  song,  while  a 
new  use  for  nursery  rhymes  ("Three  Blind  Mice")  and 
the  revised  lyrics  of  "Deep  in  the  Heart  of  (Racist 
Amerikkka)"  prove  that  political  rock  doesn't  have  to 
be  grim  or  boring. 

Ehris-In  the  Rheiitiand,  recorded  live  in  Berlin  in 
November  1988,  finds  the  quartet  ripping  through  a 
great-sounding  24-song  career  retrospective,  plus  a  re- 
strained rendition  of  Michelle  Shocked's  "Fogtown"  (a 
song  which  they  also  play  on  her  second  album),  [i] 

See  also  Michelle  Shocked. 


MEAT  BEAT  MANIFESTO 

Storm  the  Studio  (Wax  Trax!}  1 989  ® 
Armed  Audio  Warfare  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  • 
99%  (Play  It  Again  Sam-Mute- Elektra)  1990  4> 

Much  has  been  made  of  the  fact  that  two  members  of 
Meat  Beat  Manifesto — dancer/choreographer  Marcus 
Adams  and  costume/set  designer  Craig  Morrison — have 
no  musical  input.  But  the  group's  commitment  to  the 
visual  aspect  of  its  stage  presentation  shouldn't  create 
the  impression  that  the  audio  side  can't  stand  up  on  its 
own  In  fact,  the  sounds  (produced  mainly  by  Jack  Dan- 
gers with  Jonny  Stephens)  have  consistently  merged 
hip-hop  rhythms  with  industrial  overtones  and  a  myriad 
of  samples  to  devastating  effect. 

A  series  of  UK  12-inches  put  Meat  Beat  Manifesto 
on  the  map,  only  to  have  a  fire  at  the  group's  London 
headquarters  destroy  its  debut  album.  (A  collection  of 
early  mixes  and  unreleased  tracks  later  emerged  as  the 
frequently  rewarding  Armed  Audio  Warfare.) 

Four  12-inch  tracks  were  then  disassembled  and  (to 
borrow  a  title)  re-animated  in  four  different  versions 
apiece  for  the  double  album  Storm  the  Studio.  Meat 
Beat  stretch  the  concept  of  the  remix  further  than  most, 


and  few  of  the  tracks  on  this  violent  sonic  assault  sound 
like  any  of  the  others  Taking  the  groundbreaking  elec- 
tronic grooves  of  Throbbing  Gristle  and  Cabaret  Vol- 
taire as  their  base,  toughening  them  up  enormously  and 
occasionally  adding  vitriolic  stream-of-consciousness 
raps  makes  for  uneasy  but  rewarding  listening. 

With  99%,  Meat  Beat  readjusted  their  focus,  main- 
taining the  industrial  aspect  but  tidying  things  up  and 
making  use  of  house  grooves  Very  little  of  the  musical 
content  (apart  from  Dangers'  raps)  is  actually  recorded 
by  the  group,  but  the  enormous  range  of  sampled  voices, 
TV  themes  and  pop  cuttings  lead  to  a  bizarre  and  fas- 
cinating clash  of  styles  on  instrumentals  like  "Hello 
Teenage  America"  and  "Hallucination  Generation." 

[tfl 

MEATMEN 

Blood  Sausage  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1982 
Crippled  Children  Suck  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1 982 
We're  the  Meatmen  . . .  and  You  Suck!  (Touch  and  Go) 

1983 

War  of  the  Superbikes  (Homestead)  1 985  • 
RoclcWRoll  Juggernaut  (Caroline)  1986 
We're  the  Meatmen  ...  and  You  Still  Sucklll  (Caroline) 

1989 

Crippled  Children  Suck  (Touch  and  Go)  1990 
Stud  Powercock:  The  Touch  and  Go  Years  {CD}  (Touch 

and  Go)  1991  • 

TESCO  VEE 

Dutch  Hercules  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1 984 

Obnoxious,  crude,  offensive,  blasphemous,  tire- 
some and  funny — the  Meatmen  are  one  band  you'd 
never  be  able  to  explain  to  your  parents  (or  even  the  vast 
majority  of  your  peers).  The  rude  punk  parodists  from 
Michigan  heard  on  the  infamous  Blood  Sausage  and 
Crippled  Children  Suck  7-inches  stomped  on  the  sen- 
sitive issues  of  society  with  a  coarseness  that  makes 
dead  baby  jokes  seem  like  church  fare.  If  there  were 
some  reference  points — something  the  Meatmen  did 
care  about — the  gratuitous  and  tedious  irreverence  might 
have  had  some  real  shock  value. 

We're  the  Meatmen  .  .  .  and  You  Suck!  (initially 
pressed  on  white  vinyl)  runs  aground  in  a  sea  of  unor- 
iginality.  The  puerile  forays  into  morbidity  ("One 
Down  Three  to  Go,'*  about  the  Beatles),  homophobia 
('Tooling  for  Anus"),  misogyny  ("I'm  Glad  I'm  Not 
a  Girl")  and  racism  ("Blow  Me  Jah")  are  too  familiar 
and  predictable  to  be  outrageous.  A  little  more  wit 
would  have  made  the  Meatmen  a  more  engaging  (if 
despicable)  cartoon.  One  side  of  the  album  is  live;  the 
other  is  a  reissue/remix  of  Blood  Sausage. 

The  original  Meatmen  dissolved  when  singer/ 
schoolteacher  Tesco  Vee  moved  to  Washington  DC,  but 
his  resulting  itchiness  bore  fruit  in  the  form  of  a  solo 
record.  Aided  by  guitarists  Lyle  Preslar  and  Brian  Baker 
of  Minor  Threat  (both  of  whom  subsequently  helped 
Vee  form  a  new,  improved  Meatmen)  and  produced  by 
Minor  Threat's  Ian  MacKaye,  Dutch  Hercules  stands 
on  more  solid  musical  ground.  Apparently  mellowing 
with  age,  Vee  limits  the  objects  of  his  attacks  to  lesbi- 
ans, blacks,  post-punkers  and  rock  stars.  The  satire 
works  better  because  he  offers  himself  as  an  object  of 
parody.  The  only  useless  cut  is  a  side-long  disco  per- 
version ("Crapper's  Delight"). 


416 


With  the  new  five-jerk  lineup,  War  of  the  Super- 
bikes  focuses  and  refines  the  Meatmen's  miserable 
charm,  retooling  the  punk  onslaught  into  a  strong,  sharp- 
edged  rock  sound  and  presenting  a  mixed  material  grill, 
from  utterly  inoffensiveness  (the  great  title  track  and 
"Abba  God  and  Me")  to  typical  juvenaiia  (the  flamen- 
coed  * 'Kisses  in  the  Sunset,"  '"Cadaver  Class"  and  a 
cover  of  the  Pagans'  "What's  This  Shit  Called  Love," 
which  opens  as  a  demented  Elvis  parody).  Just  what  the 
doctor  ordered!  Bonus:  spoken-word  tripe  hidden  at  the 
end  of  each  side, 

James  Cooper  replaced  Baker  (off  to  start  Dag 
Nasty)  on  Rock'n'RoSI  Juggernaut,  leaving  the  Meat- 
men a  musically  undistinguished  rock  machine,  playing 
tight  but  plain  guitar  raunch.  Amid  bursts  of  worthless 
comedy  shtick,  Vee's  lyrics  keep  the  faith,  leering  sa- 
laciously  while  attacking  foreigners  ("French  People 
Suck,"  "Dichstrudel"),  American  proles  ("True 
Got")  and  health  nuts  ("Nature  Boy")  with  the  un- 
enthusiastic  knee-jerk  bravado  of  morons  yelling  out  car 
windows  at  women  to  impress  their  friends.  Yawn. 

We're  the  Meatmen  ...  and  You  Still  Suck!!!, 
recorded  at  two  dates  on  the  '88  farewell  tour,  finds  the 
crew  raging  through  songs  from  every  previous  platter 
and  the  Vee  EP,  plus  an  exuberant  Sweet  ("Rebel  Row- 
ser"  [sic])  cover.  The  funniest  item — besides  Tesco's 
between-song  raps — is  "Camel  Jockeys  Suck,"  com- 
pleting the  "Suck"  trilogy  (all  set  to  the  same  tune).  On 
the  debit  side,  final  guitarist  Stuart  Casson's  generic 
metallicisms  are  simply  no  match  for  Baker's  fantastic 
lead  work,  thus  the  SuperMkes  songs — the  heart  of  the 
set — are  a  step  down  from  the  studio  versions.  (It's  a 
shame  that  with  all  the  live  Meatmen  material  left  to 
posterity,  the  superior  '85  gig  lineup  remains  undocu- 
mented.) 

The  Crippled  Children  Suck  album  contains  the 
entire  Crippled  Children  EP,  a  Blood  Sausage  out- 
take,  a  fair  set  of  '81  demos,  one  live  track  from  '82 
(the  notorious,  never-before-released  "TSOL  Are  Sis- 
sies") and  three  live  cuts  from  '84  (the  updated  "Be- 
coming a  Gay  Man"  is  a  must-hear).  Stud  Powercock, 
as  its  subtitle  makes  clear,  collects  every  track  on  the 
Touch  and  Go  releases  (even  Dutch  Hercules  and  this 
new  compilation)  on  one  CD,  making  it  a  definitive 
retrospective  of  the  band's  original  Midwest  existence. 

See  also  Dag  Nasty,  Minor  Threat,  [jl/i/gef] 

MEAT  PUPPETS 

In  a  Car  EP  (World  Imitation)  1981  (SST)  1985  • 

Meat  Puppets  (Thermidor-SST)  1 982  • 

Meat  Puppets  II  (SST)  1983  • 

Up  on  the  Sun  (SST)  1 985  • 

Out  My  Way  EP  (SST)  1 986  • 

Mirage  (SST)  1 987  • 

Huevos  (SST)  1987* 

Monsters  (SST)  1989* 

No  Strings  Attached  (SST)  1 990  • 

This  Phoenix,  Arizona  trio  has  made  a  career  out  of 
defying  expectations.  The  two  Kirkwood  brothers,  Curt 
(guitar/vocals)  and  Cris  (bass/vocals),  along  with  drum- 
mer Derrick  Bostrom,  made  their  debut  with  In  a  Car, 
a  locally  released  7-inch — five  songs  in  five  minutes — of 
shrieking  thrash-punk  and  unrealized  avant-guitar  am- 
bitions. The  Puppets'  first  album  (a  full-length  disc  that 


spies  at  45  rpm)  similarly  mixes  intriguing  instrumental 
experimentation- — and,  significantly,  a  bit  of  restrained 
country — into  sloppy  blurs  of  noisy  punk-rock. 

On  Meat  Puppets  13,  howe\er,  they  made  the  first 
of  many  shifts — into  radical  country-punk  The  album 
offers  a  slantingly  strong  set  of  stylistic  contrasts — loud 
and  soft,  fast  and  slow — all  supporting  moving,  poetic 
lyrics.  The  songs  are  melodic  and  memorable;  Curt* s 
high'n' lonesome  singing  is  made  even  more  effective 
by  its  uninhibited  shoddiness.  One  of  the  best  albums 
ever  to  blend  Joe  Strammer  with  Hank  Williams,  Meat 
Puppets  n  avoids  cliches  of  any  sort  in  its  brilliant 
evocation  of  the  wide  open  world  of  the  Southwest. 
Make  no  mistake — this  is  not  a  hardcore  album  with 
some  corny  twang,  it's  a  fully  realized  work  in  a  unique 
hybrid  style. 

Up  on  the  Sun  removes  the  Puppets  further  from 
punk,  but  doesn't  adequately  replace  the  rock'n'roll  en- 
ergy. Curt's  growing  mastery  of  delicate  guitar 
weaves — an  Arizona  answer  to  Jerry  Garcia,  perhaps — 
provides  the  Puppets*  new  focus;  the  hoedown  coda  of 
"Enchanted  Pork  Fist*'  owes  as  much  to  modern  jazz  as 
cowboy  rock.  The  title  track  is  a  lovely,  contemplative 
folk  song  with  an  airy  vocal  and  a  skipping  guitar  riff 
that  repeats  throughout.  In  a  lighter  moment,  Curt  and 
Cris  whistle  their  way  through  "Maiden's  Milk";  wax- 
ing serious,  "Creator"  offers  a  poetic  contemplation  on 
god  and  nature. 

The  Puppets  sound  far  more  involved  and  enthused 
on  the  superior  six-track  Out  My  Way,  again  quite 
unlike  anything  in  their  prior  repertoire.  An  utterly 
crazed  raveup  of  "Good  Golly  Miss  Molly"  merely 
caps  off  an  ineffable,  diverse  collection  of  occasionally 
funky,  occasionally  psychedelic,  occasionally  country- 
fied  rock  tunes. 

Mirage  harks  back  to  the  sonic  translucence  of  Up 
on  the  SUE,  forcing  Bostrom's  muscular  drumming  to 
find  a  way  to  maintain  its  reserve  while  kicking  up  a 
subtle  storm.  Curt's  intricate  finger-picking  and  plec- 
trum work  leads  the  relaxed  stroll  on  "Mirage/' 
"Leaves,"  "Get  on  Down"  and  "I  Am  a  Machine." 
The  bluegrass-styled  "Confusion  Fog"  shows  a  differ- 
ent side  of  the  Pups,  as  does  the  rocking  "Liquefied," 
an  incongruous  souvenir  of  the  band's  early  sound  with 
acid-trip  lyrics  and  distorted  rhythm  guitar.  The  only 
discordant  ingredient  on  this  technically  accomplished 
record  is  Curt's  uncertain,  often  cringeably  tuneless 
singing. 

As  legend  has  it,  the  genesis  of  Huevos  began  with 
a  magazine  interview  in  which  Curt  announced  his  ad- 
oration of  ZZ  Top  guitarist  Billy  Gibbons.  Gibbons*  • 
reply  sent  Kirkwood  into  a  writing  frenzy,  and  the 
album — which  begins  with  the  Top  soundalike 
"Paradise" — was  recorded  in  one  marathon  72-hour 
stretch.  The  mildly  commercialized  sound  (read,  rhythm 
guitar,  sweet  melodies  and  a  thick  Les  Paul  tone)  led 
hardline  fans  to  call  it  a  sellout,  but  that's  hardly  the 
case.  In  this  generally  upbeat  outing,  the  only  discour- 
aging words  can  be  heard  in  "Dry  Ram"  and  the  self- 
deprecating  "I  Can't  Be  Counted  On."  Otherwise,  Curt 
celebrates  "Fruit,"  "Sexy  Music"  and  even  "Bad 
Love."  Except  for  the  out-there- with-the-cacti  vocals, 
Huevos  is  quite  fine. 

Saving  most  of  his  liquid  lead  runs  for  showy  in- 
strumental passages,  Curt  again  plays  a  lot  of  rhythm 


417 


guitar  on  Monsters,  a  heavier,  more  traditional-minded 
rock  album  than  usual.  Beyond  "Attacked  by  Mon- 
sters," however,  the  colorless  and  repetitive  songs 
aren't  very  appealing,  and  the  sound — which  alternates 
between  the  band's  late-" 80s  clarity  and  a  murky  sonic 
swamp — doesn't  do  much  for  them.  (Ironically,  the  vo- 
cals here  are  fairly  presentable.)  Not  among  the  Pup- 
pets' best. 

The  generously  endowed  No  Strings  Attached  re- 
capitulates the  Meat  Puppets*  career  to  date  with  two 
dozen  chronological  selections — from  the  first  EP 
through  Monsters.  [i] 

MEGADETH 

Killing  Is  My  Business . . .  and  Business  Is  Good!  (Combat) 

1985* 
Peace  Sells  ...  but  Who's  Buying?  (Combat-Capitol) 

1986* 

So  Far,  So  Good  ...  So  What!  (Capitol)  1 988  ® 
Rust  in  Peace  (Combat-Capitol)  1 990  ® 

After  leaving  Metallica,  guitarist/songwriter  Dave 
Mustaine  formed  Megadeth  to  better  realize  his  vision 
of  a  band  that  would  play  a  faster,  louder  and  more 
intricate  brand  of  metal  with  far  more  realistic  and  rel- 
evant lyrics  (when  you  can  make  them  out)  than  the 
usual  metal  macho  bravado. 

The  quartet's  first  album  meets  most  of  those  goals. 
The  precise,  complex  (but  clearly  articulated)  hyper- 
speed  guitar  power  almost  sails  into  jazz  waters;  Mus- 
taine's  rock  vocals  dispense  with  typical  tremulous 
screeching  for  listenable  roughness.  Only  the  lyrics  are 
business  as  usual:  even  an  overhaul  of  "These  Boots 
Are  Made  for  Walking"  adds  vulgarity  to  maximize 
headbanger  appeal.  Other  songs — about  death,  sex  and 
religion — witlessly  tread  well-worn  ground.  Still,  Me- 
gadeth's  galloping  high-tech  sound  (check  "Rattle- 
head"  and  "Mechanix") — soon  to  influence  numerous 
young  rock/metal  bands — is  clearly  taking  shape. 

Peace  Sells  continues  Megadeth' s  macabre  assault 
on  the  senses.  Like  a  metal  version  of  Dante's  Inferno, 
the  LP  offers  various  visions  of  hell  on  earth — murder, 
adultery,  alienation,  imprisonment  and  (d)evil  cults. 
Quite  frankly,  the  music's  scarier  than  the  lyrics,  since 
Mustaine 's  strangled  vocals  are  barely  audible  in  the 
mix;  the  music,  on  the  other  hand,  hurtles  forward  with 
undeniable  and  relentless  power.  Oldsters  will  be  left 
stunned  by  the  incredible  version  of  Willie  Dixon's  (via 
Beck  and  Stewart)  "I  Ain't  Superstitious,"  rewritten  in 
trademark  Megadeth  style. 

Recorded  with  a  new  guitarist  and  drummer,  So  Far, 
So  Good  ...  So  What!  includes  a  tribute  to  Metallica' s 
late  bassist  Cliff  Burton  ("In  My  Darkest  Hour"),  a 
driving-while-drunk  song  ("502"),  an  instrumental  that 
starts  acoustic  before  hitting  typical  Mega-drive  ("Into 
the  Lungs  of  Hell"),  an  unnecessary  (and  lyrically  in- 
accurate) cover  of  "Anarchy  in  the  UK"  with  ex-Pistol 
Steve  Jones  in  tow  and  the  obligatory  PMRC  putdown 
("Hook  in  Mouth").  Though  Mustaine' s  vocals  are  im- 
proving and  the  new  guys  fit  in  fine,  it's  a  bit  of  a 
letdown  after  Peace  Sells. 

After  a  layoff  prompted  by  Mustaine 's  growing  drug 
dependence  (and  subsequent  abatement  thereof),  plus 
more  conflict  within  the  band,  Rust  in  Peace  was  re- 
corded with  yet  another  new  guitarist  and  drummer.  The 


change  is  for  the  better,  especially  Nick  Menza's  supple 
drumming,  which  elevates  the  band  to  a  new  plateau,  on 
which  they  swing  (!)  as  never  before.  It's  also  the 
group's  best  album  sonically,  even  if  Mustaine's  lyrics 
(nearly  all  about  war  or  his  former  habit)  and  his  still- 
improving-but-not-quite-there  vocals  could  both  use  a 
dose  of  clarity  at  times.  Musically,  though,  Megadeth's 
at  the  top  of  its  game  right  now.  [ds] 

See  also  Metallica. 


MEKONS 

The  Quality  of  Mercy  is  Not  Strnen  (or/Virgin)  1 979  (Blue 

Plate)  1990® 
Devils  Rats  and  Piggies  a  Special  Message  from  Godzilla 

(nr/Red  Rhino)  1980 
It  Falleth  Like  Gentle  Rain  from  Heaven — The  Mekons 

Story  (nr/CNT  Productions)  1982 

The  English  Dancing  Master  EP  (nr/CNT  Productions)  1 983 
Fear  and  Whiskey  (nr/Sin)  1985 
Crime  and  Punishment  EP  (nr/Sin)  1986 
The  Edge  of  the  World  (nr/Sin)  1986 
Slightly  South  of  the  Border  EP  (nr/Sin)  1 986 
Honky  Tonkin'  (Sin-Twin/Tone)  1 987 
New  York  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 987  [CD]  (ROIR-lmportant) 

1990<l> 

So  Good  It  Hurts  (Twin/Tone)  1 988  ® 
Original  Sin  [CD]  (Twin/Tone)  1 989  ® 
Dream  and  Lie  of . . .  EP  (nr/Blast  First)  1 989  ® 
The  Mekons  Rock'n'Roll  (Twin/Tone-A&M)  1989  ® 
F.U.N.  '90  EP  (Twin/Tone-A&M)  1 990  4> 
The  Curse  of  the  Mekons  (nr/Blast  First)  1 991  ® 

SALLY  TiMMS  AND  THE 
DRIFTING  COWGIRLS 

This  House  Is  a  House  of  Trouble  EP  (nr/T.LM.)  1987 

Butcher's  Boy  EP  (nr/T.I.M.)  1987 

Somebody's  Rocking  My  Dreamboat  (nr/T.LM.)  1988 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Fast  Product-Mutant  Pop  (PVC)  1 980 

Til  Things  Are  Brighter ...  (Red  Rhino-Fundamental) 

1988® 

Although  formed  in  the  punk  era,  and — like  another 
Leeds  band  of  similar  vintage,  the  Gang  of  Four — 
originally  known  for  abrasive  guitar  funk  more  con- 
cerned with  content  and  politics  than  commercial 
niceties  or  style,  the  Mekons  (not  to  be  confused  with 
the  Manchester  Mekon,  a  minor  class-of-'77  outfit)  cov- 
ered a  lot  of  ground  in  the  '80s,  and  have  grown  into  one 
of  the  most  venerable  and  entertaining  post-punk  insti- 
tutions. Ring-led  by  singer/guitarist/producer/etc.  Jon 
Langford  (also  one  of  the  Three  Johns,  and  a  major 
force/influence  in  underground  and  indie-rock  circles), 
the  Mekons  have  held  true  to  the  same  precepts  they 
started  with,  but  have  wisely  moved  with  the  times  in  a 
number  of  significant  ways. 

The  first  album — a  major  landmark  erected  by  one 
of  the  few  late-'70s  British  bands  that  didn't  want  to  be 
either  the  Sex  Pistols  or  the  Clash — suffers  from  the 
screamed  vocals,  which  obscure  both  the  music  and  the 
left-wing  lyrics:  minimalism  is  one  thing,  but  rank 
amateurism  another.  (The  CD  reissue  adds  a  half-dozen 
single  sides  from  '79  and  '80.) 

On  the  second  album  (more  commonly  known  as 
The  Mekons),  the  group  moves  into  danceable  synth- 


418 


pop,  with  protest  lyrics  attacking  bourgeois  culture,  the 
army  and  hollow  lives.  The  Mekons  Story  is  a  retro- 
spective album  of  old  tracks  and  outtakes,  punctuated 
by  inter-track  narration.  Ending  the  first  chapter  in  a 
long  story,  the  Mekons  ceased  performing  in  1981  and 
cut  back  on  recording  work  after  that  1982  release,  al- 
though a  core  trio  of  Langford,  guitarist  Tom  Green- 
halgh  and  bassist/guitarist  Kevin  Lycett  kept  the  band  in 
occasional  vinyl  circulation. 

A  large  new  incarnation  returned  the  Mekons  to 
prominence  and  much  international  critical  adulation  in 
1985  with  Fear  and  Whiskey,  a  ragged  album  with 
sturdily  memorable  tunes  that  mix  equal  parts  of  elec- 
trified rustic  country  dance  music  and  cow-rock.  Fiddle, 
piano  and  harmonica  join  the  guitars  and  drums  for  a 
sound  that  is  reasonably  comparable  to  a  less  loopy, 
more  rocking  version  of  John  Otway.  Sin's  label  design 
mimics  Sun's;  the  sounds  are  likewise  Americanized 
and,  characteristically  for  the  new  Mekons,  a  cover  of 
Hank  Williams*  "Lost  Highway"  closes  the  LP  on  an 
appropriate  note.  Nothing  (well,  only  some  things,  per- 
haps) could  be  further  from  the  Mekons'  early  noise 
days.  Crime  and  Punishment  offers  four  songs  (in- 
cluding the  Robyn  Hitchcock-like  "Chop  That  Child  in 
Half"  and  Merle  Haggard's  "Deep  End")  from  a  John 
Peel  session. 

Following  the  four-song  10-inch  Slightly  South  of 
the  Border,  Honky  Tonkin'  (named  for  the  Hank 
Williams  lyric  quoted  on  the  back  cover)  finds  a  cast  of 
dozens  (actually  one  dozen)  working  its  way  stylisti- 
cally towards  the  Pogues'  drunkenly  revisionist  folk- 
fundamentalism.  A  case  of  the  sillies  ("Sympathy  for 
the  Mekons")  competes  with  responsible  topicality  (a 
remake  of  the  band's  old  '  'Trimdon  Grange  Explosion, ' ' 
"Kidnapped,"  "If  They  Hang  You,"  which  eulogizes 
Dashiell  Hammett  for  refusing  to  name  names  at  the 
HUAC  hearings)  and  conspicuous  literacy  ("Hole  in 
the  Ground, ' '  *  'Charlie  Cake  Park' ' ) .  The  notes  for  each 
song  cite  relevant  books,  movies  or  artworks  for  those 
undaunted  by  intellectualism.  The  genially  appealing 
music,  a  well-organized  wash  of  fiddles,  accordion,  gui- 
tars and  simple  drums,  makes  few  demands  but  keeps 
the  folky  standards  high. 

US  tours  by  the  octet  hi  1986  and  1987  yielded  the 
live  tracks  (and  assorted  audio  ephemera,  like  commen- 
tary on  various  subjects  by  band  members)  compiled  on 
New  York.  The  material  is  mostly  drawn  from  recent 
albums,  although  a  version  of  the  Band's  "The  Shape 
I'm  In"  and  a  handful  of  otherwise  unreleased  items  are 
also  included.  Motley  but  charming,  it's  a  casually  en- 
lightening trek. 

So  Good  It  Hurts  has  its  share  of  fiddle  tunes  but 
also  expands  the  band's  stylistic  repertoire  to  embrace 
reggae,  straight  rock  and  calypso.  The  results  suggest 
certain  portions  of  the  Clash's  later  career,  as  well  as  the 
Boomtown  Rats  and  other  musical  adventurers.  The 
slickest,  most  accessible  album  in  the  Mekons'  long 
career,  it  holds  fast  to  a  politely  delivered  but  tough- 
minded  political  consciousness  (Richard  Nixon  is  men- 
tioned in  more  than  one  song),  pausing  to  include  the 
Stones'  "Heart  of  Stone."  Although  unsettling  in  its 
normalcy,  So  Good  It  Hurts  is  a  stimulating  new  chap- 
ter in  this  unfinished  saga. 

Original  Sin  is  a  remastered  CD  of  Fear  and  Whis- 
key plus  the  whole  Slightly  South  EP,  three-quarters  of 


Crinte  and  Punishment  and  one  song  each  from  The 
English  Bancfng  Master  and  Edge  of  the  World.  A 
handy  sampler  of  the  band's  mid-* 80s  work. 

The  Mekons  Rock'n'Roll  is  an  unexpected  devel- 
opment at  this  stage  of  the  game:  a  punk-rock  concept 
alburn  filled  with  eloquence  and  passion.  The  subject,  as 
announced  in  the  title,  is  here  in  all  its  sordid  glory, 
from  lines  about  "Eric  Burdon  stunned  in  Mississippi 
on  the  Animals'  U.S.  tour"  (from  "Amnesia")  to  a  dig 
at  Bono  ("the  Dublin  messiah  scattering  crumbs/1  in 
"Blow  Your  Tuneless  Trumpet")  and  the  grim  morality 
tale  of  "Cocaine  Lil."  It's  a  tough,  dark  album  that 
includes  five  of  the  best  songs  the  band  has  ever  written, 
plus  some  half-baked  ideas  mired  in  mud  and  feedback. 
(Released  as  "a  preview  of  Rock'n'RoH,"  the  four- 
song  Dream  and  Lie  of ...  EP  is  of  interest  only  for 
"Heaven  and  Back,"  one  of  the  two  tracks  (the  other  is 
"Ring  o'  Roses")  left  off  the  album's  American  edi- 
tion.) 

The  Curse  of  the  Mekons  is  another  leap  forward 
for  the  band,  extending  the  worldbeat  forays  of  So  Good 
It  Hurts,  the  surprising  techno-dance  experiments  of 
F.U.N.  '90  (a  four-song  response  to  acid-house  that 
covers  songs  by  the  Band  and  Kevin  Coyne  and  includes 
a  track  co-written  with  Lester  Bangs)  and  the  attack  of 
Rock'n'RoII  into  the  group's  most  melodic  collection  to 
date.  Among  the  highlights  are  two  numbers  sung  by  the 
bell-toned  Timms:  the  eerie  "German  for  Secrets"  and 
a  straight  cover  of  "Wild  and  Blue"  by  Nashville  star 
John  Anderson.  The  sound  is  all  over  the  place,  from 
the  Stonesy-Cajun  hook  of  the  title  song  to  the  metallic 
anthem  "Authority"  to  the  plodding  reggae  of 
"100%,"  complete  with  banjo,  accordion  and  mariachi 
horns.  Elsewhere,  dubby  psychedelia,  dram  machines, 
treated  vocals,  sound  effects  and  spacey  synths  add  col- 
orful scenery  to  this  bizarre  sonic  odyssey. 

Sometime  lead  singer  Sally  Timms'  solo  releases 
distance  her  impressively  from  the  Mekons  camp  (al- 
though she's  backed  by  three  members  of  the  band  on 
the  album).  "Horses"  and  the  countryish  "Chained  to 
the  Anchor  of  Love"  on  Somebody's  Rocking  My 
Dreamboat  could  be  stray  Mekons  tracks,  but  the  rest 
stakes  out  very  different  ground,  a  more  mainstream, 
electronic-based  rock  over  which  her  cool,  clear  voice 
soars.  Occasionally  clunky  but  worth  seeking  out.  The 
title  track  of  the  three-song  This  House  is  a  duet  with 
Marc  Almond,  while  the  four-song  Butcher's  Boy  in- 
cludes a  version  of  "Long  Black  Veil." 

'Til  Things  Are  Brighter  is  an  uneven  AIDS- 
benefit  album  of  Johnny  Cash  covers,  with  the  Mekons 
backing  folks  like  Almond,  Michelle  Shocked,  Pete 
Shelley,  Stephen  Mallinder  of  Cabaret  Voltaire  and 
sometime  Mekon/Notting  Hillbilly  Brendan  Croker.  The 
Mekons  themselves  do  "Folsom  Prison  Blues"  and 
Timms  contributes  "Cry,  Cry  Cry."  [gf/i/ws] 

See  also  Three  Johns. 


MELLOW  MAN  ACE 

Escape  from  Havana  (Capitol)  1 989  * 

Despite  clever  production  by  the  Dust  Brothers,  Def 
Jef  and  others,  most  of  this  romantic  LA  rapper's  first 
album — even  with  the  novelty  of  four  tracks  in  Spanish 
("Rap  Guanco,"  "MasPingon,"  "EnlaCasa,"  "En- 
quentren  Amor") — is  by-the-numbers  dull.  But  when 


419 


he  drops  a  clever  bilingual  rap  over  Santana's  "Evil 
Ways*'  (in  the  delightful  "Mentirosa"),  running  suspi- 
cious rhymes  around  a  deceitful  girlfriend,  Ace  (along- 
side Kid  Frost)  suggests  the  unique  possibilities  of 
Latin- American  hip-hop,  both  in  terms  of  rhymes  and 
music.  [i] 

MELODIC  ENERGY  COMMISSION 

See  Hawkwlnd. 

MS.  MELODIE 

See  Boogie  Down  Productions 


Ziggy's  talents  really  blossomed  on  One  Bright 
Day,  which  he  co-produced  with  Frantz,  Weymoutti 
and  Glenn  Rosenstein.  Downplaying  Rasta  culture  even 
more  than  before,  the  freedom-minded  album  uses  the 
band's  catchiest  songs  to  promote  the  power  and  uni- 
versality of  music.  With  explicit  lyrics  and  stylistic  dem- 
onstrations, the  Melody  Makers  express  their  solidarity 
with  the  South  African  straggle  as  well  as  black  culture 
in  America  and  elsewhere,  Although  reggae  purists  have 
all  but  disavowed  the  group,  "Black  My  Story  (Not 
History),"  "One  Bright  Day"  and  "Look  Who's  Danc- 
ing" are  nearly  magical  in  their  delightful  blending  of 
slick  dance  pop  and  roots  rock.  [bk/i] 


Piay  the  Game  Right  (EMI)  1 985  ® 

Z1GGY  THE 

Hey  World!  (EM!)  1986® 

Conscious  Party  (Virgin)  1 988  « 

Time  Has  Come:  The  Best  of  Ziggy  Marley  and  the 

Melody  Makers  (EMI  Manhattan)  1988  • 
One  Bright  Day  (Virgin)  1 989  ® 
Jahmefcya  (Virgin)  1 991  <j> 

While  still  in  their  teens,  Ziggy  (David)  Marley  and 
the  Melody  Makers  reached  a  level  of  international  star- 
dom known  by  very  few  other  reggae  acts.  This  is  partly 
due  to  genes — Ziggy  resembles  his  late  father  and,  more 
significantly,  sounds  uncannily  like  him.  Such  instant 
identification  has  enabled  the  group  (which  includes 
three  other  Marley  progeny)  to  easily  step  into  the  com- 
mercial vacuum  left  by  the  elder  Marley's  death. 

The  Grammy-nominated  Flay  the  Game  Right, 
which  utilizes  a  traditional  Wailers-like  sound — 
complete  with  horns — and  includes  a  song  ("Children 
Playing  in  the  Streets'7)  the  elder  Marley  had  written  for 
them,  is  attractive  and  surprisingly  accomplished  in  light 
of  the  group's  tender  years. 

The  wonderful  Hey  World!  shows  the  Melody  Mak- 
ers coming  into  their  own,  bending  delightfully  light 
reggae  grooves  to  new  stylistic  ends.  "Give  a  Little 
Love"  is  a  soulful  party  track,  "Lord  We  a  Come"  has 
an  amazing  gospelly  African  folk  feel;  Ziggy 's  vocals  in 
"Police  Brutality"  stick  on  good  funk  grunts  for  em- 
phasis. 

Released  several  months  after  Conscious  Party  (the 
group's  first  album  for  a  new  label),  the  Time  Has 
Come  compilation  (hardly  a  best-of,  but  that's  the 
record  biz  for  you)  selects  five  numbers  from  each  of  the 
band's  two  EMI  albums,  adding  a  pair  of  1984  tracks. 

Symbolically  and  literally,  the  Melody  Makers  rep- 
resent reggae's  new  generation.  Conscious  Party  bears 
this  out,  from  its  aura  of  optimism  (in  songs  like  "To- 
morrow People,"  "New  Love"  and  "We  Propose")  to 
its  thoroughly  modern  sound.  Produced  by  Talking 
Heads  Chris  Frantz  and  Tina  Weymouth,  and  featuring 
a  superb  crew  of  international  backup  musicians,  the 
record  is  smart  and  professional — like  the  Heads  and 
more  consistent  than  either  Tom  Tom  Club  LP  If  the 
kids'  songwriting  doesn't  compare  with  Dad's,  it's  at 
least  competent  and  promising.  The  LP  isn't  at  all 
rootsy,  but  it's  fresh,  appealing  and  sincere:  reggae  for 
the  Benetton  generation. 


MELVINS 

Gluey  Porch  Treatments  (Alchemy)  1 987  • 
Ozma  (Boner)  1 989  • 
Bullhead  (Boner)  1991  • 

Formed  in  Aberdeen,  Washington,  this  trio  led  by 
Buzz  Osbourae  (guitar,  vocals)  pounds  out  an  unpre- 
dictable, unsteady,  confusing  sort  of  metal,  an  omi- 
nously heavy  Black  Sabbath  rumble — without  the 
screechy  vocals,  guitar  solos  or  dumb-ass  lyrics.  Songs 
stop  and  start,  bash  and  crash  on  Gluey  Porch  Treat- 
ments, an  album  of  measured,  careening  noise  in  which 
uneven,  unexpected  tempo  changes  make  dancing  ab- 
solutely out  of  the  question. 

With  longtime  bassist  Matt  Lukin  opting  to  stay  in 
Washington  and  join  Mudhoney,  the  Melvins  relocated 
to  San  Francisco  hi  1988  and  got  themselves  a  new 
bassist  named  Lori.  Better  production  makes  Ozma  a 
more  consistently  listenable  longplayer,  although  such 
maximum  heaviosity  without  any  of  the  related  trap- 
pings probably  inhibits  the  Melvins'  appeal  among 
headbangers  of  either  persuasion.  Ozma's  main  strength 
lies  in  Osbourne's  tortured  lyrics,  and  his  ability  to  turn 
such  disjointed  nihilistic  poetry  into  songs.  (The  cas- 
sette includes  an  extra  song;  the  CD  includes  Gluey 
Porch  Treatments.)  [icm/i] 

See  also  Mudhoney. 


MEMBERS 

At  the  Chelsea  Nightclub  (Virgin  Infl)  1979  (Blue  Plate) 

1991  • 
1 980-The  Choice  Is  Yours  (nr/Virgin)  1980  (Blue  Plate) 

1991  * 

Radio  EP  (Arista)  1 982 
Uprhythm,  Downbeat  (Arista)  19,82 
Going  West  (nr/Albion)  1 983 

At  the  Chelsea  Nightclub  finds  the  Members  using 
punk  as  a  jumping-off  point,  but  that  doesn't  tell  the 
whole  musical  story.  Incipient  instrumental  smarts  and 
simple  tunes  nailed  down  by  infectious,  above-average 
riffs  countered  the  rough-edged  delivery  and  Nicky  Tes- 
co's  one-o*-the-lads  vocals.  The  themes — mainly  vari- 
ations on  the  suburban  kid  in  the  city  getting  streetwise 
fast — are  framed  in  mischievous  yet  endearing  (even 
corny)  humor  The  album's  added  bonus  is  that  it  con- 
tains one  of  the  first,  and  even  now  best,  white  punk 
ventures  into  reggae  (including,  on  the  US  pressing,  the 
subsequent  "Offshore  Banking  Business"  single). 
Thoroughly  entertaining. 


420 


The  second  album,  however,  signaled  the  advent  of 
a  downswing  from  which  the  band  never  really  recov- 
ered. The  material  seems  thin — a  cover  of  ex-Pink  Fairy 
Larry  Wallis'  "Police  Car"  is  far  and  away  the  most 
memorable  track — and  any  spark  and  grit  the  band  might 
have  mustered  is  sterilized  by  Rupert  Mine's  production. 
(The  first  LP  was  produced  by  Steve,  the  brother  of  the 
Members'  drummer,  Adrian  Lilly  white.) 

Working  with  Martin  Rushent,  the  Members' 
comeback — after  a  layoff  which  some  mistook  for  a 
breakup — sounded  for  real,  first  on  the  teaser  EP  (one 
extra  track  on  the  US  version)  and  then  more  substan- 
tially on  Uprfaythm,  Downbeat.  Besides  the  crisp,  full 
sound,  the  quintet  had  grown  to  a  septet  with  a  pair  of 
horns,  and  the  music  integrated  funk  and  rap  in  addition 
to  reggae.  No  longer  humorous,  lyrics  instead  alternate 
social  critiques/rallying  cries  with  personal  traumas,  at 
which  they  prove  less  adept,  but  the  music  is  more 
powerful  and  danceable  than  ever.  Inspired  touch:  reg- 
gaefication  of  Kraftwerk's  "The  Model."  (Uprhythm, 
Downbeat  was  later  released  in  the  UK  as  Going  West. 
The  cassette  version  has  extra  tracks.)  [jg] 

See  also  King. 

MEMBRANES 

Muscles  EP  (nr/Rondelet)  1982 

Pin  Stripe  Hype  EP  (nr/Rondelet)  1982 

Crack  House  EP  (nr/Criminal  Damage)  1983 

Death  to  Trad  Rock  EP  (nr/Criminal  Damage)  1 985 

The  Gift  of  Life  (nr/Creation)  1 985 

Giant  (nr/Constrictor)  1 986 

Everything's  Brilliant  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 986 

Songs  of  Love  and  Fury  (Homestead)  1 986 

Time-Warp  1 991  (Long  Live  Trad  Rock)  EP  (Homestead) 

1987 
Back  Catalogue:  Peter  Sellers  Versus  the  Virgin  Mary 

(nr/Vmyl  Drip)  1987 
Kiss  Ass  Godhead  (Homestead)  1988 
To  Slay  the  Rock  Pig  (nr/Vinyl  Drip)  1 989  • 

Stalwarts  of  the  British  independent  scene,  Black- 
pool's Membranes  have  essayed  numerous  styles  with 
countless  lineups.  They  began  as  a  quirky,  not-too-loud 
quartet,  playing  simple  tunes  with  offbeat  lyrics  and 
melodica  for  unexpected  coloration.  Back  Catalogue, 
issued  on  the  band's  own  Vinyl  Drip  label,  reprises 
fifteen  early  efforts,  including  a  rare  1980  flexi-disc;  the 
contents  of  two  four-song  EPs  (the  12-inch  Muscles, 
Pin  Stripe  Hype)  and  three  re-recordings  of  the  same 
material.  The  six-song  Crack  House,  done  as  a  bass/ 
guitar/drums  trio,  finds  the  Membranes  nearing  their 
creative  peak,  shooting  out  jagged,  tense  jazz-tinged 
punk — ugly,  abrasive,  ambitious  and  gripping — as  well 
as  more  accessible  droney  rock. 

Death  to  Trad  Rock  builds  the  guitar  chaos  to  an 
unnerving  plateau  on  four  lengthy  songs  that  also  fea- 
ture bassist  John  Robb's  manic  vocals  and,  on  "Myths 
and  Legends,"  a  guest  violinist.  With  Robb  switching 
over  to  guitar,  however,  The  Gift  of  Life  sails  right 
over  the  edge  in  a  tumult  of  screaming,  banging  and 
incoherent  music.  The  goofy  "I  Am  Fisheye"  chant 
offers  a  briefly  amusing  alternative,  but  this  seemingly 
tossed-off  album  deserves  tossing.  Jon  (Three  Johns/ 
Mekons)  Langford  adds  guitar  on  the  title  track;  a  sax- 
ophonist only  adds  to  the  din.  Giant  is  a  compilation. 


Produced  b>  Langford,  the  "Everything's  Bril- 
liant" 12-inch  (two  versions  plus  three  B-sides?  returns 
the  Membranes  to  the  realm  of  responsible  musicmak- 
ing,  moving  a  clear,  gothic  drum  sound  and  give-a-shit 
sloppy  vocals  to  the  fore  and  relegating  guitars  to  a 
subsidiary  role  at  non-distorto  volume  levels  Songs  of 
Love  and  Fury,  with  another  new  bassist  and  Nick 
Brown  (a  guest  contributor  soon  to  become  a  permanent 
member)  adding  guitar  and  violin,  takes  a  further  step 
backwards,  almost  eliminating  electric  guitars  entirely. 
Not  that  far  in  sound  from  the  band's  earliest  work, 
songs  like  "Kennedy  '63,"  "Day  My  Universe 
Changed*1  and  "Phoney  T.V.  Repairman'*  mix  a  flat, 
trippy  '60s  approach  with  the  lyrical  attitude  of  Mark  E. 
Smith.  A  little  hard  to  fathom  at  first,  Love  and  Fury — 
the  band's  first  US  release — reveals  itself  gradually  to 
be  one  of  the  Membranes'  best  records, 

Time- Warp  is  entirely  different,  a  highly  produced 
and  carefully  performed  collection  of  six  folk-rock  orig- 
inals that  sound  like  something  the  Animals  might  have 
done  after  "Sky  Pilot."  Synthesizers,  drum  programs 
and  sound  effects  add  to  the  bewildering  fray.  Robb's 
vocals  are  reverbed  and  mixed  into  a  semblance  of  me- 
lodiousness; while  not  a  great  record,  it  certainly  is  an 
unexpected  one.  Incidentally,  artist  Simon  Clegg  de- 
serves kudos  for  his  unfailingly  brilliant  artwork  on  all 
of  the  Membranes'  covers  and  sleeves. 

Steve  Albini  co-produced  Kiss  Ass  Godhead  with 
the  Membranes;  songs  like  "Bulbous  Love  Child," 
"Long  Live  the  Hooligan  I"  and  "Cheap  Male  Aggres- 
sion" are  as  chaotically  loud  and  abrasive  as  one  could 
reasonably  expect  from  such  a  dangerous  combination. 

Sticking  to  the  loose  and  rugged,  the  Membranes 
made  To  Slay  the  Rock  Pig  with  producer  Steve  Mack, 
pouring  typically  grouchy  and  unselfconsciously  outra- 
geous (and  remorselessly  misspelled)  lyrics  like  "A 
Missive  from  Couch  Potatoe  Command,"  *  'Tuff  Veggie 
Agro"  and  "Life,  Death  and  the  Scarey  Bits  Inbe- 
tween"  into  a  poorly  mixed  cauldron  of  guitar,  bass  and 
drums.  Not  a  good  place  to  first  meet  the  Membranes, 
but  a  conducive  enough  environment  to  maintain  an 
ongoing  relationship.  [i] 

MEN  &  VOLTS 

Rhythms  &  Blues  EP  (Eat)  1982 

'Hootersville  (Eat)  1983 

Tramps  in  Bloom  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1984  (Iridescence) 

1985 

The  Mule  (Shimmy-Disc)  1987  • 
Stay  in  Touch  (Shimmy-Disc)  1989  • 
Cheer  Up  (50  Slddillion  Watts)  1 990  * 

With  the  arcane  musical  instincts  of  Captain  Beef- 
heart  and  the  dada  poetic  mindset  of  Tom  Waits,  the 
well-educated  Men  &  Volts  (based  in  the  Boston  area, 
although  mainstay/lyricist  David  Greenberger  lives  in 
upstate  NY)  debuted  with  the  challenging  and  bizarre 
Rhythms  &  Blues.  Employing  horns  and  difficult  tem- 
pos, the  quartet  offers  the  same  four  songs — including 
4 'Rotten  Truth,"  a  disturbing  number  superficially  about 
cats — pressed  on  both  sides. 

*Hootersville  (the  cover  is  a  map  detail;  the  asterisk 
marks  a  locale)  is  a  very  full  album  bursting  with  un- 
predictable music  that  veers  from  complex  and  noisy  to 
charmingly  rustic  and  even  pastoral.  The  lyrics  on  songs 


421 


like  "Pickwick  Papers,"  "Big  Ball  of  String"  and  "No 
Shower  No  Shave**  similarly  traverse  a  wide  range  of 
topics  and  are  often  amusingly  absurdist.  Stimulating 
and  entertaining. 

Dropping  the  brass  and  revealing  a  new  folk-based 
orientation,  Tramps  in  Bloom  keeps  the  guitar-built 
music  rudimentary,  allowing  simply  witty  paeans  to 
"New  York,"  "Someone  Else's  Money"  and  "The 
History  of  the  Moon"  to  speak  for  themselves  At  times 
sounding  like  the  Band,  elsewhere  resembling  the  Grate- 
ful Dead,  Men  &  Volts  make  no  effort  to  dress  up  their 
artless  songs,  and  it's  just  as  well.  Remaining  offiiand- 
edly  unprofessional  (not  unaccomplished)  is  no  mean 
feat. 

Sounding  even  more  like  the  Dead,  The  MuSe  has 
cloudy  sound  (so  much  for  direct  mastering  to  metal), 
noticeably  more  ambitious  arrangements  (although 
nothing  you'd  call  fancy)  and  serious,  sensitive  evoca- 
tions of  loneliness  ("Records  Go  'Round"),  aging 
("You  and  Me,  Pushin*  Up  Daisies")  and  several  in- 
triguing characters  ("The  Loveless,"  "One  Holiday 
Too  Many").  Not  a  spectacular  record,  but  one  with 
old-fashioned  attributes  that  won't  leave  you  wondenng 
where  to  park  your  brain.  The  Mule  was  later  included 
on  the  CD  and  cassette  of  the  band's  next  album,  [i] 

MENTAL  AS  ANYTHING 

Mental  as  Anything  Play  at  Your  Party  EP  (Aus.  Regular) 

1978 

Get  Wet  (Aus.  Regular)  1979 
Mental  as  Anything  (nr/Regular- Virgin)  1 980 
Expresso  Bongo  (Aus.  Regular)  1 980 
Cats  and  Dogs  (Aus.  Regular)  1 981 
If  You  Leave  Me,  Can  I  Come  Too?  (A&M)  1 982 
Creatures  of  Leisure  (Oz-A&M)  1 983 
Fundamental  (Columbia)  1 986  ® 
Mouth  to  Mouth  (Columbia)  1988  • 
Cyclone  Raymond  (Columbia)  1989  « 

MARTIN  PLAZA 

Plaza  Suite  (Aus.  CBS)  1 986 

A  kind  of  Australian  Rockpile  with  a  case  of  the 
vaudeville  giggles,  Sydney's  Mental  as  Anything  first 
surfaced  Down  Under  in  1978  with  an  EP  containing  a 
sly,  skiffle-like  drinking  song  called  "The  Nips  Are 
Getting  Bigger"  (featured  on  Get  Wet,  Mental  as 
Anything — the  equivalent  UK  release — and  the  US  de- 
but If  You  Leave  Me)  which  accurately  summarizes 
their  pub-rock  earthiness  and  randy  humor.  Get  Wet  is 
certainly  a  good-natured  introduction  to  a  band  unafraid 
to  write  a  love  song  to  a  foreign  country  based  on  travel 
ads  ("Egypt")  or  pitch  a  cheesy  instrumental  bit  with 
Sam  the  Sham  organ  as  a  "Possible  Theme  for  a  Future 
TV  Drama  Series." 

Combining  a  song  from  Get  Wet  and  the  best  of  the 
Australian-only  Cats  and  Dogs,  the  Anglo-American 
compilation  If  You  Leave  Me,  Can  I  Come  Too?  is 
more  of  the  same — the  band's  (un)usual  mix  of  cheek 
and  underlying  lyrical  sincerity  captured  in  the  poignant 
"Mr.  Normal"  drawl  of  singer/guitarist  Martin  Plaza. 
The  album  also  features  a  track  produced  by  Elvis  Cos- 
tello  ( *  'I  Didn't  Mean  to  Be  Mean' ' )  m  which  the  rest  of 
the  band — guitarist  Reg  Mombassa,  organist  Greedy 
Smith,  bassist  Peter  O'Doherty  and  drummer  Wayne 
Delisle — work  up  a  good  Attractions-like  head  of  steam. 


Creatures  of  Leisure  reveals  an  overwhelmingly 
downcast  band,  singing  wistful  lyrics  about  romantic 
discord  ("Bitter  to  Swallow,"  "Float  Away")  and  a 
general  lack  of  gumption  ("Nothing's  Going  Right  To- 
day," "Spirit  Got  Lost**).  Even  the  music  is  depressed, 
playing  in  the  same  countryish  style  with  barely  a  trace 
of  enthusiasm.  These  boys  are  down,  and  can't  help  but 
lay  their  burden  down  in  the  grooves.  Without  wallow- 
ing in  self-pity  or  indulging  in  any  overt  declarations  of 
misery,  Creatures  of  Leisure  is  an  enormously  sad 
record. 

A  much  better  frame  of  mind  prevails  on  Funda- 
mental. Songs  like  "I  Just  Wanna  Be  Happy"  and 
"Live  It  Up"  offer  optimistic  lyrics  about  getting  past 
hard  times  and  bad  feelings.  Other  subjects  temper  that 
attitude:  in  "Hold  On,"  O'Doherty  admits  a  case  of  the 
guilts  about  a  ladyfriend,  while  Plaza  marvels  about 
public  transportation  in  "Bus  Ride."  As  produced  by 
Richard  Gottehrer,  the  Mentals'  music  has  hit  a  certain 
stride  that  discourages  zaniness  (a  shame),  but  their 
sound — still  an  Australian  answer  to  Nick  Lowe — is 
never  less  than  bouncily  appealing. 

The  emotional  barometer  holds  steady  on  Mouth  to 
Mouth,  another  Gottehrer  production.  Employing  plain 
and  pleasant  music  that  could  use  a  bit  of  a  recharge, 
Plaza  delivers  harsh  words  to  an  ex  in  "Don't  Tell  Me 
Now"  and  "Thinking  Out  Loud";  Smith  welcomes  an 
old  friend  in  "My  Door  Is  Always  Open  to  You"  and 
offers  a  hopeful  suggestion  (in  the  very  Nick  Lowe-ish 
"Let's  Go  to  Paradise").  O'Doherty  expresses  his  plea- 
sure about  an  ongoing  relationship  in  "I'm  Glad." 
There  isn't  an  unlikable  moment  anywhere  on  the 
record,  but  the  Mentals  seem  in  danger  of  drifting  into 
musical  senility  unless  they  find  some  collective  person- 
ality and  start  showing  a  little  more  enthusiasm. 

Some  people  just  don't  heed  the  warning  signs  of 
encroaching  blandness.  Cyclone  Raymond  is  com- 
pletely boring,  a  collection  of  tepid  love  songs  that 
couldn't  possibly  please  anyone  other  than  a  soft-rock 
radio  programmer  anxious  to  fill  air  time  with  anything 
inoffensively  presentable.  O'Doherty's  chugging  "Baby 
You're  Wild"  and  the  Everlyesque  "Love  Comes  Run- 
ning" show  faint  glimmers  of  life  (if  not  wit),  some- 
thing which  can't  even  be  said  of  a  rote  Chuck  Berry 
exercise  reclaimed  from  the  Young  Einstein  soundtrack. 

Using  a  lot  of  modern-sounding  electronic  key- 
boards and  saxophone  in  addition  to  guitars,  Plaza's 
solo  album  has  adequate  energy,  a  few  dance  rhythms 
and  a  shortage  of  substantial,  memorable  material.  And 
covering  "Concrete  and  Clay"  (following  some  sort  of 
titular  theme,  two  of  Plaza  Suite's  originals  are  entitled 
"Bats  and  Balls"  and  "Chalk  and  Cheese")  in  synth 
strings  does  nothing  to  improve  a  bad  situation,  [df/i] 

MEN  THEY  COULDN'T  HANG 

Night  of  a  Thousand  Candles  (nr/lmp-Demon)  1 985  • 

Greenback  Dollar  EP  (nr/Demon)  1 986 

How  Green  Is  the  Valley  (nr/MCA)  1 986  • 

Waiting  for  Bonaparte  (nr/Magnet)  1  988  • 

Silvertown  (Silvertone)  1 989  • 

The  Domino  Club  (Silvertone)  1 990  • 

This  English  quintet  acquired  its  name  when  original 
bassist  Shanne  Bradley  nicked  it  from  her  former  Nips 
bandmate,  Shane  MacGowan,  who  had  it  in  mind  for 


422 


his  own  combo— which  instead  became  the  Pogues. 
Playing  whistles,  mandolin,  bouzouki  (with  guests  add- 
ing fiddle,  accordion,  etc.),  the  Men  sail  a  musical  sea 
that  is  not  that  far  removed  from  the  early  work  of  their 
better-known  contemporaries.  Pogue  Philip  Chevron 
produced  part  of  Night  of  a  Thousand  Candles,  which 
includes  "The  Green  Fields  of  France"  (written  by  Aus- 
tralian folk  singer  Eric  Bogle,  also  covered  by  the 
Pogues).  Despite  the  similarities  (is  it  merely  coinci- 
dence that  both  bands  formed  with  female  bassists  who 
didn't  stay  long?),  the  Men  They  Couldn't  Hang  have 
nonetheless  carved  out  a  distinctive,  rocking  identity  all 
their  own,  with  dual  lead  vocals  and  original  songs 
(mostly  by  singer  Phil  "Swill"  Odgers  and  guitarist 
Paul  Simmonds)  that  combine  folky  humanism  and  an 
earthy  working-class  sensibility. 

The  basic  approach  hasn't  varied  much  over  the 
years.  Night  of  a  Thousand  Candles  (the  six  songs  on 
the  Greenback  Dollar  12-inch,  including  the  titular 
Hoyt  Axton  classic  and  "Rawhide,"  are  appended  to 
the  CD  and  cassette  editions)  displays  the  band  at  its 
pub-bred  rootsiest,  racing  through  tunes  with  uninhib- 
ited enthusiasm.  From  there,  the  band  filled  out  its  de- 
livery and  improved  its  songwriting,  reached  a  pinnacle 
of  sorts  on  the  smoothly  realized  Silvertown,  a  rich 
folk-rock  brew  of  topical  numbers  about  actress  Frances 
Farmer  ("Lobotomy  Gets  'em  Home!"),  capitalist  pa- 
ternalism ("Company  Town")  and  the  Channel  tunnel 
("Rain,  Steam  &  Speed"),  with  a  woebegone  tale  of 
European  travel  ("A  Place  in  the  Sun")  and  similarly 
romantic  adventures. 

Produced  by  Pat  Collier,  The  Domino  Club  is  a  bit 
too  slick  for  its  own  good,  with  inconsistent  material 
(Simmonds  is  the  main  contributor)  and  plain,  unin- 
spired performances.  [hd/i] 

See  also  Pogues. 

MEN  WITHOUT  HATS 

Folk  of  the  80's  EP  (Can.  Trend)  1 980  (Stiff)  1 981 

The  Safety  Dance  (nr/Statik)  1 982  « 

Rhythm  of  Youth  (Backstreet-MCA)  1982  • 

Folk  of  the  80's  (Part  III)  (MCA)  1 984  • 

Pop  Goes  the  World  (Mercury)  1 987  • 

The  Adventures  of  Women  &  Men  Without  Hate  in  the 

21  st  Century  (Mercury)  1 989  • 

From  an  almost-unknown  Stiff  EP  to  a  million- 
selling  debut  album,  Montreal's  Men  Without  Hats 
made  their  incredible  one-step  ascent  without  drastically 
revising  their  sound.  Although  Folk  of  the  80*s  is  some- 
what rudimentary,  Ivan  Doroschuk's  remarkably  obnox- 
ious singing  is  already  in  full  flower,  and  the  songs 
display  his  characteristically  skewed  lyrical  perceptions 
and  aggressively  bouncy  tunes. 

Reprising  the  EP's  "Antarctica"  while  adding  an 
unlikely  and  aggravating  hit  single  ("The  Safety 
Dance")  and  the  eminently  likable  "I  Got  the  Mes- 
sage," Rhythm  of  Youth — roughly  the  same  record  as 
The  Safety  Dance — is  slicker  but  otherwise  pretty  sim- 
ilar to  the  band's  first  release  in  every  aspect  save  sales 
volume.  Ivan's  yelping  and  theatrical  bellowing  cries 
out  for  the  swift  application  of  duct  tape  to  his  mouth; 
still,  the  band's  earnest  individuality  makes  the  album 
hard  to  truly  dislike.  The  1984  follow-up  leaves  the 
formula  unchanged;  songs  like  "Where  Do  the  Boys 


Go?"  and  "Messiahs  Die  Young"  are  sprightly  and 
entertaining.  But  other  parts  drag  mercilessly  as  Ivan's 
inflated  self-image  is  delivered  pompously  to  vinyl. 

Chastened  by  the  second  album's  commercial  dis- 
appointment, Ivan  took  a  lengthy  powder,  returning 
three  years  later  with  the  best  single  of  his  career,  "Pop 
Goes  the  World,'*  done  for  the  soundtrack  of  Date  with 
an  Angel.  Unfortunately,  the  rest  of  what  surrounds  that 
insidious  techno-pop  ditty  on  Pop  Goes  the  World  is 
only  pleasantly  dull.  But  give  the  group — now  an  arti- 
ficial quartet  of  Ivan,  his  brother  Stefan  "in  the  guise  of 
Johnny  the  guitarist,"  a  bassist  named  Jenny  and  non- 
corporeal  drummer  J.  Bonhomme — the  odd  guest  of  the 
week  award  for  getting  Jethro  Tull  leader  Ian  Anderson 
to  add  a  spot  of  flute  to  one  song. 

Yawn  went  the  world,  but  that  didn't  stop  the  Dor- 
oschuks  from  returning  two  years  later  with  another 
modestly  appealing  album.  None  of  the  brothers'  di- 
verse originals  on  21st  Century  are  as  insidiously  clever 
as  Abba's  "S.O.S."  (which  they  cover  here),  but  Ivan's 
toned-down  singing  (on  one  quiet  love  song  he  threatens 
to  turn  into  Leonard  Cohen)  and  well-crafted,  lyrically 
intriguing  numbers  about  romance,  the  environment, 
sexism,  the  rock'n'roll  game  do  make  some  of  the  ma- 
terial fetching.  The  record  ends  with  "21st  Century 
Safety  Dance,"  a  throbbing  demi-industrial  instrumen- 
tal with  assorted  audio  snippets  (of  the  relevant  King 
Crimson  and  MWH  songs,  a  child's  voice,  TV  news, 
etc.)  thrown  in.  [i] 

MERCURY  REV 

See  Flaming  Lips. 

MERCY  SEAT 

See  Violent  Femmes. 

MERTON  PARKAS 

Face  in  the  Crowd  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 979  • 
The  Singles  EP  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 983 

If  the  Merton  Parkas  had  called  their  LP  Just  An- 
other Face  in  the  Neo-Mod  Crowd,  no  review  of  it 
would  be  needed.  This  utterly  unrnemorable  group  had 
nondescript  vocals,  tame  playing  (guitar  and  piano  so 
polite  as  to  be  biteless  even  at  high  volume)  and  dull 
songs  (a  cover  of  "Tears  of  a  Clown"  not  excepted). 
They  do  deserve  two  points  for  the  name,  a  pun  com- 
bining the  band's  London  neighborhood  and  the  essen- 
tial outer  garment  of  Mod  garb.  Ha,  ha.  The  group 
finally  earned  posthumous  notoriety  when  keyboardist 
Mick  Talbot  became  Paul  Weller's  partner  in  the  Style 
Council.  [jg] 

See  also  Dexy's  Midnight  Runners,  Style  Council. 

METALL1CA 

Kill  'Em  All  (Megaforce)  1 983  (Elektra)  1 987  • 

Ride  the  Lightning  (Megaforce)  1984  (Megaforce-Elektra) 

1984* 

Whiplash  EP  (Megaforce)  1985 
Master  of  Puppets  (Elektra)  1 986  • 
The  $5.98  E.P,  Garage  Days  Re-Revisited  EP  (Elektra) 

1987» 

...  And  Justice  for  All  (Elektra)  1 988  • 
The  Good,  the  Bad  and  the  Live  (nr/Vertigo)  1990 


423 


One  of  the  most  important  and  influential  new  rock 
bands  to  emerge  in  the  1980s,  California's  uncompro- 
mising Metallica  rose  from  humble  origins  to  influence 
the  attitudes  of  a  generation,  its  bone-crunching  grooves 
and  punkish  ftick-that-shit  ideology  providing  the  back- 
drop to  contemporary  teenage  wasteland. 

Formed  in  1981  by  Danish  drummer/tennis  pro  Lars 
Ulnch  and  skatepunk  guitarist  James  Hetfield,  the  band 
originally  included  guitarist  Dave  Mustame,  who  split 
to  form  Megadeth  just  days  before  Kill  'Em  All  was 
recorded  in  mid-" 83.  Combining  Ulrich's  love  for  Eu- 
rometal  (everything  from  Motorhead  to  Jethro  Tull) 
with  Hetfield' s  Misfits  worship,  the  album  shrugged  off 
many  of  metal's  traditional  some  cliches,  retaining  only 
the  power,  velocity  and  blazing  guitars.  Bracingly  un- 
usual (although  hardly  radical),  tracks  like  "The  Four 
Horsemen"  show  off  lead  guitarist  Kirk  Hammett's 
technical  prowess  as  well  as  the  mighty  Cliff  Burton/ 
Lars  Uirich  rhythm  section  (The  1987  reissue  adds  a 
bruising  pair  of  then-obscure  metal  covers — dubbed 
'"Garage  Days  Revisited'' — from  the  European  B-side 
of  "Creeping  Death.") 

Ride  the  Lightning  found  the  band's  sound  taking 
on  a  life  of  its  own.  Hetfield' s  lyrics  and  strained  vocals 
had  scarcely  improved,  but  the  pulverizing  crunch- 
grooves — most  effective  on  the  awesome  "For  Whom 
the  Bell  Tolls" — unleash  primal  instincts  and  are  essen- 
tial lessons  in  the  science  of  the  riff.  The  limited  pro- 
duction and  weaker  songs  detract  but  don't  keep  this 
album  from  milestone  status. 

The  Whiplash  EP  includes  a  "neck-brace"  remix  of 
the  title  track  and  two  live  cuts. 

Releasing  its  trump  card  at  the  ideal  moment  turned 
Metallica  into  superstars  almost  overnight.  Despite 
mainstream  radio's  general  boycott  of  uncommercial 
metal,  Master  of  Puppets,  universally  acknowledged 
as  the  band's  creative  peak,  roared  into  the  Top  30  on 
the  strength  of  constant  touring  and  a  rabid  underground 
buzz.  Multi-tracked  harmony  solos,  tautly  controlled 
rhythms  and  simple  vocal  arrangements  make  songs 
about  insanity  ("Welcome  Home  (Sanitarium)"  and 
"The  Things  That  Should  Not  Be"),  the  futility  of  war 
( '  'Disposable  Heroes" )  and  cocaine  addiction  ( ' 'Master 
of  Puppets")  burn  white-hot  with  excitement. 

Metallica' s  future  was  cast  in  doubt  In  September 
1986  when  a  bus  crash  in  Sweden  killed  Burton.  But 
they  recruited  new  bassist  Jason  Newsted  and  returned 
in  late  '87  with  The  $5.98  E.P.  Garage  Days  Re- 
Revisited,  an  intriguingly  conceived  package  of  five 
cover  versions  recorded  casually  in  LA  during  rehearsal 
jams.  The  bands  favored  with  Metallicazation  include 
Budgie,  Killing  Joke  and  the  Misfits.  Despite  the  fasci- 
nating selection,  however,  the  hurried  execution  and 
"not  very"  production  reduce  everything  to  soundalike 
dullness. 

After  beginning  sessions  for  its  fourth  LP  with  Guns 
n'  Roses  producer  Mike  Clink,  the  band  recalled  the 
producer  of  its  prior  two  albums  and  completed  the 
sprawling  .  .  .  And  Justice  for  All  way  behind  sched- 
ule. The  album  that  finally  emerged  runs  over  65  min- 
utes, which,  considering  the  contents,  is  about  25  too 
many.  An  ultra-dry  mix  and  endless  directionless  riffage 
make  it  cold  and  static;  although  "Blackened"  and 
"Dyers  Eve"  are  relatively  brief  (i.e.,  less  than  seven 
minutes)  blasts  of  speed,  and  the  chilling  "One"  (ba- 


sically a  third  rewrite  of  Ride  the  Lightning's  "Fade  to 
Black")  yielded  an  unlikely  hit  single,  metal's  most 
underground  band  had  become  perilously  bloated 

A  limited  edition  boxed  set  of  six  12-Inches,  The 
Good,  the  Bad  and  the  Live,  reconfigures  almost  all  of 
Metallica1  s  singles  and  non-LP  material:  along  with  six 
new  live  cuts,  it  includes  most  of  the  Whiplash  EP  and 
both  Garage  Days  collections,  plus  the  Budgie  and 
DiamondHead  covers  from  the  B-side  of  "Harvester 
of  Sorrow."  [i/rj/ja] 

See  also  Megadeth. 


METAL  MIKE 

See  Angry  Samoans. 


M.I.A./GENOCIDE 

Last  Rites  for  M.I  A  and  Genocide  (Smoke  7}  1  981 


Murder  in  a  Foreign  Place  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1  984 
Notes  from  the  Underground  (National  Trust)  1985 
After  the  Fact  (Flipside)  1987 

Although  Las  Vegas  may  be  an  entertainment  cap- 
ital, its  gambling  tourists  typically  prefer  Wayne  New- 
ton or  Bill  Cosby  to  the  Sex  Pistols.  As  a  result,  Vegas' 
only  great  punk  band  gave  up  before  their  career  could 
get  off  the  ground.  Were  it  not  for  their  half  of  a  post- 
humous release,  the  prematurely  titled  Last  Rites, 
M.I.A.  would  have  remained  an  unknown,  gifted  punk 
band.  Last  Rites  sold  well,  especially  after  its  outstand- 
ing opener,  "Tell  Me  Why"  (not  the  Beatles'  tune), 
was  included  on  American  Youth  Report,  an  excellent 
West  Coast  punk/hardcore  compilation.  Finding  them- 
selves wanted,  M.I.A.  reunited  for  good,  relocating  to 
the  more  supportive  Southern  California  punk  commu- 
nity. 

Last  Rites  contains  a  side  each  by  M.I.A.  and  New 
Jersey's  Genocide.  (The  less  said  about  them  the  bet- 
ter.) Although  M.I.A.  come  across  as  naive,  uncompli- 
cated, almost  willfully  unimaginative  1-2-3-4-off-we-go 
punk,  the  record  drips  with  the  excitement  that  many 
such  records  of  that  time  had.  The  roaring  guitar  sounds 
like  a  Marshall  amp  on  twelve  and  the  hooks  are  as 
instant  as  oatmeal  —  just  add  steaming  water.  Mike  Con- 
ley's  singing  is  unusually  clear,  easy  to  decipher  and 
pop-melodic.  The  subject  of  "Gas  Crisis"  may  be  out 
of  date,  but  on  the  pulverizing  two-chord  verse  of  "I 
Hate  Hippies,"  Conley's  ironic  tongue  is  so  far  in  his 
cheek  it's  almost  coming  out  his  ear:  "Cause  they're 
dumb/I'm  smart/They're  weak/I'm  strong/I'm  right/  And 
they're  fucking  wrong."  Hilarious! 

The  songs  on  Murder  in  a  Foreign  Place  aren't 
overly  political;  the  music  resembles  early  Brit-punk 
(Generation  X,  Sham  69)  in  spots.  By  tempering  fierce 
enthusiasm  with  clear  organization  (although  the  mix 
buries  Conley),  relatively  leisurely  tempos  and  musical 
coherence,  M  J.A.  rises  well  above  the  crowd. 

The  much-improved  Notes  from  the  Underground 
leaves  hardcore  behind  for  a  pretty  fair  Damned/TSOL- 
influenced  punk  LP  with  occasional  acoustic  guitar  and 
even  sax  (on  an  anti-apartheid  song).  The  hooks  are 
occasionally  a  little  too  obvious,  but  "  Another  Day," 
"Wnte  Myself  a  Letter"  and  "Shadows  of  My  Life" 


424 


are  first-rate  punk-pop.  Nick  Adams'  wall  of  guitar  dom- 
inates each  of  the  ten  tracks. 

After  the  Fact  is  one  of  the  best  US  punk  records  of 
the  late  '80s,  mostly  because  it  mixes  in  many  post- 
punk  influences  and  innovates  where  other  punks  cling 
to  tradition.  The  two  guitars  rarely  play  similar  parts, 
there  are  dynamics  and  mood  settings,  contemplative 
sound  ("Whisper  in  the  Wind")  and  even  a  Killing 
Jokey  tribal  backbeat  ("When  It's  Over").  The  produc- 
tion on  After  the  Fact  is  far  superior  to  M.I  A.' s  past 
efforts,  with  real  bottom,  kick,  drive  and  guts.  lust 
check  out  the  cover  of  "California  Dreaming"  or  the 
effortless  "Edge  of  Forever"  for  proof  that  punk  can  be 
a  fresh  aural  pleasure,  even  at  this  late  date. 

M.I  A.  ultimately  paid  the  same  price  that  the  orig- 
inal TSOL  and  Effigies  did  when  they  went  against  the 
grain  and  tried  to  take  punk  to  its  next  step:  they  split  up 
in  early  1988.  [jr] 

See  also  Big  Drill  Car. 

MICKEY  AND  THE  MILKSHAKES 

See  Pop  Rivits. 

MICRODISNEY 

Everybody's  Fantastic  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1983 
We  Hate  You  South  African  Bastards!  EP  (nr/Rough 

Trade)  1 984 

Microdisney  in  the  World  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1985 
The  Clock  Comes  Down  the  Stairs  (Big  Time)  1 985 
Crooked  Mile  (Virgin)  1 986  • 
39  Minutes  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  • 
Gale  Force  Wind  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 989  ® 

FATIMA  MANSIONS 

Against  Nature  (nr/Kitchenware)  1989 
Viva  Dead  Ponies  (nr/Kitchenware)  1 990 
(Radioactive-MCA)  1 991  • 

SEAN  O'HAGAN 

High  Llamas  (nr/Demon)  1990  « 

Originally  a  duo  from  Cork,  Ireland,  Microdisney 
combine  heavily  orchestrated  smooth  pop  with  potent 
songwnting.  A  sublimely  seductive  paradox,  the  music 
goes  down  easy  but  invariably  returns  to  haunt  the  in- 
tellect. After  moving  to  London  and  recruiting  three 
more  members,  Cathal  Coughlan  (vocals/lyrics)  and 
Sean  O'Hagan  (guitar/music)  recorded  Everybody's 
Fantastic,  thirteen  gently  atmospheric  songs  that  touch 
the  heart  and  the  mind  with  resonant  guitar  and  Cough- 
Ian' s  passionate  brogue.  Starkly  romantic  ("Dolly," 
"I'll  Be  a  Gentleman")  and  ardently  political  ("Come 
on  Over  and  Cry,"  "Before  the  Famine"),  the  record 
commands  attention. 

Virtually  nonexistent  commercial  response  to  their 
first  LP  prompted  the  release  of  We  Hate  You  South 
African  Bastards!,  a  mini-album  compilation  of  early 
singles  and  demos  recorded  as  a  duo  that  assured  Mi- 
crodisney *s  survival  while  making  an  unequivocal  state- 
ment against  apartheid.  Their  next  release  was  a  four- 
song  12-inch  of  new  material,  In  the  World. 

The  Clock  Comes  Down  the  Stairs  suffers  from 
improved  production:  Coughlan's  vocals,  curiously  re- 
lieved of  their  Irish  accent,  are  set  deep  within  a  mix  of 
overwhelming  instrumentation.  "Birthday  Girl," 


"Horse  Overboard"  and  "Past"  are  pleasant  enough, 
but  verge  on  a  generic  sound.  Gone  are  Coughlan's 
heartfelt  protests  and  O'Hagan's  sharp  melodic  chords, 
making  this  complacent  background  muzak — a  far  cry 
from  the  compelling  impact  of  We  Hate  You.  (The  tape 
has  five  extra  songs. ) 

The  drawbacks  so  prevalent  on  The  Clock  Comes 
Down  the  Stairs  reassert  themselves  on  Crooked  Mile. 
Lenny  Kaye's  lush  production  renders  this  LP  as  noth- 
ing more  than  a  collection  of  languid,  dismissible  pop 
symphonies.  One  exception,  however,  is  the  passionate 
"Give  Me  Ail  of  Your  Clothes" — the  first  possible  sign 
that  Microdisney  may  be  getting  just  a  bit  tired  of  chum- 
ing  out  useless  fodder. 

39  Minutes,  which  actually  clocks  in  at  just  under 
38,  restores  the  group's  sense  of  purpose,  balancing  the 
slick  production  of  recent  efforts  with  a  slightly  more 
aggressive  attack  and  Coughlan's  sharpest  lyrics  in  ages. 
While  songs  like  "Singer's  Hampstead  Home,"  "Am- 
bulance for  One"  and  "Gale  Force  Wind"  promised 
much  for  Microdisney 's  future,  39  Minutes  proved  to 
the  band's  last  hurrah. 

On  the  two  albums  by  his  new  group,  the  Fatima 
Mansions  (of  which  he  appears  to  be  the  only  actual 
member),  Coughlan  tosses  aside  polite  notions  of 
mainstream  pop  music  in  favor  of  a  staggeringly  eclec- 
tic, uncompromisingly  leftist  melange  of  airy  melodi- 
cism  and  frenzied  house-inspired  dance  noise.  His 
conceptual  range  is  particularly  impressive  on  the  epic 
Viva  Dead  Ponies,  whose  imposing  sound  palette 
shouldn't  distract  from  such  inspired  compositions  as 
"White  Knuckle  Express"  and  "Look  What  I  Stole 
for  Us,  Darling." 

O'Hagan's  solo  disc  is  a  tasteful  and  tuneful  singer- 
songwriter  effort;  short  on  surprises  but  long  on  low-key 
pleasure.  [ag/hd] 


M1CRONOTZ 

See  Mortal  Micronotz. 


MIDNIGHT  OIL 

Midnight  Oil  (Aus.  Powderworks)  1 978  (Columbia) 

1990* 
Head  Injuries  (Aus.  PowaWorks)  1979  (Columbia) 

1990* 
Bird  Noises  EP  (Aus.  Powderworb)  1 980  (Columbia) 

1990« 
Place  Without  a  Postcard  (Aus.  CBS)  1 981  (Columbia) 

1990« 

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1  (Columbia)  1983« 
Red  Sails  in  the  Sunset  (Columbia)  1 985  « 
Species  Deceases  EP  (Aus.  CBS)  1 985  (Columbia)  1990  « 
Diesel  and  Dust  (Columbia)  1 987  « 
Blue  Sky  Mining  (Columbia)  1 990  • 

A  quintet  that  originally  found  a  following  in  the 
rowdy  surf  crowd  frequenting  Sydney-area  bars,  Aus- 
tralia's Midnight  Oil  went  on  to  become  an  international 
phenomenon,  and  its  music  grew  far  beyond  its  hard- 
rock  roots.  But  that  categorization  never  quite  fit  in  the 
first  place;  hearing  their  watershed  10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 
and  then  reviewing  their  previous  output,  the  natural 
query  of  *  'how  did  they  make  that  leap"  becomes  "what 
took  them  so  long?" 


425 


Oil's  iconoclasm  is  the  primary  answer.  Lead  singer 
Peter  Garrett  both  symbolizes  and  embodies  it:  well  over 
six  feet  tall  and  bald  as  a  cue  ball,  he  gave  up  a  law 
career  to  sing  rock'n'roll.  His  angst/anger-ridden  vocals 
have  nothing  in  common  with  the  standard  styles  of 
hard-rock  singers,  nor  do  the  band's  lyrics  (chiefly  by 
drummer  Rob  Hirst)  share  any  of  the  genre's  fixation  on 
refned  love  themes.  The  songs  are  frequently  political, 
yet  just  as  often  are  couched  in  extremely  personal 
terms,  be  they  about  romance  (rarely),  self-doubt,  hopes 
and  fears  and  so  on.  And  despite  its  share  of  semi- 
normal  hard-rock,  complete  with  blistering  guitar  solos, 
the  eponymous  debut  album  also  includes  strange  no- 
tions about  chord  progressions  and  arrangements  that 
would  eventually  flower:  "Dust"  is  a  bluesy  riff  stated 
on  two  basses  an  octave  apart,  backed  by  organ  and 
drums. 

No  doubt  the  Oils'  insistence  on  intra-band  democ- 
racy and  doing  things  their  own  way  was  why  they 
refused  a  major-league  deal  for  five  years.  Unfortu- 
nately, that  also  meant  a  lack  of  money  for  studio  ex- 
perimentation, and  most  of  their  independent-label  work 
sounds  like  demos,  lacking  the  firm  command  of  a 
proper  producer. 

It  may  also  have  retarded  the  band  in  working  out 
the  complexities  of  songs  and  arrangements,  including 
adapting  the  music  to  odd  lyrical  meter  (or  vice  versa). 
Head  Injuries  makes  some  progress  on  that  front,  and 
the  songwriting — still  largely  done  by  various  teams  in 
the  group — seems  to  have  matured,  A  clutch  of  songs 
are  able  to  transcend  the  limitations  of  their  presenta- 
tion, assisted  by  Garrett's  impassioned  vocals  and  the 
group's  overall  intensity.  What  at  first  seem  to  be  ar- 
ranging gaffes  eventually  take  on  an  air  of  almost  inte- 
gral idiosyncrasy.  The  four-song  Bird  Noises  EP 
continues  that  development  and  also  features  an  anom- 
alous but  delightful  Shadows-like  instrumental,  "Wed- 
ding Cake  Island/'  (The  1990  reissues  of  Oil's  early 
records  and  the  1985  EP  are  all  CD/cassette;  no  domes- 
tic vinyl  exists.) 

Place  Without  a  Postcard  should've  been  a  bril- 
liant breakthrough;  instead,  it's  muscle-bound,  all 
worked  up  and  uncertain  where  to  go  first.  The  few 
simple  strokes  are  the  most  effective — in  fact,  "Some- 
one Else  to  Blame"  is  a  crackler — but  most  of  it's  at 
war  with  itself.  Also,  the  sound  achieved  with  veteran 
producer  Glyn  Johns  in  England  is  demo-thin.  But  the 
experimentation  yielded  valuable  lessons,  and  James 
Moginie,  the  group's  most  prolific  composer,  also  be- 
gan to  jell  his  distinctive  guitar  sound,  as  well  as  cre- 
atively exploring  keyboards.  The  stage  was  set  for  the 
group's  international  introduction. 

The  strong  political  views  expressed  on 
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1  may  have  been  a  sticking  point 
outside  the  band's  homeland,  but  they're  frequently 
more  personally  expressed  than,  say,  the  Clash's  and, 
when  not,  they're  more  articulate.  Increased  use  of  syn- 
thesizer handsomely  complements  the  quintet's  most  co- 
hesive songwriting  and  arranging;  while  no  two  tracks 
are  more  than  vaguely  similar,  they're  all  completely 
unified.  Some  credit  must  also  go  to  Nick  Launay  (co- 
producer,  with  the  band),  who  obtained  a  crisp,  if 
slightly  odd,  sound.  Although  much  of  Side  Two  is 
more  thoughtful  and  less  visceral  than  Side  One,  overall 
the  album  is  a  masterpiece,  from  the  desperate  hopeful- 


ness of  "Outside  World"  to  the  controlled  hysteria/ 
rifferama  of  "Only  the  Strong"  to  the  danceable  fist- 
shaker,  "Power  and  the  Passion." 

On  Red  Sails  la  the  Sunset  (again  with  Launay), 
the  Oils  indulge  in  too  much  experimentation  at  once 
(though  more  successfully  than  Place  Without  a  Post- 
card). The  LP  opens  with  two  relatively  simple  tracks, 
"When  the  Generals  Talk"  (more  cliched  than  the 
band's  usual  political  statements,  but  a  stirring  mix  of 
hard  rock  and — new  for  the  Oils — funk)  and  "Best  of 
Both  Worlds,"  one  of  their  best  straight-ahead  rockers 
ever.  From  there  on,  excessive  musical  complexity,  plus 
some  topics  that  are  simply  beyond  the  ken  of  non- 
Australians,  make  it  heavy  going.  Some  tracks  (notably 
"Sleep"  and  "Minutes  to  Midnight")  do  unfold  even- 
tually, but  others  remain  steadfastly  impenetrable. 

Evidently  inspired  by  the  40th  anniversary  of  the 
bombing  of  Hiroshima,  Midnight  Oil  recorded  Species 
Deceases,  four  survival-of-humamty  tracks  cut  virtually 
live  in  the  studio  (co-produced  by  Francois  Kervorkian). 
Solid  and  heartfelt,  but  no  lyrical  or  musical  revelations. 

Diesel  and  Dust  doesn't  reach  the  highs  of  10,9,8, 
but  it  is  consistently  powerful  and  compelling.  The  pro- 
duction (the  band  with  Warne  Livesey)  is  snappier  than 
ever,  and  the  passion  for  the  issues  comes  across  loud 
and  clear.  Actually,  the  passion  comes  through  regard- 
less of  the  issues;  few  Americans  who  made  "Beds  Are 
Burning"  the  Oils'  first  US  hit  single  had  any  idea  it 
was  about  Aboriginal  land  rights.  Diesel  is  a  consolida- 
tion of  strengths,  and  isn't  even  beyond  a  bit  of  recy- 
cling, but  the  results  can  be  impressive  (as  on 
"Bullroarer,"  which  partially  reprocesses  Red  Sails' 
"Sleep").  And  it's  hard  to  fault  such  dandy  goods  as 
"The  Dead  Heart,"  sung  from  an  Aborigine's  point  of 
view. 

Blue  Sky  Mining  continues  the  disappointing  trend 
of  decreasing  musical  inspiration.  It's  like  Species  De- 
ceases with  more  production  (Livesey  and  the  Oils 
again);  not  without  its  fine  points,  and  occasionally  as 
lyrically  on-the-mark  as  ever  (e.g.,  the  title  track),  but 
the  melodies,  most  of  the  messages  and  the  general 
excitement  level  just  aren't  the  band's  best.  If  the  Oils 
weren't  so  eminently  capable  of  greatness,  an  album 
this  good  would  seem  quite  impressive.  [jg] 

MIGHTY  CAESARS 

See  Thee  Mighty  Caesars. 

MIGHTY  LEMON  DROPS 

Happy  Head  (Sire)l  986  • 
Out  of  Hand  (Sire)  1987« 
Janice  Long  Session  EP  (nr/Nighttracks-Strange  Fruit) 

1987 

World  Without  End  (Sire-Reprise)  1988  • 
Fall  Down  (Like  the  Rain)  EP  (nr/Blue  Guitar)  1988  • 
Laughter  (Sire-Reprise)  1 989  « 
Sound  . . .  (Sire-Reprise)  1 991  <!> 

Imagine  the  neo-psychedelia  of  early  Echo  &  the 
Bunnymen  played  with  a  jangling  Rickenbacker  as  the 
lead  instrument  and  a  less  mannered  (and  less  interest- 
ing) vocalist  and  you're  on  your  way  to  sussing  the 
sound  of  Happy  Head.  That's  not  to  take  anything  away 
from  the  intensity  and  dynamic  mood  shifts  the 


426 


Midlands-bred  quartet  (initially  known  as  the  Sherbert 
Monsters)  can  achieve,  but  it's  hard  to  hear  the  album 
without  making  the  connection.  That  said,  there's  at 
least  a  side's  worth  of  first-rate  songs  here,  and  the 
uncluttered,  stripped-down  approach  is  distinctive 
enough  to  recommend  it  to  anyone  who  likes  this  sort  of 
thing. 

Out  of  Hand,  an  eight-cut  hodgepodge  comprising 
energetic  but  unrevelatory  live  versions  of  three  of 
Happy  Head's  better  songs  and  some  new  studio  cuts 
that  add  string  synthesizers  and  Eastern  flavoring 
(shades  of  the  Bunnymen,  circa  "The  Cutter"!)  to  the 
brew,  is  for  fans  only.  It  has  the  feel  of  "product"  put 
out  to  coincide  with  a  tour  or  something.  (The  Happy 
Head  CD  also  contains  Out  of  Hand. ) 

Produced  by  Tim  Palmer,  World  Without  End 
shows  the  group  matured  beyond  obvious  comparisons. 
The  sound  is  fuller  and  warmer  than  before,  the  arrange- 
ments more  sophisticated;  if  not  riveting,  singer  Paul 
Marsh  at  least  sounds  confident.  The  only  downside  is 
the  loss  of  some  of  Happy  Head's  manic  energy.  The 
CD  adds  "Shine";  the  subsequent  EP  draws  its  title 
track  from  the  album. 

With  the  departure  of  bassist  Tony  Linehan  (co- 
writer  of  all  the  group's  material)  during  the  recording 
of  Laughter  (he  appears  on  two  cuts),  guitarist  David 
Newton — who  founded  the  band  after  leaving  the  Wild 
Flowers — became  the  group's  lone  songwriter.  Judging 
from  Laughter,  he's  up  to  the  task,  since  the  material 
here  is  among  the  band's  best — shimmering  guitar  pop 
with  stick-to-you  choruses.  The  Lemon  Drops  experi- 
ment with  more  complex  vocal  arrangements  to  good 
effect,  but  it's  Newton's  guitar  work  that  really 
shines — he  manages  to  say  something  different  on  each 
song,  while  staying  true  to  the  band's  tight  ensemble 
sound.  Superb.  (The  CD  adds  "Rumbietrain?,"  a  Brit- 
ish B-side.)  [dsj 

See  also  Wild  Flowers. 

MIGHTY  MOFOS 

See  Hypstrz. 

MIGHTY  SQUIRRELS 

See  Young  Fresh  Fellows. 

MIGHTY  WAH! 

See  Wah!. 

MILKSHAKES 

See  Pop  Rivits. 

DANIEL  MILLER 

See  Silicon  Teens. 

ROGER  MILLER 

No  Man  Is  Hurting  Me  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 986 
The  Big  Industry  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1987  +  1988 
Oh.  guitars,  etc  ...  (Forced  Exposure)  1 988 
Roger  Miller  Presents  Xylyl  and  A  Woman  in  Half  (New 
Alliance)  1 991  • 


NO  IS 

Win!  Instantly!  (SST)  1989  • 

NO 

Damage  the  Enemy  (New  Alliance)  1 989 

NO  MAN 

Whaman  Express  (SST)  1 990  ® 

As  Boston's  preeminent  new  wave  sonic  experi- 
menter, Roger  Miller  (guitar,  piano,  vocals)  led  Mission 
of  Burma  and,  later,  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic,  provoc- 
ative groups  that  tested  various  musical  possibilities  from 
a  progressive  rock-derived  context.  Beginning  with  the 
Maximum  Electric  Piano  examinations  of  No  Man  Is 
Hurting  Me's  second  side,  Miller's  solo  career  has  been 
equally  exploratory.  The  five  pieces  (all  instrumental, 
save  for  a  dramatic  reading  of  Lewis  Carroll's  Jabber- 
wocky)  apply  Frippertronic  tape-loop  technique  to  a  pre- 
pared (with  things  like  clips,  bolts  and  combs  put  on  the 
strings)  keyboard,  generating  fascinating  ambient  tex- 
tures and  pulsing  rhythms  from  a  single  performance. 
The  remainder  of  the  album  is  formless  and  flakier, 
stretching  from  a  delightful  clarinet-damage  rock  rendi- 
tion of  the  other  Roger  Miller's  "King  of  the  Road"  to 
haphazard  kinetic  noodling  on  assorted  instruments. 

The  Big  Industry  ambitiously  incorporates  Maxi- 
mum Electric  Piano  into  vocal  music,  underpinning 
semi-melodic  art-tunes  like  "Portrait  of  a  Mechanical 
Dog"  and  an  atonal  free-for-all  cover  of  Jimi  Hendrix's 
"Manic  Depression"  with  intriguing  contrivances  that 
blend  noise  (hammers,  sampled  egg  beater,  etc.)  and 
music  in  a  challenging  tension  of  nice  and  rough.  Oc- 
casionally off-putting  but  more  frequently  impressive. 

Miller's  home-brew  album  of  guitar  experiments, 
Oh.  guitars,  etc  .  .  .  ,  uses  avant-garde  compositional 
tricks,  improvisation,  conceptual  gimmicks  (lie  a  nine- 
minute  feedback  symphony),  tape  manipulations  ("The 
Fun  World  Reductions"  is  merely  an  old  Burma  record- 
ing run  at  extremely  high  speed)  and  noises.  More  irri- 
tating than  significant,  this  is  an  audio  scratch  pad  with 
few  worthwhile  notes. 

The  far  more  accessible  Win!  Instantly!  (recorded 
with  chord  bassist  Russ  Smith)  productively  returns 
Miller  (aka  No  Man)  to  song  form.  Although  Winl's 
din  can  get  awfully  loud,  clearly  defined  structures  that 
allow  plenty  of  room  for  Miller's  unique  keyboard  ap- 
proach and  strange  percussion  samples  invigorate  this 
fine  record.  Operating  on  numerous  sonic  levels  at  once, 
songs  like  "Renegades,"  "No  Man's  Landing"  and 
Burma's  "This  Is  Not  a  Photograph"  resemble  a  col- 
laboration between  XTC  and  Test  Dept.  under  the  di- 
rection of  Brian  Eno. 

The  No  Man  (Miller  alone  on  vocals  and  guitar, 
with  sampled  rhythm  accompaniment)  side  of  Damage 
the  Enemy  is  wonderful,  an  energetic  and  well-sung  set 
of  textured  rock  tunes  with  crazy  noises.  The  No  Man's 
Band  (a  keyboardless  improv  trio  with  Smith  and  a 
percussionist)  side  takes  more  listener  effort,  although 
the  occasionally  humorous  pieces  (the  found-implement 
noises  suggest  Spike  Jones  rather  than  any  contempo- 
rary artistes)  are  a  far  cry  from  the  ear-pinning  misery  of 
other  unplanned  ensembles.  (And  Miller's  trumpet  work 
is  a  revelation.) 

Proceeding  from  the  previous  LP's  No  Man  efforts, 
Whamon  Express  is  a  surprisingly  straightforward 


427 


guitar-plus-keyboards  rock/pop  record  with  the  usual 
sonic  ephemera  reduced  to  a  mere  industrial  accent. 
Joined  by  a  singing  percussionist,  Miller  redoes  "Red 
Ants  IV"  (from  No  Man  Is  Hurting  Me)  on  guitar  and 
the  brief  "You  S.OB."  (from  Oh. ),  covers  "The  Man 
Who  Sold  the  World"  without  incident  and  antes  up 
nine  good-to-great  new  originals,  some  of  which  could 
easily  pass  for  Burma  tunes,  [ij 

See  also  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic,  Mission  of 
Burma. 


ALAN  MIL/MAN  SECT 

EP(Britz|  1977 

MAN-KA-ZAM 

EP(Britz)1978 

BUDDY  LOVE 

Buddy  Love  (DovcoJ  1 983 

DUCK  AND  THE  PONDS 

Lost  World  (nr/Big  Beat)  1988 

Shifting  musical  styles  the  way  some  people  change 
addresses,  singer/songwriter  Alan  Milman  first  surfaced 
on  New  York's  Long  Island  in  1977,  with  a  7-inch  EP 
of  tossed-off  punk-rock  jokes.  Dropping  the  beat-era 
name  for  the  modernized  Man-ka-zam  handle,  Milman 
and  guitarist  Doug  Khazzam  returned  a  year  later  with 
another  7-inch:  four  derivative  new  wave  tunes  (includ- 
ing "Spankathon"  and  "Surf  Rhapsody").  That  was 
Milman's  last  vinyl  for  a  while. 

Opting  for  a  lower-profile  role  as  a  songwriter,  co- 
producer  and  backing  vocalist,  Milman  let  the  pseudon- 
ymous Buddy  Love  (Khazzam,  using  a  name  borrowed 
from  Jerry  Lewis'  Nutty  Professor  alter-ego)  sing  lead 
and  play  guitar  on  the  exceptional  Buddy  Love,  a 
charming  and  memorable  pop/rock  collection  that  know- 
ingly mines  a  wide  variety  of  sources,  from  '50s  rock- 
abilly to  '60s  Britbeat  to  '70s  glam.  Besides  covering 
Gary  Glitter  ("Rock  n'  Roll"),  Gene  Vincent  ("Who 
Slapped  John?")  and  Buddy  Holly  ("Rave  On")  with 
straightforward  skill,  the  quartet  delivers  sparkling  pop 
originals  like  the  ultra-catchy  "Liar,"  "Why  Can't  We 
Make  Believe  We're  in  Love?"  and  "Dead  Ringer." 
Virtually  unknown,  but  great. 

Five  years  later,  Milman  popped  up  in  the  garage- 
rocking  Duck  and  the  Ponds,  where  his  tuneless  shout 
(not  for  nothing  is  he  billed  as  Howlin  Alan  Milman) 
suits  such  generic  stompers  as  "Wanna  Ruin  Ya"  and 
"Wild  About  You."  The  noisy  and  echo-laden  Lost 
World  isn't  bad  (in  fact,  the  poppish  "Wrong"  and 
"On  the  Corner  Again"  are  pretty  neat),  but — other 
than  having  convinced  a  British  tabloid  of  their  kidnap- 
ping by  space  aliens,  who  ostensibly  helped  write  the 
album's  songs — the  trio  hasn't  got  any  distinguishing 
characteristics.  [i] 

TED  MILTON 

See  Blurt, 

ZODIAC  M1NDWARP  AND  THE 
LOVE  REACTION 

High  Priest  of  Love  (nr/Food)  1 986  • 
Tattooed  Beat  Messiah  (Vertigo)  1988  * 


Perhaps  hoping  to  repeat  the  career  feat  of  ex-Smash 
Hits  editor-rwm-Pet  Shop  Boy  Neil  Tennant,  onetime 
Flexipop!  magazine  art  director  Mark  Manning  adopted 
the  grangelicious  psychedelic  motor-thug  persona  of  Zo- 
diac Mind  warp,  concocted  a  ridiculous  story  about  being 
from  another  planet,  assembled  a  backing  band  with 
names  like  Slam  Thunderhide,  Trash  D  Garbage  and  Co- 
balt Stargazer,  and  set  about  to  test  the  gullibility  of  the 
pop  world  with  a  great  single  called  "Prime  Mover." 
Brilliantly  produced  by  Liverpool  coolsters  Dave  Balfe 
(ex-Teardrop  Explodes)  and  future  KLF/IAMS  mas- 
termind Bill  Drummond,  the  band's  sole  US  LP,  Tat- 
tooed Beat  Messiah,  crosses  AC/DC  with  T.  Rex:  a 
back-straightening,  breath-taking  guitar  assault,  inten- 
tionally low-brow  wiseacre  lyrics  and  chanted  cho- 
ruses that  demand  enthusiastic  attention.  The  melodic 
headbanging  metal  power  could  give  Motorhead,  Ju- 
das Priest  or  Van  Halen  a  youthful  run  for  their 
money;  one  can  savor  the  selfconscious  stupidity  of 
songs  like  "Backseat  Education"  and  "Let's  Break 
the  Law"  either  as  sophisticated  parody  or  the  real 
thing.  After  leaving  the  Love  Reaction,  bassist  Kid 
Chaos  (aka  Haggis)  played  in  the  Cult.  [i] 

See  also  Cult,  Justified  Ancients  ofMu  Mu. 

MINIMAL  COMPACT 

Minimal  Compact  EP  (Bel.  Crammed  Discs)  1981 
One  by  One  (Bei.  Crammed  Discs)  1 983 
Deadly  Weapons  (Bel.  Crammed  Discs)  1 984  * 
The  Next  One  Is  Real  EP  (Crammed  Discs-Wax  Traxl) 

1984® 

Raging  Souls  (Bel.  Crammed  Discs)  1 986  • 
Lowlands  Flight  (Bei.  Made  to  Measure)  1 987  ® 
The  Figure  One  Cute  (Be).  Crammed  Discs)  1987  « 
One  Plus  One  by  One  [CD]  (Bel.  Crammed  Discs)  1988  « 
Live  (Bel.  Crammed  Discs)  1988  • 

Not  so  much  a  rock  band  as  a  pan-cultural  chamber 
ensemble  with  rock  instrumentation,  the  members  of 
Minimal  Compact  are  (mostly)  Israelis  who  didn't  see 
much  of  a  future  in  their  homeland,  emigrated  to  France 
and  signed  with  Belgium's  Crammed  Discs.  Their  mu- 
sic is  tasteful  and  intelligent  but  avoids  selfconscious 
artsiness,  and  they've  worked  with  some  connoisseur 
favorites:  Tuxedornoon's  Peter  Principle,  Wire's  Colin 
Newman  (who's  married  to  the  group's  Malka  Spigel) 
and  John  Fryer  (who's  worked  with  the  Cocteau  Twins) 
have  all  produced  them.  They  served  as  Newman's 
backup  band  on  his  Commercial  Suicide  LP;  some  of 
their  sleeves  were  designed  by  Eno  collaborator  Russell 
Mills.  Minimal  Compact's  records  consistently  display 
an  ability  to  switch  gears  between  atmospheric,  British- 
style  art-rock,  Middle  Eastern-flavored  folk  and 
Beatlesque  pop,  while  also  retaining  the  ability  to  rock 
out  with  a  danceable  beat. 

Minimal  Compact's  first  (and,  so  far,  only)  Amer- 
ican release  was  an  expanded  EP.  The  Next  One  Is 
Real  contains  five  songs  (including  two  mixes  of  the 
title  track)  and  is  a  relatively  commercial  effort,  con- 
taining hard  funk  played  masterfully  by  a  band  whose 
usual  approach  is  considerably  gentler.  Both  Lowlands 
Flight  (part  of  Grammed's  Made  to  Measure  series, 
written  in  part  for  a  Dutch  dance  troupe)  and  The  Fig- 
ure One  Cuts  show  quieter  moments  and  greater  ver- 
satility; those  familiar  with  Commercial  Suicide  will 


428 


recognize  the  guitar  textures  and  delicate  arrangements 
that  gave  that  LP  its  unique  sound.  Minimal  Compact 
may  be  very  refined  and  mature,  but  they're  never  bor- 
ing. Wgs] 


MINISTRY 

Cold  Life  EP  (Wax  Trax!)  1981 
With  Sympathy  (Arista)  1 983  • 
Work  for  Love  (nr/Arista)  1 983 
Twitch' (Sire)  1986  +  1990® 
Twelve  Inch  Singles  1 981-1 984  (Wax  Trax!)  1 987  4> 
The  Land  of  Rape  and  Honey  (Sire)  1 988  • 
The  Mind  Is  a  Terrible  Thing  to  Taste  (Sire)  1 989  • 
In  Case  You  Didn't  Feel  Like  Showing  Up  (Live)  EP  (Sire) 
19904> 

LEAD  INTO  GOLD 

Age  of  Reason  (Wax  Traxl)  1 990  • 

Although  Cuban-born  singer/wnter/producer/key- 
board  player  Alain  Jourgensen  launched  Chicago's  Min- 
istry as  an  obnoxiously  collegiate  modern-dance  alli- 
ance, he  didn't  leave  it  there,  and  wound  up  at  the 
epicenter  of  an  extremist  cult  of  industrial  noisemakers, 
madly  ripping  up  rock's  floorboards  with  an  intensity 
rarely  heard  outside  of  nuclear  test  sites.  But  it  took  a 
while  to  get  from  point  A  to  point  B. 

Ministry  debuted  in  1981  with  an  EP  built  around 
the  cloddish  "Cold  Life."  (That  song  and  "Cold  Life 
Dub"  both  appear,  along  with  three  other  long  tracks 
and  their  remixes,  on  the  half-good/half-bad  develop- 
mental Twelve  Inch  Singles  compilation.)  Signing  to  a 
major  label,  the  group — here  consisting  of  Alain  Jour- 
gensen and  drummer  Stephen  George,  with  session 
guests — made  the  similar-sounding  With  Sympathy, 
co-produced  by  Ian  Taylor  and  Psychedelic  Fur  Vince 
Ely.  (The  British  edition,  Work  for  Love,  resequences 
the  record  and  replaces  one  track.)  A  sophomoric  dose 
of  yuppie-funk,  the  LP  is  filled  with  brutish  singing  and 
scanty,  derivative  ideas  stretched  by  numbing  repetition 
beyond  any  reasonable  limits  of  listenability.  Most  hei- 
nously, "I  Wanted  to  Tell  Her"  (a  finished  version  of 
the  Cold  Life  EP's  vocal-less  "PrimentaT)  chants  the 
title  lyric  like  a  litany,  as  does  "Work  for  Love,"  which 
adds  moronic  lyrics  to  the  numbing  two-chord  vamp. 

Fortunately,  that  was  the  end  of  Ministry's  polite 
attempts  at  dance-floor  accessibility.  Produced  by 
Adrian  Sherwood,  'Twitch'  is  a  far  different  beast,  and 
the  first  steps  into  a  murky  swamp  that  subsumes  Jour- 
gensen's  distorted,  nearly  spoken  vocals  within  a  pound- 
ing electronic  rhythm  onslaught,  with  found-sound  tape 
bits  and  barrages  of  scratch-mix  noise  effects.  Although 
much  of  this  unsuccessful  experiment  throbs  along 
dully,  with  haphazard  intersections  of  good  new  ideas 
and  bad  old  ideas,  the  militaristic  "All  Day  Remix"  (an 
inter-album  single  that  appears  in  a  better  mix  on 
Twelve  Inch)  offers  a  cogent  demonstration  of  the  di- 
rection Jourgensen  is  headed. 

Ministry's  arrival  in  The  Land  of  Rape  and  Honey 
is  heralded  by  "Stigmata,"  a  queasy  synth  riff  and  a 
blood-curdling  shriek.  Co-produced  by  Jourgensen  (in 
the  guise  of  Hypo  Luxa)  and  his  lone  bandmate,  bassist/ 
keyboardist  Paul  Barker  (aka  Hermes  Pan),  the  album 
steps  off  the  ledge  of  rock  convention  for  an  unnervingly 
powerful  sonic  assault.  Thundering  drums  (by  guest 


Minister  William  Rieflin)  underpin  distorted  layers  of 
guitars,  keyboards,  tapes  and  effects,  with  Jourgensen's 
deranged  vocals  frantically  competing  to  be  heard.  Hard 
to  understand,  but  impossible  to  ignore,  The  Land  of 
Rape  and  Honey  is  an  efficiently  ferocious  and  fright- 
ening comment  on  the  modern  world. 

The  Mind  Is  a  Terrible  Thing  to  Taste — on  which 
Jourgensen  began  listing  his  given  name  as  Alien — 
compresses  that  explosive  energy  into  a  tightly  wound 
punk-influenced  guitar  attack  that  threatens  to  skitter  off 
the  turntable.  Such  focus  leaves  the  album  a  bit  less 
chaotically  unpredictable  than  its  predecessor,  but  no 
less  obsessive  in  its  diabolical  power.  When  Jourgensen 
chants  the  title  of  "Breathe"  over  and  o/er  in  a  com- 
manding roar,  obedience  seems  like  the  safest  course. 
Chris  Connelly  (of  Fini  Tribe  and  the  Revolting  Cocks, 
one  of  Ministry's  many  side  projects)  sings  lead  on 
"Cannibal  Song"  and  "Never  Believe." 

Six  songs  with  a  running  time  exceeding  40  min- 
utes, the  live  EP  is  a  speaker-shredding  souvenir  of 
Ministry's  '89-'90  North  American  tour,  a  memorable 
extravaganza  that  saw  as  many  as  nine  musicians — 
including  Martin  (Brian  Brain)  Atkins  and  Skinny  Pup- 
py's Nivek  Ogre — onstage  at  a  time.  Storming  through 
a  devastating  precis  of  the  two  previous  LPs,  this  incar- 
nation of  Ministry  is  a  punishing  beast,  thrashing  in 
incomprehensible  fury  to  a  runaway  piledriver  beat. 
Brutally  oppressive  but  irresistibly  fascinating. 

Lead  into  Gold  is  Paul  Barker's  solo  project,  a  need- 
less opportunity  for  him  to  write,  perform  and  sing  his 
own  material  electronically,  with  only  a  guest  guitarist 
chucking  in  chords  here  and  there.  Wrapped  in  a  nifty 
embossed  cover,  Age  of  Reason  puts  grimly  pretentious 
lyrics  (a  random  couplet:  "Covered  in  mud  for  glory/ 
Belies  our  sense  of  fun")  to  plodding  songs  which 
Barker  sings  in  an  artless  voice.  The  Eno-oriented 
"Faster  Than  Light"  (also  available  on  a  three-song 
12-inch  entitled  Chicks  &  Speed:  Futurism)  is  the 
closest  thing  to  a  real  song  you'd  want  to  hear  twice. 

See  also  Lard,  Pailhead,  Revolting  Cocks.          [i] 


MINISTRY  OF  LOVE 

See  Red  Temple  Spirits. 


MINKDEVILLE 

Mink  DeVille  (Capitol)  1 977  • 

Return  to  Magenta  (Capitol)  1978 

Le  Chat  Bleu  (Capitol)  1 980 

Coup  de  Grace  (Atlantic)  1 981 

SavoirFaire  (Capitol)  1981  • 

Where  Angels  Fear  to  Tread  (Atlantic)  1 983 

Sportin'  Life  (Atlantic)  1985  • 

Cabretta  (nr/Razor)  1987 

WILLY  DEVILLE 

Miracle  (A&M)  1987* 

Victory  Mixture  (Orleans)  1 990  • 

Around  1976-'77,  Willy  DeVille  and  pals  could,  on 
a  good  night,  be  the  coolest  cats  on  the  New  York 
underground  scene,  despite  occasional  stylistic  side- 
tracking. After  being  "discovered,"  producer  Jack 
Nitzsche  got  them  on  the  lean,  tough  R&B  beam  for  a 


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first  LP  that  sweats  and  smokes  through  and  through  as 
a  classic  of  such  fully  and  lovingly  assimilated  music 
should. 

Unfortunately,  Return  to  Magenta  is  more  of  the 
same  but  less;  on  the  first  LP,  the  cover  of  Moon  Martin's 
"Cadillac  Walk"  was  one  of  many  highlights,  but  here 
Martin's  inferior  "Rolene"  is  pretty  much  it.  Le  Chat 
Bleu's  arrival  was  welcome  mainly  because  it  ended  Wil- 
ly's prolonged  absence  from  recording,  but  it  confirmed 
that  stagnation  had  set  in.  The  band  was,  by  then,  a  cou- 
ple of  Minks  plus  sessionmen;  it  seemed  Willy  was  look- 
ing to  become  the  soul  crooner  of  his  dreams  without 
providing  the  songs  to  fuel  ours  (despite  some  collabo- 
rative songwriting  with  Doc  Pomus,  hitsmith  for  Joe 
Turner,  Dion,  the  Drifters,  etc.).  Savolr  Faire  collects 
tracks  from  those  three  albums. 

Evidence  that  DeVilie  had  lost  touch  with  the  trashy 
sleaze  aesthetic  (not  to  mention  Louie  X.  Erianger's 
lowdown  guitar)  is  even  plainer  on  Coup  de  Grace. 
Despite  a  new,  young  band  and  a  reunion  with  Nitzsche 
(Mink  saxist  Steve  Douglas  had  produced  the  third  LP), 
the  magic  is  still  largely  absent.  Tracks  like  "Maybe 
Tomorrow"  offer  traces  of  the  old  bite  almost  as  a  con- 
cession. 

Where  Angels  Fear  to  Tread,  produced  by  the  hit- 
making  team  of  Ron  and  Howard  Albert  (who  ruined  a 
Gang  of  Four  album  that  same  year),  is  a  fine  record  of 
new  DeVilie  originals,  starting  with  the  soulful  and 
sweet  "Each  Word's  a  Beat  of  My  Heart."  This  un- 
cluttered and  uncomplicated  tribute  to  DeVilie' s 
forebears — Sam  Cooke,  Phil  Spector,  the  Drifters,  Joe 
Tex,  James  Brown— -also  includes  forays  into  Spanish 
Harlem  and  other  wondrously  nostalgic  time  warps. 
DeVille's  songwriting  and  singing  have  returned  to  top 
strength,  and  the  record  burns  with  sincerity  and 
warmth.  Simply,  elegantly  excellent. 

Sportin*  Life  maintains  those  standards  with  a  set 
of  brand-new  oldies  that  effortlessly  transport  you 
back  to  the  era  of  sweet  soul  music.  "Something 
Beautiful  Dying*'  (note  the  Righteous  Brothers  refer- 
ence) is  tenderly  melancholic;  "Little  by  Little"  tries 
barrelhouse  rockabilly;  "Italian  Shoes"  is  classic  bad 
dude  strutting.  Apt  production  and  a  sharp  backing 
band  make  this  first  rate. 

Inexplicably  selected  to  write  and  sing  the  theme 
song  for  The  Princess  Bride,  DeVilie  astonishingly 
earned  an  Academy  Award  nomination  for  "Storybook 
Love,"  the  schmaltzy  cut  that  ends  Miracle.  While  the 
pale  and  inconsistent  record  is  nowhere  near  Willy's 
best  work,  his  seasoned  voice  is  as  strong  and  colorful 
as  ever.  The  snappy  "Angel  Eyes,"  romantic  "Night- 
falls" and  Van  Morrison's  "Could  You  Would  You?" 
are  among  the  album's  merits.  Mark  Knopfler,  who 
played  all  the  guitar  here,  produced  the  LP  cleanly  but 
without  color,  forgetting  the  smoky  ambience  essential 
to  DeVille's  music. 

Victory  Mixture  finds  Willy  living  in  the  Big  Easy, 
making  music  with  Dr.  John,  Allen  Toussaint  and  other 
local  legends.  jj'g/i] 

See  also  Fast  Floyd  and  the  Famous  Firebirds. 


LIZA  MINNELLI 

See  Pet  Shop  Boys. 


MINNY  POPS 

Drastic  Measures,  Drastic  Movement  {Hoi.  Pfurex)  1979 

+  1982 
Sparks  in  a  Dark  Room  (Bel.  Factory  Benelux)  1 982 

SMALTS 

Werktitels  EP  (Hoi.  Plurex)  1982 

Poste  Restante  (HoS.  Piurex)  1983 

Even  in  1979,  Minny  Pops  didn't  seem  drastic  in  the 
purest  sense  but  rather  deliberately,  almost  clinically 
extreme  The  Dutch  foursome's  most  salient  character- 
istic on  record  is  dissonance,  even  sheer  noise — valid 
artistic  devices  in  the  proper  hands,  but  it  takes  vision 
and  inspiration,  of  which  the  Pops  seem  to  possess  little. 
Whether  they're  having  a  go  at  industrial  clang  or  set- 
ting pop  cliches  and  oldies  in  jarringly  alien  musical 
contexts,  even  their  best  comes  up  short  of  what  others 
(e.g.,  Throbbing  Gristle,  Half  Japanese)  have  achieved 
in  the  same  area.  No  doubt  they've  applied  themselves 
diligently  to  make  this  music,  but  the  net  result  lacks 
spark  and  invention.  Minny  Pops'  first  LP,  released  on 
the  band's  Plurex  label,  Holland's  most  important  and 
active  indie,  was  reissued  in  1982  with  the  addition  of  a 
bonus  45. 

Glimmerings  of  something  better  flicker  on  the 
Smalts  EP.  The  syncopated  percussion  and  keyboards/ 
synth  noises,  including  an  arresting  accordion/ 
harmonium-type  sound,  are  like  a  soundtrack  in  search 
of  a  movie,  but  effective  within  its  limits.  Smalts  was, 
in  fact,  two  members  of  Minny  Pops  exploring  new 
avenues  in  preparation  for  creating  the  musical  setting 
for  a  stage  production  entitled  Poste  Restante.  The  re- 
sulting LP  of  that  name  involved  the  whole  band,  plus 
others;  although  they  didn't  write  all  the  material,  Minny 
Pops  perform  everything  except  some  vocals  (mostly 
declaimed,  not  sung).  Out  of  context,  and  entirely  in 
Dutch,  whatever  meaning  it  has  is  limited  to  the  vaguely 
unified  feel  and  the  knowledge  that  it's  ostensibly  a 
drama  about  travel.  [jg] 


MINOR  THREAT 

Minor  Threat  EP  (Dischord)  1 981 
In  My  Eyes  EP  (Dischord)  1981 
Out  of  Step  (Dischord)  1 983 
Minor  Threat  (Dischord)  1 984 
Complete  [CD]  (Dischord)  1988  • 

EMBRACE 

Embrace  (Dischord)  1987 

TEEN  IDLES 

Minor  Disturbance  EP  (Dischord)  1981 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Four  Old  7"s  on  a  1 2"  (Dischord)  1 985 

As  the  seminal  hardcore  band  of  our  nation's  capi- 
tal, Minor  Threat  played  fast,  impassioned  music  that 
defined  the  genre  while  never  succumbing  to  its  short- 
comings. The  quartet  had  both  a  sense  of  melody  and  a 
sense  of  purpose.  "Straight  Edge"  was  among  the  first 
hardcore  songs  to  call  for  abstinence  from  drugs  and 
booze,  and  the  band's  self-titled  theme  song  acknowl- 
edged both  the  aspirations  and  realities  of  political  punk 
rock. 


430 


The  posthumous  Minor  Threat  compiles  the  band's 
two  initial  7-inch  EPs,  released  on  the  group's  own 
label.  The  twelve  selections  effectively  define  the  city's 
hardcore  sound,  with  a  powerhouse  adrenaiized  rush 
and  Ian  MacKaye's  explosive  and  articulate  vocals. 
"Filler,"  '*!  Don't  Wanna  Hear  It11  and  "Minor 
Threat"  are  some  of  the  classics  of  the  genre;  if  you 
haven't  heard  them,  you  have  never — repeat,  never — 
heard  hardcore.  One  of  the  most  intense,  ungodly-force- 
of-technology  records  ever  launched. 

Out  of  Step,  the  group's  only  true  LP,  shows  Minor 
Threat  coming  out  of  adolescence  and  slowing  down  to 
merely  quick  tempos  where  they  have  more  room  to 
move.  If  less  a  direct  rush  than  the  early  EPs,  the  trade- 
off is  a  good  one:  dynamics  and  crashing  hooks  come  to 
the  fore,  replacing  the  old  burn  with  a  punk  musician- 
ship up  there  with  only  the  Ruts  (a  prime  influence)  for 
crack  precision.  Out  of  Step  is  a  whale  of  an  LP,  one 
that  made  their  ensuing  demise  (the  pressures  of  being 
the  most  revered  and  hardline  message-oriented  hard- 
core band  taking  its  toll)  that  much  more  of  a  tragedy. 
Not  surprisingly,  nothing  has  come  close  to  matching 
their  ability,  drive  and  emotional  level  since.  (Com- 
plete compiles  the  band's  entire  recorded  career  into 
one  handy  CD.  Look  no  further!) 

Sometime  after  Minor  Threat's  1983  breakup, 
MacKaye  joined  forces  with  the  three  musicians  from 
another  recently  disbanded  DC  hardcore  band,  Faith 
(ironically,  Faith's  singer  was  Alex  MacKaye,  so  he 
was  effectively  replacing  his  younger  brother!),  to  form 
Embrace.  After  a  brief  existence,  Embrace  also  disap- 
peared seemingly  without  a  trace.  A  1987  LP  of  their 
1985  recordings  was  released,  making  it  apparent  that 
the  group  should  have  stuck  around  a  bit  longer.  If  not 
equal  to  Minor  Threat's  one-of-a-kind  sonic  excellence, 
Embrace  are  strong  and  muscular,  an  effective  backdrop 
for  MacKaye's  lead  vocals.  The  confrontational  lyricist 
rages  through  "Money"  and  "No  More  Pain"  like  a 
hellfire  preacher,  condemning  a  corrupt  and  greedy  cul- 
ture. Overenunciating,  shouting,  cajoling  and  scream- 
ing at  the  top  of  his  lungs,  this  is  an  impressive 
performance  by  a  seemingly  possessed  man,  transform- 
ing an  okay  mid-tempo  punk  LP  into  a  great  one. 

MacKaye  subsequently  reunited  with  Minor  Threat 
drummer  Jeff  Nelson  for  one  terrific  single  as  Egg  Hunt 
and  then  formed  Fugazi  with  old  Rites  of  Spring  leader 
Guy  Picciotto.  (He  also  records  occasionally  with  Min- 
istry's Al  Jourgensen  as  Pailhead.)  Nelson  joined  up 
with  Senator  Flux  for  a  while;  bassist-cwm-guitarist 
Brian  Baker  (ex-Government  Issue)  spent  time  in  the 
Meatmen  and  Dag  Nasty  and  can  now  be  found  in  the 
metallic  Junkyard. 

The  Teen  Idles  were  MacKaye  and  Nelson's  original 
group,  prior  to  Minor  Threat.  Minor  Disturbance,  also 
a  7-inch  EP,  was  the  very  first  Dischord  release,  and 
served  as  a  blueprint  for  the  DC  hardcore  scene.  Inter- 
estingly, MacKaye  doesn't  sing  lead  (he  was  the  bassist 
and  main  songwriter)  on  these  seven  songs  of  typical 
punk-teen  ennui  and  self-determination  (plus  one  inau- 
dible live  cut).  Structurally,  the  music  is  basic  punk  on 
its  way  to  becoming  hardcore,  dominated  by  singer 
Nathan  Strejcek's  (later  of  Youth  Brigade)  youthful 
blare  and  MacKaye's  catchy  bass  riffs.  The  lyrics  to 
"Deadhead"  ("Driving  that  train  high  on  cocaine/The 
music  is  really  lousy,  the  fans  are  a  pain/Troubles  be- 


hind, troubles  ahead/The  only  good  deadhead  is  one 
that's  dead")  are  as  funny  today  as  when  the  teenaged 
MacKaye  wrote  them.  Minor  Disturbance  was  later 
reissued  on  the  Four  Old  T&  album  with  other  Dischord 
EPs  by  S.O.A.,  Youth  Brigade  and  Government  Issue. 

[jl/jr/gef] 

See  also  Dag  Nasty,  Fugazi,  Government  Issue, 
Meatmen,  Misfits,  Pailhead. 


Paranoid  Time  EP  (SST)  1 980  ® 

The  Punch  line  (SSTJ1 981 

Bean-Spill  EP  (Thermidor)  1982 

What  Makes  a  Man  Start  Fires?  (SST)  1983 

Buzz  or  Howl  Under  the  Influence  of  Heat  (SST)  1 983 

Double  Nickels  on  the  Dime  (SST)  1 984  * 

The  Politics  of  Time  (New  Alliance)  1984 

Tour-Spiel  EP  (Reflex)  1 985 

. . .  Just  a  Minute  Men  {Virgin  Vinyl)  1 985 

My  First  Bells  1980-1983  [tape]  (SST)  1985 

Project:  MershEP  (SST)  1985 

3-Way  Tie  (for  Last)  (SST]  1985  9 

Ballot  Result  (SST)  1987* 

Posr-Mersh,  Vol.  1  [CD]  (SST)  1987  * 

Post-Mersh,  Vol.  2  [CD]  (SST)  1987  ® 

Post-Mersh,  Vol.  3  [CD]  (SST)  1989  * 

MINUTEFLAG 

MinuteflagEP  (SST)  1986 

San  Pedro,  California's  greatest  musical  export 
clearly  understood  the  concept  of  brevity.  The  trio's 
albums  and  EPs  pack  an  astonishing  number  of  songs, 
most  of  which  (on  the  early  releases,  at  least)  clock  in 
at  under  a  minute.  In  that  brief  time,  they  took  apart 
rock,  jazz  and  funk  and  put  the  pieces  back  together  in 
a  jagged  collage.  Although  the  Minutemen  refused  to 
write  verses  and  choruses,  based  on  their  belief  that 
rock'n'roll  as  we  know  it  is  a  lethargic  dinosaur,  each  of 
their  songs  is  a  satisfying  composition. 

The  Minutemen  saga  began  in  1980  as  a  four-piece 
called  the  Reactionaries  that  played  regular-length 
songs.  Later  that  year,  they  slimmed  down  (numerically 
speaking)  and  adopted  their  new  name  and  radical 
modus  operandi.  They  stuck  to  that  twisted  idea  of  dada 
with  a  groove  until  the  end,  and  with  one  out-of- 
chronology  exception,  their  records  kept  getting  more 
ambitious  and  better. 

The  7-inch  Paranoid  Time  EP  offers  dogmatic  pol- 
itics redeemed  by  idiosyncratic  Wire-type  songs.  Kicked 
along  by  drummer  George  Hurley,  each  abbreviated 
blurt  of  rhythm  serves  as  a  backdrop  for  the  rants  of 
bassist  Mike  Watt  and  guitarist  D.  Boon.  The  best  is  the 
apocalyptic  "Paranoid  Chant,"  in  which  Boon  screams, 
"I  don't  even  worry  about  crime  anymore/' 

The  Punch  Line  is  more  complex,  musically  and 
lyrically.  The  band  loosens  up  with  more  funk,  off- 
kilter  rhythms  and  enigmatic  twists  in  which  songs  seem 
to  fall  apart  but  don't  quite.  As  proof  of  the  musicians' 
seriousness,  the  12-inch  45  includes  an  insert  entitled 
Fundamentals  of  Design,  which  waxes  philosophic 
about  "The  Order  of  Harmony,"  "The  Order  of  Bal- 
ance" and  "The  Order  of  Rhythm.*'  Actually,  the 
record  is  evidence  enough,  as  it  reveals  three  imagina- 
tive musicians  capable  of  playing  music  that  holds  to- 


431 


gether  without  a  center.  A  subsequent  7-mch,  Bean- 
Spill,  contains  five  songs  (total  miming  time:  six 
minutes)  and  a  vulgar  genitalia  drawing  by  Raymond 
Pettibone  on  the  label,  over  the  legend  "(We  need  the 
money)." 

What  Makes  a  Man  Start  Fires?  throws  jazz  and 
blues  elements  into  the  blender,  and  features  the  Min- 
utemen's  first  semi-dramatic  song  ending — that  is,  the 
first  on  which  they  do  something  other  than  just  stop 
playing.  The  songs  tend  towards  near-epic  length — only 
one  of  eighteen  is  under  a  minute.  On  this  album,  the 
Minutemen  show  their  instrumental  depth,  shifting  ef- 
fortlessly from  one  fragmentary  clash  of  styles  to  an- 
other. On  the  trio's  most  poetic  record,  the  eight-song 
Buzz  or  Howl,  they  don't  try  to  make  the  pieces  add  up, 
crafting  the  loosest  improvisations  over  which  Boon  and 
(on  one  song)  Watt  scream  their  lyrics. 

Double  Nickels  on  the  Dime  slaps  45  numbers  onto 
four  sides  of  vinyl.  The  unifying  concept  is  driving  in  a 
car,  but  the  record  is  really  held  together  by  the  band's 
unflagging  commitment  to  idiosyncrasy.  The  quirky 
songs  are  about  Michael  Jackson,  Minutemen  history, 
WW  HI  and  virtually  everything  else  under  the  sun. 
Each  is  different  and  somehow  good.  With  this  much 
room  to  work,  the  Minutemen  don't  attempt  to  bludgeon 
listeners  with  lyrics,  and  deliver  terse  gems  like  "If  we 
heard  mortar  shells  we'd  cuss  more  in  our  songs  and  cut 
down  the  guitar  solos." 

As  if  their  abundant  output  left  unjustifiable  gaps, 
the  trio  issued  The  Politics  of  Time,  a  collection  of 
unused  tracks  that  vary  widely  in  recording  and  perfor- 
mance quality.  The  7-mch  Tour-Spiel — drawn  from  a 
live-in-the-studio  performance  done  for  a  Tucson  radio 
broadcast — offers  the  trio's  takes  on  Van  Halen  ( "Ain't 
Talkin'  'Bout  Love"),  Blue  Oyster  Cult  ("The  Red  & 
the  Black"),  Creedence  ("Green  River")  and  the  Meat 
Puppets  ("Lost").  Like  all  of  the  group's  records  no 
matter  what  shape  they  take,  this  sounds  above  all  like 
the  Minutemen.  (In  a  weird  footnote,  the  Arizona  DJ 
who  organized  the  1984  session  took  umbrage  at  its 
appearance  on  Tour-Spiel  and  released  the  entire  broad- 
cast as  Just  a  Minute  Men,  defending  his  dubious  ac- 
tion in  the  album's  self-righteous  liner  notes.) 

My  First  Bells  is  a  retrospective  cassette:  62  cuts, 
including  the  group's  first  two  albums  and  EPs,  plus 
singles  and  compilation  contributions  from  the  same  era. 
Essential. 

Project:  Mersh  (the  title  is  a  sardonic  reference  to 
commercialism — "I  got  it!  We'll  have  them  write  hit 
songs,"  says  Boon's  cover  painting)  consists  of  six 
lengthy  tracks,  including  Watt's  autobiographical 
"Tour-Spiel"  as  well  as  the  endlessly  looped,  psyche- 
dehcized  "More  Spiel"  and  a  cover  of  Steppenwolf's 
"Hey  Lawdy  Mama,"  Half  employ  guest  trumpet;  one 
even  has  synth.  Typically  brilliant  and  intelligent?  Yes. 
Better  presented  and  more  accessible?  Somewhat.  A 
compromise  of  any  sort?  Hardly.  A  fine  record 

Taking  time  out  from  both  bands*  busy  schedules, 
the  Minutemen  and  Black  Flag  recorded  a  one-day- 
studio-party  EP  in  March  1985  under  the  spliced  name 
of  Mmuteflag.  In  an  odd  tontine,  the  participants  report- 
edly agreed  not  to  issue  the  results  until  at  least  one  of 
the  bands  had  broken  up.  They  could  have  waited:  the 
four  rambling  song-jams  are  long  on  bonhomie  but  short 
on  cohesion.  Miniiteflag  is  an  ill-advised  outing  that 


was  undoubtedly  fun  to  record  but  unwise  to  release 

3- Way  Tie  (for  Last)  ironically  appeared  the  same 
week  (in  December  1985)  Boon's  tragic  death  in  an 
Arizona  car  crash  ended  the  Minutemen.  Indicating 
now-moot  artistic  independence  or  divergence,  the  sides 
are  marked  4*D."  and  "Mike."  Boon's  collection  com- 
bines three  of  his  tunes  (including  the  gripping  Vietnam 
veteran  tribute,  "The  Pnce  of  Paradise,"  and  a  Nica- 
ragua protest,  "The  Big  Stick")  with  straight  readings 
of  the  Meat  Puppets*  "Lost"  (again)  and  John  Foger- 
ty's  "Have  You  Ever  Seen  the  Rain,"  plus  a  composi- 
tion by  Watt  and  then-Black  Flag  bassist  Kira.  Watt's 
more  diverse  ten-track  side  has  two  by  Boon,  a  spoken 
word  piece  named  "Spoken  Word  Piece,"  four  more 
co-written  with  Kira,  Roky  Erickson's  "Bermuda"  and 
another  killer  take  on  the  Cult's  "The  Red  &  the 
Black." 

The  Minutemen  had  included  a  mail-in  ballot  with 
3- Way  Tie,  offering  fans  the  opportunity  to  select  their 
favorite  songs  for  inclusion  on  a  planned  triple-live  set. 
The  idea  was  to  do  all  of  the  selections  in  concert  for  the 
mooted  album,  provisionally  titled  Three  Dudes,  Six 
Sides,  Half  Studio,  Half  Live.  Despite  Boon's  death, 
the  votes  were  tabulated  and  the  Ballot  Result  was  as- 
sembled from  extant  material  and  released  anyway. 
Drawing  on  various  radio  broadcasts,  audience  and 
board  performance  tapes,  studio  outtakes  and  rehearsals 
(with  three  LP  tracks  serving  as  needed  ringers),  the 
two  discs  bulge  with  almost  three  dozen  representations 
of  the  group's  best-loved  material.  The  audio  quality 
varies,  but  the  trio's  vitality  and  invention  never  waver. 
A  fine  epilogue. 

With  the  exception  of  Double  Nickels  and  the  un- 
authorized live  album,  the  three  Post-Mersh  CDs  con- 
tain the  Minutemen' s  entire  oeuvre  up  through  Project 
Mersh.  Vol.  I  combines  The  Punch  Line  and  What 
Makes  a  Man  Start  Fires  The  second  volume  pairs 
Buzz  or  Howl  and  Project  Mersh.  Collecting  the  rest, 
Vol.  3  has  Paranoid  Time,  198 1's  three-song  "Joy" 
single,  Bean-Spill,  The  Politics  of  Time  and  Tour- 
Spiel 

Following  Boon's  death,  Watt  and  Hurley  formed 
flREHOSE  with  singer/guitarist  Ed  Crawford,  a  Min- 
utemen fan  who  Badgered  them  into  starting  a  new 
group.  '  [jl/i] 

See  also  DOS.  flREHOSE,  Saccharine  Trust. 

MIRACLE  LEGION 

A  Simple  Thing  [tape]  (Incas)  1984 

The  Backyard  EP  (Incas)  1984  (Rough  Trade]  1987 

Surprise  Surprise  Surprise  (Rough  Trade)  1 987 

Glad  (Rough  Trade)  1988 

Me  and  Mr.  Ray  (Rough  Trade)  1 989  • 

Criticized  for  their  uncanny  resemblance  to  R.E.M. , 
Connecticut's  Miracle  Legion  cannot  be  so  easily  dis- 
missed as  rote  imitators.  There's  no  denying  the  obvious 
similarities  (vocals  and  guitar);  thanks  to  musical  cre- 
ativity, however,  Miracle  Legion  manages  to  stake  out 
their  own  territory. 

Savvy  production  techniques  and  aggressive  playing 
make  The  Backyard  a  landmark.  Mark  Mulcahy's 
whining  vocals  tend  to  grate  after  a  few  listens,  but  not 
enough  to  sully  the  sheer  brilliance  of  the  title  track, 
" Stephen  Are  You  There,"  ''Closer  to  the  Wall"  and 


432 


"Butterflies  "  Surprise  Surprise  Surprise  lacks  the 
honest  abandon  of  The  Backyard,  an  essential  ingre- 
dient to  Miracle  Legion's  appeal.  In  spite  of  improved 
musicianship  and  vocals,  it's  a  disappointment. 

The  new  studio  work  on  Glad  (a  side  of  the  LP  was 
recorded  live  in  New  York  with  a  one-song  guest  ap- 
pearance by  the  entirety  of  Pere  Ubu!)  is  a  welcome 
relief  from  the  restraint  of  Surprise.  The  three  songs 
literally  bristle  with  renewed  heartfelt  emotion,  and  the 
formerly  enigmatic  lyrics  now  conjure  up  a  vast  array  of 
crystalline  images  on  "A  Heart  Disease  Called  Love" 
and  "Hey,  Lucky." 

Down  to  a  duo,  Miracle  Legion  returned  with  the 
bittersweet  Me  and  Mr.  Ray.  By  now  Mulcahy  and 
guitarist  Ray  Neal  have  honed  their  music  into  a  warm, 
deep  folk-rock.  Like  the  late  Byrds,  it's  akin  to  old-time 
acoustic  country  in  spirit  more  than  sound.  There's  noth- 
ing ironic  or  post-modern  or  even  rocking  here,  just  sad, 
lovely  melodies  and  words  that  seem  to  carry  the  weight 
of  humanity.  Even  the  upbeat  love  songs  ("You're  the 
One  Lee"  and  "Even  Better")  are  tinged  with  doubt 
and  loss.  This  is  an  album  that  grows  on  the  listener 
slowly  and  nourishes  the  soul.  [ag/ws] 


MIRACLE  ROOM 

Miracle  Room  [tape]  (Miracle  Room)  1988 
Miracle  Room  EP  (Bar/None-Restless}  1 990 

Jazzy,  rocky  improv  groups  with  homemade  instru- 
ments were  a  dime  a  dozen  in  New  York  in  1988,  but 
Miracle  Room  muscled  most  of  the  others  aside  with 
refreshing  energy,  wit,  melody  and  try-anything  atti- 
tude. The  group's  cassette  debut,  recorded  live  in  both 
its  birthplace  (Austin)  and  adopted  home  (New  York) 
was  quite  a  revelation,  as  guitarist  Stephen  Marsh  chants 
or  bullhorns  funny,  enigmatic  lyrics  over  Hendrixy  feed- 
back squalls  and  rhythms  that  can  only  be  described  as 
tribal.  (One  delay-soaked  track  from  the  tape,  "Open 
Heart,"  later  appeared  on  the  first  Live  at  the  Knitting 
Factory  compilation.) 

The  trio  (later  a  quartet)  puts  on  a  live  show  that  is 
nearly  as  entertaining  visually  as  sonically.  They  take 
circular  saws  to  large  metal  appliances  and  pound  the 
hell  out  of  55-gallon  drums,  like  a  jollier,  funkier  Ein- 
sturzende  Neubauten  loose  in  Pee-wee's  Playhouse. 
Miracle  Room's  first  studio  attempt,  a  four-track  12- 
inch,  suffers  a  bit  from  strained  seriousness,  but  the 
band's  way  with  a  clanging  groove  is  intact  on  "These 
Are  My  Friends,"  Meanwhile,  the  eerie  "Untitled" 
sounds  like  Music  for  Films  played  backwards  in  a 
wind-tunnel  with  several  species  of  small  furry  animals. 

[ws] 


MIRACLE  WORKERS 

Miracle  Workers  EP  (Moxie)  1 983 

1 000  Micrograms  of  the  Miracle  Workers  EP  (Sounds 

Interesting)  1984 
Inside  Out  (Voxx)  1985 
Live  at  the  Forum  (Ger.  Glitter-house)  1988 
Overdose  (Ger.  Love's  Simple  Dreams)  1 988  • 
Primary  Domain  (Ger.  Glitterhouse)  1989 
Moxie's  Revenge  (Get  Hip)  1990  • 
Roll  Out  the  Red  Carpet  (Triple  X)  1 991  • 


As  the  Pacific  Northwest  entry  in  garage-rock's  sec- 
ond  coming,  Portland,  Oregon's  Miracle  Workers 
looked  no  further  than  their  own  backyard  for  initial 
inspiration.  Rather  than  the  more  psychedelic  meander- 
ings  of  their  peers,  the  original  five-piece  lineup 
stomped  and  snarled  through  layers  of  fuzz  much  like 
local  deities  the  Somes  and  the  Waiters.  Both  of  the 
Miracle  Workers'  early  EPs  boast  a  heartening  percent- 
age of  originals — not  a  majority,  mind  you,  but  they 
were  playing  to  an  audience  that  considered  the  use  of 
strings  manufactured  after  *66  heretical — that  easily  out- 
strip the  group's  covers  in  both  songwriting  and  energy. 
Tracks  from  each  (as  well  as  a  slew  of  previously  un- 
released  treasures)  are  collected  on  Moxie's  Revenge. 

A  little  more  reserved  on  its  1985  full-length  bow, 
the  quintet  still  scores  big,  keeping  the  songs  short,  the 
guitars  distorted  and  Gerry  Mohr's  snotty  adolescent 
blurt  mixed  high.  Voxx  supremo  Greg  Shaw's  produc- 
tion, while  not  state-of-the-art  (even  by  these  standards) 
is  more  sympathetic  than  their  earlier,  lower-budget  ef- 
forts. 

As  the  '80s  drew  to  a  close,  the  Miracle  Workers 
stepped  outside  their  garage  (minus  a  member),  checked 
their  watches  not  once  but  twice  and  stepped  firmly 
forward  .  .  .  into  the  '70s.  Overdose  (recorded  in  Ber- 
lin, though  the  band  is  now  based  in  LA)  is  just  that:  a 
sensory  overload  of  attitude-laden  rock  somewhere  be- 
tween early  Flamin  Groovies  (whose  *  Teenage  Head" 
,  gets  a  speedy  snarl-through)  and  the  MC5  (who  are  no 
doubt  curious  as  to  why  no  one  asked  permission  to 
borrow  "Kick  Out  the  Jams"  for  the  feral  "Rock'n'Roll 
Revolution  in  the  Streets  Part  2").  Guitarist  Matt  Rog- 
ers' judicious  use  of  feedback  augments  the  new  mate- 
rial much  more  effectively;  Mohr's  grown  some  as  well. 
Live  at  the  Forum  scrapes  away  what  little  veneer  of 
subtlety  finds  its  way  into  the  group's  studio  work;  the 
Iggy/Stooges'  atmosphere  is  so  overpowering  you  can 
practically  smell  the  peanut  butter!  A  little  time-warped, 
perhaps,  but  just  plain  warped  enough  to  be  worth  hear- 
ing. 


MISFITS 

Bullet  EP  (Plan  9)  1978 

Beware  EP  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1 979 

Walk  Among  Us  (Ruby)  1982  +  1988  • 

Evilive  EP  (Plan  9)  1982 

Earth  ADTWolfsblood  (Plan  9)  1983 

Earth  ADyDie  Die  My  Darting  [tape]  (Plan  9)  1 984 

Legacy  of  Brutality  (Plan  9-Caroline)  1 985  « 

Misfits  (Plan  9-Caroline)  1986  • 

Evilive  (Plan  9-Caroline)  1987 

SAMHA1N 

Initium  (Plan  9)  1984  (Plan  9-Caroline)  1986  • 
Unholy  Passion  EP  (Plan  9)  1985  (Plan  9-Caroline) 

1986« 

November-Coming-Rre  (Plan  9-Caroline)  1986  « 
Final  Descent  (Plan  9-Caroline)  1990  4> 

KRYST  THE  CONQUEROR 

Deliver  Us  from  Evil  EP  (Cyclopean)  1 989  * 

Although  considered  part  of  the  hardcore  scene, 
New  Jersey's  Misfits  date  back  to  the  first  CBGB  and 
London  punk  surge.  Drawing  their  sound  from  the  Ra- 
mones  and  the  Damned,  and  their  look  from  horror  mov- 

433 


ies  and  Kiss*  the  Misfits  began  by  releasing  a  string  of 
7-inches  on  their  Plan  9  label.  Two  of  these — the  superb 
Bullet  EP  and  the  subsequent  "Horror  Business" 
single — are  compiled  on  the  English  Beware  EP  (along 
with  the  legendary  melodic  outtake  "Last  Caress")  and 
epitomize  what  made  the  Misfits  great:  a  combination  of 
hooky  power-chordingr  weird  horrific  lyrics  and  singer 
Glenn  Danzig's  distinctive  basso  roar.  (For  a  musical 
genre  in  which  tone  and  articulation  don't  count  for 
much,  Danzig's  power  and  control  are  awesome.) 

After  years  as  a  strictly  underground  force,  the  Mis- 
fits seized  on  hardcore  and  grafted  horror-punk  onto 
slam-thrash.  As  a  result,  Walk  Among  Us  practically 
wallows  in  psychotronic  shock  imagery,  imbuing  many 
of  the  band's  anthems — including  "Astro  Zombies," 
** Skulls,"  "Vampira"  and  "Mommy,  Can  I  Go  Out 
and  Kill  Tonight?" — with  a  new-found  intensity  and 
larger-than-life  touch  of  evil.  Years  of  solid  songwriting 
effort  paid  off,  making  this  classic  album  as  strong  as  it 
is  consistent.  (As  a  posthumous  Misfits  cult  grew  to 
gigantic  proportions  during  the  later  half  of  the  decade, 
goaded  by  the  avid  endorsement  of  bands  like  Metallica, 
Walk  Among  Us  became  one  of  punk's  most  feverishly 
sought-after  albums.) 

The  Evilive  7-inch  EP  (later  expanded  and  reissued 
as  a  full-length  album)  catches  the  Misfits  on  rare  good 
1981  nights  m  New  York  and  San  Francisco,  playing 
material  drawn  mostly  from  Walk  Among  Us.  One  cut 
includes  guest  vocals  by  Henry  Rollins. 

Earth  A.D./Wolfsfolood  is  an  unfortunate  step  in 
the  wrong  direction — a  misguided  attempt  to  conform  to 
hardcore  convention.  California's  legendary  Spot  pro- 
duced; while  his  monochromatic  technique  served  other 
groups  well,  it  negated  many  of  the  Misfits'  strengths. 
Danzig's  voice  is  downplayed,  and  the  faster,  suffer 
beat  robs  the  songs  of  their  innate  tunefulness.  Good 
tracks  like  "Blood  Feast"  and  "Green  Hell"  aside  (the 
latter,  along  with  "Last  Caress,"  was  covered  by  Me- 
tallica on  Garage  Days  Re-Revisited),  Earth  A.D.  re- 
mains a  disappointing  finale.  (A  later  German  edition 
adds  the  terrific  "Die  Die  My  Darling",  an  American 
cassette  issue  appends  that  single  and  its  two  B-sides.) 
Legacy  of  Brutality  is  a  posthumous  collection  of 
outtakes  and  alternate  versions,  a  good  chunk  of  them 
from  the  '78  session  that  produced  Bullet.  It  also  con- 
tains a  band  take  on  "Who  Killed  Marilyn,"  Danzig's 
1981  solo  debut.  Though  uneven  at  points,  Legacy  does 
preserve  some  of  the  Misfits'  finest  moments,  such  as 
"Angelfuck"  and  "She."  Originally  CD-only,  then  re- 
issued on  vinyl  and  cassette,  Misfits  is  a  20-cut  retro- 
spective that  includes  remixes,  alternate  takes  and  one 
jarring  edit  that  cuts  out  the  second  half  of  "Teenagers 
from  Mars  "/"Children  in  Heat." 

After  the  Misfits  ended,  Danzig  wasted  no  time  in 
forming  Samhain  with  drummer-turned-bassist  Eerie 
Von.  Initium  took  a  few  smart  steps  back  to  the  singer's 
punk  roots,  mixing  in  some  metal  and  gloom  rock  in- 
fluences and  using  far  more  mature  and  disturbing  hor- 
ror lyrics.  This  wholly  enjoyable  LP  offers  a  memorable 
selection  of  material,  including  the  band's  invigorating 
signature  tune  ("Samhain"),  a  choppy  arrangement  of 
"Horror  Business"  (every  Samhain  release  featured  an 
updated  'Fits  tune)  and  "Archangel"  (originally  written 
for  the  Damned 's  Dave  Vanian).  As  the  residue  of  an 
early  lineup,  Lyle  Preslar  (ex-Minor  Threat)  adds  some 


sparse  guitar,  but  the  LP  is  basically  Danzig's  affair. 

The  Unholy  Passion  EP,  a  token  gothic  record, 
would  have  succeeded  if  not  for  the  abysmal  produc- 
tion. Still,  the  dark  urgency  of  the  pulsing  title  track, 
"Moribund"  and  "The  Hungry  End" — laced  with  new 
guitarist  Pete  "Damien"  Marshall's  droning  leads — is 
hard  to  resist.  ( Initium 's  CD  and  tape  release  include  a 
remix  of  Unholy  Passion's  five  tracks  and  the  previ- 
ously unreleased  "Misery  Tomb.") 

The  transitional  Novemfoer-Coming-Fire  has  some 
of  Samhain's  most  intriguingly  arranged  songs,  most 
notably  the  atmospheric  ballad  "To  Walk  the  Night." 
The  heavier,  more  metallic  music  (exemplified  by  the 
crunching  "Mother  of  Mercy")  and  lyrical  develop- 
ment (the  horror  angle  is  out,  pagan  religion  is  in) 
helped  pave  Samhain's  evolution  into  Danzig.  Final 
Descent  ties  up  the  loose  ends  from  this  period,  com- 
bining a  splendid  five-song  session  from  '87  with  Dan- 
zig guitarist  John  Christ  (the  hypnotic,  rolling  "Lords 
of  the  Left  Hand"  is  the  highlight  of  these  previously 
unreleased  cuts)  and  what  sounds  like  the  same  set  of 
Unholy  Passion  remixes  to  reach  album  length. 

In  an  attempt  to  exploit  their  cult  fame  among  the 
thrash  generation,  sumameless  ex-Misfit  brothers  Jerry 
(bass)  and  Doyle  (guitar),  always  the  band's  live  alba- 
tross, formed  a  dopey  metal  act,  Kryst  the  Conqueror. 
On  Deliver  Us  from  Evil,  a  self-released  five-song  EP, 
the  brothers  are  aided  by  an  anonymous  singer  and  Skid 
Row  guitarist  Dave  Sabo.  [rnp/dgs/gef] 

See  also  Danzig,  Undead. 

MISSING  FOUNDATION 

Missing  Foundation  (Purge/Sound  League)  1 987 

(Restless)  1 990  • 

1933  (Purge/Sound  League)  1988  (Restless)  1990  ® 
Demise  (Humanity)  1 989  (Restless)  1 990  • 
Ignore  the  White  Culture  (Restless)  1 990  <J> 

Notorious  for  a  highly  visible  graffiti  campaign  (the 
upturned  martini  glass  logo,  accompanied  by  cryptic 
sloganeering),  violently  destructive  confrontational  live 
appearances  and  a  television  newscaster  who  accused 
them  of  fomenting  a  1988  riot  in  Tompkins  Square  Park, 
New  York's  mysterious  Missing  Foundation  has  also 
made  records  that  preach  what  the  anarchist  band  prac- 
tices. 

Cacophonous  and  incoherent,  Missing  Foundation 
has  near-random  bits  of  guitar  and  bass  amid  the  gar- 
bage din  of  junkyard  thrashing.  Quite  unlike  the  indus- 
trial orchestrations  of  early  Test  Dept.,  Missing 
Foundation  doesn't  whack  at  things  in  any  discernible 
pattern.  They  simply  pound  whatever' s  handy  to  create 
chunks  of  screaming  noise- v&ite",  capture  some  of  it  on 
tape  and  slap  on  a  title.  (In  that  department,  at  least, 
they're  pretty  traditional.) 

There's  a  shred  more  structure  to  the  tracks  on  1933, 
but  the  LP  still  amounts  to  the  kind  of  sonic  brutality 
sentient  people  try  to  avoid,  rather  than  consume.  (I 
mean,  honestly,  when  was  the  last  time  you  turned  off 
the  stereo  and  opened  your  window  so  you  could  enjoy 
the  sound  of  jack  hammers  and  garbage  trucks  more 
clearly?)  Demise  opens  with  the  chaotic  sounds  of  a  riot 
in  progress  and  includes  relative  restraint  (hissed,  rather 
than  shrieked,  vocals;  room  between  the  clangs),  live 
concert  recordings  and,  for  the  first  time,  a  comprehen- 


434 


sible  bit  of  prose  ("Surround  the  White  House!"  in 
"Pistol  Archive"). 

Ignore  the  White  Culture  makes  some  minor  ac- 
commodations with  the  real  world,  printing  the  harsh 
lyrics  (the  use  of  any  lyrics  at  all  is  a  big  step  here)  and 
reducing  the  magnitude  and  the  randomness  of  the  din  to 
a  sort  of  atmospheric  accompaniment  for  Peter  Miss- 
ing's apocalyptic  pronouncements.  A  few  tracks  actu- 
ally resemble  music,  but  just  barely.  [i] 

Missing  Persons  EP  (Capitol)  1 982 

Spring  Session  M  (Capitol)  1 982 

Rhyme  &  Reason  (Capitol)  1 984 

Color  in  Your  Life  (Capitol)  1 986 

The  Best  of  Missing  Persons  (Capitol)  1 987  • 

DALE 

Riot  in  English  (Paisley  Park)  1 988  ® 

Notwithstanding  singer  Dale  Bozzio's  outrageous 
auto-sexploitation  and  the  overall  commercial-record- 
industry-hype  packaging  that  permeated  the  group, 
Missing  Persons  were  one  positive  manifestation  of  the 
'80s  accommodation  between  new  and  old  in  rock.  De- 
signed to  shift  product  but  retaining  high  musical  stan- 
dards and  an  adventurous  outlook,  Missing  Persons  fell 
between  genres,  simultaneously  offending  and  intrigu- 
ing intelligent  sensibilities. 

Originally  built  on  the  core  of  Bozzio,  her  then 
husband — drummer/keyboardist  Terry  (once  a  Zappa 
employee  and  a  member  of  would-be  supergroup 
U.K.)-— plus  ex-Zappa  guitarist  Warren  Cuccurullo, 
Missing  Persons  changed  their  name  from  U.S.  Drag 
and  were  given  a  boost  by  producer  Ken  Scott  who 
recorded  and  released  their  debut  EP;  it  became  a  hit 
when  picked  up  by  Capitol.  In  the  latter  form,  it  con- 
tamed  both  "Words"  and  "Destination  Unknown,"  id- 
iosyncratic songs  that  also  turned  up  on  the  first  LP. 

Spring  Session  M  (an  anagram  of  the  band's  name) 
is  slick,  clever  modern  rock,  using  synthesizers  and 
guitars  in  a  hybrid  style  that  came  to  be  very  familiar 
in  the  '80s.  What  sets  Missing  Persons  apart  from  other 
state-of-the-arters,  however,  is  Bozzio's  non-ciiche'd 
singing — tough/smart  with  a  bemused,  occasionally 
philosophical  outlook,  and  a  characteristic  hiccup  hitch 
that  recalls  Lene  Lovich's  early  vocal  gymnastics.  Es- 
pecially impressive  for  a  debut  album,  Bozzio's  voice 
exudes  confidence  to  spare  and  enough  personality  to 
invest  the  band's  novel  tunes  with  an  appropriate  atti- 
tude as  required. 

Continue  to  suspend  your  disbelief  for  a  few  lines 
more:  although  it  takes  a  while  to  become  accustomed, 
Rhyme  &  Reason  is  an  equally  fine  record.  The  lyrics 
of  "Give,"  in  what  weirdly  became  a  minor  pop  music 
trend,  amount  to  an  ethical  exhortation  to  selflessness, 
attached  to  dynamic  rock  backing.  Elsewhere,  "Right 
Now"  and  "Surrender  Your  Heart"  address  romance 
with  a  little  sensitivity,  attractive  melodies  and  sophis- 
ticated, full-blooded  instrumentation.  Bozzio  sings  with 
less  affectation  but  consistent  skill  and  subtlety.  At  its 
worst,  the  album  offers  appealing  vacuity,  Ignore  the 
trappings  and  enjoy  the  music. 

Bernard  Edwards  produced  Color  in  Your  Life, 
pumping  up  the  volume  with  horns  and  funk  rhythms  on 
the  Motown-based  "Flash  of  Love*'  and  "I  Can't  Think 


About  DancinY*  one  of  the  few  rock  songs  ever  to  use 
the  word  "pretentious."  Elsewhere,  the  dancebeat  of 
"Boy  I  Say  to  You"  sells  this  once-provocative  band 
extremely  short.  While  the  inviting  title  track  could  fit 
on  any  of  the  band's  albums,  the  cloying  keyboards  and 
messy  arrangements  here  compete  with  Bozzio's  vocals 
to  no  one's  benefit.  The  misconceived  stylistic  overhaul 
proved  a  total  disaster;  despite  a  couple  of  worthwhile 
tunes,  this  LP  is  a  must  to  avoid. 

With  that,  Missing  Persons  split  up,  something  Dale 
and  Terry  had  already  done.  Capitol  issued  a  compre- 
hensive retrospective,  Cuccuruilo  joined  Duran  Duran 
and  Dale  signed  on  the  dotted  line  with  Prince's  label. 
Her  first  solo  record  is  a  joint  project  with  producer 
Robert  Brookins,  who  wrote  most  of  the  songs  and 
played  drums  and  keyboards  on  a  lot  of  them.  Although 
Prince's  instrumental  sound  permeates  the  LP,  it  is  no- 
where so  evident  as  on  his  contribution,  "So  Strong." 
The  commercial  dance  music  on  Riot  in  English  plays 
up  the  flexibility  of  Dale's  voice,  but  the  pre-fab  cookie- 
cutter  material  and  arrangements  come  as  quite  a  disap- 
pointment after  the  stylistic  invention  of  her  former 
group. 

Since  Missing  Persons,  bassist/keyboardist  Patrick 
O'Hearn  (another  Zappa  alumnus  and  member  of  the 
1980  Group  87  with  Mark  Isham  and  Terry  Bozzio)  has 
been  making  nicely  textured  instrumental  albums  for 
Private  Music.  [i] 

See  also  Duran  Duran. 


MISSION  (UK) 

Gods  Own  Medicine  (Mercury)  1 986  ® 
The  First  Chapter  (Mercury)  1 987  • 
Children  (Mercury)  1 988  9 
Beyond  the  Pale  EP  (nr/Mercury)  1 988  * 
Carved  in  Sand  (Mercury)  1 990  4> 
Grains  of  Sand  (Mercury)  1 990  <!> 

Leeds  natives  Wayne  Hussey  (guitar,  vox)  and 
Craig  Adams  (bass)  left  the  gotnic  Sisters  of  Mercy 
(Hussey  had  also  been  in  Dead  or  Ahve)  to  form  their 
own  group,  the  Mission.  (The  American  "UK"  was 
appended  because  a  Philadelphia  R&B  band  was  al- 
ready using  the  name.)  Joined  by  ex-Red  Lorry  Yellow 
Lorry  drummer  Mick  Brown  and  a  guitarist  drafted  from 
Artery,  the  group  planted  one  foot  in  the  British  neo- 
hippie  camp  and  another  in  the  land  of  pompous  goth- 
metal  stupidity. 

The  dull  and  insipid  guitar/keyboard/string  bombast 
of  Gods  Own  Medicine  proceeds  from  a  horrible  amal- 
gam of  Led  Zeppelin,  Yes  and  Echo  &  the  Bunnymen. 
Several  tracks  were  huge  British  hits,  but  listening  to  the 
LP  fails  to  reveal  any  exceptional  qualities  "Garden  of 
Delight"  or  "Stay  with  Me"  might  have  that  would 
explain  their  popularity.  Hussey 's  ponderous  and  tone- 
less intonation  ruins  the  songs'  scant  intrinsic  merit; 
thick-sounding  production  (by  Tim  Palmer  and  the 
band)  finishes  the  job.  The  CD  has  two  extra  cuts. 

As  if  anyone  cared,  an  odds-and-nods  collection  was 
issued  to  bring  listeners  up  to  date  with  non-LP  items. 
The  First  Chapter,  which  is  actually  less  of  an  audio 
trial  than  Gods  Own  Medicine,  presents  the  Mission's 
debut  45,  "Serpents  Kiss,"  as  well  as  an  extended  re- 
mix of  "Garden  of  Delight"  and  unwarranted  covers — 
"Tomorrow  Never  Knows"  (Beatles),  "Wishing 


435 


Well"  (Free),  "Dancing  Barefoot"  (Patti  Smith)  and 
"Like  a  Hurricane"  (Nell  Young) — that  only  point  up 
the  band's  songwriting  incapacity.  Despite  the  borrowed 
title,  "Over  the  Hills  and  Far  Away"  is  an  original. 

John  Paul  Jones  evidently  didn't  hold  that  bit  of 
pilferage  against  the  Mission:  he  produced  the  serai- 
listenable  Children.  Hussey's  pseudo-poetic  lyncs  are 
pure  middle-brow  malarkey  and  his  singing  is  still  a 
problem,  but  the  measured  music  benefits  from  the  or- 
ganization and  air  of  Jones'  firm  dynamic  grip,  econom- 
ically applied  guitar  lines  and  occasionally  neat 
fripperies,  like  the  sitar  on  "Beyond  the  Pale."  Al- 
though not  recommended,  not  altogether  horrible.  The 
Beyond  the  Pale  EP  surrounds  Children's  lead-off  song 
with  "Love  Me  to  Death"  from  Gods  Own  Medicine 
and  a  couple  of  non-LP  tracks. 

With  Led  Zep  out  of  the  Mission's  system,  the  group 
reenlisted  Tim  Palmer  to  produce  Carved  in  Sand, 
which  doesn't  sound  very  different  from  its  predecessor. 
Hussey's  melodramatic  voice,  precious/dumb  lyrics — 
although  the  portrait  of  child  abuse  in  "Amelia"  is  an 
exception,  "Grapes  of  Wrath"  piles  on  the  heartland 
cliches  and  the  iteration  of  beliefs  in  "Lovely"  merely 
inverts  John  Lennon's  "God" — and  the  band's  unimag- 
inative music  (another  use  of  sitar?)  weigh  down  the 
meandering,  incoherent  effort.  The  one  flash  of  life — a 
striking  guitar  riff  that  opens  "Hungry  as  the 
Hunter" — is  quickly  buried  in  a  swirling  sea  of  pomp- 
ous noise. 

Other  than  "Hands  Across  the  Ocean,"  a  fine  new 
track  (gulp — did  I  say  that?)  produced  by  Andy  Par- 
tridge of  XTC,  Grains  of  Sand  consists  of  outtakes, 
covers,  B-sides  and  a  remix  from  Carved  In  Sand.  As 
big  a  thrill  as  this  release  may  be  to  Missionaries,  drivel 
like  "Mercenary"  could  easily  have  remained  in  the 
can.  And  why  record  a  lovely  song  like  the  Kinks'  "Mr. 
Pleasant"  if  you're  only  going  to  sound  obnoxiously 
condescending  about  it?  [i] 

See  also  Dead  or  Alive,  Sisters  of  Mercy. 


MISSION  OF  BUiMA 

Signals,  Calls,  and  Marches  EP  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1981 

VS.  (Ace  of  Hearte)  1 982 

The  Horrible  Truth  About  Burma  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 985 

Mission  of  Burma  EP  (Taang!)  1 987  * 

Forget  (Taang!)  1 987  « 

Mission  of  Burma  [CD]  (Rykodisc)  1 988  • 

Let  There  Be  Burma  (HoL  Taangl-Emergo)  1990  • 

During  its  existence,  Boston's  Mission  of  Burma 
was  one  of  the  most  important  American  bands  surviv- 
ing outside  the  major-label  record  industry.  Their  thrill- 
ing and  challenging  vocal  rock  is  both  intellectually  and 
emotionally  engaging.  Staking  out  bracing  post-pop  gui- 
tar turf  with  hard  edges  and  sharp  corners,  Burma's 
records  never  leave  melody  or  structure  behind;  they 
just  meander  around  it  sometimes. 

The  debut  EP  has  two  sides  (musically  speaking): 
aggressive/strident  in  some  spots,  inviting/attractive 
elsewhere.  Standing  out  among  the  six  tracks  is  one 
tremendous  song,  'That's  When  I  Reach  for  My  Re- 
volver," as  well  as  a  powerful  but  pretty  instrumental, 
"All  World  Cowboy  Romance." 

VS.  is  more  unremittingly  intense,  a  loud,  vibrant 
assault  that  never  becomes  unpleasant.  While  the  lineup 


(guitar,  bass,  drums,  tape  manipulation)  doesn't  inher- 
ently stake  out  any  original  stylistic  ground,  Burma 
never  proffers  cliches;  every  track  has  individual  char- 
acter. On  first  listen,  these  records  sound  very  British; 
on  further  investigation,  they're  all  American 

Because  of  hearing  problems  caused  by  the  aston- 
ishingly loud  band,  guitarist  Roger  Miller  left  Burma, 
turned  to  piano  and  devoted  himself  to  Birdsongs  of  the 
Mesozoic,  taking  time  out  to  make  solo  records  as  well. 
Tapeman  Martin  Swope  joined  him  in  Birdsongs.  Drum- 
mer Peter  Prescott  formed  Volcano  Suns  who,  as  the 
pseudonymous  Din,  have  also  backed  Dredd  Foole  on 
two  albums. 

On  record,  at  least,  the  Mission  of  Burma  saga  was 
far  from  over.  The  posthumous  Horrible  Truth  com- 
piles live  performances  from  four  US  cities  on  the 
band's  final  (1983)  tour  Besides  a  merciless  rendition 
of  the  Stooges'  "1970"  and  nine  dynamic  minutes  of 
Pere  Ubu's  "Heart  of  Darkness,"  the  album  offers  eight 
originals  in  several  stylistic  veins.  Some  of  the  tracks 
are  intense  and  captivating,  while  others  are  sloppy, 
lacking  the  focused  punch  of  their  best  work. 

The  all-fun  Mission  of  Burma  EP  consists  of  five 
loud  studio  cuts,  produced  by  either  Lou  Giordano  or 
Peter  Dayton  between  '79  and  '82.  (Two  songs  overlap 
the  live  LP.)  "Peking  Spring"  is  an  obsessive  dark 
mantra  with  cool  choral  chanting;  the  title  track  builds  a 
powerful  drone  over  a  bewildering  drum  pattern;  "Dum- 
bells,"  although  not  much  of  a  song,  has  an  amazing 
overdriven  guitar  sound.  (The  cassette  and  CD  both 
contain  five  bonus  cuts.) 

Forget  is  an  unannotated  (but  the  inclusion  of 
1980's  "Forget"  suggests  the  vintage)  album  of  previ- 
ously unreleased  songs,  given  basic  studio  treatment 
(rehearsals?).  Obviously  not  the  band's  premier  mate- 
rial nor  ideal  recording  circumstances,  the  loud  and  mus- 
cular songs  seem  undeveloped,  samey.  The  most 
exciting  moments  are  breaks  in  which  Miller  and  Swope 
work  their  rowdy  magic.  Fans  won't  be  disappointed — 
these  are  by  no  means  trivial  scraps — but  the  preceding 
EP  seems  to  have  contained  the  band's  best  outtakes. 

The  80-minute-plus  CD-only  compilation  entitled 
Mission  of  Burma  consists  of  Signals,  Calls,  and 
Marches  and  VS.  m  their  entirety,  plus  two  tracks  from 
Horrible  Truth,  two  single  sides  ("Academy  Fight 
Song"  and  "OK/No  Way")  and  two  previously  unre- 
leased items.  For  another  listen  to  the  band's  ephemera, 
the  two-record  Let  There  Be  Burma  reissues  Forget 
and  the  eponymous  Taang!  EP  in  its  expanded  form, 
adding  alternate  (but  not  very  different)  takes  of  "This 
Is  Not  a  Photograph"  from  the  1981  EP  and  "Einstein's 
Day"  from  VS,  [i] 

See  also  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic,  Dredd  Foole 
and  the  Din,  Roger  Miller,  Space  Negros,  Volcano 
Suns. 


MR.  PARTRIDGE 

See  XTC. 

MR.  T  EXPERIENCE 

Everybody's  Entitled  to  Their  Own  Opinion  (Disorder) 

1986 
Night  Shift  at  the  Thrill  Factory  (Rough  Trade)  1 988 


436 


Big  Block  Bugs  Bleed  Blue  Blood  (Rough  Trade)  1989 
Making  Things  with  Light  (Lookout!)  1 990 

On  the  face  of  things,  little  has  changed  for  the  Mr. 
T  Experience  over  the  years.  They  switched  bass  play- 
ers midway.  Otherwise,  the  two  guitars,  bass  and  drums 
lineup  has  steadfastly  blared  punk  rock  peppered  with 
wit  and  melody  for  five  solid  years  of  minimal  financial 
reward  and  maximal  rock'n'roll  respect.  The  self- 
released  Everybody's  Entitled  to  Their  Own  Opinion 
gained  the  Berkeley,  California  band  immediate  notori- 
ety for  its  careening  take  on  the  Monkees'  "Pleasant 
Valley  Sunday"  and  the  singalong  cult  classics  "Danny 
Partridge"  (commemorating  Bonaduce's  cocaine  bust) 
and  "I'm  in  Love  with  Paula  Pierce"  (a  lustful  ode  to 
the  Pandoras4  lead  sex-slave).  Although  overlooked  in 
the  excitement,  the  album  also  contains  some  terrific 
songs  of  pain,  anger  and  confusion  ("Sheep,"  "Dis- 
connection," "Scientific"). 

Night  Shift  at  the  Thrill  Factory,  produced  by  Cel- 
ibate Rifle  Kent  Steedman,  sticks  to  the  same  formula, 
with  Herman's  Hermits'  "No  Milk  Today"  getting  the 
full-on  treatment,  an  over-the-top  surf  instrumental 
("Skatin'  Cows"),  manic  slabs  of  sarcastic  hilarity  like 
"Velveeta"  and  "What  Is  Punk?"  (a  fantasy  about  the 
group  appearing  on  Donahue}  and  an  incredible  rapid- 
fire  philosophical  essay,  "The  History  of  the  Concept  of 
the  Soul." 

The  seven-song  Big  Black  Bugs  Bleed  Blue  Blood 
toys  ambiguously  with  the  band's  Ramones  fixation 
("End  of  the  Ramones"),  pays  tribute  to  Berkeley's 
all-ages  punk  palace  "Oilman  Street"  and  tears  up  Ses- 
ame Street  with  "Up  and  Down"  (also  covered  by  Don- 
ner  Party).  The  long,  touching  slice-of-life  "Song 
About  a  Girl  Who  Went  Shopping"  showcases  main 
songwriter  Dr.  Frank's  observant  eye  (name  one  other 
song  that  details  the  purchase  of  a  Lurkers  single!)  and 
storytelling  sense. 

Producer  Kevin  Army  (who  has  recorded  all  of  the 
band's  efforts  but  Night  Shift)  deserves  credit  for  the 
success  of  Making  Things  with  Light,  as  it  is  the  most 
powerful-sounding  Mr.  T  disc  yet,  with  strong  material 
to  match.  (Amazingly,  half  of  the  album  was  recorded 
as  demos.)  Frank  and  co-conspirator  Jon  von  (guitar, 
vocals)  again  celebrate  girls — good,  bad  and  sad — 
somehow  working  way  in  thermodynamics,  Latin  bene- 
dictions, sturm  und  drang  and  Rachel  Sweet's  "What's 
in  the  Cuckoo  Clock."  Genius.  [sm] 


M+M 

See  Martha  and  the  Muffins. 

MOCK  TURTLES 

Turtle  Soup  (nr/lmaginary)  1990  (Relativity)  1991  • 
87-90  (nr/lmaginary)  1 991  • 

Having  appeared  on  nearly  every  Imaginary  tribute 
LP,  offering  their  interpretations  of  songs  by  Beefheart, 
Barrett,  Hendrix,  the  Byrds,  Kinks  and  others, 
Manchester's  otherwise  little-known  Mock  Turtles  defy 
all  reasonable  expectations  on  their  debut  album  by  per- 
forming original  material  in  a  semi-consistent  style.  Not 
that  the  quintet  isn't  entirely  derivative  of  numerous 
'60s/'70s  art-pop  icons,  but  it's  reassuring  to  see  them 
expend  a  little  creative  effort  for  a  change.  When  not 


indulging  in  obvious  affectations,  Turtle  Soup  is  an 
above-average  retro  album:  polite  guitar/keyboards  ar- 
rangements of  nicely  melodic  tunes  sung  with  attractive 
softness,  all  bathed  in  a  light  psychedelic  glow.  The 
second  LP  is  a  compilation  of  the  Mock  Turtles'  EPs 
and  tributes.  [i] 

Mesh  &  Lace  (nr/4AD)  1981 

After  the  Snow  (Sire)  1982  • 

Life  in  the  Gladhouse  EP  (nr/4AD)  1982 

Gathering  Dust  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 983 

Ricochet  Days  (Sire)  1 984 

Stop  Start  (Sire)  1986 

Pillow  Lips  (TVT)  1990® 

Colchester's  Modern  English  (originally  formed  as 
the  Lepers)  undertook  a  drastic  change  of  direction  after 
its  debut,  an  oppressively  pretentious  load  of  monoto- 
nous droning  and  shouting  by  a  precious  art  band.  After 
the  Snow,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  flawed  but  rewarding 
batch  of  hard-edged,  melodic  dance  songs,  a  style  to 
which  the  group  subsequently  adhered.  Instead  of  the 
muddy  production  that  favored  only  the  drummer  on 
Mesh  &  Lace,  the  second  record  has  both  sparkling 
sound  and  overtly  normal  musical  intentions.  If  nothing 
else  on  After  the  Snow  is  as  striking  as  the  wonderful 
"I  Melt  with  You,"  it's  still  a  fine  album.  (Besides  the 
After  the  Snow  track  for  which  it's  titled,  the  four-song 
Life  in  the  Gladhouse  12-inch  contains  three  non-LP 
songs.) 

Ricochet  Days,  an  attempt  to  reconcile  the  band's 
abiding  commitment  to  free  artistic  expression  with  the 
lure  of  growing  American  stardom,  is  rather  equivocal, 
offering  several  finely  wrought  slices  of  catchmess 
("Hands  Across  the  Sea,"  "Rainbow's  End")  as  well 
as  slightly  more  obscure  efforts.  Greater  intricacy  nicely 
tints  all  the  material;  pristine  production  by  longstand- 
ing collaborator  Hugh  Jones  adds  to  their  appeal.  Still, 
Modern  English  remains  precariously  perched  on  a 
fence  between  making  a  musical  statement  and  aiming 
for  commercial  easy  street.  That  decision  can't  be  post- 
poned indefinitely. 

With  the  release  of  Stop  Start,  it's  obvious  which 
way  Modem  English  is  leaning.  It  may  be  a  bit  early  to 
wnte  them  off  as  boring  has-been  sell-outs,  but  they're 
not  headed  anywhere  particularly  challenging.  Bad  sign: 
the  refrain  of  "Ink  and  Paper,"  co-written  by  erstwhile 
Rubinoo  (!)  Tommy  Dunbar,  is  too  reminiscent  of 
"Born  to  Run"  to  be  a  coincidence.  With  nowhere  left 
to  turn,  the  group  sat  out  the  remainder  of  the  decade. 

An  inferior  new  version  of  "I  Melt  with  You"  is  the 
red  radio  carpet  on  which  Pillow  Lips  returns  Modern 
English  (three-fourths  of  the  Stop  Start  lineup)  to 
action — as  if  anyone  had  noticed  their  absence.  The 
diverse  record  contains  some  easy-to-like  bounce-pop 
("Beauty,"  "Care  About  You")  but  other  tracks  either 
drift  along  listlessly  (like  the  enervated  title  tune)  or  sag 
under  cliche'd  lyrics  ("Life's  Rich  Tapestry" — now 
there's  a  novel  idea)  and  equally  unimaginative  melo- 
dies. 

The  five  non-LP  tracks  from  Modern  English's  pre- 
pop  era  ('80-'81)  gathered  on  the  12-inch  Gathering 
Dust  are  atmospheric,  dense,  aggressive  and  abrasive. 

See  also  This  Mortal  Coil  [i] 


437 


MODERN  LOVERS 

See  Jonathan  Richman  and  the  Modern  Lovers. 

MOFUNGO 

Elementary  Particles  EP  {Living  Legends)  1980 
End  of  the  World  [tape]  (Mofungo)  1 982 
Out  of  Line  (Zoar)  1 983 
Frederick  Douglass  (Coyote-Twtn/Tone)  1 985 
Messenger  Dogs  of  the  Gods  (lost-Twin/Tone)  1 986 
End  of  the  World,  Part  2  (Lost-Twin/Tone)  1987 
Bugged  {SST}  1 988  • 
Work  (SST)  1989* 

Mofungo' s  frayed  vocals,  twitchy  rhythms  and 
snarling  saxes  are  an  acquired  taste  but,  on  Out  of  Line, 
the  quartet — formed  from  the  ashes  of  New  York  no 
wavers  Blinding  Headache — does  an  excellent  job  of 
preventing  discordance  from  descending  to  chaos.  The 
urgent  attack  of  "Wage  Slave,"  "FBI  Informer  (He 
Sold  His  Soul)"  and  others  never  lacks  the  credibility 
that  eludes  many  fancier  bands.  Hard  on  the  nerves, 
though. 

Frederick  Douglass  furthers  Mofungo 's  drive  into 
annoyingly  random  sounds  and  pointedly  political  lyr- 
ics. Willie  Klein's  guitars  and  producer  Elliott  Sharp's 
occasional  sax  contributions  wander  off  in  the  most  hap- 
hazard directions;  the  rhythm  section  isn't  exactly 
session-level  tight,  but  at  least  bassist  Robert  Sietsema 
and  alternating  drummers  Phil  Dray  and  Chris  Nelson 
keep  a  semblance  of  the  beat  going  between  them.  Un- 
listenable. 

Dray's  departure  (and  vocalist  Heather  Drake's  tem- 
porary arrival)  prior  to  Messenger  Dogs  of  the  Gods 
was  accompanied,  evidently,  by  a  total  sonic  rethink, 
leaving  Mofungo  a  rhythmically  loaded,  occasionally 
jagged,  folk-rock  group.  Sharp,  now  a  full  bandmem- 
ber,  still  blows  wall-rattling  sax  and  triples  on  guitar  and 
keyboards.  Palatable,  even  pretty  in  spots,  the  album 
includes  such  American  classics  as  "Big  Rock  Candy 
Mountain"  and  Woody  Guthrie's  ''Deportee"  along- 
side original  instrumentals  and  topical  songs  like 
"Johnny  Didn't  Come  Marching  Home,"  "The  Typ- 
ist's Plea"  and  "George  Washington  Carver/Sojourner 
Truth."  Humorless  but  estimably  well  intentioned. 

While  the  uncommon  blend  of  folk,  jazz  and  rock  on 
End  of  the  World,  Part  2  shows  steps  in  the  right 
direction  (Sharp  finally  seems  to  be  bowing  to  the  chro- 
matic scale  here),  Mofungo's  lyrics  are  getting  so  di- 
dactic that  they  require  a  helpful  paragraph  of  footnotes 
(about  aircraft,  a  remark  made  by  Baby  Doc  Duvalier, 
etc. )  on  the  back  cover.  The  varied  and  intricate  music 
is  a  lot  better  than  the  wavery  sub-Tom  Verlaine  vocals, 
but  this  album  is  still  only  for  intelligent  listeners  with 
the  patience  to  survive  the  band's  unpolished  and  prickly 
exterior. 

With  dated  lyrics  about  Judge  Bork  and  Oliver 
North,  and  a  Sietsema  essay  explaining  such  irrelevan- 
cies  as  the  band's  fear  of  aluminum  and  annoyance  (now 
there's  a  gutsy  political  stance)  at  Cardinal  O'Connor, 
Bugged  is  still  Mofungo's  most  appealing  and  accessi- 
ble record,  a  tuneful  and  tight  set  of  real  songs  built 
more  on  collective  chord  progressions  than  anarchic  in- 
strumental assemblies.  Actually,  when  Sharp  wraps  his 
lips  around  a  reed  and  sets  off  for  the  moon  at  the  start 
of  Face  2,  the  momentary  chaos  is  bracing  but  welcome 


amid  the  pleasant  rock  and  old-time  folk  surroundings. 

Work  thankfully  omits  the  monograph,  but  that's 
the  best  thing  about  this  lyrically  conceptual  collection 
of  labor  songs.  In  a  total  rejection  of  Bugged's  listener- 
friendliness,  Work  returns  to  unmelodic  noise  mode 
with  lunging  hunks  of  discontinuity,  pointless  rhythm 
shifts,  atonal  vocals  and  cacophonous  bits  of  sonic 
ephemera  running  roughshod  through  the  tracks.  Al- 
though covers  of  Sonny  Boy  Williamson,  Blind  Alfred 
Reed  and  the  Minutemen  provide  brief  oases  of  musical 
reason,  Work  is  a  chore  to  avoid.  [jy/i] 

See  also  Elliott  Sharp,  The  Scene  Is  Now. 

Circus  Maximus  (nr/el-Cherry  Red)  1 986  • 

Nicky  EP  (nr/el-Chenry  Red)  1986  • 

The  Poison  Boyfriend  (nr/Creation)  1987 

Tender  Pervert  (nr/Creation)  1988  • 

Don't  Stop  the  Night  (nr/Creation)  1 989  • 

Monsters  of  Love-Singles  1 985-90  (nr/Creation)  1 990  ® 

On  first  listen,  the  early  recordings  of  Bnton  Nich- 
olas Currie  (aka  Momus)  suggest  some  sort  of  unholy 
alliance  between  Donovan  and  Momssey.  Both  literate 
and  literary,  Currie  is  an  erudite  singer/songwriter  of 
striking  originality  who  merges  European  music-hall  tra- 
dition with  more  conventional  new-agey  folk  and  synth 
disco;  call  it  "fop"  music.  Like  Woody  Allen,  Currie  is 
obsessed  with  sex  and  death  and,  on  record,  gives  these 
preoccupations  clever,  deadpan  twists. 

The  cover  of  Circus  Maximus  depicts  Currie  as  the 
Roman  soldier  St.  Sebastian,  eight  arrows  piercing  his 
body.  Inside,  the  majority  of  songs  riff  on  Biblical 
themes,  with  titles  like  "The  Lesson  of  Sodom  (Ac- 
cording to  Lot)"  and  "King  Solomon's  Song  and 
Mine."  But  far  from  being  Christian  contemporary,  this 
is  compelling  secular  pop  with  enticing  narratives,  sung 
by  a  young  man  with  a  remarkably  soothing  voice. 
Acoustic  guitar  predominates,  accented  by  snatches  of 
violin,  flute,  even  harpsichord — all  of  which  serves  to 
make  the  initially  daunting,  wordy  songs  extremely  pal- 
atable. 

The  momentum  of  Circus  Maximus  was  interrupted 
by  Nicky,  a  three-song  Jacques  Brel  tribute  which  fea- 
tures the  agonizingly  maudlin  "Don't  Leave"  and  "See 
a  Friend  in  Tears,"  a  spare-sounding  soporific  that 
would  seem  more  at  home  on  a  This  Mortal  Coil  alburn. 
(This  EP  is  included  on  the  CD  of  Circus  Maximus.) 

On  The  Poison  Boyfriend,  Currie  dispenses  with 
the  religious  imagery  and  enlists  a  backup  band,  while 
taking  a  less  studied  approach  to  consistently  ace  mate- 
rial. His  bayonet  wit  is  most  apparent  on  the  comically 
torchy  "Sex  for  the  Disabled";  even  Barry  White's  not 
safe  as  Currie  delivers  a  horny  faux-soul  sex  rap  with 
everything  but  the  heavy  breathing. 

Tender  Pervert  is  a  more  synthetic-sounding  disc 
that  relies  heavily  on  sequencers  and  other  gewgaws  in 
addition  to  the  lightly  strummed  guitars.  Luckily,  the 
technology  fails  to  overpower  the  songs,  which  are 
among  Currie's  sexiest,  funniest  and  most  human.  In 
between  toying  with  New  Order-like  disco  and  elec- 
tronic R&B,  he  constructs  a  couple  of  wrenching  acous- 
tic ballads  (including  the  great  "Right  Hand  Heart") 
that  would  likely  turn  the  most  hardened  non-romantic 
into  a  quivering  tower  of  jello. 


438 


Inexplicably  including  a  remake  of  "Right  Hand 
Heart"  that  unsuccessfully  attempts  to  turn  the  song  into 
a  Fat  Albert-style  (!)  rap  track,  the  weird  Don't  Stop 
the  Night  is  an  unsubtle  indulgence  with  wretched  Eu- 
rodisco  production  that  drains  the  lifeblood  from  fairly 
interesting,  sexually  explicit  songs.  Some  are  spared, 
however,  including  "The  Guitar  Lesson,"  a  peculiar, 
gauzy  bit  of  jailbait  erotica.  In  all,  a  surprisingly  wrong- 
headed  experiment,  much  of  which  would've  sounded 
stale  a  decade  earlier. 

Creation  wisely  followed  up  this  disc  with  a  singles 
retrospective  that's  obviously  the  perfect  starting  place 
for  those  wishing  to  immerse  themselves  in  Momus' 
adventurous  oeuvre.  (The  title  track  of  the  previous  LP 
appears  here  in  a  startlingly  different — and  infinitely 
more  listenable — form,  as  "Ballad  of  the  Barrel  Organ- 
ist.") Although  impatient  listeners  may  find  much  of 
this  mellow  to  the  point  of  catatonia,  the  elegant 
songcraft  reveals  a  true  poet  at  work.  [db] 

MONKS  OF  DOOM 

See  Camper  Van  Beethoven,  Ophelias. 


MONOCHROME  SET 

Strange  Boutique  (DInDisc)  1980  ® 
Love  Zombies  (nr/DinDisc)  1980  ® 
Eligible  Bachelors  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1982 
Volume,  Contrast,  Brilliance  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1983 
Jacob's  Ladder  EP  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1 985 
The  Lost  Weekend  (nr/Blanco  y  Negro)  1985 
Fin  (nr/el-Cherry  Red)  1 986 
Colour  Transmission  [CD]  (Virgin)  1 988  • 
Westminster  Affair  (nr/el-Cherry  Red)  1988  « 
Dante's  Casino  (nr/Vinyl  Japan)  1 990  • 

Beginning  with  a  series  of  arty  rock  singles,  this 
amusingly  suave  and  sarcastic  London  quartet  fronted 
by  Bid  (vocals),  Lester  Square  (guitar)  and  Andy  War- 
ren (bass) — all  of  whom  had  played  with  Adam  Ant  in 
obscure  early  bands — took  a  sharp  sardonic  swing  to- 
wards lightweight  pop  when  they  reached  album  format. 
Aided  by  producer  Bob  Sargeant  on  keyboards,  the  Set 
mixes  uncommon  source  material  (polkas,  etc.)  into 
cabaret  material  (a  la  Village  Green  Kinks)  on  Strange 
Boutique.  Fortunately,  the  highly  controlled  results  are 
untainted  by  seriousness;  even  without  much  to  say,  the 
arch  Set  says  it  well. 

Love  Zombies  expands  the  cabaret  stylings  while 
limiting  the  bizarre  material,  producing  a  smoother  and 
more  accessible  sound.  The  melodies  are  stronger,  and 
Bid's  vocals  are  brought  up  to  spotlight  lyrics  that  take 
sharp,  light  jabs  at  emotional  traps  and  social  mores. 

With  a  new  drummer  in  the  lineup,  Eligible  Bach- 
elors strips  the  music  down  to  essential  elements — 
clean,  bouncy  melodies  and  gently  satirical  verse, 
performed  with  deceptive  facility.  Songs  like  * 'March 
of  the  Eligible  Bachelors,"  "The  Jet  Set  Junta"  and 
"The  Great  Barrier  Riff"  typify  the  band's  wittily  in- 
telligent verse. 

Another  lineup  revision  ensued,  making  Bid  and 
bassist  Warren  the  only  remaining  original  members. 
Leading  off  with  the  suave  pop  of  "Jacob's  Ladder," 
The  Lost  Weekend  has  such  a  light  touch  that  it  threat- 
ens to  float  away.  Nostalgic  recollections  from  the  '30s, 


'50s  and  '60s  color  most  of  the  songs,  variously  sug- 
gesting "When  Fm  64"  crossed  with  recent  XTC  and  a 
bikini  beach  movie  soundtrack.  Clever  and  entertaining, 
although  only  the  second  side  is  truly  compelling. 

Volume,  Contrast,  Brilliance  compiles  early  sin- 
gles and  significant  album  tracks.  Fin  is  a  compilation 
of  live  recordings  dating  from  1979  to  1985.  Although 
presented  as  a  supposed  French  film  soundtrack,  the 
strangely  compiled  Westminster  Affair  (with  four  re- 
peats from  Volume,  Contrast,  Brilliance)  actually  con- 
tains half  of  Eligible  Bachelors,  a  song  from  The  Lost 
Weekend  and  some  singles;  the  CD  appends  four  more. 
Colour  Transmission  is  a  straight  one-disc  repackage 
of  Strange  Boutique  plus  Love  Zombies. 

Augmented  by  a  keyboard-playing  second  guitarist, 
the  original  core  trio  reunited  around  the  end  of  the 
decade  and  recorded  the  all-new  Dante's  Casino  with  a 
guest  drummer.  Still  sounding  very  much  like  XTC*s 
upper-class  city  cousins,  the  Monochrome  Set  picks  up 
the  reins  of  attractive  pop  oddity  with  ease,  filling  the  LP 
with  such  typically  airy  and  clever  charmers  as  "Bella 
Morte,"  "Hate  Male"  and  "House  of  God,"  which  bi- 
zarrely  borrows  a  melody  from  Slade's '  'Gudbuy  f  Jane* ' 
and  sets  it  to  an  acid-house  beat.  [sg/i] 


MONSOON 

Third  Eye  (nr/Mobile  Suit  Corp.)  1983  (nr/Greot 
Expectations)  1 989  • 

SHEILA  CHANDRA 

Out  on  My  Own  (nr/lndipop)  1 984  « 

Monsoon  was  a  left-field  pop  concept,  but  one  that 
worked  raarvelously.  British  producer/songwriter/ 
instrumentalists  Steve  Coe  and  Martin  Smith  create 
(with  some  outside  assistance,  mostly  on  percussion) 
raga-rock  along  the  lines  of  George  Harrison's  Beatle 
excursions  ("Within  You,  Without  You,"  especially), 
which  Anglo-Indian  actress  Sheila  Chandra  delivers  in  a 
very  lovely  voice.  The  alternately  languid  and  kinetic 
songs  (English  lyrics  and  pop  structures,  hybrid 
instrumentation) — '  'Wings  of  the  Dawn  (Prem  Kavita) ' ' 
and  "Shakti  (The  Meaning  of  Within)"  are  two 
highlights — meld  intriguing  sounds  to  memorable  mel- 
odies, making  Third  Eye  a  wondrous,  if  gimmicky,  pop 
achievement. 

Following  Monsoon's  lone  album,  Chandra  contin- 
ued working  with  Coe  and  Smith  as  a  solo  artist.  While 
the  trio's  formula  is  not  all  that  different,  Out  on  My 
Own  is  a  bit  of  a  disappointment,  upping  the  songs'  pop 
structures  and  ambient  possibilities,  consigning  the  pre- 
viously strong  Indian  character  to  an  accent  rather  than 
an  element  of  its  style.  The  title  track  is  quite  nice  and 
only  the  miserable  "All  You  Want  Is  More"  and  the 
recited  "Unchanged  Malady"  fall  below  pleasant,  but 
the  rest  is  rarely  invigorating  or  memorable. 

Chandra  released  additional  albums,  all  of  which 
were  recently  made  available  on  CD  by  a  Swedish  label. 


MOODiSTS 

Engine  Shudder  (nr/Red  Flame)  1983 
Thirst/5  Calling  (nr/Red  Flame)  1 984 
Double  Life  EP  (nr/Red  Flame)  1985 


439 


THE 

At  His  Stone  Beach  EP  (nr/Fire)  1 988  • 

THE 

My  Life  on  the  Plains  (fire)  1 989  • 
Codine  EP  (Fire)  1990® 

Originally  from  Australia,  the  Moodists  are  gradu- 
ates of  the  ihumpVgrind  school  of  gothic  punk  Com- 
bining dense  metallic  bass  and  razor-sharp  guitar  riffs 
with  singer  Dave  Graney's  demonic  growl,  the  band  is 
capable  of  a  most  unholy  din.  Although  dark  and  omi- 
nous, the  music  can  at  times  be  surprisingly  melodic. 

The  seven-song  Engine  Shudder  is  not  the  Mood- 
ists at  their  most  effective.  The  tracks  are  devoid  of 
coherence  and  slip  readily  into  redundancy.  Only '  'Gone 
Dead"  hints  at  a  promising  future,  thanks  to  Graney's 
layered  vocals  and  Chris  Walsh's  bass  work. 

Thirsty's  Calling  is  a  remarkable  improvement. 
The  addition  of  a  second  discordant  guitar  and  judicious 
production  makes  this  music  for  nightmares.  Setting  vo- 
cals and  guitars  further  back  in  the  mix,  the  rhythm 
section  comes  into  its  own  on  "That's  Frankie's  Nega- 
tive" and  the  standout,  "Machine  Machine/'  Grimly 
primal,  this  music  breathes  life  into  pop's  forbidding 
alter-ego,  a  region  where  many  dare  to  tread  and  few 
prove  this  successful. 

The  Moodists'  reign  of  terror  continues  on  the  six- 
song  EP.  Bass  and  voice  are  up-front  this  time,  giving 
the  tracks  Mi-bodied  menace.  "Double  Life,"  "Six 
Dead  Birds"  and  "Can't  Lose  Her"  are  wonderfully 
desperate  songs  and  by  far  the  Moodists'  best  to  date. 
Following  the  EP,  the  band  underwent  personnel  and 
label  changes,  returning  in  '86  with  the  "Justice  and 
Money  Too"  single — light,  bluesy  pop  augmented  with 
strings  and  piano.  They  may  have  lost  their  venom,  but 
not  the  ability  to  craft  stunning  tunes. 

Like  the  band's  late  work,  Graney's  post-Moodists 
output  ditches  the  aggression  and  concentrates  on  taste- 
ful, literate  songcraft.  At  EKs  Stone  Beach  finds  Graney 
(backed  by  a  group  that  includes  ex-Orange  Juice/ Aztec 
Camera  guitarist  Malcolm  Ross  and  Moodists  drummer 
Clare  Moore)  making  the  most  of  his  limited  but  ex- 
pressive voice  on  four  impressively  crafted  new  tunes. 

My  Life  on  the  Plains  is  a  resounding  fulfillment  of 
the  promise  hinted  at  on  the  preceding  EP  (the  contents 
of  which  are  included  as  bonus  tracks  on  the  album's 
CD).  The  fascination  with  frontier  Americana  suggested 
by  the  cover  motif  is  reflected  in  haunting  originals  like 
"I'll  Set  the  Scene"  and  "Robert  Ford  on  the  Stage," 
as  well  as  thoughtful  reworkings  of  songs  by  Gene 
Clark,  Gram  Parsons  and  Fred  Neil.  There's  also  a 
spooky  version  of  "The  Streets  of  Laredo."  With  a  new 
combo  that  reunites  the  Moodists'  rhythm  section,  the 
music  is  supple  and  textured,  providing  a  perfect  vehicle 
for  Graney's  increasingly  accomplished  writing  and 
singing. 

The  Codine  EP  is  five  tracks  from  a  live-in-the- 
studio  Australian  radio  broadcast — the  Buffy  Sainte- 
Marie  title  tune,  the  trad  folk  standard  "Jack  of 
Diamonds"  and  three  from  Graney's  solo  records.  With 
My  Life  on  the  Plains'  pianist  traded  in  for  a  pedal- 
steel  player,  it's  a  worthy  addendum  to  the  album. 

[ag/hd] 


JOHN  MOORE  AND  THE 
EXPRESSWAY 

Expressway  Rising  (Pofydor)  1989  • 

Distortion  (nr/Poiydor)  1990  {Pofydor}  1991  ® 

Singer/guitarist  John  Moore  briefly  drammed  (and 
played  guitar)  in  the  Jesus  and  Mary  Chain,  but  that 
experience — other  than  some  familiar  beats  and  occa- 
sional bolts  of  noisy  guitar — barely  informs  his  inexpli- 
cably overlooked  solo  debut,  a  dandy  one-man-band 
project.  SoEd  pop  songwriting  skills  (some  of  his  tunes 
reuse  classic  chord  progressions  to  good  effect)  com- 
bined with  a  surprising  Billy  Idolish  voice  and  charged 
but  simple  rock  arrangements  make  for  memorable  tunes 
like  "Friends,"  "Back  to  Stay,"  the  Ramonesy  "Good 
Times"  and  the  shouida-been-a-hit  "Something  About 
You  Girl."  The  album's  unfinished  demo-like  sound  is 
part  of  its  unassuming  charm.  (The  CD  and  cassette 
have  two  bonus  tracks,  including  the  loudly  countryfied 
"Live  from  Death  Row.") 

With  producer  Andy  Wallace  and  a  batch  of  side- 
men  (including  horns  and,  on  "Soul  for  Rent,"  strings), 
Moore  turns  all-pro  on  his  slick  and  slightly  serious 
second  album  which,  other  than  the  vocals,  scarcely 
resembles  Expressway  Rising  at  all.  Beyond  suggest- 
ing that  Distortion  (at  least  some  parts  of  it)  is  a  record 
Billy  Idol  would  be  proud  of  if  he  weren't  so  lost  in  his 
own  superstar  hype,  it's  hard  to  tell  what  Moore's  up  to, 
as  the  unstylized  rock — interrupted  by  minor  artistic 
pretenses — doesn't  seem  headed  anywhere.  There's  lik- 
able stuff  here  (like  "Mean  Streak,"  "Put  Up  or  Shut 
Up")  and  plenty  of  contrast  (from  the  gentle  "Summer 
Song"  to  the  mega-noisy  "Heart  of  Darkness"),  but 
Distortion  sacrifices  too  much  of  Moore's  earthy  appeal 
in  a  concerted  push  for  commercial  credibility.  The 
CD's  highlight  is  a  seven-minute  bonus  of  "On  Broad- 
way," which  gives  spoken- word/found-sound  drama  to 
an  effective  treatment  of  the  Drifters'  soul  classic,  [i] 


R.  STEV1E  MOORE 

Phonography  (Vital)  1976  (HP  Music)  1978 

Four  from  Phonography  (HP  Music)  1 978 

Stance  EP  (HP  Music)  1978 

Deficate  Tension  (HP  Music)  1978 

Everything  You  Always  Wanted  to  Know  About  R.  Stevie 

Moore  but  Were  Afraid  to  Ask  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 984 
Whaf s  the  Point?!!  (Cuneiform)  1 984 
Verve  (nr/Hamster)  1985 
Glad  Music  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1986 
R.  Stevie  Moore  (1952-19??)  (nr/Cordelia)  1987 
Teenage  Spectacular  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 987 
Warning:  R.  Stevie  Moore  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 988 
Has-Beens  and  Never-Weres  (nr/Heliotrope)  1 990 
Greatesttits  [CD]  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1990  • 

The  son  of  a  top  Nashville  session  bassist,  R.  Stevie 
Moore  began  doing  his  own  one-man  home  recordings 
in  the  early  '70s.  Over  the  course  of  years  spent  per- 
fecting his  technical  and  conceptual  skills,  Moore's  in- 
dividualistic, wry  pop  and  musique  concrete  excursions 
have  developed  into  an  awesome — and  seemingly 
bottomless — world  of  talent  just  waiting  to  be  unleashed 
on  the  masses.  In  recent  years,  Moore  (now  living  in 
New  Jersey)  has  self-released  dozens  of  cassettes  of  his 


440 


work  via  mall  order;  the  two  1984  albums  partly  draw 
their  contents  from  those  tapes.  Suffice  to  say,  if  you 
like  what  you  hear  on  the  discs,  there's  plenty  more  of 
equal  quality  where  that  came  from. 

Phonography  (issued  twice  with  different  artwork) 
consists  of  Ms  very  early  efforts,  done  between  1974 
and  1976.  Some  of  it  is  fairly  rudimentary,  but  the 
Bonzo  Dog  Band-like  *  'Goodbye  Piano"  displays 
Moore's  incipient  brilliance,  and  a  massed-guitars  ren- 
dition of  the  Andy  Griffith  Show  theme  is  classic. 

Stance  is  a  three-song  12-inch,  running  time  around 
fifteen  minutes.  Recorded  in  '76  and  '77,  top-to-bottom 
improvement  is  obvious,  from  the  moody,  mostly  in- 
strumental "1st  or  Mas" — an  interpretation  of  awaken- 
ing (theme  for  a  ballet  perhaps?) — to  "Manufacturers," 
a  rollicking  jazzy  rocker. 

Delicate  Tension  is  excellent:  great  songs  of  aston- 
ishing variety,  all  tied  together  by  his  idiosyncratic,  gen- 
tle perceptions  of  life  and  smooth,  versatile  voice.  There 
are  hints  of  Zappa,  Rundgren,  Townshend,  McCartney 
and  countless  others;  Moore's  limitations,  if  indeed  he 
has  any,  have  yet  to  be  encountered. 

Moore's  tape  club's  issue  is  staggering  in  sheer  vol- 
ume, variety  and  consistency  of  quality.  (His  catalogue 
includes  well  over  150  titles!)  More  like  eclectic  radio 
shows  than  straight  collections  of  music,  he  includes 
anything  and  everything  on  the  tapes,  and  they  collec- 
tively provide  an  in-depth  self-portrait  of  a  truly  prodi- 
gious talent. 

Everything  You  Always  Wanted  to  Know  is  a 
two-record  compilation  of  tracks — with  historical  liner 
notes  (in  English)  purportedly  by  Robert  Christgau — 
sampling  a  decade's  worth  of  discs  and  tapes  with  orig- 
inals, covers  ("Mama  Weer  All  Crazee  Now," 
"Chantilly  Lace"),  strange  experiments  and  sublime 
successes.  Although  disjointed  in  spite  of  Moore's  skill- 
ful efforts  to  compile  it  in  some  rational  fashion,  the 
album  provides  proof  positive  of  the  man's  remarkable 
gift  to  do  virtually  any  type  of  music  and  do  it  extremely 
well. 

More  concise  and  better  conceived,  the  American 
one-disc  What's  the  Point?!!  provides  an  ideal  intro- 
duction to  Moore,  with  such  gems  as  "Part  of  the  Prob- 
lem," "Puttin*  Up  the  Groceries,"  "Bloody  Knuckles" 
and  "World's  Fair."  (The  last  three  also  appear  on 
Everything. ) 

Released  by  a  small  UK  label,  the  erratic  but  gem- 
strewn  Verve  compilation  (early- '80s  tracks — including 
an  in-concert  live  recording  from  '83 — chosen  by  the 
artist)  quickly  became  a  rarity;  Glad  Music,  a  proper 
studio  album  recorded  in  late  1985,  reprises  "Part  of  the 
Problem"  and  adds  a  dozen  more  examples  of  Moore  at 
the  top  of  his  creative  powers.  There's  real  C&W  played 
with  mock-seriousness  ("I  Love  You  So  Much  It 
Hurts"),  an  unnervingly  precise  synth-flavored  version 
of  the  Association's  "Along  Comes  Mary"  and  witty, 
hand-clapping  rock'n'roll  ("Shakin'  in  the  Sixties"). 
Delightful! 

(1952-19??)  is  yet  another  career-spanning  compi- 
lation, this  one  a  hodgepodge  assembly  of  21  tracks 
from  as  early  as  1973  and  as  late  as  1986,  with  stops 
along  the  way  for  "Delicate  Tension,"  "Goodbye  Pi- 
ano" and  "Satisfaction."  Some  of  the  items  are  tossed- 
off  fragments,  others  excellent  achievements  with  full- 
fledged  arrangements  in  a  wide  variety  of  styles.  The 


punky  "Jesus  Rocks"  (*78)  and  the  reflectively  acous- 
tic "Back  in  Time"  ('86)  are  among  the  album's  pre- 
viously unvinylized  treasures. 

Teenage  Spectacular  includes  covers  of  Dr.  Hook 
("The  Cover  of  'Rolling  Stone',"  half  of  it  performed 
a  cappella)  and  Dr.  Dylan  (the  anti-boxing  classic 
"Who  Killed  Davey  Moore?"  given  an  ironically  up- 
beat folk  reading)  amidst  the  original  pop  musings,  witty 
balladeering  and  brief  mind-altering  tape  experiments 
("Non  Sequitur  I-V").  The  simple  musical  construc- 
tions on  guitars,  keyboards  and  drums  reveal  traces  of 
Moore's  many  influences  —  from  the  Beatles  to  Todd 
Rundgren  to  the  Bonzo  Dog  Band  to  XTC  and  back 
again  —  and  huge  chunks  of  Ms  monumental  creative 
grasp.  '  'On  the  Spot'  '  is  satiric  big  band  bar-room  sleaze 
in  the  key  of  G  sharp;  "Blues  for  Cathy  Taylor"  is  a 
delightful  love  song  of  a  different  sort;  "Baby  on 
Board"  castigates  childless  drivers  with  those  yellow 
stickers  on  their  car  windows. 

A  collection  of  recent  ('86-'  87)  home  and  studio 
productions,  Warning  includes  remakes  of  several 
RSM  oldies  (e.g.,  "Manufacturers")  as  well  as  a  ren- 
dition of  the  Beatles'  "Getting  Better.  '  '  Has-Beens  and 
Never-  Weres  samples  a  decade  of  Moore  music,  be- 
ginning in  the  mid-  '70s  and  including  a  tribute  to  the 
Residents,  "What's  the  Point?"  (not  from  the  album  of 
the  that  name)  and  a  song  entitled  "Bonus  Track  (LP 
Only)." 

Building  on  Everything  You  Always  Wanted  to 
Know,  the  CD-only  Greatesttils  is  a  monumental  24- 
track  retrospective  of  Moore's  most  appealing  pop  orig- 
inals ("Why  Can't  I  Write  a  Hit?,"  "Debbie,"  "U  R 
True")  and  covers  ("Chantilly  Lace,"  "Along  Comes 
Mary,"  "Cover  of  'Rolling  Stone'  ")  —  a  perfect  intro- 
duction to  his  wonderful  world.  The  American  record 
industry's  failure  to  recognize  and  promote  the  unique 
gifts  of  this  giant  talent  is  a  case  of  criminal  neglect. 


ANTHONY  MORE 

Pieces  from  the  Cloudbnd  Ballroom  (Ger.  Polydor)  1971 

Secrets  of  the  Blue  Bag  (Ger.  Polydor)  1972 

Reed,  Whistle  and  Sticks  {Ger.  Polydor)  1972 

Out  (nr/Virgin)  1976 

Flying  Doesn't  Help  (nr/Quango)  1  979 

World  Service  (nr/Do  It)  1981 

The  Only  Choice  (nr/Parlophone)  1  984 

Anthony  More  (ne*  Moore)  was  a  founding  member 
of  progressive  trio  Slapp  Happy  in  the  early  '70s;  fol- 
lowing that  band's  merger  with  Henry  Cow  and  subse- 
quent dissolution,  More  went  his  own  way,  continuing 
his  solo  career  at  erratic  intervals.  Although  he  hasn't 
released  a  record  under  his  own  name  since  1984  (he 
does  pop  up  as  a  producer  now  and  again,  especially  in 
and  around  the  Golden  Palominos  camp),  More's  last 
three  releases  are  stunning.  As  an  artist,  he's  a  highly 
idiosyncratic  innovator  who  combines  art  and  rock  into 
a  far-reaching,  weird  and  wonderful  set  of  styles,  from 
the  atonal  to  the  hook-laden.  More  imparts  all  his  songs 
with  a  nonconformist's  perspective  that  defies  easy  com- 
prehension. 

Flying  Doesn't  Help  displays  More's  melodic 
stance,  with  such  beautiful  and  haunting  creations  as 
"Judy  Get  Down"  and  "Lucia";  his  wit  surfaces  in 


441 


sardonic  pieces  like  "Caught  Being  in  Love"  and  "Girl 
It's  Your  Time."  Building  dense  sonic  forests  filled 
with  jagged  splinters  and  dry,  incongruously  delicate 
vocals,  the  results  fall  somewhere  between  Peter  Gab- 
riel, John  Cale,  David  Bowie  and  Kevin  Ayers.  An 
extraordinary  record  that  reveals  itself  a  little  further 
each  time  it's  played. 

World  Service  (which,  unlike  Flying,  offers  musi- 
cian credits)  takes  a  decidedly  less  attractive  route,  bet- 
ter displaying  the  anti-music  aspect  of  More's  work; 
dour  singing  and  bitter  lyrics  make  it  a  challenging 
record  that's  as  brilliant  but  not  as  easily  enjoyed  as  the 
first.  "Broke'n  Idle,"  despite  glum  intent,  contains  the 
record's  strongest  melody.  In  contrast,  "Fat  Fly"  is 
unrelentingly  bleak;  the  light  relief  is  provided  by  atonal 
background  guitar.  World  Service  isn't  unpleasant; 
rather,  it  explores  different  ground  with  the  same  caustic 
eye  and  inventive  mind. 

With  ex-Fingerprintz  guitarist  Jimme  O'Neill  in  tow 
and^  Dagmar  Krause  providing  backing  vocals,  More 
lightens  the  mood  considerably  on  The  Only  Choice. 
He  incorporates  African  rhythms  on  a  few  cuts,  found 
sounds  on  others,  and  presents  a  lyrical  mix  of  wry 
observations  on  ills  of  the  modern  world  ("Industrial 
Drums,"  "Find  One  Voice")  plus  fascinating  outlooks 
on  communication  and  relationships  (and  not  simply 
romantic  ones).  The  often-understated  music  is  consis- 
tently likable  but  a  bit  less  invigorating  than  his  best. 
Nonetheless,  More's  varied  talents,  craft  and  incisive- 
ness  combine  to  make  it  a  rewarding  album.  [i] 

See  also  Peter  Blegvad,  Henry  Cow. 

MORELLS 

Shake  and  Push  (Borrowed)  1982  (East  Side  Digital) 
1990® 

SKELETONS 

Roclcin'  Bones  (nr/Next  Big  Thing)  1 987 
In  the  Flesh!  (nr/Next  Big  Thing)  1 988  [CD]  (nr/Demon) 
1990® 

How's  this  for  an  intriguing  assortment  of  musi- 
cians: a  middle-aged  couple  (he,  once  of  Arthur  "Sweet 
Soul  Music"  Conley's  band,  on  bass  and  guitar;  she  on 
keyboards;  both  sing),  a  phenomenal  guitarist  who'd  be 
stiff  competition  for  Dave  Edmunds  and  Brian  Setzer  if 
he  were  based  in  a  city  larger  than  Springfield,  Missouri 
and — on  occasional  sax — a  fellow  whose  main  occupa- 
tion is  producing  unconventional  country  star  Boxcar 
Willie.  Guitarist  D.  Clinton  Thompson  and  bassist  Lou 
Whitney  (producer  of  the  first  Del-Lords  LP)  have  been 
together  in  a  variety  of  lineups;  the  former's  superb 
"Driving  Guitars"  45  rescued  a  swell  Ventures  tune 
from  obscurity.  In  the  Skeletons  and  Original  Symp- 
toms, the  pair  has  mined  the  vaults  of  rock,  R&B  and 
country  arcana  for  some  ought-to-have-been  classics  and 
the  inspiration  to  pen  their  own  instant  winners 

The  Morells  can  easily  slay  most  revivalist  bands, 
and  Shake  and  Push  proves  it  with  a  casualness  that's 
all  the  more  ingratiating.  A  dozen  bars  into  the  second 
track,  if  you  ain't  slobbering  on  the  LP  jacket  wonder- 
ing where  you're  gonna  find  a  dee-luxe  greaseburger 
place  like  "Red's,"  then  you  just  ain't  American.  (The 
1990  reissue  adds  two  outtakes  from  the  original  album 
sessions  and  in-depth  liner  notes  by  Dave  Fncke.) 
The  Skeletons  consist  of  Thompson  and  Whitney 


with  a  different  drummer  and  keyboard  player.  Rockin' 
Bones  compiles  the  entire  contents  of  the  band's  origi- 
nal three  pre-Morells  singles  (from  '79- '80),  adding 
three  tunes  cut  after  the  Skeletons  were  revived  in  the 
mid- '80s.  The  album,  which  is  simply  delightful  from 
start  to  finish,  takes  an  automotive  angle,  with  Whitney's 
flawless  *  'Trans  Am' '  and  covers  like  "Gas  Money' '  and 
the  instrumental  "B/Gas  Accord.  * '  If  Johnny  Otis'  "Cra- 
zy Country  Hop' '  and  Whitney's  Presleyesque  *  'Tell  Her 
I'm  Gone"  break  the  topical  mold,  they  do  nothing  to 
interrupt  the  magical  mood. 

Adding  a  second  keyboard  player,  the  Skeletons 
made  an  all-new  (recording- wise,  that  is)  album,  reduc- 
ing the  overt  nostalgia  in  favor  of  a  more  integrated 
old-fashioned  sound  that  brings  a  wider  collection  of 
influences  into  the  studio.  But  forward  progress  for  such 
a  backwards-looking  band  isn't  such  a  swell  idea.  Be- 
sides covers  of  Sonny  Bono's  "Laugh  at  Me"  and  the 
Flying  Burrito  Brothers'  "Older  Guys,"  In  the  Flesh! 
contains  one  of  the  Del-Lords'  lesser  creations  ("I  Play 
the  Drams"),  the  sappy  "For  Every  Heart"  and  a  bnef 
"Take  Me  Out  to  the  Ball  Game."  The  playing's  great 
and  the  spirit  never  falters,  but  this  accomplished  col- 
lection doesn't  have  enough  of  what  makes  Rockin* 
Bones  so  downright  upright.  The  Demon  CD  contains 
both  Skeletons  LPs  in  their  entirety.  [jg/i] 

SCOTT  MORGAN  BAND 

See  Sonic' s  Rendezvous  Band. 

GIORGIO  MORODER  &  PHILIP 
OAKEY 

See  Human  League. 

MORR1SSEY 

Viva  Hate  (Sire-Reprise)  1988  9 
Bona  Drag  (Sire-Reprise)  1 990  <}> 
Kill  Uncle  (Sire-Reprise)  1991  <t> 

Having  killed  off  the  much  beloved  Smiths,  Morns- 
sey  carried  the  hopes  of  countless  fans  into  his  solo 
career,  but  rewarded  them  with  Viva  Hate,  a  bland 
album  that  provides  striking  proof  of  how  special  and 
irreplaceable  his  partnership  with  Johnny  Marr  was. 
Joined  by  guitarist  Vini  Reilly  (Durutti  Column)  and 
bassist/co-writer  Stephen  Street  (producer  of  some 
Smiths  records)  as  well  as  a  drummer  and  string  section, 
Morrissey  brings  his  usual  lyrical  angst  and  wobbly 
singsong  to  the  project,  but  the  colorless  music  offers 
nothing  beyond  smoothly  orchestrated  static.  The  min- 
imally arranged  and  epic-length  "Late  Night,  Maudlin 
Street"  is  the  closest  thing  to  a  good  track,  but  it's  too 
simple  by  half.  "Suedehead"  attempts  to  mimic  the 
Smiths  with  moderate  selfconscious  success,  but  little 
inherent  creativity.  Viva  Hate  drops  Morrissey  from 
masterful  pop  star  to  bland  solo  artist  in  one  easy  step. 
The  tape  and  CD  add  "Hairdresser  on  Fire." 

Like  his  former  band,  Morrissey  releases  singles  as 
frequently  as  other  pop  stars  make  hotel  reservations;  in 
the  two  album-less  years  following  Viva  Hate,  he  pro- 
duced enough  new  tracks  to  necessitate  the  Bona  Drag 
A's  and  B 's  compilation.  Repeating  two  tracks  ( "Suede- 
head"  and  "Everyday  Is  Like  Sunday")  that  were  45s 
taken  from  the  previous  LP,  Bona  Drag  adds  the  fruits 


442 


of  Morrissey's  work  with  Clive  Langer  and  Alan  Win- 
stanley  (the  Madness-inflected  "Piccadilly  Palare," 
the  danceably  dense  "November  Spawned  a  Mon- 
ster," the  bluesy  "Yes,  I  Am  Blind")  as  well  as 
Street  productions  like  the  absolutely  ace  "Interesting 
Drug"  (on  which  Momssey  and  Kirsty  MacColl 
harmonize  over  music  played  by  all  the  ex-Smiths 
save  Marr)  and  the  lushly  orchestrated  "Hairdresser 
on  Fire."  By  and  large,  this  fine  collection  puts  Mor- 
nssey  back  on  track,  with  varied  music  that  supports 
his  unique  lyrical  vision  as  well  as  the  Smiths  ever 
did. 

Momssey  evidently  liked  the  Langer/Winstanley 
tracks  enough  to  have  them  produce  ail  of  Kill  Uncle. 
Although  the  unnervingly  posh  commercial  presentation 
boldly  takes  Momssey  places  he's  never  been  before 
(leading  off  with  the  hideously  mainstream  "Our 
Frank"  and  the  string-laden  "Asian  Rut"  seems  like  a 
tactical  goof),  his  songwritmg  collaboration  with  Mark 
Nevin  (the  ex-Fairground  Attraction  guitarist  also  plays 
on  the  LP)  seems  to  have  finally  solved  the  Marr  prob- 
lem; Kill  Uncle  contains  some  of  Morrissey's  best  songs 
ever.  ("Driving  Your  Girlfriend  Home,"  "Sing  Your 
Life"  and  "King  Leer"  are  highlights.)  For  their  part, 
Langer  and  Winstanley  leave  enough  idiosyncrasies 
amid  the  radio-ready  fabrications  to  make  this 
surprising-sounding  record  a  subtle  and  substantial  suc- 
cess, [i] 

See  also  Smiths. 

MORTAL  MiCRONOTZ 

The  Mortal  Micronotz  (Fresh  Sounds)  1982 
Live  Recording  of  the  Video  Soundtrack  EP  (Fresh  Sounds) 
1984 

MICRONOTZ 

Smash!  (Fresh  Sounds)  1983 

The  Beast  That  Devoured  Itself  (Fresh  Sounds)  1985 

40  Fingers  (Homestead)  1986 

This  quartet — teenagers  at  the  outset,  their  minds 
filled  with  the  world — must  have  felt  constricted  in  the 
confines  of  Lawrence,  Kansas.  The  sound  on  the  Mortal 
Micronotz  album  is  a  little  tinny,  but  these  guys  have 
your  standard  '70s  Ameri-punk  moves  down  cold — sort 
of  a  sub-Dead  Boys,  but  tighter.  Dean  Lubensky  is  ac- 
tually an  okay  singer,  making  the  adolescent  alienation 
lyrics  sound  more  believable  than  they  read.  He  also 
handles  lyrics  given  to  the  band  by  homeboy  William  S. 
Burroughs  with  similar  aplomb.  Added  treat:  a  good 
noisy  version  of  "Let  It  All  Hang  Out,"  which  the 
Hombres  first  released  when  these  guys  were  still  in 
diapers. 

Their  name  truncated  and  Burroughs  nowhere  in 
sight,  the  Micronotz  show  no  sign  of  losing  any  of  their 
rock'n'roll  energy  on  Smash!,  a  45  rpm  album  that 
includes  Iggy's  "I  Got  a  Right"  plus  seven  originals, 
Lubensky's  vocals  are  mighty  rough,  John  Harper's  gui- 
tar playing  pretty  swift  and  the  song  subjects  a  bit  more 
mature;  a  convincing  record  with  a  personality  (of  sorts) 
all  its  own.  Production  could  have  been  a  lot  clearer, 
though. 

The  band's  next  release  (under  the  old  name)  was  a 
7-inch  EP  containing  five  live  renditions.  Lubensky  then 
left  and  was  replaced  by  Jay  Hauptli  in  time  for  The 
Beast  That  Devoured  Itself,  another  raggedly  enter- 


taining punked-out  collection  that  generally  rises  above 
all  of  the  genre's  typical  limitations. 

The  bracingly  good  40  Fingers  is  a  triumphant  sty- 
listic distillation,  a  powerful  and  varied  dose  of  mature 
post-thrash  intelligence  that  in  spots  resembles  Hiisker 
Du.  Without  losing  any  of  their  adolescent  strength,  the 
Micronotz  play  better  than  ever,  and  Hauptli's  coarse 
vocals  have  gained  a  melodic  validity,  vastly  improved 
by  Harper's  harmonies.  (At  times  they  sound  a  tad  like 
the  Ramooes.)  A  cover  of  Simon  &  Garfunkel's  "Scar- 
borough Fair"  serves  as  a  showcase  for  the  band's  new- 
found abilities.  [jg/i] 

Shine  EP  (Stardog-PoiyGram)  1989  ® 
Apple  (Poiydor)l  990  <i> 

With  one  pair  of  Green  River  refugees  off  to  form 
Mudhoney,  another  two  ex-members  of  that  seminal 
Seattle  crew — guitarist  Stone  Gossard  and  bassist  Jess 
Ament — launched  their  own  hoary  '70s  hard-rock  band, 
Mother  Love  Bone.  With  another  guitarist,  a  drummer 
and  singer  Andrew  Wood  (formerly  of  Malfunkshun), 
MLB  made  its  debut  on  Shine,  an  EP  whose  five  songs 
shrug  off  both  common  tendencies — Zeppelin  and 
motorsludge — of  the  New  Pacific  Northwest  in  favor  of 
a  crisp  rip  that  favors  Free,  Aerosmith  and  other  blues- 
based  bands  of  the  very  early  '70s.  Rather  than  wallow- 
ing in  wah-wah  and  stun  volume,  the  quintet 
demonstrates  noteworthy  songwriting  facility,  the  wis- 
dom to  tone  things  down  and  open  the  sound  up,  and  a 
real  three-dimensionality  to  the  presentation. 

With  a  major-label  deal  and  an  extremely  promising 
future,  Wood  died  of  an  overdose  IE  March  '90,  casting 
an  enormous  pall  over  the  release  of  the  band's  com- 
pleted first  album.  Produced  by  Terry  Date,  Apple  fo- 
cuses ail  of  Mother  Love  Bone's  assets  into  a  potent 
rock  rush,  making  it  everything  a  Guns  n'  Roses  LP 
should  be— but  with  better  vocals  and  worse  guitar. 

See  also  Temple  of  the  Dog.  [i] 

MARK  MOTHERSBAUGH 

See  Devo. 

MOTOR  BOYS  MOTOR 

Motor  Boys  Motor  (nr/Albion)  1 982 

Strange  sense  of  humor:  the  cover  and  enclosed 
poster  is  a  freak-show  photo  of  a  black  man's  face  with 
lots  of  little  snakes  coming  out  of  his  mouth.  The  four- 
some (two  guitars,  bass,  drums)  do  a  song  called  "Here 
Comes  the  Flintstones."  They  should  have  done  the 
show's  actual  theme — this  ditty  ain't  happening.  Noth- 
ing much  here  is,  despite  the  energetic  punk-cwm-boogie 
musical  mode  and  Beefheartian  overtones.  Interesting, 
but  doesn't  come  near  justifying  its  existence.  (Half  of 
MBM  later  organized  the  Screaming  Blue  Messiahs  and 
put  a  song  called  "I  Wanna  Be  a  Flintstone"  on  their 
second  album.)  [jg] 

See  also  Screaming  Blue  Messiahs. 

MOTORCYCLE  BOY 

See  Shop  Assistants. 


443 


MOTORHEAD 

Motorhead  (nr/Chiswick)  1977  (nr/Big  Beat)  1978 

(Roadracer  Revisited)  1 990  • 
Overkill  (nr/Bronze}  1979  (Profile)  1988  • 
Bomber  (nr/Bronze)  1 979  (Profile)  1988  • 
On  Parole  (nr/Liberiy)  1979  (nr/Fame)  1982  (EMI 

America)  1 987  • 
Motorhead  EP  (rsr/Big  Beat)  1 980 
The  Golden  Years  EP  (nr/Bronze)  1980 
Ace  of  Spades  (Mercury)  1 980  (Profile)  1 988  • 
No  Sleep  'til  Hammersmith  (Mercury)  1 981  (Profile) 

1988® 

Iron  Rst  (Mercury)  1 982  (Roadracer  Revisited)  1 990  • 
Stand  by  Your  Man  EP  (nr/Bronze)  1 982 
What's  Words  Worth?  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 983 
Another  Perfect  Day  (Mercury)  1983  • 
No  Remorse  (Bronze)  1 984  (Roadracer  Revisited)  1 990  • 
Anthology  (nr/Raw  Power)  1985  • 
Bom  to  Lose  (nr/Dofo)  1 985 
Orgasmatron  (GWR-Profile)  1 986  ® 
Rock  V  Roll  (GWR-Profile)  1987  • 
EP  [CD]  (nr/Special  Edition)  1 988  * 
Another  Perfect  Day/Overkill  (nr/Castle  Comm.)  1988  • 
No  Sleep  at  All  fGWR-Enigma)  1 988  • 
Blitzkrieg  on  Birmingham  77  (nr/Receiver)  1 989  • 
Dirty  Love  {nr/Receiver)  1 989  • 
The  Best  of  &  the  Rest  of  Motorhead  Live  (nr/Action 

Replay)  1 990  4> 

Welcome  to  the  Bear  Trap  (nr/Castle  Comm.)  1 990  • 
Bomber/Ace  of  Spades  {nr/Castle  Comm.)  1 990  • 
Lock  Up  Your  Daughters  (nr/Receiver)  1 990  • 
The  Birthday  Party  (GWR-Enigma)  1 990  <!> 
From  the  Vaults  (nr/Sequel)  1 990  • 
1916  (WTG)  1991  ® 
Meltdown  {nr/Castle  Comm.)  1991  • 

MOTdRHEAD  AND  G1RLSCHOOL 

St.  Valentine's  Day  Massacre  EP  {nr/Bronze)  1 980 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Eat  the  Rich  (Rlmfrax-GWR)  1 987 

WURZEL 

Bess  EP(nr/GWR)  1987 

PHILTHY  PHIL  AND  FAST  EDDIE 

Naughty  Old  Santa's  Christmas  Classics  {nr/Receiver) 

1989 

The  early  pigeonholing  of  Motorhead  as  punks  may 
have  stemmed  from  their  loudVfast  playing,  their 
leather  jackets,  engagements  opening  for  the  Damned 
and  their  early  releases  on  a  UK  indie  label,  but  then,  as 
now,  the  band  was  engaged  in  its  own  hard-rockin' 
rebellion — slashing  guitar,  flailing  drums  and  Lemmy 
playing  bass  like  a  lead  and  rhythm  instrument,  singing 
as  though  he  were  in  the  process  of  being  strangled. 
Inspired  moronism?  You  bet,  just  like  "Louie,  Louie/' 
which  the  band  covered  for  a  minor  hit  in  1978! 

Motorhead's  very  existence  opposed  the  safe,  ster- 
ile, flabby  ritual  "heavy  music"  had  become  (not  to 
mention  the  rest  of  what  had  been  passing  for  rock- 
'n'roll), and  prefigured  the  new  wave  of  rawer  British 
metal  bands  (Iron  Maiden,  Saxon  et  al.)  in  the  early 
'80s,  not  to  mention  the  thrash  bands  of  recent  years. 
All  told,  Motorhead' s  primal  urgency  clearly  recalled 


their  spiritual  forebears:  the  Amboy  Dukes/Bob  Seger 
System/MC5  Detroit  axis. 

After  being  filed  from  Hawkwind,  bassist  Ian 
"Lemmy"  Kilmister  hooked  up  with  two  ex-Pink  Fairies 
(also  Hawkwind  chums):  Larry  Wallis  and  Lucas  Fox. 
Producer  Dave  Edmunds  allegedly  fled  their  recording 
session,  covering  his  ears;  Fox  was  dumped  and  his 
replacement,  Phil  "Philthy  Animal"  Taylor,  over- 
dubbed  some  of  the  dram  parts.  UA  let  Motorhead' s 
contract  expire,  and  didn't  see  fit  to  release  the  results 
until  1980  (as  On  Parole).  In  any  case,  Lemmy  sought 
to  beef  up  the  sound  by  bringing  in  guitarist  "Fast" 
Eddie  Clarke  (like  Jimi  Hendrix,  a  former  employee  of 
Curtis  Knight),  at  which  point  Wallis  took  a  powder. 

In  their  second  attempt  at  a  debut  album,  Speedy 
Keen  (ex-Thunderclap  Newman),  who'd  mis-mixed  the 
Heartbreakers'  L.A.M.F.  LP,  successfully  captured 
Motorhead's  sturm  und  klang.  Cut  after  cut,  it's  phe- 
nomenal: remakes  of  Hawkwind' s  "Motorhead"  and 
"Lost  Johnny"  (the  latter  co-written  by  Mick  Farren), 
"White  Line  Fever,"  "Iron  Horse/Born  to  Lose"  and 
more,  all  with  a  force  and  fury  unequalled  until  the  1981 
live  LP.  A  1980  12-inch  of  outtakes  from  those 
Chiswick  sessions  features  Wallis'  "On  Parole,"  Mo- 
torhead's "Beer  Drinkers  &  Hell  Raisers"  and  oldies  by 
John  Mayall  and  ZZ  Top.  (The  belated  American  reis- 
sue of  Motorhead  appends  the  entire  four-song  EP  as 
well  as  the  band's  first  B-side,  the  Pink  Fairies'  "City 
Kids.")  Released  in  '83,  the  live  What's  Words 
Worth?  revealed  the  band  in  an  early  '78  show — 
uneven,  although  some  of  the  cover  tunes,  like  "Leavin' 
Here"  and  "Train  Kept  a-Rollin'  "  strike  some  pretty 
good  sparks. 

Moving  from  Chiswick  to  Bronze,  and  from  Keen  to 
ex-Stones  producer  Jimmy  Miller,  the  trio  put  out  a  too 
of  solid  LPs,  each  with  its  own  merits  and  classic  cuts. 
Overkill's  title  track,  "Stay  Clean"  and  that  ultimate 
putdown,  "No  Class,"  are  balanced  by  the  atypically 
slow,  deliberate  "Capricorn."  Bomber  has  its  title  track 
and  "Dead  Men  Tell  No  Tales"  as  highlights.  Ace  of 
Spades  also  has  a  great  title  track  and  "(We  Are)  The 
Road  Crew."  Vic  Maile  produced  the  last  of  those  LPs, 
achieving  more  sonic  fullness  and  texture  than  Miller 
had,  though  Overkill's  material  is  the  best  of  the  three. 

In  a  collaboration  alternately  referred  to  as  Motor- 
school  and  Headgirl,  Motorhead  and  labelmates  Girl- 
school  ganged  up  on  the  1959  Johnny  Kidd  &  the  Pirates 
hit  "Please  Don't  Touch"  (with  a  flipside  containing 
each  group  murdering  a  fave  song  by  the  other,  the 
single  was  packaged  on  7-inch  and  10-inch  as  the  St. 
Valentine's  Day  Massacre  EP)  and  had  a  hit.  Then  the 
live  No  Sleep  went  into  the  UK  album  charts  at  number 
one:  Maile's  super  production  job  balances  ambience 
and  clarity.  It  was  all  any  Motorfan  could've  asked. 

Fast  Eddie  ran  the  console  for  Iron  Fist,  with  the 
help  of  engineer  Will  Reid  Dick.  The  results  are  rela- 
tively lackluster,  in  material  as  well  as  sound.  (The 
1990  reissue  adds  "Remember  Me,  I'm  Gone.")  Eddie 
was  not  happy  with  the  direction  of  the  band,  and  while 
the  others  were  busy  combining  with  the  Plasmatics  as 
they  had  with  Girlschool  (less  successful  artistically  and 
commercially,  on  Tammy  Wynette's  "Stand  by  Your 
Man" ),  he  decided  to  split  and  form  the  bluesy,  Zep-ish 
Fastway.  Ex-Thin  Lizzy  guitarist  Brian  Robertson  ira- 


444 


mediately  replaced  him.  Another  Perfect  Day  was  a 
good  change  of  pace.  Considering  how  unsuited  Rob- 
ertson figured  to  be,  it  works  surprisingly  well.  But  it 
just  wasn't  Motorhead,  and  after  a  tour-shortening  ill- 
ness, he  left. 

No  sooner  was  he  replaced  by  two  unknowns,  Phil 
Campbell  and  Mick  "Wurzel"  Burston,  than  Taylor 
decided  he  wanted  out,  too.  In  stepped  Pete  Gill  (ex- 
Saxon,  and  before  that  the  Glitter  Band,  as  in  Gary!). 
The  next  release,  No  Remorse,  was  no  stopgap,  though. 
They  didn't  get  the  rights  to  the  Chiswick  tracks,  but 
otherwise  the  two-record  set  is  a  model  best-of  collec- 
tion: a  wise,  balanced  choice  of  LP  and  EP  cuts,  non-LP 
single  sides,  four  smokin'  new  numbers,  annotation 
(and  commentary  by  Lemmy)  on  all  tracks,  complete 
lyrics,  a  smart,  detailed  band  history  (by  Kerrangr& 
Malcolm  Dome)  and  some  cute  pics.  It  does  include 
"Please  Don't  Touch,"  "Louie,  Louie,"  "Leaving 
Here"  (the  best  version  of  the  five  the  band  has  cut 
over  the  years,  from  the  snappy  Golden  Years  live 
EP)  and  that  instant  classic,  "Killed  by  Death."  ("If 
you  squeeze  my  lizard,  I'll  put  my  snake  on  you.") 
Sheer  Shakespeare  in  a  Chevy.  (The  1990  American 
CD  omits  "Louie,  Louie,"  "Leaving  Here"  and  the 
original  liner  notes,  but  the  cassette  has  two  tracks  en- 
titled "Under  the  Knife"  from  the  initial  Wurzel/ 
Campbell  sessions.) 

The  next  year,  Raw  Power  licensed  enough  tracks 
from  Bronze  to  make  up  a  second  two-LP  retrospective, 
Anthology,  suitable  for  those  whose  only  previous  pur- 
chase was  No  Remorse  (although  five  tracks  do  over- 
lap). Born  to  Lose  is  a  substantial  compilation  of  tracks 
from  On  Parole  and  Motorhead,  plus  alternate  takes  of 
"White  Line  Fever"  and  "Leaving  Here"  that  had  been 
issued  only  as  part  of  a  Stiff  boxed  set. 

Orgasmatron  was  produced  by  Bill  Laswell  with 
Jason  Corsaro.  Laswell' s  involvement  got  lots  of  critics 
to  pay  attention,  and  they  got  to  hear  a  decent  Motor- 
head  record — including  classic  "Doctor  Rock" — but 
hardly  their  best.  On  the  LP's  opener  ("Deaf  Forever") 
and  closer  ("Orgasmatron")  the  sound  is  a  striking  jug- 
gernaut but,  generally,  it  seems  a  bit  sonically  squashed. 

The  very  next  LP,  Rock  *n*  Roll,  produced  by  the 
band  and  Guy  Bidmead  (who'd  engineered  Orgasma- 
tron), has  more  sonic  depth,  a  bit  of  slide  guitar  and 
backing-vocal  harmoniesl  Also  Phil  Taylor,  who  had  a 
change  of  heart  and  was  allowed  to  step  back  in  after 
Gill  departed.  Better  than  Orgasmatron,  though  not 
quite  top-notch,  it  also  includes  "Eat  the  Rich,"  done 
for  the  film  of  the  same  name  in  which  Lemmy  has — 
gasp! — an  acting  role.  (Aside  from  the  title  tune,  the 
soundtrack  LP  consists  of  previously  released  material 
plus  non-Motorhead  scoring.) 

Wurzel 's  EP  is  not  bad:  a  "  Sleepwalk" -esque  in- 
strumental, a  Jeff  Beck-ish  hyper-waltz  and  a  couple  of 
Motorhead  Jr. -type  numbers. 

Next,  some  reassessment  and  watershedding.  No 
Sleep  at  All  (live  at  a  Finnish  festival)  combines  top- 
notch  playing  and  crappy  sound,  especially  compared  to 
the  much  hotter  Hammersmith.  That's  sonically, 
though,  not  performance- wise.  Campbell  and  Wurzel 
outplay  Clarke  on  their  version  of  "Ace  of  Spades," 
and  their  much-longer  "Overkill"  brims  with  pyrotech- 
nics. On  the  rest  (all  post-Clarke  material),  it's  doubly 


a  shame  the  sound  is  muffled,  since  these  takes  out-rock 
almost  every  studio  version  (not  true  of  Hammer- 
smith). The  CD  adds  two  cuts. 

Blitzkrieg  on  Birmingham  (early  '77,  pretty  raw) 
and  Lock  Up  Your  Daughters  (mid- '77,  much 
smarter)  are  live  LPs  of  virtually  the  same  vintage  and 
material  as  What's  Words  Worth?  (early  '78).  Wel- 
come to  the  Bear  Trap  is  a  double-LP's  worth  of 
Bronze  tracks,  mainly  the  same  as  previously  compiled. 

Dirty  Love  consists  of  Ace  of  Spades  rehearsal 
tapes.  The  rough  versions  of  six  tracks  (one  not  even 
listed  on  the  cover  or  the  disc  label!),  plus  a  B-side  of 
the  same  vintage,  offer  little  creative  insight;  of  four 
rejected/unfinished  numbers  (for  which  Clarke — source 
of  the  tapes — claims  sole  writing  credit),  only  one  is 
worthy  of  notice. 

The  Birthday  Party — an  album  Motorhead  tried  to 
block  the  release  of  no  less  than  three  times — is  the 
soundtrack  of  the  band's  1985  tenth  anniversary  concert 
video.  The  sound  is  crisper  than  on  the  other  live  LPs, 
but  you  can't  hear  any  bass  dram,  which  makes  Pete 
Gill  sound  even  worse  (compared  to  Philthy)  than  he 
actually  is.  Plus,  some  of  the  songs  are  played  too  fast, 
which  further  undercuts  him.  A  few  tracks  are  quite 
good  and  the  twin  guitars  smoke  throughout,  but 
Clarke's  shadow  looms  large,  as  eleven  of  the  twelve 
songs  date  from  his  tenure  (five  from  Ace  alone).  The 
CD  adds  three,  one  a  show-closing  "Motorhead'*  with 
past  and  present  bandmembers  onstage. 

From  the  Vaults  is  an  unessential  but  good  collec- 
tion for  fans  who  only  have  the  albums:  all  four  (live) 
tracks  of  the  Golden  Years  EP  (okay);  assorted  B-sides 
(mostly  quite  good);  "Bomber"  by  Girlschool  from  the 
St.  Valentine's  EP;  "Masterplan"  by  Motorhead,  "No 
Class"  by  the  Plasmatics  and  "Stand  by  Your  Man"  by 
Wendy  O.  and  Lemmy  from  the  notorious  '82  maxi- 
single  (amusing);  and  a  fun,  Quo-ish  cut  by  the  Young 
&  Moody  Band  (Quo  roadie  Bob  Young  and  ex- 
Whitesnake  guitarist  Mick  Moody,  plus  Lemrny,  Cozy 
Powell  and — yes — the  Nolan  Sisters). 

The  all-new  1916  album  was  more  than  worth  the 
long  wait.  For  once  able  to  take  time  and  care  in  the 
studio,  and  armed  with  their  best  set  of  songs  since  Ace 
(or  even  Overkill),  Motorhead  delivers  an  aggressive 
firestorm  (check  "The  One  to  Sing  the  Blues" )  with  the 
huge  and  harsh  sound  the  band  always  needed  but  never 
previously  achieved — kudos  to  producers  Pete  Solley 
and  (for  three  tracks)  Ed  Stasium.  Unexpected  stylistic 
variations  abound:  a  weird  and  sophisticated  sound- 
scape  ("Nightmare/The  Dreamtime");  Motormetal  a 
la  Chuck  Berry  ("Going  to  Brazil");  a  tongue-in- 
cheek  boogie-paean  to  Los  Angeles  ("Angel  City");  a 
1:25  tribute  to  the  Ramones  ("Ramones");  a  ballad 
blending  slamming  chords  and  churning  solos  with  vo- 
cal harmonies,  synth-strings  and  credible  romantic  (!) 
lyrics  ("Love  Me  Forever").  Lemmy  quietly  closes 
the  LP  with  "1916,"  sung  from  the  perspective  of  a 
young  soldier  dying  in  WW  I.  The  startling  diversity 
and  mastery  of  this  album  brings  Motorhead  to  a  new 
level. 

Meltdown  is  an  excellent,  well-balanced  boxed  set 
(three  CDs  or  five  LPs)  compilation  that  includes  a  solid 
selection  from  the  band's  live  and  studio  albums,  [jg] 

See  also  Mick  Farren,  Hawkwind,  Social  Deviants. 


445 


MOTORS 

Motors  1  (Virgin)  1977  (Blue  Plate)  1991  • 
Approved  by  the  Motors  (Virgin)  1 978  (Blue  Plate) 

1991  • 

Tenement  Steps  (Virgin)  1 980 
Greatest  Hit  (nr/Virgin)  1981 

NICK  GARVEY 

Blue  Skies  (nr/Virgin)  1982 

Formed  by  two  ex-members  of  Ducks  Deluxe 
(singers/songwriters/multi-instnimentalists  Andy  Mc- 
Master  and  Nick  Garvey)  plus  two  younger  pub  vets 
(Bram  Tchaikovsky  and  Ricky  Slaughter),  the  Motors 
seemed  like  a  hit  machine  from  the  outset.  On  record, 
they  made  grandiose  rock-pop — wide-screen,  brilliantly 
arranged  and  energetically  performed — drawing  on  their 
longtime  experience  and  solid  talents. 

Motors  1,  produced  by  future  metal  maven  Robert 
John  Lange,  is  a  fresh,  exciting  record,  solidly  rooted  in 
electric  guitars  but  light-years  more  subtle  and  three- 
dimensional  than  the  rock'n'roll  retreads  the  band's 
members  had  been  playing  prior  to  the  Motors.  While  the 
six-minute  " Dancing  the  Night  Away"  is  an  engrossing 
and  muscular  lead-off  track,  nothing  else  that  follows  it 
on  the  album  is  quite  as  striking.  Approved  By  is  a  better 
effort,  containing  the  fruits  of  the  Motors'  attack  on  the 
singles  chart  ("Airport"  and  "Forget  About  You"  both 
went  Top  20  in  the  UK)  and  exhibiting  all  of  the  band's 
strengths:  catchy  melodies,  inventive  arrangements  and 
exciting,  energetic  use  of  rock  instrumentation. 

The  Motors  effectively  disbanded  after  the  second 
album.  Garvey  and  McMaster  continued  working  to- 
gether using  the  group  name,  eventually  engaging 
Jimmy  lovine  to  produce  their  next  album  in  New  York. 
Tenement  Steps,  the  unfortunate  result  of  far  too  much 
time  spent  in  the  studio,  is  an  appalling,  overblown 
mess,  reeking  of  self-indulgence  and  artistic  confusion. 
The  chorus  of  the  best-known  track,  "Love  and  Lone- 
liness, "  sounds  exactly  like  Steve  Stills'  "Love  the  One 
You're  With'* — and  that's  as  good  as  the  record  gets. 

Greatest  Hit  has  all  of  the  above-mentioned  songs 
as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  Motors'  best  work.  Neophytes 
would  do  well  to  start  (and  end)  here. 

On  his  solo  album,  guitarist/bassist/producer  Garvey 
demonstrates  the  versatility  of  his  voice  (clear  tenor, 
hoarse  baritone,  agile  falsetto).  But  he's  even  more 
adroit  at  the  mixing  console,  able  to  whip  up  tuneful, 
ringing  Spector/Sprmgsteen  pop  melodrama  and  make 
lush,  spacious  pop-rock  out  of  the  riff  from  "Willie  and 
the  Hand  Jive. ' '  He  also  throws  a  curve  or  two,  like  the 
clever,  lOcc-ish  "(Think)  Tough"  or  the  semi-parodic 
Squeeze-cwm-Bowie  of  "Skin."  But  even  the  support 
by  members  of  the  Motors/Tyla/Bram  Tchaikovsky  axis 
and  his  own  genuine  likability  can't  save  this  record 
when  Garvey  descends  into  schlocky,  banal  romanti- 
cism, [i/jg] 

See  also  Ducks  Deluxe,  Bram  Tchaikovsky. 


BOB  MOULD 

Workbook  (Virgin)  1 989  • 

Black  Sheets  of  Rain  (Virgin)  1990  • 

The  miserable  implosion  of  Hiisker  Du  left  guitarist/ 
singer  Bob  Mould  embittered  and  saddened,  but  buoyed 
by  the  promise  of  a  new  beginning.  Launching  his  solo 


career,  Mould  confounded  audience  expectations  by 
choosing  not  to  paint  his  unhappiness  in  walls  of  guitar 
fury.  Instead,  he  delivered  the  haunted  majesty  of 
Workbook,  a  largely  acoustic  account  of  his  emotional 
condition  that  uses  soaring  melodies  and  richly  har- 
monic vocal  and  instrumental  textures  to  maturely  con- 
vey the  subtleties  and  depth  of  his  mood.  Bookended  by 
a  pastoral  instrumental  and  a  paint-peeling  feedback 
frenzy,  Mould  shrugs  off  any  imagined  stylistic  restric- 
tions and — backed  by  drummer  Anton  Fier  (Golden  Pal- 
ominos et  al.),  bassist  Tony  Maimone  (Pere  Ubu)  and 
cellist  Jane  Scarpantoni  (Tiny  Lights )-— crafts  beautiful 
documents  of  profound  passion  that  both  sigh  and  roar 
with  equal  sensitivity.  Highlights:  "See  a  Little  Light," 
"Wishing  Well,"  "Poison  Years"  and  "Dreaming,  I 
Am." 

The  ex-punk  took  a  lot  of  predictable  flak  for  going 
soft,  and  moved  back  into  the  noise  tunnel  for  his  sec- 
ond album,  the  subject  of  which  is  a  different  personal 
loss:  the  heartbreaking  end  of  a  love  affair.  As  deeply 
felt  as  it  might  be  for  Mould  (the  scathing  lyrics  attest  to 
that),  Black  Sheets  of  Rain  has  less  power  and 
poignancy — not  in  the  clunky  material,  the  generally 
unmodulated  performances  or  the  strange-sounding  pro- 
duction, which  suppresses  the  vocals,  squishes  the 
crudely  overlaid  roar  of  guitars  into  a  thin  blur  and 
makes  Pier's  busy  drumming  the  focus  of  the  mix.  Be- 
sides sounding  like  they're  all  playing  in  different  stu- 
dios, Mould,  Fier  and  Maimone  wrestle  too  many  of  the 
songs  into  the  same  neo-Dii  shape.  "It's  Too  Late"  has 
a  great  pop  melody  but  lyrics  that  actually  mention  the 
word  "fluorocarbons."  Otherwise,  a  few  hard-hitting 
songs  ("Disappointed,"  "Stop  Your  Crying"  and  "Out 
of  Your  Life' ' )  that  connect  intermittently  and  the  touch- 
ing acoustic  melancholy  of  "The  Last  Night"  help  pre- 
vent the  disappointing  Black  Sheets  of  Rain  from  being 
a  total  washout.  [i] 

See  also  Husker  Du. 


MOVEMENT  EX 

Movement  Ex  (Columbia)  1 990  « 

Armed  with  the  myopic  self-confidence  of  flaming 
youth  and  the  unfamiliar  language  of  a  sectarian  reli- 
gious cult,  Lord  Mustafa  Hasan  Ma'd,  the  lyrical/ 
rapping  half  of  LA's  teenaged  Movement  Ex  (DJ  King 
Bora  Khaaliq  provides  the  backing  tracks,  which  are 
complex,  heavy  with  effective  samples  and  really  excit- 
ing, if  overloaded  with  high-pitched  scratches),  runs 
down  the  obscure  look-what-you-made-us-do  Five- 
Percent  Nation  of  Islam  perspective  on  a  litany  of  seri- 
ous subjects  (global  politics,  guns,  ecology,  history, 
sexually  transmitted  diseases,  drugs,  etc.).  The  duo's 
album  sounds  great — the  fully  modern  Movement  Ex  is 
unquestionably  talented — but  the  militant  anti- white  fin- 
gerpointing,  conspiracy  theories  and  other  dubious  as- 
sertions make  it  impossible  not  to  choose  up  sides  on 
intellectual,  rather  than  artistic,  grounds.  Fascinating  if 
not  exactly  fun,  Movement  Ex  presents  listeners  with  a 
grave  political  and  cultural  challenge.  [i] 

MOVING  TARGETS 

Burning  in  Water  (Taang!)  1 986  • 
Brave  Noise  (Taang!)  1989  • 


446 


Moving  Targets  came  blasting  out  of  a  Boston  scene 
at  a  time  when  most  Boston  hardcore  and  punk  outfits 
were  going  metal.  The  big  guitar  detonations  were  ac- 
tually closer  to  Squirrel  Bait  and,  to  a  lesser  extent, 
Husker  Du,  with  more  precise  control  than  those  bands 
ever  attempted.  Burning  in  Water  is  a  gaping  piece  of 
power-trio  battery,  an  intense  wall-of-sound  fireball 
married  to  rapid  (not  thrash)  tempos,  developed  melo- 
dies and  the  sort  of  kick  associated  with,  say,  early 
D.O.A,  What  the  record  lacks  in  variety,  it  makes  up 
for  with  convincing  material  and  relentless  determina- 
tion. 

The  band's  future  looked  grim  after  guitarist/singer 
Ken  Chambers  enlisted  in  Bullet  LaVolta,  but  he  has 
managed  to  split  his  time  between  the  two  groups  and 
was  present  when  Moving  Targets  (sporting  a  new  bass- 
ist) reappeared  three  years  later  with  the  equally  formi- 
dable Brave  Noise.  While  the  pace  is  still  fast,  the 
songs  have  been  slowed  down  just  enough  to  allow  the 
trio  to  flex  an  even  heavier  strong-arm  sound.  The  song- 
writing  may  not  be  as  consistent,  but  Chambers'  guitar 
playing  is  even  more  pulverizing,  using  dim-and-flare 
dynamics  to  set  up — and  knock  down — listeners.  (Both 
records  are  on  one  CD.)  [jr] 

See  also  Bullet  LaVolta, 


JUDY  MOWATT 

Black  Woman  (Island)  1980  (Shanachie)  1983  • 
Only  a  Woman  (Shanachie)  1982  « 
Working  Wonders  (Shanachie)  1 985  * 
Love  Is  Overdue  (Shanachie)  1 987  • 

Partly  because  Rastafarianism  is  intrinsically  patri- 
archal, the  number  of  important  women  reggae  perform- 
ers can  still  be  counted  in  single  digits.  Singing  behind 
Bob  Marley,  the  I-Threes  (Marcia  Griffiths,  Rita  Mar- 
ley  and  Judy  Mowatt)  were,  for  a  long  time,  the  only 
visible  female  presence  in  roots  music.  While  they've 
all  enjoyed  successful  solo  careers,  Mowatt  has  made 
the  most  significant  strides,  writing  and  producing  her 
own  material. 

On  Black  Woman,  she  covers  three  Wailers  songs 
and  dedicates  an  original  to  Marley.  The  album  amply 
displays  her  talents  as  a  composer  as  well  as  performer, 
and  brought  her  international  acclaim.  The  quiet  mili- 
tancy of  Only  a  Woman  is  offset  by  an  engaging  vocal 
style — strong  and  clean — that  recalls  American  R&B. 
By  the  time  Working  Wonders  was  released,  she  was 
being  called  the  queen  of  reggae  by  the  press.  Featuring 
a  variety  of  producers  and  material,  the  LP  suffers  from 
its  crossover  efforts,  but  Mowatt' s  singing  is  more  as- 
sured than  ever. 

By  contrast,  Love  Is  Overdue  is  nearly  ruined  by 
Mo  watt's  attempt  to  reach  the  mainstream.  Produced  by 
TSOP  alumnus  Dexter  Wansel,  Side  One's  first  four 
tracks  (including  covers  of  "Try  a  Little  Tenderness" 
and  UB40's  "Sing  Our  Own  Song")  are  lightweight 
pop-soul,  bland  and  forgettable.  Luckily,  Mowatt  sal- 
vages the  rest  of  the  LP  by  singing,  writing  and  produc- 
ing the  sprightly  reggae  she  does  best.  [bk] 

ALISON  MOYET 

Alf  (Columbia)  1984« 
Raindancing  (Columbia)  1 987  • 


AH/Raindandng  [CD]  (nr/CBS)  1988  * 
Hoodoo  (Columbia)  1991  • 

Alison  Moyef  s  soulful  vocals  were  the  best  thing 
about  Yazoo  ( Yaz  in  the  States),  her  odd  but  successful 
partnership  with  ex-Depeche  Moder  Vince  Clarke.  He 
went  on  to  form  Erasure;  she  launched  a  commercially 
rewarding  mainstream  solo  career.  On  Alf,  her  amazing 
pipes  are  supported  by  smooth  synth-and-drums  dance 
music  created  by  Mi-service  producers  Tony  Swain  and 
Steve  Jolley,  who  co-wrote  the  material  and  played  on  it 
as  well.  Moyef  s  consistently  great  singing  and  her  pro- 
ducers* impersonal  backing  leave  songwriting  the  only 
variable,  and  that's  unfortunately  what  it  is.  Other  than 
"All  Cried  Out,"  the  coyly  tasteless  "Love  Resurrec- 
tion" and  Lament  Dozier's  magnificent  "Invisible," 
there  aren't  many  tunes  in  the  winning  column.  What 
made  Yazoo  work  was  great  writing;  judging  by  Alf, 
maybe  Moyet's  symbiotic  partnership  with  Clarke 
wasn't  such  a  weird  idea  after  all. 

Producer  Jimmy  lovine  stayed  out  of  the  other  as- 
pects of  the  creative  process  on  Raindancing,  leaving 
Moyet  to  take  greater  responsibility  for  the  material. 
Although  sincere  enough,  her  lyrics  about  romantic 
challenges  don't  amount  to  much;  the  mostly  collabo- 
rative music  is  plain  but  sturdy,  allowing  Moyet's  rich 
voice  to  do  the  work.  Standouts  are  "Glorious  Love," 
"Is  This  Love?"  and  Floy  Joy's  wonderful  "Weak  in 
the  Presence  of  Beauty."  The  low  point  is  the  stiflingly 
schmaltzy  "Sleep  Like  Breathing  "  [i] 

See  also  Yazoo. 


MUD  BOY  &  THE  NEUTRONS 

See  Panther  Burns. 

MUDHONEY 

Superfuzz  Bigmuff  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1 988  * 

Mudhoney  (Sub  Pop)  1989  * 

Boiled  Beef  &  Rotting  Teeth  EP  [CD]  (nr/Sub  Pop-Tupelo) 

1990« 
Every  Good  Boy  Deserves  Fudge  (Sub  Pop)  1991)  « 

Alongside  Soundgarden,  Seattle's  Mudhoney  are 
kings  of  the  Pacific  noise-west  frontier,  playing  uncer- 
emonious, nonspecific  '70s-based  hard  rock  with  an 
'80s  attitude.  Formed  by  ex-members  of  Green  River 
(singer  Mark  Arm  and  original  guitarist  Steve  Turner) 
and  the  Melvins  (bassist  Matt  Lukin)  and  their  respec- 
tive distortion  pedals,  the  quartet  made  a  loud  but  col- 
orless debut  on  the  six-song  Superfuzz  Bigmuff ,  getting 
up  a  good,  semi-tight  head  of  steam  (including  loads  of 
wah-wah,  slide  and  feedback)  but — with  the  partial  ex- 
ception of  the  frantically  sung  "In  *n'  Out  of  Grace" — 
not  finding  any  effective  stylistic  application  for  it. 

Thanks  to  terse,  cut-to-the-chase  songs,  Mudhoney 
offers  a  punkier  view  of  the  band,  a  roaring  garagey 
behemoth  that,  in  spots,  owes  quite  a  bit  to  Blue  Cheer 
(circa  "Summertime  Blues" — check  "Get  into  Yours" 
for  details)  and  rolls  out  a  good  number  (like  "You  Got 
It")  now  and  again.  Over  the  course  of  an  entire  album, 
however,  Mudhoney  hasn't  got  the  songwriting  sub- 
stance to  justify  its  noise.  Neither  strictly  derivative  nor 
in  any  sense  original,  Mudhoney  is  merely  a  generic 
mediocrity. 


447 


Assembled  for  the  overseas  market,  Boiled  Beef  & 
Rotting  Teeth  contains  a  1988  compilation  LP  contri- 
bution and  two  singles — five  songs  in  all,  including  an 
alternate  version  of  Mudhoney's  "You  Got  It  (Keep  It 
Outta  My  Face)."  [i] 

See  also  Green  River,  Melvins. 

Umsteiger  (Ger.  CBS)  1982 
Licht(Ger.  CBS)  1983 
Herzschlag  Enter  Stadt  (Ger.  CBS)  1 984 
Von  Anfang  An  (Ger.  CBS)  1 986 
Traumziel  (Ger.  CBS)  1986 

FREIHEiT 

Romancing  in  the  Dark  (Ger.  CBS)  1 987 
Fantasy  (nr/CBS)  1 988  (WTG)  1 989  • 
Kissed  You  in  the  Rain  EP  (nr/CBS)  1989  • 

Munchener  Freiheit  (Munich  Freedom)  started  as  a 
two-guitar  quartet  on  Umsteiger  (Transfer).  Display- 
ing a  definite  knack  for  power  pop  with  exceedingly 
good  Beatlesque  harmonies,  they  also  go  in  for  some 
tracks  with  slightly  eccentric  arrangements.  At  points 
they  reach  genuine  offbeatness,  fitting  for  a  band  led  by 
an  ex-member  of  fringe  space  rockers  Amon  Dutil  II, 
namely  singing  guitarist  Stefan  Zauner.  It's  a  bit  of  an 
unsatisfying  mix,  but  the  high  points  are,  well,  kind  of 
like  eating  Ring  Dings:  empty  calories,  but  awfully 
tasty,  (Despite  Zauner's  Anglo-pop  voice,  the  record's 
all  in  German,  including  a  version  of  Dylan's  "It's  All 
Over  Now,  Baby  Blue.") 

They  subsequently  jettisoned  the  musical  weirdness 
altogether.  On  Licht,  with  Zauner  moving  over  to  key- 
boards, the  overall  sound  is  more  commercial  and  pop- 
oriented.  That  it  comes  shrink-wrapped  with  a 
combination  sweat-band/visor  (!)  should  suggest  the 
record's  intended  appeal.  Again,  there's  the  same  kind 
of  swell  pop-rock,  but  some  veers  dangerously  close  to 
pap. 

By  Herzschlag  Einer  Stadt,  possibly  the  group's 
best  album,  the  lineup  had  stabilized  as  a  quintet  with 
two  keyboardists  including  Zauner,  by  then  primarily 
the  singer  (and,  teamed  with  guitarist  Aron  Strobel, 
chief  songwriter).  He'd  also  been  the  producer,  with 
former  bassist  Freddie  Erdmann  but,  starting  with 
Herzschiag,  the  records  were  overseen  by  Armand 
Volker.  This  proved  to  be  a  formula  for  success — the 
quintet  are  now  quite  big  pop  stars — but  the  slickness 
that  went  into  it  became  increasingly  annoying.  (Here, 
it's  just  insidiously  ingratiating.) 

Von  Anfang  An  (From  the  Beginning  On)  conve- 
niently summed  up  Munchener  Freiheit' s  output  for 
their  hit  parade  fans,  with  non-LP  single  tracks  and  the 
most  commercial  (not  necessarily  the  best)  of  the  pre- 
vious LPs,  including  live,  alternate  and  remixed  ver- 
sions. Traumziel  has  a  surprisingly  mature  sound  and, 
while  some  of  it  lapses  into  blandness,  the  rest  is  en- 
joyable ear  candy.  Curiously  dropping  the  first  half  of 
their  name,  Freiheit  issued  Traumziel  in  an  English- 
language  version,  Romancing  in  the  Dark,  with  three 
remakes  from  previous  LPs  slotted  in.  Traumziel  actu- 
ally hangs  together  better,  and  understanding  the  lyrics 
hardly  makes  a  big  difference. 

By  Fantasie,  the  gradual  stylistic  modernization 
(adding  in  dance-rock  elements  and  so  on)  had  coun- 


terbalanced most  of  the  original  charm — even  of  Zaun- 
er's  voice.  The  record  still  has  worthwhile  moments, 
but  it's  mostly  dull.  For  international  consumption,  the 
lyrics  were  translated  into  English  (or,  as  on  at  least 
some  of  the  tracks,  rewritten).  "Keeping  the  Dream 
Alive*'  (a  softer,  fluffier,  longer  version  of  "So  Lang' 
Man  Traume  Noch  Leben  Kann")  leads  off  the  LP, 
instead  of  ending  it.  Yawn.  [jg] 

COATI  MUNDI 

See  Kid  Creole  and  the  Coconuts. 

PETER  MURPHY 

Should  the  World  Fail  to  Fall  Apart  (nr/Beggars  Banquet) 

1986« 

Love  Hysteria  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1988  ® 
Deep  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1 990  ® 

DAliS  CAR 

The  Waking  Hour  (nr/Paradox- Beggars  Banquet)  1 984  • 

After  leaving  Bauhaus,  singer  Peter  Murphy  joined 
Mick  Karn  (ex- Japan)  and  a  no-name  drummer  to  form 
Dalis  Car,  whose  one  album  mixed  Japan's  sensuous 
sound  with  Bauhaus'  obsequious  lyrical  constructs.  As  a 
mellifluous  noise,  The  Waking  Hour  is  fine,  if  a  bit 
heavy  on  the  bass;  dig  any  deeper,  however,  and  what 
you  get  is  a  hollow  attempt  to  create  art  without  any 
redeeming  artistry. 

Moving  on  to  a  solo  career,  Murphy  made  his  debut 
with  Should  the  World  Fail  to  Fall  Apart.  Guitarist/ 
keyboard  player  Howard  Hughes  co-wrote  and  co- 
produced  this  dreamy,  mildly  experimental  effort  that 
makes  good  use  of  modest  understatement.  If  Murphy 
could  remove  the  melodrama  from  his  delivery,  a  lot  of 
the  songs  might  have  been  quite  nice.  But  even  at  low 
volume  and  languorous  tempo,  he  can't  shake  the  old 
goth  theatrics  out  of  his  voice.  He  almost  pulls  it  off  in 
"Canvas  Beauty,"  an  appealing  wash  of  fretless  bass 
and  synthetic  horns,  but  winds  up  doing  a  frightening 
vocal  imitation  of  mid-period  Moody  Blues.  And  that's 
as  good  as  it  gets.  Covering  Magazine's  "The  Light 
Pours  Out  of  Me"  and  Pere  Ubu's  "Final  Solution" 
probably  seemed  like  good,  culturally  resonant  ideas  at 
the  time,  but  the  awkward  results  are  far  from  impres- 
sive. 

Keyboardist  Paul  Statham  co-wrote  Love  Hysteria, 
an  album  on  which  Murphy's  commanding  baritone 
contrasts  with  brittle,  airy  music  built  on  a  dual  fixation 
with  Lodger-era  Bowie  and  the  group  Japan.  (At  its 
most  commercial,  however,  the  record  resembles  the 
Fixx.)  Regardless  of  stylistic  intent,  the  pompous 
pseudo-babble  lyrics  and  keyboardist/guitarist  Simon 
Rogers'  horrible  production  (the  sound  has  almost  no 
bottom)  makes  this  of  interest  only  to  implacable  Bau- 
haus fanatics. 

Having  covered  "Funtime"  (from  The  Idiot)  on 
Love  Hysteria,  Murphy  added  an  ominous  Iggy  Pop 
impression  to  his  colorful  repertoire  on  Deep.  Using  the 
same  crowd — Statham,  Rogers,  bassist  Eddie  Branch, 
guitarist  Peter  Bonas — as  the  previous  album,  Murphy 
shifted  into  simple  dance-rock,  extrapolating  what 
Bowie  might  sound  like  fronting,  say,  Modern  English. 
Actually,  Deep  isn't  bad — multi-tracking  the  vocals  and 
swamping  them  in  thick  pop  instrumentation  softens 


448 


Murphy's  voice  (whose  control  has  clearly  improved)  to 
the  point  of  easy  listening.  Where  Peep  sinks  is  in  the 
songwnting:  amid  the  few  nicely  rounded  melodies  are 
dead  serious  songs  with  titles  like  "The  Line  Between 
the  Devil's  Teeth  (And  That  Which  Cannot  Be  Re- 
peat!)" and  "Mariene  Dietrich's  Favourite  Poem." 
(One  bonus  track  on  the  CD  and  cassette.)  [i] 

See  also  Bauhaus. 


more  groove-minded  "Roots  Train,"  it's  a  swell  voice 
and  righteous  riddims  buoying  plain  songs.  Murvin 
never  did  really  capitalize  on  his  big  success.         [jg] 
See  also  Lee  Perry. 


MUSIC  REVELATION  ENSEMBLE 

See  James  Blood  Ulmer. 


LAW 

Murphy's  Low  (Rock  Hotel-Profile)  1 986 
Back  with  a  Bong!  (Profile)  1989  • 

These  popular  skate  punks  from  Astoria,  Queens 
take  a  wisely  unserious  approach  to  thrash  on  their  fine 
debut  album.  The  quartet  varies  the  tempos  every  which 
way — the  LP  only  intermittently  utilizes  hardcore  bum 
velocity — holding  fast  to  a  rollicking  punk  spirit  without 
conforming  to  its  stylistic  regulations.  The  clearly  pro- 
duced record's  title  track  has  a  winning  "arf-arf"  cho- 
rus; "Sit  Home  &  Rot"  addresses  the  urgent  topic  of 
couch  potatodom  without  apology;  other  numbers  ratify 
such  essential  life  functions  as  "Crucial  Bar-B-Q," 
"Fun"  and  "Beer."  Throughout,  the  violent  energy, 
good  playing  and  Jimmy  Gestapo's  spirited  vocals  make 
Murphy's  Law  (on  green  vinyl  no  less)  a  near-brilliant 
mistake. 

Back  with  a  Bong!  repeats  the  feat,  adding  simple 
horn  charts  to  songs  about  eating,  drinking,  dental 
health,  buying/smoking  dope  and  patriotism.  (Does  this 
actually  make  youth  culture  sense?)  The  mixture  of 
brass  and  thrash  is  more  surprising  than  effective — 
except  on  a  clumsy  stab  at  ska,  where  the  combination 
sounds  awful — but  the  quartet's  refusal  to  leave  punk 
alone  just  might  lead  somewhere  amazing  one  of  these 
days.  (Judging  by  "Bong,"  reggae  is  not  their  wisest 
path.)  [i] 


PAULINE  MURRAY 

See  Penetration. 


JUNIOR  MURVIN 

Police  and  Thieves  (Mango)  1 977 

Not  to  be  confused  with  Wailers  guitarist  Junior 
Marvin,  Murvin  is  the  possessor  of  a  fabulous  falsetto. 
(In  the  late  '60s  he  did  reggae  covers  of  Curtis  Mayfield 
tunes  and  was  known  as  Junior  Soul.)  In  1976,  after 
some  success  writing  for  others,  he  teamed  with  legen- 
dary producer  Lee  Perry  and  delivered  "Police  and 
Thieves,"  an  instant  classic  with  phenomenal  impact  in 
both  Jamaica  and  England  (it  came  as  a  timely  remark 
on  increased  racial  tensions  in  both  nations).  As  an 
added  intercultural  bonus,  the  song's  appropriately  re- 
bellious lyrics  offered  the  Clash  a  convenient  way  to 
make  an  early  reggae  statement  on  their  first  LP. 

Murvin' s  original  is  worth  every  bit  of  applause  it's 
gotten.  The  cool,  Understated  presentation  contradicts 
the  mood  of  the  lyrics,  but  lends  them  an  underlying 
tension  unattainable  by  histrionics  (which,  by  contrast, 
gives  extra  weight  to  the  more  dramatic  middle  eight). 
As  for  the  rest  of  the  album,  other  than  the  excellent, 


MUSSOLINI  HEADKICK 

Themes  for  Violent  Retribution  (World  Domination-Wax 

TraxS}1989@ 
Blood  on  the  Flag  (World  Domination-Caroline}  1 990  ® 

Those  generally  intimidated  by  industrialists*  relent- 
less amelodic  pounding  may  find  this  Belgian- American 
group's  debut  easier  to  face:  the  most  off-putting  thing 
about  Themes  for  Violent  Retribution  is  the  (anti- 
fascist) cover's  swastika.  While  this  part-time  party  star- 
ring Luc  Van  Acker  (of  Revolting  Cocks)  and  singer/ 
keyboard  manipulator  John  Butcher  (of  King  Butcher) 
does  employ  the  form's  standard  tools — stern  beats, 
found  sounds  and  distorted  chants — MH  keeps  things 
reasonably  musical  with  an  undercurrent  of  techno- 
dance  conservatism  and,  on  Side  B,  actual  songs  with 
verses,  choruses  and  rough  melodies. 

The  harsher  Blood  on  the  Flag,  again  produced  by 
Van  Acker,  delves  more  deeply  into  the  punishing 
power  of  electronic  percussion  and  chaotic  noise,  as 
Butcher  angrily  shouts  his  military-minded  political  lyr- 
ics in  topical  songs  like  "Kabul,"  "Homeland"  and 
"War  Drum."  With  the  exception  of  two  near-songs 
("Cracking  Up"  and  "Holy  War"),  the  shards  of  mu- 
sical intelligence  here  crop  up  only  as  accents,  playing 
a  similar  role  to  the  audio  veritg  sound  bites.  [i] 

See  also  Revolting  Cocks,  Luc  Van  Acker. 


MUTABARUKA 

Check  It  (Alligator)  1983 

Outcry  (Shanachie)  1984® 

The  Mystery  Unfolds  (Shanachie)  1 986  • 

Any  Which  Way  . . .  Freedom  (Shanachie)  1 989  • 

Blakk  wi  Blak ...  K  ...  K  ...  (Shanachie)  1 991  « 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Word  Soun'  'ave  Power  (Heartbeat)  1983 
Dub  Poets  Dub  (Heartbeat)  1 983 

As  a  dub  poet,  Mutabaruka  (born  in  Jamaica  as 
Allan  Hope)  inevitably  inspires  comparisons  to  Linton 
Kwesi  Johnson,  but  where  LKJ's  poems  are  often  ironic 
and  his  delivery  knife  sharp,  Mutabaruka' s  work  is  more 
direct,  thick  with  dread.  Unlike  Dennis  Bovell's  gor- 
geous formal  arrangements  on  Johnson's  LPs,  Muta- 
baruka is  more  spontaneous.  His  poems  dictate  the 
musical  direction— -the  rhythms  jerk  the  band  along. 
Suffice  to  say  both  artists  derive  from  the  same  tradi- 
tions of  Jamaican  poetry  and  music;  if  you  like  one, 
chances  are  you'll  like  the  other. 

Mutabaruka' s  first  two  albums  are  equally  strong. 
Check  It,  a  bold  debut,  contains  three  early  singles; 
"Naw  Give  Up,"  "Everytime  I  Hear  de  Soun'  "  and 
"Hard  Time  Loving."  Outcry  continues  the  poet's  ver- 
bal attack,  while  showing  the  influence  of  his  dramatic 
concert  appearances.  (He  performs  in  manacles.)  Music 


449 


and  lyrics  sound  more  linked  than  on  the  prior  LP,  and 
the  band  seems  to  be  working  with  the  poet  rather  than 
just  backing  him  up. 

On  his  third  release,  The  Mystery  Unfolds,  Muta- 
baraka's  lyrics  are  presented  in  a  variety  of  musical 
settings.  The  LP  is  assured  and  versatile,  an  ambitious 
mixed  bag  with  a  cappella  tracks,  full-scale  arrange- 
ments, audio  effects  and  special  guest  vocalists  (includ- 
ing Marcia  Griffiths  and  Ini  Kamose).  While  widening 
the  performer's  range,  The  Mystery  Unfolds  broad- 
ened his  appeal  as  well.  Indeed,  "Dis  Poem"  enjoyed 
some  popularity  in  NYC  dance  clubs,  sampled  in  with 
house  music, 

"By  the  ballot  or  the  bullet,  by  the  Bible  or  the  gun, 
any  which  way  freedom  must  come!"  On  Any  Which 
Way .  .  .  Freedom,  the  revolutionary  dub  poet  returns, 
stronger  and  more  outspoken  than  ever;  humor,  anger 
and  love  mingle  with  political  analysis  as  the  music  and 
words  twist,  turn,  jump  and  soar  to  create  message  mu- 
sic for  listening,  dancing  and  serious  contemplation. 
The  title  track  samples  My  Fair  Lady's  "I  Could  Have 
Danced  All  Night,"  while  "Revenge"  employs  South 
African  mbaqanga  music. 

Mutabaruka  has  also  produced  other  West  Indian 
poets,  with  two  significant  compilations  (Word  Soun' 
'ave  Power  and  Woman  Talk)  to  his  credit.  The  first 
also  spawned  the  excellent  Dub  Poets  Deb,  a  compan- 
ion LP  of  instrumental  tracks.  [bk/aw] 

MX-80  SOUND 

EP(BRBQ)1 976  (Gulcher)  1977 
Hard  Attack  (nr/Island)  1 977 
Out  of  the  Tunnel  (Ralph)  1 980 
Crowd  Control  (Ralph)  1981 

MX-80 

Existential  Lover  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1 987 
Das  Love  Boat  (A&R)  1 990 

BRUCE  ANDERSON 

Brutality  I ...  America/Iran  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1 987 
Brutality  II . . .  Israel/Palestine  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1 988 

O-TYPE 

O-Type  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1 986 
Darling  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1 988 

GIZZARDS 

Unicode  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1 985 
Humdinger  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1986 
Sgt.  Peppereteak  [tape]  (Quadruped)  1988 
Where  Good  Friends  Meet  EP  (Quadruped)  1 989 

This  weird  post-metal  art  band  originally  from 
Bloomington,  Indiana  (from  the  same  scene  that 
spawned  the  goofy  Gizmos)  centers  their  sound  around 
Bruce  Anderson's  slashing,  trebly  guitar riffing  and  Rich 
Stim's  deadpan,  often  indecipherable,  mumble.  As  a 
five-piece  (with  two  drummers),  they  twice  released  a 
7-inch  EP  (subtitled  "Hard  Pop  from  the  Hoosiers")  on 
local  labels,  impressing  Island  Records  enough  to  sign 
them.  But  the  resulting  Hard  Attack  never  came  out  in 
the  States  and  attracted  little  attention  aside  from  some 
critical  raves.  A  move  to  San  Francisco  (shedding  one 
drummer  in  the  process)  brought  them  to  the  attention  of 
that  city's  Ralph  Records,  home  of  the  Residents  and 
other  offbeat  types. 

Out  of  the  Tunnel  may  well  be  MX-80's  high-tide 


mark,  particularly  on  the  concurrent  single,  "Someday 
We'll  Be  King"  b/w  " White  Night";  on  these  two 
sides,  their  formula  of  convoluted,  breakneck  melodies, 
cross-fed  musical  genres  and  Anderson's  white-hot 
soloing  nears  critical  mass. 

Crowd  Control  doesn't  quite  reach  the  same  lofty 
heights.  With  more  strict  adherence  to  "metal"  (in  the 
Blue  Oyster  Cult  sense)  form,  the  songs  here  merely 
replace  much  of  the  white-hot  intensity  of  Tunnel  with 
volume.  The  results  range  from  epiphany  ("Obsession: 
Devotion"  and  "Face  of  the  Earth")  to  nails-against- 
chalkboard  (like  a  take  on  the  theme  from  Brian  DePal- 
ma's  Sisters).  A  litigation-enforced  five-year  hiatus 
followed;  while  the  band  never  technically  split  (note 
the  plethora  of  pseudonymous  releases),  they  did  a 
pretty  convincing  disappearing  act.  When  the  curtain 
lifted  again,  a  chopped  and  channeled  leaner  MX-80 
was  revealed. 

Existential  Lover  is  a  step  back  from  overkill's 
precipice;  a  biting  and  nasty  artifact  that  simmers  con- 
stantly with  the  psychotic  abandon  that  spewed  irregu- 
larly from  earlier  efforts.  The  filmic  bent  is  still  there  on 
"Monster  from  Japan"  and  "Orson,"  and  Stim's  dead- 
pan drawl  recalls  a  non-homogenized  Stan  Ridgway  in 
its  seamy  travel  guide  monotone.  A  real  edge-of-your- 
seat  listen. 

Das  Love  Boat  (perhaps  the  first  all-instrumental 
album  to  sport  a  parental  advisory)  is  an  exhaustively 
complete  retrospective,  encompassing  material  from  all 
the  band's  releases,  plus  early  ('75-'78)  live  tracks.  The 
package  is  topped  off  with  a  brace  of  newly  recorded 
jazzy  efforts,  the  best  of  which  is  the  rasping  title  track. 

Anderson's  solo  tapes  are  essential  for  those  with  a 
passion  for  volume-intensive  but  fluid  guitar  improv; 
imagine  a  cross  between  Sonny  Sharrock  and  a  bad- 
mood  Robert  Fripp.  The  first  tape  borrows  a  few  MX-80 
themes,  but  expands  on  them  enough  that  you'll  barely 
notice.  Israel:  Palestine  is  a  touch  harsher  and  more 
claustrophobic  in  tone.  Bracing  stuff. 

O-Type  was  the  moniker  Anderson  and  MX-80's 
extraordinary  bassist  Dale  Sophiea  used  to  create  theme 
music  for  a  Ralph  film  (the  theme  to  which  crops  up  on 
Das  Love  Boat)  and  sporadically  revived  to  chum  out 
doom-laden,  Germanic  power-rock  that's  not  all  that  far 
removed  from  an  axe-wielding  Suicide — especially 
Anderson's  impassioned  vocals.  Darling  is  the  pick  of 
that  litter.  The  Gizzards  (identified  as  "the  weak,  sep- 
arated Siamese  twins  of  three  MX-80  members"— 
geddit?)  offer  a  few  more  laffs,  though  not  nearly  as 
many  as  Sgt.  Peppersteak's  title  would  suggest.  Over 
the  course  of  these  releases,  the  mood  has  become  de- 
cidedly more  bleak  (and  MX-80-ish),  peaking  with  Pep- 
persteak's martial,  creepy  "Straight  Line"  and 
"Trailer  Park." 

Members  of  MX-80  also  back  Stim's  singing  wife, 
Angel  Corpus-Christi,  on  her  releases,  discs  that  meld 
Patti  Smith-poesy  with  fringey  no  wave.  If  ever  a  band 
realized  the  potential  of  pre-punk  "underground"  noise 
rock,  MX-80  is  it.  [rnp/dss] 

MY  BLOODY  VALENTINE 

This  Is  Your  Bloody  Valentine  EP  (nr/Tycoon)  1985  (Ger. 

Dossier)  1988 
Geek  EP  (nr/Fever)  1986 


450 


The  New  Record  by  My  Bloody  Valentine  EP 

(nr/Kaleidoscope  Sound)  1986 
Sunny  Sundae  Smile  EP  (nr/Lazy)  1987 
Strawberry  Wine  EP  (nr/Lazy)  1987 
Ecstasy  EP  (nr/Lazy)  1987 
My  Bloody  Valentine  Isn't  Anything  (Creation-Relativity) 

1988® 

Feed  Me  with  Your  Kiss  EP  (nr/Creation)  1 988 
You  Made  Me  Realise  EP  (nr/Creation)  1 988 
Ecstasy  and  Strawberry  Wine  [CD]  (nr/Lazy)  1 989  • 
Glider  EP  (nr/Creation}  1 989  (Sire)  1 990  • 
Tremolo  (nr/Creation)  1990  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1991  • 

Formed  in  Dublin  in  1983,  the  dauntingly  prolific 
My  Bloody  Valentine  quickly  became  a  cornerstone  of 
a  loose,  largely  media-built  coalition  of  independent- 
label  bands  playing  aggressive  (and  aggressively 
opaque)  pop  music  that  stood  in  direct  opposition  to 
both  "rockism"  and  the  twee  bedsit  romanticism  of  the 
pallid  anti-rockists. 

The  first  recordings  capture  a  band  in  step  with  the 
times,  but  perhaps  a  bit  too  eager  to  get  into  the  studio. 
This  Is  Your  Bloody  Valentine  (recorded,  incidentally, 
in  Berlin)  displays  graveyard  roots,  style-hopping  from 
campy  (almost  Batcave)  Doors-isms  like  "The  Love 
Gang"  and  "Don't  Cramp  My  Style"  to  the  Cramps  to 
funereal  spelunking  in  Nick's  Cave.  The  only  thing 
missing  is  originality.  Geek  is  pretty  much  a  carbon 
copy,  largely  because  of  David  Conway's  basso  pro- 
fundo  (occasionally  ridiculoso}  croon,  but  The  New 
Record  uses  a  broader  palette:  the  breathy  "Lovelee 
Sweet  Darlene"  is  outright  childlike  in  its  innocence. 

By  this  time,  My  Bloody  Valentine  had  begun  con- 
struction on  a  wall  of  sound/noise  (depending  on  your 
perspective)  that's  often  likened  to  the  Jesus  and  Mary 
Chain's.  But  where  the  Reids  sequester  themselves  in  a 
forbidding  cage  of  hardened  steel,  MBV  beckon  from 
behind  a  glistening,  almost  transparent  curtain  of  the 
thinnest  gold  leaf.  This  approach  became  all  the  more 
tantalizing  when  Conway  left  after  Sunny  Sundae 
Smile  (notable  for  the  silliest  song  ever  about  blow-up- 
doll  love)  and  took  most  of  the  stormclouds  with  him. 
Strawberry  Wine  retreats  almost  completely  from 
gloom,  as  the  quartet  instead  immerses  itself  in  West 
Coast  psychedelia  (Arthur  Lee  looms  large  over  the 
wispy  melody  of  "Can  I  Touch  You?"). 

Ecstasy  (paired  on  CD  with  Strawberry  Wine)  ups 
the  dissonance  factor  a  bit,  and  by  relegating  the  shared 
vocals  of  new  member  Bilinda  Butcher  and  Kevin 
Shields  (both  also  play  guitar)  to  the  status  of  just  an- 
other instrument,  simultaneously  increases  the  level  of 
mystery — appropriate,  considering  the  general  Creation- 
band  tendency  to  elevate  sound  qua  sound  over  individ- 
ual songs.  There  are  certainly  some  of  the  latter  on  the 
band's  first  bona  fide  longplayer,  Isn't  Anything.  Most, 
it  seems,  revolve  around,  er,  non-mainstream  sexuality 
(check  out  "Cigarette  in  Your  Bed" — only  on  the  Brit- 
ish edition — for  some  strange  kicks);  all  ride  waves  of 
languid  "glide  guitar"  (the  band's  phrase)  to  almost 
narcotic  effect.  Trivia  buffs  should  note  My  Bloody  Val- 
entine's appropriation  of  Public  Enemy's  "Security  of 
the  First  World"  riff— a  full  two  years  before  Madon- 
na's "Justify  My  Love." 

Perhaps  as  a  byproduct  of  a  less  hectic  schedule, 
Feed  Me  and  You  Made  Me  Realise  (not  its  real  name: 
the  four-song  12-inch  that  features  that  tune  actually  has 


no  title)  are  at  once  as  resolute  and  disparate  as  any 
consecutive  releases  in  the  band's  considerable  cata- 
logue: the  Butcher-sung  tracks  throb  with  subdued 
thriller  soundtrack  tension,  while  "You  Made  Me  Re- 
alise" strips  down  to  skeletal  riff-rock  basics  for  an 
X-like  hootenaimy. 

Glider,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  wholehearted  em- 
brace of  stasis,  not  at  all  a  bad  thing,  given  the  band's 
extraordinary  ability  to  arrive  without  travelling.  The 
best  track,  "Soon,"  all  but  entirely  dispenses  with  frills 
like  choruses  and  chord  progressions,  opting  instead  for 
seven  minutes  of  mesmerizing  swells  and  contractions. 

[dss] 


MY  DAD  IS  DEAD 

My  Dad  Is  Dead  ...  and  He's  Not  Gonna  Take  St 

Anymore  (St.  Valentine)  1 986  (Ger.  Houses  in 

Motion)  1 990 

Peace,  Love  and  Murder  (Birth)  1 987 
Lefs  Skip  the  Details  (Homestead)  1 988  * 
The  Best  Defense  (Homestead)  1989 
The  Taller  You  Are,  the  Shorter  You  Get  (Homestead) 

1989® 
Shine  EP  (Scat)  1990 

Under  his  open-to-misinterpretation  nom  de  disc  My 
Dad  Is  Dead,  Cleveland  singer/writer/one-man-band 
Mark  Edwards  makes  music  whose  appeal  lies  largely  in 
its  matter-of-fact  handling  of  deep  personal  traumas.  As 
comforting  as  they  are  harrowing,  Edwards'  records 
have  grown  steadily  in  fluency  and  confidence. 

My  Dad  Is  Dead,  most  of  whose  songs  were  indeed 
inspired  by  the  loss  of  Edwards'  father,  is  a  compelling, 
hypnotic  debut  that  ranges  from  thrashy  aggression 
("Black  Cloud")  to  supple  melodicism  ("Talk  to  the 
Weatherman")  to  industrial  gloom  ("Say  Goodbye"). 
The  unifying  thread  is  the  downbeat  lyrics;  the  sole 
weak  link  is  Edwards'  flat  singing,  which  improved  on 
subsequent  releases. 

Peace,  Love  and  Murder  and  Let's  Skip  the  De- 
tails show  considerable  growth,  both  lyrically  and  mu- 
sically. The  instrumental  attack  has  greater  bite,  and  the 
latter  disc  finds  Edwards  applying  subtler  melodic  de- 
vices (on  tracks  like  "Lay  Down  the  Law"  and  "Boil- 
ing Over")  without  sacrificing  the  music's  original 
tension.  The  Best  Defense  is  an  assemblage  of  tracks 
from  an  unreleased  EP,  outtakes  from  Let's  Skip  the 
Details  and  some  4-track  home  recordings;  though  not 
as  essential  as  its  predecessor,  it  has  some  fine  mo- 
ments, including  three  surprisingly  harmonious  instru- 
mentals. 

The  Taller  You  Are,  the  Shorter  You  Get  (a  dou- 
ble LP)  is  simultaneously  Edwards'  most  ambitious  ef- 
fort and  his  most  accessible.  The  expanded  format 
allows  for  some  longer  experimental  tracks,  most  of 
which  work  out  quite  nicely;  there's  even  an  almost- 
danceable  instrumental,  "Meep  Meep."  Elsewhere,  Ed- 
wards veers  relatively  close  to  the  musical  mainstream 
(hard  rock  on  "Too  Far  Gone,"  acoustic  folk-rock  on 
"Nothing  Special")  with  considerable  success.  His  lyr- 
ics, meanwhile,  have  grown  less  morose  and  more 
philosophical,  and  he  sings  them  with  new-found  ex- 
pressiveness. 

Shine  is  a  double  7-inch  recorded  with  the  rhythm 


451 


section  of  Cleveland's  Prison  Shake:  four  new  songs 
and  four  rocked-up  remakes  of  previously  released  ma- 
terial, [hd] 

MY  LIFE  THE  KILL 

KULT 

I  See  Good  Spirits  and  I  See  Bad  Spirits  (Wax  Trax!) 

1988® 

Kooler  Than  Jesus  {Wax  Trax!}  1 990  <j> 
Confessions  of  a  Knife  . . .  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  • 

There's  house  music,  and  then  there's  Amityville 
Horror  music.  But  this  pseudonymous  conglomerate  of 
sample  masters  and  programmers — Groovy  Mann 
(Frank  Nardiello,  vocals),  Buzz  McCoy  (Marston 
Daley,  keyboards/bass)  and  Buck  Ryder  (Thomas  Lock- 
year,  keyboards/percussion) — wasn't  so  great  at  saying 
get  out!  right  off  the  bat.  On  Good  Spirits,  dialogue 


samples  (mostly  dealing  with  that  pop  icon,  Satan)  and 
silly  vocals  aside,  Thrill  Kill  Kult  veers  between  sound- 
ing like  a  stripped-down  Tangerine  Dream  and  an 
overtly  discofied  .  .  .  Tangerine  Dream.  WMch  is  not  to 
say  it's  a  bad  record. 

Kooler  Than  Jesus,  named  for  a  1989  12-inch  sin- 
gle, is  a  CD/cassette  compilation  of  the  group's  non-LP 
work  to  date. 

Confessions  of  a  Knife  synthesizes  the  dance  smarts 
of  "Kooler  Than  Jesus"  with  the  first  album's  sample- 
happy  excesses.  To  boot,  there  are  touches  of  metal  and 
world  music  and  constant  evocations  of  bad  trips  and 
gory  scares.  Perfect  background  music  for  an  evening  of 
acid,  speed  and  Herschell  Gordon  Lewis  movies,  [gk] 

MYRNA 

See  Human  Switchboard. 


452 


NAKED  PREY 

Naked  Prey  (Down  There-Enigma)  1984 
Under  the  Blue  Mariin  (Frontier)  1986 
40  Miles  from  Nowhere  (Frontier)  1 987 
Kill  the  Messenger  (Fundamental)  1 990  ® 

Van  Christian  was  at  one  time  Green  on  Red's  drum- 
mer; back  home  in  Tucson,  Arizona,  he  switched  to 
vocals  and  guitar  and  formed  Naked  Prey.  The  quartet 
plays  rough-edged  country  rock  with  similarities  to 
Green  on  Red  (as  well  as  Dream  Syndicate  and  others  in 
the  California/ Arizona  axis).  Although  the  seven-song 
debut's  powerful  sound  is  strictly  modern,  some  of 
David  Seger's  sociopathic  guitar  solos  recall  acid- 
drenched  summer  of  love  shows  at  the  Fillmore.  An 
unassuming,  occasionally  exciting  record. 

With  a  new  drummer,  label  and  producer  (Paul  B. 
Cutler),  Naked  Prey  revved  up  their  folk-distorto-rock 
on  Under  the  Blue  Martin.  Christian's  colorful  singing 
and  Seger's  guitar  work  remain  the  group's  virtues,  as 
Prey's  songs  don't  make  much  of  an  impression.  (A 
Stooges  cover  is  both  helpful  and  indicative  of  the 
band's  own  failings.) 

The  same  problem  plagues  the  thematically  linked 
40  Miles  from  Nowhere:  despite  killer  guitar  (includ- 
ing slide)  and  relentless  energy,  unimaginative  melodies 
and  lyrics  derail  the  effort.  (Christian's  deteriorating 
voice  is  another  trouble  spot,)  Still,  a  pair  of  covers — 
Jagger/Richards'  "Silver  Train"  and  a  funereal  version 
of  " Wichita  Lineman"  (get  the  drift?) — proves  what 
these  boys  might  do  with  substantial  material.  Kill  the 
Messenger  is  a  live  album  recorded  in  Tucson  in  1988. 

[i] 

NAKED  RAYGUN 

Basement  Screams  EP  (Ruthless)  1 983 

Throb  Throb  (Homestead)  1985  • 

All  Rise  (Homestead)  1 986  • 

Jettison  (Caroline)  1 988  « 

Understand?  (Caroline)  1 989  « 

Raygun  . . .  Naked  Raygun  (Caroline)  1 990  • 

PEGBOY 

Three-Chord  Monte  EP  (1/4  Stick-Touch  and  Go)  1 990 

Chicago's  Naked  Raygun  is  one  of  the  encouraging 
new  punk  bands  that  bloomed  in  the  Midwest  long  after 
thrash  had  apparently  isolated  the  punk  aesthetic  in  its 
own  circumscribed  ghetto,  where  it  would  never  again 
challenge  the  musical  values  of  regular  folk.  Lump  the 
longer-running  Raygun  in  with  Hiisker  Dii,  Man  Sized 
Action,  Big  Black  and  Breaking  Circus  and  you'll  be 
oversimplifying,  but  you'll  have  your  finger  on  an  early- 
'80s  movement  of  sorts.  All  of  these  bands  expanded 
the  boundaries  and  cast  aside  some  of  the  trappings  of 
punk  to  bring  it  back  into  contact  with  the  mainstream. 
If  none  of  them  ever  attained  huge  success,  all  at  least 


appealed  to  adventurous  people  who  don't  have  mo- 
hawks 

Naked  Raygun  (like  most  of  the  other  bands  men- 
tioned) has  an  unabashed  love  for  the  naive  arty  exper- 
imentation of  Wire  and  the  Buzzcocks.  Basement 
Screams  is  a  hodgepodge  of  underproduced,  undercon- 
ceived  songs  with  a  lot  of  Misfits-type  paramilitary 
chanting;  energetic  and  articulate  but  not  directly  com- 
pelling. Throb  Throb's  songs  are  much  better,  its  drive 
more  urgent  and  John  Haggerfy's  piercing  guitar  lines  a 
sonically  expansive,  sharp  force.  Even  at  low  volume, 
the  album  is  loud.  The  best  track,  "I  Don't  Know,"  is 
a  grippmgly  melodic  art-punk  anthem  that  turns  on 
singer/plumber  Jeff  Pezzati's  anti-idol  wail, '  'What  poor 
gods  we  do  make."  A  potent,  impressive  album. 

All  Rise  keeps  up  the  all-out  assault  level,  with  dy- 
namic co-production  by  Iain  Burgess  making  the  guitars 
roar  with  speaker-shredding  distortion.  Pezzati's  subtly 
vindictive  lyrics  (e.g.,  "Mr.  Gridlock"  and  "The 
Strip")  voice  their  critiques  in  an  oblique,  ironic  fash- 
ion generally  outside  the  capabilities  of  punk  auteurs. 
All  Rise  may  be  a  bit  short  on  melodies  (something 
hinted  at  in  "Knock  Me  Down"),  but  Raygun  is  obvi- 
ously getting  better  all  the  time. 

Raygun  continue  to  achieve  excellence  on  their  third 
LP,  Jettison.  Quite  different  from  previous  releases,  the 
music's  considerably  slower  speed  (only  the  most  no- 
table change)  gives  almost  breathtaking  impact  to  the 
already  forceful  sound.  "Hammer  Head,"  "Soldier's 
Requiem,"  "When  the  Walls  Come  Down"  and  the 
utterly  brilliant  "Walk  in  Cold"  are  staggering  in  their 
intensity.  The  CD  adds  four  songs:  three  live  cuts  and 
"Vanilla  Blue,"  originally  issued  as  a  single. 

Understand?  finds  the  band  at  peak  power,  deliv- 
ering its  best  collection  of  songs  to  date.  Continuing  a 
trend  begun  on  Jettison,  all  four  members  contribute 
more  or  less  equally  to  the  songwriting,  resulting  in  a 
compelling  array  of  martial  chants  and  supercharged 
rockers.  With  one  exception  (the  overtly  geopolitical 
"Hips  Swingin'  "),  the  lyrics  all  stick  to  the  theme  of 
personal  politics  as  filtered  through  macho  adventure 
comics. 

John  Haggerty  then  left  to  form  Pegboy,  creating  a 
void  in  the  band  which  new  guitarist  Bill  Stephens 
doesn't  adequately  fill  on  Raygun .  .  .  Naked  Raygun. 
A  disappointing  album  full  of  pretentious  cyberpunk 
lyrics  and  half-baked  ideas  (isn't  it  a  little  late  for  skate- 
board songs?),  some  cuts  add  insult  to  injury  with 
muddy,  almost  demo-quality  production.  Stephens  lacks 
the  chops  to  step  into  Haggerty 's  combat  boots,  but  he 
is,  the  author  of  the  disc's  best  song,  "The  Promise,"  an 
aggressive  shot  of  melodic  punk  that  does  the  band's 
class  of  '77  forebears  proud.  Though  hardly  a  total  di- 
saster, Raygun  is  a  definite  misstep  from  a  band  that  has 
done  much  better. 


453 


As  for  Haggerty's  new  endeavor,  Raygun's  loss  is 
Pegboy's  gain.  On  the  introductory  12-inch,  Haggerty, 
his  drummer  brother  Joe  and  a  couple  of  ex-Bhopal 
Stiffs  race  through  four  blistering  doses  of  melodic  punk 
reminiscent  of,  well,  Naked  Raygun  and  Bhopal  Stiffs 
A  nice  job,  but  the  gooey,  introspective  lyrics  could  use 
some  work.  [jl/ag/db] 


NAPALM  DEATH 

Scum  (nr/Earache)  1 987  • 

From  Enslavement  to  Obliteration  (nr/Earache)  1 988  ® 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 989  ® 

Napalm  Death  EP  (nr/Rise  Above)  1 989 

Mentally  Murdered  EP  (nr/Earache)  1 989  « 

Harmony  Corruption  (Earache-Combat)  1 990  • 

The  Peel  Sessions  (Strange  Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  <!> 

Mass-Appeal  Madness  EP  (Earache-Combat)  1991  • 

NAPALM  DEATH/S.O.B. 

EP  (Jap.  Sound  of  Burial)  1 989 

PAINKILLER 

The  Guts  of  a  Virgin  (Earache-Combat)  1991  • 

Just  as  they  missed  the  boat  with  rap,  the  cham- 
pions of  "alternative"  music  refused  to  acknowledge  a 
new  alternative  several  years  later  when  it  arose  from 
the  English  hinterlands  in  the  form  of  grindcore,  a  vir- 
ulent mutation  of  the  most  extreme  elements  of  hard- 
core, metal  and  industrial.  This  blurred  some  cesspool 
just  might  be  the  death  of  traditional  music:  in  its  pur- 
est form,  grind's  5-to-90-second  blasts  of  time-defying 
beats,  hyper-distorted  guitars  and  unintelligible  growls 
and  shrieks  contain  no  verses,  choruses  or  anything 
nice  at  all,  just  exploding  bites  of  encapsulated  hate 
and  rage. 

Formed  around  1981,  vaguely  in  line  with  the  Brit- 
ish hardcore  and  Crass-related  tribes,  Napalm  Death 
made  its  vinyl  debut  on  the  third  Bullshit  Detector  sam- 
pler. Crass'  influence  is  clear  in  both  Scum's  structure- 
less metal-core  blur  and  its  cover  art.  Although  the 
album's  28  tracks  were  recorded  in  two  sessions  eight 
months  apart  (with  different  lineups,  to  boot:  guitarist 
Justin  Broadnck  left  after  the  first  to  form  Head  of  David 
and,  later,  Godflesh;  he  was  replaced  by  Bill  Steer  of 
Carcass),  the  songs  are  indistinguishable  to  all  but  the 
most  carefully  attuned  ears;  Lee  Doman's  larynx- 
shredding  nightmares  of  a  contaminated  world  explode 
on  impact  with  the  sonic  holocaust.  Several  tracks  are 
under  five  seconds;  "You  Suffer  (But  Why?)"  actually 
reaches  the  one-second  mark. 

Grindcore  quickly  outgrew  its  "extreme  hardcore" 
parentage  in  virtually  every  category  except  intelligibil- 
ity. From  Enslavement  to  Obliteration  lengthens  the 
songs  but  maintains  a  superhuman  intensity  level,  with 
a  distinct  early-Swans  influence  adding  an  even  more 
sadistic  twist.  The  scathing  lyrics  attack  a  mind- 
boggling  array  of  topics.  ("Cock  Rock  Alienation" 
quotes  Rudimentary  Peni  and  contains  the  priceless 
lines,  "Who  cares  if  they've  got  no  brains/Give  us  tits 
and  tools/ We  love  it  when  you  feed  us  shit.")  First 
pressings  came  with  a  five-song  bonus  EP;  Scum  and 
four  from  the  EP  are  included  on  the  54-track  From 
Enslavement  CD. 

Enslavement  rallied  the  likeminded  bands  that  had 


arisen  in  England,  Europe  and  Japan  into  a  full-fledged 
international  grind  movement.  John  Torn  championed 
the  band  Stateside,  forming  a  Napalm-ish  "jazzcore" 
outfit  called  Naked  City  with  Boredoms  vocalist  Yamat- 
suko  Eye.  (Zorn  and  Napalm  drummer  Mick  Harris  later 
recorded  the  Painkiller  album,  The  Guts  of  a  Virgin, 
with  Bill  Laswell.) 

The  Mentally  Murdered  EP  presents  a  more  artic- 
ulate (yet  no  less  savage)  sound,  its  advanced  and  better- 
structured  songs  suggesting  a  promising  new  direction, 
putting  a  thrash  metal  tinge  where  its  predecessor's  in- 
dustrial accent  had  been.  Napalm  Death  is  a  hopelessly 
rare  7-inch  recorded  live  on  the  band's  European  tour  in 
November  '88;  the  apparently  titleless  Japanese  EP  of- 
fers six  rough  but  otherwise  unissued  tracks  plus  a  half- 
dozen  cuts  by  a  local  outfit.  Cut  in  '87  and  '88,  The 
Peel  Sessions  crams  a  total  of  26  songs  (including  sev- 
eral rarities)  into  a  mind-melting  21  minutes:  an  awe- 
somely brutal  listening  experience. 

In  mid- '89,  vocalist  Lee  Dorrian  and  guitarist  Bill 
Steer  left.  Doman  went  on  to  form  Cathedral,  posi- 
tively the  slowest,  lowest-tuned  band  ever;  Steer  opted 
to  concentrate  fulltime  on  Carcass.  Napalm  Death's  re- 
maining half  quickly  recruited  vocalist  Barney  Green- 
way  (ex-Benediction)  and  two  new  guitarists,  thrash 
metalers  who  helped  remake  Napalm  in  their  own 
style:  first-class,  but  no  longer  innovative.  Harmony 
Corruption  concentrates  the  metallic  elements  of 
Mentally  Murdered;  lightning-fast  drums,  buzzsaw 
riffs  and  Greenway's  wolfman  vocals  push  the  band 
firmly  into  Slayer  territory.  Initial  British  vinyl  copies 
came  with  a  live  LP  that  includes  an  awesome  cover 
of  Godflesh's  "Avalanche  Master  Song  "  The  British 
CD  adds  a  bonus  studio  cut  and  the  entire  Mentally 
Murdered  EP  (also  available  on  its  own  CD);  the 
American  CD  only  includes  the  studio  track,  "Hiding 
Behind." 

Mass- Appeal  Madness,  a  raw-m-the-studio  rapid- 
fire  romp  through  two  new  cuts  and  new  versions  of  two 
older  songs,  finds  the  band  in  much  looser  form  than  on 
Harmony  Corruption  and  promisingly  suggests  a  re- 
turn to  their  trademark  sound,  high-pitched  screams  and 
all.  The  American  edition  adds  two  non-LP  tracks  of 
Harmony  Corruption  vintage,  as  well  as  the  Mentally 
Murdered  EP.  [ja] 

See  also  Carcass,  Godflesh,  Head  of  David. 

NAZ  NOMAD  &  THE 
NIGHTMARES 

See  Damned. 

NEATS 

The  monkey's  head  in  the  corner  of  the  room.  (Ace  of 

Hearts)  1 982 

Meats  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1983 
Crash  at  Crush  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1 987 
Blues  End  Blue  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1 989  • 

Boston's  Neats  started  out  playing  unselfconscious 
nouveau  folk-rock.  Sidestepping  nostalgia,  the  quartet's 
simple,  low-key  style  would  sound  perfect  in  the  disco- 
theque scene  of  some  '60s  Sunset  Strip  teen-scene 
movie,  but  there  is  also  something  clearly  modern  in  the 


454 


straightforward  guitar/bass/drams  blend  Eric  Martin's 
dramatic  voice  gives  the  seven  tunes  on  the  1982  Mon- 
key's Head  mini-album  their  strength.  Although  the 
material  is  serviceable,  none  of  it  is  striking,  a  really 
memorable  number  would  have  made  this  a  great  debut. 

Neats  sports  an  extraordinary  white  and  black  pop/ 
op-art  cover  and  nine  new  tunes,  but  little  evidence  of 
development  other  than  the  addition  of  organ  (which 
makes  them  resemble  a  droning  California  paisley  neo- 
psychedelic  band).  The  album  has  good,  dense  sound 
and  solidly  mesmerizing,  if  rushed,  playing,  but  lacks 
the  exemplary  songs  (or  even  findable  melodies)  to  give 
it  shape  or  form. 

With  the  lineup  intact  but  for  a  new  bassist,  the 
Neats  that  returned  to  vinyl  four  years  later  were  a  much 
different  proposition.  Led  by  the  song  "Big  Loud 
Sound"  and  a  raunchy  remake  of  "Monkey's  Head," 
the  pounding  big-beat  swamp-rock  comes  as  a  shock 
from  this  once  modestly  amplified  group.  Raspy  guitar 
distortion  (intentional  and  otherwise — shitty  production 
adds  to  the  fuzziness)  dominates,  as  Martin  gallantly 
vies  for  attention  over  Phil  Caruso's  thick  six-string 
roar.  While  bluesy  passages  suggest  a  cross  between 
Creedence  and  old  Gun  Club,  other  cuts  take  an  above- 
ground  rock'n'roll  approach.  (Throughout,  Terry  Han- 
ley  recalls  the  Cramps  with  mongoloid  tom-tom 
drumming.)  Crash  at  Crush  doesn't  quite  work,  but 
it's  a  promising  enough  experiment. 

Blues  End  Blue  (originally  announced  as  Dig 
Deeper)  refines  the  Neats'  gonzo  approach  with  bracing 
power  and  reasonably  clear  sound.  Shifting  between 
measured  R&B  and  charging  rock'n'roll  (nothing  too 
swampy  this  time),  the  Neats  take  standard  bar-band 
conventions  and  crank  them  up  to  eleven,  steering  clear 
of  California-band  metalisms  or  mainstream  rock  suc- 
cess by  keeping  things  raw-sounding  and  checking  any 
potential  bombast  at  the  studio  door.  The  songs  aren't 
all  strong  enough  to  handle  such  rough  treatment,  and 
the  relentless  blare  gets  wearing — the  piano-led  power 
ballad,  "Time  Is  a  Lie,"  arrives  to  provide  contrast  a 
track  or  two  late — but,  in  small  doses,  Blues  End  Blue 
is  a  blast.  [i] 


NECESSARIES 

Big  Sky  (nr/Sire)  1981 
Event  Horizon  (nr/Sire)  1982 

These  two  albums  are  almost  the  same;  the  original 
release  was  withdrawn,  given  a  partial  overhaul,  a  new 
title  and  a  relaunch.  Although  the  band  was  from  New 
York,  and  included  ex-Modern  Lover  bassist  Ernie 
Brooks,  both  LPs  are  UK-only.  (Chris  Spedding  was  a 
member,  but  had  split  by  the  time  of  these  recordings.) 

The  Necessaries'  high-power  pop  puts  the  best  at- 
tributes of  rock  (crazed,  distorted  guitars,  loud  drums) 
to  the  service  of  melodious,  intelligent  songwriting. 
Like  the  early  Motors  or  Records,  the  Necessaries  start 
with  catchy,  solid  tunes  and  then  give  'em  full  electric 
treatment.  Rough  but  sensitive,  Big  Sky/Event  Hori- 
zon is  an  impressive  outing  from  a  criminally  neglected 
band. 

Brooks  went  on  to  play  with  numerous  bands  around 
New  York;  keyboardist  Arthur  Russell  became  a  radi- 
cally original  new  music  cellist;  singer/guitarist  Ed 


Tomney  wound  up  in  Rage  to  Live;  drummer  Jesse 
Chamberlain  (ex-Red  Crayola)  worked  with  Spedding 
and  others.  [i] 

See  also  Rage  to  Live. 

Necros  EP  (Dischord-Touch  ond  Go)  1  981 
Conquest  for  Death  (Touch  and  Go}  1  983 
Tangled  Up  (Restless)  1987® 
Live  or  Else  (Medusa)  1  989  4> 

FLAG 

Jail  Jello  EP  (Gasatanka)  1986 

This  Ohio  punk  quartet's  crunching  thrash  metal  is 
devastating  —  and  not  just  in  its  speed  and  power,  al- 
though those  qualities  are  present  in  brutal  abundance. 
The  tough  part  about  listening  to  the  Necros  is  the  awk- 
ward, ungainly  chord  sequences  they  drag  you  through. 
As  soon  as  they  gather  a  head  of  steam,  the  band  dives 
into  a  deliberate  tune-defeating  change  for  the  mosh 
section.  But  the  harsh  result  keeps  a  fresh  edge  on  the 
energy,  preventing  the  thrash  from  blurring  into  generic 
noise.  Although  Conquest  for  Death  is  pigeonhole 
hardcore,  the  Necros  have  enough  creative  verve  and 
imagination  to  make  it  exciting.  (The  earlier  EP  —  nine 
surprisingly  clear-sounding  pre-hardcore  punk  slices  on 
a  7-inch  45  —  shows  a  young  early  lineup,  including 
Touch  and  Go's  Corey  Rusk  on  bass,  to  be  starting  out 
with  a  commitment  to  song  structure  and  careful  play- 
ing.) 

Tangled  Up  comes  wrapped  in  a  spiffy  Big  Daddy 
Roth  cover  painting  of  Rat  Fink;  the  Necros  (only  two 
original  members  remain)  temper  their  hardcore  in- 
stincts for  bristling,  burly  guitar  rock  —  an  easily  acces- 
sible and  likable  punk  sound.  There  are  still  a  few 
obligatory  mosh  parts  so  skins  know  where  to  change 
their  mode  of  dance,  but,  for  the  most  part,  songs  blaze 
straight  through  without  a  breather.  Stalwart  Barry 
Henssler  sings  routine  lyrics  in  a  strong  and  listenable 
voice  against  the  answering  refrains  as  Andy  Wendler's 
power  chords  sizzle  with  distortion  in  a  frenzy  of  well- 
focused  energy.  (Credit  the  band  and  their  manager  for 
the  noteworthy  production.  ) 

The  joint  EP  with  White  Flag  contains  three  songs 
by  each,  recorded  in  support  of  Dead  Kennedys  leader 
Jello  Biafra  during  his  censorship-related  legal  troubles. 


NEGATIVE  TREND 

See  Flipper. 

NEGATIVLAND 

Negativland  (Seeland)  1980 
Points  (Seeland)  1981 
A  Big  10-8  Place  (Seeland)  1983 
Jamcon  '84  [tape]  (Seeland)  1984 
Escape  from  Noise  (SST)  1987  • 
Helter  Stupid  (SST)  1  989  * 
Pastor  Dick  [tape]  SST  1989 
The  Weatherman  [tape]  (SST)  1  989 

One  member  of  California's  Negativland  works  in  a 
day-care  center;  another  writes  computer  programs. 
That  pretty  well  sums  up  the  group's  conceptual  spec- 


455 


trum.  Negativland  raids  the  sonic  junkyards  of  suburban 
culture  to  create  disjointed,  pointedly  inorganic  aural 
sculptures  that  seem  to  start  where  John  Cage  left  off. 
They  frequently  juice  up  the  found  sounds  with  key- 
boards and  percussion,  but  that  only  serves  to  empha- 
size the  tenuous  nature  of  that  crazy  stuff  we  like  to  call 
pop  music. 

Negativland,  each  copy  of  which  is  uniquely  and 
attractively  packaged  with  a  different  kind  of  wallpaper, 
isn't  really  music  and  it  isn't  merely  sound  effects.  Lots 
of  different  things  blip  by,  while  voices  allude  to  sub- 
jects that  one  never  really  gets  a  grip  on.  Evocative  yet 
very  elusive. 

Points  adds  more  music  to  the  mix.  Beginning  in 
rather  a  childish  mood,  it  turns  increasingly  darker  and 
more  despairing,  finally  fading  out  into  a  monotonous 
industrial  hum. 

A  Big  10-8  Place  is  a  musical  exploration  of  the 
band's  Contra  Costa  County  home  (just  over  the  hills 
from  Berkeley).  As  much  a  loving  tribute  as  a  scathing 
indictment  of  suburbia' s  soulless  fagade,  the  record  is  a 
richly  detailed,  remarkably  complex  combination  of  the 
inorganic  (electronics  and  industrial  atmospherics)  and 
the  human  (voices  discuss  whatever) 

Escape  from  Noise  attempts  to  answer  a  musical 
question — "Is  there  any  escape  from  noise?'* — and  par- 
ody a  perfect  pop  product.  Amid  a  wide  variety  of  sonic 
constructions  and  actual  songs,  you'll  find  "Christianity 
Is  Stupid"  (allegedly  the  impetus  for  Minnesota  teen- 
ager David  Brom's  familicide),  a  little  girl  with  hiccups 
singing  "Over  the  Rainbow,"  and  calculatedly  negligi- 
ble guest  appearances  by  Jello  Biafra,  Jerry  Garcia,  the 
Residents,  Fred  Frith  and  Mark  Mothersbaugh. 

A  weird  practical  joke  involving  the  aforementioned 
murder  becomes  the  convoluted  source  material  for  the 
side-long  title  track  on  Helter  Stupid,  the  band's  dis- 
turbing masterpiece  about  media  manipulation. 

Negativland  has  also  released  a  series  of  cassettes 
culled  from  the  band's  ongoing  weekly  free-form  radio 
show,  Over  the  Edge,  Pastor  Dick  offers  absolution  on 
a  budget,  while  The  Weatherman  tries  to  drag  listeners 
out  of  their  closets.  Innovative  and  loose — the  way  ra- 
dio oughta  be.  [rg] 


NEGAZIONE 

. . .  Lo  Spiritio  Continue  . . ,  (Mordam)  1 986 

You  want  to  hear  hardcore  blurted  in  Italian  by  a 
singer  named  Zazzo?  This  quartet  from  Turin  has  the 
crashing  sound  of  high-speed  American  punk  down 
cold,  and  lyrics  like  "Non  sprecare  parole  e  sorrisi  per 
me/Io  conosco  gia  la  fine  del  libro"  (which,  judging  by 
the  English  translation  provided,  are  surprisingly  artic- 
ulate for  the  genre).  Hey,  it  works  for  opera  ...  [i] 

LES  NEGRESSES  VERTES 

Mlah  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

Impossible  to  categorize  (forget  that  Gallic  Pogues 
nonsense),  this  bizarre  eight-man  group  indulges  the 
typically  French  fascination  for  exoticism  without  giv- 
ing up  any  native  ground.  The  instrumentation  on 
Mlah — mostly  acoustic  guitars,  accordion,  horns, 
Spanish-and- African  flavored  percussion — is  in  the  tra- 
dition of  Parisian  buskers,  but  the  sound  isn't.  Heady, 


invigorating  and  often  dark,  it's  perfect  existentialist- 
basement-caf^  music  for  the  more  worldbeat  minded, 
while  some  of  the  songs  tend  to  be  arch,  others  (like 
"Orane")  evoke  wonderful,  one-of-a-kind  moods  and 
images.  [gk] 

NEIGHBORHOODS 

Fire  Is  Coming  (Mustang)  1 984 

...  the  high  hard  one  ...  (Restless)  1 986 

Reptile  Men  (Emerge)  1987 

Hoodwinked  (Emerge)  1 990  • 

The  Neighborhoods  (Third  Stone-Atlantic)  1 991  <t> 

This  veteran  Boston  tno's  appeal  is  immediate:  they 
sound  good.  Nothing  fancy  or  intricate,  just  good  tunes, 
good  vocals,  good  rock'n'roll  drive  and  feel.  Leader 
David  Minehan  (guitars,  singing,  songs)  ain't  exactly  a 
lyrical  Einstein,  but  he's  no  stoop  either. 

The  group  started  out  playing  strong  power  pop  (a 
1980  single,  "Prettiest  Girl,"  remains  a  local  classic)  in 
the  wake  of  British  neo-mods.  The  eight-song  Fire  Is 
Coming  is  a  get-your-feet-wet  proposition,  relative  to 
the  albums;  a  likable  pointer  to  the  future.  The  produc- 
tion is  a  bit  thin,  but  you  can  tell  what  the  horns  on  the 
very  first  track  (ambitious  idea)  were  meant  to  sound 
like.  The  cover  of  "If  I  Had  a  Hammer"  was  a  great 
idea,  enthusiastically  (if  unimaginatively)  executed. 

The  first  two  full-length  LPs  show  maturation,  both 
are  full  of  instantly  memorable  tunes,  though  the  earlier 
outing  still  has  some  sincere  but  cliched  lyrics  The 
production  on  high  hard  one  is  plain  but  crisp;  Reptile 
Men's  sound  is  fuller  and  punchier  The  Who  influence 
(the  EP's  horns  were  a  hint)  is  more  early  Who  on  hard 
one,  middle  Who  on  Reptile  Men  (the  silly  part  is  the 
use  of  "Tommy"  and  "Pure  and  Easy"  as  song  titles, 
but  the  rest  reflects  an  unslavish  Who's  Next  influence). 
Solid  rock'n'roll. 

The  trio  virtually  goes  arena-rock  on  Hoodwinked 
(later  revised  and  reissued  as  The  Neighborhoods),  co- 
produced  by  Aerosmith  guitarist  Brad  Whitford.  But  the 
'Hoods  avoid  the  posturing  and  overstatement  that  nor- 
mally goes  with  the  territory,  and  the  songs  are  consis- 
tently decent.  (Notable  exceptions:  Minehan's  paean  to 
Evel  Knievel  and  a  pointless  rehash  of  Cheap  Trick's 
"Southern  Girls,"  minus  piano  and  the  panache.)  Un- 
fortunately, the  band's  identity  has  all  but  vanished  into 
this  punchy  yet  slick  conventionality.  [jg] 

BILL  NELSON 

Northern  Dream  (nr/Smite)  1971  (nr/Butt)  1981 

Quit  Dreaming  and  Get  on  the  Beam  (nr/Mercury)  1981 

(nr/Cocteau)  1 985  (Cocteau-Enigma)  1 989  • 
Sounding  the  Ritual  Echo  (nr/Mercury)  1981  (nr/Cocteau) 

1985  (Cocteau-Enigma)  1989  • 
Das  Kabinett  (The  Cabinet  of  Dr.  Caligari)  (nr/Cocteau) 

1981  • 

The  Love  That  Whirls  (Diary  of  a  Thinking  Heart)  (PVC) 

1982  (Cocteau-Enigma)  1989  « 
La  Belle  et  la  Bete  (PVC)  1982 

Flaming  Desire  and  Other  Passions  EP  (PVC)  1 982 
Chimera  EP  (nr/Mercury)  1983  (nr/Cocteau)  1987* 
Savage  Gestures  for  Charms  Sake  (nr/Cocteau)  1 983 

(Cocteau-Enigma)  1989  • 
Vistamix  (Portrait)  1984  [CD]  (Epic)  1991  • 


456 


Trial  by  Intimacy  (The  Book  of  Splendours)  (nr/Cocteau) 

1984 
A  Catalogue  of  Obsessions  (nr/Cocteau)  1 984 

(Cocteau-Enigma)  1 989  • 
The  Summer  of  God's  Piano  (nr/Cocteau}  1 984 

(Cocteau-Enigma)  1 989  • 
2fold  Aspect  of  Everything  (nr/Cocteau)  1984 

(Cocteau-Enigma)  1 989  • 
Das  Kabinett/La  Belle  et  la  Bete  (nr/Cocteau)  1985 

(Cocteau-Enigma)  1989  <j> 

Getting  the  Holy  Ghost  Across  (nr/Portrait)  1 986  • 
On  a  Blue  Wing  (Portrait)  1 986 
Chamber  of  Dreams  (nr/Cocteau)  1 986 

(Cocteau-Enigma)  1989  ® 
Map  of  Dreams  (nr/Cocteau)  1987  (Cocteau-Enigma) 

1989® 
Chance  Encounters  in  the  Garden  of  Lights  (nr/Cocteau) 

1987  (Cocteau-Enigma)  1988  • 
Life  in  Your  Hands  EP  (nr/Cocteau)  1 988  * 
The  Strangest  Things  Sampler  (Cocteau-Enigma)  1 989  <!> 
Pavsilions  of  the  Heart  and  Soul  (Cocteau-Enigma) 

19894> 

Simplex  (Cocteau-Enigma)  1 989  • 
Duplex  (nr/Cocteau)  1 989  • 
Demonstrations  of  Affection  (nr/Cocteau)  1 989  <i> 
Luminous  (nr/lmaginary)  1 991  * 

BILL  NELSON'S  RED  NOISE 

Sound-on-Sound  (Harvest)  1979  (Cocteau-Enigma) 

1985® 
Revolt  into  Style  EP  (nr/Cocteau)  1 983 

BILL  NELSON'S  ORCHESTRA 
ARCANA 

Iconography  (nr/Cocteau)  1 986  (Cocteau-Enigma) 

1989® 
Optimism  (Cocteau-Enigma)  1 988  • 

From  hippie  folk  singer  to  awesome  rock  guitarist  to 
high-tech  art-adventurer  to  unstoppable  instrumental 
noodler,  Bill  Nelson's  musical  career,  now  spanning 
two  decades,  has  consistently  shown  style,  character 
and  exemplary  attention  to  quality — as  well  as  unre- 
strained indulgent  excess.  Beginning  with  a  homemade 
solo  album  released  by  a  local  Yorkshire  record  store 
through  a  six-album  stint  leading  the  hard-rocking  but 
intelligent  Be-Bop  Deluxe  then  the  short-lived  experi- 
mental Red  Noise  and  finally  as  a  wholly  independent 
solo  act  (again),  Nelson  has  made  lots  of  brilliant  mu- 
sic, and  has  also  worked  with  some  of  the  most  inter- 
esting purveyors  of  modern  sounds,  producing  and 
playing  on  numerous  records. 

Northern  Dream  is  a  lovely  amateur  work,  mixing 
some  electric  lead  guitar  with  a  melodic  folk  sense — 
sort  of  early  Neil  Young  with  an  English  accent.  Very 
impressive,  given  the  circumstances,  and  not  without 
genuine  merit.  Northern  Dream  led  to  the  glam- 
inflected  Be-Bop  Deluxe  and  a  major-label  contract;  that 
band  succumbed  to  audience  expectations  and  business 
problems,  becoming  an  unfortunate  symbol  of  guitar 
showboating  and  retarded  creative  development. 

Nelson  launched  Red  Noise  after  the  dissolution  of 
Be-Bop,  which  had  forced  him  into  the  confining  role  of 
guitar  pyrotechnician.  Retaining  Be-Bop's  keyboard 
player  but  outlawing  guitar  solos,  Nelson  attacked  the 
future  with  gusto,  drawing  together  lyrical  modernism 
and  subtly  infiltrated  synthetic  sounds.  Only  the  songs 


are  the  weak  link — despite  good  ideas,  some  are  half- 
formed  and  not  up  to  his  usual  standards.  Soiind-on- 
Sound  has  its  moments,  but  is  essentially  a  work  in 
progress. 

Also  in  progress  during  Red  Noise's  bnef  existence 
was  Nelson's  solo  work.  Although  not  issued  until  1981 , 
Quit  Dreaming  and  Get  on  the  Beam  was  recorded, 
piecemeal,  at  various  times  and  places  in  early  1979. 
Unaccompanied  save  for  his  brother  Ian  on  sax  (and  all 
of  Red  Noise  on  one  cut),  Nelson  relieved  the  selfcon- 
sciousness  of  Red  Noise's  technocracy  with  more  varied 
subjects  and  styles.  There  are  more  keyboards,  but  his 
avoidance  of  guitar  is  less  forced,  and  there's  even  an 
old-fashioned  solo  on  one  number.  Although  a  little 
disjointed,  Quit  Dreaming  is  a  mature  record  of  real 
substance  and  style.  Included  in  the  first  ten  thousand 
copies  was  a  bonus  LP,  Sounding  the  Ritual  Echo 
(Atmospheres  for  Dreaming),  which  consists  of 
synthesizer/tape  instrumental  fragments;  interesting  if 
unfocused.  The  fifteen  pieces  sound  like  audio  sketches 
for  later  works. 

Das  Kabinett  (The  Cabinet  of  Doctor  Caligari) 
was  written  and  recorded  as  the  score  for  a  stage  pre- 
sentation by  the  Yorkshire  Actors  Company.  Released 
on  Nelson's  own  label,  the  record  consists  of  eighteen 
instrumental  pieces,  each  designed  to  accompany  a  par- 
ticular scene  in  the  story.  Although  musically  stunning, 
it's  a  hard  concept  for  rock  fans  used  to  song  structure 
(and  words)  to  grasp. 

The  Love  That  Whirls—which  also  included  a  bo- 
nus record,  La  Belle  et  la  Bete  (Beauty  and  the  Beast), 
the  score  for  another  dramatic  production  by  the  same 
company — was  Nelson's  finest  work  to  that  point.  Pre- 
ponderantly synthesized  and  showcasing  great  songs,  it 
finds  him  dabbling  in  a  variety  of  styles — Oriental, 
techno-pop,  dance  rock,  artsy — all  with  confidence  and 
success.  His  most  accessible  work  outside  of  Be-Bop,  it 
was  Nelson's  long-overdue  breakthrough,  opening 
many  eyes  and  ears  to  his  talents.  (Das  Kabinett  and 
La  Belle  et  la  Bete  were  reissued  in  1985  as  a  double- 
album  set  and  in  '89  as  a  single  CD  or  cassette.) 

The  12-inch  Flaming  Desire  EP  consists  of  an  ex- 
tended version  of  the  title  song  (an  LP  track)  and  five 
leftovers  from  the  Love  That  Whirls  sessions,  some 
also  available  on  UK  45s. 

Chimera  is  an  important  release,  documenting  Nel- 
son's acknowledged  influence  by  Japan's  Yellow  Magic 
Orchestra,  most  notably  drummer  Yukihiro  Takahashi, 
who  plays  on  four  of  the  six  tracks.  Also  joining  the 
previously  hermetic  artist  is  (the  group)  Japan's  bassist, 
Mick  Karn,  and  others,  invigorating  dynamic  tracks  like 
"Acceleration'*  and  "Glow  World."  Again  playing  a 
lot  of  guitar,  Nelson  is  in  fine  form,  singing  better  than 
ever  and  writing  strong,  fascinating  songs  in  a  number 
of  different  modes.  (All  of  Chimera  wound  up  on  the 
American  Vistamix,  joined  by  four  prior  creations, 
including  "Flaming  Desire"  and  "Empire  of  the 
Senses.") 

Nelson's  next  major  new  album  was  Getting  the 
Holy  Ghost  Across  (revised,  resequenced  and  issued  in 
the  US  as  On  a  Blue  Whig),  ten  fully  produced  num- 
bers ranging  in  length  from  under  one  minute  to  nearly 
nine.  The  sound  is  vintage  Nelson — percolating 
rhythms,  layered  synths  and  guitars,  Iain  Denby's  prom- 
inent bass,  passionately  cool  vocals — and  the  songs  are 


457 


warmly  accessible,  with  tasteful  lyrics  and  likable  mel- 
odies; the  wiggly  synths  and  horawork  on  "Heart  and 
Soul"  even  forge  a  faint  link  to  funk.  Nelson's  song- 
writing  no  longer  explores  new  ground,  but  he  continues 
to  mine  the  same  field  with  success.  Perhaps  to  mark  the 
time  since  Be-Bop,  "The  Hidden  Flame"  throws  a  fiery 
guitar  solo  amid  the  keyboards. 

Savage  Gestures  for  Charms  Sake  is  a  lovely  but 
unessential  collection  of  one-man  studio  instrumentals. 
The  sumptuously  packaged  Trial  by  Intimacy  is  a 
boxed  set  containing  four  individually  titled  records 
(The  Summer  of  God's  Piano,  also  released  on  its 
own,  A  Catalogue  of  Obsessions,  Pavillions  of  the 
Heart  and  Soul,  Chamber  of  Dreams),  all  previously 
unreleased  solo  instrumentals:  ambient  pieces,  improvi- 
sations, experiments,  incidental  mood  music  and  odds 
and  ends.  Over  time,  all  four  of  the  albums  saw  indi- 
vidual release,  at  least  on  tape  and  compact  disc. 

The  2fold  Aspect  of  Everything  is  a  two-disc  (Eaux 
d' Artifice  and  Confessions  of  a  Four-Track  Mind) 
compilation  of  obscurities:  B-sides,  remixes,  demos  and 
other  non-LP  matter. 

Although  Orchestra  Arcana  is  still  a  strictly  one-man 
Nelson  project,  the  specific  idea  is  to  weave  doodly 
instrumentals  around  found-sound  spoken-word  matter 
(or  vice  versa).  Iconography  and  the  dance-beat  Opti- 
mism are  both  fine  in  their  way,  but  their  existence 
suggests  that  Bill's  been  spending  too  much  time  watch- 
ing old  movies  on  the  tube. 

Created  as  the  soundtrack  for  a  1987  British  televi- 
sion series  (talk  about  finding  the  right  man  for  a  job!), 
Map  of  Dreams  is  a  collection  of  cogent  pieces  that  mix 
ambience  and  rhythm  into  nicely  affecting  soundscapes 
that  are  vaguely  scientific  in  tone. 

Nelson  made  another  monumental  addition  to  his 
canon  in  1988  with  Chance  Encounters  in  the  Garden 
of  Lights,  a  huge  set  of  meditative  instrumentals  on  two 
discs,  The  Book  of  Inward  Conversation  and  The 
Angel  at  the  Western  Window:  41  short  pieces  in  all. 
You  want  more?  Get  the  cassette  (49  selections)  or  the 
jumbo  double  CD  (63  items!). 

The  deluge  continues.  For  a  modest  review  of  Nel- 
son's activities  since  1979,  The  Strangest  Things  dips 
into  the  solo  records,  Red  Noise  and  Orchestra  Arcana. 
Something  of  a  best-of  package,  Duplex  contains  one 
disc  of  vocal  recordings  (things  like  " Acceleration," 
"Do  You  Dream  in  Colour,"  "Contemplation,"  etc.) 
and  a  platter  of  instrumentals  that  includes  a  few  previ- 
ously unreleased  items.  Demonstrations  of  Affection  is 
a  box  containing  four  CDs  and  a  T-shirt.  [i] 

See  also  A  Flock  of  Seagulls.  Ippu~Do,  Skids,  Yuki- 
hiro  Takahashi, 

NENA 

Nena  (Ger.  CBS)  1983 

?  (Fragezeichen)  (Ger.  CBS)  1984  * 

99  Luftballons  (Epic)  1 984  « 

It's  All  in  the  Game  (Epic)  1985 

STRIPES 

The  Stripes  (Ger.  CBS)  1 980 

German  pop  sensation  Nena  hit  it  big  internationally 
in  1984  with  the  nuclear  protest  of  "99  Luftballons." 
Boasting  the  attractive  voice  of  Gabriela  "Nena" 


Kerner  and  a  jolly  modern  sound,  the  Berlin  group's 
catchy  songs  tend  towards  bubblegum  simplicity,  but 
are  undeniably  engaging,  whether  sung  in  English  or 
German.  Nena,  the  band's  monolingual  homeland  de- 
but, contains  "99  Luftballons"  as  well  as  the  equally 
wonderful  "Nur  Getraumt"  and  "Leuchtturm" 
("Lighthouse"),  ail  melodic  and  bouncy  hits  that  mix 
rock  strength  with  pure  pop  arrangements.  However, 
the  record  is  inconsistent,  and  has  a  lot  of  draggy  songs 
that  don't  make  any  lasting  impression. 

While  it  still  presents  a  few  spnghtly  pop  delights 
("Rette  Mich,"  the  Abba-esque  "Kiiss  Mich  Wach"), 
Nena's  second  album  (whose  parenthetical  title  means, 
reasonably  enough,  Question  Mark)  moves  the  band 
closer  to  universal  easy-listening  mush  and  sub-Blondie 
demi-disco.  (David  Sanbom  blows  some  treacly  sax  on 
two  songs;  the  pseudo-  Africanisms  of  "Das  Land  der 
Elefanten"  make  Toto's  efforts  in  this  department  seem 
almost  credible.) 

The  band's  first  Anglo-American  release,  99  Luft- 
ballons, was  stitched  together  half-and-half  from  the 
two  German  LPs.  Nena  provided  "99  Red  Balloons" 
(as  well  as  the  German-language  original),  "Leucht- 
turm," "Kino"  (a  song  about  the  movies)  and  "Nur 
Getraumt/'  smoothly  converted  into  "Just  a  Dream." 
The  second  album  contributed  "Rette  Mich,"  "? 
(Fragezeichen)/'  "Das  Land  der  Elefanten,"  "Uner- 
kannt  Durchs  Marchenland,"  "Ich  Hang'  an  Dir"  and 
"Lass  Mich  Dein  Pirat  Sein,"  the  last  two  translated 
into  English  as  "Hangin'  on  You"  and  "Let  Me  Be 
Your  Pirate." 

Although  no  serious  stylistic  changes  were  made  m 
the  interim,  It's  All  in  the  Game  (sung  entirely  in  En- 
glish, translated  by  Canada's  Lisa  Dalbello,  who  also 
does  backing  vocals  on  the  record)  is  fairly  irrelevant, 
lacking  any  great  songs  that  would  enliven  this  forget- 
table collection.  Sanborn  makes  another  guest  appear- 
ance; the  record's  general  resemblance  to  mid-period 
Abba  —  five  years  after  the  fact  —  may  explain  why  it 
was  Nena's  last.  (Not  for  nothing  is  the  final  song  is 
entitled  *  '  Auf  Wiedersehen.  '  '  ) 

Kerner'  s  pre-Nena  band,  Stripes,  played  post- 
Blondie  rock  of  the  most  rudimentary  variety.  The 
Stripes  tells  virtually  the  same  joke  thirteen  times  with 
only  minor  variations  —  notwithstanding  the  two 
American-  written  tunes,  oije  by  Hall  and  Gates,  no  less. 


NEON  JUDGEMENT 

1981-1984  (Hoi.  Scarface)  1985 

MBIH!  EP  (Bel.  Anything  But)  1  985 

Mafu  Cage  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1986  • 

First  Judgements  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1987  • 

Homy  as  Hell  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1  987  • 

General  Pain  &  Major  Disease  (Play  It  Again  Sam) 

1989* 

Blood  &  Thunder  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1  989  • 
The  Insult  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1  990 

Another  beneficiary  of  the  Brussels-to-Chicago  pipe- 
line, this  durable  Belgian  electro/industro  band  made  its 
trans-  Atlantic  debut  with  Horny  as  Hell,  a  mechanical- 
sounding  drone  of  cold  rhythms,  warm  keyboards, 
barbed  guitars  and  chanted  English  vocals.  Although 


458 


sex — overeager  rather  than  erode — runs  through  the  en- 
tire  album,  the  unappealing  music  is  strictly  geared  for 
robot  nookie. 

General  Pain  &  Mm'or  Disease,  a  refresher  course 
in  early  Neon  Judgement,  compiles  singles  from  the 
very  beginning  (the  live  "Factory  Walk")  up  through 
the  present  (a  12-inch  version  of  Horny  as  Hell's  "Miss 
Brown").  The  non-chronological  retrospective  reveals 
Neon  Judgement  as  having  begun  as  an  aseptically 
mythmatized  electro-thud  product  of  British  new  wave 
synthesists — from  the  grim  Joy  Division  school  and  the 
dopey  Gary  Numan  pop-hook  division.  While  later 
tracks  introduce  noise  effects  and  more  accomplished 
instrumentation,  the  band's  unadventurous  essence  has 
remained  pretty  consistent. 

The  trio  brings  ambitious  new  elements  (like  chip- 
munky  disco  vocals  and  a  harmonica  player!)  into  play 
on  Blood  &  Thunder,  but  the  metronomic  music  is  too 
monotonous  for  the  effort  to  make  any  significant  dif- 
ference. Clear,  occasionally  interesting  English  lyrics 
are  a  help,  but  the  numbness  of  songs  built  on  one  note 
and  an  unvarying  tempo  is  just  too  big  an  obstacle  to 
overcome  with  irrelevant  window  dressing.  [i] 


NERVES 

Nerves  EP  (Nerves)  1976 
The  Nerves  (Fr.  Offence)  1986 

JACK  LEE 

Jack  Lee's  Greatest  Hits  Vol.  1  (Maiden  America)  1981 

The  Nerves  were  seminal  new  wave  power-popsters, 
a  fertile  California  trio  of  drummer  Paul  Collins,  bassist 
Peter  Case  and  guitarist  Jack  Lee.  All  three  sang  and 
wrote  cool  songs,  recycling  '60s  AM  radio  fare  with  the 
awareness,  energy  and  excitement  of  the  punk  under- 
ground's earliest  stirrings.  Lee  turned  out  concise  and 
catchy  heartbreak  tunes  like  "Hanging  on  the  Tele- 
phone"; Case  leaned  to  garagey  merseybeat  rockers  like 
"When  You  Find  Out";  Collins  split  the  difference, 
penning  ambitious  melodic  rockers  like  "Working  Too 
Hard."  All  three  of  those  songs  appeared  on  the  self- 
released  7-inch  EP,  and  again  on  the  musically  impres- 
sive retrospective,  an  affordable  and  convenient 
compilation  of  the  Nerves'  hopelessly  rare  records. 

Going  their  own  ways  in  '78,  Collins  formed  the 
Beat  (and  promptly  re-recorded  "Working  Too  Hard") 
and  Case  launched  the  Plimsouls.  That  left  Lee  to  bask 
alone  in  the  glory  and  riches  of  Blondie's  (British)  hit 
with  his  "Hanging  on  the  Telephone."  A  few  years 
later,  in  the  hopes  of  parlaying  that  big  score  into  a  solid 
songwriting  career,  Lee  released  a  musical  re'sume'  of 
his  best  work,  including  four  Nerves-era  numbers. 
(Those  early  tunes  are,  for  the  most  part,  better  than  the 
later  efforts  showcased  here. )  Case,  Collins,  the  Rubber 
City  Rebels  (who  had  recorded  a  great  cover  of  his 
"Paper Dolls")  and  others  provide  rocking  instrumental 
and  vocal  support,  but  Lee  never  again  reached  the  big- 
time.  Don't  wait  up  for  Vol.  2.  [i] 
See  also  Beat,  Peter  Case,  Plimsouls, 


NEUROTICS 

See  Newtown  Neurotics. 


NEW  AGE  STEPPERS 

New  Age  Steppers  (  nr/On-U  Sound)  1 980  {nr/Stotfic} 

1982 

Action  Battlefield  (nr/On-U  Sound-Statik)  1981 
Crucial  90  Rape]  (nr/Stefik)  1 981 
Threat  to  Creation  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1981 
Foundation  Steppers  (nr/On-U  Sound)  1 983 
Victory  Horns  (nr/On-U  Sound}  1983 

DUB 

One  Way  System  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 983 

Tunes  from  the  Missing  Channel  {On-U  Sound)  1 985 

Pounding  System  (On-U  Sound)  1 988 

Classic  Selection  Vol.  1  [CD]  (On-U  Sound)  1989  * 

Strike  the  Balance  (nr/On-U  Sound)  1990  • 

British  producer  Adrian  Sherwood  is  the  only  con- 
stant in  the  New  Age  Steppers,  an  ever-changing  jam 
session  that  has  included  members  of  the  Slits,  Public 
Image,  Rip  Rig  +  Panic,  Raincoats  and  the  Pop  Group. 
The  records  are  a  wild  melting  pot  of  synthesized  post- 
rock  and  reggae,  transmuted  through  dub  studio  tech- 
niques. In  practical  terms,  that  amounts  to  variations  on 
a  theme  or,  more  accurately,  a  rhythm.  Everything  is 
built  on  top  of  a  slow,  steady  reggae  pulse,  but  what's 
heaped  on  varies  from  electronic  no  wave  noise  to 
pretty,  melodic  singing.  It's  weird,  but  occasionally 
very  nice,  and  consistently  unpredictable. 

New  Age  Steppers  varies  widely,  from  entrancing 
to  repulsive,  with  lots  of  synthesizer  babble  and  over- 
long  dub  mixes.  A  few  of  the  songs  stand  out,  but  it's  an 
effect  they're  reaching  for,  not  hit  singles,  so  you  take 
the  whole  package,  not  bits  and  pieces.  Intriguing,  if  not 
entirely  successful. 

Action  Battlefield  (repackaged,  along  with  the  first 
LP,  on  the  c)assette-only  Crucial  90)  is  much  better — 
more  organized  and  song-oriented.  Ari  of  the  Slits  sings 
lead  on  all  the  tracks;  her  voice,  while  not  exactly  pleas- 
ant, adds  a  comforting  personality  and  continuity.  Not 
as  weird  or  chaotic  as  its  predecessor,  Action  Battle- 
field is  strange  but  appealing. 

Which  is  not  true  of  Threat  to  Creation,  recorded 
jointly  with  reggae  band  Creation  Rebel.  The  LP  has 
almost  no  vocals,  little  structure  and  no  discernible  di- 
rection. When  it  doesn't  consist  of  understated  mean- 
derings,  it's  self-indulgent  art-noise  that  could  please 
only  the  most  indiscriminate  fan.  Keith  Levine  [sic] 
performs  half  of  the  guitar  chores. 

Between  that  chapter  of  his  career  and  the  wide- 
spread launch  of  the  more  generally  known  Tackhead, 
Sherwood  ran/produced  the  loosely  constituted  Dub 
Syndicate.  The  ad  hoc  cast  on  the  One  Way  System 
compilation  cassette  includes  members  of  Aswad,  Roots 
Radics  and  Creation  Rebel;  the  languid,  instrumental 
reggae  is  more  repetitive  and  unnaturally  elongated  than 
invigorating.  Tunes  from  the  Missing  Channel,  re- 
leased on  Sherwood's  own  On-U  Sound  label,  has  Le- 
vene  and  others  providing  fodder  for  his  wild  studio 
assemblies.  [i] 

See  also  Tackhead. 

NEW  CHRISTS 

Detritus  EP  (What  Goes  On)  1987 
Divine  Rites  (Aus.  Citadel)  1988 
Distemper  (Aus.  Citadel)  1989  * 


459 


ROB  THE 

Rob  and  the  Rifles  EP  fGer.  Compassion  Explosion!)  1989 

Rob  Younger,  who  cut  his  teeth  in  Australia's  sem- 
inal pre-Pistols  punk  combo  Radio  Birdman,  is  probably 
more  responsible  than  anyone  (aside,  perhaps,  from 
Iggy  himself)  for  promulgating  the  aggro-heavy  Stoog- 
ian  feel  that  imbues  so  many  Down  Underground  bands. 
With  his  Sydney-based  New  Christs,  Younger  has  con- 
tinued to  serve  notice  as  to  who,  exactly,  are  the  punks 
and  who  is  the  godfather. 

Detritus  culls  four  tracks  from  the  band's  second 
and  third  singles.  (The  first,  a  1981  threat  entitled  "Face 
a  New  God,"  remains  uncompiled.)  Considering  the 
lack  of  lineup  consistency  (no  fewer  than  three 
axemen — Screaming  Tribesman  Chris  Mazuak  [sic], 
Celibate  Rifle  Kent  Steedman  and  Lime  Spider  Richard 
Jakimyszyn — take  turns  cranking  it  to  eleven),  there's  a 
magnificently  undiluted  attitude  in  both  the  Dee-troit 
non-stops  (4*No  Next  Time,"  "Sun  God")  and  the  less 
mannered  brooders  ("Bom  Out  of  Time").  Divine 
Rites,  also  assembled  from  7-inch  tracks,  boasts  a  so- 
lidified cast,  including  the  underrated  ex-Barracudas 
bassist  Jim  Dickson,  and  an  exponentially  less  deriva- 
tive palette.  While  there  are  some  lighter  moments  (the 
mutant  surf  ditty  "You'll  Never  Catch  My  Wave"  isn't 
all  that  far  from  the  Hoodoo  Gurus),  Younger' s  devel- 
oping a  bitter,  morbid  vision  not  unlike  Fear-era  John 
Cale.  The  triad  of  'Dropping  Like  Flies,"  "Addiction" 
and  "Dead  Girl"  makes  for  a  particularly  harrowing 
close. 

The  sudden  mid-screech  start  of  "No  Way  on  Earth' ' 
sets  the  dark,  brooding  tone  for  Distemper,  and  the 
apocalyptic  tone  carries  through  the  crashing  "There's 
No  Time,"  the  piano-drizzled  "Burning  of  Rome"  and 
the  discordant  fairground  wheeze  "Circus  of  Sour" — 
making  the  disc  nothing  short  of  a  40-minute  call  to 
emotional  jihad. 

Recorded  live  in  Germany,  the  four-song  Rob  and 
the  Rifles  EP  sees  both  Younger  and  the  (Celibate) 
Rifles  in  peak  form,  with  Steedman  wrenching  some 
lovingly  crazed  leads  from  the  bones  of  such  chestnuts 
as  "She's  So  Fine"  and  "Shakin'  All  Over."  The  fi  is 
surprisingly  hi,  considering  the  dubious  origins;  Young- 
er's  limber  yowl  is  far  looser  than  the  studio  environ- 
ment had  previously  allowed.  Rockin'!  [dss] 

See  also  Celibate  Rifles,  Radio  Birdman. 

NEW  DUNCAN  IMPERIALS 

See  Service. 

NEW  FAST  AUTOMATIC 
DAFFODILS 

Pigeonhole  (nr/Pby  It  Again  Sam)  1990  (Mute)  1991  « 

From  Manchester,  with  attitude:  the  New  FADs' 
percussionable  dance-groove  songs  may  share  little 
with  that  city's  retro-pop  ravers  (the  quartet  owes 
more  to  Manchester's  late- '70s  funk  scene),  but  will- 
ful insufferability  (a  1989  12-inch  was  entitled  Music 
Is  Shit;  the  band's  lyrics  are  pretentious  nonsense) 
makes  them  just  as  big  a  pain  in  the  ass.  Waffling  be- 
tween serious  old-fashioned  bass-driven  dance  rock  (a 
la  Konk  or  Liquid  Liquid)  diminished  by  lousy  sub- 


John  Cale  vocals  and  meandering  bits  that  could  char- 
itably   be    explained    as    experiments,    Pigeonhole 

squanders   the  FADs'   solid  and  effective   rhythmic 
drive  on  a  hill  of  arty  beans.  [i] 

COLIN  NEWMAN 

A-Z  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 980  • 

provisionally  entitled  the  singing  fish  (nr/4AD)  1981  • 

Nottofnr/4AD)1982@ 

Commercial  Suicide  (Crammed  Discs-Enigma)  1 986  • 

It  Seems  (Crammed  Discs-Restless)  1988  • 

A-Z  was  actually  meant  to  be  Wire's  fourth  album, 
but  the  band's  record  company  didn't  see  it  that  way.  So 
it  became  a  Newman  solo  LP,  demonstrating  that  he 
was  indeed  the  prime  creative  force  in  the  group,  but 
also  suggesting  that  perhaps  ex-partners  Lewis  and 
Gilbert  might  have  stemmed  the  excesses  of  producer 
Mike  Thome,  who  (as  he'd  done  with  Wire)  both  runs 
the  console  and  adds  keyboards.  On  A-Z,  he  helps  cre- 
ate spacious,  sensuous  soundscapes,  but  often  over- 
crowds them  with  keyboards.  Newman  delivers  his 
oblique  lyrics  with  a  strangely  detached  urgency;  the 
overall  effect  at  times  suggests  being  drugged  and 
locked  in  a  room  with  an  inquisitor  shouting  senseless 
questions.  A-Z's  triumph  is  that  it  shows  how  even 
simple  pop-rock  devices  can  be  rearranged  and/or  mod- 
ified to  devastating  effect.  (The  CD  adds  five  tracks,) 
Newman  experiments  on  the  singing  fish  by  build- 
ing up  textures  and  melodies  with  an  interesting  assort- 
ment of  instruments  (all  played  and  produced  by  him)  in 
a  dozen  different  ways  ("Fish  1,"  etc.).  It  isn't  the 
tuneless  or  monotonous  "art"  you'd  expect  from  this 
sort  of  no-vocals  venture  either — it's  thinking  man's 
muzak  which,  unlike  ambient  Eno-isms,  doesn't  dissi- 
pate before  your  ears  upon  careful  attention.  Newman  is 
at  once  more  clinical  and  more  playful  than  ever  before. 
Not  to  is  a  return  to  the  instrumental  format  of  A-Z, 
with  a  significant  change:  Thome  is  absent.  Wire  drum- 
mer Robert  Gotobed  and  Desmond  Simmons  remain 
(with  Simmons'  guitar/arranging  role  expanding)  and 
Simon  Gillham  picks  up  the  bass,  giving  it  an  identity  of 
its  own.  Wire  and  A-Z  leftovers  are  interspersed  be- 
tween newer  songs,  and  the  feeling  suggests  what  post- 
Pink  Flag  Wire  might  have  been  without  Thorne: 
minimalist  threads  rather  than  sheets  of  sound;  thorny, 
sometimes  atonal,  dissonant  and  rhythmically  dis- 
jointed, but  somehow  more  personally  engaging.  New- 
man himself  seems  vulnerable — bitter,  wistful,  showing 
less  lyrical  self-assurance,  like  Ray  Davies'  art-rock 
cousin.  (In  1988,  UK4AD  issued  a  CD  containing  both 
Not  to  and  the  singing  fish,  adding  a  bonus  CD  single 
to  initial  quantities.) 

That  vulnerability  is  again  exposed  on  Commercial 
Suicide.  ( '  Tm  still  here,  waiting  for  mercy, ' '  he  sings. ) 
As  potent  a  creator  as  Newman  is,  he  seems  to  function 
best  with  outside  creative  input  and  tension  in  the  situ- 
ation. That's  ideally  been  provided  by  Lewis  and  Gilbert 
and,  to  lesser  extents,  Thorne  and  Simmons.  Malka  Spi- 
gel  (Newman's  wife)  and  Sean  Bonnar  of  Minimal 
Compact  individually  co-wrote  four  of  the  nine  tracks, 
which  aren't  quite  up  to  snuff.  It's  more  than 
worthwhile — quiet,  thoughtful,  delicate,  artistic,  mel- 
ancholic, hopeful — but  lacks  the  edge  that  makes  New- 


460 


man  so  effective  in  the  reformed  Wire,  even  on  that 
group's  dreamy  A  Bell  Is  a  Cup. 

It  Seems  is  by  the  same  crew,  plus  engineer/ 
musician/co-producer  Gilles  Martin,  with  guest  appear- 
ances by  Gotobed  and  several  horn  and  reed  players. 
The  fuller,  more  expressive  arrangements  and  general 
honing  of  focus  suggest  they've  gotten  to  know  each 
other  better,  and  it  is  a  distinct  improvement.  Much  of 
the  LP  is  as  conventional  and  "normal"  (in  terms  of 
musical  and  lyrical  structure)  as  Newman's  ever  been, 
and  as  pretty.  It  still  could  be  more  consistent  and, 
although  Bonnar  and  Spigel  between  them  co-write  half 
the  ten  tracks,  the  best  two  are  by  Newman  alone.  If  you 
like  his  other  work,  you  won't  want  to  miss  either  of 
these  recent  discs.  [jg] 

See  also  Minimal  Compact,  Wire. 

NEW  MATH 

See  Jet  Black  Berries. 

NEW  MODEL  ARMY 

Vengeance  (nr/Abstract)  1984 

No  Rest  for  the  Wicked  (Capitol)  1 985  • 

Better  Than  Them  EP  (nr/EMI)  1 985 

The  Ghost  of  Cain  (Capitol)  1 986  • 

New  Model  Army  (Capitol)  1987 

Vengeance/The  Independent  Story  (nr/Abstract)  1 987 

(JCI)  1 988  4> 

Radio  Sessions  83-84  (nr/Abstract)  1 988  • 
Thunder  and  Consolation  (Capitol)  1 989  « 
Impurity  (nr/EM!)  1990*  r 

A  trio  vigorously  lauded  by  supporters  as  the  new 
Clash,  New  Model  Army  are  long  on  principle  and 
maintain  a  fervent,  unyielding  political  stance.  Taking 
their  primary  inspiration  from  early  punk  roots  (though 
less  abrasive  and  more  melodic),  NMA  breathe  life  into 
the  genre,  providing  a  most  effective  medium  for  singer/ 
guitarist  Slade  the  Leveller  (Justin  Sullivan)  to  deliver 
his  charged  messages.  The  eight  angry,  vehement  cuts 
on  Vengeance  rely  equally  on  Stuart  Morrow's  acro- 
batic bass  lines  and  Slade' s  accusatory  Cockney  rants. 
Although  the  intensity  wanes  towards  the  end,  it's  an 
arresting -debut. 

Morrow  left  prior  to  the  release  of  No  Rest  for  the 
Wicked.  Despite  his  presence  on  it,  the  LP  lacks  the 
determined  ferocity  of  its  predecessor.  Some  potentially 
great  songs  ("My  Country,"  "Grandmother's  Foot- 
steps," "No  Rest")  are  forceful  enough  to  have  be- 
longed on  Vengeance;  other  tracks  swap  enthusiasm  for 
overindulgence  and  suffer  as  a  result.  "Better  Than 
Them,"  a  surprising  acoustic  foray,  meanders  intermi- 
nably; the  preachy  "Shot  18"  is  simply  ridiculous. 
Without  appropriate  musical  backing,  Slade's  harsh  pro- 
tests lose  their  impact,  leaning  dangerously  towards  hol- 
low sloganeering. 

The  Better  Than  Them  EP— a  double-pack  45  of 
the  LP  track  plus  three  new  items — ventures  deeper  into 
acoustic  territory  and  shows  the  Army  at  ease  in  these 
surroundings,  but  sacrifices  the  remainder  of  their  vital- 
ity in  the  process.  The  new  songs  have  the  heartfelt 
honesty  that  was  becoming  questionable  on  No  Rest  for 
the  Wicked, 


The  Ghost  of  Cain  presents  a  revitalized  (remobi- 
lized?)  New  Model  Army,  due  in  large  part  to  the  in- 
ternational success  of  the  protectionist  single  "51st 
State,"  which  the  album  contains.  Stabilizing  as  a  three- 
piece  unit  has  refueled  the  fires  of  the  group's  convic- 
tions, and  this  is  a  most  welcome  return  to  form.  New 
Model  Army  is  a  stay-the-course  sidestep,  with  three 
studio  tracks  ("White  Coats"  is  the  standout)  and  four 
live  cuts  ("51st  State"  is  most  notable). 

Adding  a  palpable  sense  of  urgency  to  already  strong 
songs,  Radio  Sessions  '83-*84  provides  energetic  alter- 
nate versions  of  twelve  NMA  faves  crisply  captured  live 
on  the  radio.  Vengeance/The  Independent  Story  ap- 
pends eight  early  single  sides  and  a  pair  of  radio  takes  to 
the  band's  first  LP.  A  must  for  completists,  the  disc  puts 
the  spotlight  on  Morrow's  driving  lead  bass,  which  at 
times  suggests  the  early  Cure. 

A  mere  decade  after  forming,  New  Model  Army 
finally  released  its  masterpiece,  Thunder  and  Conso- 
lation. The  guidance  of  mainstream  producer  Tom 
Dowd  on  a  half-dozen  tracks  and  the  occasional  pres- 
ence of  a  violin  have  done  nothing  to  quell  the  fury  of 
these  electric-folk  heroes.  In  fact,  Dowd's  sumptuous 
touches  on  the  epic  "Green  and  Grey"  add  immeasur- 
able drama  to  Slade's  passionate,  opaque  lyricism.  The 
songs,  on  the  whole,  are  the  most  personal  the  band  has 
ever  recorded — especially  the  searing  "Inheritance,"  on 
which  Slade  manages  to  not  sound  foolish  chanting  a 
bitter  message  to  his  parents  over  a  stark  drum  track. 
The  CD  adds  five  songs,  including  New  Model  Army's 
three  studio  tracks  and  the  haunting,  heartfelt  "Nothing 
Touches  " 

On  Impurity,  NMA  retains  the  previous  LP's  ex- 
pressive fiddle,  but  drops  its  cinemascopic  grandeur, 
returning  instead  to  the  unadorned  precision  and  econ- 
omy of  earlier  releases.  With  new  bassist  Peter  Nelson 
(ex-Brotherhood  of  Lizards)  in  tow,  the  Army  metes  out 
a  few  of  its  more  forthright  football-style  chants  ("Lust 
for  Power,"  "Get  Me  Out")  and  some  gentler  moments 
("Space,"  "Marrakesh")  that  strike  like  a  gruffer  Billy 
Bragg.  The  guys  even  exhibit  an  admirable  levelhead- 
edness on  the  sharp,  direct  "Bury  the  Hatchet,"  which 
offers  a  neat  response  to  the  themes  of  retribution  that 
made  The  Ghost  of  Cain  too  much  like  a  vigilante's 
call  to  arms.  All  in  all,  Impurity  exemplifies  a  fervent, 
trend-bucking  band  that  has  remained  true  to  its  original 
goals.  [ag/db] 

See  also  Joolz. 


NEWMUS1K 

Straight  Lines  EP(  Epic)  1980 
From  A  to  B  (nr/GTO)  1 980 
Anywhere  (nr/GTO)  1981 
Sanctuary  (Epic)  1981 
Warp  (nr/Epic)  1982 

New  Musik's  Tony  Mansfield  (writer,  producer,  vo- 
calist, keyboardist,  guitarist)  has  never  been  overly  en- 
amored of  trendy  trappings  of  music  or  image,  which  is 
why  his  band,  never  fashionable,  had  only  minor  UK 
hits.  (As  a  freelance  producer,  however,  Mansfield  has 
had  no  such  trouble.)  Nonetheless,  in  attempting  to  re- 
cast and/or  rediscover  pop-rock  through  modern  tech- 
nology, New  Musik  helped  launch  the  style  as  a 


461 


commercial  force  in  America,  where  its  debut  single, 
"Straight  Lines" — predating  Gary  Numan's  US  hit  with 
"Cars" — nearly  crossed  over  from  the  dance  clubs  to 
the  mass  market  as  an  import.  (The  10-inch  EP  also 
includes  its  follow-up  and  both  B-sides.) 

New  Musik's  foil  but  spacious  sound  is  immediately 
appealing:  vocals,  acoustic  guitars,  synths  and  other 
keyboards  ply  melodious  ditties  impeccably  deployed 
and  ingeniously  enhanced  at  the  mixing  console.  What's 
most  telling  about  this  new  musik  is  that  it's  sensuous 
but  not  sensual,  energetic  but  not  violent,  calling  up  a 
sort  of  bittersweet,  melancholic  feeling,  but  never  red- 
olent of  the  gloom-doom  syndrome.  Which  makes  the 
band  either  a  breath  of  fresh  air  or  an  overly  polite  and 
sterile  waste  of  time. 

Yet,  surprisingly  enough,  the  lyrics  are  almost  all 
about  loneliness,  alienation  and  humanity's  inability  to 
cope  with  the  modem  world — but  worded  simply,  and 
exclusively  m  terms  of  ideals  (safety,  identity,  luxury), 
abstractions  (lines,  numbers,  motion)  and/or  metaphors 
(often  to  do  with  the  ocean  and  travel).  Though  hardly 
immortal  poesy,  when  put  in  context  by  the  music,  core 
phrases  can  be  most  evocative. 

From  A  to  B  contains  three  strong  singles  (one, 
"This  World  of  Water,"  is  brilliant)  unmatched  by 
those  on  Anywhere,  but  otherwise  there's  little  differ- 
ence in  quality  or  style  between  the  two.  Sanctuary 
takes  the  best  of  both,  making  it  a  near-apotheosis  of  ear 
candy.  Warp,  however,  sounds  transitional,  band  in- 
volvement in  the  studio  had  apparently  increased,  add- 
ing a  new  rhythmic  component  with  no  effective  niche. 
More  acute  (and  pessimistic)  lyrics  are  accompanied  by 
a  paucity  of  new  melodic  ideas. 

Mansfield's  subsequent  life  as  a  pop  producer 
yielded  hits  for  Naked  Eyes,  the  B-52's,  Captain  Sen- 
sible and  others.  [jg] 

NEW  ORDER 

Movement  (Factory)  1981  * 

1981-1982  EP  (Factory)  1982 

Power,  Corruption  and  Lies  (Factory)  1983  (Qwest) 

1985« 

Low-life  (Qwest)  1 985  • 
Brotherhood  (Qwest)  1 986  « 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1986  * 
Substance  (Qwest)  1 987  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987  • 
Technique  (Qwest)  1 989  « 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 990  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Salvation!  (Giant)  1988* 

REVENGE 

One  True  Passion  (Capitol)  1 990  • 

ELECTRONIC 

Electronic  (Warner  Bros.)  1 991  <!> 

Following  the  bizarre  1980  death  of  Ian  Curtis  and 
the  remarkable  success  of  "Love  Will  Tear  Us  Apart," 
guitarist/singer  Bernard  Sumner  and  the  two  other  re- 
maining members  of  Joy  Division  transmuted  into  New 
Order,  adding  guitar/synth  player  Gillian  Gilbert  before 
recording  Movement.  Largely  accomplishing  what  Joy 
Division  set  out  to  do,  New  Order  has  sold  millions  of 
records  and  earned  boundless  critical  enthusiasm  play- 


ing a  heady  and  uncompromising  mix  of  dreamy  mean- 
derings  and  unforgettable  techno-dance  music,  taking 
off  from  that  memorable  swan  song,  alleviating  some  of 
Curtis'  lyrical  suffering  while  retaining  the  depth  and 
unique  musical  personality  he  outlined. 

Movement,  produced  by  Martin  Hannett,  wisely 
sidesteps  the  Joy  Division  comparisons  by  downplaying 
the  vocals  and  emphasizing  electronics;  it  may  lack  the 
former  band's  sheer  sharpness  of  vision,  but  maintains  a 
fascination  with  decay  and  paradox,  showcasing  excel- 
lent guitar  and  synthesizer  work. 

The  1981-1982  EP  consists  of  five  songs  taken  from 
British  45s,  and  presents  New  Order's  pop-styled  work, 
especially  the  magnificent  ''Temptation"  and  4 'Proces- 
sion." Coincidentally,  New  Order  was  already  showing 
remarkable  facility  for  making  uncommon — but  highly 
popular — singles,  issuing  a  huge  UK  smash,  "Blue 
Monday."  (Long  unavailable  on  album,  the  song  was 
later  added  to  the  cassette  version  of  Power,  Corrup- 
tion and  Lies.  In  1988,  the  song  was  newly  remixed 
and  successfully  reissued  on  12-inch  in  America.) 

New  Order's  second  album  is  a  masterpiece,  from 
the  cryptic  (but  decipherable  if  you  work  hard  at  it) 
artwork  to  the  eight  lengthy  tracks  of  state-of-the- 
creative-art  electronic  dance  music.  Blending  moody 
strains  of  pseudo-strings  with  seemingly  misplaced  gui- 
tar bits  and  coldly  kinetic  rhythms,  plus  artless  but  en- 
gaging vocals  and  syncopated  effects,  deceptively 
simple  tracks  like  "Age  of  Consent"  and  "Leave  Me 
Alone"  convey  intense  sensations  that  you  can't  easily 
shake.  An  emotionally  and  physically  moving  record  by 
one  of  the  era's  most  important  bands.  The  CD  adds  two 
tracks. 

Oddly  enough,  New  Order  was  formally  introduced 
to  America  through  the  auspices  of  Quincy  Jones,  whose 
Qwest  label  put  out  Low-life  and  reissued  Power,  Cor- 
ruption and  Lies.  One  of  the  finest  LPs  of  1985,  Low- 
life  starts  out  with  an  ironic  folk-form  ballad,  "Love 
Vigilantes,"  that  is  utterly  unlike  anything  the  band  has 
ever  tried  but  scores  brilliantly.  "The  Perfect  Kiss"  is 
very  poppy,  with  lush  synth  strains  and  perfectly  inap- 
propriate froglike  (!)  sound  effects.  The  other  six  tracks 
are  almost  as  appealing,  tentatively  exploring  other  sty- 
listic areas  without  abandoning  the  essence  of  New  Or- 
der's format. 

The  lightheaded  and  seemingly  half-hearted  Broth- 
erhood retreads  the  characteristic  sound  of  Low-life  but 
largely  lacks  the  first-rate  songwriting  that  gives  pur- 
pose and  significance  to  the  proficient  synthesizer/guitar 
musical  machine.  Only  "Weirdo,"  the  downcast  "All 
Day  Long"  and  the  magnificent  "Bizarre  Love  Trian- 
gle" intertwine  the  delicately  rising  and  falling  electro- 
beat  tides  with  melodies  that  fix  themselves  firmly  in 
your  head;  the  rest  shimmer  with  the  same  near-folk 
veneer  but  are  just  not  as  memorable. 

Fashioning  their  own  version  of  a  career  retrospec- 
tive, the  enigmatic  and  retiring  quartet  gathered  six 
years'  worth  of  12-inch  singles  (some  appearing  in  spe- 
cial new  mixes)  on  two  vinyl  discs  under  the  title  Sub- 
stance. If  one  needs  a  reminder  of  New  Order's  unique 
genius,  this  album  (also  available  on  DAT)  has  it  all: 
"Blue  Monday,"  "Perfect  Kiss,"  "Shellshock," 
"Confusion,"  "Bizarre  Love  Triangle"  and  seven 
more.  (The  double-CD  issue  boasts  a  dozen  B-sides  as 
a  bonus  and  extremely  harsh  sound  as  a  problem. ) 


462 


Along  with  'Touched  by  the  Hand  of  God"  (also  on 
the  "Blue  Monday  1988"  remix  12-inch),  New  Order 
contributed  four  instrumental  ("Salvation  Theme"  is 
quite  nice)  to  the  soundtrack  album  of  Salvation! ,  Beth 
B's  scathing  satire  about  televangelism  in  which  Exene 
Cervenka  made  her  dramatic  film  debut. 

Technique,  New  Order's  first  new  album  in  more 
than  two  years,  contains  a  sonic  postcard  from  Ibiza,  the 
Spanish  island  where  the  momentary  dance-music  fad 
known  as  Balearic  beat  flashed  amid  the  first  flowerings 
of  acid  house.  While  half  of  the  songs  go  the  crazy 
rhythms  route  (synthetic  bongos  pitter-patter  throughout 
* 'Round  &  Round";  the  thundering  "Fine  Time" 
throws  electronic  sheep  into  the  mix;  with  blips  and 
percussive  blasts,  the  powerful  "Mr.  Disco"  hammers 
a  beat  into  a  dreamy  song),  other  numbers  mine  the 
group's  pop  side.  In  "All  the  Way,"  Sumner  encour- 
ages self-reliance  over  a  tart  blend  of  acoustic  guitars 
and  Peter  Hook's  thrusting  bass;  the  ripping  electric 
leads  and  martial  drumming  that  cut  through  "Run" 
leave  the  summery  tune  sounding  like  Donovan  fronting 
the  Jesus  and  Mary  Chain.  Adding  new  ingredients  to  a 
familiar  recipe  makes  Technique  most  effective.  (Also 
available  on  DAT.) 

New  Order  then  retreated  into  solo  projects.  Sumner 
and  guitarist  Johnny  Marr,  initially  in  collaboration  with 
Pet  Shop  Boy  Neil  Tennant,  formed  Electronic,  issuing 
a  single  in  1990  and  an  album  in  mid-'91.  Electronic  is 
a  strange  melding  of  styles,  an  entertaining  electro-pop 
dance  record  with  guitar,  blipping  sequencers  and  a 
strong  Tennant  vocal/keyboards  influence.  (He  sings 
two  cuts.)  With  Marr's  creative  role  not  strikingly  evi- 
dent, Electronic  sounds  like  New  Order — complete  with 
Sumner' s  distinctive  voice  and  rhythmic  patterns — on 
holiday  in  a  parallel  universe  controlled  by  the  Pet  Shop 
Boys. 

For  his  part,  Hook  assembled  a  trio  called  Revenge 
and  whipped  out  the  wretched  One  True  Passion.  (The 
title  apparently  refers  to  buxom  leather-clad  women.) 
Restyling  New  Order's  formula  with  a  thicker,  warmer 
sound  and  second-rate  vocals,  the  oversexed  Revenge 
could  almost  be  a  tribute  band,  if  not  an  especially  good 
one.  New  Order's  flimsy  lyrics  are  one  thing,  but 
Hook's  macho  black  leather  bluster  is  aggressively 
dumb.  "Kiss  the  chrome/Why  am  I  alone?"  Gee,  I 
can't  imagine. 

New  Order's  first  Peel  Sessions  12-inch  (the  initial 
release  in  the  UK  series)  was  recorded  in  June  1982  and 
contains  four  songs;  the  second  hails  from  January  1981 . 
Both  are  combined  on  the  1990  LP.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Paul  Haig,  Joy  Division. 


NEW  ORDER 

The  New  Order  (Fr.  Isadora)  1977 

NEW  RACE 

The  First  and  the  Last  (nr/Statik)  1 983  • 

DESTROY  ALL  MONSTERS/ 
SONIC'S  RENDEZVOUS  BAND 

Ron  Asheton/Sonic's  Rendezvous  Band  (Fr.  Revenge) 

1987 

Early  American  punk  fanzines  had  little  to  write 
about,  which  is  probably  why  New  Order  (the  first/ 
American  one)  got  a  lot  of  press.  But  just  because  the 


group  featured  Ron  Asheton  (ex-Stooges  guitarist), 
Scott  Thurston  (ex-Stooges  keyboardist  and  future  Mo- 
tel) and  Dennis  Thompson  (ex-MC5  drummer)  didn't 
mean  its  music  had  to  be  worthwhile.  The  New  Order 
is  full  of  misplaced  guitar  breaks,  heavy  metal  sludge 
and  little  or  no  passion.  Some  things  look  great  on  pa- 
per, but  on  vinyl  this  one  stinks. 

New  Race,  a  1981  one- Australian-tour  aggregate  of 
Asheton,  Thompson  and  three  former  members  of  sem- 
inal Sydney  punk  band  Radio  Birdman  (including  gui- 
tarist Deniz  Tek — who  grew  up  in  Ann  Arbor, 
Michigan — and  singer  Rob  Younger),  fares  a  lot  better 
on  The  First  and  the  Last,  an  album  recorded  live  and 
then  improved  in  the  studio  by  an  added  guitarist  on  two 
numbers  and  a  backing  vocalist  on  three.  Production, 
sound  and  playing  are  all  real  good  (except  for  the  intros 
and  the  applause,  you  may  not  think  if  s  a  concert  album 
at  all)  and  the  energy  level  is  impressive.  The  material 
includes  the  MCS's  "Looking  at  You"  (given  a  blis- 
tering seven-minutes-plus  raveup),  several  Btrdman 
tracks  and  one  (ugh!)  topical  number,  " November  22, 
1963,"  written  by  Asheton  and  Niagara,  his  singing 
bandmate  in  Destroy  All  Monsters.  The  First  and  the 
Last,  while  not  an  essential  historic  document,  remains 
a  powerfully  charged  rock'n'roll  album  with  some  sear- 
ing moments. 

The  joint  album  melds  four  songs  originally  issued 
by  Ron  Asheton' s  band,  Destroy  All  Monsters,  on  sin- 
gles around  1978-9  with  a  side  of  ex-MC5er  Fred  Sonic 
Smith's  band,  which  includes  ex-Stooge  drummer  Scott 
Asheton.  [cpl/i] 

See  also  MC5,  Radio  Birdman,  Sonic' s  Rendezvous 
Band,  Stooges. 

NEWS  FROM  BABEL 

See  Henry  Cow. 

NEWTOWN  NEUROTICS 

Beggars  Can  Be  Choosers  (nr/Razor)  1 983 

NEUROTICS 

Repercussions  (nr/Jungle)  1 986 

Is  Your  Washroom  Breeding  Bolsheviks  (nr/Jungie)  1 988 
Never  Thought  EP  (nr/Jungle)  1988 
45  Revolutions  a  Minute:  Singles  1 979-1 984  {nr/Jungle) 
1990 

NEUROTICS  ET  AL 

Kictcstarting  a  Backfiring  Nation  (nr/Jungle)  1 987 

The  Newtown  Neurotics  began  in  the  late  '70s  in 
Harlow  (just  north  of  London)  as  a  brave  trio  who  still 
thought  punk  could  be  something  other  than  a  spent 
force.  Singer/guitarist  Steve  Drewett  must  have  been 
inspired  by  early  punk's  willingness  to  discuss  politics, 
as  his  socialist-flavored  lyrics — never  overbearing — 
have  been  grouped  with  those  of  Easterhouse,  Billy 
Bragg,  Three  Johns  and  Housemartins. 

For  rockin'  humdingers  influenced  by  a  synthesis  of 
everything  cool  in  early  punk — Ramones  to  the  Clash  to 
mid-period  Undertones — Beggars  Can  Be  Choosers  is 
a  blast  from  the  past,  punk  with  extraordinary  get-up- 
and-go  that's  both  fun-sounding  and  sharp-edged. 
Drewett* s  social  commentary  is  at  its  best,  from  the 
"sexual  double  standards"  in  "No  Respect"  to  his  ver- 
sion of  the  Members'  "Solitary  Confinement,"  redone 


463 


with  a  clever  twist  as  "Living  with  Unemployment." 
Punk-reggae  is  even  handled  competently  on  "New- 
town  People/' 

By  '86^  the  Neurotics  had  dropped  their  Newtown 
and  had  come  up  with  a  different  sound.  The  (mostly) 
moderate  tempos,  restrained  guitar  and  other  refine- 
ments (such  as  the  addition  of  blanng  Stax  horns)  on  the 
engaging  Reperciissions  showed  the  Neurotics  could 
broaden  their  appeal  without  changing  their  message. 
"This  Fragile  Life"  condemns  the  Falklands  War 
through  the  story  of  a  young  woman  widowed  by  it; 
"(Fanatical)  Sects"  takes  the  piss  out  of  religious  ex- 
tremists. But  the  bulk  of  the  record  concerns  the  fami- 
lies of  striking  miners,  to  whom  the  LP  is  dedicated. 

Is  Your  Washroom  Breeding  Bolsheviks  contin- 
ues this  progress.  The  rock-soul-mod  hybrid  has  ad- 
vanced to  a  point  where  the  Neurotics  sometimes  sound 
like  a  Motown  group,  with  more  wild  brass  and  key- 
boards. (Ex-Member  Chris  Payne  chips  in.)  "An  Inch 
Away,"  a  breathless  number  about  women  victimized 
by  domestic  violence,  shows  that  Drewett  can  still  pair 
sadness  and  hard-pop  with  great  success;  "Local  News" 
proves  they  can  also  crank  up  the  attack  on  demand. 

The  brilliant-sounding  Kkkstarting  a  Backfiring 
Nation  was  recorded  live — with  no  overdubs — in  the 
studio  before  an  audience.  Selections  draw  from  the  first 
two  LPs,  plus  the  Flamin  Groovies'  "Shake  Some  Ac- 
tion" redone  as  "Take  Strike  Action,"  again  for  the 
miners.  The  record  also  contains  poetic  contributions, 
recorded  live  the  same  evening,  by  Atilla  the  Stockbro- 
ker, the  Big  J,  Porky  the  Poet  and  Peter  Campbell.  Their 
rants  identify  them  as  offspring  of  John  Cooper  Clarke; 
the  subject  matter  is  entirely  commensurate  with  the 
Neurotics'  and  fills  out  this  fine  package.  (The  LP  was 
released  on  a  joint  cassette  with  Repercussions.) 

The  Never  Thought  12-inch  contains  five  live  tracks 
on  the  flipside. 

The  group  soldiered  on  bravely  until  October  '88 
when  bassist  Colin  Dredd  developed  pleurisy  and  had  to 
quit.  The  Neurotics  got  a  friend  to  play  bass,  and  did  a 
string  of  three-hour  farewell  shows,  performing  every 
song  they'd  ever  released!  45  Revolutions  a  Minute: 
Singles  1979-1984  compiles  the  group's  45s  (A-  and 
B-sides),  none  of  which  had  previously  appeared  on 
album.  These  tracks  are  among  the  band's  most  humor- 
ous (e.g.,  "Where  Are  You  When  I  Need  You,"  an  ode 
to  a  disappearing  penis;  "Licensing  Hours,"  a  dig  at 
Britain's  pub  curfew)  and  most  angrily  political  ("Kick 
Out  the  Tories,"  "Mindless  Violence,"  "When  the  Oil 
Runs  Out").  Although  one  single  is  omitted — 
"Blitzkrieg  Bob"  (with  original  lyrics  about  bombing 
raids)  and  its  two  flip  sides,  a  remake  of  an  earlier  track 
and  another  Ramones  cover — 45  Revolutions  substi- 
tutes two  previously  unissued  outtakes.  An  excellent 
collection.  As  the  sleeve  notes,  "File  under  good  pop 
on  bad  budgets." 

Drewett  and  Mac  have  since  formed  the  Unstoppa- 
ble Beat,  mating  the  Neurotics'  guitar  pulse  with  more 
reggae  and  African  flavors.  [jr] 

NEW  YORK  DOLLS 

New  York  Dolls  (Mercury)  1973  • 

In  Too  Much  Too  Soon  (Mercury)  1 974  « 


New  York  Dolls  (Mercury)  1977 

Lipstick  Killers  Rape]  (ROIR)  1981  [CD]  (ROIR-lmportant) 

!990<J> 

Red  Patent  Leather  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1 984  • 
Best  of  the  New  York  Dolls  (nr/Mercury)  1 985 
Night  of  the  Living  Dolls  (Mercury)  1986 
Personality  Crisis  EP  (nr/Kamera)  1 986 

DAVID  &  SYLVAIN 

Tokyo  Dolls  Live!  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1 986 

THE  ORIGINAL  PISTOLS/NEW 
YORK  DOLLS 

After  the  Storm  (nr/Receiver)  1985  • 

The  New  York  Dolls  had  the  style,  attitude,  rawness 
and  audacity  to  reinterpret  the  notion  of  punk  as  it  had 
existed  in  the  '60s  and  to  create  a  decidedly  '70s  over- 
the-edge  new  reality  prior  to  punk.  Although  they  made 
only  two  proper  albums  and  were  a  meaningless  relic  by 
the  time  the  Sex  Pistols  played  their  first  gig,  the  Dolls 
singlehandedly  began  the  local  New  York  scene  that 
later  spawned  the  Ramones,  Blondie,  Television,  Talk- 
ing Heads  and  others.  A  classic  case  of  the  whole  being 
greater  than  the  sum  of  its  parts,  the  Dolls  were  much 
more  than  just  a  band.  Their  audiences  emulated  them 
and  formed  groups.  Detractors'  venom  inspired  count- 
less teenage  rebels.  Their  signing  to  a  major  label  set  an 
example  of  commercial  feasibility;  their  subsequent  fail- 
ure to  shift  product  turned  the  record  industry  anti-punk 
for  years. 

After  building  a  reputation  on  seedy  late-night  New 
York  stages,  the  Dolls'  awful  magnetism  netted  them  a 
label  contract.  Todd  Rundgren  took  the  production 
reins,  and  delivered  a  great-sounding  document  with  all 
the  chaos  intact.  A  genuine  rock  classic,  New  York 
Dolls  contains  "Personality  Crisis,"  "Looking  for  a 
Kiss,"  "Trash"  and  other  wondrous  slices  of  gutter 
poetry  punctuated  by  David  Jo  Hansen's  slangy  howl 
and  Johnny  Thunders'  sneering  guitar.  No  home  should 
be  without  one. 

The  legendary  Shadow  Morton  produced  the  second 
album;  though  the  results  don't  match  Rundgren's,  the 
Dolls  come  roaring  through  nonetheless.  There  are 
fewer  originals,  but  the  songs  they  covered  have  never 
been  the  same.  "Stranded  in  the  Jungle,"  "Show- 
down," "Bad  Detective"  and  "Don't  Start  Me  Talk- 
ing," reflecting  the  band's  live  repertoire  at  the  time, 
affirm  the  Dolls'  R&B  roots. 

Thunders  and  (with  a  newly  spelled  surname)  Jo- 
hansen  (and,  for  a  while,  guitarist  Syl  Sylvain)  pro- 
ceeded in  opposite  directions  and  had  polar  but  equally 
noted  solo  careers;  bassist  Artie  Kane  and  drummer 
Jerry  Nolan  went  through  various  local  bands  before 
disappearing  entirely,  In  1977,  Mercury  repackaged 
both  original  Dolls  albums  together  with  new  artwork 
and  liner  notes  by  Tony  Parsons. 

Except  for  the  appearance  of  original  drummer  Billy 
Murcia  (whose  overdose  death  in  London,  noted  in 
Bowie's  "Time,"  considerably  helped  build  the  Dolls' 
legend),  the  cassette-only  collection  of  1972  demos  re- 
leased as  Lipstick  Killers  is  of  archival  value  only, 
underscoring  the  enormity  of  Rundgren's  accomplish- 
ment on  the  first  record. 

More  archaeology:  Red  Patent  Leather  captures 
the  fading  Dolls  on  a  New  York  stage  in  1975  during  a 


464 


brief  era  when  a  pre-Pistois  Malcolm  McLaren  managed 
them.  The  set  includes  a  bunch  of  otherwise  unvmylized 
numbers  (eg.,  "Daddy  Rolling  Stone,"  "Something 
Else/'  "Pirate  Love")  but  is  not  exactly  a  peak  perfor- 
mance The  Johansen/Sylvain  record,  recorded  a  few 
months  later  in  Tokyo  on  a  post-breakup  contractual 
obligations  tour,  is  a  bootleg-quality  live  album  by  the 
remains  of  the  band  (Thunders  and  Kane  are  absent; 
Tony  Machine  is  on  Nolan's  stool).  Strangely,  the  cover 
design  of  this  blue- vinyl  item  makes  an  unabashed  bid 
to  be  mistaken  for  a  David  Sylvian  release. 

Indicative  of  the  Dolls'  enduring  relevance  to  young 
people,  both  English  and  American  Mercury  issued 
compilation  albums  in  the  '80s.  Night  of  the  Living 
Dolls  manages  to  uncover  a  heretofore  unreleased  take 
of  Shadow  Morton's  "Give  Her  a  Great  Big  Kiss,"  a 
tune  the  Dolls  used  to  play.  The  Dolls'  side  of  After  the 
Storm  contains  killer  '72  demos  (not  the  ones  on  Lip- 
stick Killers)  of  "Personality  Crisis,"  "Looking  for  a 
Kiss,"  "Bad  Girl"  and  "Subway  Train."  [i] 

See  also  Heartbreakers,  David  Johansen,  Sylvain 
Sylvain,  Johnny  Thunders. 


NICE  STRONG  ARM 

Reality  Bath  (Homestead)  1987 
Mind  Furnace  (Homestead)  1988  • 
Cloud  Machine  EP  (Homestead)  1989 
Stress  City  (Homestead)  1 990  • 

Originally  from  the  Austin  scene  that  spawned  such 
kindred  spirits  as  the  Butthole  Surfers  and  Scratch  Acid, 
this  NYC  tno  crafts  a  so(m)ber  mixture  of  Brit  gloom 
(Joy  Division,  Bauhaus)  and  New  York  guitar  screech 
(Sonic  Youth,  Swans).  While  its  work  has  been  spotty, 
Nice  Strong  Arm  has  never  been  less  than  intriguing. 

Initially  distinguished  by  a  propulsive  two-drummer 
lineup  (only  captured  on  the  first  LP),  NSA's  debut  is 
shot  through  with  an  art-rock  sensibility  that  cushions 
the  entropic  din.  From  guitarist  Kevin  Thomson  and 
bassist  Jason  Asnes*  brooding  vocals  to  the  grim,  almost 
directionless  songs,  the  record  is  all  about  hurt  and  de- 
spair. "Date  of  Birth"  and  "Minds  Lie"  have  bite,  but 
a  more  focused  look  into  the  abyss  would  be  welcome. 
(The  Reality  Bath  cassette  adds  a  bonus  track.) 

Mind  Furnace  is  a  far  more  subdued  effort,  angst- 
ridden  and  often  beautiful.  The  intricate  song  structures 
(that  don't  grab  immediately  but  reward  upon  further 
examination)  and  downbeat  lyrics  detailing  domestic 
decay  comprise  the  bulk  of  a  record  that  always  seems 
on  the  verge  of  bursting  through  its  self-imposed  re- 
straints. Highlights:  the  gripping  "Swingset"  and  fright- 
ening "Faucet  Head." 

Cloud  Machine  pairs  two  new  studio  tracks  (in- 
cluding a  bright,  metallic  funk  instrumental  called  "Cop 
Show")  with  two  songs  cut  live  at  CBGB.  Stress  City 
is  an  extremely  forceful  (read:  LOUD)  and  rhythmically 
sophisticated  record  that  fairly  approximates  what  Nice 
Strong  Arm  can  do  live.  The  songs'  excessive  verbiage 
does,  upon  closer  inspection,  resemble  bad  collegiate 
poetry,  but  the  requisite  dank  imagery  colors  such 
skewed  funkers  as  "Desert  Beauty  Bloom"  and 
"Neighborhood  Voyeur."  The  stirring  sound  of  col- 
lapse, [db] 


N1CO 

Chelsea  Girl  (Verve)  1967® 

The  Marble  Index  (ESektra)  1 969  • 

Deserfshore  (Reprise)  1971 

The  End...  (Island)  1974 

Drama  of  Exile  (nr/Aura)  1981  (Ger.Line)  1988 

Do  or  DieS  Nico-in  Europe-!  982  Diary  [tape]  (ROIR) 

1982 

The  Blue  Angel  (nr/Aura)  1985  • 
Behind  the  Iron  Curtain  (nr/Dojo)  1 986  • 
Live  in  Tokyo  (nr/Dojo)  1 986  • 
Live  Heroes  (Performance)  1986  ® 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988  ® 
Hanging  Gardens  (Restless)  1990  <f> 

NICO  +  THE  FACTION 

Camera  Obscura  (Beggars  Banquei-PVC)  1985  • 

AYERS-JOHN 

June  1,1 974  (Island)  1974* 

A  fashion  model  and  bit  player  in  Fellini's  La  Dolce 
Vita,  the  German-born  Nico  (Christa  Paffgen)  was 
plunged  into  the  maelstrom  of  rock  when  Andy  Warhol 
introduced  her  to  the  Velvet  Underground,  which  she 
then  joined.  Chelsea  Girl,  her  maiden  voyage  on  a  solo 
musical  career,  is  of  interest  mainly  for  its  links  to  the 
band  Nico  had  just  left.  Five  songs  were  written  (but  not 
recorded)  by  Velvet  Undergrounders;  three  others  were 
written  or  co-written  by  a  very  young  Jackson  Browne. 
The  material,  however,  is  sabotaged  by  tepid  arrange- 
ments and  weak  production.  Highlight:  the  hypnotic  "It 
Was  a  Pleasure  Then,'*  on  which  Nico's  sepulchral 
voice  is  accompanied  only  by  feedback  guitar,  undoubt- 
edly played  by  Lou  Reed. 

The  Marble  Index  was  a  substantial  improvement. 
Arranger  John  Cale  took  Nico's  disturbing  poetry  and 
set  it  to  even  more  disturbing  music;  the  result  is  one  of 
the  scariest  records  ever  made.  Unlike  Chelsea  Girl,  in 
which  Nico  tried  to  adapt  to  an  outmoded  chanteuse 
tradition,  The  Marble  Index  blasts  her  off  to  her  own 
universe.  Regardless  of  whether  more  credit  is  due  her 
or  Cale,  the  album  is  powerfully  effective. 

The  Nico-Cale  collaboration  continued  on  Desert- 
shore.  Here  the  disjunctive  imagery  is  set  to  slightly 
less  gothic  arrangements  than  before,  proving  Nico's 
chanting  (she  doesn't  "sing"  any  more  than  she  writes 
"songs")  can  be  as  chilling  a  cappella  as  it  is  accom- 
panied by  a  horror-movie  soundtrack.  (The  Peel  Ses- 
sions EP  dates  from  early  '71.) 

Three  years  later,  she  and  Cale  turned  up  with  Roxy 
Music  guitarist  Phil  Manzanera  and  Brian  Eno  on  syn- 
thesizer for  The  End  .  .  .  The  title  track  is  the  Doors 
epic,  which  Nico  had  also  just  previously  recorded  on  the 
all-star  June  1, 1974  album.  With  one  exception,  the  rest 
of  The  End  is  original  material,  putting  the  emphasis  on 
Nico's  voice  and  eerie,  foot-pumped  harmonium  rather 
than  on  distracting  sound  effects.  The  exception,  "Das 
Lied  der  Deutschen"  (or  "Deutschland  iiber  Alles" ),  is 
enough  to  make  you  run  out  and  buy  war  bonds. 

After  a  lengthy  recording  hiatus,  Nico  re-emerged 
without  Cale  but  with  a  conventional  rock  band  on 
Drama  of  Exile.  This  jarring  blend  hurts  everyone  in- 
volved; adding  insult  to  injury,  bassist/producer  Phil- 
ippe Quilichini  filters  Nico's  voice  for  a  tinny  effect. 


465 


Her  psychotic  writing  is  still  fascinating,  and  certainly 
preferable  to  aimless  versions  of  Lou  Reed's  " Waiting 
for  the  Man"  and  David  Bowie's  "Heroes." 

Joined  by  two  sidemen  and  Cale  as  producer,  Nico 
made  the  odd  but  exciting  Camera  Obscura  in  1985. 
This  modernization  program  includes  both  the  nearly 
vocal-less  title  track's  meandering  semi-random  impro- 
visation and  an  attractively  somber  version  of  "My 
Funny  Valentine,"  with  stops  in  between  for  fascinating 
blends  of  Nice's  unique  singing  and  post-noise  indus- 
trial music.  Camera  Obscera  raises  Nico's  artistic  av- 
erage this  decade  to  a  respectable  50  percent. 

Do  or  Die!,  recorded  live  throughout  Europe  with 
various  bands  (including  the  Blue  Orchids)  backing  her, 
is  a  lengthy  sampler  of  Nice's  work  minus  the  produc- 
tion flourishes  of  her  studio  albums.  The  fascinating  and 
innately  bizarre  Live  Heroes  mini-alburn  draws  on  some 
of  the  same  shows — adding  two  tracks  done  with  the 
Invisible  Girls — for  "My  Funny  Valentine,"  "Heroes" 
and  five  others  Another  concert  set,  the  two-LP  Iron 
Curtain  was  recorded  in  1985  in  Warsaw,  Budapest 
and  Prague  with  a  band  that  included  Eric  Random.  The 
Blue  Angel  is  a  retrospective  compilation  of  solo  and 
Velvet  Underground  material. 

Nico  died  in  July  1988  on  the  island  of  Ibiza,  suf- 
fering a  cerebral  hemmorhage  in  a  bicycle  spill.  The 
posthumous  Hanging  Gardens  contains  her  last 
recordings — six  powerfully  somber  processions,  taste- 
fully produced  and  evocatively  sung — as  well  as  two 
heretofore  unreleased  1982  tracks  (the  full-blown  "Ve- 
gas" and  the  spare  "The  Line")  and  Drama  of  Exile's 
version  of  "I'm  Waiting  for  the  Man."  [si/ij 

See  also  Velvet  Underground. 

STEVE  NIEVE 

Theme  Music  from  Outline  of  a  Hairdo  EP  (nr/F-Beat) 

1980 

Keyboard  Jungle  (nr/Demon)  1 983  ® 
Playboy  (nr/Demon}  1987 

Keyboardist  Steve  Nieve  first  stepped  out  of  Elvis 
Costello's  Attractions  for  a  7-inch  EP  of  four  brief, 
relatively  straightforward  piano  (plus  tasteful  electronic 
accents)  instrumental,  ostensibly  (but  not  really)  drawn 
from  a  film  soundtrack.  If  not  for  titles  like  *' Sparrow 
Crap"  and  "Page  1  of  a  Dead  Girl's  Diary/'  no  one 
would  blindly  attribute  these  efforts  with  a  rock  musi- 
cian. Likewise,  Keyboard  Jungle  is  a  cute  set  of  min- 
iatures crafted  at  the  keyboard  of  a  Steinway:  fake  film 
and  classical  music,  none  of  it  taken  (or  given)  partic- 
ularly seriously.  Quite  agreeable. 

The  cover  of  Playboy  shows  Nieve,  dressed  to  the 
nines,  looking  a  bit  like  Bryan  Ferry;  the  solo  acoustic 
piano  record  mixes  suave  originals  with  uniquely  con- 
ceived versions  of  standards,  just  like  Ferry's  first  solo 
efforts.  The  material  in  receipt  here  of  Nieve 's  straight- 
faced  (and,  therefore,  hysterically  funny)  cocktail- 
lounge 'treatment  includes  Sting's  derivative  and  trivial 
"Russians,"  Bowie's  overwrought  "Life  on  Mars," 
iOcc's  weepy  "I'm  Not  in  Love"  and  the  Specials' 
nearly  tuneless  "Ghost  Town. "  (X  and  Wham!  also  get 
their  comeuppance  in  Nieve's  graceful  hands.)  The 
eleven  other  short  pieces  display  the  artist's  wit,  com- 
positional talent  and  instrumental  agility.  [jy/i] 
See  also  Elvis  Costello. 


NIGHTINGALES 

The  Nightingales  EP  (nr/Cheny  Red)  1982 

Pigs  on  Purpose  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1 982 

Hysterics  (nr/ink-Red  Flame)  1983 

The  Crunch  EP  (nr/Vindaioo)  1984 

Just  a  Job  (nr/Vindabo)  1 984 

In  the  Good  Old  Country  Way  (nr/Vindaioo)  1986 

The  PeeS  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988 

Me  and  My  Mouth  (nr/Virgm)  1 990  • 

Trebly  guitar  scrubs  and  busy  drumming,  both  at 
a  hyper  pace,  support  Robert  Lloyd's  snide,  self- 
mocking,  self-pitying,  annoyed,  despamng,  sarcasti- 
cally scathing  and  generally  intelligent  (if  not  always 
intelligible)  tirades.  (Dry  wit,  too.)  The  boy  from  Bir- 
mingham has  a  lot  of  mind  to  give  the  world  a  piece  of 
(Poor  to  the  Nightingales,  Lloyd  led  the  late- '70s  punk 
Prefects;  he  later  organized  the  Vindaloo  label.) 

On  the  Nightingales'  first  EP,  the  melodies  are  mem- 
orably minimal,  and  the  playing  seems  just  a  touch  out 
of  control.  Pigs  on  Purpose  shows  a  bit  more  instru- 
mental skill  (despite  bad  mastering)  and  an  increased 
variety  of  tempos  and  textures.  The  Fall  would  seem  to 
be  a  major  influence,  not  only  in  the  abrasive,  paradox- 
ically unobtrusive  guitar  work  but  Lloyd's  singing/ 
ranting,  which  owes  something  to  Mark  E.  Smith's 
vocal  and  lyrical  style. 

Hysterics  marks  a  label  change  and  much  improved 
production;  tone  colors  are  expanded  with  the  use  of 
banjo,  trombone  and  viola.  The  Nightingales  also  dem- 
onstrate a  greater  assortment  of  styles:  bass  parts  bor- 
rowed from  reggae,  an  inside-out  Bo  Diddley  beat  on 
" Ponces  All"  and  a  flirtation  with  country- western  in 
'The  Happy  Medium."  The  Crunch  features  the  con- 
trast of  tightly  controlled  chaos  and  some  of  Lloyd's 
more  melodic  vocals.  Released  during  a  period  of  nu- 
merous personnel  shifts  (they  were  briefly  a  sextet),  the 
Nightingales  manage  to  avoid  sounding  transitional; 
there's  plenty  of  drive  and  power  on  these  tracks.  Highly 
recommended. 

In  the  Good  Old  Country  Way  wisely  isn't  an 
attempt  to  make  a  straightforward  country  album.  Many 
bands  lacking  a  real  identity  might  make  such  an  error, 
but  the  'Gales  are  able  to  embellish  their  own  sound 
with  country  and  bluegrass  elements.  Lyrics  are  more 
smart-ass  than  ever  (see  "Part  Time  Moral  England" 
and  "I  Spit  in  Your  Gravy");  the  playing  gets  down- 
right hot  on  "The  Headache  Collector."  Highly  recom- 
mended, even — or  maybe  especially — for  those  who 
hate  country- western. 

Just  a  Job  is  a  compilation  of  The  Crunch,  non-LP 
singles  and  a  track  from  Hysterics. 

Busy  running  Vindaloo,  Lloyd  took  four  years  after 
the  Nightingales'  demise  to  release  his  solo  debut  on 
another  label.  Me  and  My  Mouth  is  a  far  cry  from  any 
Mark  E.  Smith  comparisons;  producer  Craig  Leon  (who 
worked  on  the  Fall's  Extricate)  gives  the  LP  such  a 
huge,  glossy  sound  that  it  could  pass  for  a  Todd 
Rundgren  job.  If  all  of  the  songs  were  as  strong  as 
"Cheap  as  Sin"  or  "Something  Nice,"  the  disc  could 
survive,  but  this  simply  isn't  the  right  setting  for  Lloyd's 
talents.  While  he  glibly  shifts  gears  between  R&B  and 
C&W  in  completely  pedestrian  fashion,  the  production 
shines  it  all  up  so  much  that  it  might  as  well  be  ska  and 


466 


be-bop.  Guests  include  Attractions  Steve  Nieve  and  Pete 
Thomas  along  with  ex-Aztec  Camera/Smiths  guitarist 
Craig  Gannon,  but  to  little  avail.  "The  Part  of  the  An- 
chor," recorded  in  1987  for  a  John  Peel  session,  is 
easily  the  highlight — the  only  cut  to  approach  the  raw 
urgency  of  the  'Gales  or  Lloyd's  lyrical  potential.  Better 
luck  next  time. 


NiHILISTICS 

NihilisticsEP  (Visionary)  1982 
Nihilistic*  (Brain  Eater}  1983 
Bad  ...  Dirty  . . .  Hate  (Visionary)  1 989 
Fuck  the  Human  Race  (Visionary)  1 990 

Nihilistics  are  a  stupid,  obnoxious  hardcore  band 
rom  Long  Island,  New  York.  Their  lyrics  are  predict- 
ible  banalities  and  their  attitudinizing  is  irritating. 
That's  the  bad  news.  The  good  news  is  that  the  Ni- 
lilistics  album  is  pretty  good  (even  if  the  preceding 
ive-song  7-inch  is  much  better).  However  full  of  it 
heir  ideas  may  be,  the  band  members  at  least  believe 
n  them,  and  advance  them  with  all  the  passion  of  the 
irrantly  self-righteous.  Emotional  commitment  does 
;ount  for  something,  even  if  that  commitment  is  to  a 
;redo  like  '  Take  it  from  me  man  .  .  .  fuck  the  human 
ace  "  People  hate  hardcore  precisely  for  stuff  like 
his,  but  the  Nihilistics  go  far  enough  to  almost  make 
t  work. 

After  a  five-year  hiatus,  the  original  lineup  scraped 
>ff  the  cobwebs  and  exhumed  the  band's  corpse,  ready 
o  pour  some  corrosive  spit  from  the  original  punk 
>ucket  on  the  positive  'core  and  straight-edge  genera- 
ion.  The  message  on  Bad  .  .  .  Dirty  .  .  .  Hate  (as 
>pposed  to  good  clean  fun)  is  that  life  and  people  suck, 
n  a  few  cases,  singer  Ron  Rancid  manages  to  tweeze  a 
ilender  path  between  sincerely  deranged  hatred  and  ab- 
;urdly  grotesque  humor;  meanwhile,  guitarist  Ajax  Le- 
Jinski  slices  through  the  dm  on  *' Story  Box"  and 
'Punisher."  Returning  more  to  the  age  of  punk  rather 
nan  hardcore,  the  Nihilistics  keep  the  emphasis  on  at- 
itude  and  hybrid  tempos,  not  speed  and  tightness. 
'Sub-liminal,"  "Big  Fun"  and  "The  Good  Life"  all 
jrove  the  band's  competent  musicianship  while  promot- 
ng  its  demented  viewpoint. 

Besides  the  grungy  "Sorry  Hairy  Tail"  and  the  rock- 
ibilly  bass-lined  "Vexation,"  Fuck  the  Human  Race 
[stickered  in  stores  as  Feed  the  Human  Race)  includes 
jetween-song  antics  like  Rancid' s  crank  calls  to  a 
norgue  (his  day  job).  Not  as  generally  gripping  as  the 
previous  LP,  but  still  entertaining. 


NILS 

Sell  Out  Youngl  EP  (Can.  Psyche  Industry)  1985 
The  Nils  EP  (Can.  Siegfried)  1 986 
The  Nils  (Rock  Hotel-Profile)  1 987  • 

Inspired  into  existence  by  the  Sex  Pistols,  this  young 
Montreal  guitar  quartet,  led  by  brothers  Alex  and  Carlos 
Soria,  plays  energetic  and  competent  punkergized  rock 
with  rich  vocals  on  their  Chris  Spedding-produced  debut 
alburn.  (Ivan  Doroschuk  of  Men  Without  Hats  financed 
and  produced  the  first  Canadian  EP;  the  second  was 
actually  recorded  earlier  but  went  unreleased  until  1986. 


The  Nils  is  only  a  semi-official  title,  the  record  is  also 
known  as  The  Red  EP. ) 

The  Nils  album  has  the  same  kind  of  fearless  com- 
mercial sensibility  and  melodic  intuition  as  1978  Gen- 
eration X  or  1987  Sou!  Asylum:  songs  like  "When  the 
Love  Puts  on  a  Sad  Face/'  "Bandito  Callin'  "  and  the 
Hiisker  Du-Iike  "Young  Man  in  Transit"  don't  reach 
those  bands'  heights  but  show  just  as  much  effort  and 
ingenuous  spirit.  [i] 


Live  at  the  Marquee  (nr/A&M)  1 980 
Don't  Point  Your  Finger  (A&M)  1 981 
Third  Degree  (nr/A&M)  1 982 
Live  at  the  Venue  (nr/Receiver)  1 989  • 

The  underrated  Nine  Below  Zero  started  out  as  a 
cautious  but  promising  London  R&B  cover  band  but 
progressed  to  fresh,  confident  originals  by  the  time  they 
broke  up  in  1982.  Releasing  a  live  album  as  a  debut  is 
a  mite  unusual,  but  Live  at  the  Marquee  clearly  cap- 
tures NBZ's  early  tightness  and  enthusiasm.  The 
material — mostly  such  old  tunes  as  the  Four  Tops'  "I 
Can't  Help  Myself"  and  Sam  the  Sham's  "Woolly 
Bully" — get  powerful  readings  here.  Don't  Point  Your 
Finger,  produced  by  old  pro  Giyn  Johns,  is  a  transi- 
tional album.  Though  the  majority  of  songs  are  origi- 
nals, most  written  by  singer/guitarist  Dennis  Greaves, 
they  sound  authentically  old. 

Nine  Below  Zero  updated  its  sound  on  Third  Degree 
with  wonderful  results.  Greaves  successfully  cross-cuts 
his  beloved  R&B  roots  with  elements  of  traditional  rock- 
'n'roll, pop  and  even  a  touch  of  reggae  ( 4  'Easy  Street  SE 
17"),  all  infused  with  a  healthy  shot  of  punky  energy 
("Eleven  Plus  Eleven,"  "Tearful  Eye,"  "True  Love  Is 
a  Crime"  and  the  terrific  "Wipe  Away  Your  Kiss"). 

The  second  live  album,  released  nearly  a  decade 
after  it  was  recorded,  is  fast,  hard  and  taut,  with  Mark 
Feltham's  harp  playing  providing  a  strong  blast  of  Chi- 
cago blues  in  the  band's  originals  and  solid  covers  of 
"I've  Got  My  Mojo  Working,"  "Keep  on  Knocking," 
"Homework"  and  "Just  a  Little  Bit."  The  set  isn't  very 
different  from  the  one  on  the  first  album,  but  this  music 
is  more  than  durable  enough  to  withstand  repeated  use. 

See  also  Truth.  [ks/i] 


NINE  INCH  NAILS 

Pretty  Hate  Machine  (TVT)  1 989  • 

Cleveland  singer/synthetic  noise  wiz  Trent  Reznor  is 
yet  another  tortured  soul  with  a  whole  lexicon  of  Exce- 
drin  headache  beats  stored  on  floppy  disc.  As  Nine  Inch 
Nails,  this  junior  industrialist  takes  out  his  anxiety  and 
despair  on  the  rest  of  the  world.  But  while  the  tracks  are 
springier  and  less  stringent  than  on  other  likeminded 
hammer  parties,  the  vocals  carry  very  little  in  terms  of 
threat.  Reznor  is  talented,  though,  and  many  instrumen- 
tal segments  on  Pretty  Hate  Machine  (co-produced 
with,  variously,  Flood,  Adrian  Sherwood,  John  Fryer 
and  Keith  LeBlanc)  are  intriguing  indeed.  If  he  wasn't 
trying  so  hard  to  sound  like  Skinny  Puppy  and  Ministry, 
he  could  make  really  effective  records  of  his  own. 

[gk] 


467 


999 

999  (nr/UA)  1978  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1987  • 

Separates  (nr/UA)  1978  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1987 

High  Energy  Plan  (PVC)  1 979 

The  Biggest  Prize  in  Sport  (Polydor}  1 980 

The  Biggest  Tour  in  Sport  EP  f  Polydor)  1 980 

Singles  Album  (nr/UA)  1980 

Concrete  (Polydor)  1 981 

13th  Floor  Madness  (nr/ASbion)  1983 

Greatest  Hits  (nr/AJbion)  1984 

Face  to  Face  (rtr/Labritafn)  1 985 

In  Case  of  Emergency  (nr/Dojo)  1 986 

Lust  Power  and  Money  (nr/ABC)  1 987  ® 

Live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1989 

The  Cellblock  Tapes  {nr/Link)  1 990 

Despite  a  large  recorded  output  and  an  avoidance  of 
typecasting,  London's  999  never  amounted  to  anything 
more  than  an  undistinguished  and  dispensable  band  of 
moderate  ability.  Variously  posing  as  mutant  bubble- 
gum,  rocky  art-school  cleverness,  hard  R&B  rock  and 
quirky  pop,  999' s  problem  has  always  been  a  lack  of 
adequate  talent  to  invest  their  music  with  real  original- 
ity; to  be  fair,  they  have  managed  a  few  good  sides 
along  the  way  and  also  deserve  credit  for  endurance  and 
persistence. 

999  introduced  the  band,  dressed  in  kicky,  colorful 
clothes  and  working  with  pop  producer  Andy  Arthurs, 
yet  it's  not  a  pop  album.  The  music  is  harmless  but 
charmless,  although  the  vocals  are  occasionally  win- 
ning, as  on  *  "Me  and  My  Desire' '  and  the  whiny '  'Emer- 
gency." The  CD  adds  three  bonus  tracks. 

For  their  second  effort,  999  enlisted  soon-to-be-a- 
superstar  producer  Martin  Rushent,  and  Separates  does 
have  a  lot  more  going  for  it.  The  band's  playing  is 
harder  and  tighter,  with  better  focus,  although  the  semi- 
hit  "Homicide*'  benefits  more  from  a  clever  arrange- 
ment than  intrinsic  quality.  Other  good  tunes  include  the 
taut  "Feelin'  Alright  with  the  Crew"  and  an  all-out 
rocker,  "High  Energy  Plan."  Still  minor,  but  improv- 
ing. (High  Energy  Plan  is  an  American  revision,  with 
two  tracks  deleted  and  two  45  cuts  added.) 

The  Biggest  Prize  in  Sport  teamed  999  (tempo- 
rarily a  five-piece,  having  added  a  second  drummer  to 
aid  the  injured  Pablo  Labritain)  with  producer  Vic 
Maile,  resulting  in  a  disc  that  is  trebly  and  lifeless, 
except  for  the  poppy  title  track,  which  sounds  like  a 
Cockney  Rarnones. 

Hoping  to  stir  up  some  domestic  interest,  999's 
American  record  company  issued  a  six-song  mini- 
album,  The  Biggest  Tour  in  Sport,  recorded  live  in 
1980  in  the  States.  The  sound's  good  and  hot;  selections 
include  "Homicide,"  "Emergency"  and  "Feelin'  Al- 
right with  the  Crew." 

Not  to  be  outdone,  their  English  label  whipped  up  a 
collection — in  chronological  order — of  999's  singles, 
starting  with  "Fm  Alive"  (1977)  and  running  through 
"Waiting"  (1978),  including  both  sides  of  each—- 
fifteen tracks  in  all.  If  you  need  to  find  out  about  999, 
Singles  Album  is  the  record  to  have,  containing  aU  their 
essential  (i.e.,  good)  material. 

Concrete  could  almost  be  mistaken  for  an  Inmates 
record,  thanks  to  two  pointless  covers  ( "Li'l  Red  Riding 
Hood,"  "Fortune  Teller")  and  a  mundane,  character- 
less guitar-rock  sound. 

13th  Floor  Madness  was  slagged  off  in  the  press  as 


soft  disco,  but  the  self-released  Face  to  Face  is  a  pleas- 
ant surprise,  offering  melodic  rock  with  a  certain  charm 
(despite  occasional  gaffes  and  lapses  of  wit).  The  band's 
original  lineup,  still  together  after  all  these  years,  is  not 
exactly  getting  better  by  leaps  and  bounds,  but  the  songs 
here  are  their  most  likable  in  a  long  time — a  few  could 
even  be  characterized  as  memorable — and  bits  of  inven- 
tion keep  them  moving  along. 

Following  another  compilation  (In  Case  of  Emer- 
gency), 999  released  Lest  Power  and  Money,  an  all- 
new  live-in-London  album  recorded  in  April  1987.  The 
band's  lineup  is  essentially  intact  (only  the  bassist  is 
new);  the  program  includes  the  ancient  ("Hit  Me," 
"Homicide,"  "Feelin'  Alright  with  the  Crew")  and  the 
relatively  recent  ("White  Trash"  and  "Lust  Power  and 
Money").  The  performance  is  dull  but  the  sound  is 
good.  (One  hopes  there  was  more  audience  present  than 
what's  audible.) 

As  hard  as  it  might  be  to  believe  that  an  audience 
exists  for  such  a  thing,  The  Ceilbiock  Tapes  is  an  out- 
of-the- vaults  album  containing  eight  vintage  live  tracks 
and  seven  old  demos.  [i] 

See  also  Kilburn  and  the  High  Roads. 


NINE  POUND  HAMMER 

The  Mud,  the  Blood,  and  the  Beers  (Wanghead)  1989 

A  trailer-park  sensibility,  genuine  Kentucky  accents 
and  racing  Ramonesy  punk  make  this  rowdy  Lexington 
quartet  a  smoke-belching  blast  of  fun.  I  won't  use  de- 
rogatory expressions  like  "white  trash"  and  "redneck" 
(the  group  will:  "Redneck  Romance"  is  one  of  the  best 
tracks),  but  these  guys  have  enough  low-culture  reso- 
nance (not  to  mention  mechanical  skills)  to  become  the 
kings  of  drive-in  rock'n'roll.  And  if  Nine  Pound  Ham- 
mer sounds  like  a  four-headed  Mojo  Nixon,  it  should  be 
noted  that  their  "Bye  Bye,  Glen  Frey"  predates  his 
"Don  Henley  Must  Die"  by  a  year.  [i] 


9353 

To  Whom  It  May  Consume  (R  +  B)  1 984 

We  Are  Absolutely  Sure  There  Is  No  God  (Fountain  of 

Youth)  1985 

With  hardcore  just  as  stagnant  in  Washington  DC  as 
it  was  everywhere  else  in  1984,  the  appearance  of  9353 
came  as  quite  a  jolt.  Although  the  band  wasn't  first- 
rate — Jason  Carmer's  delay-driven  guitar  serves  as  only 
a  decorative  ornament,  and  the  rhythm  section  is  rarely 
more  than  competent — To  Whom  It  May  Consume  is 
surprisingly  good,  psychotic  punk  psychedelia  (with  a 
twist  of  good-humored  evil)  highlighted  by  Bruce 
Merkle's  astounding  vocal  range,  which  can  shift  from 
a  deep  drawl  to  a  convincing  Ethel  Merman  warble  in  a 
flash, 

We  Are  Absolutely  Sure  There  Is  No  God  was 
released  at  the  end  of  1985,  after  the  short-lived  band's 
breakup.  Merkle  continues  to  display  his  bag  of  tricks, 
never  once  treating  any  of  his  many  voices  with  seri- 
ousness or  respect.  The  album  does  not  contain  as  many 
memorable  songs  as  the  first,  but  try  "American 
Sctozo,"  "Evil  Teen  Facility  Yard"  and  "Who  Does 
What  and  Why."  [km] 


468 


NIPS  'N'  NIPPLE  ERECTORS 

See  Pogues. 

NIRVANA 

Bleach  (Sub  Pop)  1988® 

Blew  EP  (Get.  Sub  Pop-Giitterhouse}  1 989  • 

Nirvana  was  formed  in  1986  by  vocalist/guitarist 
Kurdt  Kobain  and  bassist  Chris  Novoselic  in  Aberdeen, 
Washington,  home  of  legendary  quaalude-metal  titans 
the  Meivins,  whose  drummer  played  on  the  band's  1987 
demo.  After  a  brilliant  debut  single  (a  snarling  cover  of 
the  Shocking  Blue's  "Love  Buzz,"  included  on  the  first 
album),  Bleach  elevated  Nirvana  to  major  hip-press  sta- 
tus, as  Kobain 's  sandpaper  growl  and  roanng  guitar 
propelled  amazing  hard-rock  hooks.  His  taut,  jagged 
songs  contain  elements  of  the  Seattle  sound  but  show  a 
rare  sophistication. 

The  Blew  EP  combines  two  album  tracks  with  two 
new  songs,  the  slow-grinding  "Been  a  Son"  and  the 
bruising  "Stain."  Cja] 

NITECAPS 

Go  to  the  Line  (Sire)  1 982 

Spearheaded  by  erstwhile  Voidoid  (known  then  as 
X-sessive)  Jahn  Xavier,  the  Nitecaps — a  multi-racial 
quartet  including  New  York  Dolls  roadie/bassist  Peter 
Jordan — were  sort  of  an  American  counterpart  to  Gra- 
ham Parker's  Rumour.  On  Go  to  the  Line,  with  the  fab 
Uptown  Horns  and  production  by  Langer  and  Winstan- 
ley,  the  babyfaced  Xavier  reveals  himself  to  be  not  only 
a  mean  guitarist,  but  a  throaty  growler  with  a  voice  that 
crosses  Joe  Jackson  and  Otis  Redding.  R&B  like  this 
rarely  sounds  so  strong  or  credible.  The  only  misstep  is 
a  Zombies/Easybeats  medley;  the  rest  (originals,  aside 
from  one  arcane  oldie)  is  solid,  foot-stompin'  fun. 
Nitecaps  guitarist  Al  Maddy  later  joined  the  Dots. 

In  1990,  several  Nitecaps  resurfaced  as  Jahn  Xavier 
and  the  Preachers.  [jg] 

See  also  Dots,  Richard  Hell  &  the  Voidoids. 

NITS 

The  Nits  (Hoi.  Scramble)  1 978 

Tent  (Hoi.  Epic)  1979« 

New  Flat  (Hoi.  CBS)  1980  « 

Work  (Hoi.  CBS)  1981  • 

Omsk  (Hoi.  CBS)  1983* 

Kilo  EP  (Hoi.  CBS)  1983* 

Adieu,  Sweet  Bahnhof  (Hoi.  CBS)  1984  • 

Henk  (Hoi.  CBS)  1986* 

In  the  Dutch  Mountains  (Hoi.  CBS)  1987  (nr/CBS)  1988  « 

Hat  EP  (Hoi.  CBS)  1988 

Urk  (Hoi.  CBS)  1989* 

Giant  Normal  Dwarf  (Hoi.  CBS)  1 990  • 

RJ.  ST1PS 

U.P.  (Hoi.  CBS)  1981  • 

The  obvious  derivativeness  on  the  Nits'  early  al- 
bums could  have  been  written  off  as  cut-rate  local 
filtration/reassembly  of  the  real  thing  from  Britain  and 
America  (Beatles,  Talking  Heads,  etc.).  In  retrospect, 
however,  those  records  can  be  seen  as  learning  experi- 
ences of  a  world-class  band  now  deserving  international 
attention. 

Evidently  a  thousand  or  so  copies  of  an  LP  entitled 


The  Nits  were  pressed  poor  to  their  CBS  signing,  an 
achievement  apparently  best  forgotten.  That's  only  mar- 
ginally less  true  of  their  first  three  CBS  outings.  Com- 
parisons to  tongue-in-cheek  pop  synthesists  like  lOcc 
and  fellow  Dutchmen  Gruppo  Sportivo  immediately 
come  to  mind,  but  leave  the  Nits  on  the  short  end  of  the 
stick — too  cute,  not  clever  enough  by  half  and  too  ster- 
ile, especially  on  Tent.  Arty  touches  provide  welcome 
contrasts  here  and  there  on  New  Flat,  and  a  melody  or 
two  does  catch  the  ear.  Work  attempts  to  up  the  Serious 
Artistic  Expression  ante,  but  the  music  rarely  can  carry 
the  lyrical  weight.  Still,  at  points  on  both  New  Flat  and 
Work,  Hans  Hofstede  reveals  a  growing  aptitude  for 
creating  little  emotional  postcards. 

Omsk  and  Kilo  show  the  Nits  beginning  to  find  their 
voices;  it  must  be  at  least  partly  attributed  to  the  arrival 
of  keyboardist  Robert  Jan  Stips.  Previously  known  for 
his  work  with  Golden  Earring  and  for  producing  Gruppo 
Sportivo  albums,  he  oversaw  part  of  Tent  and  all  of 
New  Flat.  His  own  LP  is  a  curious  blend  of  pop-rock 
and  jazz  syncopations,  in  a  unique  style  that  starts  out 
intriguing  but  turns  irritating.  All  the  same,  he  does 
bolster  the  Nits'  brighter,  poppier  side  and  shades  the 
darker,  moodier  aspect  most  often  explored  by  Hof- 
stede. On  Omsk  and  Kilo,  Hofstede  unveils  a  mild 
resemblance  to  Elvis  Costello  (but  dreamier,  more  vul- 
nerable, less  venomous);  Slips'  dominant  keyboards 
make  for  settings  that  are  affecting,  even  haunting. 

Adieu,  Sweet  Bahnhof  reflects  the  group's  odd  in- 
ternational sensibility.  None  of  the  Nits'  lyncs  have 
ever  been  in  Dutch;  a  song  on  the  LP  which  refers  to 
Holland  is  sung  half  in  English,  half  in  Turkish.  Is  there 
some  national  inferiority  complex  at  work  here?  In  any 
case,  the  record  is  more  musically  confident  and  aggres- 
sive, yet  less  affecting,  than  its  immediate  predecessors. 
There  are  still  clumsy  phrasings  and  syntactical  mis- 
takes (in  songs  by  Stips  and  Michiel  Peters,  not  Hof- 
stede), which  would  be  more  easily  forgiven/ignored  if 
the  melodies  were  stronger.  This  album  seems  to  be  a 
move  sideways,  a  retrenchment,  a  sort  of  public  ironing 
out  of  the  kinks,  though  the  really  good  tracks  (like 
those  featuring  Hofstede's  Lennonish  Costelloisms)  do 
make  it  a  respectable  opus. 

Henk  is  another  story  altogether.  Firstly,  there's  the 
mystery  of  the  title  (weirder  since  Hofstede  changed  his 
name  from  Hans  to  Henk  after  the  Work  LP).  Peters  is 
gone.  Hofstede  now  writes  all  the  lyrics,  while  he,  Stips 
and  agile  drummer  Rob  Kloet  share  equal  credit  for  the 
music.  Other  than  a  spot  of  banjo  (!)  and  one  track's 
worth  of  guitar,  there  are  no  fretted  instruments  to  be 
heard — it's  all  voices,  keyboards  and  drums.  And  it's 
great — oddball  pop-rock  of  the  first  order.  The  imagi- 
native range  of  electronic  sounds  and  textures  can  be 
breathtaking,  as  on  "Cabins"  and  "Under  a  Canoe." 
The  melodies  are  attractive.  The  words  are  often  ab- 
stract but  always  evocative.  The  Nits  now  sound  like 
...  the  Nits.  (The  Henk  CD  also  contains  Kilo. ) 

In  the  Dutch  Mountains — the  title  track  inspired 
by  Cees  Nooteboom's  acclaimed  quasi-fantasy  novel — 
is  also  impressive.  The  Nits  again  sound  like  the  Nits, 
but  substantially  different  Nits.  Intended  to  resemble  a 
live  show,  it  was  recorded  "in  their  own  rehearsal  room, 
an  old  gym  in  Amsterdam  .  .  .  straight  to  two-track 
digital  tape  with  no  dubbing  or  mixing  after  the  actual 
recording."  New  bassist  Joke  Geraets  plays  only  a 


469 


stand-up  acoustic;  Hofstede's  back  to  playing  guitar. 
The  occasional  guests  are  three  female  backing  vocalists 
and  a  steel  guitar  player.  Hofstede's  lyrical  approach 
is  —  as  on  Henk  —  offbeat,  but  also  consistently  personal 
(even  at  one  point  confessional).  Surreal  juxtapositions 
of  prosaic  imagery  suggest  travels  through  his  dreams. 
The  cleverly  contrapuntal  music  and  rhythms  use  a 
tonal/timbral  palette  that  is  more  subdued  (yet  equally 
effective  in  its  way)  than  Henk  And  this  is  nearly  a  live 
album!  Brilliant, 

The  Hat  mini-album  (six  tracks,  25  minutes)  refines 
the  earlier  "emotional  postcard"  approach,  with  the 
theme  of  loneliness  —  romantic,  spiritual,  physical  — 
getting  a  real  workout  It's  quite  enjoyable,  the  unified 
sound  not  unlike  Omsk  or  Kilo,  yet  sonically  lighter 
and  simpler. 

Soon  after,  the  Nits  recorded  a  double  live  album, 
Urk  The  selection  of  29  songs  (over  two  hours)  sam- 
ples every  record  from  Work  on,  with  Dutch  Moun- 
tains getting  the  most  emphasis,  followed  by  Henk, 
Omsk  and  Hat;  a  strong,  well-blended  assortment. 
Carps:  While  several  songs  from  weaker  records  seem 
more  impressive  than  before,  some  better  numbers  are  a 
little  less  so.  In  addition,  a  couple  of  theatrical  songs 
geared  for  the  stage  lose  something  without  the  visual 
component  Still,  it's  an  enjoyable  overview  as  delec- 
table as  the  original  albums 

Geraets  had  departed  by  Giant  Normal  Dwarf,  and 
the  LP  is  all  Stips'  keyboards,  Kloets'  drums  and  Hof- 
stede's voice(s).  Even  more  explicitly  than  Dutch 
Mountains,  the  record  concentrates  on  dreams,  fanta- 
sies and  childlike  visions.  With  less  energy  and  more 
reserve,  it's  not  as  immediately  imposing  as  Dutch 
Mountains  or  Henk,  but  is  still  an  attractive,  wistful, 
sometimes  disturbing  album,  engagingly  capturing  the 
internal  logic  of  dreams  and  translating  complex  emo- 
tional states  into  songs.  And  it's  darned  pretty,  too! 


NITZER  EBB 

Isn't  It  Funny  How  Your  Body  Works  EP  (nr/Power  of 

Voice  Comm.)  1985 
That  Total  Age  {Mute-Geffen)  1  987  • 
Belief  (Mute-Geffen)  1  988  « 
So  Bright  So  Strong  (Ger.  Upfront)  1  988  • 
Showtime  (Mute-Geffen)  1  990  • 

With  its  aggressive  music  and  Teutonic  name,  ca- 
sual listeners  may  assume  Nitzer  Ebb  to  be  of  German 
origin  when,  in  fact,  the  trio  is  from  the  tranquil  English 
town  of  Chelmsford.  Nonetheless,  this  is  one  angst- 
ridden  band:  seizing  on  simple  catchphrases  (shouted 
more  often  than  sung  or  rapped),  minimal  synthesized 
hooklines  and  pounding,  cathartic  beats,  the  songs  on 
That  Total  Age  are  industrial-strength  anthems.  "Join 
in  the  Chant"  became  a  bizarre  early  favorite  of  British 
acid  house  fans  (its  references  to  "muscle  and  hate" 
having  little  to  do  with  peace  and  love),  and  equally 
intense  songs  such  as  "Let  Your  Body  Learn"  and 
"Murderous"  are  heard  more  on  alternative  dancefloors 
now  than  at  the  time  of  their  release.  For  such  a  chal- 
lenging combination  of  anger  and  rhythm,  and  without 
a  dull  moment,  That  Total  Age  is  a  monumental  al- 
bum. 

Armed  with  that  highly  identifiable  sound,  Nitzer 


Ebb  has  repeated  it  again  and  again;  the  songs  on  Belief 
could  easily  be  substituted  for  those  on  the  first  album. 
In  noteworthy  cuts  like  the  pulsating  " "Control  I'm 
Here,"  "Blood  Money"  and  "Hearts  and  Minds," 
Nitzer  Ebb's  Jyncs  hone  in  on  basic  emotions  and  issues 
of  power  and  lust.  There  is  no  sense  of  advancement  or 
development  on  Belief;  arguably  none  is  required 

A  German  label  collected  the  group's  first  singles 
(including  four  versions  of  "Warsaw  Ghetto,"  a  song 
from  That  Total  Age)  for  the  So  Bright  So  Strong 
compilation.  The  four  tracks  from  the  1985  12-mch  de- 
but are  notable  for  being  more  melodic  and  faster  than 
what  would  become  the  archetypal  Nitzer  Ebb  sound; 
even  more  unusual — given  that  Nitzer  Ebb  artwork 
tends  to  be  as  minimal  and  clinical  as  the  music  itself — 
the  record  contains  photos  of  what  was  then  a  trio  (now 
pared  down  to  the  duo  of  vocalist  Douglas  McCarthy 
and  musician  Bon  Harris) 

Showtime  finds  the  group  trying  to  diversify  with 
little  success,  the  electronic  blues  of  "Nobody  Knows" 
is  messy,  and  attempts  at  melodic  vocals  only  empha- 
size McCarthy's  weakness  as  a  singer.  There  are  strong 
moments — the  single  "Lightning  Man,"  with  its  inces- 
sant keyboard  refrain,  and  the  jaunty  "Fun  to  Be 
Had" — but  this  isn't  their  strongest  opus.  Not  so  iron- 
ically, it  proved  a  quick  seller;  touring  stadiums  with 
Depeche  Mode  made  Nitzer  Ebb  the  underground  name 
to  drop  at  the  start  of  the  new  decade.  [tf] 

MOJO  NIXON  AND  SKID  ROPER 

Mojo  Nixon  and  Skid  Roper  (RBI-Enigma)  1985  (IRS) 

1991  • 

Frenzy  (Restless)  1 986  (IRS)  1 991  ® 
Get  Out  of  My  Way!  (Restless)  1 986  (IRS)  1 991  • 
Bo-Day-ShusH!  (Enigma)  1987  (IRS)  1991  • 
Root  Hog  or  Die  (Enigma)  1 989  (IRS)  1 991  • 
Unlimited  Everything  (nr/Enigma)  1 990  • 

MOJO  NIXON 

Otis  (Enigma)  1990  (IRS)  1991  4> 

SKID  ROPER  AND  THE  WH1R11N 

SPURS 

Trails  Plowed  Under  (Triple  X)  1 989  « 
Lydias  Cafe  (Triple  XJ  1991  • 

You  figure  it  out.  Mojo  Nixon  and  sidekick  Skid 
Roper  first  gained  attention  with  a  delicate  love-letter 
ditty  to  then-MTV  VJ  Martha  Quinn  subtly  entitled 
"Stuffin'  Martha's  Muffin."  In  addition  to  bluntly  pro- 
claiming his  desire  to  get  intimate  with  the  perky  Ms.  Q, 
the  call-and-response  vocals  in  the  bridge  take  on  the 
whole  institution:  "MTV/get  away  from  me  ...  I  say, 
Music  Television/should  be  covered  in  jism."  Several 
years  later,  there's  Mojo  doing  spots  on  MTV,  talking 
about  post-punk  philosophers  while  hanging  from  a  jun- 
gle gym  and  serving  as  a  roving  reporter  on  the  beach 
for  Spring  Break. 

Sold  out?  Quite  the  opposite.  Mojo  Nixon  and  Skid 
Roper  is  a  bit  on  the  tame  side — songs  with  titles  like 
"Jesus  at  McDonalds"  and  "Art  Fag  Shuffle"  should 
be  great,  but  are  merely  clever.  Mojo  finds  his  true 
voice  on  Frenzy.  The  musical  accompaniment  to  Nix- 
on's often  hysterical  socio-political  commentary  is 
mostly  a  frisky  down-home  mixture  of  blues,  R&B  and 
rockabilly.  Roper's  contributions  consist  of  things  like 


470 


washboard,  harmonica,  mandolin,  etc.  Besides  "Stuf- 
fin'  Martha's  Muffin,"  Frenzy  offers  Nixon's  appraisal 
of  such  topics  as  gigging  ("Where  the  Hell's  My 
Money"),  fatherhood  (''I'm  Living  with  the  Three-Foot 
Anti-Christ")  and  savings  &  loans  ("I  Hate  Banks"). 
Add  to  that  his  hilarious  checkout  line  tabloid  spoof, 
'  "The  Amazing  Bigfoot  Diet, ' '  and  a  fleeting  harmonica- 
driven  version  of  "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,"  and  this  LP 
should  appeal  to  anyone  with  a  funny  bone. 

Get  Out  of  My  Way!  is  a  seven-track  mini-IP  (is- 
sued, at  one  point,  on  clear  vinyl)  reprising  "Stuffin'  " 
and  "Jesus  at  McDonald's,"  plus  a  few  of  Mojo's  very 
own  Christmas  songs.  All  of  these  tracks  are  included 
on  the  Frenzy  CD. 

Bo-Day-Shus!!!  is  every  bit  as  big  a  hoot,  with  the 
epic  "Elvis  Is  Everywhere"  (finally  revealing  the  iden- 
tity of  the  much-feared  anti-Elvis — sure  to  be  a  Trivial 
Pursuit  question  to  some  future  generation)  and  a  topical 
ode  to  the  just-say-no  crowd,  "I  Ain't  Gonna  Piss  in 
No  Jar."  Other  little  slices  of  Americana  include 
"B.B.Q.U.S.A.,"  "Wash  No  Dishes  No  More"  and 
"I'm  Gonna  Dig  Up  Howlin'  Wolf."  Folks,  Nixon  is 
the  man  this  country  needs — Mojo  ain't  no  Dick.  (CD 
bonus  cuts:  "Don't  Want  No  Foo-Foo  Haircut  on  My 
Head"  and  "The  Story  of  One  Chord.") 

Jim  Dickenson's  [sic]  production  and  a  few  extra 
sidemen  makes  Root  Hog  or  Die  relatively  fancy  (for 
Nixon  and  Roper,  that  is).  Mojo  kicks  things  off  with 
the  hilarious  one-two  pop-iconography  punch  of  "Deb- 
bie Gibson  Is  Pregnant  with  My  Two-Headed  Love 
Child"  and  "(619)  239-KING"  (a  plea  to  locate  Elvis 
who  is,  as  we  all  know,  everywhere)  and  follows  it  with 
a  patriotic  rendition  of  "This  Land  Is  Your  Land"  that 
devolves  into  a  convincing  pitch  for  that  imaginary  trash 
heaven,  Mojo  World.  The  record  sags  a  bit  after  that, 
although  Skid's  "Tennessee  Jive"  serves  up  a  sweet  bit 
of  Rockpilish  rock  and  the  Mojo  sexuality  rears  its  ugly 
head  in  "She's  Vibrator  Dependent"  and  the  funky 
"Louisiana  Liplock." 

Skimming  the  scunge  off  the  top  of  the  Mojo  and 
Skid  oeuvre,  the  Unlimited  Everything  compilation 
condenses  the  best  of  the  duo's  four  albums  together  for 
a  brainbusting  dose  of  raucous  pop  culturecide  from  the 
best  in  the  business.  (Kids,  don't  attempt  to  sing  these 
songs  at  home.  These  men  are  professionals.) 

Parting  company  with  Mojo,  Skid  formed  a  rocking 
cowboy/country  band  and  launched  his  solo  career  with 
an  amiable  album  of  (mostly)  romantic  (mostly)  origi- 
nals. Jayne  Robson's  vocals,  harmonizing  nicely  with 
Skid's,  help  the  agreeable  Trails  Plowed  Under  drift 
along,  a  twang  in  its  heart  and  nothing  much  on  its 
mind.  (The  ironic  "Please  Forgive  Me"  is  one  clever 
exception.)  Lacking  his  ex-partner's  demented  imagi- 
nation, Roper's  more  modest  talents  as  a  frontman  and 
songwriter  make  the  album  easy  to  hear  but  hard  to 
remember.  (The  CD  adds  two  bonus  tracks.) 

Old  producer  pal  Dickinson  helped  Mojo  assemble 
the  ultimate  trailer-park-rock  studio  band  for  his  solo 
debut.  As  John  Doe  (bass;  X),  Country  Dick  Montana 
(drums;  Beat  Farmers),  Bill  Davis  (guitar;  Dash  Rip 
Rock)  and  Eric  Anibel  (guitar;  Del-Lords)  launch  Otis 
into  a  solidly  musical  orbit,  Mojo  adjusts  himself  to 
such  skilled  company  and  straddles  their  sonic  missile, 
ranting  and  raving  about  the  legal  profession  ("Destroy 
All  Lawyers"),  ex-Eagles  ("Don  Henley  Must  Die," 


complete  with  a  relevant  guitar  quote),  politics  (the 
funky  "Put  a  Sex  Mo-Sheen  in  the  White  House"), 
celebrity  teeth  ("Shane's  Dentist")  and  pomposity  (the 
Stonesy  "Ain't  High  Falutin*  ").  With  the  exception  of 
an  unironic  ballad  bad  enough  to  hopefully  discourage 
any  such  missteps  in  the  future,  Otis  is  maximum  Mojo. 

[dgs/i] 

NO 

No  Direction  (No  Direction)  1984 
Becoming  Obsession  {No  Direction)  1 986 
The  No  Direction  Tapes  (No  Direction)  1 988 

On  what  has  to  be  the  first  independent  album  ever 
released  by  a  Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota  punk  band,  No 
Direction  plays  earnest  political  protest  numbers  with  a 
lot  more  spirit  than  technique.  Far  removed  from  any 
stylistic  trendiness  (or,  for  that  matter,  pop  musical 
trends  of  any  sort),  this  trio  gains  strength  from  its  basic 
simplicity.  The  sixteen  songs  on  No  Direction  have 
energy  but  a  spare  sound  with  open  spaces  that  would 
benefit  enormously  from  bigger  amps  and  a  skilled  pro- 
ducer. 

Except  for  horribly  mis-EQ'd  sound  that  entirely 
ignores  the  audio  spectrum's  bottom  half,  Becoming 
Obsession  (recorded  in  1984)  demonstrates  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  growth:  guitarist  Rick  Smith  works 
complex  jagged  figures  around  singer  Rich  Show's 
busybody  bass  (at  least  what  can  be  heard  of  it)  and 
Charles  Luden's  understated  drumming.  Without  sug- 
gesting that  it  sounds  dated,  the  trio's  drivingly  hypnotic 
swirls  here  recall  '78/'79-vintage  Cure  or  Gang  of  Four, 
with  a  bit  of  Joy  Division  in  the  rhythm  section.  Really 
cool. 

Presented  in  unedited  form — complete  with  false 
starts,  unstructured  jams,  etc. — the  album  is  positively 
amazing,  easily  comparable  to  the  work  of  any  other 
post-punk  band  around.  Displaying  exceptional  trio  skill 
(Show's  vocals,  having  acquired  a  Bonoesque  emo- 
tional range,  are  also  drastically  better),  the  thickened 
attack  turns  rich  and  catchy  melodic  rock  songs  like 
"Rise  Up,"  the  touching  "Letter  to  Jeffrey"  and  the 
evocative  "Michael  Nydelski"  into  storms  of  harmon- 
ics and  rhythm  that  are  equally  powerful  on  conscious 
and  subliminal  levels.  A  reverent  cover  of  Joy  Divi- 
sion's "Transmission"  may  be  a  bit  too  tributary,  and 
"Dark  Basement"  more  or  less  reinvents  U2  (clearly 
the  strongest  influence  here)  in  an  unpretentious  Amer- 
ican mold,  but  "Life  Is  a  Crisis"  switches  through 
something  resembling  the  Minutemen's  sideways  funk, 
some  unmistakable  Who  quotes  and  a  U2-ish  charge 
within  a  few  seconds.  That  the  tracks  were  recorded 
virtually  live  suggests  what  an  awesome  unit  these  guys 
had  become;  few  local  indie  bands  sound  as  ready  to 
play  for  50,000  people  as  this.  Or  not.  No  Direction 
broke  up  in  1989.  [i] 

NO  MAN 

See  Roger  Miller. 

NOMEANSNO 

Mama  (Can.  no  label)  1984 
Sex  Mad  (Can.  Psyche  Industry)  1 986  (Alternative 
Tentacles)  1987 


471 


The  Day  Everything  Became  Nothing  EP  (Alternative 

Tentacles)  1988 
Small  Parts  Isolated  and  Destroyed  (Alternative  Tentacles) 

1988 
The  Day  Everything  Became  Isolated  and  Destroyed  [CD] 

(Alternative  Tentacles)  1 988  • 
Wrong  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 989  ® 

Emerging  from  a  basement  in  Victoria,  British  Co- 
lumbia, brothers  Rob  (bass,  vocals,  guitar)  and  John 
(drums,  vocals,  keyboards)  Wright  began  NoMeans- 
No's  strange  recording  career  with  Mama,  a  self- 
released  album  of  selfconsciously  warped  lyrics  ("We 
Are  the  Chopped,"  "My  Roomate  Is  Turning  into  a 
Monster")  and  semi-melodic  music  that  asserts  its  an- 
gular divergence  from  the  norm  politely,  more  jazzy 
Devo  than  anti-chromatic  noise. 

But  that  was  just  the  first  step.  On  Sex  Mad  (the 
American  edition  was  revised  from  its  original  Canadian 
release),  NoMeansNo  pours  out  punky  collegiate  weird- 
ness  with  some  of  the  same  slash  V  bum  egghead  en- 
ergy as  Couch  Flambeau.  Songs  like  "Self  Pity"  and 
"Dead  Bob,"  not  to  mention  an  appropriately  titled 
instrumental  ("Obsessed"),  revel  in  conscientious  bi- 
zamtude  and  a  feverish  demi-musical  attack. 

The  Day  Everything  Became  Nothing — a  six-song 
12-inch — offers  more  dadaesque  invention  with  conceit- 
edly intense  and  pointed  music.  The  unstructured  prose 
of  the  title  track  is  supported  by  pounding  drums  alter- 
nating with  bursts  of  guitar  noise;  "Beauty  and  the 
Beast"  syncopates  the  rhythms  for  a  disorienting  effect 
that  suggests  funk  and  negates  it  in  the  same  line.  Im- 
pressive. 

Small  Parts  Isolated  and  Destroyed  focuses  the 
band's  anomie  into  fairly  presentable  form,  modulating 
the  carefully  arranged  muscular  rock  and  punk  into  a 
tense  knot  of  energy  with  fewer  jagged  points  and  rough 
edges  than  usual.  John's  syncopated  drumming  and 
Rob's  noisy  guitar  solos  provide  most  of  the  record's 
appeal;  the  frequent  rhythm  shifts  are  unsettling.  (Small 
Parts  later  joined  its  immediate  predecessor  on  a  power- 
packed  CD  entitled  The  Day  Everything  Became  Iso- 
lated and  Destroyed.) 

Wrong  puts  an  angry  amphetamine  charge  to  Small 
Parts'  precision,  sending  NoMeansNo  into  clamorous, 
roaring  overdrive  that,  in  its  most  organized  portions, 
approaches  thrash  jazz.  The  lyrics  don't  bother  with 
longwinded  expressions  of  sensitive  emotions:  the  com- 
plete libretto  of  "Brainless  Wonder"  (albeit  not  typical) 
is  "I  need  lunch/Feed  me  now/I  need  lunch/Where's  my 
break?!!!"  The  album's  occasional  descents  into  mere 
punk  are  more  often  than  not  disappointingly  plain,  but 
tracks  like  "The  End  of  All  Things"  and  "Big  Dick" 
are  bracingly  original  and  utterly  invigorating.  (The  CD 
and  cassette  add  two.)  [i] 

See  also  Jello  Biafra. 

NON 

See  Boyd  Rice. 

NO  TREND 

Teen  Love  EP  (No  Trend)  1983 
Too  Many  Humans  (No  Trend)  1 984 
A  Dozen  Dead  Roses  (No  Trend)  1985 


Heart  of  Darkness  EP  (Widowspeak)  1985 

When  Death  Won't  Solve  Your  Problems  (Widowspeak) 

1986 
Tritonian  Nash-Vegas  Polyester  Complex  (Touch  and  Go) 

1986 

No  Trend  clunked  around  Washington  DC  in  the 
'80s,  releasing  a  number  of  wildly  inconsistent  records 
in  the  process.  The  Teen  Love  EP,  a  fun  four-song 
12-inch,  has  the  off-kilter  and  terrific  "Mass  Steriliza- 
tion Caused  by  Venereal  Disease,"  a  Flipperesque  pan- 
demonium feast  punctuated  by  the  simple  lyrics  of  the 
title.  What  follows  is  the  bumbling  "Die,"  a  song  not 
all  that  dissimilar  from  PiL's  "Death  Disco."  The  flip- 
side  contains  the  lengthy,  snidely  vituperative  "Teen 
Love." 

After  that  promising  beginning,  Too  Many  Humans 
succumbs  to  abject  hero  worship,  as  the  group  kneels 
before  Public  Image's  Metal  Box  altar.  Toss  in  Flipper, 
Alien  Sex  Fiend  and,  in  one  case,  Negativland  and 
you've  got  No  Trend's  recipe  here.  The  Flipperish  songs 
include  heavily  reverbed  vocals  (just  like  Flipper),  and 
the  PiL-isms  feature  blatant  Levene  and  Lydon 
imitations — albeit  pretty  good  ones.  Think  about  the 
original  combos  real  hard  and  you  won't  need  to  hear 
this  record. 

Lydia  Lunch  made  a  guest  appearance  on  A  Dozen 
Dead  Roses  and  then  joined  forces  with  the  group  for  a 
10-mch  EP,  Heart  of  Darkness.  Her  label,  Widows- 
peak,  also  released  a  No  Trend  compilation,  When 
Death  Won't  Solve  Your  Problems.  All  of  which  led 
up  to  Tritonian  Nash,  a  thoroughly  amazing  chunk  of 
plastic  crammed  full  of  surprises,  including  a  horn  sec- 
tion, bells,  a  cellist,  guitarists  who  don't  want  to  be 
Keith  Levene  and  a  sorely  needed  sense  of  humor.  Start 
to  finish,  Tritonian  Nash  is  a  nearly  indescribable  aural 
romp  of  punk,  funk  and  pop,  with  dashes  of  lounge 
music  and  some  dreadful  country  twinges.  Find  this 
record  and  buy  it.  [icmj 

See  also  Lydia  Lunch. 

NOVA  MOB 

See  Grant  Hart, 

NOYES  BROTHERS 

See  Spherical  Objects. 

GARY  NUMAN 

The  Pleasure  Principle  (Atco)  1 979  * 

Telekon(Atco)  1980s 

Living  Ornaments  79  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1981 

Living  Ornaments  '80  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 981 

Dance  (Atco)  1981  • 

I,  Assassin  (Atco)  1 982  • 

New  Man  Numan:  The  Best  of  Gary  Numan  (nr/TV) 

1982 

Warriors  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 983  • 
Berserker  (nr/Numa)  1 984 
White  Noise-Live  (nr/Numa)  1985 
The  Fury  (nr/Numa)  1 985  • 
Strange  Charm  (nr/Numa)  1 986  * 
Exhibition  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 987  • 
Metal  Rhythm  (nr/lilegal)  1 988  • 
New  Anger  (IRS)  1 989  • 


472 


Selection  EP  [CD|  (nr/Beggans  Banquet)  1989  © 
Hie  Skin  Mechanic  {IRS)  1 989  • 
The  Collection  (nr/Castie  Comm.)  1 989  • 
Outiand  (IRS)  1991  <f> 

Tubeway  Army  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 978  (nr/Fame) 

1983® 

first  Album  (Atco)  1981 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit]  1987 

& 

ARMY 

Replicas  {Atco)  1 979  • 

The  Plan  1 978  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1 984  • 

The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 989  • 

HEART  FEATURING 
GARY  NUMAN 

Radio  Heart  (nr/NBR)  1987® 

SHARPE  AND  NUMAN 

Automatic  (nr/Polydor)  1989  ® 

DRAMATIS 

For  Future  Reference  (nr/Rocket)  1 981 

Gary  Numan  (Webb)  originally  rose  to  UK  promi- 
nence in  1979  with  a  frigid  synthesizer  dance  hit,  "Are 
'Friends'  Electric?"  His  basic  sound — subsequently 
very  influential  in  the  dance  music  and  new  romantic 
spheres — began  with  precise,  antiseptic  synth  handling 
much  of  the  instrumental  work,  topped  off  with  lobot- 
omized  deadpan  vocals  singing  science-fiction  lyncs. 

His  first  album,  Tubeway  Army  (released  in  Amer- 
ica three  years  later  as  First  Album),  features  primitive 
electronics  and  production  that  show  some  flair,  though 
guitars  dominate  and  compositions  are  locked  into  the 
three-minute  post-punk  structure.  Shifting  the  band's 
billing,  Replicas,  on  which  synth  emerges  as  the  dom- 
inant instrument,  includes  "Are  'Friends'  Electric?" 
and  reached  the  top  of  the  British  charts.  A  composite 
of  material  from  J.G.  Ballard  novels,  Germanic  ici- 
ness  and  '60s  pop,  the  album  forged  a  style  that  was 
stunningly  new  at  the  time  but  now  sounds  hopelessly 
dated. 

The  Pleasure  Principle,  Numan' s  first  release  un- 
der his  own  name,  contains  the  international  hit  "Cars" 
and  continued  Numan' s  maturing  love  affair  with  the 
synthesizer.  His  interest  in  technology  showed  itself  to 
be  increasing  in  both  the  lyrics  and  the  music.  Telekon 
brought  guitar  noticeably  back  into  the  mix.  The  songs 
raised  Numan's  despondent  romanticism  to  new  heights 
(depths?),  permeated  by  doom  and  synthetic  syncopa- 
tion. 

Living  Ornaments  *79  and  Living  Ornaments  '80, 
each  of  which  documents  a  London  gig  from  the  spec- 
ified year,  were  issued  separately  as  well  as  in  a  special 
boxed  set.  (All  three  were,  by  plan,  quickly  deleted.) 
Performances  give  energy  to  the  songs,  and  Numan' s 
live  voice  is  frequently  more  impassioned  than  his  stu- 
dio persona' s  The  1979  LP  features  synthesizer  pyro- 
technics by  Uitravox's  Billy  Currie  that  are  unmatched 
on  the  1980  recording. 

Dance  was  Numan' s  first  outing  following  the  dis- 
banding of  his  backup  group  and  his  retirement  from 
touring.  It  exposes  a  flair  for  ironic  lyrics  and  a  most 
undanceable  set  of  dance  tunes,  downplaying  the  beat 
and  showing  new  interest  in  melodies.  Unfortunately,  I, 


Assassin  suggests  that  Numan  had  hit  a  stylistic  quan- 
dary »  as  it  tended  back  towards  the  sound  of  his  hits 
but — in  the  wake  of  new  fashions — without  any  sense  of 
contemporary  style.  Whereas  Measure  Principle  was 
the  vanguard  of  the  future,  I,  Assassin  borders  on  nos- 
talgia. 

Nunian's  former  backing  group  became  Dramatis, 
and  tried  a  little  of  everything — mock  symphonies, 
electro-disco,  mainstream  pop — on  the  mistitled  For 
Future  Reference.  Predictably,  the  only  track  worth  a 
toss  is  the  one  on  which  Numan  adds  his  deadpan  sig- 
nature to  an  otherwise  faceless  outfit. 

Subsequently  stumped  for  a  way  to  revive  his  flag- 
ging career,  Numan  made  the  roundly  dismissed,  almost 
laughable  Warriors.  He  was  much  better  served  by  the 
TV  best-of  and,  surprisingly,  a  collection  of  pre- 
synthesizer  riff-rockers  dating  from  1978.  Hie  dozen 
previously  unreleased  guitar-based  demos  on  The  Plan 
are  punky  but  clear  and  nonaggressive,  providing  an 
unassuming  setting  for  Gazza's  characteristically  robotic 
voice  and  ridiculous  lyrics,  free  of  the  formulaic  setting 
that  typified  his  early  hits,  some  of  which  clearly  had 
their  beginnings  in  this  material.  (Three  of  the  songs 
were  re-recorded  with  keyboards  for  Tubeway  Army. ) 
Funny  stuff  that  holds  up  quite  well  and  proves  he  hasn't 
always  been  a  bozo. 

Numan  then  began  issuing  albums  and  singles  on  his 
own  Numa  label,  feeding  faithful  UK  fans,  who  re- 
sponded by  sending  every  new  item  briefly  into  the 
lower  ends  of  the  charts.  He  began  an  occasional  col- 
laboration with  Shakatak  keyboardist  Bill  Sharpe,  pro- 
ducing a  neat  1985  single  ("Change  Your  Mind")  and 
an  album  four  years  later. 

Abiding  interest  in  Numan' s  back  catalogue 
prompted  the  1987  release  of  a  comprehensive  two-disc, 
25-cut  (studio  and  live)  career  summary,  Exhibition. 
(Selection  offers  a  sampling  of  classics  from  the  anthol- 
ogy, including  an  impressive  Zeus  B .  Held  overhaul  of 
"Cars,"  "Down  in  the  Park,"  "We  Are  Glass"  and 
three  others.  The  unrelated  Collection  is  also  a  two- 
record  compilation;  there's  some  overlap  with  Exhibi- 
tion, but  the  focus  is  on  familiar  LP  tracks  rather  than 
hit  singles.) 

In  an  unsuccessful  bid  to  move  his  career  out  of  its 
rut,  Numan  got  a  new  record  deal  and  made  Metal 
Rhythm  (released  in  the  US,  with  two  swapped  tracks 
and  a  remix,  as  New  Anger).  Except  for  soulful  female 
backing  vocals  and  technical  improvements  that  bring 
them  into  line  with  contemporary  electro-dance  sound 
(if  not  style — Numan1  s  hip-hop  era  has  yet  to  begin), 
Numan' s  new  songs  are  indistinguishable  from  his  old 
ones.  (And  the  attempted  appropriation  of  David 
Byrne's  Talking  Heads  voice  is  no  benefit.) 

Recorded  live  at  one  London  show  in  September 
1988,  The  Skin  Mechanic  adds  another  concert  album 
to  Numan' s  catalogue  with  a  program  of  hits  (including 
the  umpteenth  "Down  in  the  Park"  and  "Cars"  as  well 
as  "New  Anger"  and  1986's  "I  Can't  Stop")  played 
with  an  eight-piece  band. 

Beggars  Banquet  has  issued  many  of  Numan' s  orig- 
inal albums  on  twofer  CDs,  pairing  The  Plan  with  Rep- 
licas, Tubeway  Army  with  Dance,  Pleasure  Principle 
with  Warriors  and  Telekon  with  I,  Assassin.  Com- 
pletists  may  also  feel  compelled  to  shell  out  for  The 
Peel  Sessions  EP,  three  Tubeway  Army  songs  ("Me  I 


473 


Disconnect  from  You,"  "Down  in  the  Park"  and  "I 
Nearly  Married  a  Human")  recorded  in  January  1979, 
or  the  superseding  Peel  Sessions  Album,  which  adds  a 
second  batch,  four  post- Army  efforts  recorded  eight 
months  later.  [sg/i] 


NUNS 

The  Nuns  (Posh  Boy-Bomp!)  1 980 
Rumania  (PVC)  1986 

For  a  brief  moment  in  the  late  '70s,  it  seemed  as  if 
the  Nuns  might  be  the  catalyst  for  a  successful  new 
wave/punk  scene  in  San  Francisco*  Their  early  days 
earned  media  praise  and  they  owned  a  rabid  local  cult 
following,  but  time  quickly  passed  them  by.  Aggressive 
musicianship  and  demanding  vocals — especially  Jenni- 
fer Miro's  ice-cold,  intense  singing — make  the  first  al- 
bum (which  the  group  had  to  reform  to  record)  well 
worth  hearing.  Lyrically,  the  Nuns  spoke  to  the  deca- 
dent side  of  life  as  well  as  anyone,  with  such  tales  as 
"Wild,"  "Child  Molester"  and  "Suicide  Child." 

The  Nuns  inexplicably  reformed  again,  with  much 
the  same  lineup,  for  another,  more  innocuous,  album 
six  years  later.  Miro  and  Jeff  Olener  share  the  vocals  on 
Rumania,  a  sophisticated  dance  record  that  generally 
resembles  a  tasteful  version  of  the  group  Berlin.  Al- 
though he's  evidently  serious,  Olener's  idiotic  rnelodra- 
matics  suggest  Fred  Schneider  as  a  sarcastic  lounge 
sleaze,  while  the  far  more  talented  Miro  melds  nicely 
with  the  lightweight  synthesizer  concoctions.  Enjoy  her 
solo  turns  here,  but  ignore  the  rest.  [cpl/i] 

See  also  Rank  and  File. 


NURSE  WITH  WOUND 

Chance  Meeting  of  a  Sewing  Machine  and  an  Umbrella 

on  a  Dissecting  Table  (nr/United  Dairies)  1 979  ® 
To  the  Quiet  Men  from  a  Tiny  Girl  {nr/United  Dairies) 

1980® 

Merzbild  Schwet  (nr/United  Dairies)  1  980  ® 
Insect  and  Individual  Silenced  (nr/United  Dairies)  1981 
Homotopy  to  Marie  (nr/United  Dairies)  1 982 
Ostranenie  1 91 3  (nr/Third  Mind)  1 983 
Gyllenskold,  Gijerstam  and  I  at  Rydberg's  EP  (Bel.  Laylah) 

1983 

Brained  by  Falling  Masonry  EP  (Bel.  Laylah)  1984 
Sylvie  and  Babs  Hi-Fi  Companion  (Bel.  Laylah)  1985  • 
Automating  Vol.  1  (nr/United  Dairies)  1986 
Spiral  Insana  (Hoi.  Torso)  1987 
Drunk  with  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountains  (nr/United 

Dairies)  1 987 
Alas  the  Madonna  Does  Not  Function  EP  (nr/United 

Dairies)  1 988 

Soliloquy  for  Lilith  (nr/ldle  Hole)  1 988 
Automating  Vol.  2  (nr/United  Dairies)  1988 
Present  the  Sisters  of  Pataphysics  (nr/ldle  Hole)  1 988 
A  Sucked  Orange  (nr/Unrted  Dairies)  1 989  ® 
Cooloorta  Moon  EP  (nr/ldle  Hole)  1989 
Gyllenskold/Brained  (Bel.  Laylah)  1989  « 
Soliloquy  for  Lilith  Parts  5/6  (nr/ldle  Hole)  1 989 
Psilotripitaka  [CD]  (nr/United  Dairies)  1990  ® 

NURSE  WITH 
WOUND/ORGANUM 

A  Missing  Sense  (nr/United  Dairies)  1986 


NURSE  WITH  WOUND/ 
CURRENT  93 

Nylon  Coverin'  Body  Smotherin'  [tape]  (nr/United  Dairies) 

1988 

As  a  testament  to  the  random  disorder  and  beauty  of 
life,  London's  Nurse  with  Wound  (Steve  Stapleton) 
functioned  outside  the  normal  musical  channels  for  a 
decade,  experimenting  with  tape  collages  of  disjointed 
phrases,  improvised  music,  electronics  and  found 
sounds  on  a  series  of  intriguing,  provocative,  humorous 
and  frequently  entertaining  self-released  records.  Be- 
tween 1978  and  1988,  Stapleton  collaborated  with  such 
likemmded  sonic  adventurers  as  David  Tibet  of  Current 
93  and  Tony  Wakeford  of  Sol  Invictus  to  produce  a 
prodigious  body  of  work  that  embraces  surrealism  in 
both  content  and  graphics. 

NWW's  debut,  Chance  Meeting  (originally  issued 
in  an  edition  of  500),  welds  introverted,  spacey  guitar  to 
converging  hemispheres  of  intergalactic  blips.  Then, 
like  much  of  the  band's  music,  it  veers  into  sketchy 
doodles:  between  intermittent  lulls  of  humming  and 
buzzing,  there  are  bursts  of  frenzied  screeching,  torture 
chamber  screams,  piano  scales,  women  speaking 
French,  etc. 

To  the  Quiet  Men  from  a  Tiny  Girl  resembles  a 
nest  of  vibrating  insects,  with  clinking  chains,  someone 
practicing  saxophone,  an  operatic  soprano  and  other 
voices.  "Ostranenie"  suggests  a  house  of  a  hundred 
rooms — with  a  different  noise  in  each. 

Merzbild  Schwet  is  as  challenging  as  a  Buiiuel  film, 
with  repeated  lines  (like  "We  have  fallen  silent .  .  .  lost 
the  power  of  speech  .  .  .  our  heads  are  empty  .  .  .")  as 
women  laugh  and  sing.  Other  ingredients:  clanking,  rip- 
ping velcro,  angry  voices  and  something  like  a  sick 
elephant  honking. 

Those  first  three  albums  were  later  reissued  in  a  CD 
boxed  set  (Psilotripitaka),  which  also  includes  Ladles 
Home  Tickler,  another  bizarre  cut-up  collage:  snippets 
of  sappy  tunes,  electrical  noises  and  taunting  laughter. 
Present  the  Sisters  of  Pataphysics  compiles  passages 
from  the  first  three  LPs. 

The  avant  drippings  on  Sylvie  and  Babs — the  most 
guest-laden  NWW  effort,  with  dozens  of  contributors  as 
opposed  to  the  usual  one  or  two — include  more  laughter 
and  repetition  of  the  word  "pardon."  The  two  Auto- 
mating albums  collect  material  from  the  many  compi- 
lations to  which  Nurse  with  Wound  has  contributed. 
Slices  of  show  tunes,  repetitive  background  beats  and 
advice  like  "Never  eat  anything  bigger  than  your  head" 
are  sprinkled  throughout.  Volume  II  addresses  the  hi- 
erarchy of  biological  existence;  one  segment  could  be 
the  soundtrack  for  a  science  fiction  feature  about  giant 
rampaging  tarantulas. 

A  pair  of  12-inch  EPs  paired  as  an  album,  Gyllen- 
skold  bristles  the  coarsest  of  hairs  with  scratching  and 
horror  dungeon  screams  while  Brained  adds  the  de- 
monic voice  of  Clint  Ruin  yet  contains  a  movement  that 
could  accompany  an  underwater  Cousteau  documentary. 

A  Sucked  Orange  offers  20  experimental  vignettes, 
many  of  which  justify  their  titles:  the  scraping  murmur 
of  "Flea  Bite,"  the  repetitive  clank  of  utensils  beneath 
a  spoken  loop  of  "It  ain't  necessarily  so"  on  "It  Just 
Ain't  So,"  the  catchy  ditty  plinked  out  on  "This  Piano 
Can't  Think." 


474 


Soliloquy  for  Lilith  is  Stapleton's  surprising  chef 
d'oeuvre,  a  three-album  box  of  contemplative,  atmo- 
spheric experiments  employing  treatments  of  a  stringed 
instrument  of  his  own  invention. 

Over  time,  however,  the  group's  usual  organized 
chaos  gained  a  certain  predictability.  At  the  end  of  1988, 
Stapleton  retired  to  a  farm  in  Ireland  and  Nurse  with 
Wound  ended  [mg] 

See  also  Current  93. 

NUTTY  BOYS 

See  Madness. 

N.WA  and  the  Posse  (Macola)  1987 
Straight  Outta  Compton  (Ruthless-Priority}  1 988  • 
100  Miles  and  Runnin'  EP  (Ruthless-Priority)  1990  • 
Niggaz4Life  (Ruthless-Priority)  1991  • 

Eazy-Duz-it  (Ruthless-Priority)  1988  ® 
Brother  Arab  (Orpheus)  1 989  ® 

THE  D.O.C. 

No  One  Can  Do  It  Better  (Ruthless-Atlantic)  1989  ® 

ICE  CUBE 

AmeriKKKa's  Most  Wanted  (Priority)  1990  ® 
Kill  at  Will  (Priority)  1990® 

Like  any  grassroots  movement,  the  hard  end  of  rap 
music  attracts  a  diversity  of  views  and  motives.  Where 
Public  Enemy  brings  some  intellectual  analysis  to  its 
militant  demands  for  African- American  justice,  N.W.A. 
(Niggas  With  Attitude)  give  voice  to  urban  alienation 
and  black  rage,  offering  an  unpoliticized  expression  of 
their  own  lives  and  fantasies.  By  offering  a  vast  audi- 
ence of  disaffected  young  people  an  unvarnished  and 
inherently  glamorized  version  of  brutal  street  life,  this 
potent  crew  from  Compton  (south  of  central  Los  Ange- 
les) has  managed  to  sell  loads  of  records,  pique  gov- 
ernmental interest  and  raise  disturbing  issues  about  the 
reality  quotient  in  rhymes  about  violence,  misogyny  and 
sociopathic  behavior. 

N.W.A.  and  the  Posse  is  a  loose  and  funky  warm- 
up,  showcasing  the  young  crew — Eazy-E,  Ice  Cube, 
Arabian  Prince,  M.C.  Ren,  etc. — in  various  permuta- 
tions rapping  about  cars,  girls  and  booze  over  Dr.  Dre's 
on-the-money  Call-style  backing  tracks.  Although  much 
of  the  record  is  strictly  for  fun  ( "Drink  It  Up"  is  a  goofy 
party  number  sung  to  the  tune  of  *  Twist  and  Shout*'; 
'Tat  Girl"  tells  a  dumb  story  about  an  overzealous, 
overweight  gal),  Eazy-E's  autobiographical  "Boyz-n- 
the  Hood"  and  the  nonjudgmental  ''Dope  Man"  aptly 
demonstrate  the  group's  tougher  side  Although  deliv- 
ered as  a  TV  joke,  "Panic  Zone"  elevates  Compton  to 
a  mythological  domain  over  which  N.W.A.  prevails. 

Beginning  with  the  classic  "Crazy  motherfucker 
named  Ice  Cube/From  the  gang  called  Niggas  With  At- 
titude," the  blistering  Straight  Outta  Compton  defines 
gangsta  style,  laying  down  a  shockingly  fearless  tough- 
guy  line,  demanding  respect  and  threatening  violence  at 
every  turn.  "Do  I  look  like  a  motherfucking  role  mod- 
el?," asks  Ice  Cube  m  "Gangsta  Gangsta":  "To  a  kid 
looking  up  to  me  life  ain't  nothin  but  bitches  and 


money.1*  (His  nearly  upstanding  "'Express  Yourself," 
however,  confuses  matters  completely.)  The  controver- 
sial " tha  Police,"  a  mock  trial  of  the  boys  in  blue, 

promises  armed  resistance  to  unwarranted  hassles,  un- 
derscoring the  point  with  the  sound  of  gunshots. 
Whether  this  hyper-drama  is  meant  to  be  taken  seriously 
or  not,  the  distinction — created  by  first-person  delivery 
of  realistic  tales  that  shift  without  blinking  from  hustling 
women  at  parties  to  shooting  people  for  fun — is  obvi- 
ously lost  on  some  listeners. 

Exploiting  their  notoriety  as  FBI-certified  outlaws, 
N.W  A — no  longer  numbering  Ice  Cube  in  the  posse — 
rap  a  high-tension  action  adventure  on  the  title  track  of 
100  Miles  and  Runnin',  which  also  includes  "Sa  Prize 

(Part  2),"  a  crudely  theatrical  continuation  of  ** tha 

Police."  But  any  hope  of  a  political  consciousness  tak- 
ing hold  is  dashed  by  "Just  Don't  Bite  It,"  a  detailed 
discussion  of  fellatio,  and  the  pointlessness  of  the 
record's  two  other  cuts. 

On  his  own  album,  Eazy-E  (Enc  Wright)  reveals 
himself  to  be  a  surprisingly  ineffectual  rapper,  an  un- 
convincing hothead  and  would-be  sex  machine  who 
sounds  like  the  victim  of  peer  pressure  Eazy-Duz-It 
demonstrates  E's  ready  willingness  to  restrain  himself 
(something  that  has  evidently  never  occurred  to  Ice 
Cube)  and  make  commercial  concessions  (Cube's  got 
him  beat  there,  with  an  absurd  cable-TV  beer  ad  that 
rhymes  "malt  liquor"  and  "makes  your  jimmy  thick- 
er") Eazy's  weedy  voice  suits  meaningless  tripe  like 
"We  Want  Eazy,"  "Radio"  and  *Tmma  Break  It 
Down"  on  the  cleaned-up  side,  but  he  sounds  forced 
and  fake  on  the  nasty  discussions  of  crime  ("Nobody 
Move,"  a  rap  over  Yeliowman's  toast  of  the  same 
name)  and  sex  ("Still  Talkm',"  which  contains  such 
charming  remarks  as  "I  might  be  a  woman-beater  but 
I'm  not  a  pussy-eater")  that  fill  the  album's  Street  Side. 

With  one  memorably  bad  pun  ("She's  Got  a  Big 
Posse,"  a  dating  nightmare)  the  understated  Brother 
Arab  is  a  nonconfrontational  album  with  a  couple  of 
positive  doses  of  reality  ("Let  the  Good  Times  Roll 
(Nickel  Bag),"  "It's  a  Dope  Thang")  amid  the  macho 
sex  and  party  rhymes.  While  Arabian  Prince  has  dis- 
tinctive beats  and  a  quiet  authority  to  his  voice,  he  isn't 
an  inventive  enough  rhymer,  and  his  LP  is  easy  to  over- 
look 

The  D.O.C.,  another  member  of  the  N.W.A  fam- 
ily, released  only  one  album  before  his  rhyming  career 
was  derailed  in  a  near-fatal  car  crash,  but  it's  a  good 
one.  Sharply  produced  (using  live  musicians  as  well  as 
transistor  beats)  by  Dr.  Dre,  No  One  Can  Do  It 
Better — with  guest  spots  by  the  entire  clan,  from 
Eazy-E  and  Ice  Cube  to  Michel'le — is  a  symphony  of 
scratching  and  party  funk  that  avoids  politics  to  make  a 
more  general  cultural  statement. 

Quitting  N.W.A  after  a  management  dispute,  Ice 
Cube  (Oshea  Jackson)  hooked  up  with  Public  Enemy 
and  the  Bomb  Squad  and  went  solo,  playing  his  vi- 
ciously coldhearted  punk  role  to  the  hilt  on  Ameri- 
KKKa's Most  Wanted.  Overdoing  it  on  every  level — 
attitude,  misogyny,  gunplay,  crude  sexuality  and 
language — the  brilliantly  produced  record  is  unarguably 
powerful  and  frequently  incisive  in  its  venomous  stabs 
at  various  targets  (taking  as  many  haphazard  pot  shots 
as  Fear  of  a  Black  Planet)  and  expressions  of  incoher- 
ent rage.  But  the  victimization  of  women  and  the  glo- 


475 


rification  of  violence  makes  this  platinum-selling 
outpouring  of  profound  sociopathy  a  deeply  unsettling 
cultural  achievement. 

Kill  at  Will  consists  of  two  LP  remixes  and  four 
new  tracks,  including  the  lighthearted  "Jackin'  for 
Beats"  (which  bites  EPMD,  PE,  Digital  Underground, 
L.L.  Cool  J  and  other  peers)  and  the  devastating  "Dead 
Homiez,"  solemnly  contemplating  the  murder  of  a 
friend  over  an  evocative  mix  of  horn,  guitar  and  piano. 

[i] 

JUDY  NYLON 

Pal  Judy  (nr/On-U  Sound)  1982  [tape]  (ROSR)  1990 

SNATCH 

Snakh  EP  (nr/Fehsh)  1980 
Snatch  (nr/Pandemonium)  1983 

Abandoning  New  York  for  London,  no-wave  singer 
Judy  Nylon  teamed  with  Pat  Palladin  to  form  Snatch, 
ultimately  making  the  German-inspired  sound  collage 


"R.A.F."  with  Brian  Eno,  which  appeared  on  the 
B-side  of  his  "King's  Lead  Hat"  45.  The  Snatch  EP 
features  Nylon  and  Palladin  teaming  up  for  a  pseudo- 
Tom  Waits  blues  drone  called  "Shopping  for  Clothes" 
and  the  softly  electronic  ballad,  "Joey,"  as  well  as 
"Red  Army,"  which  imitates  the  technique  and  style  of 
"R.A.F."  Clever  and  inventive,  the  work  has  gentle 
strength,  bitter  humor  and  a  thoroughly  jaundiced 
worldview. 

Pal  Judy,  which  she  co-produced  with  Adrian  Sher- 
wood, grafts  Snatch's  blues  poetics  and  electronic  com- 
positional structures  onto  fairly  straightforward  rock 
music.  The  result — a  moody,  adeptly  created  and  per- 
formed record  suggestive  of  Patti  Smith — smacks  of 
modernized  cocktail-lounge  music  (in  the  best  tradition 
of  that  genre).  Nylon's  originals  are  acrid  and  funny  in 
their  scope,  but  the  record  is  stolen  by  her  laconic, 
opiated  rendition  of  * ' Jailhouse  Rock. ' '  [sg] 

See  also  Johnny  Thunders. 


476 


PHILIP  OAKEY  &  GIORGIO 
MORODER 

See  Human  League. 

Je  Ka  Jo  (nrvVirgin)  1983 
Miiiki  Plus  (nr/Wgin)  1983 
Juju  Jubilee  (Shanachie)  1 985  • 
Get  Yer  Jujus  Out  (Rykodisc)  1 989  <j> 

Along  with  King  Sunny  Ade,  Chief  Commander 
Ebenezer  Obey  dominates  the  juju  music  genre,  that 
beautiful,  spiritual  and  eminently  danceable  combination 
of  traditional  chants,  hymns,  highlife,  rock  and  country- 
western.  An  easy  way  to  think  of  juju  is  as  inverted  West- 
ern pop:  interlocking  guitars  function  as  rhythm 
instruments  while  numerous  drummers  take  on  the  me- 
lodic responsibilities.  Born  in  Western  Nigeria  in  1942, 
Obey  joined  his  first  professional  band,  the  Fatai  Rolling 
Dollars,  in  1958.  By  1963  he  had  formed  his  own  group, 
and  has  since  released  over  90  singles  and  albums. 

Obey  calls  his  personal  style  the  miliki  (enjoyment) 
sound.  Beginning  where  noted  juju  entertainer  LK.  Di- 
aro  left  off,  Obey  has  drawn  in  such  Western  elements 
as  multiple  guitars  and  a  Hawaiian  steel  guitar  soloist, 
adding  them  to  the  traditional  rhythmic  fundament. 
Songs  tend  to  reflect  Obey's  strong  Christian  beliefs  as 
well  as  the  common  problems  (often  economic)  of 
everyday  life. 

No  record  could  do  justice  to  the  endlessly  intense 
melodic  and  rhythmic  variations  heard  during  one  of 
Obey's  all-night  concerts.  (His  touring  band  is  fifteen 
members  strong.)  Most  juju  albums  contain  side-long 
songs,  but  even  those  rarely  put  across  the  scope  of  a 
single  number.  Je  Ka  Jo  and  Miliki  Plus  are  similar  to 
Obey's  many  Nigerian  records;  Jubilee  is  a  sampler 
package — edited  versions  of  eight  tunes — that  displays 
Obey's  progression  from  grassroots  juju  to  ever-more- 
sophisticated  compositions.  Unfortunately,  it  suffers 
from  a  severe  case  of  enjoyment  interruptus. 

Recorded  onstage  in  exotic  Seattle  (1987)  with  his 
Inter-Reformers  Band,  Get  Yer  Jujus  Out  delivers  the 
live  goods,  as  Obey  weaves  a  sinuous  spell  for  nearly  70 
minutes.  Featuring  nine  songs  from  his  scores  of  Nige- 
rian records,  the  music  rolls  with  a  hipshaking  pan- 
African  lilt  informed  by  the  guitar  styles  of  soukous, 
highlife  and,  of  course,  juju.  [rg] 

RIC  OCASEK 

See  Cars, 

OCEAN  BLUE 

The  Ocean  Blue  (Sire-Reprise)  1 989  « 

Despite  echoes  of  Echo  and  the  Bunnymen,  Ultra- 
vox  and  other  post-Roxy  Britons,  this  tasteful  and 


skilled  quartet  actually  hails  from  central  Pennsylvania. 
Energetically  playing  pristine  art-pop  of  varying  char- 
acter (although  some  of  the  tracks  are  rather  styleless), 
the  Ocean  Blue  comes  up  with  a  few  winners  on  the 
second  side  of  its  Mark  Opitz-produced  debut,  but  is 
otherwise  too  mild-mannered  to  matter.  The  group  ob- 
viously has  all  the  necessary  artistic  tools  in  hand,  but 
will  need  a  stronger  vision  to  create  a  really  striking 
record.  [i] 


SINEAD  O'CONNOR 

The  Lion  and  the  Cobra  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1987  ® 
I  Do  Not  Want  What  I  Haven't  Got  (Ensign-Chrysalis) 

1990® 

It's  been  a  while  since  a  newcomer  burst  onto  the 
scene  with  quite  as  much  impact  as  this  amazingly  tal- 
ented young  Dubliner.  With  masterful  ability  to  switch 
gears  between  the  delicate  and  the  pompous  or  the  direct 
and  the  ambiguous,  O'Connor  piles  bits  of  hard  rock, 
funk,  '70s~style  spaciness  and  Celtic  traditionalism  into 
her  self-produced  debut  album.  Delivering  deliberately 
vague  lyrics  that  manage  to  at  least  sound  poetic, 
O'Connor  wails,  shrieks,  whispers,  croons,  snarls  and 
bellows  with  the  skill  and  confidence  of  a  veteran.  Al- 
though The  Lion  and  the  Cohra  doesn't  display  much 
sophistication  in  the  way  of  musical  skills — the  songs 
are  pretty  basic — her  creativity  and  expressiveness  are 
quite  impressive.  It  wouldn't  hurt  if  she  did  lighten  up  a 
bit,  but  it's  rare  to  hear  such  a  young  artist  (20  when  the 
LP  was  recorded)  so  clearly  in  control;  if  the  six-and- 
a-half-minute  "Troy"  sounds  slow  and  laborious,  she 
probably  wanted  it  that  way. 

As  grand  an  artistic  and  commercial  success  as  the 
debut  was,  O'Connor  was  just  warming  up.  I  Do  Not 
Want  What  I  Haven't  Got,  again  self-produced, 
dwarfs  its  predecessor  in  terms  of  creative  ambition  and 
achievement.  Amazingly,  this  harrowingly  personal  tes- 
tament to  the  tumult  in  her  life  sold  two  million  copies 
in  its  first  month  of  release,  largely  on  the  strength  of 
Prince's  "Nothing  Compares  2  U,"  ironically  one  of 
the  record's  weakest  efforts.  Again  refusing  to  be  type- 
cast, O'Connor  makes  a  warm  orchestral  bed  for  "Three 
Babies,"  delivers  the  otherwise  a  cappella  "I  Am 
Stretched  on  Your  Grave"  over  a  clattering  hip-hop 
beat,  conjures  up  catchy  pop-rock  for  "The  Emperor's 
New  Clothes,"  gathers  thickly  chugging  electric  guitars 
for  "Jump  in  the  River"  and  sings  "Black  Boys  on 
Mopeds" — a  topical  indictment  of  English  hypocrisy — 
as  acoustic  folk.  But  such  diversity  is  no  impediment  to 
the  album's  overall  impact.  Unified  by  the  razor-sharp 
intensity  of  her  lyrics  and  the  staggering  power  of  her 
vocals,  I  Do  Not  Want  What  I  Haven't  Got  is  an 
absolute  masterpiece.  [dgs/i] 

See  also  U2. 


477 


OF  CABBAGES  AND  KINGS 

Of  Cabbages  and  Kings  (Purge/Sound  League)  1 987 
Face  (Purge/Sound  League)  1988 
Basic  Pain  Basic  Pleasure  (Triple  X)  1 990 

Evolved  from  early-*80s  Chicago-to-New  York 
transplants  the  Bag  People  (whose  one  undistributed  45 
was  seemingly  pressed  solely  for  the  jukebox  at  their 
local  Brooklyn  bar),  guitarist  Carolyn  Master  reassem- 
bled Of  Cabbages  and  Kings  in  1985  from  parts  scat- 
tered to  Swans,  Foetus,  Glenn  Branca,  etc.  Playing  only 
sporadically  due  to  their  outside  commitments,  they 
gradually  coalesced  into  a  focused  unit,  although  Ted 
Parsons  bailed  out  after  the  second  record  (for  his  full- 
time  group  Prong)  to  be  replaced  by  ex-Live  Skull/Rum 
drummer  Rich  Hutchins  (also  now  departed);  Diane 
Wlezien,  still  a  Chi-based  blues  chanteuse,  remains  a 
cameo  vocalist  both  live  and  on  record.  Effectively,  the 
core  of  OCAK  is  the  duo  of  Master  and  bassist/singer 
Algis  Kizys  (a  Swan  and  sometime  Branca  associate) 
plus  a  drummer. 

Decidedly  unprolific  and  rare  to  perform,  OCAK's 
highly  visceral  attack  is  founded  on  a  vivid  technical 
mastery  owing  little  to  the  commonly  revered  tenets  of 
speed  and/or  flash,  instead  conjuring  a  brutal,  primal 
power  and  intensity  virtually  unmatched  in  modern  mu- 
sic, with  Kizys'  bone-rattling  semi-chorded  playing  ren- 
dering most  contemporary  rhythms  effete,  even  as 
Master's  guitar  shards  swirl  about  the  edges  like  razors 
in  a  tornado. 

Of  Cabbages  and  Kings  delivers  a  dizzying  pan- 
orama of  dark  surrealistic  desire  and  fear — both  in  sound 
and  lyric — the  latter  including  a  soundtracked  snippet  of 
Baudelaire.  The  seven-song  Face  delves  deeper  into  the 
group's  grueling,  obsessive  world,  stretching  the  music 
into  less  predictable  shapes  and  ingesting  piano  and  ac- 
cordion while  reintroducing  Master  as  a  vocalist.  Com- 
paratively quiet  in  spots  but  no  less  redolent  of  dis/ 
unease,  it  (like  the  first  record)  includes  radical  updates 
of  Bag  People  material,  reinterpreted  in  Cabbage  style 
as  paranoid  introspection,  more  like  the  ruminations  of 
a  self-loathing  rape  victim  than  the  simpleminded  lurid 
voyeurism  so  common  in  deathmetal  and  elsewhere. 
Two  of  the  eight  songs  on  Basic  Pain  Basic  Pleasure 
were  previously  issued  on  a  45  and  a  compilation;  what 
the  album  lacks  in  length  it  more  than  makes  up  in 
breadth,  offering  the  band's  crispest  (if  not  most  phys- 
ically imposing)  production  and  arrangements,  as  well 
as  increased  variety  of  approach.  Hutchins  is  neither  as 
creative  nor  as  aggressively  captivating  a  drummer  as 
Parsons,  but  songs  like  the  moody,  guitarless  "Crawl 
Again"  illustrate  yet  more  facets  of  a  band  too  facilely 
dismissed  as  "mere"  New  York  noisemongers.  [ab] 

See  also  Live  Skull,  Swans. 


SEAN  O'HAGAN 

See  Microdisney. 

OH-OK 

Wow  Mini  Album  EP  (DB)  1 982 
Furthermore  What  EP  (DB)  1 983 

BUZZ  OF  DELIGHT 

Sound  Castles  EP  (DB)  1984 


HOLIDAY 

Hello  EP  (Nightshade)  1987 

Make  Djibouti  EP  (Texas  Hotel)  1 988 
Swollen  (Texas  Hotel)  1 990 

After  hearing  so  many  art  bands  buried  in  their  own 
sense  of  self-importance,  it's  refreshing  to  bask  in  the 
modesty  of  Athens'  Oh-OK.  Like  R.E.M.  (with  whom 
they  share  a  family  tie),  this  humble  group  put  their 
elliptical  ideas  over  as  much  by  being  good  guys  as 
anything  else. 

Oh-OK  was  a  guitarless  trio  on  the  7-inch  Wow, 
offering  four  clever  and  tuneful  songs  that  get  their  drive 
from  Lynda  (sister  of  Michael)  Stipe's  pumping  bass 
and  their  charm  from  Linda  Hopper's  breathy  singing:  a 
delightful  mix  of  Pylon  and  the  female  side  of  the 
B-52*s. 

With  a  new  drummer  and  guitarist  Matthew  Sweet 
joining  Hopper  and  Stipe,  Furthermore  What  (a  six- 
song  12-inch,  co-produced  by  Mitch  Easter)  has  dreamy 
melodies,  oblique  lyrics,  ringing  guitars — it  is  the  New 
South,  after  all — and  quirky,  minimalist  arrangements 
that  hover  just  outside  the  pop  realm.  This  kind  of  un- 
dersell rarely  ascends  to  greatness,  but  Oh-OK  is  a  dis- 
tinctly fresh  pleasure. 

Following  Oh-OK,  Sweet  formed  the  Buzz  of  De- 
light, a  sugary  pop  duo,  with  original  Oh-OK  drummer 
David  Pierce.  The  six  finely  wrought  tunes  on  Sound 
Castles  capture  the  essence  of  airy  Southern  power-pop 
and  are  ultimately  delightful. 

Hopper,  meanwhile,  formed  Holiday  with  Lynn 
Blakey  (also  a  singer/guitarist/songwriter)  and  a  rhythm 
section.  Recorded  in  1985,  the  12-inch  Hello  makes 
good  use  of  the  women's  vocal  interplay  on  five  light 
and  sprightly  songs  that  have  an  appealmgly  casual 
sense  of  accomplishment.  (More  recently,  Hopper  has 
been  fronting  a  new  quartet  that  changed  its  name  from 
Homemade  Sister  to  Swell.) 

Although  her  name  is  Lynda  L.  Limner,  the  Hetch 
Hetchy  singer  with  a  sometimes  harsh  loud-soft-loud 
style  is  the  selfsame  Stipe  sister.  (Michael  produced  the 
trio's  six-song  debut.)  From  the  lightly  laughing  clarinet 
that  opens  "Retarded  Camel"  through  chunks  of  darkly 
deep  guitar  and  lots  of  smooth  new  music  electronic 
keyboards,  the  melodic  group — named  after  a  valley  in 
Yosemite  National  Park — creates  the  kind  of  lightly  arty 
pop-rock  that  college  radio  eats  for  breakfast,  lunch  and 
dessert. 

With  production  by  Hugo  Largo's  Tim  Sommer, 
Hetch  Hetchy — now  a  duo  of  Limner  (vocals,  bass, 
guitar  and  keyboards)  and  Jay  Totty  (bass  and  guitar), 
assisted  by  local  singers  and  players — moves  into  taste- 
fully restrained  atmospheric  vagueness  on  Swollen. 
Some  of  the  songs  use  drams  and  a  few  ("Satanette," 
"Retsina,"  "Mother's  Drum")  actually  have  decisive 
melodies  but,  for  the  most  part,  this  is  sub-Largo  back- 
ground music  in  need  of  a  spine.  [jl/'e/i] 

See  also  Matthew  Sweet, 

O1NGO  BO1NGO 

Oingo  Boingo  EP  (IRS)  1980 
Only  a  Lad  (A&M)  1 981  • 
Nothing  to  Fear  (A&M)  1 982  * 
Good  for  Your  Soul  (A&M)  1 983  • 


478 


Dead  Man's  Party  (MCA)  1 985  * 

Boi-ngo  (MCA)  1987® 

Boingo  ASrve:  Celebration  of  a  Decade  1 979-1 988 

(MCA)  1988® 
Skeletons  in  the  Closet:  The  Best  of  Oingo-Boingo  (A&M) 

1989® 
Dark  at  the  End  of  the  Tunnel  (MCA)  1 990  • 

So-io  (MCA)  1984® 

Music  for  a  Darkened  Theatre  (MCA)  1 990  ® 

This  eight-piece  LA  outfit  (with  a  three-man  horn 
section)  started  out  trying  to  be  a  West  Coast  answer  to 
XTC  and  Devo,  but  suffered  from  studied  wackiness/ 
quirkiness  and  managed  to  hide  solid  cleverness  behind 
overproduction  and  hamminess.  While  frontman  Danny 
Elfman  has  emerged  as  the  king  of  the  soundtracks, 
Oingo  Boingo  has  pretty  much  continued  to  ply  their 
rather  pointless  trade  with  little  modification. 

The  EP,  all  10  inches  of  it,  is  the  band's  most  suc- 
cinct engagement.  The  four  cuts  belie  the  size  of  the 
lineup — a  trio  might  have  made  these  long  slices  of  mild 
perversity.  The  album  that  followed,  however,  plays  up 
OB's  flaws,  letting  contrived  bits  diminish  the  impact  of 
demi-clever  lyrics  and  thoroughly  competent  music.  The 
only  track  that  stands  out  is  "On  the  Outside,"  and  it 
succeeds  because  it  sounds  normal.  Despite  obvious  tal- 
ent, Only  a  Lad  is  a  waste. 

Taking  a  turn  towards  synth-funk  (as  either  a  com- 
mercial ploy  or  an  amused  art  statement),  Nothing  to 
Fear  is  more  likable,  yet  still  sounds  phony.  A  couple 
of  the  tunes,  especially  the  title  cut,  are  forceful  enough 
to  be  exciting.  When  not  pushing  pressurized  dance 
rock,  Omgo  Boingo  revert  to  their  previously  estab- 
lished lighter  style,  and  the  horns  play  it  subtle  rather 
than  brassy.  Better,  but  still  a  derivative  disappoint- 
ment. 

Electronic  music  veteran  Robert  Margouleff  pro- 
duced Good  for  Your  Sou!  and  trimmed  some  of  the 
usual  excess,  giving  Oingo  Boingo  a  streamlined  and 
powerfully  driven  attack.  The  timely  "Wake  Up  (It's 
1984)"  and  "Who  Do  You  Want  to  Be"  are  among  the 
most  invigorating  and  engaging  things  the  band  has  ever 
done.  There's  still  significant  quantities  of  chaff,  but  on 
this  outing  the  wise-guy  dance-rock  largely  works. 

Singer,  chief  songwriter  and  Oingo  Boingo  leader 
Danny  Elfman  made  So-lo  with  five  members  of  the 
band,  but  it  offers  a  slightly  different,  more  synthesized 
outlook.  "Gratitude"  is  a  brilliant  construct  combining 
Elfman' s  best  melody  and  absurd  vocals  in  one  wacky 
tour  de  force;  other  tracks  (a  ballad,  a  raveup,  etc.)  are 
more  like  Oingo  Boingo' s  work.  Displaying  Wall  of 
Voodoo  B-movie  aspirations,  Elfman  unfortunately 
lacks  the  focus  or  vision  to  counteract  his  grandiose, 
theatrical  instincts. 

Dispersing  rumors  of  nonexistence,  Oingo  Boingo 
returned  with  their  least  obnoxious  record  yet.  Dead 
Man's  Party  benefits  from  one  captivating  soundtrack 
single  ("Weird  Science")  and  a  couple  of  other  strong 
songs  (including  "Stay,"  a  soulful  "Help  Me"  and  the 
Akron-oriented  title  track). 

Did  Spike  Jones  mix  Boi-ngo  or  what?  Instruments 
fly  out  of  the  speakers  at  crazy  angles  as  if  this  were  a 
stereo  effects  demonstration  record.  The  absurdly  busy 
arrangements  make  the  songs  take  a  back  seat  to  the 


studio  showboating  as  each  guitar  chord,  horn  toot  and 
drum  beat  calls  attention  to  itself.  Elfman  is  really  in 
control  here,  and  his  mastery  of  this  hyperkinetic  niche 
(at  times  it  sounds  like  two  coordinated  recordings  be- 
ing played  simultaneously)  is  an  awesome  individual 
accomplishment.  The  LP  jitterbugs,  bounces  and  slides 
from  start  to  finish,  leaving  listeners  either  happily  ex- 
hausted or  utterly  exasperated. 

With  Elfman 's  career  as  a  composer  of  film  and 
television  scores  in  superstar  overdrive  (the  Music  for  a 
Darkened  Theatre  compilation — orchestral  excerpts 
from  Batman,  Dick  Tracy,  Scrooged,  The  Simpsons  and 
many  more — provides  a  summary  of  his  soundtrack  al- 
bums that  no  one  need  actually  hear),  he  still  finds  time 
to  fit  the  band  into  his  schedule.  And  Boingo — with  just 
two  personnel  changes  in  eleven  years — just  keeps  on 
keeping  on,  issuing  a  double-live  set  (recorded,  without 
the  distraction  of  an  audience,  in  a  Hollywood  rehearsal 
studio),  a  straightforward  studio  retrospective  of  the 
band's  A&M  era  and  Dark  at  the  End  of  the  Tunnel, 
an  all-new  LP  of  Elfman  originals  which  won't  surprise 
anyone  at  all  familiar  with  the  group's  past  work,  [i] 


OLD  SKULL 

Get  Outta  School  (Restless)  1 989  * 

Billed  as  the  youngest  punk  band  in  the  world,  these 
noisy  Wisconsin  tykes  (two  Toulon  brothers  and  a  non- 
fraternal  drummer  whose  dad  is  in  the  Tar  Babies)  make 
a  godawful  calamity  on  Get  Outta  School,  screaming 
and  ripping  through  fifteen  semi-coherent  noisefests  that 
are  amusingly  bad  but  still  hard  to  believe  as  the  work  of 
nine-year-olds.  With  daddy  Toulon  (who  has  some  con- 
nection to  Missing  Foundation)  co-producing,  these  pre- 
cocious skate-rockers  switch  from  dead  serious 
("Homeless,"  "AIDS")  to  silly  ("Hot  Dog  Hell")  in 
a  flash,  sounding  like  nothing  so  much  as  a  pre-teen 
birthday  party  spiked  with  Jolt  cola  and  amplifiers,  [i] 


100  FLOWERS 

1 00  Flowers  (Happy  Squid)  1 983 

Drawing  Fire  EP  (Happy  Squid)  1984 

1 00  Years  of  Pulchritude  [CD]  (Happy  Squid-Rhino) 

1990* 

You  wouldn't  know  it  to  listen  to  their  records,  but 
West  Los  Angeles'  100  Flowers  started  as  a  joke,  a 
black-humored  parody  of  the  punk  scene.  As  the  Uri- 
nals, they  recorded  a  pair  of  1979  7-inch  EPs  and  a 
single  for  Happy  Squid,  then  got  serious,  changed  their 
name  and  got  real  serious.  In  their  second  incarnation, 
the  trio  played  arty,  poetic  music  that  is  kinetic  in  spite 
of  occasional  murkiness. 

100  Flowers  owes  a  mild  debt  to  the  Fall,  although 
its  more  melodic  guitar  sound  is  all- American.  Dispens- 
ing with  such  concepts  as  verses  and  choruses,  the  trio 
favors  subterranean  funk  grooves  and  drones;  the  effect 
is  impressive  if  limited,  and  wears  thin  over  the  record's 
course.  The  five-song  Drawing  Fire  EP  benefits  from 
stronger  material.  With  songs  that  build  but  never  cop 
out  with  climaxes  and  releases,  this  is  how  R.E.M. 
might  have  sounded  as  a  punk  band. 


479 


Neatly  recapitulating  100  Flowers'  entire  existence, 
the  28-track  100  Years  of  Pulchritude  combines  the 
album,  EP,  both  sides  of  a  1982  single  and  three  com- 
pilation contributions.  Two  previously  unreleased  cuts 
offer  a  bonus  to  real  fans.  [jl/i] 

See  also  Trotsky  Icepick. 

101ERS 

Elgin  Avenue  Breakdown  (nr/AndaSucia)  1981 

Before  there  was  a  Clash,  Joe  Strumnier  was  in  a 
gritty,  R&B-styled  London  pub  band.  The  lOlers  broke 
up  after  a  short  career,  issuing  only  one  incredible  45, 
"Keys  to  Your  Heart"  (an  alternative  version  of  which 
is  included  here),  while  in  business.  Released  five  years 
after  the  fact,  Elgin  Avenue  Breakdown  combines 
three  1975-' 76  demo  sessions  and  a  live  performance 
captured  on  cassette.  It's  an  essential  artifact  for  Clash- 
ologists,  spreading  hints  of  things  to  come  all  over  the 
place.  As  an  energetic  slice  of  simple,  raucous  rock'n- 
'roll, it's  worth  every  penny  as  well.  [i] 
See  also  Clash. 


ONLY  ONES 

The  Only  Ones  (nr/CBS)  1 978 

Even  Serpents  Shine  (nr/CBS)  1 979 

Special  View  (Epic)  1979® 

Bab/s  Got  a  Gun  (Epic)  1 980 

Remains  (Fr.  Closer)  1 984  ® 

Alone  in  the  Night  (nr/Dojo)  1 986 

Live  (Skyclad)  1989» 

The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 989  • 

ENGLAND'S  GLORY 

Legendary  Lost  Recordings  (Skyclad)  1 989  • 

Led  by  singer/songwriter  Peter  Perrett,  England's 
Only  Ones  combined  the  energy  of  the  punk  movement 
and  a  more  traditional  sense  of  rock  craft,  with  Perrett 
singing  his  goodnatured  tortured-romantic  lyrics  in  a 
distinctive  (and  not  unpleasant)  whine.  The  quartet's 
mix  of  youthful  spunk  and  seasoned  experience  (drum- 
mer Mike  Kellie  was  a  member  of  Spooky  Tooth  and 
bassist  Alan  Mair's  resume'  stretched  back  to  the  early 
'60s)  helped  gain  the  Only  Ones  quick  prominence,  but 
only  one  song — the  much-covered  "Another  Girl,  An- 
other Planet' ' — earned  the  highly  touted  group  any  last- 
ing acclaim. 

The  Only  Ones  (which  includes  that  stupendous 
number)  is  the  best  of  the  three  original  albums.  Per- 
rett's  languid  vocals  and  songs  provide  the  character  and 
focus,  while  the  band's  skills  carry  it  off  handsomely. 
Even  Serpents  Shine  varies  little  from  its  predecessor 
and  contains  some  captivating  material,  but  lacks  any- 
thing as  great  as  "Another  Girl,  Another  Planet."  Spe- 
cial View  picks  tracks  off  both  albums  and  adds  the  two 
sides  of  the  band's  self-released  1977  debut  single  for  an 
introductory  lesson  in  the  Only  Ones'  early  oeuvre. 

Although  finally  realizing  simultaneous  release  in 
the  US  and  the  UK  with  the  Colin  Thurston-produced 
Baby's  Got  a  Gun,  the  Only  Ones'  commercial  success 
was  still  too  slight  to  sustain  them,  and  they  called  it 
quits  in  198 1 .  The  group's  cult  status  has  grown  steadily 
ever  since,  as  evidenced  (or  at  least  encouraged)  by  a 
stream  of  posthumous  releases.  Remains  and  Alone  in 
the  Night  are  decent  collections  of  non-album  material. 


The  songs  on  Live  predate  the  CBS  albums,  and  show 
the  band  to  have  been  firmly  in  musical  control  even  at 
that  early  juncture.  The  Peel  Sessions  Album  compiles 
sixteen  BBC  recordings  from  1977  to  '80,  and  is  actu- 
ally a  stronger  representation  of  the  Only  Ones'  gifts 
than  any  of  the  band's  studio  albums. 

The  England's  Glory  disc  offers  ten  1973  demos  by 
Perrett* s  pre-Only  Ones  combo  (including  future 
Squeeze  bassist  Harry  Kakoulli)  and  demonstrates  na- 
scent talent  as  well  as  an  overriding  Lou  Reed  fixation. 
Two  of  the  songs,  "City  of  Fun"  and  "Peter  and  the 
Pets,"  later  showed  up  on  the  Only  Ones'  first  LP. 

[i/hd] 


OPAL 

Northern  Line  EP  (nr/One  Big  Guitar)  1985 
Happy  Nightmare  Baby  (SST)  1 987  • 
EaHy  Recordings  (Rough  Trade)  1989  <!> 

STAR 

She  Hangs  Brightly  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  • 

KENDRA  SMITH/DAVID 
ROBACK/KE1TH  MITCHELL 

Fell  from  the  Sun  EP  (Serpent-Enigma)  1 984 

After  he  left  the  Rain  Parade,  guitarist  David  Ro- 
back  and  ex-Dream  Syndicate  bassist  Kendra  Smith 
formed  a  quartet  known  as  Clay  Allison  (obscurely 
named  after  a  character  in  a  TV  movie)  with  drummer 
Keith  Mitchell  and  guitarist  Juan  Gomez.  The  group 
issued  a  single,  but  dropped  a  member  and  shed  the 
moniker  before  adding  two  new  songs  to  flesh  out  Fell 
from  the  Sun.  On  it,  Smith's  vocals  perfectly  meld 
with  the  subtle  mood  music — a  pleasant  drone  with 
translucent  elegance  that  resembles  the  Velvet  Under- 
ground at  their  most  restrained.  Lovely  and  touching. 

Renaming  themselves  Opal,  the  group  issued  a 
three-song  12-inch  that  continues  in  the  same  vein. 
"Northern  Line"  and  "Empty  Bottles"  are  gorgeous 
acoustic  folk-blues,  while  the  B-side,  "Soul  Giver" 
(which  also  turns  up  on  Happy  Nightmare  Baby),  is 
eight-and-a-half  minutes  of  spacey  organ  and  feedback 
guitar. 

Opal  clung  to  neo-psychedelia,  even  after  many  of 
its  original  Los  Angeles  scene  compatriots  had  moved 
on  to  other  fads.  Happy  Nightmare  Baby  has  its  share 
of  nostalgic  organ-colored  drone  contemplations,  but 
adds  an  unexpected  and  amusing  item  to  the  repertoire: 
a  stripped-down  T.  Rex  imitation  ("Rocket  Machine") 
that  drifts  towards  Television.  Criticisms:  Smith's 
laconic  singing  can  become  arduous,  some  of  the  in- 
strumental work  is  self-indulgent  nonsense  and  the  pace 
is  too  slow.  Qualities:  the  songs  are  there,  the  ambience 
is  affecting  and  the  performances  offer  enough  texture 
and  dynamics  to  make  Opal's  debut  album  ultimately 
satisfying. 

Smith  exited  the  group  in  the  middle  of  the  Happy 
Nightmare  tour,  and  the  posthumous  Early  Record- 
ings gathers  outtakes,  all  four  Fell  from  the  Sun  tracks, 
plus  "Northern  Line"  and  "Empty  Bottles."  Draining 
away  much  of  Happy  Nightmare's  pseudo-mystical 
fiddle-faddle,  Early  Recordings  concentrates  on  Opal's 
acoustic  side;  the  spare  production  adds  a  chilling  close- 
ness to  Smith's  vocals,  and  Roback's  guitar  noodlings 
feel  loose  and  uncontrived.  The  previously  unissued 


480 


tracks,  especially  "Empty  Box  Blues"  and  "My  Only 
Friend,"  have  a  casual,  unrestrained  grace.  The  CD 
appends  "Hear  the  Wind  Blow." 

A  few  years  later,  Roback  joined  up  with  LA  singer 
Hope  Sandoval,  formerly  of  an  acoustic  duo  (Going 
Home)  whose  unreleased  album  Roback  had  produced. 
Like  Smith,  Sandoval  has  a  smooth,  passionless  voice, 
but  she  also  has  a  disarming  childlike  quality  that's  al- 
most ghostly.  Other  than  that,  differences  between  Opal 
and  Mazzy  Star  are  minor.  Roback  shifts  between  acous- 
tic folk  and  electric  psych-outs  while  Sandoval  rambles, 
waiflike,  about  love,  highways  and  sailboats.  [i/kss] 

See  also  Dream  Syndicate,  Rain  Parade. 


OPHELIAS 

The  Ophelias  (Strange  Weekend)  1 987 
Oriental  Head  (Rough  Trade)  1988 
The  Big  O  (Rough  Trade)  1 989 

This  San  Francisco  quartet  sings/chants  theatrical 
lyrics  over  colorfully  dramatic  rock — like  Oingo  Boingo 
but  more  inclined  to  genuine  offbeatness  and  exciting 
music — on  The  Ophelias,  an  accomplished  if  not  en- 
tirely appealing  debut.  "Mr.  Rabbit,"  an  old  children's 
folk  song  given  a  charming  update,  is  the  album's  high 
point;  elsewhere,  Leslie  Medford  (vocals,  guitar,  trum- 
pet, harmonica,  recorder)  tries  too  hard  to  sell  his  songs, 
obscuring  whatever  lies  beneath  all  the  multi-tracked 
play-acting.  And  using  dialogue  from  Hamlet  is  just  a 
little  pretentious,  n'est-ce  pas? 

Besides  unveiling  a  half-new  lineup  that  includes 
guitarist  David  Immergluck  (also  of  the  Monks  of 
Doom),  Oriental  Head  displays  a  mildly  psychedeli- 
cized  rethink  and  a  Zappaesque  goof-jazz  influence. 
Medford 's  still  on  his  Shakespearian  kick  (the  LP  leads 
off  with  "Midsummemight's  Scene,"  a  number  cred- 
ited to  Marc  Bolan),  but  tones  down  the  delivery  to 
improve  songs  rather  than  suffocate  them.  Unpredict- 
able, uneven  and  occasionally  fascinating,  Oriental 
Head  is  filled  with  ideas,  some  of  which  actually  make 
weird  sense. 

Issued  in  a  circular  sleeve,  The  Big  O — easily  the 
Ophelias'  best  effort  yet — irons  the  group's  music  into 
an  effectively  derivative  set  of  '60s  folk-rock/acid- 
garage/rock  idioms.  Using  other  songwriters  besides 
Medford  helps,  as  some  of  the  record's  most  entertain- 
ing tunes  ("Leah  Hirsig,"  for  instance)  aren't  his.  Typ- 
ical of  the  escapade's  goodnatured  foolishness  are 
"Lawrence  of  Euphoria"  (sung  like  a  Bonzo  Dog  Band 
outtake),  a  cover  of  the  Nervous  Breakdown's  crude 
proto-punk  "I  Dig  Your  Mind"  and  an  inexplicable 
T.  Rex  parody,  "When  Winter  Comes."  [i] 

See  also  Camper  Van  Beethoven. 


O-POSITIVE 

Only  Breathing  EP  (Throbbing  lobster)  1 985 
Cloud  Factory  EP  (Link)  1 987  • 
toyboatToyBoatTOYBOAT  (Epic)  1990  • 

Although  some  may  view  Boston's  O  Positive  as 
nothing  more  than  generic  college-radio  pop,  the  Boston 
group's  talent  and  potential  exceed  that  of  many  similar 
bands.  Unfortunately,  the  quintet  has  yet  to  make  the 
most  of  its  abilities  on  record. 


Only  Breathing  is  a  promising  debut.  Drummer 
Alex  Lob  and  bassist  David  Ingham  unite  to  form  a 
monstrously  strong  rhythmic  backbone,  upon  which 
guitanst/singer  Dave  Herlihy  drapes  his  clumsy  but  ear- 
nest lyrics  about  self-preservation  in  the  face  of  obses- 
sion and  unrequited  love.  Although  this  is  thematic 
terrain  which  has  been  crossed  a  million  times,  Herlihy 
displays  an  Andy  Partridge-like  penchant  for  clever 
wordplay,  some  of  which  works  nicely. 

Released  two  years  later,  Cloud  Factory  is  a  hor- 
rible sophomore  effort.  Murky  sound  negates  the  rhythm 
section;  Herlihy 's  lyrics  and  delivery  are  also  gutter- 
balls,  an  apparent  attempt  to  emulate  Michael  "This 
doesn't  make  much  sense  but  it  sure  does  sound  intel- 
lectual1* Stipe  sty  lings.  Add  in  a  shameful  over- 
dependence  on  guitar  effects,  and  this  is  one  bad  record. 
(Perhaps  for  comparison  purposes,  the  CD  and  cassette 
include  Only  Breathing. ) 

ioyfeoatToyBoatTOYBOAT,  the  band's  major  la- 
bel debut  (and  its  first  full-length  alburn),  combines  the 
first  record's  best  attributes  with  some  of  the  second's 
shortcomings.  The  results — which  often  waver  between 
R.E.M.  imitations  and  U2  guitar  quotes  (with  one 
laughably  bad  Wilson  Pickett  rewrite) — are  generally 
pleasantly  Hstenable,  if  nothing  more.  The  rhythm  sec- 
tion is  as  complex  and  appealing  as  before,  and  Herli- 
hy's  guitar  work  and  lyrics  show  improvement,  but  this 
innocuous  LP  is,  at  best,  distinctly  short  on  character. 

[icrn] 


ORANGE  JUICE 

You  Can't  Hide  Your  Love  Forever  (nr/Polydor)  1 982 
Rip  It  Up  (nr/Poiydor)  1982® 
Texas  Fever  EP  (nr/Polydor)  1984 
The  Orange  Juice  (nr/Polydor)  1 984 
In  a  Nutshell  (nr/Polydor)  1985 

ZEKE  MANY1KA 

Call  and  Response  (nr/Polydor)  1985 
Mastercrime  (nr/Some  Bizzare-Parlophone)  1 989  • 

EDWYN  COLLINS 

Hope  and  Despair  (nr/Demon)  1 989  * 
Hellbent  on  Compromise  (nr/Demon)  1 990  • 

Glasgow's  insufferably  coy  Orange  Juice,  de  facto 
leaders  of  the  Scottish  neo-pop  revolution,  typified  a 
UK  trend  towards  clean,  innocent  looks  that  unfortu- 
nately spilled  over  into  the  music.  Emphasizing  their 
"unspoiled"  raggedness,  the  band  began  with  clumsy 
tunes  about  insecurity  and  romantic  rejection;  singer  Ed- 
wyn  Collins  mumbles  and  croons  like  a  slowed-down 
Ray  Davies.  You  Can't  Hide  Your  Love  Forever  is 
supposed  to  be  charming,  but  isn't. 

Surprisingly,  Rip  It  Up  (not  named  after  the  Little 
Richard  tune)  explores  the  first  album's  ingenuousness 
in  greater  depth  with  thought-provoking  results.  Though 
young  love  remains  the  theme,  tension  has  replaced 
cuteness;  on  the  title  track, ' 'Louise  Louise' '  and  others, 
Collins  responds  angrily  to  being  treated  like  a  chump. 
He's  still  a  bit  of  a  narcissistic  vocalist,  but  Rip  It  Up's 
more  realistic  approach  is  appealing  and  rewarding. 

Escalating  musical  differences  and  other  internal 
conflicts  caused  the  band  to  split  prior  to  the  release  of 
Texas  Fever,  leaving  Collins  and  drummer  Zeke  Man- 
yika  to  carry  on  as  a  duo.  Salvaged  from  the  original 


481 


band's  final  sessions,  the  Texas  Fever  EP  (produced  by 
Dennis  Bovell)  further  refines  the  standards  set  on  Rip 
It  Up.  There's  an  implicit  Western  theme,  but  most  of 
the  songs  have  a  quirky,  exotic  Afro-funk  feel,  fleshed 
out  with  stellar  guitar  work  by  Collins  and  Malcolm 
Ross  (later  of  Aztec  Camera).  Their  talents  make 
"Punch  Drunk,"  "A  Place  in  My  Heart"  and  "A  Sad 
Lament"  memorable. 

Collins  and  Manyika  again  teamed  up  with  Bovell 
for  The  Orange  Juke,  which  contains  some  of  Col- 
lins' strongest  songs:  the  sadly  biographical  "Lean  Pe- 
riod," the  melodically  haunting  "What Presence?!"  and 
"Artisans,"  a  garage-styled  raveup. 

Embittered  by  commercial  failure,  Orange  Juice 
called  it  quits.  In  a  Nutshell  is  a  posthumous  compila- 
tion that  contains  the  band's  very  best,  from  the  early 
days  on  Postcard  ("Falling  and  Laughing,"  "Poor  Old 
Soul")  through  the  last  days  on  Polydor  (tracks  from 
the  third  LP). 

Collins  and  Manyika  continue  to  be  musically  ac- 
tive. Turning  again  to  Bovell  as  producer  and  bassist, 
Collins  made  a  spectacular  solo  debut  with  Hope  and 
Despair,  a  debonair  but  rocking  album  of  strongly 
worded  downcast  contemplations  delivered  in  a  com- 
manding deep  voice  over  varied  music  that  rings  and 
resonates  with  exceptional  songwriting  craft.  Aztec 
Camera's  Roddy  Frame  is  one  of  the  luminary  sidemen; 
the  CD  and  cassette  add  the  title  track  as  a  bonus. 

[jy/ag] 

ORB 

See  Justified  Ancients  ofMu  Mu. 

WILLIAM  ORBIT 

Orbit  (IRS)  1987® 

Strange  Cargo  (IRS  No  Speak)  1988  • 

Strange  Cargo  2  (IRS  No  Speak)  1991  4> 

TORCH  SONG 

Wish  Thing  (IRS)  1984 
Exhibit  A  (IRS)  1987 

BASSOMATIC  . 

Set  the  Controls  for  the  Heart  of  the  Bass  (nr/Virgin)  1 990 

(Virgin)  1991  • 

Torch  Song  debuted  as  a  trio  on  Wish  Thing,  an 
ethereal  set  of  instrumentally  subtle  synth-dance  tracks, 
given  most  of  their  character  by  Laurie  Mayer's  delicate 
voice  and  the  gimmicky  production.  "Don't  Look 
Now"  and  "Sweet  Thing"  are  appealing,  airy  concoc- 
tions; a  demento  version  of  "Ode  to  Billy  Joe"  seems 
calculated  to  shock  and/or  offend  but  is  nonetheless 
amusing.  Intriguing. 

Three  years  later,  reduced  to  a  duo,  Torch  Song 
("featuring  William  Orbit")  issued  a  second  record 
consisting  of  four  cuts  (including  "Don't  Look  Now" 
and  "Sweet  Thing")  remixed  from  Wish  Thing,  plus 
five  new  ones  that  also  benefit  from  Mayer's  wan  sing- 
ing. Inconclusive  but  equally  appealing,  Exhibit  A  has 
another  weird  cover  version:  an  atmospheric  deconstruc- 
tion  of  Blind  Faith's  "Can't  Find  My  Way  Home." 

Multi-instrumentalist  Orbit  (real  name:  Wainwright) 
then  dropped  the  Torch  Song  name,  found  a  new  sing- 
ing partner  in  Peta  Nikolich  and  recorded  Orbit.  (Mayer 
is  still  his  co- writer,  but  she  performs  on  only  one  song. ) 


A  disappointingly  conservative — except  for  the  mock- 
Spanish  horns — cover  of  the  Psychedelic  Furs*  "Love 
My  Way"  leads  off  the  album,  and  things  never  get 
much  more  adventurous  than  that.  Despite  an  assort- 
ment of  genres,  most  of  the  music  is  short  on  individual 
character;  Nikolich  is  a  capable  singer  without  enough 
personality  to  carry  the  weight.  "Feel  Like  Jumping," 
a  mildly  revisionist  reggae  cover  (Jackie  Mittoo),  is  the 
weak  album's  lively  highlight. 

Building  on  his  soundtrack  work,  Orbit  released 
Strange  Cargo,  a  one-man-band  collection  of  unrelated 
instrumental  pieces  recorded  between  1984  and  1987. 
Mostly  urgent  and  kinetic,  with  colorful  sound  effects, 
the  unresolved  semi-songs  are  mood-heavy  and  suggest 
a  number  of  visual  idioms,  including  action-adventure, 
comedy,  espionage  and  mystery. 

In  recent  years,  Orbit  has  become  an  extremely  suc- 
cessful remixer,  with  credits  that  include  Madonna, 
Prince  and  the  Cure.  In  early  1991,  however,  he  re- 
leased a  second  instrumental  album,  Strange  Cargo  2. 

Bassomatic  is  Orbit's  dance  band  with  singer  Sharon 
Musgrave,  a  DJ  and  a  percussionist.  [i] 

ORCHESTRA  ARCANA 

See  Bill  Nelson. 


ORCHESTRAL  MANOEUVRES  IN 
THE  DARK 

Orchestral  Manoeuvres  in  the  Dark  (nr/DinDisc)  1980 

(Virgin)  1987® 

Organisation  (nr/DinDisc)  1 980  (Virgin)  1 987  ® 
O.M.D.  (Virgin-Epic)  1981 
Architecture  &  Morality  (Virgin-Epic)  1 981  • 
Dazzle  Ships  (Virgin-Epic)  1 983  ® 
Junk  Culture  (Virgin-A&M)  1 984  • 
Crush  (Virgin-A&M)  1985® 
The  Pacific  Age  (Virgin-A&M)  1986  ® 
Shame  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 987  • 
The  Best  of  OMD  (Virgin-A&M)  1 988  • 
Sugar  Tax  (Virgin)  1991  • 

Moving  from  electronic  tape  experiments  to  highly 
polished  synthesizer  pop  and  beyond,  Liverpudlians 
Andy  McCluskey  (bass/vocals/keyboards)  and  synthe- 
sist  Paul  Humphreys  (with  other  fulltime  members, 
including — very  significantly — a  corporeal  acoustic 
drummer)  are  among  the  most  successful  practitioners 
of  electro-pop,  as  first  demonstrated  by  a  delightful 
string  of  singles.  Abandoning  their  formula  after  two 
albums,  however,  OMD  proved  capable  of  far  more 
ambitious  creations  not  tied  to  the  apron  strings  of  tech- 
nology. 

Orchestral  Manoeuvres  in  the  Dark  exhibits  styl- 
ish electro-pop  comparable  to  Ultravox.  Aided  by  Dalek 
Fs  Andy  Gill,  McCluskey  and  Humphreys  build  the 
songs  up  from  computer-generated  rhythms  and,  while 
the  album  does  not  create  any  new  forms,  it  polishes  the 
synthesizer  song  into  a  full-bodied  medium.  Thanks  to  a 
knack  for  melodies  and  hooks,  notable  attractions  are 
the  catchy  "Electricity"  and  "Messages." 

Organisation  (which  originally  included  an  excel- 
lent bonus  single  of  early  tape  experiments  and  live 
tracks)  introduces  drummer  Malcolm  Holmes  and  ethe- 
real synthesizer  techniques  that  suit  the  depressive  sub- 


482 


ject  matter  of  "Enola  Gay"  and  the  like.  It  also  pays 
attention  to  ensure  variation  in  the  tunes,  a  problem  that 
mars  the  first  LP.  With  nods  to  John  Foxx  and  David 
Bowie,  OMD  overlays  melodies  to  dramatic  effect;  the 
performances  are  excellent. 

O.M.D.  is  an  American  compilation  of  songs  from 
the  two  British  albums,  including  both  catchy  OMD 
standards,  "Enola  Gay"  and  "Electricity."  Recom- 
mended. 

Architecture  &  Morality  straggles  with  new  tech- 
niques, and  includes  two  magnificent,  ethereal  hit  sin- 
gles: "Souvenir"  and  "loan  of  Arc."  OMD  is  again 
experimenting  with  sound  and  much  of  the  album 
sounds  more  naturalistic  than  electronic.  An  intriguing 
and  highly  inventive  use  of  the  technology. 

The  conceptual  Dazzle  Ships  overreaches  by  a  mile, 
succumbing  to  excessive  found-tape  gimmickry  in  lieu 
of  adequate  songwriting.  It  does  contain  the  striking 
"Genetic  Engineering"  (which  integrates  a  Speak  and 
Spell  toy  to  make  a  point)  and  "Radio  Waves,"  as  well 
as  some  amazing  sounds  and  a  powerful  atmosphere  to 
recommend  it.  Impressive  but  not  satisfying. 

Junk  Culture  is  much  stronger,  pulling  away  fur- 
ther from  sparkling  pop  while  retaining  smart  melodies 
in  far  denser  and  newly  dance-based  styles.  "Tesla 
Girls"  employs  scratch  production  to  great  effect  while 
fixing  on  science  as  a  clever  lyrical  base  (shades  of 
Sparks);  the  rhythm-heavy  "Locomotion"  and  the  more 
fanciful  "Talking  Loud  and  Clear"  are  likewise  ace 
tracks. 

Despite  its  easygoing  ambience  and  a  shortage  of 
really  memorable  songs,  Crush — OMD's  least  stylized, 
most  mainstream  album — isn't  half-bad.  "So  in  Love" 
and  "Secret"  are  the  obvious  romantic  singles,  but  the 
record  has  more  serious  moments  as  well:  the  topical 
"88  Seconds  in  Greensboro,"  "Women  III"  (an  am- 
biguous consideration  of  feminism)  and  "Bloc  Bloc 
Bloc,"  wherein  McCluskey  sings  some  truly  stupid  lyr- 
ics with  only  a  trace  of  embarrassment. 

OMD's  international  commercial  breakthrough  be- 
gan with  Crush  but  exploded  when  "If  You  Leave,"  a 
dull  ballad  from  the  Pretty  in  Pink  soundtrack,  became 
a  Top  10  American  single.  That  song  was  thankfully 
omitted  from  OMD's  subsequent  album,  The  Pacific 
Age,  but  so  was  anything  that  might  have  prevented  the 
record  from  being  dull,  ponderous  and  self-important. 
(Typical  of  the  band's  well-meaning  missteps  is  "South- 
ern," an  instrumental  bed  over  which  excerpts  of  Mar- 
tin Luther  King  speeches  are  played. )  OMD's  expansion 
from  a  duo  to  a  sextet — the  three  recent  additions  play 
horns,  guitars  and  more  keyboards — has  cost  the  group 
focus  and  clarity,  its  singleminded  creative  vision.  Ex- 
cept for  the  smoothly  contrived  hit  "(Forever)  Live  and 
Die"  and  the  catchy  "We  Love  You,"  this  dilettantish 
mess  is  less  a  set  of  songs  than  a  meaningless  collection 
of  sounds.  Re-recorded  and  released  on  an  EP, 
"Shame"  was  combined  with  a  couple  of  other  Pacific 
Age  tracks  and  the  10-inch  edit  of  "Messages." 

The  Best  of  OMD  is  the  ideal  remedy  for  The  Pa- 
cific Age.  After  a  concise  recapitulation  of  the  band's 
artistic  development — via  fourteen  A-sides,  from  clever 
synth-based  pop  ("Electricity,"  "Enola  Gay,"  "Sou- 
venir") to  well-realized  audio  experiments  ("Tesla 
Girls,"  "Locomotion")  to  increasingly  bland  chart  fod- 
der ("So  in  Love,"  "If  You  Leave")— it  ends  with  a 


promisingly  pert  new  single,  "Dreaming."  (The  CD 

adds  two  bonus  12-inch  versions  of  "We  Love  You" 
and  "La  Femme  Accident.") 

Returning  from  a  lengthy  absence,  OMD — no  longer 
including  Humphreys — issued  Sugar  Tax,  its  first  new 
album  in  five  years,  in  June  1991.  [sg/i] 

The  OdinaSres  (Ger.  Dossier)  1985  (Bar/None-Restless) 

1990© 
One  (Bar/None)  1 989  • 

Like  many  of  the  all-instrumental  big-band  ensem- 
bles on  New  York's  semi-underground  scene  (er  .  .  .)» 
the  Ordinaires'  debut  album  was  originally  released  only 
in  Germany.  On  it,  nine  men  and  women — covering 
guitars,  horns,  woodwinds,  strings  and  percussion — 
make  a  totally  unique  and  marvelous  sound,  combining 
styles  and  eras  with  equanimity.  Polytonality  rules  here 
with  a  twisted  but  firm  hand,  guiding  the  convoluted 
pieces  through  strident  (never  discordant)  passages 
filled  with  sharp  turns,  sudden  volume  shifts  and  abrupt 
tempo  changes.  Advanced  without  being  obnoxiously 
arty,  this  is  an  album  to  curl  your  hair  and  spark  your 
imagination.  (The  1990  reissue,  despite  incorrect  sleeve 
and  label  copy  that  omits  any  mention  of  "The  Last 
Song,"  does  contain  the  entire  original  record,  as  well 
as  a  bonus  version  of  the  Stones'  "She's  Like  a  Rain- 
bow" from  the  same  sessions.) 

The  equally  delightful  One  is  alternately  swinging 
and  funky,  at  its  best  suggestive  of  Henry  Cow  with  a 
highly  developed  sense  of  humor  (one  number  is  titled 
"The  Dance  of  the  Coco  Crispies").  The  group's  rhyth- 
mic command  remains  incredible,  and  its  eclecticism 
comes  off  as  honest  and  modest,  not  ostentatious.  The 
album  ends  with  a  wry  but  powerful  rendition  of  Led 
Zeppelin's  "Kashmir,"  which  earned  the  group  some 
attention  outside  of  its  usual  circles.  The  Ordinaires  dis- 
banded in  April  '91.  [i/gk] 

ORIGINAL  MIRRORS 

Original  Mirrors  (Arista)  1980 
Heart-Twango  &  Raw-Beat  (nr/Mercury)  1981 

After  Deaf  School  bit  the  dust,  that  band's  Steve 
Allen,  a  strong  crooner  in  the  Bryan  Ferry  mold,  started 
his  own  Liverpool  band  with  ex-Big  in  Japan  guitarist 
Ian  Broudie  (who  would  go  on  to  be  a  successful  pro- 
ducer and  leader  of  the  Lightning  Seeds)  and  three  oth- 
ers. It  didn't  work  out  well  at  all.  The  Original  Mirrors 
seemed  entranced  by  the  kind  of  pop-opera  bombast  that 
characterized  Deaf  School  at  its  worst;  self-discipline 
was  never  a  high  priority.  For  every  rockin*  moment 
that  crystallizes  passion  into  something  comprehensible, 
there  are  ten  others  of  sprawling  excess.  [jy] 

See  also  Deaf  School,  Lightning  Seeds. 

ORIGINAL  SINS 

Big  Soul  (Bar/None)  1987 
The  Hardest  Way  (Psonik)  1 989  • 
Party's  Over  (Aus.  Dog  Meat)  1 990 
Self  Destruct  (Psonik-Slcyclad)  1990  « 

Big  Soul  is  an  instant  classic,  contemporary  garage 
grunge  stripped  of  nostalgia  and  ready  for  consumption. 
Led  by  diminutive  howler  J.T.  (John  Terlesky),  the 


483 


Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania  quartet  avoids  the  easy  cover 
route  to  re-create  the  down  and  dirty  excitement  of  the 
Standells  and  the  Seeds  on  "Not  Gonna  Be  All  Right" 
and  "Can't  Fee!  a  Thing,"  with  Dan  McKinney's 
cheesy  organ  adding  the  appropriate  icing.  Less  aggres- 
sive tunes — like  "Why  Don't  You  Smile,  Joan?" — 
maintain  the  no-nonsense  spirit,  peeling  away  tough 
posturing  to  get  at  searing  emotions  that  are  never  far 
from  the  surface. 

Kicking  off  with  the  selfconscious  "Heard  It  All 
Before,"  The  Hardest  Way  ("All  distortion  purely 
intentional")  demonstrates  the  Sins'  marvelous  ability 
to  synthesize  an  original  sound — less  stylized  than  the 
Lyres' — from  now-standard  ingredients.  Rather  than 
quote  punk  scripture  in  an  attempt  to  turn  back  the  cal- 
endar, the  album  seems  like  the  logical  result  of  an 
anachronistic  environment.  J.T.'s  storming  guitar  roar 
and  McKinney's  chunky  organ-izing  provide  a  tersely 
exciting  bed  for  lyrics  that — other  than  a  few  happy  love 
songs — resound  with  alienation  ("Don't  Fit  In,"  "Out 
of  My  Mind"),  dejection  ("Rather  Be  Sad,"  "Can't 
Get  Over  You")  and  negativity  ("I  Can't  Say,"  "End 
of  the  World"). 

Four  of  the  eight  songs  on  the  Australian  Party's 
Over  are  first-rate  bonus  tracks  from  The  Hardest  Way 
CD  and  cassette  (which  also  contain  an  alternate  version 
of  the  album's  title  track);  three  more  are  developmen- 
tally  significant  outtakes  from  the  same  sessions.  Most 
pointedly,  "That's  All  There  Is"  whips  up  a  psyche- 
delic guitar  frenzy  as  J.T.  shrieks  blunt  sex'n'drugs  lyr- 
ics. A  remix  of  the  band's  1986  Bar/None  single,  "Just 
14,"  winds  up  this  particular  party. 

After  the  modest  and  concise  garage  freakouts  of  the 
first  two  albums,  Self  Destruct  (dedicated  to,  among 
others,  "everyone  who  knows  anger  can  be  fun")  de- 
livers a  surprising  level  of  domineering  intensity,  be- 
ginning with  the  cover  photo  of  J.T.  with  a  grin  on  his 
face  and  a  pistol  held  to  his  head.  The  new-sound  Sins 
are  a  snarling  psychedelic  powerhouse,  a  thickly  seeth- 
ing cauldron  of  hyperactive  feedback  and  wah-wah,  ra- 
bid vocals,  galloping  rhythms  and  lyrics  about  drugs 
and  sex.  Some  of  the  longer  songs  (the  teetering-on- 
the-brink  "Black  Hole"  runs  past  eight  minutes)  spend 
too  much  time  on  instrumental  workouts,  but  Self  De- 
stnict captures  acid-rock's  disorienting  chaos  with  a 
visceral  impact  few  other  bands  can  touch.  The  two 
CD/cassette  bonuses  are  from  a  1990  single.  [jy/i] 

BEN  ORR 

See  Cars. 

OTTO'S  CHEMICAL  LOUNGE 

See  Blue  Hippos. 

JOHN  OTWAY  &  WILD  WILLY 

BARRETT 

John  Ofway  &  Wild  Willy  Barrett  (nr/Exiracked)  1 977 

(nr/Polydor)  1977 

Deep  &  Meaningless  (nr/Polydor)  1978 
Way  &  Bar  (nr/Polydor)  1980 
I  Did  It  Otway  EP  (Stiff  America)  1 981 
I  Did  It  Otway  (Can.  Stiff  Canada)  1 981 


Gone  with  the  Bin:  The  Best  of  Oiway  &  Barrett 

(nr/Polydor)  1 981 
12  Stitch  EP  (nr/Empire)  1982 

Where  Did  \  Go  Right?  (nr/Polydor)  1979 

Deep  Thought  (Stiff)  1980 

Ail  Balls  &  No  Willy  (nr/Empire)  1 982 

John  Otway's  Gleatest  Hits  (nr/Strike  Back)  1 986 

Cor  Baby,  Thai's  Really  Me!  [CD1  (nr/Strike  Back)  1 990  • 

Krazy  Kong  Album  (nr/Black  Eyes)  1981 
Organic  Bondage  (nr/Galvanised)  1986 

This  charming  nutter  from  Aylesbury  (40  miles 
northwest  of  London),  best  heard  in  the  company  of  his 
multi-instrumental  sidekick/musical  interpreter  Barrett, 
is  tough  to  evaluate  on  vinyl.  Unpredictable,  ingenious, 
inconsistent,  unselfconscious,  totally  unafraid  of  mak- 
ing a  fool  of  himself,  Otway  is  capable  of  extraordinary 
quality  swings.  Since  so  much  of  what  he's  about  just 
doesn't  translate  to  disc,  seeing  him  is  nearly  essential, 
and  enhances  listening  to  even  the  relatively  duff  tracks. 

Otway  renders  covers — from  "Green  Green  Grass 
of  Home"  to  Alfred  Noyes'  "The  Highwayman"  to 
"You  Ain't  Seen  Nothing  Yet" — with  daffily  inspired 
abandon.  He  writes  hysterically  infectious  ditties 
("Really  Free,"  "Louisa  on  a  Horse,"  "Baby's  in  the 
Club")  and  likably  sentimental  tunes  ("Montreal," 
"Geneve"),  though  these  can  be  a  little  drippy.  There's 
little  pattern  for  rule-of-thumb  judgment,  save  that 
Barrett-less  he  comes  off  bland  (Where  Did  I  Go 
Right?,  which  boasts  "The  Highwayman"  and  the  poi- 
gnant "Frightened  and  Scared,"  as  well  as  the  guitar 
playing  of  Ollie  Halsall  and  keyboardist  Morgan  Fisher) 
or  energetic  but  less  effective  (All  Balls  &  No  Willy, 
which  has  such  tender  romantic  odes  as  "Montreal"  and 
"Middle  of  the  Winter"). 

The  most  consistent  records  are  the  first  album  (in 
part  produced  by  Pete  Townshend)  and  Way  &  Bar  (or 
Deep  Thought,  which  is  half  the  latter  plus  assorted 
cuts).  The  Gone  with  the  Bin  compilation  is  a  neat  if 
incomplete  summation  of  Otway's  haphazard  repertoire, 
drawn  (with  the  exception  of  "I  Did  It  Otway,"  a  Bar- 
rett guitar  instrumental  in  which  someone — hmm,  won- 
der who? — methodically  destroys  the  instrument  on 
mic)  from  the  duo's  first  three  albums  and  Otway's 
Where  Did  I  Go  Right?. 

The  six-song  I  Did  It  Otway  EP  mixes  the  A-sides 
from  Otway's  first  three  Stiff  singles  ("Green  Green 
Grass  of  Home,"  "Turning  Point"  and  the  hysterical 
"Headbutts")  with  three  LP  tracks:  "Running  from  the 
Law"  (from  Deep  and  Meaningless),  "The  Highway- 
man" and  "I  Did  It  Otway,"  The  expanded  Canadian 
equivalent  (in  a  red,  rather  than  green,  cover)  of  I  Did 
It  Otway  adds  two  tracks  from  the  first  album,  one  from 
the  second  and  "Makes  Good  Music"  from  Where  Did 
I  Go  Right? 

The  penultimate  collection  of  Otway  new  and  old  is 
available  on  the  recent  Gleatest  Hits  album.  (The  title 
is  a  cheap  Japanese  dialect  joke.)  The  record  trundles 
out  familiar  favorites  ("Really  Free,"  "Headbutts," 
"Beware  of  the  Flowers  Cause  I'm  Sure  They're  Gonna 
Get  You,  Yeah"  and  "Green  Green  Grass  of  Home") 
as  well  as  other  fine  LP  tracks  ("Middle  of  Winter," 
"Montreal")  and  an  uproarious  version  of  Bachman- 


484 


Turner  Overdrive's  "You  Ain't  Seen  Nothing  Yet1* 
from  a  1982  B-side. 

After  years  of  successfully  avoiding  Otway  (and  re- 
leasing solo  records  now  and  again),  Barrett  was  cajoled 
into  an  abortive  1987  reunion  that  lasted  long  enough  to 
record  part  of  an  album  that  was  to  be  called  The  Wimp 
and  the  Wild.  (What  actually  surfaced  was  a  single, 
"The  Last  of  the  Mohicans.")  In  1990,  Otway  penned 
an  amazingly  detailed  and  humble  third-person  autobi- 
ography (Cor  Baby,  That's  Really  Me!}  and  assembled 
a  spectacular  21 -track  career  retrospective  (solo  and 
duo)  under  the  same  title.  Billed  as  "The  CD  of  the 
Book,"  Cor  Baby  has  classics  ("Louisa  on  a  Horse," 
"Headbutts,"  "Green  Green  Grass  of  Home,"  "Really 
Free,"  etc.),  rarities  (the  staggering  orchestral  version 
of  "Geneve,"  a  live  version  of  "Racing  Cars"  from  a 
'77  promo  LP),  an  unreleased  1972  version  of  "Misty 
Mountain"  produced  by  Townshend  and — bringing  the 
story  up  to  date — "The  Last  of  the  Mohicans."  [jg/i] 

O-TYPE 

See  MX-80  Sound. 

OUR  DAUGHTERS  WEDDING 

Digital  Cowboy  EP  (EMI  America)  1981 
Moving  Windows  (EMI  America)  1 982 

This  snappy  San  Francisco-relocated-to-New  York 
electro-pop  trio's  1980  indie  single  "Lawnchairs"  be- 
came a  dancefloor  favorite,  combining  a  good  beat  and 
a  catchy  hook  with  absurdist  lyrics  of  bemused  paranoia 
("Lawnchairs  are  everywhere").  Unfortunately,  the 
five-song  Digital  Cowboy,  produced  by  Colin  Thur- 
ston,  makes  the  mistake  of  redoing  "Lawnchairs"  with 
a  real  drummer  (and  not  just  any  real  drummer,  but 
Simon  Phillips)  and  badly  rephrased  vocals. 

Before  retiring  into  the  annals  of  one-hit- 
wonderdom,  ODW  made  a  full-length  album,  managing 
to  fit  two  memorable  tunes  ("She  Was  Someone"  and 
"Elevate  Her")  amid  the  rudimentary  dance-pop. 

[rnp/i] 

OUTSETS 

Outsets  EP  (Plexus)  1983 

Led  by  guitarist  Ivan  Julian  (ex-Richard  Hell's  Void- 
oids  and  later  briefly  in  Shriekback),  this  trio's  six-song 
EP  is  a  clear  and  strong  exercise — half  funky-butt  dance 
grooves,  half  slow  rockers — with  particularly  interest- 
ing axework  and  a  lot  of  spunk.  The  four  songs 


produced  by   Garland  Jeffreys  aren't  brilliant,   but 

Julian's  singing  and  playing  provide  them  with  a  dis- 
tinctive and  attractive  flavor.  [i] 
See  also  Bush  Tetras,  Richard  Hell  &  the  Voidoids. 


We're  Outta  Place  f Midnight)  1984 
Outta  Too!  (Midnight)  1987 

Of  NYC's  short-lived  but  plentiful  litter  of  garage 
revivalists,  this  quintet  was  the  last  to  form,  the  first  to 
reach  vinyl  and  probably  the  only  ones  young  enough 
not  to  have  been  around  for  the  real  thing.  On  their 
debut,  "New  York's  own  cave  teens"  display  plenty  of 
raunch,  ripping  through  seven  songs  in  the  most  dis- 
torted mono  imaginable,  with  cheesy  two-finger  organ 
bleats  and  Mike  Chandler's  epileptic-fit  shrieks.  They 
also  display  plenty  of  chutzpah;  changing  two  words  of 
the  Chob's  garage  classic  "We're  Pretty  Quick"  gets 
Chandler  a  writing  credit  and  the  band  a  titular  theme 
song. 

Begun  in  '84,  Outta  Toot  was  completed  and  issued 
three  years  after  the  volatile  band's  demise.  Chandler, 
who  had  left  to  front  the  even  more  over-the-top  Raunch 
Hands  agreed  to  a  sodden  evening  of  vocal  sessions  and 
presto!  it's  1984  (or  was  that  1966?)  all  over  again. 
Outta  Place  bassist  Jordan  Tarlow  is  currently  in  the 
Fuzztones,  and  drummer  Andrea  Matthews  plays  with 
'70s  monsters  Freaks.  [dss] 

See  also  Fuzztones,  Raunch  Hands. 


OYSTERS 

Green  Eggs  and  Ham  (Taang!)  1 985 

Imagine  for  a  moment  what  the  Replacements  would 
sound  like  nowadays  if  Bob  Stinson  were  still  in  the 
band,  and  Paul  Westerberg  had  increased  his  drinking 
tenfold.  They  might  sound  a  bit  like  the  Oysters,  a 
Boston-based  one-album  cult  wonder.  Green  Eggs  and 
Ham  is  a  delightful  alcohol-soaked  platter;  a  mesh  of 
sloppy  playing,  incompetent  production  and  slobbering 
vocals  mat  makes  the  same  sort  of  effort  to  blend  pop- 
punk  with  other  styles  as  Hootenanny.  Entirely  free  of 
seriousness,  each  song  hits  the  devil-may-care  punk- 
rock  bullseye.  Toe-tappers  like  "Reeperbahn"  and 
"Headhunter"  are  enough  to  gouge  a  special  memory 
groove,  but  the  confessional  "On  Special" — extolling 
the  virtues  of  a  local  chainstore — is  singularly  entertain- 
ing. 


485 


p  p  p  p  p  p  p  p 


AUGUSTUS  PABLO 

This  Is  Augustus  Pablo  (Jam.  Tropical)  1 973 

Ital  Dub  (nr/Trojan)  1 975 

King  Tubbys  Meets  Rockers  Uptown  {Jam.  Clocktower) 

1976  (Message)  1984* 
Original  Rockers  (nr/Greensleeves)  1 979  (Message) 

1982® 

Africa  Must  Be  Free  Dub  (RAS)  1 979 
Rockers  Meets  King  Tubby  in  a  Rrehouse  (Shanachie) 

1981  ® 

East  of  the  River  Nile  (Message)  1981  * 
Earth's  Rightful  Ruler  (Message)  1 983  ® 
Thriller  (nr/Vista  Sounds)  1983  (nr/Echo)  1985 
King  David's  Melody  (Alligator)  1983 
Rising  Sun  (Message)  1 986  ® 
Rebel  Rock  Reggae  (Heartbeat)  1986  * 
Rockers  Come  East  (Message)  1 987  * 
Eastman  Dub (RAS) 1988 ® 
Presents  Rockers  Story  (RAS)  1 989 
Blowing  with  the  Wind  (Shanachie)  1 990  * 
Presents  Rockers  International  Showcase  (Rykodisc) 

1991  <f> 

A  true  reggae  original,  dubmaster  Augustus  Pablo 
is  as  closely  identified  with  his  instrument — the 
melodica — as  most  jazz  musicians  are  with  theirs.  Pablo 
(Horace  Swaby)  was  a  Kingston  pianist  when  he  bor- 
rowed a  melodica;  the  simple  instrument's  unusual 
sound  caught  the  ears  of  local  record  producers,  who 
hired  him  to  give  their  dub  treatments  some  exotic  color. 
Soon  he  was  composing,  arranging  and  producing  his 
own  instrumental  tracks;  now  the  reedy,  vaguely  Middle 
Eastern  sound  of  Pablo's  melodica  is  immediately  rec- 
ognizable, a  plaintive  cry  in  the  dub  landscape. 

Like  his  music,  Augustus  Pablo  has  always  been  in 
a  class  by  himself.  His  music  is  a  sensory  stimulation 
interlude,  evoking  different  moods  as  it  carries  the  lis- 
tener to  other  lands  and  other  times.  Pablo's  deep  spir- 
ituality and  carefully  guarded  public  image  only  add  to 
his  mystique. 

Pablo's  earliest  available  recordings  are  mainly  ses- 
sion work.  Both  Ital  Dub  and  King  Tubbys  Meets 
Rockers  Uptown  (widely  considered  a  dub  classic)  are 
as  much  showcases  for  King  Tubby 's  mixing  as  for 
Pablo's  playing.  His  own  debut,  This  Is  Augustus 
Pablo  (later  reissued  as  Rebel  Rock  Reggae),  is  much 
better,  distinguished  by  strong  presence  and  lively  play- 
ing So  is  Original  Rockers,  a  collection  of  singles  he 
doctored.  The  selection  is  diverse,  and  Pablo's  produc- 
tion (particularly  the  drum  sound)  is  bright  and  snappy. 
For  the  uninitiated,  either  of  these  two  offers  a  perfect 
starting  point. 

His  recent  work  is,  to  some  extent,  of  a  piece,  with 
little  variety  and  few  distinguishing  characteristics.  Af- 
rica Must  Be  Free  Dub  is  an  adequate  companion  to  an 
LP  made  by  singer  Hugh  Mundell,  a  young  Pablo  pro- 
te'ge'  who  was  murdered.  Rockers  Meets  King  Tubby 


in  a  Firehoisse,  while  compelling,  features  less  melod- 
ica than  usual.  East  of  the  River  Nile  is  quintessential 
Pablo,  and  perhaps  his  most  consistent  LP.  Earth's 
Rightful  Ruler  includes  a  real  rarity — a  vocal — along 
with  a  new  version  of  Pablo's  first  record,  "Java." 
King  David's  Melody,  a  singles  collection,  has  the 
evenness  of  sound  and  style  of  an  album.  It's  a  bit 
sleepy,  but  lovely  all  the  same. 

Pablo's  '86  release,  Rising  Sun,  marked  a  change  in 
direction.  Mixed  by  Scientist,  the  overall  sound  is  less 
distinctive  than  Pablo's  other  work.  Many  of  the  tunes 
are  uptempo  and  disappointing,  even  though  some  of 
the  playing — particularly  on  "'Pipers  of  Zion" — is  su- 
perb. 

But  it  proved  to  be  a  transitional  album  rather  than  a 
glimpse  of  things  to  come.  On  Rockers  Come  East, 
Pablo  returns  to  the  dreamy  sound  that  is  his  trademark, 
using  lots  of  synthesizer  bits  to  supplement  his  melod- 
ica. The  synthetics  are  subtle,  however,  so  the  dub  re- 
mains warm  and  compelling.  More  richly  textured  than 
ever,  the  music  on  the  LP  ranks  with  Pablo's  best,  and 
shows  the  maestro  to  be  at  the  top  of  his  form. 

Like  Sugar  Minott  (with  his  Youth  Promotion  la- 
bel), Pablo  has  always  provided  a  forum  for  ghetto 
youth  to  explore  and  express  their  musical  talents;  his 
Rockers  label  has  become  a  training  ground  for  up-and- 
coming  artists.  Rockers  Story,  the  fifth  collection  of 
Pablo's  various  proteges,  is  a  mixed  bag  of  Pablo's  own 
material,  singers  such  as  Delroy  Williams  and  Barry 
Reid,  U-Roy-style  DJs  (e.g.,  Dillmger  and  Ras  Bull) 
and  such  groups  as  Tetrack  and  the  Rockers  Allstars. 

Eastman  Dub  is  actually  the  dub  version  of  the 
Tetrack  album  Let's  Get  Started,  a  classic  example  of 
Pablo's  exotic  and  meditative  melodies,  not  to  mention 
his  renowned  melodica  playing.  The  subtleties  and  col- 
orations that  a  wind  instrument  can  express  are  elevated 
to  an  almost  ethereal  quality  in  Pablo's  music. 

[bk/aw] 

PAGANS 

The  Pagans  (Terminal)  1 983 

Buried  Alive  (Treehouse)  1 986 

Live-The  Godlike  Power  of  the  Pagans  (Treehouse}  1 987 

Street  Where  Nobody  Lives  (Resonance)  1989  * 

While  Pere  Ubu  and  other  Ohio  cousins  were  ofTer- 
ing  only  cerebral  dissonance,  the  1977  punk  explosion 
visited  Cleveland  in  the  form  of  the  Pagans.  Picking  up 
where  the  departed  (for  NYC)  Dead  Boys  left  off,  the 
Pagans  were  younger,  louder  and,  if  not  as  snotty,  better 
in  other  ways.  Led  by  raspy-voiced  Mike  Hudson,  this 
slam-dunk  garage  quartet  produced  a  small  stack  of  clas- 
sic singles:  "Not  Now  No  Way,"  ** Street  Where  No- 
body Lives"  and  ''What's  This  Shit  Called  Love"  (later 
covered  by  the  Meatmen)  are  all  down  and  dirty,  glo- 
rious three-chord  excursions  into  the  filth  and  the  fury. 


486 


The  Pagans  broke  up  in  late  '79  without  ever  issuing 
an  album.  The  band's  first  longplayer  was  the  result  of 
a  1983  reunion  gig  (only  Hudson  and  guitarist  Tommy 
Gunn  are  holdovers  from  the  old  days),  pressed  as  a 
limited-edition  (500  copies)  live  LP.  The  sound  quality 
of  The  Pagans  isn't  horrible  and  the  rawness  is  true  to 
the  band's  essential  spirit,  but  the  performances  of  the 
group's  best  tunes  are  sorely  deficient. 

Buried  Alive  compiles  seven  of  the  Pagans'  eight 
original  single  sides,  adding  ten  outtakes  of  the  same 
late-'70s  vintage,  including  the  grubbiest  version  of 
Jagger/Richards'  " Heart  of  Stone"  imaginable.  The 
Pagans'  unrefined  attitude  saturates  the  entire  first-rate 
collection. 

Buried  Alive  sparked  more  reunions  and  a  spate  of 
touring.  One  such  gig — a  November  1986  date  at  Min- 
neapolis' 7th  St.  Entry — resulted  in  a  second  concert 
LP.  With  six  new  songs  (like  "She's  a  Cadaver  and  I 
Gotta  Have  Her"),  Live-Ttie  Godlike  Power  of  the 
Pagans  is  far  better  than  the  '83  live  disc  (original  bass- 
ist Tim  Alice  is  back  in  the  lineup),  but  still  doesn't 
reach  the  godlike  power  of  the  band's  studio  work. 

Street  Where  Nobody  Lives  mostly  rehashes  the 
same  recordings  as  Buried  Alive — odd,  since  the  latter 
is  still  widely  available.  In  November  1989,  the  Pagans 
opened  for  the  reunited  Buzzcocks  in  Cleveland,  [jr] 

See  also  Paul  Marotta. 


RAILHEAD 

Trait  EP  (Wax  Trax!)  1 988  • 

Although  not  quite  the  cultural  turning  point  of  Run- 
DMC's  collaboration  with  Aerosmith,  Pailhead's  two 
records  (1988's  "I  Will  Refuse"  and  Trait)  do  mark  an 
historic  genre  conjunction.  By  the  late  '80s,  hardcore 
and  industrial  were  ripe  for  merger,  and  two  preeminent 
icons — Ian  MacKaye  (frenetic  vocalist  of  Minor  Threat 
and  Fugazi)  and  Ministry's  Al  Jourgensen/Paul  Barker 
axis — were  ready  to  make  the  move. 

"I  Will  Refuse"  (included,  with  its  flipside,  on  the 
Trait  CD)  is  positively  explosive,  repeatedly  escalating 
from  funk-industrial  verses  to  a  screamingly  defiant 
hardcore-tempo  chorus  with  thrashing  guitars.  The  more 
seamless  mixture  of  Trait's  four  songs  integrate  the 
passion  and  three-chord  thrust  of  punk  with  advanced 
electronics,  a  sound  subsequently  employed  by  Ministry 
and  Lard,  the  Jourgensen/Barker  collaboration  with  an- 
other hardcore  legend,  Jello  Biafra.  [gef] 

See  also  Fugazi,  Lard,  Ministry,  Minor  Threat,  Re- 
volting Cocks, 

PAINKILLER 

See  Napalm  Death. 

PAINTED  WILLIE 

Mind  Bowling  (SST)  1985 
Live  from  Van  Nuys  EP  (SST)  1 986 
Upsidedowntown  (SST)  1987 
Relics  (SST)  1 988 

More  noisy  guitar  excitement  from  SST:  this  non- 
punky  Los  Angeles  trio  shows  a  certain  wit  and  lyrical 
perception  on  Mind  Bowling.  Although  the  music 


sounds  like  a  sanitized  junior  version  of  Motorhead, 
songs  about  Qua  Pets,  sex  without  love  and  an  obscure 
monkey  species  share  an  uncommon  view  of  the  world 
that  elevates  the  tiresome  vamps  a  bit.  The  inclusion  of 
the  classic  "Little  Red  Book"  only  points  up  the  band's 
lack  of  songwriting  aptitude. 

The  energetic  live  mini-album  features  that  song 
plus  "Cover  Girl"  from  Mind  Bowling;  there's  the 
next-LP  preview  of  "Upside  Down  Town"  plus  three 
other  "tunes."  These  guys  (especially  guitarist  Vic 
Makauskas)  can  play  well  enough,  but  their  material 
lacks  melody,  focus  and  structure — once  again,  Burt 
Bacharach  steals  their  thunder  without  even  showing 
up! 

Upsidedowntowii  has  spiffy  cover  art  and  more  taut 
riff-rock  songs,  this  time  on  such  less  intriguing  topics 
as  "My  Seed,"  "Personality  and  Style"  (thirteen  min- 
utes of  it!)  and  "Totem  Pole."  The  playing  keeps  get- 
ting stronger,  but  the  Willies  should  put  out  an  APB  for 
a  songwriter. 

Relics  is  a  compilation  of  outtakes  and  leftovers, 
dating  back  to  the  band's  prehistory.  [i] 


PALE  SAINTS 

Barging  into  the  Presence  of  God  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 989  * 
The  Comforts  of  Madness  (nr/4AD)  1 990  * 
Half-Life  EP  (nr/4AD)  1990 

Along  with  London's  Lush,  this  Leeds  trio  is  the 
closest  thing  to  a  "normal"  British  guitar  pop  group  on 
4AD.  Pale  Saints  do  have  the  label's  familiar  ethereal- 
ism  (some  songs  on  The  Comforts  of  Madness — like 
"A  Deep  Sleep  for  Steven" — even  approximate  the 
Cocteau  Twins'  trancescapes),  and  each  track  features 
long,  languid  instrumental  passages.  But  the  hooks  keep 
coming,  amid  an  alternation  of  slower  pop  numbers 
("Sea  of  Sound,"  "Little  Hammer"  and  "Sight  of 
You,"  which  first  appeared  as  the  A-side  of  the  Barg- 
ing into  the  Presence  of  God  12-inch)  and  rapid,  pow- 
erful clankers,  an  odd  mix  of  piston  power  and  floating 
vocals.  The  faster  selection  ("Language  of  Flowers," 
"True  Coming  Dream"  and  the  closing  "Time  Thief") 
offer  strongly  contrasting  emotions  and  undeniably 
catchy  tunes.  Using  triple-time  tempo  for  the  chorus,  a 
cover  of  Opal's  "Fell  from  the  Sun"  completely  bowls 
over  the  original,  taking  off  in  directions  Opal's  foggy 
murk  never  intimated.  A  remarkable,  ear-catching  de- 
but. 

After  Gil  Norton  and  John  Fryer's  inspired  work  on 
the  LP,  Pale  Saints  chose  Wedding  Present  producer 
Chris  Allison  to  record  the  four-song  Half-Life  EP,  with 
less  impressive  results.  Although  Allison  leaves  them 
sounding  like  a  less  scratchy  Wedding  Present,  the 
record  is  not  without  merit:  "Baby  Maker"  features 
little  slugs  of  psychedelic  guitar  and  more  swooning 
vocals,  while  "A  Revelation"  applies  the  group's  curi- 
ous penchant  for  gear-switching.  As  a  particularly  un- 
settling bonus,  the  12-inch  EP  contains  an  untitled  and 
unlisted  horror-scream  track  that  only  plays  if  you  pick 
up  the  needle  and  reposition  it.  [jr] 


PATTI  PALLADIN 

See  Judy  Nylon  and  Crucial,  Johnny  Thunders. 


487 


PALMER 

Sneakin'  Sally  Through  the  Alley  (Island)  1 974  » 

Pressure  Drop  (Island)  1 976  « 

Some  People  Can  Do  What  They  Like  (Island)  1976  • 

Double  Fun  (island)  1978* 

Secrets  (Island)  1979* 

Clues  (Island)  1980* 

Maybe  If s  Live  (Island)  1982 

Pride  (Island)  1 983  * 

Riptide  (Island)  1985® 

Heavy  Nova  (EMI  Manhattan)  1 988  * 

''Addictions"  Volume  1  (Island)  1989  « 

Don't  Explain  (EMI)  1 990  <t> 

It's  not  surprising  that  this  stylish  rock  dilettante — 

whose  '70s  dabblings  included  excursions  into  R&B, 

funk,  reggae  and  Little  Feat-backed  rock'n'roll — should 

catch  up  with  post-punk  in  the  '80s.  What  is  remarkable 

is  that  on  Clues  he  manages  to  come  up  with  two  tracks 
as  sublime  as  "Johnny  and  Mary"  and  "Looking  for 
Clues,"  which  are  heady,  intricate  and  danceable  at  the 
same  time.  Also  commendable  is  the  job  he  does  on  a 
couple  of  collaborations  with  Gary  Numan,  injecting 
more  life  into  them  than  one  would  think  possible.  Still, 
Clues  retains  an  irritating  stylistic  disparity  (heavy 
metal  track/Beatles  cover),  as  if  Palmer  were  afraid  his 
going  wholeheartedly  into  anything  new  might  alienate 
his  audience. 

Two  years  on,  Palmer's  dilemma  is  even  more  ap- 
parent on  Maybe  It's  Live,  a  sidestep  tentative  down  to 
its  title  and  half-live/half-studio  format.  Combining  in- 
ferior concert  versions  of  old  material,  blah  new  stuff 
and  another  collaboration  with  Numan,  the  LP  contin- 
ues Palmer's  indecisive  course. 

Without  any  big-name  collaborators,  Palmer  again 
delivers  a  weirdly  mixed  bag  on  Pride,  venturing  into 
electro-disco  with  the  herky-jerky,  overbearing  "You 
Are  in  My  System,"  while  affecting  a  charming  calypso 
flavor  in  other  spots.  There's  also  a  reprise  of  the  un- 
settling undercurrents  of  "Johnny  and  Mary"  on  "Want 
You  More."  Palmer's  voice  is  such  that  the  less  he 
tries,  the  better  he  sounds:  when  the  going  gets  hot,  his 
singing  becomes  overwhelming  and  irritating. 

Palmer's  next  move  was  into  the  vile  but  hit-bound 
Power  Station,  a  temporary  all-star  band  with  two  Du- 
rannies,  produced  by  Bernard  Edwards.  When  the  group 
opted  to  tour,  however,  Palmer  bailed  out,  retaining 
Edwards  and  Tony  Thompson  from  the  brief  collabora- 
tion to  finish  Riptide,  a  bombastic  funk  record  with 
such  tripe  as  "Addicted  to  Love,"  a  song  whose  main 
value  lies  in  its  parody  potential. 

Can  an  album  get  any  more  eclectic  than  Heavy 
Nova?  From  the  trashy  (and  awful)  pop  hit  "Simply 
Irresistible"  to  the  reggae-cajun  fusion  of  "Change  His 
Ways"  (a  bizarre  song  that,  amazingly,  works),  the 
Peggy  Lee  ballad  "It  Could  Happen  to  You,"  Brazilian, 
African,  funk,  metal .  .  .  every  record  ever  recorded  all 
on  one  disc!  It's  nice  to  see  that  Palmer  is  so  open- 
minded,  but  if  an  LP  is  meant  to  suit  or  promote  a 
particular  mood,  this  one's  just  too  hectic. 

Compared  to  Heavy  Nova,  the  "Addictions"  Vol- 
ume I  best-of  plays  like  a  concept  album.  (In  his  ex- 
cellent sleeve  notes  Palmer  mentions  the  care  he  took  in 
programming  it.)  There  are  only  three  pre-1980  cuts 
here  and  none  from  before  '78.  As  an  overview  of  post- 


punk  Palmer  (through  Heavy  Nova),  it's  all  there—the 
good  and  the  bad. 

More  strange  fusions  abound  on  Don't  Explain 
Palmer  rocks  hard  (with  guitarists  Steve  Stevens  and 
Eddie  "Rock  Box"  Martinez)  on  one  number;  sings  pop 
on  the  next;  then  soca,  a  cappella,  etc.  No  doubt  pleased 
by  "It  Could  Happen  to  You"  and  the  other  softer  mo- 
ments on  Heavy  Nova,  he  devotes  the  last  seven  songs 
of  this  double-album-length  disc  to  string-laden  torch 
songs  of  the  type  Billy  Holiday  sang  late  in  her  life 
(though  only  the  title  track  is  actually  hers),  a  couple  of 
Brazilian-influenced  pieces  and  a  rollicking  Mose  Alli- 
son cover.  When  he  covers  Mose,  he  sounds  like  Mose; 
when  he  covers  Otis  Redding  and  Marvin  Gaye  else- 
where on  this  LP,  he  takes  on  their  inflections.  What- 
ever the  setting,  Palmer  plops  down  and  makes  himself 
comfortable.  People  used  to  call  David  Bowie  rock's 
great  chameleon,  but  it's  hard  to  imagine  any  commer- 
cial music  fan,  regardless  of  personal  taste,  not  finding 
something  to  like  (and  hate)  on  any  of  Palmer's  recent 
records.  [ds/i] 

See  also  Power  Station. 


PANDORAS 

The  Pandoras  EP  (Moxie)  1984 
If  s  About  Time  (Voxx)  1 984  • 
Stop  Pretending  (Rhino)  1 986 
Rock  Hard  EP  (Restless)  1988  « 
Live  Nymphomania  (Restless)  1 989  <|> 

The  unashamedly  '60s-obsessed  Pandoras  (led  by 
singer/ writer/guitarist  Paula  Pierce)  are  revivalists  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  word,  recapturing  the  gleeful  amateur- 
ism of  vintage  garage-punk-pop  while  adding  their  own 
cheerfully  slutty  persona  to  the  mix.  Following  an  en- 
ergetically amateurish  7-inch  EP,  the  LA  band  made  its 
longplaying  debut  on  It's  About  Time  (produced  by 
Greg  Shaw),  which  makes  a  virtue  of  its  shoestring 
primitivism.  With  some  crackerjack  tunes  awash  in 
Pierce' s  fuzztones  and  Gwynne  Kelly's  appropriately 
trashy  organ,  it's  as  good  a  '60s  punk  record  as  any 
contemporary  combo  is  likely  to  make.  (The  Voxx/East 
Side  Digital  CD  adds  five  bonus  tracks,  including  three 
songs  from  the  EP.) 

Pierce  ditched  the  rest  of  the  band  soon  after  the 
debut  LP  (though  the  other  three  original  members  con- 
tinued performing  under  the  Pandoras  name  for  a  while) 
and  recorded  Stop  Pretending  with  a  new  lineup.  While 
maintaining  the  '60s  fixation  and  playing  up  the  brash- 
hussy  stance,  Stop  Pretending  features  stronger  play- 
ing and  a  harder-rocking  edge  (there's  no  reason  why 
"In  and  Out  of  My  Life  (In  a  Day)"  shouldn't  have 
been  a  hit),  suggesting  that  the  Pandoras  aren't  as  hope- 
lessly mired  in  historical  fetishism  as  one  might  assume. 

Although  the  Pandoras  were  signed  to  Elektra  and 
recorded  an  album  (entitled  Come  Inside),  the  band 
and  label  went  their  separate  ways  and  the  LP  was 
scrapped.  Instead,  the  Pandoras  issued  Rock  Hard,  five 
blaring  rock  songs  of  horny  raunch — with  titles  like 
"Six  Times  a  Day,"  "Craving"  and  "He's  Coming"— 
and  one  strongly  suggestive  pop  song.  Judging  by  this 
unseemly  musical  and  lyrical  display,  Pierce  has  just 
discovered  masturbation,  her  G  spot  or  the  Runaways. 
Unless  five  women  in  leather  singing  about  sex  with  the 


488 


crotch-grabbing  delicacy  of  deckhands  sounds  like  a 
cheap  thrill,  avoid  being  slimed  by  this  embarrassing 
adolescent  tape. 

Demonstrating  that  Rock  Hard  was  no  one-disc 
stand,  the  Pandoras  recycle  four  of  its  songs  (alongside 
others  in  the  same  vein)  on  Nymphomaiiia,  a  hopeless 
live  set  recorded  in  Dallas.  Pierce' s  voice  is  totally  un- 
suited  to  such  loud  rock;  her  uncertain  grip  on  melody 
and  sloppy,  out-of-tune  guitar  work  (not  to  mention 
drummer  Sheri  Kaplan's  lame  thumping)  make  listening 
to  this  quite  a  chore.  Most  significant  liner  note  thank 
you.  "to  my  human  sexuality  teacher  &  classmates." 
Just  what  are  they  teaching  in  school  these  days? 

[hd/i] 


PANKOW 

Freedom  for  the  Slaves  EP  (Wax  Trax!}  1 988  ® 
Gisela  (Wax  Trax!)  1989® 

Pankow  Show  You  Their  Dongs  EP  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  © 
Omne  Anima  Triste  Post  Coitum  [tapel  (RO1R)  1991 

One  is  naturally  wary  when  Italians  and  Germans 
get  together,  and  at  least  some  of  this  caution  is  justified 
by  Pankow,  which  uses  Florence  as  its  operational  base. 
Multi-instrumentalist  (okay,  sample-meister)  Maurizio 
Fasolo  and  singer  Alex  Spalck  form  the  core  of  this 
intermittently  interesting  and  conscientiously  provoca- 
tive group  that  gets  Adrian  Sherwood  to  do  a  lot  of  its 
mixes.  Always  sonically  engaging,  Pankow  goes  wrong 
whenever  Spalck  opens  his  mouth.  You  can  laugh  at  the 
nihilism  of  Revolting  Cocks  (indeed,  that's  probably  the 
point),  but  with  Pankow  you  can  only  roll  your  eyes  and 
hope  for  the  vocals  to  end. 

The  six-song  Freedom  for  the  Slaves  boasts  a  cut 
called  "Art  &  Madness"  (yeesh!)  as  well  as  a  cover  of 
the  Normal's  classic  "Warm  Leatherette."  The  beats 
are  loud  and  nasty,  and  the  accompanying  noises  crunch 
in  all  the  right  places. 

Although  it  was  actually  released  in  a  100-copy  edi- 
tion with  a  gold-embossed  slab  of  marble  for  a  cover, 
the  more  commonly  circulated  edition  of  Gisela  merely 
has  a  particularly  creepy  sleeve  illustration.  In  any  case, 
it  contains  another  swipe  at  "Warm  Leatherette,"  which 
sounds  like  a  nightmare  concocted  by  Saturday  Night 
Live's  Hans  and  Franz.  Although  it  rocks,  "Me  &  My 
Ding  Dong"  is  basically  an  industrial-noise  take  on 
Chuck  Berry's  "My  Ding-a-ling."  (Which  is  to  say 
unessential.)  "I  shall  die  in  mediocrity,"  Spalck  sings 
on  "Germany  Is  Burning"  (from  Pankow  Show  You 
Their  Dongs,  the  12-inch/CD  version  of  "Me  &  My 
Ding  Dong");  speaking  as  someone  whose  favorite 
Pankow  cut  is  the  CD's  instrumental  remix  of  that  song, 
I  don't  doubt  it. 

The  1991  cassette  (the  title  of  which  translates  as  All 
Animals  (Are  Sad  After  Coitus)  is  a  live  compilation 
from  a  recent  tour.  [gk] 

See  also  Ben  Vaughn  Combo. 


(TAV  FALCO'S)  PANTHER 
BURNS 

Behind  the  Magnolia  Curtain  (Rough  Trade)  1981  (Fr. 
Fan  Club)  1988* 


Blow  Your  Top  EP  (Animal)  1 982  •? 

Now!  [tape]  (Frenzs)  1984 

Sugar  Ditch  Revisited  EP  f  Frenzs J  1985  • 

Shake  Rag  EP  f  Fr.  New  Rose)  1 986  • 

The  World  We  Knew  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 987  • 

Red  Devi!  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 988  • 

1 0th  Anniversary  Live  IP:  Midnight  In  Memphis  (Fr.  New 

Rose)  1989® 
Return  of  the  Blue  Panther  (Triple  X)  1 990  6 

MUD  BOY  &  THE  NEUTRONS 

Known  Felons  in  Drag  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 986 

JAMES  LUTHER  DICKINSON 

Delta  Experimental  Projects  Compilation  Volume  2:  Spring 

Poems  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1 990 

For  folks  who  prize  unspoiled  simplicity  in  rock- 
'n'roll (and  especially  in  rockabilly),  Tav  Falco's  Pan- 
ther  Bums  may  be  the  ultimate  band.  On  the  early 
records,  his  voice  drenched  in  echo,  Falco  goes  through 
a  familiar  repertoire  of  Presley-derived  whoops,  mutters 
and  coos,  while  an  amateurish  backing  ensemble  that 
often  includes  Alex  Chilton  grinds  away  laboriously  like 
high-school  rockers  straggling  through  their  first  re- 
hearsal. The  deliberately  slowed-down  tempo  and  bra- 
zen sloppmess  invest  Behind  the  Magnolia  Curtain 
with  an  intriguing  conceptual  purity,  but  the  rawness 
turns  prolonged  exposure  into  a  painful  experience. 

The  four  songs  on  Blow  Your  Top  provide  more  of 
the  same  frayed  recklessness.  But  thanks  to  cleaner 
sound  and  playing  that  verges  on  being  professional, 
this  set  almost  has  commercial  potential.  (See  "Love  Is 
My  Business"  for  proof.)  There's  still  plenty  of  ground 
separating  Falco's  sweaty  hysteria  and  the  well-oiled 
appeal  of  the  Stray  Cats,  though, 

Falco  recorded  Sugar  Ditch  Revisited  at  Sam  Phil- 
lips' Memphis  studio  with  "Lx"  Chilton  and  a  few 
other  Panther  Bumsmen;  the  six  tracks  are  well  played, 
well  sung,  well  recorded,  under  control  and  somewhat 
underwhelming.  The  countrybilly  spirit  and  sincerity  is 
there,  but  the  performances  start  and  stop  without  ever 
really  heating  up,  and  the  absence  of  chaos  leaves  the 
simple  (if  esoterically  sourced)  material  to  stand  alone, 
which — until  the  frisky  finale,  "Tina,  the  Go  Go 
Queen'* — it  doesn't  do  all  that  well. 

The  Now!  cassette,  issued  by  Falco  on  his  own  la- 
bel, contains  seven  numbers  (including  ten  minutes  of 
"Jump  Suit*')  taped  absolutely  live  in  Memphis  in 
1984.  New  Rose  subsequently  included  that  material  as 
a  bonus  disc  in  original  pressings  of  the  killer  12-inch 
Shake  Rag  E.P.:  studio  recordings  with  Jim  Dickinson 
that  include  one  original  (the  stomping  "Cuban  Rebel 
Girl,"  also  on  the  live  tape/disc)  and  three  typically 
swell  obscurities. 

Chilton' s  revitalized  production  and  playing  on  The 
World  We  Knew  helps  make  it  one  of  Falco's  all-time 
best  showings.  Using  a  rotating  collection  of  sidemen, 
the  carefully  annotated  songs — a  scholarly  combination 
of  R&B,  Sun  rockabilly,  blues  and  other  wondrous  mu- 
sical inventions  ("desert  skulk  fugue;  decorticated  cycle 
tune;  the  Stuttgart,  Arkansas  sound,"  to  quote  the  liner 
notes) — get  a  thorough  and  affectionate  workout  that 
remains  surehanded  without  ever  slipping  down  off  the 
rustic  funk  meter.  (There  are  no  originals  on  this  non- 
didactic  history  course,)  All  concerned  sounds  as  though 


489 


they're  having  a  blast,  and  that  feeling  comes  nght 
through  the  speakers.  The  CD  adds  Shake  Rag. 

The  10-inch  Red  Bevtl  signals  a  measured  return  to 
the  uncontrolled  wildness  of  early  Panther  Bums' 
records.  Falco  lays  some  truly  soulful  hollerin'  over 
noisy  electric  guitars  and  a  thumping  backbeat  on  tracks 
produced  individually  (not  to  mention  artlessly)  by  Chil- 
ton,  Dickinson  and  others.  Red  Devil — ten  songs  and 
an  abundance  of  hellacious  energy — features  esoterica 
by  Chuck  Berry,  Lee  Hazelwood  and  others,  adding  the 
songwriting  talents  of  Dickinson  and  even  Tav  himself 
to  the  party.  (The  French  CD  also  contains  Sugar  Ditch 
Revisited.) 

The  tenth  anniversary  album — a  two-disc  live-in- 
Memphis  (February  '89)  extravaganza  with  Chilton, 
Dickinson,  other  alumni  and  assorted  guests — 
confidently  covers  a  broad  variety  of  vintage  material, 
from  "It's  Only  Make  Believe"  to  "Goldfinger"  to 
"Train  Kept  a-RollinY'  but  generally  lacks  the  fiery 
excitement  of  Panther  Burns'  fringey  best.  The  years 
have  evidently  been  too  kind  to  Falco:  the  former  rock- 
abilly loony  has  become — of  all  things — an  accom- 
plished entertainer.  (Could  his  small  role  in  Great  Balls 
of  Fire  have  anything  to  do  with  such  a  shocking  trans- 
formation?) Despite  a  few  flat  notes,  an  out-of-tune 
guitar  and  some  offbeat  song  introductions,  the  perfor- 
mances are  kind  of  colorless — cairn  and  controlled 
where  they  should  be  frantic. 

Not  to  worry.  Return  of  the  Blue  Panther  is  won- 
derfully crappy-sounding,  an  edgy  three-day  session  in 
reverb-land  as  raw  as  you  please.  (In  keeping  with  the 
music's  fast'n'loose  spirit,  the  sleeve  has  its  share  of 
mistakes  )  Considerately  performing  material  people 
outside  of  swap  meets  are  likely  to  have  heard,  Falco 
rips  through  a  fine  R&B-oriented  program  that  includes 
"Rock  Me,  Baby,"  "Got  Love  If  You  Want  It"  and  "I 
Got  a  Woman."  Falco 's  back! 

Mud  Boy  &  the  Neutrons  are  Dickinson's  band. 
Known  Felons  is  Elmore  James  and  Sleepy  John  Estes, 
Chuck  Berry  and  Bo  Diddley  ^  cranked  out  by  white 
Memphis  boys  in  the  late  '80s.  Considerably  more  rigid 
and  fratlike  than  Tav's  excursions  into  like  territory,  Mud 
Boy  could  be  NRBQ's  little  cousins  with  twice  the  rev- 
erence and  half  the  talent.  Spring  Poems,  the  second  vol- 
ume in  a  Memphis  compilation  series  helmed  by 
Dickinson,  unexpectedly  offers  him  solo  for  ambience 
with  a  paucity  of  songs,  perhaps  effective  in  their  intent 
as  soundtracks  but  fairly  pointless  on  album,  [jy/tr/ab] 

See  also  Alex  Chilton. 


PARIS 

The  Devil  Made  Me  Do  It  (Scarface-Tommy  Boy)  1 990  • 
Under  the  dual  banners  of  the  Black  Panther  Party 
and  the  Nation  of  Islam  (a  contradiction  in  terms  that 
evidently  eludes  him),  this  devastating  young  MC's  de- 
but is  the  most  politically  potent  radical  rap  record  yet. 
(That  Paris'  self-produced  backing  tracks  are  diverse, 
imaginative  and  bumingly  intense  only  adds  to  the 
record's  heavy  impact. )  Stepping  away  from  Public  En- 
emy's scattershot  militancy,  The  Devil  Made  Me  Do  It 
expands  on  the  ruthless  rhymes — rooted  in  the  Panthers* 
revolutionary  nationalism  ("Brutal,"  a  non- vinyl  bonus 
track,  offers  a  concise  history  of  the  African-American 
struggle)  and  Muslim  faith — with  archival  sound  bites 


and  carefully  detailed  written  descriptions  of  pivotal  his- 
torical figures,  from  Nat  Turner  to  Huey  P.  Newton 
(Indicative  of  Paris'  truth-bending  divided  loyalties,  the 
liner  notes  attribute  the  murder  of  Malcolm  X  to  "an 
agent  of  the  U.S.  government.")  Whether  you  agree 
with  his  opinions  or  not,  Paris  is  a  bold  and  important 
new  spokesman.  [i] 

Howlin  Wind  (Mercury)  1 976  • 
Heat  Treatment  (Mercury)  1 976  • 
Another  Grey  Area  (Arista)  1 982  • 
The  Real  Macaw  (Arista)  1983 
Anger:  Classic  Performances  (Arista)  1 985 
The  Mono  Lisa's  Sister  (RCA)  1 988  ® 
Live!  Alone  in  America  (RCA)  1989  • 
Human  Soul  (RCA)  1 989  • 
Struck  by  Lightning  (RCA)  1 991  4> 

THE 
RUMOUR 

Stick  to  Me  (Mercury)  1 977  • 

The  Pink  Parker  EP  (Mercury)  1977 

The  Parkerilla  (Mercury)  1978 

Squeezing  Out  Sparks  (Arista)  1 979  • 

The  Up  Escalator  (Stiff-Arista)  1980  ® 

High  Times  (nr/Vertigo)  1 980 

it  Don't  Mean  a  Thing  If  It  Ain't  Got  That  Swing 

(nr/Philips)  1984 
Pourin'  It  All  Out:  The  Mercury  Years  (Mercury)  1 986 

GRAHAM  PARKER  AND  THE 
SHOT 

Steady  Nerves  (Elekrra)  1985  • 

Before  Elvis  Costello  and  Joe  Jackson,  there  was 
Graham  Parker,  redefining  the  smger/songwnter  cate- 
gory for  mid-'70s  rock'n'roll  audiences  suspicious  of 
the  James  Taylors  and  Carly  Simons.  With  his  raspy, 
Van  Morrison-influenced  vocals  and  soul-on-fire  tunes, 
this  diminutive  Englishman  burst  on  the  scene  just  be- 
fore the  punk  explosion  and  showed  how  to  make  music 
personal  without  sacrificing  power. 

Produced  by  Nick  Lowe,  Howlin  Wind  is  a  classic 
debut  album,  full  of  fine  ideas  fleshed  out  with  ragged 
enthusiasm.  Parker  acknowledges  his  roots  throughout, 
singing  original  R&B  boppers  ("White  Honey"  and 
"Lady  Doctor")  with  sly  wit  and  masterfully  recon- 
structing rockabilly  on  the  angry  "Back  to  School- 
days," complete  with  guest  twangin'  by  Dave  Edmunds 
(who  later  recorded  the  song  himself  on  Get  It).  Evi- 
dencing an  equally  powerful  sensitive  side,  Parker 
checks  in  with  the  reflective  "Between  You  and  Me" 
and  "Don't  Ask  Me  Questions,"  the  latter  a  chilling 
wail  of  anguish. 

On  Howlin  Wind  (and  all  subsequent  LPs  through 
The  Up  Escalator),  Parker  received  formidable  back- 
ing from  the  Rumour:  Brinsley  Schwarz  (guitar)  and 
Bob  Andrews  (keyboards),  both  ex-Brinsley  Schwarz 
band  members;  Martin  Belmont  (guitar),  ex-Ducks  De- 
luxe; Stephen  Goulding  (drums)  and  Andrew  Bodnar 
(bass),  both  ex-Bontemps  Roulez.  Often  compared  to 
Dylan's  erstwhile  '60s  cohorts,  the  Rumour  displays  the 
same  self-assurance  and  finesse  as  the  Band,  but  rocks 
harder.  Despite  a  checkered  recording  career  on  its  own, 
the  Rumour  was  always  a  stellar  support  group. 


490 


Although  produced  by  Robert  John  Lange,  Heat 
Treatment  is  essentially  a  punchier  continuation  of 
Howlin  Wind.  For  spirited  soul,  there's  " Hotel  Cham- 
bermaid" and  "Back  Door  Love."  Parker's  serious 
tunes  are  also  more  intense:  'Turned  Up  Too  Late" 
delivers  a  devastating  romantic  rejection;  the  anthemic 
'"Fools'  Gold,"  one  of  his  finest  achievements,  affirms 
the  need  to  search  for  the  best,  however  elusive — it's 
unaffected  and  inspiring. 

The  Pink  Parker,  an  EP  pressed  on  colored  vinyl, 
combines  non-LP  studio  renditions  of  the  Trammps' 
"Hold  Back  the  Night"  and  a  Parker  original  with  hot 
live  versions  of  "White  Honey"  and  "Soul  Shoes." 

With  the  vastly  improved  music  scene  as  a  catalyst, 
Parker  evidently  felt  the  need  to  assert  himself  more 
strongly  on  Stick  to  Me,  but  the  resulting  overstatement 
and  stylistic  diversity  couldn't  be  contained  comfortably 
on  one  LP.  Nonetheless,  taken  individually,  many 
tracks  are  undeniably  compelling.  The  title  cut  is  Park- 
er's soaring  declaration  of  dedication  in  the  face  of  a 
hostile  world;  he  unleashes  exhilarating  nastiness  in  Ann 
Peebles'  "I'm  Gonna  Tear  Your  Playhouse  Down." 
But  one  need  only  look  at  Side  Two  to  sense  the  con- 
fusion: it  begins  and  ends  with  raucous  throwaways  de- 
signed to  compensate  for  the  massive  epics  in  the  center. 
No  amount  of  party  fun,  however,  could  clear  the  air 
after  the  overblown  theatrics  of  the  seven-minute  "Heat 
in  Harlem."  Parker  is  sabotaged  by  his  own  indecision. 

In  classic  contract-fulfilling  tradition,  Parker 
cranked  out  a  two-record  set,  The  Parkerilla:  three  live 
sides  plus  a  second  studio  version  of  "Don't  Ask  Me 
Questions."  Adequate  but  musically  unnecessary,  it  did 
the  legal  trick,  and  Parker  was  free  to  switch  to  a  dif- 
ferent American  label.  The  sour-grapes  "Mercury  Poi- 
soning" (1979)  was  his  first  release  on  Arista,  which 
declined  to  put  its  name  to  the  promo-only  gray  12-inch 
one-sided  single. 

Squeezing  Out  Sparks  resolved  Parker's  stylistic 
dilemma.  It's  his  toughest,  leanest  and  most  lyrically 
sophisticated  LP;  in  a  way  a  sad  loss  of  innocence. 
Eschewing  the  lighter  soul  elements  of  his  earlier  work, 
Parker  adopts  a  harsh,  nearly  humorless  tone  that  sug- 
gests cynicism  instead  of  anger.  (Regardless,  critics 
generally  loved  it  and  sales  were  decidedly  improved 
over  previous  efforts.)  "Discovering  Japan"  and  "No- 
body Hurts  You"  are  sizzling,  passionate  rockers;  for 
better  or  worse,  the  album's  centerpiece  (echoing  the 
album  title's  judgmental  metaphor)  is  "You  Can't  Be 
Too  Strong,"  an  anti-abortion  ballad  full  of  disturbing 
imagery  and  emphatic  phrasing.  In  his  eagerness  to 
forge  a  coherent  style,  Parker  neglects  to  vary  the  emo- 
tional tone.  (A  novel  1979  promo  album — live  versions 
of  every  Sparks  song  in  the  same  running  order  as  on 
the  studio  version,  plus  two  other  live  cuts — was  issued 
to  radio  as  Live  Sparks,  further  strengthening  the 
band's  concert  reputation.) 

Parker  somehow  lost  his  sense  of  purpose  on  The 
Up  Escalator.  Although  retaining1  the  intense,  driven 
approach  of  Squeezing  Out  Sparks,  the  material  on 
this  album  falls  short,  possessing  fury  without  context, 
which  results  in  unsatisfying  overkill.  Individually,  "No 
Holding  Back,"  "Devil's  Sidewalk"  and  "Love  With- 
out Greed"  crackle  nicely;  collectively,  they  produce  a 
hollow  roar.  Those  looking  to  assign  blame  will  notice 
the  increasing  influence  of  the  king  of  rock  melodrama, 


Bruce  Springsteen,  who  even  joins  in  vocally  on  the 
bloated  "Endless  Night."  Also,  the  departure  of  Bob 
Andrews  must  have  added  to  the  changing  situation. 

The  rest  of  the  Rumour  followed  Andrews  through 
the  exit  prior  to  Another  Grey  Area,  which  actually 
constitutes  a  minor  comeback,  avoiding  the  noisier  ex- 
tremes of  The  Up  Escalator.  A  band  of  New  York 
session  musicians  provides  precise  though  unspectacu- 
lar accompaniment;  Parker  co-produced  with  Jack 
Douglas.  Interestingly,  the  harder-rocking  tracks  are  the 
least  effective:  "Big  Fat  Zero"  and  "You  Hit  the  Spot" 
seem  little  more  than  halfhearted  gestures.  In  contrast, 
ballads  like  "Temporary  Beauty,"  "Dark  Side  of  the 
Bright  Lights"  and  "Crying  for  Attention"  have  a 
graceful  and  unforced  ring  of  sincerity  never  before 
heard  on  a  Parker  LP.  Though  Another  Grey  Area 
seldom  overwhelms,  it  does  indicate  that,  after  six  stu- 
dio albums,  Parker  is  still  willing  to  take  chances. 

The  Real  Macaw,  however,  is  a  chance  he  probably 
shouldn't  have  taken.  Songs  like  "You  Can't  Take  Love 
for  Granted"  and  "Life  Gets  Better"  reach  Parker's 
required  level  of  intensity,  but  the  production  and  play- 
ing do  not.  Producer  David  Kershenbaum  gives  Parker 
the  kind  of  sparse,  colorless  setting  he  used  to  create  for 
Joe  Jackson;  the  musicianship  is  unnecessarily  under- 
stated. The  end  product:  a  disc  that  is  watered  down  and 
should  have  been  harder. 

Steady  Nerves  rights  the  balance,  blending  the  pop 
veneer  of  The  Real  Macaw  with  a  tougher  band  attack 
for  a  bracing  series  of  characteristically  pithy  perfor- 
mances, from  the  cheerfully  raunchy  "When  You  Do 
That  to  Me"  to  the  gorgeously  romantic  "Wake  Up 
(Next  to  You)"  to  "Break  Them  Down,"  a  classic 
Parker  fist- waver.  A  solid  album  that  bodes  well.  (The 
CD  has  an  extra  song,  "Too  Much  Time  to  Think.") 

Parker  soon  left  Elektra  and,  following  an  abortive 
alliance  with  Atlantic  that  didn't  result  in  any  releases, 
signed  to  RCA  and,  three  years  after  Steady  Nerves, 
came  up  with  The  Mona  Lisa's  Sister.  Getting  excel- 
lent backing  from  the  extraordinary  Schwarz  (who  co- 
produced  with  Parker),  Bodnar,  ex-Rockpile  drummer 
Terry  Williams  and  keyboardist  James  Hallawell,  Parker 
engages  his  sharp  tongue  and  sketchy  melodicism  for 
another  collection  of  smooth  songs  that  has  its  ups  ( "OK 
Hieronymous")  and  downs  ("Get  Started.  Start  a 
Fire").  Brittle  sound  tends  to  undercut  Parker's  soulful 
strut  (especially  on  "I'm  Just  Your  Man"  and  a  lovely 
reading  of  Sam  Cooke's  "Cupid");  "The  Girl  Isn't 
Ready"  and  "Don't  Let  It  Break  You  Down,"  how- 
ever, gain  edgy  tension  from  the  same  audio  character- 
istic. Although  not  among  his  best,  The  Mona  Lisa's 
Sister  confirms  Parker's  continued  artistic  vitality. 

The  only  thing  Parker's  solo  live  album  (recorded  in 
Philadelphia,  October  1988)  confirms  is  that  he  really 
does  need  accompaniment  to  put  his  songs  across.  Na- 
ked renditions  of  classic  material  ("White  Honey," 
"Gypsy  Blood,"  "Back  to  Schooldays,"  "Protection," 
"You  Can't  Be  Too  Strong")  are  blunt  but  lifeless;  of 
the  provocative  new  songs,  only  the  blistering  "Soul 
Corruption"  is  strong  enough  to  rise  above  the  demo- 
like  presentation. 

Fronting  a  band  composed  of  Schwarz,  Bodnar  and 
Steve  Nieve  and  Pete  Thomas  from  the  Attractions, 
Parker  bounced  back  with  Human  Soul,  an  exception- 
ally fine  album  of  memorable,  mature  songs.  With  nods 


491 


hit-and-miss.  In  the  winning  column,  Shinehead  does  an 
impressive  reworked  version  of  Sly  Stone's  '* Family 
Affair/'  flashes  his  rapid-fire  lyrical  style  (as  well  as  his 
sense  of  humor)  on  * 'Cigarette  Breath,"  clings  to  his 
Jamaican  birthright  with  "Musical  Madness,"  delivers 
an  inspiring  sermon  in  "Strive"  and  lands  a  dose  of 
reality  on  the  title  track.  [aw] 

SHIRTS 

The  Shirts  (Capitol)  1978 
Street  Light  Shine  (Capitol)  1979 
Inner  Sleeve  (Capitol)  1980 

JING/CHEM1CAL  WEDDING 

Off  the  Board  [tape]  (CBGB)  1 987 

J1NG 

Jing  (Three  Cherries)  1 989 

Six  Brooklynites  known  as  the  Shirts  were  playing 
Top  40  covers  in  local  bars  until  they  happened  onto  the 
Bowery  club  circuit  in  1975.  Abandoning  the  boroughs 
for  a  career  in  Manhattan  with  original  material,  the 
Shirts  became  a  popular  (if  unhip)  fixture  on  the  bur- 
geoning New  York  new  wave  scene,  and  went  on  to 
make  three  albums  of  totally  bland  hoping-for-the- 
mainstream  rock.  Singer  Annie  Golden  went  on  to  suc- 
cess as  a  singer/actress — in  the  movie  of  Hair,  with  a 
solo  single  in  1984  and  on  Broadway — but  the  Shirts  are 
little  more  than  a  dull  memory.  Each  of  the  albums  has 
an  enjoyable  song  or  two,  but  there's  nothing  remark- 
able about  any  of  them. 

A  decade  later,  Shirts  guitarist/vocalist  Artie  La 
Monica  (now  calling  himself  Arthur  Jing)  turned  up 
back  on  CBGB's  stage,  filling  one  side  of  a  live  cassette 
with  his  solo  debut.  Supported  by  a  skilled  quartet  and 
bearing  traces  of  Elvis  Costello,  Bob  Dylan  and  Dion  in 
his  voice,  Jing  makes  a  credible,  well-recorded  show- 
ing. Four  of  the  same  songs  turn  up  again  on  the  epon- 
ymous studio  album,  a  not  unpleasant  anachronism  that 
has  its  roots  in  '70s  new  wave,  Brill  Building  pop  and 
the  same  mixture  of  '60s  rock  and  soul  that  informed 
Springsteen's  early  records.  Golden  guests  on  three 
tracks.  [i] 


per  track)  ruin  the  whole  thing.  Eugene  shouldn't  be 
careful  with  his  axe,  but  with  his  mouth. 

Greatest  Hits  takes  one  track  each  from  the  two 
preceding  English  records  and  adds  a  quartet  of  stunning 
live  cuts,  including  the  amphetaminized  "Bluegrass 
Breakdown"  and  a  nearly  unrecognizable  version  of  the 
Doors'  "People  Are  Strange."  The  Ghost  of  Shocka- 
billy  CD  combines  Earth  and  Colosseum,  the  album  on 
which  the  writing  team  of  Chadbourne  and  Mark  Kramer 
(bass/organ/production)  began  to  flourish,  with  the 
Kramer  musically  embellishing  Eugene's  political  and 
instrumental  rants,  parodies  and  white-trash  obsessions. 
(The  Shimmy-Disc  cassette  of  Earth  contains  The 
Dawn  of  Shockabilly. ) 

Vietnam  is  a  relatively  grand  affair,  with  a  huge 
tour-diary  poster  and  material  by  Arthur  Lee,  John 
Fogerty,  John  Lee  Hooker  and  the  Beatles  mercilessly 
savaged  by  Chadbourne,  Kramer  and  drummer  David 
Licht 

Heaven  takes  the  terrible  trio  further  into  the  realms 
of  the  truly  weird.  Only  three  covers  (Bolan,  Lennon 
and  a  mystery),  but  such  inspired  originals  as  Eugene's 
"How  Can  You  Kill  Me,  I'm  Already  Dead"  and  "She 
Was  a  Living  Breathing  Piece  of  Dirt"  more  than  make 
up  the  difference.  On  that  (bum)  note,  Shockabilly 
ceased  to  exist.  (Shimmy-Disc  later  paired  Vietnam 
and  Heaven  on  CD  and  cassette.) 

The  posthumous  live  CD,  Just  Beautiful,  is  a  gen- 
erous 27-track  plunge  into  the  group's  hyperkinetic  non- 
stop electric  vaudeville:  Chadbourne  wreaks  havoc  on 
an  electrified  rake  and  birdcage  while  Kramer  and 
mutant-percussionist  Licht  fall  apart  in  the  background. 
Almost  entirely  comprised  of  covers,  the  CD  includes 
five  remixed  tracks  from  Dawn  of  Shockabilly  sutured 
in  the  middle.  The  cassette  version  has  a  dozen  live 
tracks  (from  '84  and  '85),  the  entire  Colosseum  LP  and 
the  five  Dawn  remixes. 

Occasionally  listenable,  often  more  stupid  than 
funny,  Shockabilly  was,  if  nothing  else,  absolutely 
unique.  [jg/i/rg] 

See  also  Bongwater,  Carney-Hild-Kramer,  Eugene 
Chadbourne. 


SHOCKABILLY 

The  Down  of  Shockabilly  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1982 

(Shimmy-Disc)  1988 
Earth  vs.  Shockabllly  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1983 

(Shimmy-Disc)  1988 
Greatest  Hits  EP  (Red)  1 983 
Colosseum  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 984 
Vietnam  (Fundamental  Music)  1984 
Heaven  (Fundamental  Music)  1 985 
The  Ghost  of  Shockabilly  [CD]  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 989  • 
Vietnam/Heaven  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990  <t> 
Live  ...  Just  Beautiful  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990  • 

Crazed  rockabilly-tinged  remakes  of  "Psychotic  Re- 
action" and  two  Yardbirds  classics  isn't  a  bad  idea, 
especially  if  gonzo  guitar  and  drums  like  those  on  The 
Dawn  of  Shockabilly  are  brought  to  bear  on  'em.  Tak- 
ing the  same  tack  on  "A  Hard  Day's  Night"  and  a 
country  oldie,  adding  silly  organ  also  makes  a  funny 
kind  of  sense.  But  guitarist  Eugene  Chadbourne's  non- 
sense vocals  (stupidly  muffled,  or  in  silly  cartoon  char- 
acter styles,  with  at  least  two  or  three  different  voices 


MICHELLE  SHOCKED 

The  Texas  Campfire  Tapes  (Cooking  Vinyl)  1 986 

(Mercury)  1 988  • 

Short  Sharp  Shocked  (Mercury)  1 988  • 
Anchorage  EP  (nr/London)  1 988  • 
If  Love  Was  a  Train  EP  (nr/London)  1 989  • 
Captain  Swing  (Mercury)  1 989  • 

hi  the  interests  of  critical  fair  play,  let  it  be  acknowl- 
edged that  Bob  Dylan  also  changed  his  name,  invented 
(or  at  least  outrageously  embellished)  his  personal  my- 
thology and  slyly  claimed  an  entirely  fictitious  folk 
rootsiness  with  all  the  guile  of  film  star.  Since  Michelle 
Shocked  is  no  Bob  Dylan,  her  ability  to  pull  off  the 
same  charade  only  proves  that  you  can  fool  some  of  the 
people  all  of  the  time.  That's  not  to  say  she's  not  tal- 
ented but,  as  a  well-rounded  pop  star,  her  strained  ef- 
forts at  self-promotion  and  political  action  are  dubiously 
credible  and  unforgivably  distasteful  hi  light  of  her  pre- 
tensions of  unpretentiousness. 

Recorded  live  at  a  folk  festival  on  a  portable  tape 
machine  (not  exactly  a  field  recording  but  close  enough 


592 


twee  is  not  without  its  gems,  especially  the  cute  but 
noisy  "Baby,  You're  Just  You"  and  the  revamped  "Sit 
on  It  Mother."  (Richard  Mazda  produced.) 

Deliberately  amateur  and  willfully  obscure  in  that 
distinctively  Scottish  manner,  the  Pastels  are  notorious 
for  cutting  multiple  versions  of  the  same  songs:  if  you 
include  radio  sessions,  there  are  as  many  as  five  differ- 
ent renditions  of  some  early  tunes.  Stephen's  label,  53rd 
&  3rd,  has  been  almost  as  influential  as  the  Pastels, 
releasing  records  by  the  Vaselines,  Pooh  Sticks,  Shop 
Assistants  and  Beat  Happening.  [ag/ja] 

JEAN-FRANCOIS  PAUVROS 

See  Blurt. 

PAYOLAS 

Introducing  Payolas  EP  (IRS)  1980 
In  a  Place  Like  This  (IRS)  1981 
No  Stranger  to  Danger  (A&M)  1 982 
Hammer  on  a  Drum  (A&M)  1 983 

PAUL  HYDE  AND  THE  PAYOLAS 

Here's  the  World  for  Ya  (A&M)  1 985 

ROCK  AND  HYDE 

Under  the  Volcano  (Capitol)  1 987  * 

Vancouver,  British  Columbia  was  the  site  of  one  of 
Canada's  most  volatile  early  punk  explosions,  but  only 
a  couple  of  bands  managed  to  spread  their  fame  much 
beyond  the  city  limits.  The  Payolas  were  one  of  those, 
and  temporarily  managed  to  retain  some  of  the  scene's 
fire  after  signing  to  an  American  label. 

The  gatefold  7-inch  EP — four  songs,  two  of  them 
redone  for  the  first  album — records  an  early  four-piece 
lineup,  produced  by  guitarist  Bob  Rock  to  sound  like  a 
high- voltage  cross  between  the  New  York  Dolls,  the 
Clash  and  the  Ramones. 

An  impressive  debut,  In  a  Place  Like  This  is  po- 
litical (but  not  preachy),  offering  sophisticated  punk 
with  reggae  seasoning,  which  makes  it  again  reminis- 
cent of  the  Clash  without  being  derivative.  Musical  va- 
riety, lyrical  quality  and  youthful  power  add  to  the 
album's  strong  impact. 

No  Stranger  to  Danger,  expertly  produced  by  Mick 
Ronson  (who  had  not  previously  distinguished  himself 
in  that  role),  shows  enormous  progress — from  an  able 
but  inexperienced  adolescent  band  to  a  skilled  and  cre- 
ative heir  to  Mott  the  Hoople.  (If  that  connection  doesn't 
register,  consider  that  Ronson  was  a  late  member  of 
Mott  and  subsequently  worked  extensively  with  Ian 
Hunter.)  The  judicious  addition  of  contemporary  key- 
boards, vastly  improved  singing  and  a  more-melody/ 
less-thrash  outlook  make  every  track  a  treat.  In  a  nice 
touch,  it's  dedicated  to  the  late  Alex  Harvey. 

Sticking  with  Ronno,  Hammer  on  a  Drum  takes  a 
large  step  away  from  the  youth  and  energy  of  the  band's 
beginnings.  Singer  Paul  Hyde  selectively  affects  a  near- 
perfect  vocal  imitation  of  Ian  Hunter  (who  also  appears 
on  the  record,  furthering  the  Mott  relationship).  It's 
slick  and  engaging,  but  sorely  lacking  in  believable  per- 
sonality. It  may  not  be  fair  to  expect  any  group  to  re- 
main true  to  its  (perceived)  principles,  but  getting  this 
fogeyish  so  fast  is  neither  commendable  nor  flattering. 

Here's  the  World  for  Ya,  produced  by  big-time 
mainstreamer  David  Foster,  is  even  worse.  Typical  of 


this  boring  and  bland  synth-rock  record,  the  band  is 
careful  to  thank  members  of  Rush  and  Loverboy, 

Ditching  the  band  name,  Rock  (guitar,  keyboards 
and  bass)  and  Hyde  (vocals,  guitar),  joined  by  ex- 
Payola  Chris  Taylor  (drums,  keyboards)  and  several 
other  part-timers,  returned  with  an  excellent  duo  album. 
Spanning  a  number  of  styles — all  of  which  show  imag- 
ination, pop  and  rock  smarts  and  enthusiasm — the  al- 
bum is  adult  and  intelligent.  One  of  those  rare  multi- 
faceted  records  that  reveals  itself  differently  each  time, 
Under  the  Volcano  more  than  makes  up  for  the  long 
dry  spell. 

Rock  has  since  gone  on  to  become  a  very  successful 
producer,  working  with  the  Cult,  Metallica  and  other 
hard-rock  bands.  [i] 

PEDALJETS 

Today  Today  (Twilight)  1 988  • 
Pedaljets  (Communion)  1 989  * 

This  nifty  Kansas  altemo-pop  trio  lays  noisy  rock 
energy  and  unmitigated  passion  into  melodies  strong 
enough  to  withstand  rough  handling.  Singer/guitarist 
Mike  Allmayer  does  a  really  good  job  on  both,  giving 
Today  Today  an  intriguing  sound — Byrdslike  harmo- 
nies and  punky  Replacement^  rawness — that  works  just 
as  well  (albeit  differently)  at  high  and  low  volumes. 

The  addition  of  a  second  guitarist  and  more  stylistic 
variation  complicates  things  a  bit  on  the  ambitious  but 
uncompellmg  Pedaljets.  Stretching  out  and  opening  up 
his  songwriting,  Allmayer  decompresses  the  first  al- 
bum's tersely  surging  pop  with  empty  spaces,  slower 
rhythms  and  acoustic  guitars;  the  results  are  enjoyable 
but  not  as  distinctive.  Had  the  group  not  made  Today 
Today  this  record  would  have  been  a  credible  starting 
point.  As  a  developmental  step,  however,  Pedaljets  is  a 
disappointing  step  in  the  wrong  direction.  (The  CD  adds 
two  songs.)  [i] 

PEGBOY 

See  Naked  Ray  gun. 

PENETRATION 

Moving  Targets  (nr/VIrgm)  1978  « 
Coming  Up  for  Air  (Virgin  Infl)  1 979 
Race  Against  Time  (nr/Clifdayn)  1 979 

PAULINE  MURRAY  AND  THE 
INVISIBLE  GIRLS 

Pauline  Murray  and  the  Invisible  Girls  (nr/lllusive)  1 980 
Searching  for  Heaven  EP  (nr/lllusive)  1 981 

PAULINE  MURRAY 

Hong  Kong  EP  (nr/Polestar)  1987 

Storm  Clouds  (nr/Cat  and  Mouse)  1 989  • 

Originally  inspired  into  existence  by  Patti  Smith  and 
the  Sex  Pistols,  Penetration  emerged  from  northern  En- 
gland (Durham,  near  Newcastle)  in  1977  with  a  great 
punk  single,  "Don't  Dictate/'  Led  by  singer  Pauline 
Murray,  the  band's  brash  amateurism  had  been  con- 
verted into  competent  musicianship  by  the  time  of  Mov- 
ing Targets,  released  at  first  on  glow-in-the-dark 
gimmick  vinyl  that  was  far  noisier  than  illuminating. 
Playing  mostly  originals  (written  by  Murray  in  collab- 
oration with  bandmates),  but  including  Smith's  "Free 


493 


Money"  and  the  Buzzcocks'  "Nostalgia,"  Penetra- 
tion's debut  LP  mixes  expansive  creations  and  direct 
punk-outs,  all  done  with  flair  and  originality.  Unlike 
other  LPs  by  young  bands  of  this  era,  Moving  Targets 
still  sounds  surprisingly  fresh.  (The  belated  CD  issue 
adds  five  tracks,  including  "Don't  Dictate"  and  its 
B-side,  1978's  "Fire  Squad"  and  its  B-side,  and  the 
flip  of  the  album's  incisive  "Life's  a  Gamble.") 

Coming  Up  for  Air,  produced  poorly  by  Steve  Lil- 
lywhite,  isn't  nearly  as  good,  despite  some  swell  tracks. 
Where  the  first  record  was  almost  consistently  exciting, 
only  "Shout  Above  the  Noise,"  "On  Reflection"  and 
"Lifeline"  have  the  same  melodic,  dramatic  intensity. 
The  band  had  evidently  run  out  of  good  songs,  and  the 
muffled  sound  only  exacerbates  the  mishmash. 

An  officially  sanctioned  bootleg,  Race  Against 
Time,  joins  a  side  of  demos  with  a  side  of  live  perfor- 
mance. The  studio  work  predates  the  band's  album  ses- 
sions and  is  pretty  boring;  the  live  material,  recorded  in 
Newcastle  mostly  in  1979,  is  energetic  and  well  played. 

After  Penetration,  Murray  joined  forces  with  pro- 
ducer Martin  Hannett's  occasional  agglomeration,  the 
Invisible  Girls;  the  1980  incarnation  that  backed  Murray 
on  an  LP  included  Buzzcocks  drummer  John  Maher  and 
future  Sisters  of  Mercy/Mission  guitarist  Wayne  Hus- 
sey.  The  eponymous  album's  subtle  pop  is  closer  in 
spirit  and  execution  to  British  folk-rock  than  to  the 
Beatles  or  Sex  Pistols.  Murray's  singing  is  too  bright 
and  lively  to  handle  the  more  downbeat  material,  but  the 
band's  ability  to  pattern  exciting  sounds  around  her 
brings  out  the  inherent  passion  in  her  voice,  and  the  soft 
but  dense  rock  creates  a  mood  of  chilling  agitation. 

Searching  for  Heaven  repeats  the  album's  accom- 
plishments but  digresses  on  "Animal  Crazy,"  which 
introduces  a  dislocated  disco  beat  that  turns  it  into  an 
interesting  dance  music  variant. 

Between  1981  and  '89,  Murray  struck  out  on  her 
own  and  managed  some  wonderful  singles  like  "New 
Age"  and  a  striking  chamber  treatment  of  Alex  Chil- 
ton's  "Holocaust."  Storm  Clouds  compiles  the  best  of 
those  efforts  and  the  Hong  Kong  EP,  adding  some 
newer  tracks  as  well.  While  more  consistent  and  more 
thoroughly  listenable  than  any  of  Penetration's  albums 
or  the  Invisible  Girls  record,  it's  also  lighter  and  breez- 
ier. Like  Poly  Styrene's  later  solo  work,  Murray  sounds 
hushed,  introspective  and  quiet,  a  marked  contrast  to 
her  full-throated  Penetration  histrionics.  The  soothing 
vocals  combine  with  sparkling  textures;  Murray  is  in- 
clined to  make  modest  pop  gems  that  succeed  with 
understatement.  Investigate  completely,  then  head  back- 
wards, [i/sg/jr] 

PERE  UBU 

The  Modern  Dance  (Blank)  1978  (Rough  Trade)  1981  • 
Datapanik  in  the  Year  Zero  EP  (nr/Radar)  1 978 
Dub  Housing  (Chrysalis)  1 978  (Rough  Trade)  • 
New  Picnic  Time  (Rough  Trade)  1 979  • 
The  Art  of  Walking  (Rough  Trade)  1 981  • 
390  Degrees  of  Simulated  Stereo  (Rough  Trade)  1981  • 
Song  of  the  Bailing  Man  (Rough  Trade)  1 982  • 
Terminal  Tower:  An  Archival  Collection  (Twin/Tone) 

1985» 
The  Tenement  Year  (Enigma-Mercury)  1988  • 


One  Man  Drives  While  the  Other  Man  Screams  (Rough 

Trade)  1 989  ® 
Cloudland  (Fontana)  1  989  • 
Worlds  in  Collision  (Fontana)  1991  <j> 

In  its  first  incarnation,  Cleveland's  Pere  Ubu — a  cru- 
cial pioneer  in  the  American  underground — combined 
disorienting,  often  dissonant,  rock  and  urban  blues  in  a 
stunningly  original  and  outlandish  mix,  but  never  lost  an 
urgent,  joyous  party  atmosphere.  Lead  singer  David 
Thomas'  plebeian  warble,  the  band's  most  noticeable 
sonic  feature,  colors  all  of  Ubu's  proceedings  in  a  bi- 
zarre light;  casual  listeners  might,  as  a  result,  overlook 
the  powerful,  polished  musicianship.  One  of  the  most 
innovative  American  musical  forces,  Pere  Ubu  is  to 
Devo  what  Arnold  Schoenberg  was  to  Irving  Berlin. 

The  Modern  Dance  includes  two  songs  remade 
from  early  45s  that  Pere  Ubu  had  released  on  its 
Hearthan  label  (when  Thomas  was  calling  himself  Cro- 
cus Behemoth  and  the  late  Peter  Laughner  was  one  of 
the  sextet's  guitarists  and  main  songwriters).  Focusing 
on  themes  of  alienation  and  adolescent  angst,  the  album 
cuts  a  precarious  middle  ground  between  art-rock  and 
Midwestern  garage  pop.  The  British  Datapanik  in  the 
Year  Zero  catching-up  compilation  is  more  successful, 
collecting  five  of  the  original  Hearthan  tracks,  including 
the  dynamic,  paranoiac  "30  Seconds  Over  Tokyo." 
Dark,  challenging  material. 

Dub  Housing  takes  a  quantum  leap  in  production 
and  material.  Tom  Herman's  eerie  guitar  and  Allen 
Ravenstine's  keyboard  work  rivets  Thomas'  other- 
worldly vocals  to  a  dark  vision  at  once  surreal  and 
lodged  in  claustrophobic  real  life.  Ubu's  music  is  un- 
compromising and  its  songwritmg  solid,  especially  on 
the  obsessive  drone,  "Codex." 

Ubu  shifted  towards  brighter,  more  open  sound  and 
a  deformed  blues  ethic  on  New  Picnic  Time.  Still  bear- 
ing an  air  of  disaster,  Thomas'  lyrics  develop  story- 
songs  that  increasingly  focus  on  common  elements  of 
everyday  life,  drawing  more  in  line  with  his  strong  re- 
ligious (Jehovah's  Witness)  beliefs.  A  bizarre  album 
that  is  more  than  a  little  reminiscent  of  Captain  Beef- 
heart.  In  1979,  Herman  left  and  Red  Crayola  guitarist/ 
leader  Mayo  Thompson  joined. 

The  Art  of  Walking  evinces  increasing  interest  in 
developing  the  band's  musical  range,  and  tends  towards 
ambient  use  of  sound  to  create  new  aural  landscapes,  as 
well  as  more  creative  use  of  dissonance. 

Ubu's  first  live  album,  390  Degrees  of  Simulated 
Stereo,  takes  an  overview  of  the  band's  development 
through  a  collection  of  live  recordings  from  Cleveland, 
London  and  Brussels,  featuring  the  group's  best  songs 
from  the  1976-9  era,  including  "30  Seconds  Over  To- 
kyo," "My  Dark  Ages"  and  "Heart  of  Darkness." 

With  Thompson's  expanding  influence  and  the  re- 
placement of  drummer  Scott  Krauss  by  Anton  Fier,  Pere 
Ubu  firmly  entered  the  art-rock  fold  on  Song  of  the 
Bailing  Man.  With  clean  production  (by  Adam  Kidron) 
and  spare  sound,  Pere  Ubu  abandoned  the  chaotic  in- 
spiration that  charged  its  earlier  work,  substituting  an 
unaccustomed  and  incongruous  restraint.  After  finishing 
the  album,  Ubu  decided  to  disband,  allowing  Thomas  to 
concentrate  on  his  solo  career. 

Terminal  Tower  is,  as  billed,  an  archival  collection 
with  lyrics  and  abundant  liner  notes.  Many  of  these 


494 


eleven  essential  Ubu  tracks — from  "Heart  of  Darkness*' 
and  "Final  Solution"  to  "Not  Happy"  and  "Lonesome 
Cowboy  Dave" — are  otherwise  hard  to  find;  two  are 
alternate  mixes. 

Pere  Ubu  formally  reformed  in  late  1987,  but  all  that 
actually  meant  was  a  name  change  and  inclusion  of 
Scott  Krauss  in  the  lineup  of  Thomas'  most  recent  solo 
support  band,  the  Wooden  Birds.  In  July  1988,  Thom- 
as, Krauss,  bassist  Tony  Maimone,  synthesist  Allen 
Ravenstine,  drummer  Chris  Cutler  and  guitarist  Jim 
Jones  released  Ubu's  first  new  LP  in  six  years.  Although 
not  entirely  successful  (two  drummers  is  one  too  many; 
Ravenstine 's  noise  doodles  now  seem  extraneous  and 
dated),  The  Tenement  Year  builds  a  solid  rock  struc- 
ture around  Thomas'  whimsical  fascinations,  putting 
restless  instrumental  curiosity  to  work  in  a  mix  of  mild 
noise  ("George  Had  a  Hat")  and  moderate  accessibility 
("We  Have  the  Technology"). 

One  Man  Drives  While  the  Other  Man  Screams, 
the  long-delayed  second  Ubu  tour  document,  offers  thir- 
teen tracks  recorded  in  London  (1978,  with  Tom  Her- 
man), Cleveland  (1980,  with  Mayo  Thompson)  and 
Germany  (1981,  ditto).  Drawing  a  lot  of  its  material 
from  Bub  Housing  ("Navvy,"  "Ubu  Dance  Party," 
"Codex,"  etc.),  the  record  has  a  relaxed  feel  and  (on 
CD,  at  least)  extremely  clear  sound. 

Using  The  Tenement  Year's  prettier  tunes  as  a 
rough  sketch,  Ubu  put  itself  in  producer  Stephen 
Hague's  competent  hands  for  half  of  Cloudland  and 
delivered  a  big  surprise:  wonderful  pop.  Jettisoning  such 
inconvenient  sonic  baggage  as  vocal  disharmony,  chaos 
and  electronic  graffiti,  the  album  offers  an  ingenious 
subversion  of  classic  Top  40  as  run  through  Ubu's 
unique  wringer.  While  "Breath"  and  "Race  the  Sun*' 
appropriate  simple  chord  structures  from  such  familiar 
sources  as  Buddy  Holly  pop  and  surf-rock,  unlikely 
bridges,  tantalizing  lyrics  and  Thomas'  moderate  warble 
make  them  modern  and  magical.  "Waiting  for  Mary" 
and  "Bus  Called  Happiness"  (Hague's  other  efforts) 
are  even  better,  matching  catchy  choruses  to  adventur- 
ous verse  arrangements.  On  his  tracks,  longtime  Ubu 
studio  chum  Paul  Hamann  helps  steer  the  group  back 
into  temperate  weirdness,  resulting  in  a  demento  version 
of  "Sloop  John  B"  that  surfaces  in  "Nevada!"  and  the 
recitation  and  sickly  chanting  of  "Flat."  As  unpalatable 
as  this  open-armed  album  may  be  to  fans  of  challenging 
music,  Cloudland  is  quite  obviously  a  masterpiece. 

[sg/i] 

See  also  Peter  Laughner,  PaulMarotta,  Bob  Mould, 
Red  Crayola,  David  Thomas,  Tripod  Jimmie. 

PERFECT  DISASTER 

Perfect  Disaster  (Fr.  Kampa)  1985  (nr/Glass)  1987  (Fire) 

1991  • 

Hey  Hey  Hey  EP  (nr/Glass)  1 987 
T.V.  (Girl  on  Fire)  EP  (nr/Fire)  1988 
Asylum  Road  (Genius-Rough  Trade)  1 988  • 
Up  (nr/Fire)  1989  (Fire)  1990  • 
Mood  Elevators  EP  (nr/Fire)  1989 
Rise  EP  (nr/Fire)  1989 
Heaven  Scent  (nr/Fire)  1990  (Fire)  1991  • 

Singer/guitarist  Phil  Parfitt  and  guitarist  Dan  Cross 
have  been  the  only  constants  in  this  fascinating  and 


prolific  English  band's  intricate  genealogy.  (Part  of  an 
early  incarnation  transmuted  into  Fields  of  the  Nephilim; 
ex-bassist  Josephine  Wiggs  is  now  a  Breeder.)  Typified 
by  constant  artistic  tension  and  a  habit  of  shifting  direc- 
tion as  frequently  as  possible,  the  Perfect  Disaster  is  a 
strange  bird,  but  one  worth  keeping  an  ear  on. 

The  restrained  and  debonair  (but  far  from  slick) 
suave-pop  on  Perfect  Disaster  gently  builds  alluring, 
occasionally  rocking  (with  a  bit  of  sax  and  even  feed- 
back), arrangements  around  Parfitt's  deep,  character- 
laden  voice.  With  a  cover  of  Lou  Reed's  "Over  You" 
to  underscore  affection  for  the  Velvets'  pretty  side  and 
such  tunefully  neurotic  Parfitt  originals  as  "What's  Hap- 
pening to  Me"  and  * 'Hiding  from  Frank,"  this  style- 
lessly  inventive  collection — easily  commendable  to  fans 
of  Aztec  Camera — is  a  most  auspicious  debut. 

Two  of  the  four  new  songs  (including  a  weird 
Vietnam- war  number  entitled  "The  Night  Belongs  to 
Charlie"  that  later  turned  up,  in  a  different  recording, 
on  Asylum  Road)  on  the  1987  12-inch  firm  up  the 
Perfect  Disaster's  pop  backbone  with  more  guitar  inten- 
sity; the  other  two  keep  things  light  and  airy.  After 
previewing  another  album  track — this  one  with  Wiggs' 
cello  and  string  bass  providing  an  eerie  aura — on  the 
T.V.  (Girl  on  Fire)  EP,  the  band  released  its  second 
LP,  Asylum  Road.  A  shifting  sky  of  cloudy  moods,  the 
songs  run  from  somber  ("All  the  Stars")  to  rushing 
enthusiasm  ("The  Crack  Up")  to  Velvety  drone  ("In 
Conference  Again"),  all  punched  up  by  Cross'  inci- 
sively diverse  guitar  work.  In  a  typical  contradiction  of 
sound  and  content,  "What's  the  Use  of  Trying?"  voices 
disgust  over  a  delightful  pop  melody. 

The  band  brought  its  stylistic  approach  more  in  line 
with  Parfitt's  increasingly  bitter  and  cynical  lyrics  on 
Up,  kicking  up  a  bracing  Velvets-derived  noise.  (Al- 
though, of  course,  one  segment  of  a  lengthy  three-parter 
named  "Down"  is  a  mock-baroque  cello/acoustic  guitar 
instrumental.)  While  the  rhythm  section  sets  a  driving 
"Sister  Ray"  backbeat  in  motion,  Cross  goes  to  town, 
overlaying  distortion,  feedback,  toggle-switching, 
noise-rock  aggression  and  all  the  other  good  things  he 
could  only  hint  at  on  prior  records.  (On  the  few  quiet 
songs — like  "It  Doesn't  Matter"  and  "Go  Away" — he 
satisfies  himself  with  veiled  threats. )  For  his  part,  Parfitt 
unveils  a  suitably  roughened-up  voice  on  the  louder 
tunes. 

From  there,  it  was  only  a  small  step  to  the  strong 
Madchester-onented  rock  of  "Mood  Elevators"  (avail- 
able in  two  versions,  plus  a  pair  of  non-LP  songs,  on  a 
12-inch)  and  the  nearly  Jesus  &  Mary  Chain  pop  roar  of 
the  wonderful  "Rise. "  All  three  additional  tracks  on  the 
Rise  EP— -a  fragile  lullaby  entitled  "Lee"  plus  '89  live 
versions  of  Up's  "B52"  (thirteen  minutes*  worth)  and 
an  early  single — reappear  on  the  Heaven  Scent  CD  as 
bonuses,  along  with  the  weaker  mix  of  "Mood  Eleva- 
tors" from  the  preceding  EP. 

Other  than  "Rise,"  which  opens  it,  the  kicky 
"Takin'  Over"  and  the  dramatic  "Sooner  or  Later," 
the  other  two-thirds  of  Heaven  Scent  (Wiggs'  last 
stand  with  the  band)  are  claustrophobically  subdued, 
deeply  personal  songs  ( "Father,"  ' 'Little  Sister  (If  Ever 
Days),"  "Where  Will  You  Go  with  Me")  given  sleepy, 
intimate  performances.  Even  the  songs  with  loud  guitar 
bits  (e.g.,  "Wires"  and  "It's  Gonna  Come  to  You") 


495 


are  played  at  such  a  woozy  tempo  and  with  so  much 
sonic  room  that  an  occasional  bit  of  window-rattling 
doesn't  really  upset  the  gentle  mood.  [i] 

See  also  Breeders, 


LEE  "SCRATCH" 

THE  UPSETTERS) 

Super  Ape  (Mango)  1976 

Roast  Fish  Collie  Weed  and  Com  Bread  (Jam.  Upsetters) 

1976 
Cloak  and  Dagger  (Hoi.  Black  Art)  1 979  (nr/Anachron) 

1990 

Scratch  on  the  Wire  (nr/lsland)  1979 
The  Return  of  Pipecock  Jackxon  (Hoi.  Black  Art)  1 980 
The  Upsetter  Collection  (nr/Trojan)  1981  * 
Scratch  and  Co.:  Chapter  One  (Jam.  Clocktower)  1 982 
Mystic  Miracle  Star  (Heartbeat)  1 982 
History,  Mystery  and  Prophecy  (Mango)  1 984 
Reggae  Greats  (Mango)  1  984  « 
The  Upsetter  Box  (nr/Trojan)  1 985  * 
Battle  of  Armagideon  (Millionaire  Liquidator)  (nr/Trojan) 

1986® 

Some  of  the  Best  (Heartbeat)  1 986  * 
Time  Boom  X  De  Devil  Dead  (nr/On-U  Sound)  1987  ® 
Satan  Kicked  the  Bucket  (Bullwackies)  1 988  (Rohit) 

1990  « 

All  the  Hits  (Rohit)  1989« 
Chicken  Scratch  (Heartbeat)  1989  • 
Build  the  Ark  (nr/Trojan)  1 990  « 
From  the  Secret  Laboratory  (Mango)  1 990  * 
Message  from  Yard  (Rohit)  1 990  <J> 
Lee  Scratch  Perry  Meets  Bullwackie  in  Satan's  Dub  [tape] 

(ROIR)1990 
Lord  God  Muzick  (Heartbeat)  1 991  • 

LEE  PERRY  AND  FRIENDS 

Give  Me  Power  (nr/Trojan)  1 988  • 

Open  the  Gate  (nr/Trojan)  1 989  • 

Shocb  of  Mighty  1 969-1 974  (nr/Attack)  1 989  « 

Public  Jestering  (nr/Attack)  1 990  • 

JAH  LION 

Colombia  Colly  (Mango)  1 976 

LEE  "SCRATCH"  PERRY  &  MAD 
PROFESSOR 

Mystic  Warrior  (RAS)  1 989  • 
Mystic  Warrior  Dub  (Jam.  Ariwa)  1989  [tape]  (ROIR) 
1990 

UPSETTERS 

Version  Like  Rain  (nr/Trojan)  1 990 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Heart  of  the  Ark  Vols.  1  &  2  (nr/Seven  Leaves)  1 982 
Megaton  Dub  Vols.  1  &  2  (nr/Seven  Leaves)  1 982 

Certainly  eccentric,  possibly  mad  (even  his  record 
company  bio  acknowledges  it!),  Lee  "Scratch"  Perry  is 
reggae's  most  influential  producer,  with  a  career  that 
spans  the  entire  history  of  the  music.  He  started  at  Cox- 
sone  Dodd's  Studio  One  label,  first  as  a  talent  scout, 
then  as  producer.  Moving  on  to  other  labels,  he  re- 
corded hit  after  hit  for  Jamaican  artists,  assembling  the 
original  Waiters  and  producing  their  earliest — some  say 
best — tracks.  Perry  has  also  done  extensive  solo  work, 
composing,  arranging  and  singing  his  own  records. 


With  the  help  of  a  studio  band,  the  Upsetters  (named  for 
one  of  his  aliases),  Perry  has  forged  a  style  that's  idio- 
syncratic and  revolutionary — full  of  shifting,  echoey 
rhythms  and  weird  sound  effects.  His  characteristic 
sound  is  unique — extended  grooves  layered  like  fog, 
with  odd  vocals  and  percussion  shimmering  in  the  dense 
mist. 

Perry  became  an  Island  house  producer  in  the  '70s 
and  a  major  influence  on  new  wave  bands  with  an  af- 
finity for  reggae.  (The  Clash  covered  "Police  and 
Thieves,"  a  tune  he  co-wrote  with  Junior  Murvin,  on 
their  first  LP;  Perry  later  did  some  production  for  the 
band.) 

Perry's  early  work  as  both  producer  and  performer  is 
well  chronicled.  Some  of  the  Best  contains  many  fine 
recordings,  including  "People  Funny  Boy"  and  others 
that  make  plain  American  R&B's  essential  link  to  reg- 
gae. The  Upsetter  Collection  has  ''Return  of  Django," 
a  UK  hit,  and  the  Gatherers'  " Words  of  My  Mouth," 
the  rhythm  track  of  which  Perry  has  used  again  and 
again.  Chapter  One  features  a  dub  of  Junior  Byles' 
"Curly  Locks,"  Ricky  and  Bunny's  "Bush  Wed  Corn 
Trash"  and  others  co-produced  with  Brad  Osboume. 
All  three  compilations  are  lively,  vital  and  consistent. 
Perry's  Island  releases  are  also  notable.  Colombia 
Colly  (billing  him  as  Jah  Lion)  is  one  of  the  best,  show- 
ing him  in  stylistic  transition  and  getting  weirder,  with 
a  cover  of  Peggy  Lee's  "Fever"  and  one  cut  that  fea- 
tures a  creaking  door.  Super  Ape,  from  the  same  year, 
is  more  conventional,  a  dub  LP  that  emphasizes  the 
Upsetters'  playing.  Perry's  personality  is  evident, 
though  subdued.  The  number  of  engineers  credited  on 
History,  Mystery  and  Prophecy,  Perry's  last  Island 
LP,  suggests  the  label  might  have  been  attempting  to 
smooth  out  the  roughness.  The  sound  is  too  clean,  static 
and  unexciting. 

Perry's  Island  years  also  yielded  two  almost  identi- 
cal compilations-— Scratch  on  the  Wire  and  Reggae 
Greats.  Both  feature  Junior  Murvin 's  "Police  and 
Thieves,"  as  well  as  his  own  "Roast  Fish  and  Corn- 
bread"  and  "Soul  Fire"  (from  the  brilliant  Jamaican- 
only  Roast  Fish  Collie  Weed  and  Corn  Bread  LP), 
but  neither  is  essential. 

His  other  LPs  vary  in  quality.  The  Return  of  Pipe- 
cock  Jackxon  derives  from  Dutch  sessions  during 
which  Perry  reportedly  experimented  with  LSD  and  de- 
stroyed the  studio  Needless  to  say,  it's  brilliant.  So  is 
Mystic  Miracle  Star,  which  he  made  with  the  Majes- 
ties. Surprisingly  straightforward,  with  few  sound  ef- 
fects, it's  still  filled  with  his  characteristic  production 
signatures.  Less  impressive  are  the  two  so-so  volumes 
of  Heart  of  the  Ark  (compilations  of  Perry-produced 
singers);  worse,  the  two  Megaton  Dub  volumes  are  so 
lackluster  that  one  authority  wondered  in  print  whether 
Perry  had  actually  produced  them. 

Two  notable  '85  releases:  on  "Judgment  in  a  Baby- 
lon," a  startling  Jamaican  12-inch,  Perry  accuses  Island 
Records  boss  Chris  Blackwell  of  being  a  vampire  who 
killed  Bob  Marley.  Although  libelous  and  crazy,  it  must 
be  heard.  In  a  more  historical  vein,  The  Upsetter  Box 
makes  three  classic  out-of-print  LPs  (African  Blood, 
Rhythm  Shower  and  Double  7)  available  again.  Pricey 
but  worthwhile,  the  set  features  appearances  by  U-Roy, 
I-Roy  and  others,  and  marks  Perry's  return  to  Trojan. 
His  next  release  for  the  label,  Battle  of  Arma- 


496 


gideon,  is  a  collection  of  new  tracks  recorded  in  Lon- 
don. A  return  to  form  of  sorts,  the  LP  is  full  of  his 
characteristically  dense  production  (which  sounds  thor- 
oughly contemporary)  and  lots  of  cryptic,  stream-of- 
consciousness  lyncs.  (On  one  song,  "I  Am  a 
Madman,"  he  even  celebrates  his  lunatic  persona.)  Per- 
ry's time  in  London  also  resulted  in  Time  Boom  X  De 
Devil  Dead,  a  collaboration  with  British  dubmeister 
Adrian  Sherwood.  Influenced  by  Peny  in  the  past,  co- 
producer  Sherwood  provides  a  steadying  hand,  so  the 
music  is  consistent,  even  if  Perry's  personality — he  does 
all  the  singing — seems  restrained.  While  perhaps  lack- 
ing the  eccentric  edge  of  Perry's  own  work,  the  LP  is 
still  weird  and  wonderful,  a  sample  of  some  of  the  best 
avant-garde  groove  music  being  made  today. 

In  1988,  Trojan  released  Give  Me  Power,  another 
compilation  of  tracks  Perry  wrote  and  produced  for  other 
artists.  Superbly  sequenced  and  annotated,  it's  one  of 
the  best  and  most  representative  collections  of  the  pro- 
ducer's past  work.  Don't  miss  it. 

Produced  by  Coxsone  Dodd  during  Perry's  1964- '66 
heyday,  most  of  the  tracks  on  Chicken  Scratch  have 
been  unavailable  for  over  20  years,  and  some  are  pre- 
viously unreleased.  All  of  the  cuts  are  performed  by  the 
peerless  Skatalites,  and  many  include  the  female  vocals 
of  either  the  Soulettes  (Rita  Marley's  first  group)  or  the 
Dynamites.  This  is  Lee  Perry  in  his  pre-Upsetter  days, 
before  his  artistically  and  commercially  fruitful  collab- 
oration with  the  Wailers.  Songs  like  "Man  to  Man" 
(featuring  Marley,  Tosh  and  Bunny  Wailer),  "Cruma," 
"Takcoo,"  "Roast  Duck"  and  the  title  track  (which 
provided  one  of  Perry's  many  aliases)  make  Chicken 
Scratch  a  time  capsule  of  Jamaica's  ska  era. 

Way  beyond  weirdness,  the  world  of  Lee  "Scratch" 
Perry  is  one  where  people  wear  umbrellas  on  their 
heads,  where  the  bass  is  the  place,  where  space  con- 
stantly shifts,  where  age  does  not  whither,  where  reason 
sleeps  and  the  dub  quivers,  and  where  avant-garde  sonic 
formalism  and  mindless  fun  are  bedmates.  The  madman 
who  for  years  has  continually  pushed  the  frontiers  of 
dub  with  his  heavy  sounds,  surprising  tricks  and  unor- 
thodox methods,  currently  resides  on  a  mountaintop  in 
Switzerland.  And  he  keeps  making  records,  seemingly 
more  than  ever. 

From  the  Secret  Laboratory  is  Perry's  second  co- 
production  with  Adrian  Sherwood.  The  Dub  Syndicate 
and  Jamaica's  veteran  Roots  Radics  underpin  Perry's 
free-form  word  associations  and  social  commentaries  on 
"Secret  Laboratory  (Scientific  Dancehall),"  "You 
Thought  I  Was  Dead"  and  the  crowning  "Seven  Devils 
Dead." 

With  such  signature  tunes  as  "Run  for  Cover"  and 
"Water  Pump,"  All  the  Hits  covers  Perry's  rock 
steady-era  work. 

Mystic  Warrior,  the  collaboration  between  reg- 
gae's  preeminent  techno- wiz  geniuses,  doubles  your 
madmen-cwm-musical  visionaries  pleasure.  The  Mad 
Professor  (Neal  Fraser)  is  a  Guyana-bora  producer- 
engineer  who  rules  over  the  cutting  edge  of  Britain's 
avant-garde  reggae  scene  and  runs  the  Ariwa  Sounds 
label.  Mystic  Warrior  is  an  awesomely  imaginative 
display  of  effects  and  far-ranging  musical  references. 

Trojan  Records  has  mined  Perry's  incredible  back- 
log of  hard-to-find  '70s  productions  with  three  recent 
compilations:  Version  Like  Rain  is  a  brilliant  collec- 


tion of  sixteen  tracks  taken  from  three  popular  Upsetter 
rhythms,  while  the  thiee-LP/two-CD  Build  the  Ark  box 

set  features  eighteen  mid-'70s  tracks  (and  their  dubs): 
Scratch  at  his  production  peak.  [bk/aw] 

See  also  Junior  Marvin, 


MARK  PERRY 

See  Alternative  TV. 


PET 

Please  (EMi  America)  1986  ® 

Disco  { EMI  America)  1986® 

Pet  Shop  Boys,  actually.  (EMi  Manhattan)  1 987  + 

1988® 

introspective  (EMS  Manhattan)  1988  • 
Behavior  (EMI)  1990® 

Results  (Epic)  1989® 

Pet  Shop  Boys,  the  London  duo  of  ex-Smash  Hits 
journalist  Neil  Tennant  and  electro-musician  Chris 
Lowe,  have  made  an  enormously  successful  career  by 
applying  intentionally  provocative  intellectual  preten- 
sion and  philosophical  self-indulgence  to  au  courant 
dance  music.  Please  is  a  slick  set  of  anonymous  easy- 
listening  disco  tracks,  brilliantly,  soullessly  produced 
(mostly  by  Stephen  Hague),  with  ridiculous,  overbear- 
ingly smug  lyrics  recited  by  Tennant,  who  speak-sings 
suspiciously  like  a  young  Al  Stewart.  The  in-joke  ref- 
erences and  self-amused  esoterica  strewn  throughout 
songs  like  "West  End  Girls"  and  "Opportunities  (Let's 
Make  Lots  of  Money)"  should  have  precluded  their 
general  popularity,  but  evidently  the  laxative-smooth 
synth  backing  has  utilitarian  value  for  clubgoers. 
Ghastly,  depressing  and  offensive. 

The  Disco  remix  album  employs  an  assortment  of 
American  dubmen  (Shep  Pettibone,  Arthur  Baker,  the 
Latin  Rascals  and  others)  for  extended  versions  of  those 
two  songs,  plus  "In  the  Night"  (the  B-side  of  "Oppor- 
tunities") and  other  selections  from  Please:  the  dreamy 
"Love  Comes  Quickly"  (botched  by  the  incongruous 
ticking  sequencers)  and  the  sarcastic  "Suburbia,"  sub- 
titled here  "The  Full  Horror"  and  loaded  with  barking 
dogs  and  other  ambient  ephemera.  A  crackling  snare 
drum  on  "West  End  Girls"  is  likewise  an  extraneous 
annoyance.  While  it's  nice  that  the  pair  can  acknowl- 
edge the  crassness  of  their  motives,  how  much  better 
does  that  make  the  music  sound? 

Virtually  a  sonic  translation  of  the  ambivalent  cyn- 
ical fiction  of  writers  like  Jay  Mclnerney  and  Bret  Eas- 
ton  Ellis  that  became  popular  around  the  same  time,  the 
uncertain  attitudinal  incoherence  of  Please  is  traded  for 
a  decisive  formula  on  actually,  a  crafty  album  of  naked 
'80s  yuppiedom  (or,  of  course,  a  scathing  indictment 
thereof)  with  songs  like  "Shopping"  and  "Rent"  of- 
fering incisive  social  satire  (or  merely  basking  in  the 
fruits  of  stardom).  To  be  fair,  the  duo's  melodic  sense 
shows  remarkable  improvement,  and  the  well-arranged 
record  (entirely  programmed  on  Fairlight  synthesizer) 
draws  as  much  from  Abbey  Road  as  Kraftwerk.  Ten- 
nant's  voice  has  lost  none  of  its  creepy  unctuousness 
and  songs  like  the  abominable  "One  More  Chance"  are 
virtual  rewrites  of  past  hits.  But  "It's  a  Sin"  has  a 


497 


brilliant  refrain,  and  Dusty  Springfield's  guest  vocals  on 
"What  Have  I  Done  to  Deserve  This9"  salvage  that 
tune  handily.  In  early  1988,  actually  was  reissued  m  the 
US  with  a  second  disc  containing  two  versions  of  "Al- 
ways on  My  Mind"  (the  Willie  Nelson  hit)  and  "Do  I 
Have  To?" 

The  following  year,  the  Pet  Shop  Boys  wrote,  "per- 
formed" and  produced  the  magnificent  "Nothing  Has 
Been  Proved"  for  Springfield  to  sing  on  the  Scandal 
soundtrack.  The  pair  played  much  the  same  role  on  Liza 
Minnelli's  ungodly  Results.  Co-producing  the  record 
with  their  frequent  studio  collaborator,  Julian  Mendel- 
sohn, the  Pet  Shop  Boys  did  a  lot  of  the  programming 
and  wrote  most  of  the  material,  leaving  Liza  to  emote 
absurdly  over  coy  and  starkly  inappropriate  songs  like 
"Don't  Drop  Bombs"  and  **I  Want  You  Now."  (Ac- 
tually, a  schmaltzy  remake  of  "Rent"  doesn't  come  off 
too  badly.)  Slathering  strings  (arranged  by  Art  of  Noi- 
sette Anne  Dudley  and  Twin  Peaks  composer  Angelo 
Badalamenti)  on  top  of  pulsing  synthesizers  creates  the 
superficial  impression  of  a  sympathetic  environment  for 
the  melodramatic  chanteuse,  but  the  vast  stylistic  gap 
between  singer  and  songs  makes  the  record  comical. 
The  boring  and  redundant  Introspective  jams  six 
songs  (four  of  them  also  issued  as  singles)  into  48  min- 
utes, largely  dispensing  with  such  needless  formalities 
as  melody  in  favor  of  protracted  pre-mixed  dance 
grooves.  "Always  on  My  Mind"  makes  a  repeat  ap- 
pearance in  a  nine-minute  house  version;  "Left  to  My 
Own  Devices,"  which  employs  an  orchestra,  is  yet  an- 
other of  Tennant's  droll  and  insufferable  diary  entries; 
"Domino  Dancing"  deftly  inserts  a  salsa  breakdown 
into  the  middle  of  a  standard  mid-tempo  concoction. 
Where  Introspective  revealed  absolutely  nothing 
about  the  men  behind  the  smug  facade,  "Being  Bor- 
ing," the  first  song  on  Behavior,  is  downright  generous 
in  its  reflective  view  of  the  band's  shifting  existence  and 
the  decimation  wrought  by  AIDS.  Co-produced  by 
Harold  Faltermeyer,  the  album  returns  to  the  lush  and 
tuneful  musicality  of  actually,  with  Tennant  singing 
lyrics  that  are,  for  a  change,  not  simply  irritating.  While 
"How  You  Can  Expect  to  Be  Taken  Seriously?"  pro- 
vocatively addresses  an  unnamed  pop  star,  "Jealousy" 
and  "So  Hard" — both  touching  breakup  songs — and 
the  new-love  "Nervously"  prove  that  Tennant  can  ac- 
tually manage  emotional  conviction  in  his  lyrics  and 
delivery.  Opening  the  Pet  Shop  door  to  a  bit  of  equally 
unfamiliar  musical  styles,  Johnny  Marr  is  one  of  two 
guest  guitarists.  M 

See  also  New  Order. 

BOB  PFEIFER 

See  Human  Switchboard. 

P-FUNK  ALL-STARS 

See  George  Clinton. 

PHANTOM,  ROCKER  &  SLICK 

See  Stray  Cats. 

PHANTOM  309 

A  Sinister  Alphabet  (Tupelo)  1989  • 


With  cover  art  and  lettering  by  Edward  Gorey  (uncle 
of  bassist  Mac  McNeilly,  who  left  P309  to  become  the 
drummer  in  Jesus  Lizard)  and  production  by  Jon  Lang- 
ford  (Mekons/Three  Johns),  all  this  erstwhile  trio — self- 
billed  as  the  biggest  band  m  Picayune,  Mississippi — had 
to  do  was  show  up  on  its  first  record  to  make  its  small 
cultural  impact.  A  dish  of  gutter-level  grungeabilly  and 
cohesively  crude  rock  noise  distinguished  by  guitarist 
John  Forbes'  devilish  growl,  A  Sinister  Alphabet  sim- 
mers with  backwoods  weirdness  and  domineering  inten- 
sity. There  may  not  be  much  difference  between  songs 
like  "Beaver  Hollow  Turnaround,"  "Slowboat  to 
China"  and  "Janitor  to  the  Stars,"  but  Phantom  309's 
demento  racket  easily  slinks  below  such  petty  criticisms. 

See  also  Jesus  Lizard.  [i] 


Phantom  Tollbooth  EP  (Homestead)  1986 
One-Way  Conversation  (Homestead)  1 987  ® 
Power  Toy  (Homestead)  1 988  ® 
Daylight  in  the  Quiet  Zone  EP  (Homestead)  1 990 

Some  of  those  prone  to  facile  analogies  have  com- 
pared this  latter-day  power  trio  led  by  guitarist  Dave 
Rick  (an  early  member  of  Yo  La  Tengo  and  a  frequent 
participant  in  Bongwater  and  B.A.L.L  before  joining 
King  Missile  fulltime  in  1990)  to  Hiisker  Dii  and  the 
Minutemen,  but  New  York's  Phantom  Tollbooth  was 
more  like  a  thrash-inflected  version  of  Fred  Frith' s  Mas- 
sacre than  anything  else.  (In  all  fairness,  the  inclusion 
of  an  original  song  entitled  "Flip  Your  Wig"  on  Phan- 
tom Tollbooth  didn't  help  matters.)  Various  art-rock 
influences — quick  tempo  shifts,  the  occasional  jazzy 
swing  and  the  use  of  noise  as  a  genuine  musical  element 
(rather  than  a  cheap  way  to  telegraph  rage  or 
intensity) — gave  these  guys  away. 

That  said,  it  must  be  added  that  Tollbooth' s  addition 
of  vocals  to  its  heady  and  complex  clamor  wasn't  al- 
ways the  greatest  thing  for  the  music.  One- Way  Con- 
versation and  Power  Toy  (which  has  a  pretty  funny 
version  of  Heart's  "Barracuda"  and  two  bonus  tracks 
on  CD)  contain  the  band's  best,  most  focused  work,  a 
striking  synthesis  of  the  art-rock  that  so  clearly  influ- 
enced its  song  structures  and  the  frenzied  attack  of  hard- 
core, [gk] 


B1NKY  PHILIPS 

Binky  Philips  EP  (Caroline)  1987 

Sixteen  years  after  his  band,  the  Planets,  first  opened 
for  the  New  York  Dolls,  this  Manhattan  scene  veteran 
finally  made  his  first  record.  Whew!  Amazingly,  he 
seems  none  the  worse  for  wear.  The  five  songs  cut  live 
at  CBGB  sound  pretty  darned  fresh:  an  infectiously 
rockin'  plea  for  peace  (between  lovers?  friends?  coun- 
tries?), a  power  pop  love  song  (slight  but  durable),  a 
nasty  slice  of  early  Elvis  Costello-meets-Pete  Towns- 
hend  (or,  how  to  say  goodbye  to  an  ex-lover  with  no 
physical  violence  but  still  be  guilty  of  assault  and  bat- 
tery), a  regretful  farewell  that's  sort  of  a  wailin'  hard- 
rock  hoedown  and  a  sardonic  expression — in  loud, 
modern  guitar-funkatiousness — of  the  hoary  dictum, 
''Nothing's  Free."  It  all  hangs  together  by  virtue  of 
Philips'  strong  guitar  playing  and  savvy  (if  a  bit  hoarse) 


498 


*ocais,  and  the  tight,  punchy  rhythms  of  his  cohorts, 
;x-Gang  of  Four/League  of  Gentlemen  bassist  Sara  Lee 
ind  drummer  Mick  Ley  land.  [tr] 


See  Motorhead. 


Foiksinger  (Rhino)  1 985  (Island)  1 990  • 
I  Enjoy  Being  a  Girl  (island)  1989  • 
Positively  Phranc  (Island)  T991  4> 

Looking  like  a  buzz-cut  Matt  Dillon  on  the  cover  of 
her  first  album,  California's  Phranc— a  veteran  of  such 
punk  bands  as  Nervous  Gender  and  Catholic  Dis- 
cipline— is  an  otherwise  tradition-minded  descendant  of 
such  '60s  protest  singers  as  Bob  Dylan,  Phil  Ochs,  Joan 
Baez  and  Tom  Paxton.  Phranc's  topical  songs,  per- 
formed with  simple  beauty  on  acoustic  guitar,  address 
various  subjects  and  personalities  of  current  interest, 
from  women  athletes  to  Marvel's  Pope  comic  book  to 
"Female  Mudwrestling"  to  Los  Angeles'  celebrity  cor- 
oner, Thomas  Noguchi.  Taking  one  too  many  cues  from 
Dylan,  there's  an  unnecessary  reading  of  his  chilling 
"Lonesome  Death  of  Hattie  Carroll"  and  several  overly 
similar  originals.  Phranc's  not  a  timeless  melodicist,  but 
her  wry  lyrical  observations  and  attractive  singing  make 
Foiksinger  a  fine  effort.  The  1990  reissue  adds  "Ev- 
erywhere I  Go  (I  Hear  the  Go-Go's)." 

Phranc  can  barely  suppress  the  giggles  as  she  croons 
the  absurdly  outdated  Rodgers  and  Hammerstein  song — 
several  layers  of  gay  and  feminist  irony  here — for  which 
she  named  her  second  alburn.  I  Enjoy  Being  a  Girl, 
produced  by  Violent  Femme  Victor  DeLorenzo,  has  in- 
cidental instrumental  accompaniment  on  a  few  jazzy 
numbers  but  is  otherwise  another  one- woman/one-guitar 
show.  Phranc's  concerns  here  are  white  guilt  ("Blood- 
bath"), the  trendiness  of  acoustic  performers  ("Folk- 
singer"),  family  (the  tender  "Myriam  and  Esther"), 
pets  (the  winsome  "Rodeo  Parakeet"),  mindless  em- 
blem wearing  (the  clumsily  righteous  "Take  off  Your 
Swastika")  and  a  tennis  heroine  ("M-A-R-T-I-N-A"). 
Ace.  B] 


PiANOSAURUS 

Live  at  the  Speakeasy  NYC  [tape]  1 985 
Live  at  Folk  City  [tape]  1 985 
Groovy  Neighborhood  (Rounder)  1987  • 
Back  to  School  (unreleased) 

High  concept  on  a  low  budget:  New  York-region 
trio  Pianosaurus  plays  Alex  Garvin's  charmingly  light- 
hearted  pop  songs  entirely  on  toy  instruments  for  a  tikki- 
takki  effect  that  only  adds  to  their  winsome  adorability. 
Plinking  away  on  itsy-bitsy  pianos,  cheapie  organs,  kid- 
die guitars,  baby  drum  kits  and  plastic  horns  with  sin- 
cerity and  enthusiasm,  Pianosaurus  proves  that  big- 
people  equipment  isn't  necessary  for  big-people  music. 
(Groovy  Neighborhood's  renditions  of  Chuck  Berry's 
"Memphis"  and  John  Lee  Hooker's  "Dimples"  indi- 
cate that  the  gambit  can  work  on  well-known  songs 
without  any  diminution  of  delight.)  Peter  Holsapple  of 
the  dB's  produced  this  warm  and  wonderful  debut. 


In  1988,  Pianosaurus  appeared  in  Francis  Ford  Cop- 
pola's segment  of  the  New  York  Stories,  and  on  the 
accompanying  soundtrack,  playing  the  title  song  of  their 
second  album  in  a  version  produced  by  Chns  Butler. 
Then  things  went  awry.  With  the  Back  to  School  album 
in  the  can,  Garvin  skipped  town,  apparently  following 
in  the  emotional  footprints  of  his  musical  influences, 
Brian  Wilson  and  Alex  Chiiton.  Rounder  decided 
against  releasing  the  record. 

It's  a  shame  the  LP  has  yet  to  see  the  light  of  day. 
Pianosaurus'  lost  album  shows  the  group  growing  up 
without  straying  far  from  the  debut's  ingenuous  urban- 
pastoral  whimsy.  Still  performed  exclusively  on  toys, 
the  sophomore  effort  finds  Garvin's  bandmates  playing 
greater  roles.  Drummer  Steve  Dansiger  and  keyboardist 
Bianca  "Flystrip"  Miller  join  in  on  tasty  harmonies 
throughout,  lending  depth  to  the  sound;  each  gets  a  lead 
vocal.  [i/ws] 


CHARLIE  PICKET!  AND  THE 
EGGS 

Live  at  the  Button  (Open)  1982  (Safety  Net)  1988 
Cowboy  Junkie  Au-Go-Go  EP  (Open)  1984  (Safety  Net) 
1988* 

CHARLIE  PICKET! 

Route  33  (Twin/Tone)  1 986 

CHARLIE  P1CKETT  &  THE  MC3 

The  Wilderness  (Safety  Net)  1988  • 

Pickett  may  have  led  the  new  wave  bar  band;  on  the 
Eggs'  records,  these  Floridians  throw  original  tunes  in 
with  covers  of  wildly  varying  notoriety,  shake  it  all  up 
and  pour  out  fiery  stuff.  That  Pickett' s  own  tunes  often 
compare  favorably  to  those  he  chooses  to  cover  makes 
their  scarcity  on  the  live  LP  disappointing,  and  using 
three  tunes  by  the  Pirates  (during  and  after  Johnny  Kidd) 
and  three  written  or  adopted  by  the  Flamin  Groovies  on 
one  album  is  a  bit  much,  even  if  Pickett' s  slide  work  and 
the  nasty  ensemble  nearly  makes  numbers  like  "Slow 
Death"  sound  newly  minted.  (Other  borrowings  come 
from  Manfred  Mann  and  Lou  Reed.) 

For  their  long-awaited  second  vinyl  outing,  the  Eggs 
took  to  the  studio  and  cut  five  songs,  including  the  great 
Miami  localisms  of  "Overtown"  and  "Marlboro 
Town,"  a  dopey  "Louie  Louie"  adaptation  that  was  a 
local  hit  two  decades  ago  for  its  author,  Charlie's  cousin 
Mark  Markham.  (Markham  also  penned  "If  This  Is 
Love,  Can  I  Get  My  Money  Back?"  which  is  included 
on  the  live  LP  and  was  also  recorded  and  issued  as  a 
1982  Pickett  single.)  Even  without  the  special  charge 
they  get  onstage,  the  Eggs  reel  off  true-blue  high-energy 
rockers,  further  establishing  guitarist  John  Salton  as  a 
first-rate  student  of  Thunders,  Fogerty  and  Sky  Saxon 
(not  to  mention  a  dead-great  slide  player).  It's  hard  to 
believe  this  band  isn't  as  big  a  global  legend  as  it  de- 
serves to  be. 

Eggless,  but  joined  by  such  sympathetic  grunge  tal- 
ents as  ex-Panther  Burns  guitarist  Jim  Duckworth  and 
Maureen  Tucker,  Charlie  is  still  burning  with  unquench- 
able rock'n'roll  fire  on  Route  33.  The  material  is  almost 
entirely  Pickett' s;  Minneapolis  legend  Chris  Osgood 
produced  it  to  resemble  an  old  Stones  album  from  a  real 
ethnic  American  perspective.  A  little  bit  blues,  a  little 

499 


bit  country,  but  strictly  bullshit-free,  the  album  is  a 
straightforward  electric  charge  from  a  real  heartlands 
original. 

The  Wilderness  finds  Pickett  howling  and  rocking 
at  top  form  with  a  new  backing  band.  The  Magic  City 
(Miami,  that  is)  Three  includes  ex-Egg  Salton,  whose 
blistering  blues-based  guitar  excitement  provides  fiery 
encouragement  for  Pickett' s  plain  and  emotional  singing 
which,  at  times,  recalls  Neil  Young's  mournful  country 
wail.  Covers  of  a  twelve-bar  blues  and  a  gospel  song, 
both  penned  by  Son  House,  and  an  electrifying  new 
rendition  of 4' If  This  Is  Love"  settle  in  nicely  alongside 
such  new  originals  as  "Religion  or  Pleasure"  and  the 
cowboy  saga,  "Destry  Rides  Again." 

The  CD  of  The  Wilderness  contains  Cowboy 
Junkie  Au-Go-Go.  That  record  was  also  re-released  in 
an  expanded  edition  that  appends  the  contents  of  Pick- 
ett's  first  two  singles  and  a  track  from  a  compilation 
cassette.  [jg/i] 


JEFFREY  LEE 

See  Gun  Club. 


PIG 

A  Poke  in  the  Eye  ...  with  a  Sharp  Stick  (Wax  Trax!) 

1988® 

Although  he  subsequently  got  Jim  (Foetus)  Thirwell 
to  produce  a  12-inch  single,  Raymond  (Pig)  Watts  man- 
aged to  record  the  exceedingly  Foetuslike  Poke  in  the 
Eye  with  just  a  bunch  of  German  guitarists  and  percus- 
sionists. A  powerfully  bestial  singer  with  an  outraged 
lyrical  view  ("Scumsberg,"  "It  Toll  for  Thee  (Pig- 
breath),"  "Shit  for  Brains")  and  a  good  sense  of 
rhythm,  Pig  also  has  a  surprising  lighter  side  that  nearly 
derails  the  record.  But  when  Watts  revs  up  a  thundering 
herd  of  angry  noise,  Pig  can  be  a  real  party  animal,  [i] 

See  also  Foetus  Inc. 


PIGBAG 

Dr.  Heckle  and  Mr.  Jive  (Stiff)  1 982 

Lend  an  Ear  (nr/Y)  1 983 

Pigbag  Live  (nr/Y)  1983 

Favourite  Things  (nr/Y)  1 983 

Discology:  The  Best  of  Pigbag  [CD]  (nr/Kaz)  1 987  • 

Bristol's  Pigbag  was  an  instrumental  sextet  with  a 
four-piece  brass-and-reed  section.  The  music  they 
played — mostly  uptempo,  Latin-tinged  jazz-funk — was 
good  fun  for  the  length  of  a  1981  single,  and  "Papa's 
Got  a  Brand  New  Pigbag"  was  duly  a  big  dancefloor 
hit.  Stretched  out  over  an  album,  though,  the  band's 
writing  limitations  become  stultifyingly  clear. 

Dr.  Heckle  and  Mr.  Jive  contains  three  variations 
on  the  "Papa"  formula  and  a  couple  of  slower  cuts  that 
reveal  a  band  with  plenty  of  technical  know-how  and 
nothing  to  say.  Following  a  second  studio  album  and  a 
poorly  received  live  set,  Pigbag  called  it  a  day.  Favou- 
rite Things  and  the  CD-only  Discology  are  retrospec- 
tives, the  latter  containing  "Papa's  Got  a  Brand  New 
Pigbag"  in  both  its  album  and  12-inch  remix  versions. 

[si] 


See  Treat  Her  Right. 

PINK  FAIRIES 

See  Social  Deviants. 

PINK  MILITARY 

Blood  and  Lipstick  EP  (nr/Eric's)  1 979 

Do  Animals  Believe  in  God?  (nr/Eric's)  1 980 

Forty-Five  EP  (nr/Zulu}  1982 

Low  Technology  (nr/Zulu)  1983 

Who  Told  You,  You  Were  Naked  (nr/Zulu)  1 983 

New  Beginnings  (nr/Zulu)  1985 

Pink  Industry  (nr/Cathexis)  1 988 

With  many  of  her  early  Liverpool  compatriots  on 
their  way  to  worldwide  fame  and  fortune,  singer  Jayne 
Casey  formed  Pink  Military  after  the  short-lived  but 
seminal  Big  in  Japan  folded  in  1978.  Pink  Military's 
one  album,  recorded  after  two  years  and  numerous 
lineup  changes,  is  an  eclectically  derivative  (yet  amus- 
ing) hodgepodge  that  is  neither  stunningly  original  nor 
disgustingly  cliche'd. 

After  Pink  Military  ended,  Casey  joined  up  with 
bassist/keyboardist  Ambrose  Reynolds  (a  onetime  mem- 
ber of  Frankie  Goes  to  Hollywood),  adding  a  guitarist 
after  the  first  album,  and  continued  to  evade  commercial 
success  as  Pink  Industry  Inhabiting  and  exploring  an 
original  world  of  sound  and  vision,  Pink  Industry 
sounded  something  like  Siouxsie  Sioux  fronting  Japan, 
using  bits  of  guitar,  bass,  drums,  electronics  and  found 
audio  to  weave  a  fascinating  soft  cushion  for  Casey's 
plain  vocals.  As  the  trio  progressed  (Casey's  vocals  on 
the  later  records  are  a  big  improvement),  their  efforts 
turned  more  towards  alluringly  textured  layers  of  elec- 
tronics, making  the  group's  end  all  the  more  regrettable. 

Pink  Industry,  released  during  a  surprising  spurt  of 
UK  interest  in  the  by-then-defunct  band,  is  a  fine  con- 
densation of  the  three  albums  that  adds  a  pair  of  alter- 
nate versions,  a  remix  of  "What  I  Wouldn't  Give"  and 
the  otherwise  unissued  "Cruel  Garden."  [sg/i] 

See  also  Big  in  Japan. 

PIXIES 

Come  on  Pilgrim  (nr/4AD)  1987  (4AD-Rough  Trade) 

1988« 

Surfer  Rosa  (4AD-Rough  Trade)  1 988  * 
Gigantic  EP  (nr/4AD)  1988  « 
Doolittle  (4AD-Elektra)  1989  • 
'Monkey  Gone  to  Heaven  EP  (4AD-Elektra)  1 989  • 
Here  Comes  Your  Man  EP  (4AD-Elektra)  1 989  * 
Bossanova  (4AD-Elektra)  1 990  • 

With  so  much  of  what  was  once  the  rock -under- 
ground drifting  towards  shamefaced  respectability  and 
mainstream  acceptance,  the  Pixies  reclaimed  the  land  of 
the  disenfranchised  with  a  lively,  thoughtful  new  out- 
look and  unique  sounds  for  these  disturbing  times.  As  a 
result,  the  quartet  quickly  became  the  darlings  of  col- 
lege radio  and  have  grown  into  major  stars  for  those 
who  no  longer  believe  in  R.E.M, 

The  Pixies  hail  from  such  diverse  locales  as  Ohio, 
the  Philippines,  California  and  Boston,  where  the  group 
assembled  in  1986.  Following  Throwing  Muses  onto 


500 


Britain's  4 AD  label,  they  debuted  with  Come  on  Pil- 
grim, an  eight-song  explosion  (recorded,  roughly,  as  a 
demo)  of  gritty  art  passion:  strummed  and  scratched 
acoustic  and  electric  guitars,  vocals  sung  and  shrieked 
in  English  and  Spanish,  rhythms  that  race,  rest  and  drift. 
The  fuzzy  chaos  alternates  noisy  pop  melodicism  with 
pnmal  anarchy;  fervid  smger  Black  (Charles)  Francis' 
lyncs,  when  audible,  skew  towards  surprising,  occa- 
sionally shocking  terrain.  Difficult  and  intriguing. 

Ex-rock  cnt/Big  Black  mainman  (not  yet  established 
as  a  bigtime  underground  studio  maven)  Steve  Albini 
produced  Surfer  Rosa,  giving  the  Pixies  a  virulent, 
slashing  guitar  sound  and  organizing  drummer  David 
Lovering  and  bassist  Mrs  John  Murphy  (Kim  Deal) 
into  a  stronger,  surer  rhythm  unit.  A  sturdy  grasp  on 
melody  and  the  importance  of  good — not  necessarily 
pleasant — vocals  (Francis  and  Murphy)  make  songs  like 
"Bone  Machine,"  "Gigantic,"  "Vamos"  (reprised 
from  Pilgrim)  and  the  crazed  B-52's  noise  parody  of 
"Tony's  Theme"  into  gripping  rock  that  equally  invites 
dancing  and  bewildered  headshaking.  (The  CD  of 
Surfer  Rosa  includes  Come  on  Pilgrim.) 

Taking  the  spotlight  off  Francis,  the  Gigantic  12- 
inch  features  Deal  singing  on  all  four  of  its  tracks:  su- 
perior remakes  (produced  by  Gil  Norton)  of  the  title 
tune  and  "River  Euphrates"  (another  Surfer  Rosa  num- 
ber) and  exciting  live  renditions  of  "Vamos"  and 
"Heaven,"  a  brief  song  borrowed  from  the  Eraserhead 
soundtrack. 

Dooiittie  is  the  apotheosis  of  the  Pixies'  art,  a 
tension-filled  blend  of  abrasion  and  balm  that  shifts  un- 
easily between  the  freakout  horror  of  "Debaser,"  the 
catchy  pop  of  "Here  Comes  Your  Man,"  the  punky  roar 
of  "Crackity  Jones,"  the  melodic  surf-noise  of  "Wave 
of  Mutilation"  and  the  unnerving  calm  of  "Monkey 
Gone  to  Heaven"  (which  even  incorporates  a  string 
quartet).  Norton's  production  helps  rein  in  Francis'  ex- 
cessive tendencies  (not  that  he  doesn't  still  manage  some 
merciless  shrieking)  and  harnesses  Joey  Santiago's  gui- 
tar to  striking  effect.  Overall,  fine  songwriting  and 
clearly  articulated  performances  demonstrate  the  band's 
visionary  self-awareness. 

The  Monkey  EP  has  three  non-LP  studio  tracks:  two 
variations  on  a  theme  ("Manta  Ray"  and  "Dancing  the 
Manta  Ray")  and  the  silly  "Weird  at  My  School." 
Here  Comes  Your  Man  has  a  really  slow  live  rendition 
of  "Wave  of  Mutilation"  as  well  as  "Into  the  White" 
and  "Bailey's  Walk,"  half-assed  studio  productions  that 
sound  like  abandoned  song  demos. 

Whether  the  result  of  too  much  praise  and  power  or 
merely  a  creative  drought,  Bossanova  is  a  major  drag, 
a  bad-sounding  record  with  little  variety  or  invention, 
few  good  songs  (the  lyrics  are  especially  trivial)  and  an 
annoying  atmosphere  of  smug  indifference.  Reasonably 
well-crafted  tracks  like  "Velouria,"  "The  Happening," 
"Blown  Away"  and  "Allison,"  all  of  which  would 
have  been  fine  secondary  items  on  Dooiittie,  are  hardly 
adequate  to  carry  an  album  on  their  own,  and  the  rest  of 
Bossanova  offers  them  neither  support  nor  competition. 

See  also  Breeders.  [i] 


HONEST  JOHN  PLAIN 

See  Boys,  Lurkers. 


Plan  B  EP  (Ger.  Wall  City)  1 985 
Three  Songs  by  Plan  B  EP  f Ger.  Wall  City)  1 986 
Fortune  Favors  Fools  (Ger.  Waii  Giy)  1986 
The  Greenhouse  Effect  (RCA)  1990  • 

Fervent  young  Germans  with  a  love  for  English- 
speaking  bands,  Plan  B  have  emerged  from  the  shadows 
of  heavies  like  U2  and  the  Clash  to  become  solid  rockers 
in  their  own  right.  The  quintet's  debut  EP  is  marked  by 
good  intentions  and  an  obvious  delight  at  being  able  to 
create  a  ruckus:  "Gimme  the  Reason"  is  a  fine,  foot- 
stomping  shoutalong. 

The  Three  Songs  EP  (recorded  as  a  four-piece)  has 
the  same  mixture  of  grit  and  grandiosity  that  made  Lon- 
don Calling  so  electrifying.  If  these  guys  are  simply 
following  Strummer  and  crew,  they're  doing  a  damn 
fine  job  of  it. 

Fortune  Favors  Fools  boasts  a  five-man  lineup  and 
a  full  complement  of  ingredients:  insistent  vocals  a  la 
Midnight  Oil's  Peter  Garrett,  edgy  guitars  and  crackin' 
drums.  "Stop  These  Men,"  "House  of  Decline"  and 
others  resonate  with  the  inflamed  passions  unleashed  in 
the  quest  for  a  meaningful  existence.  When  they  sing 
"It's  the  sound  of  us/Trying  to  break  free"  in  "Plan 
B,"  it's  hard  not  to  cheer  'em  on. 

Bolstered  by  increased  confidence  and,  for  the  first 
time,  slick,  professional  production  (by  Pat  Collier), 
Plan  B  became  an  impressive  rockin*  machine  on  The 
Greenhouse  Effect,  the  quartet's  first  Stateside  release. 
Still  in  dogged  pursuit  of  truth,  justice  and  electric 
epiphanies,  they  fight  the  cool  fight  on  "Mad  World," 
"The  Day  to  Be  Jesus,"  "Devil's  Train,"  etc.  Com- 
parisons no  longer  apply.  [jy] 

PLANET  WILSON 

See  Red  Guitars. 


PLAN  9 

Frustration  (Voxx)  1 982  • 

Dealing  with  the  Dead  (Midnight)  1 984 

Plan  9  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1984 

I've  Just  Killed  a  Man  I  Don't  Want  to  See  Any  Meat 

(Midnight)  1985 

Keep  Your  Cool  and  Read  the  Rules  (Pink  Dust)  1985  • 
Anytime  Anyplace  Anywhere  EP  (Pink  Dust)  1 986 
Sea  Hunt  (Enigma)  1987  • 
Ham  and  Sam  Jamrnin'  (Restless)  1989  « 

BRIAN  T.  &  PLAN  9 

"Hideaway"  EP  (Midnight)  1984 

BRENT  HOSIER 

The  Secret  That  Lies  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 987 

Outside  of  its  art  college,  Rhode  Island  hasn't  ex- 
actly been  a  storehouse  for  modern  rock  music.  But  the 
state  has  a  group  to  be  proud  of  in  Plan  9,  whose  Frus- 
tration is  exciting  garage  psychedelia.  The  swirling, 
mesmerizing  effect  of  four  (!)  guitars  recalls  the  best  of 
the  late  '60s  and  gives  able  support  to  Eric  Stumpo's 
emotional  vocals.  There  are  no  original  songs  here,  just 
covers  of  period  gems  like  Them's  "I  Can  Only  Give 
You  Everything." 

The  French-only  Plan  9  is  an  assortment  of  1981- 
'84  studio  recordings  (plus  a  live  cut)  by  various  line- 


501 


ups,  including  a  poppy  five-piece  fronted  by  singer/ 
guitarist  Brian  Thomas.  (Three  songs — two  of  which 
overlap  the  LP — by  that  formulation  also  appear  on  the 
"Hideaway"  maxi-single.)  Surprisingly,  these  record- 
ings manage  to  hang  together  as  an  album. 

Dealing  with  the  Dead  features  eight  originals, 
played  with  a  '60s  sound  so  convincing  you'll  swear 
you  can  smell  incense  burning.  Stumpo's  vocals  are 
great,  a  whiny  growl  cross-breeding  Michael  J.  Pollard 
and  John  Kay;  the  massed  guitars  and  Deborah  DeMar- 
co's  atmospheric  keyboards  increase  the  sense  of  deja 
entendu  even  further.  Far  more  convincing  than  a  lot  of 
other  similar-minded  outfits,  Plan  9  knows  just  how  to 
launch  a  magic  carpet  ride  to  the  center  of  your  mind. 
Diabolical. 

I've  Just  Killed  a  Man  is  a  steamy  live  album  re- 
corded as  a  six-piece  in  Boston,  Washington,  DC,  New 
Haven  and  back  home  in  Providence.  A  trio  of  ace 
covers,  including  the  MCS's  "Looking  at  You,"  and  a 
guest  appearance  by  head  Lyre  Jeff  Conolly  on  "I'm 
Gone"  add  extra  excitement  to  the  spirited  fun. 

Keep  Your  Cool  covers  lots  of  stylistic  ground, 
including  the  film  noir  ambience  of  "Street  of  Painted 
Lips"  sung  by  DeMarco,  an  unclassifiable  rollicking 
instrumental  ("King  9  Will  Not  Return")  and  various 
stripes  of  '60s  rock,  running  the  stylistic  gamut  from 
Spirit  to  Steppenwolf.  Although  some  are  a  little  unde- 
veloped, the  band's  songs  are  solid;  the  two  covers  are 
righteously  arcane. 

Anytime  Anyplace  Anywhere  is  a  five-song  EP  of 
new  material,  including  the  title  tune  and  "Green  Ani- 
mals." 

A  revised  seven-person  lineup  on  Sea  Hunt  cuts  the 
guitar  army  down  to  three  and  adds  a  female  sax  player. 
The  LP  removes  Plan  9  from  revivalism,  leaving  in  the 
resulting  vacuum  a  rather  plain-sounding  rock  band  with 
a  predilection  for  guitar  solos.  Sea  Hunt  is  by  no  means 
bad,  but  the  lack  of  focus  creates  an  imbalance  that 
Stumpo's  unexciting  originals  don't  resolve.  The 
dreamy  title  track  drifts  along  aimlessly  for  almost  four- 
teen instrumental  minutes;  it's  followed  by  the  Ra- 
monesque  eleven-second  "Human  Mertzes."  Faced 
with  a  choice  of  the  lady  or  the  tiger,  Plan  9  fluffs  it. 

Eric,  Debora  and  the  rhythm  section  from  Sea  Hunt 
drafted  a  cool  new  lead  singer  named  Pip  and  made 
Ham  and  Sam  Jammin'  as  an  economical  quintet.  Al- 
though the  band's  direction  hasn't  really  changed,  the 
elimination  of  two  guitarists  leaves  DeMarco's  colorful 
keyboards  room  to  stretch  out  and  be  noticed;  a  guest 
violinist  provides  a  provocative  alternative  to  Stumpo's 
fevered  riffmg  on  most  of  the  songs.  Overall,  Ham  and 
Sam  is  better  than  Sea  Hunt,  although  still  nowhere  as 
wacky  or  enjoyable  as  the  band's  early  work. 

Virginian  singer/guitarist  Hosier  was  in  Plan  9 
briefly  (he  appears  on  half  of  Keep  Your  Cool);  his 
intriguing  and  not  overly  stylized  psychpunk  solo  album 
is  a  weird  blend  of  David  Bowie's  Anthony  Newley 
vocal  period,  a  variety  of  players'  brisk  guitar  work  and 
colorful  songs  inspired  by  exploitation  films.  [cpl/i] 


PLASMATICS 

New  Hope  for  the  Wretched  (Stiff  America)  1 980 
Beyond  the  Valley  of  1 984  (Stiff  America)  1 981  • 


Metal  Priestess  EP  (Stiff  America}  1 981  @ 
Coup  d'&at  (Capitol)  1982 

WENDY  O. 

W.O.W.  (Passport)  1 984 

Kommander  of  Kaos  (Gigasaurus)  1 986 

Maggots:  The  Record  (Profile)  1987 

Deffest!  and  Baddest!  (Defest  Disc-Profile)  1988 

New  Hope  for  the  Wretched,  "produced"  by 
Jimmy  Miller,  represents  the  Plasmatics'  first  stage — 
mere  artless  gimmickry — as  conceived  by  the  group's 
manager  and  lyricist,  ex-porn  entrepreneur  Rod  S wen- 
son.  Former  sex-show  queen  Wendy  O.  Williams 
hoarsely  talks/shouts/heavy-breathes  lyrics  jumbling  the 
psychotronic  film  aesthetic  (sex,  violence,  gratuitous 
grotesqueries)  accompanied  by  a  band  playing  with  no 
subtlety  whatever  at  punk  speed  and  volume,  reprising 
the  "best"  bits  of  the  'Matics'  preceding  proto-hardcore 
indie  singles  (e.g.,  Williams  buzzsawing  a  guitar  in 
half).  Entertaining  for  its  sheer  crassness  perhaps, 
though  hardly  listenable. 

Beyond  the  Valley  of  1984,  though,  is  quite  listen- 
able,  if  only  intermittently  memorable.  Swenson's  lyr- 
ics aspire  to  nightmares  of  apocalypse  and  superhuman 
lust  and  degradation.  The  music  is  likewise  heavier,  but 
clearer  and  not  without  flashes  of  finesse:  punchy  drums 
(courtesy  of  guest  Neal  Smith,  once  in  Alice  Cooper), 
good  guitar  squeals  from  Swenson's  main  writing  col- 
laborator, Richie  Stotts,  and  even  a  culture-shock 
backing- vocals  appearance  by  the  girl-group  Angels. 
(The  CD,  released  many  moons  later  on  the  PVC  label, 
appends  Metal  Priestess.) 

Metal  Priestess — 25  minutes  at  a  sub-LP  price— is 
the  best  buy  of  the  lot:  smokin'  live  versions  of  two  of 
Beyond' s  best,  not  to  mention  proof  that  Williams  can 
sweetly  carry  a  tune,  as  grim  as  it  is  ("Lunacy").  Co- 
produced  by  Dan  Hartman  (!)  and  Swenson,  it  captures 
the  band  in  mid-transition  to  metal;  part  of  that  change 
included  the  departure  (early  in  the  project)  of  Beauvoir 
for  his  solo  and  production  career. 

Wendy  kicks  off  the  awkwardly  metallicized  Coup 
d'etat  with  some  superhuman  screaming  (a  compli- 
ment, really!),  but  it's  downhill  from  there.  While  Side 
A's  simpleminded  messages — "Put  Your  Love  in  Me," 
"Stop"  ("the  rape  of  the  earth"),  etc, — are  capped  by 
an  adequate  take  on  Motdrhead's  "No  Class,"  the  lyrics 
on  the  backside  echo  the  fever-dreams  of  Beyond  and 
Priestess,  but  less  compellingly. 

When  Stotts  left  (to  form  the  Richie  Stotts  Experi- 
ence and  King  Flux,  which  also  included  Marc  Bell 
between  stints  in  the  Ramones)  it  was  decided  to  drop 
the  Plasmatics  name.  In  came  Michael  Ray  to  play 
flashy  licks,  and  Williams'  transformation  to  metal 
priestess  was  complete.  With  writing  and  performing 
help  from  Kiss  bandmates,  Gene  Simmons  produced 
W.O.W. ,  on  which  Wendy  sounds  like  a  hoarse  Joan 
Jett  doing  Kiss  outtakes. 

K.O.K.  is  modestly  successful  speedy  metal  and 
speedmetal,  but  the  sex-goddess  role-playing  (Motor- 
head's  "Jailbait,"  "Bad  Girl,"  "F**k  That  Booty") 
falls  as  flat  as  ever;  Williams1  voice  has  always  been  too 
tough  for  that.  Her  singing  is  much  more  suited  to  the 
apocalyptic  world-domination  concept  album  that  fol- 


502 


lowed.  Maggots  isn't  all  that  bad,  but  how  much  atten- 
tion can  you  focus  on  a  subject  that  gross? 

Deffest!  and  Baddest!  is  (gulp)  Wendy  O's  rap 
album.  [jg] 

See  also  Jean  Beauvoir,  Motorhead. 


Plastic  Bertrand  AN1  (nr/Sire)  1978 

£a  Plane  pour  Moi  (Sire)  1 978 

J'te  Fais  un  Plan  (Bel.  RKM)  1979 

L'Album  (Can.  Attic)  1980 

Grands  Succes/Greatest  Hits  (Can.  Attic)  1 981 

Plastiquez  Vos  Baffles  (Can.  Attic)  1 982 

One  of  the  first  punk  gag  records  and  still  one  of  the 
greatest,  "£a  Plane  pour  Moi"  was  a  major  European 
hit  in  late  '77  and  early  '78,  launching  the  career  of 
blond  Belgian  pretty  boy  Roger  Jouret,  ajca  Plastic  Ber- 
trand. Scuttlebutt  at  the  time  claimed  Bertrand  was  the 
invention  of  some  anonymous  French  studio  pranksters; 
in  fact,  Jouret  had  already  played  drums  in  an  earlier 
Belgian  punk  trio  called  Hubble  Bubble  (whose  one  LP 
was  notable  for  a  trashy  cover  of  the  Kinks'  "I'm  Not 
Like  Everybody  Else").  Together  with  producer/ 
songwriter  Lou  Deprijck,  he  created  the  persona  of  Plas- 
tic Bertrand,  a  jolly  satire  on  the  safety-pin  image  and 
jackhammer  crunch  of  punk. 

"£a  Plane  pour  Moi"  ("This  Life's  for  Me")  is 
truly  great  dumbness — Bertrand  singing  verbose,  seem- 
ingly nonsensical  French  lyrics  over  a  classic  three- 
chord  Ramones  roar  with  Spectorish  saxes  and  a 
winning  falsetto  "oooh-weee-oooh"  on  the  chorus.  £a 
Plane  pour  Moi  (the  US  title  of  Plastic  Bertrand  AN1, 
released  first  in  Belgium,  then  in  England)  also  contains 
more  of  the  hilarious  same — a  spirited  remake  of  the 
Small  Faces'  "Sha  La  La  La  Lee"  and  "Wha!  Wha!," 
wherein  Bertrand  does  barnyard  animal  imitations. 

J'te  Fais  un  Plan  has  two  limp  reggae  entries  ac- 
tually recorded  in  Jamaica  (the  title  song  and  "Hit  78") 
and  a  sugary-sweet  ballad  ("Affection")  dedicated  to 
Jonathan  Richman.  More  interesting  is  the  ten-minute 
electro-disco  "Tout  Petit  la  Planete,"  a  blatant  Kraft- 
werk  cop  tarted  up  with  a  nagging  hook  and  a  rich 
synthesizer  sound — predating  by  two  years  the  synth- 
pop  confections  of  the  Human  League  and  OMD. 

L* Album  is  for  the  true  P-Bert  devotee,  its  more 
tightly  formulaic  new  wave  pop  distinguished  only  by  a 
catchy  vanilla-funk  rap  track,  "Stop  ou  Encore,"  which 
bears  a  passing  similarity  to  Blondie's  "Rapture." 
Greatest  Hits  collects  his  big  European  successes,  add- 
ing a  pair  of  live  tracks.  [df] 


PLAST1CLAND 

Pop!  Op  Drops  EP  (Scadillac)  1 982 

Color  Appreciation  (Fr.  Lolita)  1984 

Plasticland  (Pink  Dust)  1985 

Wonder  Wonderful  Wonderland  (Pinlc  Dust)  1985  « 

Salon  (Pink  Dust)  1987* 

Confetti  (Midnight)  1 990 

Lefs  Play  Pollyanna  EP  (Ger.  Repulsion)  1990  • 

Following  several  7-inch  EPs  and  45s  on  their  own 
label,  this  time- warped  psychedelic  quartet  from  Mil- 
waukee (the  successor  to  a  legendary  band  called  Arous- 


ing Polaris)  began  issuing  wonderful  albums  of  original 
acid-paisley  retro-rock. 

Except  for  two  track  substitutions,  the  pink- vinyl 
Plasticland  is  the  same  LP  as  the  French  Color  Appre- 
ciation!; both  contain  all  four  songs  from  Pop!  Op 
Drops.  Adding  two  bonus  cuts,  the  cassette  of  Plastic- 
land  contains  the  whole  kit  and  kaboodle:  seventeen 
slices  of  droning  delight,  including  a  Pretty  Things  tune 
and  such  evocative  band  creations  as  "Euphoric  Trap- 
door Shoes,"  "Rattail  Comb"  and  "Driving  Accident 
Prone."  Wonder  Wonderful  Wonderland  features 
such  giddy  items  as  "Grassland  of  Reeds  and  Things," 
"Processes  of  the  Silverness"  and  "Fairytale  Hyste- 
ria." Charming,  whimsical,  stylish,  exciting,  witty  and 
utterly  entertaining. 

Salon  puts  an  even  less  selfconscious  twist  on  things 
(although  the  faint  British  component  in  Glenn  Rehse's 
accent  argues  against  that)  and  displays  an  easy  com- 
mand of  swinging  London  art-school  power  pop  psy- 
chedelia. Armed  with  a  mellotron  and  other  relevant 
instruments,  Plasticland  shoots  delicious  flashes  of  Man- 
fred Mann,  frilly-shirt-era  Who  and  Stones,  Yardbirds 
and  Magical  Mystery  Tour  into  their  creations,  making 
Salon  an  incisive  nostalgia  exercise  that  transcends  its 
basis  to  stand  on  its  own  merits.  A  remarkably  good 
time. 

Confetti  presents  songs  from  all  of  the  band's  al- 
bums (plus  a  game  stab  at  a  section  of  George  Harri- 
son's Wonderwall  soundtrack)  in  churning,  stripped- 
down  live  versions  that  attest  to  the  fundamental  strength 
of  Plasticland' s  uncanny  melodic  sense.  Despite  incon- 
sistent production,  the  Let's  Play  Pollyanna  EP  (three 
tracks  on  12-inch,  four  on  CD)  is  a  welcome  return  to 
the  studio,  with  a  rockingly  memorable  title  track  (also 
available  in  a  live  rendition  on  Confetti)  and  some  en- 
joyably  experimental  B-sides.  [i/hd] 

See  also  Social  Deviants. 

PLASTICS 

Welcome  Plastics  (Jap.  Invitation)  1 979  • 
Origato  (Jap.  Invitation)  1 980 
Welcome  Plastics  (nr/lsland)  1 981 
Plastics  (island)  1 981 

HAJIME  TACHIBANA 

H  (Jap.  Yen-Alfa)  1982 

Hm  (Ralph)  1984 

Mr.  Techie  &  Miss  Kipple  (Jap.  Alfa)  1 984 

Taiyo-Sun  (Jap.  School)  1 986 

Those  who  have  only  experienced  Plastics  through 
their  lone  Western  album  release — the  English  Wei- 
come  and  its  American  equivalent,  Plastics,  an  Alex 
Sadkin-dulled  production  of  inferior  remakes  of  mate- 
rial from  the  band's  first  two  albums — are  missing  out 
on  the  Japanese  quintet's  best  work. 

The  original  Japanese  albums — Welcome  Plastics 
and  Origato — are  marvelous  and  well  worth  finding  for 
fans  of  extreme  kitsch  and  quirk.  Sung  in  English  by 
Toshio  Nakanishi  and  Chica  Sato,  the  Plastics'  ultra- 
perky  art-pop  (played  on  guitar  and  synth)  takes  its  cues 
from  American  culture  of  the  '60s  as  portrayed  by  the 
B-52's  and  Devo.  Jumpy  and  clever,  nervous  and  zany, 
the  group  takes  Western  ideals  of  technology  and  com- 
mercialism and  makes  catchy  Asian  sport  of  them.  The 
first  album's  song  titles  say  it  all:  "Digital  Watch," 


503 


"Too  Much  Information,"  "Robot/'  "I  Am  Plastic," 
"Top  Secret  Man."  (There's  also  a  silly  cover  of  "Last 
Train  to  Clarksville";  Otigato  includes  the  Plastics' 
rendition  of  "Eight  Days  a  Week.")  A  great,  cool, 
original  band  that  might  just  as  well  be  from  Mars. 

Following  Plastics*  breakup  at  the  end  of  1981,  Ta- 
chibana  put  down  his  guitar  in  favor  of  exploring  jazz 
sax,  resulting  in  H,  a  diverting  album  which  is  wacky 
but  not  silly — his  commitment  to  this  musical  path  is  no 
less  sincere  for  its  synthesis  with  what  he  helped  de- 
velop in  Plastics. 

On  Hm,  his  saxisms  are  a  touch  artier  and  less  light- 
heartedly  playful,  but  it's  still  a  fun  record.  Primitive 
drums  (or  were  they  copped  from  a  '40s  B-movie  conga 
line  production  number?)  are  often  used  to  underpin 
"outside"  jazz  sax  charts  and  solos,  interlarded  with 
quieter  numbers  minus  bass  and  drums  in  which  pretty 
melodies  are  stated.  Odd  but  ingratiating. 

With  Yukihiro  Takahashi  producing  and  supplying 
occasional  drums,  the  synth-oriented  Mr.  Techie  & 
Miss  Kippie  just  doesn't  make  it.  The  menu:  a  James 
Brown  tribute  that  goes  on  too  long,  oddball  mstrumen- 
tals  (including  one  Tachibana  wrote  with  Devo's  Mark 
Mothersbaugh)  that  are  interesting  at  best  and  irritating 
at  worst,  a  stiff  Plastics  rehash  and  a  poker-faced  hymn 
professing  "No  Disappointment  in  Jesus"  (delivered  in 
a  low  and  slurry  half-speed  voice).  Weird  yet  uninvolv- 


PLAYHOUSE 

Gazebo  Princess  (Twin/Tone)  1 987 

Soul  Asylum's  Dave  Pirner  co-produced  Gazebo 
Princess,  this  uncommon  Minneapolis  trio's  rawboned 
mini-album  debut.  Skittish,  disorienting  syncopation 
supports  guitarist  Eric  Haugesag's  distorted  power- 
Vjazz  chords  and  throaty  vocals  in  a  punk-folk-jazz 
hybrid  that  derives  eqdally  from  Killing  Joke,  the  Min- 
utemen  and  Love.  Melodic  but  no  less  challenging  than 
the  flintier  tracks  that  surround  them,  "My  Eyes"  and 
"Rule  No.  1"  are  standouts  that  indicate  the  extent  of 
Playhouse's  potential.  [i] 

MARTIN  PLAZA 

See  Mental  as  Anything. 


PL1MSOUIS 

Zero  Hour  EP(  Beat)  1980 

The  Plimsouls  (Planet)  1 981 

Everywhere  at  Once  (Geffen)  1 983 

One  Night  in  America  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1 988  • 

LA's  Plimsouls  were  one  of  numerous  bands  which 
were  sucked  up  by  record-label  power  pop  madness  in 
the  Knack's  wake.  Following  a  short  independent  re- 
cording career,  they  signed  a  big  deal  and  made  one  fine 
LP  that  didn't  sell.  That  was  very  nearly  the  end  of  that. 
Heaps  of  promise  are  already  evident  on  the  cheap- 
sounding  Zero  Hour  12-inch  EP.  Fronted  by  sharp- 
voiced  Peter  Case  (formerly  Paul  Collins'  bandmate  in 
the  Nerves),  the  Plimsouls  toss  out  enough  cutting  har- 
monies and  nifty  guitar  licks  to  recall  Beatles  VI,  al- 


though their  spirit  is  totally  fresh  and  beyond  nostalgia, 
the  aggression  modem. 

That  promise  is  fulfilled  on  The  Plimsouls,  the 
band's  first  major-label  LP,  which  trims  only  the  ragged- 
est  edges  to  showcase  vibrant,  hummable  tunes  like 
"Now."  The  Plimsouls'  affection  for  '60s  soul  also  gets 
a  tumble  via  the  use  of  a  horn  section  and  a  hot  cover  of 
"Mini-Skirt  Minnie." 

The  band's  relationship  with  Planet  soured  soon  af- 
ter the  LP  stiffed,  and  the  Plimsouls  left  the  label  to 
make  a  wonderful  independent  12-inch  called  "A  Mil- 
lion Miles  Away."  In  a  show  of  enormous  resilience 
(both  commercial  and  individual),  the  Plimsouls  subse- 
quently joined  the  Geffen  roster  and  produced  Every- 
where at  Once,  re-recording  that  memorable  single 
alongside  a  batch  of  similarly  strong  new  ones,  all  bub- 
bling with  undiminished  fire  and  melody.  Lyrics,  how- 
ever, show  signs  of  frustration:  "How  Long  Will  It 
Take?,"  "My  Life  Ain't  Easy,"  "Play  the  Breaks." 
But  the  Plimsouls  were  never  to  hit  the  big  time,  and 
soon  faded  away. 

The  posthumously  released  One  Night  in  America 
captures  a  live  set  from  1981 ,  mixing  original  tunes  with 
some  fine  vintage  covers.  Recorded  during  the  Plim- 
souls' cocky,  hard-rocking  prime,  it's  a  fitting  epitaph 
for  an  underappreciated  band.  [jy/i/hd] 

See  also  Peter  Case,  dB's,  Walking  Wounded. 


PLUGZ 

Electrify  Me  (Plugz)  1 979  (Enigma)  1 990  • 

Better  Luck  (Fatima)  1 981  (Enigma)  1 990  ® 

SNAKE  FARM 

What  Kind  of  Dreams  Are  These  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1989  « 

Featuring  guitarist/singer  Tito  Larriva  (later  in  the 
Cruzados)  and  drummer  Chalo  Qumtana  (most  recently 
of  the  Havalinas),  this  early  LA  new  wave  band  play 
sharp  and  punky  rock'n'roll  with  a  strong  sense  of  pop 
structure  on  the  varied  Electrify  Me.  The  title  track  is 
mildly  reggaefied;  there's  also  a  pre-Los  Lobos  cover 
(in  Spanish)  of  "La  Bamba"  and  some  folky  detours, 
but  the  band  never  strays  too  far  from  an  essentially 
unadventurous  core. 

The  more  mainstream  Better  Luck  ups  the  Plugz' s 
folk  and  country  sides  for  a  blend  of  Rank  and  File 
(another  ex-punk  outfit  whom  they  predated)  and  Tom 
Petty,  displaying  a  promising  rock  talent  enervated  to 
the  point  of  tedium.  (The  Plugz  subsequently  contrib- 
uted three  very  divergent  songs  to  the  Repo  Man  sound- 
track,) 

Years  after  the  Plugz  folded,  bassist  Barry  McBride 
resurfaced  as  a  guitarist  leading  an  atmospheric  cowboy 
band  of  no  fixed  lineup.  Snake  Farm's  album  is  crisp 
and  taut,  resonant  Southwestern  rock  played  with  un- 
adorned skill  and  conviction.  Given  eloquent  instrumen- 
tal support — Dave  Alvin  and  Billy  Bremner  each  make 
one-song  cameos — McBride' s  vocals  and  playing  are 
quite  effective,  but  his  often  ungainly  lyrics  need  help. 

See  also  Cruzados,  Havalinas.  [tr] 

POET  AND  THE  ROOTS 

See  Linton  Kwesi  Johnson. 


504 


POGUES 

Red  Roses  for  Me  (nr/Stiff)  1 984  (Stiff-Enigma)  1 986  • 

Rum  Sodomy  &  the  Lash  (Stiff-MCA)  1 985  • 

Poguetry  in  Motion  EP  (Stiff-MCA)  1986 

If  S  Should  Fall  from  Grace  with  God  f Island)  1 987  • 

Peace  and  Love  (Island)  1 989  • 

Misty  Morning,  Albert  Bridge  EP  (nr/WEA)  1989  © 

Yeah  Yeah  Yeah  Yeah  EP  (Island)  1990  • 

Hell's  Ditch  (Island)  1990® 

w 

Bops,  Babes,  Booze  &  Bower  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 987 

Straight  to  Hell  (Hell-Enigma)  1987® 

The  London-based  Pogues  (originally  known  as 
Pogue  Mahone — Gaelic  for  "kiss  my  ass")  are  a  motley 
Anglo-Irish  agglomeration  (at  last  count  an  eight-piece) 
of  erstwhile  punk  rockers — as  a  young  raver,  singer/ 
songwriter  Shane  MacGowan  was  in  the  late  if  unla- 
mented  Nipple  Erectors  (later  the  Nips),  a  frisky  Ted- 
style  punkabilly-cwm-beat  quartet  memorialized  a 
decade  after  the  fact  in  the  eight-song  Bops,  Babes, 
Booze  &  Bower  retrospective;  guitarist  Philip  Chevron 
led  Dublin's  estimable  Radiators  from  Space,  also  in  the 
late  '70s — and  knockabout  folkies.  Their  repertoire 
mixes  traditional  Irish,  English  and  Australian  folk 
songs  with  an  increasing  majority  of  MacGowan' s  sty- 
listically antiquated  originals.  Although  early  supporters 
of  the  group  conveniently  overlooked  the  existence  of 
genuine  folk  artists  in  Great  Britain  who  play  traditional 
music  with  more  knowledge  and  credibility,  the  Pogues 
have  managed  to  transcend  such  beginnings  to  hone 
themselves  into  a  unique  and  original  creation. 

The  first  two  albums  are  exploratory,  but  both  have 
their  fine  moments.  Concertina,  banjo,  pipes,  guitar, 
bass,  minimal  drums,  mandolin  and  the  like  in  the  hands 
of  post-rock  rebels  make  for  an  intriguing  blend  of  old- 
fashioned  and  newfangled.  Recorded  as  a  drape- 
jacketed  six-piece,  Red  Roses  for  Me  (the  American 
cassette  of  which  adds  three  cuts)  mixes  traditional  bal- 
ladry ("Poor  Paddy,"  "Greenland  Whale  Fisheries") 
with  Shane's  derivative  but  promising  creations  ("Boys 
from  the  County  Hell,"  "Dark  Streets  of  London"). 

Red  Roses'  rudimentary  acoustic  instrumentation 
gave  way  to  relative  sophistication  on  the  more  varied 
Rum  Sodomy  &  the  Lash  (produced  by  Elvis  Cos- 
tello),  which  evidences  growing  stylistic  ambition  as 
well.  MacGowan,  a  besotted  Tom  Waits-like  figure  with 
an  obvious  Brendan  Behan/James  Joyce  jones,  shows 
increased  confidence  and  talent  as  a  songwriter  on  num- 
bers like  "The  Old  Main  Drag"  and  "A  Pair  of  Brown 
Eyes,"  notable  examples  of  his  gritty,  realistic  tales  of 
life's  urban  downside. 

Miles  better  than  either  of  those,  however,  is 
Poguetry  in  Motion:  an  EP  of  three  new  MacGowan 
songs  and  a  reel.  Mixing  zydeco  with  Gaelic  soul, 
"London  Girl"  is  a  rousing  singalong,  an  urban  travel- 
ogue that  sounds  like  the  hit  of  Kevin  Rowland's 
dreams;  "A  Rainy  Night  in  Soho**  plays  a  hauntingly 
beautiful  Van  Morrison-like  waltz  on  piano,  with  taste- 
ful horns  and  strings;  "The  Body  of  an  American"  is  a 
drinking  song  that  most  closely  resembles  the  Pogues' 
primal  busker  sound,  with  uilleann  pipes,  martial  drums 
and  jolly  tin  whistle. 


Along  with  Costello  and  Joe  Strummer,  the  Pogues 
fell  in  with  director  Alex  Cox,  contributing  a  pair  of 
tracks  to  Sid  &  Nancy,  appearing  in  the  motley  Straight 
to  Hell  and  providing  the  bulk  of  its  soundtrack.  Sur- 
rounded by  contributions  by  the  (Declan)  MacManus 
Gang,  Strummer  and  others,  the  Pogues  offer  atmo- 
spheric Latinisms  like  "Rabinga"  and  Ennio  Morri- 
cone's  "The  Good,  the  Bad  and  the  Ugly,"  as  well  as 
more  European  creations  like  "If  I  Should  Fall  from 
Grace  with  God"  (a  preview  of  their  next  album)  and 
the  traditional  "Danny  Boy,"  recorded  as  a  reunion 
with  ex-bassist  Cait  O'Riordan. 

If  I  Should  Fat!  from  Grace  with  God  is  an  excit- 
ing, strong  album  that  opens  new  vistas  for  the  Pogues. 
Almost  all  of  the  material  is  by  the  band;  amidst  win- 
ningly  unreconstructed  folk  designs  ("The  Broad  Ma- 
jestic Shannon,"  "Medley,"  the  title  tune)  is  a  jazz/ 
swing  instrumental  ("Metropolis")  and  the  oddly 
accented  "Turkish  Song  of  the  Damned."  But  the 
record's  easy  standout  is  another  example  of  the  mel- 
ancholic urban  balladeering  introduced  on  Poguetry  in 
Motion:  "Fairytale  of  New  York,"  a  fragile  piano-and- 
strings  lullaby  with  guest  vocals  by  Kirsty  MacColl, 
wife  of  the  album's  producer,  Steve  Lillywhite,  and 
daughter  of  folk  titan  Ewan  MacColl,  whose  songs  the 
Pogues  have  covered. 

What  were  merely  digressions  on  If  I  Should  Fall 
form  the  stylistic  basis  of  Peace  and  Love,  an  amazing 
album  (also  produced  by  Lillywhite)  that  redefines  the 
Pogues  and  demonstrates  the  enormous  breadth  of  talent 
the  eight  men  possess.  Kicking  off  with  a  blistering 
big-band  instrumental  ("Gridlock")  and  then  careening 
joyously  into  one  of  MacGowan' s  finest  folk-rock  cre- 
ations ("White  City"),  the  record  is  a  marvel  of  rich 
playing,  resonant  emotions,  sturdy  melodies  and  low 
tales.  In  this  varied  effort,  mandolinist  Terry  Woods 
offers  a  fiery  acoustic  calumny  against  Oliver  Cromwell 
in  "Young  Ned  of  the  Hill";  Chevron  contributes  the 
rollicking  New  Orleans-accented  "Blue  Heaven"; 
banjo-player  Jem  Finer  chips  in  with  the  dramatic 
"Night  Train  to  Lorca"  and  a  wistful  waltz  ("Misty 
Morning,  Albert  Bridge").  Meanwhile,  MacGowan 
tops  things  off  with  "Boat  Train,"  an  engrossing  rec- 
ollection of  a  drunken  voyage,  the  American-conscious 
"Cotton  Fields"  and  "London  You're  a  Lady,"  ending 
the  album  in  an  orchestral  flourish,  (The  Misty  Morn- 
ing EP  offers  three  album  tracks — one  in  a  surprising 
dub  mix — and  Finer' s  "Train  of  Love.") 

Although  the  excellent  stomping  and  lusty  R&B  sin- 
gle "Yeah  Yeah  Yeah  Yeah"  was  released  in  1988,  a 
12-inch  EP  built  around  it — adding  a  rambunctious  ban- 
jofied  rendition  of  "Honky  Tonk  Woman"  [sic]  and  a 
pair  of  Irish  folk  songs  (one  a  Pogues  original)  per- 
formed with  the  Dubliners  (the  two  bands  had  previ- 
ously teamed  up  on  a  1987  single) — suddenly  appeared 
in  1990. 

Joe  Strummer  produced  Hell's  Ditch,  a  casually  or- 
ganized musical  voyage  that  spends  far  too  much  of  its 
time  in  Spain  and  the  Mediterranean.  While  keeping  the 
music  close  to  home,  MacGowan  drops  eight  place 
names  in  the  first  three  songs  (two  of  which — "The 
Ghost  of  a  Smile"  and  "The  Sunnyside  of  the  Street' ' — 
are  positively  wonderful  examples  of  Poguetry)  but 
that's  only  an  orientation  session.  Once  the  Pogue  ship 


505 


sets  sail,  he  turns  cinematic,  spinning  spaghetti  western 
yarns  ("Hell's  Ditch/'  "Lorca's  Novena")  with  sinu- 
ous Middle  Eastern  accents.  Before  finishing  (with  an 
African-styled  chant  no  less),  the  Pogues  try  out  cock- 
tail jazz  (complete  with  piano  and  harp),  insert  what 
sounds  like  a  Semitic  dance  melody  into  Finer' s  "The 
Wake  of  the  Medusa'*  and  manage  a  convincing  early- 
'70s  Dylan  impression  in  "5  Green  Queens  &  Jean." 
Track  by  track,  there's  some  fine  stuff  here,  but  Strum- 
mer's  casual  production  and  the  album's  maddening  sty- 
listic hopscotch  make  it,  overall,  a  frustrating  exercise. 
See  also  Men  They  Couldn't  Hang.  [i] 


POi 

Poi  Dog  Pondering  EP  (Texas  Hotel)  1 988 

Circle  Around  the  Sun  EP  (Texas  Hotel)  1 989 

Poi  Dog  Pondering  (Texas  Hotel-Columbia)  1 989  • 

Wishing  Like  a  Mountain  and  Thinking  Like  the  Sea  (Texas 

Hotel-Columbia)  1990® 
Fruitless  (Texas  Hotel-Columbia)  1 990  ® 

As  noted  by  Robert  Downey  (Sr. )  in  Putney  Swope, 
you've  got  to  know  the  rules  before  you  can  break  the 
rules.  That  axiom  certainly  applies  in  the  world  of  "al- 
ternative" rock,  where  bands  with  big  dreams  must  be 
colorfully  offbeat,  but  not  too  weird  for  radio.  As  such, 
Poi  Dog  Pondering — a  modern  jug  band  formed  on  the 
streets  of  Waikiki  but  based  in  Austin,  Texas — is  a 
record  industry  fantasy,  a  lovable  mongrel  bred  of  gen- 
tle folk-rock  exotica  with  richly  diverse  influences  and 
enough  built-in  mystique  and  credibility  to  last  a  career. 
Led  by  singer/guitarist  Frank  Orrall,  the  large  ensemble 
made  a  delightful  debut  on  Po!  Dog  Pondering,  per- 
forming whimsically  bright  pop  songs  (like  "Living 
with  the  Dreaming  Body")  on  a  shifting  brew  of  accor- 
dion, banjo,  horns,  fiddle,  percussion,  acoustic  guitar, 
etc.  Despite  the  potential  for  instrumental  calamity,  Poi 
manages  to  keep  their  sound  light,  leaving  plenty  of 
room  in  the  varied  arrangements  If  Poi  were  a  restau- 
rant, it  would  be  an  urban  fern  bar  with  a  kooky  inter- 
national menu,  efficiently  run  by  the  children  of  hippies. 

Haunted  around  the  edges  by  encroaching  precious- 
ness  and  more  overt  stylistic  expeditions  (the  tenor  gui- 
tar swing  of  "Aloha  Honolulu,"  for  instance),  Circle 
Around  the  Sun  allows  a  stronger  rock  sound  ("Wood 
Guitar"  has  a  crisp  backbeat  and  amplifiers)  to  shift  the 
stylistic  balance  a  bit.  The  songs  are  okay,  but  the  par- 
tial loss  of  innocence  is  disturbing.  (Upon  signing  the 
group,  Columbia  combined  the  two  EPs  and  reissued 
them  as  Poi  Dog  Pondering,  using  the  front  cover  art  of 
the  first.) 

Poi  took  a  step  closer  towards  adult  contemporary 
acceptance  on  Wishing  Like  a  Mountain,  locating  a 
tropical  folk-rock  headquarters  from  which  to  make  as- 
sorted folk  and  country  sorties,  traveling  outside  na- 
tional borders  to  embrace  Latin  and  African  styles.  The 
songs  are  unfailingly  pleasant  and  occasionally  wonder- 
ful, but  the  selfconscious  granola  consciousness  of  Or- 
rall's  lyrics  and  the  slickening  sound  of  inspired 
amateurism  on  its  way  to  becoming  selfconscious  multi- 
cultural calculation  weighs  down  the  record,  punching 
holes  in  the  group's  easy  allure.  Just  where  does  genu- 
ine diversity  end  and  insufferable  dilettantism  begin? 
Even  if  Poi  has  the  decency  to  acknowledge  the  designs 
of  "The  Ancient  Egyptians,"  crafting  a  song  in  the  style 


of  Jonathan  Richman  seems  like  a  condescending  aca- 
demic exercise.  (The  CD  adds  two  bonus  songs,  "Big 
Beautiful  Spoon"  and  "Sugarbush  Cushman.") 

The  Fruitless  mini-album  is  a  patchwork  assort- 
ment: three  live  cuts,  a  remix  from  Wishing,  covers  of 
New  Order  ("Love  Vigilantes,"  given  the  folk  treat- 
ment it  so  obviously  merits)  and  Canned  Heat  ("Going 
Up  the  Country"),  plus  "I  Had  to  Tell  You,"  Poi's 
acoustic  contribution  to  the  Roky  Erickson  tribute  LP. 

[i] 

BUSTER  POINDEXTER 

See  David  Johansen. 


Hex  (Xntrix-Small  Wonder)  1979 
Chappaquiddick  Bridge  (nr/Crass)  1980 
Total  Exposure  (nr/Xntrix)  1981 
Where's  the  Pleasure  (nr/Xntrix)  1 982 
I'm  Not  a  Real  Woman  EP  (nr/Xntrix)  1 983 
7  Year  Scratch  (nr/Xntrix)  1 984 
Songs  of  Praise  (CD  Presents)  1985 

The  Poison  Girls — a  wise  post-adolescent  poet/ 
singer/guitarist  who  wittily  calls  herself  Vi  Subversa 
plus  a  male  backing  band — are  politicized  musical  agi- 
tators employing  rock  (minimalist  at  the  start  but  im- 
proving steadily  to  the  point  of  sophisticated  diversity 
later  on)  as  their  means  for  registering  social  and  sexual 
protest.  Lyrics  are  clever  and  subtle,  making  points  with 
intelligence  rather  than  sloganeering. 

Produced  by  Crass  drummer  Penny  Rimbaud  and 
featuring  guest  vocals  by  that  band's  Eve  Libertine,  Hex 
makes  no  grand  statements  (even  the  frantic  "Bremen 
Song"  doesn't  really  say  anything  cogent).  Instead,  Vi's 
lyrics  deal  cleverly  with  sex  roles  and  existential  per- 
sonal issues.  What  is  normal?  Do  we  really  need  doc- 
tors? Is  romance  political?  The  guitar-based  music  is 
really  good — nothing  fancy,  but  subtle  and  effective  on 
its  own  terms. 

The  music  isn't  much  more  raucous  on  Chap- 
paquiddick Bridge  (also  produced  by  Rimbaud),  but 
the  lyrics  (and  Subversa' s  angry  singing)  are  far  more 
bilious.  From  the  bluntly  titled  "Statement"  (a  human- 
ist manifesto  delivered  via  a  bonus  flexi-disc)  to  the 
sexual  analysis  of  "Good  Time  (I  Didn't  Know  Sartre 
Played  Piano)"  and  the  duck-for-cover  "Underbitch," 
the  prose  is  substantial  (if  unfocused)  and  Subversa' s 
theatrical  delivery  sells  it  even  when  the  words  don't 
amount  to  much. 

Some  of  the  songs  on  the  live  (in  Edinburgh,  mid- 
'81)  Total  Exposure — pressed  on  clear  vinyl  and  fitted 
in  a  transparent  plastic  sleeve — come  from  the  first  two 
LPs,  but  there's  new  material  as  well.  It's  an  exciting 
document,  but  the  studio  albums  offer  an  easier  entry 
point  to  the  Poison  Girls'  music,  thanks  to  a  somewhat 
varied  approach  that  doesn't  carry  over  in  concert. 

With  their  musical  skills  much  improved,  Where's 
the  Pleasure  balances  intellectual  integrity  with  audio 
listenability  and  achieves  a  measure  of  success  on  mu- 
sical merit  alone.  Largely  ignoring  the  governmental 
politics  of  the  first  two  studio  discs,  Where's  the  Plea- 
sure deals  almost  solely  with  sexual  matters,  using  re- 
fined music  and  crystal-clear  vocals.  Sub  versa 's  weary, 


506 


whisky-and-tobacco-stamed  voice  is  a  husky  but  ser- 
viceable instrument  that  perfectly  suits  the  material  and 
lends  a  tragic,  poetic  air  to  the  record. 

Even  more  accessible  is  the  wonderful  I'm  Not  a 
Real  Woman  EP — four  varied  songs  that  utterly  aban- 
don punk  for  a  rock-cabaret  sound,  Celtic  folk  singing 
and  poetic  recitation.  At  her  funniest,  Sub  versa  employs 
a  Noel  Coward-like  delivery  to  offer  her  sharp  feminist 
lyrics. 

Songs  of  Praise  is  even  more  skillful  and  attractive. 
Having  long  since  proven  herself  a  talented  and  unique 
singer,  Vi  is  in  fine  voice;  the  band  stretches  further  into 
areas  of  sublime,  suave  rock  and  funk  scarcely  imagin- 
able at  the  group's  outset.  Lyrics  are  likewise  subtler  and 
more  intriguing,  setting  this  album  somewhere  between 
Marianne  Faithfull,  John  Cale  and  Ian  Dury.  [ij 

POLECATS 

Polecats  Are  Go!  (nr/Vertigo)  1 981 

Make  a  Circuit  with  Me  (Mercury)  1 983 

Cult  Heroes  (nr/Nervous)  1 984 

Live  and  Roclcin'  (or/Link)  1 989 

The  Polecats  Won't  Die!  (nr/Vinyl  Japan)  1 989 

This  young,  stylish  London  trio  (plus  a  drummer) 
dropped  out  of  the  spotlight  after  releasing  Polecats  Are 
Go!,  a  gem  of  a  rockabilly  revival  album.  Producer 
Dave  Edmunds  applies  the  same  polish  he  brought  to  the 
Stray  Cats,  and  these  'Cats  truly  sparkle.  Piano,  saxo- 
phone and  careful  vocal  harmonies  ice  the  usual  neo- 
rockabilly  cake  of  trebly  guitars,  acoustic  bass  and 
driving  drums.  A  bizarrely  conceived  stab  at  David 
Bowie's  "John,  I'm  Only  Dancing"  doesn't  quite  come 
off;  otherwise,  this  mix  of  oldies  and  originals  parties 
like  crazy. 

The  Polecats'  American  label  passed  on  releasing 
the  band's  original  LP,  and  instead  patched  together  a 
seven-cut  disc  from  singles  (the  glossy  title  track,  a 
version  of  T.  Rex's  "Jeepster"  and  the  aforementioned 
Bowie  tune)  and  album  tracks. 

The  original  trio  (plus  a  different  drummer)  reaf- 
firmed its  continued  retro-rock  existence  in  1989  with  a 
live  mini-album  (seven  okay  cuts,  including  "Blue  Jean 
Bop"  and  "Rock  Billy  Boogie")  and  a  new  studio  set. 
Despite  a  garish  cartoon  cover  which  reflects  the  devel- 
opment of  a  garage-trash/rock'n'roll  side,  the  snappy 
rockabilly  cuts  on  Won't  Die  are  even  more  traditional 
than  the  group's  initial  pop  efforts.  (No  more  glam-rock 
covers:  the  handful  of  old  tunes  here  are  strictly  Eddie 
Cochran  et  al. )  The  revival  fad  may  have  ended,  but  the 
Polecats  rock  on.  [si/i] 

POLICE 

Outlandos  d'Amour  (A&M)  1 978  • 
Reggatta  de  Blanc  (A&M)  1979  * 
Zenyatta  Mondatta  (A&M)  1980  • 
Ghost  in  the  Machine  (A&M)  1 981  • 
Synchronicity  (A&M)  1983  (A&M-Mobile  Fidelity)  » 
Every  Breath  You  Take/The  Singles  (A&M)  1 986  « 
Compact  Hits  EP  [CD]  (nr/A&M)  1 988  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Brimstone  &  Treacle  (A&M)  1 982  * 

Though  neither  bassist/singer  Sting  nor  veteran  gui- 
tarist Andy  Summers  would  have  gone  in  this  direction 


individually,  they  became  intrinsic  to  ex-Curved  Air 
drummer  Stewart  Copeland's  notion  of  being  new 
wavers  in  1977,  when  it  was  still  pretty  new.  As  a  band, 
the  three  (Summers  having  replaced  original  guitarist 
Henri  Padovani  after  one  single)  worked  in  earnest  to 
stake  out  their  own  musical  turf,  even  probing  a  few  of 
rock's  boundaries.  Their  considerable  abilities  eventu- 
ally yielded  the  Police  sound:  rock  and  reggae  inter- 
locked in  proportions  varying  from  number  to  number, 
further  spiced  with  musical  influences  like  Summers' 
quasi-classical  harmonic  overtones  and  Sting's  reggae- 
into-jazz  vocalisms. 

Outlandos  d'Amoiir  is  the  brisk,  brash  initial  Po- 
lice barrage  of  bright,  featherweight  tunes  (like  "Rox- 
anne,"  " Bom  in  the  50' s,"  "Can't  Stand  Losing  You") 
and  deceptively  clever  riffs  and  rhythms.  It's  pithy,  in- 
fectious and  seductive,  sometimes  all  at  once.  Only  a 
silly  joke  in  dubious  taste  and  Sting's  pair  of  "let's  own 
up"  diatribes  are  irksome,  but  those  can  be  ignored — 
musically,  they  aren't  bad  anyway. 

Sting  came  up  short  of  material  on  Reggatta  de 
Blanc  and  only  one  of  Copeland's  attempts  at  taking  up 
the  slack  is  truly  spot-on,  funny  and  catchy.  All  the 
same,  "Message  in  a  Bottle"  is  an  all-around  gem,  and 
if  Sting's  other  material  isn't  stellar,  the  performances 
are:  effective  vocal  emoting  and  mstrumentally  spar- 
kling tours  de  force  like  the  title  track  (which  also  shows 
the  virtue  of  space  in  music).  The  sound  was  further 
enhanced  for  Zenyatta  Mondatta,  and  that  same  in- 
strumental excellence  brightens  much  of  the  record,  but 
too  much  of  the  album  relies  on  just  that.  The  more 
direct  cuts  are  too  cute  for  words  (hence  "De  Do  Do 
Do  .  .")  but,  like  bubblegum  (the  music  and  the 
candy),  they  stick  to  you. 

Ghost  in  the  Machine  was  critically  considered  the 
milestone  marking  the  threesome's  arrival  as  Major  Ar- 
tistes, but  this  critic  begs  to  differ.  Aside  from  a  half- 
step  forward  (mainly  Sting's  saxual  experimentation) 
the  record  shows  the  Police  taking  several  giant  leaps  in 
the  direction  of  the  rock  mainstream  at  the  expense  of  at 
least  half  the  songs  (which  are,  in  and  of  themselves, 
okay  to  pretty  good). 

Synchronicity  (or  at  least  "Every  Breath  You 
Take")  pitched  the  Police  into  the  ranks  of  commer- 
cial rock  superstars,  but  most  of  the  record  simply 
can't  be  taken  seriously  by  anyone  but  a  chowderhead 
and/or  indiscriminate  fan.  The  "humor"  is  flat,  the 
"experiments"  with  jazz  shadings  and  electronic 
touches  more  yawn-provoking  than  mood-evoking;  in 
the  end,  it  seems  just  an  overgrown  platinum  molehill. 
Sting's  "love  me — I'm  the  sexy,  intellectual  and  vul- 
nerable man  of  the  '80s"  off-the-record  image  is  hard 
to  divorce  from  his  songs,  especially  when  he  whines 
about  being  the  "King  of  Pain."  And  Iron  Maiden  has 
churned  out  epics  as  gripping  as  "Synchronicity  II." 
The  Police  have  clearly  become  the  bloated  dinosaur 
they  once  complained  about  But  "Every  Breath  You 
Take"  is  every  bit  a  classic,  a  surf-music  rhythm  line 
utterly  transmogrified,  relentlessly  driving  Sting's  dec- 
laration of  love-hate-obsession.  So  skip  the  LP  and  get 
the  45,  which  even  edits  out  the  song's  draggier  bits. 
(The  posthumous  singles  compilation  named  for  that 
huge  hit  features  a  dozen  Police  standards,  including  a 
1986  remake  of  "Don't  Stand  So  Close  to  Me"  in  lieu 
of  the  1980  original.  The  British  Compact  Hits  CD-5 


507 


contains  four  songs  drawn  from  the  first  three  al- 
bums.) 

As  a  movie,  Brimstone  and  Treacle  has  lots  of  mys- 
tical mood,  with  Sting  effective  as  a  rogue  busy  smudg- 
ing the  line  between  good  and  evil.  The  soundtrack 
album  consists  of  one  Go-Go's  track,  a  Squeeze  item, 
two  choral  pieces  and  some  miscellaneous  music  by 
Sting,  with  and  without  his  two  compatriots,  successful 
only  on  the  evocative  title  instrumental  and  the  band's 
resurrection  (from  Sting's  early  days  in  Last  Exit)  of  the 
smoldering  "I  Bum  for  You."  [jg] 

See  also  Stewart  Copeland,  Fripp  &  Eno,  Sting, 
Andy  Summers. 

POLYPHONIC  SIZE 

Live  for  Each  Moment/Vivre  pour  Chaque  instant  (Fr. 

New  Rose)  1982 

Mother's  Little  Helper  EP  (Enigma)  1982 
Walking  Everywhere  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 984 
The  Overnight  Day  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 987 

Polyphonic  Size  is  Belgian;  their  first  album  was 
produced  by  Strangler  Jean-Jacques  Burnel,  who  also 
contributed  bass  and  vocals.  Unlike  Bumel's  other  work 
outside  the  Stranglers  (his  first  solo  LP,  production  for 
Japan's  Lizard),  this  effort  has  none  of  his  usual  aggres- 
sion. Instead  he  delicately  captures  Polyphonic  Size's 
lovely  synthesizer  art-pop.  Sung  primarily  in  French 
by  a  man  and  a  woman  backed  by  simple  (not 
rudimentary — carefully  constructed  and  subtle)  elec- 
tronics, this  resembles  Orchestral  Manoeuvres'  lighter 
work.  Excepting  some  perky  numbers  that  lean  towards 
Japanese  synthesists  like  Plastics,  a  low-key  approach — 
gentle,  almost  tender  singing  and  languid  tempos — 
makes  Live  for  Each  Moment  as  relaxing  as  a  hot  bath, 
but  without  the  ennui,  thanks  to  a  resolute  commitment 
to  pop  song  structures.  A  very  pretty  record. 

The  Mother's  Little  Helper  12-inch  singles  assem- 
blage has  five  tracks,  including  a  humorous  electronic 
reinterpretation  (not  unlike  the  Flying  Lizards)  of  the 
Rolling  Stones  classic  after  which  it  is  named. 

A  new  four-piece  lineup,  working  with  producer  Ni- 
gel Gray  (Police,  Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees)  on  Walk- 
ing Everywhere  and  The  Overnight  Day,  has  kept 
Polyphonic  Size  moving  towards  mild,  commercialized 
pop  fare — a  less  quirky  Plastic  Bertrand  or  perhaps  a 
Flemish  answer  to  Nena.  The  wispy  male  and  female 
vocals  (in  French  and  lightly  accented  English)  and  the 
understated  music  keep  the  records  unfailingly  pleasant, 
but  a  shade  too  skimpy  on  character  to  make  Polyphonic 
Size  a  bigger  international  commercial  property.  [i] 

POLYROCK 

Polyrock  (RCA)  1980 
Changing  Hearts  (RCA)  1981 
Above  the  Fruited  Plain  EP  (PVC)  1982 
No  Love  Lost  [tape]  (ROIR)  1986 

Formed  in  1978,  Polyrock  was  one  of  New  York's 
first  groups  to  explore  post-disco/new-sensibility  dance 
music.  The  sextet  led  by  ex-Model  Citizens  singer/ 
guitarist  Billy  Robertson  gained  unquestionable  artistic 
credibility  through  the  patronage  of  Philip  Glass,  who 
(with  Kurt  Munkacsi)  produced  and  played  on  their  two 
original  albums.  The  first  combines  minimalist  repeti- 


tion with  electro-pop  and  smart,  aware  songs,  then  strips 
it  all  down  to  skin  and  bone  for  extremely  singleminded 
dance  music.  Fascinating  in  its  extremity. 

Changing  Hearts  follows  the  same  basic  pattern  but 
loosens  up  the  sound,  occasionally  breaking  away  from 
austere  dance  music  for  a  taste  of  straightforward  pop, 
including  a  reworking  of  the  Beatles*  "Ram."  Other- 
wise, Billy  and  Tommy  Robertson  write  some  of  the 
most  vulnerable  songs  this  side  of  David  Byrne,  with 
solid  (if  lean)  performances  and  production. 

Following  Tommy's  departure  (which  left  Polyrock 
a  notably  improved  five-piece),  his  brother  produced 
Above  the  Fruited  Plain,  five  tracks  with  more  char- 
acter and  melody  than  any  of  the  group's  previous  re- 
leases. No  Love  Lost  is  a  posthumous  collection  of 
1980  and  1983  live  performances,  plus  unreleased  stu- 
dio demos  done  as  recently  as  1984.  [sg/i] 

POMPEII  99 

See  Christian  Death. 


Big  Black  River  (Fr.  Lolita)  1 985 
Doll  Hut  (Frontier)  1985 
Fiesta  en  la  Biblioteca  (Frontier)  1986 
Be  Married  Song  EP  (Frontier)  1987 
Johnson  (Frontier)  1988  ® 

Even  their  record  company  describes  the  Pontiac 
Brothers  as  Stones-influenced,  a  rare  case  of  restraint  in 
advertising.  The  Orange  County,  California  band  has 
never  denied  it;  indeed,  they  originally  got  together  in 
1983  to  play  Stones  tunes.  (Guitarist  Ward  Dotson  had 
previously  been  a  mainstay  in  the  Gun  Club;  the  other 
Brothers  are  California  scene  veterans  with  numerous 
credits,  including  the  Middle  Class.) 

Big  Black  River,  their  first  album,  was  released 
only  in  France,  which  might  reinforce  prejudices  about 
French  taste  in  rock.  Singer  Matt  Simon  pushes  his  Mick 
Jagger  impression  beyond  what  it's  worth;  the  original 
songs  are  uninspired  pastiches  of  the  Rolling  Stones  and 
'60s  punk  in  general;  the  production  can  charitably  be 
called  shitty. 

Using  a  new  rhythm  guitarist,  the  Pontiacs  re- 
recorded a  third  of  Big  Black  River  for  Doll  Hut.  Their 
US  debut  has  a  more  polished  sound,  though  still  de- 
cidedly Jagged  vocals.  The  new  Dotson/Simon  material 
shows  promise:  "Out  in  the  Rain"  sets  a  poignantly 
wasted  lyric  against  well-juggled  musical  cliche* s,  while 
"Keep  the  Promise" — with  acoustic  guitar,  a  first — is 
passionate  if  murky.  (The  cassette  reflects  the  band's 
fondness  for  performing  vintage  covers  by  including  a 
version  of  the  MCS's  * 'Tonight.") 

Simon  finally  downplayed  his  Jagger  tendencies  on 
Fiesta  en  la  Biblioteca,  also  the  first  Pontiac  Brothers 
album  as  a  quartet.  There's  some  welcome  variety  in 
tempos,  arrangements  and  sentiments.  (The  cassette 
adds  a  Bad  Company  song,  "Movin*  On.")  The  al- 
burn's wistful  "Be  Married  Song" — a  rare  Dotson  lead 
vocal — was  redone  in  an  electric  arrangement  on  a  12- 
inch  EP,  which  also  contains  "Doll  Hut"  (from  Fi- 
esta), the  fine  non-LP  "Brenda's  Mom"  and  a  bracing 
rendition  of  AC/DC's  "Dirty  Deeds  (Done  Dirt 
Cheap)." 


508 


The  Pontiacs'  chef  d'oeuvre,  Johnson,  starts  with  a 
roar  ("Ain't  What  I  Call  Home")  and  scarcely  lets  up 
in  intensity.  The  inevitable  Stones  substratum  remains — 
guest  pianist  Ian  McLagan  adds  British  authenticity — 
but  the  band  has  grown  its  own  shaggy  personality. 
Replacements  fans  will  enjoy  the  frustrated  vitriol  of 
"Creep"  (another  Dotson  vocal)  and  "Real  Job," 
which  Simon  delivers  in  a  Westerbergian  howl.  (The 
cassette  and  CD  add  Paul  McCartney's  "Magneto  and 
Titanium  Man.")  Identifying  with  the  underdog  without 
getting  misty-eyed  about  it,  the  Pontiac  Brothers  are 
ragged  but  right. 

After  that  triumph  went  unnoticed  by  the  masses, 
the  Pontiac  Brothers  parted  company.  Ward  Dotson 
moved  to  New  York,  formed  a  new  band  and  also  joined 
the  retro-pop  Pussywillows.  [si] 

See  also  Clawhammer,  Gun  Club,  Pussywillows. 


POOH 

Alan  McGee  EP  (nr/Rerce)  1988  ® 

The  Pooh  Sticb  EP  (nr/Fierce)  1988 

Orgasm  (nr/53rd  &  3rd)  1 988  ® 

Trade  Mark  of  Quality  (nr/Fierce}  1 989  * 

Formula  One  Generation  (Sympathy  for  the  Record 

Industry)  1 990 

On  the  whole,  British  pop  music  has  always  taken 
itself  far  too  seriously,  and  no  less  so  since  the  trad- 
busting  original  '77  wave.  Consequently,  aberrations  as 
polar  as  Half  Man  Half  Biscuit,  Sigue  Sigue  Sputnik 
and  Zodiac  Mindwarp  (to  name  three  at  random)  have 
all  based  careers  on  taking  the  piss  out  of  pop  iconog- 
raphy. Likewise,  some  of  the  anorak  and  twee  pop  styl- 
ists of  the  late  '80s  (like  edgy  gentlepunks  the  Pastels) 
invested  netherness  with  genuine  wit  and  value.  But  it 
took  Wales'  Pooh  Sticks  (aided  and  abetted  by  the  open- 
minded  Fierce  Records)  to  perform  the  ultimate  inbreed- 
ing of  pure  pop  and  pure  cynicism.  Brilliantly  derivative 
and  deliriously  infectious,  the  quartet's  debut  P  (half  an 
Lp — the  flipside  is  a  scratched-in-vinyl  stick  figure  por- 
trait of  the  band)  gathers  four  of  the  five  songs  from 
their  Alan  McGee  boxed  set  of  one-sided  singles  (later 
on  CD),  adding  a  prior  45  for  a  first-rate  collection  of 
bare-bones  pop  with  magnificently  minimal  barbed 
hooks.  Characteristically,  the  record's  sole  cover  (the 
1910  Fruitgum  Company's  "1 ,2,3  Red  Light")  is  by  far 
the  least  catchy  and  invigorating  thing  on  it. 

Creating  a  sea  of  "product,"  the  Pooh  Sticks  con- 
tinued to  release  a  string  of  limited  edition  singles,  pic- 
ture discs,  flexies  and  a  side-project  (Dumb  Angels, 
with  a  one-song  Brian  Wilson  tribute  45).  Orgasm  is 
ostensibly  an  official  low-budget  bootleg  taken  from  one 
of  the  band's  rare  live  gigs  (six  shows  in  three  years), 
mixing  familiar  songs  with  new  faves,  nearly  every  one 
as  sharp  and  kinetic  as  on  the  first  P.  (The  CD  includes 
ten  additional  unreleased  songs  from  October  1988.) 

Also  live,  also  a  borderline  bootleg,  Trade  Mark  of 
Quality  has  excellent  sound,  great  playing,  good  songs, 
okay  crowd  interaction  and  absolutely  none  of  the  wicked 
spark  that  ignites  their  best  recordings.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  band's  first  proper  studio  album,  Formula,  is 
sublimely  poppy  in  the  classical  sense,  the  dark  satire  and 
deep  appreciation  of  precedents  combining  to  create  an 
inspired  if  imperfect  LP  by  the  most  self  conscious,  ref- 
erential and  knowing  band  in  post-punk  pop.  [ab] 


Opus  Lengthemus  (Community  3)  1 989  • 

I  came,  I  saw,  S  had  a  hotdog  (Community  3}  1 991  * 

If  not  for  the  bizarre  lyrics  (in  songs  like  "Young 
People  in  Love  Are  Hardly  Ever  Hungry,"  the  caution- 
ary "African  Bees"  or  the  womb-delivered  "Earliness 
Factor"),  singer  Bill  Crawford's  unpredictable  jazz 
trumpet  interpolations  would  be  this  raucous  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  quartet's  strangest  feature.  As  it  is,  Opes 
Lengtfaemus  rambles  imaginatively  and  excitingly 
through  wicked  noise-punk,  understated  rock-pop  and 
crude  fusion,  all  united  under  the  band's  oblique  world- 
view.  A  bit  sophomoric  at  times,  but  otherwise  smart 
and  involving.  [i] 

TEACHERS 

Holy  Intellect  (Profile)  1 990  • 

Wise  Intelligent,  Culture  Freedom  and  Father 
Shaheed — the  three  Trenton,  New  Jersey  rappers  known 
as  Poor  Righteous  Teachers — are  members  of  the  Is- 
lamic Five-Percent  Nation,  and  Holy  Intellect  is  littered 
with  the  sect's  phraseology  and  philosophy.  On  a  strictly 
sonic  level,  the  album  is  funky  and  inviting,  with  soul- 
ful tracks,  skilled  warm-voiced  rapping  and  a  bit  of 
romantic  crooning  (on  "Shakiyla"),  but  the  lyrics'  re- 
ligious content  is  as  boring  and  irrelevant  to  non- 
believers  as  it  was  when  bora-again  rockers — from 
Little  Richard  and  Wanda  Jackson  through  George  Har- 
rison and  Cat  Stevens — started  sharing  their  personal 
faith  on  record.  The  fact  that  PRT's  moralistic  views 
involve  issues  of  racial  superiority  (not  strongly  pushed 
here)  further  complicates  matters,  limiting  the  trio's  au- 
dience to  a  very  select  segment  of  the  hip-hop  audience. 

[i] 

POP 

The  Pop  (Automatic)  1 977 

Go!  (Arista)  1 979 

Hearts  and  Knives  EP  (Rhino)  1981 

DAVID  SWANSON 

Reclamation  (RCA)  1 990  « 

Essentially  a  routine  hard-rock/power  pop  outfit,  this 
LA  group  acquired  hipness  through  an  actively  pro-local 
scene  stance  as  well  as  attitudes  shared  with  more 
overtly  rebellious  colleagues.  Their  DIY  debut  LP 
shows  them  equally  adept  at  pounding  out  fierce  rockers 
and  lovingly  constructing  softer,  more  melodic  tracks, 
with  occasionally  eccentric  production  touches,  linking 
both  in  the  anthernic  "Down  on  the  Boulevard."  As 
good  as  the  Raspberries'  Starting  Over  but  more  ur- 
gent, and  less  studiedly  nostalgic  or  obviously  deriva- 
tive. 

Produced  by  Earle  Mankey,  Go!  shows  how  the 
band  moved  with  the  times,  modifying  British  modern 
pop  notions  to  suit  themselves.  Not  quite  as  humor- 
conscious  (for  better  and  worse)  as  XTC,  the  Pop  em- 
ploys a  strangely  detached  intensity  that  gives  a  fillip  to 
each  track.  There  isn't  any  one  brilliant  number  (al- 
though * 'Under  the  Microscope"  conies  close),  yet  Go! 
is  entertaining  straight  through. 

Two  years  later,  without  the  guitar  and  arranging 
talents  of  Tim  McGovern  (who  had  joined  the  pre- 
stardom  Motels)  or  the  support  of  a  major  label,  the 


509 


remaining  foursome  sound  somewhat  chastened  for  not 
having  played  it  safer-— and  they  do.  The  six-song 
Hearts  and  Knives  presents  a  blander  version  of  their 
former  selves:  pleasant,  lightweight  originals  and  a  lame 
Stones  cover  that's  limply  out  of  character. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  '80s,  singer/guitanst  Roger 
Prescott  surfaced  in  a  band  called  Train  Wreck  Ghosts, 
which  he  formed  with  ex-PHmsouls  guitarist  Eddie  Mu- 
noz  following  the  latter 's  brief  stint  in  the  dB's.  He  and 
Munoz  then  hired  on  to  the  Walking  Wounded,  and 
appeared  on  one  of  that  group's  records  before  continu- 
ing their  Texas-based  band.  The  Pop's  other  frontman, 
David  Swanson,  reappeared  in  1990  with  a  dull  album 
of  awkwardly  sung  heartland  rock.  [jg/i] 

See  also  Walking  Wounded. 

IGGY  POP 

The  Idiot  (RCA}  1977  (Virgin)  1990  • 

Lust  for  Life  (RCA)  1 977  (Virgin)  1 990  ® 

W  Eye  Live  (RCA)  1978 

New  Values  (Arista)  1979 

Soldier  (Arista)  1980 

Party  (Arista)  1981  ® 

Zombie  Birdhouse  (Animal)  1 982 

I  Got  a  Right  (Invasion)  1983  (Enigma)  1985 

Choice  Cuts  (RCA)  1984 

Blah-Blah-Blah  (A&M)  1986  « 

I  Got  a  Right  (Fr.  Revenge)  1 987 

Compact  Hits  EP  [CD]  (nr/A&M)  1 988  • 

Instinct  (A&M)  1 988  « 

Livin'  on  the  Edge  of  the  Night  EP  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 990  * 

Brick  by  Brick  (Virgin)  1 990  • 

Iggy  Pop  (James  Jewel  Osterberg)  embodied  every- 
thing punk  stood  for  when  it  exploded  in  England  in  the 
mid- '70s,  but  he  had  begun  performing  in  Middle  Amer- 
ica nearly  a  decade  earlier.  Moving  into  the  '90s,  he  is 
still  a  vital  and  active  performer,  serving  up  much  the 
same  arrogant  honesty  that  first  put  him  in  the  punk 
pantheon. 

After  the  Stooges  ended,  Iggy  resurfaced  as  a  solo 
artist,  under  the  influence  of  David  Bowie,  The  Idiot's 
producer  and  co-writer.  Instead  of  flailing  all  over  the 
place,  Iggy  conserves  his  energy  on  numbers  like  the 
surprisingly  funky  "Sister  Midnight"  and  the  menacing 
"Funtime."  The  album's  tone  is  generally  subdued 
("Baby,"  "Nightclubbing,"  "DumDum Boys "),  lum- 
bering along  in  medium  gear.  It's  disturbingly  effective, 
but  of  mixed  parentage. 

Iggy  reasserted  himself  on  the  rapid  follow-up,  Lust 
for  Life.  More  upbeat  than  its  predecessor  (just  check 
the  smiling  cover  snap),  the  album  swaggers  along  to 
Iggy's  confident  delivery  of  the  title  track,  "Success," 
the  powerful  "Turn  Blue"  and  other  self-analytic  tunes. 
The  music  is  Bowie's,  and  Jim  Morrison's  unmistakable 
influence  is  noticeable  on  a  few  vocals,  but  the  clear- 
eyed  vision  is  Iggy's  own. 

The  dreadful  TV  Eye  Live  was  a  contract-breaker 
and  sounds  like  it.  Half  of  the  tracks — recorded  on  1977 
US  tours — include  Bowie  on  keyboards.  Those  sound 
bad;  the  others  sound  worse.  Iggy  is  uninspired  through- 
out. Forget  this  quickie. 

Reuniting  with  Stooges  guitarist  James  Williamson, 
Jggy  signed  to  Arista  and  released  New  Values,  a  no- 
nonsense  collection  of  hard  rockers.  His  increasingly 


sophisticated  lyrics  abound  in  mordant  humor  ("I'm 
Bored,"  "Five  Foot  One,"  "New  Values").  Soldier 
features  a  supergroup  of  sorts  (Glen  Matlock,  Ivan  Krai, 
Steve  New,  Barry  Andrews,  Klaus  Kruger)  nffing  along 
to  Iggy's  mostly  bitter  rants.  Party  continues  in  this 
vein,  vacillating  between  self-deprecation  ("Eggs  on 
Plate")  and  obnoxiousness  ("Rock  and  Roll  Party," 
"Sincerity,"  etc.).  Two  non-original  oldies — "Sea  of 
Love"  and  "Time  Won't  Let  Me" — also  get  perfunc- 
tory treatment. 

After  the  aesthetic  dead-end  of  the  Arista  albums, 
the  Chris  Stein-produced  and  released  Zombie  Bird- 
house  marks  a  welcome  shift  in  strategy.  No  longer 
singing  so  much  as  rap-chanting,  Iggy  turns  surprisingly 
cerebral  for  a  crazy  blend  of  sociological  ("The  Villag- 
ers") and  philosophical  ("Eat  or  Be  Eaten")  discourse, 
pseudo-folk  ("The  Ballad  of  Cookie  McBride")  and 
topical  documentary  ("Watching  the  News").  Spare 
musical  accompaniment  underscores  the  album's  ascetic 
nature.  He's  come  a  long  way  since  the  Stooges,  but 
Zombie  Birdhouse  reveals  that  Iggy  is  far  from  reach- 
ing the  end  of  his  creative  tether. 

Following  Bowie's  1983  hit  version  of  the  pair's 
collaborative  "China  Girl"  (originally  from  The  Id- 
iot), Iggy's  two  RCA  albums  were  culled  for  the  hoped- 
for-fast-buck  Choice  Cuts,  the  cover  of  which  helpfully 
notes  the  inclusion  of  that  song  and  prominently  men- 
tions Bowie's  songwriting  and  production  credits. 

Their  creative  partnership  thus  re-established,  Iggy 
took  some  time  off  before  recording  Blah-Blah-Blah  in 
Switzerland  with  Bowie.  The  individual  musical 
changes  both  have  undergone  (with  further  diversion  by 
the  considerable  involvement  of  ex-Pistol  Steve  Jones) 
make  it  a  strange  and  sometimes  mainstream-sounding 
maelstrom  of  styles,  but  the  lyrics — thoughtful  personal 
reflections  on  various  topics — provide  at  least  intellec- 
tual cohesiveness.  The  commanding  "Cry  for  Love," 
"Fire  Girl,"  "Winners  and  Losers"  and  a  wonderful 
cover  of  '50s  Australian  rocker  Johnny  O'Keefe's  *  'Real 
Wild  Child  (Wild  One)"  are  more  than  worthy  of  Ig- 
gy's ready-to-wear  legend.  (The  UK  CD  EP  merely 
contains  four  selections  from  Blah-Blah-Blah.) 

Bill  Laswell  produced  Instinct,  a  straightforward 
rock  record  that  sags  under  a  cloddish  rhythm  section 
and  Jones'  unmodulated,  unimaginative  guitar  work. 
Although  Iggy's  unshakeable  stylishness  and  some  im- 
pressively dramatic  vocalizations  (especially  on  "Low- 
down"  and  "Cold  Metal")  keep  the  LP  out  of  the 
worthless-oldtimers-why-bother  dumper,  he's  hovering 
dangerously  close  to  artistic  vacuity  here. 

After  signing  Iggy,  Virgin  (UK)  issued  the  four- 
song  Livin'  on  the  Edge  of  the  Night  EP,  joining  that 
new  song  with  "China  Girl,"  "Nightclubbing"  and 
"The  Passenger"—songs  from  The  Idiot  and  Lust  for 
Life,  crucial  Pop  albums  the  label  had  licensed  and 
reissued. 

Evidently,  the  change  of  corporate  scenery  did  Iggy 
a  world  of  good:  Brick  by  Brick  is  his  strongest,  most 
rewarding  (not  to  mention  commercially  presentable) 
album  in  a  decade.  Taking  a  firm  and  creative  role  in  the 
project,  producer  Don  Was  deftly  helps  organize  a  stel- 
lar lineup  of  session  players  into  sympathetic  backing 
for  surprisingly  accomplished  songwriting.  As  huge  a 
disaster  as  the  record  could  have  been,  the  bizarre  mix 
of  LA  studio  hacks  (like  David  Lindley  and  Waddy 


510 


Wachtel),  groovy  session  pros  (bassist  Charley  Dray- 
ton,  drummer  Kenny  Aronoff),  John  Hiatt,  members  of 
Guns  n'  Roses  and  Kate  Pierson  of  the  B-52's  works 
like  a  charm,  nsing  and  falling  in  synch  with  Iggy's 
shifting  stylistic  moods.  Going  from  strength  to 
strength,  Brick  by  Brick  rocks  ("Home,"  "I  Won't 
Crap  Out/'  "Butt  Town"),  rolls  ("Pussy  Power"), 
slithers  ("Something  Wild"),  cruises  ("Main  Street 
Eyes/'  "The  Undefeated" — now  there's  an  apt  epi- 
taph), dances  around  ("Candy")  and  even  takes  a  gen- 
tle romantic  breather  ("Moonlight  Lady").  [si/ij 
See  also  New  Order,  Stooges 

An  Adder's  Tale  (Skyclad)  1 988 
Kerosene  (Skyclad)  1 990  • 

With  two  albums  produced  by  Russ  Tolman,  this 
Davis,  California  quartet  isn't  defying  any  laws  of  logic 
by  bearing  a  certain  stylistic  resemblance  to  True  West 
(not  to  mention  the  pride  of  Davis,  Thin  White  Rope). 
The  popeAlopes'  quirky  pop  rhythms  and  trancey  psy- 
chedelic flavors  (the  latter  especially  on  a  noisy  cover  of 
the  Stones'  "2000  Light  Years  from  Home")  provide 
An  Adder's  Tale  with  some  personality;  otherwise,  the 
band's  western-flavored  guitar  rock  runs  a  bit  on  the 
generic  side. 

It's  probably  not  due  to  the  change  in  bassists,  but 
the  confident  Kerosene  is  much  better,  a  striking- 
sounding  wash  of  layered  guitar  and  Steven  Dueker's 
quietly  haggard  vocals.  While  the  heavy  atmospherics 
overcome  songwnting  deficiencies,  the  popeAlopes  spin 
echoes  of  U2,  R.E.M.  and  the  Psych  Furs  into  the  stew, 
making  Kerosene  a  dose  of  the  right  medicine.  [i] 

POP  GROUP 

Y(nr/Rador)1979 

For  How  Much  Longer  Do  We  Tolerate  Mass  Murder? 

(Y-Rough  Trade)  1 980 
We  Are  Time  (nr/Y-Rough  Trade)  1 980 

These  abrasive,  militant  British  punks  rage  against 
racism,  oppression,  hunger  and  anything  else  that's  a 
world  problem;  as  usual,  there's  no  solution,  only  an- 
ger. The  seminal  Bristol  band  synthesizes  Beefheartian 
structures  and  tribal  dance  beats  to  create  a  didactic 
soundtrack  that  barely  lets  you  breathe.  Their  two  pri- 
mary albums  are  alternately  brilliant  and  intolerable, 
with  exhortatory  songs  like  'Teed  the  Hungry,"  "Rob 
a  Bank'*  and  "Communicate."  We  Are  Time  collects 
outtakes,  live  tracks  and  other  assorted  items. 

Despite  the  limitations  of  their  own  records,  the  Pop 
Group  made  their  influence  strongly  felt,  both  as  cred- 
ible rock  minimalists  ahead  of  their  time  and  via  the 
members'  subsequent  musical  ventures.  Bassist  Simon 
Underwood  helped  found  Pigbag;  multi-instrumentalist 
Gareth  Sager  formed  Rip  Rig  4-  Panic;  singer  Mark 
Stewart  is  well  known  under  his  own  name.  [gf] 

See  also  Pigbag,  Rip  Rig  -f  Panic,  Mark  Stewart 
and  the  Maffia. 

POP  RIVITS 

Pop  Rivits  EP  (nr/Hypocrite)  1979 

The  Pop  Rivits  Greatest  Hits  (nr/Hypocrite)  1 979 

Empty  Sounds  from  Anarchy  Ranch  (nr/Hypocrite)  1 979 


Fun  in  the  U.K.  (Jim's)  1987 

The  Original  First  Album  (nr/Hangman)  1989 

Live  in  Germany  79  (nr/Hangman)  1990 

THE 

Talking  'Bout  Milkshakes  (nr/Milkshakes)  1981 

14  Rhythm  &  Beat  Greats  (nr/Mitkshakes)  1982  (nr/Big 

Beat)  1983 
After  School  Session  (nr/Upright)  1 983  (nr/Hangman) 

1988 
The  Milkshakes  (V:  The  Men  with  the  Golden  Guitars 

(nr/Milkshakes)1983 

Brand  New  Cadillac  EP  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 983 
Showcase  (Brain  Eater}  1 984 
The  Milkshakes  Sing  and  PSay  20  Rock  and  Roll  Hits  of  the 

50's  and  60's  (nr/Big  Beat}  1 984 
The  Milkshakes  in  Germany  (Ger.  Wall  City)  1984 
Nothing  Can  Stop  These  Men  (nr/Milkshakes)  1 984 
Ambassadors  of  Love  EP  (nr/Big  Beat)  ]  984 
Thee  Knights  of  Trashe  (nr/Milbhakes)  1984 
They  Came  They  Saw  They  Conquered  (Pink 

Dust-Enigma)  1984 
The  1 07  Tapes  (nr/Media  Burn)  1 986 
The  Milkshakes'  Revenge!  (nr/Hangman)  1 987 
Live  from  Chatham  (nr/Hangman)  1987 
19th  Nervous  Shakedown  [CD]  (nr/Big  Beat)  1990  • 

MILKSHAKES/PRISONERS 

The  Last  Night  at  the  MIC  (nr/Empire)  1 985 

Thee  Milkshakes  vs  the  Prisoners  (nr/Media  Burn)  1 985 

1979:  The  Pop  Rivits,  a  Canterbury  group  of  de- 
voted acolytes  to  punk's  gritty  DIY  ethos,  release 
Greatest  Hits,  home-recorded  and  enclosed  in  hand- 
made sleeves  (later  repressed  in  printed  covers;  later 
still  retitled  for  its  Hangman  reissue).  A  more  mod- 
oriented  and  less  reserved  TV  Personalities  or  Desperate 
Bicycles,  the  Rivits  retrospectively  fit  neatly  in  with  the 
sloppy,  violent  pop  noisemeisters  of  the  era,  endear- 
ingly careless  (though  even  the  best  songs  leave  mere 
flesh  wounds  as  opposed  to  the  scars  inflicted  by  their 
more  prominent  contemporaries). 

Empty  Sounds  from  Anarchy  Ranch  consolidates 
the  band's  sound  into  a  tamer,  more  controlled — albeit 
equally  ill-tempered — punk  stew.  While  Fun  in  the 
U.K.  is  a  compilation  drawn  somewhat  randomly  from 
both  LPs,  Live  in  Germany  '79  simultaneously  nods 
deeper  to  their  UK  punk  basis  and  points  up  their  ob- 
vious (again  in  retrospect)  trash  '60s  roots  and 
attitudes — all  recorded  in  glorious  monoloudarama. 

1981:  Talking  'Bout  Milkshakes,  the  debut  LP  by 
Chatham's  Mickey  and  the  Milkshakes,  limps  into 
stores.  "Mickey"  is  guitarist  M.  Hampshire;  he  and 
bassist  Banana  Bertie  (both  former  Pop  Rivits  roadies) 
had  formed  the  band  to  do  opening  slots  at  Rivits  gigs 
but  recombined  with  two  of  their  former  employers — 
Rivits  drummer  Bruce  Brand  and  guitarist  Billy 
Childish — when  the  headliners  split.  Discovering  a 
chemistry  (particularly  in  the  Hampshire/Childish 
tagteam),  they  sat  back  and  calmly  began  writing  and 
performing  a  song  every  other  minute.  But  only  when 
fueled  by  excessive  alcohol.  Meaning  only  22-1/2  hours 
a  day. 

1982:  With  ex-Rivit  Russ  Wilkins  replacing  Bertie 
on  bass,  14  Rhythm  &  Beat  Greats  (recorded  in  Ger- 
many on  borrowed  money)  showcases  a  band  more  in 


511 


dynamic  control  and  confident  of  their  direction.  Dis- 
tinct echoes  of  the  Kinks  and  assorted  forgotten  US 
garages  begin  to  reverberate  in  the  vinyl  canyons. 

1983:  After  School  Session  oifers  a  somewhat  tem- 
pered 'Shakes,  playing  familiar  covers  (like  Bo  Did- 
dley's  * 'Cadillac"  and  "I  Can  Tell")  and  chummy 
originals  with  all  the  verve  but  none  of  the  previous  grit. 
The  Milkshakes  IV  is  an  instrumental  album  that  cal- 
culatedly  sidesteps  their  "career,"  consisting  instead  of 
Link  Wray-influenced  dark  chord/riff-rockers. 

1984:  Having  hit  their  stride  (and  quickly  surpassing 
it),  the  Milkshakes  finagled  the  same-day  release  in 
March  of  four  different  albums  in  three  separate  coun- 
tries. Showcase,  the  US  debut,  pits  a  pair  of  unreleased 
tunes  against  a  dozen  more  culled  from  prior  LPs.  In 
Germany  is  a  rowdy  and  stylistic  representative  collec- 
tion of  new  originals.  Nothing  Can  Stop  These  Men  is 
a  less  rambunctious  variation  of  same,  while  20  Rock 
and  Roll  Hits  of  the  50's  &  60's  consists  of  common 
classics  ("Peggy  Sue,"  "Hippy  Hippy  Shake,"  "Mon- 
ey," etc.)  and  is  a  considerably  less  essential  shot  of 
partytude.  Brand  New  Cadillac  and  Ambassadors  of 
Love  are  both  four-song  7-inches. ' 

Although  not  issued  until  1987,  The  Milkshakes' 
Revenge!  (or  "The  Legendary  Missing  9th  Album") 
was  the  next  to  be  recorded.  Rather  low-key  and  well- 
mannered,  its  greatest  notoriety  is  as  the  debut  release 
on  Billy  Childish' s  Hangman  Records  &  Books  label. 

With  an  extra  "e"  in  their  article  and  the  ouster  of 
Russ  Wilkins  (to  be  replaced  by  John  Agnew),  things 
are  definitely  on  the  upswing,  with  countless  compi- 
lation appearances  as  well  as  a  prominent  lip-synch 
role  in  a  garage  rockumentary  for  British  television. 
They  Came  They  Saw  They  Conquered  rocks  as 
bleanly  and  singlemindedly  as  anything  preceding,  but 
Thee  Knights  of  Trashe  really  ignites  where  they  pre- 
viously only  sizzled,  with  great  songs  (including  an  al- 
ternate version  of  the  excellent  "Out  of  Control," 
written  for  the  TV  documentary),  confident  (if  basic) 
playing  and  enormously  complementary  raw — yet 
detailed — production.  Unfortunately  it's  the  last  Milk- 
shakes album  proper,  their  tenth  (eight  all-original)  in 
three  years.  The  posthumous  107  Tapes — sleeved  in  a 
monumental  interview — contains  one  LP  of  blister- 
ingly  ragged,  painfully  overdriven  '81  demos  with  the 
Prisoners'  bassist  on  loan  and  a  disc  of  '83  live-in- 
Germany  drunken  mayhem.  If  not  quite  the  Milk- 
shakes' recorded  apex,  this  package  may  nonetheless 
be  the  band's  most  representative  document. 

Live  from  Chatham  is  cleaner  and  warmer,  like 
your  fondest  bootleg  tape,  while  Last  Night  at  the 
M.LC.  is  uncontrolled  hysteria.  Thee  Milkshakes  vs 
the  Prisoners  (recorded  live  in  the  studio)  is  pure  libido 
on  parade,  and  one  of  the  band's  vinyl  peaks.  19th 
Nervous  Shakedown  is  a  CD-only  compilation  and  so 
far  the  only  Milkshakes  available  to  the  post  vinyl/tape 
generation.  [ab] 

See  also  Delmonas,  Prisoners,  Thee  Mighty  Cae- 
sars. 

POP  WILL  EAT  ITSELF 

PoppJecock  EP  (nr/Chapter  22)  1 986 

Poppiecock  (nr/Chapter  22)  1 986 

The  Covers  EP  EP  (nr/Chapter  22)  1 987 


Box  Frenzy  (Rough  Trade)  1 987  • 

Now  For  a  Feast!  (Rough  Trade)  1988  • 

Can  U  Dig  It  EP  (nr/RCA)  1 989  © 

This  Is  the  Day ...  This  Is  the  Hour  . . .  This  is  This!  (RCA) 

1989® 
Cure  for  Sanity  (RCA)  1991  4> 

In  the  grand  British  tradition  of  selling  a  band  on 
self-hype  and  a  look — with  the  music  added  on  as  an 
afterthought — Pop  Will  Eat  Itself  became  the  guiding 
lights  of  England's  "grebo"  (slimy-looking  lowlifes 
playing  retrograde  raunch)  movement  of  1986- '87, 
probably  because  nobody  else  wanted  the  dirty  job. 
Hailing  from  Stourbridge  (a  city  near  Birmingham), 
PWEI  has  so  far  made  a  career  out  of  hopping  on  the 
latest  musical  bandwagon  (so  long  as  it  doesn't  require 
dressing  up  or  sounding  like  Duran  Duran).  What  the 
Poppies  lack  in  originality,  they  more  than  compensate 
for  it  with  good  dirty  fun. 

The  ten  cuts  (expanding  a  previous  five-song  EP  of 
the  same  name)  of  hooliganism  on  Poppiecock  owe 
more  than  a  little  to  early  Damned  records  (not  to  men- 
tion several  pints  of  lager).  Just  draw  a  mental  picture  of 
longhairs  in  torn  jeans  thrashing  away  on  guitars,  play- 
ing songs  with  titles  like  "The  Black  Country  Cham- 
store  Massacreee,"  "There's  a  Psychopath  in  My 
Soup"  and  the  seminal  "Oh  Grebo  I  Think  I  Love  You'  * 
and  you'll  have  a  fairly  accurate  synopsis. 

The  Covers  EP  is  just  that — four  good,  raunchy 
raveups  of  an  interesting  selection  of  tunes,  highlighted 
by  Sigue  Sigue  Sputnik's  "Love  Missile  Fl-11"  (vastly 
superior  to  both  the  original  and  the  second  take  on  Box 
Frenzy)  andHawkwind's  "Orgone  Accumulator."  Box 
Frenzy,  their  first  US  release,  goes  for  both  of  1987's 
top  trends,  hip-hop  and  sampling.  This  time  around,  the 
Poppies  are  basically  a  British  answer  to  the  Beastie 
Boys — their  rapping  is  laughably  awkward  but  they  do 
get  the  self-promotion  part  down  just  fine.  The  sampling 
is  funny,  too,  with  everyone  from  L.L.  Cool  J  to  Nat 
King  Cole  making  unauthorized  guest  appearances.  The 
approach  on  Poppiecock  seems  more  up  their  alley,  but 
Box  Frenzy  is  still  a  good  time. 

Now  For  a  Feast!  compiles  Poppiecock,  three  cov- 
ers and  the  "Sweet  Sweet  Pie"  45  for  a  solid  pre-Frenzy 
recapitulation.  (The  cassette  adds  two  for  a  fuller 
course.) 

The  Poppies'  mastery  of  hip-hop  hooliganism 
reaches  its  apogee  on  the  brilliant  Flood-produced  This 
Is  the  Day,  an  aurally  exciting  sonic  collage  informed 
by  a  pronounced  affection  for  Alan  Moore's  ground- 
breaking comic  books  and  Blade  Runner's  sci-fi  nihil- 
ism. The  amazing  single,  "Can  U  Dig  It?"  (the 
Poppies'  answer  to  the  Psychedelic  Furs'  "We  Love 
You,"  itself  a  catalog  of  cool),  can  be  found  here,  as 
can  "Def,  Con.  One.,"  which  samples  Siouxsie  Sioux, 
the  Beastie  Boys  and  Rod  Serling,  ripping  off  both  the 
Stooges  and  Lipps,  Inc.  in  a  seamless  dadaist  stew. 
Bright,  vital  and  bitingly  funny  (check  out  the  scratch- 
mix  ode  to  a  felonious  James  Brown) ,  this  record  teems 
with  invention. 

Cure  for  Sanity  is  This  Is  the  Day  minus  the  jokes. 
Not  content  with  being  the  Beastie  Boys'  retarded  cous- 
ins, the  Poppies  decide  to  get  serious  and  come  down 
heavy  on  the  KKK,  scary  air  travel  and  censorship. 
That's  not  necessarily  a  bad  thing,  and  some  of  the  beats 
still  pack  a  wallop  (especially  on  "Dance  of  the  Mad 


512 


Bastards"  and  "Lived  in  Splendour:  Died  in  Chaos"), 
but  the  absurd  sloganeering  is  tiresome.  One  anomaly: 
the  beatific  electropop  "X  Y  &  Zee,"  a  splendid  ex- 
tended remix  of  which  appears  on  the  CD.  [dgs/db] 


POSIES 

Failure  [tape]  (23  Records)  1988  (Poplfama  Products) 

1988® 
Dear  23  (DGC)  1 990  © 

Bucking  Seattle's  prevailing  grunge-noise-meta! 
trend,  singing  guitarists  Jonathan  Auer  and  Kenneth 
Stringfellow  have  devoted  themselves  to  '60s- 
mfluenced  Anglo-pop  and  the  music's  primary  Ameri- 
can interpretation  by  Big  Star.  The  duo's  fine  first  album 
(originally  self-released  on  cassette)  would  have  been 
just  another  skillful  neo-merseybeat  retread  (albeit  with 
odd  daily-life  lyrics  about  such  things  as  waiting  in  line 
and  scheduling  household  chores)  were  it  not  for  the 
magic  that  occurs  when  the  two  Posies  harmonize,  a 
blend  that  is  remarkably  similar  to  the  joyous  sound  of 
Allan  Clarke  and  Graham  Nash  in  the  original  Hollies. 
Despite  a  few  notable  missteps,  Failure  is  quite  a  suc- 
cessful debut. 

Having  moved  to  a  major  label,  enlisted  a  rhythm 
section  and  gotten  John  Leckie  in  to  produce,  the  Posies 
confidently  play  to  their  Holliesque  strengths  while  also 
consciously  working  against  type  on  the  marvelous 
Dear  23.  Sticking  offbeat  lyrics  into  irresistible  melodic 
power,  "My  Big  Mouth"  opens  the  record  in  a  crisp 
wash  of  acoustic  strums  and  a  jazzy  falsetto  chorus; 
"Golden  Blunders"  puts  a  strong  rhythmic  charge  un- 
der a  cautionary  bit  of  advice  about  adulthood.  While 
the  vintage-sounding  "Apology"  and  "Any  Other 
Way"  can  only  offer  illusions  of  familiarity,  the  heavy 
harmony  rock  of  "Help  Yourself"  and  the  epic  "Flood 
of  Sunshine"  (which  winds  in  an  awesome  spiraling 
guitar  solo)  underscore  the  Posies'  thoroughly  modern 
versatility.  [i] 


POSITIVE  NOISE 

Heart  of  Darkness  (nr/Statik)  1981 
Change  of  Heart  (Statik-Sire)  1 982 
Distant  Fires  (nr/Statik)  1985 

The  title  of  Positive  Noise's  second  album  signifies 
the  drastic  change  that  took  place  after  the  group's  debut 
LP  as  a  result  of  the  departure  of  Ross  Middleton,  the 
band's  singer/leader/lyricist  who  left  in  mid- 1981  to 
form  Leisure  Process  with  saxophonist  Gary  Barnacle. 
The  Scottish  band  began  as  a  five-piece  (including  two 
other  Middleton  brothers  who  stuck  it  out  to  the  end) 
and  in  late  1980  recorded  Heart  of  Darkness,  which  is 
pretty  dire — a  badly  produced  mishmash  of  art-funk, 
Skids-like  cheering,  PiL  noise  and  assorted  pretentious 
nonsense.  It  suffers  from  indecisive  direction  as  much 
as  a  lack  of  originality. 

For  Change  of  Heart,  guitarist  Russell  Blackstock 
also  assumed  the  vocal  chores,  and  Positive  Noise  trans- 
muted into  a  slick  electronic  dance  machine,  churning 
out  precise  rhythms  with  anxious,  semi-melodic  vocals. 
Gone  is  the  audio  clumsiness  and  uncertain  footing  of 
the  first  LP;  Positive  Noise's  niche  is  definitely  in  club 
music. 


Produced  by  Dave  Allen,  Distant  Fires  finds  the 
quintet  trying  to  balance  techno-dance  sterility  and 
coarse  melodic  pop.  While  the  continued  use  of  synthe- 
sizer leaves  some  of  the  uneven  material  sounding  like 
a  credible  alternative  to  Human  League  or  junior-league 
Ultravox,  sturdy  guitar-based  arrangements  and  Black- 
stock's  rough  singing  make  the  soaring  "When  Light- 
ning Strikes"  (originally  issued  as  a  1983  single)  and 
"A  Million  Miles  Away"  distinctive  and  memorable. 

[I] 


See  Band  of  Susans. 

Toreador  Squat  [tape]  (Poster  Children)  1 988 
Flower  Power  (Limited  Potential)  1989  © 

This  Champaign,  Illinois,  quartet  plays  loud,  punky 
guitar-rock.  The  bass  is  mushed  into  the  guitar,  which  in 
turn  drenches  the  voice;  the  drams  are  machine-gun  pop- 
corn underneath.  The  writing  is  slightly  influenced  by 
late-'70s  Britwave  (a  smidge  of  Buzzcocks  here,  a  dab 
of  Jam),  plus  a  soup§on  of  the  poppier  side  of  Televi- 
sion, but  those  are  all  influences,  not  derivations.  To- 
reador Squat  is  a  raw,  basic,  set-length  cassette  for 
admirers  of  their  live  shows. 

Flower  Power,  half  produced  in  1988  by  Iain  Bur- 
gess and  the  rest  in  '89  by  Steve  Albini,  displays  two 
different  approaches.  The  earlier  sessions  are  more  or 
less  straightforward  songs;  the  later  yielded  a  more  frag- 
mented, impression-oriented  effect  which  stretches 
words  out  over  the  thundering  music.  Both  work,  and 
though  neither  is  fully  realized,  guitar-sound  lovers  will 
enjoy  this  even  before  the  songs  start  to  kick  in.  The  CD 
and  cassette  have  six  worthwhile  bonus  tracks,  making 
(gulp)  vinyl  the  least  worthy  choice.  [jg] 

POSTE  RESTANTE 

See  Minny  Pops. 

POWER  STATION 

The  Power  Station  (Capitol)  1 985  « 

This  short-lived  supergroup  (whose  name  would  be 
"Kraftwerk"  in  German)  agglomerates  Andy  and  John 
Taylor — then  the  guitar/bass  axis  of  Duran  Duran — with 
ex-Chic  drummer  Tony  Thompson  and  singer  Robert 
Palmer.  (Plus  Bernard  Edwards  as  producer. )  On  paper, 
a  promising  idea — especially  in  light  of  the  Duran- 
nies'  funk  pretensions  and  Simon  Le  Bon's  vocal 
inadequacies — but,  on  vinyl,  a  miserable,  boring  explo- 
sion of  overbearing  drums  pounding  (you  thought  the 
drums  were  mixed  high  on  Let's  Dance?)  through  tune- 
less, formless  "songs."  While  Power  Station's  slickly 
functional  dance-funk  is  just  minor  on  the  softer  num- 
bers, the  ultimate  realization  of  the  concept,  "Some 
Like  It  Hot,"  offers  a  numbingly  industrial  take  on 
electro-funk  made  truly  execrable  by  Palmer's  con- 
temptible singing.  But  that's  nothing  compared  to  the 
excruciating  jam/destruction  of  Marc  Bolan's  classic 
"Bang  a  Gong  (Get  It  On),"  matching  an  appalling 
lack  of  originality  with  utter  disdain  for  and  desecration 


513 


of  the  song's  melody,  tempo  and  boppy  charm.  Repug- 
nant. 

When  the  band  that  swore  it  would  not  tour  hit  the 
road,  it  was  without  Palmer,  replaced  for  disputed  rea- 
sons by  the  even-less-talented  Michael  Des  Barres,  add- 
ing another  chapter  to  his  Chequered  Past.  [i] 

See  also  Duran  Duran,  Robert  Palmer. 


POWERTRIP 

See  JeffDahl  Group. 

PRAXIS 

See  Bill  Laswell. 

PRECIOUS  WAX  DRIPPINGS 

Ain't  We  a  Wishin'  Bunch  EP  (Fat  Bat-Landmind)  1 987 
Rayon  EP  (Pravda)  1 988 
After  History  (Amoeba)  1 990  ® 

Playing  with  the  breathless  enthusiasm  (and  some  of 
the  velocity)  of  a  young  band  told  their  studio  time  is 
nearly  up,  Chicago's  Precious  Wax  Drippings  give  the 
six  ruggedly  melodic  numbers  on  the  Wishin'  Bunch 
12-inch  a  real  charge,  firing  up  the  richly  distorted  twm- 
guitar  attack  to  devastating  effect.  While  the  jumpin' 
cuts  (especially  "Prayers"  and  "Soulbait")  also  benefit 
from  unfancy  mean-it  vocals,  the  racing  instrumental 
"Big  Cheese"  reveals  chordal  ingenuity  and  sharp  in- 
terplay by  the  unpretentious  quartet. 

Heralded  by  an  incongruous  bagpipe  chant,  the  more 
confident  7-inch  Rayon  offers  up  four  cool  new  songs  in 
a  full-bodied  Anglo-rock  vein  that  owes  something  to 
the  Small  Faces  (via  the  Rich  Kids). 

After  History  is  divided  into  Industrial  and  Sexual 
sides,  but  that  distinction  doesn't  begin  to  cover  the 
boldly  diverse  collection  of  styles  the  group  attempts  on 
this  ambitious  longplayer.  Sure,  "Brontosaurus"  (not 
the  Move  song)  moderately  acknowledges  Ministry,  but 
the  same  side  also  includes  the  gentle,  pretty  pop  of 
"Steeptime."  The  flip,  meanwhile,  has  a  remake  of 
"Rayon"  as  well  as  some  sizzling  punky  funk  ("Break 
Down"),  thrashy  rock  ("This  Year")  and  mildly  coun- 
tryfied  rock  ("Bob,"  with  piano  and  a  buzzing  guitar 
undercurrent).  Throughout,  the  group  uses  simple 
guitar-bass-drums  resources  to  craft  memorable  songs, 
continually  revealing  imaginative  twists.  Fascinating. 

[i] 


PREFAB  SPROUT 

Prefab  Sprout  EP  (nr/Kitchenware)  1 983 
Swoon  (Kitchenware-Epic)  1 984  « 
Steve  McQueen  (nr/Kitchenware)  1 985  * 
Two  Wheels  Good  (Kitchenware-Epic)  1 985  • 
From  Langley  Park  to  Memphis  (Kitchenware-Epic) 

1988* 

Swoon/Steve  McQueen  [CD]  (nr/CBS)  1 988  « 
Protest  Songs  (nr/Kitchenware-CBS)  1 989  ® 
Jordan:  The  Comeback  (Kitchenware-Epic)  1990  « 
Machine  Gun  Ibiza  EP  (Kitchenware-Epic)  1990  ® 
Jordan:  The  EP  EP  (nr/Kitchenware-CBS)  1990  « 

Smart  and  sophisticated  garden-pop-jazz.  Imagine 
Aztec  Camera  meets  Steely  Dan  with  absurdist  lyrical 


inventions  and  close-formation  female  backing  vocals — 
that's  Prefab  Sprout,  the  unique  creation  of  Newcastle 
singer/songwriter  Paddy  McAloon.  Performed  as  a  trio 
joined  »by 'a  guest  drummer,  the  debut  EP  and  Swoon 
(no  overlapping  tracks)  reveal  a  unique  and  ingenious 
wit — the  album's  "Cue  Fanfare"  is  about  chess  champ 
Bobby  Fischer — supported  by  light  and  mellifluous  mu- 
sic in  a  number  of  refined  styles.  Remarkable  and  en- 
ticing. 

Steve  McQueen  (issued  in  the  US  as  Two  Wheels 
Good)  was  produced  with  a  fine  hand  by  Thomas 
Dolby,  who  also  plays  on  it  as  the  group's  fifth  member. 
(Drummer  Neal  Conti  had  signed  on  Mltime,  making 
the  Prefabs  a  standing  quartet.)  A  significant  advance- 
ment over  Swoon,  the  adult  gossamer  pop  includes  the 
remarkably  airy  "When  Love  Breaks  Down"  (guest 
produced  by  Phil  Thornally,  indicating  the  band's  strong 
stylistic  backbone),  the  obscure  but  lovely  "Appetite" 
and  the  mesmerizing  "Goodbye  Lucille  #1."  "Blue- 
berry Pies"  sounds  like  a  lost  Sade  tune;  "Horsin' 
Around"  is  as  cavalier  as  its  title  Brilliant! 

On  the  airy  Laegley  Park  to  Memphis,  the  quartet 
gets  minor  assistance  from  Pete  Townshend  (inaudible 
acoustic  guitar  on  one  track),  Stevie  Wonder  and  a  gos- 
pel group;  Dolby  produced  and  played  keyboards  on 
four  tracks.  Notwithstanding  one  energized  exception 
("The  Golden  Calf,"  which  bizarrely  resembles  Cheap 
Trick),  the  easy  listening  lounge  music — deco-era 
strings,  movie-music  horns,  stage-whisper  vocals,  re- 
strained tempos — is  boring  and  uninvolving,  burying 
McAloon's  offbeat  lyrics  in  too  deeply  mellow  an  audio 
disguise. 

After  that  loss  of  stylistic  footing,  it  took  the  band  a 
while  to  regroup — a  situation  effectively  camouflaged 
by  the  belated  official  release  of  Protest  Songs,  an  oft- 
bootlegged  collection  that  was  actually  recorded  on  the 
heels  of  Steve  McQueen,  and  suffers  from  that  prox- 
imity. There's  a  cavernous  emptiness  beneath  the  gos- 
samer surface  of  unfinished-sounding  songs  like  "A  Life 
of  Surprises"  and  the  blue-contact-lensed  soul  of 
"Wicked  Things"  that's  all  the  more  frustrating  when 
you  can  hear  the  germs  of  so  many  squandered  ideas. 

Dolby's  return  helps  insure  that  not  a  drop  of  Jor- 
dan: The  Comeback' s  considerable  inspiration  is 
wasted.  With  atmospheric  worries  out  of  mind, 
McAloon  is  free  to  rush  headlong,  through  the  doors  of 
the  Brill  Building,  across  the  Great  White  Way,  into  the 
arms  of  his  muse.  Echoes  of  Sondheim  and  Jimmy 
Webb  resonate  throughout  the  joyfully  faux  samba  of 
"Carnival  2000"  and  the  eerily  precise  Swede-pop  of 
"The  Ice  Maiden,"  but  that's  not  the  real  story  here. 
The  scoop  is  that  Prefab  Sprout  has  revived  the  concept 
album  by  crafting  an  interlocking  sequence  of  concept 
mini-albums.  Roughly  half  of  Jordan's  nineteen  (!) 
tracks  fall  into  two  tightly  laced  suites  that  pursue 
McAloon's  dual  obsessions;  religion  and  celebrity  (or, 
more  specifically,  God  and  Elvis).  The  latter  supplies 
two  of  Jordan's  most  moving  songs  ("Jesse  James  Bo- 
lero" and  "Jesse  James  Symphony"),  while  the  former 
gets  the  best  line  ("One  of  the  Broken"  's  salutory 
"Hi,  this  is  God  here,"  and  an  open  letter  of  apology 
from  Lucifer:  the  breathless  "Michael"),  Remarkably 
dense,  intensely  rewarding  listening.  The  related  Amer- 
ican EP  joins  the  album's  souled-out  "Machine  Gun 
Ibiza"  with  three  non-LP  tracks.  [i/dss] 


514 


PRESSURE  BOYS 

Jump!  Jump!  Jumpl  EP  f  A-Root-Da-Doot-Doo)  1 983 
Rangledoon  EP  (A-Root-Da-Doof-Doo)  1 984 
Hell  Tape  [tape]  (ARDDDJ  1986 
Krandlebanum  Monumenfus  (AR3D)  1 987 

Chalk  up  another  one  for  Mitch  Easter,  who  co- 
produced  Jump!  Jump!  Jump!  at  his  world-famous 
Drive-in  Studio.  Given  his  background,  one  might  ex- 
pect power  pop,  but  North  Carolina's  P-Boys  instead 
deliver  hot *n' sweaty  horn-inflected  ska-beat  rock.  The 
sextet's  gangbusting,  headlong  enthusiasm  recalls  the 
early  Specials  (without  the  accents  or  trebly  sound)  but 
songs  like  "Tina  Goes  to  the  Supermarket*'  undercut 
any  seriousness  that  might  have  been  intended.  Easter 
acquits  himself  admirably  on  this  atypical  production 
fare,  making  a  record  likely  to  pump  your  speakers  free 
of  their  cabinets. 

Produced  by  Don  Dixon,  the  four  songs  on  Rangle- 
dooti  (a  12-inch  with  entirely  blank  grooves  on  one 
side)  are  even  more  ambitious  and  better  realized  than 
the  first  album.  By  toning  things  down  stylistically,  the 
group  reveals  more  conceptual  depth,  applying  its 
brassy  assets  with  intuitive  imagination.  "Where  the 
Cowboys  Went,"  for  instance,  makes  effective  use  of 
spoken  narration,  while  the  brisk  "Policemen  (In  My 
Neighbor's  Yard),"  complete  with  gunshots,  executes 
tricky  musical  turns  on  a  dime.  Excellent. 

Besides  the  entirety  of  Rangledoon  and  four  of  the 
six  tracks  from  Jump!  Jump!  Jump! ,  the  cassette-only 
Hell  Tape  has  an  early  four-song  demo  (including  al- 
ternate versions  of  the  two  first-EP  omissions)  and  three 
tracks  recorded  for  (but  unused  on)  the  band's  subse- 
quent album.  Despite  the  varied  studio  circumstances 
and  personnel,  Hell  is  an  entirely  enjoyable  collection 
of  pep  and  pop. 

Krandiebanum  Monumentus  contains  a  second 
rendition  of  "Tina"  as  well  as  such  offbeat  weirditties 
as  "Terrible  Brain,"  "Trombonehead"  and  "A  Chew 
and  a  Swallow."  Three  horns  still  lead  the  kinetic  at- 
tack, but  the  Pressuremen  no  longer  hie  to  bluebeat, 
choosing  a  straighter  rock  direction  (a  bit  like  Oingo 
Boingo)  that  proves  their  tightness  but  leaves  less  of  a 
lasting  impression.  [i] 

PRESSURE  COMPANY 

See  Cabaret  Voltaire. 


PRETENDERS 

Pretenders  (Real-Sire)  1980  * 
Extended  Play  EP  (Real-Sire)  1 981 
Pretenders  II  (Real-Sire)  1981  • 
Learning  to  Crawl  (Real-Sire)  1984  • 
Get  Close  (Real-Sire)  1986* 
The  Singles  (Real-Sire)  1987  « 
Packed!  (Sire)  1 990  • 

Although  bands  fronted  by  ex-music  critics  have 
generally  been  doomed  to  culty  oblivion,  the  Pre- 
tenders— formed  in  London  by  Ohio-born  Chrissie 
Hynde — became  huge  around  the  world.  Surviving  the 
tragic  deaths  of  guitarist  James  Honeyman  Scott  in  1982 
and  bassist  Pete  Faradon  (after  leaving  the  group)  a  year 
later,  Hynde  has  pressed  on,  overcoming  disaster  with 
incredible  strength  and  resilience.  At  this  point,  the  Pre- 


tenders seem  capable  of  existing  and  succeeding  as  long 
as  Hynde  cares  to  exercise  her  unique  talents  as  a  song- 
writer and  vocalist. 

After  several  brilliant  singles  (starting  with  an  un- 
forgettable Nick  Lowe-produced  Kinks  cover,  "Stop 
Your  Sobbing"),  the  long-awaited  Pretenders  (pro- 
duced by  Chris  Thomas)  proved  that  the  45s  were  only 
the  beginning.  The  band's  several  strengths — Hynde's 
husky  voice  and  sexually  forthright  persona,  drummer 
Martin  Chambers'  intricately  syncopated  (but  never  ef- 
fete) rock  rhythms,  Honeyman  Scott's  blazing,  inven- 
tive guitar  work — give  numbers  like  "Tattooed  Love 
Boys,"  "Mystery  Achievement,"  "Kid,"  "Brass  in 
Pocket"  and  "Stop  Your  Sobbing"  (the  last  three  were 
pre-LP  singles)  instantly  identifiable  character  and  ob- 
vious rock  excitement. 

Mmd-boggling  success  caught  the  Pretenders  short 
of  material,  and  producing  a  follow-up  proved  no  small 
challenge.  Eighteen  months  of  touring  left  little  time  for 
writing  or  recording,  the  stopgap  EP  compiles  both  sides 
of  two  singles  and  a  live  version  of  "Precious  "  The 
record's  fine  as  a  placeholder,  but  was  rendered  redun- 
dant when  both  A-sides  turned  up  on  the  second  album. 

Pretenders  II  would  have  been  a  real  stiff,  cre- 
atively speaking,  were  it  not  for  those  selfsame  45  cuts 
("Message  of  Love"  and  "Talk  of  the  Town"),  the 
latter  being  one  of  the  best  things  the  band  has  ever 
done.  Only  a  handful  of  the  other  ten  tunes  match  the 
first  album's  quality,  with  selfconsciousness  and  repe- 
tition marring  Hynde's  writing  and  performance.  An  air 
of  uncertainty — whether  to  play  up  the  overstated  arena- 
scaled  side  or  explore  restrained  ballads  and  more  com- 
plex, subtle  arrangements — stymied  them,  and  resulted 
in  a  confusion  of  conflicting  directions.  (Cassette  col- 
lectors may  be  interested  in  a  US  tape  pairing  of  the  first 
two  albums.) 

Scott's  death  and  Farndon's  departure,  coupled  with 
Hynde's  pregnancy,  kept  the  band  out  of  action  for  most 
of  1982.  They  released  only  one  45:  "Back  on  the  Chain 
Gang"  b/w  "My  City  Was  Gone,"  with  Billy  Bremner 
guesting  on  guitar  and  future  Big  Countryman  Tony 
Butler  on  bass.  The  band's  output  the  following  year 
also  amounted  to  one  fine  single,  the  wistful,  sentimen- 
tal "2000  Miles." 

Rather  than  the  rattled,  self-pitying  record  many  ex- 
pected, Learning  to  Crawl  was  a  remarkable  return  to 
prime  form,  A  revitalized  Hynde  and  Chambers  lead 
two  new  Pretenders  through  a  collection  of  characteris- 
tic songs,  including  all  three  aforementioned  single  sides 
and  such  new  grippers  as  "Middle  of  the  Road"  and 
"Time  the  Avenger,"  which  are  equal  to  anything  she 
had  previously  written  or  recorded.  The  only  thing  lack- 
ing is  Chambers'  percussive  complexity,  replaced  here 
by  sturdy  beats  that  are  nothing  special.  But  free  of  the 
misjudgment  that  ankled  the  second  album,  Hynde  and 
the  Pretenders  again  display  mettle  and  talent. 

Unrelated  to  the  music,  but  typical  of  the  inescap- 
able private  life  drama  that  seems  intrinsic  to  the  band, 
Hynde  then  took  time  off  to  marry  Simple  Minds'  singer 
Jim  Kerr  and  tend  to  two  children,  forcing  another  long 
wait  between  records.  When  the  Pretenders  returned  to 
action  in  1986  with  the  disappointing  Get  Close,  Cham- 
bers (and  everyone  else,  save  for  guitarist  Robbie  Mcln- 
tosh)  was  gone,  although  he  does  appear  on  an  ill- 
advised  cover  of  Jimi  Hendrix's  "Room  Full  of 


515 


Mirrors. "  The  new  lineup  includes  ex-Haircut  One  Hun- 
dred drummer  Blair  Cunningham,  but  the  record  relies 
on  session  players  (including  Bemie  Worrell,  Carlos 
Alomar  and  Simon  Phillips)  and  contains  only  two  sen- 
timental love  songs  ("Don't  Get  Me  Wrong"  and  "My 
Baby")  and  Meg  Keene's  haunting  ballad  ("Hymn  to 
Her")— all  released  as  singles — to  recommend  it. 

That  trio  of  songs,  plus  a  dozen  more  classics  and 
near-greats,  comprise  what  is  unquestionably  the  best 
Pretenders  album  of  all.  One  can  overlook  The  Singles' 
shockingly  shoddy  packaging;  this  is  a  true  best-of  ca- 
reer distillation  (all  the  A-sides  from  1979  to  1986)  with 
one  bonus  track:  Hynde's  winning  duet  with  UB40  on  a 
reggaefied  "I  Got  You  Babe." 

Although  Hynde  sags  dangerously  close  to  self- 
parody  on  Side  2  of  Packed!,  her  amazing  voice  does 
manage  to  breathe  a  little  life  into  the  Pretenders'  stiff- 
ening body.  Subtle  production  (plus  keyboards)  by 
Mitchell  Froom  and  skilled  studio  work  by  Cunning- 
ham, Bremner  and  others  free  Hynde  to  give  the  songs 
her  all.  Unfortunately,  many  of  the  melodies  are  re- 
writes; worse,  the  lyrics  lack  focus  and  intensity.  Even 
when  narrating  the  end  of  her  marriage,  Hynde's  pain  is 
reduced  to  bland  phrases  and  simple  cliches.  Other  than 
a  dreamy  cover  of  Hendrix's  "May  This  Be  Love,"  the 
album's  most  affecting  tunes — "Let's  Make  a  Pact" 
and  "When  Will  I  See  You"  (co-written  by  Johnny 
Marr) — find  their  strength  in  emotional  maturity,  ex- 
pressing love  without  resorting  to  bravado.  [i] 

ANDY  PRIEBOY 

See  Wall  of  Voodoo. 


PRIMAL  SCREAM 

Sonic  Flower  Groove  (nr/Elevation)  1 987 
Primal  Scream  (nr/Creation)  1989  ® 
Loaded  EP  (nr/Creation)  1990 
Come  Together  EP  (Sire)  1 990  • 

Scotland's  Primal  Scream  made  its  live  public  debut 
in  Glasgow  in  late  '84,  a  show  at  which  singer  Bobby 
Gillespie  also  made  his  first  appearance  as  the  Jesus  and 
Mary  Chain's  style-over-competence  drummer.  Signed 
to  Creation,  Primal  Scream  released  a  couple  of  singles 
on  Creation  over  the  next  two  years,  but  the  band  took 
a  back  seat  to  Gillespie' s  other  career.  When  John 
Moore  replaced  him  in  the  Chain's  drum  slot  in  early 
*86,  Gillespie  finally  turned  his  full  attention  to  his  own 
band. 

Primal  Scream's  influences  are  a  hip  mix  not  unlike 
the  Chain's:  Stones,  a  dash  of  psychedelic  Beatles, 
MC5,  Velvets,  etc.  Yet  instead  of,  say,  adopting  a  cou- 
ple of  salient  characteristics  of  one  of  those  bands,  ex- 
aggerating them,  and  adding  a  personal  imprint  (as  the 
J&M  Chain  did  with  the  Velvets,  Primal  Scream  seek  a 
more  careful  blend,  with  little  to  add  of  their  own.  The 
result:  the  Chain  have  an  easily  identifiable  sound;  Pri- 
mal Scream  doesn't.  It  does,  however,  use  lots  of  little 
bits  nicked  from  various  sources.  At  best,  Primal 
Scream  records  are  pleasant  but  no-stick. 

The  band  evidently  felt  that  1987's  Sonic  Flower 
Groove  was  enough  of  a  mistake  to  try  to  scrap  it  (un- 
successfully). If  they  felt  Primal  Scream  redressed 
their  self-grievances,  they  should* ve  thought  twice. 


About  a  third  sounds  good,  the  slow  stuff  drags  under  its 
own  weight  and  none  of  it  has  much  (of  its  own)  to  say. 
"You're  Just  Dead  Skin  to  Me"  is  a  striking  title,  but 
it's  just  another  distraction  that  overshadows  the  song 
itself  (all  too  easy  anyway) — the  band's  problem  in  a 
nutshell. 

Come  Together  (Loaded  plus  two  versions  of  the 
subsequent  single,  "Come  Together,"  and  two  addi- 
tional mixes  of  "Loaded")  is  worse.  The  title  track 
makes  a  big  deal  out  of  essentially  reusing  people's 
lyrics.  Lyrically,  "Loaded"  (as  in  "let's  get  .  .  ,") 
takes  off  from  lines  in  Peter  Fonda's  '60s  biker  pic  The 
Wild  Angels  (repeatedly  sampled  into  the  track),  while 
musically  it  reworks  "Sympathy  for  the  Devil"  with  a 
slower,  funkier  (dance)  beat.  Also  included:  a  cut  from 
Primal  Scream  and  an  okay  live  version  of  the  MCS's 
old  "Ramblin'  Rose."  [jg] 

PRIME  MOVERS 

See  Prisoners. 

PRIMITIVES 

Thru  the  Flowers  EP  (nr/Lazy)  1 986 
Lovely  (RCA)  1988  +  1988® 
Out  of  Reach  EP  (nr/RCA)  1 988  • 
Secrets  EP  (nr/RCA)  1 989  * 
Pure  (RCA)  1989* 
Lazy  86-88  (nr/Lazy)  1989® 

Coventry's  Primitives  are  one  of  best  results  of  a 
British  pop  genre  that  first  gained  notoriety  around  1986, 
in  the  wake  of  the  Jesus  and  Mary  Chain  (but  with  a 
backwards  nod  to  early  Blondie).  Characterized  by  self- 
consciously naive  vocals  and  distorto-guitar  backing 
tracks  that  pay  tribute  to  the  '60s  while  reveling  in  post- 
punk  insouciance,  such  efforts  can  either  be  utterly 
charming  or  noxiously  grating.  Thanks  to  excellent 
songwriting  and  the  enchanting  vocals  of  Tracy  Tracy 
(guitarist/songwriter  Paul  Court  sings  the  occasional 
tune  as  well),  the  Primitives  have  made  some  sparkling 
catchy  bubblegum  gems.  Unfortunately,  the  young 
quartet  peaked  early  and  has  been  sagging  downhill  ever 
since. 

The  most  memorable  tracks  on  the  wonderful 
Lovely  reprise  material  from  the  group's  early  UK  sin- 
gles. (The  American  edition  was  reissued  with  the 
post-LP  "Way  Behind  Me,"  also  included  on  Pure). 
Produced  by  Paul  Sampson  (later  the  group's  bassist), 
Lovely  runs  through  a  variety  of  musical  formats — from 
abject  California  bubblegum  pop  ("Thru  the  Flowers," 
the  ultimate  "Crash,"  "Stop  Killing  Me")  to  early 
Blondiepunk  ("Nothing  Left")  and  *60's  mock-Indian 
psychedelia  ("Shadow").  An  ingenious  and  tune-crazy 
album  of  instantly  accessible  pop  standards. 

The  two  inter-album  EPs  contain  some  interesting 
non-LP  material.  The  Out  of  Reach  12-inch  plucks  four 
songs  from  Lovely  and  adds  live  takes  of  "Crash"  and 
"Really  Stupid,"  Secrets,  a  two-song  preview  of  Pure, 
adds  the  song's  demo  and  a  non-LP  bonus. 

Pure  has  its  charms,  but  this  attempt  to  fancy  things 
up  in  the  face  of  inconsistent  material  leaves  it  no  match 
for  the  first  LP.  Bookended  by  the  rushing  "Secrets" 
and  the  gently  swaying  "Summer  Rain,"  fine  songs  like 
"Outside,"  "Lonely  Streets"  and  the  spectacular  "Way 


516 


Behind  Me"  all  unearth  delightful  new  ingredients  with 
which  to  modulate  the  group's  stylistic  approach.  Amus- 
ing little  guitar  references  to  the  Who,  Status  Quo  and 
Sonny  and  Cher  add  to  the  fun.  But  other  songs  are 
halfbaked  or  dull,  pale  rewrites  of  poor  tunes.  Slather- 
ing echo  on  the  vocals  in  an  obvious  homage  to  the  J&M 
Chain  ("AH  the  Way  Down*')  is  a  bad  idea,  as  is  the 
mild  infusion  of  Manchester  house  rhythm  in  the  clunky 
"Sick  of  It."  (The  British  album  has  two  songs  not  on 
the  American;  the  British  CD  further  adds  an  alternate 
version  of  "All  the  Way  Down"  and  "I  Almost 
Touched  You"  from  the  Secrets  EP.) 

Compiling  the  Primitives'  first  four  releases,  Lazy 
86-88  includes  the  miserably  primitive  Thru  the  Flow- 
ers debut  EP  and  the  title  track's  vastly  superior  re- 
make, two  additional  three-song  singles  ("Really 
Stupid"  and  "Stop  Killing  Me,"  both  with  neat  non-LP 
tunes)  and  a  rare  alternate  version  of  *  "Shadow"  from  a 
limited-edition  give-away  45.  [ag/i] 


PRIMITIVE  SOULS 

See  Real  Kids. 


PRIMITONS 

Primitons  (Throbbing  Lobster)  1 985 
Happy  All  the  Time  (What  Goes  On)  1 987 

The  two  prime  movers  in  Birmingham's  Primitons 
are  drummer/accordionist  Leif  Bondarenko  and  singer/ 
guitarist/organist  Mots  Roden,  a  Swede  who  somehow 
wound  up  living  in  Alabama.  Following  a  long  stint  in 
Jim  Bob  and  the  Leisure  Suits  (a  promising  but  gim- 
micky local  adaptation  of  new  wave),  the  pair  formed 
the  all-pop  Primitons  with  singer/guitarist  Brad  Dorset 
and  non-performing  lyricist  Stephanie  Truelove  Wright. 

Joined  by  a  guest  vocalist,  the  trio  recorded  a  sturdy 
and  attractive  seven-song  debut,  produced  with  Mitch 
Easter.  Primitons  is  a  pop  record,  but  with  the  same 
sort  of  gravity  and  lyrical  depth  as  the  Windbreakers. 
"All  My  Friends"  offers  a  rich  R.E.M. -influenced  rush; 
"She  Sleeps"  puts  a  gothic  tale  of  death  and  grieving  to 
simple  music  strengthened  by  high,  lonesome  singing; 
"You'll  Never  Know"  is  an  ominous  whisper  about 
nuclear  destruction. 

Bassist  Don  Tinsley  replaced  Dorset;  the  trio  (plus 
Wright)  issued  an  ambitious  and  spectacular  Anglo-pop 
12-inch,  "Don't  Go  Away,"  which  covers  the  Left 
Banke's  "Something  on  My  Mind"  as  one  of  its  two 
B-sides.  Happy  All  the  Time,  which  boasts  "Don't  Go 
Away"  and  other  similarly  well-executed  numbers,  is  a 
winning  collection  and  shows  what  a  fine  band  the  Prim- 
itons are.  Layers  of  guitars  and  vocals  are  the  main 
ingredients;  subtlety  and  diversity  are  a  bonus;  talented 
songwriting  and  offbeat  lyrics  provide  the  solid  founda- 
tion. Tim  Lee  guests.  [i] 


PRIMUS 

Suck  on  This  (Prawn  Song)  1 989  (Caroline)  1 990  • 

Frizzle  Fry  (Caroline)  1 990  • 

Sailing  the  Seas  of  Cheese  (Interscope)  1 991  <t> 

Although  Primus  is  one  of  numerous  metal-funk  out- 
fits to  emerge  from  the  Bay  Area  in  the  late  '80s,  what 


sets  this  trio  apart  is  bassist  Les  Claypooi's  distinctive 
reedy  vocals,  the  band's  herky-jerky  rhythms  and  the 
stop-and-go  song  structures  (perfect  for  moshing!). 

Recorded  live  in  early  '89,  Suck  on  This  (first  re- 
leased on  Primus'  own  label,  then  reissued  after  Frizzle 
Fry)  offers  a  decent  introduction  to  the  band,  capturing 
its  manic  energy,  if  not  the  intricacies  and  vocal  fire- 
power subsequently  displayed  in  the  studio.  (The  two 
records  have  five  songs  in  common.) 

Although  by  no  means  excessively  produced,  the 
improved  sound  quality  and  the  chance  to  overdub  an 
extra  guitar  part  or  two  to  heighten  the  abrasive  textures 
of  the  songs  make  Frizzle  Fry  a  far  more  definitive 
artistic  statement.  Claypool  is  an  impressive  lyricist 
(maybe  the  genre's  best),  whether  he's  writing  morning- 
after  streams-of-consciousness  ( "Harold  of  the  Rocks, ' ' 
"Groundhog's  Day")  or  spinning  cautionary  political/ 
environmental  tales  a  la  the  Mothers'  We're  Only  in  It 
for  the  Money  ("Too  Many  Puppies,"  "Pudding 
Time , "  "  Sathington  Willoughby ' ' ) .  Having  established 
such  a  unique  sound  and  vision,  all  Primus  has  to  do 
now  is  build  and  expand  on  it.  [ds] 


PRINCE 

For  You  (Warner  Bros.)  1 978  • 

Prince  (Warner  Bros.)  1 979  « 

Dirty  Mind  (Warner  Bros.)  1980  • 

Controversy  (Warner  Bros.)  1 981  * 

1 999  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982  « 

Sign  "o"  the  Times  (Paisley  Park)  1 987  • 

The  Black  Album  (unre leased)  • 

Lovesexy  (Paisley  Park)  1 988  « 

Batman  (Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

The  Scandalous  Sex  Suite  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1 989  • 

PRINCE  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

Purple  Rain  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984  « 

Around  the  World  in  a  Day  (Paisley  Park)  1 985  • 

Parade  (Paisley  Park)  1986  « 

PRINCE  ET  AL 

Music  from  Graffiti  Bridge  (Paisley  Park-Warner  Bros.) 

1990* 

Prince's  impact  on  the  direction  and  sound  of  '80s 
pop  music  can't  be  overstated.  By  the  mid-'70s,  race 
segregation  had  become  nearly  as  rigid  a  musical  barrier 
as  it  was  at  the  outset  of  rock'n'roll  in  the  '50s,  but 
Prince's  brilliant  stylistic  cross-fertilization  has  been  a 
major  agent  in  its  slow  dissolution.  He  continually  dem- 
onstrates a  phenomenal  grasp  of  forms,  styles  and  pro- 
duction techniques,  and  he  has  the  ability  to  create 
stunning  syntheses  of  them.  True,  he's  shown  a  lyrical 
penchant  for  excessive  and/or  tasteless  sexuality,  but 
he's  also  responsible  for  some  of  the  most  playful,  open 
and  un-hung-up  sexiness  in  pop  music.  Prince  is  the 
biggest  figure  in  '80s  pop  music  whom  musicians  at 
opposite  ends  of  the  rock  and  soul  spectrum  will  admit 
liking  and  paying  attention  to. 

The  upstart  19-year-old's  first  album,  For  You,  op- 
erates within  the  conventions  of  soul  music — even  of 
disco — without  sounding  like  a  tired  string  of  clich6s  or 
succumbing  to  corporate  overkill.  The  assertive  sexual- 
ity (e.g.,  "Soft  and  Wet")  isn't  the  LP's  big  surprise, 
which  he  saves  for  last — something  like  a  cross  between 
MFSB  and  the  Delfonics  trying  to  condense  the  Cream 


517 


songbook  into  one  number.  Prince's  soul  is  also  slick, 
its  rock  less  crunchy.  His  libido  advertisements  range 
from  mock-coy  to  wham-bam,  from  straightforward  to 
confusing  ("I  wanna  be  your  lover  .  .  .  your  brother 
.  .  .  your  mother  and  your  sister  too")  to  confused 
('It's  mainly  a  physical  thing  .  .  .  [but]  I  think  it's 
love").  Prince  is  a  bit  more  entertaining  than  For  You, 
but  both  are  a  touch  too  clinical. 

Dirty  Mind  and  Controversy  began  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  rock  crowd.  To  oversimplify,  the  two 
LPs  blend  Blondie,  Bootsy  and  Blowfly;  while  other 
artists  bared  their  souls,  Prince  preferred  to  bare  his 
genitals.  Ultimately,  Dirty  Mind  conies  off  as  a  flawed 
triumph,  Controversy  as  a  miscalculation.  The  form- 
er's crotch-mindedness  is  offset  by  ingenuous  ingenu- 
ity, The  sly  lyrics,  good  tunes,  strong  production  and 
his  super  falsetto  all  make  for  a  winning  combination;  a 
song  like  "When  You  Were  Mine"  (later  covered  to 
great  effect  by  Cyndi  Lauper)  declared  that  he  was  a 
tunesmith  to  be  reckoned  with.  Controversy,  though, 
shows  too  much  flash  with  too  little  substance — Prince 
is  straining  too  hard  for  approval  from  his  new  audience 
and  the  touch-all-bases  agenda  yields  "Ronnie,  Talk  to 
Russia,"  "Annie  Christian"  and  "Jack  U  Off,"  all  on 
one  LP  side. 

The  largely  dance-oriented  1999,  however,  is  his 
first  real  tour  de  force.  Pnnce  exercises  even  greater 
skill  than  before,  and  when  he  couples  that  with  some 
restraint,  the  results  are  incredibly  gratifying.  (The  first 
side  alone  has  three  of  his  best-ever  cuts:  "1999,"  "Lit- 
tle Red  Corvette"  and  "Delirious.")  Gratuitous  sexu- 
ality and  stylistic  indulgences  that  overstretch  tracks 
make  the  double-album  set  less  than  an  unmitigated  suc- 
cess; all  the  same,  sometimes  his  talent  is  so  dazzling 
that  you  don't  notice  (or  care  about)  his  excesses.  (As 
a  result  of  single-disc  time  constraints,  the  1999  CD  was 
originally  issued  without  "D.M.S.R.,"  a  defect  finally 
rectified  in  1990.) 

Purple  Rain  is  the  first  Prince  album  to  use  a  band 
in  the  studio,  and  his  first  movie  music;  however  much 
those  factors  influenced  the  outcome,  it  also  clearly 
topped  its  predecessors.  Superior  focus  and  control  en- 
able him  to  move  effortlessly  from  the  party-down  ebul- 
lience of  "Let's  Go  Crazy"  to  the  spare,  delicate 
anguish  of  "When  Doves  Cry"  to  the  commandingly 
Hendrixian  guitar  balladry  of  the  title  track. 

From  back-to-back  killers,  though,  he  went  to  back- 
to-back  turkeys:  Around  the  World  in  a  Day  and  Pa- 
rade. But  no  matter  what  he  gets  into  on  these  records, 
each  has  at  least  one  ace  track  and  another  just  a  notch 
below.  Prince's  father  helped  him  write  three  of  the 
tunes  on  Around  the  World,  but  don't  blame  Dad — 
the  blatherings  on  sex  and  religion,  and  the  neo- 
psychedelic/flower-power  tripe  in  which  it's  couched, 
are  all  Pnnce' s  doing.  All  the  same,  "Raspberry  Beret" 
is  an  uncanny  recycling  of  the  Small  Faces  and  the 
bouncy  "Pop  Life"  (which  allegedly  incorporates  a  tape 
of  the  crowd  that  booed  him  offstage  when  he  opened 
for  the  Stones)  offers  politely  witty  lyrics.  Parade's 
strangeness  isn't  as  bad  as  the  worst  of  World,  though 
it's  a  wonder  the  soundtrack  of  Prince's  laughably  bad 
second  film,  Under  the  Cherry  Moon,  was  any  good  at 
all.  Some  of  it  is  weird — stripped-down  funk  that  just 
doesn't  work — but  the  spartan  "Kiss"  is  an  instant  clas- 
sic. Right  on  its  heels  comes  "Anotherloverholenyo- 


head,"  which  isn't — can't  be — as  good,  but  is  still 
pretty  stimulating. 

The  time  for  the  Revolution  had  evidently  come  and 
gone,  so  Prince  decided  to  stake  out  on  his  own  again. 
The  split  was  apparently  amicable;  Wendy  and  Lisa 
(guitar,  keyboards,  vocals)  appear  on  his  next  LP  (while 
also  making  one  of  their  own).  Sign  "o"  the  Times  is 
a  two-disc  bag  of  goodies,  filled  with  different  flavors 
and  colors.  The  title  track  is  the  most  minimal  of  his 
minimalist  singles  (even  compared  to  "Kiss"),  an  off- 
beat reality-minded  protest  record  that's  hardly  there.  It 
shouldn't  work,  but  it  does,  like  crazy.  Sheena  Easton 
and  Sheila  E.  join  in  for  "U  Got  the  Look,"  a  throw- 
back to  the  "old"  Prince  sound  and  over-the-top  sexual 
aggression  ("let's  get  to  ramrnin'  ")  and  a  strong  track 
in  spite  of  itself.  Otherwise,  there's  some  of 
everything — rap,  funk,  pop,  James  Brown  tributes, 
rock'n'roll,  etc.  Highlights  include  "If  I  Was  Your  Girl- 
friend," which  redefines  a  relationship  m  a  surprisingly 
mature  way;  "Strange  Relationship,"  a  nonplused  ad- 
mission of  emotional  sado-masochism;  and  the  sleeper 
ending  Side  Three,  "I  Could  Never  Take  the  Place  of 
Your  Man,"  a  "When  You  Were  Mine"  melody  with 
an  older  and  wiser  message.  A  double  album  eminently 
worthy  of  the  vinyl. 

Ostensibly  in  a  disagreement  with  Warner  Bros, 
over  release  scheduling,  Prince  withdrew  a  completed 
record  known  as  The  Black  Album,  which  wound  up 
widely  bootlegged  on  cassette,  vinyl  and  CD.  It's  not  a 
great  album,  but  it's  pretty  damned  neat.  Except  for  the 
pretty  (X-rated)  ballad,  "When  2  R  in  Love,"  each 
track  offers  a  slightly  different  kind  of  (usually  scato- 
logical) funk.  The  sneer  of  "Le  Grind,"  a  leering  call  to 
orgy  to  the  beat,  is  grating  but,  like  the  rest,  is  so  well 
done  it  succeeds  anyway.  "Bob  George"  is  fabulously 
nasty,  off-the-wall  black  (in  many  senses)  humor;  "2 
Nigs  United  4  West  Compton"  is  a  tribute  (?!?)  of  sorts 
to  guys  like  Jimmy  Smith  and  Brother  Jack  McDuff; 
"Cincy  C"  is  a  hot,  sexy  groove.  Lots  of  synthetic 
sounds,  not  the  least  of  which  is  the  obvious  electronic 
alteration  of  Prince's  voice.  This  LP  would' ve  received 
no  airplay,  but  it's  a  gas. 

Prince  must  have  known  The  Black  Album 
wouldn't  really  pass  muster  at  the  label:  he  already  had 
Lovesexy  ready.  (Its  cover  caused  a  different  retail  fu- 
ror.) With  backing  by  the  group  Madhouse  (minus  its 
drummer,  replaced  by  Sheila  E.),  it's  a  fine  record. 
"Alphabet  St."  brightly  continues  that  minimalist  sin- 
gle string.  "Anna  Stesia"  is  a  wonderfully  weird  inter- 
twining of  love,  sex  and  religion  that  works  where  it 
failed  before;  the  title  track  is  a  funny/affecting  affirma- 
tion of  real  and  exciting  romance  that  doesn't  have  to  be 
immediately  consummated  (even  though  "race  cars 
burn  rubber  in  my  pants" !).  The  only  song  carried  over 
from  The  Black  Album  is  *  'When  2  R  in  Love. "  Prince 
was  on  a  roll,  and  the  sky  seemed  the  limit.  Then  came 
Batman. 

Like  the  movie  itself,  the  lines  that  open  Batman 
the  album  ("I've  seen  the  future  and  it  will  be/I've  seen 
the  future  and  it  works")  are  incomplete,  unsatisfying 
and  say  less  than  meets  the  eye.  The  film  may  not  have 
been  a  total  bust,  but  it  had  too  little  substance  to  live  up 
to  its  hype.  The  album  is  equally  deficient,  and  Prince 
acting  out  some  of  the  parts  in  song,  trying  to  take  them 
even  further,  simply  doesn't  make  it.  (Caught  up  in  the 


518 


Batman  hype  wind,  the  record  did  return  Prince  to  the 
top  of  the  charts. )  "'The  Future"  and  ikBatdance"  have 
moments,  but  the  best  bit  is  still  the  chorus  chanting 
"Batman!"  in  emulation  of  Neal  Hefti's  '60s  TV  theme. 
( A  special  edition  of  the  CD — packaged  in  a  can — was 
issued  commercially. ) 

"Scandalous"  didn't  live  up  to  its  title  in  the  6:15 
Batman  version;  neither  do  its  equally  (over)long  re- 
workings,  "The  Crime,"  *'The  Passion"  and  "The 
Rapture"  on  The  Scandalous  Sex  Suite  EP.  Prince 
adds  bedroom  dialogue  with  actress  Kim  Basinger  (the 
couple  allegedly  had  an  affair),  more  "sexy"  whimper- 
ing from  the  original  (which  may  not  actually  be  Bas- 
inger) and  instrumental  excess  (including  heavy  guitar). 
Also  included:  a  non-LP  track  ("Sex")  and  Lovesexy's 
"When  2  R  in  Love." 

The  soundtrack  to  Prince's  flop  movie  Graffiti 
Bridge  is  nowhere  near  as  disappointing,  but  neither  can 
it  stand  up  to  very  many  of  his  other  albums.  Prince 
shares  the  spotlight  here:  although  he  had  a  hand  in 
producing  and  writing  everything  and  played  and  sang 
most  of  it,  three  of  the  seventeen  tracks  are  performed 
by  the  Time  (Prince  joins  the  Time  on  another);  there's 
a  collaboration  with  George  Clinton  and  lead  vocals  by 
Mavis  Staples  and  (on  the  hit  "Round  and  Round") 
young  Tevin  Campbell.  The  musical  mix  is  a  virtue,  but 
the  writing  is  too  rarely  impressive  or  memorable,  much 
of  it  retreading  ground  he's  already  crossed  with  far 
more  style  and  grace.  Two  of  the  best  tracks  are  the 
rock'n'rolly  opener  ("Can't  Stop  This  Feeling  I  Got") 
and  the  sing-along  title  tune.  Time  for  a  rethink?  [jg] 

See  also  Andre  Cymone,  Morris  Day,  Jesse 
Johnson's  Revue,  Time,  Wendy  and  Lisa. 

PRINCESS  TINYMEAT 

See  Virgin  Prunes. 

PETER  PRINCIPLE 

See  Tuxedomoon. 

PRISONERS 

A  Taste  of  Pink!  (nr/Own-Up)  1 982 
Thewisermiserdemelza  (nr/Big  Beat)  1983  • 
Revenge  of  the  Prisoners  (Pink  Dust)  1 984 
The  Last  Fourfathers  (nr/Own-Up)  1 985 
Whenever  I'm  Gone  EP  (nr/54321  Countdown)  1986 
In  from  the  Cold  (nr/54321  Countdown)  1986 
Rare  &  Unissued  (nr/Hangman)  1 988 

PRISONERS/MILKSHAKES 

The  Last  Night  at  the  MIC  (nr/Empire)  1 985 

Thee  Milkshakes  vs  the  Prisoners  (nr/Media  Bum)  1 985 

PRIME  MOVERS 

Sins  of  the  Fourfathers  (nr/Cyanide)  1 989  (Ger.  Universe) 
1989  ,     ' 

JAMES  TAYLOR  QUARTET 

Wait  a  Minute  (nr/Urban-Polydor)  1988  • 

Get  Organised  (nr/Polydor)  1989  • 

Do  Your  Own  Thing  (nr/Polydor)  1 990  • 

Lesser-known  purveyors  of  the  "Medway  Delta" 
sound,  Graham  Day's  Prisoners/Prime  Movers,  along- 
side Billy  Childish's  myriad  combos,  butted  their  way 
into  prominence  through  sheer  persistence  hi  the  '80s 


Chatham  (the  city  between  London  and  Canterbury 
where  the  Medway  River  meets  the  North  Sea)  chapter 
of  the  Great  Garage  R&R  Manifesto.  Less  spontaneous 
than  Mr.  C  and  considerably  more  of  a  popsmith  (in  the 
Jeff  Conolly  sense),  Day's  songs  are  uniformly  well 
crafted,  with  fully  dynamic  backing  as  opposed  to 
Billy's  headlong  drunken  bashing.  The  sixteen-hours- 
in-a-studio  extravaganza  A  Taste  of  Pink!  comes  clos- 
est to  a  melding  of  the  two  Medway  styles,  both  raw/ 
immediate  and  hooky/heady. 

Thewisermlserdemelza  hones  the  Prisoners*  unique 
blitz,  emphasizing  Jamie  Taylor's  atmospheric  trash- 
pop  organ  and  Day's  appealingly  raspy  vocals.  (The 
1990  CD  issue  adds  an  EP  and  a  7-inch  for  an  hour  of 
fun. )  Revenge  of  the  Prisoners  pulls  the  best  tracks  off 
Wiser,  adding  7-inch  and  unreleased  songs  for  the  apex 
of  studio  Prisonhood.  The  Last  Fourfathers  (back  on 
their  own  label)  sounds  dangerously  like  Deep  Purple 
just  pnor  to  metal  ascension:  humor  withdrawn,  keys  all 
broody  rather  than  bracing,  the  overall  tone  quite  seri- 
ous and  enervated. 

Briefly  signed  to  the  renamed  and  fading  remnants 
of  the  Stiff  empire,  the  Prisoners  cut  a  niftily  retro  EP 
(Whenever  I'm  Gone)  and  then  made  their  last  studio 
album,  In  from  the  Cold,  a  dreadful  kitchen-sink  mess 
that  sounds,  by  turns,  like  everyone  except  the  Prison- 
ers. Rare  &  Unissued  rebalances  the  scales  a  bit,  with 
several  songs  rescued  from  the  last  LP  but  done  in  more 
traditional  Prisoner  style,  surrounded  by  noise  and  trash 
and  ephemera.  Recorded  in  January  and  September  of 
'84,  both  of  the  live  LPs  shared  with  The(e)  Milkshakes 
echo  the  snot,  raunch,  abandon  and  crisp  sonics  (snort) 
of  Got  Live  If  You  Want  It. 

Subsequent  to  his  term  as  pseudonymous  drummer 
for  Thee  Mighty  Caesars,  Graham  Day  once  more  al- 
lowed his  own  undiluted  musical  vision  full  vent  with 
the  Prime  Movers  (not  to  be  confused  with  imbecilic 
West  Coast  synthsters  of  the  same  name,  nor  Boston's 
amazing  late- '80s  amphetamine  acidheads),  playing  ga- 
rage Hendrixia  backed  by  the  Prisoners'  bassist  and  the 
drummer  from  the  Daggermen  (short-lived  little-brother 
Medway  band  with  Prisoners/Milkshakes  ties),  both  of 
whom  had  also  been  in  the  original  James  Taylor  Quar- 
tet, the  '60sish  all-instrumental  combo  led  by  Prisoners 
organist  James  Taylor. 

Sins  of  the  Fourfathers,  originally  released  as  a 
return-to-basics  early-Prisoner-Style  LP,  was  quickly  re- 
mixed with  the  added  keys  of  Graham's  new  wife  Fay 
Day  (formerly  Fay  Fife  of  the  Revillos/Rezillos,  aka 
Fay  Hallam  of  the  excellent  beat-soul  combo  Makin' 
Time)  and  re-released  in  Germany.  [ab] 

See  also  Pop  Rivits,  Thee  Mighty  Caesars. 

PROCLAIMERS 

This  Is  the  Story  (Chrysalis)  1 987 
Sunshine  on  Leith  (Chrysalis)  1 988  • 
King  of  the  Road  EP  (nr/Chrysalis)  1 990  • 

One  of  the  neo-folk  movement's  most  rewarding 
eruptions  is  the  Proclaimers,  a  pair  of  sharp-tongued 
Scottish  twins  (Craig  and  Charlie  Reid)  who  not  only 
acknowledge  their  thick  accents,  they  sing  about  'em  (in 
"Throw  the  'R'  Away"),  strumming  acoustic  guitars 
and  tapping  on  bongos  for  accompaniment,  Oldtimers 
will  be  forgiven  for  thinking  the  duo  sounds  like  Lonnie 


519 


Doiiegan,  the  Glaswegian  superstar  whose  skiffle 
records  served  to  popularize  American  folk  music  in  the 
UK  three  decades  ago.  By  telling  it  straight  and  art- 
lessly, This  Is  the  Story  stands  out,  embracing  and 
updating  ancient  traditions  without  phony  posing.  Those 
who  like  Billy  Bragg's  sound  but  find  his  politics  an 
impediment  are  recommended  to  the  Proclaimers  for  a 
largely  non-topical  dose  of  similarly  spare  melodicism. 

The  upscale  production  of  Sunshine  on  Leith  adds 
a  full  complement  of  sidemen  (including  LP  producer 
Pete  Wmgfield  and  a  couple  of  Fairport  Convention  vet- 
erans) and  a  certain  gloss,  but  only  succeeds  in  making 
the  duo's  second  record  even  more  delightful  than  the 
first.  On  their  way  to  becoming  Scotland's  very  own 
Everly  Brothers,  the  Reids  deliver  another  batch  of  lyr- 
ically clever  and  extraordinarily  tuneful  songs.  Coping 
handsomely  with  the  fuller  sound,  their  harmonizing 
voices  and  the  tastefully  electrified  arrangements  com- 
bine into  a  rich  brand  of  folk-rock  loaded  with  pop 
hooks. 

King  of  the  Road  is  a  four-cut  EP  which  contains 
the  duo's  amusingly  pointless  version  of  the  Roger 
Miller  song.  [i] 

PROFESSIONALS 

I  Didn't  See  It  Coming  (nr/Virgin)  1 981 

Following  the  breakup  of  the  Sex  Pistols,  Paul  Cook 
and  Steve  Jones — aka  the  Professionals — stuck  to- 
gether, finishing  some  final  tracks  under  the  Pistols' 
name,  backing  people  like  Joan  Jett  and  Johnny  Thun- 
ders and  doing  lots  of  production  work.  I  Didn't  See  It 
Coming,  however,  is  their  only  joint  post-Pistols  al- 
bum. With  Paul  Meyers  (bass)  and  Ray  McVeigh  (gui- 
tar), the  trademark  Cook/Jones  rock  crunch  stretches 
over  wide  terrain,  on  songs  that  are  neither  trusty  punk 
oldies  nor  retreads  thereof.  The  album's  not  consistently 
good,  but  "The  Magnificent"  (a  song  seemingly  aimed 
at  John  Lydon,  complete  with  parodic  Public  Image 
guitar),  "Payola"  and  the  anthemic  "Kick  Down  the 
Doors"  are  among  the  tracks  that  bear  repeated  spins. 

Cook  and  Jones  can  be  seen  in  several  movies,  in- 
cluding the  Pistols'  Great  Rock' n' Roll  Swindle  and  La- 
dies and  Gentlemen,  the  Fabulous  Stains.  Jones  went  on 
to  record  a  solo  album  and  work  with  Iggy  Pop,  Andy 
Taylor  and  others;  Cook  wound  up  in  a  band  called 
Chiefs  of  Relief.  [i] 

See  also  Chiefs  of  Relief,  Steve  Jones,  Sex  Pistols. 

PROFESSOR  GRIFF  AND  THE 
LAST  ASIATIC  DISCIPLES 

See  Public  Enemy. 

PRONG 

Primitive  Origins  (Mr.  Bear)  1 987 

Force  Fed  (nr/Spigot)  1988  (In-Effect)  1989  • 

Beg  to  Differ  ( Epic)  1 990  « 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1990  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  • 

Whether  they're  metal  or  not,  this  underground- 
spawned,  speedcore-trained  New  York  trio  produces 
some  of  the  most  brutally  assaultive  power  rock  around. 
Little  surprise,  considering  the  group's  bloodlines  trace 


back  to  such  eustachia-batterers  as  Damage  and  the 
Swans. 

Although  Prong's  debut  generated  loads  of  critical 
enthusiasm,  it'd  be  hard  to  finger  the  record  in  a  lineup 
of  East  Coast  speedmetal;  an  annoying  reliance  on 
change-on-a-dime  tempos  keeps  the  lyrical  street-smarts 
from  sinking  in.  Force  Fed  is  a  far  less  hysterical  show- 
case for  the  group's  considerable  chops.  The  control 
displayed  on  "Look  Up  at  the  Sun"  and  (on  the  US 
version)  the  grinding  "Bought  and  Sold"  is  heartening. 
A  pair  of  creepy-crawly  instrumental  ("It's  Been  De- 
cided" and  "The  Coliseum")  that  are  equal  parts 
muscle-flex  and  mind-control  set  the  stage  for  Prong's 
major  label  bow. 

Oddly  enough,  Beg  to  Differ  is  a  lot  more  radical 
than  either  of  Prong's  indie  discs  Delivering  violent 
minimalist  lyrics  in  a  drill-sergeant  bark  over  stark  back- 
drops, the  LP  has  the  feel  of  a  post-nuke  documentary. 
The  pointillist  precision  of  ex-Swan  Ted  Parson's  drum- 
ming leaves  plenty  of  room  for  guitarist/singer  Tommy 
Victor  and  bassist/singer  Mike  Kirkland's  shared  death 
dance.  (The  CD  adds  a  nice  live  version  of  Chrome's 
"Third  from  the  Sun.") 

Recorded  in  January  1989,  the  Peel  EP  offers  com- 
manding high-voltage  renditions  of  "Defiant,"  "De- 
cay," "Senseless  Abuse"  and  "In  My  Veins."  [dss] 

See  also  Of  Cabbages  and  Kings,  Swans. 

PROOF  OF  UTAH 

A  Dog,  a  Dodo,  and  a  Fool  (Smiley  Turtle)  1 985 

It  Doesn't  Matter  Much  (Smiley  Turtle)  1 986 

The  Bell/s  Virginal  Polylips  [tape]  (Smiley  Turtle)  1986 

Happy  to  Be  Here  (Ger.  No  Man's  Land-Recommended) 

1988 

Out  of  Order  (Smiley  Turtle)  1 989 
Free  and  Female  (Ger.  No  Man's  Land-Recommended) 

1990 

Originally  from  Bowling  Green,  Ohio  and  now 
based  in  Champaign,  Illinois,  Proof  of  Utah  has  no  Utah 
connection  at  all.  The  name's  just  a  phrase  co-founder 
Louie  Simon  overheard  in  a  conversation — but  what 
kind  of  conversation  was  that?  The  band's  records  are 
left-field  in  much  the  same  way:  musical  and  lyrical 
banalities  transformed  via  unexpected  juxtapositions 
into  deliciously  deadpan  whimsy.  To  liken  them  to 
Frank  Zappa,  Captain  Beefheart,  the  Residents,  Brian 
Eno,  Talking  Heads  and  Devo  is  an  ultimately  mis- 
guided impulse,  and  the  bases  for  such  comparisons  are 
mostly  pretty  general:  POU  use  (or  subvert)  a  variety  of 
musical  styles,  and  seek  out  strange  sonic  textures.  They 
incorporate  radio  snippets  (or  simulations  thereof);  re- 
cite, or  talk-sing,  in  homely  (sometimes  funny)  voices; 
their  lyrics  are  nothing  if  not  off-the-wall. 

Simon  (voice,  drums,  tapes)  and  co-conspirator 
Mike  Brosco  (aka  Bosco:  voice,  guitar,  bass,  synths, 
tapes)  were,  with  some  guests  invited  at  the  last  minute, 
the  group  on  POU's  debut  album,  a  consciously  eclectic 
collection  of  styles  somewhat  primitively  performed. 
Starting  with  the  second  album,  Brosco  and  Simon  ac- 
quired three  sidemen,  contributing  sax,  keyboards,  har- 
monica, etc. 

Each  side  of  It  Doesn't  Matter  Much  starts  with  a 
dopey,  seemingly  mundane  ditty  that's  just  a  little  bit 
off.  Then  things  get  weird.  There's  tuneful  guitar  rock 


520 


with  oblique  lyncs,  a  bizarre  tone  poem,  an  offbeat  jazz 
tune  It's  all  pretty  goofy  yet  ingratiating,  even  amid 
some  of  the  silliest  bits,  striking  sounds  and  lyrical  im- 
ages emerge  Happy  to  Be  Here  is  a  tad  more  varied, 
and  the  weird  stuff  is  definitely  weirder.  Some  of  it  isn't 
all  that  odd:  an  ode  to  com  dogs  J4 'On  a  Stick")  is  a 
rockm'  little  hoedown.  But  then  "The  Wedding  Song" 
alternates  wacky  rapid-fire  verses  with  mutant  dance- 
rock,  and  the  sax-laden  "Mamba"  has  four  different 
tempos  ("movements"?)  in  succession;  its  "lyrics"  are 
a  guest  couple  speaking  in  foreign  languages. 

Out  of  Order  is  the  rockiest  album,  especially  the 
first  side;  new  listeners  may  find  this  the  most  accessi- 
ble. It's  pure  coincidence  that  several  of  its  tracks  are 
among  the  band's  best:  the  rocking  lope  and  curiously 
evocative  nonsense  lyrics  of  "The  Pointed  Lady"  and 
the  dense,  tense,  intense  rock  of  "Mr.  Summer." 

Free  and  Female  returns  to  the  antic  assortment, 
though  it  also  has  some  rockin'  sides.  "Death  of  Italian 
Acrobats"  intones  typically  skew(er)ed  POU  lyrics  over 
Big  Brother's  "Combination  of  the  Two"  as  interpreted 
by  the  Banana  Splits  on  drugs;  "Forks  or  Blades"  is  a 
boogyin'  little  commentary  of  sorts  on  the  state  of  radio. 
But  it  also  includes  a  self-parodic  quasi-jazz  "tribute" 
to  John  Coltrane's  "A  Love  Supreme"  ("I  Love  Ice 
Cream"). 

Despite  their  intellectual  leanings  and  occasional 
concerns  about  the  dark  side  of  human  relations,  POU 
albums  possess  an  innocent,  almost  childlike  sense  of 
wonder  and  even  happiness  (irreducible  to  some  pat 
intellectual  formulation).  Each  has  so  much  going  on 
that  it  takes  more  than  a  few  listenings  to  catch  it  all. 
Happy  to  Be  Here,  Out  of  Order  and  Free  and  Fe- 
male are  all  highly  recommended  to  listeners  with  a 
sense  of  adventure,  but  virtually  any  POU  is  worth- 
while. (One  possible  exception  is  The  Belly's  Virginal 
Polylips,  which  consists  of  live  stuff,  outtakes  and  frag- 
ments, none  of  which  exactly  deserves  to  be  on  an  al- 
bum.) [jg] 

PROPAGANDA 

Propaganda's  Secret  Wish  (ZTT-lsland)  1 985  ® 
Wishful  Thinking  (nr/ZTT-lsland)  1 985 
1234  (Charisma)  1990<!> 

CLAUDIA  BRUCKEN 

Love:  And  a  Million  Other  Things  (nr/lsland)  1 991  « 

On  their  first  album,  Propaganda — two  men  and  two 
women — play  intricate,  almost  orchestral  synth-based 
rock  of  little  inherent  excitement.  As  encouraged  by 
Trevor  Horn  and  Paul  Morley,  each  divergent  track  is  a 
huge  stylized  production  number,  but  none  offers  much 
in  the  way  of  listening  pleasure.  The  German  band's 
character — when  any  is  present — derives  mainly  from 
gimmickry  (gory  English  S&M  lyrics  on  "Duel,"  Art 
of  Noise-styled  mix  hysterics  on  the  song's  invigorating 
instrumental  version,  "Jewel").  Secret  Wish  includes 
contributions  from  Steve  Howe,  David  Sylvian,  Glenn 
Gregory  and  others,  not  that  you'd  notice  them  without 
reading  the  credits.  Wishful  Thinking  contains  remixes 
and  reworkings  of  previously  released  material. 

The  Propaganda  on  1234  is  a  drastically  different 
outfit — only  keyboard  player  Michael  Mertens  remains 
from  the  original  lineup,  although  two  ex-members  do 
make  guest  contributions.  Playing  intelligent  and  slick 


but  rarely  exciting  music  that  varies  electronically  be- 
tween mainstream  Anglo-soul  and  mainstream  dance- 
rock,  the  new  quartet  now  features  British  vocalist  Betsi 
Miller  and  Simple  Minds*  old  rhythm  section  (Derek 
Forbes  and  Brian  McGee). 

Original  Propaganda  vocalist  Claudia  Bracken  is- 
sued her  first  solo  album  in  early  '91.  [tr] 

CHUCK  PROPHET 

See  Green  on  Red. 

LINK  PROTRUDI  AND  THE 
JAYMEN 

See  Fuzztones. 

PRUNES 

See  Virgin  Prunes. 

Pseudo  Echo  (EMI  America)  1984 
Love  an  Adventure  (RCA)  1 987  ® 
Long  Plays  83-87  (Aus.  EMI)  1987 
Race  (RCA)  1 989  ® 

The  distance  between  Australia  and  the  world's  mu- 
sical capitals  occasionally  leads  to  lame  time-zone  wrin- 
kles like  Pseudo  Echo,  a  Melbourne  quartet  whose 
functional  dance-rock  sound  (on  Pseudo  Echo)  would 
have  fit  nicely  alongside  Duran  Duran  or  other  emergent 
hair-synth-guitar  bands  a  few  years  earlier.  The  Pseuds' 
weird  move  was  hitching  their  wagon  to  turn-of-the- 
decade  disco,  cutting  a  pablumized  Sparks-like  version 
of  "Funkytown"  in  1987.  (For  what  it's  worth,  that 
goofy  hybrid  appears  on  Love  an  Adventure. ) 

John  Punter  produced  the  first  album  (entitled  Au- 
tumnal Park  outside  of  the  US),  setting  the  vapid  and 
repetitive  songs  in  a  posh  blend  of  sounds  traceable  to 
Duran  Duran  and  Ultravox.  (Although  the  catchy  hook 
of  "Listening"  actually  owes  more  to  Men  Without 
Hats.) 

Having  undergone  a  major  personnel  shift  and  a  rad- 
ical image  change  (out  went  the  lipstick  and  stupid  hair- 
cuts, on  went  the  leather  jackets  and  casually  rumpled 
look),  Pseudo  Echo  re-recorded  three  of  the  first  LP's 
songs  with  lots  more  percussion  for  the  dance-oriented 
Love  an  Adventure,  a  slicker  and  less  overtly  stylized 
album  that  still  has  no  reason  to  exist. 

Co-produced  by  Julian  Mendelsohn  and  singer  Brian 
Canham,  Race  (another  image  change:  long  hair/serious 
expressions)  drops  the  synthesizers  and  crashing  beats 
to  play  melodic  hard-rock  with  blustery  Eddie  Van 
Halen-imitation  solos.  Having  discovered  three  styles  to 
which  they  can't  make  any  contribution,  Pseudo  Echo 
should  really  consider  going  away,  [i] 

PSI  COM 

See  Jane's  Addiction. 

PSYCHEDELIC  FURS 

The  Psychedelic  Furs  (Columbia)  1980  • 
Talk  Talk  Talk  (Columbia)  1 981  • 
Forever  Now  (Columbia)  1 982  • 


521 


Mirror  Moves  (Columbia)  1 984  ® 
12"  Tape  EP  [tape]  (nr/CBS)  1986 
Midnight  to  Midnight  (Columbia)  1 987  ® 
All  That  Money  Wants  EP  (nr/CBS)  1 988  ® 
All  of  This  and  Nothing  (Columbia)  1 988  ® 
Book  of  Days  (Columbia)  1 989  • 
Crucial  Music:  The  Psychedelic  Furs  Collection  [CD]  (CBS 
Special  Products-Relativity)  1 989  ® 
The  Furs,  whose  lineup  has  varied  substantially 
around  a  core  of  three  (singer  Richard  Butler,  his  bassist 
brother  Tim  and  guitarist  John  Ashton),  came  onto  the 
London  scene  well  after  the  initial  punk  explosion,  but 
debuted  with  an  album  that  mixed  a  drone-laden  wall  of 
noise  (two  guitars,  sax  and/or  keyboards)  and  an  odd 
adaptation  of  the  quieter  Bowie  Low-style  sound  over 
which  Butler  rasped  his  lyrics  in  a  bored,  asthmatic 
drawl.  While  the  record  sounds  great  in  the  blur  of 
history,  at  the  time  it  was  belated  and  too  stylistically 
derivative  not  to  seem  redundant. 

Talk  Talk  Talk,  produced  by  Steve  Lillywhite,  dis- 
plays surprising  melodiousness  in  a  newly  crystallized 
style  that  amalgamates  the  Velvet  Underground,  High- 
way 61-era  Dylan  and  even  Revolver-era  Beatles,  all 
given  a  fresh  face  and  a  driving  beat.  The  wall  of  noise 
is  sculpted  to  bring  the  components  into  sharp  relief; 
Butler  tosses  off  memorable  imagery  with  mock-casual 
aplomb.  The  catchy  opening  track,  "Pretty  in  Pink," 
served  as  the  titular  inspiration  for  a  1986  film  and 
soundtrack  album  of  the  same  name. 

Butler  writes  to  his  strengths  on  Forever  Now. 
Though  the  Furs  had  lost  two  key  members,  the  others' 
increased  sophistication — shored  up  by  wisely  chosen 
session  help  (somber  cello,  horns,  Flo  &  Eddie) — is 
orchestrated  by  Todd  Rundgren  in  a  major  production 
coup,  best  exemplified  by  the  brilliant  single,  "Love 
My  Way." 

In  collaboration  with  producer/pro  tern  drummer 
Keith  Forsey  (filling  in  for  the  departed  Vince  Ely),  the 
Furs  turned  decisively  commercial  on  Mirror  Moves, 
which  is  distinguished  by  a  full  side  of  memorable  rock- 
ers written  and  played  in  the  group's  by-now-inimitable 
style.  "The  Ghost  in  You,"  "Here  Come  Cowboys," 
"Heaven"  and  "Heartbeat"  may  not  be  profound  or 
timeless,  but  they  do  show  perspicacity  and  exception- 
ally well-ordered  playing  and  production.  (Prior  to  the 
next  album's  release,  a  UK  cassette  appeared,  compil- 
ing five  singles  including  "The  Ghost  in  You,"  "Love 
My  Way"  and  "Pretty  in  Pink.") 

Midnight  to  Midnight  gets  off  to  a  fine  start  with 
"Heartbreak  Beat,"  a  deceptively  restrained  rocker 
whose  lyrics  reflect  Butler's  relocation  to  New  York, 
but  then  founders  amid  listenable  but  low-impact  songs. 
Sparked  by  semi-member  Mars  Williams'  metropolitan 
brass,  Chris  Kimsey's  production  tightens  the  Furs  into 
a  muscular,  focused  unit,  making  the  shallow  material 
accessible  by  shortchanging  the  band's  stylish  person- 
ality. The  reliable  "new  music"  hit  machine  is  running 
on  empty  here. 

Amid  a  long  period  of  inactivity,  the  Furs  finally 
released  a  new  single  ("All  That  Money  Wants")  in 
mid- '88.  A  few  months  later  that  song  appeared  on  All 
of  This  and  Nothing,  a  career  review  that  wisely 
reaches  beyond  the  familiar  to  include  equally  signifi- 
cant material  like  "President  Gas"  and  "Imitation  of 
Christ."  Crucial  Music,  prepared  without  the  band's 


involvement,  repeats  "Heaven"  and  "Heartbreak 
Beat"  and  adds  eight  other  worthy  selections  ("Sleep 
Comes  Down,"  "She  Is  Mine"  and  "Here  Come  Cow- 
boys") from  the  catalogue. 

With  Vince  Ely  back  on  the  drum  throne,  David 
Allen  co-producing  and  no  horn  players  in  attendance, 
Book  of  Days  repudiates  Midnight  to  Midnight  with- 
out advancing  a  completely  viable  alternative.  In  place 
of  posh,  uptempo  slickness,  Book  of  Days  substitutes  a 
simple,  slow-moving  guitar  roar;  if  the  songs  were  any 
good,  the  album  might  have  been  great.  But  after  a 
powerful  beginning  ("Shine"),  monotony  sets  in,  a 
richly  textured  roar  that  goes  nowhere  beneath  Butler's 
weary  vocals.  Two  notable  exceptions  are  the  single 
"House,"  which  has  a  real  melody  and  pulsing  energy, 
and  "Torch,"  a  melancholy  lament  effectively  per- 
formed on  acoustic  guitar  and  cello. 

Note:  The  first  three  LPs  have  different  track  se- 
quences in  their  US  and  UK  releases  Also,  two  tracks 
were  substituted  for  a  controversial  cut  on  the  first  LP 
and  one  was  altered  and  retitled  on  the  third.  The  12" 
Tape  is,  reasonably  enough,  a  cassette  containing  the 
12-inch  mixes  of  five  familiar  singles,  including  "Pretty 
in  Pink,"  "Love  My  Way"  and  "Heaven."  [jg/i] 

PSYCHEFUNKAPUS 

Psychefunkapus  (Atlantic)  1 990  • 

As  the  name  suggests,  this  Bay  Area  quintet  offers 
up  equal  doses  of  '60s  psychedelia  and  Chili  Peppers- 
influenced  hyper-funk.  Basically  a  metallic  power  trio 
with  two  lead  singers,  Psychefunkapus  shows  a  lot  of 
promise  on  its  debut  album,  despite  a  damaging  ten- 
dency to  over-freneticize.  Still,  there's  a  kind  of  silly 
charm  at  work  here:  "We  Are  the  Young,"  for  exam- 
ple, comes  off  as  a  well-meaning  update  of  The  Mon- 
kees'  theme  ethics,  set  to  the  groove  of  Spencer  Davis' 
"I'm  a  Man,"  while  other  tracks  walk  an  uneasy  line 
between  '60s  optimism  and  '80s  street  reality.  The  mes- 
sage: it  ain't  easy  growing  up  these  days.  The  cure:  turn 
up  the  volume  and  get  down  with  the  funk.  [ds] 

PSYCHIC  TV 

Force  the  Hand  of  Chance  (nr/Some  Bizzare)  1 982 
Dreams  Less  Sweet  (nr/Some  Bizzare)  1983 
N.Y.  Scum  Haters  (nr/Temple)  1984 
25  December  1984— A  Pagan  Day  (nr/Tempie)  1985 
Those  Who  Do  Not  (Ice.  Gramm)  1 985 
Themes  (nr/Temple)  1 985 
Themes  II  (nr/Temple)  1 985 
Mouth  of  the  Night  (nr/Temple)  1985 
Live  in  Tokyo  (nr/Temple)  1 986 
Live  in  Paris  (nr/Temple)  1 986 
Live  in  Heaven  (nr/Temple)  1 987 
Live  in  Reykjavik  (nr/Temple)  1 987 
Live  en  Suisse  (nr/Temple)  1 987 
Live  in  Glasgow  (nr/Temple)  1 987 
Live  in  Gottingen  (nr/Temple)  1 987 
Live  in  Toronto  (nr/Temple)  1 987 
Themes  III  (nr/Temple)  1987 
The  Yellow  Album  (nr/Temple)  1988 
Live  at  Mardi  Gras  (nr/Temple)  1 988 
Jack  the  Tab:  Acid  Tablets  Volume  One  (nr/Castalia) 
1988 


522 


Allegory  and  Self  (Revolver-Fundamental)  1988  • 
Live  at  thee  Crrcus  (nr/TempIe)  1988 
Tekno  Acid  Beat  (nr/TempIe)  1989  • 
Tekno  Add  Beat  Vol.  2  (nr/Femple)  1 989  « 
Live  at  thee  RItz  (nr/Temple)  1 989 
Kondole/Copycat  (nr/Femp!e)  1 989  • 
Live  at  thee  Pyramid  NYC  1988  (nr/Temple)  1989 
Towards  thee  Infinite  Beat  (Wax  TraxS)  1 990  • 
Beyond  thee  Infinite  Beat  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  © 

Berlin  Atonal  Vol.  1  (Ger.  Atonal)  1 984 

Berlin  Atonal  Vol.  2  (Ger.  Atonal)  1 984 

An  album  that  appears  to  be  devoted  to  an  obscure 
faith  known  as  "The  Temple  ov  Psychick  Youth"  might 
be  accepted  on  face  value — after  all,  various  cults  have 
produced  albums  of  devotional  music  to  spread  their 
gospel  among  rock  fans.  However,  when  the  musicians 
behind  the  project  are  the  former  leader  of  Throbbing 
Gristle — merry  prankster  Genesis  P-Orridge — and  one- 
time Alternative  TV-er  Alex  Fergusson  (joined  by  Peter 
Christopherson,  also  a  TG  co-conspirator)  it  becomes 
much  harder  to  judge  where  religious  sincerity  ends  and 
elaborate  put-on  begins.  (With  hindsight,  the  notion  that 
overzealous  conceptual  shenanigans  can  spiral  out  of 
anybody's  control  offers  a  third  alternative.)  Adding  to 
the  confusion,  Stevo,  who  runs  Some  Bizzare  (the  label 
that  originally  abetted  the  group),  is  quoted  on  the  back 
cover  of  their  first  album:  **A  naive  person  can  open  his 
eyes  in  life,  but  someone  with  his  eyes  open  can  never 
end  up  nai've."  Just  who's  kidding  who  here? 

Force  the  Hand  of  Chance,  regardless  of  its  sin- 
cerity or  utter  lack  thereof,  is  an  amazing  package:  two 
records  (one  purported  to  be  the  partial  soundtrack  of  a 
four-hour  videocassette),  a  poster/booklet,  pictured  cos- 
tumes, symbology  and  mail-order  merchandise  offer- 
ings. Musically,  the  main  disc  is  a  weird  assortment  of 
quiet  ballads,  screeching  white  noise,  simple  pop  and 
more,  with  lyrics  by  P-Orridge  that  drift  over  terrain  not 
all  in  keeping  with  the  mystical  concept.  At  times,  form 
far  outweighs  function  and  some  songs  become  merely 
effect  without  substance;  others  stand  up  nicely  on  their 
own  regardless  of  the  accompanying  baggage.  The  ad- 
junct record,  Psychick  TV  Themes,  uses  real  and  imag- 
ined ethnic  instruments  from  various  exotic  cultures  to 
produce  mstrumentals  that  range  from  crazed  to  cool, 
intense  to  ephemeral — something  like  Eno's  ambience 
filtered  through  a  Spike  Jones  sensibility. 

Dreams  Less  Sweet  is  another  remarkable  record, 
no  less  appealing  for  its  equally  abundant  bizarrity. 
From  the  sweet  vocal  pop  of  "Hymn  23"  or  "White 
Nights"  to  pan-ethnic  soundscapes  and  soundtracks  that 
employ  everything  from  English  horn  to  Tibetan  thigh- 
bone (as  well  as  a  lot  of  found  sounds),  PTV  display  an 
ineffable  mastery  of  avant-garde  dadaism  as  well  as  tra- 
ditional musicmaking.  Like  tuning  into  a  radio  station 
overrun  by  university-educated  acid-freaks,  Dreams 
Less  Sweet  provides  a  thoroughly  unpredictable  and 
unsettling,  yet  profound,  experience.  The  LP  originally 
contained  a  bonus  12-inch  entitled  The  Full  Pack.  (The 
cover  photograph,  while  seemingly  innocuous,  is  an  as- 
tonishingly vulgar  visual  double  entendre.  Shades  of 
Lovesexy.) 

PTV  has  since  continued  to  release  disturbing  live 


albums,  featuring  different  lineups  around  the 
P-Omdge-Chnstopherson-Fergusson  core,  Berlin 
Atonal  Vol.  1,  recorded  at  a  festival  in  December  1983, 
matches  a  grisly  side  of  speaker-shredding,  grinding, 
excruciating  chaos  by  PTV  with  a  side  by  American 
percussionist  Z'ev,  The  limited  edition  N.Y.  Scum 
Haters — an  all-PTV  onslaught,  captured  at  New  York's 
Dancetena  in  November  1983 — is  better  organized  and 
recorded,  more  varied  and  sporadically  more  musical. 
There's  still  a  lot  of  fearsome  noise,  but  there's  also 
some  respite  from  the  mania.  Berlin  Atonal  Vol.  2  is 
shared  with  a  band  called  La  Loora;  Those  Who  Do  Not 
is  a  double-LP  live  in  Iceland.  Extending  the  group's 
influence  into  other  artistic  endeavors,  PTV  was  com- 
missioned to  score  a  ballet,  a  work  which  became 
Mouth  of  the  Night. 

As  strange  as  it  may  seem,  PTV  hit  the  UK  charts  in 
early  '86  with  a  catchy  pop  single  ("Godstar")  about 
Brian  Jones;  that  song  was  later  remixed  and  included 
on  the  group's  first-ever  American  release,  Allegory 
and  Self,  joined  by  a  typical  PTV  assortment  of  delicate 
tapestnes  and  unsettling  madness.  In  the  meantime, 
PTV  had  begun  releasing  a  series  of  23  albums — all 
concert  recordings,  titled  after  the  venue's  locale — on 
the  23rd  of  each  month.  Squeezing  out  fourteen  British 
LPs  (either  some  not  listed  above  or  somebody  has  the 
dates  wrong)  in  eighteen  months  got  the  group  into  the 
Guinness  Book  of  World  Records,  but  Genesis — himself 
no  stranger  to  hallucinogens — had  already  turned  his 
attentions  to  the  burgeoning  acid  house  dance  scene, 
finding  in  the  smiley-face  warehouse-raves  Ecstasy  en- 
vironment the  perfect  vehicle  for  his  subversive  socio- 
musical  plots  and  semiotic  fascinations. 

Under  the  PTV  banner  and  a  variety  of  pseudonyms 
(including  Jack  the  Tab,  a  collaboration  with  journalist 
Richard  Norris  and  ex-Soft  Cell  synthesist  Dave  Ball) 
used  to  create  all-PTV  pseudo-compilation  albums, 
Genesis  became  a  major  underground  force  on  the  UK 
dance  scene.  Towards  thee  Infinite  Beat  conveys  some 
of  what  he's  been  up  to:  a  few  songs  (like  "S.M.I.L.E. " 
and  "I.C.  Water")  co-written  by  guitarist  Fred  Gian- 
nelli,  but  mostly  varispeed  grooves  of  bass  and  percus- 
sion lightly  layered  with  guitar,  keyboards  and  other 
instrumental  touches  as  well  as  non-singing  vocals  and 
found-sound  debris.  Even  on  the  sketchiest  construc- 
tions, Genesis'  demented  imagination  fills  the  tracks 
with  enough  action  to  keep  them  from  being  totally 
tedious.  Beyond  thee  Infinite  Beat,  the  associated  re- 
mix record,  delves  deeper  into  house  with  extended — in 
some  cases  overhauled  and  retitled — deconstructions  of 
a  half-dozen  tracks.  [i] 

See  also  Dave  Ball,  Throbbing  Gristle. 


PUBLIC  ENEMY 

Yo!  Bum  Rush  the  Show  (Def  Jam-Columbia)  1 987  * 
It  Takes  a  Nation  of  Millions  to  Hold  Us  Back  (Def 

Jam-Columbia)  1 988  « 
Fear  of  a  Black  Planet  (Def  Jam-Columbia)  1 990  • 

PROFESSOR  GRIFF  AND  THE 
LAST  ASIATIC  DISCIPLES 

Pawns  in  the  Game  (Skyywalker)  1990  (Luke)  1991  « 

Just  as  sages  of  the  hippie  era  discovered  that  a 
shared  musical  culture  had  created  a  longhaired  nation 


52§ 


of  millions,  someone  was  bound  to  recognize  the  polit- 
ical potential  of  rap  for  African- American  youth  in  the 
'80s.  That  person  turned  out  to  be  Carlton  Ridenhour,  a 
college  student  from  New  York's  ''Strong1*  (Long)  Is- 
land Taking  the  handle  Chuck  D,  the  self-styled  lyrical 
terrorist  formed  Public  Enemy  as  a  militant  mouthpiece 
for  an  abstractly  violent  form  of  black  nationalism  that 
owes  its  aggressive  stance  (if  nothing  in  the  way  of  a 
cogent  vision)  to  the  Black  Panthers.  Unlike  other  ed- 
ucational rappers  (most  notably  Boogie  Down  Produc- 
tions), PE  is  big  on  image  and  attitude  and,  as  a  result, 
has  caused  almost  endless  controversy  in  the  music  com- 
munity. But  as  a  role  model  for  disaffected  B-boys, 
Chuck  D  is  the  articulate  embodiment  of  their  frustra- 
tion and  rage.  He  also  happens  to  be,  hands-down,  the 
strongest,  most  exciting  MC  ever  to  rock  a  microphone. 

With  PE's  characteristic  bracing,  bustling  sound, 
Yo!  Bum  Rush  the  Show  (produced  by  Hank  Shock- 
lee,  Bill  Stephney  and  others)  is  a  brilliant  combination 
of  white-hot,  hard-edged  guitar  (largely  supplied  by 
Vernon  Reid)  and  odd,  off-kilter  samples  of  all  descrip- 
tions, topped  with  in-your-face  raps  by  Chuck  D  and  his 
comical  foil,  Flavor  Flav  (William  Drayton).  Consid- 
ering what  an  impact  the  record  had  upon  its  release,  it's 
surprising  how  few  of  the  tracks  actually  evince  any 
political  perspective  whatsoever  (even  "Public  Enemy 
No.  1"  and  the  provocatively  titled  "Miuzi  Weighs  a 
Ton"  are  standard  DJ  boasts;  " You're  Gonna  Get 
Yours"  is  about  a  car).  But  amid  such  wheel-spinning, 
"Rightstarter  (Message  to  a  Black  Man)"  and  "Time- 
bomb"  reveal  the  stirrings  of  an  incisive  thinker  with 
something  much  more  potent  on  his  mind. 

It  Takes  a  Nation  of  Millions  to  Hold  Us  Back— 
the  cover  of  which  pictures  Chuck  and  Flav  in  a  prison 
cell,  under  the  group's  gunsight  logo — delivers  on  Bum 
Rush  the  Show's  promise  with  a  blistering  collection  of 
raps  that  makes  that  first  album  seem  like  a  practice  run. 
"Don't  Believe  the  Hype,"  "Bring  the  Noise," 
"Prophets  of  Rage,"  "Rebel  Without  a  Pause,"  "Party 
for  Your  Right  to  Fight"  and  others  make  masterful  use 
of  knowledge  and  language,  firing  off  topical  salvos  in 
a  dozen  directions,  dropping  names  from  Marcus 
Garvey  to  Minister  Farrakhan,  J.  Edgar  Hoover  to  Mar- 
garet Thatcher.  While  the  record's  titanic  musical  power 
is  undeniable,  its  content  polarized  listeners,  making 
this  one  of  the  first  pop  albums  in  history  to  elevate 
politics  to  a  crucial  aesthetic  criterion. 

Before  PE  could  make  another  album,  a  very  public 
ruckus  broke  out  over  crudely  absurd  anti-Semitic  as- 
sertions made  by  Professor  Griff  (Richard  Griffin),  the 
group's  minister  of  ignorance,  in  a  newspaper  inter- 
view. Attempting  to  salvage  the  situation,  Chuck  D  cut 
Griff  loose  in  June  of  '89,  then  dissolved  the  group — 
briefly.  When  PE  returned  to  action,  Griff  was  (tempo- 
rarily, as  it  developed)  back  in  the  lineup.  In  January 
'90,  a  couple  of  lines  in  a  pointed  new  single  about  the 
band's  troubles  ("Welcome  to  the  Terrordome")  fanned 
the  embers  back  into  flames,  setting  the  stage  for  Fear 
of  a  Black  Planet's  release  a  few  months  later. 

Produced  by  Shocklee's  peerless  Bomb  Squad,  PE's 
third  album  is  a  masterpiece  of  art  and  articulation,  a 
roaring  subway  train  of  rhythmic  noise  over  which 
Chuck  and  Flav  (aided,  news-style,  by  relevant  spoken- 
word  bites  and  guests)  deliver  harangues  flowing  from  a 


chaotic  but  rising  Afrocentric  consciousness.  Beyond 
"Fight  the  Power" — a  spectacular  call  to  arms  initially 
recorded  for  Spike  Lee's  Do  the  Right  Thing— Black 
Planet's  power  is  in  its  topical  specificity.  "Burn  Hol- 
lywood Burn"  attacks  racism  in  the  movies;  "911  Is  a 
Joke"  takes  a  potshot  at  the  efficiency  of  emergency 
services;  " Polly wanacraka"  dissects  black  sexism. 
"Who  Stole  the  Soul"  and  "Revolutionary  Generation" 
complain,  respectively,  about  the  mistreatment  of  cul- 
ture icons  and  women.  (While  PE  has  transcended  com- 
mon rap  attitudes  about  women,  homosexuality  still  gets 
the  shaft  on  "Meet  the  G  That  Killed  Me.") 

After  leaving  Public  Enemy  for  good,  Griff  made  a 
solo  album  that  has  all  the  charm  and  musical  appeal  of 
a  religious  fanatic  ranting  to  an  audience  of  disciples. 
Although  the  strong  rhythm  tracks  are  gripping,  Pawns 
in  the  Game  isn't  about  entertainment.  In  one  typical 
example  of  the  outlandish  remarks  Griff's  bizarre  be- 
liefs about  science,  history  and  world  events  lead  him  to 
make,  he  describes  the  Universal  Product  Code  as  "an 
anti-Christ  mechanism."  [dgs/i] 

PUBLIC  IMAGE  LTD. 

Public  Image  (nr/Virgin)  1978  ® 

Metal  Box  (nr/Virgin)  1979  • 

Second  Edition  (Island)  1 980  ® 

Paris  au  Printemps  (nr/Virgin)  1980  • 

The  Flowers  of  Romance  (Warner  Bros.)  1 981  ® 

Live  in  Tokyo  (nr/Virgin)  1 983  (Elektra)  1 986  • 

This  Is  What  You  Want . . .  This  Is  What  You  Get  (Elektra) 

1984 

Commercial  Zone  (PiL)  1984 
Album  (Elektra)  1986 
Cassette  [tape]  (Elektra)  1986 
Compact  Disc  [CD]  (Elektra)  1986  • 
Happy?  (Virgin)  1 987  * 
9  (Virgin)  1989* 
The  Greatest  Hits,  So  Far  (Virgin)  1 990  <j> 

The  Sex  Pistols  were  a  tough  act  to  follow,  even  for 
Johnny  Rotten  After  that  band's  entropic  dissolution, 
Rotten  reclaimed  his  civilian  surname,  Lydon,  and 
started  Public  Image  Ltd.,  supposedly  more  a  way  of 
life  than  a  mere  band,  "rock"  or  otherwise. 

The  first  of  PiL's  many  lineups  featured  Keith  Le- 
vene  (guitar),  Jah  Wobble  (bass)  and  Jim  Walker 
(drums).  The  group's  opening  salvo,  Public  Image  (aka 
First  Issue,  thanks  to  the  album's  arch  magazine-cover 
design)  couldn't  seem  to  make  up  its  mind  between 
more-or-less  straight  rock  (the  unnaturally  likable  guitar 
drive  of  "Public  Image")  and  musical  endurance  tests. 
"Annalisa"  could  be  a  Led  Zeppelin  backing  track,  but 
other  cuts  ("Theme,"  "Fodderstompf")  are  excruciat- 
ing and/or  self-indulgent.  Lydon  knew  he  wanted  to 
annoy,  but  was  still  working  out  the  best  way  to  do  it. 

He  hit  the  green  on  Metal  Box,  a  brilliant  statement 
from  original  packaging — three  12-inch  45s  in  an  em- 
bossed circular  tin — to  performance.  Jah  Wobble's 
overpowering  bass  sets  up  throbbing  lines  around  which 
Keith  Levene's  guitar  and  keyboards  flick  in  and  out. 
Lydon  wails,  chants  and  moans  impressionistic  lyrics. 
A  disturbing  and  captivating  milestone.  The  limited- 
edition  Metal  Box  wasn't  cheap  to  produce,  and  so  the 
music  was  reissued  as  Second  Edition:  two  LPs  in  a 


524 


gatefold  sleeve.  Second  Edition  benefits  from  printed 
lyrics  and  funhouse  photos,  but  has  inferior  sound — this 
is  tactile  music — and  a  running  order  that  makes  less 
sense.  (Metal  Box  came  foil  conceptual  circle  in  1990 
when  it  was  issued  as  a  single  CD  in  a  five-inch  tin. ) 

The  live  Paris  an  Printemps  (Paris  IE  the  Spring) 
offers  no  new  material,  and  may  even  have  been  re- 
leased primarily  to  stifle  a  bootleg  from  the  same  con- 
cert. The  band  plays  well,  with  drummer  Martin 
Atkins — later  a  solo  artist  under  the  name  Brian  Brain — 
more  noticeable  than  on  Metal  Box.  But  the  Parisian 
audience  is  barely  perceptible.  Ail  cover  type  (title, 
songs,  etc.)  is  in  French.  Get  the  joke? 

PiL  shows  a  healthy  desire  not  to  repeat  itself  on 
The  Flowers  of  Romance.  With  Wobble  gone,  Lydon 
relies  on  other  resources;  compared  to  this,  Metal  Box 
could  be  played  in  supermarkets.  Lacking  a  bass,  the 
"band"  centers  its  "songs"  around  drum  patterns  and 
little  else.  Ly don's  romantic  imagery  dabbles  in  ghostly 
apparitions  ("Under  the  House")  and  Middle  East  chic 
("Four  Enclosed  Walls").  He  also  serves  up  customary 
rants  against  hangers-on  ( "Banging  the  Door"),  women 
("Track  8")  and  Britain  ("Go  Back,"  "Francis  Mas- 
sacre"). But  the  music  is  so  severe  as  to  lend  credence 
to  a  record  executive's  statement  that  The  Flowers  of 
Romance  is  one  of  the  most  uncommercial  records  ever 
made — at  least  within  a  "pop"  context. 

Never  a  comradely  bunch,  PiL  seemed  to  unravel 
beyond  repair  when  Levene  left  in  1983.  But  the  band 
had  just  scored  a  surprise  comeback  demi-hit  with 
"(This  Is  Not  a)  Love  Song,"  so  Lydon  rounded  up 
some  unknown  New  Jersey  accompanists  and  went  to 
Japan.  Only  two  of  the  ten  tracks  on  Live  in  Tokyo  are 
new  songs;  the  faceless  recruits  are  shoved  in  the  back 
of  the  sonic  mix;  the  album  stretches  about  45  minutes 
of  material  over  two  12-inch  45s  without  Metal  Box's 
punch.  Forget  this  one. 

PiL  had  started  work  on  This  Is  What  You  Want 
before  Levene 's  departure.  His  guitar  parts  were  wiped 
off  the  finished  product,  leaving  them  spiked  only  by 
Ly  don's  glum  caterwauling.  Levene  saw  to  the  release 
of  his  own  version  of  the  session  tapes  under  the  name 
Commercial  Zone;  the  music  here  is  considerably  more 
interesting — perhaps  even  lively.  By  taking  PiL  seri- 
ously as  a  career,  Lydon  committed  heresy  against  punk 
anomie.  But  at  least  he's  still  excruciating. 

The  same  can't  be  said  for  the  eminently  listenable 
Album  (or  Cassette  or  Compact  Disc,  depending  on 
your  format  of  choice),  which  is  either  the  worst  sell-out 
of  Lydon' s  career  or  the  first  popular-oriented  PiL  al- 
bum ever.  Dispensing  with  noise,  free-form  aggression 
and  anti-music  production,  a  stack  of  uncredited  musi- 
cians play  powerful,  highly  organized,  prickly  but  ac- 
cessible rock  (and,  on  the  brilliant  "Rise,"  demi-pop) 
while  Lydon  masterfully  bleats  in  near-tuneful  harmony 
on  top.  The  studio  sound  (courtesy  Lydon  and  Bill 
Laswell)  is  live  and  virile;  the  seven  tersely  named  songs 
("FFF,"  "Home,"  "Ease")  are  as  intelligent  and  cap- 
tivating as  any  in  PiL's  past.  Album.  Great. 

Happy?  (co-produced  by  Gary  Langan),  hindered 
only  by  not-quite-as-good  material,  continues  PiL's  pro- 
ductive gambit  of  playing  self-amused  footsie  with  the 
rock  audience.  Despite  conscious  concessions  to  formal 
structures  and  traditions,  the  record  maintains  an  un- 


bending undercurrent  of  off-center  subversion,  mani- 
fested in  skewed  melodies,  bizarrely  contrapuntal 
instrumental  figures  and  dub-styled  percussion.  Joined 
by  a  wonderful,  tight  band — guitarists  Lu  Edmonds  (ex- 
Damned,  etc.)  and  John  McGeoch  ( ex-Magazine , 
Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees,  Armoury  Show),  drummer 
Bruce  Smith  (Rip  Rig  +  Panic,  Float  Up  CP)  and  New 
York  bassist  Allan  Dias — Lydon  (or  Rotten,  depending 
on  his  fluctuating  preference)  is  in  peak  form,  creating 
captivating  dance  rock  ("Seattle,"  "Hard  Times," 
"The  Body,"  "Fat  Chance  Hotel")  that  holds  back  the 
bile  and  intentional  aggravation  in  favor  of  first-rate 
musicianship  and  invention. 

If  Album  and  Happy?  were  accommodating,  the 
sound  of  9  is  downright  loveydovey.  Under  the  produc- 
tion guidance  of  Stephen  Hague  and  Eric  Thorngren,  a 
four-piece  PiL  (Edmonds  co-wrote  the  songs  but  doesn't 
play  on  the  record)  magically  channels  Lydon* s  irasci- 
ble iconoclasm  into  prickly  minor-key  rock'n'roll  songs 
that  meet  timorous  listeners  more  than  halfway.  In  spots, 
thick  layers  of  guitar,  keyboards,  close-formation  fe- 
male backing  vocals,  strings  and  horns  challenge  the 
supremacy  of  Lydon's  declamatory  howls,  but  he  rises 
from  the  hubbub  with  wavery  aplomb.  It  may  be  diffi- 
cult to  take  Lydon  seriously  when  he  describes  himself 
romantically  as  a  "Warrior,"  but  there's  no  questioning 
his  sincerity  in  the  venomous  "Disappointed,""  From 
the  electronic  dance  gimmickry  of  "Just  Like  a  Wom- 
an" (no,  not  that  one)  to  the  galloping,  Gang  of  Four 
blueprint  of  "Same  Old  Story,"  9's  shifting  balance  of 
content  and  presentation  makes  it  a  great  record. 

Following  the  PiL  safari  through  an  unassailable  se- 
lection of  thirteen  songs  (representing  every  studio  al- 
bum), The  Greatest  Hits,  So  Far  telescopes  a  decade 
of  thrashing  about  in  the  post-punk  underbrush  into  a 
spectacular  hour  of  power.  Five  remixes  actually  im- 
prove the  material.  The  only  extraneous  item  here  is 
"Don't  Ask  Me,"  a  crappy-sounding  song  that  surpris- 
ingly preaches  environmental  responsibility.  [si/i] 

See  also  Afrika  Bambaataa,  Brian  Brain,  Keith  Le- 
vene, Sex  Pistols,  Jah  Wobble. 


PURPLE  HELMETS 

See  Stranglers. 

PURPLE  OUTSIDE 

See  Screaming  Trees. 

PURPLE  TOADS 

See  Durango  95. 


PURRKUR  P1LLN1KK 

Tilf  EP  (Ice.  Gramm)  1981 
Ekki  enn  (Ice.  Gramm)  1 981 
Googooplex  (Ice.  Gramm)  1 982 
No  Time  to  Think  EP  (Ice.  Gramm)  1 982 
Maskinan  (Ice.  Gramm)  1983 

A  quartet  of  bratty  minimalists  featuring  future  Sug- 
arcubes  Einar  Orn  (vocals)  and  Bragi  Olafsson  (bass), 


525 


Purrkur  Pillnikk  was  the  most  successful  band  formed  in 
the  early- '80s  days  of  Iceland's  post-punk  revolution. 
Although  together  for  only  seventeen  months,  the  group 
recorded  lots  of  material,  hit  the  Icelandic  Top  10  with 
its  first  album  and  even  toured  England  with  the  Fall, 
their  most  obvious  musical  influence 

There's  more  spit  than  wit  on  the  teenage  group's 
early  releases.  The  1981  debut,  a  ten-song  7-inch  re- 
leased on  Gramm  (a  label  co-founded  by  Einar),  was 
recorded  less  than  a  month  after  the  group  was  formed 
and  sounds  it.  Ekki  enn  is  a  distinct  improvement;  Ei- 
nar's  robust  haranguing  (a  kind  of  Arctic  Circle  version 
of  Mark  E.  Smith)  is  underscored  with  pithy,  scrappy 
guitar  riffs  that  rarely  outstay  their  Pink  Flag-style  wel- 
come, although  the  songs — all  seventeen  of  'em — do 
blur  together  after  awhile. 

On  Googooplex  (issued  as  a  pair  of  12-mch  45s), 
Purrkur  Pillnikk  finally  hits  its  musical  stride,  fortify- 
ing that  spiky  riffing  with  catchy,  angular  melodies 
and  locomotive  improvising  Einar  even  sings,  after  a 
fashion,  in  spots.  Unfortunately,  following  a  second 
7-inch  EP  (with  English  lyrics)  a  few  months  later,  the 
group  broke  up.  The  posthumous  Maskinan  is  a 
ragged-but-righteous  live  album  that  captures  both  the 
spirit  of  the  band  and  the  Icelandic  scene  which  it 
helped  create.  [df] 

See  also  Sugar  cubes. 


JIMMY  PURSEY 

Imagination  Camouflage  (nr/Polydor)  1 980 
Alien  Orphan  (nr/Epic)  1 982 

JAMES  T.  PURSEY 

Revenge  Is  Not  the  Password  (nr/Turbo)  1 983 
The  Lord  Divides  (nr/Eskimo  Green)  1983 

As  a  solo  artist,  the  earnest  Sham  69  mouthpiece 
took  a  turn  for  the  artier,  leaving  behind  some  of  his 
plain-spoken  charm  as  well  as  much  of  his  punky  ob- 
streperousness  in  favor  of  more  emotional  and  creative 
depth  and  range.  Slide  guitar,  sax  and  even  synthesizers 
broaden  the  instrumental  palette  of  Imagination  Cam- 
ouflage; while  none  of  the  songs  are  excellent,  they're 
almost  all  good.  (Renegades  from  Generation  X  aided 
in  composition  and  performance.) 

Unfortunately,  Alien  Orphan  goes  almost  too  far. 
Leaving  behind  the  stagey  rock  of  its  predecessor  for  a 
goulash  of  electro-rock-funk-jazz  often  held  together  by 
fluid,  graceful  bass  riffing  (guitar  and  keyboard  are  used 
only  as  embroidery),  Pursey  seems  to  have  forgotten  the 
notion  of  songs  as  songs,  not  elaborate  aural  concoc- 
tions. Still,  it's  swell  background  music — a  meticu- 
lously constructed  soundscape — and  other  than  the  parts 
that  do  try  to  be  poignant  or  obvious,  most  of  it  does 
connect  eventually,  one  way  or  another. 

Revenge  is  similarly  varied  in  its  stylistic  concept: 
eight  spare  semi-songs  that  wander  off  in  different  di- 
rections as  if  the  idea  of  consistency  had  never  occurred 
to  the  artist  Pursey  is  not  the  cleverest  lyricist  or  sua- 
vest  composer  in  the  world,  but  his  heart  has  always 
been  in  the  right  place  and  it's  hard  to  denigrate  sincer- 
ity. Although  the  album  doesn't  hold  up  at  all,  a  few  of 
Pursey 's  unpredictable  forays  are  odd  enough  to  work. 
See  also  Sham  69.  [jg/i] 


Fee!  Good  About  Your  Body  EP  (Shove)  1 985 

Groovy  Hate  Fuck  (Shove)  1 986 

Exiles  on  Main  Street  [tape]  1 986 

1  Yr.  Live  [tape]  1986 

Pussy  Gold  5000  EP  (Buy  Our)  1 987 

Right  Now!  (Caroline)  1987® 

Groovy  Hate  Fuck  (nr/Vinyl  Drip)  1 987 

Sugarshit  Sharp  EP  (Caroline)  1 988 

Dial  M  for  Motherfucker  (Caroline)  1 989  ® 

Historic  de  la  Musica  Rock  (Caroline)  1 990  • 

Drinkin'  Lechin'  &  Lyin'  EP  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 989 
Cold  Hands  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 990  ® 

The  aesthetic  dilemma  presented  by  intentionally  of- 
fensive and/or  consciously  anti-musical  groups  is  prob- 
ably best  settled  by  a  critical  rumble  in  the  alley.  There's 
certainly  no  rational  way  to  discuss  the  potential  merits 
of  a  record  like  this  Washington,  DC  aim-to-offend 
quartet's  four-song  7-inch  debut  (Feel  Good  About 
Your  Body)  or  the  eight-song  12-inch  Groovy  Hate 
Fuck,  a  raucous  one-take  no-rehearsal  guitar-army 
tossoff.  Setting  the  question  of  their  atrocious  non- 
musicianship  aside,  puerile  compositions  like  "Teen 
Pussy  Power,"  "Cunt  Tease"  and  "Dead  Meat"  are 
nothing  more  than  smears  of  self-satisfied  juvenilia. 
You're  supposed  to  be  repulsed  by  Pussy  Galore,  but 
that  certainly  doesn't  make  this  pathetic  effluvia  worth 
hearing.  Cheap  thrills  for  vulgar  sissies. 

Relocating  to  New  York  and  adding  a  fifth  member, 
Jon  Spencer  and  his  crew  issued  two  limited-edition 
cassettes  at  the  end  of  1986:  an  infamous  home-brew 
version  of  Exile  on  Main  Street  (in  its  entirety)  and  a 
live  set  called  1  Yr.  Live. 

With  ex-Sonic  Youth  drammer-turned-metal- 
pounder  Bob  Bert  in  the  lineup  along  with  stalwarts 
Julia  Cafritz  (guitar,  vocals),  Neil  Hagerty  (guitar, 
vocals,  organ)  and  Cristina  (Martinez;  guitar,  organ), 
the  five-song  Pussy  Gold  5000  12-inch  displays 
improved — not  good,  but  better — playing  and  sound. 
On  the  studio  tracks,  that  is.  The  live  "No  Count"  is  as 
wretched  as  ever.  It's  still  trash,  but  not  quite  as  rank  as 
before. 

Following  further  personnel  changes  (Cristina  de- 
fected to  the  Honeymoon  Killers),  Pussy  Galore  wound 
up  a  quartet:  three  guitarists  (they've  never  had  a  bass- 
ist) and  Bert.  The  full-length  Right  Now!  album,  co- 
produced  (without  credit)  by  the  group,  Steve  Albini 
and  Kramer,  contains  nineteen  songs  of  almost  interest- 
ing garage  raunch.  The  LP  brings  Pussy  Galore  into  the 
realm  of  artistic  consideration  but  reveals  them  as  a 
fairly  bad  noise  band.  (The  CD  adds  six  previously 
released  tracks.)  The  1987  Groovy  Hate  Fuck  album- 
released  on  the  Membranes'  Vinyl  Drip  label — is  a  com- 
pilation of  the  first  three  records. 

Sugarshit  Sharp  continues  Pussy  Galore's  journey 
further  into  the  realm  of  Art;  the  A-side  is  a  lengthy, 
sample-ridden  cover  of  Einsturzende  Neubaten's  "Yu 
Gung,"  the  most  entertaining  portions  of  which  are  the 
repeated  interpolations  of  Public  Enemy's  Flavor  Flav 
saying  "Don't  believe  the  hype."  Indeed.  Side  Two 
contains  five  grunge  tunes  of  a  somewhat  higher  grade 
than  usual. 

The  cover  art  of  Dial  M  for  Motherfucker  looks 


526 


like  it  comes  straight  from  a  "70s  exploitation  flick  (an 
idea  that  would  find  its  ultimate  realization  with  the 
Velvet  Monkeys'  Rake,  which  features  Cafntz);  the 
album's  sound  is  more  flagrantly  pretentious  noise  than 
fake  garage.  As  the  product  of  honest  bourgeois  artistry 
rather  than  arch  posturing,  it's  the  band's  best  album. 
Standouts  include  the  lurching  "Understand  Me"  and 
the  one-joke  "Dick  Johnson  "  The  CD  includes  the  five 
songs  from  the  B-side  of  Sugarshit  Sharp. 

On  the  other  hand,  cover  aM  triumphs  over  content 
in  Historia  de  la  Miisica  Rock,  an  album  done  up  to 
look  precisely  like  one  of  those  ultra-cheap  Spanish 
"classic  rock"  compilations.  (The  cover  photo  is  atro- 
cious; the  liner  notes  are  all  in  Spanish;  the  list  of  other 
artists  in  "the  series"  includes  the  Rolling  Stones,  Blod- 
wyn  Pig,  Murphy's  Law  and  the  Cro-Mags.)  The  record 
itself — more  under-rehearsed  ersatz  grunge  played  by  a 
trio  of  Spencer,  Hagerty  and  Bert — is  only  intermit- 
tently entertaining. 

The  loosely  configured  Boss  Hog  features  Spencer, 
ex-Galore  guitarist  Kurt  Wolf,  Jerry  Teel  of  the  Hon- 
eymoon Killers,  Cristina  (making  her  most  notable  con- 
tribution as  the  records'  sexy  cover  model)  and  a 
revolving  cast  of  friends.  Produced  by  Albini,  the  six- 
cut  12-inch  debut  is  casual  good-natured  sex  noise  with 
better  songs  than  Pussy  Galore  can  usually  muster  and 
better  sound  than  the  Honeymoon  Killers  generally  al- 
low, but  the  offspring  definitely  favors  Spencer's  side  of 
the  family.  The  full-length  Cold  Hands  moves  a  bit 
closer  towards  the  establishment  of  a  Boss  Hog  audio 
personality — a  louder,  more  aggressive  effort,  with 
grungier,  bottom-heavy  sound  and  songs  ("Gerard," 
"Eddy,"  "Pop  Catastrophe")  that  lurch  and  groan  un- 
der the  strain  of  thick  rhythm-driven  performances. 

[i/gk] 

See  also  Honeymoon  Killers,  Velvet  Monkeys. 

PUSSYWILLOWS 

Spring  Fever!  (Telstar)  1 988 

New  York's  Pussywillows  have  an  obvious  mania 
for  '60s  girl  groups  like  the  Shangri-Las — the  seven 
songs  on  their  brief  debut  (recorded  before  the  band  had 
ever  performed  live)  mix  Lisa,  Lisa  and  Elinor's  heavily 
reverbed  three-part  harmonies  with  surfy  guitar  power- 
pop.  All  the  tracks  are  covers,  borrowed  from  such  rel- 
evant obscures  as  the  Coupons,  the  Cinderellas  and  the 
Short-Cuts .  Although  some  of  the  lead  vocals  are  shaky 
and  the  concept  is  shamelessly  derivative,  Spring  Fe- 
ver! is  nonetheless  a  goodnatured  homage.  [kss] 


PYLON 

Gyrate  (DB)  1980 

Pylon!!  EP  fnr/Armageddon)  1980 

Chomp  (DB)  1983 

Hsts(DB)  1989<f> 

Chain  (Sky)  1 990® 

One  of  the  new  South 's  most  revered  and  influential 
bands,  this  Athens,  Georgia  quartet  came  on  like  a  cross 
between  the  B-52's  and  Gang  of  Four.  Atop  thin,  almost 
brittle  metallic  guitar,  muscular  bass  and  no-nonsense 
drums — which  all  mesh  into  stark  but  inviting  dance 
rhythms — Vanessa  Briscoe  artlessly  shouts/talks/gargles 
celebrations  of  life  and  innocent  wamrags/wonderings 
about  restrictions  on  freedom.  Though  limited  in 
material — the  first  two  records  contain  about  four  really 
good  songs  all  told;  the  rest  are  merely  okay  or 
repetitive — Pylon  is  fraught  with  possibilities  for  devel- 
opment The  10-inch  Pylon!  1  EP  has  two  of  their  best, 
including  the  dance-club  staple,  "Cool." 

Promise  notwithstanding,  Chomp  (produced  by 
Chris  Stamey  and  Gene  Holder,  both  then-dB's)  was  the 
quartet's  swansong.  More  ambitious  in  scope,  the  record 
incorporates  a  psychedelic  drone  in  spots;  Pylon  some- 
times sounds  less  anxious  and  strident  than  before.  The 
album  includes  both  melodic  (!)  sides  of  a  great  pre- 
ceding single  ("Crazy"  b/w  "M-Train")  and  other  cool 
slices  ("Beep,"  "Gyrate")  of  floor-shaking  art. 

After  a  half-decade  of  inaction,  the  original  Pylon 
reunited  and  played  a  mid-' 88  show  in  preparation  for  a 
full-fledged  resurgence.  Hits,  a  20-track  compilation  of 
nearly  all  their  work  to  date  (including  both  sides  of  the 
1979  "Cool"  b/w  "Dub"  single),  cleared  the  decks 
with  digital  sound  and  set  the  stage  for  the  band's  first 
new  album  in  seven  years. 

While  retaining  the  band's  traditional  bite,  Chain 
gets  more  melody  and  texture  from  Briscoe-Hay's  sing- 
ing and  Randy  Bewley's  sharp  guitar  jabs.  The  rhythm 
section  cedes  not  an  inch  of  dancefloor,  but  very  few  of 
the  new  songs  build  obsessively  on  a  single  chord.  (Ac- 
tually, three  seems  to  be  the  optimum  chord  quantity 
here.)  As  a  result,  "Look  Alive,"  "There  It  Is,"  "This/ 
That,"  "Crunch"  and  others  are  memorable  for  more 
inviting  reasons  than  the  old  band's  tense  sonic  ha- 
rangues. If  maturity  has  softened  Pylon's  edge  some- 
what, Chain  is  still  a  strong  link  (sorry)  to  the  past. 

[jg/i] 


527 


Q-FEEL 

Q-FeeS  (Jive)  1983  +  1989 

These  tiresomely  upbeat  British  techno-poppers  re- 
call the  giddy  chirp  of  Pilot,  getting  down  to  their  ap- 
pointed dance-music  chores  with  mucho  polish  and 
absolutely  no  soul.  The  popular  club  single  contained 
here,  "Dancing  in  Heaven  (Orbital  Be-Bop),"  is  a  de- 
scendant of  "Pop  Muzik,"  lacking  only  that  song's 
charm  and  originality.  [i] 

Q-TIPS 

See  Paul  Young. 

QUANDO  QUANGO 

Pigs  4-  Battleships  (or/Factory)  1 985 

A  masterful  assortment  of  big-beat  grooves  helped 
make  this  Anglo-Dutch  quartet  popular  on  dancefloors 
(if  not  record  stores)  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Latin 
and  jazz-tinged  funk  shares  the  spotlight  with  reggaefied 
disco;  orchestration  is  primarily  busy  percussion  beneath 
bass,  keyboards  and  horns,  with  mostly  tuneless, 
chanted  vocals  of  lyrics  that  aren't  exactly  poetry.  Play- 
ing and  production  are  uniformly  sharp,  but  Quando 
Quango  was  best  served  by  12-inch  dance  mixes;  an 
entire  LP's  worth  becomes  redundant  and  forgettable. 

[dgs] 

QUEEN  IAT1FAH 

All  Hail  the  Queen  (Tommy  Boy)  1 989  ® 

The  talented  herald  of  a  welcome  new  feminist  con- 
sciousness in  hip-hop,  New  Jersey's  dynamic  Queen 
Latifah  (Dana  Owens)  shakes  off  years  of  whore-bitch- 
victim  dogma  with  pride  and  power,  demonstrating  that 
African-American  women  can  redefine  roles  just  by 
grabbing  a  mic  and  refusing  to  play  boys'  games.  Lat- 
ifah's  first  album — a  masterful  and  original  collabora- 
tion with  producer  DJ  Mark  the  45  King  and  such  family 
friends  as  De  La  Soul,  Monie  Love  and  Stetsasonic's 
Daddy-O — is  loaded  with  memorable  tracks  in  a  variety 
of  styles:  horn-buttered  soul  ("Dance  for  Me,"  "Ladies 
First"),  dub  ("The  Pros"),  high-energy  dance  ("Come 
into  My  House"),  Native  Tongue  hip-pop  ("Mama 
Gave  Birth  to  the  Soul  Children")  and  more.  (The  CD 
contains  three  remixes  of  album  tracks.)  [i] 


QUICK 

Mondo  Deco  (Mercury)  1 976 
Alpha/Beta  EP  (Quick  Fan  Club)  1 978 

After  losing  his  grip  on  the  Runaways,  Kim  Fowley 
discovered  the  Young  Republicans,  five  male  Califor- 
nians  (including  drummer  Danny  Benair)  he  rechris- 
tened  the  Quick.  They  aspired  to  be  an  adolescent 
version  of  Sparks,  playing  melodic,  Anglophilic  tunes 
verging  on  bubblegum  (like,  but  not  as  good  as,  Milk 
'n'  Cookies).  Guitarist/songwriter  Steven  Hufsteter  was 
pretty  much  the  man  in  charge,  and  his  limited  talents 
shunted  the  Quick  into  a  fairly  tight  mold;  Mondo  Deco 
is  now  more  of  an  amusing  artifact  than  it  seemed  at  the 
time. 

Alpha/Beta,  a  10-inch  souvenir  of  the  group's  un- 
successful attempt  to  court  Elektra  Records  in  1977, 
came  out  early  the  following  year  through  the  band's  fan 
club  and  showed  they  could  draw  on  far  more  power 
than  had  previously  been  indicated.  They're  still  basi- 
cally Anglo/effete  but,  even  on  a  version  of  "Some- 
where Over  the  Rainbow,"  the  Quick  could  manage 
real  punch.  [i/jg] 

See  also  Cruzados,  Three  O' Clock. 


QUIET  SUN 

See  Phil  Manzanera. 


ROBERT  QU1NE/FRED  MAHER 

Basic  (Editions  EG)  1 984  « 

New  York  guitar  master  Quine  ( Voidoids/Lou  Reed) 
and  ex-Material  drummer  Maher  recorded  a  mesmeriz- 
ing no-frills  celebration  of  the  sound  of  the  electric  gui- 
tar. Over  the  pro  forma  mechanized  rhythm  patterns 
suggested  by  the  title,  the  pair  lay  down  their  riffs  and 
then  Quine  embroiders  them — magically.  Don't  look 
for  memorable  tunes  or  even  clever  tricks — this  is  a 
player's  album,  amazingly  pure,  though  not  so  simple. 

[mf] 

See  also  Jody  Harris  and  Robert  Quine,  Richard 
Hell,  Lou  Reed. 


528 


RADIATORS  FROM  SPACE 

W  Tube  Heart  (nr/Chiswick)  1 977 

RADIATORS 

Ghostown  (nr/Chiswick)  1 979  +  1 989  © 

London  independent  label  Chiswick  discovered 
these  early  Irish  punk  frontiersmen  in  Dublin;  although 
never  a  commercial  success,  the  Radiators  from  Space 
were  a  wonderful  find.  Their  recording  career,  which 
actually  predated  the  debut  vinyl  of  such  first  wavers  as 
the  Clash  and  Elvis  Costello,  evinces  talent  and  intelli- 
gence far  beyond  many  of  the  forgotten  bands  of  that 
generation. 

TV  Tube  Heart  may  not  have  been  revolutionary, 
but  energetic  delivery  of  clever  and  melodic  songs  about 
such  soon-to-become-hackneyed  topics  as  the  music 
press  and  club  denizens  make  it  a  much  better  survivor 
of  its  era  than  many  now  hopelessly  dated  artifacts. 
From  the  outset,  Radiators  from  Space  showed  them- 
selves to  be  a  better  breed  of  punk. 

Ghostown,  produced  by  Tony  Visconti,  is  nearly  a 
power  pop  record  with  some  unsettling  flaws  damaging 
another  batch  of  good  tunes.  One  item  is  almost  iden- 
tical to  later  Boomtown  Rats  (although  who  recorded  it 
first  is  unclear);  there's  also  a  trite  '50s  homage  that 
seems  out  of  place.  Ghostown  does  have  its  moments, 
though,  and  several  tracks  have  the  same  wonderful  feel 
as  the  second  Fmgerprintz  LP.  Obviously  a  band  with 
great  untapped  potential,  the  Radiators  were  a  surpris- 
ingly sophisticated  bunch  whose  records  are  worth  hear- 
ing. (The  reissue  has  new  artwork,  a  different  track 
sequence  and  two  cuts  from  a  1988  reunion.) 

In  1985,  singer/guitarist  Philip  Chevron  surfaced  in 
association  with  Elvis  Costello  as  a  producer  and  per- 
former, he  then  joined  the  Pogues.  [i] 

See  also  Pogues. 

RADIO  B1RDMAN 

Bum  My  Eye  EP  (Aus.  Trafalgar)  1 976 

Radios  Appear  (Aus.  Trafalgar)  1977  (Sire)  1978 

Living  Eyes  (Aus.  WEA)  1981 

More  Fun!  EP  (Aus.  WEA)  1988 

Under  the  Ashes  (Aus.  WEA)  1 988  « 

NEW  RACE 

The  First  and  the  Last  (nr/Statik)  1 982 

VISITORS 

The  Visitors  EP  (Aus.  Citadel)  1 982 
The  Visitors  (Aus.  Citadel)  1982 

DENIZ  TEK 

Orphan  Tracks  (Aus.  Citadel)  1 982  • 

Longtime  cult  darlings  well  on  their  way  to  becom- 
ing one  of  Australian  rock's  most  enduring  legends, 
Sydney's  Radio  Birdman  sprang  from  a  primordial  stew 
comprised  of  the  Doors,  Stooges,  MC5  and  Blue  Oyster 
Cult.  The  sextet's  7-inch  Bum  My  Eye  melded  bits 


from  each  of  those  bands  and,  in  so  doing,  became  a 
durable  archetype  for  the  musical  explosion  that  was 
about  to  occur.  With  twangy ,  reverberated  guitar  fleshed 
out  by  a  barrelhouse  piano,  Rob  Younger1  s  command- 
ing vocals  and  guitarist  Deniz  Tek's  wandering  leads, 
the  HP's  "Burn  My  Eye,"  * 'Smith  and  Wesson  Blues" 
and  "1-94"  are  positively  revered  by  fans  of  the  Aussie 
underground;  the  fourth  (* 'Snake")  Is  merely  terrific. 

Like  many  pnmal  punks  in  '77  and  '78,  Radio  Bird- 
man was  quick  to  acknowledge  and  indulge  its  stylistic 
ancestry;  Radios  Appear  opens  with  a  rendition  of  the 
Stooges'  "TV  Eye."  (Born  In  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan, 
Tek  played  a  crucial  role  in  bringing  the  radical  fruits  of 
the  American  Midwest  to  Australia  when  he  emigrated 
there  in  the  early  '70s.)  While  "Anglo  Girl  Desire"  and 
the  raucous  Detroit  tribute  "Do  the  Pop"  flirt  with  the 
punk  upsurge  occurring  half  a  world  away,  the  lengthy 
"Man  with  the  Golden  Helmet"  sounds  genuinely  like 
1970  vintage,  rinding  the  conceptual  spot  where  the 
Doors  and  the  Stooges  intersected.  "Descent  into  the 
Maelstrom"  incorporates  a  bit  of  surf  music,  "Love 
Kills"  is  distressingly  dreamy  and  "New  Race,"  Bird- 
man's  rallying  cry  (dig  those  "Yeh-Hup!"  chants), 
closes  the  album. 

The  Saints  opened  the  world's  eyes  to  Australian 
punk  in  late  '76,  and  that  group's  American  label  went 
looking  in  Sydney  and  Melbourne  to  see  if  there  were 
any  more  like  them  back  home.  Sire  wound  up  issuing 
an  overhauled  version  of  Radios  Appear  with  a  totally 
different  cover.  The  international  edition  retained  some 
of  the  original's  songs — some  intact  and  some  re- 
recorded— and  added  a  chunk  of  new  material,  includ- 
ing the  phenomenal  *' Aloha  Steve  &  Danno"  (an 
unapologetic  Hawaii  Five-O  swipe  coupled  with  a  go- 
nowhere-hfe-in-front-of-the-TV  narrative  by  Younger), 
as  well  as  a  hot  cover  of  the  13th  Floor  Elevators' 
"You're  Gonna  Miss  Me"  and  "Hit  Them  Again,"  a 
track  co-written  by  Tek  and  Stooges  guitarist  Ron  Ashe- 
ton.  The  revised  edition  is  a  bit  more  aggressive  than  the 
original,  but  retains  the  same  musical  sensibilities. 

Hard  on  the  heels  of  their  first  (and  only)  worldwide 
release,  Radio  Birdman  shut  themselves  up  in  a  Welsh 
studio  and  concocted  a  fine  sounding  stack  of  tracks, 
Living  Eyes.  Australian  fans  got  to  sample  the  band's 
clearest  recording  yet — three  years  after  it  was  finished. 
Birdman  had  broken  up  one  tour  after  the  LP's  comple- 
tion, scattering  its  members  around  Australia  to  go  forth 
and  multiply  (band-wise),  bolstering  the  country's  al- 
ready thriving  underground  with  numerous  new  groups. 
(Canadian-bora  guitarist  Chris  Masuak  went  on  to  the 
Screaming  Tribesmen.  Bassist  Warwick  Gilbert  joined 
the  Lime  Spiders.) 

Living  Eyes  is  a  bit  more  somber  and  pensive  than 
its  predecessor.  Tek  coaxes  some  thoroughly  frighten- 
ing notes  from  his  guitar,  and  Younger* s  lyrics  conjure 
up  clammy,  sweat-soaked  images  of  a  world  in  flames. 


529 


There's  a  flipside,  however,  on  the  beachy  bubblegum 
pop  of  "More  Fun"  and  "Do  the  Movin'  Change." 
(The  LP  also  contains  credible  re-recordings  of  three 
Bum  My  Eye  tracks.)  Radio  Birdman  breathed  its  last 
with  "Hanging  On,"  three-and-a-half  minutes  of  dense 
rock'n'roll  history. 

In  1981,  Tek,  Younger  and  Gilbert  reunited  to  form 
the  short-lived  (one  Australian  tour)  New  Race  with 
Ron  Asheton  and  former  MC5  drummer  Dennis  Thomp- 
son. The  First  and  the  Last  is  an  impressive  live  record 
that  includes  searing  renditions  of  the  5's  "Looking  at 
You,"  several  Birdrnan  tracks  (including  "Love  Kills" 
and  "Breaks  My  Heart")  and  some  new  originals.  The 
crisp  live  mix  and  some  deft  studio  tinkering  make  this 
a  walloping  good  platter. 

Younger  went  on  to  form  the  New  Christs;  Tek  was 
part  of  the  Visitors  and  had  a  brief  solo  career  before 
becoming  a  flight  surgeon  in  the  US  Navy.  The  Visitors, 
a  short-lived  project  that  also  included  Birdman  drum- 
mer Ron  Keeley,  released  an  album  in  '82  (previewed 
on  a  four-song  EP)  of  semi-memorable  tracks  (like 
"Euro  Girls")  that  depart  from  the  pair's  past  work  to 
focus  on  an  overtly  '60s-style  Lyres  sound  that  relies 
heavily  on  Farfisa-style  organ  and  B-movie  kitsch 

Collected  from  a  number  of  studio  sessions,  Tek's 
solo  LP  (Orphan  Tracks)  largely  resembles  Birdman' s 
output,  sans  the  intensity  and  keyboards.  On  many  of 
the  cuts,  Tek's  vocals  are  nearly  identical  to  Younger' s. 

Although  it  contains  only  four  songs  (two  drawn 
from  Living  Eyes),  the  extremely  belated  More  Fun!  is 
the  definitive  live  Birdman  record  (there  are  scads  of 
bootlegs  as  well).  Under  the  Ashes  is  a  boxed  set 
(available  on  multi-disc  vinyl  or  double-CD)  of  the 
band's  entire  legit  catalogue:  both  editions  of  Radios 
Appear,  Living  Eyes,  Burn  My  Eye  (here  a  12-inch), 
More  Fen,  a  remix  of  the  1978  "Aloha  Steve  &  Dan- 
no"  single  and  the  New  Race  album,  The  First  and  the 
Last.  [icm] 

See  also  Lime  Spiders,  New  Christs,  New  Order, 
Screaming  Tribesmen. 

RADIO  STARS 

Songs  for  Swinging  Lovers  (nr/Chiswick)  1 977 

The  Holiday  Album  (nr/Chiswick)  1978 

Two  Minutes,  Mister  Smith  (nr/Moonlight)  1 982 

Britain's  Radio  Stars  generally  had  more  good  ideas 
than  they  knew  what  to  do  with.  On  their  two  original 
albums  they  play  fast-moving  pop/rock  with  heavy  over- 
tones and  a  penchant  for  bizarre  lyrical  matter.  On 
Songs  for  Swinging  Lovers  (even  the  cover  is  a  poorly 
executed  great  idea),  they  come  on  like  a  1977  version 
of  singer  Andy  Ellison's  legendary  '60s  psychedelic  pop 
outfit,  John's  Children;  faster  and  louder,  but  still  de- 
cidedly off-center.  Bassist/producer  Martin  Gordon, 
fresh  from  a  stint  in  Sparks  (a  band  many  compared  to 
John's  Children),  supplies  the  odd  ditties,  covering  such 
topics  as  rotting  corpses,  rapists  and  macaroni'n'mice 
casseroles.  He  even  adds  a  jingle  for  the  group's  label, 
"Buy  Chiswick  Records."  If  Gordon's  way  with  a  tune 
were  always  up  to  his  words,  the  band  might  have  lived 
up  to  its  name.  But  the  quality  of  the  material  is  too 
inconsistent  to  sustain  interest  for  a  whole  album — 
there's  too  much  dull,  repetitive  riffing. 

The  Holiday  Album  suffers  from  much  the  same 


malady  as  its  predecessor:  too  many  throwaways.  For 
that  reason,  Two  Minutes,  Mister  Smith,  a  posthu- 
mous compilation  of  singles  and  choice  album  tracks,  is 
the  Radio  Stars  album  to  own.  The  group's  heights  were 
almost  all  achieved  on  singles,  especially  the  brilliant 
"From  a  Rabbit,"  a  kitchen-sink  pop  production  num- 
ber of  the  highest  order,  included  here.  [ds] 

TO  LIVE 

Rage  to  Live  (Bar/None)  1986 
Blame  the  Victims  (Bar/None)  1 990  • 

TOMNEY 

The  Radical  Songbirds  of  Islam  [tape]  (ROIR)  1987 

The  dissolution  of  New  York's  Individuals  produced 
a  number  of  positive  developments.  Doug  and  Janet 
Wygal  formed  a  group  (under  their  family  name)  which 
later  included  ex-dB  Gene  Holder;  Glenn  Morrow 
launched  Bar/None  Records  (which  brought  out  fine 
records  by  They  Might  Be  Giants  and  others)  and 
formed  Rage  to  Live  with  ex-Necessaries  leader  Ed 
Tomney.  Morrow's  limited  voice  proves  no  serious  im- 
pediment to  enjoyment  of  the  first  album's  well- written, 
exuberantly  played  melodies.  Almost  a  sampler  of  New 
York/Hoboken  styles,  Morrow's  songs  lean  from  mild 
soul  to  twangy  cow-pop  to  a  Marshall  Crenshaw-like 
gossamer;  the  quartet  plays  'em  clean  and  sweet. 

A  crude  and  careless  electric  cover  of  Crosby,  Stills 
and  Nash's  "Suite  Judy  Blue  Eyes"  sets  the  general 
energy  level  but  not  the  quality  range  for  Blame  the 
Victims,  another  fine  set  built  on  conscientious  variety. 
With  a  few  nods  to  the  first  record's  polite  pop,  Rage  to 
Live  plays  it  a  little  harder  and  rougher  this  time.  Be- 
sides the  gently  alluring  "Deep  Blue  Sea,"  the  coun- 
tryish  "Divorcee"  and  the  Dylanesque  "Again  & 
Again,"  there's  gritty  Gang  of  Four-ish  funk  ("Sexy 
#'79"),  taut  garage  rock  ("Fireman"),  parodic  Led 
Zeppelin  quotes  ("Joker's  Punch")  and  richly  tuneful 
heartland  rock  ("My  Heroine").  The  CD  includes  eight 
songs  from  the  first  album. 

Tomney 's  side  project  with  conceptual  artist 
Jonathan  Borofsky,  which  involves  computer-directed 
tape  manipulation  of  Borofsky 's  vocals,  is  an  intriguing 
but  ultimately  tedious  ambient  experiment  that  sounds 
like  a  cellist  practicing  random  notes.  [i] 

See  also  Grace  Pool,  Individuals,  Necessaries. 

RAGING  SLAB 

Assmaster  (Buy  Our)  1987 
Raging  Slab  (RCA)  1989« 

Imagine  the  thundering  '70s  sludge  that  would  erupt 
from  a  Cuisinart  containing  Grand  Funk  Railroad,  Blue 
Oyster  Cult,  Kiss  and  Molly  Hatchet.  That  Raging 
Slab — a  New  York  quintet  led  by  two  Washington  DC 
escapees  with  roots  in  hardcore  and  art-funk  and  bottle- 
neck guitarist  Elyse  Steinman — can  make  all  this  retro 
nonsense  sound  relevant  today  is  no  small  achievement, 
but  frequent  dips  into  the  speedmetal  jug  help. 

Despite  an  ultra-trebly  mix  that  levels  the  sonic  abil- 
ities of  a  high-tech  stereo  system  with  those  of  an  AM 
portable,  Assmaster  cranks.  Slab's  molten  fusion  of 
chicken-fried  metal  and  meaty  "70s  power  rock  is  ex- 
citing as  hell,  and  singer/guitarist  Gregory  Strzempka's 


530 


lyncs — chock  full  of  transparent  double  entendres  and 
celebrations  of  chemical  recreation — are  never  less  than 
prurient.  The  record  Is  even  packaged  with  its  own  nifty 
comic  book. 

Besides  much  better  songwnting,  the  band's  self- 
titled  major-label  debut  greatly  benefits  from  Daniel 
Rey's  muscular  production.  "Don't  Dog  Me,'1  "Joy 
Ride"  and  "Bent  for  Silver"  steamroll  past  with  all  the 
force  of  a  fleet  of  monster  trucks,  while  "Sony's  All  1 
Got"  possesses  the  kind  of  big  fat  hook  .38  Special  used 
to  nde  up  the  charts.  All  in  all,  Raging  Slab  is  a  won- 
derful reminder  that  not  all  guilty  pleasures  come  from 
Sweden.  [db] 

The  Vigilante  (Rap-a-Lot-A&M)  1988  • 

Signed  to  the  majors  in  the  record  industry's  mad 
rash  to  get  hip-hop  of  any  sort  onto  the  roster,  this 
Houston  rapper  (a  labelmate  of  the  Ghetto  Boys)  came 
up  with  a  great-sounding  album  that  didn't  have  a  com- 
mercial prayer  Under  Raheem's  raps — a  mix  of  mack/ 
gangster  crap  and  less  outrageous  boasting — the  tracks 
break  out  into  reggae  ("Punks  Give  Me  Respect"), 
hard  soul  ("Dance  Floor")  and  hard  rock  ("Shotgun"). 
In  the  most  intriguing  innovation,  "Freak  to  Me"  nearly 
dispenses  with  drum/bass  beats  for  an  effective  rhyth- 
mic keyboard/turntable  pulse.  (The  CD  adds  one.)  [i] 

RAILROAD  JERK 

Railroad  Jerk  (Matador)  1 990  ® 

By  dragging  Lower  East  Side  New  York  scum-rock 
on  a  Christmas  Carol  jaunt  with  the  ghost  of  the  Gun 
Club,  this  scaly  foursome  rocks  in  a  hellhound-on-your- 
tail  world  all  its  own.  Led  by  Marcellus  Hall  (guitar, 
vocals,  harmonica)  and  Chris  Mueller  (guitar,  vocals), 
Railroad  Jerk  takes  Led  Zeppelin's  worst  mistreatment 
of  the  blues  and  crosses  it  with  a  simpler,  more  spirited 
(but  ironically  lighter)  swamp  sensibility.  Stopping  well 
short  of  Crampsian  luridity,  this  casual  and  freewheel- 
ing album  offers  a  powerful  contrast  of  dark  personality 
and  knotty  melodicism;  a  fascinating  Northern  realiza- 
tion of  Southern  roots  music  that  exists  outside  of  spe- 
cific time  and  place.  [dss/i] 


or  character  that  would  elevate  the  records  beyond  mere 
pleasantness,  (And  his  voice  doesn't  sound  as  richly 
expressive  as  it  did  the  first  time  out. ) 

The  overbearing  Natlwe  Place  adds  synthesized  key- 
boards, sampled  drums,  loud  guitars  and  other  rock  at- 
tributes to  a  new  batch  of  tunes.  No  longer  an 
unassuming  pop  group,  the  Railway  Children  are  grow- 
ing into  dance-oriented  chart  hacks.  "You're  young/ 
And  it  feels  all  wrong/To  be  someone  you're  not." 
Exactly.  [i] 


RAINCOATS 

The  Raincoats  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 979 
Odyshape  (Rough  Trade)  1981 
The  Kitchen  Tapes  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 983 
Anima!  Rhapsody  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 983 
Moving  {nr/Rough  Trade)  1 984 

The  Raincoats  introduced  four  English  women 
parked  on  the  fringes  of  conventional  pop  music.  Or  are 
they  just  an  avant-garde  edition  of  the  Roches?  The 
harmonies  are  there  and  the  lyrics  are  esoteric  and  philo- 
sophical, eschewing  predictable  sentiments,  but  the  mu- 
sic comes  together  only  in  spurts.  A  cover  version  of 
"Lola"  plays  havoc  with  that  song's  gender  enigma. 
The  rest  of  the  songs  just  play  havoc. 

On  Odyshape,  the  scope  of  the  band's  sound  ex- 
pands; the  mingling  of  snappy  acoustic  and  jangly  elec- 
tric guitars  provides  saner  contrast  to  the  violin  shrieks. 
There's  even  a  poignant  song  about  a  girl  who's  "Only 
Loved  at  Night."  But  the  Raincoats  are  still  no  easy 
listen 

The  Kitchen  Tapes  captures  a  December  1982  New 
York  show,  on  which  the  Raincoats  are  supported  by 
three  demi-monde  musicians.  The  playing,  while  still  a 
bit  low  on  the  virtuosity  index,  shows  refinement  and 
development.  In  spots,  the  Raincoats  spin  a  shimmery 
curtain  of  lovely  sound;  elsewhere,  pan-cultural  percus- 
sion supports  fascinating  vocal  arrangements.  But  their 
potential  for  cacophony  (better  organized  than  before, 
but  boisterous  nonetheless)  will  keep  you  alternately 
straining  to  hear  and  jamming  your  fingers  in  your  ears. 
Moving  reprises  some  of  the  material  from  the  live  cas- 
sette; the  four-song  Animal  Rhapsody  EP  in  turn  re- 
prises two  from  the  LP.  [gf/i] 


RAILWAY  CHILDREN 

Reunion  Wilderness  (nr/Factory)  1987  (Virgin)  1987  • 
Recurrence  (Virgin)  1 988  • 
Native  Place  (Virgin)  1 990  <}> 

Named  after  a  1971  film,  this  young  light  Anglo-pop 
quartet  from  Wigan  (near  Manchester)  sounds  like  any 
number  of  other  northern  groups,  from  the  Smiths  to 
James  to  Aztec  Camera.  Somehow,  the  group  wound  up 
on  the  usually  adventurous  Factory,  releasing  the  sin- 
gles compiled  on  the  Reunion  Wilderness  mini-album 
(expanded  by  two  tracks  for  American  release).  Gary 
Newby's  attractive  voice  is  the  band's  only  notable  as- 
set; otherwise  this  exercise  in  ringing  electric  guitars 
and  briskly  strummed  acoustics  is  entirely  routine. 

With  two  real  producers  (Jamie  Lane  and  Bruce 
Lampcov)  working  the  board,  Railway  Children  show  a 
little  more  stylistic  breadth  on  Recurrence,  but  New- 
by's songs  have  yet  to  demonstrate  any  special  strength 


RAIN  PARADE 

Emergency  Third  Rail  Power  Trip  (Enigma)  1983  • 
Explosions  in  the  Glass  Palace  EP  (Enigma)  1 984  • 
Beyond  the  Sunset  (Restless)  1 985 
Crashing  Dream  (Island)  1 986 

VIVA  SATURN 

Viva  Saturn  EP  (Heyday)  1988 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Rainy  Day  (Serpent-Enigma)  1 984  (Serpent-Rough  Trade) 

1989* 

Like  most  of  the  bands  implicated  in  the  West  Coast 
psychedelic  revival  (the  paisley  underground,  if  you 
will),  Ram  Parade  has  a  better  ear  for  style  than  for 
substance.  Most  of  the  genre's  bands  tend  to  make  very 
deft,  subtle  music  but  have  nothing  to  say;  Rain  Parade 
at  least  knows  the  nuances  of  form  better  than  anyone 
else.  And  if  the  Velvet  Underground-meets-the  Lemon 


531 


Pipers  pop  sound  tells  more  about  who  they  like  than 
who  they  are,  at  least  the  Paraders  have  good  taste. 

Emergency  Third  Rail  Power  Trip  is  a  gentle 
record  with  neatly  crafted  songs  and  mildly  trippy  tex- 
tures. However,  the  retreat  into  style  discourages  lis- 
tener identification  and,  while  the  songs  make  good 
background  music,  as  foreground  they're  a  snore.  Ex- 
plosions in  the  Glass  Palace  is  a  somewhat  misleading 
title:  there  are,  in  fact,  no  explosions  on  this  five-song 
EP.  But  the  sound  is  filled  out  and  less  generic.  The 
record  has  a  dreamlike  quality — where  the  band  once 
sounded  lethargic,  it  now  waxes  hypnotic.  The  psyche- 
delic touches,  rather  than  offering  a  running  historical 
narrative  filled  with  inside  jokes,  give  the  pop  structures 
some  depth.  Not  a  glandular  jolt,  but  a  nice  quiet  listen. 
(Explosions  is  included  on  the  Emergency  Third  Rail 
CD.) 

The  live-in- Japan  Beyond  the  Sunset  (originally  re- 
leased in  Japan  as  Behind  the  Sunset — that's  geogra- 
phy for  you),  which  introduces  a  new  drummer  as  well 
as  a  replacement  for  guitarist  David  Roback,  is  a  mite 
redundant — five  songs  are  from  the  two  previous  discs, 
with  three  more  originals  and  covers  of  Television  and 
Green  on  Red — but  not  badly  executed. 

Crashing  Dream,  Rain  Parade's  major  label  debut, 
has  one  simply  beautiful  song  (''Depending  on  You"). 
Another  ("Mystic  Green")  sounds  uncannily  like  the 
Records,  while  "Don't  Feel  Bad"  hybridizes  two 
Beatles  songs  (you  figure  out  which  ones).  The  album  is 
attractive  but  flimsy — competent  technique  in  search  of 
a  spine  and  a  direction.  In  other  words,  it  sounds  like  the 
work  of  a  band  on  the  verge  of  breaking  up — which,  in 
fact,  Rain  Parade  did  not  long  after  the  album's  release. 

With  David  Roback  off  leading,  in  turn,  Opal  and 
Mazzy  Star,  his  bass-playing  brother  (joined  by  another 
Rain  Parade  alumnus,  guitarist  John  Thoman,  and  sev- 
eral sidemen)  reemerged  at  the  helm  of  Viva  Saturn. 
The  eponymous  five-song  12-inch — a  relaxed,  wistful 
and  intermittently  rocking  disc — finds  him  mining  fa- 
miliar musical  territory  in  an  unselfconscious  continua- 
tion of  his  former  band's  good  work. 

While  the  Ram  Parade  was  still  a  going  concern, 
David  Roback  organized  and  produced  Rainy  Day,  a 
heartfelt  but  uneven  paisley  underground  supersession, 
with  members  of  the  Bangles,  Three  O'Clock,  Dream 
Syndicate  and  Rain  Parade  covering  their  fave  tunes  by 
the  Velvets,  Bob  Dylan,  Alex  Chilton,  Jimi  Hendrix, 
Who,  Beach  Boys,  etc.  The  simple  arrangements  and 
enthusiastic  readings  are  fine-to-sublime,  but  the  casual 
vocal  performances  are  occasionally  one-take  second- 
rate. 

As  a  bizarre  but  not  entirely  inappropriate  postscript, 
Rain  Parade  guitarist  Matt  Piucci  went  on  to  record  an 
album  with  Neil  Young's  sometime  band,  Crazy  Horse. 

See  also  Opal,  Windbreakers.  [jl/i/hd] 

RAIN  TREE  CROW 

See  Japan. 

RAMONES 

Ramones  (Sire)  1 976  ® 
Leave  Home  (Sire)  1 977  • 
Rocket  to  Russia  (Sire)  1 977 


Road  to  Ruin  (Sire)  1 978 

It's  Alive  (nr/Sire)  1979 

End  of  the  Century  (Sire)  1 980 

Pleasant  Dreams  (Sire)  1981 

Subterranean  Jungle  (Sire)  1 983 

Too  Tough  to  Die  (Sire)  1 984 

Animal  Boy  (Sire)  1 986 

Halfway  to  Sanity  (Sire)  1 987  • 

Ramones  Mania  (Sire)  1 988  • 

Brain  Drain  (Sire)  1 989  • 

End  of  the  Decade  (nr/Beggats  Banquet)  1 990 

AH  the  Stuff  (And  More)  Volume  One  (Sire)  1 990  4> 

RockWRoll  High  School  (Sire)  1979  • 

DEE  DEE 

"Funky  Man'7  (Rock  Hotel)  1 987 
Standing  in  the  Spotlight  (Sire)  1 989  • 

With  just  four  chords  and  one  manic  tempo,  New 
York's  Ramones  blasted  open  the  clogged  arteries  of 
mid- '70s  rock,  reanimating  the  music.  Their  genius  was 
to  recapture  the  short/simple  aesthetic  from  which  pop 
had  strayed,  adding  a  caustic  sense  of  trash-culture  hu- 
mor and  minimalist  rhythm  guitar  sound.  The  result  not 
only  spearheaded  the  original  new  wave/punk  move- 
ment, but  also  drew  the  blueprint  for  subsequent  hard- 
core punk  bands,  most  of  whom  unfortunately  neglected 
the  essential  pop  element. 

Ramones  almost  defies  critical  comment.  The  four- 
teen songs,  averaging  barely  over  two  minutes  each, 
start  and  stop  like  a  lurching  assembly  line.  Joey  Ra- 
mone's  monotone  is  the  perfect  complement  to  Johnny 
and  Dee  Dee's  precise  guitar/bass  pulse.  Since  the  no- 
frills  production  sacrifices  clarity  for  impact,  printed 
lyrics  on  the  inner  sleeve  help  even  as  they  mock  an- 
other pretentious  convention — although  the  four-or- 
five-line  texts  of  "Now  I  Wanna  Sniff  Some  Glue,"  "I 
Don't  Warma  Walk  Around  with  You"  and  "Loud- 
mouth" are  an  anti-art  of  their  own.  Like  all  cultural 
watersheds,  Ramones  was  embraced  by  a  discerning 
few  and  slagged  off  as  a  bad  joke  by  the  uncomprehend- 
ing majority.  It  is  now  inarguably  a  classic. 

The  slightly  glossier  Leave  Home  is  cut  from  the 
same  cloth:  another  Ramones'  dozen  (fourteen  hits)  and 
under  a  half-hour  in  length.  The  band's  warped  Top  40 
aspirations  emerge  on  "I  Remember  You"  and  "Swal- 
low My  Pride,"  sandwiched  between  such  anthems  as 
"Gimme  Gimme  Shock  Treatment"  and  "Pinhead." 
Like  "Let's  Dance"  on  Ramones,  "California  Sun" 
relates  the  band  to  the  pandemic  moronity  that  has  al- 
ways informed  the  best  rock'n'roll. 

Rocket  to  Russia  is  the  culmination  of  the  Ra- 
mones' primal  approach.  Virtually  all  fourteen  tracks 
(including  ideally  chosen  golden  oldies  "Do  You 
Wanna  Dance?"  and  "Surfin'  Bird")  are  well-honed  in 
execution,  arrangement  and  songwnting  wit.  Clean  pro- 
duction streamlines  toe-tappers  like  "Cretin  Hop," 
"Teenage  Lobotomy"  and  "Rockaway  Beach,"  and 
emphasizes  Joey's  increasingly  expressive  singing  on 
two  ballads,  "I  Don't  Care"  and  "I  Wanna  Be  Well." 
The  LP  also  contains  the  Ramones'  naive  first  attempt  at 
a  hit  single,  "Sheena  Is  a  Punk  Rocker." 

"Sheena"  only  scraped  the  charts,  and  drummer 
Tommy  Ramone  (n6  Erdelyi)  left,  to  be  replaced  by 
ex-Voidoid  (and  ex-Dust!)  Marky  Ramone  (n6  Marc 


532 


Bell  L  The  Ramones  had  spewed  out  well  over  40  tracks 
(including  a  couple  of  B-sides)  inside  of  two  years 
They  next  emerged  with  Road  to  Ruin,  an  understand- 
ably downbeat  collection.  Desperate  to  join  the  main- 
stream, the  band  lengthened  its  material,  even  breaking 
the  three-minute  barrier  on  "I  Wanted  Everything"  and 
"Questioningly,"  a  touching  love  song.  Despite  the 
perky  "I  Wanna  Be  Sedated,"  pretty  "Don't  Come 
Close"  and  oldie  "Needles  and  Pins,"  Road  to  Ruin  is 
a  bit  lackluster;  earlier  raveups,  unlike  "I'm  Against  It" 
and  "Go  Mental,"  never  sounded  forced  A  rethink 
seemed  in  order. 

Meanwhile,  the  band  lent  their  musical  and  dramatic 
talents  to  the  movie  Rock' n' Roll  High  School.  The 
soundtrack  album  includes  two  new  compositions  (one 
the  theme  song),  an  eleven-minute  live  medley  of  pre- 
viously recorded  tunes,  plus  the  Ramones  backing  the 
Paiey  Brothers  ("C'mon  Let's  Go")  and  co-star  P.J. 
Soles  (on  a  different  version  of  "Rock'n'Roll  High 
School").  Appropriate  songs  by  various  artists  fill  out 
the  record.  Anyone  whose  appetite  for  live  Ramones 
was  whetted  by  the  film  soundtrack  should  seek  out  It's 
Alive,  a  two-disc  London  concert  recording  (with 
Tommy  drumming)  that  pretty  much  reprises  their  first 
three  albums. 

End  of  the  Century  features  intimidating  produc- 
tion by  the  legendary  Phil  Spector.  The  band  responds 
with  a  good  brace  of  songs  whose  polish  and  (relative) 
wordiness  show  them  outgrowing  punk.  Dubious  bonus: 
Joey  warbling  "Baby,  I  Love  You."  On  the  Graham 
Gouldman-produced  Pleasant  Dreams,  the  Ramones 
move  away  from  their  pioneering  minimalism  into 
heavy  metal  territory,  although  distinctive  lyrics  proved 
they  hadn't  lost  their  grasp  of  teenage  angst. 

Subterranean  Jungle  put  the  Ramones  back  to 
where  they  once  belonged:  junky  '60s  pop  adjusted  for 
current  tastes.  That  means  not  only  a  couple  of  acid-age 
oldies  ("Time  Has  Come  Today,"  "Little  Bit  o'  Soul") 
but  original  tunes  with  male  protagonists  hung  up  on 
girls  and  themselves.  It  also  means  easing  off  the  break- 
neck rhythm  that  was  once  Ramones  dogma.  Subter- 
ranean Jungle  is  an  underrated  item  in  the  band's 
canon. 

On  Too  Tough  to  Die — with  Richie  Ramone  (Rein- 
hardt)  as  the  new  drummer  and  Tommy  Erdelyi  return- 
ing as  co-producer — the  Ramones  got  serious  about 
stealing  back  some  thunder  from  the  hardcore  punk 
scene  they'd  inspired.  The  sound  is  more  ferocious  than 
ever,  and  they  dip  back  into  quick-hit  song  lengths. 
Some  by-now  predictable  macho  sentiments  (the  title 
track,  "I'm  Not  Afraid  of  Life" )  are  offset  by  the  token 
dose  of  sensitivity  ("Howling  at  the  Moon,"  guest- 
produced  by  Eurythmician  Dave  Stewart).  But  the  Ed- 
die Cochranesque  "No  Go"  that  closes  the  album  shows 
they  haven't  lost  their  sense  of  humor. 

The  Ramones'  big  release  in,  what  was  for  them,  an 
otherwise  quiet  1985  was  "Bonzo  Goes  to  Bitburg,"  a 
topical  UK  45  assailing  Ronald  Reagan  for  the  itinerary 
of  his  German  vacation.  That  song,  retitled  "My  Brain 
Is  Hanging  Upside  Down,"  turned  up  on  Animal  Boy. 
Produced  by  ex-Plasmatic  Jean  Beauvoir,  the  Ramones 
resemble  a  straight  rock  band  as  never  before  (mostly  in 
the  drum  sound  and  articulated  rhythm  guitar).  The 
animal-theme  record  has  typically  entertaining  entries 
(Richie's  "Somebody  Put  Something  in  My  Drink,"  a 


wistful  ballad  called  "She  Belongs  to  Me,"  the  hope- 
fully anthernic  "Something  to  Believe  In");  Dee  Dee 
(the  LP's  main  songwriter)  affects  a  quasi-British  ac- 
cent to  smg  "Love  Kills,"  a  Pistols-styled  tribute  to 
SidVNancy  that  wasn't  used  in  Alex  Cox's  film.  Mean- 
while, the  nostalgically  terse  "Eat  That  Rat"  is  the 
Ramones'  closest  brush  with  punk  in  eons. 

The  years  of  stylistic  foundering  ended  on  Halfway 
to  Sanity,  a  confident-sounding  dose  of  Ramones  fun- 
damentalism. The  dozen  cuts  mix  basic  guitar  riffs  ("I 
Know  Better  Now,"  "Bop  Til  You  Drop")  and  effer- 
vescent pop  ("Go  LIT  Camaro  Go,"  with  guest  vocals 
by  Debbie  Harry,  "A  Real  Cool  Time"),  adding  some 
of  the  most  intriguingly  thoughtful  lyrics  ("I  Wanna 
Live,"  "Garden  of  Serenity")  in  the  band's  career. 
This  encouraging  return  to  near-top  form  also  benefits 
from  gutsy  rock  production  by  the  band  and  guitarist 
Daniel  Rey.  (The  UK  CD  adds  the  bubblegum  classic 
"Indian  Giver"  and  "Life  Goes  On.")  Upon  the  al- 
bum's release,  Richie  quit  over  a  salary  dispute  and 
Marc  Bell  reclaimed  the  drummer's  seat. 

The  Ramones  Mania  compilation  packs  in  30  dig- 
itally remastered  cuts  (some  of  the  tracks  sound  ace; 
others  don't  fare  so  well),  adding  detailed  annotation 
and  Billy  Altaian's  voluminous  liner  notes.  Although 
the  song  selection  is  straightforward,  the  running  order 
is  entirely  non-chronological;  a  British  B-side  ("Indian 
Giver"),  a  previously  unvinylized  movie  mix  of  "Rock- 
'n'Roll High  School"  and  a  couple  of  45  versions  make 
it  mildly  attractive  to  collectors.  Despite  such  dubious 
inclusions  as  "Commando,"  "Wart  Hog"  and  "Mom- 
ma's Boy,"  Ramones  Mania  isn't  a  bad  textbook  for 
Ramones  101. 

Besides  a  T-shirt  and  poster,  the  luxurious  limited 
edition  (2,500)  boxed  set  entitled  End  of  the  Decade 
contains  half  a  dozen  UK  12-inch  singles  (with  some 
B-side  rarities),  dating  from  1984- '87.  A  strange  era  to 
cover  in  such  an  expensive  package. 

The  uneven  quality  of  Brain  Drain — produced  with 
no  special  character  by  Bill  Laswell — is  most  easily 
understood  in  light  of  Dee  Dee's  subsequent  departure 
from  the  band.  Clinging  together  in  an  uneasy  alliance, 
the  Ramones  here  sound  aimless  and  diffuse  on  all  but 
a  few  tracks.  So  while  the  album  sinks  to  the  grumbly 
"Don't  Bust  My  Chops,"  it  also  rises  to  deliver  the 
anthemic  inspirational  message  of  "I  Believe  in  Mira- 
cles," the  clumsy  but  convincing  "Pet  Sematary"  (in- 
dulging Stephen  King's  rock  music  fandom  for  a  horror 
film  theme),  and  the  poignant  if  unseasonal  "Merry 
Christmas  (I  Don't  Want  to  Fight  Tonight)."  Like  a 
shopworn  ghost,  the  band's  negligible  cover  of  "Pali- 
sades Park"  punkifies  a  pop  classic  (well,  a  familiar  pop 
oldie)  with  little  of  the  bratty  hubris  that  once  invigo- 
rated such  endeavors. 

Dee  Dee  has  tried  to  go  solo  twice  (so  far)  with  no 
success.  Redubbing  himself  Dee  Dee  King,  the  goofy 
bassist  made  an  inexcusably  stupid  rap-rock  12-inch 
("Funky  Man")  in  1987,  and  then  released  an  entire 
album  just  months  prior  to  Brain  Drain.  And  he  still 
went  ahead  and  left  the  group.  Standing  in  the  Spot- 
light finds  him  talking  over  music,  but  it's  hardly  a  rap 
record;  Dee  Dee's  nerdy  sense  of  rhythm,  inane  good- 
time  lyrics  and  la-de-da  delivery  make  it  a  laughable 
disaster.  The  slickness  of  the  Daniel  Rey-produced/ 
played  tracks — a  variety  show  of  rock,  oldies  and  pop 


533 


idioms  (with  minor  assists  from  Debbie  Harry  and 
others) — only  underscores  the  star's  awfulness.  Most 
embarrassing  are  two  surprising  stabs  at  autobiography: 
the  schmaltzy  "Baby  Doll"  and  the  (hypothetically) 
bilingual  "German  Kid,"  which  contains  the  eminently 
mortal  "It's  pretty  cool  to  be  half  German." 

All  the  Stuff  (And  More)  Volume  One  looks  like 
another  greatest  hits  compilation,  but  is  actually  the  one- 
CD/cassette  pairing  of  Ramoraes  and  Leave  Home, 
combined  with  two  previously  unreleased  demos,  a 
1977  B-side  ("Babysitter")  and  a  live  pairing  of  "Cal- 
ifornia Sun"  with  "I  Don't  Wanna  Walk  Around  with 
You."  Piling  33  of  these  terse  explosions  of  punk-pop 
genius  onto  one  non-stop  program  makes  for  an  ava- 
lanche of  fun.  [si/i] 

See  also  Holly  and  the  Italians,  Rattlers. 


RANDY  RAMPAGE 

See  D.O.A. 


LEE  RANALDO 

See  Sonic  Youth. 


RANK  AND  FILE 

Sundown  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1 982 

Long  Gone  Dead  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1984 

Rank  and  File  (Rhino)  1987* 

Rank  and  File  first  came  together  in  Austin,  Texas, 
although  three  of  its  four  original  members  were  Cali- 
fornians  who  had  played  in  San  Diego's  Dils  and  San 
Francisco's  Nuns.  The  distance  from  those  early  punk 
outfits  is  more  than  geographical:  Rank  and  File  was 
formed  to  play  delicately  crafted  cowboy  rock.  (Imag- 
ine if  Marshall  Crenshaw  had  been  raised  on  a  straight 
diet  of  Hank  Williams.)  David  Kahne's  production  of 
Sundown  gives  a  squeaky  clean  sound  to  the  tuneful 
and  tasty  pop  numbers,  which  also  benefit  from  pretty 
harmonies  and  confident  playing.  Effortlessly  enjoy- 
able. 

But,  alas,  too  good  to  last.  Long  Gone  Dead  retains 
only  half  the  band — brothers  Chip  and  Tony  Kinman 
(the  main  creative  force  on  Sundown,  writing  almost  all 
the  songs)— joined  by  such  temps  as  Tom  Petty  drum- 
mer Stan  Lynch.  It's  hard  to  pin  down  the  problem: 
Long  Gone  Dead  has  all  the  right  ingredients  but  only 
a  skimpy  bit  of  Sundown's  evocative  magnificence. 
Perhaps  it's  Jeff  Eyrich's  production,  which  is  fussier 
than  Kahne's  and  partially  obscures  the  Kinmans' 
melody-laden  writing  and  rich  vocals.  Lacking  the  first 
LP's  lost  and  lonesome  prairie  feel,  Long  Gone  Dead  is 
appealing  but  disappointing. 

Hanging  onto  Long  Gone  Dead  guitarist  Jeff  Ross, 
the  Kinmans  added  a  permanent  drummer  and  kept  go- 
ing, but  didn't  release  another  album  for  three  years. 
The  loud  run-of-the-mill  rock  production  on  Rank  and 
File  doesn't  totally  obscure  the  melodies  and  Tony's 
fine  voice,  but  the  band's  wandering  personality  all  but 
evaporates  in  the  guitar  solos,  bass  riffs  and  overeager 
drumming.  [i] 

See  also  Blackbird,  Dils,  True  Believers. 


ALAN  RANKINE 

See  Associates. 


RANKING  ROGER 

See  (English)  Beat,  General  Public. 


RAPED 

Pretty  Paedophiles  EP  (nr/Parole)  1977 

CUDDLY  TOYS 

Guillotine  Theatre  (nr/Fresh)  1 981 
Trials  and  Crosses  (nr/Fresh)  1 982 

As  (lower)  class-of-'77  punks,  these  London  butt- 
heads  released  a  7-inch  EP  of  sub-Clash  pop  aggression 
which  included  their  idiotic  but  hardly  shocking  1:20 
theme  song,  "Raped."  Along  with  a  name  change  to 
Cuddly  Toys,  the  quartet  dyed  their  hair,  donned  an- 
drogynous threads  and  began  playing  Bowie-style  glam- 
rock.  Despite  an  auspicious  debut  45  (covering 
"Madman,"  the  only  song  ever  co-written  by  Bowie 
and  Marc  Bolan),  their  first  album  is  merely  a  pathetic 
attempt  to  clone  Ziggy  Stardust;  lacking  anything  orig- 
inal or  clever  to  add,  it's  a  total  flop.  Trials  and 
Crosses,  by  a  revamped  lineup  (retaining  only  singer 
Sean  Purcell),  tries  to  be  more  modern  by  adding  early- 
'80s  rhythms  and  keyboards,  but  comes  up  similarly 
devoid  of  creativity  and  substance.  [i] 


RAPEMAN 

Budd  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1988  • 

Two  Nuns  and  a  Pack  Mule  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989  • 

Between  the  dissolution  of  Big  Black  and  his  career 
as  a  noise-loving  record  producer,  Chicago's  Steve  Al- 
bini  led  this  steel-edged  thrash  trio,  whose  crudely  pro- 
vocative name  (borrowed  from  a  Japanese  comic 
character)  contributed  to  the  brevity  of  its  existence. 
Three  of  the  four  songs  on  the  Budd  12-inch  were  re- 
corded live  and  loose,  an  unfocused  batch  of  impressive 
shards  that  doesn't  make  a  convincing  introduction  to 
the  group. 

Two  Nuns  and  a  Pack  Mule  (which,  like  Budd, 
has  a  nifty  die-cut  cover)  fits  Albini's  distinctive  melt- 
down guitar  and  shriek  vocals  into  rough  song  forms 
outlined  by  the  ex-Scratch  Acid  rhythm  section  of  David 
Wm.  Sims  (bass)  and  Rey  Washam  (drums).  Whether 
paraphrasing  Sonic  Youth  ("Kim  Gordon's  Panties"), 
dismantling  '70s  rock  ("Radar  Love  Lizard"),  slowly 
discussing  sex  scenarios  ("Trouser  Minnow")  or  rev- 
ving up  ambiguously  intended  furiosities  ("Hated 
Chinee"),  Rapeman  spits  out  sparks  with  the  conviction 
of  Albini's  acerbic  intelligence.  (Both  records  are  on  a 
single  CD.)  [i] 

See  also  Big  Black,  Jesus  Lizard. 


RAS  MICHAEL 

See  Bad  Brains. 


534 


RAT  A¥  RAT  R 

Rock  &  Roll  Is  Dead,  long  Live  Rat  At  Rat  R  (Neutral) 

1985 
Stainless  Steel/Free  Dope  for  Cops  £  Kids  EP 

{Purge/Sound  league)  1 988 
Rat  at  Rat  R  (Sound  League)  1 991 

Rat  At  Rat  R  (you  figure  out  the  anagram,  sport) 
was  one  of  the  brighter  lights  of  the  NYC  noise-groove 
scene  back  in  '83.  Originally  hailing  from  Philadelphia, 
the  quartet  was  formed  in  '81  by  poet/guitarist  Victor 
Poison-tete,  and  reassembled  on  the  Lower  East  Side  a 
year  or  so  later.  Then*  craven  guitar-crack,  female  bass 
player  (Glenn  Branca's  cousin,  Sonda  Andersson),  and 
shouty-dunty  approach  to  tunerism  soon  put  them  in  the 
company  of  Live  Skull,  Swans  and  Sonic  Youth.  At  the 
time,  Rat  At  Rat  R  was  probably  the  most  trad-sounding 
of  these  combos,  but  the  group  imploded  before  gamer- 
ing  much  positive  notice  outside  its  neighborhood.  The 
records  combine  swinging,  fucked-up  guitar  rock  with 
neo-artsy  mouth  action.  [be] 

RATIONAL  YOUTH 

Cold  War  Night  Life  (Can.  YUL)  1 982 
Rational  Youth  EP  (Can.  Capitol)  1 983 
Heredity  (Capitol)  1985 

Although  the  Montreal  synthesizer  trio  occasionally 
lapses  into  lyrical  pomposity,  for  the  most  part,  Rational 
Youth  serves  up  fresh  sounds  and  workable  songs  that 
show  lots  of  promise.  A  bit  like  early  Human  League 
but  better-natured,  Cold  War  Night  Life  is  a  well- 
produced  LP  from  talented  technicians  with  minds  and 
hearts. 

Rational  Youth  added  a  drummer  and  exchanged 
another  member  by  the  time  of  the  major-label  EP,  a 
slick  and  poppy  five-song  12-inch  that  includes  a  re- 
make of  the  first  LP's  "Just  a  Sound  in  the  Night"  and 
two  previews  (the  OMD-derived  "In  Your  Eyes"  and 
"Holiday  in  Bangkok")  of  the  second  album. 

With  an  altogether  different  lineup  (singer/synthesist 
Tracy  Howe  is  the  only  holdover;  ex-Klaatu  guitarist 
Dee  Long  is  his  main  collaborator),  Heredity  blends  in 
more  guitar  for  increased  commercial  appeal,  but  main- 
tains a  certain  down-to-earth  spunkiness  that  distin- 
guishes Rational  Youth  from  other  post-Duran  tech-pop 
bands.  Flash  of  fame  footnote:  the  group  was  later 
featured — on  the  soundtrack  and  in  a  concert  scene — in 
an  early  Kiefer  Sutherland  movie  called  Crazy  Moon. 

[i] 

RATTLERS 

Rattled!  (PVC)  1985 

Led  by  Joey  Ramone's  soundalike  younger  brother 
Mickey  Leigh,  New  York's  Rattlers  take  a  less  stylized 
but  equally  sincere  approach  to  essential  '60s  pop  on 
Rattled!,  a  swell  LP  of  zesty  originals  and  cool  covers 
partially  produced  by  ex-Ramone  Tommy  Erdelyi.  The 
quartet  uses  a  touch  of  keyboards  and  neat  vocal  har- 
monies to  dress  up  simply  drawn  tunes  like  the  melodic 
"I  Won't  Be  Your  Victim,"  the  beat-era  "Pure  +  Sim- 
ple" and  imaginary  monster-movie  theme  song  "On  the 
Beach."  An  ace  version  of  the  Nightcrawlers'  classic 
"Little  Black  Egg"  is  worth  the  price  of  admission,  but 
the  rest  of  the  LP  won't  disappoint  either.  [i] 

See  also  Lester  Bangs. 


Ei  Rauncho  Grande  EP  (Relativity)  1985 

Learn  to  Whap-a-Dang  with  the  Raunch  Hands  (Relativity} 

1986 

Payday  (Crypt)  1989 
Have  a  Swig  (Crypt)  1990 

In  their  mid- '80s  heyday  (such  as  it  was),  New 
York's  Raunch  Hands  were  retro-rock  representatives  of 
that  presumed  golden  age  of  sleaze,  tie  mid-'50s  to 
mid- '60s.  Thus  EI  Raiincfao  Grande  offers  neo- 
rockabilly,  neo-R&B  and  even  neo-Mex,  all  filtered 
through  the  band's  beer-heightened  (lowered?)  sensibil- 
ities. Learn  to  Wnap-a-Dang  is  less  quaint  than  the 
EP,  and  its  denser  band  sound  helps  the  Raunch  Hands 
barrel  through  their  own  R&B:  Raucous  &,  Bawdy.  Mike 
Chandler  isn't  much  of  a  singer,  but  attitude  counts  for 
a  lot  here,  and  guitarist  Mike  Tchang's  occasional  sax  is 
a  definite  plus.  Too  bad  their  originals  (about  half  of 
each  record)  can't  match  the  '50s  obscurities  for  sheer 
mmdlessness — not  counting  Whap-a-Dang's  "Kanga- 
roo Juice,"  an  "original'*  stolen  from  Eddie  Cochran. 

On  following  recordings  the  band  increased  its  song- 
writing  contributions,  with  mixed  results.  The  last  thing 
the  Raunch  Hands'  chosen  genre  needs  is  ambition,  and 
Payday  sometimes  chokes  on  it;  thus  "Detox  Moon," 
an  over-five-minute  (!!)  wino  response  to  the  Stones' 
"Moonlight  Mile."  The  schoolyard  couplets  of 
"Bottle-Now!"  (in  praise  of  cheap  booze)  and  imma- 
ture humor  of  "Hare-Raisin'  "  (in  praise  of  the  Raunch 
Hands'  hapless  career)  prove  that  less  is  definitely  more. 

Which  may  be  why  Have  a  Swig  is  under  a  half- 
hour  long.  Highlights  here  include  a  lascivious  stomp, 
"Everybody  Loves  Yo'  Mama,"  and  the  less-than- 
existential  "Naked,  Naked,  Naked."  More  power  to 
these  guys,  whose  gutter- view  perspective  has  undeni- 
able aroma  and  charm.  [si] 

See  also  Outta  Place. 


RAVE-UPS 

Class  Tramp  EP  (Fun  Stuff)  1 984 
Town  +  Country  (Fun  Stuff)  1985 
The  Book  of  Your  Regrets  (Epic)  1 988  • 
Chance  (Epic)  1990* 

At  the  time  they  were  being  touted  as  the  next  big 
thing  to  erupt  from  the  LA  club  scene,  the  Rave-Ups 
were  working  in  the  mailroom  and  warehouse  of  A&M 
Records.  Although  launched  by  singer/guitarist  Jimmer 
Podrasky  hi  Pittsburgh,  the  group  on  the  1984  EP  was  a 
quartet  he  assembled  in  California.  Class  Tramp  is  a 
mighty  impressive  debut:  a  hook-laden  six-song  rocking 
pop  collection  that  reveals  Podrasky  as  an  inventive, 
commercially  minded  songwriter  with  a  wealth  of  ideas 
and  a  fresh  lyrical  perspective.  Richly  multi-tracked  gui- 
tars, crisp  rhythms  and  easy-to-like  vocals  buttress  orig- 
inal tunes  that  deftly  sidestep  power  pop  and  other 
pigeonholes. 

Podrasky  and  drummer  Timothy  Jimenez  acquired  a 
new  bassist  and  guitarist  before  recording  the  refined 
and  ruralized  Town  +  Country,  a  good  (not  great) 
record  that  gives  away  some  of  the  EP's  '60sish  pluck  to 
take  an  energetic  crack  at  unstylized  Southwestern 
twang  and  winds  up  sounding  a  shade  or  two  less  dis- 
tinguished than  before.  Pedal-steel  master  Sneaky  Pete 
Kleinow  plays  on  two  tracks.  The  record  still  manages 


535 


a  fair  amount  of  variety: '  'Remember  (Newman's  Love- 
song)"  is  almost  a  bluegrass  breakdown  done  as  a  rock 
song,  while  "Positively  Lost  Me"  (one  of  two  songs  the 
band  performed  on  camera  for  Pretty  in  Pink',  A&M 
graciously  left  the  tunes  off  the  soundtrack  LP)  tells  of 
a  broken  relationship  with  only  a  mild  country  touch. 
The  lighthearted  Beach  Boys  car-song  parody  of  "In 
My  Gremlin"  harks  back  to  Class  Tramp;  Dylan's 
"You  Ain't  Goin'  Nowhere"  becomes  an  uptempo 
rocker. 

The  Rave-Ups  had  legal  problems  getting  off  Fun 
Stuff  and  couldn't  find  the  record  industry's  on-ramp  for 
a  long  while.  Three  years  passed  before  Epic  issued  The 
Book  of  Your  Regrets,  a  downcast  but  determined  ef- 
fort. Guitarist  Terry  Wilson  takes  a  more  prominent  role 
here,  co-writing  most  of  the  material  with  Podrasky  and 
expanding  his  instrumental  contribution  to  include  man- 
dolin, keyboards  and  harmonica.  While  retaining  a 
glimmer  of  the  previous  LP's  country  inflection,  this 
well-produced  (by  David  Leonard)  record  leans  towards 
the  textured,  harmony-laden  sound  of  West  Coasters 
like  Translator,  Peter  Case  and  Wire  Train.  Consistently 
invigorating  and  remarkably  original,  The  Book  of 
Your  Regrets  signals  the  Rave-Ups'  unyielding  vitality 
and  creative  resources. 

The  uneven  Chance  (named  after  Podrasky 's  infant 
son,  whose  photograph  appears  on  the  album  cover) 
repaints  the  previous  album's  strong  western  folk-rock 
sound  with  a  mild  '60s  psychedelic  overcoat  and  a  more 
optimistic  view  of  life.  Despite  occasional  clunkiness  in 
the  writing  and  performances,  Chance  has  the  surging 
"She  Says  (Come  Around),"  the  Televisionesque 
"Hamlet  Meets  John  Doe,"  the  rip-snorting  "The  Best 
I  Can't"  and  a  few  other  songs  with  equally  oblique 
titles  to  recommend  it.  [i] 


RAW  POWER 

Screams  from  the  Gutter  (Toxic  Shock)  1 985 
Wop  Hour  EP  (Toxic  Shock)  1 986 
After  Your  Brain  (Toxic  Shock)  1 987 

In  an  interesting  bit  of  Euro- American  hardcore  fra- 
ternity, the  debut  album  by  this  Italian  punk  band — five 
guys  from  Reggio — was  recorded  in  Indiana  and  issued 
by  a  California  label.  On  Screams  from  the  Gutter, 
Raw  Power  plays  genre  creations  like  "Hate,"  "Nihil- 
ist," "Bastard"  and  "My  Boss"  with  fiery  punk 
venom,  helpfully  singing  them  in  English.  (The  cassette 
adds  the  contents  of  Wop  Hour,  a  subsequent  four-song 
7-inch.) 

After  Your  Brain  offers  far  better  production  and 
more  instrumental  refinement,  but  Raw  Power  still  burns 
up  the  grooves  on  thirteen  new  cuts  like  "You  Are 
Fired,"  "We  Shall  Overcome,"  "Shut  Up"  and  "What 
For."  Mauro's  careful  diction  makes  him  clearer  and 
more  understandable  than  many  American  vocalists;  the 
two  guitarists  (one  of  them  a  new  arrival  in  the  band) 
work  hard  to  avoid  sounding  routine.  A  powerful  piece 
of  work.  [i] 


RAYBEATS 

Roping  Wild  Bears  EP  (nr/Don't  Fall  off  the  Mountain) 
1981 


Guitar  Beat  (PVC)  1981 

Ifs  Only  a  Movie!  (ShanachSe)  1983 

Whiplash!  EP  (Coyote)  1983 

With  so  many  late- '70s  musicians  possessing  a 
strong  sense  of  rock'n'roll  history  in  addition  to  their 
overriding  interest  in  style,  the  emergence  of  groups  like 
the  instrumental  Raybeats  was  inevitable.  Pat  Irwin, 
Jody  Harris  and  Don  Christensen,  refugees  from  the 
New  York  City  no  wave  avant-garde,  had  been  in  such 
outfits  as  the  Contortions  and  8  Eyed  Spy.  Together 
(with  a  procession  of  bassists  including,  on  Guitar 
Beat,  Minneapolis'  Danny  Amis),  they  made  frothy 
rock  dance  pieces,  recalling  the  tightly  structured  for- 
mats of  the  Ventures,  Duane  Eddy  and  the  Shadows. 
The  simple  melodies  are  defined  by  sparkling  guitars, 
junky  organ  and  wailing  sax — a  golden  opportunity  for 
most  educated  bands  to  condescend.  But  the  Raybeats 
never  did.  They  obviously  enjoyed  what  they  were  play- 
ing, and  that  made  their  records  absolutely  lovable. 

'The  Wild  Bears  EP  offers  four  songs  (including  the 
Shadows'  "Rise  and  Fall  of  Flingel  Bunt")  on  a  12- 
inch.  The  UK  and  US  versions  of  the  peppy  Guitar 
Beat,  ably  produced  by  Martin  Rushent,  differ  by  two 
tracks.  It's  Only  a  Movie!  introduces  electronic  instru- 
ments (and  ceramic  destruction  on  "Dom'  the  Dishes") 
to  remind  listeners  of  the  band's  actual  time  frame,  but 
also  includes  appropriately  dated  covers:  Henry  Manci- 
ni's  "Banzai  Pipeline"  and  Booker  T's  "Jelly  Bread." 

Amis'  Overtones  made  one  wonderful  surf -rock  sin- 
gle ("Red  Checker  Wagon")  for  Twin/Tone  before  he 
headed  out  East  to  join  the  Raybeats.  After  leaving  the 
group,  Amis  continued  to  explore  '60s  guitar  instramen- 
tals  on  his  own,  recording  the  five  evocative  Mitch 
Easter-produced  twangers  that  comprise  the  12-inch 
Whiplash!.  [jy/i] 

See  also  Jody  Harris,  Romeo  Void. 

RAYMEN 

Going  Down  to  Death  Valley  (Ger.  Rebel)  1 985 

Desert  Drive  (Ger.  Rebel)  1986 

Tonight  the  Raymen:  From  the  Trashcan  to  the  Ballroom 

(Blue  Turtle)  1988 

Imagine  a  band  playing  Cramps-type  stuff,  some- 
where out  in  the  heartland.  Now  imagine  that  heart- 
land's in  Germany,  and  you'll  have  some  idea  of  how 
bizarre  the  Raymen  are.  The  guitar-bass-drums-singer 
dementobilly  combo  hails  from  Dortmund,  which  has 
been  described  as  Deutschland's  Gary,  Indiana;  maybe 
they're  not  as  inspired  as  the  Cramps  or  Shockabilly, 
but  fun  anyhow. 

The  first  LP  is  charmingly  wacked-out  and  trashy. 
One  leader  of  the  hit  parade  is  "I'm  a  Hillbilly  Were- 
wolf," which  Hank  Ray  sings  with  as  much  sincerity  as 
anyone  could  muster  for  such  a  song.  (His  heavily  ech- 
oed baritone  typically  hits  the  right  notes  at  least  two- 
thirds  of  the  time,)  The  title  track  is  the  Raymen *s  idea 
of  traditional  cowboy  country  music  (where  they're  usu- 
ally most  effective)  and  includes  suitably  strange  slide 
guitar.  Axeman  Martin  Toulouse  uses  feedback,  slide, 
fuzzbox  and  twang-bar  to  excellent  noisemaking  effect 
throughout  the  LP  (if  anything,  not  often  enough).  A 
so-horrible-it' s-grand  rendition  of  "Locomotion"  com- 
pletes the  picture. 


536 


Desert  Drive  isn't  as  good  The  new  rhythm  section 
is  an  improvement,  but  the  material  doesn't  hold  up. 
Toulouse  puts  down  his  slide  and  doesn't  go  wild  as 
often.  Ray  is  most  fun  when  he's  frantically  stuttering 
and  echoing  every  word  into  complete  unintelligibihty, 
which  doesn't  happen  much  here. 

The  third  album  continues  both  trends.  There's  more 
music  (seventeen  tracks  on  two  45  rpm  discs)  but  less 
frenzy  from  Ray  and  less  craziness  from  Toulouse  (if 
it's  he — guitar  is  credited  to  Junior  Ray).  When  he  does 
let  it  all  hang  out,  as  on  "Saturn  Doll,"  it  sounds  like  it 
could  well  be  our  man.  There's  still  some  of  the  crew's 
trademark  wigginess,  but  only  on  half  the  tracks;  they 
do,  however,  take  the  time  to  bludgeon  the  Contours' 
"Do  You  Love  Me"  into  complete  submission.  [jg] 


Real  Kids  (Red  Star)  1 978  (Norton)  1991 
Outta  Place  (Star-Rhythm)  1982 
All  Kindsa  Jerks  Live  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1983 
Hit  You  Hard  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 983 

TAXI 

Taxi  Boys  EP  (Star-Rhythm)  1981 
Taxi  Boys  EP  (Bomp!)  1981 

REAL  KIDS/TAXI  BOYS 

Girls!  Girls!  Girls!  (Fr.  Lolita)  1983 

PRIMITIVE  SOULS 

Primitive  Souls  EP  (Aus.  Grown  Up  Wrong!)  1987 

JOHN  FELICE  &  THE 
LOWDOWNS 

Nothing  Pretty  (Ace  of  Hearts)  1 988  ® 

The  Real  Kids  were  one  of  Boston's  earliest  new 
wave  bands;  their  debut  album  is  full  of  dynamite  tracks 
that  take  the  trashier  aspect  of  the  Rolling  Stones  and 
couple  it  with  the  high-power  guitar  approach  of  the 
Ramones.  Frontman  (and  onetime  Modern  Lover)  John 
Felice  not  only  provides  tough  guitar  and  distinctive 
lead  vocals,  he  has  a  knack  for  writing  clear,  infectious 
melodies.  Spin  "All  Kindsa  Girls,"  "She's  Alright"  or 
"My  Baby's  Book"  for  proof. 

Poor  sales  of  the  Real  Kids'  first  LP  led  Felice  to 
become  a  Ramones  roadie,  but  he  subsequently  returned 
to  Boston  and  formed  the  Taxi  Boys,  whose  two  EPs 
(each  with  a  different  lineup)  carry  on  the  Real  Kids 
tradition  with  high-energy  '60s  garage-band  rock.  The 
production  of  the  records  might  be  crude,  but  Felice  is 
in  fine  form  on  both.  (The  Bomp!  release  is  a  12-inch, 
the  earlier  one  a  7-inch  pressed  on  pink  vinyl.) 

Reactivating  the  Real  Kids  with  a  new  and  improved 
lineup,  Felice  then  made  the  dandy  Outta  Place.  Harder 
yet  still  pop-oriented,  with  stellar  production  by  Andy 
Paley,  the  record  is  strengthened  by  consistently  good 
material  and  plenty  of  rock'n'roll  spirit.  After  releasing 
the  album  in  France,  New  Rose  kept  the  Real  Kids' 
recording  career  going,  issuing  another  sharp  studio  LP, 
Hit  You  Hard,  and  the  live-in-Paris  AH  Kindsa  Jerks 
Live,  which  recaps  Felice's  song  catalogue  onstage  with 
fiery  enthusiasm.  The  Lolita  release  is  a  Real  Kids/Taxi 
Boys  compilation. 

Ex-Real  Kids  Alpo  Paulino  (bass)  and  Billy  Bor- 
gioli  (guitar)  lead  the  Primitive  Souls,  whose  12-inch — 
two  originals  by  each — follows  the  righteous  path  of 


bar-band  popVroil  with  tuneful  flair  and  serious  skill. 
(For  the  record,  Paulino  has  the  better  singing  voice  and 
slightly  catchier  songs.) 

After  five  years  of  national  invisibility,  Felice  re- 
turned, unrepentant  and  embittered,  with  a  rocking  new 
trio  and  the  Nothing  Pretty  album.  Although  his  casual 
writing  and  punchy  guitar  playing  is  in  fine  shape,  un- 
certain singing  undercuts  the  songs'  impact;  Felice's 
attitude  is,  like  his  voice,  a  little  worse  for  wear.  The 
title  track  rues  the  loss  of  innocence;  "I'll  Never  Sing 
That  Song  Again"  describes  a  view  of  life  as  a  musician 
that  is  both  cynical  and  poignant;  "Nowadaze  Kids'* 
tells  the  other  side  of  the  story,  castigating  modem  au- 
diences for  lacking  the  rock'n'roll  spirit  that  inspires 
him.  Fans  who  fear  that  he's  becoming  too  disgusted  to 
carry  on  should  take  note  of  the  LP's  final  cut,  "Can't 
Play  It  Safe."  [cpl/i] 

The  Real  Roxanne  (Select)  1 988  • 

Like  the  endless  claims  to  popular  pizzeria  names — 
Manhattan  currently  boasts  eleven  "Original  Ray's" — 
this  young  New  Yorker  was  one  contender  in  the  1984 
"Roxanne,  Roxanne"  fracas,  which  boiled  down  to  a 
two-for-all  with  Roxanne  Shante*.  By  the  time  either 
woman  released  an  album,  however,  there  couldn't  have 
been  any  less  interest  in  the  object  of  UTFO's  romantic 
frustration.  Nonetheless,  with  fine  sample-heavy  old- 
school  production  by  the  likes  of  Jam  Master  Jay  and 
Howie  Tee,  The  Real  Roxanne  is  irascible  nasty-girl 
fun,  a  salty  set  of  boasts,  putdowns  and  don't-mess-wid- 
the-Ro'  antagonism.  [i] 

See  also  UTFO. 

SLEEPERS 

See  Jules  Shear. 

RECOIL 

See  Depeche  Mode. 

RECORDS 

Shades  in  Bed  (nr/Virgin)  1979 

The  Records  (Virgin)  1 979 

Crashes  (Virgin)  1 980 

Music  on  Both  Sides  (Virgin  Infl)  1982 

A  Sunny  Afternoon  in  Waterloo  (nr/Waterfront)  1 988  * 

Smashes,  Crashes  and  Near  Misses  [CD]  (nr/Virgin) 

1988* 
Paying  for  the  Summer  of  Love  (Skyclad)  1 990  • 

HUW  GOWER 

Guitarophilia  EP  (X-Disque)  1984 

JUDE  COLE 

Jude  Cole  (Warner  Bros.)  1 987  • 

A  View  from  3rd  Street  (Reprise)  1 990  • 

Like  the  Motors,  the  Records  were  reborn  pub- 
rockers,  who  made  a  giant  leap  into  the  present  by  leav- 
ing their  history  behind  and  starting  afresh  with  finely 
honed  pop  craftsmanship  and  the  full-scale  record  com- 
pany support  they  had  never  previously  enjoyed.  While 
the  Motors  went  for  grandiose  production  numbers,  the 
Records — led  by  ex-Kursaal  Flyer  drummer/songwriter 
Will  Birch — made  sharp,  tuneful  confections  that  of- 


537 


fered  maximum  hooks-per-groove  in  a  classic  Anglo- 
pop  style  not  unlike  the  Hollies,  with  similarly  brilliant 
harmonies  and  ringing  guitars. 

Stiades  in  Bed  (resequenced,  retitled  The  Records 
and  dressed  in  a  completely  different  cover  for  Amer- 
ica) is  a  wonderful  LP,  featuring  song  after  song  of  pure 
pop  with  clever  lyrics  and  winning  melodies.  Almost 
every  track  could  have  been  a  single;  "Starry  Eyes"  and 
"Teenarama"  were  actually  released,  which  left  "Girls 
That  Don't  Exist,"  "Affection  Rejected"  and  "Girl" 
as  untested  chart  material.  The  English  album  included 
a  bonus  12-inch,  High  Heels  (an  untitled  7-inch  in  the 
US),  of  the  Records  doing  four  classic  tracks,  including 
the  Kinks'  "See  My  Friends"  and  Spirit's  "1984." 

Crashes,  produced  mainly  by  Craig  Leon,  show- 
cased a  revised  lineup,  Jude  Cole  having  taken  Huw 
Gower's  guitar  slot.  (Gower  resurfaced  a  continent 
away  in  David  Johansen's  band  around  1982.)  Nothing 
here  can  match  the  first  LP's  charm  except  for  two  tracks 
produced  by  Mick  Glossop — "Man  with  a  Girl  Proof 
Heart,"  written  while  Birch  was  still  in  the  Kursaals, 
and  "Hearts  in  Her  Eyes,"  which  was  done  better  by 
the  Searchers  later  that  year.  At  best  a  weak  rehash  of 
the  first  LP,  Crashes  is  passable,  but  hardly  a  great 
follow-up. 

After  a  two-year  recording  gap,  Music  on  Both 
Sides  introduced  a  new  five-piece  lineup,  with  guitarist 
Dave  Whelan  and  singer  Chris  Gent  joining  the  surviv- 
ing core  of  Birch,  bassist  Phil  Brown  and  guitarist  John 
Wicks.  Birch  produced  this  muddled  but  generally 
pleasant  album,  which  sounds  like  Rubber  Soul  with  a 
crappy  rock  singer.  Not  a  great  parting  shot,  although 
less  annoyingly  precious  than  their  early  work. 

Gower's  solo  EP  is  pretty  much  in  the  Records' 
vein:  well-crafted,  unprepossessing  rock-pop,  but  with- 
out their  often-cloying  preciousness.  An  earnest  enough 
performer,  the  left-handed  guitarist  is  a  limited  song- 
writer and  not  much  of  a  singer;  the  EP's  best  track  is  a 
fascinating  cover  of  Graeme  Douglas'  brilliant  "Do 
Anything  You  Wanna  Do,"  originally  recorded  by  Ed- 
die and  the  Hot  Rods. 

Unexpectedly,  the  late- '80s  saw  a  sudden  resurgence 
of  Records  records.  (The  original  group  even  got  back 
together  long  enough  to  cut  a  version  of  Brian  Wilson's 
"Darlm,"  for  1990's  Smiles,  Vibes,  &  Harmony  trib- 
ute record.)  A  Sunny  Afternoon  in  Waterloo — the 
fruits  of  a  one-day  '78  songwriting  demo  session — finds 
the  Records  playing  simple,  hard-driving  Rockpilish 
rock'n'roll,  reportedly  in  the  hopes  of  selling  some 
songs  Birch  had  written  with  Dr.  Feelgood,  then  enjoy- 
ing large  UK  success,  in  mind.  Although  the  effort  was 
commercially  unsuccessful,  the  loss  was  all  Dr.  F's,  as 
the  music  is  brilliant,  a  taut  mixture  of  strong  melodies 
and  amusing  lyrics  about  loving,  drinking  and  driving. 

Another  set  of  demos — recorded  during  '78  as  prep- 
aration for  the  Records'  first  album — comprise  the  bulk 
of  the  white- vinyl  Paying  for  the  Summer  of  Love.  All 
but  two  of  Shades  in  Bed's  songs  appear  in  raw — but 
perfectly  presentable,  and  not  drastically  different — 
form  here,  alongside  self-produced  renditions  of  other 
early  tracks  ("Hearts  in  Her  Eyes,"  B-sides  like 
"Wives  and  Mothers  of  Tomorrow"  and  "Held  Up 
High,"  and  "If  I  Write  Your  Number  in  My  Book," 
written  for,  but  unrecorded  by,  Rachel  Sweet).  A  de- 
lightful companion  piece. 


Although  by  no  means  definitive,  Smashes, 
Crashes  and  Near  Misses  is  a  carefully  annotated  20- 
song  compilation  containing  about  half  each  of  the  first 
two  albums,  a  modest  three-song  reminder  of  the  third, 
a  couple  of  B-sides  ("Held  Up  High"  and  "Paint  Her 
Face")  and  previously  unreleased  outtakes  of  "I  Don't 
Remember  Your  Name"  and  "The  Same  Mistakes" 
(two  songs  that  appear  on  Crashes).  In  a  case  of  rarer 
isn't  necessarily  better,  the  CD  ends  with  a  previously 
unreleased  Mick  Glossop-produced  version  of  "Rock 
and  Roll  Love  Letter"  that  isn't  nearly  as  good  as  the 
band's  1979  single  of  the  song. 

Jude  Cole,  the  Illinois  guitarist/singer  who  replaced 
Gower  for  Crashes,  had  shaken  off  any  vestiges  of  the 
Records'  joyful  power  pop  by  the  time  he  made  his  own 
slickly  commercial  heartland-rock  albums.  [i] 

See  also  Kursaal  Flyers. 


RED  BOX 

The  Circle  &  the  Square  (Sire)  1 986  ® 

This  fascinating  London  twosome  takes  an  offbeat 
and  rewarding  direction  on  their  first  album,  folding 
American  Indian  (covering  Buffy  Sainte-Marie  in  the 
process)  and  other  ethnic  folk  influences  into  sophisti- 
cated modern  pop  creations  for  an  unpredictable  and 
indescribable  pan-ethnic  melange.  Unlike  arid  studio- 
based  partnerships,  Simon  Toulson  Clarke  (vocals, 
acoustic  guitar)  and  Julian  Close  (programming,  flute, 
sax)  make  warm  and  varied  music,  much  of  it  employ- 
ing a  vocal  chorus  which  adds  African  color.  The  evoc- 
ative lyrics  bring  a  global  political  intelligence  to  the 
songs,  making  them  not  only  appealing  but  affecting  as 
well.  Something  like  a  less  stem  Peter  Gabriel  LP,  this 
imaginative  and  engaging  record  is  simply  astonishing. 

[i] 

RED  CRAYOLA 

Parable  of  Arable  Land  (Inf  I  Artists)  1  967  +  1 980 

(nr/Radar)  1978 
God  Bless  the  Red  Crayola  and  All  Who  Sail  on  Her  (Inf  I 

Artists)  1968  +  1980  (nr/Radar)  1979 
Soldier-Talk  {nr/Radar)  1979 
Three  Songs  on  a  Trip  to  the  United  States 

(nr/Recommended)  1 984 
Parable  of  Arable  Land/God  Bless  the  Red  Crayola  [CD] 

(nr/ChaHy)1990« 

ART  &  LANGUAGE  AND  THE 
RED  CRAYOLA 

Corrected  Slogans  (Music  Language)  1 976 

(nr/Recommended)  1 982 
Kangaroo?  (Rough  Trade)  1 981 
Black  Snakes  (Sw.  Rec-Rec)  1 983 

MAYO  THOMPSON 

Cork/s  Debt  to  His  Father  (nr/Glass)  1 986 

Red  Crayola  first  surfaced  on  Texas'  International 
Artists  label  during  the  psychedelic  '60s.  Charter  mem- 
ber Mayo  Thompson  (guitar,  vocals)  would  remain  the 
group's  mainstay  throughout  its  checkered  career,  but 
the  lineup  that  recorded  1967's  Parable  of  Arable  Land 
contained  someone  whose  fame  would  not  be  in  music: 
drummer  Frederick  Barthelme  (younger  brother  of  post- 
modern master  Donald  Barthelme),  a  widely  acclaimed 


538 


avatar  of  the  "dirty  realist"  school  of  American  fiction. 
Barthelme  quit  the  group  after  that  one  album,  but  he 
and  Thompson  have  remained  close,  and  the  writer  con- 
tributed cover  photos  to  Three  Songs. 

The  first  two  Red  Crayola  records  couldn't  be  more 
different.  Parable  of  Arable  Land  is  vintage  psyche- 
delia that  boasts  a  more  engaged  intelligence  than  most 
of  the  era's  aural  acid  baths,  and  its  excellent  songs 
("Hurricane  Fighter  Plane"  obviously  influenced  Pere 
Ubu's  sound;  Spacemen  3  later  covered  "Transparent 
Radiation")  are  punctuated  by  "Free  Form  Freak 
Outs,"  random  noise  excursions  by  a  large  group  of 
Texas  hippies.  God  Bless  the  Red  Crayola  is  a  con- 
siderably more  subdued  but  equally  eccentric  effort, 
with  an  emphasis  on  very  brief,  acoustic-based  num- 
bers; "Ravi  Shankar:  Parachutist"  and  "Tina's  Gone  to 
Have  a  Baby"  are  among  its  memorable  titles.  (Galaxie 
500  covered  the  LP's  "Victory  Garden"  on  a  1990 
single.) 

Red  Crayola  then  faded  into  limbo  until  turning  up 
to  do  sessions  m  1976  with  the  Art  &  Language  orga- 
nization, which  yielded  the  demos  collected  on  Cor- 
rected Slogans;  the  album  parallels  somewhat  the 
serious/silly  music  of  Robert  Wyatt.  Largely  acoustic  in 
nature,  Corrected  Slogans  has  extremely  simple  songs, 
operatic  vocals  and  complex  lyrics  that  are  satirical 
and/or  political. 

Exhilarated  by  the  critical  success  of  Pere  Ubu's 
dada  punk,  Radar  Records  reissued  Parable  of  Arable 
Land  in  1978  and  God  Bless  in  1979.  Mayo  Thompson 
and  New  York  drummer  Jesse  Chamberlain  reformed 
Red  Crayola  to  make  Soldier-Talk,  aided  by  Lora  Logic 
and  the  entirety  of  Pere  Ubu  (which  Thompson  later 
joined).  Uniting  Red  Crayola's  flower-power  garage 
music  with  modernistic,  fragmented  arrangements  and  a 
fierce,  broken  beat,  the  album  centers  on  cynical  mili- 
tary themes.  A  challenging  work. 

Reuniting  Red  Crayola  with  Art  &  Language,  Kan- 
garoo? tones  down  the  chaos  for  a  musical  discussion  of 
Soviet  Communist  ideals  and  history,  including  the  gen- 
tle, poignant  instrumental,  "1917."  More  in  the  style  of 
avant-garde  theater  music  than  rock,  the  LP  is  like 
Brecht  out  of  Vivian  Stanshall,  with  impressive  results. 
Black  Snakes  has  more  of  Thompson's  dramatic  vocals 
and  features  Ubu's  Allen  Ravenstine  on  sax  and  synth. 
The  cornerstone  tracks  are  "The  Sloths,"  a  peculiar 
rewrite  of  a  James  Thurber  short  story  (The  Unicorn  in 
the  Garden),  the  puerile  "Ratman,  the  Weightwatcher" 
and  "A  Portrait  of  V.I.  Lenin  in  the  Style  of  Jackson 
Pollock." 

Three  Songs  on  a  Trip  to  the  United  States  is 
packaged  as  an  EP,  but  it's  practically  album  length;  the 
A-side  contains  the  three  songs  themselves,  while  the 
flip  is  a  generous  chunk  from  a  German  concert  featur- 
ing the  stripped-down  lineup  of  Thompson,  drummer 
Chamberlain  and  synthesist  Ravenstine.  Both  sides  find 
the  Crayola  back  in  the  sometimes  crazed,  sometimes 
obtuse  psychedelic  mode  of  the  band's  first  Radar 
7-mch,  "Wives  in  Orbit."  (The  live  side  contains  a 
reading  of  that  tune  that's  even  more  frenzied  than  the 
original.)  The  studio  side  is  frustratingly  murky.  As 
intriguing  as  it  would  be  to  hear  what  the  Texas-born 
expatriate  has  to  say  about  a  visit  to  the  country  he  left, 
it's  impossible  to  make  out  much  more  than  a  phrase 
here  and  there.  Still,  it's  a  safe  guess  that  "California 


Girl"  isn't  a  song  of  praise;  nor,  for  that  matter,  is 
"Monster."  Pretty  slamming  stuff  nonetheless  and,  like 
the  rest  of  the  Crayola's  oeuvre,  a  genuine  mind  trip  in 
almost  every  sense  of  the  term.  [sg/i/gkj 

See  also  Pere  Ubu. 

RED 

Red  Cross  EP  (Posh  Boy)  1 980 
Bom  Innocent  (Smoke  7J  1 982 

REDD  KROSS 

Teen  Babes  from  Monsanto  (Gasatanka)  1 984 
Bom  Innocent  (Frontier)  1986  • 
Neurotica  (Big  Time)  1987  • 
Third  Eye  (Atlantic)  1 990  <f> 

The  Siren  (Posh  Boy)  1 980 

Desperate  Teenage  Lovedolls  (Gasatanka)  1 984 

Lovedolls  Superstar  (SST)  1 986 

Alien  Sieestacks  from  Brazil  (Gasatanka-Giant}  1 988 
Sgt.  Shonen's  Exploding  Plastic  Eastman  Band  Request 
Mono!  Stereo  (Gasatanka-Giant)  1 989  • 

6 

Hardcore  Livesl  (Gasatanka-Giant)  1 988 

Originally  known  as  the  Tourists,  Red  Cross  was 
formed  in  Hawthorne,  California  (home  of  the  Beach 
Boys)  by  brothers  Steven  and  Jeff  McDonald  and  high 
school  chums  Ron  Reyes  (later  of  Black  Flag)  and  Greg 
Hetson  (a  future  Circle  Jerk).  Through  various  lineups, 
adventures  and  setbacks,  the  McDonalds  have  kept  their 
group  going  and  growing,  turning  Redd  Kross  into  the 
bemused  focus  of  an  increasing  national  cult. 

Red  Cross'  recorded  debut  (later  reissued  as  a  stand- 
alone 12-inch  EP)  was  on  The  Siren,  a  three-band  sam- 
pler LP.  Although  bassist  Steven  was  barely  13  at  the 
time,  the  six  tracks  sound  surprisingly  self-assured.  The 
culturally  resonant  snot-punk-rock-pop  selections  in- 
clude "Annette's  Got  the  Hits"  (which  became  an  LA 
radio  staple),  "I  Hate  My  School"  and  the  B-52's-ish 
"Standing  in  Front  of  Poseur." 

After  Hetson  and  Reyes  left,  the  McDonalds  formed 
a  new  band  and  released  1982's  Born  Innocent,  sub- 
sequently re-released  under  their  post-legal-intervention 
name.  The  LP  celebrates  such  wonderful  pop  anti-idols 
as  "Linda  Blair,"  "Charlie"  (Manson)  and  Patty 
Hearst;  although  unmentioned  on  the  sleeve  and  label 
(for  fear  he  would  come  after  them  for  royalties)  the  LP 
actually  includes  a  cover  of  Manson' s  "Cease  to  Ex- 
ist." The  muddy  sound  and  sloppy,  uninspired  playing 
make  Born  Innocent  dull  in  spots,  but  guitarist  Jeff's 
wild-eyed  singing  and  the  overall  junk-is-good  aesthetic 
make  it  a  record  of — and  for — its  time. 

Ex-Black  Flag  singer  Dez  Cadena  had  already  come 
and  gone  through  Redd  Kross  by  the  time  Geza  X  pro- 
duced the  seven-song  Teen  Babes  from  Monsanto. 
Running  strictly  on  wicked  irreverence,  the  McDonalds 
and  drummer  Dave  Peterson  turn  the  spotlight  on  vari- 
ous musical  victims,  and  the  Redd  Kross  living  jukebox 
bangs  out  loud  and  convincing  covers  of  Kiss 
( '  'Deuce' ' ) ,  the  Stones  ( '  'Citadel' ' ) ,  Stooges  ( '  'Ann" ) , 
Bowie  ("Savior  Machine")  and  others,  leaving  "Linda 
Blair  1984"  the  sole  original.  A  record  of  the  ultimate 
bratty  garage  band  in  its  element. 


539 


With  Redd  Kross  providing  most  of  the  music,  the 
McDonalds  appeared  in  Desperate  Teenage  Lovedolls, 
a  no-budget  Super-8  psychotromc  Z-movie  made  by  LA 
scenesters.  The  soundtrack  album — tracks  by  Black 
Flag  and  a  few  minor  bands,  as  well  as  various  inter- 
locking permutations  of  Redd  Kross  and  White  Flag — is 
well-produced  and,  for  the  most  part,  a  real  offhand 
treat.  With  Redd  Kross  backing  their  then-manager, 
Joanna  Spockolla  McDonald  (we're  all  McDonalds  in 
this  life),  "Legend"  is  typical  of  the  rocking  pop  that 
keeps  the  record  hopping.  Redd  Kross  offered  the  same 
service  for  the  soundtrack  album  of  the  sequel,  Love- 
dolls  Superstar,  which  includes  a  brilliant  rendition  of 
"Sunshine  Day,"  a  Brady  Bunch  chestnut. 

Drummer  Roy  McDonald  (no  relation)  and  guitarist 
Robert  Hecker  fill  out  the  lineup  card  on  Neurotics,  the 
band's  national  underground  breakout  record.  The  LP 
reclaims  "Ballad  of  a  Love  Doll"  from  the  first  film's 
score  and  adds  such  fuzzed-out  folk-pop  acid  trips  as 
"Peach  Kelli  Pop,"  "Janus,  Jeanie,  and  George  Hani- 
son,"  "Frosted  Flake"  and  "Ghandi  Is  Dead  (I'm  the 
Cartoon  Man)."  With  harmony-heavy  arrangements 
that  occasionally  suggest  Shoes,  Redd  Kross  has  never 
sounded  better — a  full-fledged,  mind-boggling  outing 
that  confirms  their  potential  and  makes  the  next  record 
something  to  anticipate.  (The  CD  appends  "Tatum 
O'Tot,"  a  hint  of  things  to  come.) 

Following  the  failure  of  Big  Time,  Redd  Kross 
didn't  make  another  album  under  its  own  name  for  three 
years.  But  that's  not  to  say  the  McDonalds  didn't  stay 
busy.  Joined  by  various  collaborators — including  Spe- 
cial Guest  Tater  Danny  Bonaduce  (David  Cassidy's  kid 
brother  on  The  Partridge  Family;  now  a  successful  disc 
jockey)  and  such  Accessory  Tots  as  Michael  Quercio  of 
the  Three  O' Clock — Steve  and  Jeff  launched  the  ridic- 
ulously parodic  Tater  Totz  with  Alien  Sleestacks  from 
Brazil.  Besides  perpetrating  such  atrocities  as  "Give 
Peace  a  Chance,"  "I've  Just  Seen  a  Face,"  "Sing  This 
All  Together,"  "We  Will  Rock  You"  and  "Tomorrow 
Never  Knows,"  the  record  offers  a  vicious,  seemingly 
endless  version  of  Yoko  Ono's  "Don't  Worry  Kyoko." 

The  second  Tater  Totz  album — a  much  more  accom- 
plished effort — again  focuses  on  the  extended  Beatles 
family,  beginning  with  covers  of  "Rain"  (sung  by 
Shonen  Knife)  and  "Strawberry  Fields  Forever,"  but 
spiraling  off  into  Lennon's  "The  Luck  of  the  Irish"  and 
"Instant  Karma!,"  McCartney's  "Lovely  Linda"  and  a 
batch  of  Ono  compositions.  In  an  audacious  bit  of  ge- 
netic engineering,  Queen's  "Bohemian  Rhapsody"  gets 
jammed  together  with  Ono's  *  'Who  Has  Seen  the  Rain," 
proving  that  the  line  between  tribute  and  satire  can 
sometimes  be  imperceptible  Ex-Runaway  Cherie  Cur- 
rie,  ex-Germ  Pat  RuthenSmear,  members  of  Frightwig, 
the  Pandoras,  Celebrity  Skin  and  others  contribute  to  the 
madness.  (The  CD,  LP  and  cassette  all  have  slightly 
different  tracks.) 

In  another  side  project,  the  McDonalds  and  several 
associates  run  punk  through  an  ironic  blender  as  Anar- 
chy 6  on  Hardcore  Lives!,  a  fastVsloppy  guitar-rock 
onslaught — starring  Steven  and  "executive  produced" 
by  Jeff— that  sounds  like  a  cross  between  Suicidal  Ten- 
dencies and  Black  Flag  but  lampoons  the  form  and  its 
followers  in  such  lyrics  as  "Skate  and  Destroy,"  "Unite 
&  Fight,"  "Drugs  Aren't  Great"  and  "Old  Punks," 
It's  hard  to  gauge  who  the  audience  for  this  is:  those 


inclined  to  buy  a  record  that  looks  and  sounds  so  punk 
are  unlikely  to  enjoy  (or  even  get)  the  joke,  and  vice 
versa.  Maybe  that's  the  point. 

With  Hecker  still  abetting  the  brothers,  Third  Eye, 
Redd  Kross'  major-label  debut — and  the  long-awaited 
follow-up  to  Neurotica— is  a  partially  successful  at- 
tempt to  go  straight  (or  at  least  straighter)  for  mass- 
market  consumption.  Much  of  the  band's  trademark 
wackiness  is  gone — channeled  into  the  Tater  Totz, 
perhaps? — replaced  by  disciplined  musicianship, 
streamlined  songwriting  and  radio-savvy  production. 
Strangely,  Third  Eye's  accessible  pop-rock  songs 
("The  Faith  Healer,"  "Bubblegum  Factory,"  "I  Don't 
Know  How  to  Be  Your  Friend,"  "Love  Is  Not  Love") 
are  pretty  good,  while  scattered  attempts  to  fuse  the  new 
slicked-up  sound  with  the  humor  of  earlier  efforts — like 
"Elephant  Flares"  and  "1976"  (which  revisits  the 
dreaded  decade  with  incisive  passing  tributes  to  Kiss, 
Cheap  Trick  and  Elton  John)— -sound  forced.  Whether 
the  world  needs  another  accessible  pop-rock  band  more 
than  it  needs  iconoclastic  pop-culture  satirists  is  cer- 
tainly open  to  question,  but  there's  no  denying  that  Redd 
Kross  has  made  the  transition  to  big-league  recordmak- 
ing  with  more  skill  than  most.  [i/hd] 

See  also  Sky  Saxon. 


RED  GUITARS 

Slow  to  Fade  (nr/Self  Drive)  1 984  • 
Tales  of  the  Expected  (nr/Virgin)  1 986  ® 

In  the  Best  of  All  Possible  Worlds  (nr/Virgin)  1988  ® 
Not  Drowning  but  Waving  (nr/Records  of  Achievement) 
1989® 

Age  of  Swing  (nr/Virgin)  1 989  • 

On  their  first  major-label  album,  Hull's  Red  Guitars 
sound  briefly  like  Cockney  Rebel  (from  whom  they  bor- 
row the  refrain  of  "Sweetwater  Ranch"),  as  well  as 
Lloyd  Cole,  Bowie,  Aztec  Camera  and  Dream  Acad- 
emy. The  quintet's  light  songs  are  pretty  flimsy;  guitar- 
ist Robert  Holmes'  vocals  are  likewise  second-rate. 
While  delicate  and  varied,  arrangements  and  production 
alone  can't  make  up  for  Tales  of  the  Expected' s  inher- 
ent lack  of  raison  d'etre. 

With  two  LPs  behind  them,  the  Red  Guitars  split. 
Holmes  went  solo,  while  bassist  Lou  Howard  and 
guitarist/vocalist  Hallarn  Lewis  got  themselves  a  drum- 
mer and  formed  the  Planet  Wilson.  In  the  Best  of  AH 
Possible  Worlds  is  a  strange  record,  a  percussion- 
accented  (but  not  dance-oriented)  collection  on  which 
the  three  bandmembers  occasionally  seem  to  be  playing 
different  songs.  With  some  of  XTC's  jagged  rhythmic 
intricacy  and  a  bit  of  the  early  Police's  spare  improvi- 
sation, the  Planet  Wilson's  first  LP  imaginatively  tests 
out  an  assortment  of  unfamiliar  stylistic  approaches, 
none  of  which  really  connects.  Lewis'  songs,  lyrics  and 
vocals  are  obviously  all  reaching  for  something,  but  it's 
impossible  to  discern  just  where  he's  heading.  (The  CD 
adds  two  tracks.) 

Not  Drowning  but  Waving  (a  phrase  already  in 
service  as  the  name  of  an  Australian  band)  doesn't  shy 
away  from  discordant  strangeness,  but  the  indie-label 
album  with  a  fancy  die-cut  sleeve  is  generally  more 


540 


focused  and  consistent-sounding  than  its  predecessor. 
That's  not  to  call  it  enjoyable:  this  is  uncommon  pop 
music  with  claws.  Songs  twist  and  turn  and  go  all  funny 
when  they  should  be  coalescing  into  accessible  form; 
instruments  shift  from  playing  nice  to  spinning  off  the 
scale.  The  Planet  Wilson  is  an  exotic  and  intriguing 
place  to  visit,  but  I  sure  wouldn't  live  there. 

Holmes'  Age  of  Swing  consists  of  handsome,  un- 
pretentiously sophisticated  modern  pop  with  solid  me- 
lodic appeal.  While  lacking  any  distinctive  artistic 
personality,  the  savvy  songs  (the  title  track  is  especially 
fine)  are  tunelessly  mainstream  without  being  overly 
bland.  Holmes  (who  also  co-produced)  has  blossomed 
into  a  strong,  plain  singer  with  an  unnerving  current  of 
Neil  Diamond  drama  (check  *  'American  Lullaby' ' ).  The 
CD  adds  a  pair  of  dull  tracks  co-produced  by  Ian  Priest- 
man,  the  album's  main  guitarist.  [i] 

RED  HOT 

The  Red  Hot  Chili  Peppers  (Enigma-EMI  America)  1984  • 
Freaky  Styley  (Enigma-EMi  America)  1 985  • 
The  Uplift  Mofo  Party  Plan  (EMS  Manhattan)  1 987  • 
The  Abbey  Road  EP.  EP  (EM!  Manhattan)  1 988  • 
Mother's  Milk  (EM!)  1 989  + 1 990  • 

Pioneers  of  the  thrashy  rock-funk  hybrid  that  has 
lately  come  into  vogue,  this  awesomely  powerful  Cali- 
fornia quartet — distinguished  by  Anthony  Kiedis'  out- 
there  vocals  and  the  maniacally  possessed  basswork  of 
Flea  (Michael  Balzary) — melds  floor-shaking  rhythm- 
Vroll  to  wickedly  clever  songs  like  "True  Men  Don't 
Kill  Coyotes,"  "Baby  Appeal"  and  "Get  Up  and 
Jump"  on  their  debut  album.  The  Chili  Peppers,  who 
aren't  above  a  little  self-obsessed  boasting  or  earnest 
political  protest,  play  a  thoroughly  entertaining  muta- 
tion of  George  Clinton,  Was  (Not  Was),  Peter  Wolf, 
Sly  Stone,  Kurtis  Blow,  Sonic  Youth  and  Wall  of  Voo- 
doo. Move  it,  but  make  sure  you  pay  attention  at  the 
same  time! 

Founding  guitarist  Hillel  Slovak,  who  had  missed 
the  Peppers'  debut  LP  during  a  stint  with  What  Is  This, 
returned  to  the  fold  in  time  for  the  second  outing.  Sagely 
engaging  Clinton — a  sympathetic  soul,  both  musically 
and  mentally — to  produce,  the  Peppers  made  Freaky 
Styley  more  outrageous  but  easier  to  swallow  as  utili- 
tarian dance-rock  as  well.  A  version  of  Sly  Stone's  ""If 
You  Want  Me  to  Stay"  shows  they  can  play  it  straight; 
"Yertle  the  Turtle,"  based  on  Dr.  Seuss,  proves  their 
unhinged  sensibilities  remain  in  full  force.  Other  bits  of 
rhythmicized  doggerel  ("Catholic  School  Girls  Rule," 
"Thirty  Dirty  Birds,"  "Blackeyed  Blonde")  keep 
tongue  in  cheek  and  mind  in  the  gutter.  Freaky  Styley 
is  a  ton  of  raunchy,  funky  fun. 

Bob  Dylan's  "Subterranean  Homesick  Blues"  gets 
a  weirdly  re-tempoed  electro-rap  overhaul  on  The  Up- 
lift Mofo  Party  Plan,  a  busy,  casual-sounding  album 
that  divides  rock  and  funk  down  the  middle.  On  some 
guitar-heavy  tracks  ("No  Chump  Love  Sucker,"  "Fight 
Like  a  Brave,"  "Me  and  My  Friends"),  Flea's  popping 
bass  is  the  only  connection  with  the  group's  character- 
istic sound;  elsewhere,  familiarly  repetitive  rhythm 
grooves  reaffirm  the  Peppers'  primal  commitment  to 
butt-shaking.  In  "Organic  Anti-Beat  Box  Band,"  the 
self-described  Fax  City  4  issue  their  offbeat  statement  of 
(cross)  purpose: 4  'We  represent  the  Hollywood  kids .  .  . 


you  just  might  slam  dance."  Bonus  warning  to  prudes 
everywhere:  "Special  Secret  Song  Inside"  is  better 
known  as  "Party  on  Your  Pussy." 

Fans  won't  need  the  four  previously  released  album 
cuts  that  comprise  the  four-song  Abl>ey  Road  12-inch, 
but  the  nude  tribute  cover  is  positively  priceless.  Sock  it 
to  'em,  Peppers! 

Sobered  by  Slovak's  fatal  OD  in  June  1988,  the 
Chili  Pepper  regrouped  with  guitarist  John  Frasciante 
and  drummer  Chad  Smith  to  score  then-  commercial 
breakthrough  with  Mother's  Milk,  a  hard-driven  funky 
concoction  again  produced  by  Michael  Beinhom  and 
dedicated  to  their  late  guitarist.  Fired  by  the  band's  re- 
lentless intensity,  the  cautionary  anti-drug  strength  of 
"Knock  Me  Down"  and  "Taste  the  Pain"  somehow  fits 
in  with  the  wanton  sexuality  of  "Sexy  Mexican  Maid." 
In  the  album's  best  mix  of  song  and  performance,  Flea's 
mindfuck  bass  work  pushes  the  band  through  an  over- 
powering version  of  Stevie  Wonder's  "Higher 
Ground."  [i] 

See  also  What  Is  This. 

RED 

This  Today  EP  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1984 
Talk  About  the  Weather  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 985 
Paint  Your  Wagon  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1986  • 
Smashed  Hits  (Red  Rhino-Fundamental)  1987  ® 
Nothing  Wrong  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1988  ® 
Blow  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1 989  • 

LORRIES 

Crawling  Mantra  EP  (Homestead)  1987 

If  you  loved  Joy  Division,  you'll  like  Red  Lorry 
Yellow  Lorry,  who  similarly  inhabit  a  bleak  world  in 
which  swirling  guitar  figures  and  pretentious,  gloomy 
lyrics  are  the  only  comforts.  While  Joy  Division  was  the 
unchallenged  champ  of  these  nether  regions,  Leeds' 
Lorries  work  the  territory  with  enough  savvy  and  intel- 
ligence (not  to  mention  a  cool  suppressed-acid-rock  gui- 
tar sound)  to  make  it  work.  Talk  About  the  Weather 
ultimately  succumbs  to  its  own  murky  tunelessness,  but 
not  without  a  fight. 

After  that  LP,  they  recorded  a  great  single, 
"Chance."  With  distorted  organ  drone  and  a  rushed 
tempo,  it  sounded  as  if  the  band  had  located  its  own  true 
voice.  However,  Paint  Your  Wagon  borrows  enough 
from  Ian  Curtis  and  Joy  Division  that  you'd  think  it  had 
been  released  by  Factory  (c.  1981),  especially  on  cuts 
like  "Head  All  Pure"  and  "Save  My  Soul."  A  disap- 
pointing follow-up  to  such  a  promising  debut. 

The  back  cover  of  the  Smashed  Hits  singles  com- 
pilation is  covered  with  flattering  bits  from  newspaper 
clippings,  and  the  tracks  really  do  live  up  to  most  of  the 
praise.  Most  of  the  band's  finest  moments  are  included, 
such  as  "Hollow  Eyes,"  "Generation"  and  "Chance." 
The  guitar  work  is  so  good  that  it  covers  up  the  weak 
points,  especially  the  vocal  Curtisisms  and  the  kickless, 
rudimentary  rhythm  section.  (The  CD  adds  two  tracks.) 
They've  changed  their  name  back  and  forth  between 
Red  Lorry  Yellow  Lorry  and  the  Lorries  a  few  times 
recently,  releasing  one  mini-LP  (Crawling  Mantra)  as 
the  latter. 

Nothing  Wrong  is  marked  and  almost  marred  by  an 
unshifting  swarm  of  buzzing  guitar  noise  with  just 
enough  off-kilter  harmonies  to  break  up  the  drone.  A 


541 


developing  melodic  flair  is  apparent,  but  none  of  the 
material  ranks  with  the  band's  best,  and  Chris  Reed's 
bleak  lyrics  are  straight  out  of  an  Existentialism  101 
textbook.  "Only  Dreaming  (Wide  Awake)"  is  the  most 
diverting  effort,  with  an  acoustic  guitar  intro  and  outro, 
a  bass  riveting  enough  to  please  JJ.  Burnel  and  even  a 
tambourine  in  the  chorus;  only  Reed's  deep  bellowing 
prevents  it  from  being  a  genuine  pop  song  (maybe  that's 
the  idea). 

Blow  sports  Ecstasy/rave  cover  art  (after  the  Lor- 
ries' usual  black,  gray  and  brown,  bright  colors  are  a 
breakthrough).  Half-jumping  on  the  acid  house  band- 
wagon, Blow  takes  the  band  a  giant  step  forward  in 
terms  of  melodicism  and  diversity  of  sound.  Staying 
clear  of  the  old  monochromatic  wall  of  noise,  the  pro- 
duction gives  them  plenty  of  punch  and  much  more 
warmth;  the  space  between  instruments  (more  key- 
boards and  background  vocals  this  time)  helps  clarify 
the  sound  more  than  ever  before.  The  Joy  Division  com- 
parisons can  finally  be  put  to  rest.  [j^dgs] 

RED  NOISE 

See  Bill  Nelson. 

RED  TEMPLE  SPIRITS 

Dancing  to  Restore  an  Eclipsed  Moon  (Nate  Starkman  & 

Son)  1988» 
"If  tomorrow  I  were  leaving  for  Lhasa,  I  wouldn't  stay  a 

minute  more  ..."  (Nate  Starkman  &  Son)  1 989  « 

MINISTRY  OF  LOVE 

Wide  Awake  and  Dreaming  EP  (Underworld)  1987 

Los  Angeles  quartet  Red  Temple  Spirits  skillfully 
mix  tribal  post-punk  influences — mid-period  Cure,  Sav- 
age Republic,  early  (Death)  Cult — with  a  loving  dose  of 
lysergic  psychedelia  (Syd  Barrett  and  Roky  Erickson 
are  particular  touchstones).  Bassist  Dino  Paredes  and 
guitarist  Dallas  Taylor  coax  entrancing  drones  and 
pulses  from  their  instruments  with  judicious  use  of  echo 
and  other  effects,  wh'1'  ••'•"•nanistic  frontman  William 
Faircloth  (a  colorful  immigrant  from  Britain'?  original 
'60s  psychedelic  movement)  delves  into  mysticism  (Na- 
tive American  on  the  first  album,  Tibetan  on  the  second) 
with  a  grace  and  passion  rarely  seen  before. 

Dancing  to  Restore  an  Eclipsed  Moon  is  an  aston- 
ishing debut.  The  luxurious  packaging  (double  LP/ 
single  CD)  mirrors  the  care  put  into  the  music,  which 
tastefully  incorporates  flutes,  bells  and  natural  sounds 
(water,  birds)  to  create  a  heady  atmosphere  of  ritualistic 
ecstasy.  Short  catchy  compositions  like  "Dark  Spirits" 
and  "Dreammgs  Ending"  alternate  with  several  long 
and  complex  pieces. 

The  follow-up  album  is  far  more  direct,  both  in  the 
melodic  music  and  the  lyrics,  which  turn  towards 
external/environmental  stimuli.  As  crystallized  by  the 
gorgeous  "Dive  in  Deep"  and  an  incandescent  cover  of 
Pink  Floyd's  "Set  the  Controls  for  the  Heart  of  the 
Sun,"  the  theme  of  hope  for  the  magic  and  beauty  of 
life  in  the  face  of  despair  remains. 

Prior  to  the  Spirits,  Faircloth  lent  his  vocal  ulula- 
tions  to  the  similarly  psychedelic  Ministry  of  Love,  a 
trio  that  included  guitar  wiz  Mark  Nine.  Although  lack- 
ing the  Red  Temple  Spirits'  brilliant  Chemistry,  there 
are  some  great  moments  on  the  five-track  EP,  including 


"Living  in  the  Moment"  (a  showcase  for  Nine's  e-bow 
mastery)  and  Faircloth's  touching  ballad,  "You're  Not 
on  Your  Own."  [gef] 

See  also  Jane's  Addiction. 


REDUCERS 

The  Reducers  (Rove  On)  1 984 

Let's  Gol  (Rave  On)  1984 

Cruise  to  Nowhere  (Rave  On)  1 985 

Quick — name  a  great  band  from  Connecticut.  Well, 
you  need  be  stumped  no  longer.  Just  keep  the  Reducers 
in  mind.  This  New  London  quartet  has  absorbed  all 
sorts  of  styles — from  Chuck  Berry  to  Anglo-pop,  glam- 
rock  to  punk — and  returns  them  all  in  a  solid  hybrid  of 
tunes,  blazing  guitars  and  speedy  tempos.  On  The  Re- 
ducers, they  sing  of  "Black  Plastic  Shoes,"  "Better 
Homes  and  Gardens"  and  "Information  Overload," 
painting  a  picture  of  alienation  in  the  boonies  ("Out  of 
Step").  Polite  but  energetic,  The  Reducers  introduces 
a  band  with  ideas  and  spunk. 

The  title  track  on  the  better-produced  Let's  Go!  is  a 
great  number  about  getting  out,  with  a  catchy,  urgent 
chorus;  the  rest  of  the  LP  (which  includes  a  raving  cover 
of  the  beat  classic  "Hippy  Hippy  Shake")  is  equally 
enthusiastic  and  has  more  acute  lyrics.  (On  "Bums  (I 
Used  to  Know)"  they  play  a  churning  R&B  vamp  while 
chiding  themselves  for  "this  honky  imitation  of  the 
blues.")  The  Reducers  may  not  be  fashionable — no  syn- 
thesizers or  even  cowpunk  aspirations — but  they  have 
the  spirit  and  the  sense  to  keep  changing  and  working. 
Their  albums  have  an  integrity  and  sincerity  that  more 
than  compensates  for  any  lack  of  stylishness.  [i] 


LOU  REED 

Lou  Reed  (RCA)  1972 

Transformer  (RCA)  1972  +  1981  * 

Beriin(RCA)  1973  +  1981  • 

Rock  n  Roll  Animal  (RCA)  1974  +  1981  * 

Sally  Can't  Dance  (RCA)  1 974  * 

Lou  Reed  Live  (RCA)  1975  +  1981  * 

Metal  Machine  Music:  The  Amine  B  Ring  (RCA)  1975  + 

1991  • 

Coney  Island  Baby  (RCA)  1 976  +  1 980  * 
Rock  and  Roll  Heart  (Arista)  1 976 
Walk  on  the  Wild  Side:  The  Best  of  Lou  Reed  (RCA)  1977 

+  1988  • 

Street  Hassle  (Arista)  1978 
Live  Take  No  Prisoners  (Arista)  1 978 
The  Bells  (Arista)  1979 
Growing  Up  in  Public  (Arista)  1 980 
Rock  and  Roll  Diary  1 967-1 980  (Arista)  1980 
The  Blue  Mask  (RCA)  1982 
I  Can't  Stand  It  (nr/RCA)  1 982 
Legendary  Hearts  (RCA)  1 983  • 
Live  in  Italy  (nr/RCA)  1 984 
New  Sensations  (RCA)  1 984  * 
City  Lights:  Classic  Performances  (Arista)  1 985 
Mistrial  (RCA)  1986» 
New  York  (Sire)  1989* 
Retro  (nr/RCA)  1 989  « 

LOU  REED/JOHN  CALE 

Songs  for  Drella  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1 990  • 


542 


Since  he  formed  the  Velvet  Underground  in  1966, 
Lou  Reed's  career  has  spanned  several  major  rock  up- 
heavals, but  he  has  always  managed  to  be  a  leader  not  a 
follower,  despite  an  iconoclastic  resistance  to  fashion. 
A  highly  principled  free-thinker,  Reed  has  provided  in- 
spiration, direction  and  songs  for  bands  with  a  taste  for 
the  seamier  side  of  the  rock  sensibility. 

Reed's  influence  began  with  the  Velvet  Under- 
ground's predilection  for  forbidden  fruit — drags,  bizarre 
sex,  suicide — in  its  lyrics,  and  raging  electric  chaos  in 
its  music.  How  could  punk  (much  less  the  Jesus  and 
Mary  Chain)  have  ever  occurred  without  "Sister  Ray" 
or  "Heroin"  as  touchstones?  In  his  solo  work,  Reed  has 
casually  strayed  far  into  heavy  metal  territory  and  ex- 
perimental noise,  as  well  as  restrained,  seemingly  nor- 
mal rock,  but  always  with  a  rebellious  attitude,  probing 
honesty  and  unself conscious  abandon.  He  has  always 
managed  to  remain  relevant,  serving  as  a  guide  for  all 
sorts  of  unconventional  music  makers. 

Lou  Reed,  recorded  in  England  with  session  players 
like  Steve  Howe  and  Rick  Wakeman  (both  of  Yes!), 
includes  previously  unreleased  Velvet  Underground  ma- 
terial (some  of  which  turned  up  much  later  on  VU)  and 
the  first  incarnation  of  "Berlin."  Effortlessly  alternating 
nihilism  with  ironic  wistfulness,  the  music  is  surpris- 
ingly lean  and  no-nonsense,  getting  Reed's  solo  career 
off  the  ground  with  a  flourish 

The  existence  of  a  glam-rock  New  York  cafe  society 
in  the  early  '70s  led  to  an  alliance  between  Reed  and 
David  Bowie,  who  co-produced  Transformer  with  his 
then-sideman,  Mick  Ronson.  Joining  the  legion  of  an- 
drogynous glam-rockers,  Reed  penned  "Walk  on  the 
Wild  Side,"  a  chronicle  of  the  Warhol  crowd  that — 
issued  as  a  single — became  a  genuine  subversive  hit 
(and,  many  years  later,  a  television  jingle!).  Although 
Transformer's  music  is  a  bit  too  campy,  the  LP  is 
nonetheless  a  classic. 

Fresh  from  his  work  with  Alice  Cooper,  Bob  Ezrin 
produced  Berlin,  using  such  players  as  Jack  Bruce  and 
Steve  Winwood.  While  lyrically  intense  and  haunting, 
the  music  is  understated,  almost  plain.  But  Reed's  tragic 
tales — like  "Caroline  Says"  and  "Sad  Song" — pack  an 
intense  emotional  charge.  Berlin,  in  spite  of  itself,  is 
one  of  his  best,  although  not  recommended  for  depres- 
sives  or  would-be  suicides. 

Rock  n  Roll  Animal  captures  Reed  onstage  in  New 
York  with  an  unbelievably  bombastic  heavy  metal  band 
powered  by  guitarists  Steve  Hunter  and  Dick  Wagner. 
Playing  a  collection  of  elongated  hits  ("Sweet  Jane," 
"Rock'n'Roll,"  "Heroin")  at  stun  volume,  Reed 
proves  he  can  sound  as  neanderthal  as  any  arena  band  of 
the  day,  but  his  songs  and  singing  make  it  powerful. 

Sally  Can't  Dance  attempts  a  mainstream  sound 
with  boring  songs  that  lack  fire;  although  a  commercial 
success,  it's  one  of  Reed's  most  forgettable  efforts, 
marking  the  beginning  of  a  bad  period  in  his  career.  To 
mark  time,  his  next  release  was  Lou  Reed  Live  (more 
Rock  n  Roll  Animal),  followed  by  the  truly  deviant 
Metal  Machine  Music,  four  sides  of  unlistenable  noise 
(a  description,  not  a  value  judgment)  that  angered  and 
disappointed  all  but  the  most  devout  Reed  fans.  If  he 
was  simply  looking  to  goad  people  and  puncture  per- 
ceptions, Metal  Machine  Music  was  a  rousing  success. 

Coney  Island  Baby  and  Rock  and  Roll  Heart  prof- 
fer the  same  unambitious  restraint  as  Sally  Can't 


Dance;  the  new  wrinkle  is  Reed's  revelatory  lyrics.  Af- 
ter years  of  describing  a  depraved  life-style  with  a  hint 
of  defensive  pride.  Reed  began  to  open  up  and  admit 
personal  pain  and  doubts.  A  new  creative  vista  mired  in 
a  musical  rat. 

Street  Hassle  shows  Reed  somewhat  revitalized — or 
at  least  moved  to  action — by  the  onslaught  of  his  young 
punk  apostles.  More  aggressive  sound  and  new-found 
vocal  strength  power  songs  like  "Real  Good  Time  To- 
gether" and  the  scathing  "I  Wanna  Be  Black."  The 
band  is  exciting,  and  every  path  pursued  bears  fruit. 

Another  live  album,  Take  No  Prisoners — recorded 
at  New  York's  Bottom  Line — gives  Reed  a  chance  to  try 
his  hand  at  being  a  standup  comedian.  The  four  sides 
include  only  two  or  three  songs  each:  the  no-name  band 
vamps  endlessly  as  Reed  banters  with  the  crowd,  offer- 
ing sharp  opinions  and  cutting  comments  on  a  variety  of 
subjects.  Although  not  a  great  musical  accomplishment, 
it's  one  of  the  funniest  and  most  entertaining  live  al- 
bums of  all  time. 

Reed  continues  to  expose  his  sensitive  side  on  The 
Bells  and  Growing  Up  in  Public,  using  driving  rock 
and  delicate  melodicism  to  back  thoughtful  lyrics  and 
impassioned  singing.  A  triumphant  success,  The  Blue 
Mask  uses  almost  no  instrumental  overdubs  to  get  a 
spontaneous  feel  from  a  basic  backing  trio  (including 
ex-Richard  Hell  guitarist  Robert  Quine)  and  features 
some  of  Reed's  strongest  writing  in  years.  The  portraits 
he  paints  are  miserable  characters  living  outside  society; 
it's  not  clear  whether  or  not  they're  fictional. 

Reed  found  new  acclaim  with  the  band  he  enlisted 
for  The  Blue  Mask;  adding  drummer  Fred  Maher  to  the 
core  of  Quine  and  bassist  Fernando  Saunders  completed 
a  perfect  touring/recording  unit  that  Reed  lost  no  time  in 
exploiting.  Legendary  Hearts  could  just  as  well  have 
been  credited  to  the  Lou  Reed  Band — every  song  is 
fully  developed  and  confidently  delivered  in  a  manner 
suggesting  a  tight,  well-rehearsed  unit.  It  ranks  with  any 
Reed  record  all  the  way  back  to  the  Velvets  in  substance 
and  stands  out  as  his  strongest  work  in  style,  using  the 
group  as  a  powerful  lens  that  magnifies  his  themes  and 
obsessions  down  to  the  finest  detail.  Picking  an  ideal 
moment  to  sum  up  his  career  to  date,  Reed  recorded 
Live  in  Italy  with  the  same  band — two  albums  of  ma- 
terial divided  almost  evenly  between  Velvets-era  songs 
and  solo  work. 

For  his  next  record,  Reed  decided  to  play  all  the 
guitar  himself,  yet  New  Sensations  is  anything  but  self- 
indulgent.  Forsaking  the  two-guitar  sound  just  throws 
Saunders'  distinctive  fretless  bass  playing  and  Reed's 
spare  arrangements  into  higher  relief,  and  they  ment  the 
attention — as  do  the  songs,  which  prove  that  a  middle- 
aged  rock  songwriter  can  have  plenty  to  offer. 

Mistrial  is  an  essentially  styleless  observation  of  the 
times  in  which  we  live,  simply  played  as  variable- 
strength  rock  with  Lou  on  guitar  and  Saunders  (with  a 
little  outside  assistance,  including  a  live  drummer  on 
those  tracks  that  don't  employ  all-electronic  percussion) 
doing  the  rest.  Reed's  1986  concerns  are  television 
("Video  Violence"),  the  state  of  world  affairs  ("The 
Original  Wrapper,"  in  which  a  credible  funk  track  sets 
the  stage  for  Reed  to  demonstrate  his  abilities  as  an 
urban  contemporary  wordsmith),  emotional  violence 
("Don't  Hurt  a  Woman,"  "Spit  It  Out")  and  personal 
realities  ( '  'Mama's  Got  a  Lover' '  and  the  moving,  mem- 


543 


orably  beautiful  pair  that  close  the  album:  "I  Remember 
You"  and  'Tell  It  to  Your  Heart")-  Although  many  of 
the  melodies  are  too  spare  and  casual  to  endure,  lyrics 
are  obviously  what's  important  here;  by  this  point, 
Reed's  albums  have  a  higher  purpose  than  mere  toe- 
tapping  or  bus-stop  humming. 

After  taking  a  couple  of  years  off  to  read  newspa- 
pers, Reed  reared  back  and  fired  his  most  ambitious 
verbal  salvo,  coalescing  years  of  simmering  outrage  and 
frustration  into  New  York,  a  tumultuous  and  frequently 
stunning  outpouring  of  articulate  commentary  about  the 
state  of  life  in  the  big  city — and  beyond.  For  an  hour, 
drummer  Fred  Maher,  second  guitarist  Mike  Rathke  and 
bassist  Rob  Wasserman  eloquently  follow  Reed  as  he 
talk-sings  about  crack  addicts,  child  abusers,  welfare 
hotels,  racism,  AIDS  and  much  more,  finishing  things 
off  with  a  gentle  remembrance  of  the  late  Andy  Warhol 
("Dime  Store  Mystery").  As  clunky  as  some  of  its 
modest  songs  and  ambitious  lyrics  may  be,  this  unlikely 
sounding  masterpiece  is  among  Reed's  strongest,  most 
durable  albums.  (The  CD  is  graphics-encoded  with  the 
album's  lyrics  in  five  languages  for  those  few  who  own 
the  necessary  equipment. ) 

Reed's  next  project  was  a  sentimental  collaboration 
with  old  VU  bandmate  John  Cale  on  a  love  letter  to 
mentor  and  friend  Andy  Warhol.  Songs  for  Drella,  pre- 
sented as  a  chronological  progression  of  fictitious  bio- 
graphical (and  autobiographical)  songs,  is  utterly 
fascinating  for  its  personal  reminiscences,  but  doesn't 
have  much  integrity  as  an  album.  Cale  and  Reed  share 
the  vocals,  attempting  to  make  music  out  of  distinctly 
unmusical  prose;  the  dashed-off  backing  on  guitar,  key- 
boards and  viola  is  equally  artless.  Rather  than  attempt 
to  make  a  record,  Cale  and  Reed  would  have  done  better 
to  write  A  Book  for  Drella.  (The  record  was  initially 
available  as  a  limited  edition  CD  with  a  velvet  cover  and 
an  insert  book. ) 

Walk  on  the  Wild  Side,  Rock  and  Roil  Diary,  I 
Can't  Stand  It,  City  Lights  and  Retro  are  all 
compilations — the  first  of  his  RCA  albums  and  the  sec- 
ond (which  has  excellent  liner  notes  by  Ellen  Willis) 
mixing  Velvet  Underground  material  (almost  two  sides' 
worth)  with  a  spotty  bunch  of  tracks  from  both  RCA  and 
Arista  records.  City  Lights  draws  only  from  the  Arista 
releases;  Retro  is  all  RCA,  with  four  tracks  each  from 
Transformer  and  Berlin,  one  from  New  Sensations 
and  a  spotty  sampling  of  the  intervening  years.  There 
are  other  English  and  continental  retrospectives  as  well. 

See  also  John  Cale,  Fernando  Saunders,       [i/mf] 

JUNIOR  REID 

See  Black  Uhuru. 

VINI  REILLY 

See  Durutti  Column. 

BLAINE  L.  REININGER 

See  Tuxedomoon. 

REIVERS 

See  Zeitgeist. 


The  Label  (nr/WEA)  1980 

This  Birmingham  outfit  —  whose  main  men  were  fu- 
ture pop  star  Paul  King  and  future  Primitive/producer 
Paul  Sampson  —  played  likable  reggaefied  rock/pop 
much  like  another  band  of  the  same  city  and  era,  the 
Beat.  Similarities  include  pointed-but-subtle  lyrics  that 
avoid  cliche*  s  while  covering  political  topics,  prominent 
horn  work,  boppy  dance  rhythms  and  high  musical  stan- 
dards. Differences  include  a  more  free-form,  less- 
soulful  approach  and  stricter  adherence  to  reggae 
rhythms  on  most  tunes.  Comparisons  aside,  The  Label 
is  an  ace  record  by  a  skillful,  inventive  band.  [i] 

See  also  Eyeless  in  Gaza,  King,  Primitives. 


Chronic  Town  EP  (IRS)  1982® 

Murmur  (IRS)  1  983  • 

Reckoning  (IRS)  1984® 

Fables  of  the  Reconstruction  (IRS)  1985  • 

Lifes  Rich  Pageant  (IRS)  1  986  ® 

Dead  Letter  Office  (IRS)  1  987  • 

Document  (IRS)  1987® 

Eponymous  (IRS)  1  988  ® 

Green  (Warner  Bros.)  1988  • 

Out  of  Time  (Warner  Bros.)  1  991  ® 

HINDU  LOVE 

Hindu  Love  Gods  (Giant-Reprise)  1  990  • 

Who  would  ever  have  expected  an  American  musi- 
cal revolution  to  be  launched  from  Athens,  Georgia? 
R.E.M.  's  rough-hewn  guitar  pop,  introduced  in  1981  by 
a  stunning  independent  single  ("Radio  Free  Europe"), 
has  put  them  in  the  vanguard  of  a  wide-reaching  musical 
movement  that  relies  on  homegrown,  populist  rootsi- 
ness  rather  than  any  transatlantic  inspiration.  Blending 
Pete  Buck's  Byrdsian  guitar  playing  with  Michael 
Stipe's  hazy,  sometimes  melancholic  (but  never  miser- 
able) vocals  and  impressionistic  lyrics,  plus  a  strong, 
supple  rhythm  section  (Bill  Berry  and  Mike  Mills), 
R.E.M.  plays  memorable  songs  with  unprepossessing 
simplicity  and  emotional  depth.  As  hip  acceptance  has 
given  way  to  full-fledged  stardom,  R.E.M.  has  grown 
less  exciting  but  remained  intelligent  and  committed  to 
artistic  expression  (not  only  theirs). 

The  five-song  Chronic  Town  EP,  co-produced  by 
Mitch  Easter,  continues  the  sound  (if  not  all  the  rushed 
excitement)  of  the  single,  and  boasts  the  remarkable 
"1,000,000"  and  the  equally  memorable  "Carnival  of 
Sorts  (Box  Cars)." 

Murmur  is  a  masterpiece,  containing  all  the  essen- 
tial components  of  truly  great  serious  pop  music.  On 
"Catapult,"  "Pilgrimage"  and  a  reprise  of  "Radio  Free 
Europe,"  Stipe  inscrutably  (but  evocatively)  mumbles 
his  vocals  with  unmistakable  passion,  while  the  band 
spins  haunting  webs  of  guitar  rock  that  are  heavy  with 
atmosphere.  A  completely  satisfying  collection,  Mur- 
mur served  as  a  guidepost  for  many  of  the  bands  who 
chose  to  follow  R.E.M.  back  to  the  New  South  for 
inspiration. 

Doomed  to  disappoint  by  comparison  to  the  debut, 
Reckoning  is  not  quite  as  consistent,  although  it  con- 
tains enough  equally  great  music  to  maintain  R.E.M.  's 
reputation  for  excellence.  "Harborcoat,"  "So.  Central 


544 


Rain  (I'm  Sorry),"  "(Don't  Go  Back  to)  Rockville" 
and  "Pretty  Persuasion"  are  all  wonderful,  and  display 
not  only  clearer  production  (Easter  and  Don  Dixon)  but 
a  less  humed  pace  and  more  articulate  singing. 

Fables  of  the  Reconstruction  (aka  Reconstruction 
of  the  Fables),  produced  in  London  by  Joe  Boyd,  finds 
R.E.M.  largely  neglecting  catchy  melodicism  and  driv- 
ing rhythms  for  reflective,  languidly  meandering  num- 
bers that  lack  focal  points  and  seem  to  start  and  finish 
with  the  structured  inexorability  of  a  light  switch.  A 
number  of  the  songs  are  flat-out  boring,  and  the  album 
in  toto  is  vague  and  colorless,  although  not  entirely 
bland.  "Can't  Get  There  from  Here,"  "Driver  8"  and 
the  raucous  "Auctioneer  (Another  Engine)"  do  have 
familiar  R.E.M.  attributes. 

A  shortage  of  rewarding  musical  ideas  and  an  air  of 
flagging  enthusiasm  on  the  politically  minded  and  far  too 
restrained  Lifes  Rich  Pageant  makes  it  a  remote  and 
generally  ignorable  chapter  in  R.E.M. 's  inexorable 
march  towards  the  big  time.  Excepting  a  totally  ace  cover 
of  the  Clique's  psychedelic  obscurity,  "Superman," 
sung  in  a  delicious  near- whine  by  Mike  Mills,  the  rushed 
"Hyena"  and  the  languid  "Fall  on  Me,"  the  record  is 
instramentally  dull  and  almost  entirely  uninvolving. 

With  Stipe  opting  for  a  brave  new  world  of  enunci- 
ation on  Document,  Scott  Litt's  dynamic  co-production 
pushes  the  songs  back  into  the  world  of  the  living,  with 
a  bright,  loud  sound  and  an  infusion  of  much-needed 
rock  energy.  Without  sacrificing  sensitivity,  Buck  plays 
up  a  storm,  pushed  into  high  gear  by  Berry's  walloping 
big  beat.  The  entire  first  side  is  brilliant,  from  the  ma- 
niacally intense  "Finest  Worksong"  to  the  stomping 
horn-flecked  nostalgia  of  "Exhuming  McCarthy,"  a 
goofball  cover  of  Wire's  "Strange"  and  the  wordily 
name-dropping  nonsense  of  "It's  the  End  of  the  World 
as  We  Know  It  (And  I  Feel  Fine)."  The  back  of  the  LP 
is  half  as  good,  which  is  to  say  the  sound  is  swell  but  the 
songs  aren't.  Nonetheless,  millions  misunderstood  the 
stinging  irony  of  "The  One  I  Love"  and  made  it  a  huge 
hit  single. 

Dead  Letter  Office,  a  curious  and  amusing  B-sides/ 
rarities  collection,  reveals  R.E.M.'s  proclivity  for  re- 
cording covers  (it  contains  material  by  Pylon,  Roger 
Miller,  the  Velvet  Underground  and  Aerosmith)  and  a 
goofy  sense  of  humor  not  often  heard  on  their  albums. 
Buck's  liner  notes  explain  the  origins  of  all  fifteen  out- 
takes,  pisstakes  and  oddities,  including  "Walter's 
Theme,"  written  to  be  a  restaurant  commercial.  The  CD 
has  a  bonus:  the  contents  of  Chronic  Town. 

Raising  their  commercial  sights  in  a  way  the  faithful 
never  imagined  possible,  R.E.M,  then  left  IRS  for  the 
greener  pastures  of  Warner  Bros. ,  prompting  the  release 
of  a  greatest  hits  package.  Eponymous  (now  there's  a 
band  that  knows  its  rock  criticism)  is  a  nearly  straight- 
forward compilation,  except  that  it  omits  some  crucial 
songs  and  has  the  original  independent  45  version  of 
"Radio  Free  Europe,"  an  unused  vocal  take  on  "Gar- 
dening at  Night"  (from  Chronic  Town),  an  alternate 
mix  of  "Finest  Worksong"  and  "Romance,"  a  sound- 
track contribution  not  previously  on  an  R.E.M.  record. 

The  quartet's  arrival  into  the  global  pop  stakes, 
Green,  is  a  great,  artistically  mature  record  with  more 
good  songs  than  any  prior  R.E.M.  album.  Dropping  the 
familiar  jangle  pop  and  crisp  rhythms,  the  band  finds  a 


characteristic  compromise  with  modem  rock  (although 
several  numbers  are  entirely  acoustic)  that  grants  the 
lyncs  and  melodies  precedence  over  immediately  rec- 
ognizable presentation.  Indeed,  Stipe's  voice  is  the  only 
familiar  R.E.M.  feature  on  the  catchy  "Stand,"  the 
U2-ish  "Orange  Crush"  and  the  measured  droney 
roughness  of  "Turn  You  Inside  Out."  Buck's  diverse 
playing  has  never  sounded  better,  and  piano  provides 

him  with  an  effective  complement.  "Pop  Song  89" a 

witty  reflection  on  stardom's  social  complications — and 
the  old-fashioned  "World  Leader  Pretend"  flesh  out  a 
brilliant  collection. 

Opening  the  stylistic  doors  to  keyboards,  strings  and 
horns,  R.E.M.  challenged  audience  expectations  a  little 
with  the  ambitious  but  uneven  Out  of  Time,  a  generally 
entertaining  collection  of  obliquely  romantic  (as  op- 
posed to  obliquely  political)  songs  given  diverse  ar- 
rangements that  aren't  as  far  outside  the  band's  usual 
parameters  as  they  might  at  first  seem.  Familiarly  con- 
structed songs  like  "Radio  Song"  (with  a  guest  appear- 
ance by  KRS-One),  "Losing  My  Religion,"  "Shiny 
Happy  People"  (with  Kate  Pierson  chiming  m)  and 
"Half  a  World  Away"  effectively  progress  from 
Green's  forthright  presentation,  while  others  sacrifice 
the  band's  artistic  edge  for  the  sake  of  flaccid  conceptual 
meandering.  "Low"  sounds  like  a  second-rate  demo 
plus  cello;  "Endgame"  is  a  baroque  instrumental  with 
Mike  Mills  and  Michael  Stipe  combining  on  wordless 
pseudo-Beach  Boys  harmonies.  Having  toured  exten- 
sively with  the  band,  Peter  Holsapple  contributes  bass 
or  guitar  to  half  the  songs. 

Hindu  Love  Gods,  the  belated  issue  of  a  1987  stu- 
dio get-together  in  which  Buck,  Mills  and  Berry  backed 
singer/guitarist  Warren  Zevon  on  a  well-chosen  program 
of  blues  classics  (with  a  terrible  Prince  cover  thrown  in 
for  bad  measure).  Disregarding  the  album's  general 
merits,  it  has  little  specific  value  for  R.E.M.  fans.  The 
characterless  playing  is  standard  bar-band  issue,  and  not 
especially  adept  at  that:  unable  to  locate  a  groove,  Bill 
Berry  clanks  along  haplessly  throughout  the  LP.  Thanks 
to  the  folks  involved,  however,  this  redundant  exercise 
is  the  ideal  modern  blues  album  for  people  who  bought 
the  Robert  Johnson  reissue  and  never  played  it.  [i] 

See  also  Fleshtones. 


RENALDO  AND  THE  LOAF 

Songs  for  Swinging  Larvae  (Ralph)  1979 
Arabic  Yodelling  (Ralph)  1 983 
Streve  and  Sneff  [tape]  (Ralph)  1984 
Olleh  Olleh  Rotcod  (nr/Rotcod)  1985 
The  Elbow  Is  Taboo  (Ralph)  1 987 

RESIDENTS  &  RENALDO  AND 
THE  LOAF 

Title  in  Limbo  (Ralph)  1983 

Only  the  Residents'  label  would  deign  to  sign  a  duo 
as  deeply  weird  as  Renaldo  and  the  Loaf— in  real  life 
two  Englishmen  named  David  Janssen  and  Brian  Poole 
(the  latter  not  of  '60$  swingers  the  Tremeloes),  Their 
bizarre  studio-doctored  vocals,  cut-and-paste  arrange- 
ments,  jerky  robot  rhythms  and  alien  instrumentation 
(among  the  pair's  noisemakers:  scalpel,  metal  comb, 
hacksaw  blade,  pickle  jarr  biscuit  tins)  suggest  that  Re- 


545 


naldo  and  the  Loaf  was  evolved  in  the  Residents*  image. 
Unfortunately,  Songs  for  Swinging  Larvae  has  all  the 
madness  and  none  of  the  coherence  of  the  Residents' 
nutty  concepts,  its  offbeat  wit  stampeded  instead  by 
rampant  disorienting  eclecticism.  Guaranteed  to  clear 
the  room  of  your  choice. 

Arabic  Yodelling  is  roughly  more  of  the  same,  a 
collection  of  Rube  Goldberg  home-brewed  insanity  re- 
corded over  a  two-year  period.  A  bit  less  weird  for 
weird's  sake  (although  hardly  in  danger  of  mass  ap- 
peal), it  keeps  the  blindly  whimsical  faith  the  Residents 
themselves  were  in  the  process  of  outgrowing.  Title  in 
Limbo,  the  group's  joint  effort  with  their  American  soul 
brothers,  however,  is  not  at  all  enticing.  Streve  and 
Sneff  is  an  American  reissue  of  a  pie-Larvae  cassette 
the  band  had  previously  distributed  on  their  own. 

The  general  worldwide  overuse  of  electronic  sam- 
pling instruments  may  partially  explain  the  delightful 
alternate-reality  sound  of  The  Elbow  Is  Taboo;  then 
again,  perhaps  Renaldo  and  the  Loaf  have  simply  ad- 
vanced past  musical  infantilism.  The  songs  are  indeed 
songs;  they  may  contain  obscure,  unexpected  sounds 
and  bizarre  vocals,  but  little  of  it  seriously  impedes  the 
spare,  charming  folksiness,  "A  Street  Called  Straight," 
a  most  agreeable  melange,  employs  dulcimer  and 
bouzouki  as  well  as  a  keyboard;  the  title  track  shuffles 
along  on  a  devolved  reggae  beat  with  mandolin  as  a 
prime  instrument;  the  vocal-less  "Dance  for  Somnam- 
bulists" mixes  in  glockenspiel  and  guitars.  Crazy,  man, 
crazy! 


RENEGADE 

Biting  My  Nails  EP  (Mute-Enigma)  1988 
Soundclash  (Mute-Enigma)  1 989  <!> 
RSW  in  Dub  (Mute-Elektra)  1 990  4> 

Originating  as  DJs  and  warehouse  party  promoters, 
the  three  members  of  Renegade  Soundwave  have  al- 
ways shown  as  much  enthusiasm  for  dance  beats  and 
studio  gimmickry  as  for  actual  songs.  A  home  in  the 
multi-ethnic  west  London  enclave  of  Ladbroke  Grove 
has  also  instilled  in  them  the  love  of  reggae  and  dub  that 
is  evident  from  the  1986  debut  "Cocaine  Sex"  (in- 
cluded, along  with  its  successor,  "Kray  Twins,"  on  the 
American  Biting  My  Nails  12-inch)  through  to  the  club- 
oriented  RSW  in  Dub  album.  Along  the  way,  a  more 
conventional  use  of  vocals,  guitars  and  dance  breaks  has 
yielded  two  crossover  UK  hit  singles:  "Biting  My 
Nails"  and  "Probably  a  Robbery"  (both  on  Sound- 
clash). 

All  of  which  gives  Renegade  Soundwave  an  identity 
crisis.  Unsure  whether  to  produce  rock  songs,  dance 
anthems  or  dub  jams,  they  experiment  with  each  on 
Soundclash  (the  CD  of  which  contains  two  bonus 
tracks)  and  just  come  across  confused.  On  RSW  in 
Dub,  which  contains  mostly  new  and  totally  revamped 
material,  they  do  away  with  the  vocals  but  still  zigzag 
between  industrial  house  and  dub  reggae.  Like  many 
products  of  the  dancefloor,  Renegade  Soundwave  can 
be  inspired  when  working  with  12-inch  singles  (the 
trio's  remixes  for  other  bands,  from  Inspiral  Carpets  to 
Nitzer  Ebb,  are  easily  identifiable  by  the  dominance  of 
bass  and  percussive  rhythm  over  melody).  But  they  have 
yet  to  demonstrate  such  mastery  on  their  albums,  [tf] 


REPLACEMENTS 

Sorry  Ma,  Forgot  to  Take  Out  the  Trash  (Twin/Tone) 

1981  ® 

The  Replacements  Stink  EP  (Twin/Tone)  1 982  +  1 986  • 
Hootenanny  (Twin/Tone)  1 983  • 
Let  It  Be  (Twin/Tone)  1984  • 
The  Shit  Hits  the  Fans  [tape]  (Twin/Tone)  1 985 
Tim  (Sire)  1985® 
BoinkS!(nr/Glass)1986 
Pleased  to  Meet  Me  (Sire)  1 987  • 
Don't  Tell  a  Soul  (Sire-Reprise)  1 989  • 
All  Shook  Down  (Sire-Reprise)  1 990  4> 

For  a  time  the  world's  best  rock'n'roll  band — proof 
that  those  who  missed  the  '60s  could  still  build  some- 
thing great  on  the  crass  and  hollow  corpse  of  '70s 
music__Minneapolis'  Replacements  began  as  juvenile 
punks  whose  give-a-shit  attitude  masked  the  seeds  of 
singer/guitarist/songwriter  Paul  Westerberg's  self- 
destructive  genius  for  injecting  sensitivity  into  flat-out 
chaos.  When  it  all  clicked— volume,  rawness,  speed 
(pace  and  ingested  substances),  energy  and  passion — 
the  Mats  (short  for  Placemats)  teetered  drunkenly  at  the 
brink  of  the  abyss  and  recklessly  cracked  jokes  about  it. 
Onstage  and  on  vinyl,  nothing  could  compare  with  their 
unpredictable  excitement.  But  over  the  years,  the  onset 
of  maturity  and  a  reasonable  desire  for  self-preservation 
caused  Westerberg  to  draw  the  group  back  to  the  point 
where  the  latest  album  has  almost  none  of  the  old  fire. 

The  original  foursome  got  written  off  a  lot  as  sloppy, 
but  only  by  those  who  chose  not  to  see  beyond  the 
confusion.  Chris  Mars  drummed  as  one  possessed; 
spoiled  teen  Tommy  Stinson  (twelve  when  the  band 
started)  thumped  a  mean  bassline;  buffoonish  guitarist 
Bob  Stinson  might  wear  a  dress  (or  less)  onstage  but 
could  alternate  between  ripping  metal  leads  and  ach- 
ingly  tender  melody  lines  that  come  from  his  heart  (if 
not  his  brain).  And  Paul  Westerberg — too  terrified  to 
sing  his  soft  songs — hid  behind  the  band's  noise.  The 
Mats  were  one  of  those  classic  rock'n'roll  combos 
whose  music,  looks  and  personalities  fit  together  per- 
fectly, the  stuff  of  which  legends  are  made. 

The  musical  evidence  of  their  creative  importance 
was  there  on  the  first  album,  eighteen  songs  following 
the  usual  loud/fast/cynical  rules  with  titles  like  "Shut- 
up,"  "Kick  Your  Door  Down,"  "I  Hate  Music"  and 
"Shiftless  When  Idle."  But  a  slow,  bluesy  ode  to 
J.  Thunders,  "Johnny's  Gonna  Die,"  showed  depth  be- 
yond their  years.  The  Stink  EP — initially  issued  in  a 
white  hand-rubberstamped  sleeve — went  for  pure  driv- 
ing thrash  and  produced  some  gems,  including  "Dope 
Smokin  Moron/'  "Kids  Don't  Follow"  and  "God 
Damn  Job."  But  it  landed  them  in  the  hardcore  bins, 
even  though  the  music  and  lyrics  are  much  sharper  than 
most,  mixing  equal  parts  arrogance  and  self-deprecating 
humor. 

When  Hootenanny  combined  blues,  power  pop, 
folk,  country,  straight-ahead  rock,  surf  (or,  more  accu- 
rately, ski)  and  punk  in  a  way  few  hardcore  bands  could 
even  imagine,  people  started  taking  notice.  Stink's 
"Fuck  School"  gave  way  to  "Color  Me  Impressed,"  a 
wise  and  soaring  rock  number  about  getting  drunk  and 
being  bored  by  trendinistas  that  sounded  pretty  incon- 
gruous next  to  "Run  It,"  a  paean  to  beating  red  lights. 
Amid  the  roaring  power  of  "Take  Me  Down  to  the 
Hospital"  and  the  wacky  Beatlesque  collage  of  "Mr. 


546 


Whirly,"  Westerberg  reached  into  his  bag  of  solo  heart- 
stoppers  for  a  naked  (yet  never  sappy)  confession  of 
loneliness,  " Within  Your  Reach." 

With  Let  It  Be,  the  Mats  became  " stars,"  at  least 
on  the  independent  club/college  radio  circuit.  The  LP  is 
more  focused  than  anything  else  they'd  done,  boldly 
carrying  out  what  they'd  only  tried  on  Hootenanny. 
They  blended  rock-pop  and  country  shuffle  on  "I  Will 
Dare,"  covered  Kiss'  "Black  Diamond"  and  raved-up 
on  novelty  rockers  like  the  lyrical  verite  of  "Tommy 
Gets  His  Tonsils  Out' '  and  "Gary' s  Got  a  Boner. ' '  Wes- 
terberg's  knowledge  of  loneliness  ("Sixteen  Blue," 
"Answering  Machine")  gave  way  to  total  emptiness  on 
the  harrowing  '  'Unsatisfied. ' ' 

Clitics  trampled  each  other  in  a  rush  to  claim  dis- 
covery rights,  Sire  signed  them  and  Twin/Tone  cele- 
brated with  a  cassette-only  live  tape — stolen  from  some 
kid  bootlegging  an  Oklahoma  show — which  showed  the 
feckless  Mats  at  their  most  messed-up,  playing  (at  least 
starting  to  play)  a  motley  collection  of  their  favorite 
covers,  from  R.E.M.  to  the  Stones,  Thin  Lizzy  to  X. 

The  Replacements  made  the  transition  to  rnajor- 
labeldom  with  their  artistic  integrity  intact  Ex-Ramone 
Tommy  Erdelyi  produced  Tim,  retaining  all  of  the 
band's  raggedness  and  devil-may-care  spirit.  Wester- 
berg's  tunes  here  are  among  his  best  ever,  from  a  mel- 
ancholy bar  ballad  ("Here  Comes  a  Regular")  to  an 
obnoxiously  mean-spirited  anti-stewardess  slur,  "Wait- 
ress in  the  Sky."  His  raging  insecurity  shines  through 
on  "Hold  My  Life"  ("because  I  just  might  lose  it 
.  .  .  ")  and  the  anthemic  "Bastards  of  Young."  "Left 
of  the  Dial"  celebrates  alternative  radio,  while  "Kiss 
Me  on  the  Bus"  considers  the  romantic  possibilities  of 
public  transportation.  A  stupendous  record. 

Boink!!  is  an  eight-song  UK  condensation  of  the 
band's  pre-Let  It  Be  catalogue,  with  the  added  bonus  of 
an  otherwise  unreleased  Alex  Chilton-produced  cut, 
"Nowhere  Is  My  Home." 

When  it  became  apparent  that  Bob  Stinson  was  in 
danger  of  succumbing  permanently  to  the  band's  treach- 
erous lifestyle,  the  Mats  fired  him  and  proceeded  to 
record  the  incredible  Pleased  to  Meet  Me  as  a  trio. 
With  Jim  Dickinson  producing  and  Westerberg  doing  all 
the  guitar  work,  the  group  stirred  up  another  batch  of 
their  finest  brew:  virile,  witty  rockers  ("Valentine," 
"Red  Red  Wine,"  "I.O.U."),  tender  ballads  ("Night- 
club Jitters,"  "Skyway").  There's  a  rollicking  number 
about  "Alex  Chilton,"  a  bizarre  but  fabulous  stab  at 
commercial  radio  acceptance  ("Can't  Hardly  Wait")  in 
which  the  Memphis  Horns  echo  a  deliciously  nagging 
guitar  riff  over  a  wicked  backbeat,  and  "The  Ledge,"  a 
tense  suicide  vignette  musically  rewritten  from  Hoote- 
nanny's  "Willpower."  On  tour  following  the  LP's  re- 
lease, the  group  unveiled  a  new  guitarist,  Slim  Dunlap 
(ex-Curtiss  A),  and  a  far  less  obstreperous  attitude. 

Whether  Don't  Tell  a  Soul  is  a  strong  album  with  a 
few  clunkers  or  a  weak  album  with  some  great  songs, 
the  Mats'  previous  glories  tinge  the  record  with  disap- 
pointment, (Initial  impressions  were  strictly  the  latter; 
the  record's  better  qualities  have  emerged  over  time.) 
Westerberg' s  arrival  in  adulthood  has  softened  his  out- 
look (while  increasing  his  disillusionment)  and  reduced 
his  desire  to  play  blaringly  loud,  wild  rock.  But  as  his 
passions  have  cooled,  his  lyrical  concerns  have  grown 
increasingly  private;  the  songs  are  as  strong  and  artistic 


as  ever,  but  somehow  less  compelling.  Arrangements 
which  favor  acoustic  guitars,  layers  of  harmony  vocals 
and  keyboards  undercut  the  band's  standard  attack;  Mars 
is  consigned  to  keep  the  backbeat  with  a  criminal  min- 
imum of  rhythmic  variation.  "Achin'  to  Be,"  a  gentle 
country  love  song,  and  the  stately  minor-key  "Darlin' 
One"  are  extremely  effective,  as  are  "I'll  Be  You,"  the 
soaring  "We'll  Inherit  the  Earth"  and  "Any Where's 
Better  Than  Here."  But  there's  still  an  unsettling  aloof- 
ness to  the  record.  Rather  than  the  previous  album's 
reach-out-and-grab-someone  impact,  Don't  Tell  a  Soul 
is  merely  an  uneven  collection  of  songs 

Compared  to  the  stultifying  All  Shook  Down,  how- 
ever, Don't  Tell  a  Soul  is  positively  blistering.  A  band 
album  in  name  only,  Westerberg  used  session  players 
(including  the  three  other  Replacements)  to  craft  light- 
weight songs  that  resemble  the  Replacements,  but  lack 
fire,  content,  imagination  and  tension.  Considering  the 
Mats'  past  achievements,  the  vocal  duet  with  Concrete 
Blonde's  Johnette  Napolitano  on  "My  Little  Problem" 
is  a  fairly  lame  excuse  for  rock'n'roll.  ("Bent  Out  of 
Shape"  is  the  album's  sole  working  burner,  although 
the  Stonesy  "Happy  Town"  comes  close.)  While  the 
acoustic  "Sadly  Beautiful"  (with  viola  by  John  Cale) 
demonstrates  how  to  find  intensity  in  tranquility,  the 
album — even  a  piano-based  pitch  for  sobriety  entitled 
"The  Last" — fails  to  perform  that  feat  twice.  Oh 
momma,  can  this  really  be  the  end? 

For  Chris  Mars,  it  was.  He  quit  in  November  1990. 
With  a  new  drummer,  the  group  hit  the  road  soon  after, 
playing  mostly  recent  material  to  extremely  favorable 
notices,  [ep/i] 


REPTILE 

Ivor  Bongo  EP  (Bad  Taste)  1 989 
Fame  and  Fossils  (Bad  Taste)  1 990  « 

Oh,  those  wacky  Icelanders!  Related  to  the  Sugar- 
cubes  through  keyboardist  Magga  Orn61fsdottir  (who 
left  in  *88,  prior  to  Reptile's  album,  but  appears  on  the 
four-song  EP),  this  Reykjavik  quintet  makes  its  full- 
length  debut  with  a  charming  hubbub  of  marimba, 
banjo,  violin  and  sax,  as  well  as  guitar,  bass  and  drums. 
Fame  and  Fossils  fuses  a  version  of  the  Sugarcubes' 
bizarre  theatrics  (I  wouldn't  attempt  to  grasp  the  logic  of 
songs  like  "Gun  Fun,"  "Candyflos  War"  or  "What 
Are  You  Up  To,"  in  which  giggling  Magga  Stina  re- 
quests the  song's  object  to  "Hit  me  on  the  forehead")  to 
an  Ordinaire-y  mad-jazz  orientation,  coming  up  with  a 
dizzying  pastiche  that  would  be  equally  at  home  in  a 
Spike  Jones  tribute  show  or  an  avant-garde  multi-media 
performance.  [i] 

See  also  Sugarcubes. 

RESIDENTS 

Meet  the  Residents  (Ralph)  1974  4-  1977  4-  1985  • 
The  Residents  Present  the  Third  Reich  'n  Roll  (Ralph)  1975 

+  1979  • 

Fingerprince  (Ralph)  1976  • 
Duck  Stab  EP  (Ralph)  1978  +  1987 
Duck  Stab/Buster  &  Glen  (Ralph)  1 978  • 
Not  Available  (Ralph)  1 978  « 
Eskimo  (Ralph)  1979« 
Nibbles  (nr/Virgin)  1979 

547 


Diskomo/Goosebump  EP  (Ralph)  1 980  • 

The  Residents  Commercial  Album  (Ralph)  1980  • 

Mark  of  the  Mole  (Ralph)  1 981  ® 

The  Tunes  of  Two  Cities  (Ralph)  1 982  • 

Intermission  EP  (Ralph)  1982 

The  Residents'  Mole  Show  (no  label)  1983 

Residue  of  the  Residents  (Ralph)  1983 

George  &  James  (Ralph)  1984 

Whatever  Happened  to  Vileness  Fats?  (Ralph)  1984 

Assorted  Secrets  [tape]  (Ralph)  1984 

The  Census  Taker  (Episode)  1 985 

The  Big  Bubble  (Black  Shroud-Ralph)  1985  ® 

PAL  TV  LP  (nr/Doublevision)  1 985 

Heaven?  [CD]  (Rykodisc)  1986  • 

Hell!  [CD]  (Rykodisc)  1986® 

Stars  &  Hank  Forever  (Ralph)  1 986  • 

1 3th  Anniversary  Show-Live  in  Japan  (Ralph)  1 986 

Hit  the  Road  Jack  EP  (Ralph)  1 987 

The  Mole  Show  Live  in  Holland  [CD]  (Hoi.  Torso)  1987 
(East  Side  Digital)  1988* 

God  in  Three  Persons  (Rykodisc)  1 988  ® 

God  in  3  Persons:  Original  Soundtrack  Recording 
(Rykodisc)  1988® 

The  King  and  Eye  (Enigma)  1989  ® 

Buckaroo  Blues  &  Black  Barry  [tape]  (Ralph  Special 
Products)  1989 

Stranger  Than  Supper  (UWEB  Special  Products)  1990  • 

Cube-E  Live  in  Holland  (Enigma)  1990  • 

Freak  Show  (Official  Product)  1 991  • 

RESIDENTS  &  RENALDO  AND 
THE  LOAF 

Title  in  Limbo  (Ralph)  1983 

What's  a  Resident?  Epithets  abound,  but  anent  ac- 
tual identities,  anyone  who  knows  ain't  talking.  Trans- 
planted cine'astes — so  the  story  goes — from  Shreveport, 
Louisiana  to  the  San  Francisco  area  who  also  dabble  in 
musical  experiments,  the  foursome  (trio9  duo?)  has  wo- 
ven a  remarkable  cloak  of  secrecy.  Aside  from  the 
avowed  purpose  of  avoiding  misleading  and  potentially 
divisive  individual  credits,  this  creates  an  attention- 
getting  mystique  which,  when  the  limited  speculation 
on  same  has  been  exhausted,  leaves  absolutely  nothing 
to  contemplate  but  the  music  itself. 

The  Residents  led  Ralph  Records  from  cottage  in- 
dustry to  self-sufficient  label,  able  to  sell  artistically 
ambitious  oeuvres  without  selling  themselves  out. 
They're  also  paradigmatic  of  limited  technical  and  com- 
positional ability,  marshalled,  along  with  wit  and  imag- 
ination, in  the  service  of  works  seeking  to  trample 
sacrosanct  icons  and  rock's  boundaries. 

It's  evidently  not  in  them  to  write  distinctive  melo- 
dies that  don't  sound  utterly  bizarre.  When  they  try,  the 
results  invariably  sound  like  someone  else's — albeit  dis- 
tinctly distorted  or  perverted — which  is  probably  one 
reason  why  the  dissection  and  reassembly  of  various  bits 
of  rock  tradition  has  been  one  of  their  fortes  since  early 
on.  Also,  the  Residents'  approach  owes  great  debts  to 
the  early  groundbreaking  of  both  Frank  Zappa  and  Cap- 
tain Beefheart.  (It  was  at  one  time  rumored  that  the 
storied  N.  Senada,  a  poet/saxist  who  allegedly  collabo- 
rated with  the  Residents  during  his  brief  sojourn  in  the 
Bay  Area,  was  actually  Beefheart.)  All  that  said,  the 
Residents  are  superior  synthesists,  and  the  derivations 


of  their  work  can't  deny  the  entertainingly  provocative 
nature  of  their  best  achievements. 

The  first  four  efforts  by  the  then-unnamed  group 
were  album-length  tapes,  including  one  which  was  sent 
(with  no  name  on  it)  to  a  record  company  in  the  hopes 
of  a  deal  and  sent  back  to  the  quartet's  return  address, 
care  of  "Residents."  Hence  the  moniker. 

N.  Senada' s  contribution,  the  concept  of  phonetic 
(re)organization,  was  adapted  by  the  Residents  on  their 
first  vinyl  releases,  the  1972  double-45  set  Santa  Dog 
and  the  1974  debut  album,  Meet  the  Residents.  Santa 
Dog's  four  intriguing  but  inchoate  expressions  of  Res- 
idency include  weird  manipulations  of  verbal  as  well  as 
musical  logic,  de( construction  of  familiar  (in  this  case, 
Yuletide)  songs  and  the  formulation  of  their  own  "in- 
stant standard"  ("Fire,"  aka  "Santa  Dog,"  remade  in 
1978  and  again  in  1990).  The  album  does  likewise  but 
more  so,  in  quality  as  well  as  quantity,  alternately  a 
sophomoric  giggle  and  a  striking,  off-the-wall  twist  of 
musical  mind.  The  Residents  had  arrived,  but  weren't 
yet  sure  quite  where  they  were.  (The  LP's  cover,  which 
snidely  uses  the  graphics  of  Meet  the  Beatles  in  order  to 
trash  the  Fab  Four,  was  allegedly  the  subject  of  legal 
threats;  the  album  was  re-released  m  '77  with  a  tamer 
jacket  and  improved  sound.  Issued  on  CD  in  the  late 
'80s — as  were  most  of  the  group's  early  records — by 
East  Side  Digital,  it  adds  the  Santa  Dog  tracks  and 
reverts  to  the  original  cover  design.) 

On  The  Residents  Present  the  Third  Reich  *n  Roll 
the  band  transforms  hooky  bits  from  '60s  Top  40  hits 
into  two  ridiculous,  funny,  scary  and  just  plain  jaw- 
dropping- weird  side-long  suites,  "Swastikas  on  Pa- 
rade" and  "Hitler  Was  a  Vegetarian,"  intended  as 
"revenge"  for  the  brainwashing  of  American  youth  into 
acceptance  of  rock's  trivialization  (or  something  like 
that).  The  LP  was  reissued  with  partially  censored 
graphics  in  '79  (the  original  cover  showed  a  carrot- 
toting  Nazi  officer  bearing  a  distinct  resemblance  to 
Dick  Clark)  and  on  CD  in  '87,  with  the  addition  of  two 
brilliant  early  45s  (and  their  B-sides):  "Satisfaction," 
which  makes  Devo's  subsequent  try  sound  like  the  1910 
Fruitgum  Co.,  and  the  Beatles  perversion,  "Beyond  the 
Valley  of  a  Day  in  the  Life."  (Again,  the  CD  graphics 
return  the  lurid  originals.) 

In  1976,  the  band  recorded  Tourniquet  of  Roses, 
but  since  it  supposedly  would  have  taken  up  three  sides, 
Ralph  subtracted  one  side  and  released  the  rest  as  Fin- 
gerprince.  The  four  excised  songs  were  later  released 
as  the  extremely  limited  edition  Babyftngers  EP,  but 
reinstated  (in  the  approximate  middle  of  the  program!) 
on  the  CD.  (Technically  speaking,  the  whole  thing  could 
have  fit  on  one  vinyl  disc,  albeit  with  reduced  audio 
fidelity;  alternately,  they  could  have  removed  less  than 
sixteen  minutes'  worth. )  The  need  isn't  clearly  program- 
matic either;  a  little  instant  myth-making?  At  any  rate, 
while  Fingerprince  (like  the  first  album)  contrasts  a 
batch  of  brief  tracks  with  one  lengthy  piece  (the  "bal- 
let" "Six  Things  to  a  Cycle"),  the  band  had  shifted  into 
a  higher  gear:  imagine  Frank  Zappa  meeting  Steely  Dan 
in  a  very  avant  mood,  with  the  results  then  processed 
through  a  computer  programmed  by  a  paranoid  schizo- 
phrenic with  a  sense  of  humor.  This  also  applies  fairly 
well  to  the  Babyfinger  tracks,  which  include  the  eight- 
minute  "mini-opera"  "Walter  Westinghouse."  (The 


548 


late  Snakefinger,  whose  outrageous  guitar  graced  their 
early  tapes  and  "Satisfaction,"  guests.) 

Duck  Stab  was  originally  released  as  a  7-inch  EP — 
the  group  at  its  most  consistently  accessible — but  was 
enlarged  to  album  size  by  the  Buster  &  Glen  half  (also 
succinctly  catchy  and  humorous).  Noteworthy  here  is 
the  dominance  of  songs  with  vocals,  and  the  emergence 
of  the  distinctive  voice  of  a  Resident  who  eventually 
became  the  group's  only  voice.  A  1987  reissue  of  the 
album  dropped  Buster  and  Glen  from  the  title;  the  CD 
of  the  same  name  appends  Goosebtintp  (the  B-side  suite 
of  the  Diskorao  12-inch)  and  a  swell  lyric  book. 

Duck  Stab  was  evidently  cut  as  a  lightweight  diver- 
sion from  the  sessions  for  the  more  crucial  conceptual 
masterwork,  Eskimo.  That  project  may  have  gotten  out 
of  control,  since  its  release  was  postponed  a  year.  In- 
stead, out  popped  Not  Available,  supposedly  recorded 
just  after  Meet  the  Residents — and,  according  to  "the 
theory  of  obscurity,"  never  intended  for  release. 
Hooey?  If  new,  it's  the  culmination  of  various  ideas  the 
band  had  cultivated;  if  genuinely  old,  a  lasting  influence 
on  Residentalia  to  come.  I'd  say  the  latter,  since  most 
everything  said  to  have  been  recorded  after  it  seems 
more  refined  in  execution,  if  not  so  grand  in  sweep.  Can 
you  imagine  a  vast  epic  in  five  sections  told  with  the 
recitative  cadence  of  nursery  rhymes  (a  Residents  vocal 
trademark)  but  sounding  as  though  played  by  E.T.  and 
family?  (The  Not  Available  CD  adds  five  tracks  from 
Title  in  Limbo,  the  Residents'  collaboration  with  Re- 
naldo  and  the  Loaf. ) 

With  help  from  ex-Mothers  keyboardist  Don  Preston 
and  drummer  Chris  Cutler  (of  Henry  Cow/ Art  Bears 
fame),  Eskimo's  broad,  electronically  spacey  sonic 
contours  form  a  backdrop  for  what  the  Residents  would 
have  you  believe  is  a  re-creation  of  Eskimo  life  and 
culture  (instrumental,  but  with  printed  narration  on  the 
jacket  to  explain  the  "stories.")  It's  brilliant  and — 
yep — chilling,  a  most  (but  not  totally)  serious  under- 
taking, evocative  if  not  quite  authentic.  Some  of  its 
sections  were  reprogrammed  as  "Diskomo"  and  cou- 
pled on  a  12-inch  EP  with  a  toyful  look  in  on  Mother 
Goose.  The  Eskimo  CD  appends  the  Residents'  four 
contributions  to  Ralph's  1979  Subterranean  Modern 
compilation. 

They  then  cut  an  LP  of  40  one-minute  songs,  with 
some  celebrity  helpers  (Fred  Frith  is  credited;  Lene  Lov- 
ich  and  XTC's  Andy  Partridge,  among  others,  aren't). 
The  rationale:  a  Top  40  song  is  just  a  minute  of  essence 
repeated  three  times  and  a  commercial  jingle  is  a  minute 
long;  ergo,  * 'jingles  are  the  music  of  America,"  and 
The  Residents  Commercial  Album  is  an  alternative 
Top  40.  Cute  idea  for  a  minute  but  not  enough  justifi- 
cation for  this  gimmicky  exercise.  Many  of  the  tracks 
boil  down  to  a  few  seconds  of  "essence"  repeated  for  a 
minute.  Yet  with  the  CD,  programmabiHty — even  ran- 
dom shuffle  sort — can  bring  out  the  gems  and  make  it  all 
sound  better.  Plus,  the  CD  has  bonus  tracks:  four  from 
Residue,  two  great  cover- version  45s  ("Hit  the  Road 
Jack"  and  "This  Is  a  Man's  Man's  Man's  World"  [sic]) 
and  four  more  one-minute  cuts:  two  excellent,  one  so- 
what  and  one  an  okay  take  on  the  Ramones'  "We're  a 
Happy  Family"  done  for  Morgan  Fisher's  more  imag- 
inative brevity  challenge,  Miniatures. 

The  Mole  trilogy  began  auspiciously  with  Mark  of 


the  Mole,  a  murkily  limned,  yet  engrossing  story  of  the 
Moles,  forced  out  of  their  home  into  sharing  one  with 
the  Chubs,  and  the  ensuing  conflict  between  the  "un- 
derground" and  slick  complacency.  A  thin  story,  but 
musically  harrowing.  Unfortunately,  The  Tunes  of  Two 
Cities  suggested  mat  the  Residents  had  painted  them- 
selves into  a  corner.  The  narrative  isn't  advanced  and, 
although  its  context  is  fleshed  out,  it's  simply  not 
enough.  The  Residents  seek  to  convey  the  cultural  con- 
trast in  musical  terms,  alternating  the  Moles'  abrasive, 
industrial  grind  with  the  Chubs'  offbeat  yet  unctuous 
cocktail  jazz.  Neither  the  device  nor  its  execution,  not- 
withstanding some  swell  sax  by  Norman  Salant  and  gui- 
tar by  Snakefinger,  can  justify  the  whole  album—not  by 
Residential  standards,  anyway.  (The  Tunes  CD  adds 
three  outtakes,  again  inserted  in  the  middle  of  the  pro- 
gram.) 

The  Residents'  camp  was  in  disarray.  Despite  the 
temporary  acquisition  of  hotshot  LA  management,  the 
Residents  began  to  reel,  first  from  internal  dissension 
and  later  from  desertions  by  members  of  the  Ralph  brain 
trust. 

The  1983  Mole  Show  LP  is  the  Residents'  own 
authorized  bootleg  of  the  show's  groundbreaking  pre- 
sentation at  LA's  Roxy  Theatre  in  late  '82.  The  band 
then  proceeded  to  tour  Europe,  and  released  a  second 
album,  from  an  '83  performance  in  Holland.  Both 
present  Mark  of  the  Mole  surprisingly  well,  with  the 
benefit  of  Penn  Jillette  (a  longtime  fan  and  friend)  pro- 
viding periodic  narration  to  clarify  the  story.  Although 
the  performances  are  basically  the  same,  the  later  one  is 
a  little  tighter  and  has  clearer  sound.  (The  early  one 
does  have  an  amusing  Jillette  ad  lib,  during  a  staged 
argument  with  the  band:  "I  don't  care  who  you  are,  you 
sing  like  Gomer  Pyle.")  All  the  same,  the  Residents' 
charming  way  of  squirming  out  of  having  presented  an 
unfinished  work  is  still  an  evasion.  Intermission  is  ex- 
actly as  billed — "extraneous"  music  from  the  show — 
and  the  first  Residents  record  unable  to  stand  on  its  own. 
(Intermission  later  became  a  bonus  add-on  to  the  CD  of 
Mark  of  the  Mole.) 

Residue  collects  Resident  leftovers,  rarities  and  un- 
released  versions.  It,  too,  sidesteps  the  Mole  issue,  but 
is  at  least  exciting  and  entertaining  (if  a  bit  uneven  and 
unintegrated),  relying  notably  on  the  group's  patented 
warpage  of  rock  cliche' s.  That's  more  than  can  be  said  of 
their  collaboration  with  likeminded  English  weirdos  Re- 
naldo  and  the  Loaf.  Just  who's  at  fault  isn't  clear  (it 
can't  all  be  Renaldo),  but  the  record  is  far  less  than  the 
sum  of  its  parts.  Only  one  track  ("Monkey  &  Bunny") 
is  truly  worthy  of  the  Residents;  the  rest  deserves  to  be 
forgotten. 

Not  content  with  one  incomplete  ambitious  venture, 
the  Residents  then  launched  another:  the  American 
Composer  Series,  an  attempt  to  lionize  their  favorite 
songwriters  by  interpreting  their  work.  The  first  volume 
of  the  projected  sixteen-year  (!)  undertaking,  George  & 
James,  matches  up  a  side  each  of  George  Gershwin  and 
James  Brown  (live  at  the  Apollo,  no  less — with  crowd 
sounds)  and  is  an  excellent,  typically  bizarre  success. 
Stars  &  Hank,  the  series'  second  volume,  has  some 
worthwhile  material,  but  isn't  up  to  the  creative  level  of 
George  &  James.  Its  examination  of  Hank  Williams  on 
Side  One  is  hit  (amusing)  and  miss  (silly);  the  flip's 


549 


fun-house-mirror  treatment  of  John  Philip  Sousa's 
marches  could' ve  been  done  as  effectively  in  a  third  of 
the  time.  That's  a  case  of  the  format  dictating  the  exe- 
cution, something  they'd  wisely  never  allowed  to  hap- 
pen before. 

Soundtrack  albums — one  of  a  Residents  short  film 
('84)  and  the  other  of  a  Hollywood  feature  ('85) — are 
hardly  the  records  you'd  expect  to  offer  hope  for  a  bright 
Residential  future,  but  that's  just  what  they  do.  The 
long-rumored  Vileness  Fats  was  intended  to  be  a  full- 
length  music  video  back  in  1972  ( !),  but  was  later  aban- 
doned. It's  hard  to  believe  the  music  was  recorded  that 
long  ago;  the  songs  may  date  from  then,  but  the  record- 
ings on  Whatever  Happened  to  Vileness  Fats?  sound 
of  more  recent  vintage.  And  it's  a  good,  if  not  major, 
addition  to  the  group's  canon.  Even  better  is  the  certi- 
fiably  recent  The  Census  Taker,  which  subverts  more 
soundtrack  music  genres  than  you  can  shake  a  stick  at  in 
brilliant  Residential  fashion.  Could  this  be  the  band's 
mode  of  entry  into  the  real  world? 

Next  came  The  Big  Bubble.  The  contradictory 
"Part  Four  of  the  Mole  Trilogy"  self-description  sug- 
gests that  the  Residents  don't  know  how  to  kill  off  the 
monster  they've  created  That  much  of  the  album  within 
an  album  is  entertaining  is  besides  the  point.  We've 
mainly  heard  this  before,  and  positing  it  as  the  politi- 
cally charged  record  by  the  miscegenated  offspring  of 
Moles  and  Chubs  doesn't  justify  its  billing.  The  Unfab 
Four  (or  Three,  or — by  now  most  likely — Two)  are 
doing  too  much  tail-chasing. 

The  neat  Live  in  Japan  (October  1985,  in  Tokyo, 
with  Snakefinger  along  for  the  ride)  draws  on  diverse 
corners  of  the  group's  output,  from  the  '84  single  of 
James  Brown's  "Man's  World"  (not  on  George  and 
James)  all  the  way  back  to  "Smelly  Tongues"  from 
their  very  first  LP.  They  do  two  songs  from  their  col- 
laborations with  Snakefinger,  and  even  the  one  decent 
number  from  their  ill-begotten  hook-up  with  Renaldo 
and  the  Loaf.  Several  tracks  from  The  Commercial 
Album  are  exhumed  and  reworked  with  great  success. 

"Hit  the  Road  Jack,"  the  Percy  Mayfield  classic 
popularized  by  Ray  Charles,  gets  an  uncharacteristically 
accessible  Residential  once-over  in  a  "special  almost 
dance  mix"  on  a  12-inch  that  also  contains  one  track 
each  from  three  recent  albums. 

The  ambitious  God  in  Three  Persons  is  an  hour- 
long  scenario  of  Anyresident's  personal  journey  to 
awareness  of  the  balance  and  relativity  of  maleness  and 
femaleness,  pain  and  pleasure,  reality  and  illusion.  (Did 
anyone  mention  that  pesky  old  Mole  trilogy?)  It  begins 
with  "song  stylist"  Laurie  Amat  singing  the  album's 
credits,  including  an  abridged  music  publishing  ID,  and 
proceeds  to  tell  its  story  via  singing  and  (rhymed)  nar- 
ration over  surprisingly  simple,  straightforward  key- 
board accompaniment.  (Just  how  simple  can  be  judged 
by  a  listen  to  the  Soundtrack's  remixed  and  re-edited 
versions  of  most  of  God's  backing  tracks:  this  music 
can't  stand  alone  any  more  than  Intermission.)  The 
remarkable  candor  with  which  the  piece  addresses  lust — 
we're  talking  blunt  and  uninhibited  here — is  yet  another 
of  the  record's  atypical  attributes.  The  narrative  is  some- 
times didactic,  sometimes  awkward  and  sometimes  con- 
fusing, but  impressive  in  spite  of  it.  After  being  issued 
initially  on  CD,  God  in  Three  Persons  was  made  avail- 
able as  a  two-LP  set. 


Perhaps  chastened  by  the  Mole  mess,  the  band  plot- 
ted another  tripartite  project,  but  instead  of  trumpeting 
something  they  might  not  deliver,  they  just  went  ahead 
and  did  it.  First  they  debuted  "Buckaroo  Blues"  and 
"Black  Barry"  as  sister  pieces  in  the  summer  of  '89  at 
New  York's  Lincoln  Center,  and  then  they  added  "The 
King  and  Eye"  to  form  "Cube-E"  that  fall,  honing  the 
show  in  subsequent  European  and  US  tours.  (The  Buck- 
aroo Blues  &  Black  Barry  cassette  is  a  live  recording 
from  San  Francisco,  September  1989.)  These  full- 
fledged  multi-media  presentations  included  dancers, 
costumes,  backdrops  and  props.  Although  occasionally 
flat  and/or  bewildering,  the  overall  impression  was  stun- 
ning. Here  at  last  was  the  Residents'  history  of  Amer- 
ican pop  music  in  three  "E-Z"  steps:  cowboy  music, 
black  slave  and  reconstruction  music,  and  Elvis  (the 
King  ...  but  of  what?).  This  was  a  refinement  of  Res- 
idential modus  and  a  new  level  of  artistic  achievement. 

It  comes  across  on  the  records,  too,  even  without 
benefit  of  the  visual  aspect.  Reconsidering  familiar 
western  idioms,  the  Residents  fashion  them  into  weirdly 
alien — yet  more  universal — epics  of  love  and  despera- 
tion. Stereotypical  images  are  turned  inside  out  to  pro- 
vide disturbing  angles  on  the  African-American  slave 
and  post-slave  experience.  Using  just  some  narration 
and  a  batch  of  Ptesley  hits  reinterpreted  Residents- 
style,  The  King  and  Eye  (a  studio  recording  with  more 
material  than  was  used  onstage  or,  consequently,  in- 
cluded on  the  live  Cube-E  album)  incisively  portrays 
Elvis'  life  and  work  as  a  misguided  abandonment  of 
innocence  in  favor  of  a  sad  yet  comedic  Oedipal  jour- 
ney. This  is  the  near-perfection  of  (some  of)  what  they 
started  two  decades  ago  with  Santa  Dog.  Bringing  an 
utterly  unique  perspective  to  an  utterly  unique  icon,  the 
Residents  delivered  a  masterpiece,  possibly  their  most 
successful  work  yet. 

The  UK-only  PAL  TV  offers  excerpts  from  Vile- 
ness  Fats  and  selections  from  a  Dutch  performance  of 
the  Mole  show.  Heaven?  and  Hell!,  two  lengthy  CD- 
only  compilations,  offer  plenty  of  good  music,  but  no 
rhyme  or  reason  in  the  selection  other  than  a  general 
division  into  "beautiful"  (Heaven?)  and  "ugly" 
(Hell!).  A  random-selection  CD  player  equipped  with  a 
complete  Residents  catalogue  could  have  done  just  as 
good  a  job  choosing  material  as  these  discs  do. 

Two  compilations  eminently  worthy  of  attention  are 
Assorted  Secrets  and  Stranger  Than  Supper.  One  side 
of  the  former  is  an  early  (spnng  '82)  live  Mole  show; 
the  other  contains  two  live-in-the-studio  sessions  of 
songs  they  rarely  (if  ever)  played  onstage,  including 
material  from  Duck  Stab/Buster  &  Glen,  Not  Avail- 
able (!)  and  Tunes  from  Two  Cities. 

A  rare  public/commercial  release  by  the  band's 
UWEB  (Uncle  Willie's  Eyeball  Buddies)  fan  club— 
which  has,  since  1988,  issued  a  bunch  of  otherwise 
unavailable  Residentalia,  including  a  studio  recording 
of  Buckaroo  Blues  and  a  four- version  Santa  Dog  CD — 
Stranger  Than  Supper  offers  a  tasty  sampling  of  what 
lies  beyond.  There's  an  early-'90  performance  of  "Ted- 
dy Bear"  (a  song  also  done  for  The  King  and  Eye) 
from  David  Sanborn's  Night  Music  (where  the  group 
shared  the  stage  with  Conway  Twitty),  a  fine  squint  at 
"Oh  Susannah"  that  didn't  make  it  into  "Buckaroo 
Blues,"  a  great  New  Year's  Eve  serenade  and  an  eleven- 
and-a-half-minute  medley  of  "Land  of  1000  Dances"/ 


550 


-Double  Shot  of  My  Baby's  Love,"  which  includes  the 
nff  that  later  became  a  major  motif  in  God  In  Three 
Persons  (plus  a  chunk  of  the  narration,  too).  Real  good 
stuff;  it  will  make  you  want  to  join  UWEB. 

Even  prior  to  their  Night  Music  appearance,  the  Res- 
idents reached  network  television,  through  a  likely 
door— the  one  that  leads  into  Pee-wee's  Playhouse.  Fol- 
lowing artist  Gary  Panter  (who  used  to  do  Ralph  record 
covers)  into  his  nutty  corner  of  the  CBS  Saturday  mom- 
ing  lineup,  the  Residents  supplied  the  music  for  the 
infamous  Zizzybalubah  episode.  On  another  media 
front,  the  group  has  frequently  appeared  as  guest  pro- 
tagonists in  Those  Annoying  Post  Bros,  and  Savage 
Henry,  two  comic  book  series  by  Matt  Howarth,  creator 
of  the  Mole  trilogy  mini-comics.  [jg] 

See  also  Hybrid  Kids,  Snakefinger. 

MARTIN  REV 

Martin  Rev  EP  (Infidelity)  1980 
Clouds  of  Glory  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 985 

The  keyboard  half  of  pioneering  New  York  psycho- 
electronic  duo  Suicide  proves  only  slightly  more  me- 
lodic on  his  eccentric  eponymous  solo  outing— all 
keyboards  and  rhythm  machines,  with  only  the  occa- 
sional grunting  vocal.  The  rich  layering  of  synthesizer 

effects at  least  compared  to  the  brute  minimalism  of 

Suicide— is  close  to  the  articulate  electronic  orchestra- 
tion of  the  Ric  Ocasek-produced  Suicide  album  (also 
released  in  1980).  The  simple  floating  melody  and  disco 
rhythm-box  ping  of  "Man"  also  suggest  the  mantnc 
pop  quality  of  Suicide's  near-hit  12-inch  single,  "Dream 
Baby  Dream."  More  typical  of  Martin  Rev^though,  is 
the  hellish  pumping  of  "Nineteen  86"  and  "Jomo"  's 
industrial  racket;  the  only  thing  missing  is  Suicide  singer 
Alan  Vega's  mad  bark. 

Half  a  decade  later,  Rev  returned  with  the  like- 
minded  Clouds  of  Glory,  pressed  on  red  vinyl.  Musical 
styles  may  have  finally  caught  up  with  this  minimalist 
electro-rhythm  pioneer,  but  he  sticks  resolutely  true  to 
course  here,  dispensing  with  vocals  and  layering  weird 
sound  effects  over  sturdy  sequencer  lines.  The  gently 
attractive  "Whisper"  would  have  made  a  very  pretty 
song  were  Rev  to  give  it  lyrics.  [df/i] 

See  also  Suicide. 

REVENGE 

See  New  Order. 

REVERB  MOTHERFUCKERS 

Route  666  (Race  Age)  1988 

Twelve  Swinging  Signs  of  the  Zodiac  (Rave)  1 989  • 

It's  hard  not  to  be  leery  of  any  band  that  defines 
itself  as  a  purveyor  of  New  York  Scum  Rock,  as  these 
gents  do  on  the  cover  of  their  second  LP.  (Stuff  like  that 
always  makes  me  think  of  those  hideous  "punk  fash- 
ion" window  displays  Macy's  had  around  "11.  Any- 
body who'd  wear  a  $400  leather  jacket  with  the  word 
"PUNK"  spelled  out  in  studs  across  the  back  would  just 
have  to  be  an  asshole,  y'know?) 

Anyway,  the  Reverb  Motherfuckers  combine  the 
funny-punk  tendencies  of  some  NYC-area  hardcore 
bands  with  genuinely  screwy  guitar-smoked  huzz.  Imag- 
ine a  version  of  Shockabilly  in  which  both  Chadbourne 


and  Kramer  were  still  into  Zappa  and  downs.  Cross  that 
homble  result  with  Adrenalin  O.D,  and  you've  got 
something  similar  to  these  guys'  lesser  stuff.  RMF  does 
have  its  moments,  however,  and  there's  no  denying  that 
Route  666's  silkscreened  cover  was  one  of  the  decade's 
best.  [be] 


REVILLOS 

See  Rezillos. 


REVOLTING  COCKS 

Big  Sexy  Land  (Wax  Traxl)  1 986  ® 

You  Goddamned  Son  of  a  Bitch  (Wax  Traxl)  1 988  « 

Beers,  Steers  +  Queers  (Wax  Trax!)  1 990  • 

CHRIS  CONNELLY 

Whiplash  Boychild  (Wax  Trax!)  1991  • 

PiL  mixed  disco  beats  with  arty  noise  on  Metal 
Box,  taking  a  cue  from  Can,  whose  drummer  (Jaki  Lie- 
bezeit)  made  that  band's  most  far-flung  journeys  swing. 
Revolting  Cocks — a  highly  productive  collaboration  be- 
tween Chicago  powerhouse  Al  Jourgensen  (Ministry, 
etc.),  Belgian  producer/musician  Luc  Van  Acker  and 
Scotland's  Chris  Connelly  (his  semi-industrial  dance- 
rock  group,  Fini  Tribe,  once  recorded  a  Can  song),  with 
contributions  from  assorted  other  brothers-in-noise,  in- 
cluding Jeff  Ward  of  Lard— -initially  followed  those 
early  PiL  efforts,  rather  than  the  dozens  of  industrial 
dance  outfits  that  sprang  up  in  Europe  throughout  the 
'80s.  Deliberately  and  unapologetically  abrasive  (the 
vocals  are  invariably  Brillo-throated),  Revolting  Cocks 
are  a  big  heap  of  snarling,  ugly  fun. 

With  Richard  23  of  Front  242  joining  the  basic 
RevCo  pair,  Big  Sexy  Land  is  diverting  but  unremark- 
able; nearly  all  of  the  material  on  it  receives  an  unex- 
pected charge  on  the  charmingly  titled  double-live  set 
You  Goddamned  Son  of  a  Bitch.  Cut  at  one  Chicago 
show  in  September  1987  with  a  cast  that  includes  Min- 
istry's Paul  Barker  (who  co-produced)  and  William 
Rieflin,  the  LP  benefits  from  refined  technical  abilities 
and  the  almost  palpable  hostility  the  band  radiates  to  its 
audience — and  vice  versa. 

Employing  the  same  quintet  lineup  as  on  the  live 
record,  Beers,  Steers  +  Queers  is,  to  a  point,  RevCo's 
tour  de  force.  The  title  cut  makes  the  most  of  the  com- 
plex interaction  of  a  set  of  very  stiff  rhythms,  the  base 
provided  by  a  looped  turntable  scratch  that's  sure  to 
send  your  roommate  off  the  roof.  The  monolithic  "Get 
Down"  is  highlighted  by  an  honest-to-god  guitar  solo 
that  recalls  both  prime  Lou  Reed  and  prime  Tom  Ver- 
laine.  Alas,  "(Let's  Talk)  Physical,"  a  seven-minute 
CD  "bonus"  reduced  from  the  album's  "(Let's  Get) 
Physical,"  simply  loops  someone  screaming  the  word 
"physical,"  and  is  meant  to  send  you  off  the  roof. 

By  the  time  of  Connelly's  solo  album,  the  Scottish 
native  had  moved  to  Chicago  and  become  a  permanent 
member  of  both  Ministry  and  RevCo.  Building  on  the 
musical  breadth  of  Fini  Tribe,  Whiplash  Boychild  is  an 
amazing  stylistic  mixture  of  late-'70s  Bowie  and  Iggy 
(accent  on  the  former;  the  lead-off  track  could  almost  be 
an  outtake  from  Heroes).  Connelly  makes  the  most  of 
his  deep,  resonant  voice,  surrounding  it  with  alternately 
muscular  and  atmospherically  restrained  rock  music  (al- 

551 


though  one  hearty  cabaret  song  is  performed  with  just 
piano)  of  real  power  and  subtlety.  Very  impressive. 

[gk/i] 
See  also  Front  242,  Ministry,  Luc  Van  Acker. 

KIMBERLEY  REW 

See  Katrina  and  the  Waves. 

REZILLOS 

Can't  Stand  the  Rezillos  (Sire)  1 978 
Mission  Accomplished  . . .  but  the  Beat  Goes  On  (nr/Sire) 
1979 

REV1LLOS 

Rev  Up  (nr/Snafzo-DinDisc)  1 980 
Attack!  (nr/Superville)  1983 

Scotland's  Rezillos  were  a  blast  of  fresh  air  com- 
pared to  the  more  serious  bands  of  new  wave's  first 
charge.  The  ex-art  students  were  partial  to  an  overhauled 
'60s  look  (e.g.,  foil  mini-skirts,  pop-art  fabrics)  and 
songs  with  titles  like  "Flying  Saucer  Attack"  and  "Top 
of  the  Pops. ' '  Can't  Stand  the  Rezillos  is  an  action- 
packed  document  of  their  pop/camp  approach.  Thrash- 
ings of  the  Dave  Clark  5's  "Glad  All  Over"  and  Gerry 
&  the  Pacemakers'  "I  Like  It"  surround  "(My  Baby 
Does)  Good  Sculptures,"  a  typically  loopy  original. 

The  band  flew  apart  not  long  after  their  album  debut, 
leaving  the  live  Mission  Accomplished  as  an  unsatis- 
factory memorial.  Besides  duplicating  six  tunes  from 
Can't  Stand,  the  record  is  plagued  by  near-bootleg- 
quality  sound.  Otherwise  the  performance  is  a  raveup 
from  start  to  finish,  with  five  new  originals  and  versions 
of  the  Kinks'  "I  Need  You,"  Cannibal  &  the  Head- 
hunters'  "Land  of  1,000  Dances"  and  even  Sweet's 
"Ballroom  Blitz." 

Fortunately,  singers  Fay  Fife  (real  name:  Sheilagh 
Hynde)  and  Eugene  Reynolds  regrouped  with  new  mu- 
sicians as  the  Revillos,  and  took  the  Rezillos'  promise 
even  further.  Rev  Up  is  filled  with  pastiches  of  '60s 
genres — "Bobby  Come  Back  to  Me, "  *  'On  the  Beach, ' ' 
"Secret  of  the  Shadow,"  "Motorbike  Beat" — and  the 
obligatory  non-originals — "Cool  Jerk,"  "Hungry  for 
Love,"  "Hippy  Hippy  Sheik"  [510].  The  only  foul  touch 
is  retitling  the  Rock-a-Teens'  "Woo-Hoo"  as  "Yeah 
Yeah"  and  pawning  it  off  as  an  original.  But  Rev  Up  is 
hilarious. 

Attack!,  the  band's  long-playing  swansong,  shows 
signs  of  strain.  Some  tunes  ("Sputnick  Kiss,"  "Man 
Attack!,"  "Your  Baby's  Gone")  are  as  delightful  as 
ever;  others  ("Mad  from  Birth  to  Death,"  the  instru- 
mental "Man  Hunt")  are  decidedly  slight.  If  there's 
another  non-original  besides  the  Exciters'  "Tell  Him," 
it's  virtually  indistinguishable  from  the  rest,  not  only 
because  of  stylistic  similarity  but  by  the  lack  of  song- 
writer credits  anywhere  on  the  album.  For  sheer  sus- 
tained obsession  with  a  Toontown  '60s  approach, 
though,  the  Rezillos  deserve  a  tinfoil  merit  badge,  [si] 

See  also  Prisoners,  Shake, 

MARC  RIBOT 

Rootless  Cosmopolitans  (Island)  1990  4> 

In  the  past  few  years,  guitarist  Ribot  (who  got  his 
start  m  the  Real  Tones,  a  pickup  band  that  backed  NYC- 
visiting  soul  singers,  including  Wilson  Pickett)  has 


racked  up  an  impressive  re'sume',  working  with  talents  as 
diverse  as  Tom  Waits,  Elvis  Costello,  John  Zorn,  Mar- 
ianne Faithful  and  the.  Lounge  Lizards.  He's  also  a  char- 
ter member  of  the  Hal  Willner  rep  company,  having 
played  on,  among  other  things,  the  producer's  spoken- 
word-and-music  projects  with  Allen  Ginsberg  and 
William  S.  Burroughs. 

Ribot' s  album  (named  for  his  band;  the  phrase  is 
from  a  Ginsberg  poem,  out  of  Joseph  Goebbels)  is  a 
pretty  enjoyable  hybrid  of  "free"  styles  that  has  a  dis- 
tinctly Beefheartian  air  at  times,  particularly  when  Ri- 
bot's  alternately  fluid  and  jagged  playing  goes  one-on- 
one  with  Don  Byron's  bass  clarinet.  While  it  would  be 
easy  to  live  without  the  arch  spoken  vocal  on  an  other- 
wise inventive  cover  of  Hendrix's  "The  Wind  Cnes 
Mary,"  the  guitar-only  deconstruction  of  "While  My 
Guitar  Gently  Weeps"  is  right  on  the  money.  Rootless 
Cosmopolitans  isn't  a  life-changer  but,  as  avant-garde 
ear  candy  goes,  it's  unusually  chewy.  [gk] 

See  also  Lounge  Lizards. 


BOYD  RICE 

Boyd  Rice  (nr/Mufe)  1981 

NON 

Physical  Evidence  (nr/Mute)  1 982 
Blood  &  Flame  (nr/Mute)  1987  « 

BOYD  RICE/FRANK  TOVEY 

Easy  Listening  for  the  Hard  of  Hearing  (nr/Mute)  1984 

BOYD  RICE  AND  FRIENDS 

Music,  Martinis  and  Misanthropy  (nr/Bad)  1990  ® 

The  first  album  by  California  conceptualist  Boyd 
Rice  (one  of  the  first  avant-garde  "musicians"  to  use 
turntables  as  a  creative  tool)  offers  no  information  be- 
yond the  artist's  name  (embossed  on  the  all-black  cov- 
er), that  it  was  recorded  in  the  mid- '70s  and  is  "playable 
at  any  speed."  The  droning  noise  slices,  which  are  not 
audibly  ascribable  to  any  specific  instruments,  seem  to 
consist  of  short  tape  loops  layered  over  one  another  to 
create  repetitive  but  varying  textures  (like  Frippertron- 
ics,  but  without  the  guitar)  that  slow  down  and  speed  up 
on  their  own.  Unlistenable. 

Having  thus  cleared  the  decks  of  past  achievements, 
Rice  (aka  Non)  released  Physical  Evidence,  a  collec- 
tion of  more  recent  pieces,  some  of  them  recorded  live. 
Armed  with  the  deadpan  conceptual  humor  of  individual 
titles  (my  favorite  is  "(Theme  from)  Dark  Shadows," 
the  writing  of  which  is,  astonishingly,  credited  to  some- 
one other  than  Rice),  the  fifteen  jarring  loops  and  layers 
of  shapeless  (but  uniformly  unpleasant)  noise  that  com- 
prise Blood  &  Flame  make  it  a  sound  effects  record  for 
the  deeply  disturbed. 

Easy  Listening,  while  fairly  routine  for  the  eccen- 
tric Rice,  takes  Frank  Tovey — aka  Fad  Gadget,  himself 
no  stranger  to  found  sounds — off  on  a  conceptual  trip  far 
from  his  usual  recording  format.  "All  sounds  either 
collected  or  generated  .  .  ,  by  non-musical  appli- 
ances"— in  other  words,  this  ain't  music  at  all,  but 
rather  repetitive,  rhythmically  ordered  noises,  mostly  on 
the  order  of  church  bells  and  other  things  that  can  be 
struck.  Not  all  that  radical  and  not  in  the  slightest  bit 
charming,  the  LP  (recorded  in  1981)  is  structurally  im- 
pressive but  aggravating  in  the  extreme.  [i] 


552 


RICH  KIDS 

Ghosts  of  Princes  in  Towers  (nr/EMi)  1 978  (nr/Fame) 

1983 

After  being  squeezed  out  of  the  Sex  Pistols,  bassist/ 
singer  Glen  Matlock  formed  the  Rich  Kids  with  guitarist 
Midge  Ure  and  drummer  Rusty  Egan  (both  of  whom 
later  collaborated  on  Visage,  with  Ure  eventually  going 
on  to  join  Ultravox),  plus  one  Steve  New.  During  their 
tempestuous  year-long  alliance,  the  Rich  Kids  managed 
only  one  album,  ludicrously  rmsproduced  into  a  muffled 
mess  by  Mick  Ronson.  Despite  abysmal  sound,  the 
band's  talent  emerges,  and  Ghosts  is  an  extraordinary 
album  of  daring  expenmental  rock/pop  that  has  two  ut- 
terly brilliant  pieces  (the  title  track  and  * 'Marching 
Men")  plus  a  few  others  nearly  as  good.  While  the 
predominant  guitar  work  is  occasionally  mundane,  there 
are  enough  novel  ideas  and  convincing  songs  to  make 
this  uniquely  flavored  project  survive  the  audio  blood- 
bath and  emerge  victorious.  [i] 

See  also  Doll  by  Doll,  Sex  Pistols,  Ultravox,  Vis- 
age. 

THE 

Jonathan  Richman  &  the  Modern  Lovers  (Beserkley)  1977 

(Beserkley-Rhino)  1986® 
Rock'n'RoIl  with  the  Modern  Lovers  (Beserkley)  1977 

(Beserkley-Rhino)  1986® 
Back  in  Your  Life  (Beserkley)  1979  (Beserkley-Rhino) 

1986® 

The  Jonathan  Richman  Songbook  (nr/Beserkley)  1 980 
Jonathan  Sings!  (Sire)  1 983 
Rockin'  and  Romance  (Twin/Tone)  1 985 
It's  Time  for  Jonathan  Richman  and  the  Modern  Lovers 

(Upside)  1986® 

Modern  Lovers  88  (Rounder)  1 987  • 
The  Beserkley  Years:  The  Best  of  Jonathan  Richman  and 

the  Modern  Lovers  [CD]  (Beserkley-Rhino)  1987  ® 
23  Great  Recordings  by  Jonathan  Richman  and  the 

Modern  Lovers  [CD]  (nr/Beserkley-Essential-Castle 

Comm.)  1 990  ® 

MODERN  LOVERS 

The  Modern  Lovers  (Beserkley)  1 976  (Beserkley-Rhino) 

1986® 

Live  (Beserkley)  1977® 
The  Original  Modern  Lovers  (Bomp!)  1981 

JONATHAN  RICHMAN 

Jonathan  Richman  (Rounder)  1989  ® 
Jonathan  Goes  Country  (Rounder)  1 990  • 

At  the  outset  of  his  career,  Jonathan  Richman  was 
considered  a  radical  trailblazer,  precociously  exploring 
minimalist  rock  years  before  such  behavior  became  pop- 
ular (or  even  acceptable).  Not  only  was  his  unique  ap- 
proach enormously  influential  on  later  bands,  early 
members  of  the  Modern  Lovers  went  on  to  become  suc- 
cessful in  such  groups  as  Talking  Heads  and  the  Cars. 
Over  the  course  of  his  recordings,  however,  Richman's 
predilection  for  childlike  whimsy  replaced  the  angst- 
ridden  emotionalism  of  his  first  songs,  and  he  eventually 
lost  his  flock  by  refusing  to  remain  the  same  character 
he  had  been  a  decade  earlier. 

The  first  Modem  Lovers  album  was  cobbled  together 
by  Beserkley  supremo  Matthew  King  Kaufman  from 


demos,  the  bulk  of  which  had  been  produced  by  John 
Gale  in  1971  when  it  looked  as  if  the  band  would  be 
signed  to  Warner  Bros.  Despite  the  fragmentary  nature 
of  its  parts,  The  Modern  Lovers  is  surprisingly  coher- 
ent and  contains  all  of  Richman's  classic  creations: 
"Roadranner,"  "Pablo  Picasso,"  "Girl  Fnend,"  "She 
Cracked,"  etc.  The  stark,  simple  performances  high- 
light an  adenoidal  New  England  voice  that  lacks  every- 
thing technical  but  nothing  emotional.  One  of  the  truly 
great  art-rock  albums  of  all  time. 

Although  released  shortly  after  The  Modern  Lov- 
ers, Jonathan  Rictiman  &  the  Modern  Lovers  was 
recorded  five  years  later  with  a  totally  different  band, 
and  has  little  in  common  with  the  first  LP.  Not  realizing 
the  time  frame,  many  people  took  this  as  a  sign  of 
artistic  inconsistency,  and  were  put  off  by  such  silliness 
as  "Abominable  Snowman  in  the  Market"  and  "Hey 
There  Little  Insect."  The  record  is,  in  fact,  pretty  great, 
blending  guilelessness  with  such  heart-wrenching  pieces 
of  honesty  as  "Important  in  Your  Life."  Enough  of 
Richman's  early  approach  carries  over  to  temper  the 
giddy  romps,  and  it's  a  thoroughly  charming,  low-key 
album. 

Rock'n'Roi!  takes  Richman  even  further  away  from 
seriousness.  Mixing  traditional  folk  songs  and  lullabies 
with  originals  that  would  do  Mister  Rogers  proud  ("Ice 
Cream  Man,"  "Rockin'  Rockin'  Leprechaun"),  the 
ironically  titled  album  stretched  the  ability  of  his  adult 
fans  to  join  in  the  fun.  Abiding  wittiness — like  "Dodge 
Veg-O-Matic" — hedges  the  album's  stylistic  bet,  but 
many  were  left  wondering  just  where  Richman  was 
heading. 

Live,  recorded  in  England,  is  full  of  the  flakiest 
songs  in  his  repertoire — featherweight  and  best  suited 
for  very  young  people.  The  Jonathan  Richman  Song- 
book  is  a  compilation,  as  is  The  Beserkley  Years,  a 
fine  CD-only  collection  of  eighteen  classic  tracks,  both 
studio  and  live.  The  unrelated  UK-only  23  Great  Re- 
cordings is  an  even  bigger  anthology  covering  basically 
the  same  '70s  material. 

Back  in  Your  Life  was  recorded  (after  a  long  lay- 
off) with  two  different  bands,  the  regular  Modern  Lov- 
ers and  a  vocals/string  bass/glockenspiel  ensemble.  The 
songs — which  include  five  uniquely  appropriate  cover 
versions — are  totally  over  the  top,  as  fanciful  and  ridic- 
ulous as  possible.  There's  nothing  remotely  connected 
to  the  original  Modern  Lovers'  rock'n'roll  work;  com- 
parisons to  Groucho  Marx's  musical  ventures  are  more 
relevant.  Impossible  to  hate,  this  record  merely  defies 
honest  enthusiasm. 

Four  years  later,  the  same  is  fortunately  not  the  case 
on  Jonathan  Sings! ,  a  wonderful  LP  showcasing  a  fully 
revitalized  Richman  with  an  altogether  new  outlook.  Au- 
dibly bursting  with  love,  Richman  eloquently  (in  his  own 
ingenuously  clumsy  way)  sings  of  "That  Summer  Feel- 
ing," exclaims  "You're  the  One  for  Me"  and  rejoices  at 
having  *  *  Somebody  to  Hold  Me. ' '  Elsewhere,  he  defends 
the 'innate  wisdom  of  infants  in  "Not  Yet  Three,"  offers 
a  new  look  at  world  travel  ("Give  Paris  One  More 
Chance" )  and  even  extols  the  joys  of  *  'This  Kind  of  Mu- 
sic." The  new  Modern  Lovers — two  women  and  three 
men — have  a  strong  but  understated  presence  that  keeps 
Richman  exciting  without  getting  in  his  way.  Simply  put, 
Jonathan  Sings!  is  one  of  the  most  uplifting  albums  in 
memory,  and  Richman's  best  since  his  debut. 


553 


Jonathan's  stayed  on  the  right  track  (with  an  excep- 
tion) ever  since,  issuing  one  charming  album  after  the 
next  Rockin'  and  Romance  (retaining  two  Modern 
Lovers  from  Sings)  is  a  spartan,  casually  produced  (to 
the  point  of  sonic  obscurity)  affair,  but  songs  about 
"The  Beach,"  ** Vincent  Van  Gogh"  (number  two  in 
Richman's  Great  Painters  series),  baseball  ("Walter 
Johnson,"  "The  Fenway"),  travel  ("Down  in  Bermu- 
da") and  other  winning  topics  are  all  filled  with  his 
remarkable  wit  and  intelligence.  Who  else  could  write  a 
paean  to  bluejeans  that  discusses  the  relative  merits  of 
various  brands  without  being  mistaken  for  a  commer- 
cial? Slight  demerits  for  the  shoddy  sound  quality,  but 
no  complaints  whatsoever  about  the  music. 

It's  Time  For  reunites  Richman  with  erstwhile 
Modern  Lover  guitarist  Asa  Brebner.  The  audio  fidelity 
is  better;  an  accordionist,  producer  Andy  Paley's  guitar 
work  and  Richman' s  sax  tooting  make  for  an  unusual, 
busier-than-ordinary  (relatively  speaking)  rock  sound. 
"Yo  Jo  Jo"  is  a  crazed  instrumental  raveup,  the  most 
electric  thing  he's  done  in  this  decade.  Richman's  lyr- 
ical concerns  are  more  general  than  in  the  recent  past: 
for  every  "Double  Chocolate  Malted"  (which  has  a 
strangely  cranky  tone  to  it)  or  "Corner  Store,"  there  are 
two  songs  (e.g.,  "It's  You,"  "When  I  Dance,"  "Just 
About  Seventeen,"  "This  Love  of  Mine")  that  are  less 
specific  and  to  a  degree  less  captivating.  A  confusing 
(or  is  that  confused?)  album,  It's  Time  For  has  the  aura 
of  a  transitional  project. 

Never  fear.  Accompanied  by  a  second  guitarist  and 
a  drummer,  Richman  grabbed  his  oft-neglected  saxo- 
phone and  cut  the  magical  Modern  Lovers  88,  an  all- 
too-brief  set  of  semi-electric  rock  tunes  that  hark  back  in 
composition  and  presentation  to  Jonathan  Richman  & 
the  Modern  Lovers.  The  woolly  "Dancin  Late  at 
Night"  and  the  romantic  "Gail  Loves  Me"  display  a 
budding  Holly  orientation  that  bears  more  exploration; 
"New  Kind  of  Neighborhood"  resembles  Dion;  *  'Cal- 
ifornia Desert  Party,"  "Everything's  Gotta  Be  Right" 
and  "Circle  I"  (a  delightful  ode  to  vegetables)  convert 
the  essential  ingredients  of  '50s  R&B  into  airy  but  ex- 
citing dance-rock  as  only  the  Modern  Lovers  can. 

As  the  title  intimates,  Jonathan  Richman  continues 
its  predecessor's  minimalist  direction,  presenting  the 
artist  accompanied  only  by  his  guitar  and  percussive 
footstomps  (though  an  unobtrusive  rhythm  section  pops 
up  on  two  songs).  The  solo  thing  doesn't  work  as  well 
on  record  as  it  does  live,  and  the  material's  a  bit  spotty 
(three  out  of  twelve  tracks  are  instrumental  covers  of 
pop  standards,  one  is  sung  in  French  and  another  in 
Spanish),  but  Jonathan  Richman  is  not  without  its 
charms.  Check  out  "Closer,"  "Fender  Stratocaster" 
and  "I  Eat  with  Gusto,  Damn!  You  Bet,"  a  spoken- 
word  verse  defending  Jojo's  sloppy  table  manners. 

In  contrast,  Jonathan  Goes  Country  finds  the 
singer  backed  by  a  full  band  of  seasoned  studio  pros,  led 
by  producers  Lou  Whitney  and  D.  Clinton  Thompson 
(of  Morells/Skeletons  fame),  with  ingratiating  results. 
The  program  is  a  mixture  of  well-chosen  covers,  re- 
workings  of  previously  recorded  Richman  tunes  and  a 
few  swell  new  originals.  Rather  than  sounding  like  a 
gimmicky  affectation,  the  album's  faux-Nashville  ar- 
rangements prove  to  be  a  perfect  vehicle  for  Jonathan's 
bucolic  sincerity. 

The  demos  dredged  up  for  The  Original  Modern 


Lovers  date  from  1973  and  were  produced  by  Kim  Fow- 
ley.  The  LP  includes  two  versions  of  "Roadrunner," 
plus  "Astral  Plane,"  "Girlfren"  and  "She  Cracked," 
as  well  as  some  otherwise  unrecorded  numbers.  Despite 
thin  sound  it  offers  slightly  different  approaches  from 
what  surfaced  on  the  first  album.  Shoddy  but  relevant. 

[i/hd] 

See  also  Cars,  Necessaries,  Real  Kids,   Talking 
Heads. 


RIDE 

Ride  EP  (nr/Creation)  1990® 
Play  EP  (nr/Creation)  1990  • 
Smile  (Sire-Reprise)  1 990  $ 
Fall  EP  (nr/Creation)  1 990  • 
Nowhere  (Sire-Reprise)  1990  <f> 

Inspired  by  the  Manchester  rave  scene,  this  young 
quartet  from  the  English  university  city  of  Oxford  fin- 
ished art  college  and  began  laying  washes  of  guitar  dam- 
age and  catchy  echoed  vocals  over  shuffling  dance  beats. 
The  tentative  first  EP  leads  ofT  with  an  original  entitled 
"Chelsea  Girl"  and  follows  it  with  three  similar  long 
noise-pop  songs,  the  best  of  which  is  "Close  My  Eyes." 
The  more  distinctive  Play  has  a  louder,  harder  sound 
(converting  the  previous  record's  jagged  squalls  into  a 
continuous  thick  gauze)  and,  on  the  exemplary  "Like  a 
Daydream,"  rich  folk-rock  harmonies.  (As  Ride's  in- 
troduction to  America,  Smile  combines  the  two  EPs — 
which  contain  too  much  filler  to  make  a  strong 
album — on  a  single  disc  under  a  new  title.) 

Focusing  on  the  band's  vocal  side  but  also  display- 
ing its  extended  dance  groovability,  Ride's  first  real 
album — produced  with  an  annoyingly  conscientious 
lack  of  sonic  clarity — is  indistinct  and  frequently  dull,  a 
collection  of  unmemorable  songs  given  ineffectually 
stylized  atmospheric  performances  on  acoustic  and  elec- 
tric instruments.  While  too  many  of  Nowhere 's  bland 
tunes  drag  along  at  a  lazy  clip,  turning  up  the  pep-o- 
meter  doesn't  ensure  any  significant  improvement.  With 
the  exception  of  the  tuneful  tremolo  surge  of  "Polar 
Bear,"  the  hypnotic  "Vapour  Trail"  and  the  winsome 
"Taste,"  Nowhere  is  no  big  deal.  [i] 

STAN  R1DGWAY 

The  Big  Heat  EP  (nr/lllegal)  1985 
The  Big  Heat  (IRS)  1986 
Mosquitos  (Geffen)  1 989  • 
Part/ball  (Geffen)  1991  • 

It's  no  coincidence  that  the  lyrics  on  The  Big  Heat 
album  (the  EP  is  a  pre-LP  teaser)  are  printed  on  the 
inner  sleeve  in  prose  format;  ex- Wall  of  Voodoo  singer 
Ridgway's  a  pulp  novelist  at  heart.  Proffered  with  his 
exaggerated  side-of-the-mouth  delivery  and  instrumen- 
tation that  reaches  for  maximum  film  noir  ambience,  the 
songs  recount  amazing  stories  of  crime,  war  and  bizarre 
characters  in  uncommon  and  highly  engaging  fashion. 
The  Big  Heat  is  a  rare  record — one  that  will  have  you 
as  interested  in  the  lyrical  action  as  its  substantial  mu- 
sical attributes. 

If  anything,  Ridgway  outdoes  himself  on  Mosqui- 
tos, a  record  so  chock  full  of  atmosphere  that  it's  nearly 
visual.  As  before,  Ridgway  is  more  of  a  narrator  than  a 
singer,  and  he  shows  his  skill  as  a  song-  and  story- writer 


554 


on  nearly  every  cut.  If  The  Big  Heat  was  film  noir, 
Mosqottos  is  The  Last  Picture  Show  Another  essential 
album.  B/dsl 

See  also  Wall  of  Voodoo. 

Voice  of  Reason  (Reflex)  1 983 

Complex  EP  (Ruthless)  1 985 

White  (Ruthless)  1 987  • 

Live  at  the  Entry,  Dead  at  the  Exit  (Ruthless)  1 989 

Primo  (Big  Money-Ruthless)  1991  • 

FLOUR 

Flour  (Touch  and  Go)  1 988  • 
Luv  71 3  (Touch  and  Go)  1 990  • 
Machinery  Hill  (Touch  and  Go)  1991  • 

Rifle  Sport  are  central  members  of  Minneapolis/St. 
Paul's  "third  wave."  After  the  Suicide  Commandos/ 
Suburbs  in  the  mid- '70s,  and  the  Huskers/Replacements 
at  the  beginning  of  the  '80s,  along  came  bands  like  Soul 
Asylum,  Man  Sized  Action  and  Otto's  Chemical 
Lounge.  These  combos  bloomed  roughly  around  the 
time  of  the  worldwide  hardcore  explosion,  but  none  of 
them  were  the  least  bit  doctrinaire.  Rifle  Sport  drew  on 
some  of  the  "post-punk"  Angloisms  that  colored  the 
sound  of  certain  Chicago  groups  emerging  in  the  same 
period,  and  the  band  has  always  valued  structural  ten- 
sion over  compositional  speed.  The  lineup  has  been  sta- 
ble for  almost  a  decade,  and  in  that  time  the  quartet's 
sound  has  evolved  into  uniquely  propulsive,  but  some- 
how low-key,  guitar  rock.  The  lyrics  are  sometimes 
opaquely  personal,  and  the  songs  are  more  circularly 
mopey  than  ecstatically  expanding. 

Describing  Rifle  Sport  as  a  younger  version  of  Mis- 
sion of  Burma  without  the  underlying  Stooges-worship 
may  have  a  bit  of  truth  to  it;  the  band's  records  docu- 
ment its  progress  and  evolution  in  a  laudable  and  noisy 
fashion.  Fans  of  edge-heavy  shuffling  should  find  them 
quite  winning:  newcomers  should  start  with  the  most 
recent  wax  and  work  backwards. 

Bassist  Pete  (Flour)  Con  way — also  a  longtime  mem- 
ber of  Breaking  Circus — has  cut  several  solo  discs  (the 
first  two  are  on  one  CD)  that  are  grungier  one-man- 
shows.  The  sound  is  reminiscent  of  that  Big  Black/ 
Helios  Creed  wall-of-shit  approach,  crossed  with  Eno's 
early  pop-whuzz.  Both  Flour  and  Luv  713  are  pleasant 
pieces  of  atmospheric  blanket-snuff,  even  if  live  shows 
in  support  of  them  have  been  a  tad  weak.  [be] 

See  also  Breaking  Circus. 

ZOOGZ  RIFT 

Idiots  on  the  Miniature  Golf  Course  (Snout)  1 979  (SST) 

1987 

Amputees  in  Limbo  [tape]  (Snout)  1982  (SST)  1987 
Music  Sucks  [tape]  (Snout)  1982 
Can  You  Smell  My  Genitals  from  Where  You're  Standing? 

[tape]  (Snout)  1983 

None  of  Your  Damn  Business!  [tape]  (Snout)  1983 
The  Diseased  Confessions  of  Moamo  Milkman  [tape] 

(Snout)  1 984 

Ipecac  (Azra)  1984  (SST)  1987 
Interim  Resurgence  (Snout)  1985  (SST)  1987 
Amputees  in  Limbo,  Deluxe  European  Edition 

(nr/Cordelia)1985 


Island  of  Living  Puke  (SST)  1986 

Looser  Than  Clams  ...  A  Historical  Retrospective  (SST) 

1986 

Water  (SST)  1987 

Water  II:  At  Safe  Distance  (SST)  1 987 
Son  of  Puke  [tape]  (SST)  1987 
Nonentity  (Water  I!!:  Fan  Black  Dada)  (SST)  1988  • 
Murdering  Hell's  Happy  Cretins  (SST)  1 989  • 
Torment  (SST)  1989® 
War  Zone  (Ger.  Musical  Tragedies)  1 990 
Europe  1 990  (Ger.  Musical  Tragedies)  1 990 

ZOOGZ  RIFT  &  MARC  MYLAR 

Nutritionally  Sound  [CD]  (Trigon)  1 990  • 

RICHIE  HASS  &  THE  BEATNIKS 

Drummers'  Hall  of  Fame  [tape]  1 985 

COLBY 

Slide  of  Hand  (SST)  1987 

As  imaginative  and  stimulating  as  he  is  irritating  and 
vitriolic,  California's  Zoogz  Rift  (Robert  Pawlikowski) 
is  an  iconoclastic  original,  a  reactionary  whose  paranoia 
has  too  frequently  detracted  from  his  music's  experi- 
mental pizzazz  and  considerable  exotic  charm.  This 
might  be  explained  by  what  were,  for  a  long  time,  his 
primary  intellectual  inspirations:  Salvador  Dali's  dadaist 
strategies  and  Ayn  Rand's  objective  realism.  The  singer/ 
guitarist  is  (too)  often  compared  musically  to  Frank 
Zappa  and  Captain  Beefheart,  while  this  may  have  ap- 
plied to  his  earlier  recordings,  the  past  few  years  have 
found  Rift  toiling  prolifically  in  a  fertile  field  all  his 
own.  And  lest  casual  observers  be  intimidated  by  his 
scatology  and  other  intentional  offenses  to  good  taste 
and  community  standards,  let  it  be  stated  clearly  that 
Rift  is  not  some  talentless  asshole  making  noise  for  an 
audience  of  one.  Although  they  are  wildly  uneven,  many 
of  his  records  are  genuinely  good. 

Idiots  on  the  Miniature  Golf  Course  features  the 
Micro  Mastodons,  a  band  which  includes  songwriter/ 
drummer  Richie  Hass,  a  longtime  Rift  associate.  Ded- 
icated to  Don  Van  Vliet,  this  collection  of  private 
surrealistic  humor,  overambitiously  complex  writing 
and  selfconsciously  zany  performances  sets  the  tone  for 
much  of  what  was  to  follow.  Another  featured  player  on 
this  collection  is  guitarist  John  Trubee,  who  has  stuck  it 
out  with  Rift  on  and  off  over  the  years,  and  is  infamous 
in  his  own  right  for  the  classic  novelty  single,  "A  Blind 
Man's  Penis."  (The  Idiots  cassette  adds  "I  Wanna  Dis- 
member You  Just  the  Way  You  Are"  and  "Lovely 
Girl." 

Over  the  next  three  years,  Rift  issued  five  cassette- 
only  albums.  While  SST  later  reissued  one  of  them  on 
vinyl  and  tape,  the  remaining  four  were  left  to  obscu- 
rity. Amputees  in  Limbo  and  Ipecac  form  a  paranoid 
pair  whose  emotional  timbre  is  evident  in  titles  like 
"My  Daddy  Works  for  the  Secret  Marines,"  "Art 
Band"  ("You're  nothing  but  a  fart  band"),  "I  Was  the 
Only  Boy  at  the  Teen  Girls  Slumber  Party"  and  "You 
Fucked  Up."  Rift's  Amazing  Shitheads,  his  band  at  the 
time,  was  an  uncompromising  group  of  competent  ya- 
hoos in  acerbic  synch  with  their  leader.  (The  original 
issue  of  Ipecac  is  a  picture  disc.  There's  an  extra  track 
on  the  Ipecac  tape.  Likewise,  the  SST  cassette  of  Am- 
putees adds  an  alternate  version  of  "Eyes  of  Bodhi- 
dharma"  and  another  bonus.) 

Rift  began  to  lighten  up  slightly  on  Interim  Restir- 


555 


gence  and  the  charmingly  titled  Island  of  Living  Puke. 
Cosmic  etherea  ("X-Ray  Girls")  and  amusing  self- 
analysis  ("Nightclub  Sequence")  share  space  with  his 
usual  spleen  ventilation, 

Looser  Than  Clams  is  an,  ahem,  "greatest  hits" 
LP  that  served  as  an  intermission  prior  to  Rift's  H20 
trilogy.  By  Water,  his  musical  talents  had  far  surpassed 
his  ranting,  although  his  misanthropy  continues  una- 
bated. Water  II  is  tighter  yet,  with  synthesizers  and 
samplers  coming  to  the  fore.  The  off-kilter  instrumen- 
tals  on  Nonentity  show  off  his  idiosyncratic  guitar  play- 
ing to  fine  advantage  and  allow  the  group  to  simmer 
eccentrically  in  the  breeze.  (The  CD  and  cassette  add 
three  tracks.) 

While  preparing  and  releasing  the  Water  trilogy,  Rift 
stuck  together  Son  of  Puke,  a  patience-defying  cassette 
mixing  samples  from  his  collection  of  spoken-word 
ephemera  and  instrumental  bits — a  few  guitar  chords 
here,  some  $40  Casio  keyboard  plinks  there — all  seem- 
ingly at  random.  It's  occasionally  fun  but  not  easy  to 
endure  for  the  full  45  minutes.  If  Rift's  liner  notes  are  to 
be  believed,  the  cassette's  flip  side — a  female  vocal 
group  carefully  singing  Beatles  songs  to  the  accompa- 
niment of  two  jazzy  electric  guitarists  (except  for  the 
full-scale  sonic  hell  of  "Revolution  No.  9")— -is  by  the 
unknown  Transients  and  comes  from  a  tape  he  discov- 
ered in  a  garbage  bin.  Hmmm  .  .  . 

Divided  into  a  live-in-Holland  side  and  a  dead-in- 
Los  Angeles  side,  Murdering  Hell's  Happy  Cretins — 
a  pivotal  album  on  which  Rift  renounces  his  adherence 
to  dada — is  an  absolutely  delightful  mixture  of  Zoogz's 
personable  stage  presence  (the  guy  can  really  sing!)  and 
some  fine  (mostly  instrumental)  studio  work.  The  title 
track  puts  jolly  music  to  one  of  his  patented  (and  amus- 
ing) rants;  the  demento  "One  of  Us"  features  Mass' 
wild  vibraphone  riffing. 

Recorded  a  few  months  prior  to  Hell's  Happy  Cre- 
tins' studio  side,  Torment  is  an  all-new  record  that 
marks  the  reappearance  of  saxophonist  Marc  Mylar  (ab- 
sent since  Water).  While  the  cassette  adds  three  songs, 
the  CD  packs  in  an  entire  unreleased  album  entitled 
United  We  Fall. 

Given  his  ongoing  difficulties  with  the  American 
record  industry,  Rift  has  recently  had  to  look  overseas  to 
maintain  the  flow  of  his  massive  output  to  vinyl.  The 
weak  War  Zone  (subtitled  Music  for  Obnoxious  Yup- 
pie Scum)  consists  of  the  20-minute  "Kasaba  Kabeza 
(Drop  the  Facades)"  instrumental  suite  (whose  final 
movement  is  dubbed  "Pharquar  Resolvo  Kaputo  Solo 
Resolvo  Redundo  Bono  Honko" — an  entirely  apt  de- 
scription for  this  tedious  horns'n'noise  workout)  and  a 
side  of  shorter  items,  including  a  viciously  funny  Trav- 
eling Wilburys'  spoof,  "You  Can  Count  on  Us." 

Unlike  the  ambitious  sextet  Rift  led  on  the  '88  tour 
preserved  on  Hell's  Happy  Cretins,  he  is  joined  only 
by  a  post-Hass  rhythm  section  and  keyboardist  Jonathan 
"Mako"  Sharkey  on  Europe  1990.  This  compendium 
of  performances  from  Switzerland,  Germany,  Austria 
and  Holland  has  a  disconcerting  undercurrent  of  tension 
and  harsh  sound,  but  does  review  an  impressive  range  of 
material  and  gives  Zoogz  a  chance  to  spotlight  some 
extremely  inventive  guitar  work, 

A  lot  of  the  two-man  Nutritionally  Sound  project 
consists  of  barely  structured  high-tech  studio  dabbling, 


nicely  recorded  sounds  (including  keyboards,  horns, 
guitar,  percussion,  spoken  and/or  found  vocals)  that 
don't  coalesce  into  any  clear-cut  musical  form.  Several 
of  the  things  that  most  resemble  songs  (a  nearly  straight 
rendition  of  "I'm  Telling  You  Now"  with  a  twisted 
guitar  solo,  "Get  Up  offa  That  Thing,"  "All  Bets  Are 
Off")  are,  in  fact,  songs;  a  lot  of  what  surrounds  them, 
however,  is  just  self-indulgent  hooey. 

Slide  guitarist  Scott  Colby  (who  has  also  accompa- 
nied Henry  Kaiser)  was  a  frequent  member  of  the  Rift 
entourage  up  through  1986  or  so,  and  his  old  trail  boss 
returned  the  favor  by  producing  Slide  of  Hand.  This 
adventurous  instrumental  album  sets  Colby's  bottleneck 
loose  in  a  studio  with  such  sidemen  as  Kaiser,  John 
French  and  Willie  Lapin  (also  a  Rift  vet).  Since  Colby 
doesn't  come  at  slide  guitar  from  a  blues  angle,  his 
playing  is  fairly  uncommon;  the  album  is  more  or  less 
jazz  played  like  rock.  [rg/i] 

See  also  John  Trubee. 

WILL  RIGBY 

See  dB's. 

MARC  RILEY  WITH  THE 
CREEPERS 

Creeping  at  Maida  Vale  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 984 

Cull  (nr/in  Tape)  1 984 

Gross  Out  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 984 

Shadow  Figure  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 984 

Fancy  Meeting  God!  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 985 

Four  A's  from  Maida  Vale  EP  (nr/in  Tape)  1 985 

Warts  V  All  (nr/ln  Tape)  1985 

CREEPERS 

Miserable  Sinners  (In  Tape-Last  Time  Round)  1 986 
RockYRoll  Liquorice  Flavour  (Red  Rhino-Fundamental) 

1987® 
Sleeper:  A  Retrospective  (nr/Bleed)  1 989 

Guitarist/keyboardist  Riley  was  booted  out  of  the 
Fall  in  1982,  reportedly  over  an  unseemly  penchant  for 
pop.  His  prolific  output  as  a  solo  artist  and  bandleader, 
however,  only  slightly  warrants  such  categorization.  Al- 
though Riley  shares  his  former  group's  taste  for  deadpan 
vocals  and  distorted  guitar  and  keyboard  sounds,  freed 
of  Mark  E.  Smith's  clutches  he  exhibits  more  melodic, 
structured  songwriting  and  has  one  foot  firmly  rooted  in 
the  garage  punk  tradition. 

All  three  EPs  are  taken  from  sessions  for  John  Peel's 
radio  program  and  feature  one  of  Riley's  favorite  lyrical 
gambits — taking  the  piss  out  of  other  groups.  Creeping 
at  Maida  Vale  is  a  great  little  record,  with  four  strong 
songs,  including  "Location  Bangladesh,"  a  clever  stab 
at  bands  who  travel  the  world  for  exotic  video  locales. 
Four  A's,  equally  enjoyable,  contains  "Bard  of  Wok- 
ing,"  aimed  at  the  people's-poet  pretensions  of  one 
Style  Councillor.  The  Cull  compilation  fills  one  side 
with  Creeping  and  the  other  with  reprises  of  prior, 
vaguely  Velvets-ish  singles. 

Gross  Out,  while  not  breaking  any  new  musical 
ground,  does  contain  one  of  Riley's  finest  moments, 
"Gross,"  Fancy  Meeting  God!  is  an  energetic,  some- 
times catchy  and  often  hilarious  LP,  which  unfortu- 
nately loses  a  little  zip  towards  the  end.  Had  it  been 


556 


edited  together  with  Gross  Out's  highlights,  the  sum 
would  have  been  much  greater  than  the  parts. 

Warts  *n'  AH  is  a  fun  greatest-hits  run-through  re- 
corded live  in  Amsterdam.  As  entertaining  for  Riley 's 
between-song  banter  as  it  is  for  great  songs  (including 
Eno's  pre-ambience  "Baby's  on  Fire"),  it  can  serve  as 
a  very  good  introduction  to  the  uninitiated. 

Miserable  Sinners  and  Rock'n'Roll  Liquorice 
Flavour  both  drop  Riley's  name  (even  though  he's  still 
obviously  the  leader)  and  employ  Mekon/Three  John 
Jon  Langford  in  the  producer's  chair.  It  is  on  these  two 
LPs  that  the  Creepers  are  at  their  peak  The  sound  on 
Miserable  Sinners  is  a  dense  swirl  of  guitars,  but  the 
real  change  is  in  the  lyrical  approach,  which  has  gone 
from  satiric  fun-making  to  introspective  and  self- 
referencing.  "I  strive  to  be  original/have  my  own 
sound/I  don't  run  my  VU  records/into  the  ground," 
sings  Riley. 

Liquorice  Flavour  follows  suit  with  clever  but  se- 
rious self-examination,  again  tipping  a  hat  to  influences 
(and  including  a  brilliant  cover  of  the  Pretty  Things'  '64 
classic,  "Rosalyn").  The  Tom  Waits-like  piano  ballad 
"Sweet  Retreat"  states  "You  don't  have  to  listen  to 
Swordfishtrombone  [sic]  ...  but  it  helps."  The  LP 
has  a  down-home  feel — not  unlike  the  Mekons — on  sev- 
eral tracks,  giving  it  more  textural  and  stylistic  variety 
than  its  predecessors.  (The  artsy,  spoken  ''Derbyshire" 
almost  sounds  like  Sonic  Youth.)  It's  only  reasonable 
that  the  group  should  dissolve  after  releasing  their  finest 
record. 

Unfortunately,  precious  little  has  been  heard  from 
Riley  since  the  breakup,  although  he  did  contribute  to 
the  1988  Johnny  Cash  tribute,  'Til  Things  Are 
Brighter,  playing  with  his  Mekon  pals.  The  following 
year,  Sleeper:  A  Retrospective  was  released,  a  four- 
sided,  history-spanning  collection  reprising  material 
from  all  the  studio  records  save  one  (Fancy  Meeting 
God!).  With  such  highlights  as  all  of  Shadow  Figure, 
three  of  the  Four  A's  and  about  half  each  of  the  final 
two  albums,  Sleeper  is  a  very  useful  sampler,  and  an 
effective  demonstration  of  Riley  and  company's  musical 
development.  Now  if  he'd  only  get  back  to  work. 

See  also  Fall.  [dgs] 

PENNY  RIMBAUD  &  EVE 
LIBERTINE 

See  Crass . 

RINGLING  SISTERS 

See  fScreamin'  Sirens! 

RIP  RIG  +  PANIC 

God  (nr/Uh  Hub-Virgin)  1981 
I  Am  Cold  (nr/Virgin)  1 982 
Attitude  (nr/Virgin)  1983 

FLOAT  UP  CP 

Kill  Me  in  the  Morning  (Upside)  1 985 

MARK  SPRINGER 

Piano  (nr/llluminated)  1 984 

One  of  the  Pop  Group's  numerous  offshoots,  Rip 
Rig  +  Panic  was  a  jazz-fiink  fusion  band  that  left  art- 


punk  behind  musically  but  retained  a  similarly  irrever- 
ent sensibility.  Named  after  a  Roland  Kirk  LP,  the  band 
appropriately  featured  saxophone/piano  free-for-alls. 
They  were  not  as  anarchic  as  their  jazz  inspirations, 
though,  repetitive  bass  licks  (Sean  Oliver)  and  stable 
percussion  (Brace  Smith)  are  great  aids  for  more  cen- 
trist listeners. 

The  band's  most  appealing  aspect  is  its  high- 
spiritedness.  Beyond  absurd  titles,  Rip  Rig  +  Panic 
leaps  around  stylistically  from  (short)  track  to  track. 
Tranquil  piano  (Mark  Springer)  solos  and  silly  chats 
provide  respite  from  screeching  sax  (Gareth  Sager),  Ar- 
abic and  Far  Eastern  touches  and  hard-edged  vocals  (a 
very  young  Neneh  Cherry  and,  on  God,  ex-Slit  An 
Upp).  Attitude,  the  band's  most  accessible  album, 
comes  closest  to  normal  songs,  while  maintaining  a  zany 
eclecticism.  Far  from  forbidding,  Rip  Rig  +  Panic 
keeps  the  show  rolling  with  deft  musicianship  and  odd- 
ball humor. 

In  late  1983,  Rip  Rig  +  Panic  reorganized  as  Float 
Up  CP;  Sager  (playing  guitar  and  keyboards)  and  Oliver 
co-produced  the  sextet's  sole  album.  The  material  on 
Kill  Me  in  the  Morning  is  straightforward  funk/soul/ 
jazz,  with  the  rough  edges  left  intact  in  just  the  right 
places.  But  this  outing  lacks  the  diversity  of  the  previ- 
ous band's  work,  and  Cherry  is  its  only  star:  she  sings 
up  a  storm,  even  when  the  sexual  metaphors  ("Chem- 
ically Wet,"  "Joy's  Address")  get  a  bit  trite.  The  band 
chugs  along  behind  her  with  energy  and  panache,  but 
there's  nothing  unique  or  catchy  enough  on  Kill  Me  in 
the  Morning  to  make  a  lasting  impression. 

Springer  made  a  solo  record.  Cherry  went  on  to 
huge  stardom  under  her  own  name.  Sager  formed  Head. 
Oliver,  who  co-wrote  a  1987  hit  ("Wishing  Well")  and 
did  sessions  for  Terence  Trent  D'Arby,  died  of  sickle 
cell  anemia  in  March  1990.  [si/dgs] 

See  also  Neneh  Cherry,  Head,  Pop  Group. 

RITES  Of  SPRING 

Rites  of  Spring  (Dischord)  1985 

All  Through  a  Life  EP  (Dischord)  1987 

Led  by  singer/lyricist  Guy  Picciotto,  Washington 
DC's  Rites  of  Spring — which  broke  up  in  '87,  leaving 
him  to  help  found  Fugazi — was  an  extraordinary  punk 
band.  Part  of  a  dubious  emo-core  (emotionally  charged 
hardcore)  mini-movement,  the  quartet  enveloped  artic- 
ulate sentiments  in  a  relentless  rush  of  rhythm  and  mel- 
ody that  was  simultaneously  pulverizing  and  delicate. 
Rites  of  Spring  is  a  staggeringly  great  record,  with 
excellent  sound,  crisp  playing  and  evocative  songs. 

Unfortunately,  while  Rites  of  Spring  plays  with  the 
same  force  and  vigor  on  the  four-song  All  Through  a 
Life  7-inch,  the  mix  reduces  the  band's  blasts  to  artsy 
whimpers.  Where  the  lyrics  were  formerly  reflective 
and  personal,  here  they're  intimate  nonsense.  [icm] 

See  also  Fugazi. 

BRIAN  RITCHIE 

See  Violent  Femtnes. 

RITUAL 

See  Cult. 


557 


i  Live  Here  (Sacrifice)  1 986 
i  Live  Here/Hotel  California  (Sacrifice)  1 987  <J> 
The  Blood  of  the  Kid  (CBGB-Celluloid)  1987  ® 
Expelled  (Safe  House)  1991  ® 

Yeow  (Little  Animal)  1985 

GAWK 

Lure  of  the  Oxowl  [tape]  (Sacrifice)  1 989 

I  Live  Here  is  a  challenging  debut  from  a  band  that 
was  somewhat  overlooked  m  the  rush  to  gush  over  such 
New  York  noise  scene  contemporaries  as  Sonic  Youth, 
Live  Skull  and  Swans.  The  links  are  there,  both  stylistic 
and  genealogical  (Ritual  Tension's  vocalist  drummed 
on  Greed  and  Holy  Money),  but  this  quartet  writhes  to 
its  own  noisemaker.  On  the  best  material  (like  the  grip- 
ping "Tightrope"  and  the  scathing  '* Social  Climber"), 
Ivan  Nahem  offers  an  alienated,  surreal  persona,  his 
voice  a  cool  monotone  rising  to  a  frantic  bray,  while  his 
brother  Andrew  spews  piercing,  Rowland  S.  Howardian 
drone-guitar.  The  rhythms  are  unpredictable  and  convo- 
luted; Ubuesque  arrangements  play  havoc  with  tradi- 
tional songcraft.  (The  tape  and  CD  mix  in  the  three 
songs  from  a  subsequent  EP,  including  a  totally  out- 
there  devolution  of  the  Eagles'  "Hotel  California.") 

Live  at  CBGB,  The  Blood  of  the  Kid  presents  Rit- 
ual Tension  in  a  most  conducive  atmosphere.  More  in- 
tense than  on  I  Live  Here,  the  band  presents  some  great 
new  material,  like  the  throbbing  "New  Super,"  the  tem- 
pestuous "Devil  Dog"  and  a  primer  of  paranoia,  "Oh  I 
See." 

Ritual  Tension  has  been  an  on-again,  off-again  prop- 
osition the  last  few  years.  Recorded  in  1988,  the  excel- 
lently self-produced  Expelled  is  the  finest  display  yet  of 
the  band's  offbeat  musicianship.  The  dissonance  is  so 
vibrantly  arranged  and  performed  that  it  actually  be- 
comes catchy. 

Bassist  Marc  Sloan  has  kept  himself  busy  during 
Tension  downtime  with  a  multitude  of  projects,  includ- 
ing a  stint  in  the  False  Prophets.  While  the  solo  Yeow 
predates  Ritual  Tension,  Lure  of  the  Oxowl  finds  him 
collaborating  with  Reed  Ghazala  under  the  Gawk  mon- 
iker. The  all-instrumental  cassette  ranges  from  ambient 
classical  to  avant-rock,  played  on  Sloan's  usual  bass- 
with-effects  and  such  instruments  as  kalimba,  bamboo 
flute,  ravanastron,  er  hu,  cello  and  ''electronic  insects." 

See  also  Swans.  [gefj 


DARREN  ROBB1NS 

Darren  Robbins  Steals  Your  Girlfriend  [CD]  (Like)  1988  • 
Chicago  singer/songwriter  Darren  Robbins  (no 
relation)— with  production,  playing  and  songwriting  as- 
sistance by  Graham  Walker  (and,  in  a  lesser  capacity, 
the  two  other  Elvis  Brothers) — makes  a  sterling  debut 
with  this  sprightly  collection  of  pure-pop/rock  tunes. 
Robbins  has  a  versatile  voice  and  an  engaging  light- 
weight musical  personality;  making  the  most  of  simple 
ingredients  and  crude  facilities,  he  comes  up  with  a  high 
percentage  of  winners  here,  including  drummer  Brad 
Steakley's  sardonic  "Get  Out  of  My  Life  (I  Can  Mess  It 
Up  Myself),"  Walker's  magical  "Try  for  a  Miracle" 
and  Robbins'  own  plaintive  "Fire  from  a  Stone"  and 
"Travel  Long  My  Wanderin'  Heart."  As  much  a  show- 


case for  the  star's  solid  skills  as  a  tantalizing  indication 
of  what  the  Elvis  Brothers  could  be  doing  if  they  were 
still  making  records,  Steals  Your  Girlfriend  is  a  nifty 
delight.  [i] 

See  also  Elvis  Brothers. 

TOM  ROBINSON  BAND 

Power  in  the  Darkness  (Haivest)  1 978 

TRB  Two  (Harvest)  1979 

Tom  Robinson  Band  (nr/EMI)  1981  (nr/Fame)  1982 

TOM 

North  by  Northwest  (IRS)  1982  ® 

Cabaret  '79  (nr/Panic)  1 982  ® 

Atmospherics  EP  (nr/Panic)  1983 

Hope  and  Glory  (Geffen)  1984 

Still  Loving  You  (nr/Castaway)  1 986  « 

Midnight  at  the  Fringe  (nr/Dojo)  1 987  ® 

The  Collection  1 977-1 987  (nr/EMI)  1 987  * 

Back  in  the  Old  Country  (nr/Connoisseur  Collection) 

1989* 
Last  Tango  (Ger.  Line)  1989  • 

SECTOR  27 

Sector  27  (IRS)  1980 

TOM  ROBINSON  &  JAKKO  M* 

JAKSZYK 

We  Never  Had  It  So  Good  (Fr.  Musidisc)  1 990  « 

In  1975,  Tom  Robinson  escaped  from  the  ashes  of 
Cafe  Society,  a  London  folkiepop  outfit  produced  by 
Ray  Davies,  to  become  a  highly  visible  rock  band- 
leader, championing  various  radical  causes  through  mu- 
sic. Signed  to  EMI  in  the  wake  of  that  label's  disastrous 
liaison  with  the  Sex  Pistols,  Robinson's  avowed  homo- 
sexuality and  uncompromising  political  stance  made 
him  an  extremely  controversial  figure.  Luckily,  a  bril- 
liant (and  surprisingly  non-topical)  first  single,  "2-4- 
6-8  Motorway,"  and  a  riveting  album  made  the  band 
internationally  successful,  affording  the  singing  bassist 
the  opportunity  to  be  a  real  rock  activist — spearheading 
Rock  Against  Racism — rather  than  merely  a  com- 
plainer.  But  a  myopic  outlook  and  limited  musical  range 
drew  Robinson  into  a  morass  of  sloganeering  and  over- 
bearing self-righteousness  that  forced  a  major  career  re- 
think after  only  two  LPs, 

Power  in  the  Darkness  contains  track  after  track  of 
impassioned,  heartfelt  political  anger,  funneled  through 
articulate  lyrics  and  Danny  Kustow's  roaring  guitar  fig- 
ures. The  memorable  songs  seethe  with  honest  convic- 
tion and  convert  rock  energy  into  anthemic  power.  (The 
American  release  originally  contained  a  bonus  seven- 
song  disc,  compiling  live  tracks  from  an  English  EP  and 
both  sides  of  the  "Motorway"  single.) 

TRB  Two  was  produced  by  Todd  Rundgren  and 
basically  encores  the  style  and  content  of  its  predeces- 
sor, but  with  a  more  mainstream  sound  and  fewer  rough 
edges  (not  really  an  improvement).  Robinson's  alter- 
nate approach—slower  numbers  played  at  a  bouncy 
shuffle  perfect  for  in-concert  singalongs — does  improve 
with  Todd's  treatment.  This  brace  of  polemics  isn't  as 
striking  as  Robinson's  first,  but  fans  of  Power  in  the 
Darkness  won't  find  anything  obviously  missing  here 
(except  perhaps  drummer  Dolph  Taylor  and  keyboardist 
Mark  Ambler,  who  had  both  been  replaced).  Tom  Rob- 
inson Band  is  a  compilation. 


558 


After  the  TRB  collapsed,  Robinson  formed  Sector 
27  and  refocused  his  efforts  on  personal  relationships 
rather  than  politics.  With  a  new  lineup — notably  includ- 
ing a  bassist,  which  allowed  Robinson  to  concentrate  on 
singing — the  restrained  album  has  some  winning  songs, 
although  none  with  the  same  immediacy  as  before. 

Recorded  in  Hamburg  with  only  producer  Richard 
Mazda  and  a  drummer,  North  by  Northwest  is  a  ma- 
ture and  subtle  album.  Featuring  material  co-written 
with  Peter  Gabriel  and  a  cover  of  a  Lewis  Furey  song, 
Robinson  explores  various  sophisticated  settings  and 
succeeds  in  making  a  pleasantly  slight  record,  marred 
only  by  an  agonized  (and  agonizing)  song  of  love  lost, 
4 'Now  Martin's  Gone." 

Cabaret  '79  is  a  live  recording  made  shortly  after 
the  original  TRB's  dissolution;  it  includes  Robinson's 
confrontational  signature  tune,  "Glad  to  Be  Gay,"  as 
well  as  a  reading  of  Noel  Coward's  "Mad  About  the 
Boy,"  which  resulted  in  some  legal  problems  between 
Robinson  and  Coward's  estate.  The  Collection  is  a  use- 
ful compilation  (with  liner  notes  by  the  artist)  of  the 
band's  best  tracks,  drawing  on  singles  and  EPs  for  items 
like  "Don't  Take  No  for  an  Answer,"  "Glad  to  Be 
Gay"  and  "Motorway." 

Turning  over  a  new  page,  Robinson  then  began  a 
successful  era  of  plainly  commercial  rock,  captured  on 
the  Atmospherics  EP  (parts  of  which  were  incorporated 
onto  the  subsequent  LP)  and  Hope  and  Glory.  He's 
certainly  capable  of  writing  and  recording  skillfully  rou- 
tine music;  it  just  doesn't  make  for  very  interesting  lis- 
tening: "War  Baby"  and  a  terrible  version  of  Steely 
Dan's  "Rikki  Don't  Lose  That  Number"  were  inexpli- 
cable hits.  Robinson's  sincerity  and  commitment  are 
obvious,  but  mediocre  singing  and  bland  arrangements 
keep  Hope  and  Glory  from  being  anything  but  ordi- 
nary. 

Robinson  has  continued  making  records  with  no  no- 
table commercial  (or  critical)  success  ever  since.  Last 
Tango  is  a  live  album.  [i] 

ROCK  AND  HYDE 

See  Payolas. 

ROCKATS 

Live  at  the  Ritz  (Island)  1981 
Make  That  Move  EP  (RCA)  1 983 

LEV!  AND  THE  ROCKATS 

At  the  Louisiana  Hayride  (Posh  Boy)  1 981 

LEV1 

The  Fun  Sessions  EP  (PVC)  1983 

The  Rockats,  hybrid  English/ American  rockabilly 
specialists,  were  formed  by  singer  Levi  Dexter,  whose 
appreciation  of  '50s  American  rock  infused  the  band 
with  a  real  traditionalist  ethic.  They  made  only  one 
record  together  before  splintering;  bassist  Smutty  Smiff 
subsequently  kept  the  Rockats'  name  alive.  Louisiana 
Hayride,  recorded  live  in  Shreveport,  Louisiana  in 
1979,  bristles  with  feeling  but  lacks  something  in  re- 
cording quality,  especially  as  regards  the  mix.  And  if 
there  was  an  audience  at  that  gig,  no  one  bothered  tell- 
ing them  to  clap. 

Live  at  the  Ritz,  cut  in  New  York  over  a  year  later, 
is  a  much  slicker  affair — &  premonition  of  the  Stray  Cats 


but  without  a  magnetic  personality  like  Brian  Setzer. 
With  Levi  gone  and  a  new  lineup  in  place,  the  play  ing's 
fine,  the  sound  quality  is  great  and  the  tunes  all  sound 
like  Johnny  Cash  should  be  singing  'em.  (One  of  the 
new  members — guitarist  Tim  Scott — went  on  to  a  solo 
career  and  later  formed  the  Havalinas.) 

Make  That  Move,  with  a  new  guitarist  and  drum- 
mer in  the  quintet,  attempts  to  effect  a  stylistic  escape. 
Produced  by  Mike  Thorne,  one  side  isn't  rockabilly  at 
all;  keyboards  are  used  to  build  an  energetic  but  char- 
acterless soup.  On  the  flip,  the  overbearing  "Go  Cat 
Wild"  contains  more  drums  than  all  of  the  Stray  Cats' 
records  put  together.  Only  the  title  song  and  "Never  So 
Clever"  recapture  the  band's  original  sound  with  a  glim- 
mer of  the  old  spirit. 

Dexter,  for  his  part,  sticks  to  the  straight  and  narrow 
on  The  Fun  Sessions.  Sharing  production  with  Richard 
Gottehrer  and  employing  a  bas^c  'billy  trio,  he  hiccups 
his  way  through  five  cool  tracks  exploding  with  under- 
stated energy.  Not  innovative  by  any  means,  but  his 
earnest  copies  beat  the  Rockats'  boring  originals  any 
day.  [i] 

See  also  Havalinas,  Tim  Scott. 

ROCKET  FROM  THE  TOMBS 

See  Peter  Laughner. 

ROCKP1LE 

Seconds  of  Pleasure  (Columbia)  1 980  • 

Rockpile,  the  top-rank  rock'n'roll  group  Nick  Lowe 
and  Dave  Edmunds  formed  in  the  late  '70s,  played  on 
solo  records  by  both  men  and  backed  each  on  tours.  A 
year  before  breaking  up,  the  quartet — which  also  in- 
cluded drummer  Terry  Williams  and  guitarist  Billy 
Bremner — had  its  sole  moment  in  the  vinyl  spotlight, 
and  came  up  with  an  album  that  is  every  bit  as  exhila- 
rating as  anything  either  Lowe  or  Edmunds  has  done  on 
his  own.  Obvious  influences  on  Seconds  of  Pleasure 
include  the  Everly  Brothers  ("Now  and  Always")  and 
Chuck  Berry  (his  own  "Oh  What  a  Thrill");  the  blues 
"A  Knife  and  a  Fork"  and  the  medium-tempo  "When 
I  Write  the  Book"  are  rare  respites.  Besides  everything 
else,  the  album  has  the  extra  bonus  of  guitarist  Billy 
Bremner  singing  the  rollickin'  "Heart"  and  Rockiif 
Sidney's  "You  Ain't  Nothin'  but  Fine."  Throughout, 
the  band  delivers  the  hard-partying,  good-time  music 
we've  come  to  expect  from  Lowe  and  Edmunds.  Initial 
copies  of  the  LP  included  a  7-inch  single,  Nick  Lowe  & 
Dave  Edmunds  Sing  the  Everly  Brothers,  with  ren- 
ditions of  "Take  a  Message  to  Mary,"  "When  Will  I 
Be  Loved"  and  two  more  classics — all  later  appended 
to  the  CD.  [si] 

See  also  Billy  Bremner,  Dave  Edmunds,  Nick  Lowe. 

PAUL  ROESSLER 

SeeD.CJ. 


HENRY  ROLLINS 

Hot  Animal  Machine  (Texas  Hotel)  1 987  « 
Big  Ugly  Mouth  (Texas  Hotel)  1987 
Sweat  Box  (Texas  Hotel)  1989 


559 


COLLINS  AND  THE 

Drive  by  Shooting  EP  (Texas  Hotel)  1987  • 

HENRY  ROLLINS/GORE 

Live  (Hoi.  Ebakt)  1987 

ROLLINS 

Life  Time  (Texas  Hotel)  1988  ® 

Do  it  (Texas  Hotel)  1 988  ® 

Hard  Volume  (Texas  Hotel)  1 989  • 

Turned  On  (1/4  Stick-Touch  and  Go)  1990  © 

WARTIME 

Fast  Food  for  Thought  EP  (Chrysalis)  1 990  • 

Since  the  dissolution  of  Black  Flag  in  1986,  singer/ 
lyricist  Henry  Rollins  has  pursued  a  dual  existence  as  a 
published  poet  (by  the  time  Black  Flag  broke  up,  he  was 
already  a  seasoned  veteran  of  the  spoken-word  tour  cir- 
cuit) and  leader  of  his  own  hardnosed  band,  producing 
powerful,  driven  rock  as  a  platform  for  his  ferocious 
vocals. 

With  cover  art  by  Mark  Mothersbaugh,  Rollins'  first 
solo  effort,  Hot  Animal  Machine  (recorded  in  the  UK 
in  late  '86)  gets  off  to  an  explosive  start  with  "Black 
and  White"  before  sailing  into  a  paranoia-tinged  trio 
("Followed  Around,"  "Lost  and  Found,"  "There's  a 
Man  Outside")  that  keeps  up  the  frenzied  pace.  The  LP 
occasionally  lapses  into  silliness  ("A  Man  and  a  Wom- 
an," the  bluesy,  cliche-riddled  "Crazy  Lover"),  but 
provides  some  neat  covers  (Suicide's  "Ghost  Rider" 
and  the  Velvet  Underground's  "Move  Right  In"). 

Recorded  during  the  Hot  Animal  Machine  sessions 
and  inexplicably  credited  to  Henrietta  Collins  and  the 
Wifebeating  Childhaters  (band  members  are  rechris- 
tened  with  female  monikers;  Henry  Rollins  gets  guest 
billing),  Drive  by  Shooting  kicks  off  with  the  title  track, 
a  novelty  number  about  Los  Angeles  gang  warfare  re- 
plete with  surf/car  song  appropriations  (guitar  line  cour- 
tesy of  "Wipeout").  The  EP  also  boasts  a  solid 
rendition  of  Wire's  "Ex  Lion  Tamer"  and  a  pretty  funny 
(albeit  tasteless)  send-up  of  Queen's  "We  Will  Rock 
You' '  called  *  1  Have  Come  To  Kill  You. ' '  To  prove  his 
fallibility,  Rollins  includes  two  total  throwaways:  "Hey 
Henrietta"  and  "Men  Are  Pigs."  (One  CD  combines 
the  EP  with  Hot  Animal  Machine,  adding  a  previously 
unreleased  live  track.) 

The  spoken-word  Big  Ugly  Mouth  was  culled  from 
various  1987  speaking  engagements  around  the  country. 
In  an  uncharacteristic  display  of  humility  and  sensitiv- 
ity, Rollins  discourses  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  includ- 
ing social  and  racial  injustice,  child  abuse  and  sexual 
harassment.  In  a  more  humorous  vein,  he  tackles  mas- 
turbation, birthdays  and  advertising— just  for  starters. 
Sweat  Box  is  more  poetry  from  the  mouth  of  Rollins — 
three  albums'  worth. 

Recorded  at  Toronto's  El  Mocambo  club  in  May 
'87,  Rollins  shares  the  Live  album  with  a  side  of  per- 
formances by  Dutch  thrash-rock  trio  Gore.  Testing  out 
the  newly  formed  Rollins  Band — guitarist  Chris  Haskett 
of  the  previous  lineup  plus  a  rhythm  section  drawn, 
oddly  enough,  from  ex-Black  Flag  bandmate  Greg 
Gmn's  Gone — Henry  runs  roughly  through  material 
from  Hot  Animal  Machine  and  a  preview  of  the  as- 
yet-unrecorded  "What  Am  I  Doing  Here?"  While  not 


the  most  effective  setting,  the  tracks  are  strong  and  well- 
played. 

Alienation  is  the  unifying  lyrical  theme  on  Life 
Time,  the  first  studio  album  by  the  still-running  Rollins 
Band.  "Burned  Beyond  Recognition,"  "What  Am  I 
Doing  Here?"  and  "There's  Nothing  Like  Finding 
Someone  When  You're  Lonely  to  Make  You  Want  to 
Be  All  Alone"  all  get  the  point  across.  (A  typical  lyric: 
"I  hate  the  world  that  I  think  hates  me/Punch  holes  in 
the  wail  you  know  that  hurts  me/I  feel  dark  and  cold  and 
alone,  it  burns  me/Wish  someone  would  come  and  touch 
me.")  Musically,  it's  Rollins'  most  adventurous 
project.  Without  compromising  the  band's  sheer  force, 
straightforward  rock  stylings  give  way  to  more  experi- 
mental song  structures,  jazz-inflected  bass  lines  and 
tricky  time  changes.  (The  CD  adds  four  live  tracks  re- 
corded in  Belgium.) 

While  the  live  side  (recorded  later  in  '87  in  Holland) 
of  Do  It  is  pretty  similar  in  content  and  delivery  (not 
sound:  this  is  much  clearer)  to  Rollins  Band's  side  of 
Live,  the  album's  three  studio  tracks  (produced  by  Roll- 
ins' DC  homeboy,  Ian  MacKaye)  are  killer.  Starting 
with  a  powerful  version  of  the  Pink  Fairies*  classic  urge 
to  action  "Do  It,"  there  are  two  other  covers:  "Move 
Right  In"  (incorporating  "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida")  and 
Richard  Berry's  R&B-styled  "Next  Time,"  both  bene- 
fiting from  Rollins'  dramatic  vocals  and  Haskett's  over- 
drive guitar. 

Rollins  is  in  an  existential  funk  on  the  seven-song 
Hard  Volume,  announcing  (in  "What  Have  I  Got") 
that  "I've  got  a  wantless  need  ...  I  am  a  clenched 
fist/Looking  for  a  wall  to  kiss"  and  discovering  (in 
"Down  and  Away")  that  "I  am  the  last  place  that  I 
want  to  be."  Oddly,  the  rest  of  the  band  seems  unaf- 
fected by  any  such  feelings  of  angst,  and  the  music — a 
well-organized  rock  juggernaut — thunders  along  as  if  all 
were  well  in  the  world. 

Documenting  the  group's  1989  European  tour, 
Turned  On  catches  a  November  show  in  Vienna,  a 
lengthy  set  that  includes  material  from  Hot  Animal  Ma- 
chine up  through  Hard  Volume,  including  another  ver- 
sion of  "Do  It."  Rollins  is  his  usual  balls-to-the-wall 
self,  and  Haskett  is  in  rare  form,  spewing  out  sizzling 
solos  that  carom  around  various  '70s  hard-rock  styles. 

Wartime  is  a  vaguely  political  side  project  by  Roll- 
ins and  Rollins  Band  bassist  Andrew  Weiss.  The  latter 
produced  and  played  the  music  (an  overpowering 
grungeheap  of  percussion,  distorto  guitar,  samples  and 
blustery  fuzz  bass)  over  which  Henry  delivers  his  de- 
mands for  freedom,  peace  and  truth.  Fast  Food  for 
Thought  includes  four  originals  and  a  cover  of  the 
Grateful  Dead's  "Franklin's  Tower."  [rj/i] 

See  also  Black  Flag,  S.O.A, 


ROMANTICS 

The  Romantics  (Nemperor)  1980  • 
National  Breakout  (Nemperor)  1 980 
Stridy  Personal  (Nemperor)  1 981 
In  Heat  (Nemperor)  1 983  « 
Rhythm  Romance  (Nemperor)  1985  • 
What  1  Like  About  You  (And  Other  Romantic  Hits) 
(Epic  Associated)!  990  <|> 


560 


Midwest  Pop  Explosion!  (Quark)  1980 

Once  upon  a  time,  Detroit's  Romantics  were  the 
band  the  Knack  always  wanted  to  be,  hammering  out  a 
few  essential  chords  while  the  singer  wailed  out  incon- 
sequential lyrics  about  girls.  They  played  fast,  loose  and 
tough  but,  unlike  the  Knack,  weren't  obnoxious.  This  is 
the  kind  of  band  that  would  have  been  happy  jamming 
to  "Louie,  Louie"  or  "La  Bamba"  all  night  if  they 
hadn't  been  able  to  devise  their  own  alternatives. 

The  Romantics'  1980  debut  and  National  Breakout 
capture  that  era  beautifully  Silly  red  leather  suits  not- 
withstanding, The  Romantics  shows  the  boys  at  their 
most  raucous,  crashing  through  "What  I  Like  About 
You"  (their  best-ever  track,  sung  by  drummer  Jimmy 
Marinos)  and  other  dance-floor  pips.  The  optimistically 
titled  second  LP  continues  in  the  "Twist  and  Shout" 
vein,  highlighted  by  "Tomboy"  and  "Stone  Pony  " 
(Besides  tracks  by  Stiv  Bators,  Nikki  &  the  Corvettes 
and  the  Singles,  Midwest  Pop  Explosion!  contains  both 
sides  of  the  Romantics'  1978  Bomp!  single  and  two 
other  pre-' 80  efforts.) 

Strictly  Personal,  the  panicky  response  to  disap- 
pointing sales,  finds  the  Romantics  switching  from  pow- 
erful pop  to  soulless  arena-rock  All  broad,  exaggerated 
gestures  and  no  charm.  Sad.  In  Heat  wiped  away  the 
tears,  elevating  the  band  into  the  Top  10  with  the  exe- 
crable "Talking  in  Your  Sleep"  and  the  far  more  likable 
"One  in  a  Million."  Having  hit  the  heights,  Marinos 
left  the  group;  the  others  hung  in  to  make  Rhythm 
Romance,  another  likably  dumb  batch  of  pop  songs 
culminating  in  a  credibly  rootsy  version  of  "Poison 
Ivy." 

The  1990  compilation  brings  together  the  quartet's 
two  hits,  the  title  track  and  seven  additional  album  se- 
lections, paying  special  attention  to  In  Heat.  Adding  a 
deeply  weird  commercial  postscript  to  the  Romantics' 
career,  "What  I  Like  About  You"  wound  up  being  used 
in  a  Bud  Light  TV  spot.  Is  that  post-punk  or  what? 


ROMEO  VOID 

Its  a  Condition  (41 5)  1 981 
Never  Say  Never  (41 5-Columbia)  1 982 
Benefactor  (41 5-Columbia)  1 982 
Instincts  (41 5-Columbia)  1 984 

DEBORA  iYALL 

Strange  Language  (41 5-Columbia)  1 986 

Walloping  big-beat  riffs  with  snaky  sax  and  darkly 
intelligent  lyrics  characterize  this  San  Francisco  area 
dance/think  combo.  Native  American  artist-and-poet- 
turned-vocalist  Debora  lyall  uses  her  smoky,  conversa- 
tional voice  to  wax  reflective  on  love  and  lust  in  these 
modern  times;  consistent  with  the  band's  name,  she 
sings  not  only  of  situations  where  love  is  absent,  but 
also  of  when  it  should  be  absent. 

Its  a  Condition  introduced  Romeo  Void's  unique 
blend  of  jazz,  funk,  rock  and  confrontational  poetry  in 
its  formative  stages,  the  music  a  bit  tentative  and  unfo- 
cused, especially  in  contrast  with  lyalFs  hard-edged  lyr- 
ics. Never  Say  Never,  a  four-song  EP  co-produced  by 
Ric  Ocasek,  gained  the  group  significant  airplay  and 


sales,  leading  to  the  link  between  San  Francisco  inde- 
pendent 415  and  the  CBS  megalith.  It's  consequently  no 
surprise  that  a  truncated  version  of  "Never  Say  Never" 
opens  up  Benefactor;  as  it  turns  out,  that  song  proved  to 
be  more  of  a  stylistic  moid  than  might  be  considered 
healthy. 

The  most  fully  realized  record  of  the  bunch,  In- 
stincts boasts  David  Kahne's  rich,  full-blooded  produc- 
tion, top-notch  playing  and  reprises  of  various  stylistic 
avenues.  "Just  Too  Easy"  resembles  ''Never  Say 
Never"  and  pairs  Ben  Bossi's  ace  sax  work  with  lyall's 
sardonic,  spoken  monologue;  **A  Girl  in  Trouble  (Is  a 
Temporary  Thing)"  touches  a  poppier,  more  melodic 
side;  "Six  Days  and  One"  reverts  to  a  spare,  mainly 
rhythmic  approach.  Mixing  strength  with  beauty, 
Romeo  Void  makes  very  special  dance  music  for  the 
mind. 

A  strange  blend  of  unlikely  people  creating  rather 
unsurprising  music,  ly all's  solo  album  was  produced  by 
Pat  Irwin,  once  a  Lydia  Lunch  collaborator  in  8  Eyed 
Spy  and  later  a  Raybeat.  The  cast  includes  Irwin  (clar- 
inet, sax,  guitar,  synth),  Richard  Sohl  (pianist  in  the 
original  Patti  Smith  Group)  and  others;  Ben  Bossi  (sax) 
and  Aaron  Smith  (drums)  of  Romeo  Void  also  partici- 
pate, lyall  obviously  takes  her  poetry  seriously;  unfor- 
tunately, Irwin  ( co- writer  of  six  tunes  here)  leads  the 
musicians  through  underwhelming,  blandly  faceless 
rock  backing  that  pointedly  lacks  Romeo  Void's  atmo- 
spherics, [rnp/i] 


SKID  ROPER  AND  THE 
WHIRLIN  SPURS 

See  Mojo  Nixon  and  Skid  Roper. 


ROSA  LUXEMBURG 

Puri  Puri  (Jap.  School)  1 986  • 
II  (Jap.  Midi)  1 986  * 

Why  this  excitable  Japanese  art-rock  dance  quartet 
named  itself  after  a  historically  significant  German 
Marxist  is  a  mystery,  but  it  would  seem  from  the  group's 
first  two  albums  that  David  Byrne  is  probably  their  phi- 
losopher of  choice.  The  tightly  strung  but  casually  off- 
beat Puri  Puri  lays  scratchy  guitars  and  giddily 
enthusiastic  vocals  into  jittery  rhythms  that  alternately 
suggest  Talking  Heads,  the  Suburbs  and  early  B-52's. 
Despite  the  Japanese  lyrics,  horn/percussion  accents, 
tropical/Latin  influences  and  the  band's  non-stop  exu- 
berance all  help  translate  this  diverse  platter  of  fun  into 
a  universal  language. 

Rosa  L.  relaxes  a  little  on  the  wonderful  II,  focusing 
all  of  its  energies  into  ensuring  that  no  two  songs  sound 
anything  alike.  The  album  leads  off  with  a  twisted  ska 
number  and  then  shifts  into  a  raving  R&B  rocker  that 
features  a  wall-climbing  guitar  solo.  From  there,  any- 
thing goes:  Sly  Stone  boom-laka-laka-lakas,  garage 
rock,  wailing  harmonica,  California  surf-pop,  an  acous- 
tic guitar  tune  that  revs  into  a  major  workout,  a  choral 
song  accompanied  by  electronic  sound  effects,  etc. 
Wheee!  If  the  words  on  H  are  half  as  inventively  weird 
as  the  music,  I'm  dying  to  know  what  they  mean,  [i] 


561 


KRISTI  ROSE  AND  THE 
MIDNIGHT  WALKERS 

Some  People  (Rounder)  1986  ® 

High- voltage  country- western  rock  from  New  York: 
powerhouse  singer  Rose,  backed  by  a  loud  trio  that 
boasts  ex-Television  bassist  Fred  Smith,  belts  out 
twangy  Nashville-styled  originals  and  a  couple  of  clas- 
sics on  this  energetic  debut.  Rose's  bracing  voice  takes 
after  Wanda  Jackson  and  is  the  most  notable  ingredient 
here;  the  Midnight  Walkers  wander  between  polite 
country  backing  and  near-punk  aggression.  The  Uptown 
Horns  help  out  on  a  couple  of  tracks.  [i] 

See  Black  Uhuru. 

Bambo  (Unknown  Tongue)  1 987 

Beauty  of  the  Island  (Unknown  Tongue)  1989 

A  friend  of — and  occasional  songwnting  collabora- 
tor with — the  Blue  Oyster  Cult  and  Del-Lords  and  other 
vaguely  related  New  York-area  outfits  (erstwhile  rock 
crit  Richard  Meltzer  being  the  spiritual  center  of  this 
family),  David  Roter  brings  an  artless  voice  and  the  soul 
of  a  standup  comedian  to  incisively  funny  moderate-rent 
records  that  alternate  topical  satire  and  personal  com- 
plaints. After  making  a  minor  cult-single  splash  with 
1979's  "I  Think  I  Slept  with  Jackie  Kennedy  Last 
Night,"  Roter  cut  two  albums  with  skilled  small-scale 
rock-pop  accompaniment  by  assorted  Cult-ists  and  Del- 
Lords,  as  well  as  musical  associates  of  David  Johansen. 

Bambo  has  amusingly  irreverent  biographies  of 
Sonny  Listen,  Mussolini  and  Joan  Crawford  (a  song 
first  recorded  by  the  Cult),  a  wry  love  letter  to  an  ex- 
wife  and  the  titular  epic  in  which  forest  creatures  turn 
the  tables  and  go  ballistic  against  hunters.  Beauty  of  the 
Island  repeats  "My  Ex-Wife,"  "Sonny  Listen"  and 
"Adopt  Me"  (co-scribed  by  Meltzer),  appending  some 
clever  current-events  reports  on  the  Big  Apple  ("New 
York,  New  York,"  "Beauty  of  the  Island").  [i] 

See  also  Del-Lords. 

ROTTERS 

Presumed  Dead-ln  Japan  (Baka)  1989 

Blindly  idolizing  the  Sex  Pistols  et  al.,  Santa  Bar- 
bara's Rotters  knowingly  baited  the  censors  in  1978 
with  their  first  45,  "Sit  on  My  Face  Stevie  Nix"  b/w 
"Amputee,"  which  garnered  considerable  press  when  it 
was  instantly  banned  from  LA  record  stores  and  radio. 
One  of  the  most  slavishly  imitative  tributes  to  pure  '77 
UK  punk  ever  recorded  in  America,  the  record  features 
faux-Brit  vocalist  Nigel  Nitro  (Mike  Rogers)  singing 
"Sit  on  my  faiiice"/"!  dowanna  be  no  amputees/I," 
The  Rotters  broke  up  in  1980  but  got  back  together  a 
few  years  later;  1984  compilation  tracks  and  an  unre- 
leased  EP  of  the  time  evinced  no  softening  of  subject 
matter  ("I  wanna  fuck  a  new  wave  slut  "/"My  penis 
hurts").  The  new  lineup  was  no  more  nor  less  contem- 
poraneously punk  than  the  last,  although  guitarist 
Phester  Swollen  (Tom  Chartier)  had  obviously  learned 
a  trick  or  nine  in  the  interim,  exploding  forth  with  manic 
fills  and  electrocution  leads  betwixt  the  music's  rote 
hardcorisms. 


Absent  for  another  five  years,  the  newest  Rotters 
resurfaced,  bearing  a  debut  LP  that — a  full  decade  after 
the  first  single — includes  numerous  songs  from  the 
band's  beginnings.  Recorded  live-to-4-track  in  Japan 
(where  the  band  had  reassembled  with  a  local  drum- 
mer), Presumed  Dead  is,  oddly,  even  more  garagey 
and  sloppy  than  the  early  stuff,  showcasing  a  band  as 
carelessly  noisy  and  artlessly  annoyed  as  any  in  the 
original  (new)  wave,  elevated  by  guitar  playing  so  ram- 
pant and  excessive  as  to  virtually  reinvent  heavy  metal. 
A  classic.  [abj 

MIKEL  ROUSE 

See  Tirez  Tirez,  Tuxedomoon. 

KEVIN  ROWLAND 

See  Dexy's  Midnight  Runners. 

ROXY  MUSIC 

Roxy  Music  (Reprise)  1972  (Atco)  1977  (EG-Reprise) 

1989® 
For  Your  Pleasure  . , .  (Warner  Bros.)  1 973  (Atco)  1 977 

(EG-Reprise)  1989® 

Stranded  (Atco)  1973  (EG-Reprise)  1989  ® 
Country  Life  (Atco)  1974  (EG-Reprise)  1989  ® 
Siren  (Atco)  1975  (EG-Reprise)  1989  » 
Viva!  (Atco)  1976  (EG-Reprise)  1989  ® 
Greatest  Hits  (Atco)  1977  ® 
Manifesto  (Atco)  1979  (EG-Reprise)  1989  « 
Flesh  +  Blood  (Atco)  1980  (EG-Reprise)  1989  « 
The  First  Seven  Albums  (nr/EG-Polydor)  1981 
Avalon  (Warner  Bros.)  1982  « 
The  High  Road  EP  (Warner  Bros.)  1983 
The  Atlantic  Years  1 973-1 980  (Atco)  1 983  ® 
The  Early  Years  (nr/EG)  1 989  <f> 
The  Later  Years  (nr/EG)  1989  <f> 
Heart  Still  Beating  (EG-Reprise)  1 990  <(> 

ROXY  MUSIC/BRYAN  FERRY 

Street  Life:  20  Greatest  Hits  (nr/EG)  1986  (EG-Reprise) 

1989® 
The  Ultimate  Collection  (nr/EG-Virgin)  1988  • 

ANDYMACKAY 

in  Search  of  Eddie  Riff  (nr/lsland)  1 974 
Resolving  Contradictions  (nr/Bronze)  1 978 

Arguably  the  most  influential  rock  group  of  the  '70s, 
Roxy  Music's  impact  has  only  grown  in  the  years  since 
the  punk  return-to-the-basics  ethos  gave  way  to  a  grow- 
ing interest  in  high  style,  fashion  and  musical  sophisti- 
cation. The  "new  romantic"  movement  and  the  synth 
fops  would  have  had  no  historical  traditions  to  follow 
were  it  not  for  the  pioneering  efforts  of  Bryan  Ferry, 
Brian  Eno,  Phil  Manzanera,  Andy  Mackay,  Paul 
Thompson  and  their  various  cohorts.  Even  though  Roxy 
Music  grew  pale  and  timid  in  its  later  years,  the  re- 
corded work  (not  to  mention  the  countless  side  projects 
in  which  the  various  members  have  participated)  stands 
as  a  seminal  wellspring  of  nonconformity  and  successful 
art-pop  experimentation. 

With  the  release  of  their  first  LP  (produced  by  King 
Crimson  lyricist  Pete  Sinfield  after  the  departure  of  orig- 
inal Roxy  guitarist  Davy  O'List,  formerly  of  the  Nice), 
the  fledgling  sextet  revolutionized  rock — trashing  con- 


562 


cepts  of  melodic  conservatism,  ignoring  the  prevalence 
of  blues-based  and  otherwise  derivative  idioms  and  de- 
nying the  need  for  technical  virtuosity,  either  vocally  or 
instmmentally.  The  flamboyantly  bedecked  poseurs  pre- 
saged such  low  couture  iconoclasts  as  the  New  York 
Dolls  and  all  the  glamsters  who  followed;  the  music 
mixed  all  sorts  of  elements  into  a  newly  filtered  original 
sound  that  set  the  stylish  pace.  The  tracks — Ferry-penned 
fantasies  like  "Re-make/Re-model,"  "2  H.B.,"  "If 
There  Is  Something' '  and  the  group' s  monumental  debut, 
** Virginia  Plain"  (a  45  not  on  the  original  album,  but 
added  to  later  editions) — are  at  once  amateurish  and 
highly  developed,  brilliant  blunders  that  took  some  ac- 
climation to  fully  appreciate.  As  much  as  the  music,  the 
album's  kitsch  graphics  were  also  widely  imitated. 

For  Your  Pleasure,  another  enduring  classic  (with 
the  second  of  Roxy's  many  bassists),  refines  and  mag- 
nifies Roxy's  style  with  equally  amazing  material:  "Do 
the  Strand,"  "Editions  of  You"  (the  album's  punchy 
rock  single),  "In  Every  Dream  Home  a  Heartache"  and 
the  obsessive  nine-minutes-plus  "Bogus  Man." 

Bnan  Eno  departed  after  the  second  album,  and  ex- 
Curved  Air  violinist/keyboardist  Eddie  Jobson  (a  ses- 
sion man  on  Ferry's  solo  debut  earlier  that  same  year) 
joined,  either  precipitating  or  merely  participating  in  the 
successful  stylistic  downshift  of  Stranded.  Without 
Eno's  "treatments,"  the  third  album  (produced  by  Chris 
Thomas)  has  more  subtle  sound,  favoring  piano  and 
restrained,  stately  songs  such  as  the  haunting  "A  Song 
for  Europe"  (one  of  two  songs  co-written  by  Manzan- 
era),  "Just  Like  You,"  "Psalm"  and  the  second  seg- 
ment of  "Mother  of  Pearl."  Demonstrating  the  group's 
continuing  ability  to  rock,  "Serenade"  and  "Amazona" 
do  it  with  dignity,  while  only  the  beginning  of  "Mother 
of  Pearl"  and  the  whirlingly  chaotic  "Street  Life" 
dances  around  the  maniac  fringe. 

Roxy's  best  LP,  Country  Life,  ran  into  trouble  over 
its  revealing  cover  photo — some  American  copies  were 
shrink-wrapped  in  opaque  green  plastic;  later  the  art- 
work was  changed  to  remove  the  bra'n'panties-clad 
models  and  leave  only  the  foliage.  Regardless,  the  ten 
tracks — a  smooth  integration  of  the  band's  divergent 
stylistic  designs — are  exemplary  and  of  consistent 
strength,  making  it  a  virtual  greatest-hits  album  of  new 
material.  Highlights:  "All  I  Want  Is  You,"  "Out  of  the 
Blue,"  "The  Thrill  of  It  All,"  "A  Really  Good  Time," 
4  Three  and  Nine , "  "  Prairie  Rose . ' ' 

Reuniting  with  Chris  Thomas,  Roxy  made  the  dis- 
appointingly dull  Siren  (with  Jerry  Hall  crawling  on  the 
cover),  closing  the  studio  book  on  their  first  era.  The 
record  contains  some  great  tracks  ("Love  Is  the  Drug," 
"Both  Ends  Burning,"  "Sentimental  Fool"),  but  an 
overabundance  of  forgettable  numbers  substantially  di- 
minishes its  value.  Roxy  then  went  on  sabbatical,  with 
only  the  one-disc  live  document  (the  Eno-free  Viva!, 
recorded  in  '73,  '74  and  '75  with  three  different  bassists 
and  a  fine  selection  of  songs  given  decisive,  powerful 
performances)  and  the  absolutely  essential  Greatest 
Hits  collection  issued  during  the  two-year  gap. 

In  1978,  Ferry,  Manzanera  and  Mackay  reactivated 
Roxy  Music,  making  three  more  group  albums  with 
various  temporary  sidemen.  But  it  was  never  the  same. 
Cooling  down  from  where  Siren  left  off ,  Roxy  Music 
had  become — whether  through  maturation,  skill  or 
fatigue — a  pale,  genteel  imitation  of  its  old  self.  Al- 


though there  are  a  few  brilliant  (at  least  presentable) 
tracks  on  each  album,  the  lack  of  conviction  and  adven- 
turous spirit  makes  all  three  less  than  compelling  for 
fans  of  the  group's  early  work.  Fortunately,  these 
records  neither  embarrass  nor  contradict  the  Roxy  leg- 
acy; this  period  (subsequently  proving  to  be  the  group's 
last  and,  in  America  at  least,  most  successful)  is  sepa- 
rate and,  though  not  equal,  at  least  estimable 

The  self-produced  Manifesto  has  "Dance  Away," 
"Still  Falls  the  Rain"  and  "Angel  Eyes"  to  recommend 
it,  but  is  still  easy  to  live  without.  The  inferior  Flesh  + 
Blood  (Roxy's  first  album  without  Paul  Thompson,  who 
resurfaced  years  later  in,  of  all  places,  Concrete  Blonde) 
is  more  like  a  Ferry  solo  record,  with  session  men  play- 
ing humorless  covers  of  "In  the  Midnight  Hour"  and 
"Eight  Miles  High."  Even  the  best  originals  are  unor- 
iginal and  fainthearted:  the  Cars-ish  (now  there's  irony 
for  you)  "Over  You,"  the  schmaltzy  (but  catchy)  "Oh 
Yeah"  and  the  funky  "Same  Old  Scene." 

Regaining  its  self-esteem  if  not  its  power,  Roxy 
made  Avalon  more  like  Manifesto,  a  careful  blend  of 
air  and  beat  that  amounts  to  a  sparkling  if  meaningless 
dance  record  for  would-be  sophisticates.  Unassailably 
well  made  and  even  occasionally  engaging,  the  worst 
that  can  be  said  of  songs  like  "More  Than  This,"  "The 
Space  Between,"  "Avalon,"  "Take  a  Chance  with 
Me"  and  "The  Main  Thing"  is  that  they're  too  quiet 
and  that  the  lyrics  lack  bite.  Those  who  came  upon 
Roxy  late  probably  reckon  it's  their  best  album. 

An  otherwise  needless  compilation,  The  Atlantic 
Years,  skims  the  cream  from  Manifesto  and  Flesh  + 
Blood  onto  one  disc,  adding  two  earlier  cuts  (also  on 
Greatest  Hits). 

In  1981,  all  of  Roxy  Music's  studio  albums  to  that 
point — seven  in  all — were  repackaged  as  a  boxed  set; 
add  in  Avalon,  and  you've  got  the  works.  The  Early 
Years  and  The  Later  Years  also  box  six  of  the  original 
albums:  the  first  three  in  one,  and  the  last  three  in  the 
other.  (What  would  be  wrong  with  a  complete  reissue 
package  for  once?)  The  two-record  Street  Life  and  the 
overlapping  single-disc  Ultimate  Collection  each  mix 
tracks  from  the  group  and  Ferry's  solo  career. 

The  High  Road,  a  12-inch  ostensibly  recorded  live 
in  Glasgow,  offers  an  odd  four-song  program  and  a 
running  time  of  nearly  half  an  hour,  as  a  ten-person 
lineup  walks  through  Neil  Young's  "Like  a  Hurricane," 
John  Lennon's  "Jealous  Guy"  and  two  Ferry  tunes.  The 
playing  is,  of  course,  great  and  the  sound  magnificent — 
only  the  band's  crucial  personality  is  absent.  Exactly  the 
same  can  be  said  of  Heart  Still  Beating,  recorded  in 
France  at  a  massive  open-air  concert  in  mid- 1982.  (In 
fact,  given  the  amazing  similarity  of  the  EP's  four  songs 
to  their  performances  on  the  album,  it  seems  very  likely 
that  The  High  Road  actually  hails  from  the  French 
date.)  Notwithstanding  Manzanera' s  searing  work  (es- 
pecially on  "Out  of  the  Blue"  and  his  own  "Impossible 
Guitar"  instrumental)  and  Ferry's  suave  showboating, 
this  one  is  mostly  for  Avalon  fans. 

Roxy  Music  ceased  to  exist  after  1983.  Ferry  re- 
sumed his  solo  work  with  a  new  album  in  mid- '85; 
Manzanera  and  Mackay  formed  a  new  trio  called  the 
Explorers  and  have  worked  on  numerous  other  projects. 

As  big  a  long-term  disappointment  as  Ferry's  and 
Manzanera' s  extra-Roxy  careers  have  been,  Andy 
Mackay 's  individual  efforts  reached  the  blandness  pla- 


563 


teau  way  ahead  of  the  pack.  His  mildly  diverting  first 
showcase,  In  Search  of  Eddie  Riff  is  a  mostly  instru- 
mental outing  enlivened  only  by  a  sweaty  saxual  inter- 
pretation of  Richard  Wagner's  ''Ride  of  the  Valkyries" 
and  several  more-traditional  covers.  Otherwise,  it's 
merely  a  display  of  his  technical  abilities. 

His  next  big  project  was  to  write  and  produce  two 
albums'  worth  of  pop  music  for  Rock  Follies.,  a  neat 
'70s  British  TV  show  about  a  female  singing  tno. 
They're  neat,  but  clearly  work  for  hire.  By  the  time  of 
the  Asian-oriented  Resolving  Contradictions,  Mackay 
had  banished  any  trace  of  wit:  the  record  is  a  snooze. 
However,  on  a  literary  front,  Mackay  wrote  a  useful 
1981  text  (Electronic  Music}  on  the  development  of 
electronic  music.  [i] 

See  also  Concrete  Blonde,  Brian  Eno,  Explorers, 
Bryan  Ferry,  Phil  Manzanera,  Yukihiro  Takahashi. 

ROYAL  COURT  OF 

Off  the  Beat'n  Path  (Desperation)  1986 
The  Royal  Court  of  China  (A&M)  1 987  • 
Geared  &  Primed  (A&M)  1 989  • 

SHAKERS 

Living  in  the  Shadow  of  a  Spirit  EP  (Cariyle)  1 988 

Nashville's  Royal  Court  of  China  (formerly  known 
as  the  Enemy)  play  it  hot  and  sloppy  on  their 
independent-label  debut,  a  vivacious  seven- song  mini- 
album  that  fills  out  Joe  Blanton's  songs  with  swirls  of 
wild-eyed  guitar  to  counterbalance  his  dramatic  singing. 
The  quartet's  ripping  cover  of  the  Yardbirds'  "Heart 
Full  of  Soul"  indicates  one  influence  on  their  garage- 
rocking  Southeastern  pop,  but  it's  only  one  of  several. 
A  fine  informal  introduction  to  a  promising  band  with  a 
cool  sound. 

As  if  the  group's  meaningless  name  weren't  mis- 
leading enough,  the  artwork  on  their  1987  album  fur- 
thers the  stylistic  obfuscation.  The  Royal  Court  of 
China  shows  impressive  instrumental  and  studio  facil- 
ity, but  cuts  back  on  the  youthful  energy  a  tad  too  much. 
While  there's  no  shortage  of  melodies  or  guitars,  some 
of  the  songs  fade  towards  repetitive  anonymity,  veering 
into  an  undistinguished  Byrds-country  sound.  The  Royal 
Court  may  have  escaped  the  bar  band  wilderness  for  a 
brighter,  smoother  future,  but  they  need  to  find  some- 
thing more  compelling  to  replace  the  immediacy  they've 
lost. 

The  blustery  hard  rock  on  the  Vic  Maile-produced 
Geared  &  Primed  wasn't  quite  what  I  had  in  mind. 
With  a  new  guitar  player  and  bassist,  the  RCC  became 
a  fairly  convincing  dirtbag  band,  but  Blanton's  hoarse 
shout  doesn't  cut  the  mustard  and  the  songs  are  a  hair 
too  complex  to  suit  such  rugged  treatment. 

Rather  than  follow  the  Royal  Court  down  the  Mar- 
shall stack  route,  the  two  defectors  got  themselves  a 
female  vocalist,  formed  the  folky  Shakers  and  released 
a  four-song  12-inch,  Living  in  the  Shadow  of  a  Spirit, 
on  a  local  Nashville  label.  [i] 

ROYAL  CRESCENT  MOB 

Land  of  Sugar  EP  (No  Other)  1 986 
Omerta  (Moving  Target-Celluloid)  1 987  • 
Something  New,  Old  and  Borrowed  (Moving 
Target-Celluloid)  1988« 


Spin  the  World  (Sire)  1989® 

Midnight  Rose's  (Sire-Warner  Bros.)  1991  <!> 

This  quartet  from  Columbus,  Ohio  takes  punk-funk 
to  its  logical  extreme,  combining  a  strongarm/goodfoot 
rhythm  section  with  a  guitarist  (by  the  name  of  B) 
weaned  on  both  James  Brown  and  the  Stooges,  and  a 
passionate  harmonica-blowing  singer  (David  Ellison). 
The  results  are  pretty  excellent:  the  casual  vamps  dis- 
play an  irreverent  sense  of  humor  and  rock  like  crazy, 
drawing  on  two  lifetimes  of  musical  tradition  for  a  blast 
of  unstereotyped  dance  noise.  The  poorly  recorded  but 
enthusiastic  six-song  Land  of  Sugar  (with  an  early 
drummer)  contains  both  the  original  version  of  RCM's 
quintessential  original  ("Get  on  the  Bus,"  a  goofy  lyr- 
ical sensibility  applied  to  a  sloppy  funk  workout)  and  a 
characteristic  disco  cover  (the  Ohio  Players'  "Love 
Rollercoaster' ' ) 

Omerta  boasts  a  brilliant  rendition  of  "Get  on  the 
Bus,"  covers  of  the  OPs  ("Fire")  and  James  Brown 
("Payback")  and  a  bunch  of  ass-shaking  originals  that 
either  rock  tight  or  fall  apart  with  equal  panache. 

Something  New,  Old  and  Borrowed  (aka 
S.N.O.B.)  reprises  Land  of  Sugar  in  its  entirety,  add- 
ing five  ostensibly  live  performances  (including  Led 
Zep's  "Immigrant  Song"  and  a  straight  rocker  called 
"Marv  Diamond")  and  two  new  studio  recordings 
("Happy  at  Home"  is  a  classic). 

Reaching  the  majors,  the  Mob  tightened  its  instru- 
mental wig  and  reduced  funk  to  a  smaller  component  of 
its  personality,  making  Spin  the  World  good  and  cred- 
ible, but  only  as  far  as  it  goes.  Co-produced  with  fero- 
ciously hot  sound  by  Richard  Gottehrer,  the  album  has 
unprecedented  variety,  from  mighty  hip-hop  ("Big 
Show")  to  thrusting  dance  power  (the  zany  ** Silver 
Street")  to  '60sish  rock'n'roll  ("Stock  Car  Race")  to 
annoying  jazzy  doodles  ("Corporation  Enema").  All  in 
all,  the  Mob  survives  the  big-league  transition  ade- 
quately (the  lyrics  are  especially  cool)  but  the  group 
could  have  made  more  of  the  opportunity.  In  a  strange 
bit  of  in-state  cultural  poaching,  "5  More  Minutes" 
borrows  its  hook  from  Jo  Jo  Gunne's  "60  Minutes  to 
Go." 

While  Midnight  Rose's  still  shows  some  versatility 
in  the  stylistic  bullpen,  the  album  downplays  the  funk 
even  further  and  aims  for  a  more  integrated  rock-wim- 
a-beat  sound,  concentrating  the  Mob's  efforts  on  song- 
writing  more  than  showboating.  The  results  are  uneven, 
although  never  less  than  entertaining;  the  record  is  good 
fun,  if  not  quite  an  intense  treat.  Whether  Ellison  is 
telling  a  sorry  story  of  justice  miscarried  ("Big  Mis- 
take"), painting  a  sympathetic  portrait  of  yuppiedom 
("Pretty  Good  Life")  or  ruminating  on  a  damaged  pro- 
boscis ("Drunkard's  Nose"),  Mr.  B  (as  he's  billed 
here)  colors  the  songs  in  with  cogent  dashes  of  aptly 
aimed  guitar  as  the  rhythm  section  sets  the  rhythmic 
clock  in  motion.  [i] 

ROYAL  MACADAMIANS 

Experiments  in  Terror  (Island)  1 990  • 

DAVITT  SIGERSON 

Falling  in  Love  Again  (ZE-lsland)  1 984 

Prior  to  becoming  the  president  of  Polydor  Records 
in  1991,  music  critic/record  producer  Davitt  Sigerson 
had  an  occasional  career  as  a  songwriter  and  singer.  Six 


564 


years  after  making  a  lyrically  clever  but  musically  bland 
solo  album  scorched  with  his  unpleasantly  raspy  vocals, 
Sigerson  formed  a  quartet  with  keyboardist  Bob  Thiele 
Jr.  (a  sideman  on  Falling  lit  Love  Agalm)  and  created 
an  arty  and  idiosyncratic  mixture  of  jazz-and-funk- 
inflected  tunes  given  a  surrealistic  spin.  Experiments  in 
Terror  is  a  descriptive  mind-movie  soundtrack  with 
cryptic  vocal  passages  in  place  of  character  dialogue. 
The  electronic  music  and  disembodied  texts  are  remi- 
niscent of  Will  Powers,  but  the  Macadamians  stimulate 
a  wider  variety  of  moods,  using  source  material  as  far- 
ranging  as  George  Jackson's  Soledad  Brother  prison 
memoir.  A  concentration  camp  and  the  twisted,  oppres- 
sive minds  that  run  it — clinically  described  in  the  lyncs 
of  "Arbeit  Macht  Frei"-— are  echoed  in  the  pounding 
drums,  crunching  guitar  and  distorted  solos.  Intriguing 
and  provocative.  [i/rsl 

RUBBER 

Rubber  Rodeo  EP  (Eat)  1982 
Scenic  Views  (Mercury)  1 984  ® 
Heartbreak  Highway  (Mercury)  1986 

Armed  with  the  slogan  "It  don't  mean  a  thang  if  it 
ain't  got  that  twang"  inscribed  in  the  vinyl,  the  six-song 
Rubber  Rodeo  12-inch  helped  announce/advance  the 
development  of  country-punk.  The  band  hailed  from 
Rhode  Island,  but  that  didn't  stop  it  from  dressing  in 
Nashville  finery  and  forging  a  fun  and  different  mix  with 
synthesizer,  fiddle,  organ  and  pedal  steel  guitar.  While 
the  originals  (especially  "How  the  West  Was  Won") 
are  bouncily  tuneful  and  heartfelt,  a  cover  version  of 
Dolly  Parton's  "Jolene"  comes  off  a  bit  like  Heart  with- 
out the  arena  pomp. 

Following  a  three-song  12-inch  most  notable  for  its 
inclusion  of  the  theme  from  "The  Good,  the  Bad  and 
the  Ugly,"  Rubber  Rodeo  misplaced  its  personality  and 
emerged  on  Scenic  Views  playing  disappointingly  plain 
dance-rock,  the  mild  pedal  steel  coloration  notwith- 
standing. Only  the  vocals — by  Trish  Milliken  and  Bob 
Holmes,  sometimes  together — serve  to  distinguish  the 
group  at  all.  "The  Hardest  Thing,"  which  most  recalls 
the  band's  early  Great  Plains  ambience,  is  the  LP's 
strongest  song. 

Heartbreak  Highway  (produced  by  Ken  Scott)  is 
much  better,  but  still  leaves  one  wishing  the  band's 
records  were  more  colorful  and  gimmicky.  Rubber  Ro- 
deo's urban  cowpoke  image  remains  stronger  than  its 
musical  personality  here,  although  some  of  the  songs 
(the  title  track,  "Maybe  Next  Year,"  a  radical  cover  of 
Fred  Neil's  grotesquely  sappy  "Everybody's  Talkin'  " 
and  an  instrumental  called  "The  Civil  War")  have  a 
redeemingly  jaunty  air  of  good-humored  kitsch.  [i] 

RUDIMENTARY  PEN! 

Rudimentary  Peni  EP  (nr/Outer  Himalayan)  1981 

Farce  EP  (nr/Crass)  1982 

Death  Church  (nr/Corpus  Christi)  1983 

The  EPs  of  RP  (nr/Corpus  Christ?)  c.  1 987 

Cacophony  (nr/Outer  Himalayan)  1 988 

This  London  hardcore  trio  from  the  Crass  family 
always  stood  apart  from  the  generic  anarchist  legions, 
more  like  a  UK  counterpart  to  the  Minutemen.  The 
eponymous  7-inch  EP  is  rough  going,  as  the  band  is 


tight  but  tuneless;  Nick  Blinko's  screeching  vocals  ob- 
scure heartfelt  lyrics  skewering  complacency.  A  bit  of 
rhythmic  variety  suggested  promise,  however,  and  the 
second  EP  benefits  from  better  production,  fascinating 
sleeve  artwork  and  some  mini-masterworks  of  alienated 
vitriol.  Both  were  later  paired  and  reissued  as  The  EPs 
ofRP. 

Things  come  together  on  Death  Church,  with  ven- 
omous lyrics  ripping  through  loud  and  clear  (as  they 
should,  given  titles  like  "Vampire  State  Building"  and 
"Alice  Crucifies  the  Paedophiles").  While  the  songs 
are  not  exactly  hook-laden,  this  is  quite  melodic  for  the 
genre.  Tempos  run  from  moderate  metal  through  Pisto- 
lian  thrash  to  hyperdrive  blur.  An  intelligent,  exciting 
and  highly  recommended  album. 

Bassist  Grant  Brand's  long  but  successful  battle  with 
cancer  meant  hibernation  for  Peni  during  the  mid- '80s. 
By  the  end  of  the  decade,  however,  the  trio  was  back 
with  a  radical  piece  of  work.  Cacophony  features  a 
staggering  54  songs  (the  first  album  had  a  mere  20)  in 
about  45  minutes,  many  only  a  few  seconds  long.  The 
trend  towards  melodicism  continues  (brief  fragments 
like  "The  Old  Man  Is  Not  So  Terribly  Misanthropic" 
are  quite  catchy),  though  they  remain  as  cagey,  intense 
and  weird  as  ever.  The  lyrics  abandon  politics,  dwelling 
almost  wholly  on  the  life,  death  and  work  of  horror 
writer  H.P.  Lovecraft.  Peni  spin  surreal  rants  like 
"Nightgaunts"  in  a  sort  of  obsessive  tribute,  inter- 
spersed with  rugose  instrumentals  such  as  "Sunset  for 
the  Lords  of  Venus."  With  Blinko's  vocals  frequently 
Darth  Vaderized  by  a  harmonizer,  the  album's  sensibil- 
ity comes  close  to  Monty  Python's  black  humor — "New 
England  Tombstone  Inscriptions"  runs  off  a  morbid  lit- 
any of  same,  while  "A  Great  Gnashing  of  Teeth"  is 
exactly  that.  Cacophony  is  one  of  the  strangest  albums 
ever  made — a  Trout  Mask  Replica  for  the  hardcore 
age — but  the  rewards  of  close  attention  are  ample. 

[dgs/gef] 


CLINT  RUIN 

See  Foetus  Inc. 


RUMOUR 

Max  (Mercury)  1 977 

Frogs  Sprouts  Clogs  and  Krauts  (Arista)  1 979 

Purity  of  Essence  (Hannibal)  1980 

It's  tempting  to  compare  the  Rumour's  relationship 
with  Graham  Parker  to  the  Band's  with  Bob  Dylan. 
Highly  respected  but  unsuccessful  bar  band  (Brinsley 
Schwarz  and  Ducks  Deluxe  versus  the  Hawks)  hooks  up 
with  talented  singer/songwriter  (Parker  versus  Dylan)  to 
create  some  of  the  decade's  best  music  ('70s  versus 
'60s).  Of  course  Parker  is  not  Dylan,  and  Max,  the 
Rumour's  first  LP  on  their  own,  is  not  Big  Pink,  al- 
though they  would  obviously  have  loved  it  to  be.  Often 
enough,  the  Rumour  (Brinsley  Schwarz,  Bob  Andrews, 
Martin  Belmont,  Andrew  Bodnar,  Steve  Goulding)  cap- 
tures the  sound  of  the  Band,  minus  Robertson's  lyrical 
profundity.  What's  really  strange  is  that  the  Rumour  is 
far  more  natural  and  interesting  as  a  minor-league  Band 
(on  great  tracks  like  "Hard  Enough  to  Show,"  Nick 
Lowe's  "Mess  with  Love"  and  a  sublime  Band-like 
arrangement  of  Duke  Ellington's  standard  "Do  Nothing 

565 


Till  You  Hear  from  Me")  than  when  attempting  to 
forge  their  own  identity  on  the  subsequent  albums.  Max 
may  not  be  terribly  original  but  it  is  utterly  enjoyable. 

Frogs,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  to  be  an  attempt  to 
recast  the  Rumour  in  a  vein  that  conforms  more  with 
Stiff's  offbeat  image.  As  a  clever  pop-oriented  band,  the 
Rumour  succeeds  mainly  in  sounding  stiff,  with  only  a 
couple  of  songs  ("Emotional  Traffic,"  "All  Fall 
Down")  standing  out  from  other  failed  experiments. 

Purity  of  Essence  succeeds  in  recapturing  some  of 
the  looseness  of  Max.  The  band  had  been  reduced  to  a 
quartet  with  the  departure  of  Bob  Andrews,  whose 
voice — the  group's  best — and  keyboards  are  missed. 
Even  so,  the  album  has  its  moments,  although  they 
mostly  come  on  non-original  material.  While  lacking  a 
real  frontman  and  strong  material  of  its  own,  the  Ru- 
mour is  talented  enough  to  make  enjoyable  (if  not  hit) 
records.  [ds] 

See  also  Graham  Parker. 


RUNAWAYS 

The  Runaways  (Mercury)  1 976 

Queens  of  Noise  (Mercury)  1 977 

Live  in  Japan  (nr/Mercury)  1  977 

Waitin'  for  the  Night  (Mercury)  1977 

And  Now  ...  the  Runaways  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1 979 

Flaming  Schoolgirls  (nr/Cherry  Red)  1980 

Little  Lost  Girls  (Rhino)  1981 

The  Best  of  the  Runaways  (Mercury)  1 982  * 

I  Love  Playing  with  Fire  (nr/Laker-Cherry  Red)  1 982 

Opinion  is  still  divided  on  the  Runaways'  place  in 
the  musical  universe.  To  many,  they  were  the  first  all- 
girl  (instrument-playing)  rock  band  to  matter,  spiritual 
godmothers  to  the  Go-Go's  and  Bangles,  and  seminal 
punk  rockers  to  boot.  Others  see  them  as  nothing  more 
than  a  pre-packaged  peepshow  whose  heavy  metal-cwm- 
glitter  approach  was  dated  from  the  very  start. 

Here  are  the  facts:  LA  teenagers  Joan  Jett  (whose 
love  of  T.  Rex  and  Suzi  Quatro  inspired  her  to  learn 
guitar)  and  drummer  Sandy  West  decided  to  form  a 
band  with  encouragement  (and  eventual  management) 
from  Kim  Fowley.  The  band  that  recorded  The  Run- 
aways was  a  combination  of  raw  garage-band  playing 
and  brassy,  high-school-bad-girl  sexuality  typified  by 
their  unofficial  anthem,  "Cherry  Bomb." 

By  the  time  Queens  of  Noise  (a  decided  improve- 
ment over  the  debut)  was  released,  trouble  was  foment- 
ing; although  Cherie  Currie  was  the  "official"  lead 
singer,  Jett  wound  up  taking  the  microphone  on  six  of 
the  ten  songs.  Things  came  to  a  head  when,  after  a  tour 
of  Japan  (documented  on  the  Live  in  Japan  album), 
Currie  and  bassist  Jackie  Fox  quit  the  band.  Vicki  Blue 
was  hired  as  a  new  bassist,  and  Jett  took  over  the  reins 
for  good. 

Except  in  Japan,  the  Runaways  never  made  any  real 
commercial  inroads.  Many  saw  them  as  inept  puppets — 
merely  another  Fowley  hype — and  refused  to  take  the 
music  seriously.  Waitin'  for  the  Night  did  nothing  to 
alter  that.  The  album  came  out  just  as  modern-day  punk 
was  emerging,  and  Jett  (if  not  the  rest  of  the  band) 
readily  latched  onto  the  scene  to  the  extent  that  Steve 
Jones  of  the  Sex  Pistols  contributed  one  song  (* 'Black 
Leather")  to  And  Now  .  .  .  The  Runaways.  But  West 


and  guitarist  Lita  Ford  wanted  to  go  in  a  more  heavy 
metal  direction,  and  the  album  would  prove  to  be  their 
last. 

Posthumous  notes:  Flaming  Schoolgirls  is  a  sub- 
standard odds  and  ends  compilation  of  live  tracks  and 
studio  outtakes,  while  Little  Lost  Girls  is  actually  And 
Now  .  .  .  The  Runaways  re-released  as  a  picture  disc. 
The  Best  of  the  Runaways  and  I  Love  Playing  with 
Fire  are  further  recaps  of  various  material.  As  for  the 
band  members,  Lita  Ford  has  become  a  huge  metal  star 
under  her  own  name;  Laune  McAllister  (who  held  down 
the  bass  spot  in  the  band's  waning  months)  ended  up  in 
another  all-girl  Fowley  project,  the  Orchids.  After  sev- 
eral film  roles  and  failed  attempts  at  making  it  both  as  a 
solo  act  and  with  her  sister  Marie,  Cume  married  Toto 
guitarist  Steve  Lukather.  And  we  all  know  where  Joan 
Jett's  love  of  rock'n'roll  got  her.  [rnp] 

RUN-DMC 

Run-DMC  (Profile)  1984® 
King  of  Rock  (Profile)  1 985  • 
Raising  Hell  (Profile)  1 986  ® 
Tougher  Than  Leather  (Profile)  1988  « 
Back  from  Hell  (Profile)  1 990  ® 

AFROS 

Kickin'  Afrolistics  (JMJ-RAL-Columbta)  1 990  » 

Besides  all  its  other  accomplishments,  this  tno  from 
Hollis,  Queens  was  the  first  to  succeed  in  doing  what  no 
other  black  artist  (with  the  exception  of  Grandmaster 
Flash,  briefly)  had  done  before:  make  white  people  lis- 
ten to  rap  in  large  numbers.  After  building  a  core  hip- 
hop  audience  via  several  smart  and  witty  singles 
("Sucker  M.C.'s"  and  'It's  Like  That"),  Run-DMC 
made  "Rock  Box"  (included  on  the  first  album),  a  bold 
step  that  lifted  them  into  a  league  all  their  own.  Melding 
a  simple  bass  riff  to  the  thunderous  rhythm  tracks  that 
provided  the  entire  accompaniment  for  their  early  raps, 
the  song's  coup  de  grace  is  blazing  rock  guitar,  played 
by  Eddie  Martinez  (for  a  while  an  adjunct  member  of 
Blondie).  The  perfect  combination — verbal  acuity  and 
theatrical  drama  matched  by  an  inexorable  pounding 
beat  and  the  power  of  electric  guitar — made  the  single 
huge,  setting  the  stage  for  a  whole  meeting  of  the  races 
that  has  helped  chip  away  the  barriers  that  kept  * 'black 
music"  and  "white  music"  segregated  all  through  the 
'70s. 

Run- DMC  contains  all  the  early  hits  and  is  an  ut- 
terly essential  record.  Even  though  the  repetitious 
rhythms  get  tiring  if  you're  not  in  the  dancing  mood,  the 
funny,  perceptive  interwoven  raps  remain  captivating 
centers  of  attention.  King  of  Rock  takes  some 
chances — like  a  reggae/rap  blend  long  before  such 
things  were  common — while  repeating  the  functional 
formula  of '  'Rock  Box' '  on  the  title  track,  which  simply 
inverts  the  riff  and  recasts  the  rap.  Without  peer  in  pop 
hip-hop,  Run  (Joseph  Simmons),  DMC  (Darryl 
McDaniels)  and  DJ/musician  (and  later  rapper)  Jam 
Master  Jay  (Jason  Mizell)  demonstrated  enormous  po- 
tential, and  this  was  only  the  beginning. 

Co-producers  Russell  Simmons  and  Rick  Rubin  add 
characteristic  rock-funk  touches  to  Raising  Hell — like 
the  "My  Sharona"  riff  in  the  Beastie  Boyish  "It's 
Tricky"  and  the  chart-topping  hybrid  cover  of  Aero- 


566 


smith's  rap-like  "Walk  This  Way"  (with  Steve  Tyler 
and  Joe  Perry  contributing).  On  the  downside,  most  of 
the  rhymes  are  nothing  special,  making  the  commend- 
able racial  consciousness  of  "Proud  to  Be  Black"  stand 
in  strong  contrast  to  the  litany  of  typical  'I'm  Run/He's 
DMC"  business,  the  commercial  culturalisms  contained 
in  "My  Adidas"  and  the  predictable  words  of  "Dumb 
Girl."  Overly  spartan  backing — simple  beats  (some  of 
which  actually  sound  man-made)  and  Jay's  percussive 
turntable  action — hurt  some  of  the  tracks  (especially 
since  the  group  has  proven  itself  equal  to  more  active 
and  complex  arrangements).  More  familiar  than  inher- 
ently exciting,  Raising  Hell  could  still  use  some  more 
heat.  Regardless,  the  record  sold  millions,  elevating 
Run-DMC  (alongside  L.L.  Cool  J  and  the  Beastie 
Boys)  to  the  top  echelons  of  the  pop  world. 

Preceding  (if  scantily  related  to)  the  film  for  which 
it's  named,  Tougher  Than  Leather  is  much  better,  a 
self-assured  three-dimensional  superstar  record  with  a 
dense,  rock-influenced  sound  that's  become  as  distin- 
guishable as  the  crew's  trademark  verbal  jousting.  Sam- 
pling classic  records  and  building  original  songs  around 
them,  the  trio  grabs  the  Monkees'  "Mary,  Mary"  and 
turns  it  into  a  hysterical  putdown,  while  the  Tempta- 
tions' "Papa  Was  a  Rollin'  Stone"  becomes  "Papa 
Crazy,"  the  same  paternal  disenchantment  given  a  mod- 
ern chop  job.  (Bites  of  James  Brown,  Malcolm  X,  Led 
Zep — even  old  Run-DMC — crop  up  as  well.)  At  the 
record's  strangest,  Run,  DMC  and  Jay  (affecting  snooty 
accents)  rap  over  a  mock-Dixieland  band.  Throughout, 
the  witty  writing,  deft  delivery  and  riotously  crowded 
production  make  Tougher  Than  Leather  a  progressive 
and  peerless  statement  of  the  art  that  neither  excludes 
nor  panders  to  any  audience  segment. 

Facing  potential  obsolescence — due  to  rap's  mas- 
sive popularity,  the  platinum  proliferation  of  soft- 
headed rappers  unworthy  of  lacing  the  trio's  Adidas  and 
the  raised  ante  of  sex  and  language — the  once- 
lighthearted  Run-DMC  aggressively  (a  little  too  aggres- 
sively) reinvented  itself  as  a  serious  organization  on 
Back  from  Hell,  a  tough,  rugged  album  that  holds  its 
own  against  the  crew's  onetime  disciples.  With  a  new 
emphasis  on  solo  vocal  performances  (by  all  three)  and 
few  of  the  band's  familiar  sonic  traits,  the  largely  self- 
produced  record  bears  little  resemblance  to  Run-DMC' s 
prior  works,  but  the  up-to-date  tracks  are  no  less  dy- 
namic or  effective  for  it.  With  power  and  intelligence 
(not  to  mention  plenty  of  swear  words),  the  deadly 
"Pause,"  "Word  Is  Born,"  "Back  from  Hell,"  "The 
Ave."  and  "Kick  the  Frama  Lama  Lama"  all  speak 
bluntly  and  sharply  to  the  black  community  about  social 
problems.  For  contrast,  the  sexy  "Bob  Your  Head," 
"Party  Time"  and  D's  silly  reggae-rhythm  fragment  "P 
Upon  a  Tree"  keep  things  from  getting  too  heavy. 

While  raising  his  creative  profile  within  Run-DMC, 
Jason  Mizell  has  also  begun  doing  side  projects  on  his 
own  JMJ  label.  The  Afros'  album,  which  he  co-wrote, 
co-produced  and  does  a  bit  of  vocalizing  on,  is  a  friv- 
olous, overlong  rap/soul  romp  (partly  delivered  in  a 
theatrical  pimp  whine)  through  a  jokey  world  of  women 
and  hairdos — or,  in  the  record's  vernacular,  "hoes  and 
fros."  Thin  humor  doesn't  excuse  the  exaggerated  mi- 
sogyny; the  promising  idea  of  lampooning  '70s  culture 
in  rap  evaporates  early  on,  and  Kickin'  Afrolistics 


(which  occasionally  veers  selfconsciously  towards  Dig- 
ital Underground  before  taking  an  incongruous  Public 
Enemy-style  turn  on  "Federal  Offense")  winds  up  an- 
noying or  dull  more  often  than  funny.  [i] 

RUN  RUN 

Hardly  Not  Even  (SSI)  1 988  ® 

Run  Westy  Run  (SSI)  1988® 

Green  Cat  Island  (Twin/Tone)  1 990  • 

Stylistically  dissimilar  to  all  of  Minneapolis*  other 
post-punk  guitar  bands,  Run  Westy  Run  restlessly  am- 
bles down  its  own  path,  casually  playing  around  the 
edges  of  noisy  blues,  dissonant  rock,  chunky  funk  and 
twisted  country.  Despite  frequent  displays  of  substantial 
imagination,  it  took  the  energetic  quintet  a  while  to 
distill  a  personality  from  those  bright  ideas. 

Produced  by  Pete  Buck  and  Grant  Hart  (with  no 
audible  debt  to  either  R.E.M.  or  Hiisker  Dii),  Hardly 
Not  Even  is  mostly  a  showcase  for  Kirk  Johnson's  lit- 
erate lyrics  and  dramatic  vocals,  plus  the  band's  com- 
plementary guitarists.  Repeatedly  shifting  rhythmic  and 
loudness  gears,  the  songs  are  gutsy  but  tuneless,  with 
too  many  one-chord  vamps  blunting  the  better  efforts. 

The  first  half  of  the  self-produced  Run  Westy  Run 
shows  another  side  of  the  Westies:  clearer,  lighter- 
weight  sound  and  melodic,  folk-inflected  songs,  played 
in  a  warm-rush  haze  with  woozy  gang  vocals.  On  the 
muddy  flipside,  the  group  indulges  a  fondness  for  early- 
'70s  slop-rock,  riffing  up  a  Stoogey  storm  of  thick  guitar 
drive  and  even  making  up  their  own  Led  Zep  song 
("Gee"). 

With  time  out  for  a  pair  of  folky  lullabies  ("Kiss  the 
Night,"  "So  Long")  and  a  couple  of  other  exceptions, 
the  excellent  Green  Cat  Island  (co-produced  by  Buck 
again)  organizes  memorable  rock  tunes  around  the 
band's  dynamic  gods-of-thunder  citations.  Guitarists 
Terry  Fisher  (billed  here  as  Terrance  James)  and  Kyle 
(Jay)  Johnson  repeatedly  whip  off  exciting  vintage  trib- 
utes to  Aerosmith,  the  Stones  and  others,  driving  taut 
modern  songs  that  finally  get  to  the  core  of  Run  Westy 
Run's  talents.  [i] 

PAT  RUTHENSMEAR 

Pat  RuthenSmear  (SST)  1 988 

DEATH  FOLK 

Deafhfolk  (New  Alliance)  1990 

In  a  strange  case  of  artistic  abdication,  ex-Germs 
(and  occasional  Tater  Tot)  guitarist  Pat  RuthenSmear 
(in  punk's  heyday,  his  surname  was  simply  Smear) 
composed  virtually  all  the  music  and  sings  (with  a  pro- 
nounced lisp  and  almost  no  melodic  sense)  lead  on  his 
eclectic  solo  album — but  only  co-wrote  two  lyrics,  one 
of  them  retrieved  from  his  late  bandmate,  Darby  Crash. 
Working  with  DCS  keyboardist  Paul  Roessler,  a  drum- 
mer and  a  few  guests,  RuthenSmear  takes  an  unpredict- 
able and  frequently  enjoyable  weird  romp  (showcasing 
a  variety  of  accomplished  guitar  styles)  through  Cheap 
Trick  rock-pop,  swinging  nightclub  jazz,  Barrett-like 
acoustic  songs,  even  psychedelic  dance-rock. 

RuthenSmear  and  guitarist  Gary  Jacoby  of  Celebrity 
Skin  go  the  Chad  &  Jeremy  acoustic  route  on  the  casual 
and  enthusiastic  Deathfolk,  jointly  singing  and  strum- 


567 


ming  an  amusing  mixture  of  adolescent  humor  ("Mon- 
key Brains,"  "Rad  Man"),  rude  sex  ("Yellow  1," 
"Typical  Girl")  and  the  only  appropriate  Queen  song 
("'39").  The  last  three  numbers  (loud  punk,  a  jokey 
pirate  rendition  of  Jacques  BrePs  "Amsterdam"  and  a 
bass  V drums  workout  with  haunted  house  vocals)  rain 
the  mood,  but  the  rest  of  the  record  is  good  for  a  tuneful 
laugh  or  two.  [i] 

See  also  45  Grave,  Germs. 

PAUL  RUTHERFORD 

See  Frankie  Goes  to  Hollywood, 

RUTS 

The  Crack  (Virgin  Infl)  1979  (nr/Virgin)  1988  (Blue  Plate) 

1991  * 

Grin  &  Bear  It  (nr/Virgin)  1980 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 986 
The  Ruts  Live  (nr/Dojo)  1 987 
Live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1987 
You  Gotta  Get  Out  of  It  (nr/Virgin)  1 987  ® 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 990  • 

RUTS  D.C 

Animal  Now  (nr/Virgin)  1981 
Rhythm  Collision  (nr/Bohemian)  1 982 

RUTS  DC  AND  THE  MAD 
PROFESSOR 

Rhythm  Collision  Dub  Vol.  1  [tape]  (ROIR)  1987 

On  The  Crack,  the  Ruts  meld  the  Pistols'  instru- 
mental attack  with  leader  Malcolm  Owen's  Strummer- 
esque  bellow;  while  less  inspired  than  either  of  those 
bands,  the  Ruts  started  out  with  far  more  finesse  (in- 
cluding nimble  bass).  True  to  their  early  association 
with  reggae  collective  Misty  in  Roots  (sponsor  of  their 
first  45),  the  Ruts  often  incorporated  reggae  riffs — 
adeptly,  not  heavy-handedly  and  without  missing  a  sin- 
gle roughshod  4/4  stride.  Simple,  straightforward 
political  lyrics  are  heartfelt  but  not  strident. 

The  late-' 80  Grin  &  Bear  It  compilation  is  odds- 
Vsods  and  sounds  it,  but  the  LP  does  contain  an  as- 
sortment of  minor  gems  (including  their  pre- Virgin 
debut  45,  live  sides,  etc.),  highlighted  by  brilliant 
career-high-point  single  "Staring  at  the  Rude  Boys."  In 
short,  a  fitting  tribute  (as  intended)  to  Owen,  dead  of  an 
OD  four  months  previously. 

As  Ruts  D.C.  (for  da  capo)  the  remaining  three 
made  saxist/keyboardist  Gary  Barnacle  a  full  member. 
On  Animal  Now,  personal  themes  of  self-doubt  and 
angst  ("Despondency,"  anyone?)  get  equal  airing  with 
the  usual  attacks  on  hypocrisy  and  social  manipulation. 
It's  often  gripping,  but  undercut  by  a  tendency  to  infuse 
intrusive  jazz-funk  touches. 


Minus  Barnacle  (who  departed  for  session  work  and 
Leisure  Process),  the  trio — along  with  the  Mad  Profes- 
sor, a  British  reggae  producer— cut  Rhythm  Collision, 
an  LP  of  funk-inflected  reggae  in  ready-made  dub  form, 
akin  in  concept  to  Dennis  BovelFs  I  Wall  Dub.  It's  a 
sharp,  sometimes  powerful,  sometimes  catchy  piece 
of  work,  with  saxist  Dave  Winthrop  (ex-Secret  Affair) 
and  one  Mitt  (harmonica)  supplying  additional  shades 
to  the  dark-hued  mood.  In  1987,  the  long-deleted  re- 
cord was  reissued  on  cassette,  with  a  credit  that  played 
up  the  reggae  connection,  as  Rhythm  Collision  Dub 
Vol.  1. 

Although  Ruts  D.C.  stopped  working  in  1983,  ar- 
chival releases  keep  on  appearing.  Joy  Division  and  the 
Ruts  were  BBC  DJ  John  Peel's  two  favorite  bands,  so 
it's  fitting  they've  both  been  remembered  in  the  Peel 
Sessions  EP  series.  The  Ruts'  artifact  from  May  1979 
unfortunately  doesn't  debut  any  long-lost  material,  and 
the  versions  sound  too  similar  to  the  tracks  on  The 
Crack  to  get  worked  up  about  it,  but  it  nevertheless 
documents  a  great  band. 

The  Ruts  Live  and  Live  and  Loud!!,  on  the  other 
hand,  fail  to  document  anything.  Though  both  are  legal 
releases,  they  sound  like  bootlegs;  the  muddy  audio  falls 
far  short  of  capturing  what  was  an  explosive  live  band. 
In  particular,  Live  and  Loud  gets  the  concert  right,  but 
used  the  wrong  tape:  the  live  track  recorded  at  the  Mar- 
quee on  the  UK  edition  of  The  Crack  sounds  great,  but 
the  same  concert,  as  presented  here,  is  of  dodgy  quality. 
Until  a  true  live  artifact  can  be  excavated  and  released, 
these  two  are  for  scholars  only. 

While  filled  with  inarguably  great  music,  the  CD- 
only  You  Gotta  Get  Out  of  It,  is  one  screwed-up  pack- 
age. The  material  (all  of  The  Crack  plus  half  of  Grin 
and  Bear  It)  is  haphazardly  intermingled,  "West  One" 
(the  band's  epic  swan  song)  is  twice  listed  as  "West 
On"  and  the  notes  confuse  the  two  LP  titles,  incorrectly 
identifying  the  tracks'  original  sources.  Bizarrely,  the 
same  label  that  released  the  Ruts'  albums  in  the  first 
place  is  responsible  for  this  inexcusable  mess.  Perhaps 
to  correct  its  folly,  Virgin  later  issued  a  proper  CD  of 
The  Crack  with  the  original  sleeve  artwork,  following 
its  twelve  songs  with  the  three  B-sides  (including  the 
Damned-inspired  "I  Ain't  Sofisticated")  omitted  from 
Grin  &  Bear  It. 

The  Peel  Sessions  Album  renders  the  series'  EP 
obsolete,  adding  two  sessions  of  far  more  archival  merit 
that  offer  genuinely  different  views  of  familiar  songs. 
The  "Savage  Circle"  here  blisters  with  a  more  staccato 
attack;  "Dope  for  Guns"  is  far  faster  and  meaner;  "In 
a  Rut"  gets  entirely  new  treatment.  A  sterling  document 
of  the  second  punk  wave's  most  explosive  band,  one 
still  admired  and  influential — Fugazi,  Dag  Nasty  and 
the  Effigies  all  do  covers.  [jg/jr] 


568 


Paganicons  (SST)  1981 

Surviving  You,  Always  (SST)  1 984 

Woddbroken  (SST)  1985 

The  Sacramental  Element  [tape]  (SST)  1 986 

We  Became  Snakes  (SST)  1986 

Past  Lives  (SST)  1989© 

Rockin'  Ethereal  (New  Alliance)  1 990  • 

Too  early  to  be  post-hardcore  but  too  uncommon  for 
any  simple  classification,  this  Southern  California  quar- 
tet doesn't  try  to  create  a  blizzard  of  noise — they  go  at 
it  more  artfully,  but  with  equally  ear- wrenching  results. 
On  Paganicons,  singer  Joaquin  Milhouse  Brewer  tune- 
lessly barks  lyrics  (as  in  "We  Don't  Need  Freedom" 
and  "A  Human  Certainty")  that  aren't  bad  in  a  preten- 
tious mock-intellectual  vein;  the  music  is  loudly  abra- 
sive, but  with  spaces  and  dynamics  largely  uncommon 
to  the  genre. 

From  Brewer's  back  cover  credit  of  "vocals  and 
sermons"  to  his  complex,  provocative  lyrics  (despite 
numerous  misspellings  on  the  lyric  sheet),  Saccharine 
Trust — guitarist  Joe  Baiza  plus  a  new  rhythm  section — 
takes  an  abrupt  religious  turn  on  Surviving  You,  Al- 
ways. "Yhwh  on  Acid,"  "Lot's  Seed,"  "Remnants" 
and  "Our  Discovery"  all  contain  biblical  imagery  and 
religious  references,  but  in  a  context  that  obscures  and 
reorients  the  themes  well  beyond  easy  recognition  and 
comprehension.  Musically,  Sac  Trust  uses  the  punk  id- 
iom like  avant-jazz,  liberating  the  vocals  to  function 
semi-independently  as  blurt  poetry,  while  the  band  goes 
through  tight  formation  riffs  that  are  carefully  structured 
but  not  really  within  traditional  song  form.  Sophisti- 
cated, and  engrossing  once  you  get  past  the  daunting 
attack.  (The  first  two  albums  were  later  joined  as  The 
Sacramental  Element  cassette.) 

Proceeding  further  into  the  experimental  realms  gen- 
erally reserved  for  the  "new  music"  folks,  Saccharine 
Trust  attempted  something  really  unusual  with  World- 
broken.  The  LP  was  not  only  recorded  live,  it  was 
improvised  on  the  spot!  Joined  by  ex-Minutemen  bassist 
Mike  Watt,  Brewer  and  two  surviving  sidemen  rise  to 
the  challenge,  producing  a  loose  but  controlled- 
sounding  jam  record  (no  punks  here)  that  reveals  its 
total  extemporaneousness  only  in  the  rambling  narrative 
of  Brewer's  lyrics. 

On  the  jazzy  We  Became  Snakes,  a  five-piece 
lineup  (with  sax  and  a  new  bassist)  returns  to  the  old- 
fashioned  way:  write  'em,  rehearse  'em  and  then  record 
'em.  Watt  produced  the  record,  which  again  reflects 
Brewer's  religious  fixation.  The  sonic  formula  includes 
syncopated  rhythm  vamps,  lots  of  riffy  solos  on  sax  and 
guitar  and  dramatic  vocal  recitations.  Imaginative  and 
far-reaching,  if  not  exactly  enjoyable  or  accessible. 
Over  the  course  of  75  gripping  minutes  (gleaned 


from  a  vault  stocked  with  seven  years'  worth  of  live 
tapes  made  by  machines  of  wildly  differing  audio  qual- 
ity), Past  Lives  paints  a  slightly  more  complete  (if  less 
stark)  picture  of  Saccharine  Trust's  awesome  live  capa- 
bilities as  both  inward-looking  improvisers  and  kick- 
out-the-jams  shamen.  Quick  cuts  between  the  two  facets 
that  also  crisscross  chronological  "order"  create  some 
jarring  juxtapositions,  but  that's  probably  the  idea.  Only 
one  song  is  repeated  from  Worldbroken;  the  seven 
tracks  that  are  otherwise  unavailable  include  one  rare 
glimpse  of  the  band,  (spiritual)  lampshades  on  heads, 
ripping  through  Black  Flag's  "Six  Pack." 

Freed  from  freedom's  shackles,  Brewer  created  a 
brooding,  cohesive  solo  album  of  surprisingly  concise, 
typically  dark  guitar  rock.  Though  he's  still  as 
obsessive/compulsive  as  anyone  tilling  rock-poetry's  in- 
creasingly infertile  soil,  Brewer  seems  to  have  toned 
down  his  more  hysterical  Elmer  Gantry  approach — even 
when  petitioning  the  Lord.  You'll  only  wince  once 
(upon  hearing  the  cover  of  the  Doors'  "Peace  Frog,"  a 
reprise  from  Past  Lives)  over  the  course  of  the  many 
listens  you'll  need — and  want — to  breathe  in  this  es- 
sence rare.  [i/dss] 

See  also  Joe  Baiza  &  the  Universal  Congress  Of, 
Slovenly. 


SADE 

Diamond  Life  (Portrait)  1984  * 
Promise  (Portrait)  1985* 
Stronger  Than  Pride  (Epic)  1988  • 

The  '80s  British  trend  towards  mild  jazz/Latin- 
mflected  pop  music  (Carmel,  Everything  but  the  Girl) 
found  its  first  globally  successful  proponent  in  Sade.  A 
stunningly  beautiful  Nigerian  raised  in  England,  Sade 
Adu  writes  (the  lyrics  are  hers  alone,  the  music  mostly 
co-written  with  Stuart  Matthewman,  the  sax/guitar 
player  in  her  trio)  and  performs  mellifluous,  thoughtful 
tunes  with  aplomb  and  jazz  leanings  that  seem  to  derive 
from  a  wholly  different  era.  Despite  the  music's  obvious 
stylization,  Sade's  almost  colorless  voice  exudes  little 
personality;  her  strength  is  a  cool  timbre  that  conveys 
dispassionate  wisdom. 

Somehow  avoiding  both  nostalgia  and  schmaltz,  Di- 
amond Life  is  an  anomaly:  nothing  about  it  would  turn 
off  Andy  Williams  fans,  but  selfconsciousness  legiti- 
mizes it  to  a  rock  audience.  "Hang  on  to  Your  Love," 
"Sally,"  "Smooth  Operator"  and  "Your  Love  Is 
King"  are  the  standouts,  evoking  chic  nightclub  society 
of  the  '60s.  (In  fact,  the  first  of  those  tracks  includes  the 
very  noticeable  sound  of  glasses  clinking.)  The  perfect 
soundtrack  to  your  Laurence  Harvey  dreams,  and  a  very 
alluring  pop  record. 

Promise  is  slightly  drier  and  less  cozy,  but  the  nine 
songs  are  every  bit  as  good.  Economical  arrangements 

569 


make  each  carefully  placed  rim  shot  and  guitar  twang 
count  on  such  excellent  songs  as  "Is  It  a  Crime"  and 
4 'Sweetest  Taboo."  (In  England,  a  dual  CD  of  the  first 
two  albums  was  released.) 

On  the  other  hand,  weak  material,  pale  singing  and 
Sade's  effete  production/arranging  leave  Stronger 
Than  Pride  well  off  the  mark,  a  dignified  but  slack 
collection  of  adult  love  songs  with  little  of  the  fashion- 
able elan  that  invigorated  her  first  two  albums.  [i] 


SAD  LOVERS  AND  GIANTS 

Epic  Garden  Music  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1982  ® 
Feeding  the  Flame  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1983  • 
In  the  Breeze  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 984 
Total  Sound  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 986 
The  Mirror  Test  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 987  • 
Cow  Boys  EP  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 988 
Les  Annes  Vertes  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 988 

This  quintet,  which  originally  came  from  Watford — 
near  London,  but  evidently  insulated  from  that  city's 
turbulent  trendiness — resembles  a  cross  between 
R.E.M.  and  a  garage-spawned  analogue  of  Dark  Side 
of  the  Moon.  Tristan  Garel-Funk  plays  jangly  guitar, 
almost  all  of  it  arpeggio  chorded  (a  la  Byrds/Searchers), 
and  David  Woods  adds  texture  and  melody  with  sax  and 
keyboards,  eventually  growing  more  sophisticated  in 
sound  and  shading,  if  not  technique.  The  songs  canter  at 
new  wave  uptempo  or  a  more  brooding  mid-speed,  but 
the  music  is  moody  and  contemplative.  Vocals  by  one 
Garce  Allard  aren't  trendily  emotive,  instead  possessing 
the  kind  of  quiet  gravity  that  makes  overstatement  un- 
necessary, even  with  lyrics  of  hurt  or  anger. 

While  Epic  Garden  Music  is  pretty  much  what  its 
self-satiric  title  suggests,  it  also  boasts  several  excellent 
crystallizations  of  the  group's  style.  Feeding  the 
Flame,  after  an  abrasive  opening,  is  much  quieter,  a 
less  immediate  and  ultimately  more  distressing  record. 
(Both  CDs  contain  numerous  bonus  tracks.) 

The  group  dissolved  around  the  end  of  '83,  but  re- 
sumed activity  in  1985.  Before  the  release  of  any  new 
material,  however,  a  pair  of  artifacts  from  the  original 
lineup  appeared.  In  the  Breeze  contains  alternate  ver- 
sions of  some  tracks  (several  are  from  a  John  Peel  ses- 
sion) plus  a  few  unreleased  rough  gems;  it's  almost  as 
essential  as  the  first  LP,  although  the  three  songs  the  two 
discs  share  are  presented  in  earlier,  rawer  takes  here. 
The  seven-song  Total  Sound  is  a  mini-album  recorded 
live  in  Holland  for  a  radio  broadcast. 

On  The  Mirror  Test,  Allard  and  original  drummer 
Nigel  Pollard  are  joined  by  a  completely  new  guitar/ 
bass/keyboards  axis,  not  to  mention  new  songwriting 
partners  for  Allard.  Sad  Lovers  are  a  smoother  crew  this 
time  around  and,  although  the  LP  does  resemble  the 
band's  previous  sound,  the  music  is  pleasant  without 
being  quite  so  memorable;  the  lyrics  are  generally  less 
poignant.  Yet,  as  with  all  of  their  records,  each  listening 
reveals  more.  (The  CD  has  a  revised  sequence  and  four 
bonus  tracks  ) 

The  Cow  Boys  EP  contains  remixes  of  two  early 
singles  (1982's  "Lost  in  a  Moment"  and  1983's  "Cow 
Boys"),  a  live  version  of  another  oldie  and  a  song  lyr- 
ically overhauled  from  The  Mirror  Test.  [jg] 


GREG  SAGE 

See  Wipers. 

SAINTS 

(I'm)  Stranded  (Sire)  1977© 

Eternally  Yours  (Sire)  1978® 

Prehistoric  Sounds  (nr/Harvest)  1 978  ® 

Paralytic  Tonight  Dublin  Tomorrow  EP  (Fr.  New  Rose) 

1979® 

Prehistoric  Songs  (Fr.  Harvest)  1981  • 
The  Monkey  Puzzle  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1981  ® 
Out  in  the  Jungle  . . .  (nr/Flicknife)  1 982  • 
A  Little  Madness  to  Be  Free  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 984  • 
Live  in  a  Mud  Hut  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 985  ® 
Best  of  the  Saints  (nr/Razor)  1 986  • 
All  Fools  Day  (TVT)  1 987  • 
Prodigal  Son  (TVT)  1988® 
Scarce  Saints  (Aus.  Raven)  1 989  • 
Box  Set  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1 989 
The  New  Rose  Years  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1 989  • 
Songs  of  Salvation  1 976-1 988  (Aus.  Raven)  1 991  • 

Casablanca  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1983  • 

What  We  Did  on  Our  Holidays  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1  984  • 

Every  decade's  snotty  kids  are  the  same,  as  Bris- 
bane, Australia's  Saints  handily  prove.  These  punks 
emerged  in  '77  with  a  raw,  driving  sound  recalling  the 
Pretty  Things  of  more  than  a  decade  earlier  On  (I'm) 
Stranded,  Chris  Bailey  sings  with  the  same  irritable 
snarl  that  band's  Phil  May  had  back  when  he  was  con- 
sidered competition  for  Mick  Jagger.  The  rest  of  the 
Saints  (guitarist  Ed  Kuepper,  drummer  Ivor  Hay  and 
bassist  Kym  Bradshaw)  respond  in  kind,  issuing  sheets 
of  rough,  gray  rock'n'roll  noise,  including  the  title 
track,  a  pioneering  international  punk  hit. 

Eternally  Yours  refines  the  attack  without  dimin- 
ishing the  impact,  boasting  tighter  playing  and  even  a 
horn  section.  Highlights  include  the  cynical  outburst  of 
"Know  Your  Product"  and  "Run  Down,"  the  kind  of 
putdown  bands  like  this  have  to  do  well  to  maintain 
credibility.  With  consistency  and  tasteful  variety  (han- 
dling sharp  acoustic  ballads  as  well  as  the  standard  burn- 
ers), the  LP  is  deservedly  regarded  as  a  punk  classic, 
and  even  yielded  a  UK  Top  40  single,  the  searing  "This 
Perfect  Day." 

On  Prehistoric  Sounds,  the  Saints  abandoned  punk 
(for  good)  in  favor  of  a  brooding,  bluesy,  R&B-flavored 
style  they've  been  expanding  on  since,  best  character- 
ized by  the  melancholy  and  hypnotic  "All  Times 
Through  Paradise."  Though  a  bit  of  a  downer  compared 
to  the  meteoric  energy  of  the  first  two  LPs,  and  con- 
taining claustrophobic  bits  of  paranoia  like  "Brisbane 
(Security  City),"  a  succinct  condemnation  of  boring- 
town  inertia,  and  "The  Prisoner,"  the  album  has  a 
strange,  soothing  effect.  Unfortunately,  it  was  the  last 
LP  by  the  original  lineup. 

Chris  Bailey  re-emerged  in  1979  with  an  all-new 
band  of  Saints,  and  debuted  the  group  on  the  French- 
only  Paralytic  Tonight  Dublin  Tomorrow  EP,  the 
first-ever  release  on  the  now  mighty  New  Rose  label. 
There's  horn  work  on  several  of  the  five  tracks,  but  the 
rip-roaring  energy  drive  finds  these  Saints  working  into 
something  like  punked-up  Chicago  blues. 


570 


Prehistoric  Songs  collects  highlights  from  the  pre- 
ceding albums,  along  with  various  singles.  Hearing  a 
bunch  of  their  ragged  cover  versions  in  succession  can 
be  unsettling,  but  it's  also  thrilling,  in  a  sick  way,  to 
witness  "River  Deep,  Mountain  High,"  "Kissin'  Cous- 
ins," "Lipstick  on  Your  Collar"  and  Otis  Redding's 
''Security"  being  put  through  the  meatgrinder.  Not  for 
the  fainthearted  or  tradition-minded. 

The  Monkey  Puzzle  continues  to  develop  the  new 
Saints'  tone.  Although  this  lineup  is  not  nearly  so  abra- 
sive as  the  original  band,  the  devotion  to  rootsy  no- 
nonsense  rock'n'roll  remains  undiminished.  See  the 
buoyant  cover  of  "Dizzy  Miss  Lizzy"  for  details.  (The 
CD  appends  Paralytic  Tonight.) 

Out  in  the  Jungle  finds  Bailey  at  his  most  polished, 
handling  brooding  ballads  and  horn-laden  rockers  with 
impressive  aplomb.  Although  still  a  superlative  growler, 
much  of  the  exhilarating  edge  of  previous  Saints  classics 
has  been  unduly  muted  by  professionalism.  Brian 
James,  then  in  the  Lords  of  the  New  Church,  guests  on 
guitar. 

Bailey  recorded  his  first  solo  album,  Casablanca,  in 
Pans;  accompanying  himself  only  on  simple  guitar 
(acoustic/electric,  double-tracked  in  spots),  he  sings  like 
a  folk/blues  troubadour.  The  songs  are  mixed  in 
quality — from  a  straight  reading  of  Jimmy  Reed's 
"(Take  Out  Some)  Insurance  on  Me"  to  the  pretty 
"Wait  Till  Tomorrow" — and,  lacking  domineering 
rock  power  to  drive  them,  have  a  tendency  to  drift  a  bit. 
Nonetheless,  some  of  the  songs  are  quite  strong,  and 
gain  urgency  from  the  stark  presentation. 

What  We  Did  on  Our  Holidays  followed:  half 
acoustic  solo,  half  backed  by  a  full  band.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  one  original  ("Wait  Till  Tomorrow"  again, 
retitled  "Ghost  Ships"),  this  album  is  all  covers:  folk/ 
blues  on  the  acoustic  side  and  Sam  Cooke,  Marvin 
Gaye,  Wilson  Pickett,  etc.  on  the  electric  side.  A  good 
workout  for  Bailey's  rich  voice,  which  is  obviously 
growing  deeper  with  age.  (The  CD  adds  eight  of  Cas- 
ablanca's twelve  songs.) 

Bursting  with  fresh  enthusiasm,  Bailey  then  reas- 
sembled the  Saints,  and  made  two  studio  albums  that  are 
the  crowning  achievement  of  a  long  career.  A  Little 
Madness  to  Be  Free  reveals  him  to  be  a  consummate 
arranger,  as  violins,  cellos,  trumpets,  you-name-it  fill 
the  record  without  cluttering  up  the  sound.  "Ghost 
Ships,"  "Down  the  Drain"  and  "The  Hour"  are  lush, 
yet  powerfully  dramatic. 

All  Fools  Day,  the  Saints'  first  US  release  in  nine 
years,  is  more  of  the  same  formula,  only  even  better. 
Recorded  at  Rockfield  Studios  in  Wales  with  Hugh 
Jones  producing,  the  LP  even  features  the  return  of  orig- 
inal drummer  Ivor  Hay  and  a  batch  of  the  strongest 
Saints  material  ever,  particularly  on  Side  One.  With 
more  strings,  horns  and  soul/blues  influences  than  ever, 
it's  a  brilliant  and  inspired  work. 

After  two  phenomenal  alburns  in  a  row,  Prodigal 
Son  is  a  bit  of  a  step  back,  although  Bailey's  singing 
and  a  batch  of  characteristically  good  songs  make  it 
worth  a  good  listen.  With  a  variety  of  alumni  on  hand, 
the  backing  is  familiar  and  simple,  approximating  past 
successes  on  the  best  tracks  ("Grain  of  Sand,"  "Before 
Hollywood"  and  "Fire  and  Brimstone").  But  two  sub- 
stitutions on  the  US  edition  (an  ill-advised  new  record- 


ing of  "Ghost  Ships"  and  a  dull  cover  of  the  Easybeats' 
"Music  Goes  Round  My  Head"  done  for  the  Young 
Einstein  soundtrack)  and  lackluster  commercial  produc- 
tion (by  Bailey  and  Brian  McGee)  drag  the  LIP  down 
enough  to  make  it  the  least  significant  in  the  group's 
large  catalogue. 

Live  in  a  Mud  Hut  is  an  official  bootleg  of  sorts, 
taken  from  a  1984  European  tour.  The  recording  quality 
is  fair,  but  the  LP  is  best  avoided  by  all  but  fans  who 
already  own  the  studio  versions.  The  performances 
range  from  flat  to  buzzed,  but  the  biggest  problem  is  the 
lack  of  a  horn  section  or  any  other  embellishments. 
(Live  in  a  Mud  Hut  is  appended  to  the  CD  of  A  Little 
Madness  to  Be  Free.) 

Best  of  the  Saints  is  hardly  a  best-of  at  all,  as  its 
track  selection  almost  mirrors  that  of  the  previous  great- 
est hits  anthology,  Prehistoric  Songs.  However,  as  the 
early  Saints  LPs  are  largely  out  of  print,  it  can  serve  as 
a  useful  introduction. 

Likewise,  Side  One  of  Scarce  Saints  isn't  scarce, 
merely  a  reprise  of  much  of  the  same  early  material  as 
Prehistoric  Songs  and  Best  of  the  Saints.  Side  Two, 
however,  is  a  1981  live  set  from  London's  Dingwalls, 
presumably  by  the  lineup  that  made  Monkey  Puzzle. 
Despite  a  preponderance  of  punk  standards,  the  tracks 
showcase  the  group's  later  rock'n'roll  side,  and  is  much 
better  than  Live  in  a  Mud  Hut.  The  final  track  is  a  '77 
recording  from  a  Sydney  gig,  a  razor-sharp  runthrough 
of  "Nights  in  Venice." 

The  New  Rose  Years  is  an  appealing  sampler  cov- 
ering 1980- '84,  the  years  when  a  lot  of  early  fans  lost 
touch  with  the  band.  The  overall  quality  is  excellent, 
and  offers  an  effective  precis  of  the  three  superb  albums 
and  one  EP  from  which  it  was  primarily  culled.  (There's 
a  smattering  of  tracks  from  Live  in  a  Mud  Hut,  singles, 
etc.)  The  CD  adds  five  more  tracks  from  related  sources. 

If  your  pockets  are  deep  and  your  Saints  collection 
lacking,  the  Australian  boxed  set  offers  a  tidy  vinyl 
package  with  a  tempting  lure  for  even  the  most  diligent 
collectors:  the  eight  studio  albums  (including,  oddly, 
the  American  version  of  Prodigal  Son,  which  was  sub- 
sequently released  in  Australia),  Scarce  Saints  and  a 
disc  of  post- '85  outtakes  that  are  not  otherwise  avail- 
able, [jy/i/jr] 

See  also  Laughing  Clowns. 


ST.  VITUS  DANCE 

See  Echo  &  the  Bunnymen. 


RYUiCHI  SAKAMOTO 

Thousand  Knives  of  Ryuichi  Sakamoto  (Jap.  Alfa)  1 978 

(Hoi.  Plurex)  1982* 
B-2  Unit  (nr/Alfa-lsland)  1980  * 
Merry  Christmas,  Mr.  Lawrence  (MCA)  1983 
Illustrated  Musical  Encyclopaedia  (Jap.  School-Midi)  1984 

(nr/10)  1986« 

Esperanto  (Jap.  School-Midi)  1 985  « 
Miraiha  Yaro  (Jap.  School-Midi)  1 985  « 
Adventures  of  Chatran  (Jap.  School-Midi)  1986  « 
Media  Bahn  Live  (Jap.  School-Midi)  1986  • 
Koneko  Monogatari  (Jap.  School-Midi)  1 986 


571 


Aile  de  Honneamise-Roya!  Space  Force  (Jap. 

School-Midi)  1987® 
Neo  Geo  (Epic)  1 988  ® 
Coda  (Jap.  Midi)  1988® 
Risky  EP  [CD]  (Jap.  CBS-Sony)  1 988  ® 
Playing  the  Orchestra  [CD]  (Virgin)  1989  • 
A  Handmaid's  Tale  (GNP  Crescendo)  1 989  ® 
Beauty  (Virgin)  1 990  ® 
The  Sheltering  Sky  (Virgin  Movie  Music)  1 991  <f> 

Left  Handed  Dream  (Epic)  1981  ® 
The  Arrangement  (Jap.  Alfa)  1 990  ® 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Piano  One  (Private  Music)  1986  ® 

RYUiCHl  SAKAMOTO,  DAVID 
BYRNE  AND  CONG  SU 

The  Last  Emperor  (Virgin  Movie  Music)  1 988  ® 

Keyboardist  Sakamoto  did  his  first  session  work  dur- 
ing his  post-graduate  studies  of  electronic  and  ethnic 
music  at  the  University  of  Art  of  Tokyo  in  the  mid- '70s. 
He  continued  after  getting  an  MFA  and,  in  1978,  re- 
leased his  first  solo  album,  Thousand  Knives.  Presag- 
ing his  work  with  Yellow  Magic  Orchestra  (which  he 
formed  later  that  year),  the  record  consists  of  electronic 
disco,  commendably  quirky  for  the  time  it  was  recorded 
but  now  largely  dated,  with  some  unnecessary  guitar 
soloing — the  chief  guest  performance  on  the  disc,  since 
almost  everything  else  was  played  by  Sakamoto.  Only 
surreal  environment-conjuring  on  one  track  and  musical 
cross-pollination  on  another  hint  at  the  avant-garde  and 
world  music  aspects  of  Sakamoto's  later  work. 

While  with  YMO,  he  made  B-2  Unit  with  the  help 
of  British  reggae  musician/producer  Dennis  Bovell  and 
XTC's  Andy  Partridge.  Though  not  throwing  up  as 
many  sparks  with  them  as  might  have  been  expected — 
what  might  he  do  with  Bovell  now?— it  clearly  shows 
him  to  be  an  adventuresome  oddball  rather  than  a  trendy 
studio  hack. 

On  198 1's  Left  Handed  Dream,  Sakamoto  effec- 
tively draws  out  and  integrates  his  collaborators  (Robin 
"M"  Scott  and  Adrian  Belew,  as  well  as  both  YMO 
cohorts),  who  in  turn  get  the  best  out  of  him.  The  LP 
varies  from  slippery,  fractured  funk  to  a  duel  between  a 
grim,  darkly  atmospheric  drone  and  assorted  percus- 
sion; it  consistently  scintillates,  though  sometimes  in  a 
curiously  offhand  way.  (In  1990,  The  Arrangement 
reissued  the  tracks  featuring  Scott — about  half  the 
album — plus  several  more,  evidently  outtakes  of  the 
original  session. ) 

Merry  Christmas,  Mr.  Lawrence  is  the  sound- 
track to  a  film  starring  Tom  Conti,  David  Bowie  and 
Sakamoto,  who  performed  the  entire  evocative  synth 
score  alone  (save  a  vocal  of  dubious  worth  by  David 
Sylvian  in  an  alternative  version  of  the  main  theme).  He 
more  recently  acted  in  The  Last  Emperor  (1987),  also 
contributing  half  of  the  suitably  atmospheric  soundtrack 
album.  (The  score  won  an  Oscar. )  The  disc's  only  mem- 
orable music  is  Sakamoto's  main  theme  (with  its  sur- 
prisingly European  feel),  which  he  explores  through 
much  of  his  side. 

Both  films'  music  appeared  later  in  other  forms. 
Coda  reprises  the  first  seven  tracks  of  Mr.  Lawrence, 


while  Playing  the  Orchestra  is  a  live  symphonic  ren- 
dering of  music  from  The  Last  Emperor,  followed  by  an 
equally  in-depth  investigation  of  about  a  third  of  Mr. 
Lawrence,  capped  by  the  restatement  of  the  Last  Em- 
peror theme.  Lovely,  warm,  spacious  and  extremely 
tough  to  obtain:  a  limited-edition  CD  release  in  a  gor- 
geous decorated  box,  with  a  bonus  CD-3  featuring  a  too 
of  non-movie  tracks. 

Esperanto  is  an  abridged  version  of  Sakamoto's  end 
of  a  dance  performance  collaboration  with  New  York 
choreographer  Melissa  Fenley.  Adventures  of  Chatran 
and  Koneko  Monogatarl  are  also  movie  scores,  the 
latter  for  one  of  Japan's  biggest-ever  box-office  flicks; 
Honneamise  is  his  score  for  an  animated  sci-fi  film. 
Piano  One  consists  of  solo  acoustic  piano  pieces  by 
four  artists,  including  Sakamoto  and  Eddie  Jobson. 

Illustrated  Musical  Encyclopedia  (originally  re- 
leased in  1984  in  Japan,  as  Ongakuzukan)  opens  with 
"Field  Work,"  a  low-key  dance-rock  joint  venture  with 
Thomas  Dolby  that  was  also  released  as  a  single;  it's 
immediately  likable  but  unrelated  to  the  feel  of  the  rest 
of  the  record.  The  LP's  title  states  an  idea  Sakamoto  has 
toyed  with  since  Thousand  Knives:  combining  pieces 
of  Eastern  and  Western  musics  so  they're  not  readily 
identifiable  yet  complement  each  other  as  part  of  an 
organic  whole.  He  sometimes  crosses  the  line  into  pre- 
tentious piano  muzak  when  meddling  with  European 
"classical"  music,  but  it's  a  mostly  worthwhile  attempt, 
if  it  does  require  patience  to  absorb  the  subtler  angles. 
(He  explores  all  this  more  ambitiously — and  success- 
fully-—on  Neo  Geo.) 

Three  tracks  on  Miraiha  Yaro  (aka  Futurista)  have 
conventional  melodies — almost  reminiscent  of  TV 
themes — but  tricked  up  with  oddball,  loud  and/or  abra- 
sive synth  arrangements  (as  if  to  counterweight  the 
tunes'  prettiness).  "Milan  1909"  is  an  electronic  cura- 
tor's narration  on  the  Futurist  art  movement,  over  re- 
strained keyboard;  "Verso  lo  schermo"  is  electro-disco- 
cwm-opera,  with  Italian  lyrics;  "Water  Is  Life"  is  a  wall 
of  music  chopped  up  and  distorted,  along  with  a  voice 
slowed  to  a  deep  slur.  Helpers  include  vocalist  Bernard 
Fowler,  guitarist  Arto  Lindsay,  Sakamoto's  wife  Akiko 
Yano  (some  Japanese  lyrics)  and  saxist  Maceo  Parker 
(of  James  Brown  fame).  Not  as  engaging  as  it  is  im- 
pressive, but  almost.  Media  Bahn  is  a  double  live  LP  of 
a  subsequent  tour  in  support  of  the  album;  Sakamoto  is 
aided  by  Fowler  and  percussionist  David  Van  Tieghem. 

Neo  Geo  is  Sakamoto's  biggest  all-star  affair,  boast- 
ing Van  Tieghem,  drumming  by  jazz  star  Tony  Williams 
and  reggae  heavyweight  Sly  Dunbar,  bassists  Bootsy 
Collins  and  Bill  Laswell  (also  Sakamoto's  co-producer/ 
writing  partner  here)  and,  on  one  track,  a  strangely  sim- 
patico  Iggy  Pop  vocalizing  his  own  thoughtfully 
dramatic  lyrics.  Sakamoto  spends  the  rest  of  the  album 
carrying  forth  the  Illustrated  Musical  Encyclopedia 
experiments,  which  get  most  exciting  when  he  tries 
weird  intertwinings  of  Japanese  music  and  rock/funk. 
The  LP's  highlights  are  among  Sakamoto's  best  work. 
(Risky  is  a  CD-V  of  five  Neo  Geo  tunes,  four  of  which 
have  visual  contents  for  those  equipped  with  videodisc 
players.) 

With  Beauty,  Sakamoto  really  becomes  the  Quincy 
Jones  of  alternative  music.  His  all-star  cast  includes 
Arto  Lindsay  (no  guitar,  only  vocals  and  poem  read- 
ing), Robbie  Robertson  (Sakamoto  co-wrote  songs  for 


572 


Robertson's  second  solo  LP),  Sly  Dunbar  and— would 
you  believe — Brian  Wilson  singing  backup  to  Robert 
Wyatt's  lead  on  the  Stones'  "We  Love  You"?  Although 
more  exciting  on  paper  than  it  turns  out  to  be  in  the 
grooves,  that's  not  so  bad  a  thing.  About  the  only  ce- 
lebrity who  retains  much  identity  here  is  Youssou 
N'Dour,  with  various  vocal  embellishments  and  a  lead 
vocal  on  "Diabaram"  (which  he  co-wrote);  otherwise 
it's  Sakamoto's  show  (he  even  sings  lead  in  English  for 
the  first  time)  as  he  deftly  injects  Japanese,  Arabic, 
Indian  and  African  elements  into  western  pop  musics. 
It's  not  as  exciting — or  as  decisively  successful — as  Neo 
Geo,  but  its  sophisticated  synthesis  is  both  pleasant  and 
A-for-efYort  admirable. 

A  Handmaid's  Tale  and  The  Sheltering  Sky  are  both 
critically  and  commercially  unsuccessful  movie  adapta- 
tions of  well-received  novels,  the  former  by  Margaret 
Atwood  and  the  latter  by  Paul  Bowles;  Sakamoto  did  the 
scores  for  both.  For  the  latter,  his  compositions — mostly 
played  by  the  London  Royal  Philharmonic  Orchestra — 
are  somewhat  repetitive  but  evocative,  with  a  main 
theme  vaguely  reminiscent  of  his  Last  Emperor  theme. 
Half  of  The  Sheltering  Sky  album  has  little  or  nothing 
to  do  with  Sakamoto:  three  tracks  are  by  composer  Rich- 
ard Horowitz  and  there  are  several  striking  samples  of 
North  African  music  and  a  couple  of  period  pieces. 

See  also  Yellow  Magic  Orchestra.  [jg] 

SALAMANDER  JIM 

See  Beasts  of  Bourbon. 

WALTER  SALAS-HUMARA 

See  Silos. 

SALEM  66 

Salem  66  EP  (Homestead)  1984 

A  Ripping  Spin  (Homestead)  1 985 

Frequency  and  Urgency  (Homestead)  1986 

Your  Soul  Is  Mine,  Fork  It  Over  [CD]  (Homestead)  1 987  * 

Natural  Disasters,  National  Treasures  (Homestead) 

1988« 
Down  the  Primrose  Path  (Homestead)  1 990  • 

Led  by  two  Massachusetts  singer/songwriters,  Sa- 
lem 66  plays  generally  delicate  electric  guitar  music  that 
embraces  folk  more  than  rock  traditions.  The  trio's  six- 
song  debut  EP — produced  by  Neighborhoods  guitarist 
David  Minehan — has  plenty  of  poetic  ambience  and 
some  surprisingly  complex  arrangements,  but  consistent 
jangly-trebly  sound  makes  it  hard  to  stay  engrossed,  and 
occasional  bum  notes  also  interrupt  the  mood.  Guitarist 
Judy  Grunwald  and  bassist  Beth  Kaplan  both  sing,  but 
their  voices  don't  harmonize  all  that  well.  Needs  work. 

With  the  arrival  of  a  new  guitarist,  the  Salems  be- 
came a  quartet  for  A  Ripping  Spin,  a  full-length  LP 
also  produced  by  Minehan.  The  songs  and  playing  are 
better,  but  the  vocals  are  still  hit-and-miss.  Kaplan  takes 
an  indecisive  approach  to  the  issue;  Grunwald's  gurgly 
warble  can  also  be  a  trial.  The  brief  " Fragile"  shows 
their  potential,  but  other  tunes  are  less  mellifluous. 

A  guitarist  switch  brought  Stephen  Smith  into  the 
lineup  for  Frequency  and  Urgency,  which  resulted  in 
noticeably  improved  music  on  the  Ethan  James- 
produced  album.  With  stronger,  more  assured  playing, 


the  simple  pop-rock  provides  a  firm  basis  for  the  alter- 
nating 50-50  mix  of  sensitive,  occasionally  offbeat  tunes 
written  and  sung  individually  by  Grunwald  and  Kaplan. 
The  latter' s  lighter  tone  and  smoother  delivery  is  gen- 
erally more  attractive  here,  but  neither  is  remotely  qual- 
ified to  be  a  lead  singer. 

Your  Soul  Is  Mine,  Fork  It  Over  is  a  CD-only 
compilation — seventeen  selections  from  the  first  three 
records  plus  " Across  the  Sea,"  a  1984  single. 

Taking  another  instrumental  step  forward,  Natural 
Disasters,  National  Treasures  finds  Kaplan  and  Grun- 
wald ably  supported  by  a  different  guitarist  and  a  new 
drummer.  The  Salems'  productive  relationship  with 
James  results  in  the  most  accomplished  and  appealing 
sound  of  their  career;  amazingly,  Kaplan's  vocals  are 
nicely  Bangleish  and  Grunwald's  are  slowly  approach- 
ing adequacy  as  well.  (Caveat  to  Eddy  Grant  fans:  the 
"Electric  Avenue"  here  is  a  different  song  entirely.) 

Stylistic  tensions  surface  on  Down  the  Primrose 
Path.  Amid  some  of  their  most  unpalatably  pretentious 
lyrics  in  years,  surprisingly  loud  arrangements  all  but 
overwhelm  Kaplan  and  drive  Grunwald  to  sing  worse 
than  usual.  A  few  songs  (the  inquisitive  "Bell  Jar"  and 
"Primrose  Path,"  for  instance)  are  treated  gently,  but 
the  band's  overriding  readiness  to  rock  this  time  out 
leaves  them  sounding  wan  and  stranded.  [i] 


KIM  SALMON  AND  THE 
SURREALISTS 

See  Scientists. 


SALVATION  ARMY 

See  Three  O'Clock. 

SAMHAIN 

See  Muifits. 

SATIVA  LUVBOX 

See  Kommunity  FK. 

FERNANDO  SAUNDERS 

Cashmere  Dreams  (Grudge)  1 989  « 

A  pair  of  Saunders'  past  employers — Marianne 
Faithfull  and  Lou  Reed,  who  also  co-wrote  a  song — 
offer  generous  endorsements  on  the  back  cover  of  the 
bassist's  solo  debut  (no  word  from  Jeff  Beck  or  John 
McLaughlin,  however),  but  that  doesn't  make  this  bland 
record  sound  any  better.  Saunders  has  a  nice  enough 
voice  and  acquits  himself  on  a  number  of  instruments 
(the  main  assists  are  from  a  drummer,  synthesists  and 
hornmen),  but  the  material  and  performances  are  about 
as  deep  and  exciting  as  Toto — who  actually  collabo- 
rated on  two  tunes.  [i] 

JIM  SAUTER,  DON  DIET  RICK, 
THURSTON  MOORE 

See  Sonic  Youth. 


573 


Tragic  Figures  (Independent  Project)  1 982  +  1 987  ® 

Trudge  EP  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 985 

Ceremonial  (Independent  Project)  1 985  ® 

Live  Trek  1 985-1 986  (Nate  Starkman  &  Son)  1 987 

Jamahiriya  (Fundamental  Music)  1988  ® 

Customs  (Fundamental)  1 989  • 

Live  in  Europe  1988  (Bel.  Fundamental)  1990  ® 

17  PYGMIES 

Hatikva  EP  (Resistance)  1 983  (It.  Viva)  1 988 
Jedda  by  the  Sea  (Resistance)  1 984 
Captured  in  Ice  (Resistance)  1 985 
Welcome  (Great  Jones-Island)  1988  • 

Originally  named  Africa  Corps,  Los  Angeles'  Sav- 
age Republic  got  its  start  at  UCLA,  where  Jeff  Long, 
Bruce  Licher,  Mark  Erskine  and  Jackson  Del  Rey  (Philip 
Dracker)  were  attending  school.  The  twin-bass  lineup 
(plus  some  outside  assistance)  yielded  an  arty,  indus- 
trial ensemble  which  serenaded  cement  walls  with 
lightly  droning  grates  of  monotone  guitar,  exotic  per- 
cussion and  noisy,  ranted  vocals.  The  band  changed 
their  name  to  avoid  contusion  with  the  East  Coast  Af- 
rika  Korps  (and  the  implied  affiliation  with  the  Nazi- 
punk  fad  of  the  time)  a  week  before  releasing  their  debut 
album,  Tragic  Figures.  (Their  records'  unique  graphic 
look  was  the  result  of  a  school  project  that  gave  Licher 
access  to  an  antique  letterpress.) 

A  combination  of  industrial  drone  with  deep 
machine-like  swaths  of  dragging  bass,  Halloween 
horror-movie  screams  and  some  of  the  most  delightfully 
tribal  and  tropical  percussion  found  on  disc,  Tragic  Fig- 
ures also  introduced  a  touch  of  Arabic  cat  slink  that 
would  show  up  more  prominently  in  later  work.  When 
keyboardist  Robert  Loveless  joined,  the  quintet's  sound 
turned  from  frantically  abrasive  to  almost  meditatively 
cool. 

Drucker  and  Loveless  launched  a  side  band,  17  Pyg- 
mies, to  delve  into  lighter,  more  melodic  music  than 
Savage  Republic.  Retaining  the  group's  tribal  percus- 
sion and  Arabic  feel,  they  added  electronic  keyboards 
for  Hatikva,  an  EP  which  crosses  Emerson,  Lake  & 
Palmer's  "The  Sheriff,"  a  spaghetti  western  soundtrack 
and  a  Caribbean  rhythm  fest  Only  a  thousand  copies 
were  originally  pressed,  but  it  was  reissued  by  an  Italian 
label. 

In  the  midst  of  recording  a  second  album  at  the  end 
of  1983,  Savage  Republic  split  up;  Drucker  and  Love- 
less, under  the  17  Pygmies  name,  completed  the  record, 
which  was  released  as  Jedda  by  the  Sea.  The  Pygmies 
went  on  to  record  Captured  in  Ice,  an  even  more  pop- 
oriented  album  which  features  lilting  electronic  key- 
boards, clearly  sung  female  vocals,  new  wave  "oooohh- 
oooomY's,  sometimes  crisp,  dance-club  drumming  and 
synthesizers. 

Licher  and  Erskine  reformed  Savage  Republic.  The 
ambient,  almost  meditative  Trudge  EP  came  out  in  Eu- 
rope only.  A  crawling,  building  excursion  into  the  avant 
Arabic  surf  textures  the  band  had  been  exploring  live,  it 
lopes  through  a  kind  of  Western  movie  soundtrack  with 
some  limited  vocalizations  but  no  lyrics.  The  abrasive 
edge  that  was  engraved  in  the  music  from  their  indus- 
trial days  is  gone,  leaving  only  the  racing  adrenaline  that 
accompanied  it,  the  clank  and  clatter  of  clay-pot  per- 
cussion accents.  At  times,  there's  a  processional  maj- 


esty that  hints  at  what  Savage  Republic's  completion  of 
the  Jedda  tracks  might  have  sounded  like. 

Almost  the  same  week  as  Trudge  was  released,  the 
Republic  came  out  with  Ceremonial  in  the  US.  With 
Loveless  back  in  the  band  (here  a  sextet),  the  album 
showcases  a  pop  and  melodic  side  with  gentle  male  and 
Pygmies-like  female  vocals  and  only  a  hint  of  the  Sav- 
age's banana  Republic  feel.  There  are  even  keyboards, 
mandolin,  wind  chimes  and  a  dulcimer  hidden  in  the 
(almost)  lush  and  relaxed  grooves.  (Tragic  Figures  and 
Ceremonial  were  later  issued  on  one  CD.) 

Live  Trek  (1985-1986)  is  most  like  Trudge  in  tex- 
ture, reworking  the  material  from  their  earliest  industrial 
days  to  excise  the  abrasion.  It  would  make  a  good  in- 
troduction for  anyone  who  has  not  heard  the  band. 

Jamahiriya  continues  to  fuse  their  past  into  their 
future  with  a  sound  that  reflects  and  melds  all  of  their 
evolutions  onto  one  disc.  Jackson  Del  Rey  is  back  in  the 
lineup,  but  Loveless  is  gone.  The  CD  version  of  the  disc 
includes  three  instrumental  remixes  of  vocal  album 
tracks. 

Meanwhile,  17  Pygmies — now  a  Drucker/Loveless 
trio  with  singing  poet  Louise  Bialik — signed  to  a  major 
label  and  released  Welcome,  a  ambitiously  complex 
mixture  of  music  and  theater  (by  guest  speaker  Charles 
Schneider),  assembled  into  a  diverting  program  loaded 
to  the  teeth  with  provocative  ideas  and  sounds. 

Recorded  as  a  quintet,  Savage  Republic's  latest  stu- 
dio LP  undertakes  another  fascinating  cultural  expedi- 
tion, with  mixed  results.  In  an  audio  analogue  to  visiting 
six  countries  in  three  days,  Customs  juxtaposes  polite 
Arabic  and  Greek  influences — mostly  expressed  through 
the  use  of  ethnic  instruments,  although  "Song  for  Ado- 
nis" really  sounds  the  Mediterranean  part — with  mer- 
ciless noise  ("Rapeman's  First  EP"  matches  the  funny 
title  with  an  appropriately  violent  sonic  physic)  and 
found-sound  ambience.  Overall,  Customs  (I  think 
we're  talking  border  checkpoints,  not  habits  here)  is  a 
dizzying  blur,  but  not  an  unpleasant  trip.  ['e/i] 

SKY  SAXON 

Sunlight  &  the  New  Seeds  (Expression)  1 976 
Stars  New  Seeds  Live  at  the  Orpheum  Theatre  (Sunbow) 
1977 

In  Love  with  Life  (Expression)  1 978 

Lovers  Cosmic  Voyage  (Golden  Flash)  1 978 

Bad  Part  of  Town  (Fr.  Eva)  1 982 

New  Fruit  from  Old  Seeds:  The  Rare  Sky  Saxon  Volume 

One  (Archive  Inf I  Productions)  1 983 
Starry  Ride  (nr/Psycho)  1984 
Masters  of  Psychedelia  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 985 

SKY  ''SUNLIGHT7'  SAXON  AND 
PURPLE  ELECTRICITY 

Private  Party  (Voxx)  1 986 

SKY  "SUNLIGHT"  SAXON  AND 
FIREWALL 

A  Groovy  Thing  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 986 

Destin/s  Children  (PVC)  1986 

...  In  Search  of  Brighter  Colors  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 988 

World  Fantastic  (Sic/clad)  1 988 

If  Henry  Rollins  incarnates  all  the  smoldering  hatred 
and  intensity  of  familyman  Charlie  Manson,  then  Sky 
Saxon — the  legendary  leader  of  LA's  protopunk 


574 


Seeds — is  a  self-made  construct  of  all  the  qualities  Roll- 
ins discarded:  drug-addled,  hippie  mystical,  stuck  in  the 
'60s,  inconsistent  and  unfocused.  The  above  discogra- 
phy  is  a  necessarily  abbreviated  listing  of  Saxon's  ac- 
tivities and  does  not  include  most  of  the  countless  (and 
endless)  cult  chants  from  his  days  as  a  late- '70s  Hawai- 
ian guru  (pressed  in  editions  of  as  few  as  two,  some  on 
8-track  tape  only)  or  cult-refugee  material  (the  Alright 
Family  Band). 

New  Fruit  is  exactly  what  the  subtitle  claims:  a 
collections  of  obscurities  beginning  with  the  squeaky- 
clean  (ex-Little  Rascal  Darla  Hood  was  part  of  the  orig- 
inal entourage)  doo-wop-derived  *62-'63  teen  pop  of 
Little  Richard  Marsh,  including  a  song  with  the  Riving- 
tons  on  backing  vocals.  Missing  his  debut  single,  the 
sole  AIP  volume  is  nonetheless  a  more  complete  version 
of  the  Eva  retrospective,  skirting  the  familiar  late- '60s 
Seeds  years  (with  one  '67  selection)  and  interview  re- 
corded in  distant  shoebox  mono  from  a  live  broadcast, 
through  to  the  '70s  Seeds — not  appreciably  different  in 
content  or  approach  from  the  '60s  version  (albeit  angrier 
and  heavier  on  a  pair  of  raging  punk  ravers) — until  the 
final  two  tracks,  when  suddenly  they  kick  into  wan- wan 
overdrive  and  unexpectedly  veer  into  sheetmetal  blues 
(as  practiced  by  Frijid  Pink  or  the  Frost).  Fade  out  the 
'70s. 

Fade  in  the  '80s,  with  Sky  now  on  Psycho,  the  fore- 
most British  acid-casualty  label,  sandwiched  between 
Deviants  reissues  and  Crystalized  Movements  freakouts. 
Joined  by  a  stellar  cast  culled  from  Iron  Butterfly,  Fra- 
ternity of  Man  and  Steppenwolf  (the  latter  represented 
by  Mars  Bonfire),  Starry  Ride  reaches  into  Sky's  head 
and  pulls  out  a  set  of  genuine  plums:  sharp  if  formulaic 
Seedspunk  framing  a  worldview  no  less  oblique  than 
Roky  Erickson's,  as  illustrated  most  emphatically  on  the 
side-long  "24  Hour  Rocker,"  a  minor  riff-plus-vari- 
ations repeated  live  beneath  scream-of-consciousness 
ranting  and  rave. 

A  Groovy  Thing  documents  his  studio  excursions 
in  LA  under  the  ''Firewall"  moniker,  with  sidemen 
moonlighting  from  the  Dream  Syndicate,  Plimsouls  and 
Droogs,  all  Phil  Spectorized  (by  co-producer  "Marcus 
Tybalt,"  longtime  Jekyll  to  Saxon's  Hyde)  for  maxi- 
mum sonic  dressing,  minimal  riffing  and  left-field  vo- 
calizing (the  Seeds  legacy).  Destiny's  Children  puts 
the  same  songs  in  a  new  order  (with  inferior  artwork), 
while  In  Search  of  Brighter  Colors  updates  Saxony  to 
a  less  anxious,  more  moody  plane  befitting  California's 
then-crumbling  garage  scene,  closer  aurally  to  the  Seeds 
than  anything  since  1971.  Goofily  poppy,  it  hit  the  US 
racks  as  World  Fantastic,  minus  the  lesser  songs  and 
joined  by  a  number  of  unreleased  crosseyed  neo-classics 
dredged  from  Sky's  days  amidst  the  California  under- 
world. 

Voxx  caught  the  rebounding  Sky  on  a  four-song 
1986  7-inch  shared  with  soothing/scathing  psych  punks 
SS-20,  whom  the  aging  guru  had  first  augmented/ 
sabotaged  (according  to  one's  point  of  view)  onstage 
during  his  unexpected  resurgence  in  Hollywood  in  the 
early  '80s,  when  he  would  climb  up  unannounced  to 
join  every  single  band  of  the  then-popular  garage  con- 
tingent spearheaded  by  Greg  Shaw's  Voxx  label  and 
Cavern  Club.  Originally  a  kick,  it  quickly  became  a 
drag  to  the  young  Beatle-booted  hipsters,  and  a  band 
called  Purple  Electricity  was  cooked  up  as  a  stake 


through  Sky's  hollow  heart.  Featuring  the  McDonald 
brothers  from  Redd  Kross  and  Primate  Brian  Corrigan 
on  drums,  the  intent  was  to  daze  and  confuse  Mr.  Saxon, 
as  well  as  any  sycophants  still  blindly  following.  Draw- 
ing heavily  from  familiar  '70s  metal  tunes,  the  blatantly 
unrehearsed  music  of  the  March  '86  show  documented 
on  Private  Party  is  matched  with  a  disconnected  and 
distracted  Sky,  recorded  in  glorious  walkmanorama. 
Just  to  cap  off  this  travesty,  all  of  the  songs — including 
indisputable  covers — are  credited  to  SS  Saxon.  [ab] 
See  also  Red  Cross. 

SCATTERBRAIN 

See  Ludichrist. 

SCENE  IS  NOW 

See  The  Scene  Is  Now. 

PETER  SCHERER 

See  Arto  Lindsay  I  Ambitious  Lovers, 

PETER  SCHILLING 

Major  Tom  (Coming  Home)  EP  (Eleldra)  1983 

Error  in  the  System  (Elektra)  1 983 

Things  to  Come  (Elektra)  1 985 

The  Different  Story  (World  of  Lust  and  Crime)  (Elektra) 

1989« 

Back  when  German  music  was  affectionately  re- 
ferred to  as  "krautrock,"  it  seemed  as  if  spacey  pro- 
gressive experimentalism  was  the  only  kind  of  music 
Teutonic  youth  could  play.  Since  that  era,  the  nation's 
stylistic  scope  has  widened  considerably  and  been  ex- 
ported to  global  popularity  as  well.  So  there's  some- 
thing nostalgic  and  heartwarming  about  the  sci-fidom  of 
Peter  Schilling's  left-field  hit  single,  "Major  Tom 
(Corning  Home),"  which  essentially  copies  the  story  of 
David  Bowie's  "Space  Oddity"  into  a  modern  electro- 
pop  setting.  The  12-inch  offers  the  single  four  ways: 
English,  German,  instrumental  and  an  eight-minute 
John  Luongo  remix.  The  song  sounds  best  aufdeutsch. 

Error  in  the  System  contains  ** Major  Tom  (Com- 
ing Home)"  sung  in  English,  a  plodding  instrumental 
called  "Major  Tom  Part  II"  and  a  German  version  of 
"Silent  Night,  Holy  Night"  (with  new  lyrics),  as  well 
as  fake  reggae  and  a  bunch  of  needless  "Major  Tom" 
soundaiikes.  Throughout,  Schilling's  almost  accentless 
multi-tracked  vocals  are  blandly  sweet,  and  the 
metronome-powered  electro-bubblegum  is  pleasant  if 
shallow.  A  full  album  of  this  synthetic  weightlessness  is 
more  than  enough;  briefer  doses  aren't  at  all  painful. 

Things  to  Come  proves  the  narrow  limits  of  Schill- 
ing's appeal.  At  best,  a  few  songs  echo  his  hit;  other- 
wise, it's  a  tedious  and  unoriginal  bore.  If  that  much 
repetition  wasn't  enough,  eight  tracks  from  Error  in 
the  System  and  Things  to  Come  were  later  recombined 
(with  the  addition  of  one  new  song)  to  form  The  Dif- 
ferent Story.  [i] 

FRED  SCHNEIDER  &  THE  SHAKE 
SOCIETY 

See  B-52's. 


575 


SCHNELL  FENSTER 

See  Swingers. 

D 

Schoolly-D  (SchooIIy-D)  1986 

Saturday  Nighti-The  Album  (Schoolly-D)  1 987  (Jive) 

1987 

The  Adventures  of  Schoolly-D  [CD]  (Rykodisc)  1 987  • 
Smoke  Some  Kill  (Jive)  1988® 
Am  I  Black  Enough  for  You?  (Jive-RCA)  1 989  • 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  influential  proponents 
of  gangster  rap,  Philadelphia's  Schoolly  D  (Jesse 
Weaver)  has  built  a  career  on  dispassionate  reports  from 
the  grittier  side  of  inner-city  life.  As  troubling  as  the 
entertainment  value  of  rhymes  that  discuss  gun  posses- 
sion, drug  use  and  street  violence  without  any  negative 
context  (or  clear-cut  nationalization)  may  be,  Schoolly 
argues  that  people  take  his  lyrics  too  seriously.  (After 
NWA  semi-politicized  the  issue,  it  took  the  Geto  Boys 
to  rekindle  the  debate  over  the  way  such  raps  are  meant 
and  perceived. )  In  any  case,  the  uncompromising  rapper 
offers  a  deromanticized  streetwise  corollary  of  urban- 
reality  filmmaking. 

Ably  supported  by  his  sidekick  DJ  Code  Money's 
uncomplicated  rhythm  tracks,  Schoolly  began  by  releas- 
ing a  pair  of  albums  on  his  own  label.  SchooIIy-D  con- 
tains "PSK— What  Does  It  Mean?"  (Parkside  Killers,  a 
local  gang),  "Gucci  Time"  and  "I  Don't  Like  Rock- 
VRoll,"  a  scratch-happy  warning  to  long-haired 
freaks:  "be  on  your  guard."  The  more  ambitious  and 
unsettling  Saturday  Night!  has  "We  Get  111"  (the 
Beastie  Boys  were  allegedly  greatly  influenced  by  see- 
ing Schoolly  perform),  "Do  It  Do  It"  (complete  with 
children's  chorus  singing  "Who's  afraid  of  the  big  bad 
wolf?"),  "It's  Krack"  and  the  title  track.  After  Jive 
picked  up  on  Schoolly,  the  label  reissued  Saturday 
Night!,  with  three  extra  tracks:  "Housing  the  Joint" 
(which  quotes  Sly  Stone),  "Parkside  5-2"  and  "Dis 
Groove  Is  Bad."  The  Adventures  of  Schoolly-D  com- 
bines the  contents  of  both  records  (in  their  original  con- 
figurations) and  adds  an  extra  cut. 

Schoolly 's  arrival  on  a  major  label  (or  maybe  it's 
just  the  handsome  back-cover  photo)  shifts  the  context 
of  his  raps,  removing  their  intimidating  credibility  and 
leaving  a  lot  of  empty-sounding  big  talk  instead.  With- 
out the  aura  of  reality,  Smoke  Some  Kill  lacks  emo- 
tional impact;  Schoolly 's  not  the  most  dynamic  MC 
here,  and  the  repetitiveness  of  his  simple  beats  and  sam- 
ples does  nothing  to  charge  up  the  record.  Despite  a  lot 
of  cussing  and  such  cold  topics  as  "Smoke  Some  Kill," 
"Mr.  Big  Dick"  and  "Same  White  Bitch  (Got  You 
Strung  Out  on  Cane),"  Smoke  Some  Kill  is  no  heavy 
scene. 

Shifting  his  image  from  street  crime  to  black  power, 
Schoolly  gets  back  in  the  groove  on  Am  I  Black 
Enough  for  You?,  a  loud  and  proud  album  of  slamming 
tracks  that  use  spoken  word  bites  (political  speeches, 
Star  Trek  dialogue,  Richard  Pryor  crack-horror  routines) 
to  indicate  new  political  consciousness.  Actually,  the 
record  doesn't  wind  up  saying  much  of  anything  (a  lot 
of  the  tracks  are  routine  boasts,  and  Schoolly 's  old  nas- 
tiness  resurfaces  in  "Pussy  Ain't  Nothin'  "),  but  the 
fact  that  he's  moving  in  such  a  positive  direction  (check 


the  inspirational  chant  of  "Get  Off  Your  Ass  and  Get 
Involved"  or  the  Afrocentricity  of  "Black  Jesus")  on 
this  strong  album  is  encouraging  and  exciting.  [i] 


See  Yo  La  Tengo. 


Brinsley  Schwarz  (Capitol)  1 970 

Despite  It  All  (Capitol)  1970 

Silver  Pistol  (UA)  1972  (nr/Edsel)  1986  • 

Nervous  on  the  Road  (UA)  1972 

Please  Don't  Ever  Change  (nr/UA)  1973  (nr/Edsel) 

1987® 

Original  Golden  Greats  (nr/UA)  1974 
The  New  Favourites  of  Brinsley  Schwarz  (nr/UA)  1974 
Fifteen  Thoughts  of  Brinsley  Schwarz  (nr/UA)  1978 
Brinsley  Schwarz  (Capitol)  1 978 
It's  All  Over  Now  (nr/Charly)  1 988  • 

Greasy  Truckers  Party  (nr/UA)  1 972 

Many  pub-rock  bands  of  the  early  '70s  served  as 
launching  pads  for  English  musicians  whose  fame  and 
fortune  increased  enormously  with  the  advent  of  new 
wave.  Along  with  Ducks  Deluxe,  Brinsley  Schwarz  eas- 
ily takes  the  cake  as  a  hotbed  of  talents  just  waiting  for 
the  right  moment  to  burst  forth.  Although  largely  un- 
heralded (and  commercially  ignored)  at  the  time,  its  five 
members — Nick  Lowe,  Ian  Gomm,  Brinsley  Schwarz, 
Bob  Andrews  and  Billy  Rankin— have  surely  proven 
their  skill  and  importance  many  times  over  since  the 
band  dissolved  in  1975. 

Lowe's  solo  career  and  membership  in  Rockpile, 
not  to  mention  his  voluminous  production  credits,  have 
made  him  a  constant  presence,  a  revered  elder  in  the 
Church  of  Cool.  Gomm's  solo  albums  are  more  in  keep- 
ing with  the  Brinsleys'  laid-back,  easy-listening  coun- 
try fied  pop.  Confirmed  sidemen  Schwarz  and  Andrews 
both  served  in  the  Rumour  (with  and  without  Graham 
Parker)  and  have  each  produced  and  played  alongside 
many  other  spotlight  stars  as  well.  Rankin  played  in  a 
band  called  Tiger  and  has  drummed  on  loads  of  records 
by  likeminded  rockers.  (He  and  Schwarz  also  joined 
future  Rumour  member  Martin  Belmont  in  the  last  in- 
carnation of  Ducks  Deluxe.) 

The  music  on  Brinsley  Schwarz's  albums  seems  at 
once  totally  removed  and  perfectly  in  keeping  with  the 
individuals'  later  escapades;  little  hints  of  the  future 
keep  cropping  up  amid  the  genial,  American-flavored 
rock  and  mild  pop.  Dave  Edmunds  later  recorded  *  * Ju  Ju 
Man"  (a  cover  included  on  Silver  Pistol)  on  Get  It, 
backed  by  Lowe,  Rankin  and  Andrews.  The  first  ap- 
pearance of  Lowe's  * '(What's  So  Funny  'Bout)  Peace, 
Love  and  Understanding"  is  on  New  Favourites;  it's 
since  become  a  classic  item  in  Elvis  Costello's  repertoire. 
Lowe's  brush  with  American  chart  success,  "Cruel  to  Be 
Kind,"  was  co-written  with  Gomm  and  doesn't  sound 
very  different  from  some  of  the  Brinsleys'  richer  pop 
numbers.  Much  of  the  Rumour's  crisp  Van  Morrison 
swing  is  present  in  tracks  like  "Surrender  to  the 
Rhythm"  (Nervous  on  the  Road).  You  get  the  point. 


576 


In  a  nutshell,  while  some  of  the  music  on  these 
albums  is  either  dull  or  wimpy  beyond  belief— and 
check  those  embarrassing  hippie  pictures!— they  con- 
tain enough  wonderful  stuff  to  make  Brinsley  Schwarz's 
records  well  worth  discovering.  Of  discographical  in- 
terest: the  first  two  LPs  are  also  available  as  an  Amer- 
ican twin  set  (Brinsley  Schwarz)  released  in  1978, 
Original  Golden  Greats  and  Fifteen  Thoughts  (kudos 
to  the  latter' s  Maoist  art  direction)  are  compilations  of 
tracks  from  the  band's  entire  career;  there's  some  du- 
plication, but  both  have  gems  not  otherwise  found  on 
any  album.  Brinsley  Schwarz  also  contributed  five  cuts 
to  the  1972  live  compilation,  Greasy  Truckers  Party. 

[i] 

See  also  Ducks  Deluxe,  Nick  Lowe,  Graham  Parker, 
Rockpile,  Rumour. 

SCIENTISTS 

Scientists  EP  (Aus.  White  Rider)  1979 

The  Scientists  (Aus.  YPRX)  1 981 

Blood  Red  River  EP  (nr/Au-go-go)  1 983 

This  Heart  Doesn't  Run  on  Blood,  This  Heart  Doesn't  Run 

on  Love  EP  (nr/Au-go-go}  1 984 
Demolition  Derby  (Bel.  Soundwork)  1 985 
Atom  Bomb  Baby  (nr/Au-go-go)  1985 
You  Get  What  You  Deserve  (nr/Karbon)  1 985 
Heading  for  a  Trauma  (nr/Au-go-go)  1 985 
Rubber  Never  Sleeps  [tape]  (Aus.  Au-go-go)  1 985 
Weird  Love  (Big  Time)  1986 
The  Human  Jukebox  (nr/Karbon)  1 987 
The  Sweet  Corn  Sessions  EP  (Aus,  Timberyard)  1989 
A  Pox  on  You  EP  (Sp.  Munster)  1 989 
Pissed  on  Another  Planet  EP  (Aus.  Timberyard}  1 990 

KIM  SALMON  AND  THE 
SURREALISTS 

Hit  Me  with  the  Surreal  Feel  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1 988 
Just  Because  You  Can't  See  It ...  Doesn't  Mean  It  Isn't 
There  . . .  (Aus.  Black  Eye)  1 989  « 

INTERSTELLAR  VILLAINS 

Right  Out  in  the  Lobster  Quadrille  EP  (Aus.  Timberyard} 

1989 

Perth,  Australia;  May  1978.  An  unrecorded  band 
named  the  Invaders  (which  included  bassist  Boris  Suj- 
dovic,  guitarist  Rod  Radalj,  and  guitarist/lead  vocalist 
Kim  Salmon)  joins  forces  with  drummer  James  Baker, 
changes  their  name  to  the  Scientists  and  releases  "Fran- 
tic Romantic,"  a  bright  little  pop  single.  A  four-track 
EP  and  a  delightfully  gritty  LP  of  hard  pop  follow.  But 
music  life  in  Perth  (on  the  far  west  coast  of  Australia, 
2,500  miles  of  outback  away  from  anyplace  else)  be- 
comes frustrating.  Baker  leaves  for  Sydney  where  he 
meets  up  with  fellow  Perth  renegade  Dave  Faulkner 
(who  had  been  in  a  band  named  the  Gurus  and  was  then 
in  an  unnamed  ensemble  with  fellow  Perth-escapee  Ra- 
dalj). Baker  joins  the  new  Faulkner/Radalj  group  and 
they  name  it  Le  Hoodoo  Gurus. 

September  1981:  Salmon  also  gives  up  on  Perth  and 
relocates  to  Sydney,  where  he  and  Sujdovic  create  a 
new  Scientists  with  a  manic  swamp-grunge  sound.  Full 
of  dirty  feedback  and  great  swaths  of  nod-out  guitar, 
Blood  Red  River  (one  of  several  Scientists  records  to 
be  issued  by  Au-go-go  in  the  UK  as  well  as  in  Australia) 


pays  homage  to  Suicide  with  pounding  basslines  and 
echo-chamber-overkill  vocals,  while  hinting  at  the  hyp- 
notic fusion  of  '60s  hookah  smoke  and  screechingly 
overheated  guitar  that  bubbles  through  This  Heart 
Doesn't  Run  on  Blood  and  on  into  Weird  Love  to 
become  the  Scientists  sound.  From  screaming  blues- 
rooted  mania  laid  over  repeating  circles  of  bass  and 
twists  of  cacophony  lead  guitar,  through  the  frenetic 
Cramps-meet-Birthday  Party  dirges  of  the  Belgian-only 
Demolition  Derby,  each  release  nudges  the  band's 
sound  a  step  further  through  a  path  of  deep,  dark,  nod- 
out  blasts  until  1984  when,  ever  in  search  of  someplace 
else,  the  Scientists  left  Australia  for  London,  where  their 
story  begins  to  fall  apart. 

Except  for  Atom  Bomb  Baby  (a  mighty  collection 
of  blistering  rockers  recorded  in  London  in  late  *84)  and 
the  very  Crampsy  "You  Only  Live  Twice"  single  (a 
cover  of  the  James  Bond  theme),  the  next  three  Scien- 
tists releases  are  mostly  archive  material.  You  Get 
What  You  Deserve  combines  the  seven-song  Atom 
Bomb  Baby  and  Demolition  Derby  with  the  B-side 
from  "  You  Only  Live  Twice"  as  a  bonus  cut.  Heading 
for  a  Trauma  has  four  new  songs  but  is  otherwise  a 
compilation  of  pre-BSood  singles,  a  radio  session  and 
the  Demolition  Derby  tracks  (again).  The  tape-only 
Rubber  Never  Sleeps  digs  even  further  into  the  vaults 
to  include  live  material  from  two  of  the  Scientists'  pre- 
Hoodoo  Gurus  lineups,  as  well  as  1982-' 83  live  tracks. 

Although  the  poundingly  intense  Weird  Love  (the 
only  Scientists  record  released  in  the  US)  was — with  the 
exception  of  the  earlier  "You  Only  Live  Twice" — 
newly  recorded  in  London  (February  1986)  with  pro- 
ducer Richard  Mazda,  it  again  portrays  the  band's  music 
as  history  by  consisting  entirely  of  old  material,  includ- 
ing such  tracks  as  "Demolition  Derby,"  "Atom  Bomb 
Baby"  and  "Nitro"  (originally  on  This  Heart). 

By  The  Human  Jukebox,  only  guitarists  Salmon 
and  Tony  Thewlis  remained  from  the  Australian  band, 
A  dreary  album  lacking  the  searing  frenzy  that  gave  the 
Scientists  their  impact,  Jukebox's  repetition  comes  off 
as  industrial  rather  than  mesmerizing;  Salmon's  vocals 
are  flat  and  droney  as  if  he'd  taken  lessons  from  a  reject 
from  Lou  Reed  High. 

In  1989,  the  "Frantic  Romantic"  single  and  the 
1979  EP  recorded  in  Perth's  Sweet  Cora  Studios  were 
compiled  and  reissued  as  the  Sweet  Corn  Sessions,  a 
six-track  EP,  That  same  material  was  later  reissued 
again  with  different  artwork  as  Pissed  on  Another 
Planet,  taking  its  name  from  one  of  the  cuts. 

Despite  the  Scientists'  demise,  the  band's  archives 
continue  to  be  raided,  In  1989,  the  Spanish  fanzine  La 
Herenica  issued  a  four-track  EP  featuring  alternate  ver- 
sions of  "Swampland,"  "Nitro,"  "Solid  Gold  Hell" 
and  "A  Pox  on  You"  along  with  its  72-page  all- 
Scientists  issue. 

Since  the  Scientists,  Salmon  and  Ms  new  band,  the 
Surrealists,  have  been  churning  out  wild  and  frenzied 
rock  music;  untamed,  primal  and  filled  with  frenzy.  Like 
the  Scientists,  the  new  group  uses  the  mantra  of  repeti- 
tion to  suck  listeners  into  its  groove.  Sometimes  it's  a 
nightmare;  other  times  (as  in  Just  Because's  cover  ver- 
sion of  "Je  t'Aime")  it's  just  a  wet  dream.  But  the 
music  is  always  imbued  with  a  fine  and  tortured  spirit. 
Alternately  funky  and  bluesy/rootsy  but  always  based 


577 


on  the  scrapes  and  squeals  and  manipulations  of  hard, 
electric  guitar,  the  records  are,  above  all,  rock'n'roll. 
(Not  content  to  limit  his  creativity  to  just  one  group  or 
perspective  at  a  time,  Salmon  has  more  recently  re- 
leased a  solo  single,  "Lightning  Scary"  that  couples 
'60s  AM  radio-style  pop  with  rap.) 

Following  the  Scientists,  Tony  Thewlis  assembled 
the  Interstellar  Villains,  whose  12-inch  EP  (Right  Out 
in  the  Lobster  QuadriEe)  is  a  psychocandied  fusion 
between  pop  and  pound.  More  twisted  than  the  mid-' 80s 
paisley  but  not  a  self-indulgent  space-rock  ramble  ei- 
ther, Lobster  grafts  American  roots  rock  to  British  pro- 
duction styles,  putting  its  pop  proclivities  across  in  a 
more  cleanly  textured  surface  than  American  garage 
bands  working  the  same  tradition,  but  with  more  guts 
than  the  glossier  Brits.  ['e] 

See  also  Beasts  of  Bourbon,  Hoodoo  Gurus. 

ROBIN  SCOTT 

See  M,  Ryuichi  Sakamoto. 

TIM  SCOTT 

Swear  EP  (Sire)  1983 

The  High  Lonesome  Sound  (Geffen)  1987  ® 

Ex-Rockat  guitarist  Scott  pounds  out  some  of  the 
dumbest  dance-rock  ever  on  the  five-song  Swear,  pro- 
duced by  Richard  Gottehrer.  Joined  by  ex-Holly  and  the 
Italians  bassist  Mark  Sidgwick  and  future  Beat  Rodeo 
drummer  Lewis  King  (with  one  guest  vocal  by  Jane 
Wiedlin),  Scott's  inadequacy  as  a  singer  and  writer  are 
made  abundantly  clear  on  the  moronic  title  song  and 
"Good  as  Gold";  elsewhere,  he's  just  a  bland  and  for- 
gettable rocker. 

So  much  for  stylistic  consistency:  The  High  Lone- 
some Sound  is  unconvincing  predigested  commercial 
country  and  cowpunk.  Mitchell  Froom  produced  and 
played  the  keyboards;  Elvis  Presley  sideman  Jerry 
Scheff  is  the  bassist;  David  Hidalgo  of  Los  Lobos  adds 
accordion  and  backup  vocals;  the  redoubtable  James 
Burton  even  takes  a  nice  dobro  solo  on  "Release."  Give 
Scott  points  for  improved  vocals  and  bland  inoffensive- 
ness,  but  that's  about  all.  [i] 

See  also  Havalinas,  Rockats. 

SCRAPING  FOETUS  OFF 
THE  WHEEL 

See  Foetus  Inc. 

SCRATCH  ACID 

Scratch  Acid  (Rabid  Cat)  1 984 
Just  Keep  Eating.  (Rabid  Cat)  1986 
Berserker  EP  (Touch  and  Go)  1 987 

This  potent  Austin,  Texas  quartet  started  out  with  a 
remarkably  unsettling  outlook  and  wound  up — at  least 
the  members  did  following  the  band's  dissolution — 
playing  a  crucial  role  in  the  development  of  late- '80s 
noise  rock  that  has  taken  deep  root  in  the  industrialized 
Midwest.  The  eight  intense  songs  on  Scratch  Acid  live 
up  to  their  abrasive  promise,  powerfully  and  painfully 
muscling  around  just  on  the  edge  of  listenability,  with 
only  sometime-Big  Boy  Rey  Washam's  strong  drum- 


ming to  anchor  walls  of  guitar  noise  and  (ex-Toxic 
Shock)  David  Yow's  hysterical  shriek-singing.  In  spots, 
relative  restraint  and  organization  prevail,  and  the  record 
succeeds  in  conveying  something;  elsewhere,  an  over- 
dose of  PiL/Birthday  Party  takes  hold  and  you  get  noth- 
ing but  chaotic,  raw  angst  that  is  simply  no  fun  at  all. 
Some  of  the  inspired  lyrics  ("Cannibal,"  "Monsters") 
are  classic  Hondo  Cane  material,  but  a  more  palatable 
sonic  setting  would  have  increased  their  impact. 

Without  sacrificing  a  jot  of  their  psycho  weirdness, 
Scratch  Acid  show  a  mite  more  focus  and  control  on  the 
full-length  Just  Keep  Eating.  The  music  is  just  as  vir- 
ulent and  loud,  but  Yow's  increased  effort  to  be  under- 
stood gives  an  extra  kick  to  the  demented  lyrics  of  songs 
like  "Eyeball,"  "Unlike  a  Baptist"  and  "Crazy  Dan," 
the  longwinded  chronicle  of  a  crazed  murderer.  Fun 
stuff! 

Lacking  the  far-reaching  conceptual  imagination  of 
the  Butthole  Surfers,  Scratch  Acid  keep  the  presentation 
simple  while  reaching  deep  into  the  lyrical  cesspool  on 
the  Berserker  HP's  six  well-produced  songs.  Yow's 
raging,  hysterical  delivery  goes  nicely  with  the  punk 
wash  of  "Mary  Had  a  Little  Drug  Problem"  and  a  per- 
verted character  study  called  "Moron's  Moron,"  but 
the  words  are  their  most  amusing  element.  Likewise, 
the  festering  dermal  ugliness  of  "Skin  Drips"  (accom- 
panied by  a  bluesy  swing)  and  the  ironic  near-hardcore 
of  "This  Is  Bliss"  do  their  best  work  on  the  lyric  sheet. 
Throughout  the  12-inch  EP,  debauchery,  vulgarity  and 
viciousness  intertwine  for  a  truly  seedy  experience,  [i] 

See  also  Jesus  Lizard,  Rapeman. 

SCRAWL 

Plus,  Also,  Too  (No  Other)  1 987  (Rough  Trade)  1 989 
He's  Drunk  (Rough  Trade)  1 988  * 
Smallmouth  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  ® 

Columbus,  Ohio's  Scrawl  show  more  enthusiasm 
than  skill  on  Plus,  Also,  Too,  a  sloppy,  occasionally 
strident  indie-pop  record  in  line  with  the  trio's  name. 
Although  her  aggressive  guitar  work  is  dandy,  Marcy 
Mays'  uncertain  singing  (joined  in  disharmony  by  bass- 
ist Sue  Harshe)  isn't  equally  beneficial  to  Scrawl's  rug- 
ged melodicism,  cutting  sidelong  through  songs  rather 
than  moving  them  along.  There's  promise  in  the 
grooves,  but  the  vocals  just  don't  cut  it.  (Besides  reis- 
suing the  album,  Rough  Trade  later  stuck,  appended, 
attached  Pius,  Also,  To  on  the  CD  of  He's  Drunk,) 

Strings  of  cryptic  fragments  serve  as  the  intriguing 
lyrics  on  He  Drunk,  a  more  proficient  and  varied 
follow-up.  The  songs  are  neat  (besides  their  originals, 
Scrawl  demolish  and  then  rebuild  the  Hombres'  garage- 
rock  classic,  "Let  It  All  Hang  Out,"  and  give  Felice 
and  Boudleaux  Bryant's  "Rocky  Top"  a  politely  quiet 
reading);  the  instrumental  work  is  generally  solid,  But 
while  Mays  and  Harshe  both  show  improvement,  their 
voices  still  don't  blend  together  very  well  at  all. 

Producer  Gary  Smith,  who  worked  wonders  for  the 
Blake  Babies  and  has  done  records  with  Throwing 
Muses  and  other  neo-pop  ensembles,  reigned  in 
Scrawl's  discordant  excesses  on  Smallmouth,  drawing 
out  the  sturdy  melodies  with  presentably  confident  vo- 
cals. Tidying  up  the  sound  might  have  removed  the 
jagged  comers  that  make  Scrawl  invigorating,  but  the 


578 


trio  (especially  Mays'  intense  guitar  strikes)  skillfully 
holds  its  own,  making  songs  like  "Charles,'*  "Tell  You 
What"  and  "Time  to  Come  Clean"  both  bracing  and 
appealing.  Evidently  responding  to  the  song's  feminist 
content,  Scrawl  ends  Smallmouth  with  a  pretty  piano- 
based  cover  of  Eurythmics'  ironic  "I  Need  You."  [i] 


SCREAMING  BLUE  MESSIAHS 

Good  and  Gone  EP  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 984 

Twin  Cadillac  Valentine  EP  (nr/WEA)  1 985 

Gun-shy  (Elektra)  1986® 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 987 

Bikini  Red  (Elektra)  1 987  ® 

Totally  Religious  (Elektra)  1989  • 

One  part  Scottish,  two  parts  English,  this  fierce  trio 
(led  by  two  ex-members  of  Motor  Boys  Motor)  is  well- 
named.  Not  averse  to  howling  until  blue  in  the  face, 
they  could  very  well  be  the  prophesied  saviors  of  static 
'80s  pop.  The  Messiahs  take  their  jaundiced  love  of 
Americana  and  render  it  into  an  unrecognizable  hybrid 
of  psychobilly,  R&B,  garage  grunge  and  lethal  punk 
energy. 

Blistering  would  be  a  euphemistic  description  for 
Good  and  Gone:  singer/songwriter/guitarist  Bill  Carter 
shrieks  and  wails  his  way  through  these  six  tracks  in  a 
merciless  attack.  The  crudely  worded  "Someone  To 
Talk  To"  (supposedly  culled  from  a  Marine  drill  chant), 
"Happy  Home"  and  a  cover  of  Hank  Williams' 
"You're  Gonna  Change"  give  the  Messiahs  a  roguish 
sort  of  appeal.  Daring,  foolhardy  and  just  plain  good 
fun.  (The  Peel  EP  dates  from  July  of  that  same  year  and 
captures  the  band  in  its  primal  glory.  Tracks  include  a 
too  of  songs  from  Good  and  Gone  and  "Let's  Go 
Down  to  the  Woods,"  later  included  on  Gun-Shy.) 

On  the  title  track  of  Twin  Cadillac  Valentine,  the 
jagged  edges  have  been  smoothed  down  and  the  tune 
wanders  amid  sterile  production.  The  three  other  tracks 
are  raucous  live  versions  of  previously  issued  songs  and 
provide  the  HP's  only  real  signs  of  life. 

Gun-shy  contains  "Twin  Cadillac  Valentine"  and 
generally  suffers  from  the  same  restraint.  Occasional 
glimpses  of  the  old  form  seep  through,  but  never  gain 
the  momentum  needed  to  sustain  the  effort.  (Vic  Maile 
and  Howard  Gray  produced  separately.) 

Overproduction  couldn't  restrain  a  band  this  vola- 
tile, and  Bikini  Red  is  the  triumphant  outcome.  An 
American  tour  after  the  release  of  Gun-shy  apparently 
intensified  the  trio's  love  of  America,  because  it's  a 
consistently  recurring  theme  throughout  this  entire  al- 
bum, produced  by  Vic  Maile.  The  title  song,  "I  Wanna 
Be  a  Flintstone,"  "I  Can  Speak  American,"  "Jesus 
Chrysler  Drives  a  Dodge"  and  "55-The  Law"  all  de- 
rive from  singularly  American  ideals  and  are  the  stron- 
gest tracks  on  this  LP.  Bikini  Red  is  a  joyous  powder 
keg  of  a  record  that  makes  the  transgressions  on  Gun- 
shy  easy  to  forgive. 

While  Totally  Religious  lacks  the  eloquent  fury  of 
the  Messiahs'  best,  it's  not  for  lack  of  trying.  Carter  and 
crew  still  crash  and  burn,  but  the  results  are  often  tired, 
verging  on  generic.  Great  titles  like  "Four  Engines 
Burning  (Over  the  USA),"  "All  Gassed  Up,"  "Watusi 
Wedding,"  etc.  don't  deliver  on  their  promise,  [ag/jy] 
See  also  Motor  Boys  Motor. 


Other  Worlds  EP  [tape]  (Velvetone)  1985  (SSI)  1988 

Clairvoyance  (Vefvetone)  1 986  • 

Even  If  and  Especially  When  (SSI)  1 987  • 

Invisible  Lantern  (SST)  1 988  • 

Buzz  Factory  (SST)  1 989  • 

Time  Speaks  Her  Golden  Tongue  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1 990 

Something  About  Today  EP  (Epic)  1 990  • 

Uncle  Anesthesia  (Epic)  1 991  • 

BEAT  HAPPENING/ 
SCREAMING  TREES 

Beat  Happening/Screaming  Trees  EP  (K-Homestead) 
1988 

MARK  LANEGAN 

The  Winding  Sheet  (Sub  Pop)  1 990  • 

PURPLE  OUTSIDE 

Mystery  Lane  (New  Alliance)  1 990  ® 

SOLOMON  GRUNDY 

Solomon  Grundy  (New  Alliance)  1990  ® 

Hailing  from  the  town  of  Ellensburg,  Washington, 
Screaming  Trees  use  psychedelia  not  as  a  stylistic  af- 
fectation, but  as  a  jumping-off  point  for  more  personal 
existential  explorations.  The  quartet  specializes  in  dron- 
ing melodic  rock  tunes  spotlighting  Mark  Lanegan' s 
portentous  vocals  and  Gary  Lee  Conner's  inventively 
primitive  guitar  work  and  thoughtful,  vivid  lyrics. 

The  early  efforts  (Other  Worlds  and  Clairvoyance) 
have  their  impressive  moments,  but  mainly  show  the 
quartet  grasping  for  a  distinctive  style.  The  Trees  master 
that  style—an  imposing  mix  of  post-punk  aggression 
and  post-hippie  mysticism— on  the  SST  albums,  and 
each  of  the  three  discs  is  well  worth  hearing.  Even  If 
and  Especially  When  has  a  slight  edge  thanks  to  the 
inclusion  of  the  Trees'  most  infectious  song,  "Trans- 
figuration." 

Despite  inappropriate  mainstream  hard  rock  produc- 
tion (by  Seattle  metal  guy  Terry  Date  and  Soundgarden 
frontman  Chris  Cornell)  that  saps  much  of  the  band's 
sonic  forcefulness,  Uncle  Anesthesia  isn't  the  big- 
league  disaster  one  might  have  predicted  for  these  indie 
stars.  Several  attempts  at  diversification— like  the  near- 
power  pop  "Bed  of  Roses"  and  the  doom-metal  title 
track—are  quite  successful,  but  Lanegan  sounds  uncom- 
fortably like  Ian  Astbury  on  "Caught  Between."  Three 
of  the  four  songs  on  the  Something  About  You  EP 
ended  up  on  Uncle  Anesthesia. 

The  Trees  celebrated  their  ascension  to  major- 
labeldom  with  the  release  of  extracurricular  projects  by 
three  of  the  band's  four  members  (the  fourth,  drummer 
Mark  Pickerel,  quit  the  band  after  playing  on  Uncle 
Anesthesia). 

Lanegan's  The  Winding  Sheet  is  something  of  a 
revelation.  The  pensive  cover  pic  gives  a  good  indica- 
tion of  the  album's  contents:  quietly  intense  and  obvi- 
ously personal  songs,  most  of  them  sung  over  spare 
instrumental  backup.  Lanegan  uses  his  dark,  brooding 
voice  to  good  effect  here;  the  lengthy  title  track  is  par- 
ticularly impressive. 

Gary  Lee  Conner  manages  to  sound  remarkably  like 
the  Trees  for  about  half  of  the  Purple  Outside  LP,  on 
which  he  sings  and  plays  everything  but  the  drums;  the 
rest  is  mainly  soft,  acoustic-based  pop.  His  brother, 


579 


Trees  bassist  Van  Conner,  leads  the  four-man  Solomon 
Grundy,  whose  album  consists  mostly  of  solid  if  unex- 
ceptional thrashy  rock.  [hd] 
See  also  Beat  Happening. 


EP  (Aus.no  label)  1982 

Move  a  Little  Closer  EP  (What  Goes  On)  1 984 

Date  with  a  Vampyre  EP  (What  Goes  On)  1 985 

Top  of  the  Town  EP  (Aus.  Rattlesnake)  1 986 

Bones  +  Flowers  (Aus.  Survival)  1987  (Rykodisc)  1988  • 

Take  Cover  EP  (Aus.  Survival)  1 989 

There's  nothing  tnbal  about  the  sound  of  these  Aus- 
sies,  and  they  don't  scream  either.  Their  music  is  full  of 
pop-song  harmonies,  including  "oohh"  and  "ahh" 
background  singing,  jangle  chords  and  repeated  re- 
frains. From  beginnings  as  a  post-Ramones  punky  en- 
semble (on  the  first  four-track  EP),  they've  gone 
through  an  assortment  of  members  and  sonic  textures 
but  all  of  their  releases  have  been  exercises  in  good  old 
pop-rock.  Move  a  Little  Closer,  a  compilation  of  the 
band's  first  two  Australian  singles  ("Igloo"  and  "A 
Stand  Alone")  could  easily  mix  and  match  with  a  stack 
of  mod-revival  albums,  while  the  squealier  and  grungier 
guitar  chords  of  Date  with  a  Vampyre  (also  four  songs) 
nudge  their  sound  closer  to  garage  territory. 

Top  of  the  Town  contains  six  songs  by  a  new  lineup 
that  reveals  an  ongoing  transition  towards  more  main- 
stream pop-rock.  "You  Better  Run"  is  the  most  impres- 
sive track,  and  a  fair  precursor  to  the  excellent  Bones  + 
Flowers.  The  album  launches  the  Tribesmen  into  a  new 
international  league,  offering  richly  played  rock-melody 
songwriting  (by  ex-Radio  Birdman  guitarist/pianist/ 
producer  Chris  "Klondike"  Masuak  and  singer/guitarist 
Mick  Medew)  that's  got  all  the  needed  attributes  for 
major  stardom.  Standouts:  a  new  version  of  "Igloo," 
the  wittily  '60sish  "Our  Time  at  Last,"  the  peppy 
Anglo-popping  "Dream  Away"  and  the  Rockpiling 
"Living  Vampire."  The  CD  has  two  bonus  tracks. 

Despite  the  album's  appeal  and  high  commercial 
prospects,  nothing  much  came  of  Bones  +  Flowers. 
By  the  time  of  the  disappointing  1989  12-inch  (five 
songs,  including  covers  of  Lou  Reed  and  the  Dictators), 
Medew  was  the  only  member  remaining  from  the  LP's 
lineup.  [*e/i] 


SIRENS! 

IFiesta!  (Enigma)  1984 

ROS1E  FLORES 

Rosie  Flores  (Reprise)  1 987 

SCREAMING  SIRENS 

Voodoo  (Restless)  1 990  <t» 

RINGLING  SISTERS 

60  Watt  Reality  (A&M)  1 990  <{> 

Ah,  the  wonders  of  showbiz.  As  lead  guitarist  and 
singer  for  the  iScreamin'  Sirens!,  Rosie  Mores  (previ- 
ously of  San  Diego's  Rosie  and  the  Screamers)  per- 
formed her  share  of  perky  throwaway  power  pop,  the 
kind  of  junk  that  fairly  exploded  out  of  the  woodwork  in 
the  wake  of  Blondie's  late-'70s  success.  At  other  times, 
the  four  Sirens  served  up  transparently  fake  country- 


rock  or  the  entertaining  bogus  funk  of  "Mr.  T  Luv 
Boogie." 

Lo  and  behold,  three  years  after  the  halfhearted  IFi- 
esta!, Flores  turned  up  as  a  "real"  country  artist,  doing 
that  old  Bakersfield  boogie  on  a  fine  solo  album  pro- 
duced by  Pete  Anderson  of  Dwight  Yoakam  fame  Billy 
Bremner  is  her  guitarist;  Los  Lobos'  David  Hidalgo  con- 
tributes rippling  accordion  on  "Midnight  to  Moon- 
light," a  Flores  tune  first  heard  on  iFiesta!. 

With  only  vocalist/songwriter  Pleasant  Gehman  and 
bassist  Miiko  Watanabe  returning  from  the  first  album, 
a  new  set  of  Sirens  made  the  personality-free  Voodoo, 
a  stinky,  poorly  sung  collection  of  coy  songs  about  sex 
and  romance. 

The  Ringling  Sisters — a  sextet  whose  first  album  is 
a  diverse  jazz/folk/rock/country  collection  produced  by 
Lou  Adler— includes  Gehman  and  Annette  Zilinskas 
(Bangles/Blood  on  the  Saddle).  With  amusing  spoken 
interludes  and  uneven  songwriting  on  a  broad  variety  of 
topics,  60  Watt  Reality  is  an  intriguing,  odd  and  oc- 
casionally stimulating  LP.  Best  tracks:  "Way  Out 
West"  and  "Kimberly  Rose,"  both  of  which  have  lyr- 
ics by  Gehman  and  music  by  guitarist/bassist  Gary 
Eaton.  [jy/i] 


Screeching  Weasel  (Underdog)  1987 
Boogadaboogadaboogada!  (Roadkill)  1 989 

Playing  skillful  unstylized  punk  with  goofy  subur- 
ban lyrics,  this  funny  Chicago-area  quartet  makes  no 
bones  about  its  likes  and  dislikes  on  Screeching  Wea- 
sel, a  27-song  debut.  Besides  covering  the  Oscar  Mayer 
weiner  theme,  singing  odes  to  cows  and  convenience 
stores,  vocalist/punkzine  columnist  Ben  Weasel  leads 
his  group  in  terse  attacks  on  TV  talk-show  hosts,  Cali- 
fornia and  assorted  cultural  archetypes  ("Clean-Cut 
Asshole,"  "Jockpunk,"  "Hardcore  Hippie,"  "Liar"). 
The  Weasel  may  sound  generic,  but  there's  a  superior 
intelligence  at  work  here. 

The  shredded-speaker  guitar  sound  of  Boogadaboo- 
gadaboogada! is  a  shame,  as  the  witty  group  moves 
into  more  tuneful,  better  structured  songs  without  sac- 
rificing any  of  its  incendiary  punk  energy.  Stomping 
merrily  through  pop  culture,  romance  and  reality,  the 
songs  spit  on  Led  Zeppelin,  politics,  police,  paper  boys 
and  psychotherapy,  stopping  to  cover  Del  Shannon 
("Runaway"),  quote  "Wipeout"  (in  "This  Ain't  Ha- 
waii") and  send  a  mash  note  to  Madonna  and  Sandra 
Bernhard.  [i] 


SCR1TT1  POliTTi 

4  A-Sides  EP  (nr/St.  Pancras-Rough  Trade)  1 979 
Worb  in  Progress  EP  (nr/St.  Pancras-Rough  Trade)  1 979 
Songs  to  Remember  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982  * 
Cupid  &  Psyche  85  (Warner  Bros.)  1 985  * 
Provision  (Warner  Bros.)  1 988  « 

Originally  an  arty  conceptual  trio  from  Leeds,  Scritti 
Politti  underwent  a  number  of  drastic  developmental 
changes  on  the  way  to  becoming,  ultimately,  a  slick 
vehicle  for  Welsh-born  singer  Green  Gartside.  By  the 
time  Scritti  Politti  released  its  long-awaited  first  album 
in  1982,  Green  had  pulled  the  band  from  its  early  ex- 


580 


periments  (on  the  A-Sldes  EP  and  the  Peel  session  re- 
leased as  Works  In  Progress)  through  a  phase  of 
alluring  synth-pop  and  into  a  souled-out  revamp  of  early 
T.  Rex,  minus  Bolan's  unique  sword-and-sorcery  out- 
look. Songs  to  Remember  is  an  unassumingly  warm 
and  charming  set,  with  boppy  beats,  quirky  tunes  and 
abundant  catchy  goodwill.  While  Green's  obvious  song- 
writing  mastery  and  affecting  voice  make  every  song 
appealing,  a  few — "Asylums  in  Jerusalem,"  "Faith- 
less" and  "The  Sweetest  Girl" — are  absolutely  won- 
derful. 

Subsequently  shedding  the  pretense  of  a  band,  Green 
moved  himself  to  New  York,  where  he  turned  to  high- 
sheen  soul  music  as  his  life's  work.  With  venerable 
producer  Arif  Mardin,  Material  drummer  Fred  Maher 
and  other  heavyweights,  the  entirety  of  Green's  output 
for  the  following  two  years  was  a  1984  12-inch,  which 
nonetheless  established  him  as  a  brilliant  (if  unprolific) 
pop  craftsman.  "Wood  Beez  (Pray  Like  Aretha  Frank- 
lin)" and  "Absolute"  are  stunning,  traditional  musical 
values  given  up-to-date  modern  stylmgs. 

Green  consolidated  his  triumph  by  including  both 
songs  on  Cupid  &  Psyche  85,  only  the  second  Scritti 
Politti  album  in  six  years.  Recorded  and  produced  in  the 
main  with  Maher  and  keyboardist  David  Gamson  but 
featuring  numerous  other  musicians,  the  painstakingly 
well-crafted  record  is  unfailingly  pleasant.  Nonetheless, 
only  "The  Word  Girl"  approaches  the  engaging  excel- 
lence of  the  two  singles. 

Three  years  later,  Gartside,  Gamson  and  Maher  fin- 
ished Provision,  another  meticulous  studio  exercise  that 
takes  a  lighthanded  approach  to  bouncy  pop  soul.  Loads 
of  backing  singers  do  their  best  not  to  upstage  Gartside 's 
wispy  voice,  but  the  cushiony  cloak  of  suavely  boring, 
repetitive  material  is  all  it  takes  to  thwart  his  reedy 
efforts.  In  a  brief  break  from  the  album's  numbing  re- 
liance on  electronic  technology,  Miles  Davis  drops  in  to 
contribute  a  thin-sounding  trumpet  solo  to  "Oh  Patti 
(Don't  Feel  Sorry  for  Loverboy)."  The  CD  adds  two 
extra  tracks.  [jw/i] 


SCRUFFY  THE  CAT 

High  Octane  Revival  EP  (Relativity)  1 986 
Tiny  Days  (Relativity)  1 987  • 
Boom  Boom  Boom  Bingo  EP  (Relativity)  1987 
Moons  of  Jupiter  (Relativity)  1 988  • 

This  Boston  combo  plays  good-natured  countryish 
rock  with  a  romantic  streak — sometimes  a  bit  too 
ephemeral  for  its  own  good,  but  always  unpretentiously 
enjoyable.  Frontman  Charlie  Chesterman  sings  the  sur- 
prisingly witty  lyrics  (all  five  Scruffy  s  write)  in  an  ear- 
nestly bemused  drawl,  and  the  band  plays  in  an  amiably 
rollicking — if  not  particularly  individual — style  that's 
well-suited  to  their  modest  musical  goals. 

Both  the  six-song  High  Octane  Revival  (produced 
by  Dave  Minehan  of  the  Neighborhoods)  and  Tiny  Days 
(produced  by  ex- Waitress  Chris  Butler)  are  consistent 
funfests,  with  such  winning  numbers  as  the  former's 
"Tiger,  Tiger"  and  "40  Days  &  40  Nights"  and  the 
latter's  "Shadow  Boy"  and  "My  Fate  Was  Sealed  with 
a  Kiss."  Multi-instrumentalist  Stona  Fitch  left  after 
Tiny  Days,  but  the  loss  isn't  evident  on  the  inconclusive 
Boom  Boom  Boom  Bingo,  two  new  studio  tracks  (in- 
cluding the  wonderful  busted-heart  kiss-off  "You  Dirty 


Rat")  plus  three  live  tunes,  among  them  a  decent  cover 
of  Del  Shannon's  "Runaway." 

Produced  by  Jim  Dickinson,  the  band's  final  album, 
Moons  of  Jupiter,  is  characteristically  well-played  and 
typically  tuneful,  but  with  a  poignant  sense  of  melan- 
choly that  suffuses  even  cheery-sounding  numbers  like 
"Capital  Moonlight,"  "I  Do"  and  "Betty  Drops  In." 
A  bittersweet  farewell. 

Scruffy  the  Cat  did  make  one  more  vinyl  appearance 
with  "Love  Song  #9,"  one  side  of  a  joint  single  with 
the  Young  Fresh  Fellows,  on  the  Cruddy  Record  Deal- 
ership (i.e.,  PopLlama  Products)  label.  [hd] 

SECRET  AFFAIR 

Glory  Boys  (Sire)  1979 
Behind  Closed  Doors  (Sire)  1980 
Business  as  Usual  (nr/l  Spy-Arista)  1 982 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988 

Secret  Affair  were  the  mod  revival's  top  dogs  be- 
cause they  forged  a  distinctive  sound  that  didn't  simply 
pick  up  where  the  Jam  (or  Who)  left  off.  Ian  Page's 
mellifluous  vocals  and  Dave  Cairns'  plangent  guitars 
spearheaded  the  band's  enthusiastic  drive,  hampered 
only  by  occasionally  stiff  drumming;  the  consistently 
above-average  tunes  of  Glory  Boys  get  an  extra  fillip  by 
the  sporadic  addition  of  horns.  What  grates,  though,  is 
the  pushy,  overstated  rhetoric,  especially  in  light  of  the 
would-be  movement's  brief,  faddish  existence. 

The  instrumental  attack  on  Behind  Closed  Doors  is 
tighter  and  the  lyrics — though  still  pretentious — arty  on 
a  more  personal  level.  At  least  half  of  the  songs  are 
excellent.  By  the  time  of  Business  as  Usual,  though, 
the  Affair  was  a  big  fish  in  an  evaporated  neo-mod 
pond.  The  group  could  hardly  maintain  its  self- 
important  image,  and  with  it  went  the  creative  spark. 
The  album,  while  smoother  than  ever  before,  is  as 
journeyman-like  as  its  title  suggests.  [jg] 

SECTOR  27 

See  Tom  Robinson  Band. 


JONATHAN  SEGEL 

See  Camper  Van  Beethoven. 

SELECTER 

Too  Much  Pressure  (Chrysalis)  1 980 
Celebrate  the  Bullet  (Chrysalis)  1981 
Selected  Selector  Selections  (Chrysalis)  1989  <t> 

The  Selector — an  interracial,  multinational  seven- 
piece — emerged  from  the  same  Coventry  scene  that 
gave  birth  to  the  Specials;  founder  Neol  Davis  was  in  on 
the  creation  of  2-Tone,  the  label  which  in  turn  ignited 
the  entire  neo-ska  movement  in  England.  The  com- 
pany's first  release  was  a  Specials  45;  its  flipside  was  an 
instrumental  credited  to  and  entitled  "The  Selecter" 
which  had,  in  fact,  been  recorded  by  Davis  and  Specials 
drummer  John  Bradbury  some  months  earlier.  When  the 
A-side  became  a  hit,  interest  in  the  Selecter  also  grew, 
and  Davis  was  obliged  to  recruit  musicians  and  start  up 
the  group.  With  the  gifted  Pauline  Black  handling  most 
of  the  lead  vocals,  the  Selecter  sounded  like  no  other 


581 


band  in  the  genre;  they  employed  the  same  upbeat 
rhythms,  but  added  a  much  poppier  and  individual 
touch,  much  of  it  due  to  Black's  style  and  influence. 

Too  Much  Pressure  is  bursting  with  great  songs 
like  "On  My  Radio,"  ' Three  Minute  Hero,"  "Time 
Hard"  and  the  title  track.  Davis  wrote  much  of  the 
material,  but  contributions  from  other  sources — within 
and  without  the  lineup — add  further  variety.  As  the 
playing  hops  along,  with  a  horn  section  added  in  spots, 
Pauline  Black,  shining  with  enormous  vocal  talent,  con- 
tinually provides  the  spark. 

Celebrate  the  Bullet  has  little  of  the  first  LP's  bril- 
liance; although  the  performances  don't  lack  anything 
tangible,  the  songwriting  is  vastly  less  inspired  and  none 
of  the  anti-trendy  cleverness  so  vital  to  the  previous 
album's  uniqueness  can  be  discerned.  The  Selecter  dis- 
solved soon  after;  Black  did  several  solo  singles  and 
some  acting. 

Lacking  both  rarities  and  liner  notes,  Selected  Se- 
lecter Selections  contains,  more  or  less,  the  nine  best 
songs  from  the  first  LP  and  the  five  best  from  the  sec- 
ond, [i] 

SEMANTICS 

See  Elliott  Sharp. 

SENDERS 

Seven  Song  Super  Single  (Max's  Kansas  City)  1 980 
Do  the  Sender  Thing  (Midnight)  1 989 

BACKBONES 

The  Backbones  (Midnight)  1986 

Although  the  '70s  Senders  never  broke  out  of  the 
New  York  club  circuit,  the  unreconstructed  rock'n'roll 
quartet  left  behind  the  Seven  Song  Super  Single  as  a 
delightful,  all  too  brief,  memento.  The  rambunctious 
blend  of  originals  and  oldies  (Little  Richard,  Howlin' 
Wolf  et  al.)  disproves  the  conventional  wisdom  that 
classicism  has  to  be  stuffy;  the  energy  level  here  matches 
that  of  the  Ramones  in  their  prime.  Bands  will  continue 
in  R&B  and  rockabilly  no  matter  what  the  wave,  but 
few  will  match  the  verve  of  the  Senders. 

In  the  mid- '80s,  Senders  singer  Philippe  Marcade 
led  the  Backbones,  using  a  saxophone  player  to  spice  up 
rough'n'ready  soul  covers  (Ike  Turner,  Chips  Moman, 
Jerry  Ragovoy)  and  exciting  '60s-styled  rock  originals 
on  the  powerpacked  album,  which  captures  the  music's 
feel  as  well  as  its  sound. 

A  few  years  later,  the  Senders— three  old  members 
plus  a  new  bassist — reconvened.  Recorded  live  at 
CBGB  in  August  1988,  Do  the  Sender  Thing  is  a  tight, 
driving  rock'n'roll/blues  record  (kudos  to  guitarist  Wild 
Bill  Thompson)  in  the  Dr.  Feelgood/Little  Bob  Story 
vein.  Only  problem:  the  performances  are  much  hotter 
than  the  sound.  [jy/i] 

WILL  SERGEANT 

See  Echo  &  the  Bunnymen. 

SERVICE 

Zebu  EP(Pravda)  1985 

America's  Newest  Hitmakers  (Pravda)  1986 


George's  Duty-Free  Goulash  (Pravda)  1987 
In  Nonsense  Is  Strength  (Pravda)  1988 
Head  vs  Wall  (Pravda)  1 990  • 

NEW 

Hanky  Panky  Parley  Voo!  (Pravda)  1 990  $ 

Chicago's  Service  made  its  longplaying  vinyl 
debut— following  a  couple  of  cassette-only  releases  and 
a  four-song  EP — as  a  guitar'n'keyboards  quintet  (guests 
add  sax,  trombone,  tuba  and  fiddle),  armed  with  wry 
material  about  such  topics  as  sobriety  ("Straight  Song") 
and  marriage  ("Ring  Gets  Tighter"),  all  skillfully  de- 
livered in  modest  pop-rock-country  arrangements 
topped  off  by  David  Briggs'  sardonic  voice. 

The  blue-vinyl  George's  Duty-Free  Goulash,  re- 
leased in  a  clear  plastic  cover  with  a  "Basic  Side"  and 
a  "Bonus  Side,"  is  rushed  in  tempo  and  semi-punky  in 
tone.  Indicative  of  the  Service's  open-ended  stylistic 
view,  "Defeated"  runs  together  a  new  wavey  melody, 
skating  rink  organ  and  the  lonesome  wail  of  harmonica; 
"You'll  Come  Back,"  however,  is  swanky  cocktail  pi- 
ano jazz.  Somehow,  the  strong  melodies  and  textures 
hold  it  all  together. 

Several  Servicemen  stayed  home  when  the  group 
began  work  on  its  next  album.  The  excellent  In  Non- 
sense Is  Strength  finds  the  group  reduced  to  a  quartet, 
with  guitarist/songwriter  Rick  Mosher  and  keyboardist 
Kenn  Goodman  (proprietor  of  the  Pravda  label)  sharing 
the  vocals.  The  resulting  album  of  passionate  post- 
garagepunk  (plus  organ  and  tuba)  has  great  material  and 
dynamic  performances  that  pour  on  the  electric  energy 
but  never  get  out  of  control.  At  times  ("If  You  Will,  I 
Will")  resembling  the  Replacements,  elsewhere 
("Honesty  Defends")  following  an  unselfconscious 
'60s  path,  Nonsense  is  anything  but.  (The  cassette  con- 
tains a  bonus  track.) 

Recorded  during  another  lineup  change,  the  lighter- 
sounding  Head  vs  Wall  features  no  less  than  four  sep- 
arate bassists  (the  former,  the  future  and  two  fill-ins) 
and  Mosher' s  Westerbergian  melodies.  Besides  the  se- 
rious pop/rock  goods,  Head  vs  Wall  features  a  remake 
of  "El  Amigo"  (from  George's  Duty  Free  Goulash) 
and  a  '70s-styled  hard-rocker  entitled  "Hogfat"  ("be- 
cause it  sounds  like  Foghat,  that's  why"). 

With  the  Service  dropping  humor  from  its  standard 
repertoire,  the  task  of  acting  stupid  falls  to  the  band's 
entertaining  three-man  alter-ego,  the  New  Duncan  Im- 
perials. Using  a  mixture  of  rudimentary  country  rock, 
simplified  Cheap  Trick  and  similar  energetic  guitar  ve- 
hicles, the  rambunctious  23-song  Hanky  Panky  Parley 
Voo!  offers  cheap  jokes  ("I'm  Schizophrenic  (No  I'm 
Not),"  "Bom  to  Be  Hit"),  scattershot  satire  ("Jimi 
Page  Loves  Country"),  covers  of  Buck  Owens,  Hank 
Williams  and  Hasil  Adkins,  trashy  romance  ("6-Pack 
of  Love")  and  celebrations  of  essential  products 
("Jagermeister"  and  "Velour!"),  As  serious  as  a  warm 
seltzer  bottle,  but  a  whole  lot  safer  for  the  stereo,  [i] 

BRIAN  SETZER 

See  Stray  Cats. 

SEVEN  SIMONS 

Clockwork  (Dog  Gone)  1988 


582 


Gently  defying  the  predictability  of  jangle-pop  quar- 
tets from  Georgia,  Athens*  Seven  Simons  (who  lost  an 
early  drummer  to  Drivin'  n'  Crym')  have  enough  orig- 
inal ideas  about  guitar  texture,  melody,  vocal  sty  lings 
and  drumming  to  lift  Clockwork  well  above  the  ranks 
of  genredom,  lacking  only  the  sense  of  mystery  that 
might  ensure  high  scene  credibility.  From  decisive  tom- 
tom power  to  a  modest  backbeat,  Mike  Zwecker  kicks 
the  beat  with  subtle  variety;  guitarist/songwriter  Keith 
Joyner  likewise  shifts  from  near-gothic  pinging  density 
to  simple  folk-rock  strums.  With  the  added  benefits  of 
Nat  Webb's  engaging  vocals,  the  open-faced  Clock- 
work is  just  like  every  other  New  South  debut  album — 
only  better.  [i] 


17  PYGMIES 

See  Savage  Republic. 


SEVERED  HEADS 

Blubberknife  [tape]  (Aus.  Terse  Tapes)  1983 

Since  the  Accident  (nr/lnk)  1 983  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 989  ® 

Dead  Eyes  Opened  EP  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1985  (Nettwerk) 

1990* 
City  Slab  Horror  (nr/lnk)  1985  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1989 

(Nettwerk)  1990* 
Clifford  Darling,  Please  Don't  Live  in  the  Past  (nr/lnk) 

1985* 
Come  Visit  the  Big  Bigot  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 986  (Nettwerk) 

1990* 

Bad  Mood  Guy  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1987  * 
Bulkhead  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1988  (Nettwerk)  1990  « 
Rotund  for  Success  (Nettwerk)  1 989  • 

This  cheerfully  obscure  Australian  chaos  group  ma- 
nipulates tapes,  found  sounds  and  assorted  electronic 
gear — essentially  any  audio  source  that  isn't  quite  a  tra- 
ditional musical  implement — to  squeak  and  plunk  out 
synthetically  rhythmatized  fogs  of  craziness.  Not  really 
a  noise  machine,  Severed  Heads  generally  stays  on  the 
safe  side  of  unpleasant,  but  sometimes  sacrifices  acces- 
sibility in  a  jumble  of  competing  sounds. 

Starting  out  on  their  own  Terse  Tapes  label  in  1980, 
Severed  Heads — at  the  time  Garry  Bradbury,  Paul  Von 
Deering  and  Tom  Ellard,  collectively  credited  with  tape 
recorders,  drum  programming,  sequencers,  turntables, 
televisions,  etc.,  plus  a  guitar  player  and  sporadic  guest 
vocals — hooked  up  with  England's  Ink  Records  and 
made  its  longplaying  European  debut  with  Since  the 
Accident,  an  alternately  entertaining  and  irritating  ex- 
perimental patchwork  of  kitchen-sink  sonics  that  occa- 
sionally reveals  a  strong  Eno  influence.  City  Slab 
Horror  is  more  accomplished  and  conceptually  conven- 
tional ("4.W.D."  is  dissonant  electro-pop  with  a  proper 
melody  and  lyrics),  although  the  audio  ingredients  mat 
layer  songs  like  the  onomatopoeic  "Spitoon  Thud"  and 
the  maddening  "Bladders  of  One  Thousand  Bedouin" 
are  still  drawn  from  a  uniquely  bizarre  world.  Belatedly 
released  on  individual  CDs,  Since  the  Accident  and 
City  Slab  Horror  comprise  a  retrospective  set  that  div- 
vies up  the  tracks  from  Blubberknife,  an  intermittently 
worthwhile  but  more  often  underwhelming  exploratory 
effort  that  uses  synthesizers  and  spoken-word  vocals. 


Clifford  Darling  is  a  double  album  of  early  outtakes, 
dating  from  1979  to  1983. 

The  Dead  Eyes  Opened  EP  consists  of  remixes  of 
the  title  track  (a  1983  UK  single),  "Petrol"  (a  1985 
single)  and  "We  Have  Come  to  Bless  This  House," 
along  with  two  new  songs.  (All  five  tracks  later  ap- 
peared as  bonuses  on  the  Big  Bigot  CD.) 

Come  Visit  the  Big  Bigot  reveals  development  of  a 
strong  and  cogent  (treated)  vocal  electro-pop  sensibility 
amid  more  familiar  hubbub  that  might  have  been  created 
by  Martians  armed  only  with  Eno's  Here  Come  the 
Warm  Jets  and  Orchestral  Manoeuvres'  first  LP  for 
templates.  At  the  record's  high  point — "Phantasized 
Persecutory  Breast" — the  Heads  (Ellard,  videosynthe- 
sist  (?)  Stephen  Jones,  drum/computer  programmer 
Obereta  Kvojin  and  Topsy  Ke-Evil,  credited  with  "choir 
control")  build  an  oddly  shaped  sound  castle  of  con- 
flicting rhythms,  left-field  effects,  amusingly  treated  vo- 
cals and  crisply  pinging  sequencers.  Stimulating  if  you 
don't  get  too  involved. 

Bad  Mood  Guy  continues  to  reduce  the  polyphasia, 
centering  the  tracks  with  stable  tempos  and  reasonably 
sturdy  song  structures,  keeping  the  distracting  gimmicks 
back  in  the  mix  until  needed.  Something  like  lightweight 
Cabaret  Voltaire  or  a  hyperactive  DJ  collective  spinning 
five  records  simultaneously,  this  Severed  Heads  outing 
draws  within  spitting  distance  of  conventional  music. 

Bulkhead  is  a  handy  ten-song  compilation:  tracks 
from  the  four  preceding  albums  plus  a  few  non-LP  cuts. 
The  American  CD  adds  a  remix  of  "Greater  Reward," 
a  1988  single  (subsequently  included  on  Rotund  for 
Success)  that  opens  the  collection. 

Reduced  to  a  duo  of  Ellard  and  Jones  but  bolstered 
by  sampling  technology,  Severed  Heads  jettisoned  will- 
ful weirdness  and  moved  into  politely  presentable  synth- 
dance-rock  on  Rotund  for  Success,  an  unnervingly 
plain-sounding  and  faintly  dated  record  that  could  al- 
most be  by  Blancmange.  Ellard' s  lyrical  sensibility  is 
typically  off-kilter  and  flashes  of  a  twisted  mind  do  erupt 
now  and  again  in  the  mix,  but  the  diminution  of  musical 
disturbance  and  the  elimination  of  the  band's  creative 
challenge  is  most  disturbing.  [i] 


SEX  CLARK  FIVE 

Strum  &  Drum!  (Records  to  Russia)  1987 
Battle  of  Sex  Clark  Five  (Blood money)  ]  989  • 
Ketchup  If  You  Can  EP  (Records  to  Russia)  1 991 

Natives  of  a  state  not  widely  known  for  its  post-punk 
underground,  Huntsville,  Alabama's  Sex  Clark  Five 
probably  get  a  lot  of  suspicious  questions  about  their 
name  which,  of  course,  has  nothing  whatsoever  to  do 
with  the  collegiate  quartet's  deft  music:  light,  faintly 
Celtic  folk-pop  with  literate,  sometimes  political  (and 
not  sexual  politics,  either)  lyrics  and  serviceabiy  artless 
vocals  by  guitarist/songwriter  James  Butler  and  bassist 
Joy  Johnson.  Despite  some  halfbaked  material,  weak 
drumming  and  the  everpresent  danger  of  earnestness 
about  to  turn  precious,  Battle  is  full  of  likable,  eco- 
nomical ditties  like  "Girl  I  Like,"  "Liberate  Tibet" 
and  the  succinctly  self-explanatory '  'Ballad  of  Sex  Clark 
Five." 

The  7-inch  EP  (on  red  vinyl)  has  four  new  songs 


583 


that — with  the  chaotic  title  track's  exception — neatly 
fall  into  the  Windbreakers'  realm  of  deep  Southern  pop. 

[i] 


SEX  GANG  CHILDREN 

Naked  [tape]  (nr/Sex)  1982 

Beasts  EP  (nr/l!luminated)  1982 

Sebastiane  EP  (nr/llluminated)  1 983 

Song  and  Legend  (nr/llluminated)  1983  (nr/Dojo) 

1986® 

Beasts  (nr/llluminated)  1983  {nr/Dojo)  1986 
Sex  Gang  Children  (nr/Sex)  1983  (nr/Arkham 

House-Jungle)  1987 

Ecstasy  and  Vendetta  Over  New  York  [tape]  (RO1R)  1 984 
Re-enter  the  Abyss  (The  1 985  Remixes)  (nr/Dojo)  1 985  * 
Nightland  (Performance  USA  83)  (nr/Arkham 

House-Jungle)  1986 

ANDI  SEX-GANG 

Ida-ho  EP  (nr/llluminated)  1985 
Blind!  (nr/llluminated)  1985 
Arco  Valley  (nr/Jungle)  1989  • 

DIRTY  ROSEANNE 

Dirty  Roseanne  EP  (It.  D.EA)  1 986 

London's  fervent  Sex  Gang  Children  were  all  the 
rage  of  the  English  underground  in  1982-' 83,  spear- 
heading the  positive-punk  movement  which  mixed  the 
raw  energy  and  commitment  of  punk  rock  with  the  dark 
theatrics  of  goth.  Sex  Gang's  individual  parts  resemble 
a  melange  of  the  Banshees,  T.  Rex,  Bowie,  UK  Decay, 
Sex  Pistols  and  Adam  and  the  Ants,  yet  the  whole  really 
resembles  none  of  the  above.  Dave  Roberts'  droning, 
spiny  bass  work  is  the  music's  dominant  feature  of  the 
music  (practically  a  lead  instrument),  battling  with  Andi 
Sex-Gang's  androgynous,  high-pitched  vocals,  Terry 
Macleay's  scratchy/chiming  guitar  overlays  and  Rob 
Stroud's  tribal  drum  patterns.  Like  many  enthralling 
substances,  their  music — with  its  breathtaking  shifts  in 
tempo  and  mood — can  be  hard  to  digest  at  first,  but 
there's  addiction  in  its  opulent  din. 

The  Beasts  EP,  weakly  produced  by  UK  Subs  gui- 
tarist Nicky  Garratt,  still  manages  to  engrave  the  band's 
doomy  energy  on  wax  through  such  anthems  as  "Sense 
of  Elation"  and  "Cannibal  Queen."  The  LP  of  the  same 
name  is  a  compilation,  adding  several  later  singles, 
B-sides  (including  the  entire  Sebastiane  EP)  and  dub 
mixes. 

Song  and  Legend  is  a  landmark  in  gothic/post- 
punk,  holding  forth  with  an  unequalled  baroque  fury. 
While  the  title  epic  and  "Shout  and  Scream"  epitomize 
the  band's  out-of-the-galaxy  song  structures,  "Sebas- 
tiane" *s  swooping  strings  flirt  with  classical  motifs  and 
the  tom-tom  mantra  "Draconian  Dream"  has  the  aura  of 
ancient  folk  musics.  Andi's  unique  lyrics  jumble  up 
obscure  historical  references,  political  anomie,  sexual/ 
religious  imagery  and  more.  Producer  Tony  James 
smothers  everything  (especially  a  remake  of  "Cannibal 
Queen")  in  tons  of  echo,  giving  the  album  a  haunting, 
catacomb  sheen.  (James  also  explored  the  band's  taste 
for  dub,  creating  spacey  B-side  remixes  and  ambient/ 
experimental  flotsam  used  as  segues  and  codas.) 

Sex  Gang  Children's  well-deserved  rep  as  a  killer 
live  band  spurred  the  release  of  numerous  live  albums 


and  tapes.  Naked  is  one  rare  cassette  worth  searching 
out.  Though  the  sound  quality  is  mediocre,  the  buzzed 
performance  is  from  the  band's  very  early  pre-Beasts 
days,  and  two  otherwise-unreleased  tracks  ("Soldier" 
and  "People  with  Duty  Faces")  are  well  worth  a  listen. 
The  eponymous  live  album,  also  released  on  the  band's 
label,  is  a  slightly  muddy  set  recorded  at  London's  Ly- 
ceum (plus  several  tracks  from  a  gig  in  Glasgow)  during 
a  spring  '83  tour. 

Ecstasy  and  Vendetta  over  New  York,  a  cassette 
recorded  at  the  Peppermint  Lounge  in  December  '83, 
documents  the  Sex  Gang's  overture  to  America.  The 
sound  is  loud  and  crisp,  capturing  the  regal  excitement 
of  the  group  at  their  musical  and  popular  peak.  Night- 
land  is  also  from  the  same  tour  (though  not  the  same 
gigs).  The  two  albums  are  fairly  interchangeable,  with 
the  cassette  offering  more  songs  and  better  audio  qual- 
ity. Both  boast  terrific  performances  of  Edith  Piaf's 
"Les  Arnants  d'un  Jour,"  the  haunting  single,  "Mau- 
ritia  Mayer,"  and  three  new  tunes,  not  to  mention  ac- 
robatic drum  work  by  Raymondo,  late  of  the  Death 
Cult.  (The  two  bands  had  swapped  drummers.) 

Dave  Roberts  left  shortly  thereafter  (later  perform- 
ing with  Christian  Death  and  recording  as  Car  Crash 
International),  replaced  by  the  even  more  talented  Cam 
Campbell.  Subsequent  record  releases  used  Andi's 
name,  with  the  band  credited  as  the  Quick  Gas  Gang. 
Their  first  issue  was  a  studio  45  of  "Les  Amants," 
followed  by  an  album.  Blind!  is  the  most  fully  realized 
Sex  Gang  work,  dominated  by  Campbell's  gliding,  in- 
tricate bass  lines  and  Andi's  heightened  sense  of  ornate 
melody.  From  excellent  studio  versions  of  songs  debuted 
on  Ecstasy  through  the  funky  burlesque  of  "Ida-Ho" 
and  two  touching  ballads  ("Last  Chants  for  the  Slow 
Dance"  and  a  rendition  of  the  Poison  Girls'  "I've  Done 
It  All  Before"),  Blind!  is  brilliant,  lushly  layered  and 
grandiose.  Highly  recommended. 

The  Quick  Gas  Gang  soon  evaporated,  leaving  Andi 
in  limbo.  Re-Enter  the  Abyss,  a  shoddy  piece  of  hack 
work,  didn't  help  matters.  A  selection  of  the  Sex  Gang's 
best  material  is  subjected  to  totally  unnecessary — and 
for  the  most  part,  ludicrously  out  of  balance — remixes. 
Skip  it. 

A  holiday  in  Italy  spawned  Dirty  Roseanne;  the 
four-song  EP  finds  Andi  and  keyboardist  Piero  Ballegi 
experimenting  with  more  offbeat  styles,  from  classic 
Elton  John/Marc  Bolan-style  British  pop  with  soul 
strings  on  "Search  Your  Soul"  to  the  deft  balladry  of 
"Nebulous  Canaan."  In  1987  Andi  issued  a  three-song 
EP  ("The  Naked  &  the  Dead")  from  the  soundtrack  to 
'85  horror  flick  Phenomena  (released  in  America  as 
Creepers,  minus  the  Andi  tracks). 

Andi's  impressive  comeback,  Arco  Valley,  was 
produced  by  onetime  guitar  hero  Mick  Ronson  (who 
also  plays  on  it).  Even  if  he  hasn't  messed  with  makeup 
in  fifteen  years,  the  former  Spider  from  Mars  adds  (at 
least  spiritually)  to  the  glam  feel  that  pervades  this  di- 
verse album.  The  bopping  numbers  that  sound  uncan- 
nily like  prime  T.  Rex  ("7  Ways  to  Kill  a  Man")  are 
loads  of  fiin.  While  some  of  the  attempts  at  dance-pop 
("Rock  Revolution")  are  too  cloying,  measured,  me- 
lodic creations  ("Belgique  Blue")  in  the  Blind!  mold 
are  to  be  savored.  And  what  would  a  Sexgang  album  be 
without  another  version  of  "Les  Amants ' '  ?  [gef ] 


584 


SEX 

Spunk  (nr/Blank)  1977 

Never  Mind  the  Boliocb,  Here's  the  Sex  Pistols  (Warner 

Bros.)  1977® 

The  Great  Rock'n'RoSi  Swindle  (nr/Virgin)  1 979  © 
Some  Product  Cam'  On  (nr/Virgin)  1979 
Flogging  a  Dead  Horse  (nr/Virgin)  1980  • 
The  Heyday  [tape]  (nr/Factory)  1 980 
The  Mini  Album  EP  (or/Chaos)  1 985  (Restless)  1 988  • 
The  Original  Pistols  Live  (nr/Receiver)  1 985  • 
Live  Worldwide  (nr/Konexion)  1985 
Best  of  the  Sex  Pistols  Live  (nr/Bondage)  1 985 
Anarchy  in  the  UK  Live  (nr/UK)  1 985 
Where  Were  You  in  77  (nr/77)  1 985 
Power  of  the  Pistols  (nr/77)  1 985 
We  Have  Cum  for  Your  Children  (Wanted:  The  Goodman 

Tapes)  (Skyclad)  1988® 
Better  Live  Than  Dead  (Restless)  1 988  • 
The  Swindle  Continues  (Restless)  1 988  • 
Anarchy  Worldwide  (nr/Specific)  1988  • 
Cash  for  Chaos  EP  (nr/Specific)  1988  • 
Pirates  of  Destiny  (I  Swirled)  1989  • 
The  Mini  Album  Plus  [CD]  (nr/Chaos)  1 989  ® 
Live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1989  • 
No  Future  U.K?  (nr/Receiver)  1 989  • 
Live  at  Chelmsford  Top  Security  Prison  (Restless)  1 990  ® 

THE 
YORK 

After  the  Storm  (nr/Receiver)  1985  • 

SID  VICIOUS 

Sid  Sings  (nr/Virgin)  1979® 

Love  Kills  NYC  (nr/Konexion)  1 985 

Although  their  importance — both  to  the  direction  of 
contemporary  music  and  more  generally  to  pop 
culture — can  hardly  be  overstated,  the  Sex  Pistols  did 
not  make  their  stand  primarily  on  albums.  In  fact,  the 
massive  discography  notwithstanding,  the  Pistols  made 
only  one  actual  studio  album  during  their  fourteen- 
month  existence  (November  1976  to  January  1978).  In 
a  textbook  McLuhanesque  example  of  the  media  being 
the  message,  the  quartet's  impact  did  not  result  from 
vast  commercial  success;  against  the  general  rock  tide, 
most  of  their  revolutionary  work  was  released  on  7-inch 
singles. 

Fulfilling  an  essential  and  immaculate  role  as  mar- 
tyrs on  the  new  wave  altar  by  logically  self-destructing 
(and  politely  waiting  until  no  one  was  paying  much 
attention  before  descending  into  typical  wasted  rock- 
stardom)  rather  than  falling  prey  to  standard  rock'n'roll 
conventions,  the  Pistols  and  manager/provocateur  Mal- 
colm McLaren  challenged  every  aspect  and  precept  of 
modern  music-making,  thereby  inspiring  countless 
groups  to  follow  their  cue  onto  stages  around  the  world. 
A  confrontational,  nihilistic  public  image  and  rabidly 
nihilistic  socio-poiit'ual  lyrics  set  the  tone  that  continues 
to  guide  punk  bands.  On  top  of  everything,  the  Pistols 
made  totally  unassailable  and  essential  electric  music 
that  has  stood  the  test  of  time,  and  sounds  just  as  excit- 
ing and  powerful  today  as  it  did  way  back  when. 

Populated  by  such  classics  as  "Anarchy  in  the  UK," 
4 'God  Save  the  Queen,"  "Pretty  Vacant"  and  "No 
Feelings,"  Never  Mind  the  Bollocks,  Here's  the  Sex 
Pistols  is  an  epiphany.  Prototypical  punk  without  com- 


promise, it  includes  almost  everything  you  need  to  hear 
by  the  Sex  Pistols.  Oddly,  at  the  time  of  its  release,  the 
LP  was  a  disappointment  in  light  of  sky-high  expecta- 
tions. Four  of  the  tracks  had  already  been  released  as 
singles;  many  others  had  circulated  on  well-known 
album-in-progress  bootlegs,  like  Spunk.  Now,  of 
course,  as  the  best  recorded  evidence  of  the  Pistols' 
existence,  it  almost  defies  criticism.  Paul  Cook,  Steve 
Jones,  Johnny  Rotten  (Lydon)  and  Sid  Vicious  (plus 
Glen  Matlock,  the  original  musical  architect  and  song- 
writer, who  was  sacked  early  on,  allegedly  for  liking  the 
Beatles)  combined  to  produce  a  unique  moment  in  rock 
history  and  Bollocks  is  the  evidence.  (The  American 
release  adds  "Sub-Mission,"  changes  the  track  se- 
quence and  alters  the  artwork;  the  1985  British  CD  also 
contains  the  extra  track. ) 

The  Great  Rock'n'RolI  Swindle,  the  soundtrack  to 
the  band's  amazing  bio-pic  posthumously  banged  to- 
gether into  semi-coherent  form  by  Julien  Temple  from  a 
number  of  aborted  film  projects,  exists  in  three  forms:  a 
one-disc  album  of  highlights  and  two  slightly  different 
full-length  two-record  collections.  In  any  case,  it's  a 
semi-connected  batch  of  songs  by  various  bands  (not 
just  the  Pistols)  that's  just  full  of  surprises,  fun  and 
strange  goings-on.  There  are  regular  Pistols  tracks — 
some  with  vocals  by  Sid,  Steve  Jones  and  Eddie  Tudor- 
pole  taking  the  departed  and  uncooperative  Rotten' s 
place — as  well  as  live  performances,  studio  outtakes, 
symphonic  renditions,  a  surprisingly  great  disco  med- 
ley, McLaren's  first  vocal  foray  and  much  more.  A  bit 
lighthearted  (and  lightheaded),  but  with  loads  of  sharp 
music.  The  single-record  extract  has  most  of  the  prime 
material,  but  either  full  dose  is  highly  recommended. 
(The  CD  contains  the  whole  shebang.) 

Some  Product  Carri  On  is  for  diehards  only,  scrap- 
ing the  barrel  for  radio  interviews  and  commercials — 
audio  verite*  for  idiots  whose  interest  in  the  Pistols  has 
more  to  do  with  sociopathic  fascination  than  pop  cul- 
ture. However  gratuitous  and  unnecessary  as  it  may  be, 
the  album  shows  careful  assembly  and  is  wickedly  funny 
in  spots — good  for  one  embarrassing  listen  then  straight 
into  the  trash  compactor. 

While  Some  Product  is  completely  expendable, 
Flogging  a  Dead  Horse — wretched  back-cover  scatol- 
ogy  aside — provides  the  commendable  service  of  com- 
piling seven  ace  45s  (both  sides  of  each)  into  one  handy 
Pistols  primer.  From  "Anarchy  in  the  UK"  to  "The 
Great  Rock'n'RolI  Swindle,"  all  of  their  greatest  mo- 
ments are  delivered.  If  you  don't  have  a  complete  set, 
this  record  catches  you  right  up;  for  newcomers,  the  LP 
is  a  must-have.  The  Heyday  is  a  cassette-only  collec- 
tion of  interviews  with  Lydon,  Cook,  Jones  and  Vi- 
cious. 

In  1985,  a  flood  of  new  Sex  Pistols  records — legal, 
dubious  and  plainly  unauthorized — began  appearing. 
The  Mini  Album  (issued  in  the  US  three  years  later  and 
then  expanded  in  the  UK  and  re-released  as  the  CD-only 
Mini  Album  Plus)  consists  of  a  half-dozen  early  album 
outtakes  (July  '76,  with  Matlock),  probably  from  the 
same  studio  supply  as  those  issued  on  Spunk.  The 
Original  Pistols  Live,  with  liner  notes  by  producer 
Dave  Goodman,  records  a  1976  gig  with  moderate  fi- 
delity and  a  lively  mix.  Live  Worldwide  is  a  compen- 
dium of  a  dozen  cuts  from  various  shows.  Cash  for 


585 


Chaos  and  Anarchy  Worldwide  are  mixtures  of  live 
takes  and  studio  outtakes.  The  Pistols'  side  of  After  the 
Storm  contains  four  muddy  live  cuts — "Anarchy," 
"Pretty  Vacant,"  "Liar"  and  "New  York" — from  a 
'76  gig  at  Burton-upon-Trent. 

For  those  interested  in  bootleg-quality  concert  ma- 
terial from  unspecified  shows,  Live  and  Loud!!  repro- 
duces almost  the  entire  first  album  (although  it  omits 
"Sub-Mission"  and  "Liar"  and  includes  "I  Wanna  Be 
Me"  and  "Belsen  Was  a  Gas")  in  what  sounds  like  a 
surprisingly  cogent  and  well-played  single  show.  (The 
CD  adds  a  bonus  track.) 

The  low-fi/high-energy  Better  Live  Than  Dead 
documents  another  pre-Sid  concert  with  selections  from 
the  Pistols'  non-original  repertoire — "Substitute," 
"Stepping  Stone,"  "No  Fun" — alongside  their  own 
classics.  Fascinating  and  reasonably  well-mastered,  We 
Have  Cum  for  Your  Children  is  a  motley  but  mean- 
ingful packet  of  oddities  and  endities:  the  notorious 
"Filth  and  the  Fury"  Bill  Grundy  television  interview 
(1  December  1976),  radio  spots,  live  and  for-broadcast 
recordings  and  an  intriguing  assortment  of  studio  re- 
hearsals and  outtakes.  Although  it  contains  "Pretty  Va- 
cant," "Submission,"  "EMI"  (mistitled,  perhaps 
intentionally,  "Unlimited  Supply")  in  versions  that  are, 
or  at  least  closely  resemble,  the  ones  on  Spunk,  the 
LP's  main  value  lies  in  clear  recordings  of  the  otherwise 
unissued  "Suburban  Kid"  (just  a  variation  on  "Satel- 
lite," the  B-side  of  "Holidays  in  the  Sun"),  "Revolu- 
tion in  the  Classroom"  (with  vocals  that  sound  more 
like  a  bad  imitation  of  Rotten  than  the  real  thing)  and 
Cook'n' Jones'  "Here  We  Go  Again." 

Jointly  billed  to  the  Sex  Pistols  and  Ex-Pistols,  The 
Swindle  Continues  is  a  similar  (and  overlapping)  stu- 
dio compilation  with  a  side  of  first-album  rehearsals, 
demos  and  outtakes  (with  one  actual  B-side,  "No  Fun," 
stuck  in  as  a  ringer)  and  a  side  of  post-split  items,  mostly 
by  Cook  and  Jones.  There's  the  fabulous  "Silly  Thing" 
(a  '79  Pistols  B-side  with  Jones  doing  lead  vocals),  an 
absurd  acoustic  version  of  "Anarchy  in  the  UK"  from 
a  French  single,  a  hysterical  disco-mix  medley-of-hits 
called  "Sex  on  45"  and  much  less.  The  sound  is  a  shade 
below  good  and  the  total  lack  of  credits  an  annoyance, 
but  the  LP  title  precludes  any  such  carping.  Ever  had  the 
feeling  you've  been  conned? 

An  entertaining  soundtrack  to  a  nonexistent  scrap- 
book,  the  haphazardly  edited  Pirates  of  Destiny  jumps 
from  interview  bites  to  live  Sid-era  tracks  and  studio 
outtakes  (but  who  really  cares  about  an  unused  backing 
track  for  "Pretty  Vacant"?),  with  an  Australian  LP  ad, 
the  otherwise  unissued  "Schools  Are  Prisons"  (a  dif- 
ferent song  from  "Revolution  in  the  Classroom,"  with 
a  truly  Rotten  vocal)  and  a  classic  pox-on-punk  speech 
by  a  London  government  official  for  good  measure. 
Most  of  Side  Two  is  given  over  to  "alternate  mixes"  of 
Swindle's  live-in-the-studio  covers  ("Substitute," 
"Roadrunner,  "Whatcha'  Gonna  Do  About  It?,"  etc.) 
that  sound  like  they  were  recorded  on  a  cheap  cassette 
machine  during  a  rehearsal. 

No  Future  U.K?  ("released  with  kind  permission 
of  Glen  Matlock,  Steve  Jones  and  Paul  Cook")  consists 
of  late-'76  demos  and  outtakes  of  the  Pistols'  original 
repertoire:  most  of  Bollocks  and  the  preceding  singles. 
The  sound  quality  is  better  than  the  slow,  rudimentary 
performances,  few  of  which  have  the  electric  juice  the 


songs  ultimately  received.  "No  Feelings"  is  striking,  as 
are  one  of  the  two  renditions  of  "Anarchy"  (the  other  is 
appallingly  weak),  "No  Fun"  and  a  take  on  "Liar"  that 
sounds  more  like  Generation  X. 

Had  Matlock' s  1990  autobiography,  /  Was  a  Teen- 
age Sex  Pistol,  not  confirmed  the  fact  that  the  Pistols  did 
indeed  play  a  1976  prison  gig,  few  would  have  believed 
that  Live  at  the  Chelmsford  Top  Security  Prison 
wasn't  just  a  sensationalist  fraud.  Indeed,  the  crowd 
noises  are  obviously  fake.  Adding  to  the  album's  sus- 
pect nature,  "producer"  Dave  Goodman's  liner  note 
recollection  of  the  gig  mentions  that  the  band  opened 
with  "Anarchy" — but  the  song  appears  next  to  last  on 
the  record.  Regardless  of  its  source(s),  the  album — a 
rare  coincidence  of  great  playing  and  pretty  clear  sound 
(save  for  Rotten's  singing,  which  comes  and  goes  in  the 
mix) — is  one  of  the  better  post-Pistols  items  to  surface 

Sid's  post-Pistols  album  is  a  classic  piece  of  campy 
horribleness,  a  miserable-sounding  live  record  of  one  of 
his  New  York  rent-party  gigs.  The  doomed  bassist  teams 
here  with  ex-Doll  Jerry  Nolan's  band,  the  Idols,  for  a 
pathetic  performance  of  punk  standards  that's  depress- 
ing and  morbid.  Love  Kills  NYC  is  a  similar  record, 
issued  during  the  Pistols  unexpected  vinyl  onslaught. 
There  have  been  others.  [i] 

See  also  Chequered  Past,  Chiefs  of  Relief,  Steve 
Jones,  Malcolm  McLaren,  Public  Image  Ltd.,  Profes- 
sionals, Rich  Kids. 

S'EXPRESS 

Original  Soundtrack  (Rhythm  King-Capitol)  1989  ® 
Intercourse  (Sire)  1 991  $ 

Trained  neither  as  a  musician  or  producer,  Mark 
Moore  was  instead  a  young  DJ  deeply  involved  in  Brit- 
ain's dance  scene.  In  the  spring  of  1988,  his  aggres- 
sively erotic  British  No.  1  hit  "Theme  from  S'Express," 
along  with  debut  hits  by  Bomb  the  Bass  and  Coldcut, 
opened  the  doors  for  a  whole  legion  of  young  DJs  to  not 
just  play,  but  provide,  the  music  for  the  forthcoming 
acid  house  explosion. 

Much  of  Original  Soundtrack — a  remarkably  self- 
assured  debut — harks  back  to  '70s  disco,  as  titles  like 
"Superfly  Guy"  and  "Pimps,  Pushers,  Prostitutes" 
would  indicate.  It  could  be  argued  that  S'Express  has 
little  relevance  to  the  history  of  rock'n'roll,  but  it  can't 
be  denied  that  the  group  played  a  major  role  in  diverting 
a  nation's  youth  away  from  guitar-driven  songs  and  to- 
wards beat-heavy  dance  collages.  [tf] 

LAKIM  SHABAZZ 

Pure  Righteousness  (Tuff  City)  1 988 

The  Lost  Tribe  of  Shabazz  (Tuff  City)  1 990  « 

Despite  his  extreme  Five-Percent  Nation  (of  Islam) 
militancy,  this  dynamic  young  Afrocentrist — ably  pro- 
duced by  DJ  Mark  the  45  King  (Queen  Latifah,  etc.  }— 
takes  surprisingly  little  advantage  of  his  first  vinyl 
platform,  spending  nearly  the  entire  record  on  crisply 
delivered  but  politically  insignificant  boasts  and  mes- 
sages about  the  importance  of  knowledge.  The  Newark, 
New  Jersey  native  does  drop  a  little  obscure  racial  sci- 
ence here  and  there,  praising  Allah  and  namechecking 
Minister  Farrakhan,  but  the  album  is  hardly  likely  to 
send  moderates  running  for  the  hills. 


586 


On  the  other  hand,  The  Lost  Tribe  is  largely  given 
over  to  critical  analyses  of  African-American  oppres- 
sion and  discourses  on  Five-Percent  history  and  reli- 
gious theory.  Ignoring  the  ethical  contradictions  in  such 
tracks  as  the  rational  "Need  Some  Lovin'  "  and  the 
violently  uncharitable  "When  You  See  a  Devil  Smash 
Him,"  Shabazz  —  author  of  a  most  untypical  rap  to 
"Ladies"  —  seems  like  a  serious  young  professor  who 
hasn't  quite  mastered  his  lessons  [i] 

SHAGGS 

Philosophy  of  the  World  (Third  World)  T  969  (Red 

Rooster-Rounder)  1  980  ® 
Shaggs'Own  Thing  (Red  Rooster-Rounder)  1982 

There's  always  room  for  dada  in  rock,  and  New 
Hampshire's  three  Wiggins  sisters  virtually  define  in- 
genuous amateurism  on  their  first  album,  a  home-brew 
oddity  originally  released  in  1969.  This  startling  treatise 
tears  down  every  skill-related  barrier  that  generally  pre- 
cludes musically  unskilled  children  from  making  records 
and  boasts  that  perennial  candidate  for  worst  song  of  all 
time,  "My  Pal  Foot  Foot."  Philosophy  of  the  World  is 
truly  inspired  awfulness:  incompetent  drumming  totally 
unrelated  to  the  song  under  attack,  two  not-quite-tuned 
guitars  and  clumsy  vocals  offering  Hallmark  card  plat- 
itudes. In  toto,  a  triumph! 

After  reissuing  the  first  album,  NRBQ's  Red  Rooster 
label  saw  to  the  Shaggs'  creation  of  another  batch  of 
tunes,  this  time  making  a  concerted  effort  to  achieve  a 
semblance  of  musical  acceptability.  To  that  end,  an- 
other Wiggins  was  brought  in  to  play  bass,  the  selection 
of  material  encompasses  some  non-originals,  and  both 
the  sound  and  playing  is  several  hundred  times  im- 
proved. (The  benchmark  is  a  swell  remake  of  "My  Pal 
Foot  Foot.")  Shaggs9  Own  Thing  gives  up  a  lot  in 
terms  of  ear-  wrenching  misery,  achieving  instead  a  sim- 
ple Jonathan  Richman-like  sweetness  —  a  piece  of  true 
rock  primitivism.  [i] 

SHAKE 

Shake  EP(nr/Sire)  1979 

SWALK 

The  Way  We  Were  EP  (nr/Disposdble)  1  985 

When  the  Rezillos  split  into  vocal  and  instrumental 
factions,  the  latter  became  Shake.  A  trio  led  by  guitarist 
Jo  Callis  (who'd  penned  90  percent  of  the  Rezillos' 
originals),  and  later  including  Troy  Tate,  Shake  over- 
reacted to  their  ex-bandmates'  frivolity  by  playing  their 
loud'n'fastisms  deadpan  on  this  10-inch.  Second  mis- 
take: Callis  let  the  other  two  write.  Third  mistake;  dull 
sound.  Smart  move:  breaking  up.  Smarter  move  (for 
Callis):  joining  the  Human  League. 

SWALK,  a  quartet  featuring  Callis  after  his  super- 
stardom  sojourn  in  Human  League  plus  the  Rezillos/ 
Shake's  old  drummer,  wanted  to  revive  glitter-rock 
really  badly—  and  did  so,  really  badly.  In  all  fairness, 
"No  Shame"  is  goodish  Gary  Giitterism,  but  doesn't 
justify  the  rest  of  the  ordeal  (or  a  "dub"  version,  ei- 


SHAKERS 

See  Royal  Court  of  China. 


ROBBIE  SHAKESPEARE 

See  Sly  &  Robbie. 

SHAKESPEAR'S  SISTER 

See  Bananarama. 

SHAMEN 

Young  Till  Yesterday  EP  (nr/Mobha)  1 986 

Drop  (Communion)  1 987  ® 

Whafs  Going  Down?  EP  (Moksha-Communion)  1988  • 

Strange  Day  Dreams  (It.  Moksha-Materiali  Sonori)  1 988 

In  Gorbachev  We  Trust  (nr/Mobha-Demon)  1 989  • 

Phorward  EP  (nr/Mobha)  1989  • 

En-Tact  (nr/One  Little  Indian)  1 990  ® 

Forerunners  (and  side-runners)  of  the  acid-house 
movement,  Aberdeen's  neo-psychedelic  Shamen  trip 
back  to  the  spacey  side  of  1967  British  rock  with  scrappy 
production,  tremolo  guitars,  whining  mellotrons  and 
echoed  vocals,  suggesting  1967  Who,  1968  Pink  Floyd, 
the  Move,  Tomorrow  and  others  without  specifically 
quoting  anyone.  Except  for  a  few  songs  that  lean  to- 
wards less  colorful  folk-rock  and  aren't  as  bewitching, 
Drop  is  adventurous  and  entertaining  stuff  that  easily 
outclasses  most  neo-psychedelic  wannabes  with  abun- 
dant invention  and  elan.  In  a  brilliant  piece  of  uninten- 
tional subversion,  a  Scottish  brewery — completely 
missing  the  song's  lyrical  intent — chose  the  LP's 
"Happy  Days"  (an  ironic  protest  against  the  Falklands 
War)  for  use  in  a  massive  TV  ad  campaign.  The  US 
edition  of  Drop  removes  "Do  What  You  Will"  and 
"The  Other  Side,"  adding  "Strange  Days  Dream." 

Undoubtedly  affected  by  the  late- '80s  doings  in 
Manchester,  the  Shamen  adopted  a  stronger  rhythmic 
stance  on  What's  Going  Down?  With  a  nod  to  hip-hop 
electronics,  the  group  builds  a  devastating  beat  under 
the  Carnaby  Street  vocals  and  squiggly  guitar  noise  of 
"Christopher  Mayhew  Says,"  while  "Knature  of  a 
Girl"  adopts  the  now-standard  stutter  shuffle  of  count- 
less rave  records,  and  "Shitting  on  Britain"  finds  an 
exciting  midpoint.  Rounding  off  the  12-inch,  there's  the 
boring  title  song,  a  crazed  cover  of  the  13th  Floor  Ele- 
vators' (by  way  of  Television)  "Fire  Engine"  and  a 
remake  of  "Happy  Days." 

The  Italian-only  Strange  Day  Dreams  compilation 
is  brilliant,  offering  a  complete  view  of  the  group's  best 
work.  The  program  includes  Drop's  "Something  About 
You"  and  "Do  What  You  Will,"  a  live  "Strange  Days 
Dream,"  retitled  remixes  of  two  What's  Going  Down? 
cuts  (one  augmented,  the  other  dismantled),  "Fire  En- 
gine," three  atmospheric  Syd  Barrett  covers  (two  of 
them  from  the  1986  EP,  which  also  contained  a  pair  of 
Drop  previews  and  the  original  "Strange  Days 
Dream")  and  "Grim  Reaper  of  Love."  Especially  in 
light  of  the  Shamen*  s  disappointing  subsequent  adven- 
tures, this  is  the  LP  to  own. 

Following  many  of  their  English  psychedelic  coun- 
terparts from  A(cid)  to  E(cstasy) — a  name  mentioned 
more  than  once  on  the  album — the  Shamen  reoriented 
themselves  to  play  simplified  dance  rock  on  the  point- 
edly political  but  boringly  de-Shamenized  In  Gor- 
bachev We  Trust,  (The  cover  shot  of  the  Soviet  leader 
in  a  crown  of  thorns  is  genius.)  "Adam  Strange"  and, 
to  a  lesser  degree,  "Raspberry  mfundibulum"  stick  to 


587 


the  band's  familiar  backwards-guitar  rock  guns,  but  the 
rest  of  the  sparsely  furnished  alburn  (including  an  un- 
recognizable house  cover  of  the  Monkees'  "Sweet 
Young  Thing")  amounts  to  electronic  percussion,  bass, 
vocals,  spoken  word  actualities  and  sound  effects.  De- 
constructing the  music  allows  lyrics  to  come  through 
clearly,  however,  and  that's  a  boon,  especially  on  the 
anti-nuclear  "War  Prayer."  (The  CD  and  cassette  have 
extra  tracks.) 

The  10-inch  Pliorward  (initially  packaged  with  a 
bonus  7-inch)  completes  the  Shamen's  devolution:  the 
six  new  songs  are  stark,  monotonous  clatters  of  synth 
drums  and  chanted  vocals  .  .  .  music  for  leaving  the 
room.  [i] 


SHAM  69 

Telt  Us  the  Truth  (Sire)  1978 

Thafs  Life  (nr/Polydor)  1 978 

The  Adventures  of  Hersham  Boys  (nr/Po!ydor)  1 979 

The  Game  (nr/Polydor)  1 980 

The  First,  Best  and  Last  (nr/Polydor)  1 980 

Angels  with  Dirty  Faces:  The  Best  of  Sham  69 

(nr/Receiver)  1 986 
Live  and  Loud!i{nr/Link)  1987 
Live  and  Loud!!  Volume  2  (nr/Link)  1 988 
Volunteer  (nr/Legacy)  1 988  * 
Thafs  Live  EP  (nr/Skunx)  1988  « 
The  Best  of  &  the  Rest  of  Sham  69  Live  (nr/Receiver) 

1989» 

The  Complete  Sham  69  Live  (nr/Castle  Classics)  1 989  * 
Tell  Us  the  Truth/That's  Life  {nr/Receiver)  1989 
The  Adventures  of  Hersham  Boys/The  Game  (nr/Receiver) 

1989 

Sham's  Last  Stand  (nr/Link)  1 989  * 
Live  at  the  Roxy  (nr/Receiver)  1 990  * 

The  archetypal  working  class  ramalama  dole-queue 
band,  deliverers  of  socio-political  bromides  over  blaz- 
ing guitars,  Sham  69  (the  name,  and  the  band,  came 
from  Hersham,  a  town  on  London's  southern  fringes) 
had  a  bad  case  of  arrested  development.  Their  populist 
slogans  were  ultimately  chanted  like  football  cheers  and 
taken  seriously  only  by  the  enormous  British  Sham 
army.  Arguably  their  best  single,  "Hurry  Up  Harry'*  is 
about  the  importance  of  "going  down  'a  pub."  Lead 
singer/lyricist  Jimmy  Pursey  was  earnest  enough,  and 
the  band  simple  and  basic:  although  their  records  are  of 
no  lasting  import,  Sham  became  the  most  popular  UK 
punk  band  of  their  time,  scoring  five  Top  20  singles. 

The  first  LP  sidesteps  the  issue  of  decent  production 
by  having  one  side  with  none  at  all  and  the  other  re- 
corded live.  The  sound,  oddly  enough,  isn't  so  much 
derived  from  the  Clash  and  Pistols  as  it  is  from  the 
Dolls,  Hearthreakers  and  Ramones.  (It's  hard  to  judge 
how  much  of  that  is  by  design  and  how  much  is  due  to 
sheer  incompetence.)  More  than  any  of  those,  Pursey's 
Cockney  yelling  tabbed  him  as  the  Anykid  who  could, 
but  it's  also  true  that  almost  any  kid  could  have  written 
the  LP  in  his  sleep. 

That's  Life  offers  more  of  the  same,  while  enlarg- 
ing on  an  idea  heard  briefly  on  Tell  Us  the  Truth: 
inserting  narrative  slice-of-life  dialogues  (kid  vs.  par- 
ents, boy  and  girl,  boy  and  girl's  boyfriend,  etc.)  be- 


tween songs.  All  told,  a  funny  punk  LP  which  features 
"Hurry  Up  Harry"  and  the  anthemic  "Angels  with 
Duty  Faces,"  both  hit  singles. 

Pursey  worked  up  some  "poetic"  lyncs  for  Her- 
sham Boys;  this,  plus  the  increased  use  of  keyboards 
(played  by  Pursey's  co-producer,  Peter  Wilson)  meant 
that  Sham  was  nearmg  the  stage  of  early  Boomtown 
Rats,  complete  with  a  surprising  cover  of  the  Yardbirds' 
classic  "You're  a  Better  Man  Than  I."  A  break  with  the 
punk  scene,  but  no  less  aggressive  than  usual.  (Although 
it  wasn't  issued  in  the  States,  American  Polydor  im- 
ported the  LP  and  distributed  a  few  copies  as  if  it  were 
a  domestic  release.) 

By  The  Game,  Sham's  playing  and  lyrics  had  sharp- 
ened to  the  point  of  respectability,  with  the  strongest 
material  (the  single  "Give  the  Dog  a  Bone"  in  partic- 
ular) of  all  their  LPs  However,  having  perfected  their 
narrow  craft,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  disband,  which 
they  did  soon  after.  The  First,  Best  and  Last  compi- 
lation does  include  some  non-LP  singles  (but  not  their 
first,  from  *77,  on  Step  Forward)  plus  a  limited-edition 
bonus  live  EP. 

Live  and  Loud!!,  a  scorching  live  album  recorded 
in  1979  and  released  eight  years  later,  dwarfs  Sham's 
studio  catalog.  Featuring  their  best,  most  mature  (Her- 
sham Boys/The  Game)  lineup,  the  LP  is  an  ideal  dis- 
tillation of  material  from  the  first  three  albums,  played 
with  fire  and  confidence.  It's  odd  that  the  truly  essential 
Sham  LP — their  finest  moment  and  the  only  record  that 
could  put  to  rest  their  reputation  as  a  sloppy,  by-the- 
numbers  punk  circus — would  emerge  so  late  in  the 
game. 

Immense  UK  sales  of  Live  and  Loud!!  led  to  Vol- 
ume 2  (though  redundant,  it's  more  of  the  same  quality; 
That's  Live  is  a  five-song  live  EP  on  a  subsidiary  of  the 
same  label)  and  the  1987  reformation  of  the  group. 
Unfortunately,  their  two  singles,  Volunteer  LP  and  a 
brief,  aborted  '88  US  tour  (they'd  snuck  over  to  play 
without  work  permits)  reveal  that  the  new  Sham  is  noth- 
ing like  the  old:  Pursey  and  original  guitarist  Dave  Par- 
sons attempt  a  fifth-rate  Beastie  Boys  rap/metal/boogie- 
down  trip.  While  there's  something  to  be  said  for 
resurrected  groups  who  don't  simply  trade  in  nostalgia, 
Sham  '88  is  totally  banal  and  contemptible. 

Besides  a  straightforward  hits  compilation  (Angels 
with  Dirty  Faces),  late-'70s  Sham  artifacts  continue  to 
surface.  A  document  of  the  band's  1979  farewell  gig  at 
London's  Rainbow,  Sham's  Last  Stand  rehashes  the 
same  material  as  its  two  predecessors.  Although  not  as 
good  as  the  first  Live  and  Loud!!,  it's  an  emotional, 
last-chance  gas.  (The  CD  adds  bonus  tracks.) 

Live  at  the  Roxy  is  one  concert  record  too  many. 
Though  not  as  embarrassingly  awful  as  the  Buzzcocks' 
Live  at  the  Roxy,  neither  is  it  any  good.  Worse,  it's  the 
same  old  songs  with  an  original  '77  lineup  far  inferior  to 
the  later  Shams  of  the  Link  live  albums.  What's  more, 
the  live  side  of  Tell  Us  the  Truth  (featuring  the  same 
musicians)  blows  this  away.  Only  those  with  real  time 
to  kill  will  make  it  to  the  ill-advised  cover  of  "Day 
Tripper."  Boring  and  unnecessary, 

In  1989,  Receiver  repackaged  Sham's  first  four  LPs 
as  two  double  (vinyl!)  albums.  [jg/jr] 

See  also  Angelic  Upstarts,  Cockney  Rejects,  Jimmy 
Pursey,  Wanderers. 


588 


SHANGO 

See  Afrika  Bambaataa. 

Bad  Sister  (Cold  Chillin'-Reprise)  1 989  • 

At  14,  pioneering  female  rapper  Roxanne  Shante 
(Lolita  Gooden  of  Queens,  New  York)  earned  her  stage 
name  and  no  small  reputation  by  recording  "Roxanne' s 
Revenge"  in  response  to  UTFO's  "Roxanne,  Rox- 
anne." A  few  singles  followed,  but  it  was  five  years 
before  she  cut  a  debut  album.  Produced  by  Marley  Marl, 
Bad  Sister  includes  remixes  of  the  singles  "Have  a 
Nice  Day,"  "Wack  Itt"  and  "Go  on  Girl,"  balancing 
slow-grooving,  almost  mellow  raps  with  tougher,  faster 
ones.  Shante  has  a  cute,  coy  voice  that  takes  on  an 
authoritative  edge  when  she  kicks  into  high  gear.  "In- 
dependent Woman,"  a  lecture  aimed  at  young  mothers, 
is  the  album's  only  serious  side;  Shanty's  at  her  best 
delivering  lurid  details  of  her  encounters  with  men 
("Knockin'  Hiney,"  "Feelin'  Kinda  Horny")  and  other 
women  rappers,  whom  she  puts  to  shame  in  the  title 
track.  tkss3 

See  also  UTFO. 

FEARGAL  SHARKEY 

Feargal  Sharkey  (Virgin-A&M)  1985  • 

Wish  (Virgin)  1 988  • 

Song  from  the  Mardi  Gras  (nr/Vlrgin)  1 991  ® 

Following  a  slow  start — three  singles,  only  one  of 
which  ("Never  Never,"  with  Vince  Clarke's  Assem- 
bly) was  any  good — Sharkey 's  ascent  from  ex- 
Undertone  to  chart-topping  singing  sensation  was 
accomplished  with  relative  alacrity,  thanks  in  large  part 
to  producer  Dave  Stewart  of  Eurythmics.  Sharkey 's  first 
solo  album  is  an  uneasy  pairing  of  his  distinctive  vocals 
and  tame,  mainstreamed  arrangements  of  material  from 
diverse  sources.  "A  Good  Heart"  (written,  but  unre- 
corded, by  Maria  McKee)  is  a  sturdy  piece  of  slightly 
soulful  pop;  "You  Little  Thief"  (by  Benmont  Tench  of 
Tom  Petty's  band)  is  similarly  memorable.  "Love  and 
Hate"  resembles  late-period  Undertones,  while  the 
Sharkey  version  of  the  venerable  "It's  All  Over  Now" 
is  simply  a  mistake. 

Sharkey  takes  another  giant  step  away  from  his  past 
with  Wish.  The  high-gloss  West  Coast  album- 
production,  guitar  and  keyboards  by  Danny  Kortchmar; 
songs  mostly  co-written  with  Kootch,  Waddy  Wachtel 
and  Mark  Goldenberg — has  characterless  backing  tracks 
that  could  serve  any  number  of  lame  singers.  The  stark 
contrast  of  Sharkey  Ts  strange  voice  with  such  bland 
commercialism  results  in  a  listenable  soul-pop-rock 
record  with  only  one  strong  character  trait.  A  guest  turn 
by  Keith  Richards  on  Tench's  "More  Love"  is  wasted; 
except  for  the  rousing  "Out  of  My  System,"  the  rou- 
tinely romantic  songs,  while  competent,  are  entirely  for- 
gettable. M 

See  also  Undertones. 

SHARKY'S  MACHINE 

Let's  Be  Friends  (Shimmy-Disc)  1987 

K1LLDOZER  85 

There's  No  Mistaking  Quality  (Lucha  Libre)  1984 


Born  as  an  odd  post-hardcore  band  named  Killdozer 
85,  this  NYC  quartet  changed  its  name  to  Sharky's  Ma- 
chine after  Wisconsin's  Killdozer  signed  to  Touch  and 
Go.  There's  No  Mistaking  Quality  has  a  decent 
amount  of  guitar-slurping  (in  an  amped-up  Gun  Club 
style),  but  the  rhythmic  base  is  too  frequently  reliant  on 
hardcore's  polka-bom  time  keeping. 

Let's  Be  Friends  is  a  much  more  interesting  effort. 
The  rhythms  are  a  lot  more  open,  the  guitar  heads  into 
the  kind  of  heat-shimmering  overload  associated  with 
James  Williamson's  work,  and  the  songs  seem  much 
more  cohesively  screwy.  Without  abandoning  some  of 
hardcore's  more  goofball  tactics,  Sharky's  Machine 
managed  to  create  a  kind  of  noisy  street  rock  that  was 
both  mesmerizingly  complex  (in  a  vaguely  dumb  way) 
and  unlike  anybody  else  working  the  same  crowded 
genre.  [be] 

Hara  (Zoar)  1 977 

Resonance  (Zoar)  1 979 

Rhythms  and  Blues  (Zoar)  1980 

ISM  (Zoar)  1981 

I/S/M:R  (Zoar)  1982 

Nots  (nr/Glass)  1 982 

(T)here  (Zoar)  1983 

Live  in  Tokyo  [tape]  (Zoar)  1985 

Virtual  Stance  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 986 

In  the  Land  of  the  Yahoos  (SST)  1 987  • 

ELLIOTT  SHARP/SOLDIER 
STRING  QUARTET 

Tessalation  Row  (SST)  1987  ® 

Hammer,  Anvil,  Stirrup  [CD]  (SST)  1 989  • 

ELLIOTT  SHARP/CARBON 

Carbon  (Atonal)  1984 

Marco  Polo's  Argali/Carbon:  Six  Songs  (Ger,  Dossier) 

1985 

Fractal  (Ger.  Dossier)  1 986 
Larynx  (SST)  1988* 
Monster  Curve  [CD]  (SST)  1989  * 
Datacide  (Enemy)  1990 

SEMANTICS 

Semantics  (Rift)  1985 

Bone  of  Contention  (SST)  1 987  • 

In  addition  to  his  own  prolific  work,  New  York 
multi-instnimentalist/composer  Elliott  Sharp  has  played 
with,  among  many  others,  the  Hi  Sheriffs  of  Blue, 
Mofungo,  The  Scene  Is  Now,  members  of  fIREHOSE 
(as  the  Bootstrappers),  John  Zora  and  Wayne  Horvitz. 
Although  Sharp  writes  jarring,  heavily  rfiythmic  music 
using  tunings  and  rhythms  based  on  number  systems 
and  other  schemes  normally  associated  with  contempo- 
rary classical  music,  there's  nothing  at  all  classical  about 
his  pounding  guitar  and  bass  rhythms  or  screeching  bass 
clarinet  and  tenor  and  soprano  sax,  Due  to  its  abrasive 
edges  and  sheer  strangeness,  Sharp* s  music  is,  for 
many,  an  unacquirabie  taste. 

Sharp  recorded  Hara,  a  series  of  duets  with  guitarist 
and  flutist  Dave  Fulton,  largely  to  facilitate  getting  gigs, 
On  Rhythms  and  Blues,  he  offers  a  version  of  R&B  on 
electric  and  acoustic  guitars,  clarinet  and  saxes.  (T)here 
consists  of  one  solo  side  recorded  live  in  Prague;  the 


589 


reverse  features  trumpeter  Lesli  Dalaba  and  percussion- 
ist Charles  Noyes. 

Both  Dalaba  and  Noyes  play  in  Carbon  (a  loose  and 
shifting  group  of  musicians  Sharp  uses  to  play  his  en- 
semble pieces);  Carbon  is  a  clear  example  of  how  Sharp 
organizes  his  music  around  rhythm,  with  melody  taking 
a  subordinate  role.  Most  of  the  tracks  feature  Sharp  on 
guitar,  sax  or  clarinet,  cranking  out  spiky  rhythms  while 
drummers  pound  bass  drum,  congas  and  tom-toms. 
Sometimes  Sharp  growls  too.  An  exotic  sound,  straight 
from  downtown  New  York. 

Although  Carbon  is  credited  on  Marco  Polo's 
Argali/Carbon:  Six  Songs,  the  annotation  never  makes 
it  clear  just  what  that  means  in  terms  of  personnel.  In 
any  case,  the  side  with  six  songs  is  strong  stuff.  With 
Sharp's  rhythmic  reed  work,  plenty  of  percussion  and 
strange  sounds  from  his  invented  instruments,  the  tracks 
clank  along  on  the  edge  of  chaos,  but  never  succumb  to 
it.  '* Marco  Polo,"  a  side-long  piece  based  on  a  number 
series,  has  some  excellent  moments,  but,  despite  great 
trombone  work  by  Jim  Staley,  gets  a  bit  tedious  over  the 
course  of  20  minutes. 

Fractal  is  one  of  Sharp's  strongest  works,  six 
shorter  pieces  and  the  long  "Not- Yet-Time,"  which 
features  some  great  rhythmic  guitar  work.  It  also  show- 
cases one  of  Sharp's  gambits — using  his  hands  to  beat 
out  quick  harmonic  patterns  on  a  bass  neck,  as  if  it  were 
a  drum.  The  rhythms  and  textures  play  off  each  other 
beautifully,  the  whip-saw  guitar  and  thick  percussion 
offset  by  bass  harmonics  that  sound  like  bells  ringing. 
(Monster  Curve  is  a  CD-only  compilation  of  tracks 
from  the  first  three  Carbon  albums.) 

Sharp  also  experiments  with  computers  and  sam- 
pling technology,  and  uses  both  extensively  on  Virtual 
Stance.  The  extended  title  track  is  composed  of  sam- 
ples, some  of  which  are  fascinating  and/or  amusing, 
some  of  which  are  not.  The  rest  of  the  record  consists  of 
briefer  pieces:  half  sound  like  the  previous  two  albums, 
while  the  others  are  slower  and  more  textured. 

In  the  Land  of  the  Yahoos  is  Sharp's  self-described 
pop  album,  meaning  that  he  and  others  sing,  his  guitar 
and  bass  are  toned  down  and  the  percussion  is  almost 
normal.  An  amazing  LP  with  more  variety  than  many  of 
his  others,  it  explores  numerous  textures  and  moods, 
dishes  out  surprises  at  every  turn  and  displays  a  witty 
sense  of  humor. 

Around  the  same  time  as  Yahoos,  Sharp  turned  his 
attentions  to  a  new  format  of  music,  and  began  com- 
posing for  an  amplified  string  quartet,  namely  violinist 
David  Soldier  and  his  group.  The  shrill,  rapid  sawings 
of  Tessalation  Row  (a  thirteen-minute  title  piece  plus 
four  shorter  works)  make  Bart<5k  seem  like  a  valium 
addict.  (With  the  addition  of  two  extensive — and  sty- 
listically consistent— new  pieces,  Tessalation  Row  was 
reissued  on  CD  as  Hammer,  Anvil,  Stirrup. )  Although 
Sharp  generally  uses  similar  rhythms  and  tunings  as  on 
his  rock  albums,  one  movement  mostly  consists  of  the 
instruments'  bodies  being  used  for  percussion, 

Thanks  to  his  increased  skill  at  writing  for  ensem- 
bles, Larynx  is  Sharp's  best  album  with  Carbon.  As 
much  jazz  as  rock,  somehow  it's  neither.  Constructed  in 
six  sections  with  five  interludes,  the  titular  piece  runs 
over  both  sides  of  the  record.  Four  drummers  play  on 
the  opening  and  closing  sections;  the  Soldier  String 


Quartet,  Jim  Staley  and  others  combine  to  create  an 
amazing  array  of  textures  and  rhythms.  But  the  most 
inspired  playing  comes  from  Sharp  himself.  For  the  last 
ten  minutes  he  pounds  red-hot  rhythms  on  bass  and 
guitar  fretboards,  accompanied  by  frenzied  drumming 
and  dissonant  violin.  Awesome. 

Datacide  combines  Fractal's  instrumentation  with 
the  shorter  framework  and  polished  production  of  Land 
of  the  Yahoos,  with  positive  results. 

Semantics  is  a  rock/jazz  power  trio  with  drummer 
Samm  Bennett  (who  sometimes  plays  with  Carbon)  and 
saxophonist  Ned  Rothenberg.  The  group's  phenomenal 
debut  meshes  Rothenberg 's  rhythmic,  interweaving  sax 
lines  with  Sharp's  forceful  bass  and  guitar.  The  more 
chaotic  and  noisy  Bone  of  Contention  generally  es- 
chews the  song  structures  of  Semantics  and  is  more  on 
the  jazz,  if  not  the  free  jazz,  side  of  the  band's  stylistic 
fusion.  [si] 

See  alsoflREHOSE,  Mofungo,  The  Scene  Is  Now. 

JULES  SHEAR 

Watch  Dog  (EMI  America)  1983 

Jules  EP  (EMI  America)  1 983 

The  Eternal  Return  (EMI  America)  1985 

Demo-itis  (Enigma)  1 987 

The  Third  Parly  (IRS)  1989« 

FUNKY  KINGS 

Funky  Kings  (Arista)  1976 

JULES  AND  THE  POLAR  BEARS 

Got  No  Breeding  (Columbia)  1 978  • 
FenetTks  (Columbia)  1 979 

RECKLESS  SLEEPERS 

Big  Boss  Sounds  (IRS)  1 988  » 

Despite  his  unbeatable  songwriting  talents,  pop  star- 
dom has  proven  elusive  for  Jules  Shear.  His  two  songs 
are  the  highlights  of  the  Funky  Kings  album,  but  the  rest 
of  the  LP  is  forgettable  laid-back  California  rock. 

The  two  Polar  Bears  albums  are  gems;  Shear's 
breathless  vocals  and  the  cascading  lyrics  are  perfectly 
matched  with  the  rollicking  playing  of  his  three  band- 
mates  (including  future  star-producer/keyboardist 
Stephen  Hague).  Both  albums  were  commercial  duds, 
however,  and  a  third  album  (Bad  for  Business)  was 
rejected  by  the  group's  label  and  was  never  released. 

Shear's  first  two  solo  LPs  contain  some  of  his  finest 
songs,  including  "All  Through  the  Night* *  and  "If  She 
Knew  What  She  Wants"  (Top  40  hits  for,  respectively, 
Cyndi  Lauper  and  the  Bangles),  Watch  Dog  suffers 
from  a  smothering  Todd  Rundgren  production  job,  but 
The  Eternal  Return — co-produced  by  Shear  and  Bill 
Drescher— is  a  complete  delight.  (The  Jules  EP  con- 
tains two  mixes  of  the  non-LP  "When  Love  Surges" 
and  a  four-song  condensation  of  Watch  Dog. ) 

As  the  name  implies,  Demo-itis  is  a  collection  of 
song  demos,  half  recorded  by  Shear  at  home  on  8-track 
and  the  rest  recorded  with  various  musicians  in  a  full- 
fledged  studio  situation.  Despite  the  rough  edges,  it's 
fascinating  to  hear  these  familiar  songs  in  their  early 
stages.  Demo-itis  has  spontaneity  and  enthusiasm  not 
heard  on  any  of  Shear's  other  albums. 

Reckless  Sleepers  brought  a  collaboration  with 
three  new  bandmates  on  the  music  (Shear  still  writes  all 


590 


the  lyrics),  but  it's  hard  to  discern  any  substantial  cre- 
ative change  as  a  result.  The  Third  Party  is  an  inter- 
esting experiment  with  solo  vocals  by  Shear  and  guitar 
accompaniment  by  Marty  Willson-Piper  of  the  Church. 
The  songs  are  as  well-crafted  as  ever,  but  a  certain 
monotony  results  from  Shear's  unmelodic  singing  style 
(never  his  strongest  asset)  and  the  unvarying  guitar  ar- 
rangements. Providing  the  guitar  chords  along  with  the 
lyrics  is  a  nice  touch,  though.  [sk] 

See  also  'Til  Tuesday. 


STEPHEN  SHEEHAN 

See  Digital  Sex. 

PETE  SHELLEY 

Sky  Yen  (nr/Groovy)  1 979 
Homosapien  (Genetic-Arista)  1 982 
XL!  (Genetic-Arista)  1 983 
Heaven  and  the  Sea  (Mercury)  1 986  ® 

As  creative  linchpin  of  the  Buzzcocks,  Pete  Shelley 
perfected  a  pop  style  based  on  intellectualizing  his  emo- 
tional responses,  often  to  humorous  effect.  But,  as  with 
the  group,  he  is  strongest  making  singles,  apparently 
hard-pressed  to  sustain  his  energy  throughout  an  entire 
album. 

Shelley's  first  solo  LP,  Sky  Yen,  was  actually  re- 
corded in  1974,  long  before  the  Buzzcocks,  and  dem- 
onstrates an  early  interest  in  Germanic  electronic  music. 
An  exercise  in  simpleminded  drone  electronics  con- 
ducted on  a  single  oscillator  rather  than  full-fledged  elec- 
tronic instruments,  the  album  is  a  collectors'  item  of 
minor  interest. 

The  post-Buzzcocks  Homosapien,  including  the  hit 
single  of  the  same  name,  is  a  dance  album  in  which 
Shelley  takes  the  reins  and  eliminates  guitars  and  drums 
as  the  axis  of  his  songs.  The  rum  to  electronics  doesn't 
signal  a  surrender  to  them,  though;  the  songs,  not  the 
technique,  remain  paramount.  Shelley  seems  to  draw 
influence  from  a  wide  group  of  sources  (such  as  the 
Doors  and  Marc  Bolan),  and  the  album  cleverly  side- 
steps the  trap  of  monotony  that  sometimes  afflicted  the 
Buzzcocks.  (The  US  version  latter  replaces  "Pusher 
Man,"  "It's  Hard  Enough  Knowing"  and  "Keats' 
Song"  with  "Love  in  Vain,"  "Witness  the  Change" 
and  "In  Love  with  Somebody  Else.") 

Shelley  reintroduces  guitar  on  XL1  and  downplays 
the  electronics  to  create  more  direct,  urgent  dance  mu- 
sic. "Telephone  Operator"  is  the  equal  of  "Homosa- 
pien," and  the  LP  contains  other  solid  examples  of 
clear-headed  songwriting — "If  You  Ask  Me  (I  Won't 
Say  No)"  and  "You  Know  Better  Than  I  Know,"  for 
instance — that  allow  strong  rhythms  to  predominate 
without  obscuring  the  abundant  musicality.  The  Amer- 
ican cassette  adds  remixes  of  "Homosapien"  and  an- 
other song;  the  English  tape  tacks  on  an  extra  LP's 
worth. 

Heaven  and  the  Sea  serves  up  more  of  Shelley's 
reflective  soul-searching,  but  without  much  relish.  Ex- 
cept for  the  percussion-laden  "No  Moon,"  the  songs 
are  fairly  routine,  and  Stephen  Hague's  mundane  pro- 
duction does  little  to  distinguish  them.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Buzzcocks. 


SHELLEYAN  ORPHAN 

Helleborine  (Rough  Trade-Columbia)  1987  © 
Century  Flower  (Rough  Trade-Columbia)  1989  © 

Bournemouth's  Shelleyan  Orphan,  the  poetic  singer/ 
songwriter  duo  of  Caroline  Crawley  and  Jemaur  Tayle, 
make  use  of  a  number  of  guests  for  Helleborine,  mostly 
playing  woodwinds  and  orchestral  strings  (members  of 
Kate  Bush's  band  provide  some  bass  and  drams).  In- 
stead of  trying  to  create  make-believe  classical  music, 
however,  the  group  plays  pastoral  folk-pop,  using  the 
winds  and  strings  for  parts  that  would  normally  be  han- 
dled by  standard  rock  instruments.  Although  Hellebo- 
rine ultimately  succumbs  to  its  own  preciousness,  it  is 
refreshing  m  small  doses. 

More  blood  flows  through  the  group's  veins  on  Cen- 
tury Flower,  produced  by  Dave  Allen.  The  opening 
"Shatter"  has  a  string  quartet  intro,  but  with  pounding 
drums;  a  rather  gritty  sax  eventually  joins  the  fun.  Elec- 
tric guitars  even  work  their  way  onto  the  LP,  and  Craw- 
ley's  vocals  turn  far  more  passionate  than  on  the  debut. 
(Tayle  sings  mostly  harmonies,  and  his  voice  is  on  the 
slight  side.)  Century  Flower  doesn't  exactly  kick  butt, 
but  it  does  move  along  nicely  with  well- written  songs. 
Everything  but  the  Girl's  art-school  cousins?  [dgs] 

ADRIAN  SHERWOOD 

See  New  Age  Steppers,  Tackhead. 

SHINEHEAD 

Rough  and  Rugged  (African  Love  Music)  1 986 

Unify  (African  Love-Elektra)  1 988  * 

The  Real  Rock  (African  Love-Elektra)  1 990  * 

Born  in  Jamaica,  Shinehead  (Edmund  Carl  Aiken) 
grew  up  in  the  Bronx,  combining  his  two  cultural  her- 
itages to  become  one  of  the  first  roots-rock-rappers.  As 
a  member  of  the  early-* 80s  African  Love  Soundsystem, 
he  surprised  New  Yorkers  with  his  wacky,  superb  lyr- 
ical content  and  performance.  Now  signed  to  a  major 
label,  he  has  thus  far  endured  the  transition  from  turn- 
table jamming  to  full-fledged  concert  tours  without  any 
compromise  in  his  quirky  vision  of  reality, 

Shinehead's  first  album,  released  on  producer 
Claude  Evans'  label,  showcases  a  talented  young  rapper 
versatile  enough  to  mix  his  musical  metaphors  into  reg- 
gae rap  ("Rough  &  Rugged"),  American  soul  ("Good 
Love  Tonight")  and  hybrid  NYC-JA  MC-style  (the 
reggae-biographical  "Hello  Y'AU").  From  socially 
conscious  lyrics  ("Who  the  Cap  Fits")  to  outright  com- 
edy, Rough  and  Rugged  is  a  brilliant  LP  with  some- 
thing for  everyone. 

New  York's  raggamuffin  roughneck  continues  to 
mix  yankee  hip-hop  and  yardee  MC  on  Unity  (which 
includes  remixes  of  tracks  like  "Know  How  Fe  Chat/' 
"Hello  Y'AU"  and  "Who  the  Cap  Fits"  from  the  first 
album).  With  Run-DMC's  Jam  Master  Jay  producing 
three  cuts  (the  "Come  Together"  Beatles  rewrite  of 
"Unity,"  the  Sam  Cooke-styled  "Chain  Gang"  and 
"Truth"),  and  members  of  Roots  Radios  laying  down 
musical  rhythms,  Shinehead  rocks  the  house  from  Ja- 
maica, Queens  to  Kingston,  Jamaica. 

The  music  on  The  Real  Rock  is  more  sophisticated 
in  terms  of  technology  and  styling,  but  the  songs  are 


591 


hit-and-miss.  In  the  winning  column,  Shinehead  does  an 
impressive  reworked  version  of  Sly  Stone's  ''Family 
Affair/'  flashes  his  rapid-fire  lyrical  style  (as  well  as  his 
sense  of  humor)  on  "Cigarette  Breath,"  clings  to  his 
Jamaican  birthright  with  "Musical  Madness,"  delivers 
an  inspiring  sermon  in  "Strive"  and  lands  a  dose  of 
reality  on  the  title  track.  [aw] 

SHIRTS 

The  Shirts  (Capitol)  1 978 
Street  Light  Shine  (Capitol)  1 979 
Inner  Sleeve  (Capitol)  1980 

JING/CHEM1CAL  WEDDING 

Off  the  Board  [tapel  (CBGB)  1987 

JING 

Jing  (Three  Cherries)  1 989 

Six  Brooklynites  known  as  the  Shirts  were  playing 
Top  40  covers  in  local  bars  until  they  happened  onto  the 
Bowery  club  circuit  in  1975,  Abandoning  the  boroughs 
for  a  career  in  Manhattan  with  original  material,  the 
Shirts  became  a  popular  (if  unhip)  fixture  on  the  bur- 
geoning New  York  new  wave  scene,  and  went  on  to 
make  three  albums  of  totally  bland  hoping-for-the- 
mainstream  rock.  Singer  Annie  Golden  went  on  to  suc- 
cess as  a  singer/actress — in  the  movie  of  Hair,  with  a 
solo  single  in  1984  and  on  Broadway — but  the  Shirts  are 
little  more  than  a  dull  memory.  Each  of  the  albums  has 
an  enjoyable  song  or  two,  but  there's  nothing  remark- 
able about  any  of  them. 

A  decade  later,  Shirts  guitarist/vocalist  Artie  La 
Monica  (now  calling  himself  Arthur  Jing)  turned  up 
back  on  CBGB's  stage,  filling  one  side  of  a  live  cassette 
with  his  solo  debut.  Supported  by  a  skilled  quartet  and 
bearing  traces  of  Elvis  Costello,  Bob  Dylan  and  Dion  in 
his  voice,  Jing  makes  a  credible,  well-recorded  show- 
ing. Four  of  the  same  songs  turn  up  again  on  the  epon- 
ymous studio  album,  a  not  unpleasant  anachronism  that 
has  its  roots  in  '70s  new  wave,  Brill  Building  pop  and 
the  same  mixture  of  '60s  rock  and  soul  that  informed 
Springsteen's  early  records.  Golden  guests  on  three 
tracks.  [i] 

SHOCKAB1LLY 

The  Down  of  Shockabilly  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982 
(Shimmy-Disc)  1 988 

Earth  vs.  Shockabilly  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1983 
(Shimmy-Disc)  1988 

Greatest  Hits  EP  (Red)  1983 

Colosseum  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 984 

Vietnam  (Fundamental  Music)  1984 

Heaven  (Fundamental  Music)  1 985 

The  Ghost  of  Shockabilly  [CD]  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 989  « 

Vietnam/Heaven  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990  <i> 

Live  . . .  Just  Beautiful  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990  « 

Crazed  rockabilly-tinged  remakes  of  "Psychotic  Re- 
action" and  two  Yardbirds  classics  isn't  a  bad  idea, 
especially  if  gonzo  guitar  and  drums  like  those  on  The 
Dawn  of  Shockabiliy  are  brought  to  bear  on  'em.  Tak- 
ing the  same  tack  on  "A  Hard  Day's  Night"  and  a 
country  oldie,  adding  silly  organ  also  makes  a  funny 
kind  of  sense.  But  guitarist  Eugene  Chadbourne's  non- 
sense vocals  (stupidly  muffled,  or  in  silly  cartoon  char- 
acter styles,  with  at  least  two  or  three  different  voices 

592 


per  track)  ruin  the  whole  thing.  Eugene  shouldn't  be 
careful  with  his  axe,  but  with  his  mouth. 

Greatest  Hits  takes  one  track  each  from  the  two 
preceding  English  records  and  adds  a  quartet  of  stunning 
live  cuts,  including  the  amphetammized  "Bluegrass 
Breakdown"  and  a  nearly  unrecognizable  version  of  the 
Doors'  "People  Are  Strange."  The  Ghost  of  Shocka- 
billy CD  combines  Earth  and  Colosseum,  the  album  on 
which  the  writing  team  of  Chadbourne  and  Mark  Kramer 
(bass/organ/production)  began  to  flourish,  with  the 
Kramer  musically  embellishing  Eugene's  political  and 
instrumental  rants,  parodies  and  white-trash  obsessions. 
(The  Shimmy-Disc  cassette  of  Earth  contains  The 
Dawn  of  Shockabilly.) 

Vietnam  is  a  relatively  grand  affair,  with  a  huge 
tour-diary  poster  and  material  by  Arthur  Lee,  John 
Fogerty,  John  Lee  Hooker  and  the  Beatles  mercilessly 
savaged  by  Chadbourne,  Kramer  and  drummer  David 
Licht. 

Heaven  takes  the  terrible  trio  further  into  the  realms 
of  the  truly  weird.  Only  three  covers  (Bolan,  Lennon 
and  a  mystery),  but  such  inspired  originals  as  Eugene's 
"How  Can  You  Kill  Me,  I'm  Already  Dead"  and  "She 
Was  a  Living  Breathing  Piece  of  Dirt"  more  than  make 
up  the  difference.  On  that  (bum)  note,  Shockabilly 
ceased  to  exist.  (Shimmy-Disc  later  paired  Vietnam 
and  Heaven  on  CD  and  cassette. ) 

The  posthumous  live  CD,  Just  Beautiful,  is  a  gen- 
erous 27-track  plunge  into  the  group's  hyperkinetic  non- 
stop electric  vaudeville;  Chadbourne  wreaks  havoc  on 
an  electrified  rake  and  birdcage  while  Kramer  and 
mutant-percussionist  Licht  fall  apart  in  the  background. 
Almost  entirely  comprised  of  covers,  the  CD  includes 
five  remixed  tracks  from  Dawn  of  Shockabilly  sutured 
in  the  middle.  The  cassette  version  has  a  dozen  live 
tracks  (from  '84  and  '85),  the  entire  Colosseum  LP  and 
the  five  Dawn  remixes. 

Occasionally  listenable,  often  more  stupid  than 
funny,  Shockabilly  was,  if  nothing  else,  absolutely 
unique.  [jg/i/rg] 

See  also  Bongwater,  Carney-Hild-Kramer,  Eugene 
Chadbourne, 

MICHELLE  SHOCKED 

The  Texas  Campfire  Tapes  (Cooking  Vinyl)  1 986 

(Mercury)  1 988  • 

Short  Sharp  Shocked  (Mercury)  1 988  * 
Anchorage  EP  (nr/London)  1988  « 
If  Love  Was  a  Train  EP  (nr/London)  1 989  * 
Captain  Swing  (Mercury)  1 989  * 

In  the  interests  of  critical  fair  play,  let  it  be  acknowl- 
edged that  Bob  Dylan  also  changed  his  name,  invented 
(or  at  least  outrageously  embellished)  his  personal  my- 
thology and  slyly  claimed  an  entirely  fictitious  folk 
rootsiness  with  all  the  guile  of  film  star,  Since  Michelle 
Shocked  is  no  Bob  Dylan,  her  ability  to  pull  off  the 
same  charade  only  proves  that  you  can  fool  some  of  the 
people  all  of  the  time.  That's  not  to  say  she's  not  tal- 
ented but,  as  a  well-rounded  pop  star,  her  strained  ef- 
forts at  self-promotion  and  political  action  are  dubiously 
credible  and  unforgivably  distasteful  in  light  of  her  pre- 
tensions of  unpretentiousness. 

Recorded  live  at  a  folk  festival  on  a  portable  tape 
machine  (not  exactly  a  field  recording  but  close  enough 


to  seem  legitimately  earthy),  The  Texas  Campfire 
j apes — complete  with  the  post-production  sound  of 
chirping  crickets — made  the  Dallas-born  Shocked  the 
darling  of  the  British  folk  scene.  An  uncertain  but  am- 
bitious singer  whose  style  is  woven  of  jazz,  blues  and 
rock'n'roll  as  much  as  folk,  she  comes  off  as  a  talented 
amateur  with  modestly  appealing  songs  and  the  hint  of 
substantial  potential. 

Parlaying  UK  success  into  an  American  record  deal 
(which  led  to  the  Campfire  Tapes'  domestic  issue), 
Shocked  made  her  first  studio  album  with  guitarist  Pete 
Anderson  (D wight  Yoakam's  producer),  who  provided  a 
crisp,  tasteful  Nashville  country  bed  for  some  of  her 
songs.  While  maintaining  a  tenuous  connection  to  acous- 
tic folk  with  the  winsome '  'Memories  of  East  Texas' '  and 
Jean  Ritchie's  "The  L  +  N  Don't  Stop  Here  Anymore" 
(the  outraged  protest  lyrics  of  * 'Graffiti  Limbo"  don't 
quite  achieve  the  desired  effect),  Shocked  otherwise  fa- 
vors full-bodied  arrangements.  Hence  the  uptight  R&B 
sound  of  "If  Love  Was  a  Train"  and  the  glib  singer/ 
songwriter  pop  treatment  of  "Anchorage,"  a  wonderful 
and  affecting  correspondence  between  old  friends.  And 
though  you  wouldn't  know  it  from  the  jacket  or  label, 
Shocked  even  rocks  out  punkwise,  joining  ex-Texas  po- 
liticos  MDC  for  a  hard-rocking  rendition  of  the  first  al- 
bum's "Fogtown."  (It's  the  eleventh  song,  right  after 
"Black  Widow.") 

If  Short  Sharp  Shocked  was  a  surprising  follow-up 
to  The  Texas  Campfire  Tapes,  the  slick  Captain 
Swing  came  as  a  real  shocker.  Anderson  leads  a  band  of 
session  men  in  a  modern  evocation  of  '40s  jazz  (with 
horns,  piano  and  strings)  reminiscent  of  certain  Joni 
Mitchell  records.  As  a  songwriter,  Shocked  isn't  yet 
equipped  to  pull  off  an  entire  album  in  this  style  (in- 
deed, she  has  to  recycle  one  first-album  tune  to  make  ten 
tracks,  most  of  which  are  insubstantial  love  songs),  and 
her  voice  isn't  quite  up  to  the  challenge,  either.  [ij 


SHOES 

Un  dans  Versailles  (no  label)  1975 

Black  Vinyl  Shoes  (Black  Vinyl)  1 977  (PVC)  1 978 

Present  Tense  (Elektra}  1979 

Tongue  Twister  (Elektra)  1981 

Boomerang  (Elektra)  1982  (Black  Vinyl)  1990  * 

Silhouette  (nr/Demon)  1984  (Black  Vinyl)  1991  * 

Shoes  Best  (Black  Vinyl)  1987  4> 

Present  Tense/Tongue  Twister  [CD}  (Black  Vinyl)  1 988  • 

Stolen  Wishes  (Black  Vinyl)  1 989  4> 

This  brilliant  power  pop  outfit  from  Zion,  Illinois 
began  by  recording  at  home  on  a  4-trackf  which  resulted 
in  a  self-released  LP  that  attracted  national  attention  and 
(eventually)  a  major-label  contract.  John  and  Jeff  Mur- 
phy, Gary  Klebe  and  drummer  Skip  Meyer  blend  elec- 
tric guitar— loud,  distorted  and  multi- tracked— with 
breathy,  winsome  vocals  to  create  melodic  rock  made 
most  impressive  by  the  strength  of  three  equally  talented 
singer/songwriters. 

Black  Vinyl  Shoes  was  recorded  in  a  living  room; 
the  intricately  layered  guitars  and  vocals  make  that  hard 
to  believe.  The  songs,  telling  tender  tales  of  failed  ro- 
mance, are  catchy  and  instantly  likable.  The  band  also 
put  the  record  in  an  impressive  package  and  distributed 
it  as  a  vinyl  demo;  in  fact,  itf  s  one  of  the  finest  home- 
brewed releases  ever,  and  is  a  much  more  valid  piece  of 


music  than  many  productions  by  well-known  bands  with 
far  greater  technical  resources.  After  the  small  initial 
pressing  sold  out,  the  album  was  licensed  to  PVC  and 
reissued  with  wholly  different  artwork. 

Black  Vinyl  is  actually  not  Shoes'  first  album.  A 
prior  iongplayer  was  recorded  by  the  Murphy  brothers 
with  a  previous  drummer  and  privately  issued  in  a 
minute  pressing  quantity.  Charming  but  a  bit  rough,  it 
sounds  like  a  less-developed  attempt  at  what  was  to 
come.  Shoes  also  recorded — but  never  released — an  al- 
bum's worth  of  excellent  tunes  in  1976  under  the  work- 
ing title  Bazooka. 

After  signing  to  Elektra,  Shoes  recorded  Present 
Tense  in  a  full-scale  English  24-track  studio  with  a  pro- 
fessional producer,  but  ended  up  sounding  pretty  much 
the  same  as  before,  only  with  much  greater  audio  fidel- 
ity. Given  the  chance  to  experiment  and  open  up  their 
sound,  Shoes  opted  to  hold  fast — lots  of  vocals,  lots  of 
melody,  lots  of  fuzzed-out  guitars.  Another  triumphant 
LP  that  probably  could  have  been  made  at  home  without 
losing  any  appreciable  amount  of  charm  or  appeal — it's 
Shoes'  talent,  not  studio  technology,  that  matters  here. 

Tongue  Twister  successfully  maintains  the  quality 
level  of  Present  Tense,  but  Shoes  are  clearly  standing 
still  creatively.  Their  style  is  honed  as  far  as  it's  going 
to  go,  and  they're  sticking  with  it.  Boomerang,  re- 
corded near  the  band's  home  base  without  a  strong  out- 
side producer,  suffers  from  inconsistent  song  quality 
and  an  overanxious  feeling,  no  doubt  brought  on  by  the 
band's  failure  to  catch  on  commercially.  (Early  press- 
ings of  Boomerang  included  a  12-inch  EP,  Shoes  on 
Ice,  recorded  live  at  the  Zion  Ice  Arena  in  1981,  offer- 
ing six  of  the  band's  best  tunes  as  proof  of  their  ability 
to  play  them  in  public.) 

Parting  company  with  their  label,  Shoes  retired  to 
the  studio  they  had  built  in  Illinois  and  continued  writ- 
ing and  recording.  A  trio  of  Murphy,  Murphy  and  Klebe 
made  the  next  Shoes  album,  Silhouette,  released  only 
in  Europe  via  various  licensing  arrangements.  The 
sound  (incorporating  more  keyboards  and  subtler  dabs 
of  guitar)  is  typically  exquisite,  and  the  songs — four  by 
each  member— are  fine  examples  of  the  band's  seem- 
ingly effortless  pop  suss.  A  fine,  relaxed  return  that 
reasserts  Shoes'  considerable  talent, 

Reacquiring  the  rights  to  their  three  Elektra  albums, 
Shoes  issued  Shoes  Best,  a  22-song  non-chronological 
retrospective  of  album  tracks  that  includes  one  live  cut 
from  On  Ice  and  one  new  tune,  (P.S,  I  wrote  the  liner 
notes.)  Continuing  the  reissue  program,  Present  Tense 
and  Tongue  Twister  were  joined  on  a  single  CD  while 
the  entire  Shoes  on  Ice  was  appended  to  Boomerang. 

Stolen  Wishes,  the  trio's  first  new  album  in  five 
years  (and  the  inspiration  for  an  unprecedented  bi- 
coa&tal  tour  in  mid-*90),  has  all  the  hallmarks  of  Shoes' 
best  work,  plus  synthesizer  dressing  on  several  of  the 
irresistibly  catchy  tunes.  Strident  electronic  percussion 
provides  a  strange  contrast  to  the  heavenly  harmonies  in 
**Feel  the  Wty  That  I  Do,"  while  mock  horns  add  a 
handsome  texture  to  the  glorious  guitar  pop  of  "Let  It 
Go**  and  imitation  strings  quietly  shade  in  "Love 
Does/*  The  introduction  of  new  elements  into  the 
group's  exceedingly  consistent  sound  is  overdue,  but 
Shoes*  warm  songs  would  be  better  served  by  real  in- 
struments rather  than  obviously  fake  timulatkais.  Stand- 
outs; 'Tour  Devotion/'  **Inside  of  You,"  the  Help!- 


593 


styled  "She's  Not  the  Same,"  the  dour  "Torn  in  Two" 
and  "Love  Is  Like  a  Bullet,"  the  song  previewed  on 

Shoes  Best.  [i] 

Burning  Farm  (Jap.  Zero)  1983  (K)  1985 
Yama  No  Attchan  (Jap.  Zero)  1 984 
Pretty  Little  Baka  Guy  (Jap.  Zero)  1 986 
Shonen  Knife  (Gasatanka-Giant)  1 990  • 
Pretty  Little  Baka  Guy  +  Live  in  Japan  (Gasatanka- 
Rockville)  1990® 

Every  Band  Has  a  Shonen  Knife  Who  Loves  Them 
(Gasatanka-Giant)  1 989  ® 

It  is  tempting — though  not  quite  accurate — to  call 
this  female  trio  the  Japanese  Shaggs.  While  every  bit  as 
winsomely  adorable  and  unaffectedly  strange  as  the 
Wiggins  sisters,  Shonen  Knife  brings  more  competence 
to  their  instruments  (i.e.,  they  get  by,  if  barely)  and  a 
very  real  appreciation  and  grasp  for  goofy  pop  song 
structure  (as  opposed  to  the  accidental  unorthodoxy  that 
endeared  the  Shaggs  to  Ornette  Coleman  fans).  Finally, 
the  Knife  revels  in  modern  Japanese  obsessions  with 
commercial/pop  culture  and  cuteness  (inclinations  that 
allow  adult  women  to  carry  Hello  Kitty  lunch  boxes  to 
work  and  while  away  time  in  discos  playing  rock/ 
scissors/paper).  Knife  song  titles  include  "Ice  Cream 
City,"  "Flying  Jelly  Attack"  and  "Tortoise  Brand  Pot 
Scrubbing  Cleaner's  Theme"  (a  would-be  jingle). 

Heard  by  Western  ears,  the  observations  and  credos 
uttered  by  guitarist  Naoko  Yamano  and  bassist  Michie 
Nakatam  (the  group  is  rounded  out  by  Naoko 's  sister 
Atsuko  on  drums)  are  alternately  amusing  and  disturb- 
ing: "I  like  public  baths"  is  a  scream,  but  "I  wanna 
be/Twist  Barbie"  says  perhaps  more  than  they  intend  to 
about  the  way  Japanese  women  are  conditioned  to  see 
themselves.  The  trio's  songs  are  all  ridiculously  catchy 
(and  vice  versa),  betraying  the  dual  influences  of  the 
Ramones  and  the  Beatles;  almost  all  of  them,  collected 
from  Japanese  EPs  and  LPs,  are  contained  on  the  two 
Gasatanka  albums,  (The  American  issue  of  Pretty  Lit- 
tle Baka  Guy  contains  a  five-song  1990  concert  perfor- 
mance; the  CD  and  cassette  replace  three  vinyl  tracks 
with  live  efforts  from  1982.)  K's  cassette-only  edition 
of  Burning  Farm  adds  three  songs  from  a  Japanese 
compilation. 

Spearheaded  by  the  lads  in  Redd  Kross  (who  have 
involved  the  Knife  in  Tater  Totz  projects  and  have  a 
song  entitled  "Shonen  Knife"  on  Third  Eye),  the  trio 
has  gained  huge  cult  status  in  Los  Angeles  (a  1990  gig 
there  was  a  major  hip-scene  event),  prompting  a  local 
label  to  assemble  a  tribute  album  (Every  Band  Has  a 
Shonen  Knife  Who  Loves  Them),  wherein  many  of 
the  band's  more  memorable  themes  are  given  a  full- 
blown treatment  that  makes  you  appreciate  their  inno- 
cent ingenuity  all  the  more.  Christmas'  brilliant  cover  of 
"Ice  Cream  City"  is  better  than  any  of  the  band's  recent 
original  output.  Sonic  Youth's  version  of  "Burning 
Farm"  is  sexy  sinister,  and  there's  much,  much  more. 
The  single-album,  double-album  and  CD  versions  all 
annoyingly  delete  and/or  add  tracks;  you'll  have  to  lo- 
cate the  double-vinyl  edition  to  hear  this  book's  editor 
(as  a  member  of  Pippi  Eats  Cherries)  play  guitar  on 
"One  Day  at  the  Factory."  [gk] 


SHOP  ASSISTANTS 

Shop  Assistants  EP  (nr/Subway  Organisation)  1 985 

Safety  Net  EP  (nr/53rd  &  3rd)  1 986 

Shop  Assistants  (nr/Blue  Guitar-Chrysalis)  1 986 

Here  It  Comes  EP  (nr/Avalanche)  1990 

Big  E  Power  EP  (nr/Avalanche)  1990  • 

MOTORCYCLE  BOY 

Trying  to  Be  Kind  EP  (nr/Blue  Guitar-Chrysalis)  1989 
Scarlet  (nr/Blue  Guitar-Chrysalis)  1 989  • 

Along  with  the  Jesus  and  Mary  Cham,  Edinburgh's 
Shop  Assistants  are  part  of  a  trend  away  from  the  ter- 
ribly twee  pop  coming  out  of  Scotland  in  the  early 
'80s.  Four  lasses  and  a  lad  (including  two  drummers), 
the  Shop  Assistants  are  raw,  catchy  and  utterly  with- 
out pretense.  Their  first  two  EPs  combine  some  of 
J&M's  white-noise  pop  with  Buzzcocks-influenced 
buoyancy,  and — when  necessary — tuneful  delicacy 
(see  Safety  Net's  "Somewhere  in  China")  The  four- 
song  debut  is  promising;  Safety  Net  is  nothing  short 
of  brilliant. 

The  band's  first  album  reprises  two  songs  from  each 
of  the  preceding  releases;  while  it's  by  no  means  a  bad 
record,  there  aren't  any  ideas  on  it  that  weren't  already 
covered  on  the  EPs.  Shop  Assistants  is  good,  straight- 
forward, tuneful  rock'n'roll  (and  a  real  good  party  al- 
bum), but  too  many  of  the  tracks  blend  into  one  another. 
In  1987,  lead  singer  Alex  (a  woman)  split  to  form 
the  extremely  similar  Motorcycle  Boy  (not  to  be  con- 
fused with  the  American  band  of  the  same  name). 

The  Shop  Assistants  reconvened  in  1989  as  a  four 
piece,  but  not  without  playing  some  musical  chairs. 
Former  bassist  Sarah  took  over  lead  vocals,  one  drum- 
mer left,  one  took  over  bass  duties  and  another  arrived, 
leaving  only  guitarist  David  staying  put  (still  no  sur- 
names). Despite  all  the  changes,  Here  It  Comes 's  title 
track  pretty  much  picks  up  where  the  band  left  off, 
although  without  the  old  feedback  blur.  A  cover  of  Half 
Japanese's  "Too  Much  Adrenalin"  is  great  retro 
raunch,  as  is  the  concluding  "Look  Out."  Big  E  Power 
(these  Ecstasy  references  are  getting  out  of  hand)  is 
more  tuneful,  even  if  the  airy- voiced  Sarah  sounds  al- 
most intimidated  in  her  starring  role.  The  title  song  is 
included  twice,  once  as  a  bootleg-quality  live  "big  flares 
mix"  recorded  in  Manchester;  the  atonal  jam  would  do 
the  Velvets  proud.  A  cover  of  the  Beatles'  "She  Said 
She  Said"  is,  strangely  enough,  not  credited  as  such. 
The  Shop  Assistants  won't  change  anyone's  life,  but  it's 
nice  to  have  them  back,  (dgs) 


SHRAPNEL 

Shrapnel  EP  (Elektra)  1984 

One  of  the  lesser  lights  of  New  York's  new  wave 
club  scene.  Shrapnel  was  a  young  quintet  of  pop- 
conscious  metal-heads  who  began  playing  out  around 
1977  and  clung  on  long  enough  to  make  this  five-song 
12-inch,  distinguished  mainly  for  an  entertaining  cover 
of  Gary  Glitter's  "Didn't  Know  I  Loved  You"  (Till  I 
Saw  You  Rock-n-Roll)"  and  a  pair  of  tracks  nicely 
produced  by  sometime  Psychedelic  Fur  Vince  Ely.  The 
most  notable  thing  about  Shrapnel,  however,  was  the 
subsequent  career  of  guitarist  Daniel  Key  as  a  producer 
and  player  with  the  Ramones,  Manitoba's  Wild  King- 
dom and  Masters  of  Reality,  [i) 


594 


SHRiEKBACK 

Tench  EP  (Y  America)  1 982 

Care  (Warner  Bros.)  1 983 

Jam  Science  (nr/Arista)  1984 

Knowledge,  Power,  Truth  and  Sex  EP  (Ger.  Arista)  1 984 

The  Best  of  Shriekback:  The  infinite  (nr/Kaz)  1985  • 

Oil  and  Gold  (island)  1985® 

Big  Night  Music  (Island)  1986  • 

The  Best  of  Shriekback  Volume  Two:  Evolution  (nr/Kaz) 

1988® 

Go  Bang!  (Island)  1988  ® 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1988 
The  Dancing  Years  (Island)  1990  <!> 

Too  Much  Fun  (nr/Polydor)  1989  • 

Barry  Andrews  was  a  founder  of  XTC  and  later  the 
organist  in  Robert  Fripp's  League  of  Gentlemen.  David 
Allen  was  coincidentally  replaced  in  Gang  of  Four  by 
League  bassist  Sara  Lee.  Together  with  guitarist/vocalist 
Carl  Marsh  and  a  drum  machine,  Andrews  and  Allen 
formed  Shriekback,  a  cagey  dance  band  with  solid 
rhythms  and  insidiously  weird  vocals.  The  playing  is 
top-notch,  a  slithering  swamp  snake  that  oozes  cool  ma- 
levolence on  Tench's  six  tracks.  Shriekback  abounds  in 
originality  and  creativity,  if  not  warmth.  Despite 
changes  in  personnel,  Andrews  has  remained  the  band's 
core,  preserving  its  spirit  of  prickly  iconoclasm  and 
imaginative  exploration. 

Care  is  an  intelligent,  well-produced,  spirited  de- 
but, demonstrating  what  every  XTC  fan  knew  all 
along — Andrews  is  one  of  rock's  most  original  and  mu- 
sical keyboard  players.  Over  Allen's  slinky,  oblique 
bass  lines,  he  provides  subtle  shadings  and  clever  doo- 
dles that  move  in  and  out  of  the  mix,  making  this  perfect 
for  both  dancing  and  scrutiny.  Most  bands  with  this 
much  talent  would  be  content  to  showcase  their  chops, 
but  Shriekback  can  write  a  good  song,  too,  especially 
the  haunting  "Lined  Up,"  a  unique  funk  concoction 
that  sets  an  impossible  standard  for  inferior  but  like- 
minded  bands, 

Jam  Science  doesn't  quite  match  Care  for  sheer 
invention,  but  is  nonetheless  a  solid,  confident  LP.  More 
prominent  use  of  drum  machines,  female  backing  vocals 
and  string  synths  give  the  record  a  slick  Euro-disco  feel. 
(Released  by  UK  Arista,  this  LP  should  not  be  confused 
with  an  unauthorized  release  of  the  same  name  on  Dutch 
Y,  which  contains  most  of  the  same  songs  but  in  unfin- 
ished form.  The  German  EP,  with  four  of  the  proper 
album's  tracks,  is  legit, ) 

OH  and  Gold  goes  for  a  much  harder  sound,  with 
booming,  sometimes  overpowering  guitar  and  drums 
(most  evident  on  "Nemesis,"  a  big  club  hit  and  the  only 
pop  song  ever  to  make  good  lyrical  use  of  the  word 
"parthenogenesis")  When  they  lean  toward  the  more 
ethereal  colors  found  on  Care,  the  results  are  pretty 
boring  ("This  Big  Hush/*  "Faded  Flowers'*),  After 
the  LP  was  released.  Marsh  left  the  group,  and  was 
replaced,  for  one  American  tour,  by  former  Voidoid 
guitarist  Ivan  Julian, 

The  garrulous  liner  notes  on  the  next  album  explain 
it  in  some  detail.  *4 Shriekback  celebrate  the  blessed 
dark— the  place  where  they  were  always  most  at  home. 
Songs  to  sing  in  your  sleep  ...  the  shape  and  rhythm  of 
two  different  kind  of  nights— nights  of  heat  and  weird- 


ness  ...  and  nights  incandescent  with  moonlight  and 
dreams.  Big  Night  Music  is  entirely  free  of  digital  heart- 
beats of  every  kind."  Except  for  a  few  familiar- 
sounding  entries,  this  radical  departure  resembles 
nothing  in  the  Shriekback' s  previous  repertoire  and  thus 
requires  a  real  commitment  to  get  over  the  shock  of 
hearing  evanescent  continental  delicacy  and  understated 
piano  music  instead  of  pounding  dance-rock  bizarritude. 
But  do  it— your  efforts  will  be  well  rewarded  with 
beauty,  grace  and  originality.  After  the  album,  Dave 
Allen  left  to  form  King  Swamp,  making  Andrews  the 
only  remaining  original  member. 

The  Infinite,  the  first  of  two  British  compilations, 
offers  a  solid  introduction  to  the  band's  early  period, 
excerpting  Tench  and  Care,  plus  some  other  things. 
Evolution,  the  second  volume,  is  more  eclectic,  con- 
taining tracks  from  Oil  and  Gold,  Jam  Science,  12- 
inch  versions  of  three  singles  and  another  song  from 
Care. 

With  guest  star  Doug  Wimbish  (Tackhead,  etc.) 
playing  a  lot  of  the  bass,  Andrews  and  stalwart  drummer 
Martyn  Barker— joined  by  guitarist  Mike  Cozzi,  who 
first  appeared  on  Big  Night  Music,  and  two  backup 
singers— returned  to  musical  daylight  on  Go  Bang!,  a 
winning  LP  produced  by  Richard  James  Burgess.  While 
the  ominous  undercurrent  in  Andrews'  voice  remains 
one  of  the  band's  best  features,  the  kinetic  arrangements 
(including  electronic  horns)  are  almost  playful,  largely 
picking  up  where  Oil  and  Gold  left  off. 

Shriekback  disbanded  in  mid- 1989.  Martyn  Barker 
followed  Allen  into  King  Swamp,  Cozzi  joined  the  An- 
drew Ridgeley  Band  and  Andrews  formed  Illuminati. 
The  final  release  from  Shriekback—The  Dancing 
Years— is  a  start-to-finish  career  retrospective  that  con- 
tains the  songs  you'd  expect,  but  not  in  overly  familiar 
form.  Other  than  one  new  song  ("White  Out"),  the 
album  consists  of  four  re-recordings  (including  a  radi- 
cally revamped  "My  Spine  (Is  the  Bass  Line)"  and 
"Deeply  Lined  Up,"  which  has  a  little  something,  but 
not  much,  to  do  with  "Lined  Up"),  two  live  renditions 
(four  on  the  CD)  and  three  remixes,  leaving  only  "Ev- 
erything That  Rises  (Must  Converge)"  and  "Shark 
Walk*'  untouched  from  their  original  album  versions, 
More  an  intriguing  coda  than  a  convenient  summary, 
The  Dancing  Years  bids  farewell  on  a  typically  offbeat 
and  atmospherically  entrancing  note,  [i/dgs] 

See  also  Robert  Fripp,  Gang  of  Four,  King  Swamp, 
XTC, 


JANE  SIBERRY 

Jane  Siberry  (Con,  Stmet)  1 981  (East  Side  Digital) 

1991  » 

No  Borders  H©re  (Open  Air)  1 983  » 
The  Sp«ckU»f  Sky  (Dub  Strwt-Open  Air)  1 985  {Duk© 

Strott-Wam©r  Bro$.)  1 988  * 
The  Walking  (Duke  Street-Reprise)  1987  « 
Bound  by  the  Beauty  (Duk©  Street-Reprise)  1989  * 

This  thrush-voiced  Canadian  has  inspired  compari- 
sons with  female  artistes  as  diverse  as  Kate  Bush,  the 
Roches  and  Laurie  Anderson,  but  Siberry  is  a  refreshing 
original »  combining  the  best  aspects  of  singer- 
songwriterism  and  art-pop  to  produce  music  that's  both 
artful  and  fun.  Her  eponymous  debut  album  (reissued  a 
decade  later  with  upgraded  packaging)  finds  the  artist's 


595 


playful  humanist  worldview  and  predilection  for  inven- 
tive, wide-ranging  arrangements  already  firmly  in  place 
on  smartly  observed  material  that's  by  turns  humorous 
("Marco  Polo")  and  darkly  atmospheric  ("The  Strange 
Well"),  with  quietly  effective  arrangements  that  focus 
firmly  on  Siberry's  delicate,  yet  sturdy,  vocals. 

On  the  more  elaborate  No  Borders  Here,  her  witty, 
literate  compositions  are  well-served  by  imaginative, 
near-cinematic  arrangements  and  production,  most  no- 
tably on  the  brilliant  mini-opera  "Mimi  on  the  Beach." 
The  subsequent  Speckless  Sky  is  even  better,  with  im- 
pressive numbers  like  "One  More  Colour,"  "Vladimir, 
Vladimir"  and  "Map  of  the  World  (Part  II)"  effec- 
tively blending  the  epic  and  the  intimate. 

The  Walking  is  airier  and  more  abstract,  with  fewer 
obvious  melodies  and  lyrical  hooks,  but  it's  a  quietly 
rewarding  album  that  shows  growth  and  new  confidence 
(e.g.,  "The  White  Tent  the  Raft,"  "Lena  Is  a  White 
Table").  In  contrast,  Bound  by  the  Beauty  is  relatively 
earthy  and  direct.  The  title  song,  "Everything  Reminds 
Me  of  My  Dog"  and  "The  Life  Is  the  Red  Wagon"  are 
among  Siberry's  friendliest  and  most  inviting  efforts  to 
date,  while  "Half  Angel  Half  Eagle"  and  "La  Jalouse" 
hint  at  darker  emotional  territory.  [hd] 

SICK  OF  H  ALL 

Blood,  Sweat,  and  No  Tears  (In-Effect)  1 989  ® 
We  Stand  Alone  EP  (In-Effect)  1991 

Without  bringing  anything  new  to  the  form,  this 
dynamic  New  York  hardcore  quartet  rips  through  famil- 
iar fast/mosh/shout/chant  maneuvers  with  explosive 
power  and  remarkable  tightness  on  the  clearly  articu- 
lated debut.  Other  than  a  guest  introduction  by  KRS- 
One,  there  are  no  surprises  in  the  no-nonsense  thrash  of 
angry  songs  like  "World  Full  of  Hate,"  "Disillusion," 
"Pushed  too  Far"  and  "My  Revenge." 

Returning  with  a  new  rhythm  section,  guitarist  Pete 
Koller  and  his  singer  brother  Lou  introduced  their  'core 
rhythms  to  a  buzzing  metallic  environment  on  the  studio 
side  of  the  brief  We  Stand  Alone  mini-album.  Besides 
covering  Minor  Threat's  "Betray,"  speaking  out  against 
senseless  violence  ("What's  Coin'  On")  and  defiantly 
standing  up  to  false  friends  ("We  Stand  Alone"),  the 
band  fills  out  the  7-inch  record  (and  tape)  with  savage 
live  performances  of  four  songs  from  the  first  LP.  [i] 

FRANK  SIDEBOTTOM 

Frank's  Firm  Favorites  EP  (nr/Regal  Zonophone)  1 985 
Oh  Blimey  If s  Christmas  EP  (nr/Regal  Zonophone)  1 985 
Sci-Fi  EP  (Oh  Supermum)  EP  (nr/Regal  Zonophone)  1986 
Christmas  Is  Really  Fantastic  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1986 
Frank  Sidebottom  Salutes  the  Magic  of  Freddie  Mercury 
and  Queen  and  also  Kylie  Minogue  (you  know, .... 
her  off  ''Neighbours")  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 987  4-  1 988 
Timperley  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 987 
5:9:88  (nr/ln  Tape)  1988 
13:9:88  (nr/ln  Tape)  1989 
Medium  Play  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 990 

At  first  glance,  Frank  Sidebottom  is  just  an  idiotic 
soccer  fan  from  Timperley  (a  town  just  outside 
Manchester)  who  performs  inanely  nasal  renditions  of 
popular  songs — accompanying  himself  in  various  mu- 
sical modes,  from  rock  to  acoustic  piano  to  a  rinkydink 


synthesizer  approximation  of  '20s  ragtime — while  wear- 
ing an  enormous  painted  papier-mache  head  But  what 
Chris  Sievey  (former  leader  of  the  equally  prolific  punk- 
era  Freshies)  has  done  as  Frank  Sidebottom  is  so  com- 
pletely over  the  top,  so  smglemindedly  weird,  funny 
and  charming  that  one  has  to  marvel  at  the  wit  and 
intensity  with  which  he  pursues  his  bewildering  career. 
As  British  as  a  sixpence  and  as  mad  as  a  hatter,  this 
tireless  and  hilarious  character  offers  the  world  (or  at 
least  the  hardy  members  of  his  fan  club)  a  much-needed 
blast  of  self-indulgent  fun.  And  unlike  so  many  rude, 
crude  and  lewd  performers,  he  always  remembers  to  say 
"Thank  you"  at  the  end  of  each  song. 

After  outlining  the  parameters  of  his  parodic  career 
with  three  self-released  EPs  that  include,  respectively, 
covers  (of  the  Sex  Pistols,  Police,  Queen,  etc.),  holiday 
originals  (like  "Christmas  in  Australia")  and  space- 
themed  oddities  (including  the  Bonzo  Dog  Band's  "Ur- 
ban Spaceman"  as  well  as  the  "Fireball  X15  Theme"), 
Frank  hooked  up  with  In  Tape  and  delivered  Christmas 
Is  Really  Fantastic.  Besides  the  inspirational  title  track, 
the  EP  (in  its  expanded  12-inch  form)  includes  a  medley 
of  seasonals,  an  absurd  oompah  version  of  Roy  Wood's 
"I  Would  It  Could  Be  Christmas  Everyday"  and  "Mull 
of  Timperley,"  which  allows  Frank  to  advance  his  own 
geocentric  worldview  and  twig  Paul  McCartney  at  the 
same  time.  Troublesome  puppet  sidekick  Little  Frank 
even  gets  a  turn,  closing  the  record  with  the  punk- 
rocking  "Football  Is  Really  Fantastic." 

Pictured  on  the  cover  of  The  Magic  of  Freddie 
Mercury  and  Queen  (a  1987  7-inch  expanded  to  foot- 
long  form  with  extra  tracks  the  following  year)  with  a 
mustache  and  detached  mic  stand,  surrounded  by  a  con- 
stellation of  Kylie  Minogue  faces  clipped  from  newspa- 
pers, Frank  croons  "I  Should  Be  So  Lucky"  and  reads 
"Love  Poem  for  Kylie"  ("Oh  Kylie  Kylie  Kylie,  as  a 
person  you  are  ace/Oh  Minogue  Minogue  Minogue, 
let's  run  away  to  space/I'll  build  a  dream  house  next  to 
yours,  with  Australian  cheap  labor/ And  you  can  be  the 
girl  next  door,  and  I  can  be  your  neighbor' ' ).  The  rest  of 
the  record  consists  of  goofy  Queen  covers  and  adapta- 
tions, including  "We  Will  Rock  You,"  "Frank  Gor- 
don," "I  Am  the  Champion"  and  "Everybody  Sings 
Queen,"  which  strings  together  the  band's  song  titles. 
Fantastic. 

Timperley  is  a  conceptual  tour  de  farce,  a  delicately 
delicious  romp  through  the  Kinks  ( "Timperley  Sunset," 
with  all-new  regional  lyrics),  Bruce  Springsteen  ("Born 
in  Timperley,"  which  helps  explain  the  town's  fantastic- 
ness:  it  has  two  post  boxes! ),  the  Troggs  ( *  *  J'Taime  Wild 
Thing  in  Timperley")  and—for  all  of  27  seconds—the 
Monkees  ( "Next  Train  to  Timperley ' ' ) .  As  usual,  Frank 
and  Little  Frank  squabble  about  this  and  that  between 
tracks. 

The  original  concept  behind  5:9:88  and  13:9:8$  was 
to  make  and  release  the  two  albums  a  week  apart,  but 
that's  not  exactly  how  things  worked  out.  The  first,  a 
double-LP  (and  somewhat  revised  cassette),  did  appear 
on  schedule  in  September  198E:  nearly  two  hours  of 
music  and  chat  (the  two  Franks  engage  in  a  lot  of  the 
latter;  "The  Tomb  of  Maurice  Karmerf*  is  sort  of  a 
homemade  radio  play,  an  echoey  little  excursion  ( "The 
Tomb  of  Maurice  Kamen**)  which  yields  such  useful 
information  as  the  ancient  Egyptian  derivation  of  the 
word  "formica")  that  runs  the  top-to-bottom  gamut 


596 


from  '60s  nostalgia  ("It  Was  Nearly  20  Years  Ago  To- 
day"), a  jolly  sea  chantey  ("Fantastic  Sea  Shanty") 
and  the  incisively  Floydian  "First  Puppet  on  the  Moon" 
to  some  total  time- wasters. 

The  second  half  of  Frank's  week  didn't  go  so  well; 
his  follow-up  extravaganza  ran  into  legal  difficulties  re- 
garding Little  Frank's  Christmas  parody  of  the  Beastie 
Boys'  "Fight  for  Your  Right"  and  wasn't  issued  until 
the  following  Apni.  Presented  as  a  holiday  trip  (by  train, 
of  course),  13:9:88  begins  on  a  merry  note  with  the 
singalong  "Blackpool  Fool."  But  it  quickly  develops, 
however,  that  Frank  has  neither  enough  songs  for  an 
album  (a  problem  Little  Frank  repeatedly  mentions, 
much  to  big  Frank's  vexation  and  depression)  nor  a  train 
ticket.  Although  Frank  does  make  it  to  Blackpool,  he 
really  doesn't  really  have  any  songs,  and  this  winds  up 
being  a  largely  non-musical  vacation  of  radio-play  non- 
sense that  ends  on  a  classical  note  with  "18:22:88  Over- 
ture." 

The  10-inch/ten-song  Medium  Play  has  no  overrid- 
ing concept,  but  this  more-wonderful-than-not  hodge- 
podge includes  really  fantastic  interpretations  of  songs 
by  Elvis  Presley  and  the  Beach  Boys,  Little  Frank's 
"Tummy"  rock  opera  and  a  sketchy  guest  rendition  (on 
guitar  and  sloperatic  tenor)  of  Duran  Duran's  "Planet 
Earth"  by  some  dolt  who  belches  at  the  end.  Alongside 
a  spiffy  upending  of  "Twist  'n'  Shout,"  MP's  highlight 
is  "Timperley  Blues"  (apologies  to  Eddie  Cochran), 
which  contains  the  following  profound  exchange  be- 
tween the  artist  and  his  sidekick  (prompted  by  Little 
Frank's  having  fetched  a  pizza  instead  of  the  visa  Frank 
wanted):  "You  stupid,  stupid,  stupid,  stupid  puppet." 
"I'd  like  to  help  you  Frank,  but  I'm  cardboard."  If  that 
makes  you  smile,  Frank  Sidebottom's  your  man.  [i] 


DAVITT  SIGERSON 

See  Royal  Macadamians. 

SIGUE  SIGUE  SPUTNIK 

Flaunt  It  (Manhattan)  1986  * 

Dress  for  Excess  (nr/Parlophort©)  1988  (EMI)  1989  • 

The  First  Generation  (nr/Jungle)  1990  [tap®}  (ROIR) 

1991  • 

In  this  cynical  and  suspicious  era,  criminals- 
including  politicians,  preachers,  murderers  and  swin- 
dlers of  all  persua$ions~~have  found  it  easy  to  get  away 
with  the  most  outrageous  transgressions  by  being  up- 
front  about  their  sins.  Nothing  succeeds  these  days  like 
the  profession  of  sincerity:  most  people,  it  seems,  prefer 
a  known  felon  to  a  possible  liar.  No  matter  how  inde- 
fensible one's  actions  may  be,  a  confident  pre-emptive 
announcement  or  tearful  apology  evidently  wipes  away 
all  evil. 

Spurred  no  doubt  by  former  Generation  X  bandmate 
Billy  Idol's  solo  stardom  (and  possibly  the  successful 
no-music-necessary  starmaking  machinery  of  Frankic 
Goes  to  Hollywood)*  bassist/producer  Tony  James 
formed  this  colorful  and  sweeping  multi-media  hype  as 
a  post-e  very  thing  adaptation  of  Malcolm  McLaren's 
great  rock'n'roll  swindle.  But  instead  of  trying  to  ma- 
nipulate the  record  industry  and  music-consuming  pub- 
lic with  cagey  behind-the-scenes  machinations,  Sigue 
Sigue  Sputnik  confronted  the  challenge  with  total  frank- 


ness, blithely  acknowledging  the  naked  crassness  of 
their  intentions.  The  sextet  proved  exceedingly  adept  at 
outrageous  style-mongering,  attracting  press  coverage 
(much  of  it  highly  unfavorable),  self-marketing  and  fa- 
vorable deal-making.  Creating  and  selling  records,  how- 
ever, was  another  matter. 

Prior  to  the  release  of  Flaunt  It,  SSS  debuted  with 
a  three- version  12-inch  of  "Love  Missile  Fl-11" — a 
ticking  bass  sequencer  with  a  simple  vocal,  shards  of 
guitar  and  piles  of  unpredictable  sound  effects,  goosed 
with  wild  production  tricks  into  a  mixed  trashcan  of 
trivia  that's  amusing  enough  but  bears  only  the  scantiest 
relationship  to  music.  The  album,  also  produced  by 
Giorgio  Moroder,  proffers  another  version  of  "Love 
Missile,"  following  it  with  an  utterly  useless  program 
of  near-identical  assemblages  and  other  likeminded  tripe 
that  attempts  to  replicate  the  T.  Rex  glam-pop  atmo- 
sphere with  meaningless  slogans  and  ultra-simple 
hooks.  (Besides  the  obvious  Bolanisms,  SSS  tangen- 
tially  acknowledges  a  massive  debt  to  Suicide  with  oc- 
casional cries  of  "Rocket  USA,"  not-so-cleverly 
disguised  as  "Rock  It  Miss  USA,")  Despite  spectacular 
Japanese-styled  art  and  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
rock  record  to  contain  paid  audio  advertisements, 
Flaunt  It  doesn't  got  it. 

The  notation  "This  time  it's  music"  on  the  front 
cover  of  Dress  for  Excess  is  almost  touching,  but  hardly 
supported  by  the  repetitive  trivia  contained  in  the 
grooves.  Dispensing  with  sponsorship  and  toning  down 
the  samples  (except  on  "Hey  Jayne  Mansfield  Super- 
star!," which  has  to  be  a  first  LP  outtake,  "Super  Crook 
Blues"  and  the  armageddon  fantasy,  "M*A*D"), 
Sigue  Sigue  roots  around  its  songwriting  closet  in  search 
of  something  worthwhile  to  dress  up,  but  what  gets 
simple  'SQs-by-way-of-guitarsVsynths  treatment  here 
is  totally  worthless  and  forgettable,  (There  isn't  even  an 
attempt  at  originality  in  "Rio  Rocks  1,"  which  puts 
cribbed  lyrics  to  "La  Bamba.") 

The  utterly  redundant  First  Generation  retrieves  the 
complete  Flaunt  It  4-track  demos  (essentially  the  same 
LP,  with  wicked  amounts  of  echo  and  none  of  the  sonic 
window  dressing,  plus  "Jayne  Mansfield")  and  sticks 
on  three  1990  recordings  and  a  limp  live  rendition  of 
"Rebel  Rebel."  At  that  point,  neck-deep  in  a  rising 
sewer,  James  went  off  and  joined  the  Sisters  of  Mercy. 

See  also  Generation  Xt  Sisters  of  Mercy.  [i] 

SILENCERS 

A  Utter  from  St.  Pou!  (RCA)  1 987  » 

A  Blu«  lor  Buddha  (nr/RCA)  1 988  (RCA)  1 989  • 

Dance  to  the  Holy  Man  {RCA}  1 991  « 

You  can't  keep  a  good  Scot  out  of  the  recording 
studio,  After  his  commercially  frustrating  experience 
with  Fingerprintz,  Jimme  O'Neill  reunited  with  guitarist 
Cha  Burns*  formed  the  Silencers  and  went  further-— 
commercially—- -than  Ms  old  group  ever  did,  Not  that 
this  band  purveys  pop  pastry:  A  Letter  fi*om  St.  Pawl 
addresses  neuroses  both  personal  and  political,  set  to 
churning  guitar-based  rhythms.  The  music's  hypnotic, 
the  lyrics  compelling.  **Wc  decided  we  wanted  to  write 
only  about  serious  subjects  without  sounding  anxious/" 
O'Neill  said.  Without  sounding  derivative  of  U2»  the 
Silencers  appeal  to  the  same  psychological  demo- 
graphic—only minus  the 


597 


The  single  "Painted  Moon"  did  much  to  boost  the 
Silencers'  debut  album.  Unfortunately,  history  didn't 
repeat  with  the  succeeding  A  Blues  for  Buddha.  When 
an  album's  most  commercial  track — pushed  briefly  as  a 
single — is  called  "Razor  Blades  of  Love,"  you're  not 
exactly  thinking  multi-platinum.  Despite  the  band's 
sparkling  sound,  O'Neill's  voice  and  lyrics  convey  an 
unrelieved  sense  of  doom.  Apocalyptic  imagery 
abounds,  and  the  album  winds  down  until  left  with  an 
acoustic  guitar  and  a  drum.  The  music  is  less  carefully 
composed  than  before — second-album  syndrome?  But 
the  pervasive  gloom  is  what  makes  A  Blues  for  Buddha 
so  enervating.  [si] 

See  also  Fmgerprintz. 

SILENT  RUNNING 

Emotional  Warfare  (EMI  America)  1 984 
Walk  on  Fire  (Atlantic)  1 987  * 
Deep  (Atlantic)  1 989  « 

If  Belfast  bands  are  generally  esteemed  for  their  pas- 
sionate intensity,  someone  forgot  to  tell  Silent  Running. 
Emotional  Warfare  (released  abroad  as  Shades  of 
Liberty)  contains  slick  humdrum  dance-rock  with  only 
Peter  Gamble's  Bonoesque  bellow  to  suggest — if  not 
generate — any  enthusiasm.  The  pounding  "Emotional 
Warfare"  is  as  good  as  it  gets,  and  that's  not  very.  The 
eager-for-airplay  Walk  on  Fire  reduces  Silent  Running 
to  a  quartet  (the  keyboardist  left)  and  comes  on  like  a 
dull  hybrid  of  the  Fixx  and  Bad  Company. 

Recorded  by  a  drummerless  trio,  Deep  is  the  best  of 
a  sorry  bunch.  The  first  two  tracks  on  each  side  are 
invigorating  blasts  of  determined  and  confident- 
sounding  112-conscious  4/4  guitar  rock,  but  elsewhere 
the  record  runs  aground  on  Bryan  Adams'  soundalikes 
and  metalhead  power  ballads.  [i] 

SILICON  TEENS 

Music  for  Parties  (Sire)  1 980 

Whether  people  realize  it  or  not,  Daniel  Miller  has 
probably  been  as  responsible  as  anybody  (save  Robert 
Moog)  for  the  rise  of  synthesizers  in  modem  rock,  via 
his  Mute  Records,  a  groundbreaking  single  (as  the  Nor- 
mal) and  production  work  for  Depeche  Mode  and  many 
others.  The  illusory  Silicon  Teens  (despite  the  personnel 
list  on  the  sleeve)  is  a  pseudonymous  Miller  studio 
project,  offering  fourteen  percolating  synth  versions 
(with  vocals)  of  such  rock'n'roll  classics  as  "Memphis, 
Tennessee,"  "Judy  in  Disguise,"  "You  Really  Got 
Me" — you  get  the  idea.  There  are  several  originals  as 
well,  but  the  title  says  it  best:  a  good  time  is  guaranteed 
for  all.  The  approach  here  is  more  conservative  and 
reverent  than  the  prior  more  devolutionary  Flying  Liz- 
ards, but  the  two  concepts  are  not  that  far  apart.  [i] 

SILOS 

About  Her  Steps.  (Record  Collect)  1 985  • 
Cuba  (Record  Collect)  1 987  • 
Tennessee  Rre  EP  (Record  Collect)  1987 
The  Silos  (RCA)  1 990  • 

WALTER  SALAS-HUMARA 

Lagartija  (Record  Collect)  1 988  • 


This  New  York  combo's  style  is  basically  an  idio- 
syncratic urban-bohemian  variation  on  country-rock, 
with  sly  melodies,  deceptively  simple  lyrics  and  the 
attractively  laconic  vocals  of  up-from-Florida  frontmen 
Walter  Salas-Humara  (founder  of  the  Vulgar  Boatmen) 
and  Bob  Rupe  (formerly  one  of  the  Bobs,  who  released 
a  pair  of  neat  records  on  Safety  Net).  The  eight  short 
songs  that  comprise  About  Her  Steps,  have  a  laid-back 
charm,  with  the  jangly  "Shine  It -Down,"  the  steel- 
guitar-drenched  "4  Wanted  Signs"  and  the  slow,  haunt- 
ing "Start  the  Clock"  standing  out. 

Cuba  forges  a  more  distinctive  band  personality  on 
tracks  as  diverse  as  the  incendiary  "Tennessee  Fire," 
the  poignant  "She  Lives  Up  the  Street,"  the  jauntily 
hippieish  "Mary's  Getting  Married"  and  the  regretful, 
acoustic  "Going  Round."  This  last  song  makes  good 
use  of  a  string  quartet;  the  rest  of  Cuba  finds  Mary 
Rowell's  violin  emerging  as  an  integral  element  in  the 
Silos'  sound.  The  Tennessee  Fire  12-inch  contains  the 
album  versions  of  the  title  track  and  "Start  the  Clock," 
plus  two  previously  unreleased  and  unremarkable  num- 
bers. 

Salas-Humara' s  well-crafted  and  appealing  solo  al- 
bum (which  doesn't  sound  very  different  from  the 
group's  work),  Lagartija,  has  contributions  from  Rupe 
and  includes  "About  Her  Steps."  and  "Cuba,"  neither 
of  which  (despite  their  familiar  titles)  have  been  re- 
leased by  the  Silos.  (The  CD  adds  two  songs.) 

The  Silos'  major-label  debut  doesn't  deviate  sub- 
stantially from  the  group's  indie  efforts,  maintaining  the 
earlier  discs'  live-in-the-studio  feel  and  confidently  un- 
flashy  instrumental  attack.  Rather  than  exploit  their  nat- 
ural accessibility  to  maximize  their  commercial 
potential,  Rupe  and  Salas-Humara  seem  to  be  taking 
pains  to  maintain  the  songs'  scaled-down  ramshackle 
charm,  avoiding  obvious  hooks  or  gimmicks.  The  pair 
gives  equal  play  to  rockers  ("Caroline,"  *Tm  Over 
You,"  "Don't  Talk  That  Way")  and  quieter  tunes 
("Commodore  Peter,"  "The  Only  Story  I  Tell,"  "Pic- 
ture of  Helen"),  and  make  like  a  sleepy  Sam  &  Dave  on 
the  horn-laden  * '  Maybe  Everything . "  [hd] 

See  also  Bobs,  Vulgar  Boatmen. 

JIMMY  SILVA 

See  Young  Fresh  Fellows. 

SILVER  CHALICE 

See  45  Grave. 

SIMON  F 

Gun  (Chrysalis)  1986 

Never  Never  Land  (Reprise)  1 987  • 

F  MACHINE 

Here  Comes  the  21st  Century  (Reprise)  1989  * 

Singing  keyboardist  Simon  F  was  half  of  a  mid-'SOs 
British  flop-in-the-pan  called  Intaferon;  ex-partner  Si- 
mon G  is  one  of  the  guitarists  on  his  first  solo  album. 
Gun  takes  its  best  shot  right  at  the  start,  leading  off  with 
a  histrionic  version  of  the  Hoodoo  Gurus'  indestructible 
"I  Want  You  Back"  complete  with  a  blinding  Steve 
Stevens  solo,  and  heads  downhill  from  there.  Despite  an 
annoying  synthesizer  squeal,  the  mock-Bowie  pop  of 


598 


"Baby  Pain"  isn't  bad;  everything  else  on  this  half- 
baked,  unoriginal  synth-dance  LP  is. 

Never  Never  Land  begins  with  "New  York  Girl," 
which  blends  ticking  sequencers,  surging  guitar  chords 
and  a  wall  of  backing  vocals:  the  resemblance  to  Billy 
Idol's  early  records  is  unmistakable.  But  so  is  the 
marked  difference  in  vocalists.  Elsewhere,  Simon  fails 
to  lay  a  glove  on  funk,  botches  the  Beach  Boy  allusion 
on  "American  Dream,"  makes  assorted  absurd  lyrical 
assertions  and  generally  bores  his  way  through  two  sides 
of  an  insipid  attempt  to  squeeze  talent  out  of  recording 
studio  walls. 

Corralling  a  guitarist,  drummer  and  keyboard 
player,  F  formed  F  Machine  and  set  about  imitating  his 
Idol  in  earnest.  On  Here  Comes  the  21st  Century  (the 
cover  of  which  charmingly  pictures  a  dozen  infamous 
murderers,  from  Hitler  to  David  "Son  of  Sam"  Berkow- 
itz:  is  there  a  rock'n'roll  message  here?)  he  assembles 
an  overproduced  collection  of  riffs  learned  from  Rebel 
Yell,  this  asshole  nonchalantly  endorses  rape  and  drug 
abuse,  complains  about  "Too  Many  White  People" 
("Gonna  get  a  gun,  gonna  kill  me  some/Won't  that  be 
a  lot  of  fun")  and  sings  lines  like  "I  want  to  raise  my 
fist/To  my  sexy  terrorist/Escape  from  Czechoslovakia/ 
Make  love  in  the  back  of  her  daddy's  car"  as  if  such 
wanton  stupidity  actually  means  something.  [i] 

SIMPLE  MINDS 

Life  in  a  Day  (PVC)  1 979  (Virgin)  1 987  • 

Real  to  Real  Cacophony  (nr/Arista)  1 980  (nr/Virgin) 

1982  (Virgin)  1988* 

Empires  and  Dance  (nr/Arista)  1980  (nr/Virgm)  1982  « 
Sons  and  Fascination/Sister  Feelings  Call  (nr/Virgin) 

1981  • 

Celebration  (nr/Arista)  1982  (nr/Virgin)  1982  * 
Themes  for  Great  Cities  (Stiff)  1 982 
New  Gold  Dream  (81-82-83-84)  (Virgin-A&M}  1982  « 
Sparkle  in  the  Rain  (Virgin-A&M)  1 984  • 
Once  Upon  a  Time  (Virgin-A&M)  1 985  * 
Sister  Feelings  Call  (Virgin)  1987 
Live  in  the  City  of  Light  (Virgin-A&M)  1 987  » 
Street  Fighting  Years  (Virgin-A&M)  1 989  « 
Themes  Vol.  1 :  March  79-April  82  [CD]  (nr/Virgin) 

1990* 
Themes  Vol.  2:  August  82-April  85  [CD]  (nr/Virgin) 

1990* 
Themes  Vol.  3:  September  85-June  87  [CD]  (nr/Virgin) 

1990* 
Themes  Vol.  4:  February  89-May  90  [CD]  (nr/Virgin) 

1990* 
Real  Life  (Virgin-A&M)  1991  <f» 

Scotland's  Simple  Minds  once  took  a  lot  of  (mostly) 
undeserved  criticism  for  being  arty  and  pretentious,  but 
in  the  early  days,  their  mix  of  serious/philosophical  lyr- 
ics with  danceabie  rhythms  supporting  oblique  musical 
structures  did  make  them  something  of  an  acquired  taste. 
Often  dense,  occasionally  discordant  and  gloomy,  Sim- 
ple Minds'  music  also  stretches  to  commercial  pop,  an 
area  they  pursued  with  increasing  enthusiasm  and  suc- 
cess in  the  '80s. 

Life  in  a  Day  largely  recalls  Roxy  Music,  but  also 
touches  lightly  on  several  forms,  including  pop,  psy- 
chedelia and  an  adventurous  tense/terse  style  they  ex- 


plored on  subsequent  albums.  "Sad  Affair"  is  modish; 
"All  for  You"  has  disturbing  overtones  of  the  Doors 
and  early  Jefferson  Airplane;  "No  Cure"  sounds  like 
the  Buzzcocks-meet-the-Who;  "Chelsea  Girl*'  is  de- 
lightful '60s  pop,  complete  with  full  orchestration. 

With  Real  to  Meal  Cacophony,  the  band  lives  up 
(or  down)  to  the  album's  clever  title.  Excepting  a  cou- 
ple of  standouts  like  "Carnival  (Shelter  in  a  Suitcase)" 
and  the  haunting  instrumental  "Film  Theme"  (Simple 
Minds  are  one  of  the  few  bands  that  can  and  do  create 
worthwhile  instrumentals  with  real  skill),  Real  to  Real 
Cacophony  is  just  like  the  band  in  the  title  song;  "Real 
to  real  cacophony/Echo,  echo  on  endlessly." 

As  soon  as  the  needle  sets  down  on  Empires  and 
Dance's  "I  Travel,"  it's  obvious  that  Simple  Minds 
have  reorganized  and  changed  direction;  while  not  com- 
pletely successful,  the  album  is  extremely  atmospheric 
and  promising,  including  some  good  dance  tunes  and  a 
few  more  quasi-psychedelic  ones  ("Kant-Kino"  and 
"Room").  Celebration  is  a  compilation  of  tracks  from 
the  first  three  LPs. 

Two  discrete  albums  originally  released  as  one  pack- 
aged work,  then  reissued  separately  (the  latter  several 
times),  Sons  and  Fascination/Sister  Feelings  Call  is 
Simple  Minds'  first  really  good  record.  While  still  ex- 
perimental, the  group  sounds  more  comfortable  in  the 
semi-funky,  semi-dancey,  semi-electronic  groove  intro- 
duced on  Empires  and  Dance.  "The  American," 
"20th  Century  Promised  Land"  and  "Love  Song"  are 
all  top-drawer  examples  of  modern  dance  music; 
"Theme  for  Great  Cities"  is  another  fine  instrumental. 
Picking  up  its  title  from  that  composition,  Themes 
for  Great  Cities  (subtitled  "Definitive  Collection  79- 
81")  takes  the  best  material  from  albums  not  then  re- 
leased in  America — Real  to  Real  Cacophony,  Empires 
and  Dance  and  Sons  and  Fascination/Sister  Feelings 
Call — and  presents  the  band  much  more  strongly  than 
the  individual  records  originally  did.  (One  notable  omis- 
sion: "20th  Century  Promised  Land.") 

Opening  the  band's  commercially  rewarding  phase, 
New  Gold  Dream  (81-82-83-84)  takes  another  great 
step  forward.  The  songs  are  stronger  and  the  sound 
shows  a  definite  thawing,  mellowing  trend,  yet  retains 
its  majestic  power.  "Promised  You  a  Miracle"  (a  soul- 
ful and  dramatic  dance  tune),  "Glittering  Prize"  (a 
warm,  pretty  ballad)  and  the  panoramic  title  track  stand 
out,  A  memorable,  mature  record  marked  by  compas- 
sion and  sensitivity.  Drummer  Brian  McGee  had  de- 
parted, and  was  replaced  on  the  LP  by  three  different 
players,  one  of  whom—- Mel  Gaynor — wound  up  joining 
the  band. 

Working  with  producer  Steve  Lilly  white,  Sparkle 
in  the  Rain  is  another  fine,  affecting  record  with  tex- 
tured, intricate  rhythmic  rock  and  Jim  Kerr's  personable 
singing.  Simple  Minds  sound  firmly  in  control  of  their 
sound,  equally  capable  of  grand  gestures  and  subtle  nu- 
ance. The  first  side  is  great,  featuring  four  of  their  best 
songs:  "Speed  Your  Love  to  Me,"  "Book  of  Brilliant 
Things,'1 44Up  on  the  Catwalk"  and  "Waterfront."  The 
flipside  is  less  exhilarating,  but  does  include  a  cover  of 
Lou  Reed's  "Street  Hassle." 

At  this  point,  Simple  Minds*  story  gets  complicated. 
Jim  Kerr  married  Chrissie  Hynde  in  1984.  The  follow- 
ing year,  the  band  had  its  first  chart-topping  hit  with 


599 


"Don't  You  (Forget  About  Me),"  done  for  the  sound- 
track of  The  Breakfast  Club.  Bassist  Derek  Forbes  was 
replaced  by  John  Giblin.  They  appeared  at  Live  Aid. 
Jim  and  Chrissie  had  a  baby.  And  Simple  Minds  sold 
themselves  out  on  their  first  post-stardom  LP. 

Produced  by  Jimmy  lovine  and  Bob  Clearmountain, 
Once  Upon  a  Time  is  appalling,  a  perversion  of  the 
group's  sound  specifically — and  most  unpleasantly — 
geared  for  American  radio.  While  Kerr  still  has  enough 
self-respect  to  not  repeat  the  band's  hit  with  a  sounda- 
like,  tracks  like  "Sanctify  Yourself,"  "Alive  and  Kick- 
ing" and  "Oh  Jungleland"  (great  title)  are  surprisingly 
wretched,  transparent  stabs  at  Album  Rock  Radio  that 
bear  only  passing  resemblance  to  Simple  Minds'  prior 
work.  In  the  passage  from  arty  obscurity  to  arty  success, 
Simple  Minds  lost  their  balance  forever. 

The  sumptuous  and  sonically  excellent  live  double 
album  was  recorded  in  Paris  in  1986,  a  triumphant  cel- 
ebration of  the  band's  enormous  success.  Augmented  by 
a  backing  vocalist,  percussionist,  violinist  and  computer 
programmer,  Simple  Minds  play  the  recent  hits,  reach- 
ing back  before  New  Gold  Dream  only  once — in  a 
three-song  medley  on  Side  Four  that  runs  together 
"Love  Song,"  Little  Steven's  "Sun  City"  and  Sly  and 
the  Family  Stone's  "Dance  to  the  Music." 

Street  Fighting  Years  reveals  Kerr  neck-deep  in 
moral  righteousness,  writing  and  performing  self- 
important  songs  about  Third  World  struggles  (the  title 
track  is  in  memory  of  Victor  Jara)  with  much  the  same 
messianic  bombast  as  U2,  substituting  Stmg-like  pre- 
tense for  Bonoesque  passion  Co-produced  by  Trevor 
Horn,  the  album — which  goes  so  far  as  to  include  an 
utterly  redundant  seven-and-a-half-minute  remake  of 
Peter  Gabriel's  majestic  "Biko,"  complete  with 
bagpipes — sounds  spectacular,  a  complex  wash  of 
rhythms  (Manu  Katche'  joins  Mel  Gaynor  in  the  twin- 
drummer  attack),  guitars,  keyboards  and  strings.  It's  a 
technical  achievement  to  be  sure,  but  rock  music  on 
such  an  operatic  scale  isn't  exactly  entertaining,  and  the 
record  seems  distant  and  unapproachable.  Lou  Reed 
guest-sings  on  "This  Is  Your  Land";  African  percus- 
sionists add  social  credibility.  (The  CD  contains  a  bo- 
nus, "When  Spirits  Rise.") 

Each  of  the  four  Themes  sets — an  ingenious  pack- 
age that  folds  out  to  reveal  a  cross  of  five  CDs — 
compiles  the  contents  of  the  band's  12-inch  singles  from 
a  different  era.  [ks/i] 

See  also  Propaganda. 

SiOUXSlE  AND  THE  BANSHEES 

The  Scream  (Polydor)  1978  (Geffen)  1984  « 

Join  Hands  (nr/Polydor)  1979  (Geffen)  1984  • 

Kaleidoscope  (PVQ  1980  (Geffen)  1984  • 

Juju  (PVC)  1981  (Geffen)  1984  • 

Arabian  Knights  EP  (PVC)  1981 

Once  Upon  a  Time/The  Singles  (PVC)  1 981  (Geffen) 

1984<i 
A  Kiss  in  the  Dreamhouse  (nr/Polydor)  1 982  (Geffen) 

1984* 

Nocturne  (Geffen)  1 983  • 
Hyaena  (Geffen)  1984* 
The  Thorn  EP  (nr/Wondertand-Polydor)  1 984 
Cities  in  Dust  EP  (Geffen)  1985 
Tinderbox  (Geffen)  1 986  * 


Through  the  Looking  Glass  (Geffen)  1987  • 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987  • 

Peepshow  (Geffen)  1 988  • 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988  • 

The  Peel  Sessions  (Strange  Fruit-Dutch  East  India  Trading) 

1991  <f> 
Superstition  (Geffen)  1991  • 

In  1976,  Siouxsie  Sioux  (ne'e  Susan  Dallion)  and 
Steve  Severin  were  part  of  the  clique  of  steady  Sex 
Pistols  fans  known  as  the  Bromley  Contingent.  As 
Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees,  the  nascent  punk  rock  stars 
debuted  at  the  100  Club's  legendary  1976  punk  festival; 
aided  by  future  Ant  guitarist  Marco  Pirroni  and  the  un- 
known Sid  Vicious  on  drums,  the  motley  crew  bashed 
through  a  lengthy  free-form  rendition  of  "The  Lord's 
Prayer,"  stopping  only  when  they  became  bored. 

From  such  uncertain  beginnings,  Siouxsie  and  the 
Banshees  quickly  evolved  into  a  highly  popular  band, 
regularly  appearing  on  the  British  charts  despite  the 
group's  brooding,  abrasive  style.  The  Scream  capsu- 
lized  the  first-generation  sound  of  the  Banshees:  Sioux- 
sie's  icy,  sometimes  tuneless  wail  swooping  over  the 
metal-shard  roar  of  John  McKay's  guitar  and  the  brutish 
rhythms  of  bassist  Severin  and  drummer  Kenny  Morris. 
The  songs  are  relentlessly  grim,  albeit  often  sardonic  (as 
in  "Carcass"  and  their  version  of  the  Beatles'  "Helter 
Skelter").  In  a  bit  of  artistic  tampering,  the  American 
label  included  the  almost  upbeat  "Hong  Kong  Garden" 
(a  pre-LP  45  that  punched  its  way  into  the  UK  Top  10), 
beginning  the  album  with  an  unintended  stylistic  depar- 
ture. 

The  Scream  seems  positively  cheerful  in  light  of  its 
follow-up,  Join  Hands,  a  plodding,  depressive  album 
notable  only  for  the  commission  of  the  band's  "Lord's 
Prayer"  butchery  to  vinyl.  Two  days  into  a  tour  to  pro- 
mote the  album,  Morris  and  McKay  abruptly  walked 
out;  the  Banshees  drafted  guitarist  Robert  Smith  from 
opening  act  the  Cure  and  ex-Big  in  Japan/Slits  drummer 
Budgie  and  completed  their  concert  schedule.  Budgie 
subsequently  signed  on  as  a  permanent  Banshee  and  the 
group  proceeded  to  record  Kaleidoscope  without  a  gui- 
tarist to  call  their  own,  (Guest  stars  John  McGeoch  of 
Magazine  and  ex-Pistol  Steve  Jones  alternated  guitar 
duties  on  the  LP.)  Kaleidoscope  marked  a  bilateral 
move  away  from  the  group's  original  wall  of  noise; 
many  of  the  songs  are  softer  and  more  melodic  (e.g., 
"Happy  House"  and  the  flower-powery  "Christine"), 
and  there  is  an  increased  use  of  framing  concepts  ("Red 
Light"  is  built  around  the  whirr-click  of  a  camera  auto- 
winder).  After  McGeoch  signed  on  permanently,  they 
toured  America  for  the  first  time. 

Finally  a  full-fledged  band  again,  the  Banshees  re- 
leased the  strong  and  satisfying  Juju.  Siouxsie 's  voice 
had  developed  into  a  surprisingly  subtle  instrument,  and 
the  technical  prowess  brought  by  Budgie  and  McGeoch 
brought  power  and  complexity  to  songs  like  "Spell- 
bound" and  "Arabian  Knights." 

Also  released  in  1981,  Once  Upon  a  Time  assem- 
bled all  of  the  band's  singles  (including  the  otherwise 
non-LP  "Staircase  (Mystery)"  and  "Israel")  on  one 
record.  The  American  Arabian  Knights  EP  reprises  the 
contents  of  a  British  12-inch  plus  one  extra  tune. 

A  Kiss  in  the  Dreamhouse  finds  the  Banshees  veer- 
ing back  into  the  more  experimental  terrain  of  Kaleido- 
scope, letting  their  jarring,  near-pop  style  pass  through 


600 


some  pretty  strange  permutations  (like  the  deviant  neo- 
bop  of  "Cocoon"  and  the  medieval  recorder  stylings  of 
"Green  Fingers.")  McGeoch  fell  ill,  sat  out  the  next 
tour  (replaced  by  Smith)  and  decided  not  to  rejoin  the 
band. 

Nocturne  is  a  two-LP  live  set  recorded  (with  no 
overdubs)  at  a  pair  of  Royal  Albert  Hall  shows  in  late 
1983.  Smith  is  the  featured  guitarist  on  a  full-course 
selection  from  the  band's  repertoire,  stretching  back  to 
"Switch,"  "Helter  Skelter"  and  "Israel,"  but  also 
drawing  heavily  from  Dreamhouse.  Awesome. 

With  Smith  still  in  the  lineup,  Hyaena  starts  off  with 
the  utterly  magnificent  "Dazzle,"  a  haunting  blend  of 
industrial-strength  drumming  and  symphonic  backing, 
with  some  of  Siouxsie's  best  singing  ever.  The  album  is 
much  more  melodic,  light  and  inviting  than  any  of  the 
band's  others,  going  so  far  as  to  touch  on  an  earlier 
extra-curricular  excursion  into  jazzy  stylings  ( "Take  Me 
Back")  and  allowing  piano  to  dominate  "Swimming 
Horses."  The  Beatles'  "Dear  Prudence,"  a  big  1983  hit 
single  for  the  Banshees,  also  helps  leaven  the  traditional 
dark  intensity. 

Smith  was  subsequently  forced  to  flee,  as  being  a 
fulltime  member  of  two  major  groups  had  taken  its  toll 
on  his  health.  Former  Clock  DVA  guitarist  John  Carru- 
thers  replaced  him.  Already  maintaining  a  rather  low 
1985  profile,  the  Banshees  were  set  back  a  bit  further 
when  Siouxsie  broke  her  kneecap  during  a  show. 

At  a  point  where  some  were  ready  to  write  the  band 
off  as  aging,  lazy  veterans,  they  came  back  in  early  '86 
with  Tinderfoox,  one  of  their  strongest  LPs  in  years. 
Carruthers  fits  in  well,  his  rich  playing  stylistically  sim- 
ilar to  both  Smith's  and  McGeoch's;  the  rhythm  section 
is  as  steady  as  ever.  The  big  plus  is  punk's  original 
princess  herself — Siouxsie's  voice  has  never  been  so 
warm  and  tuneful  as  it  is  on  tracks  like  "The  Sweetest 
Chill,"  "Cannons"  and  the  great  single,  "Cities  in 
Dust."  (Geffen's  12-inch  contains  a  remix,  an  edit  and 
two  non-LP  cuts.  The  album's  British  CD  adds  five 
extra  cuts.) 

Through  the  Looking  Glass— an  eclectic  and  un- 
even but  generally  entertaining  album  of  covers—works 
best  on  the  numbers  which  receive  the  most  radical  re- 
vamps. Crisp  horn  work  and  a  no*non$6nse  vocal  per- 
formance focus  Iggy's  "The  Passenger";  orchestral 
lushness  and  rock  power  beautify  "This  Wheel's  on 
Fire,"  Kraftwcrk's  spare  "Hail  of  Mirrors"  is  converted 
into  an  alluring  dance  drone;  "Trust  in  Me,"  originally 
sung  by  a  snake  in  Disney's  Jungle  Book,  becomes  a 
delirious  tropical  seduction,  But  seemingly  arbitrary—- 
mostly $ymboiic~-choice&  of  oldies  by  the  Doors,  Roxy 
Music,  Sparks,  John  Cale  and  Television  receive  little 
creative  comment  and  fall  flat. 

Following  the  Looking  Glass  sessions,  Carruthers 
left  and  was  replaced  by  keyboardistfcellist  Martin  Mc- 
Carrick  and  ex-Specimen  guitarist  Jon  Klein,  Although 
Peepshow  begins  with  an  incongruous  dive  into  techie 
dance  music  (the  jokey  "Peek-a-Boo"),  most  of  this 
finely  wrought  album  confidently  presents  the  baud's 
chilly  rock  persona  in  a  more  familiar  setting.  The 
haunting  "Carousel* *  draws  quietly  from  the  bend's  own 
Kurt  Weill  songbook;  "Turn  to  Stone"  heightens  the 
drama  with  a  mild  Latin  flavor;  **The  Killing  Jar1'  sug- 
gests Echo  and  the  Buonymen  in  more  than  title.  In  an 
amusingly  camp  turn,  **  Bum-Up"  takes  an  extremely 


loose  poke  at  country  music,  adding  a  harmonica  solo 
for  effect.  Overall,  the  writing  could  be  more  durable, 
but  the  delicate  understatement  of  Peepshow  is  reassur- 
ing evidence  of  the  group's  continued  ambition  and  en- 
thusiasm. 

The  two  Peel  Session  EPs  (later  joined  as  an  album 
and  issued  in  the  US  on  CD  and  cassette  with  new 
artwork  as  The  Peel  Sessions)  date  from  November  '77 
and  February  '78.  Although  the  later  set  still  finds  the 
group  months  away  from  recording  its  first  album,  the 
six  songs  that  later  appeared  on  The  Scream  (the  other 
two — "Love  in  a  Void"  and  "Hong  Kong  Garden" — 
became  singles)  receive  strong,  almost  fully  developed 
performances,  distinguished  by  exceptionally  good  vo- 
cals and  Kenny  Moms'  thundering  drum  anchor. 

See  also  Creatures,  Glove.  [mp/i/tr] 

SISTER  DOUBLE  HAPPINESS 

See  Dicks. 

SISTER  RAY 

Coming  to  Terms  EP  (Sad)  1 985 
Sister  Ray  Live  [tape]  (KX4)  1986 
Random  Violence  (Hoi.  Resonance)  T987 
No  Way  to  Express  (Resonance)  1 989  ® 
To  Spite  My  Face  (Resonance)  1990  • 

Except  for  the  name,  this  crude  garage  band  from 
Youngstown,  Ohio  owes  little  to  the  Velvet  Under- 
ground. In  fact,  Sister  Ray  doesn't  seem  nearly  selfcon- 
scious  enough  about  their  proletarian  retro-rock  to  want 
to  shoulder  such  heavy  cultural  baggage.  On  Random 
Violence,  guitarists  Mark  Hanley  and  Greg  Cadman  rip 
up  the  floorboards  with  old-fashioned  Midwest  moxie 
while  Sam  D*  Angelo  has  the  right  idea  (if  not  the  right 
voice)  for  sneery,  snarly  punk.  (The  album  contains 
four  tracks  from  pre-LP  singles,  including  the  four-song 
7-inch  Coming  to  Terms.) 

Dropping  Cadman  to  become  a  quartet,  Sister  Ray 
fills  the  self-produced  No  Way  to  Express  with  no- 
nonsense  music  and  all-nonsense  lyrics  (like  *'Beef 
Pud/'  "Sex,'*  "I  Don't  Want  Your  Sex,"  "Sick  of 
Skulls/'  etc.).  Whether  these  guys  reckon  they're  cap- 
turing the  '60s  rebel  Zeitgeist  or  just  don't  know  any 
better,  such  juvenile  expressions  of  hostility  just  don't 
cut  it.  (The  CD  includes  eight  tracks  from  Random 
Violence.) 

Sam  D*  Angelo  and  his  bass-playing  brother  Joe  get 
up  to  their  old  lyrical  tricks  on  To  Spite  My  Face, 
penning  obvious  putdowns  ("Piss  Off  and  Die"),  ob- 
vious grossouts  ("Worms,"  "Doctor  #9")  and  origi- 
nal songs  that  use  classic  titles.  (They  recycled  "A  Day 
in  the  Life"  on  No  Way  to  Express;  this  go-round 
includes  "One  Step  Beyond"  and  "20th  Century 
Boy.")  While  the  energetic  record  has  blisteringly  loud 
sound  and  some  stupendous  Hanley  guitar  work,  a  total 
lack  of  style  and  atmosphere  dooms  Sister  Ray's  artless 
simplicity  to  sub-generic  mediocrity.  [i] 

SISTI US  OF  MERCY 

A! ice  EP(  Brain  Eofer)  1982 
The  Rept,ie  House  EP  (Brain  Eater)  1983 
Body  and  Soul  EP  (Meraful  Release)  ]  984 
First  and  Last  and  Always  (Elektra)  1985  • 


601 


Fioodbnd  (Elektra)  1987® 

Dominion  EP  (nr/Merciful  Release)  1988  • 

Vision  Thing  (Merciful  Release-Elektra)  1990® 

SISTERHOOD 

Gift  EP  (nr/Merdfui  Release)  1986  • 

River  of  No  Return  EP  (nr/Karbon)  1 986 
Heart  Full  of  Sou!  EP  {nr/Karbon)  1986 
Stop  the  World  (nr/Chrysalis)  1 989  ® 

The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  an  originally  all-male  Leeds 
group  named  after  an  order  of  cut-the-crap  Catholic 
nuns,  began  by  playing  what  they  jokingly  called  heavy 
metal,  which  it  sort  of  was;  an  odd  (but  prescient)  feat, 
considering  that  the  band's  "drummer"  was  Doktor  Av- 
alanche, a  rhythm  generator  Andrew  Eldritch  has  al- 
ways been  the  band's  focus:  chief  lyricist,  co-producer 
of  virtually  every  track  (briefly  at  first  with  Psychedelic 
Fur  John  Ashton,  then  with  Dave  Allen  of  Associates/ 
Cure  fame),  graphics  designer  and  lead  singer,  in  a 
deep,  aptly  gothic  voice. 

Although  their  pre-LP  body  of  work  amounted  to 
several  albums'  worth  of  tracks,  only  two  of  the  songs 
ultimately  turned  up  on  First  and  Last  and  Always.  As 
with  most  of  their  early  work,  the  12-inch  Alice  EP 
(particularly  its  excellent  title  track)  suffers  from  sub- 
par  sound.  The  sound  got  better  and  the  group's  identity 
began  to  come  into  its  own  by  Reptile  House;  with  the 
issue  of  the  brilliant  "Temple  of  Love"  single,  the  Sis- 
ters extended  their  reach  to  include  danceable  doom- 
rock. 

The  first  album  finally  attained  the  group's  long- 
sought  clarity  and  sophistication  and  is  nearly  sublime 
in  its  pristine  bleakness.  (Well,  Side  One  anyway;  the 
flipside  ain't  too  poor,  neither.)  Somewhat  distanced 
from  the  original  metal  idea,  incorporation  of  power- 
poppish  guitars  and  dancey  rhythms  does  nothing  to 
place  the  Sisters  within  either  category;  their  sonic  in- 
tegrity somehow  remains  intact.  Eldritch' s  vocals — Jim 
Morrison  meets  David  Bowie,  slowed  down  to  half- 
speed — are  as  gloriously  gloomy  as  ever. 

While  advancing  an  anti-fashionist  philosophy,  El- 
dritch had  nonetheless  cultivated  a  posture  for  the  band. 
A  live  German  bootleg  gives  some  indication  of  where 
he's  coming  from:  mainly  reworkings  of  oldies,  the  Sis- 
ters draw  on  the  canons  of  Dolly  Parton  and  Hot  Choc- 
olate as  well  as  the  Stooges  and  Stones.  Regrettably,  the 
other  members  of  the  group  became,  as  Eldritch  (only 
partly  tongue-in-cheek)  put  it,  "distorted  little  creatures 
with  black  teeth  ,  .  .  set  on  making  a  career."  Guitarist 
Wayne  Hussey  (who'd  come  to  the  Sisters  from  an  early 
edition  of  Dead  or  Alive)  and  bassist  Craig  Adams 
formed  the  pose-heavy  Mission  (UK).  Co-founding  gui- 
tarist Gary  Marx  went  on  to  form  Ghost  Dance  with 
ex-Skeletal  Family  vocalist  Anne-Marie. 

There  was  in  fact  some  legal  wrangling  over  the 
split,  making  it  uncertain  who  had  the  legal  rights  to  the 
band's  name.  While  this  was  being  sorted  out,  Eldritch 
cut  the  Gift  EP  as  the  Sisterhood,  He  doesn't  sing  on  it 
(presumably  also  for  litigial  reasons),  but  substituted 
tape  collages  and  speaking  by  other  folks,  including 
Alan  Vega.  Not  too  hurnmable,  but  effective  in  convey- 
ing some  serious  concerns,  notably  the  sinister  dehu- 
manization  inherent  in  acts  of  terrorism. 

Ex-Legal  Weapon/Gun  Club  bassist  Patricia  Morri- 


son, who'd  guested  on  Gift,  became  Eldritch's  only 
fellow  Sister  (so  to  speak)  when  the  legal  coast  was 
clear.  Eldritch  had  written  the  material  for  First  and 
Last  and  Always  half  with  Hussey  and  half  with  Marx; 
could  he  equal  that  alone? 

He  came  through  on  FSoodland  as  though  he'd  been 
writing  every  song  by  himself  since  the  beginning. 
American  producer/songwriter  Jim  Steinman  oversaw 
two  key  tracks,  "This  Corrosion"  and  "Dominion," 
and  that  worked  out  fine  too,  yielding  great  Sisterly 
Grand  Guignol  rock.  The  rest  is  not  as  theatrical  but, 
overall,  it's  a  richer  LP  than  the  first,  the  tracks  more 
maturely  constructed  and  the  lyrics  more  engrossing, 
loaded  with  nuance  in  the  juxtaposition  of  terse,  con- 
crete observations  and  poetic,  abstract  feelings.  (The 
CD  adds  two  )  Dominion  is  an  album  track,  two  okay 
instrumentals  and  a  strong  version  of  Hot  Chocolate's 
"Emma,"  which  the  old  Sisters  used  to  play  onstage. 

By  Vision  Thing,  Tony  James  (ex-Generation  X/ 
Sigue  Sigue  Sputnik)  had  replaced  Morrison  on  bass; 
the  group  had  added  guitarists  Andreas  Brahn  (who 
co-wrote  three  tracks)  and  Tim  Bncheno  (ex- All  About 
Eve,  a  band  with  ties  to  the  Mission).  The  full-bodied 
guitar  sound  is  further  augmented  by  guest  axeman  John 
Perry  (ex-Only  Ones) — but  it's  not  overkill,  it's  all  for 
the  sake  of  texture  and  feel.  Eldritch  displays  increased 
maturity  and  control  even  as  he  delegates  more  respon- 
sibility: the  sound  is  terrific,  the  music  is  track-for-track 
more  consistent  than  before  and  the  lyrics  more  evoca- 
tive. Eldritch's  almost  overwhelming  sourness  and  dark 
visions  are  tempered  by  a  mordant  wit  that  cuts  too 
sharply  to  dismiss,  even  when  it  occasionally  sounds 
clever  with  a  capital  C.  Varied  (a  couple  of  ballads  and 
"More,"  a  "Gimme  Shelter"-ish  collaboration  with 
Jim  Steinman)  and  visceral,  engaging  on  several  levels. 

ug] 

See  also  All  About  Eve,  Gun  Club,  Legal  Weapon, 
Mission  (UK). 

SKEETERS 

See  Fetchin  Bones. 

SKELETON  CREW 

Learn  to  Talk  (Rift)  1984* 

The  Country  of  Blinds  (Rift)  1986  • 

TOM  CORA 

Live  at  the  Western  Front  (Ger.  Recommended)  1 987 

Its  three-man  lineup  quickly  trimmed  to  a  less- 
extravagant  two,  Skeleton  Crew  regaled  audiences  in 
America,  Europe  and  Japan  with  a  unique  and  func- 
tional mix  of  rhythmically  twisted  rock,  electric  and 
acoustic  noise,  wittily  interpolated  taped  voice  frag- 
ments and  "fake  folk  music."  Most  of  the  latter  had  a 
distinctly  East  European  flavor,  though  one  New  York 
gig  consisted  entirely  of  folk  music  from  around  the 
world.  Guitarist  Fred  Frith  alternated  conventional  and 
homemade  guitars,  six-string  bass,  violin  and  keyboards 
while  occasionally  singing  in  a  high-pitched  voice.  Tom 
Cora  busied  himself  on  cello  as  well  as  four-string  bass 
and  devices;  both  worked  kickdrums  with  their  feet  as 
their  fingers  flew.  They  had  enough  material  for  maybe 
three  good  albums,  but  the  fine  Learn  to  Talk  and 
Country  of  Blinds  (on  which  the  Crew  expanded  to 


602 


include  singer/keyboardist/harpist  Zeena  Parkins)  will 
serve  for  posterity.  Both  albums  are  available  on  a  sin- 
gle CD.  [mf] 
See  also  Fred  Frith. 


SKELETONS 

See  More  Us. 

SKIDS 

Wide  Open  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 978 

Scared  to  Dance  (Virgin  Infl)  1979  (Blue  Plate)  1991  • 

Days  in  Europe  (nr/Virgin)  1 979 

The  Absolute  Game  (nr/Virgin)  1980 

Joy  (nr/Virgin)  1981 

Fanfare  (nr/Virgin)  1982 

Dunfermline  [CD]  (Virgin)  1987  ® 

The  Skids'  rise  and  fall  revolved  around  Richard 
Jobson — singer,  writer,  creative  dilettante,  Emerging 
from  Scotland  as  a  promising  punkish  quartet  playing 
literate  and  challenging  rock  music  with  anthemic  pro- 
clivities, under  Jobson 's  leadership  the  Skids  became 
more  and  more  pretentious  and  less  and  less  a  band, 
finally  evaporating  into  the  mist  after  a  miserable  fourth 
LP,  recorded  as  a  duo.  The  first  three  albums,  however, 
offer  a  precious  body  of  inspiring  and  unique  rock'n'roll 
with  obvious  Scottish  blood.  In  hindsight,  it's  easy  to 
see  what  role  guitarist  Stuart  Adamson  (now  a  star  in  his 
own  right  with  Big  Country)  played  in  defining  the 
Skids'  sound. 

Wide  Open,  a  four-song  12-inch  on  red  vinyl,  con- 
tains two  inspired  successes  in  "The  Saints  Are  Com- 
ing" and  "Of  One  Skin,*'  both  of  which  also  appear  on 
the  similarly  excellent  Scared  to  Dance.  Using  loud 
guitar  and  semi-martial  drumming  for  its  basis,  Jobson's 
hearty  singing  sounds  like  an  18th  century  general  lead- 
ing his  merry  troops  down  from  the  hills  into  glorious 
battle.  Two  other  standouts  on  the  LP  ("Into  the  Val- 
ley" and  "Hope  and  Glory")  maintain  the  style  but  are 
different  enough  to  keep  things  exciting.  (The  US  re- 
lease on  Virgin  substitutes  two  tracks  and  has  an  altered 
song  order. ) 

Bill  Nelson  produced  the  Skids1  (with  a  new  drum- 
mer and  bassist)  second  album,  Days  in  Europa,  but 
the  match-up  proved  problematic,  In  polishing  and  re- 
fining the  band's  sound  even  a  little,  he  smoothed  off  the 
vital  edge,  There's  less  gusto  in  the  grooves,  although 
some  songs  (like  *4 Working  for  the  Yankee  Dollar," 
* 'Charade"  and  "Animation**)  shine  through  regard- 
less. 

While  the  lineup  remained  stable  for  The  Absolute 
Game,  a  new  producer  took  over  the  helm.  Mick  Glos- 
sop  did  a  good  job  presenting  Jobson's  widening  vision 
amidst  semi-grandiose  arrangements*  but  the  blooming 
Jobson  ego  had  led  the  band  a  long  way  from  its  early 
forthrightness.  Parts  of  The  Afoiotwte  Game  are  just 
arty  pretense,  but  the  inclusion  of  substantial*  engaging 
material  makes  it  a  reasonable  addition  to  the  collection. 
Strength  Through  Joy,  a  bonus  album  of  finished  stu- 
dio outtakes,  came  with  early  pressings— interesting, 
but  not  essential. 

After  a  few  more  changes  in  the  lineup,  only  Jobson 
and  bassist-Cttm^muiti-instrumentalist  Russell  Webb  re- 
mained Skids,  Joined  by  an  all-star  guest  cast  of  ten, 


they  made  Joy,  a  failed  concept  album  about  Scotland. 
To  call  it  bad  is  curt  but  realistic. 

Fanfare,  released  after  the  sinking  group  finally 
(mercifully)  ceased,  is  an  excellent  compilation  of  sin- 
gles and  album  tracks  that  serves  as  the  perfect  intro- 
duction to  the  Skids'  magic.  Six  years  later,  the 
Dunfermline  CD  appeared,  reprising  Fanfare  (though 
deleting  one  cut)  and  adding  seven  more,  only  one 
("Scared  to  Dance")  of  which  is  truly  consequential. 

Afterlife:  Adamson  formed  Big  Country  and  fur- 
thered the  Skids'  pan-ethnic  experimentation  in  service 
of  arena  metal;  Jobson,  in  between  albums  of  preten- 
tious poesy,  formed  the  Armoury  Show  and  briefly  fol- 
lowed his  former  bandmate  back  into  the  rock'n'roll 
fray.  p] 

See  also  Big  Country,  Richard  Jobson,  Zones 

SKIN 

See  Swans, 

Remission  EP  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 984  (Netiwerk)  1 990  ® 
Bites  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 985  (Nettwerk)  1 990  • 
Mind:  The  Perpetual  Intercourse  (Nettwerk-Capitol) 

1986® 

Cleanse  Fold  and  Manipulate  (Nettwerk-Capitol)  1987  * 
VIVIsectVI  (Nettwerk-Capitol)  1 988  • 
Rabies  (Nettwerk-Capitol)  1989  • 
Twelve  Inch  Anthology  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 990  • 
Too  Dark  Park  (Nettwerk-Capitol)  1990  • 

HILT 

Call  the  Ambulance  Before  S  Hurt  Myself  (Can,  Nettwerk) 
1989  (Nettwerk)  1990* 

TEAR  GARDEN 

Tired  Eyes  Slowly  Burning  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1 987 

(Nettwerk)  1990» 

One  of  the  most  interesting  bands  to  come  from 
north  of  the  border  in  quite  a  while,  Vancouver's  Skinny 
Puppy  was  formed  by  multi-instrumentalist  cEVIN  Key 
(that's  how  he  spells  it)  and  singer/lyricist  Nivek  Ogre 
(Kevin  Ogilvie,  who  is  not  related  to  Puppy  producer 
Dave  Ogilvie),  They  have  produced  a  large  body  of 
dark  electronic  music,  drawing  on  such  obvious  influ- 
ences as  Cabaret  Voltaire,  Chrome,  Suicide  and  Throb- 
bing Gristle.  Orchestration  is  predominantly  distorted, 
the  vocals  are  non-melodic  and  the  group  makes  very 
creative  use  of  synths  and  tapes.  The  only  problem  is 
that  Skinny  Puppy  has  often  worked  harder  at  creating  a 
mood  or  a  sound  than  writing  songs  and  has,  at  times, 
borrowed  just  a  little  too  freely  from  favorite  bands. 

There  isn't  much  evident  progress  from  Bites  to 
Mind:  The  Perpetual  Intercourse;  both  are  filled  with 
mildly  gloomy  but  danceable  tracks,  virtually  indistin- 
guishable (instrumentally  and  vocally)  from  early  Cab- 
aret Voltaire.  Production  is  a  little  better  (at  least  the 
sound  is  a  bit  clearer)  on  Mind.  The  Bites  CD  also 
includes  all  the  cuts  from  the  prior  Remission  EP. 

Having  appeared  on  four  Mind  tracks,  Dwayne 
Ooettel  (electronics/sampling)  became  a  fulltime  Puppy 
and  helped  open  up  the  sound  on  Cleanse  Fold  and 
Manipulate,  a  finely  honed  album  which,  unfortu- 
nately, reveals  precious  few  new  musical  ideas.  Like- 
wise, the  lyric  sheet  contains  no  surprises— just  your 


603 


basic  foreboding  visions  of  a  skewered  world.  Skinny 
Puppy  (who  are  outspoken  anti-vivisectionists)  may  not 
be  quite  as  evil  or  demented  as  they  seem  to  fancy 
themselves,  but  Cleanse  Fold  and  Manipulate  does 
show  promise. 

VTVIsectVI  brings  SP's  views  on  sociopolitical 
matters  (both  human  and  non-human)  to  the  forefront  of 
their  work  with  more  conviction  than  ever.  The  cover 
art  consists  of  overlaid  (animal?)  X-rays;  tracks  like 
"Human  Disease  (S.K.U.M.M.),"  "Testure,"  "Hos- 
pital Waste"  and  others  decry  brutality  against  the 
planet  and  all  of  its  inhabitants.  "VX  Gas  Attack"  (re- 
corded in  1988)  goes  after  Iraq  long  before  George  Bush 
chose  up  sides.  The  sound  is  bigger  (especially  the  per- 
cussion), filled  in  with  robotic  bass  lines  and  effective 
sampling. 

The  Puppies  are  joined  on  Rabies  by  Ministry/etc. 's 
Al  Jourgensen,  who  provides  guitar,  vocal  and  produc- 
tion assistance.  Although  he  adds  some  blood  and  guts 
with  quasi-metal  guitar,  it's  not  enough  to  distinguish 
the  LP  from  previous  efforts.  Each  track  varies  in 
rhythm  and  tempo  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  two 
shortest  cuts,  they  all  have  the  same  feel.  Minor  keys, 
electro-beats,  distorted,  otherworldly  voices  (from  tapes 
and  band  members) — so  what  else  is  new? 

Too  Dark  Park  continues  in  much  the  same  mode, 
this  time  with  a  dense,  bottom-heavy — almost  sym- 
phonic— sound.  The  lyrics  offer  frightful  visions  of  a 
diseased,  decayed  planet  (apparently  that's  what  the  aw- 
ful, high-school-space-cadet-style  cover  art  is  trying  to 
convey,  but  the  lyrics  do  a  much  better  job).  The  overall 
result  is  pure  claustrophobia — no  breathing  room. 

12  Inch  Anthology  culls  the  A-  and  B-sides  from 
four  12-inches  released  between  1985  and  1989.  Most 
of  the  ten  tracks  (including  two  versions  of  **  Stairs  and 
Flowers")  are  non-LP,  making  Anthology  important 
for  completists,  but  it  offers  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary, 
save  for  a  hint  of  humor:  the  old  Bugs  Bunny  cartoon 
with  the  evil  scientist  and  the  monster  is  sampled  on 
"Deep  Down  Trauma  Hounds." 

The  Tear  Garden  is  Key's  side  project  with  Edward 
Ka-Spel  of  the  Legendary  Pink  Dots.  While  Ogilvie  and 
Key  performed  most  of  the  studio  chores  on  Tired  Eyes 
Slowly  Burning,  the  latter  co-wrote  the  material  with 
Ka-Spel,  creating  an  album  that  is  much  more  sparse, 
clean  and  melodic  than  most  Puppy  work.  Ka-Spel's 
English-accented  vocals  (he  sounds  something  like 
Marc  Almond  or  Syd  Barrett)  and  the  two  sides'  obvi- 
ous musical  differences  make  this  an  interesting  diver- 
sion, and  one  that  Skinny  Puppy  would  do  well  to  pursue 
further  on  their  own. 

Following  Jourgensen 's  lead  in  side-project  over- 
kill, Skinny  Puppy  is  also  behind  Hilt,  which  includes 
Alan  Nelson  (a  '70s  punk-rock  bandrnate  of  Key's  and 
a  longtime  Puppy  associate).  With  Key  handling  pro- 
duction (and  members  of  Caterwaul  and  the  Sons  of 
Freedom  making  guest  appearances),  Nelson's  thrashy 
contributions  make  Call  the  Ambulance  rock  out  a  bit 
more,  but  the  basic  ingredients  of  Puppydom  are  pretty 
much  intact.  "Baby  Fly  Away"  has  a  sung  (and  almost 
catchy)  melody  and  "Down  on  Mommys  Farm"  moves 
along  at  a  busy,  breakneck  tempo;  there  are  moments  of 
lighter,  warmer  production  than  SP  records  Still,  Hilt  is 
no  major  breakaway.  (The  CD  adds  five. )  [dgs] 


Skin  Yard  (C/Z)  1986® 
Hallowed  Ground  (Toxic  Shock)  1988 
Fist  Sized  Chunks  (Cruz)  1 990  • 
1000  Smiling  Knuckles  (Cruz)  1991  • 

Angle  of  Attack  (Bobok)  1990 

Stuck  between  rock  and  an  art  place,  this  Seattle 
contingent — led  by  guitarist  Jack  Endino,  whose  pivotal 
role  as  the  Sub  Pop  scene's  leading  producer  has  over- 
shadowed his  musical  efforts — has  borne  the  brides- 
maid's mantle  for  years  as  others  have  taken  turns  on  the 
city's  Next  Big  Thing  pedestal.  It's  hard  to  see  why: 
Skin  Yard  is  every  bit  as  powerful  (and  dopey  and  pon- 
derous) as  anyone  tilling  the  Northwest  passage. 

Positively  glacial  in  both  temperature  and  speed,  the 
self-titled  debut  should  appeal  to  fans  of,  say,  Swans  or 
Saint  Virus,  but  more  ambulatory  types  may  have  dif- 
ficulty weathering  a  side.  (Just  for  laughs,  the  CD  adds 
five  tracks.)  Hallowed  Ground  boasts  more  structure, 
and  a  drummer  who  can  marshal  the  music  along  more 
effectively.  Endino 's  great  wall  of  wail  buckles  and 
lurches  when  pummeled  by  Daniel  House's  steamroll- 
ing  bass.  The  roughVtumble  interplay  works  best  on 
the  swirling  "In  the  Blackhouse"  and  "G.O.D."  Else- 
where (and  more  frustratingly  on  Fist  Sized  Chunks), 
singer  Ben  McMillan  bears  an  uncanny  vocal  resem- 
blance to  Dick  Smothers  attempting  to  imitate  Jack 
Bruce — pristine,  but  laden  with  melodrama. 

Endino 's  solo  outing  is  far  more  compelling,  with  a 
wide  swath  of  humor  ("Naive  Bid  for  HM  Stardom 
#2"),  a  good  understanding  of  atmospherics  ("Create 
What  You  Fear")  and,  most  importantly,  a  strict  avoid- 
ance of  solo  guitar  excess.  [dss] 

NICKY  SKOPELITIS 

See  Material. 

SKUNK 

Last  American  Virgin  (Twin/Tone)  1  989 

Once  you  get  past  the  initial  resemblance  to  Soul 
Asylum,  this  guitar-mad  young  New  Jersey  quartet's 
first  record  reveals  an  amazingly  diverse  blend  of  styles 
and  influences  on  their  way  to  becoming  a  clearly  de- 
fined Skunk  sound.  "(There'll  Be  Other  Girls)  Hoss," 
for  instance,  runs  a  Duane  Allman  solo  into  the  middle 
of  storming  post-punk  with  uncommon  chords  and  dan- 
gerous time  shifts.  With  a  range  that  covers  hardcore  to 
sweet  balladry,  not  everything  on  Last  American  Vir- 
gin works  equally  well,  but  it's  an  enormously  impres- 
sive and  promising  debut.  fij 

SLAMMIN'  WATUSIS 

Slammin'  Watusls  (Epic)  T988  • 
Kings  of  Noise  (Epic)  1 989  * 

And  slam  they  do!  When  this  breathless  Midwestern 
quintet  thanks  the  Damned  in  the  liner  notes,  they  aren't 
kidding:  their  rip-snorting  platter  has  the  careening, 
free-for-all  edge  of  those  zany  punk  pioneers,  It's  buzzy 
fun  with  a  message:  *' Won't  Sell  Out"  champions  in* 
tegrity,  while  "It's  Alright  to  Show  You  CARE"  proves 


604 


the  Watusis  aren't  blank  generation  poseurs.  Special 
kudos  to  Fast  Frank  Raven's  sizzlin'  sax. 

Despite  the  title,  Kings  of  Noise  flirts  with  more 
mainstream  approaches,  as  bluesy  rockers  ("She's  a 
Rocker"),  towering  pop  epics  ("Hush")  and  gothic 
pseudo-metal  ("Eight  Ball")  attempt  to  broaden  the 
group's  appeal.  Those  tracks  are  good  enough,  but  they 
don't  provide  the  sheer  exhilaration  of  the  gonzo  stuff. 
Happily,  "Madness  &  Mania"  and  "Everytown"  prove 
the  lads  can  still  get  nutso  when  inclined.  [jy] 

See  also  Green. 

See  Style  Council. 

SLAPP  HAPPY 

See  Peter  Blegvad,  Henry  Cow. 

SLAUGHTER  &  THE  DOGS 

Do  It  Dog  Style  (nr/Decca)  1978  (nr/Damaged  Goods) 

1989 

Live  Slaughter  Rabid  Dogs  (nr/Rabid)  1 979 
Live  at  the  Factory  (nr/Thrush)  1981 
Rabid  Dogs  (nr/Receiver)  1989 
The  Slaughterhouse  Tapes  (nr/Link)  1 989 

SLAUGHTER 

Bite  Back  (DJM)  1980 

This  Manchester  punk  group's  classic  "Cranked  Up 
Really  High"  was  the  first  45  released  by  that  city's 
pioneering  independent  label,  Rabid  Records;  Slaughter 
and  the  Dogs  regularly  gigged  at  London's  famed  Roxy 
Club.  (They  appear  in  the  punk  documentary  Don  Letts 
filmed  there.)  About  as  talented  as  others  in  the  second 
tier  of  '77  punk  (Adverts,  Eater,  Lurkers,  etc.),  this  lot 
had  enough  juice  to  get  through  a  neat  string  of  poppy 
punk  singles  and  one  fine  album. 

Do  It  Dog  Style,  day-glo  cover  and  all,  is  exciting, 
energetic  rock'n'roll  heavily  indebted  to  the  New  York 
Dolls  and  Damned.  Besides  the  band's  singles— " Dame 
to  Blame/1  "Quick  Joey  Small"  (an  incisive  bubble- 
gum  cover  with  guest  guitar  by  Mick  Ronson)  and  the 
pulsating  "Where  Have  All  the  Boot  Boys  Gone" 
(though  not  "Cranked"  or  "You're  Ready  Now"}— 
the  album  includes  de  rigueur  covers  of  *Tm  Waiting 
for  the  Man"  (fair)  and  the  Dolls'  "Who  Are  the  Mys- 
tery Girls"  (wonderful),  the  latter  also  featuring  Ron- 
son.  Simple,  hooky  songwriting  plus  Wayne  Barrett's 
endearingly  zesty  vocals  helped  distinguish  the  Dogs 
from  lesser  genre  fare. 

The  band  split,  leaving  guitarist  Mike  Rossi,  bassist 
Howard  Bates  and  future  Cult  axeman  Billy  Duffy  to 
form  the  Studio  Sweethearts,  Slaughter  reunited  in  late 
'79,  replacing  Barrett  with  ex-Nosebleeds  shouter  Eddie 
Garrity  (aka  Ed  Banger)  in  time  for  Bite  Back,  a  noth- 
ing platter  of  guitar-rock  noise  produced  by  ex-Mott  the 
Hoople  drummer  Dale  Griffin.  Garrity  makes  a  good 
try,  but  he  simply  isn't  as  effective  as  Barrett,  The  group 
quit  for  good  in  *S1. 

Live  at  the  Factory  (later  reissued  as  Rabid  Dogs) 
is  a  posthumously  released  concert  disc  (with  Barrett) 
that  contains  renditions  of  the  band's  singles  and  flip- 
sides,  as  well  as  superior  early  versions  of  four  Bite 


Back  tunes.  Unlike  the  band,  however,  the  sound  qual- 
ity is  quite  awful.  A  later  three-song  EP,  mislabeled 
"Live  in  77,"  documents  the  same  show's  encore: 
"Cranked  Up  Really  High,"  "Boot  Boys"  and  the 
boppy  "Twist  and  Turn." 

The  Slaughterhouse  Tapes  is  a  belated  scrapbook 
of  outtakes,  demos,  live  tracks  and  an  interview,  with 
studio  versions  of  "Twist  and  Turn"  and  "White  Light 
White  Heat' '  to  recommend  it.  The  sound  quality  is  flat 
and  weak,  but  the  music's  not.  It's  reassuring  to  hear 
such  unpretentious  sincerity  and  hooky  tunes  from  a 
band  that's  all  but  forgotten.  [i/gef] 

SLAVES 

See  F-Word. 

SLAYER 

Show  No  Mercy  (Metal  Blade)  1 983  • 
Hell  Awaits  (Metal  Blade)  1 985  • 
Live  Undead  (Metal  Blade)  1985  * 
Reign  in  Blood  (Def  Jam-Geffen)  1986  ® 
South  of  Heaven  (Def  Jam-Geffen)  1 988  ® 
Seasons  in  the  Abyss  {Def  American)  1 990  ® 

"Bones  and  blood  lie  on  the  ground/Rotten  limbs  lie 
dead/Decapitated  bodies  found/On  my  wall:  your 
head!"  Whether  you  find  these  lyrics  brilliant,  hilari- 
ous, moronic,  repulsive  or  genuinely  evil  (or  all  of  the 
above)  is  a  nearly  foolproof  indication  of  how  you'll 
feel  about  Slayer.  A  more  hateful  breed  than  homeboys 
Metallica  or  Megadeth,  Slayer  was  formed  in  Orange 
County,  California  in  1982  from  hardcore  and  metal 
roots. 

Slayer  hadn't  ventured  far  from  the  garage  before 
making  its  vinyl  debut  on  Metal  Blade's  Metal  Massa- 
cre III  (Metallica  and  Voivod  also  debuted  on  the  com- 
pilation series),  and  Show  No  Mercy  followed  soon 
after.  While  rockers  from  Robert  Johnson  to  Venom  had 
flirted  vaguely  with  the  forked  one  down  below,  Slayer 
took  the  "evil"  image  to  realms  of  hitherto-unimagined 
overkill.  Musically,  the  band  combined  the  speed  and 
power  of  hardcore  with  ultra-graphic  takes  on  Black 
Sabbath's  lurching  rifTs  and  lyrical  subject  matter.  Al- 
though the  production  is  hardly  pristine,  Slayer's  first 
two  albums  are  unquestionably  among  the  most  threat- 
ening music  of  their  time;  in  coming  years  bands  would 
fuse  that  approach  with  that  of  another  extremely  threat- 
ening (if  completely  different)  American  band:  the 
Swans,  (The  Show  No  Mercy  CD  adds  a  three-song 
1984  BP,  Haunting  the  Chapel;  the  Live  Undead  CD 
adds  several  songs  but  this  badly  recorded  '84  concert 
document  still  isn't  worth  owning.) 

The  unlikely  figure  of  producer  Rick  Rubin  then 
entered  the  picture.  Although  known  at  that  point  only 
for  his  pioneering  work  in  rap,  Rubin  had  long  been 
sampling  old  metal  albums,  and  co-produced  Run- 
DMC's  duet  with  Aerosmith  ("Walk  This  Way*1).  Ap- 
plying his  lean,  less-is-more  production  technique  to 
Slayer's  blistering  aural  apocalypse,  Reign  in  Blood 
wields  a  punch,  clarity  and  sense  of  doom  rivalled  only 
by  Sabbath  and  Metallica's  best.  Variations  on  the  word 
"death* '  appear  in  the  lyrics  no  less  than  56  times,  and 
between  "Angel  of  Death'1  (a  revoltingiy  graphic  song 


605 


about  Joseph  Mengele)  and  "Jesus  Saves,"  the  album 
manages  to  offend  all  denominations.  ("Angel  of 
Death"  's  refrain  was  sampled  to  staggering  effect  on 
Public  Enemy's  "She  Watch  Channel  Zero?!,"  argu- 
ably the  best-ever  fusion  of  rap  and  metal.)  A  surgically 
precise  hit-and-run  attack  that  lasts  all  of  26  minutes, 
Reign  in  Blood  is  almost  universally  regarded  as  the 
ultimate  speedmetal  LP. 

Slayer's  cover  of  "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida"  on  the 
Less  Than  Zero  soundtrack  was  an  indicator  of  things 
to  come.  Having  established  a  reputation  as  the  fastest 
and  most  extreme  band  in  the  world,  Slayer  did  the  only 
thing  possible,  they  slowed  down.  South  of  Heaven's 
sound  is  even  leaner,  with  Dave  Lombardo's  astonish- 
ingly innovative  drumming  providing  an  intricate  frame- 
work for  the  sharp,  angular  riffs  and  piercing  leads. 
Most  impressively,  this  album  grooves  from  end  to  end, 
and  vocalist/bassist  Tom  Araya  truly  comes  into  his 
own,  lofting  haunting  melodic  refrains  as  well  as  his 
trademark  volatile  spew.  The  lyrics  confront  such  real- 
life  topics  as  mass-murderers,  abortion  and  yet  more 
Nazis.  Seasons  in  the  Abyss  basically  fuses  its  two 
predecessors,  exploring  little  new  territory  and  even  re- 
peating ideas  from  older  songs.  That  said,  it's  still  a 
scorcher. 

While  Slayer  is  constantly  forced  into  the  same 
we  're-not-advocating-it-we ' re-just- writing-about-it  cor- 
ner that  bedevils  gangsta  rappers,  they  continue  to  fill 
arenas  with  many  of  the  same  kids  who  idolize  an  equally 
threatening  cultural  icon:  Freddy  Krueger.  [ja] 

SLEEP  CHAMBER 

Speak  in  Tongues  EP  (Inner-X)  1 982 

Speak  in  Tongues  [tape]  (Inner-X)  1 982 

Sleep  Chamber  (Inner-X)  1984 

Trance  [tape]  (Inner-X)  1985 

Submit  to  Desire  (Inner-X)  1985 

Best  ov  the  Rest  [tape]  (Inner-X)  1 986 

Sexmagick  Ritual  (Austrian  Trinity)  1 987 

Babylon  EP  (Inner-X)  1987 

Spellbondage  (Inner-X)  1 987 

Sacred  And  Surreal  (Austrian  Trinity)  1 988 

Sins  ov  Obsession  (Ger.  Funfunavierzig)  1 988  * 

Satanic  Sanction  (It.  Musica  Maxima  Magnetica)  1988  * 

Sharp  Spikes  &  Spurs  (Inner-X)  1989 

Stop  Being  Sidy,  and  Go  to  Sleep  [tape]  (Inner-X)  1990 

Sleep,  or  Forever  Hold  Your  Piece  (Inner-X)  1 990  « 

Hotpants  &  Wet  Panties  EP  (Inner-X)  1 990 

Sirkle  Zero  (It.  Musica  Maxima  Magnetica)  1990  <j> 

If  ever  there  was  a  group  obsessed  with  obsessions, 
Sleep  Chamber  is  it.  This  Boston  outfit  (basically  the 
warlockish  John  ZeWizz  aided  by  constantly  shifting 
personnel)  makes  ritualistic  industrial  music  that  works 
on  both  a  shock  imagery  level  and  on  a  more  intellectual 
erotic/occult  plateau.  ZeWizz  is  mind-bogglingly  pro- 
lific, having  independently  unleashed  (in  the  US,  Ger- 
many, Austria  and  Italy)  over  ten  albums,  several  EPs 
and  45s,  almost  20  cassette-only  releases  (only  some  of 
which  are  listed  here)  and  a  batch  of  long-form  videos 
(many  of  which  correspond  to  the  records)  in  under  a 
decade. 

The  heavy  S&M  content  and  explicit  graphics  (Sub- 
mit to  Desire's  negative-exposure  lesbian  scene  cover 
is  a  classic)  have  gotten  Sleep  Chamber  banned  and/or 

606 


ignored — which  is  a  shame.  Not  all  that  chaotic,  the 
group's  unique  sound  is  more  trancelike:  ZeWizz' s 
ultra-deadpan  declarations,  minimal  electronic  pulse- 
beats,  eerie  basslines,  sparse  synth/violin/guitar  and  oc- 
casional samples  all  serve  to  induce  a  heightened  mood 
(sexual  or  otherwise).  The  main  body  of  Sleep  Cham- 
ber's work  divides  into  "song "-oriented  albums  and 
dense,  mostly  instrumental  works  (Satanic  Sanction, 
Sexmagick  Ritual)  reminiscent  of  Nurse  with  Wound 
and  Current  93. 

Released  amid  a  steady  stream  of  cassettes  that  be- 
gan in  1982  and  continued  unabated  through  1985,  the 
eponymous  1984  vinyl  album  is  primitive  and  distant, 
Submit  to  Desire  is  the  band's  most  notorious  (and 
intriguing)  record  so  far,  containing  the  anthemic  "Fet- 
ish" and  "Oral  Maze,"  a  tribute  to  cunnilingus.  SpeSI- 
bondage  is  very  similar  and  almost  as  good  (the  prizes 
being  the  unnerving  '  'Kiss  the  Whip"  and  another  erotic 
epic,  "Odoratus  Sexualis"),  while  the  four-song  Baby- 
lon EP  contains  the  exhilarating  sy nth-pump  of  "Babes 
ov  Babylon." 

Two  years  in  the  making,  Sleep,  or  Forever  Hold 
Your  Piece  beefs  up  the  drum  machine  and  guitar  over- 
lays, giving  Sleep  Chamber  a  more  accessible  sound, 
comparable  to  Skinny  Puppy.  A  cover  of  Magazine's 
"The  Light  Pours  Out  of  Me"  fits  smoothly  into  the 
record's  aesthetic;  "A  Synthetic  Woman"  is  a  remake 
of  a  track  from  Speak  in  Tongues;  "A  Better  Way" 
rides  on  a  sample  from  Led  Zep's  "Immigrant  Song." 
Nine  short  fragments,  called  "Verbum  Sapienti,"  fill  in 
the  grooves  between  each  track. 

The  early  Speak  in  Tongues  tape  is  quite  different 
from  the  vinyl  EP  of  the  same  name.  Sharp  Spikes  & 
Spurs,  recorded  live  in  Boston  in  1989  (and  much 
longer  in  its  cassette/ video  form),  finds  Sleep  Chamber 
exuding  songs  from  the  previous  albums  and  the  then- 
unfinished  Sleep.  Sins  ov  Obsession  is  a  compilation  of 
odds  and  ends,  including  a  remix  of  the  band's  smart 
cover  of  "Warm  Leatherette"  and  three  outtakes:  two 
mstrumentals  and  a  naughty  ditty,  "The  Mistress."  Sa- 
cred and  Surreal  combines  three  tracks  (and  an  out- 
take)  from  Sleep  Chamber  with  a  Submit  outtake  and 
two  1983  instrumental .  In  a  gimmick  copied  from 
Throbbing  Gristle,  Best  ov  the  Rest  is  a  limited  edition 
set  of  twelve  otherwise  unreleased  live  tapes  packaged 
in  a  suitcase.  [gef] 

SL1CKEE  BOYS 

Hot  and  Cool  EP  (Dacoit)  1 976 

Separated  Vegetables  (Dacoit}  1977  (Limp)  1980 

Mersey,  Mersey  Me  EP  (Limp)  1 978 

Third  EP  (Limp)  1979 

Here  to  Stay  (Ger,  Line)  1 982  • 

Cybernetic  Dreams  of  Pi  (Twin/Tone)  1 983 

Uh  Oh  ...  No  Breaks!  (Twin/Tone)  1985 

Fashionably  Late  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1988  * 

Live  at  Last  (Giant)  1989* 

DATE  BAIT 

I  Split  on  Your  Grave  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 990 

Led  by  guitarists  Kirn  Kane  and  Marshall  Keith, 
Washington,  DC's  Slickee  Boys  have  been  scene  stal- 
warts for  a  decade  and  a  half;  through  a  series  of  lineups 
they  developed  from  a  punky  rock'n'roll  band  with  an 
affection  for  classic  English  forebears  into  a  far  more 


individualistic  and  distinctly  American  band  with  their 
own  ideas.  Featuring  the  vocal  sty  lings  of  Martha  Hull 
(replaced  by  Mark  Noone  shortly  thereafter),  the  five- 
song  Hot  and  Cool  7-inch  antes  up  one  Kane  original 
and  covers  like  "Brand  New  Cadillac"  and  the  Yard- 
birds'  "Psycho  Daisies."  Mersey,  Mersey  Me  has 
Kane's  inspiring  "Put  a  Bullet  Thru  the  Jukebox"  as 
well  as  the  Slickees*  fervent  cover  of  the  Grass  Roots' 
"Let's  Live  for  Today."  Third  contains  almost  all  orig- 
inals, including  Noone's  brisk  "Gotta  Tell  Me  Why." 

The  German  Here  to  Stay  compilation  recapitulates 
the  contents  of  those  three  EPs  and  a  pair  of  contempo- 
raneous singles,  adding  the  unreleased  "Kids"  as  a  bo- 
nus. Guileless,  earnest,  occasionally  embarrassing, 
bizarre  in  its  selection  of  covers  (Talking  Heads?),  often 
exciting  in  its  basic  enthusiasm,  Here  to  Stay  is  an 
unprepossessing,  entertaining  collection  of  homemade 
records  by  a  developing  band. 

On  Cybernetic  Dreams  of  Pi  the  Slickee  Boys  play 
brawny,  good-natured  power  pop.  Songs  like  "When  I 
Go  to  the  Beach"  (jolly  surf  parody),  "Pushin'  My 
Luck"  and  a  breezy  version  of  Status  Quo's  ancient 
"Pictures  of  Matchstick  Men"  may  be  a  bit  glib,  but  are 
loads  of  fun  nonetheless.  Uh  Oh  ...  No  Breaks!  finds 
the  quintet  plundering  their  own  vaults  to  re-record  their 
best  material.  No  matter:  all  thirteen  tracks  display  the 
same  vim  and  charm  of  Cybernetic  Dreams  and  scads 
more  skill  and  smarts.  Melodies,  hooks  and  energy  to 
spare,  variety  and  clever  lyrics — these  boys  may  not  be 
the  dernier  mot,  but  they  are  worthwhile. 

Twelve  years  on,  the  Slickee  Boys  are  still  going 
strong,  even  if  they  again  have  to  go  abroad  to  get  a 
record  released.  Fashionably  Late  is  another  winner — 
the  rock'n'rolling  spunk  of  the  original  Flamin  Groovies 
crossed  with  the  seasoned  flair  and  solidity  of  the  Fab- 
ulous Thunderbirds.  Although  a  bit  less  varied  than 
usual  (Side  1  concentrates  on  driving  music;  Side  2  is 
lighter  and  more  melodic),  this  is  another  easy-to-like 
outing  from  a  natural  energy  resource  that  will,  thank 
goodness,  never  be  fashionable. 

The  Slickee  Boys'  live  LP,  recorded  in  France  in 
mid- '88,  finds  the  quintet  energetically  running  through 
a  retrospective  program  of  going-stale  tunes  dating  as 
far  back  as  1979.  Tight  and  proficient  but  routine- 
sounding  on  the  first  side,  things  start  heating  up  on  the 
flip  ("The  Brain  That  Refused  to  Die/'  "When  I  Go  to 
the  Beach,"  "Jailbait  Janet,"  "This  Party  Sucks,'* 
etc.),  which  kicks  out  the  jams  with  fierce  dispatch, 
Kane  then  left  the  group. 

Date  Bait,  his  new  combo,  takes  two  steps  from  the 
Slickee  Boys*  grinning  groove,  spiking  its  punch  with 
sparring  wah-wahs  and  snaky  leads,  emerging  as  a  punk- 
ier  and  more  angular  purveyor  of  the  same  '60s  cliches. 
While  unquestionably  heartfelt  and  occasionally  com- 
pelling, the  overall  impression  is  that  of  a  band  nurtured 
on  the  Cramps*  lesser  material  now  flirting  goodna- 
turediy  with  the  trtndily  popular  proto-metal  of  '70  De- 
troit, Covers:  Troggs,  Syndicats,  Gary  Glitter  (?), 
Dictators  .  .  .  Stooges  .  ,  , 

See  also  Afrika  K&rps, 


SLICK  RICK 

The  Groat  Adventures  of  Stick  Rick  (Def  Jam-Columbia) 
1989* 


Living  up  to  his  nickname  by  having  his  gold-selling 
album  zip  up  the  charts,  "Slick"  Ricky  Walters*  career 
made  an  equally  precipitous  descent  the  following  year, 
when  a  shooting  incident  landed  the  London-born  Bronx 
MC  (onetime  partner  of  Doug  E.  Fresh)  in  jail,  facing 
an  attempted  murder  rap.  For  what  it's  worth,  The 
Great  Adventures — superbly  co-produced  by  Jam 
Master  Jay,  Hank  Shocklee,  Eric  Sadler  and  Walters 
himself — is  an  exceptionally  effective  bad-guy  record, 
offering  the  vulgar  misogyny  of  *  'Treat  Her  Like  a  Pros- 
titute" and  similarly  reprehensible  notions  delivered 
with  all  the  gentle  sensitivity  of  letters  to  the  editor  of 
Hustler.  To  be  fair,  some  of  the  cliche-light  rhymes  are 
fairly  innocuous:  indeed,  the  reggae-styled  "Hey  Young 
World"  takes  a  warm,  positive  stand.  Rick's 
delivery — a  self-amused  singsong  that  resembles 
Shock-G  of  Digital  Underground — is  also  excellent, 
making  both  his  idiotic  mentality  and  his  sorry  fate  that 
much  more  regrettable.  [i] 

See  also  Doug  E,  Fresh, 

SLINT 

Tweez  (Jennifer  Hartman)  1 989 
Spiderland  (Touch  and  Go)  1991  ® 

Despite  a  great  name,  the  indie-scene  cred  of  being 
a  Squirrel  Bait  offshoot  and  the  sonic  potential  of  Steve 
Albini  as  their  producer,  this  Louisville,  Kentucky 
noise-guitar  quartet  hasn't  got  much  to  say  for  itself  on 
its  first  record.  Employing  a  nifty  variety  of  great  guitar 
tones  (from  bandsaw  to  breezy)  and  songs  cutely  named 
for  the  members'  parents  and  dog,  the  brief  and  roomy 
Tweez  consists  of  simple,  repetitive  riffs  over  which 
more  guitar,  ambient  sounds  and  a  few  spoken  or 
shouted  words  occasionally  intrude.  Essentially  a  warm- 
up  that  never  gets  around  to  anything  (let's  be  fair: 
"Pat"  is  almost  a  song),  it's  hard  to  imagine  why  these 
unformed  scraps  (recorded  in  '87)  were  released,  or 
precisely  what  merit  Slint  imagines  they  have.  [i] 

See  also  Breeders,  Squirrel  Bait. 


SLITS 

Cut  (Antilles)  1 979  « 

Retrospective  (nr/Y-Rough  Trade)  1 980 

Return  of  the  Giant  Slits  (nr/CBS)  1 981 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 

The  Peel  Sessions  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1989  • 

Lurching  into  existence  during  the  original  1977  ex- 
plosion of  pre-commercial  London  punk,  the  all-female 
Slits  wrested  the  anyone-can-make-a-band-so-why-not- 
do-it-yourself  ethos  away  from  the  traditionally  no- 
women-allowed  rock  brotherhood  and  unselfconsciously 
paraded  their  stunningly  amateur  rock  noise  with  support 
from  bands  like  the  Clash.  While  on  the  road  as  part  of 
a  punk  package  tour,  the  Slits  were  immortalized  in  all 
their  primitive  glory  in  The  Punk  Rock  Movie.  Looking 
back  at  the  group's  tentative  beginnings  now,  it's  clear 
that  while  the  Slits  may  have  been  truly  awful,  they 
weren't  much  worse  than  many  of  their  male  contempo- 
raries, and  undoubtedly  a  damn  sight  better  and  smarter 
than  some. 

It  was  probably  fortunate,  however,  that  several 
years  elapsed  before  the  Slits  got  around  to  recording  a 
debut  album;  by  the  time  they  reached  the  studio,  Viv 


607 


Albertine,  Ari  Upp  and  Tessa,  joined  by  drummer 
Budgie  (later  of  Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees)  had  become 
reasonably  competent  players.  Spare  and  rudimentary, 
but  bursting  with  novel  ideas  and  rampant  originality, 
Cut — brilliantly  produced  by  Dennis  Bovell — forges  a 
powerful  white-reggae  hybrid  that  serves  as  a  solid  un- 
derpinning for  Ari  Upp's  wobbly,  semi-melodic  vocals. 

Retrospective  (so-called;  the  LP  actually  has  no  ti- 
tle) is  a  coverless  authorized  bootleg  consisting  of  early 
(pre-reggae)  studio  doodles  and  live  tracks  that  should 
really  have  stayed  in  the  can  (or  wherever). 

Return  of  the  Giant  Slits,  released  originally  with 
a  bonus  45  featuring  an  extra  track  and  an  interview 
with  the  band  (both  appended  to  the  cassette  version) 
turned  towards  African,  rather  than  Jamaican  rhythms, 
and  attempted  to  make  the  Slits  slightly  more  commer- 
cially accessible. 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  dates  from  September  1977 
and  includes  "Vindictive"  as  well  as  three  previews  of 
Cut  material;  the  second  release  combines  that  session 
with  a  second — three  more  future  album  tracks,  ending 
up  with  a  bunch  of  random  radio  noise — recorded  in 
April  '78.  The  bracing  performances  have  their  own 
scratchy  power,  but  the  main  value  of  these  recordings 
is  as  further  proof  of  the  role  Bovell  (and  time  and 
practice)  played  in  making  the  Slits  a  really  appealing 
musical  proposition.  [i] 

See  also  New  Age  Steppers,  Siouxsie  and  the  Ban- 
shees. 

MARC  SLOAN 

See  Ritual  Tension. 

SLOPPY  SECONDS 

The  First  Seven  Inches  EP  (Alternative  Testicles)  1 987 
Destroyed  (Toxic  Shock)  1989 

Playing  unassailable  melody  punk  (New  York  Dolls 
meet  the  Ramones,  c.  1977),  this  tight  and  talented 
Indianapolis  junk-culture  quartet  has  the  intelligence  to 
sing  "I  Don't  Wanna  Be  a  Homosexual"  (the  first  track 
on  Destroyed,  and  not  one  of  those  recycled  from  the 
four-song  EP)  without  a  trace  of  homophobia  and  the 
psychotronic  skill  to  build  a  catchy  surfpunk  song  out  of 
1964's  Horror  of  Party  Beach.  When  Sloppy  Seconds 
visit  the  video  store — to  borrow  dialogue  from  John 
Waters'  Female  Trouble  or  rue  the  removal  of  Traci 
Lords  from  the  porno  shelves — these  gulcher  hounds 
really  get  on  to  something.  However,  too  many  of  the 
songs,  despite  their  sturdy  musical  merits,  are  just  sim- 
ple Ramones  derivatives  ("Janie  Is  a  Nazi,"  "Time 
Bomb,"  "I  Want  'Em  Dead")  and  don't  offer  the  same 
degree  of  fun.  [i] 

SLOVENLY 

After  the  Original  Style  (New  Alliance)  1 985 

Thinking  of  Empire  (SST)  1 986 

Riposte  (SST)  1987* 

We  Shoot  for  the  Moon  (SST)  1 989  • 

Originally  known  as  Slovenly  Peter,  this  San  Fran- 
cisco sextet — whose  drummer,  Rob  Holzman,  was  a 
1981  member  of  Saccharine  Trust — is  actually  quite  fas- 
tidious in  its  work,  disregarding  conservative  musical 
convention  to  play  down-to-earth  semi-avant  art-rock. 


After  the  Original  Style  is  crude  and  cheap-sounding; 
Steve  Anderson's  grad-student  singing  suit  the  pointy 
instrumental  excursions  (slide  and  regular  guitars  and 
keyboards,  plus  bits  of  violin,  sax  and  clarinet),  but  it 
doesn't  make  for  an  especially  enticing  sonic  package. 

Better  produced  and  less  prone  to  scurrying  too  far 
out  on  dangerous  limbs,  Thinking  of  Empire  reveals  a 
stronger  and  more  accessible  Slovenly  proffering 
weirdly  highbrow  lyrics  that  sound  like  fragments  over- 
heard in  a  pretentious  restaurant:  "My  sly  deluded 
optimism/The  oversight  of  treachery  and  all  its  entail- 
ments."  Or  "I  feel  and  find  realness  amid  dysfunctions/ 
And  the  poverty  of  reverting  to  the  norm. ' '  What  would 
Little  Richard  say? 

A  five-man  Slovenly  took  a  wisely  tempered  path 
that  led  to  easy  appeal  on  Riposte,  subtitled  (A  Little 
Resolve).  An  involving  and  invigorating  dose  of  offbeat 
words  and  (mostly)  melodious  guitar  music  that  fully 
serve  each  other,  the  band's  easiest-to-like  record  offers 
stimulating  coffee-house  rock  that  doesn't  dare  you  to 
hate  it. 

By  We  Shoot  for  the  Moon  (the  CD  of  which  adds 
an  unnecessary  20-minute  tape-splice  song  cycle-cwm- 
free-form  improvisation,  "Things  Fall  Apart"),  the 
quintet  is  cruising  on  potent  creative  juice,  smoothly 
spewing  out  adventurous  and  energetic  jazz-rock,  mak- 
ing ambitious  art-noise/found-sound  experiments  and 
nicely  covering  Neil  Young's  "Don't  Cry  No  Tears" 
and  the  Blue  Orchids'  "A  Year  with  No  Head."  The 
lyrics  are  still  pretty  annoying,  but  Slovenly 's  music — 
even  at  its  fringiest — is  as  enjoyable  as  ever.  [ij 


SLY  &  ROBBIE  ET  AL. 

Sly  and  Robbie  Present  Taxi  (Mango)  1 981 

The  Sixties,  Seventies  +  Eighties « Taxi  (Mango)  1981 

Raiders  of  the  Lost  Dub  (Mango)  1 981 

Crucial  Reggae  Driven  by  Sly  &  Robbie  (Mango)  1982  * 

A  Dub  Experience  (Mango)  1 985 

Reggae  Greats  (Mango)  1 985 

Language  Barrier  (Island)  1985  • 

Taxi  Fare  (Heartbeat)  1986  * 

Rhythm  Killers  (Island)  1987* 

A  Dub  Extravaganza  (nr/CSA)  1 987  * 

The  Summit  (RAS)  1988* 

Silent  Assassin  (island)  1989  * 

TAXI  GANG  FEATURING  SLY 
AND  ROBBIE 

The  Sting  (Moving  Target-Celluloid)  1986  • 
Taxi  Connection  Live  in  London  (Mango)  1 986 
Electro-Reggae  Vol.  1  (Mango)  1986 
Two  Rhythms  Clash  (RAS)  1990 

SLY  DUNBAR 

Simple  Slyman  (nr/Front  Line)  1 976 
Sly,  Slick  &  Wicked  (nr/Front  Line)  1 977 
Sly-go-ville  (Mango)  1982 

The  cornerstone  of  contemporary  roots,  the  nonpa- 
reil rhythm  section  of  Sly  Dunbar  and  Robbie  Shake- 
speare has  probably  played  on  more  reggae  records  than 
anyone  else.  Musical  partners  for  many  years  beginning 
in  various  Jamaican  studio  bands,  the  pair  founded 
Taxi — a  production  company  and  label  that  worked  with 
many  top  Jamaican  vocalists,  including  Gregory  Isaacs 
and  Black  Uhuru — in  the  late  *70s.  The  Taxi  sound  was 


608 


characterized  by  Robbie's  clean,  monolithic  bass  lines 
and  Sly's  tasteM  use  of  syndrums,  decorating  the  reg- 
gae backbeat  with  state-of-the-art  zing.  The  team  went 
on  to  produce  and  play  with  such  artists  as  Grace  Jones, 
Joan  Armatrading,  Bob  Dylan  and  Ian  Dury.  Their 
trademark  high-tech  style  has  become  familiar  (some 
say  tired),  but  their  modem  treatments  have  been  a  sig- 
nificant factor  in  reggae's  development  and  popularity. 

Many  of  their  own  albums  are  surprisingly  unexcit- 
ing. Sly's  solo  records  sound  like  dry  runs,  uneventful 
groove  collections  ( Sly-go- vilk  does  have  one  Delroy 
Wilson  vocal).  Sixties,  Seventies  +  Eighties  is  not 
much  better.  Their  reworkings  of  past  and  present  hits 
(including  "El  Pussy  Cat  Ska")  demonstrate  why  they 
don't  sing  more  often.  Worse  still  is  The  Sting,  a  col- 
lection of  uninspired  dance  tracks  and  reggaefied  ver- 
sions of  " Peter  Gunn,"  "The  Entertainer"  and  "The 
Good,  the  Bad  and  the  Ugly,"  each  more  dreadful  than 
the  last.  Their  most  consistently  listenable  instrumental 
LP  is  probably  The  Summit,  where  the  duo  (joined  by 
a  piano  player)  pump  out  a  variety  of  straightforward 
yet  highly  textured  rhythms. 

Two  other  releases  that  bear  their  names  are  actually 
departures,  experiments  in  crossover.  Language  Bar- 
rier, a  superstar  fusion  jam  produced  by  Bill  Laswell, 
features  everyone  from  Afrika  Bambaataa  to  Bob  Dy- 
lan; danceable  enough,  but  hardly  related  to  reggae, 
Rhythm  Killers  is  the  same  idea,  but  more  successful. 
Featuring  covers  of  the  Ohio  Players'  "Fire"  and  the 
Pointer  Sisters'  "Yes  We  Can  Can,"  the  LP  is  an  un- 
broken song  cycle,  a  seamless  series  of  rap,  funk,  rock 
and  reggae  grooves.  Again  produced  by  Laswell,  the 
session  features  Bootsy  Collins,  Henry  Threadgill  and 
many  others;  Shinehead  vocalizes  on  "Boops!  (Here  to 
Go)."  It's  heavy-bottomed  from  start  to  finish,  and  in- 
teresting to  boot. 

In  general,  Sly  and  Robbie  are  most  enjoyable  on 
the  various  Taxi  compilations,  which  also  feature  vo- 
cals. Crucial  Reggae,  which  has  the  Mighty  Diamonds' 
original  "Pass  the  Kouchie,"  is  not  quite  as  good  as  Sly 
and  Robbie  Present  Taxi,  but  both  arc  fine  introduc- 
tions to  the  duo's  playing  and  the  Taxi  roster  of  singers. 
(The  British  and  American  editions  of  the  latter  differ 
slightly. )  Similarly,  A  Dub  Experience  (released  in  the 
Reggae  Greats  series)  and  Raiders  of  the  Lost  Dub 
are  remix  collections  of  backing  tracks  originally  done 
for  Black  Uhuru,  Burning  Spear,  Dennis  Brown  and 
others.  Both  are  supersonic  headcharges  with  an  eerily 
haunting  edge  and  should  not  be  missed, 

Less  crucial  are  Taxi  Fare,  a  largely  instrumental 
collection  of  B-sides,  and  Taxi  Connection  Live  in 
London.  The  concert  LP,  featuring  songs  by  Ini  Ka- 
moze,  Yellowman  and  Half  Pint,  conveys  the  drama 
and  full  sound  of  the  all-star  revue,  but  the  performances 
are  uneven. 

Giving  heavy  bipartite  endorsement  to  the  rap- 
reggae  fusion,  KRS-Gne  (of  Boogie  Down  Productions) 
produced  Silent  Assassin,  an  ambitious  undertaking 
with  vocals  by  KRS,  Queen  Latifah,  Young  MC  and 
others.  "Dance  Hall"  is  a  lively  and  bouncy  single; 
''Party  Together"  makes  ingenious  use  of  the  Turtles' 
"Happy  Together'*;  Latifah  rules  the  mic  on  "Woman 
for  the  Job**;  the  CD-only  **It*s  Me"  samples  Tenor 
Saw's  "Ring  the  Alarm"  with  lyrics  over  a  beatbox 
rhythm.  White  there  are  many  old-time  reggae  rhythms 


sprinkled  and  weaved  into  the  songs,  one  of  the  album's 
strongest  tracks — "Under  Arrest,"  a  heavy  story  about 
an  innocent  man — includes  no  reggae. 

No  matter  what  mega  stars  and  adventurous  styles 
they  may  dally  with,  the  Riddim  Twins  always  return  to 
their  roots.  Originally  issued  on  their  own  Jamaican 
label,  Taxi,  Two  Rhythms  Clash  is  an  authentic  dance- 
hall  collection  of  singers  and  rhythms.  In  addition  to 
some  killer  instrumentals  by  the  producers  themselves, 
there's  music  from  Half  Pint  ( ' 'Cost  of  Living' ' ),  Little 
John  ("Champion  Bubbler")  and,  most  impressively, 
Third  World's  Cat  Coore  ("Mello  Cello").  [bk/aw] 

SMACK 

Ao  Vivo  No  Mosh  (Braz.  Baratos  Afins)  1 985 

Into  a  slightly  postdated  style  blended  from  turn-of- 
the-decade  new  wave  funk  and  jagged-edge  guitar  pop 
(imagine  a  jittery  Gang  of  Four  singing  more  melodi- 
cally  in  Portuguese)  this  Brazilian  quartet  acknowledges 
its  own  culture  with  an  occasional  tropical  dance 
rhythm.  Despite  the  language  barrier,  Ao  Vivo  No 
Mosh's  excitingly  adrenalized  playing,  tuneful  vocals 
and  simply  effective  drumming  make  it  something 
Northern  Hemisphere  post-punks  would  have  no  trouble 
understanding.  [i] 

SMALTS 

See  Minny  Pops. 

PATTI  SMITH 

Horses  (Arista)  1 975  * 
Dream  of  Life  (Arista)  1 988  ® 

PATTI  SMITH  GROUP 

Radio  Ethiopia  (Arista)  1976  * 
Easter  (Arista)  1 978  » 
Wave  (Arista)  1979» 

Chicago  native  Patti  Smith  was  already  an  estab- 
lished poet  and  playwright  on  the  New  York  under- 
ground literary  scene  when  she  expanded  her  repertoire 
to  include  rock  criticism  (her  work  appeared  in  Creem, 
Crawdaddy  and  Rolling  Stone)  and  public  performance, 
first  reading  her  poetry  and  then  singing  with  minimalist 
musical  accompaniment  provided  by  Lenny  Kaye,  vet- 
eran rock  writer  and  would-be  guitarist.  Sharing  Tom 
Verlaine's  fascination  with  19th-century  decadent  lite- 
rati (like  Rimbaud,  Baudelaire  and  Verlaine),  Smith 
drifted  into  the  New  York  rock  underground.  Backed  by 
Kaye  and  pianist  Richard  Sohl,  she  a  striking  single 
("Piss  Factory**)  on  a  private  label  long  before  such 
efforts  were  commonplace.  By  the  time  Smith  signed  to 
Arista  in  1975,  Ivan  Krai  had  joined  her  group,  sharing 
guitar  and  bass  chores  with  Kaye,  and  drummer  Jay  Dee 
Daugherty  had  been  lured  away  from  Lance  Loud's 
Mumps. 

Horses,  produced  by  John  Cale,  broke  a  lot  of  sty- 
listic ground,  thanks  to  Smith's  wild  singing  and  dis- 
concerting lyrics,  but  it  also  showcased  inspired 
amateurism  in  the  playing  and  an  emotional  intensity 
that  recalled  the  Velvet  Underground  at  its  most  pow- 
erful. Too  idiosyncratic  to  be  generally  influential, 
Horses  is  a  brilliant  explosion  of  talent  by  a  challeng- 
ing, unique  artist  pioneering  a  sound  not  yet  fashionable 
or,  by  general  standards,  even  acceptable. 


609 


With  Radio  Ethiopia,  the  Patti  Smith  Group  made 
an  effort  to  drop  Horses'  clumsiness  in  favor  of  a  more 
refined,  organic  sound  and  grander  artistic  pretensions. 
Smith  plays  a  lot  of  guitar  on  the  album,  and  producer 
Jack  Douglas  renders  the  proceedings  with  great  seri- 
ousness. Tracks  like  "Ask  the  Angels"  and  *' Pumping 
(My  Heart)"  have  a  nearly  routine  rock  sound,  made 
special  largely  by  Smith's  untrained  but  expressive 
voice  and,  of  course,  her  highly  individual  songwriting. 

Bruce  Brody  replaced  Sohl  for  Easter,  and  Jimmy 
lovine  produced  the  album,  which  contains  the  band's 
big  hit  single,  "Because  the  Night,"  co-written  by 
Bruce  Springsteen.  Having  proven  that  they  could  play 
as  well  as  most  bands,  the  PSG  set  out  to  make  some- 
thing of  their  sound;  lovine  did  a  fine  job.  By  this  point 
a  much  more  mature  singer,  Smith  sounds  confident  and 
striking  and  the  band  keeps  pace. 

After  the  success  of  Easter,  Smith  stumbled  on 
Wave,  evidently  the  victim  of  overconfidence.  Todd 
Rundgren's  production  is  inappropriate  and  Smith's  lyr- 
ics are  preciously  self-indulgent;  although  songs  like 
"Dancing  Barefoot"  and  "Frederick"  are  accessible 
and  memorable,  much  of  the  record  is  unfocused  and 
halfbaked,  frequently  insufferable.  A  misguided  cover 
of  the  Byrds'  "So  You  Want  to  Be  (A  Rock  V  Roll 
Star)"  rings  phony  and  selfconscious. 

Smith  then  took  an  extended  career  breather;  she 
bailed  out,  moved  to  Detroit,  married  ex-MC5/Sonic's 
Rendezvous  Band  guitarist  Fred  Smith  and  raised  a  fam- 
ily. The  Smiths  stayed  far  from  the  spotlight  for  nearly 
a  decade,  not  releasing  a  new  album  until  the  summer  of 
1988.  Like  a  lot  of  cherished  fantasies,  the  reality  of 
Bream  of  Life  is  a  big  disappointment.  Although  Smith 
reassembled  the  troops — Daugherty  and  Sohl  (who  died 
of  heart  failure  in  June  1990)  joined  Fred  Smith  and  a 
few  others — and  wrote  all  the  songs  with  her  husband 
(who  co-produced  with  Jimmy  lovine),  you  can  take  the 
record  off  after  the  uplifting  opener,  "People  Have  the 
Power."  That  fine  single,  which  bears  a  passing  resem- 
blance to  Starship,  is  the  only  sign  of  life  on  this  bland 
effort.  While  an  older  and  wiser  Smith  does  her  legend 
no  serious  damage  here,  the  optimistic  Dream  of  Life 
adds  precious  little  to  it.  [i] 

SMITHEREENS 

Girls  About  Town  EP  (D-Tone)  1 982 

Beauty  and  Sadness  EP  (Little  Ricky)  1 983  (Enigma) 

1988* 

Especially  for  You  (Enigma)  1 987  • 
The  Smithereens  Live  EP  (Restless)  1987  $ 
Green  Thoughts  (Enigma-Capitol)  1988  • 
1 1  (Enigma-Capitol)  1 989  • 

You  like  pop  music?  You  want  to  hear  three  poten- 
tial number  one  singles  played  as  if  the  future  of  the 
world  depended  on  making  them  impossibly  winsome, 
memorable  and  rapturous  without  sacrificing  any  rock- 
'n'roll energy  or  guts?  Then  get  Beauty  and  Sadness,  a 
12-inch  EP  by  New  Jersey's  Smithereens,  Singer/ 
guitarist  Pat  DiNlzio  knows  exactly  what  it  takes  to 
write  great  pop  songs,  and  his  three  bandmates  prove 
they  know  what  to  do  with  'em  on  "Beauty  and  Sad- 
ness," "Some  Other  Guy"  and  "Tracey's  World/'  As 
a  bonus,  they  rock'n'bop  on  "Much  Too  Much"  and 


reprise  the  title  tune  as  an  instrumental.  Top-notch.  (The 
1988  reissue  is  remixed  but  otherwise  identical.)  Girls 
About  Town  is  a  charming  but  rudimentary  four-song 
concept  single,  including  three  originals  with  "girl"  in 
the  title  and  a  cover  of  the  Beach  Boys'  "Girl  Don't  Tell 
Me." 

After  signing  to  Enigma,  the  Smithereens  wound  up 
getting  a  song  ("Blood  and  Roses")  on  a  film  sound- 
track. The  picture  was  a  flop,  but  the  tune  garnered 
airplay  and  brought  the  Smithereens  national  attention. 
Their  Don  Dixon-produced  album,  Especially  for  You, 
benefited  from  the  exposure  and  momentum,  and  wound 
up  a  successful  chart  happening.  Fortunately,  it's  also  a 
wonderful  record,  an  unfancy  set  of  memorable  songs— 
"Alone  at  Midnight,"  "Strangers  When  We  Meet," 
"Time  and  Time  Again" — that  reflect  both  DiNizio's 
sour  view  of  romance  and  the  quartet's  sincere  fandom 
for  a  number  of  great  bands  of  the  '60s — the  Beatles, 
Searchers,  Who  and  Kinks.  (Suzanne  Vega,  with  whom 
DiNizio  had  worked  in  an  office,  guests  on  "In  a  Lonely 
Place.") 

The  Smithereens  was  recorded  live  in  New  York 
City  in  late  '86.  The  six  selections  (a  perfect  cover  of 
the  Who's  "The  Seeker"  joins  the  group's  own  tunes) 
is  flawless,  the  performance  crisp  and  exciting.  Smith- 
ereens drummer  Dennis  Diken's  witty  and  informative 
liner  notes  are  likewise  exemplary. 

Green  Thoughts  (the  titular  reference  is  to  jeal- 
ousy) neatly  dodges  the  sophomore  jinx,  delivering  an- 
other set  of  terrific  DiNizio  songs,  played  with  the  same 
unpretentious  guitar-driven  excellence.  "House  We 
Used  to  Live  In,"  "Drown  in  My  Own  Tears,"  the 
country ish  "Something  New"  and  the  paranoid  (and 
proud  of  it)  title  track  are  especially  good,  but  the  entire 
record  is  instantly  likable  and  hard  to  shake.  Producer 
Don  Dixon  and  Del  Shannon  are  among  the  small  group 
of  guests. 

Terse,  tuneful  and  towering,  II — excellently  pro- 
duced by  Ed  Stasium  with  unmistakable  evidence  of  his 
Living  Colour  work — adds  considerable  rock  crunch  to 
the  guitar  sound,  while  allowing  DiNizio's  vocals  (get- 
ting attractive  support  from  Belinda  Carlisle,  the  Hon- 
eys and  others)  to  float  gently  above  the  fray.  With 
typically  great  songs  ("Yesterday  Girl,"  "Baby  Be 
Good,"  "A  Girl  Like  You"),  this  contains  some  of  the 
loudest  power  pop  ever,  erasing  the  Beatlesque  genre's 
nostalgia  with  fully  modern  intensity.  Neatly  balancing 
the  muscle  with  a  quartet  of  quieter  numbers  (the  ba- 
roque, Left  Banke-styled  "Blue  Period,"  quaintly  com- 
plete with  cello  and  harpsichord,  "Cut  Flowers,"  "Kiss 
Your  Tears  Away"  and  "Maria  Elena,"  an  engaging 
tribute  to  Buddy  Holly's  widow),  II  is  easily  the  Smith- 
ereens' best  album.  [i] 
See  also  Young  Fresh  Fellows, 

SMITHS 

The  Smiths  (Rough  Trade-Sir®)  1984  » 

Hatful  of  Hollow  (nr/Rough  Trad©)  1984  • 

Meat  Is  Murder  (Rough  Trade-Sins)  1 985  • 

The  Queen  Is  Dead  (Rough  Trade-Sir©)  1986  • 

The  World  Won't  Listen  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 987  * 

Louder  Than  Bombs  (Rough  Trade-Sir®}  1987  » 

Strangeways,  Here  We  Come  (Rough  Trad^Sire)  1 987  • 


610 


Rank  (Rough  Trade-Sire)  1988® 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  • 

You'd  be  perfectly  within  your  rights  to  hate  the 
Smiths.  No  other  pop  music  act  since  Jonathan  Richman 
ever  raised  blatant  self-absorption  to  such  a  high  level. 
The  Smiths'  ability  to  turn  shameless  solipsism  into  in- 
calculable stardom,  however,  was  their  entirely  unique 
accomplishment.  With  remarkable  consistency  and  in- 
tegrity, Mancunian  singer/lyricist  (Stephen)  Morrissey 
and  company  proudly  represent  the  traditional  values  of 
selfishness,  self-pity  and  the  unbearable  anguish  of  love. 
His  melancholy  romantic  sensibility  makes  Elizabeth 
Barrett  Browning  sound  like  Nelson  Algren. 

The  key  to  the  Smiths'  enormous  success  (in  addi- 
tion to  sixteen  UK  hit  singles,  all  seven  of  the  quartet's 
albums  went  Top  10  there)  was  that  the  no-nonsense 
band — under  the  direction  of  brilliant  guitarist/song- 
writer Johnny  Marr — offset  Morrissey 's  flightiness  with 
bright  and  catchy  music.  Supported  by  a  deft  rhythm 
section,  Marr's  spare,  hooky  guitar  created  a  seriously 
compelling  underground  (i.e.,  self-defined  and  uninflu- 
enced by  the  existing  commercial  order)  pop  sound  with 
a  simplicity  more  telling  than  all  of  the  singer's  un- 
wanted confessions. 

The  Smiths  boasts  ten  near-perfect  tunes  (the  US 
edition  adds  an  eleventh,  'This  Charming  Man"),  over 
which  Morrissey  sings — in  his  wavery,  defenseless 
voice — about  the  bittersweet  agonies  of  coming  out  of 
the  closet.  He  overindulges  to  the  point  of  sounding 
almost  like  a  parody  of  a  lounge  singer,  but  goes  far 
enough  to  make  it  more  daring  than  forced.  With  lines 
alternately  funny  ( "Hand  in  glove/The  sun  shines  out  of 
our  behinds")  and  clunky  ("Does  the  body  rule  the 
mind/Or  does  the  mind  rule  the  body/I  dunno"),  the 
album  dares  you  to  resist  it  and  then  makes  it  very 
difficult  to  do  so. 

The  UK-only  Hatful  of  Hollow  is  a  generous 
sixteen-track  collection  of  singles  and  radio  sessions 
which  doubles  The  Smiths'  best  cuts  and  betters  its 
lesser  material.  It  also  adds  the  tremolo-crazy  single 
"How  Soon  Is  Now?,"  which  takes  the  heaviest  art- 
rock  dance  groove  since  U2's  "Pride  (In  the  Name  of 
Love)"  and  throws  the  lines  "I  am  the  son/and  the 
heir/Of  a  shyness  that  is  criminally  vulgar"  in  its  path. 
Quite  a  formidable  obstacle,  but  the  groove  wins  out. 
The  Smiths  in  a  nutshell, 

Meat  Is  Murder  is  both  less  frilly  and  less  appeal- 
ing than  prior  efforts.  Morrissey  is  nearly  as  dry  as  the 
rest  of  the  band,  and  the  whole  thing  sounds  two- 
dimensional.  And  while  anyone  at  all  disposed  towards 
tragic  romanticism  can  accept  some  of  his  indulgences 
in  that  direction,  who  can  forgive  the  vegetarian  self- 
righteousness  of  the  title  track?  (The  US  edition  adds 
"How  Soon  Is  Now?"  to  the  program,) 

The  most  dangerous  gift  for  the  chronically  self- 
obsessed  is  a  devoted  audience,  and  The  Queen  Is  Dead 
shows  just  how  far  Morrissey  could  take  his  outrageous 
neurotic  fantasies,  "Never  Had  No  One  Ever"  is  osten- 
sibly a  paean  to  virginal  celibacy;  "Frankly,  Mr. 
Shankly"  questions  the  benefits  of  stardom;  "Bigmouth 
Strikes  Again"  (which  goes  out  on  a  limb  to  claim 
"...  now  I  know  how  Joan  of  Arc  felt"),  "There  Is 
a  Light  That  Never  Goes  Out"  and  "The  Boy  with  the 


Thorn  in  His  Side' '  obliquely  address  an  assortment  of 
insecurities.  The  band  is  typically  astute  and  subtle, 
although  Marr's  guitar  playing  takes  a  relatively  incon- 
spicuous lead  role. 

The  World  Won't  Listen,  the  Smiths'  second  com- 
pilation, contains  singles  (A's  and  B's)  and  obscurities 
from  1985-'86,  including  "That  Joke  Isn't  Funny  Any- 
more," "Shakespeare's  Sister,"  "Shoplifters  of  the 
World  Unite"  and  "Panic."  The  album  contains  one 
otherwise-unreleased  item,  "You  Just  Haven't  Earned 
It  Yet,  Baby"  (later  covered  to  good  effect  by  Kirsty 
MacColl  on  her  Kite  album). 

The  American-only  Louder  Than  Bombs  two- 
record  set  contains  many  of  the  same  tracks  (deleting 
those  which  appeared  on  The  Queen  Is  Dead  and  two 
others)  as  The  World  Won't  Listen,  adding  album 
tracks  and  single  sides  dating  as  far  back  as  1983.  The 
album  contains  such  Smiths  essentials  as  "Hand  in 
Glove,"  "Heaven  Knows  I'm  Miserable  Now," 
"William,  It  Was  Really  Nothing"  and  "Please  Please 
Please  Let  Me  Get  What  I  Want."  Five  numbers  feature 
ex- Aztec  Camera/Bluebells  guitarist  Craig  Gannon,  who 
was  briefly  a  Smith;  "Ask"  has  backing  vocals  by 
MacColl.  Amazingly,  the  band's  stylistic  consistency 
and  musical  excellence  never  falter,  leaving  the  impres- 
sion that  these  two  dozen  songs  could  have  been  re- 
corded in  one  lengthy  session.  Remarkable. 

Marr  and  Morrissey  parted  company  in  late  1987, 
putting  the  Smiths  to  rest  with  a  disappointing  final  al- 
burn, Strangeways,  Here  We  Come.  In  spots,  Marr's 
guitar  takes  a  harder  tone  than  ever  before.  Drummer 
Mike  Joyce  and  bassist  Andy  Rourke  also  come  on 
stronger  than  usual;  strings  and  saxophone  contribute  to 
the  crowded  melodic  din.  Morrissey 's  lyrics  are  half- 
baked  and  more  artless  than  usual,  turning  especially 
irksome  when  they  substitute  naked  anger  and  disgust 
("Paint  a  Vulgar  Picture,"  "Unhappy  Birthday")  for 
clever  snideness.  The  delicate  "Girlfriend  in  a  Coma" 
and  the  shimmering  "Stop  Me  if  You  Think  You've 
Heard  This  One  Before"  are  the  album's  best  tracks, 
and  they  aren't  exceptional  additions  to  the  canon. 

The  live  Rank  album  (recorded  in  London  in  Oc- 
tober *86)  closes  the  book  on  the  Smiths'  extraordinary 
career  with  a  hastily  paced  program  of  songs  drawn 
largely  from  The  Queen  Is  Dead  and  that  year's  sin- 
gles. While  the  band  (augmented  by  Gannon)  sounds 
great,  Morrissey 's  singing  is  uneven,  and  the  song  se- 
lection leaves  much  to  be  desired. 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP — reissued  on  cassette  and  CD 
in  the  US  with  a  different  cover  and  a  singular  title — is 
a  more  exciting  semi-live  souvenir,  containing  seriously 
energetic  1983  versions  of  "What  Difference  Does  It 
Make,"  "Handsome  Devil"  and  two  others.  Unfortu- 
nately for  fans,  "Reel  Around  the  Fountain"  is  the  only 
cut  not  already  released  on  Hatful  of  Hollow. 

While  Marr  went  off  to  record  with  Bryan  Ferry, 
Paul  McCartney,  Talking  Heads,  Kirsty  MacColl  and 
others  before  joining  the  The,  Morrissey  prudently 
launched  a  solo  career.  [i] 

See  also  Morrissey ,  New  Order,  The  The. 

T.V.  SMITH'S  EXPLORERS 

The  Last  Worels  of  the  Great  Explorer  (Epic)  1 981 


611 


T.V.  SMITH 

Channel  5  (nr/Expulsion)  1983 

Tim  Smith  was  the  leader  of  the  punk-era  Adverts, 
who  clung  on  long  enough  to  make  two  albums  in  the 
'70s.  After  they  expired,  Smith  formed  the  Explorers — 
originally  a  trio,  but  expanded  to  a  five-piece  (including 
an  ex-Doctors  of  Madness  bassist)  by  the  time  of  the 
album.  A  far  cry  from  the  Adverts'  stripped-down  guitar 
drone,  The  Last  Words  uses  synthesizer  and  slick  mu- 
sicianship to  mold  an  engaging  dance  program  that  ben- 
efits from  Smith's  strong  voice  and  inventive 
songwriting.  There  are  touches  of  Sparks,  the  Only 
Ones,  new  romantics  and  others;  a  great  record  from  a 
gifted  performer. 

Channel  5  finds  Smith  going  it  alone  on  a  tiny  indie 
label,  with  only  ex- Adverts  keyboard  player  Tim  Cross, 
a  bassist  and  a  drum  machine  helping  out.  The  LP  re- 
verts to  Smith's  earlier  no-nonsense,  no-frills  sound  (if 
not  exactly  Adverts-styled  punk),  with  his  guitar  lead- 
ing the  charge.  A  pleasant  little  record  with  strong 
songs,  clever  production  and  Smith's  burgeoning  social 
conscience  ("On  Your  Video,"  "War  Fever").  Sharp 
lyrics  make  the  spry  "A  Token  of  My  Love"  the  best 
track  on  this  entertaining  (if  sobering)  record.  [i/jr] 

See  also  Adverts. 

SNAKE  FARM 

See  Plugz. 

SNAKEF1NGER 

Chewing  Hides  the  Sound  (Ralph)  1980 
Greener  Postures  (Ralph)  1 981 
Manual  of  Errors  (Ralph)  1 982  ® 
Against  the  Grain  (Ralph)  1 983 
Snakefinger:  The  CD  Collection  [CD]  (East  Side  Digital) 
1988* 

VESTAL 
VIRGINS 

Live  in  Chicago  [tape]  (Ralph)  1986 
Night  of  Desirable  Objects  (Ralph)  1 986  9 

Although  his  musical  career  began  in  the  early  '60s 
and  he  recorded  two  albums  in  the  early  '70s  with  pub- 
rockers  Chilli  Willi  and  the  Red  Hot  Peppers,  guitarist 
Phil  "Snakefinger"  Lithman  is  best  known  for  his  as- 
sociation with  the  Residents  and  his  resultant  Ralph 
Records  solo  career.  On  songs  like  "Sinister  Exagger- 
ator"  and  their  savage  reworking  of  "Satisfaction," 
Snakefinger's  deranged  slidework  and  upside-down 
solos — trickily  playing  the  wrong  notes  in  the  right 
places — adds  an  immediately  recognizable  deviant 
edge.  He  died  of  a  heart  ailment  in  July  1987;  the  work 
he  left  behind  typifies  both  imagination  and  technical 
excellence. 

Snakefinger's  solo  debut  outing  was  "The  Spot,"  a 
cutely  weird  little  1978  single  that  ended  up  on  Against 
the  Grain.  But  his  first  two  albums  pointed  up  Snakey's 
major  weakness  as  a  solo  artist:  even  with  copious  mu- 
sical and  technical  input  from  the  Residents  (who  co- 
wrote  and  co-produced  both),  he  just  isn't  that  weird 
(for  a  Ralph  act,  that  is).  Skeletal  arrangements  and 
over-reliance  on  cliche'd  rhythm-box  beats  don't  help, 
either.  Nonetheless,  when  released  as  singles,  a  track 
from  each — "Man  in  the  Dark  Sedan"  and  Kraftwerk's 


"The  Model" — became  modest  (but  deserving)  under- 
ground hits. 

Around  the  time  of  Greener  Postures,  Snakefinger 
hit  the  club  circuit  with  a  backing  band  variously  known 
as  Bast  and  the  Dead  Residents.  The  presence  of  steady 
company  (including  Beefheart  alumnus — and  future 
Pere  Ubuite — Eric  Drew  Feldman)  makes  Manual  of 
Errors  an  improved  listening  experience;  juxtaposed 
against  (relatively)  straight  rock  backing,  Snakefinger 's 
innate  weirdness  comes  across  as  even  more  subversive. 

Against  the  Grain  is  a  thoughtful  compilation  of  his 
Ralph  work  to  date,  providing  the  perfect  entry  to  this 
unique  guitarist's  demi- warped  world.  Everything  you'd 
want  to  hear  is  here — from  "The  Spot"  through  "Beat- 
nik Party" — plus  a  great  unreleased  track,  "I  Love  You 
Too  Much  to  Respect  You." 

Armed  with  his  new  backing  group,  the  Vestal  Vir- 
gins (again  led  by  keyboardist  Feldman),  Snakefinger 
recorded  Night  of  Desirable  Objects  and  the  cassette- 
only  Live  in  Chicago,  which  have  no  songs  in  com- 
mon. The  excellently  produced  record  is  quite  good, 
comprising  complex  jazz  instrumentals,  a  believable  En- 
glish fiddle  ballad,  unadorned  a  cappella  gospel  and 
typical  (for  Snakey)  originals  like  "There's  No  Justice 
in  Life"  (which  might  serve  as  a  blueprint  for  Oingo 
Boingo)  and  the  organic  "I  Gave  Myself  to  You."  The 
live  tape  gives  up  something  in  audio  sophistication  and 
audio  variety,  but  offers  showy  and  extended  new  ver- 
sions of  such  oldies  as  "Save  Me  from  Dali,"  "Beatnik 
Party,"  "The  Model"  and  Ennio  Morricone's  "Magic 
and  Ecstasy." 

The  posthumous  CD  Collection  comprises  Chew- 
ing Hides  the  Sound  (minus  two  songs),  Greener  Pos- 
tures (minus  one)  and  both  sides  of  his  1978  single, 
"The  Spot"  b/w  "Smelly  Tongues."  [rap/i] 

See  also  Residents. 


SNATCH 

See  Judy  Nylon. 

SNATCHES  OF  PINK 

Send  in  the  Clowns  (Dog  Gone)  1987 
Dead  Men  (Dog  Gone)  1 989  • 

They're  from  Chapel  Hiil»  North  Carolina,  Sara 
Romweber  (ex-Let's  Active)  plays  drums.  They're  on  a 
label  run  by  R.E.M.  manager  Jefferson  Holt.  Think 
you've  got  'em  pegged?  Wrong!  This  loud  trio  is  a  tasty 
blend  of  Stones  raunch  and  punk  insistence,  well-crafted 
tunes  delivered  with  jackhammer  finesse.  Singer  Andy 
McMillan  is  a  young  good-old-boy  with  an  aching  twang 
stuck  in  his  throat,  spurred  to  spill  his  guts  by  Michael 
Rank's  barbed  guitars.  Need  a  party  starter?  Try  "Ones 
with  the  Black"  on  Send  in  the  Clowns.  A  good'un. 

The  Snatches  up  the  grunge  level  dramatically  on 
Dead  Men,  creating  the  thrilling  sound  of  chaos  in  the 
key  of  E.  With  Rank  assuming  lead  vocal  duties  from 
Andy  McMillan  (now  the  foil-fledged  bassist ),  the  trio 
imitates  a  big-time  boogie  band  debilitated  by  bad  drugs. 
With  urgent  performances  and  a  thoroughly  muddy  mix, 
the  rockers  seem  like  the  prelude  to  world  destruction, 
while  the  ballads  suggest  a  last  desperate  cry  for  help.  In 
other  words,  highly  cool.  (jy) 

See  also  Let's  Active, 


612 


SNEAKERS 

Sneakers  EP  (Carnivorous)  1 976 
In  the  Red  (Car)  1978 

u.s. 

U.S.  Secret  Service  EP  (Moonlight)  1 980 

The  7-inch  Sneakers  EP — six  quirky  power  pop 
originals  engineered  by  Don  Dixon — marked  the  first 
vinyl  appearance  of  a  seminal  but  little-heard  band  con- 
taining North  Carolina  rock  scene  VIPs  Chris  Stamey, 
Will  Rigby  and  Mitch  Easter  (a  guest  contributor)  To 
get  the  folklore  out  of  the  way,  Stamey  and  Rigby 
founded  the  dB's;  Stamey  went  on  to  a  solo  career; 
Dixon  became  a  busy  producer  and  solo  artist;  Easter  is 
also  a  well-known  producer,  fronts  Let's  Active  and 
operates  Mitch's  Drive-In  Studio,  one  of  the  breeding 
labs  for  new  American  rock.  The  record  itself  has  such 
lyrically  anxious  Stamey-penned  elements  of  the  legend 
as  "Love's  Like  a  Cuban  Crisis,"  "Condition  Red" 
and  "On  the  Brink  " 

The  12-inch  In  the  Red,  made  after  Stamey  had 
relocated  to  New  York,  was  really  an  extended  family 
reunion  in  which  Stamey  and  Easter  combine  their  An- 
gloid  pop/rock  with  brooding  quasi-baroque  clavinet, 
the  saunter  of  a  Parisian  boulevardier,  even  some  avant- 
gardish  desperation,  all  with  an  air  of  sophistication 
received  in  innocence.  Besides  a  cover  of  Bo  Diddley's 
"Roadranner,"  the  record  features  five  songs  penned 
individually  by  Stamey  ("The  Perfect  Stranger," 
"What  I  Dig")  and  Easter  ("Decline  and  Fall," 
"Quelle  Folie")  and  a  brief  noir  instrumental. 

Secret  Service  includes  ex-Sneakers  bassist  Robert 
Keely  plus  other  North  Carolina  pals  who  stayed  put. 
The  Dixon-produced  record  sounds  more  pro  than 
Sneakers  ever  did  and  consequently  lacks  most  of  that 
band's  ingratiating  twinkiness.  The  12-inch  includes  one 
goody  ("Backseat  Sinner")  and  three  other  tunes  that 
are  only  fair.  Easter  guests  on  acoustic  guitar.  [jg/i] 

See  also  dB's,  Let's  Active,  Chris  Stamey. 


SNEETCHES 

Lights  Outl  with  the  Sneetches  (nr/Kaleidoscope  Sounds) 

1988  (Alias)  1991  * 

Sometimes  That's  All  We  Have  (Alias)  1 989  « 
Slow  (Alias)  1 990  * 

This  San  Francisco-based  Anglo-American  quartet 
matches  the  heady  artfulness  of  the  Zombies  with  the 
giddy  exuberance  of  the  Partridge  Family.  Demos  made 
as  a  fledgling  three-piece  found  their  way  to  a  UK  label, 
which  proudly  released  the  eight  songs  as  Lights  Out! 
The  rudimentary  recording  quality  only  adds  to  the 
fresh,  unpretentious  appeal  of  beat  numbers  like  "I 
Need  Someone"  and  pretty,  atmospheric  tracks  like 
"Lorelei."  (The  belated—- and  expanded — American  is- 
sue adds  three  songs  from  a  1989  single,  four  new  tracks 
and  a  Raspberries  cover  recorded  in  collaboration  with 
Shoes,) 

Sometimes  Thaf  s  AM  We  Have  delivers  what 
Lights  Out!  only  promised.  Behind  the  engaging,  sunny 
choruses  and  bouncy  love&capes  lies  a  healthy  dose  of 
Syd  Barrett-sized  neuroses.  The  LP  is  bursting  with  bril- 
liant production  and  arranging  ideas;  the  piano  and  hand- 
clap  break  in  the  rocking  "Nowhere  at  All,"  the  worn- 
vinyl  intro  to  '* Another  Shitty  Day,"  pedal  steel  and 


finger-snapping  on  "Don't  Turn  Back,"  the  almost 
campy  ooh-la-Sa-la's  of  "In  a  Perfect  Place. ' '  The  songs 
by  bassist  Mike  Levy  and  guitarist  Matt  Carges  float 
nght  into  your  subconscious,  and  the  band  displays  its 
muscle  when  you  least  expect  it 

The  addition  of  a  second  Englishman,  ex-Stingrays 
bassist  Alec  Palao  (dapper  drummer  Daniel  Swan  cut 
his  teeth  with  the  Cortinas),  allowed  Levy  to  move  to 
guitar  and  gave  the  Sneetches  a  new  forceftzlness  on  the 
1989  12-inch  "Please  Don't  Break  My  Heart,'1  which 
also  includes  a  fired-up  dash  through  the  Monochrome 
Set's  "He's  Frank  "  The  comparatively  raw  nature  of 
that  teaser,  plus  inspired  live  shows  riddled  with  Buzz- 
cocks  or  Wire  raveups,  hardly  prepared  fans  for  Slow,  a 
sparse,  yet  somehow  dreamier  and  darker  vision  of 
Sneetches-brand  popedelia.  "Heloise"  and  "Broke  Up 
in  My  Hands"  are  among  the  bongo-driven  favorites  on 
this  lovely  and  unusual  no-fixed-decade  release  [sm] 

SNIVELLING  SHITS 

I  Can't  Come  (nr/Damaged  Goods)  1 989 

The  hazard  of  anyone-can-do-it  musical  movements 
is  what  might  get  dragged  m.  Fortunately,  the  jokey 
Snivelling  Shits — two  London  rock  critics  (singer  Gio- 
vanni Dadomo  and  guitarist  Dave  Fudger)  and  such 
musician  friends  as  Steve  Nicol  of  the  Hot  Rods  and 
bassist  Steve  Lillywhite — were  sharply  skilled  at  smut- 
tily satirizing  the  sounds  of  '77.  As  anthologized  m  this 
archival  colored-vinyl  document,  the  band's  bnef  re- 
cording career  (eight  whole  tracks,  including  the  vi- 
ciously irreverent  "isgodaman?,"  originally  released  on 
a  Beggars  Banquet  compilation  LP  under  the  name 
Arthur  Comics?)  included  incisive  swipes  at  the  Sex 
Pistols,  John  Cooper  Clarke  ( "I  Wanna  Be  Your  Biro" ) 
and  the  Velvet  Underground.  That's  history  for  you. 


SIGMUND  SNOPEK  III 

See  Violent  Femmes, 

SNUFF 

Snuffsaidbutgorblimeyguvstonemeifhedidn'tthrowav/obbler- 
chachachachachachachachachachachayou'regoing- 
homeinacosmicambience  (Workers  Playtime- Rough 
Trod©)  1990* 

Taking  its  cue  from  such  fellow  Brits  as  the  UK 
Subs  and  such  US  brethren  as  the  Descendents,  Snuff 
plays  speedy  raveups  bursting  with  frenetic  drumming 
and  sing-songy  choruses  ("Some-How"  and  "Not  Lis- 
tening," in  particular,  stand  out)  on  its  marvelously 
titled  debut  (generally  referred  to  as  Snuff  Said).  Un- 
cluttered production  and  the  band's  unbridled  enthusi- 
asm and  complete  lack  of  pretension  (no  "society 
sucks"  songs  here)  do  much  to  move  Snuff  way  ahead 
in  the  hardcore  sweepstakes.  And  dig  the  raucous  cover 
of  "Purple  Haze,"  which  resourcefully  appropriates 
guest  vocals  from  Jimi  himself.  The  CD  adds  six  cuts  to 
an  already  worthy  collection.  [dbj 

S.O.A. 

No  Policy  EP  (Dischord)  1981 


613 


ARTISTS 

Four  Old  7"s  on  a  1 2"  (Dischord)  1 985 

While  working  at  an  ice  cream  parlor  in  his  native 
Washington  DC,  the  teenage  Henry  Rollins  (ne*  Henry 
Garfield)  got  out  his  aggressions  by  singing  for  local 
hardcore  pioneers  S.O.A.  (State  Of  Alert),  which  ex- 
isted from  October  1980  until  July  1981,  when  Rollins 
joined  Black  Flag.  The  group's  posthumous  7-inch  EP 
(later  reissued  on  a  compilation  with  three  other  early 
Dischord  45s)  offers  ten  very  brief  blasts  of  abrasive 
hardcore,  primed  by  talented  guitarist  Michael  Hamp- 
ton's wall  of  riffing  and  Henry's  fierce  bark.  No  Policy 
is  a  most  effective  nervous  system  stimulant,  and  the 
songs  are  over  before  they  have  a  chance  to  get  tire- 
some. Years  away  from  developing  into  his  trademark 
tortured  psychological  introspections,  Rollins'  lyrics 
call  for  just  violence  (' 'Gonna  Have  to  Fight")  and 
explore  familiar  punk  complaints:  anti-drugs  ("Lost  in 
Space'*),  anti-romance  ("Girl  Problems")  and  anti- 
police  ("Public  Defender").  Interestingly,  Hampton 
and  post-EP  drummer  Ivor  Hanson  wound  up  working 
(together)  in  Alec  MacKaye's  Faith  and  Ian  MacKaye's 
Embrace.  [gef] 

See  also  Henry  Rollins. 

SOCIAL  DEVIANTS 

Ptoof  (nr/Underground  Impressarios)  1 967  (nr/Decca) 
1 969  (nr/Psycho)  1983 

DEVIANTS 

Disposable  (nr/Stable)  1968  (Sire-London)  1969 
Deviants  #3  (Sire-London)  1969  (nr/Transatlantic- 

Demon)  1 989 
Human  Garbage  (nr/Psycho)  1984 

MICK  FARREN  &  THE  DEVIANTS 

Screwed  Up  EP  (nr/Sfiff)  1977 

TWINK 

Think  Pink  (nr/Polydor)  1970 
Mr.  Rainbow  (nr/Twink)  1 990 

TWINK  WITH  PLASTICLAND 

You  Need  a  Fairy  Godmother  (Midnight)  1989 

PINK  FAIRIES 

Never  Never  Land  (nr/Polydor)  1 971 

What  a  Bunch  of  Sweeties  (nr/Polydor)  1 972 

Kings  of  Oblivion  (Polydor)  1973 

Flashback:  Pink  Fairies  (nr/Polydor)  1 975 

Live  at  the  Roundhouse  (nr/Big  Beat)  1982 

Kill  'Em  &  Eat  'Em  (nr/Demon)  1 987  (Skyclad)  1 989  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Revelations  (Glastonbury  Fayre)  (nr/Revelation)  1 972 

Although  the  two  nations'  social  climates  were  sig- 
nificantly different,  British  youth  culture  of  the  late  '60s 
provided  the  same  fertile  environment  for  the  blending 
of  radical  politics,  recreational  drug  use  and  rock'n'roll 
as  America  did.  If  the  Deviants  were  less  incendiary 
(both  in  outlook  and  sound)  than  the  MC5,  the  loose 
London  group  was  every  bit  as  subversive,  and  played  a 
crucial  historical  role  by  transmuting  into  the  Pink  Fair- 
ies and  launching  the  genealogical  and  stylistic  process 
that,  alongside  Hawkwind  and  a  few  other  hippie 
hordes,  kept  the  countercultural  spirit  alive  in  British 
rock'n'roll  through  the  early  '70s.  In  a  very  real  sense, 


the  Deviants — singly  and  collectively — played  a  not  in- 
significant role  in  godfathering  the  punk  era. 

Founded  and  fronted  by  singer/writer  Mick  Farren, 
the  Social  Deviants — later  just  the  Deviants — made 
three  bizarre  albums  in  two  years  before  caving  in,  as 
such  chemically  polluted  anti-authoritarian  enterprises 
were  wont  to  do,  leaving  behind  such  anthems  as  "Let's 
Loot  the  Supermarket,"  "Slum  Lord"  (both  on  the 
goodnaturedly  weird  Disposable)  and  'The  People 
Suite"  ("We  are  the  people  who  pervert  your  children 
...  we  are  beyond  rehabilitation  .  .  .  ")  and  "Meta- 
morphosis Exploration"  (from  the  harder-rocking  and 
spacier  #3). 

After  the  Deviants  folded  in  1969,  Farren  recorded  a 
solo  album  with  a  short-lived  Pink  Fairies  that  featured 
drummer/singer  Twink  (John  Alder,  a  veteran  of  the 
Pretty  Things  who  had  a  momentary  band  with  Syd 
Barrett  that  actually  performed  in  public  in  1972).  When 
the  first  Pink  Fairies  fell  apart,  Twink  assembled  a  sec- 
ond version  with  the  other  three  ex-Deviants  and  re- 
corded Never  Never  Land,  performing  two  songs  from 
it  on  an  apocalyptic  side  of  Revelations,  the  Glaston- 
bury Fayre  festival  live  triple-album;  a  terse  "Do  It" 
(later  covered  by  Rollins  Band)  and  20  minutes  of  "Un- 
cle Harry's  Last  Freak-Out."  Twink  then  flew  the  coop, 
leaving  Duncan  Sanderson  (bass/vocals),  Paul  Rudolph 
(guitar/vocals)  and  Russell  Hunter  (drums)  to  carry  the 
Fairies  flag. 

Despite  a  fair  measure  of  artistic  confusion  and  the 
lack  of  a  real  vocalist,  What  a  Bunch  of  Sweeties  is  an 
offbeat  and  occasionally  exciting,  but  now  totally  dated, 
guitar-rock  (plus  drum  solo)  record.  Things  really  got 
good,  however,  when  Rudolph  was  replaced  by  Larry 
Wallis  (a  veteran  of  both  the  jazzy  Blodwyn  Pig  and  the 
nearly  metal  UFO).  With  Wallis  singing,  playing  inge- 
nious guitar  and  doing  nearly  all  the  songwriting  (in  one 
case,  collaborating  with  Farren),  the  resulting  Kings  of 
Oblivion  is  absolutely  amazing,  a  thunderous  jolt  of 
electricity  with  monumental  melodies  and  bizarre  side- 
ways lyrics  like  "I  Wish  I  Was  a  Girl,"  the  drugged-out 
"When's  the  Fun  Begin?"  and  "City  Kids."  Still  bril- 
liant sounding  after  two  decades,  Kings  is  a  widely 
unknown  masterpiece  that  stands  on  its  own  but  also  set 
the  stage  for  Motorhead,  which  Wallis  and  Hawkwind 
refugee  Lemmy  initially  formed  in  1975. 

Flashback  is  a  compilation  of  studio  tracks;  al- 
though not  released  until  '82,  Live  at  the  Roundhouse 
(which  includes  renditions  of  "City  Kids,"  "Uncle 
Harry's  Last  Freak-Out"  and  "Waiting  for  the  Man," 
among  others)  was  recorded  in  1975  by  a  Fairies  re- 
union that  featured  Twink,  Rudolph,  Wallis,  Hunter  and 
Sanderson. 

The  Deviants  and  Pink  Fairies  names  have  been  used 
for  various  one-offs  over  the  years:  Human  Garbage, 
for  instance,  is  a  1984  live  recording  by  Farren,  Wallis 
and  Sanderson.  The  '77  Mick  Farren  <&  the  Deviants  EP 
is  a  raunchy-sounding  7-inch  that  includes  a  fun  new 
version  of  "Let's  Loot  the  Supermarket'  *  and  three  other 
tracks,  produced  by  Wallis  and  performed  with  Rudolph 
and  guitarist  Andy  Colqhoun  (then  of  Warsaw  Pakt), 
Colqhoun  and  Wallis-— as  well  as  Twiak,  Hunter 
and  Sanderson — are  all  on  the  recent  Fairies  reunion 
album,  Kill  'Em  &  Eat  'Em,  Although  there's  no  prob- 
lem with  the  straightforward  rock  music,  the  quintet's 


614 


attempt  to  recapture  and  reglamonze  the  past  in  songs 
like  "Taking  LSD"  and  "White  Girls  on  Amphet- 
amine" is  a  serious  drag. 

As  one  step  in  Twink's  late-'80s  reactivation,  he  cut 
the  inexcusably  dull  You  Need  a  Fairy  Godmother 
mini-album  live  in  a  Chicago  club,  blandly  backed — on 
a  far-ranging  selection  of  career  oldies  (including  the 
Pretty  Things'  "Alexander,"  the  Pink  Fairies'  "Do  It" 
and  a  1978  solo  tune,  "Psychedelic  Punkaroo")  and 
one  terrible  newie  ("Seize  the  Time") — by  Plasticland. 
Brad  Warner  of  Dimentia  13  guests  on  one  of  the  seven 
tracks;  Twink  plays  drums  on  another,  leaving  lead  vo- 
cals to  P-land's  Glenn  Rehse.  [i] 

See  also  Bevis  Frond,  MickFarren,  Hawkwind,  Mo- 
torhead,  Plasticland. 


SOCIAL  DISTORTION 

Mommy's  Little  Monster  (1 3th  Floor)  1 983  (Triple  X) 

1990® 

Prison  Bound  (Restless)  1988  ® 
Social  Distortion  (Epic)  1990  * 
Story  of  My  Life..and  other  stories  EP  [CD]  (Epic)  1 990  « 

Formed  around  the  turn  of  the  decade  by  singer/ 
guitarist  Mike  Ness,  Social  Distortion  established  itself 
as  a  top-rank  Southern  California  punk  group  in  1982 
with  the  "1945"  45.  In  an  era  known  more  for  West 
Coast  hardcore  (Black  Flag,  TSOL,  Circle  Jerks,  Fear), 
this  Fullerton  band  covered  the  Stones  (the  B-side  is  a 
red-hot  "Under  My  Thumb")  and  Creedence  in  their 
live  shows.  Mommy's  Little  Monster  is  a  near-perfect 
example  of  melodious,  riffing  punk,  just  oozing  rock- 
'n'roll suss.  From  the  piledriving  opener  ("I  Just  Want 
to  Give  You  the  Creeps")  to  the  swaggering  "It  Wasn't 
a  Pretty  Picture"  to  "Another  State  of  Mind,"  Monster 
is  a  two-guitar  punk-pop  classic.  (The  CD  adds  "Under 
My  Thumb"  and  another  early  track.) 

Five  years  later,  Social  Distortion  were  among  the 
last  practitioners  of  this  form,  and  Prison  Bound  adds  a 
new  twist.  Acoustic  guitars  abound  and  Ness  has  obvi- 
ously been  listening  to  Johnny  Cash;  at  least  half  of  the 
LP  is  tinged  with  a  country  feel.  "Indulgence"  and 
"Like  an  Outlaw"  (with  cowboy  yells  and  snapping 
whips)  are  like  parts  of  a  soundtrack  for  a  heroic  but  sad 
Western  we'll  never  see;  there's  also  another  Stones 
cover,  "Backstreet  Girl."  Although  Prison  Bound 
lacks  the  all-out  dynamics  of  Monster  (credit  the  loss  of 
original  bassist  Brent  Liles  and  singing  drummer  Der- 
rick O'Brien),  it's  still  a  maturely  paced,  knowing 
follow-up,  and  not  just  for  punks. 

With  Social  Distortion  signing  to  a  major  label, 
many  might  have  expected  the  group's  third  LP  to  ease 
up  on  the  intensity.  Instead,  the  quartet  returns  to  the 
debut  LP*s  guitar  assault  on  such  burners  as  the  opening 
"So  Far  Away,"  and  "She's  a  Knockout."  The  rootsy 
leanings  of  Prison  Bound  are  still  present,  but  far  more 
restrained;  Johnny  Cash's  "Ring  of  Fire"  gets  a  back- 
to-basics  reading,  The  rhythm  section  (including  ex- 
Lewd  drummer  Chris  Reeee)  finally  jells,  and  Dave 
Jerden's  production  is  just  right,  a  striking  backdrop  for 
Ness'  great  vocals.  This  veteran  punk  band  not  only 
stuck  to  its  rock'n'roll  guns  in  a  higher-stakes  outing, 
but  reached  a  measure  of  mainstream  acceptance  in  the 
process.  Shocking. 


The  Story  of  My  Life  EP  combines  the  single  ver- 
sion of  that  album  track  with  two  bracing  live  cuts 
("1945"  and  "Mommy's  Little  Monster")  and  a  pair 
of  newly  recorded  covers:  Willie  Dixon's  "Pretty 
Thing"  and  rockabilly  legend  Ersel  Hickey's  "Shame 
on  Me."  [jr] 

SOFT  BOYS 

Wading  Through  a  Ventilator  EP  (nr/Raw)  1 978  (nr/De 

Lorean)  1984* 
A  Can  of  Bees  (nr/Two  Crabs)  1 979  (nr/Aura)  1 980 

(nr/Two  Crabs)  1 984  * 
Underwater  Moonlight  (nr/Armageddon)  1980  (nr/Glass 

Fish)  1990® 
Two  Halves  for  the  Price  of  One  (nr/Armageddon)  1 981 

(nr/Glass  Fish)  1 990 
Invisible  Hits  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 983  • 
Live  at  the  Portland  Arms  [tape]  (nr/Midnight  Music)  1 983 

(nr/Glass  Fish)  1987 

From  Cambridge  they  came,  in  1976:  a  brilliant 
songwriter  leading  a  two-guitar  band  that  revered  the 
Byrds,  the  Beatles  and,  most  of  all,  Syd  Barrett's  Pink 
Floyd.  Some  called  it  the  start  of  a  psychedelic  revival; 
the  Soft  Boys'  verve  and  wild-eyed  sincerity  made  it 
more  of  a  post-psychedelic  awakening. 

Wading  Through  a  Ventilator  shows  a  promising 
weirdness  that  sets  it  apart  from  what  most  everyone 
else  was  doing  in  1977,  but  reveals  singer/guitarist  Ro- 
byn  Hitchcock  as  a  still-embryonic  songwriter.  He  got 
off  a  few  good  ones  on  A  Can  of  Bees,  by  which  time 
guitarist  Kimberly  Rew  had  joined  the  band,  but  the  rest 
declines  disappointingly  into  grating  medium-metal 
power  pop.  (The  album's  second  reissue  is  somewhat 
revised  from  the  original,  adding  "Anglepoise  Lamp" 
from  a  1978  single  and  other  tracks.) 

That  same  year  (1979),  the  Soft  Boys  recorded  an 
uncharacteristic  all-acoustic  live  tape — later  sold  by 
mail  to  buyers  of  Invisible  Hits  as  Live  at  the  Portland 
Arms  and  subsequently  reissued  and  generally  distrib- 
uted on  disc — which  contains  the  most  bizarre  assort- 
ment of  cover  versions  imaginable.  But  then  cover 
versions  were  always  one  of  the  band's  strong  suits, 
from  Hitchcock's  intense  reading  of  John  Lennon's 
"Cold  Turkey"  on  Can  of  Bees  to  his  hilarious  ravings 
on  Portland  Arms'  "That's  When  Your  Heartaches 
Begin."  Also  of  historic  interest  are  two  Syd  Barrett 
numbers:  "Vegetable  Man"  on  a  British  maxi-single 
(also  included  on  the  Canadian  Attic  issue  of  Under- 
water Moonlight)  and  "Astronomy  Domine"  on  Two 
Halves  for  the  Price  of  One.  That  album  is  actually 
two,  with  individually  titled  sides  and  cover  art:  Lope  at 
the  Hive  was  recorded  at  London's  Hope  and  Anchor, 
while  Only  the  Stones  Remain  contains  otherwise  un- 
released  oddities  mixed  in  both  chronology  and  quality. 

The  core  of  the  Soft  Boys  canon,  however,  are  In- 
visible Hits  (actually  recorded  in  '78  and  '79)  and  Un- 
derwater Moonlight.  Some  form  of  insanity  prevented 
the  timely  itlease  of  the  former;  it  shows  Hitchcock  at 
his  best — maturely  immature  and  crazily  serious — as  he 
races  from  hearty  lust  ( *  'Let  Me  Put  It  Next  to  You* ' )  to 
vulnerable  harangue  ("Empty  Girl,"  "Blues  in  the 
Dark"),  Few  other  albums  capture  the  humor,  patibtos, 
anger  and  grotesquerie  of  man/woman  so  well. 


615 


Underwater  Moonlight  is  one  of  the  new  wave's 
finest  half-dozen  albums  and  unquestionably  its  most 
unjustly  underrated  one.  "I  Wanna  Destroy  You"  is  a 
rant  against  war  and  intolerance;  "Insanely  Jealous" 
builds  to  a  frenzy— twice;  "I  Got  the  Hots"  contains 
some  of  the  funniest  erotic  lines  ever  written.  This  al- 
bum has  everything-— melody,  power,  wit,  laughs  and 
heart,  not  to  mention  a  great  guitar  sound. 

Hitchcock  remains  one  of  the  '80s  most  unique  song- 
writers. He  later  reunited  with  the  original  Soft  Boys 
rhythm  section  of  Andy  Metcalfe  (also  in  the  reformed 
Squeeze)  and  Morris  Windsor  for  some  of  his  solo  re- 
cordings; Rew  went  on  to  form  Katrina  and  the  Waves. 

[mf] 
See  also  Robyn  Hitchcock,  Katrina  and  the  Waves. 


SOFT  CELL 

Mutant  Moments  EP  (nr/Big  Frock)  1 980 

Non-Stop  Erotic  Cabaret  (Sire)  1981  • 

Non-Stop  Ecstatic  Dancing  EP  (Sire)  1 982 

The  Art  of  Falling  Apart  (Sire)  1 983 

Soul  Inside  EP  (Sire)  1983 

This  Last  Night  in  Sodom  (Sire)  1984  * 

The  Singles  1981-1985  (nr/Some  Bizzare)  1986  • 

Singer  Marc  Almond  and  keyboardist  David  Ball  per- 
formed a  minor  miracle  in  1981 ,  taking  an  obscure  soul 
song  and  turning  it  into  a  most  atypical  synthesizer  tune, 
coming  up  in  the  process  with  a  worldwide  smash  hit  that 
rode  Billboard' s  chart  for  almost  a  year. '  'Tainted  Love1 ' 
(written  by  Ed  Cobb  but  known  in  its  version  by  Gloria 
Jones)  is  as  passionate  and  desperately  sleazy  as  Kraft- 
werk  is  cool  and  clean.  The  Almond/Ball  originals  on 
Non-Stop  Erotic  Cabaret  don't  always  cut  so  deeply, 
but  all  offer  nice,  decadent  fun.  Among  them:  "Sex 
Dwarf,"  highlighted  by  a  nagging  synthesizer  riff,  and 
"Say  Hello,  Wave  Goodbye,"  blatant  though  stirring 
sentimentality.  Almond's  breathy,  insinuating  vocals 
and  Ball's  surprisingly  varied  electronic  and  acoustic 
keyboards  (kudos  to  producer  Mike  Thome)  never  stand 
pat. 

Non-Stop  Ecstatic  Dancing,  half  an  hour  (six 
tracks)  of  dance  mixes,  intends  primarily  to  divert  and 
manages  to  overcome  its  basic  filler  role.  Highlights 
include  a  languid  version  of  "Where  Did  Our  Love 
Go?"  and  the  unforgettably  neurotic  "Insecure  .  .  . 
Me?" 

It's  too  bad  Almond  and  Ball  didn't  part  ways  before 
descending  into  the  embarrassing  self-parody  of  The 
Art  of  Falling  Apart.  With  Ball's  keyboards  growing 
progressively  cooler,  Almond  tries  ever  more  desper- 
ately to  invoke  a  sleazy  atmosphere  and  just  ends  up 
sounding  silly.  The  nadir — indeed,  the  worst  Soft  Cell 
effort  of  all  time — is  the  pitiful  ten-minute  Jimi  Hendrix 
medley  of  "Hey  Joe,"  "Purple  Haze"  and  "Voodoo 
Chile  (Slight  Return)"  that  comes  on  a  bonus  12-inch 
45.  It's  like  a  five-year-old  trying  to  read  Shakespeare. 
Soul  Inside  is  a  collection  of  odds  and  ends,  including 
a  version  of  "You  Only  Live  Twice  (007  Theme),"  two 
remixes  and  a  live  radio  session.  This  Last  Night  in 
Sodom  contains  further  fruitless  flailing,  as  titles  like 
"The  Best  Way  to  Kill"  and  "Mr.  Self  Destruct"  at- 
test, [jy] 
See  also  Marc  Almond,  Dave  Ball 


SOLDIER  STRING  QUARTET 

See  Elliott  Sharp . 

SOLOMON  GRUNDY 

See  Screaming  Trees. 


JIMMY 

See  Bronski  Beat,  Communards. 


SOMETHING 

I  Know  Ray  Harman  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1988 

Been  There,  Seen  That  Done  That  (nr/Virgin)  1988  • 

Stuck  Together  with  God's  Glue  (Charisma)  1 990  <1> 

This  Dublin  quartet  plays  straightforward  guitar- 
based  pop-rock,  refreshingly  free  of  the  '60s  trappings 
or  indie-dance  copycatism  of  many  likeminded  UK  and 
Irish  contemporaries. 

Arguments  over  the  mix  on  the  Tommy  Erdelyi- 
produced  debut  album  precipitated  the  release  of  a  six- 
song  live  set  recorded  before  a  crowd  of  the  converted. 
As  it  previews  a  couple  of  songs  from  the  then-imminent 
Been  There,  the  EP  (named  for  the  group's  lead  gui- 
tarist) is  not  mandatory,  but  it  is  fun. 

Been  There  was  finally  released  at  the  end  of  '88, 
remixed  and  containing  two  Vic  Maiie-produced  tracks 
in  place  of  three  deletions.  Unspectacularly  pleasant,  it 
announces  a  band  that  could  well  become  a  huge  com- 
mercial property.  The  fact  that  Tom  Dunne's  vocals 
often  bear  an  uncanny  resemblance  to  Bono  doesn't  hurt 
the  group's  chances. 

Stuck  Together  with  God's  Glue  is  much  more 
assured,  boasting  a  varied  selection  of  songs  and  tougher 
production  by  Ed  Stasium.  With  a  catchy  chorus  and 
comically  awkward  syntax,  * 'Hello,  Hello,  Hello, 
Hello,  Hello,  (Petrol)"  is  a  certified  shoulda-been  hit; 
the  sumptuously  melancholy  "Kill  the  Roses"  takes 
things  in  a  more  textured,  moody  direction.  Good  show. 

[db] 


SONIC'S  RENDEZVOUS  BAND/ 
DESTROY  ALL  MONSTERS 

Ron  Asheton/Sonic's  Rendezvous  Band  (Fr.  Revenge) 
1987 

SONIC'S  RENDEZVOUS  BAND 

Strikes  Like  Lightning  (Black  Adder)  1989 

SCOTT  MORGAN  BAND 

Rock  Action  (Fr.  Revenge)  1990 

By  virtue  of  who  they  were.  Sonic *&  Rendezvous 
were  legendary  long  before  anyone  outside  their  home- 
town ever  heard  them.  The  veritable  Detroit-scene  su- 
pergroup consisted  of  Scott  Morgan  (cx-Rationals), 
Gary  Rasmussen  (the  Up),  Scott  Asheton  (Stooges)  and 
Fred  Sonic  Smith  (MC5),  Officially,  the  band's  re- 
corded output  consists  of  a  single  song,  the  long-nut 
mono/stereo  45  "City  Slang."  Unofficially,  they  made 
a  pointed  resurgence  in  the  mid- '80s  Michigan- worship 
years,  first  on  a  1985  self-titled  bootleg  (a  lo-ft  dub  of 
the  original  45,  followed  by  lower-fi  live  cuts  that  fail  to 


616 


disguise  the  fact  that,  yeah,  SRB  were  worth  the  hoopla 
all  along). 

The  split  LP  with  Ron  Asheton's  Destroy  All  Mon- 
sters again  resurrects  "City  Slang"  from  the  45  (also 
reissued  elsewhere  on  a  facsimile  bootleg  single),  but 
with  clean,  sharp  sound,  as  mean  as  the  original.  The 
side  also  includes  a  studio  instrumental  that  was  obvi- 
ously intended  for  vocals  and  suffers  for  their  absence, 
and  a  pair  of  live  tunes  on  a  par  with  the  prior  LP.  An 
'89  bootleg  (Strikes  Like  Lightning)  culled  from  nu- 
merous '78- '79  gigs  varies  in  sound  quality,  but  the 
songs  and  performances  are  inarguably  the  best  yet, 
with  a  fury  and  interplay  only  hinted  at  on  the  earlier 
material. 

Nearly  a  decade  later,  Scott  Morgan  resurfaced  with 
a  somewhat  well-received  local  45  of  Seger/Springsteen 
commercialism,  on  which  the  band  consists  of  SRB  mi- 
nus Sonic  (by  then  Mr.  Patti  Smith,  with  his  wife's 
awful  comeback  LP  in  the  offing).  The  subsequent  Rock 
Action  follows  tradition  by  beginning  with  the  45  A-side 
(closing  with  its  flip),  spending  the  time  between  tour- 
ing through  Detroit  soul  of  the  sort  associated  with 
Mitch  Ryder.  Thankfully,  flamboyant  hack  vocalist 
Kathy  Deschaine  (the  fourth  bandmember,  the  fifth 
wheel)  is  relegated  to  a  minor  role;  nevertheless,  the  LP 
elicits  a  dulled  demo  feel,  lacking  the  kinetic  electricity 
conjured  by  the  former  band  even  on  the  crummiest 
archival  bootlegs.  [abj 


SONIC 

Sonic  Youth  EP  (Neutral)  1982  (SST)  1987  • 
Confusion  Is  Sex  (Neutral)  1983  (SST)  1987  ® 
Kill  Yr.  Idols  EP  (Ger.  Zensor)  1 983 
Sonic  Death:  Sonic  Youth  Live  [tap©]  (Ecstatic  Peace) 

1984  (SST)  1 988  4> 
Bad  Moon  Rising  (Homestead)  1985  ® 
Death  Valley  69  EP  (Homestead)  1985 
EVOL(SST)  1986® 
Sister  (SST)  1987® 
Master  Dik  EP  (SST)  1988® 
Daydream  Nation  (Blast  First-Enigma)  1988  ® 
Daydream  Nation  EP  [CD]  (Blast  Rrst-Enigma)  1988  « 
Goo(DGC)  1990® 

LEE  RANALDO 

From  Here  to  Infinity  (SST)  1 987  • 

CICCONE  YOUTH 

The  Whitey  Album  EP  [CD]  (Blast  First)  1 988  ® 
The  Whitey  Album  (Blast  First)  1989  ® 

JIM  SAUTER,  DON  DiETRICK, 
THURSTON  MOORE 

Barefoot  in  th©  Head  (Forced  Exposure)  1990 

BEWITCHED 

Brain  Eater  (No,  6)  1990 

Latter-day  rock'n'roll  revolutionaries  have  shown  a 
marked  tendency  towards  swift  burnout.  They  reveal 
their  raw  vision  to  the  world,  but  the  world,  being  the 
Philistine  place  that  it  is,  turns  away;  the  musicians 
move  on.  Sonic  Youth,  unlike  so  many  of  the  noise 
bands  that  formed  in  New  York  at  the  beginning  of  the 
*8Qs,  has  had  the  fortitude  to  hold  on  long  enough  to 
develop  its  ideas  well  beyond  the  original  stances.  As  a 
result,  the  quartet  has  gotten  better  and  better,  moving 


from  cacophony  to  chilling  beauty,  arising  from  the  un- 
derground to  become  its  emissaries  to  the  real  rock 
world. 

The  five-song  debut  EP  proves  that  a  reliance  on 
artsy  posturing  can  get  boring  in  an  awful  hurry.  Rigidly 
defined  beats  (by  original  drummer  Richard  Edson,  si- 
multaneously a  trumpet  player  in  Konk  and  later  strictly 
an  actor)  and  disembodied  poetic  vocals  (alternately  by 
guitarist  Thurston  Moore  and  bassist  Kim  Gordon)  evis- 
cerate Sonic  Youth's  principal  weapon— jangling,  ring- 
ing, dissonant  guitar  noise.  This  disc  is  no  fun. 

With  Bob  Bert  taking  over  the  drum  duties,  Confu- 
sion Is  Sex  gives  the  guitars  freer  rein,  and  the  result  is 
a  happily  anarchic  and  intense  mess.  The  tortuous 
"(She's  in  a)  Bad  Mood"  captures  its  subject  matter 
like  few  songs  before  it,  and  a  crude  cover  of  Iggy's  "I 
Wanna  Be  Your  Dog"  proves  that  the  artistes  can  rock. 
The  record  alternates  between  pulse  and  drone;  its  quiet 
spaces  quickly  get  cluttered  with  weirdly  tuned  percus- 
sive guitars,  often  bowed  or  struck  with  drumsticks. 

Kill  Yr.  Hols  reprises  two  tunes  from  Confusion  Is 
Sex  and  adds  three  similarly  twisted  tracks.  Like  Con- 
fusion, the  EP  is  dark  and  haunting,  particularly  on 
" Early  American,"  where  the  guitars  ring  like  macabre 
bells, 

Sonic  Death,  a  live  compilation  of  the  band's  for- 
mative years  (1981  to  '83),  offers  little  song  structure, 
primitive  playing,  poor  sound  quality  and  worse  editing. 
In  other  words,  it  effectively  documents  the  noisy  breech 
birth  of  a  legend. 

Bad  Moon  Eising  brings  Sonic  Youth  into  the  light, 
and  shows  an  enormous  developmental  leap.  The  sounds 
are  still  harsh — feedback,  distortion  and  dissonance — 
but  the  group  uses  them  to  create  a  variety  of  effects  and 
moods.  Like  many  records  made  in  1984  and  1985,  the 
album  is  a  statement  about  America  and,  while  avoiding 
the  ennoblement  of  the  mythological  common  man, 
does  capture  both  the  beauty  and  creepiness  of  the  fron- 
tier west  of  the  Bowery.  The  song  "Death  Valley  69," 
written  and  recorded  with  Lydia  Lunch,  sounds  like  X 
on  a  bad  trip,  and  puts  the  band's  screaming  guitars  into 
a  straight  rocker.  The  rest  of  the  disc  is  more  painterly 
and  less  propulsive;  Sonic  Youth  gets  its  explo'siveness 
from  the  quiet  sections,  where  interwoven  guitar  parts 
hint  at  jarring  disorder.  The  Death  Valley  69  EP,  its 
title  track  a  reprise  from  the  LP,  also  culls  one  track 
each  from  the  previous  three  discs,  adding  the  hereto- 
fore unissued  anarchy  of  * 'Satan  Is  Boring." 

Steve  Shelley  then  replaced  Bert,  who  went  on  to 
play  with  Pussy  Galore  and  later  formed  a  band  called 
Bewitched.  The  material  on  EVOL  is  presented  in  more 
basic  song  structures,  giving  Sonic  Youth  more  acces- 
sibility and  versatility  than  ever  before  without  diluting 
its  brutal  strength  one  iota.  The  band's  command  of  its 
resources  is  so  great  that  rackety  shards  of  atonal  guitars 
can  sound  almost  catchy  on  tracks  like  "Green  Light." 
Meanwhile,  "Shadow  of  a  Doubt"  and  the  end  of  "Ex- 
pressway to  Yr  Skull"  (listed  on  the  back  cover  as 
"Madonna,  Sean  and  Me")  both  take  raw,  jagged 
sounds  and  blend  them  into  a  peaceful  stillness.  EVOL 
is  a  very  impressive  album  wherein  Sonic  Youth  makes 
the  step  from  great  noise  band  to  great  band.  The  CD 
adds  a  cover  of  Kim  Fowiey's  "Bubblegum"  that  also 
appears  on  the  three-song  12-inch  of  EVOL's  "Star- 
power." 


617 


EVOL  was  a  tough  act  to  follow,  but  Sister  proves 
well  up  to  the  task.  Reportedly  recorded  on  all  vacuum 
tube  equipment  (mixing  board  and  all),  the  album  has  a 
very  warm,  immediate  feel,  and  the  tonalities  aren't  so 
strange  as  to  alienate  the  general  public  Not  that  it's  all 
polished  up — far  from  it — but  the  emphasis  is  more  on 
rocking  out  than  on  demonic  guitar  tunings  or  defining 
East  Village  art.  Sonic  Youth  is  simply  one  of  the  very 
best  American  bands  of  the  decade.  The  CD  adds  the 
powerful  and  haunted  "Master-Dik,"  with  guest  guitar 
licks  by  J.  Mascis  of  Dinosaur  Jr. 

"Master-Dik"  was  subsequently  recycled  as  the  title 
track  of  a  bizarre  12-inch  that  calls  itself  a  single  but 
contains  (on  the  flip)  a  straight  cover  of  "Beat  on  the 
Brat,"  an  impromptu  live  swipe  at  "Ticket  to  Ride," 
radio  interview  bites  and  assorted  musical  and  found- 
sound  rubbish,  all  haphazardly  strung  together  in  a  day- 
in-the-life  side  of  Sonic  stupidity. 

The  productive  stirrings  of  artistic  self-discovery  on 
EVOL  and  Sister  flowered  on  the  double-album  Day- 
dream Nation,  a  full-blown  and  carefully  sustained 
masterpiece  that  funnels  all  of  the  band's  past  textural 
explorations  and  instrumental  resources  into  a  stagger- 
ingly original  and  accessible  record  charged  with  cul- 
tural atmosphere.  While  putting  hummable  tunes  and 
easily  grasped  guitar  hooks  into  songs  like  "Teen  Age 
Riot,"  "Silver  Rocket,"  "Total  Trash"  and  "Kissabil- 
ity,"  the  group  continues  to  throw  off  electric  sparks  in 
frenzies  of  urban  noise.  Daydream  Nation  is  a  com- 
pletely satisfying  blend  of  invitation  and  threat.  (The 
CD  EP  is  merely  a  four-song  sampler  of  the  LP  that 
edits  "Teen  Age  Riot"  down  from  its  original  length.) 

Finally  signing  to  a  major  label,  the  underground 
superstars  couldn't  avoid  the  predictable  backlash,  but 
there's  nothing  about  Goo  that  suggests  sellout.  (In- 
deed, the  use  of  a  typically  crude  and  stupid  Raymond 
Pettibon  cover  is  a  clear  and  pretentious  nose-thumb  at 
the  overground.)  Unfortunately,  there's  also  very  little 
about  the  record  that  suggests  effort,  imagination  or 
inspiration,  In  a  pre-emptive  strike  at  the  critics,  the 
quartet  seemingly  overcompensated,  removing  most  of 
the  previous  album's  progress  m  favor  of  self-amused 
we-can-get-away-with-it  nonsense,  flat  material  and 
lazy  playing. 

Thurston's  "Dirty  Boots"  is  a  dandy  opener,  but 
sounds  like  a  Daydream  Nation  leftover.  Things  run 
straight  downhill  from  there.  In  "Tunic,"  Gordon  in- 
explicably sings  lyrics  about  Karen  Carpenter  that  are 
only  five  or  six  years  past  their  potential  morbid  kitsch 
prime;  in  "Kool  Thing/'  she  numbly  repeats  1990's 
most  overused  catchphrase — "I  don't  think  so" — a 
bunch  of  times  before  holding  an  absurd  aren't-we- 
totally-def  conversation  with  Public  Enemy  leader 
Chuck  D.  Goo  repeatedly  strains  to  be  the  coolest  shit 
and  fails  miserably. 

Guitarist  Lee  Ranaldo's  solo  outing,  From  Here  to 
Infinity  is  a  challenging  adventure  in  listening.  Som- 
cally  akin  to  Metal  Machine  Music,  with  plenty  of 
fuzzy  drones  and  repetitious  sounds  of  various  descrip- 
tions, each  short  track  (most  under  a  minute)  ends  with 
a  lock  groove  (the  cassette  version  achieves  the  same 
effect  by  inserting  extended  pauses  between  numbers), 
so  they  can  actually  be  very  long  tracks  if  you  want.  The 
sleeve  explains  that  the  record,  pressed  on  grey  marble 
vinyl,  is  a  variable-speed  45.  Difficult  but  rewarding. 


Ciccone  Youth,  Sonic  Youth's  parodic  side  project 
with  Mike  Watt  of  fIREHOSE,  issued  a  three-song  sin- 
gle in  1986,  a  four-song  sampler  CD  and,  after  numer- 
ous delays,  a  full  LP  in  January  1989.  Besides  twigging 
Madonna  in  covers  of  "Burnin'  Up"  (included  only  in 
its  pre-single  Watt  solo  demo  form)  and  the  45 's  "Into 
the  Groove(y),"  and  offering  an  obnoxious  version  of 
Robert  Palmer's  "Addicted  to  Love,"  The  Whitey 
Album — a  blithering  collection  of  pointless  self- 
indulgent  instrumentals,  fake  hip-hop  and  spoken/ 
manipulated  ephemera — has  absolutely  nothing  to 
recommend  it. 

Barefoot  in  the  Head,  Moore's  record  with  the  two- 
man  sax  section  of  a  band  called  Borbetomagus,  takes 
an  absolutely  unendurable  swipe  at  improvised  free  jazz, 
resulting  in  a  crude  and  cacophonous  collection  of 
bleats,  honks  and  guitar  slashes  that  seems  faintly  funny 
when  it  isn't  simply  ear-splitting.  [ji/dgs/i] 

See  also  Gut  Bank,  Konk,  Lydia  Lunch,  Pussy  Ga- 
lore. 


SONS  OF  FREEDOM 

Sons  of  Freedom  (Slash)  1988  • 

From  Vancouver  with  power:  this  exciting  quartet 
plays  bracing,  thoughtful  hard-rock  with  strong  melo- 
dies and  a  dynamic  rhythmic  foundation.  Not  as  metal- 
lic or  intense  as  labelmates  Faith  No  More,  the  Sons 
concentrate  on  good  songs  and  hypnotic  funk  grooves 
that  occasionally  (mis)lead  them  into  resembling  the 
Cult.  A  fury  of  surging  runs  and  lunging  chords,  bassist 
Don  Binns  dominates  the  sound,  giving  singer  Jim  New- 
ton and  Don  Harrison — -busy  building  an  impressive 
dual-guitar  forcefield — a  real  run  for  their  place  in  the 
mix.  Although  the  album's  power  (captured  cleanly  by 
producer  Matt  Wallace)  makes  it  consistently  striking, 
Sons  of  Freedom's  best  songs  (e.g.,  "Mona  Lisa," 
"The  Criminal"  and  "Fuck  the  System,"  whose  mel- 
ody is  very  nearly  a  quote  from  Hair's  "Aquarius")  are 
totally  cool.  [i] 

SOUL  ASYLUM 

Say  What  You  Will ...  (Twin/Tone)  1 984 

Made  to  Be  Broken  (Twin/Tone)  1 986  • 

Time's  Incinerator  [tape]  (Twin/Tone)  1 986 

While  You  Were  Out  (Twin/Ton©)  1 986  • 

Hang  Tim©  (Twin/Tone-A&M)  1 988  » 

Clam  Dip  &  Other  Delights  EP  (nr/What  Goes  On)  1 988 

(Twin/Tone)  1989* 
Say  What  You  Will,  Clarence  , , .  Karl  Sold  the  Truck  [CD] 

(Twin/Tone)  1 989  « 
Soul  Asylum  and  the  Horse  They  Rod©  in  On 

(Twin/Tone-A&M)  1 990  • 

Emerging  from  the  Minneapolis  hardcore  circuit 
(where  the  young  quartet  was  originally  known  as  Loud 
Fast  Rules),  Soul  Asylum  quickly  set  about  earning  a 
spot  in  the  same  league  as  that  city's  two  leading  ex- 
punk  outfits,  the  Replacements  and  Httsker  Dtt.  Say 
What  You  WiU,  produced  by  the  iatter's  Bob  Mould, 
ends  their  punk  phase  and  introduces  an  awareness  of 
country  music  and  a  nascent  aptitude  for  difficult 
rhythms  and  deft  vocal  interplay,  Dave  Piraer's  hoarse 
singing  leaves  something  to  be  desired  here,  but  the 
indication  that  he  possesses  real  songwriting  talent— 


618 


especially  in  the  wry,  often  self-deprecatingly  depres- 
sive lyrics — is  encouraging.  (In  1989,  Say  What  You 
Will  was  reissued  on  CD  with  the  inclusion  of  five 
tracks  recorded  for,  but  left  off,  the  original  album. 
What's  more,  the  version  of  "Black  and  Blue"  on  Clar- 
ence is  not  from  the  LP,  but  a  neat  1981  memento  of 
Loud  Fast  Rules'  first  session.) 

The  confident,  emotionally  compressed  sound  and 
material  on  Made  to  Be  Broken  is  light  years  better: 
rich  dual  vocals  by  guitarists  Pirner  and  Dan  Murphy, 
supported  by  young  new  arrival  Grant  Young's  precise, 
varied  drumming  and  a  wash  of  loudly  but  subtly  inter- 
woven guitars  make  the  tuneful  power  of  "Tied  to  the 
Tracks,"  "Ship  of  Fools,"  the  countryish  "Made  to  Be 
Broken"  and  "New  Feelings"  staggeringly  original  and 
memorable.  Additionally,  "Never  Really  Been"  reveals 
the  group's  ability  to  convey  the  same  wit  and  energy  on 
touching  (mostly)  acoustic  guitar  ballads;  Murphy  dis- 
plays his  own  songwriting  ability  on  "Can't  Go  Back." 
The  onomatopoetic  "Whoa!"  explodes  in  a  breathtak- 
ing syncopated  fury  of  incoherent  shrieking  and  stands 
as  one  of  Soul  Asylum's  funniest,  most  accomplished 
adventures.  An  astonishing,  original  and  durable  record 
that  states  the  band's  case  most  convincingly. 

One  highlight  of  Time's  Incinerator — a  tape-only 
compilation  of  1980- '86  outtakes  (including  the  first 
album's  five  missing  songs),  covers,  concert  cuts  and 
other  nonsense — is  a  live  version  of  James  Brown's 
"Hot  Pants"  sung  by  bassist  Karl  Mueller.  Otherwise, 
there  are  a  few  ace  studio  tracks,  a  lot  of  justifiable 
discards  and  some  wild  bits  of  onstage  craziness.  Un- 
essential, but  a  worthwhile  place-keeper  between  al- 
bums. 

While  You  Were  Out  (Sides  5  and  6  in  the  band's 
consecutively  numbered  oeuvre)  is  a  disappointment 
that  doesn't  do  the  songs  adequate  justice.  Chris  Os- 
good's  production  is  messy  and  uneven;  the  perfor- 
mances sound  hurried  and  the  arrangements  unfinished. 
As  evidenced  on  "Carry  On,"  "No  Man's  Land," 
"The  Judge,"  "Closer  to  the  Stars"— complex  songs 
filled  with  melody,  energy  and  intelligence — Pinter's 
writing  (not  to  mention  vocals)  just  keeps  getting  better. 
Murphy's  "Miracle  Mile"  is  also  a  highlight,  but  the 
delivery  here  lacks  the  clarity  and  elaboration  the  ma- 
terial deserves, 

A  pact  between  A&M  and  Twin/Tone  landed  the 
band  in  a  New  York  studio,  making  Hang  Time  with 
the  production  team  of  Ed  Stasium  (Ramones,  Julian 
Cope,  Living  Colour,  etc.)  and  Lenny  Kaye  (James, 
Suzanne  Vega).  Bolstered  by  unprecedented  sonic  ex- 
cellence and  the  luxury  of  time  to  flesh  out  and  refine 
their  material,  Soul  Asylum  entered  the  big  leagues  with 
a  riff-rocking  bang,  The  first  two  Cracks— "Down  on  Up 
to  Me"  and  "Little  Too  Clean"— surprisingly  suggest  a 
regression  to  the  '70s  chart  fare  of  their  youth,  but  the 
record  abruptly  rights  itself  with  the  throaty  roar  of 
"Sometime  to  Return"  and  doesn't  again  falter.  High- 
lights of  a  consistently  impressive  platter  are  "Ode," 
"Marionette,"  Murphy's  "Cartoon"  (containing  such 
typically  succinct  lines  as  "if  you're  cryirt*  in  your  beer 
you're  gonna  drown"),  the  poignant  * 'Endless  Fare- 
well" (a  wistful  ballad  on  which  Piroer  plays  piano)  and 
the  explosively  Clashlike  "Standing  in  the  Doorway." 
(That  song's  12-inch  is  worth  seeking  out  for  the 
ujames  at  16**  live  medley  on  the  flip:  thirteen  diverse 


covers  in  just  over  eleven  minutes.)  The  Hang  Time 
CD  adds  "Put  the  Bone  In,"  a  rude  canine  double  en- 
tendre which  the  group  learned,  amazingly  enough, 
from  the  B-side  of  Terry  Jacks'  1974  MOR  hit,  "Sea- 
sons in  the  Sun." 

The  six-song  Clam  Dip  EP — whose  cover  shot  of  a 
nude  Mueller  up  to  his  waist  in  party  food  spoofs  an  old 
Herb  Alpert  album  sleeve — was  scheduled  to  precede 
Hang  Time  (hence  the  latter 's  numbering  as  sides  9  and 
10),  but  didn't.  The  enjoyable  mixture  of  cover  versions 
(Janis  Joplin-by-way-of-Slade's  "Move  Over,"  For- 
eigner's "Juke  Box  Hero"  and  "Chains,"  a  terrific 
Minneapolis  new  wave  obscurity)  and  originals  (includ- 
ing a  topical  labor  song,  "P-9,"  written  and  first  re- 
corded to  benefit  a  striking  local)  first  surfaced  on  an 
English  label.  By  the  time  it  was  released  Stateside,  two 
of  the  covers  ("Chains"  remains)  were  removed,  re- 
placed by  two  weird  SA  tunes:  the  horror-movie  "Ar- 
tificial Heart"  and  a  raving  funkfest,  "Take  It  to  the 
Groove." 

Steve  Jordan  (the  drummer  who  collaborated  on 
Keith  Richards'  solo  LP)  produced  And  the  Horse 
They  Rode  in  On,  exchanging  Hang  Time's  sharply 
focused  studio  finesse  for  a  rawer,  live  sound.  (Jordan, 
ironically,  isn't  as  considerate  of  Young's  superb  play- 
ing as  Stasium  and  Kaye  were,  and  the  album's  drum 
tone  is  rather  tin-canny.)  Delicate  applications  of  guitar 
effects,  melodica  (on  Murphy's  chantey-hke  "Gulli- 
ble's  Travels"),  even  choral  bells  (on  Pirner 's  affecting 
piano  lament,  the  romantic  "We  3")  give  the  honest 
performances  extra  appeal;  the  brilliant  and  varied  ma- 
terial does  the  rest.  With  a  chanted  refrain  and  anti- 
suicide  lyrics  that  acknowledge  Cheap  Trick,  "Easy 
Street"  is  an  instant  SA  anthem;  "Veil  of  Tears,"  "Be 
on  Your  Way,"  "Grounded"  and  "Nice  Guys  (Don't 
Get  Paid),"  a  bizarre  but  moral  crime  fantasy,  are  all 
further  proof  of  Pirner *s  unpretentious  songwriting  ge- 
nius and  the  band's  remarkable  ability  to  roar  and  sigh 
at  the  same  time.  A  tremendous  record.  (Collectors' 
note;  tape,  vinyl  and  CD  all  have  related  but  different 
cover  art.)  [i] 


SOULED  AMERICAN 

re  (Rough  Trade)!  988  « 
Flubber  (Rough  Trade)  1 989  • 
Around  the  Horn  (Rough  Trade)  1990  » 

Heavy  and  heartfelt  country'n'strychnine  from  this 
hard-touring  Chicago  quartet.  Closer  to  Neil  and  Gra- 
ham than  Lefty  and  George,  Souled  American  special- 
izes in  low-key  grooves  that  gurgle  and  bounce  with 
songwriter  Joe  Adducci's  reggae-style  lead  bass,  Jamey 
Barnard's  slapping  New  Orleans-style  drums  and  Scott 
Tuma's  shimmering  rhythm  guitar,  which  sounds  like 
pedal  steel  but  isn't. 

Sporting  the  heaviest  drawls  in  all  god's  country, 
Adducci  and  co- writer/vocalist  Chris  Grigoroff  pen  orig- 
inal material  that  sounds  like  long-lost  traditional  la- 
ments. The  first  side  of  Fe  (group  code  for  "feel") 
focuses  on  an  imagined  rural  present,  while  the  flip 
dishes  out  a  world  of  hurt.  The  group  masterfully  cranks 
up  to  speed  on  Flubber,  adding  a  swampy  undercurrent 
to  a  thick  mix  of  inscrutable  deep-South  fantasizing. 
"Marleyphine  Hank"  swirls  country  into  dub,  while 
covers  of  John  Fahey  ("Cupa  Cowfee")  and,  on  the 


619 


CD,  John  Prine  ("The  Torch  Singer")  lend  serious 
roots  credence,  if  any  were  needed. 

Souled  Am's  guitarists  evoke  lazy  New  Orleans 
brass-band  grooves  on  the  more  musically  ambitious 
Around  the  Horn.  While  the  album  includes  a  song 
written  by  Joe's  C&W-singing  mom  Vicki  ("I  Keep 
Holding  Back  the  Tears"),  "Six  Feet  of  Snow,"  by 
Lowell  George  and  Keith  Godchaux,  heads  the  band  in 
a  southerly  psychedelic  direction.  [rg] 

See  Afrika  Bambaataa. 

11 

Club  Classics  Vol.  One  (nr/10-Virgin)  1988  ® 
Keep  on  Movin'  (10-Virgin)  1988  • 
Vol  11-1 990-A  New  Decade  (1 0-Virgin)  1 990  • 

WHEELER 

UKBIak(EMI)1990® 

"A  happy  face,  a  thumpin'  bass,  for  a  lovin'  race." 
Such  is  the  credo  of  Jazzie  B  (Beresford  Romeo),  radio/ 
club-DJ-turned-record-producer-CMm-cultural  entrepre- 
neur. Never  actually  a  group,  Soul  II  Soul  began  as  a 
floating  dance  happening  in  East  London,  where  DJ 
Jazzie  B  played  an  eclectic  mix  of  the  music  he  loved 
best — hip-hop,  Philly  soul,  dub,  house  and  more.  In  the 
studio  with  collaborator/programmer  Nellee  Hooper  and 
a  host  of  players  and  singers,  he  created  a  sound  and  a 
shuffling  beat  that  mixed  elements  of  all  these  styles;  the 
resultant  singles,  including  the  undeniable  "Keep  on 
Movin',"  caused  enough  of  a  stir  in  England  that  it  was 
not  too  much  of  a  stretch  to  entitle  the  album  that  com- 
piled them  Club  Classics  Vol.  One.  (Lacking  that  buzz 
in  the  States,  the  album  was  released  here  as  Keep  on 
Movin'.) 

Given  the  hype  that  accompanied  its  trans-Atlantic 
arrival,  the  album  is  shockingly  spotty:  one  cut  is  re- 
peated twice  in  a  row,  the  second  time  featuring  an 
execrable  Jazzie  B  rap.  ("Conscious  people  tend  to 
dance"  he  portentously  intones  in  a  James  Earl  Jones- 
goes-dread  voice.)  The  wonderful  "Back  to  Life"  is 
included  only  in  an  a  cappella  version.  Still,  the  overall 
sound  of  Soul  II  Soul,  while  hardly  original,  is  quite 
refreshing,  a  soulful  and  equally  au  courant  alternative 
to  hip-hop. 

In  the  meantime,  singer  Caron  Wheeler,  the  featured 
vocalist  on  "Keep  on  Movin'  "  and  "Back  to  Life," 
announced  that  she  was  embarking  on  a  solo  career. 
Some  expressed  doubt  that  Jazzie  B  could  put  over  Soul 
II  Soul  without  Wheeler's  exceptionally  warm  and  clear 
voice.  But  while  she  is  missed,  Vol.  n-1990-A  New 
Decade  is  actually  a  more  consistent  and  cohesive  al- 
bum than  the  first.  Claiming  no  instant  classics  but  of- 
fering no  filler  either,  it's  enjoyable  from  drop  to  stop, 
and  Jazzie  B  keeps  his  little  happy  raps  bearably  brief, 
couching  them  inside  songs  rather  than  making  entire 
cuts  of  them. 

Wheeler's  solo  debut,  UK  Blak,  presents  yet  an- 
other mixed  bag.  Boasting  nine  (!)  different  co- 
producers,  the  album  is  eminently  listenable — a  groove 
that  hardly  ever  lets  up — but  very  few  songs  make  a  real 
strong  impression.  The  title  cut  is  great,  tackling  the 
ambitious  topic  of  cultural  assimilation,  and  Wheeler's 


songwriter  paints  her  as  intelligent  and  goodhearted. 
But  talk  about  mixed  messages — one  minute  she's  stak- 
ing feminist  ground  for  her  autonomous  existence,  and 
the  next  she's  telling  a  lover  that  "I  am  honored  to  be 
your  lady."  Please,  nobody  introduce  her  to  Stephen 
Stills.  fek] 


SOUND 

Jeopardy  (nr/Korova)  1980 

Live  instinct  EP  (Hoi.  WEA)  1 981 

From  the  Lions  Mouth  (nr/Korova)  1981 

Ail  Fall  Down  (nr/Korova)  1982 

Shock  of  Daylight  EP  (A&M)  1 984 

Heads  and  Hearts  (nr/Statik)  1985 

In  the  Hothouse  (nr/Statik)  1 985 

Heads  and  Hearts  and  Hothouse  and  Shock  of  Daylight 

[CD]  (nr/Statik)  1986® 
Thunder  Up  (Can.  Nettwerk)  1987  • 

ADRIAN  BORLAND  THE 

CITIZENS 

Alexandria  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 989 

It's  hard  to  understand  why  this  London  quartet 
never  found  commercial  success.  At  their  best,  the 
Sound's  excellent  neo-pop  bears  favorable  comparison 
to  the  Psychedelic  Furs  and  Echo  and  the  Bunnymen. 
Jeopardy  has  a  stark,  beautiful  quality,  with  the  mate- 
rial given  direct  exposure  rather  than  a  production  bath, 
Adrian  Borland's  vocals  are  sincere  and  gripping;  the 
musical  attack  is  both  subtle  and  aggressive. 

The  inconsequential  Live  Instinct  contains  four 
songs  recorded  onstage  in  London,  including  renditions 
of  the  band's  1979  debut  single  ("Cold  Beat")  and  a 
few  Jeopardy  songs.  The  recorded  performances  add 
little  to  the  studio  versions. 

From  the  Lions  Mouth  builds  on  Jeopardy's  firm 
foundation  with  a  fuller  sound  that  faintly  recalls  U2. 
Produced  by  Hugh  Jones  (around  the  same  time  he  did 
Echo's  Heaven  Up  Here),  it's  bright,  dramatic  and 
sometimes  ("Fire,"  "Sense  of  Purpose,"  "Winning") 
powerful.  A  riveting  LP — the  group's  best. 

Pushed  by  their  label  to  sound  more  commercial,  All 
Fall  Down  is  the  defiant  reply — a  stark,  barren  land- 
scape of  harsh  tones  and  dark  passages.  The  black, 
clashing  music  makes  the  challenging  LP  an  acquired 
taste,  an  ambitious,  admirable  exploration  of  the  down- 
side; not  surprisingly,  the  record  company  sent  the  band 
packing. 

Shock  of  Daylight — a  six-song  mini-album  pro- 
duced by  Pat  Collier— -is  a  strong  return,  building  me- 
lodic, dramatic  songs  on  a  gutsy  bass/drums  drive, 
overlaying  guitar,  keyboards  and  even  brass  to  create  an 
attractively  textured  and  varied  sound,  Heads  and 
Hearts  is  even  better,  a  quilt  of  bright  colors  woven 
with  simple  care.  Though  it  lacks  the  knockout  punch 
they'd  shown  in  the  past  ("Winning"  or  Shock  of  Day- 
light's "Golden  Soldiers,"  for  example),  the  record's 
modesty  and  continuous  flow  make  it  a  thoroughly  en- 
gaging listen,  a  memorable  LP  whose  sum  is  greater 
than  its  parts. 

In  the  Hothouse  is  a  double  live  thriller  from  Lon- 
don's Marquee,  with  all  the  claustrophobic  ambience  of 
the  club's  packed  space  coming  through  on  the  record- 
ing. Live  records  this  immediate  sounding  are  hard  to 


620 


find.  With  the  bulk  of  the  material  chosen  from  Heads 
and  Hearts  and  Lions  Mouth,  this  is  a  superb  intro- 
duction for  the  curious. 

Thunder  Up  is  a  middle  ground  between  All  Fall 
Down's  emotional  warfare  and  the  later,  more  sensuous 
pop.  Punching  nght  in  with  one  of  their  most  exciting 
tracks  ( "Acceleration  Group"),  the  LP  is  a  rollercoaster 
ride  through  desolation  ("Shot  Up  and  Shut  Down"), 
titillation  ("Kinetic"),  cynicism  ("Prove  Me  Wrong") 
and  profound  beauty  ("You've  Got  a  Way").  Though 
the  contrast  can  be  jarring,  unpredictability  is  a  strength, 
and  this  is  a  bold  up/down,  hot/cold,  built-up/knocked- 
down  record  most  bands  would  not  attempt.  It  was  to  be 
their  last  such  uncompromising  work;  the  group  finally 
called  it  quits  in  early  '88. 

Borland's  subsequent  solo  career  got  off  to  a  good 
start  with  Alexandria,  as  he  brings  a  variety  of  moods 
to  the  alternately  austere,  sensuous  and  lighthearted  pop, 
revealing  a  mild  Velvet  Underground  influence.  More 
swimming  strings  and  tasteful  background  horns  add  to 
the  overall  warmth  of  this  acoustic-based,  romantic  LP. 
"Light  the  Sky"  and  "Beneath  the  Big  Wheel"  pair 
somber  detachment  with  graceful  chord  changes;  else- 
where, the  deeply  moving,  strings-to-the-fore  "Rogue 
Beauty"  shows  Borland  still  capable  of  dramatic  flour- 
ish, [cpl/i/jrj 

SOUND  BARRIER 

See  Tot  Taylor  and  His  Orchestra. 

SOUNDGARDEN 

Screaming  Life  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1 987 
Fopp  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1 988 
Ultramega  OK  (SST)  1988« 
Louder  Than  Love  (A&M)  1 989  » 
Screaming  Life/Fopp  [CD]  (Sub  Pop)  1 990  • 

Just  when  you  though  the  '70s  were  over  ,  .  .  along 
comes  Seattle's  Soundgarden,  spearheading  the  North- 
west's revival  of  that  non-metal  rock  gulch  between 
late- '60s  innovation  and  late- '70s  rebellion,  years  in 
which  groups  like  Grand  Funk,  Led  Zep  and 
Mountain — shirtless  men  singing  about  shirtless 
women — dominated,  erecting  monuments  to  indiscrim- 
inate penile  guitar  worship  with  endless  waak'em- 
crank'em  solos.  Remember  those  good  old  days?  Well, 
they're  back,  and  Soundgarden's  reliving'em. 

The  accomplished  six-song  Screaming  Life  EP  in- 
troduces Chris  Cornell's  Robert  Plantish  vocals,  Kim 
Thayirs  turgid  guitar  talents,  Hire  Yamamoto's  rubbery 
bass  action  and  Matt  Cameron's  steady-as-she-goes 
drumming.  While  the  music  is  happily  unspecific  in  its 
derivation— the  assimilation  of  both  classic  rock  riffs 
and  punk  noise  ("Entering"  specifically  quotes  Bau- 
haus)  keep  things  interesting—- -it's  impossible  to  over- 
look the  absurdity  of  Cornell's  unabashed  Percy  tribute. 
(The  Screaming  Life  encompasses  the  Fopp  EP:  three 
live  tracks,  including  a  remake  of  Green  River's  "Swal- 
low My  Pride/'  and  a  pointless  dub  mix  of  the  titular 
Ohio  Players  cover,  complete  with  apocalyptic  found- 
sound  drama.) 

After  signing  to  A&M,  Soundgarden  released  an 
album  through  SST  as  part  of  the  large  label's  plan  to 
build  a  new  rock/metal  dynasty  from  the  ground  up. 


Although  still  mired  in  the  '70s,  Ultramega  OK  is  no- 
ticeably better  than  Screaming  Life,  with  less  selfcon- 
scious  posturing  and  more  evidence  of  an  emerging 
personality.  Cornell  has  reduced  (without  actually  elim- 
inating) his  reliance  on  Plant  cliches,  but  the  traces  of 
Ozzy  Osbourne  caterwauling  in  his  voice  are  not  a  good 
omen.  These  guys  can  sure  play,  but  an  inadequate  com- 
prehension of  what  constitutes  songs  (a  subject  their 
archetypes,  for  all  their  failings,  always  understood) 
leaves  Soundgarden  in  an  unhealthy  nudge-nudge-wink- 
wink  relationship  with  the  past,  attempting  to  get  by 
with  references  (the  inclusion  of  Howlin'  Wolf's 
"Smokestack  Lightning" — just  the  sort  of  cover  Led 
Zep  would  have  done — is  emblematic  of  their  historical 
shorthand)  rather  than  original  material  of  real  merit. 

A  sloppy,  disorganized  murk  of  dull  sound  (credit 
co-producer  Terry  Date,  who  seems  to  have  captured 
only  the  slackest  performances)  and  plodding  songs 
which  could  be  covers  of  Led  Zep  discards,  Louder 
Than  Love  is  a  most  ineffectual  major-label  debut. 
Thayil  throws  out  licks  haphazardly,  whether  they  fit  or 
not;  the  rhythm  section  does  nothing  beyond  (more  or 
less)  keeping  the  beat;  Cornell  is  in  strong  form  but  back 
to  his  old  fringed-leather  tricks.  Even  when  songs  begin 
to  hit  their  stride  with  a  workable  groove  or  a  pattern 
that  moves,  they  fall  apart  on  the  bridge  (or  vice  versa) 
A  rewrite  of  the  descending  riff  from  "Dazed  and  Con- 
fused" with  Jeff  Beck  fillips,  "Uncovered"  is  the  clos- 
est the  record  comes  to  finding  and  sticking  with  an  idea 
that  works;  the  chords  of  "Big  Dumb  Sex"  hold  to- 
gether, but  the  lyrics  are  unendurably  stupid.  The  '70s 
might  not  have  been  so  bad  after  all  ...  [i] 

See  also  Temple  of  the  Dog. 

SOUP  DRAGONS 

Hang-Ten!  EP  (nr/Raw  TV  Products)  1 986 
Hang-Ten!  (Sire)  1987 
This  Is  Our  Art  (Sire)  1988* 
Lovegod  (Big  Ufe-PolyGram)  1 990  « 

This  young  Scottish  foursome  garnered  a  lot  of  ini- 
tial interest  because  of  their  striking  musical  resem- 
blance to  the  Buzzcocks.  Singer  Sean  Dickson's  falsetto 
whine,  in  front  of  the  speedy  grind  of  his  and  Jim  Mc- 
Culloch's  guitars,  made  the  Soup  Dragons  the  very  re- 
incarnation of  those  punk-pop  pioneers.  An  admirable 
point  of  reference,  to  say  the  least. 

The  four-song  Hang-Ten!  EP  followed  two  well- 
received  UK  singles.  The  blistering  title  track  can  be 
aptly  described  as  punk-surf-pop — the  Beach  Boys 
sifted  through  the  Buzzcocks,  if  you  will.  The  other 
songs  run  about  the  same  speed,  and  are  just  as  out- 
standing. 

The  American  Hang-Ten!  album  collects  the  UK 
EP»  three  songs  from  a  previous  single  ("Whole  Wide 
World"),  and  three  songs  from  a  later  single  ("Head 
Gone  Astray"),  All  reaffirm  the  band's  reverence  for 
the  Buzzcocks  tradition. 

This  Is  Our  Art  (subtitled  Useless,  boring,  impo- 
tent, elitist  and  very,  very  beautiful.)  is  a  shock.  The 
new-sound  Soup  Dragons  are  devoid  of  any  Buzzcocks 
references,  mutating  instead  into  a  bizarre  assortment  of 
styles:  Ws  garage  psychedelia  ("Great  Empty 
Space"), hard  rock  (the  Black  Sabbath-sounding  "Pas- 
sion Protein")  and  Scottish  funk  ("King  of  the  Cas- 


621 


tie"),  to  mention  just  a  few.  It's  an  amazing  range,  yet 
there's  something  insincere  about  these  songs,  which 
seemingly  don't  know  when  to  end. 

For  Lovegod,  the  Soup  Dragons'  second  proper  al- 
bum, the  group  abandoned  any  punk  edge  they  may 
have  once  had  and  embraced  young  Britain's  burgeon- 
ing Ecstasy-fueled  trippy  dance  culture.  This  redirection 
paid  off,  as  the  funky,  anthemic  cover  of  the  Rolling 
Stones'  "I'm  Free"  (featuring  guest  toasting  by  Black 
Uhuru's  Junior  Reid)  became  a  hit  both  in  England  and 
the  States.  With  its  odd,  house-influenced  rhythms  and 
Dickson's  obviously  mind-expanded  lyrics  dominating 
all  the  other  tracks,  the  record  is  nothing  if  not  consis- 
tent. As  such,  it's  also  deeply  repetitive.  In  small,  er, 
doses,  though,  percolating  ditties  like  "Backwards 
Dog"  and  "Kiss  the  Gun"  are  primo  dancefloor  fodder. 
(The  CD  adds  a  dub  mix  of  the  title  track  and  the 
*  'Crotch  Deep  Trash' '  single. )  [ag/dbj 

SOUTHERN  DEATH  CULT 

See  Cult. 

SPACE 

See  Justified  Ancients  of  Mu  Mu. 

SPACEMEN  3 

Sound  of  Confusion  (nr/Glass)  1 986  (nr/Fire)  1 989  « 
The  Perfect  Prescription  (nr/Glass)  1 987  (Genius)  1 988  • 
Transparent  Radiation  EP  (nr/Glass)  1 987 
Performance  (nr/Glass)  1988  (nr/Fire)  1988  • 
Playing  with  Fire  (nr/Fire)  1 989  (Bompi)  1 989  • 
Spacemen  3  EP  (nr/Fire)  1989 
Taking  Drugs  to  Make  Music  to  Take  Drugs  To  (Father 

Yod  Production)  1990 
Recurring  (Dedicated-RCA)  1991  • 

SONIC  BOOM 

Spectrum  (nr/Silvertone)  1990  • 

To  bake  a  mind-altering  cake  nowadays,  you've  got 
to  smash  a  few  sugarcubes.  Unlike  bands  who  get  all 
cutesy  with  the  pop  trappings  of  '60s  acid-rock,  Space- 
men 3  are  content  to  let  the  music  be  its  own  halluci- 
nogen. At  the  outset,  their  records  lay  down  a  droning 
thick-pile  carpet  of  overdriven  guitar  and  mongoloid 
drumming;  later  on,  they  began  exploring  the  equally 
unsettling  powers  of  more  tranquil  waters.  Not  as  self- 
consciously arty  as  Sonic  Youth  or  as  decisively  me- 
lodic as  the  Jesus  and  Mary  Chain,  Spacemen  3  follow 
both  stylistic  poles  of  the  Velvet  Underground  with  more 
wholehearted  enthusiasm  than  most  of  the  group's  self- 
appointed  apostles. 

Recorded  as  a  quartet  (including,  for  once,  an  on- 
board drummer),  Sound  of  Confusion  brings  the  psy- 
chedelic sound  of  Rugby  (an  industrial  city  near 
Birmingham)  to  bear  on  a  mixture  of  bizarre  covers 
(Glen  Campbell's  "Mary  Anne,"  Iggy  Pop's  "Little 
Doll/'  the  13th  Floor  Elevators'  "Rollercoaster")  and 
originals  that  all  sound  exactly  the  same.  Except  for  the 
clever  pun  of  "Hey  Man"  (sung  as  if  it  were  the  hom- 
onymic  gospel  assent)  and  the  bonus  dynamics  of 
"2.35,"  the  album  roars  along  on  the  precipice  of  mo- 
notony, with  only  the  frequent  appearance  of  vocals  to 
ensure  listener  consciousness. 

The  Perfect  Prescription  finds  Jason  Pierce  (gui- 


tar, organ,  vocals),  Sonic  Boom  (guitar,  organ,  vocals) 
and  Pete  Bassman  (bass)  abruptly  reducing  the  dosage 
with  lots  of  sonic  space,  varied  instrumentation  (acous- 
tic guitar,  violins,  horns,  keyboards)  and  very  little  per- 
cussion. Although  things  heat  up  towards  the  end,  much 
of  the  album — like  its  quietly  contemplative  string- 
dnven  centerpiece,  a  cover  of  Red  Crayola's  "Trans- 
parent Radiation" — is  pretty  and  evocative,  but  hardly 
engrossing.  (The  Glass  cassette  adds  40  minutes  of  bo- 
nus material,  including  an  endless  version  of  "Roller- 
coaster"  and  a  lengthy  reworking  of  "Starship,"  a  Sun 
Ra  adaptation  from  the  first  MC5  album;  the  Fire  CD 
tacks  on  two  bonus  B-sides.)  Transparent  Radiation 
contains  two  different  renditions  of  the  title  track,  a 
distended  version  of  the  album's  placid  "Ecstasy  Sym- 
phony," "Starship"  and  one  other  item  to  counter  the 
band's  tender  tendencies. 

Performance,  recorded  semi-loud  and  live  in  Am- 
sterdam before— judging  by  the  meager  applause — an 
audience  of  three,  introduces  a  new  song  ("Come  To- 
gether," a  blatant  lift  of  the  Who's  "I  Can  See  for 
Miles"),  recycles  favorite  covers  ("Mary  Anne," 
"Rollercoaster,"  "Starship")  and  puts  forth  three  other 
songs,  including  "Take  Me  to  the  Other  Side"  and 
"Walkin'  with  Jesus,"  respectively  the  darker  and 
lighter  sides  (and  two  of  the  best  songs)  from  The  Per- 
fect Prescription. 

Playing  with  Fire  is  the  trio's  crowning  achieve- 
ment, a  perfectly  integrated  mixture  of  trippy  pop, 
spaced-out  poetry,  acoustic  romance  and  mind-boggling 
guitar  devastation.  The  album  starts  out  gentle  ("Hon- 
ey"), turns  explosive  ("Revolution")  and  then  settles 
into  an  obsessive  drone  (the  tributary  "Suicide")  that 
dominates  Side  2.  Throughout,  the  Spacemen  exhibit 
solid  songwriting  and  careful  control  of  their  art,  mod- 
ulating the  album's  mood  ring  with  the  ease  of  experi- 
enced navigators.  (The  American  vinyl  edition  is  on 
colored  wax;  the  British  CD  adds  two  live  cuts.  Addi- 
tionally, two  thousand  copies  of  Spacemen  3,  an  untitled 
1 2-inch— stock  number  THREEBIE  3— containing  1988 
live  versions  of  "Revolution,"  "Suicide"  and  "Repeat- 
er," plus  the  uneventful  drone-strumental  "Live  Intro 
Theme  (Xtacy),"  were  distributed  free  to  purchasers  of 
the  British  album.) 

As  legally  dubious  as  its  title  suggests,  Taking 
Drugs,  a  document  of  the  quartet's  prehistory  (early 
1986),  resembles  the  first  album  (with  which  it  overlaps 
three  songs)  except  in  the  degree  of  sonic  intensity  and 
the  sound  quality.  Besides  songs  that  found  their  way 
intact  onto  S3  LPs,  this  neat  artifact  includes  a  devel- 
opmental version  of  "Walkin'  with  Jesus"  entitled 
"Sound  of  Confusion"  and  the  second  album's  "Come 
Down  Easy,"  poppy  proof  that  the  group  was  capable 
of  restraint  from  the  very  beginning. 

With  S3  nearing  collapse  (Jason  Pierce  launched  his 
own  band,  Spiritualized,  in  mid- 1990,  with  an  enjoy- 
ably  grandiose  rendition  of  Chip  Taylor's  "Anyway 
That  You  Want  Me,"  a  '66  hit  for  the  Troggs),  Sonic 
Boom  (Peter  Kember;  on  the  first  Spacemen  LP  he  was 
billed  as  Peter  Gunn)  made  Spectrum,  an  album  more 
noteworthy  for  its  ambitious  adjustable  op-art  sleeve 
than  its  content.  With  playing  assists  from  Jason  as  well 
as  the  Jazz  Butcher  and  members  of  the  Perfect  Disas- 
ter, Sonic  stays  inside  the  one-chord  amelodic  vamps  of 
Spacemen  country,  tightening  the  stylistic  bond  to  Sui- 


622 


tide  by  covering  the  duo's  "Roclc'n'Roll  (Is  Killing  My 
Life)."  But  the  album  has  a  serious  lack  of  vitality. 
Where  Sonic  ought  to  rev  things  up  (a  few  real  songs 
would  have  been  nice),  he  turns  nearly  subliminal,  and 
the  instrumental  portion  of  the  doomy  "If  I  Should 
Die,"  which  closes  the  album,  floats  away  on  strains  of 
hghter-than-air  atmosphere  (A  10-inch  bonus  record 
entitled  Octaves  and  Tremelos  was  offered  by  mail  to 
purchasers  of  Spectrum.) 

Surprising  fans  who  assumed  they  would  never  work 
together  again,  Jason  and  Sonic  did  reunite  for  another 
album.  The  buzzing  guitars  and  shy  organ  that  drone 
gently  through  "Why  Couldn't  I  See?" — the  second 
song  on  the  narcotically  relaxed  Recurring — amount  to 
sitar-free  raga-rock,  laying  a  poppy  (poppie?)  bed  for 
the  vibratoed  and  reverbed  wispy  vocals.  Otherwise  of- 
fering an  undated  adaptation  of  '60s  folky  acid-rock 
with  elements  of  the  Beatles,  Stones  and  others,  the 
lullmgly  pleasant  album— one  of  the  most  subtly  retro- 
styled  records  of  the  current  English  scene — contains 
both  sides  of  the  Spacemen's  1989  UK  single  ("Hyp- 
notized" b/w  "Just  to  See  You  Smile"),  an  incongru- 
ous sequencer-driven  dance  track  ("Big  City"),  an 
ominous  bluesy  cover  of  Mudhoney's  "When  Tomor- 
row Hits"  and  such  future  flashbacks  as  "Set  Me  Free/I 
Got  the  Key,"  the  "Hang  on  Sloopy" -derived  "I  Love 
You"  and  "Feel  So  Sad."  [i] 

See  also  Darkside, 

SPACE  NEGROS 

Maximum  Contrast  from  Moment  to  Moment  EP  (Sounds 

Interesting)  1979 
The  Space  Negros  Go  Commercial  EP  (Arf  Arf)  1 980  +• 

1984 

Have  a  Lousy  Xmas  EP  (Jingle  Jungle-Arf  Arf)  1 981 
The  Space  Negros  Do  Generic  Ethnic  Muzak  Versions  of 

All  Your  Favorite  Underground  Punk/Psychedelic 

Songs  from  the  Sixties  (Arf  Arf)  1 987 

FAMILY  FUN 

Record  (Eat)  T  981 

Before  there  was  a  Mission  of  Burma,  two  of  its 
future  founders  played  in  this  minor  Boston  group, 
alongside  keyboardist/producer  Enk  Lindgren,  a  future 
member  of  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic.  The  7-inch 
Maximum  Contrast  contains  six  offbeat  offerings  of 
experimental  synth*n^tape  tricks. 

That  same  year,  the  original  Space  Negros  fell  apart; 
Go  Commercial  (shades  of  the  Residents),  another 
7-inch  with  eight  songs,  is  actually  a  Lindgren  solo 
record.  His  upbeat  pop  songs-— sort  of  a  synth-happy  R. 
Stevie  Moore— are  witty  and  sophisticated.  The  B-side 
includes  a  cover  of  the  Yardbirds*  "Happenings  Ten 
Years  Time  Ago/*  The  1980  rendition  of  that  classic 
took  a  Kraftwerkian  electro-pop  approach;  the  record  *$ 
1984  reissue  replaced  it  with  a  heavy  metal  guitar  ver« 
sion.  Have  a  Lousy  Xmas  offers  a  topical  foursome  of 
laughable  ill  cheer  originals  (e.g.*  "Jingle  Hell**) 
played  by  Lindgren  with  Space  Negro  alumnus  Roger 
Miller  and  others. 

The  windily  titled  album,  recorded  between  1981 
and  1985  with  a  large  number  of  instrumental  contrib- 
utors, consists  entirely  of  exotically  idiomatic  (raga, 
blucgrass,  Balkan,  etc. )  easy-listening  instrumental  in- 
terpretations of  songs  originally  popularized  by  such 


venerable  musical  organizations  as  the  Seeds,  Who, 
Easybeats,  Balloon  Farm,  Smoke,  13th  Floor  Elevators, 
Hotlegs  and  Tomorrow.  Not  as  conceptually  explosive 
as  the  Residents,  perhaps,  but  delightful. 

Flipper  may  have  a  gnpe  against  Public  Image  for 
lifting  their  concept  of  a  generic  record  sleeve,  but  Fam- 
ily Fun — a  Lindgren-led  quartet — has  them  both  beat. 
The  cover  of  their  1981  EP  (one  side  of  four  electro-pop 
tunes  with  Sara  Goodman  providing  folkie  vocals  over 
the  slightly  off-kilter  backing  and  a  side  of  instrumental 
"EZ  Listening  Music")  mimics  the  no-name  products 
in  grocery  stores  by  carrying  only  the  word  '"RECORD" 
stenciled  over  "Net  Wt.  4.9  Oz,  (45  RPM.)  135  g." 

[i] 

See  also  Birdsongs  of  the  Mesozoic,  Mission  of 
Burma. 


SPANDAU  BALLET 

Journeys  to  Glory  (Chrysalis)  1 981  • 

Diamond  (Chrysalis)  1 982  • 

True  (Chrysalis)  1983® 

Parade  (Reformation-Chrysalis)  1 984  ® 

The  Singles  Collection  (Chrysalis)  1 985  * 

The  12-Inch  Mixes  (nr/Reformation-Chrysalis)  1986  * 

Through  the  Barricades  (Epic)  1 986  * 

Heart  Like  a  Sky  (nr/Reformation-CBS)  1 989  ® 

Viewed  at  the  start  by  some  as  adventurous  and 
trendsetting,  the  ludicrous  garb  and  chic  disco  of  Lon- 
don's Spandau  Ballet  were  both  dubious  new  wave  de- 
velopments, but  spawned  much  replication.  Head 
poseur  Tony  Hadley  and  his  four  cohorts  (including 
songwriting  guitarist  Gary  Kemp)  found  success  with  a 
heavily  rhythmic  brand  of  distant  funk-rock  dolled  up 
with  synthesizers  and  stentorian  singing.  Produced  by 
Richard  James  Burgess,  Journeys  to  Glory  contains 
one  great  dance  hit  (actually,  one  tightly  compressed 
riff:  "To  Cut  a  Long  Story  Short,"  their  first  single)  and 
a  batch  of  variations  thereon.  With  the  addition  of  horns 
and  other  reformulated  moves,  Diamond — issued  in  the 
UK  as  a  set  of  four  12-inch  singles  as  well  as  a  regular 
single  album-— also  produced  a  few  more  estimable  Brit- 
ish chart  smashes  ( *  'Chant  No .  1 , "  '  Taint  Me  Down' * ) . 
Possessing  only  limited  talent  themselves,  Spandau 
opened  the  floodgates  to  a  wave  of  superior  electro- 
dance  bands  who  had  little  trouble  creatively  eclipsing 
them. 

Spandau  then  abandoned  synthesizers  and  high- 
tension  funk  for  schmaltzy  pop  with  soul  pretensions. 
Working  with  the  production  team  of  Tony  Swain  and 
Steve  Jolley,  the  fivesome  cut  True  and  Parade,  the 
first  yielding  several  attractive  blends  of  energy,  mel- 
ody, warmth  and  stylishness  ("Communication," 
4 'Lifeline'*)  as  well  as  some  of  the  sappiest  MOR  in 
memory  ("True,"  which  became  a  global  hit).  Gener- 
ally less  wimped-out,  Parade  nonetheless  continues  the 
bland  chart  fare,  with  the  stylistic  divergence  best  rep- 
resented by  "Revenge  for  Love*'  (good)  and  "Only 
When  You  Leave'*  (egregiously  mellow). 

During  legal  tumult  between  Spandau  and  Chrys- 
alis, the  label  issued  a  collection  of  the  band's  singles, 
followed  by  a  UK-only  compilation  of  extended  re- 
mixes, 

The  wretched  Through  the  Barricades  dumps  the 
Perry  Co  mo  snooze  for  an  overheated  American  albuin- 


623 


rock  sound  that  echoes  Eric  Carmen,  REO  Speedwagon 
(or  is  it  Styx?)  and  Billy  Joel.  Gary  Langan's  co- 
production  (with  the  group)  has  all  the  earmarks  of  a 
desperate  last-ditch  grab  at  reclaiming  US  airplay. 
Kemp's  songs  are  worthless;  the  echo  on  Hadley's  melo- 
dramatic warbling  (backed  in  maximally  cliche'd  fashion 
by  a  female  trio)  only  makes  the  whole  affair  more 
laughable. 

With  the  cinematically  inclined  Kemp  brothers  get- 
ting good  notices  for  their  work  in  The  Krays,  Spand- 
au's  days  may  be  numbered.  But  the  group  (no  longer 
meriting  American  release — is  that  any  way  to  treat  a 
Top  5  act  six  years  later?)  hasn't  given  up  yet.  A  char- 
acterless nothing  whose  blandly  antiseptic  soul,  rock 
and  funk  stylings  sound  like  an  amalgam  of  VH-l's 
worst  mushmongers,  Heart  Like  a  Sky's  main  enter- 
tainment value  lies  in  the  clumsy  syntax  of  Kemp's 
greeting-card  sentiments.  (At  random:  "Two  young 
babes  in  a  foreign  land/Draw  no  milk  from  the  dusty 
sand/Close  their  eyes  from  the  night  so  cold/Feel  the 
love  in  their  mothers  [sic]  hold.")  Say  goodnight,  boys. 

[i] 


SPARKS 

Halfnelson  (Bearsviile)  1971 

Sparks  (Bearsville)  1971 

A  Woofer  in  Tweeter's  Clothing  (Bearsville)  1 972 

Kimono  My  House  (Island)  1974 

Propaganda  (Island)  1 974 

Indiscreet  (Island)  1 975 

Two  Originals  of  Sparks  (nr/Bearsville)  1976 

Big  Beat  (Columbia)  1976 

Introducing  Sparks  (Columbia)  1977 

No.  1  in  Heaven  (Elektra)  1 979 

Best  of  Sparb  (nr/lsland)  1 979 

Terminal  Jive  (nr/Virgin)  1979 

Whomp  That  Sucker  (Why-R-RCA)  1 981 

The  History  of  Sparks  (Fr.  Underdog)  1981 

Angst  in  My  Pants  (Atlantic)  1 982 

Sparb  in  Outer  Space  (Atlantic)  1 983 

Pulling  Rabbits  Out  of  a  Hat  (Atlantic)  1 984 

Music  That  You  Can  Dance  To  (Curb-MCA)  1 986  « 

Interior  Design  (Fine  Art-Rhino)  1 988  « 

Mael  Intuition:  The  Best  of  Sparb  1 974-1 976  [CD] 

(nr/lsland)  1990* 
Profile:  The  Ultimate  Sparb  Collection  (Rhino)  1991  4> 

Ron  and  Russell  Mael — two  enormously  talented 
wiseacres  from  Los  Angeles — have  influenced  numer- 
ous bands  through  their  own  records  and  outside 
projects;  it's  possible  to  trace  many  contemporary  mu- 
sical trends  back  to  the  pair's  prescient  and  trailblazing 
efforts.  Although  their  lengthy  recording  career  has  the 
consistency  of  chunky  peanut  butter,  some  of  their  al- 
bums are  truly  wonderful  in  a  number  of  stylistic  modes. 
Sparks  remain  unpredictably  capable  of  greatness  each 
time  they  enter  the  studio. 

As  an  art-rock  quintet  called  Halfaelson,  Sparks 
made  their  earliest,  misanthropic  efforts  to  appeal  to  the 
neurotic  nouveau  pop  segment  of  1971  America  via  a 
debut  album  produced  by  Todd  Rundgren.  First  released 
as  HaSfneSson  (by  Halfnelson),  it  was  promptly  with- 
drawn, repackaged  and  reissued  as  Sparks  (by  Sparks). 
That  original  band — sort  of  Marlene  Dietrich  meets  the 
Stooges — included  Earle  Mankey,  who  went  on  to  be- 


come a  producer  (and  recording  artist)  of  some  note, 
and  his  brother  Jim,  who  later  formed  the  chartbound 
Concrete  Blonde.  The  album  is  a  subtle  and  brilliant 
exposition  of  unique  talent,  displaying  the  Maels'  re- 
markable facility  for  bizarre,  dadaist  lyncs  and  Rus- 
sell's scarifying  falsetto.  The  triumphant  A  Woofer  in 
Tweeter's  Clothing  refined,  energized  and  improved 
on  the  first  LP;  it's  a  demented  blueprint  of  incompre- 
hensible weirdness.  Many  hated  them,  few  heard  them, 
but  none  who  did  forgot  them  on  the  basis  of  this  utterly 
individual  effort.  (Although  not  issued  there  at  the  time, 
the  first  two  LPs  were  packaged  together  and  reissued  in 
Britain  after  the  group's  success.) 

Moving  to  London  and  recruiting  an  all-new  set  of 
sidemen,  keyboardist  Ron  and  singer  Russell  hooked  up 
with  producer  Muff  Winwood  and  made  a  series  of  sin- 
gles (many  included  on  the  first  two  Island  albums)  that 
turned  them  into  enormously  popular  glam-pop  teen 
idols.  Mixing  prolix  and  profoundly  funny  wordplay 
with  killer  hooks  and  a  solid  guitar-and-piano-based 
sound,  Sparks  were  the  forerunners  (and,  to  some  ex- 
tent, instigators)  of  the  skinny  tie  Anglo-pop  revival  that 
swept  America  a  few  years  later.  Two  brilliant  albums 
(Kimono  My  House  and  Propaganda)  worked  that 
irresistible  formula,  but  the  gimmickry  wore  thin;  In- 
discreet, produced  pompously  by  Tony  Visconti,  has 
some  terribly  boring,  unbelievably  overblown  numbers 
amidst  the  succinct  pop  smashes.  Sparks  were  outgrow- 
ing bubblegum. 

Their  lock  on  the  top  of  Britain's  charts  ended,  the 
Maels  fired  their  band  and  returned  to  America  to  begin 
a  very  bad  career  patch,  starting  with  Big  Beat.  They 
benefit  from  a  bit  of  leftover  momentum  (and  perhaps 
material)  from  their  previous  work,  but  it's  basically  a 
poor  homecoming.  (The  band  for  this  record  included 
head  Tuff  Dart  Jeff  Salen  on  guitar,  ex-Milk  V  Cookies 
bassist  Sal  Maida  and  drummer  Hilly  Michaels. )  The  far 
worse  Introducing,  recorded  with  LA  session  men,  is 
Sparks'  creative  nadir. 

The  group's  complex  saga  then  began  to  involve 
Giorgio  Moroder,  who  produced  No.  1  in  Heaven,  con- 
verting the  one-time  pure-guitar-poppers  into  a  driving 
Euro-disco  synthesizer  machine,  pounding  out  repeti- 
tive drum-laden  dance  grooves.  Only  semi-successful, 
musically  speaking,  it  does  deserve  credit  for  predating 
the  entry  of  countless  other  rock  groups  onto  the  high- 
tech  dance-floor.  Terminal  Jive,  the  only  Sparks  album 
not  released  in  the  US,  tempers  the  funk  but  suffers  a 
serious  personality  loss,  the  result  of  the  Maels'  co- 
writing  too  much  of  the  material  with  others. 

Leaving  the  disco  behind,  Sparks  next  began  an  al- 
liance with  a  Moroder  associate,  German  producer 
Mack,  They  recorded  Whorap  That  Sucker  in  Munich 
with  their  first  steady  band  since  Indiscreet:  David  Ken- 
drick,  Leslie  Bohem  and  Bob  Haag  (who  also  work  on 
their  own  as  Gleaming  Spires).  The  songs  reclaim  some 
of  Sparks*  early  pop  wit,  but  with  new  maturity  and 
dignity.  A  definite  improvement,  it's  still  a  transitional 
record,  leading  the  Maels  out  of  the  creative  woods  with 
some  ace  numbers,  but  they're  still  not  at  peak  power. 

Angst  in  My  Pants,  however,  is  that  promise  ful- 
filled, a  top-notch  collection  of  tunes  with  offbeat  hu- 
mor, winning  melodies  and  excellent  arrangements, 
displaying  the  benefits  of  touring  with  a  band.  It* 8  the 
first  new  Sparks  album  that  belongs  alongside  Woofer 


624 


and  Kimono.  The  self-produced  In  Outer  Space  fea- 
tures Jane  Wiedlin  (then  in  the  Go-Go's)  duetting  with 
Russell  on  two  songs,  and  is  a  mixed  creative  success 
due  to  songs  that  drag  and  a  shortage  of  stunning  iyncs 
The  equally  inconclusive  Pulling  Rabbits  Out  of  a  Hat, 
produced  by  Ian  Little,  has  better  material,  less  person- 
ality and  only  a  few  outstanding  tracks.  Perhaps  tiring  of 
unrewarded  cleverness,  the  album's  most  durable  effort 
is  "With  All  My  Might,"  a  syrupy  ballad  distinguished 
by  its  plainspoken  emotionalism. 

Hooking  up  with  yet  another  record  label  (but  keep- 
ing the  band  intact),  Sparks  next  made  Musk  That  You 
Can  Dance  To,  an  aggressively  loud  high-energy  dance 
record — dynamic  keyboards,  mock-symphonic  arrange- 
ments and  BohenTs  bass  play  a  large  part — that  has  its 
moments  (the  title  track,  "Change,"  "The  Scene")  and 
its  mistakes  (a  painful  version  of  Stevie  Wonder's  "Fin- 
gertips"). Clever  lyrics  help,  as  does  the  Maels'  inven- 
tive self-production.  (In  an  outrageous  attempt  to 
mislead,  Curb's  1990  CD  reissue  of  the  album  is  titled 
The  Best  of  Sparks:  Music  That  You  Can  Dance  To. ) 
The  patchy  Interior  Design  was  recorded  in  Rus- 
sell's home  studio  with  just  a  keyboard  player  and  a 
guitarist,  making  it  the  first  bandless  outing  since  Ter- 
minal Jive.  Despite  a  few  good  songs  ("The  Toughest 
Girl  in  Town,"  the  dance-happy  "So  Important"),  re- 
liance on  synthesizers  leaves  the  album  sounding 
choppy  and  monochromatic.  The  CD  adds  three  songs: 
"Madonna,"  "Big  Brass  Ring"  and  "So  Important." 
The  1979  British  compilation  has  the  group's  six 
hits  (1974-'75)  and  another  half-dozen  tracks  from  the 
same  era.  Besides  reprising  half  of  Terminal  Jive,  the 
'81  French  compilation  includes  three  songs  from  No.  1 
in  Heaven,  two  each  from  Woofer  and  Whomp  That 
Sucker,  and  the  first  LFs  "Wonder  Girl." 

At  20  tracks,  Mae!  Intuition  is  less  a  compilation  of 
Sparks'  three  Island  albums  than  a  listener's  digest  of 
them.  Still,  the  choice  of  omissions  is  not  without  flaws: 
"Talent  Is  an  Asset"?  "Who  Don't  Like  Kids"?  "How 
Are  You  Getting  Home?"?  This  is  a  good  introduction, 
but  it's  no  substitute  for  the  original  albums  (nor  a  good 
excuse  for  their  unavailability  on  CD).  Profile  is  a 
career-spanning  two-disc/two-cassettc  compilation  of 
album  tracks  plus  a  few  rarities.  The  CD  configuration 
has  eight  bonus  tunes.  1*1 

See  also  Concrete  Blonde,  Gleaming  Spires,  Earle 
Mankey,  Telex. 

SPEAR  OF  DESTINY 

Grapes  of  Wrath  (nr/Buming  Rome-Epic)  1983 

One  Eyed  Jacb  (or/Burning  Rome-Epic)  1 984 

World  Service  (nr/Buming  Rome-Epic)  1 985 

Outland  (Virgin)  1987» 

The  Epic  Years  (nr/Epic)  1 987  « 

The  Price  You  Pay  (nr/Vlrgin)  1988  » 

Radio  Radio  EP  {CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1988  * 

CRAZY  PINK  REVOLVERS 

First  Down!  (nr/Chainsaw)  1987 
Timeless  Smiles  EP  (nr/ABC)  1987 
At  the  Rivers  Edge  (rw/ABQ  1 988  * 

Following  the  stormy  existence  of  Theatre  of  Hate, 
singer/guitarist  Kirk  Brandon  and  bassist  Stan  Stammers 
launched  Spear  of  Destiny.  Grapes  of  Wrath,  produced 
by  Nick  Laimay,  unveils  a  straightforward  guitar/bass/ 


drums  quartet;  Andy  Mackay-like  saxophone  work  pro- 
vides the  sole  distinguishing  tonal  component. 
Brandon's  songs  are  a  drag — spare,  dirgey  things  with 
hopeless  quasi-Scottish  melodies  and  self-important,  in- 
significant lyrics.  Slight  Nick  Cave  tendencies  don't  add 
enough  extremism  to  salvage  these  effortlessly  ignor- 
able  tracks. 

One  Eyed  Jacks  introduces  a  different,  larger  lineup 
(including  ex-Tom  Robinson  Band  drummer  Dolph 
Taylor);  the  superior  results  lean  alternately  towards  Big 
Country  and  Adam  Ant.  A  basically  inept  vocalist  with 
nothing  in  the  way  of  a  natural  instrument,  Brandon 
sings  everything  like  he's  rousing  the  troops  for  a  final 
assault,  a  tactic  that  overpowers  the  flimsy  tunes.  Lack- 
ing a  feel  for  full-blown  majesty  (like  Richard  Jobson), 
he's  too  zealous  for  his  own  good. 

Co-produced  by  SOD  and  Rusty  Egan,  World  Ser- 
vice is  again  hindered  by  Brandon's  honifically  bad 
singing.  He  repeatedly  misses  notes  on  "Rocket  Ship" 
and  makes  the  lyrics  on  "Come  Back"  sound  almost 
unpronounceable.  The  operatic  melody  of  the  title  track 
exposes  all  of  his  aural  inadequacies  at  once.  With  that, 
Brandon  discharged  his  band,  signed  to  Virgin  and  went 
right  on  doing  what  he's  always  done. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  band's  departure  from  the 
label,  The  Epic  Years — unceremoniously  dumped  on 
the  market  right  on  top  of  SOD's  new  LP — cherry-picks 
the  first  three  albums,  including  five  songs  that  were 
minor  UK  hits  as  singles. 

Oetland,  which  unites  Brandon  with  ex- Ant  guitar- 
ist Marco  Peroni  [sic],  the  Barnacle  brothers  rhythm 
section  and  producer  Zeus  B .  Held,  isn't  a  bad  record. 
The  advent  of  goth-metal  groups  like  the  Cult,  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  the  Mission  makes  marble-mouthed  Brandon 
seem  far  less  offensive  in  context;  perhaps  he's  also 
improved  a  bit.  (Naaah.)  While  nowhere  near  a  desert 
island  disc,  Outland  is  a  reasonable  current  example  of 
roughVready  semi-political  rock  by  a  sincere,  if  lim- 
ited, individual.  (The  UK  CD  and  cassette  add  five  bo- 
nus tracks,  most  of  them  alternate  mixes  of  LP  tracks.) 
Brandon  maintains  his  never-say-die  romantic  punk 
ethos  on  The  Price  You  Pay,  an  album  that  brought 
him  a  UK  Top  40  with  "So  in  Love  with  You/'  (The 
CD  adds  two, )  Radio  Radio — a  3-inch  CD  produced  by 
Alan  Shacklock  and  packaged  in  a  black  matte  tin — 
consists  of  the  titular  album  track  and  three  soundalike 
B-sides. 

Following  his  departure  from  SOD,  bassist  Stan 
Stammers  formed  Crazy  Pink  Revolvers.  [i] 


SPECIALS 

The  Specials  (2-Tone-Chrysalis)  1979  * 
More  Specials  (2-Tone-Chrysalis)  1 980  • 
Ghost  Town  EP  (2-Tone-Chrysalis)  1981 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 
The  Singles  Collection  (Chrysalis)  1991  <t> 

SPECIAL  A.K.A. 

The  Special  A.KA  Live!  EP  (nr/2-Tone)  1 980 
In  the  Studio  (2-Tone-Chrysalis)  1984  • 

STAN  CAMPBELL 

Stan  Campbell  (Elektra)  1 987  « 

Coventry's  Specials  spearheaded  the  British  ska  re- 
vival  in    1979,   with  leader/keyboard   player  Jerry 

625 


Dammers  also  serving  as  head  of  2-Tone,  the  band's 
trendsetting  label,  which  altered  pop  culture  by  releas- 
ing records  by  Madness,  the  Beat,  Selector  and  Body- 
snatchers. 

Produced  by  Elvis  Costello,  the  Specials'  debut  LP 
also  boasted  the  assistance  of  an  elder  statesman  of  blue- 
beat,  trombonist  Rico  Rodriguez,  an  original  member  of 
Jamaica's  Skatalites.  With  the  double  lead  vocals  of 
Terry  Hall  and  Neville  Staples,  guitarists  Lynval  Gold- 
ing  and  Roddy  Radiation,  and  an  impeccable  rhythm 
section  composed  of  John  Bradbury  and  Sir  Horace  Gen- 
tleman, the  Specials  were  widely  acclaimed  as  the  most 
exciting  band  to  emerge  in  1979,  and  their  impact  con- 
tinued well  into  the  '80s. 

The  Specials  contains  such  classic  2-Tone  (as  the 
sound  came  to  be  called)  numbers  as  "Doesn't  Make  It 
Alright,"  "Too  Much  Too  Young,"  "A  Message  to 
You  Rudy"  and  (on  the  American  edition)  the  hit  single 
"Gangsters."  Mixing  socially  and  politically  aware  lyr- 
ics with  infectious  dance  rhythms,  The  Specials  served 
as  a  virtual  blueprint  for  many  bands  to  follow.  A  few 
months  later,  under  the  full  Special  A.K.A.  handle,  the 
band  released  a  hot  7-inch  EP — recorded  live  in  London 
and  Coventry — that  includes  "The  Guns  of  Navarone" 
(a  Skatalites  classic  in  the  previous  decade)  and  a  side- 
long medley  of  covers  dubbed  "Skinhead  Symphony." 

Unfortunately,  their  momentum  foundered  with  the 
release  of  More  Specials.  The  group  abandoned  the 
fresh  sound  of  their  debut  in  favor  of  a  more  turgid 
experimental  approach.  (More  does,  however,  contain 
some  prime  material:  "Enjoy  Yourself"  and,  in  the  US, 
"Rat  Race  ")  Rumors  of  internal  strife  abounded,  and 
though  the  Specials  managed  to  release  the  angry  Ghost 
Town  12-inch — which  went  straight  to  number  one  in 
riot-torn  Britain — the  original  band  soon  succumbed  to 
infighting.  Hall,  Staples  and  Golding  split  off  to  form 
the  Fun  Boy  Three,  and  other  members  drifted  off  as 
well. 

By  then  it  was  clear  that  the  Specials  name  was 
merely  a  vehicle  for  whatever  Dammers  would  do,  but 
it  was  three  reportedly  arduous  years  before  he  com- 
pleted the  "group"  's  third  album,  pointedly  titled  In 
the  Studio.  Working  with  several  steady  associates  (no- 
tably vocalists  Stan  Campbell  and  ex-Bodysnatcher 
Rhoda  Dakar,  in  addition  to  loyal  drummer  John  Brad- 
bury) plus  a  large  pool  of  sessioneers,  Dammers  filled 
the  album  with  disarmingly  varied,  largely  unstylized 
(nothing  you  would  really  call  ska)  essays  on  serious 
political  topics  ("Racist  Friend,"  "Free  Nelson  Man- 
dela," "Alcohol")  leavened  by  the  Hghthearted 
"(What  I  Like  Most  About  You  Is  Your)  Girlfriend/' 
Striking  but  troubled,  the  music's  easygoing  bounce  be- 
lies the  overweening  polemicism. 

The  Peel  session,  from  May  1979,  includes  live  run- 
throughs  of  "Gangsters,"  "Too  Much  Too  Young," 
"Concrete  Jungle"  and  "Monkey  Man"  by  the  original 
band.  The  Singles  Collection  has  the  three  tracks  from 
the  Ghost  Town  EP,  two  live  cuts  from  the  '80  EP, 
some  non-LP  single  sides  and  a  lot  of  redundancy:  al- 
bum tracks  that  were  issued  as  45s. 

In  1987,  ex-Special  Campbell  released  a  bland  soul/ 
reggae-flavored  commercial  solo  album.  A  vocal  resem- 
blance to  Michael  McDonald  of  the  Doobie  Brothers  is 
only  one  of  Stan's  problems;  his  dull  originals  and  un- 


derdone cover  versions  ("Don't  Let  Me  Be  Misunder- 
stood," "Crawfish"  and  "Strange  Fruit")  are  the 
others.  [jw/i] 

See  also  Colour  Field,  Fun  Boy  Three,  Selecter. 

Chris  Spedding  (nr/RAK)  1976  • 

Hurt(nr/RAK)  1977® 

Guitar  Graffiti  (nr/RAK)  1978  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1989  • 

I'm  Not  Like  Everybody  Else  (nr/RAK)  1 980  (Fr.  Fan  Club) 

1989® 

Friday  the  1 3th  (Passport)  1 981 
Mean  and  Moody  (nr/See  for  Miles)  1 985 
Enemy  Within  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 986  • 
Cafe  Days  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1990  • 

One  of  Britain's  top  session  guitarists  of  the  '70s 
(even  participating  in  records  by  the  furry  Wombles!), 
Chris  Spedding  has  had  a  truly  aberrant  solo  career.  A 
veteran  of  numerous  outfits  starting  in  the  '60s,  Sped- 
ding made  several  LPs  under  his  own  name  before  join- 
ing Andy  Eraser's  post-Free  band,  Sharks,  who  made 
two  hard-rocking  LPs  in  1973  and  '74.  (Spedding  also 
played  on  one  of  Sharks  vocalist  Snips'  subsequent  solo 
outings.)  After  that  band  split,  Spedding  released  a  suc- 
cession of  LPs  that  combine  exquisite  rock  guitar  with 
lackluster  vocals  and  songs  so  vapid  as  to  be  virtually 
nonexistent.  (On  a  1970  Japanese  release,  he  dispensed 
with  vocals  entirely.)  The  highlight  of  Chris  Spedding 
is  a  novelty  item  called  "Guitar  Jamboree"  which  fea- 
tures Spedding  aping  various  guitar  heroes  in  a  show  of 
chameleonlike  virtuosity. 

We  pick  up  the  story  later  in  1976,  however,  when 
Spedding  teamed  up  with  the  then-unrecorded  Vibrators 
for  a  great  single,  "Pogo  Dancing,"  the  first  punk  dance 
record.  Hurt,  Spedding's  next  LP,  is  a  more  solid 
follow-up,  thanks  to  Chris  Thomas'  crisp  production. 
The  material  is  generally  better,  and  there's  one  out- 
standing number,  the  ominous  "Lone  Rider." 

Guitar  Graffiti  finds  Spedding  meandering  again, 
producing  a  crass  attempt  to  cash  in  on  his  new  wave 
credibility  (legitimately  established  through  his  seminal 
alliances  with  the  Sex  Pistols  and  the  Cramps,  for  whom 
he  produced  demos,  and  the  Vibrators).  The  worthwhile 
track  is  "Hey,  Miss  Betty,"  the  only  one  produced  by 
Thomas;  the  song  is  a  rocking  homage  to  '50$  bondage 
queen  Betty  Page. 

In  1979,  Spedding  surprised  everyone  by  joining  the 
Necessaries,  a  New  York  band  that  included  former 
Modern  Lover  Ernie  Brooks,  Though  he  kept  a  low 
profile — refusing  featured  billing  within  the  group— the 
combination  of  his  dark  pop  ditties  and  leader  Ed  Tom- 
ney's  preppie  sensibility  never  melded,  Spedding  added 
brilliant  leads  to  Tomney's  material,  but  his  songwriting 
still  lacked  coherency,  and  in  some  instances  he  aban- 
doned guitar  for  keyboards.  Spedding  split  without  fan- 
fare after  less  than  a  year  (he  was  gone  by  the  time  the 
Necessaries  made  their  LP  in  1981),  returning  to  En- 
gland to  record  I'm  Not  Like  Everybody  Else,  an  al- 
bum of  his  Necessaries-era  material. 

Friday  the  Oth  is  a  live  set  on  which  Spedding  is 
joined  by  former  Sharks/occasional  Talking  Head  bass- 
ist Busta  Cherry  Jones  and  New  York  drummer  Tony 
Machine.  Featuring  a  selection  of  songs  from  all  the 


626 


above-listed  albums,  Friday  the  13th  was  released  pri- 
marily as  an  ersatz  retrospective  of  his  RAK  material. 
Showing  off  Spedding's  guitar  work  in  the  context  of 
some  extended  soloing,  it's  the  best  of  the  lot, 

Spedding  does  a  fairly  good  Dave  Edmunds  turn  on 
Enemy  Within,  mixing  a  few  rock'n'roll  classics 
("Love's  Made  a  Fool  of  You,"  "Shakin'  All  Over") 
with  unprepossessing  originals,  filling  them  all  with 
twangy  guitar  work  and  serviceable  vocals  that  some- 
how resemble  Mark  Knopfler.  "Hologram,"  co-written 
with  Marshall  Crenshaw,  is  a  highlight  of  this  likable 
record.  [tr/i] 

See  also  Necessaries,  Vibrators. 

SPEED  THE  PLOUGH 

See  Fee  lies. 

SPHERICAL  OBJECTS 

Past  and  Parcel  (nr/Object  Music)  1 978 
Elliptical  Optimism  (nr/Object  Music)  1 979 
Further  Ellipses  (nr/Object  Music)  1 980 
No  Man's  Land  (nr/Object  Music)  1981 

NOYES 

Sheep  from  Goats  (nr/Object  Music)  1 980 

Manchester's  Spherical  Objects  were  led  by  Steve 
Solamar,  a  terrible  singer  with  an  intensely  personal 
viewpoint.  His  songs  concern  typical  subject  matter,  but 
utter  lack  of  selfconsciousness  invests  his  writing  with 
more  openness  and  introspection  than  you're  probably 
hoping  to  hear. 

The  five  Objects  of  Past  and  Parcel  play  simple 
rock  that's  lightweight  but  pleasant;  Solamar 's  over- 
bearing vocals  spoil  it.  Elliptical  Optimism  has  the 
same  lineup  and  a  more  textured  sound,  featuring  organ 
(prominently)  and  trumpet  (occasionally).  The  songs 
are  instrumentally  inventive,  while  the  vocals  are  less 
abrasive  but  no  more  interesting, 

Further  Ellipses  takes  a  danceable  turn,  playing  it 
smooth  and  rhythmic  with  more  horns  and  synthesizer 
and  less  guitar,  Solamar' s  singing  continues  to  resemble 
David  Thomas*  but  sounds  too  forced  to  be  believably 
weird.  The  musical  development  is  impressive,  the 
songs  are  good,  but  the  same  old  problem  persists, 

No  Man's  Land,  which  announces  itself  to  be  the 
final  Spherical  Objects  album,  has  a  different  lineup 
from  the  previous  three  and  sounds  it,  Gone  are  the 
keyboards  and  horns,  replaced  by  rudimentary  guitar/ 
bass/drums  plus  patches  of  Solamar*  s  wailing  harmon- 
ica. There  are  some  very  pretty  songs  that  are  slowed 
down  to  add  emotion,  but  overall  the  initial  impression 
isn't  as  strong  as  Further  Ellipses.  A  strange  way  to  go 
out,  No  Man's  Land  is  a  record  that  slowly  reveals 
itself  to  be  quite  lovely  in  spots. 

With  the  help  of  Manchester  indie  scene  fixture 
Steve  Miro,  Solamar  managed  to  dam  his  stream-of- 
consciousness  long  enough  to  allow  for  the  collection  of 
the  Noyes  Brothers*  atypicaliy  unrevealing  double-LP 
set.  More  experimental  than  the  Objects1  concurrent 
work,  Sheep  from  Goats  owes  more  than  a  little  to 
German  groups  like  Can,  While  a  few  of  the  redundant, 
largely  free-from  instrumental^  could  easily  be  dis- 
pensed with,  there  are  moments  worth  remembering. 


from  the  amusing  (an  apparent  Fall  parody  dubbed  "Bo 
Scat  Um  I.  D.")  to  the  lovely  (the  side-long  instrumen- 
tal "It  Seemed  Like  a  Good  Idea  at  the  Time")  to  the 
freakishly  prescient  (an  excursion  into  what  sounds  like 
modem-day  computer-enhanced  hip-hop  christened 
"Byte  to  Beat"). 


ET  AL 

See  Athletico  Spizz  80. 

ENZ 

Mental  Notes  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1  975 

Mental  Notes  (Chrysalis)  1976 

Dizrythmia  (Chrysalis)  1  977 

Frenzy  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1  979  (A&M)  1  982 

The  Beginning  of  the  Enz  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1  979 

True  Colours  (A&M)  1  980  • 

Waiato  (A&M)  1  981 

The  Beginning  of  the  Enz  (nr/Chrysalis)  1  981 

Time  and  Tide  (A&M)  1982 

Enz  of  an  Era—  Greatest  Hits  1  975-1  982  (Aus.  A&M) 

1982 

Conflicting  Emotions  (A&M)  1  983  * 
See  Ya  Round  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1  984 
The  Living  Enz  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1  985 
History  Never  Repeats:  The  Best  of  Split  Enz  (A&M) 

1987® 

New  Zealand's  Split  Enz  began  their  recording  ca- 
reer in  pleasantly  uncommercial  fashion,  writing  gently 
eccentric  tunes  that  echoed  the  softer  side  of  Foxtrot- 
era  Genesis.  A  compilation  of  demos,  Mushroom's  The 
Beginning  of  the  Enz  chronicles  those  earliest  days  and 
finds  Tim  Finn's  bittersweet  singing  style  starting  to 
work  its  magic. 

For  Mental  Notes  —  their  first  proper  album  —  the 
Enz  took  shape  as  a  sprawling  seven-piece,  including 
spoons  player  Noel  Crombie.  They  had  grown  overtly 
weird  and  flamboyant,  with  many  tunes  resembling  lit- 
tle, distorted  symphonies.  The  effects  don't  always 
work,  simply  because  flakiness  carried  past  a  certain 
point  can't  be  taken  seriously  on  any  level.  The  Genesis 
parallel  holds  here  as  well. 

By  the  time  Roxy  Music's  Phil  Manzanera  produced 
the  second  Mental  Notes,  the  Enz  were  ready  for  the 
world  beyond.  Bizarre  carnival  costumes  and  distorted 
upsweep  hairdos  served  as  colorful  attention-grabbers. 
Tim  Finn's  wistful  voice  adds  a  sweet  patina  to  disori- 
ented and  lyrically  offbeat  outings  like  "Stranger  Than 
Fiction"  and  the  morbid  'The  Woman  Who  Loves 
You," 

Dizryttimia  made  a  distinct  lurch  towards  the  main- 
stream, thanks  primarily  to  the  departure  of  co-leader/ 
guitarist  Phil  Judd,  replaced  by  Tim's  brother  Neil.  With 
Tim  in  full  command,  the  melodically  intricate  material 
went  from  coldly  quirky  to  genuinely  appealing,  even 
cute.  Highlights;  the  dizzy  "Bold  as  Brass"  and  "Cross- 
words/* at  once  bristling  and  ornate. 

The  second  LP  to  be  called  Beginning  of  the  Enz  is 
a  distillation  of  tracks  from  Chrysalis'  Mental  Notes 
and  Dizrythmia. 

Financial  woes  subsequently  forced  the  band  to  work 
on  a  diminished  budget.  With  Neil  Finn  contributing 


627 


songs  and  vocals  as  well  as  guitar,  the  Enz  cut  Frenzy, 
poppier  still  and  less  elusive  than  before.  It's  hampered 
by  cheap  sound,  but  "I  See  Red"  is  a  delightfully  tune- 
ful whirlwind,  and  "Mind  Over  Matter"  re-creates  the 
warmly  majestic  quality  of  the  best  of  Dizrythmia.  The 
US/UK  version  of  the  LP  differs  from  Mushroom's  by 
half. 

The  Enz  staged  a  full  assault  on  America  with  True 
Colours.  They  had  become  a  cuddly  pop  band  with 
sweet  vocals,  crackerjack  melodies  and  hardly  any 
strangeness.  Fortunately,  the  material  is  genuinely  first- 
rate,  including  the  bouncily  contagious  "I  Got  You" 
and  "I  Hope  I  Never,"  a  plainly  melodramatic  number 
suitable  for  Barbra  Streisand.  (As  a  marketing  ploy,  the 
LP  was  pressed  on  laser-etched  plastic  and  packaged  in 
variously  colored  covers.) 

Although  Waiata  (issued  in  Australia  under  the  Ab- 
origine title  Corroboree)  has  gorgeously  haunting 
tracks  like  "Iris"  and  "History  Never  Repeats,"  as 
well  as  adorable  ones  like  "Clumsy,"  there's  a  hint  of 
blandness  around  the  edges.  The  Enz  show  no  desire  to 
surprise  here,  and  seem  on  the  verge  of  becoming  a 
hipper  Bee  Gees 

Happily,  Time  and  Tide  restores  the  passion,  add- 
ing a  new  sense  of  wonder  to  the  palatable  melodies. 
"Dirty  Creature"  (of  habit),  "Hello  Sandy  Allen"  and 
"Make  Sense  of  It"  all  merit  inclusion  in  the  Enz  hall 
of  fame,  blending  a  gentle  beauty  with  vaguely  unset- 
tling otherworldliness. 

Conflicting  Emotions  is  effectively  the  band's  swan 
song,  and  it's  hard  to  imagine  a  grander  exit.  Keeping 
the  ethereal  melodies  intact,  the  Enz  finally  build  up  the 
physical  side  of  the  music  to  equal  strength.  The  playing 
is  tough  and  direct  like  never  before;  "Bullet  Brain  and 
Cactus  Head,"  "I  Wake  Up  Every  Night"  and  others 
drive  hard  without  obscuring  the  wholesome  moralism 
of  the  lyrics.  The  message?  Try  to  lead  a  good  life.  Who 
could  quarrel  with  that? 

The  final  Enz  studio  LP,  See  Ya  Round  is  an  un- 
usually mild  affair,  hard  to  remember  once  it's  over. 
However,  it's  of  historical  note  as  Neil  Finn's  warmup 
for  his  massive  success  with  Crowded  House.  Big  bro' 
Tim  has  flown  the  coop,  leaving  Neil  in  charge,  with  a 
golden  opportunity  to  make  his  own  mistakes  and  get 
the  art  affectations  out  of  his  system  once  and  for  all. 
Which  he  apparently  did:  compare  the  pale  version  of  "I 
Walk  Away"  here  with  the  full-bodied  reading  on  the 
first  Crowded  House  LP. 

The  Living  Enz  is  a  decent  two-disc  live  set  from  a 
band  not  widely  known  for  its  stage  performances.  His- 
tory Never  Repeats,  a  lovingly  assembled  posthumous 
compilation,  has  swell  liner  notes  by  Cary  Darling  and 
Tim  Finn  and  contains  such  Enz  necessities  as  "I  See 
Red,"  "History  Never  Repeats,"  "I  Got  You"  and  "I 
Hope  I  Never."  Split  Enz  reunited  briefly  in  1989  and 
played  an  old-time  Vsake  show  in  New  Zealand,  [jy] 

See  also  Crowded  House,  Tim  Finn,  Swingers. 

SPLODGENESSABOUNDS 

Splodgenessabounds  (nr/Deram)  1981 

(n  Search  of  Seven  Golden  Gussets  (nr/Razor)  1 982 

Live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1988 

Drummer-turned-singer    Max    Splodge    led    this 
fiercely  tasteless  London  joke  which  actually  scored  a 


couple  of  UK  hits  in  1980.  The  rest  of  the  crew  on  the 
eponymous  debut  sports  names  like  Miles  Runt  Flat  and 
Pat  Thetic  Von  Dale  Chiptooth  Noble.  The  record  in- 
cludes an  order  form  for  such  delectables  as  "moulded 
bum  logo  badge"  and  is  generally  concerned  with  var- 
ious bodily  functions  and  scatological  maladies  (not  to 
be  confused  with  scat  melodies!),  with  only  the  scantest 
trace  of  humor.  Except  for  some  clever  song  titles,  this 
is  utterly  worthless  tripe. 

Splodge  has  stayed  around  the  scene,  joining  the 
Angelic  Upstarts  (!)  in  the  late  '80s  while  keeping  the 
Splodgenessabounds  concept  alive.  The  supposedly  live 
album — recorded  by  a  quartet  in  front  of  an  obviously 
fake  throng  of  cheering  thousands — has  some  mildly 
funny  stuff  ("I  Fell  in  Love  with  a  Female  Plumber 
from  Harlesden  NW10")  amid  the  predictably  inexcus- 
able rubbish  ("Michael  Booth's  Talking  Bum," 
"Crabs,"  etc.).  [i] 

See  also  Angelic  Upstarts. 

SPOOKS 

See  Curtiss  A. 

MARK  SPRINGER 

See  Rip  Rig  +  Panic. 

SQUALLS 

Rebel  Shoes  (Dog  Gone)  1987 
No  Time  (Dog  Gone)  1 988 

Although  the  Squalls  aren't  exactly  immune  to  the 
Athens  environment,  the  eclectic  Georgian  sextet  is  too 
unaffectedly  artless  in  its  polite  pop-folk-rock  to 
strongly  resemble  any  of  their  musical  neighbors.  Rebel 
Shoes  is  earnestly  bland,  a  colorless  ice-breaker  of  no 
special  merit;  the  engaging  No  TSme  has  more  energy, 
skilled  musical  variety  and  hooky  melodic  strength.  (If 
only  singer  Bob  Hay's  voice  didn't  occasionally  make 
the  group  sound  like  Dire  Straits  .  .  .  )  A  Squalls  style 
is  emerging,  but  it's  not  there  yet.  [i] 

SQUEEZE 

(U.K.)  Squeeze  (A&M)  1 978  » 

Cool  for  Cats  (A&M)  1 979  » 

6  Squeeze  Songs  Crammed  into  One  Ten-Inch  Record  EP 

(A&M)  1979 

Ai^ybargy  {A&M}  1980* 
East  Side  Story  (A&M)  1 981  • 
Sweets  from  a  Stranger  (A&M)  1 982  • 
Singles-45's  and  Under  (A&M)  1982  • 
Cosi  Fan  Tulfi  Fruttt  (A&M)  1 985  « 
Babylon  and  On  (A&M)  1 987  • 
Frank  (A&M)  1 989  • 
A  Round  and  a  Bout  (Deptford  Fun  City-IRS)  1 990  4> 

HARRY  KAKOULL1 

Even  When  I'm  Not  (nr/Ovai)  1981 

DiFFORD  &  TILBROOK 

Difford  &  Tilbrook  (A&M)  1 984  * 

Squeeze's  songwriting  team  of  Glenn  Tilbrook  (mel- 
ody) and  Chris  Difford  (words)  has  been  compared  fa- 
vorably to  Lennon  and  McCartney;  that's  not  only  a 
reflection  of  their  abilities  but  also  an  indication  of  how 
little  real  craftsmanship  is  found  in  rock'n'roll  these 


628 


days.  Like  their  supposed  models,  Difford  and  Tilbrook 
are  blessed  with  enormous  talent  which  has  often  en- 
abled them  to  get  by  on  less  than  full  expense  of  effort. 
What  has  often  passed  for  ingenuity  in  Squeeze  has,  in 
fact,  been  little  more  than  glibness. 

A  classic  premature  debut,  Squeeze  finds  the  five 
lads  barreling  through  inconsistent  material,  a  situation 
exacerbated  by  John  Gale's  cluttered  production.  How- 
ever, "Take  Me  I'm  Yours"  and  "Bang  Bang"  (both 
produced  by  the  band)  show  spirit  and  potential. 

Squeeze  entered  adolescence  with  Cool  for  Cats. 
Primary  vocalist  Tilbrook,  a  sweet  triller,  and  the  gruffer 
Difford  show  greater  confidence  at  the  mic;  together, 
they  create  arresting,  odd  harmonies  to  go  with  their 
bent  pop  tunes.  Wonderful  cuts  abound,  including  "Slap 
&  Tickle,"  a  sleazy  synth  rocker,  "Cool  for  Cats,"  a 
modem  pub-rock  romp,  and  the  cinematically  inspired 
"Up  the  Junction,"  three  minutes  of  working-class 
heartbreak  that  outdoes  McCartney  for  pathos.  6 
Squeeze  Songs,  a  well-chosen  mini-greatest  hits,  was 
an  effort  to  establish  the  band  in  the  US. 

Squeeze  grew  up  on  Argybargy.  Tilbrook  and  Dif- 
ford had  found  their  style  and  were  settling  into  it,  cre- 
ating finely  etched  pop  music  with  increasing  intricacy. 
"If  I  Didn't  Love  You"  is  wryly  awkward;  "Farfisa 
Beat,"  is  a  delightful  throwaway;  "Pulling  Mussels 
(from  the  Shell)"  teaches  a  herky-jerky  lesson  in  catchy 
cleverness.  Any  lack  of  commitment  is  outweighed  by 
the  witty  humor,  variety  and  freshness  of  the  material. 
Holland  then  left  and  was  replaced  by  Paul  Carrack. 

If  the  Beatles  parallel  holds,  East  Side  Story  is 
Squeeze's  White  Album.  Produced  by  Elvis  Costello 
and  Roger  Bechirian  (apart  from  one  cut  by  Dave  Ed- 
munds), the  jumble  of  fourteen  songs  touches  on  every- 
thing from  soul  to  country  to  psychedelia.  Each  tune 
qualifies  individually  as  a  glittering  little  gem,  but  the 
alburn  lacks  coherence;  still,  it's  a  dazzling  tour  de  force. 
Highlights  include  Carrack  *s  vocal  showcase  ("Tempt- 
ed"), "Someone  Else's  Heart,"  a  Difford  excursion  into 
sentiment  that  recalls  the  Zombies,  "Mumbo  Jumbo," 
reflecting  Costello's  influence,  "Messed  Around"  (a 
slick  piece  of  fake  rockabilly)  and  the  winsome  "Is  That 
Love." 

Don  Snow  replaced  Carrack  as  the  band  pulled  back 
slightly  from  the  elaborate  excesses  of  East  Side  Story 
for  Sweets  from  a  Stranger,  without  any  loss  of  class, 
"When  the  Hangover  Strikes1'  conducts  a  leisurely  trip 
into  Cole  Porter  land,  while  "I've  Returned"  soars  on 
the  strength  of  an  exuberant  Tilbrook  vocal  and  ringing 
guitars.  But  again,  the  record  has  little  coherence  or 
musical  vision. 

Squeeze  concentrated  on  making  albums  rather  than 
singles  after  Cool  for  Cats,  so  Stagles-45's  and  Un- 
der, a  compilation  released  soon  after  the  announce- 
ment of  the  band's  dissolution,  serves  little  purpose, 
pleasant  though  it  may  be.  As  the  band's  selection  of 
which  LP  tracks  to  release  as  45s  often  seemed  totally 
arbitrary,  there's  no  sense  of  occasion.  Even  "Annie 
Get  Your  Gun/*  the  one  new  track,  isn't  great, 

As  it  was  their  decision  to  disband  Squeeze  and 
continue  writing  and  performing  together,  Difford  and 
Tilbrook  surprised  no  one  by  releasing  an  album  that, 
except  for  being  funkier  and  even  more  boring,  basi- 
cally sounds  no  different  from  the  band's  lesser  efforts. 
Joined  by  the  rest  of  a  Squeezelike  lineup  (drums/bass/ 


keyboards)  plus  occasional  horns  and  strings,  the  dull 
duo  try  to  come  on  like  Hall  and  Gates,  but  lack  the 
cynical  instincts  to  make  a  slick  veneer  interesting.  "Ac- 
tion Speaks  Faster,"  "Love's  Crashing  Waves"  and 
"Picking  Up  the  Pieces"  are  merely  turgid,  overpro- 
duced and  lifelessly  smooth. 

After  two  years  of  unsatisfying  divorce,  Tilbrook 
and  Difford  reconvened  Squeeze  with  onginal  pianoman 
Jools  (now  Julian)  Holland,  drummer  Gilson  Lavis  and 
a  new  bassist,  Keith  Wilkinson  (ex-Nasty  Pop).  But 
things  didn't  fall  into  place.  The  Laurie  Latham- 
produced  Cosi  Fan  Tutti  Fruttt  is  a  bland  collection 
that  generally  repeats  the  Difford  &  Tilbrook  laxo-soul 
approach  to  much  the  same  (non-)effect.  The  utterly 
depressive  "Last  Time  Forever,"  while  sonicaily  im- 
pressive, is  a  regrettably  somber  development  for  this 
once-giddy  band. 

The  new  Squeeze — including  second  keyboardist 
Andy  Metcalfe  (simultaneously  serving  as  Robyn  Hitch- 
cock's bassist) — righted  itself  on  Babylon  and  On,  a 
confident  and  likable  return  to  the  band's  pre-breakup 
sound  and  form.  "Tough  Love,"  "Footprints"  and  es- 
pecially "The  Prisoner"  affirm  Squeeze's  aptitude  for 
agreeable  pop.  However,  dubious  stabs  at  soul  and  funk 
(like  "Hourglass"  and  the  annoying  "853-5937")  fall 
flat,  and  Tilbrook' s  sitar  playing  on  the  insipid  "Some 
Americans"  is  downright  absurd. 

The  tragically  overlooked  Frank  completed 
Squeeze's  rehabilitation,  bringing  the  group  full  circle 
to  a  modernized  version  of  jaunty  pub  rock.  Relocating 
its  original  magic  with  memorably  inventive  material 
and  spirited  delivery,  Squeeze  here  seems  exuberantly 
youthful,  as  if  music-making  had  suddenly  become  fun 
again.  From  giddy  celebrations  of  new  romance  ("If 
It's  Love,"  "Peyton  Place")  to  sardonic  views  of  emo- 
tional wreckage  ("Slaughtered,  Gutted  and  Heartbro- 
ken," "Rose  I  Said"),  the  songs  surge  with  wit  and 
melodic  energy.  (And  who  else  would  write  a  truly 
sensitive  song  about  melancholy  and  menstruation?)  Co- 
produced  by  Tilbrook  and  Eric  Thorngren,  Frank  has  a 
relaxed,  live-in-the-studio  sound  that  makes  it  intimate 
and  inviting.  Easily  Squeeze's  best  since  Argybargy. 

The  same  enthusiasm  flows  in  A  Round  and  a  Bout, 
recorded  live  at  a  pair  of  English  dates  in  January  '90. 
Matt  Irving  (keyboards,  accordion)  joins  the  Hollanda- 
ised  lineup  for  an  utterly  delightful  career  summary, 
including  four  numbers  from  Frank.  The  brisk,  no- 
nonsense  performances  work  wonders,  recharging  ev- 
erything on  the  program.  Proof  that  miracles  do  happen: 
an  upbeat  overhaul  turns  the  plodding  "Black  Coffee  in 
Bed"  into  a  marvelous  jolt  of  pop  soul.  Even  the 
audience-participation  "If  It's  Love"  sounds  like  fun. 

Following  his  involuntary  departure  (after  Cool  for 
Cats),  original  bassist  Harry  Kakoulli  recorded  a  like- 
minded  set  of  dignified  pop  tunes.  Even  When  I'm  Not 
is  an  adequate  record,  although  his  compositions  lack 
the  clarity  and  crackle  that  typify  Difford  and  Tilbrook' s 
best  work.  Uy/i] 

See  also  Paul  Carrack,  Jools  Holland. 


SQUIRREL  BAIT 

Squirrel  Bait  (Homestead)  1 985  * 
Skag  Heaven  (Homestead)  1987  * 


629 


The  only  precedent  most  critics  could  find  for  the 
manic,  crackling,  power-pop  destruction  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky's  Squirrel  Bait  was  Husker  Dii,  and  that  my- 
opic, ignorant  comparison  may  unfortunately  be  the 
main  way  the  band's  music  is  remembered.  But  singer 
Peter  Searcy's  anguished  delivery  was  like  a  frightened 
Paul  Westerberg,  ten  years  younger  (and  twice  as  ani- 
mal brutish),  on  eighteen  cups  of  coffee — the  terrified 
scream  of  a  boy  being  chased  by  an  axe-murderer.  With 
a  total  lack  of  refinement  or  restraint,  David  Grubbs  and 
Brian  McMahan's  distorted  guitars  threatened  to  blow 
the  felt  right  out  of  your  speakers.  An  immense  sonic 
overload  with  monster  hooks. 

The  self-titled  debut  may  be  a  bit  too  thrashy  for 
those  unused  to  such  fast  speeds,  but  "Sun  God"  into 
"When  I  Fall"  pack  a  total  power  wallop  The  far  bet- 
ter, more  mid-tempo  Skag  Heaven  manages  to  keep 
this  intensity  and  great  songs  coming  throughout,  right 
from  the  opening  shocker  "Kid  Dynamite."  An  eye- 
opening,  blasting,  sweaty,  over-the-edge  satori  not  for 
the  timid.  Unfortunately,  the  group  packed  it  in  before 
its  release  (the  members  scattered  to  various  colleges 
and  launched  other  musical  ventures),  thereby  dimin- 
ishing Skag  Heaven's  impact  and  relegating  Squirrel 
Bait  to  the  little-known  root  of  a  burgeoning  indie-band 
family  tree.  (Both  records  are  available  on  a  single  com- 
pact disc.)  [jr] 

See  also  Bastro,  Big  Wheel,  Bitch  Magnet,  Slint. 

SQUIRRELS  GROUP 

See  Young  Fresh  Fellows. 

SS  DECONTROL 

The  Kids  Will  Hove  Their  Say!  EP  (XCIaim!)  1 982 
Get  It  Away  (XCIaim!)  1983 

SSD 

How  We  Rock  (Modern  Method)  1 984 
Break  It  Up  (Homestead)  1 985 

Boston's  SS  Decontrol  was,  to  some  minds,  the  most 
important  New  England  hardcore  band  of  the  early  '80s. 
With  its  now  quaint  cover  shot  of  shiny-headed  little 
punks  charging  the  Massachusetts  State  House  and  such 
blistering,  simple  rockers  as  "How  Much  Art,"  The 
Kids  Will  Have  Their  Say  was  a  pivotal  event  in  Bos- 
ton hardcore  history. 

Likewise,  Get  It  Away  helped  define  the  city's 
straight-edge  movement  and  remains  a  definitive  hard- 
core classic.  Seven  quick  songs  on  a  12-inch  leave 
plenty  of  spare  vinyl,  but  the  impact  couldn't  possibly 
be  any  greater.  From  the  opening  "Glue,"  in  which 
vocalist  Springa  addresses  the  need  to  hold  together  the 
straight-edge  coalition,  to  the  EP's  closer,  a  cover  of  the 
Buzzcocks'  "No  Reply/'  guitarists  Alan  Barile  and 
Francois  Levesque  tear  open  a  sonic  hole  with  a  devas- 
tating metal-on-metal  grind.  With  some  predictable  but 
astounding  amateur  musicianship  on  "Forced  Down 
Your  Throat,"  and  "Nothing  Done,"  as  well  as  a  fleet- 
ing flirtation  with  dub  in  "Get  It  Away"  and  "Under 
the  Influence,"  SS  Decontrol  hit  its  enduring  hardcore 
peak. 

The  following  year,  SS  Decontrol  (now  billed 
merely  as  SSD)  became  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  now- 
common  shift  from  hardcore  to  thrash-metal.  While  the 


cover  of  How  We  Rock  features  gothic  lettering  and  a 
glossy  gold  backing,  it's  not  that  bad  a  record,  a  con- 
sciously brainier  variation  on  hard-rock  traditions.  How 
We  Rock  was,  at  the  time,  slagged  by  hardcore  purists, 
but  it  stands  as  a  crucial  step  in  the  evolution  of  under- 
ground rock. 

Break  It  Up,  the  quintet's  first  full-length  LP  (and 
their  last  recording)  was  again  trashed  in  some  quarters 
for  its  metallic  strivings,  but  curious  rock  students  would 
do  well  to  give  it  another  spin.  Considered  from  a  post- 
Seattle  vantage  point,  Break  It  Up  couldn't  possibly  be 
considered  heavy  metal.  (For  one  thing,  it's  not  nearly 
heavy  enough.)  Springa' s  Noddy  Holder  rasp  and  the 
band's  melodic  guitar  rock  may  have  even  less  to  do 
with  punk  than  metal  (except  for  Levesque 's  flashy  so- 
los), but  it  should  be  noted  that  this  convincing  take  on 
'70s  Brit-rock  predates  those  bands  commonly  credited 
with  that  particular  archaeological  dig.  [icm/i] 

STAINS 

Stains  (SST)  1983 

More  than  one  turn-of-the-decade  punk  band — 
including  the  Austin,  Texas  group  that  became  MDC — 
called  itself  the  Stains,  but  the  Latin- American  LA 
quartet  that  issued  an  album  (recorded  in  1981)  on  SST 
is  remembered  as  an  early  and  skilled  pioneer  of  hard- 
core's metal  developments.  A  heavier  and  humorless 
mid-speed  variation  on  early  Black  Flag,  the  accom- 
plished and  well-produced  (by  Spot)  Stains  has  stan- 
dard punk  attributes  but  breaks  the  rules:  guitarist  Robert 
Becerra  doesn't  just  play  chords  in  lockstep  with  the 
bass,  rather  he  works  in  and  around  the  patterns  and 
takes  occasional  brief  solos. 

A  decade  later,  the  Stains — who  had  evidently  bro- 
ken up  for  a  number  of  years — resurfaced  on  the  LA 
club  scene  playing  heavy  metal.  [i] 

CHRIS  STAMEY 

Ifs  a  Wonderful  Life  (DB)  1983 
Instant  Excitement  EP  (Coyote)  1 984 
Ifs  Alright  (Coyote-A&M)  1 987  » 

CHRIS  STAMEY  GROUP 

Christmas  Time  (Coyote)  1 986 

One  of  the  guiding  lights  of  the  Southeast's  nouveau- 
pop  explosion,  Chris  Stamey  led  North  Carolina's  pio- 
neering Sneakers  before  moving  to  New  York, 
recording  ultra-pop  records  on  his  own  label,  playing 
with  Alex  Chilton  and  forming  the  dB's.  Recorded  while 
Stamey  was  still  in  that  band,  It's  a  Wondcrftil  Life 
(subtitled,  on  the  back  cover  in  reverse  type,  "Ifs  a 
Miserable  Life")  takes  him  far  afield  from  the  offbeat 
Big  Star  sound  for  which  he  is  best  known.  Joined  by 
longstanding  compatriots  Ted  Lyons  and  Mitch  Easter, 
Stamey  plays  mesmerizingly  moody  and  somber  tunes 
("Winter  of  Love,*'  "Depth  of  Field,"  "Oh  Yeah!11) 
and  aggressive  demi-pop  ("Never  Enters  My  Mind"), 
Elsewhere,  he  warps  the  lyrics  of  "Tobacco  Road"  over 
a  nearly  all-drums  background  ("Get  a  Job"),  offers 
cynical  humor  about  urban  life  in  a  jarring,  percussive 
setting  ("Brush  Fire  in  Hoboken")  and  plays  a  quiet 
piano  piece  with  tape  efects  (the  aptly  named  "Still 
Life  #3"),  The  only  relatively  straightforward  pop  song 
is  the  bitter  "Face  of  the  Crowd,**  Overall,  a  strange 


630 


and  unsettling  album,  filled  with  fascinating  adventures 
and  subcurrents  of  profound  unhappmess. 

Opting  out  of  the  dB's  on  the  eve  of  the  group's  first 
American  album,  Stamey  instead  made  his  own  Instant 
Excitement,  an  odd  but  more  upbeat  hodgepodge  which 
encompasses  a  homely  reading  of  John  Lennon's  "In- 
stant Karma,"  an  idyllic  love  song  ("When  We're 
Alone"),  a  frisky  country-rocker  and  an  instrumental 
opus,  "Ghost  Story."  Produced  by  Don  Dixon,  the 
songs  are  somewhat  more  typical  of  Stamey 's  original 
outlook  and  played  with  little  attempt  to  impose  a  style 
in  the  studio.  Eclectic  and  a  little  casually  underbaked, 
but  likable  and,  in  spots,  utterly  touching. 

The  delightful  Christmas  Time  mini-album  intro- 
duces Stamey's  new  combo  (actually  the  same  people 
credited  on  Instant  Excitement)  and  marks  a  brief  re- 
union with  the  dB's.  The  original  songs  are  all  seasonal: 
"The  Only  Law  That  Santa  Claus  Understood," 
"You're  What  I  Want  (For  Christmas),"  "Snow  Is 
Falling,"  even  a  new  acoustic  version  of  the  unexpect- 
edly appropriate  "It's  a  Wonderful  Life."  The  attractive 
title  track  sounds  a  lot  like  Brian  Wilson's  reflective 
mode. 

Stamey  recorded  and  toured  extensively  with  the 
Golden  Palominos  and  then  settled  down  to  make  It's 
Alright — the  most  emotionally  lucid  pop-rock  album  of 
his  career — with  a  snazzy  collection  of  old  and  new 
friends.  Alex  Chilton,  Richard  Lloyd,  Anton  Fier, 
Mitch  Easter,  Faye  Hunter,  Bernie  Worrell  and  Mar- 
shall Crenshaw  are  among  the  players.  The  songs  vary 
from  boppy  ("Cara  Lee")  to  somber  ("The  Seduc- 
tion") to  loud  ("Incredible  Happiness")  to  idyllic  ("27 
Years  in  a  Single  Day")  but  Stamey's  dry,  plaintive 
voice  invests  it  all  equally  with  peerless  sincerity  and 
familiar  melodic  appeal. 

Stamey  played  second  guitar  behind  Bob  Mould  on 
the  latter's  first-LP  tour  in  1989;  two  years  later,  Stamey 
teamed  up  with  ex-bandmate  Peter  Holsapple  and  made 
an  excellent  duo  album,  [i] 

See  also  dB's,  Sneakers. 


STARJETS 

StarJet*  (Portrait)  1979 

Spunky  if  unoriginal,  this  Belfast  quartet  showed 
some  promise,  but  not  enough  to  really  count.  The  al- 
bum consists  of  simple  punky  rock,  with  added  melody 
and  restraint  (plus  some  clever  touches,  like  Beach  Boys 
harmonies),  but  not  as  poppy  as  the  Undertones.  The 
lyrics  rerun  predictable  subject  matter—school,  cama- 
raderie, war,  stardom—and  the  music's  not  strong 
enough  to  divert  on  its  own  merits.  Likable  but  lost. 
Some  Starjets  later  wound  up  in  the  Adventures,  [i] 

See  also  Adventures, 


STEEL  POLE  BATH  TUB 

Butterfly  love  (Boner)  1989  • 
Lurch  EP  (Boner)!  990* 
Tulip  (Boner)  1991  * 

Given  the  shared  cultural  experiences  of  the  twenty- 
something  generation,  a  noisy  power  trio  that  puts  a 
picture  of  Marcia  Brady  on  the  cover  of  its  mighty  debut 
album  could  be  aceu&ed  of  demographic  pandering.  For- 
tunately, Steel  Pole  Bath  Tub— born  in  Montana,  based 


in  San  Francisco  and  including  a  drummer  with  roots  in 
the  primordial  stew  that  belched  forth  Seattle's  current 
longhairs — thrashes  about  with  enough  unrestrained  fer- 
vor and  animal  lust  on  Butterfly  Love  to  attract  an 
audience  that  probably  kicked  in  their  TV  screens  at  an 
early  age.  SPBT  stretches  out  on  the  less-appealing 
Lurch  (also  included  on  the  Butterfly  Love  CD),  rev- 
eling in  frantic  guitar  noise  for  its  own  sake  and  demol- 
ishing several  of  the  songs  with  long  patches  of  fairly 
pointless  feedback  cacophony.  [i] 

STEEL  PULSE 

Handsworth  Revolution  (Mango)  1 978  * 
Tribute  to  the  Martyrs  (Mango)  1 979  ® 
Caught  You  (nr/Mango)  1980  9 
Reggae  Fever  (Mango)  1980  • 
True  Democracy  (Elektra)  1982  • 
Reggae  Sunsplash  '81  (Elektra)  1982 
Earth  Crisis  (Elektra)  1 983  • 
Reggae  Greats  (Mango)  1 984  • 
Babylon  the  Bandit  (Elektra)  1 986  « 
State  of ...  Emergency  (Loot-MCA)  1 988  • 

In  the  mid-'70s,  this  young  English  sextet  from 
Birmingham — inspired  into  existence  by  Bob  Marley's 
Catch  a  Fire — found  an  affinity  with  the  righteous  re- 
bellion of  white  new  wavers  and  built  its  early  reputa- 
tion largely  by  touring  British  punk  venues  (as 
documented  on  live  anthology  records  from  Manches- 
ter's Electric  Circus  and  London's  Hope  and  Anchor). 
Steel  Pulse's  crossover  appeal  derives  in  large  part  from 
its  young,  modern  thoughtfulness,  but  even  more  so 
from  the  group's  incredible  strength  as  one  of  the 
world's  very  best  self-contained  reggae  units. 

Steel  Pulse's  virtues  include  a  gorgeous,  multi- 
textured  musical  palette  (especially  on  the  first  album 
and  much  of  Caught  You),  intelligent  lyrics  (most  no- 
tably on  Handsworth  Revolution,  but  also  on  Tribute 
to  the  Martyrs),  a  wondrous,  sinuously  propulsive  beat 
and  sweet  lead  vocals  by  Selwyn  "Bumbo"  Brown, 
who  also  has  a  nice  quasi-scat  style.  Criticisms:  the 
music,  while  always  ear-enriching  and  heartfelt,  lacks 
consistently  memorable  times.  An  increasing  tendency 
towards  preachy,  trite  lyrics  on  Caught  You  (retitled 
Reggae  Fever  m  America)  is  a  disappointment,  since 
songwriting  guitarist  David  Hinds  has  already  shown  he 
can  do  better. 

If  Caught  You  is  Steel  Pulse  at  its  most  pop- 
oriented,  True  Democracy  has  the  band  reaching  for 
the  most  common  denominator.  Steel  Pulse's  best  falls 
between  the  two  extremes.  Which  brings  us  to  Earth 
Crisis,  where  tasty  use  of  synth  and  sharp  production 
make  it  their  finest,  most  consistent  album  since  Trib- 
ute to  the  Martyrs.  As  for  the  documentary  festival 
album,  Reggae  Sunsplash  '81,  Steel  Pulse  has  an  entire 
side,  but  never  quite  shakes  a  frustrating  stiffness  and 
artificiality.  Pass  it  up.  Reggae  Greats  is  a  compilation. 

With  the  release  of  Babylon  the  Bandit,  however, 
it  was  clear  that  the  band's  professed  ideals  were  no 
longer  jibing  with  their  attempts  to  crack  the  (Ameri- 
can) market.  Protest  lyrics  swathed  in  slick,  upwardly 
mobile  production  were  pretty  hard  to  take  seriously, 
and  the  LP  sank  like  a  stone. 

The  group  then  left  Elektra  and,  three  years  later, 
returned  on  MCA  with  State  of  Emergency.  Although 


631 


still  fairly  hi-tech,  the  LP  isn't  as  aggressively  slick  as 
its  predecessor,  and  is  saved  by  the  determined  perfor- 
mances of  uneven  songs.  The  fiery  energy  that  marked 
the  group's  early  work  still  manages  to  come  through. 

[jg/bk] 

STEEL  TIPS 

Steel  Tips  EP  (Red)  1 981 

Universally  ignored  and/or  abhorred  during  their  ex- 
istence, Steel  Tips  were  one  of  the  few  punk  bands  in 
the  late  '70s  to  wallow  in  and  lionize  actual  street-level 
violence,  as  opposed  to  costumes  and  makeup.  At  a 
time  when  sado  shock  was  an  easily  marketable  com- 
modity, this  New  York  group  trafficked  in  genuine  phys- 
ical assault,  attacking  their  jaded  tuff  punk  audiences. 
Spiralling  away  from  the  1978  debut  45,  "Krazy  Baby" 
b/w  "96  Tears"  (featuring  soon-to-be-infamous  art  and 
battery  confrontational  geek  Joe  Coleman  on  his  sole 
recorded  vocal  with  the  group;  he  was  generally  rele- 
gated to  support  antagonist  behind  prime  antagonist 
Tom  O'Leary),  the  group  dropped  the  goofy  quirk  of 
that  45  and  by  the  '81  EP  (which  included  a  bonus  45) 
was  playing  a  thicker,  superficially  meaner  and  more 
accomplished  new  wave  thrum.  Frontman  O'Leary,  a 
sociopathic  biker  with  little  but  contempt  for  the  thrill- 
seeking  crowds,  played  the  clubs  like  Godzilla  played 
Tokyo;  unfortunately  neither  he  nor  his  band  had  the 
slightest  inkling  how  to  translate  their  stomp  and  slash 
into  musical  terms,  and  left  behind  a  musical  legacy  no 
more  enduring  than  Tuff  Darts  or  the  Shirts.  [ab] 

MARTIN  STEPHENSON  &  THE 
DAINTIES 

Boat  to  Bolivia  (nr/Kitchenware-London)  1986  * 
Gladsome  Humour  &  Blue  (nr/Kitchenware-london)  1988 

(Kitchenware-London-Capitol)  1989  * 
Salutation  Road  (Kitchenware-London-Capitol)  1990  • 

Those  old  enough  to  remember  Donovan's  late-'60s 
albums,  on  which  he  combined  strains  of  folk,  rock, 
blues  and  wispy  jazz  with  sincere,  unpretentious  sing- 
ing, have  a  good  reference  point  for  Martin  Stephenson 
and  the  Daintees. 

Hailing  from  a  small  town  outside  of  Newcastle 
(which  he  reputedly  never  left  until  he  was  27),  singer/ 
guitarist  Stephenson  is  a  performer  of  extraordinary 
warmth  and  depth  whose  major  strength  is  his  gift  for 
understatement.  On  Boat  to  Bolivia,  he's  presented  in  a 
variety  of  settings — from  reggae  to  ragtime — and  seems 
entirely  at  ease  in  all  of  them.  At  a  time  when  music  is 
thoroughly  dominated  by  urban  and  suburban  voices, 
many  of  Stephenson' s  songs  offer  a  refreshing  rural  per- 
spective. 

Gladsome  Humour  &  Blue  tones  down  the  stylistic 
eclecticism  of  Bolivia  in  favor  of  a  darker,  even  more 
introspective  approach,  with  strings  and  acoustic  instru- 
ments at  the  forefront  on  most  tracks.  This  is  Stephen- 
son's  least  immediate,  most  subtle  album,  though  many 
of  the  songs  project  an  almost  religious  intensity.  Not 
light  listening,  but  rewarding.  (The  American  Glad- 
some is  a  double-vinyl/single-CD-or-cassette  package 
that  includes  Boat  to  Bolivia  in  its  entirety.) 

Teamed  up  with  American  producer  Pete  Anderson 
(Dwight  Yoakam,  Michelle  Shocked),  Stephenson's 


outlook  is  considerably  brighter — often  downright 
celebratory — on  Salutation  Road.  Anderson  puts  him 
in  more  of  a  rock  setting  than  on  either  previous  album, 
spicing  things  up  with  horns  and  background  vocalists 
on  many  of  the  tracks — but  never  to  the  detriment  of  the 
star,  who  responds  with  some  of  his  best  performances 
yet.  A  lovely  record.  [ds] 

STEPPES 

The  Steppes  (Mystic)  1 984 

Drop  of  the  Creature  (Voxx)  1 987 

Stewdio  (Voxx)  1 988 

Tourists  from  Timenoiyet  (nr/Bam  Caruso)  1 988 

Enquire  Within  (Voxx)  1 989 

Harps  &  Hammers  (Voxx)  1 990 

Though  they  apparently  have  a  substantial  cult  fol- 
lowing in  Europe,  the  Steppes  remain  inexplicably  ob- 
scure in  the  States.  A  shame,  since  this  far-flung  quartet 
(singer/songwriters  John  and  David  Fallon  reside  in  Ire- 
land; the  American  rhythm  section  lives  in  Oregon  and 
San  Francisco)  is  easily  one  of  the  best  and  most  dis- 
tinctive combos  of  the  current  neo-psychedelic  crop, 
combining  a  subtly  baroque  musical  sensibility  with  an 
ability  to  pull  off  ambitiously  original  arrangements  and 
production  ideas.  The  Steppes  capture  the  essence  of 
vintage  psychedelia  without  sounding  pretentious  or  un- 
duly derivative. 

The  band's  albums  have  steadily  grown  more  ac- 
complished and  impressive,  from  the  friendly  acoustic 
stylings  of  the  limited-edition  eight-song  debut  to  the 
multi-textured  mini-epics  of  their  more  recent  efforts. 
Stewdio,  Enquire  Within  and  Harps  &  Hammers  are 
all  mesmerizing,  extraordinarily  realized  works  whose 
inventive  musical  settings  belie  their  low-budget  ori- 
gins. Tourists  from  Timenotyet  combines  tracks  from 
Drop  of  the  Creature  and  Stewdio.  [hd] 

STETSASONIC 

On  Fire  (Tommy  Boy)  1 986 

Sally  EP  (Tommy  Boy)  1 988 

In  Full  Gear  (Tommy  Boy)  1 988  « 

Blood,  Sweat  &  No  Tears  (Tommy  Boy)  1991  « 

A  fine  example  of  rap's  producer-oriented  develop- 
mental process,  Brooklyn's  Stetsasonic  began  as  a  trio 
of  rappers  (Daddy-O,  Delite  and  Fruitkwan),  a 
keyboardist/drummer/scratcher  (DBC)  and  two  mixers 
(Prince  Paul  and  Wise).  The  sound  of  On  Fire  is  hard 
and  spare:  one-at-a-time  raps  over  rhythm  tracks  (in- 
cluding human  beat  box  noises)  with  sporadic  bits  of 
music  added.  Topics  are  likewise  familiar  (**My 
Rhyme,"  t4Faye»"  "Bust  That  Groove"),  but  Stetsa- 
sonic has  a  decisive  sound  that  takes  full  advantage  of 
the  varied  voices. 

Prince  Paul  (Huston)  subsequently  emerged  as  a  tal- 
ented and  successful  second-generation  producer,  work- 
ing with  Queen  Latifah,  De  La  Soul,  3rd  Bass  and 
others,  Meanwhile,  Daddy-O,  Wise  and  DBC  all  gained 
enough  studio  skills  to  produce  tracks  for  the  diverse 
and  marvelously  entertaining  In  Full  Gear. 

As  a  precursor  to  Stet's  second  coming,  the  Sally 
12-inch  contains  two  versions  of  the  title  tune  (which 
faintly  resembles — without  quoting— Wilson  Pickett 
and  Sly  Stone)  and  three  mixes  of  **DBC  Let  the  Music 


632 


Play,"  which  surprisingly  almost  uses  a  rock  drumbeat 
for  its  bed.  The  album  itself  adds  a  customized  version 
of  the  Floaters'  1977  soul  classic,  "Float  On"  (with 
labelmates  the  Force  M.D.'s  guesting),  a  bottom-heavy 
lesson  in  musical  geography  ("Miami  Bass")  and  a 
dozen  more  entertaining  mixtures  of  genial  hip-hop, 
'70s  soul,  amusing  raps  and  other  expressions  of  the 
group's  fertile  imagination. 

Despite  the  liner  notes'  dubious  claim  that  "Stetsa- 
sonic  is  the  one  and  only  Hip  Hop  Band  and  the  future 
of  soul  music,"  there's  no  argument  that  the  ambitious 
Blood,  Sweat  &  No  Tears  is  extraordinary,  an  engag- 
ing state-of-the-art  album  seamlessly  loaded  with  di- 
verse music,  thoughtful  and/or  amusing  raps  and  more 
friendly  family  atmosphere  than  an  Italian  wedding. 
With  positive  power  and  enough  production  and  rhym- 
ing talent  for  three  groups,  the  six-man  crew  (now  in- 
cluding a  fulltime  drummer)  covers  a  wide  range  of 
topics— from  politics  ("Free  South  Africa,"  "Corpo- 
rate America"),  social  issues  ("Ghetto  Is  the  World") 
and  autobiography  ("To  Whom  It  May  Concern," 
"The  Hip  Hop  Band,"  "Heaven  Help  the  MF's")  to 
peers  ("Uda  Man,"  "Do  You  Remember  This"),  a 
favorite  fan  ("Speaking  of  a  Girl  Named  Suzy")  and 
parties  ("So  Let  the  Fun  Begin").  Marvelous.  [i] 

STEVE  STEVENS  ATOMIC 
PLAYBOYS 

See  Billy  Idol. 

TOM  STEVENS 

See  Long  Ryders. 

DAVE  STEWART 

See  Eurythmics. 

MARK  STEWART  AND  THE 
MAFFIA 

Learning  to  Cope  with  Cowardice  (nr/PI©xus)  1983 

MARK  STEWART 

As  the  Veneer  of  Democracy  Starts  to  Fad©  (nr/Mut©) 

1985« 

Mark  Stewart  +  Maffia  (Upside)  1 986  • 
Mark  Stewart  {nr/Mut©)  1 987  * 
Metatron  (Mute-Restless)  1 990  <f> 

Teamed  with  dubmeister  Adrian  Sherwood  and  his 
Tackhead  associates  (Keith  LeBIanc,  Doug  Wimbish 
and  Skip  McDonald),  ex-Pop  Grouper  Stewart  produces 
what  could  best  be  described  as  avant-garde  reggae  on 
Learning  to  Cope  with  Cowardice.  Making  a  wide  left 
turn  past  Sly  and  Robbie,  the  disc  is  dark  and  forbid- 
ding, with  a  plethora  of  ghostly*  off-center  sounds  float- 
ing in  and  out  of  nowhere,  rarely  paying  heed  to  musical 
convention.  At  times,  things  get  gimmicky  enough  to 
resemble  a  demo  disc  for  effects  units,  but  Cowardice 
is  a  rewarding  album  with  political  consciousness. 

Stewart's  convictions  push  further  to  the  fore  on  his 
second  album.  As  the  Veneer  of  Democracy  Starts  to 
Fade  abandons  reggae  for  a  disorienting  marriage  of 
big-beat  drums  and  dissonant  electronics  that  is  not  un- 
like early  Cabaret  Voltaire,  Several  tracks  feature  taped 


authoritarian  voices  that  you  probably  thought  only  ex- 
isted in  your  nightmares. 

Mark  Stewart  +  Maffia,  Stewart's  first  US  re- 
lease, is  a  compilation  culled  from  those  first  two  LPs 
(plus  one  non-LP  cut),  and  is  well  worth  it  for  those 
who  don't  have  the  imports.  Stewart's  next  LP,  simply 
titled  Mark  Stewart  (although  the  same  Mafia — note 
the  new  spelling — members  are  present),  pushes  funk 
and  stripped-down  metal;  while  Stewart  and  Sherwood's 
aural  experiments  work  well  in  this  context,  running  out 
of  ideas  doesn't  deter  them  from  letting  a  track  go  on  for 
seven  or  eight  minutes.  The  lyrics  are  uncharacteristi- 
cally innocuous — some  are  even  kind  of  smug.  The  CD 
contains  a  bunch  of  extra  remixes  of  cuts  that  were 
already  too  long.  Stewart  is  a  very  talented  artist  who 
should  be  mandatory  listening  for  anyone  who  thinks 
using  synthesizers  only  means  sounding  like  the  Human 
League,  but  those  wishing  to  sample  his  work  should  go 
for  the  US  compilation  and  leave  this  one  alone. 

By  contrast,  Metatron  has  a  much  warmer,  more 
immediate  feel,  and  the  band  really  gets  a  chance  to 
explode.  The  sparing  and  effective  use  of  electronics 
leaves  plenty  of  room  for  crunching  guitar  cascades  atop 
a  megabeat  rhythm  section.  Stewart's  lyrical  visions 
have  shifted  from  revolutionary  politics  to  paranoia 
about  late-20th-century  life:  "These  Things  Happen"  is 
his  response  to  a  bloodthirsty  "human  time  bomb  .  .  . 
an  accident  waiting  to  happen."  Musical  ideas  are  still 
more  or  less  at  a  premium,  as  riffs  are  prolonged  ad 
nauseum  and  passed  off  as  complete  songs.  The  CD 
adds  an  instrumental  version  of  the  opening  "Hyste- 
ria," which  sounds  an  awful  lot  like  Black  Sabbath's 
"Iron  Man."  [dgs] 

See  also  Pop  Group,  Tackhead. 

STIFF  LITTLE  FINGERS 

Inflammable  Malarial  (Rough  Trade)  1979  {Restless  Retro) 

1990* 
Nobod/s  Heroes  (Chrysalis)  1980  (Restless  Retro) 

1990« 

Hanxl  (Chrysalis)  1980  (Restless  Retro)  1990  • 
Go  for  It  (Chrysalis)  1 981  (Restless  Retro)  1 990  « 
Now  Then  . . .  (nr/Chrysaiis)  1 982 
All  th©  Best  (nr/Chrysalis)  1983  • 
Th©  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 986  • 
Live  and  Loud!!  (nr/Link)  1 988  » 
No  Sleep  Til  Belfast  EP  (nr/Skunx)  1988 
No  Sleep  Til  Belfast  (nr/Kaz)  1988  <!> 
See  You  Up  Therei  (Caroline)  1 989  * 
The  Last  Time  EP  (nr/Link)  1 989 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1990  » 

Belfast's  Stiff  Little  Fingers  began  as  four  exciting 
(if  narrow-minded)  sloganeers,  led  by  raw-voiced 
singer/guitarist  Jake  Burns.  SLF's  debut  (the  Rough 
Trade  label's  first  LP  release)  includes  such  classic  pro- 
test punk  as  ** Suspect  Device,"  "Alternative  Ulster" 
and  "Wasted  Life.0  The  LP  is  generally  regarded  as  a 
classic  punk  LP;  its  UK  chart  success  was  the  spark  that 
set  off  a  second  wave  of  new  bands  like  the  Ruts  and 
Undertones. 

By  Nobody's  Heroes,  they  had  changed  labels,  ac- 
quired a  new  drummer  (Jim  Reilly)  and  developed  a  bit 
more  subtlety  in  the  music  and  lyrics.  (Contravening 
punk*s  push  for  DIY  autonomy,  most  of  SLF's  lyrics 

633 


were  written  by  Gordon  Ogilvie,  a  journalist  who  later 
became  their  manager.)  The  title  track  and  "Gotta  Get- 
away" are  the  highlights,  but  "Wait  and  See"  auda- 
ciously thumbs  a  collective  nose  at  the  band's  detractors; 
a  roughed-up  version  of  the  Specials'  "Doesn't  Make  It 
Alright"  showed  SLF  to  be  developing  interests  outside 
punk's  limits.  Although  slicker,  more  sedate  and  half  as 
fiery  as  Iniammable  Material,  it's  a  solid  LP.  A  live 
set,  Hanx!,  served  as  a  premature  greatest  hits  collec- 
tion, containing  powerful  renditions  of  their  best  mate- 
rial in  a  well-recorded  conceit  environment,  before  an 
enthusiastic  audience. 

Go  for  It  broke  Stiff  Little  Fingers'  mold,  and  they 
emerged  a  much  different  sounding  band.  Burns'  voice 
is  smoother  and  less  anguished;  the  music,  while  no  less 
energetic  or  committed,  is  more  diverse  and  sophisti- 
cated. The  title  track,  a  memorable  martial  guitar  in- 
strumental, shows  how  far  they'd  come,  bearing  scant 
resemblance  to  their  early  rabble-rousing  roughness. 
Other  numbers  draw  on  reggae  stylings  for  variety;  "Sil- 
ver Lining"  even  utilizes  prominent  brass. 

Now  Then,  their  least  popular  but  most  lasting  LP, 
continues  the  exploration  of  more  accessible  musical 
turf  and  is  full  of  solid  rock  songs  that  pair  energy  and 
melody  with  clever  guitar  play.  With  new  drummer 
Dolph  Taylor  (ex-Tom  Robinson  Band)  in  the  lineup, 
SLF  sounds  better  than  ever.  Their  political  conscious- 
ness remains  undiminished,  but  subtler  and  stronger  lyr- 
ics effectively  replace  inchoate  rage  with  on-target 
criticism. 

Following  the  group's  dissolution,  the  two-LP  sin- 
gles compilation  All  the  Best  appeared,  containing  30 
tracks  that  chronologically  review  their  progress  from 
raw  rage  to  sharp  power-pop.  Burns  later  released  sev- 
eral solo  singles. 

Five  years  later,  SLF  unexpectedly  reformed  for  two 
UK  tours  (December  '87  and  March  '88).  The  crowd's 
excited  roar  is  the  real  star  of  Live  and  Loud!!,  a  dou- 
ble LP  from  a  December  London  gig.  After  a  house- 
on-fire  version  of  "Alternative  Ulster,"  SLF  proves 
sloppier  and  slower  than  when  they  left  off,  and  the 
choice  of  material  clearly  aims  to  please,  with  not  one 
selection  from  Now  Then.  Nevertheless,  the  LP  docu- 
ments a  triumphant,  if  brief,  comeback  of  a  once-great 
band  ironically  at  the  height  of  its  popularity.  (Link 
licensed  Live  and  Loud!!  to  Kaz,  which  issued  it  on 
CD  and  cassette  as  No  Sleep  'Til  Belfast,  also  the  title 
of  a  four-song  live  EP  on  a  Link  subsidiary;  Link  then 
brought  out  a  competing  CD  of  its  own,  identical  except 
for  the  deletion  of  "The  Only  One.") 

The  band  was  unhappy  with  the  live  LP  and  released 
a  far  better  one  (See  You  Up  There!),  recorded  on  St. 
Patrick's  Day  '88  at  London's  Brixton  Academy.  Since 
the  track  listings  are — with  some  notable  differences — 
very  similar,  it's  obviously  meant  to  replace  Live  and 
Loud!!  and,  on  sound  quality,  there's  no  contest.  Not  to 
be  outdone,  Link  turned  around  and  issued  a  live  12- 
inch  (The  Last  Time)  of  three  more  songs  from  the 
earlier  gig,  including  the  intentionally  awful  Stones 
cover  of  the  record's  title.  This  appears  to  have  been  the 
last  shot  in  the  war  of  live  records — for  now. 

The  Peel  Sessions  album  replaces  the  '86  Peel  EP, 
as  it  combines  all  four  songs  from  it  with  sessions  from 
'78,  '79  and  '80.  The  versions  are,  in  general,  rawer 
than  the  familiar  recordings  of  the  same  songs.  In  par- 


ticular, second-album  songs  recorded  first-album  style 
are  truly  ear-opening,  most  notably  an  embittered,  en- 
raged "Fly  the  Flag"  that  is  clearly  superior  to  the 
Nobody's  Heroes  version.  What's  more,  the  early  "No- 
body's Hero"  has  slightly  different  lyrics.  [i/jr] 


STING 

The  Dream  of  the  Blue  Turtles  (A&M)  1 985  (A&M-Mobile 

Fidelity)  1 989  • 

Bring  on  the  Night  (A&M)  1 986  • 
. . .  Nothing  Like  the  Sun  (A&M)  1 987  ® 
. . .  Nada  Como  el  Sol  EP  (A&M)  1 988  • 
The  Soul  Cages  (A&M)  1991  ® 

In  1985,  with  the  Police  on  hiatus  and  heading  for  an 
unannounced  fin,  Sting  produced  a  multi-platinum  solo 
debut,  The  Dream  of  the  Blue  Turtles.  Enlisting  a 
seasoned  collection  of  top-notch  American  players 
(Branford  Marsalis,  Omar  Hakim,  Kenny  Kirkland  and 
Darryl  Jones),  Sting  attempted  to  distance  himself  from 
the  common  vulgarity  of  mere  rock  music  by  introduc- 
ing jazz  trappings  to  a  new  set  of  songs,  including  "If 
You  Love  Somebody  Set  Them  Free,"  "Love  Is  the 
Seventh  Wave,"  "Fortress  Around  Your  Heart"  and 
the  unbelievably  stupid  "Russians."  Despite  the  illus- 
trious company  and  his  switch  from  bass  to  guitar,  Sting 
alone  is  little  different  than  Sting  in  the  Police:  smug  and 
pretentious.  And  his  like-it-or-not  voice  is  still  his  voice. 

The  four  sides  of  Bring  on  the  Night — recorded  at 
several  1985  European  concerts  with  the  same 
sidemen — prove  Sting  can  pull  it  off  live.  Mainly  draw- 
ing on  Blue  Turtles,  the  LP  also  revamps  old  Police 
songs  (e.g.,  "Driven  to  Tears,"  "I  Burn  for  You," 
"Demolition  Man"),  giving  them  airy  refinement  and  a 
measured  gait.  The  sound  quality  is  spectacular,  the 
instrumental  arrangements  and  performances  unassail- 
ably  accomplished  but  dull.  Sting's  liner  notes  even 
reveal  a  glimmer  of  self-effacing  humility. 

The  same  can't  be  said  for  the  effete  intellectual 
masturbation  of  Nothing  Like  the  Sun.  Even  as  the 
nouveau  sophisticate  sings  "History  Will  Teach  Us 
Nothing,"  his  pedantic  instincts  and  bulging  ego  inform 
the  lyrics  at  every  turn  with  political  dilettantism,  liter- 
ary namedropping  and  prolix  pseudo-profundities. 
Aided  by  a  new  batch  of  virtuosos  and  famous  guests 
(Andy  Summers,  Gil  Evans,  Eric  Clapton,  Mark  Knop- 
fler  and  Rub6n  Blades,  credited  on  one  track  with 
"Spanish"),  Sting  stretches  a  dozen  delicate  songs  over 
two  short  discs,  coming  down  off  his  high  horse  long 
enough  to  show  Jimi  Hendrix  aficionados  a  numbingly 
dull  way  to  perform  "Little  Wing."  A  tedious,  bankrupt 
and  vacuous  cavern  of  a  record. 

For  some  reason  (condescension?  avarice?  arro- 
gance? practice?),  Sting  cut  Spanish-language  versions 
of  "Little  Wing,"  "We'll  Be  Together,"  "They  Dance 
Alone"  and  "Fragile"  (also  in  Portuguese)  and  released 
the  five  as  Nada  Como  el  Sol,  thereby  allowing  a  siz- 
able portion  of  the  non-English-speaking  world  to  join 
the  rest  of  us  in  wondering  just  what  he's  prattling  on 
about. 

Putting  down  his  guitar  and  global  pretensions,  Sting 
made  his  next  album  more  personal  and  reflective,  al- 
ternating obvious  pop  singles  ("All  This  Time**  sounds 
like  the  Police  performing  a  Paul  Simon  song;  "Why 
Should  I  Cry  for  You?"  is  an  elegantly  atmospheric 


634 


ballad;  the  romantic  title  track  touches  old  Police  ground 
with  new  sophistication)  and  expansive  theatrical  rae- 
anderings  ("Island  of  Souls,"  "Mad  About  You," 
"The  Wild  Wild  Sea")  that  are  individually  handsome 
but  cry  out  for  a  context  which  the  album  fails  to  pro- 
vide. With  repeated  references  to  his  late  father,  The 
Soul  Cages  —  antiseptically  produced  with  Hugh 
Padgham  —  has  solemn  emotional  resonance  and  a  set- 
tled maturity  unheard  in  Sting's  previous  work,  but  the 
attempt  to  reconcile  lofty  artistic  ambitions  and  demo- 
graphic commercial  desires  casts  a  pall  over  the  entire 
undertaking.  M 

See  also  Police. 

RJ.  STIPS 

See  Nits. 

STONE  BY  STONE  W/  CHRIS  D 

See  Divine  Horsemen. 

STONE 

Stone  Roses  (Silvertone)  1989  +  1989  • 

Manchester's  Stone  Roses  began  around  1980  as  a 
Clash-inspired  punk  band  called  the  Patrol.  Joining  the 
neo-mod  scene,  the  group  changed  its  name  to  English 
Rose  (after  the  Jam  song);  by  '85  it  had  become  Stone 
Roses,  playing  atmospheric  guitar  rock  like  the  Chame- 
leons. After  two  early  singles,  producer  John  Leckie 
arrived,  and  he  helped  the  group  combine  its  magnetic, 
charming  pop  with  the  dramatic  and  pulsing  heights  of 
post-punk  rock.  The  result  was  a  nearly  flawless  debut 
LP,  released  in  May  1989,  that  launched  a  stylistic  craze 
centered  in  Manchester. 

With  all  the  hype  and  hysteria,  it's  easy  to  overlook 
what  a  solid  and  enduring  record  Stone  Roses  is.  With 
his  inventive  ringing  sound,  guitanst  John  Squire  seems 
destined  to  be  the  next  Johnny  Marr.  Drummer  Reni  is 
likewise  extraordinary,  giving  otherwise  usual  pop  tunes 
an  exciting  kick.  But  it's  the  songs,  and  Leckie's  thick, 
molten  production,  that  hit  home.  Slowly  building  to- 
wards quick  bursts  of  fire,  the  opening  *'I  Wanna  Be 
Adored"  sets  the  tone,  echoed  in  the  equally  incredible 
"Made  of  Stone."  "She  Bangs  the  Drums"  is  brawling 
pop,  while  "Elephant  Stone"  (a  Peter  Hook-produced 
single  that  was  added  to  the  album's  US  edition)  per- 
colates New  Order-style.  Best  of  all,  the  powerpacked 
closer,  "I  Am  the  Resurrection,"  slams  incessantly  for 
the  better  part  of  four  minutes,  only  to  switch  seam- 
lessly into  an  overloaded  funk  groove  with  wild  drum- 
ming and  squealing  peals  of  guitar  feedback. 

Stone  Roses'  fame  (if  not  success;  several  of  the 
groups  that  followed  in  their  wake  have  become  much 
bigger  stars)  has  seemingly  held  them  back.  Only  two 
new  singles  appeared  (the  first,  **FooPs  Gold/*  was 
added  to  a  second  US  version  of  the  album)  in  the 
eighteen  months  following  the  album's  release,  [jr] 


STOOGES 

The  Stoogw  (Elektro)  1969  4  1977 
Fun  Hous©  (EMdra)  1970  4-  1977  * 
NoFun(nr/Ebktro)198Q 
Rubber  Legs  (Fr,  Fan  Club)  1987  » 


1982* 
1982  * 


What  You  Gonna  Do  EP  (Fr.  Revenge)  1988 

Live  1971  (Fr.  Slaughter)  1988 

My  Girl  Hates  My  Heroin  (Fr.  Revenge)  1989  • 

THE 

Raw  Power  (Columbia)  1973  +  1981  • 

Metallic  K.O.  (Import)  1976 

I'm  Sick  of  You  EP  (Bomp!)  1977 

(S  Got)  Nothing  EP  (Skydog)  1 978  • 

Km  Sick  of  You  (Ger.  Line)  1 981   +1 987  • 

Iggy  &  the  Stooges  (no  label)  c.  1 987  • 

Death  Trip  EP  (Fr.  Revenge)  1987 

Pure  Lust  EP  (Fr.  Revenge)  1987  • 

Raw  Power  EP  (Fr.  Revenge)  1 987  • 

Gimme  Danger  EP  (Fr.  Revenge)  1 987  • 

She  Creatures  of  Hollywood  Hills  EP  (Fr.  Revenge) 

1988® 

The  Stooges  (Fr.  Revenge)  1988 
Metallic  2xKO  (Fr.  Skydog)  1988  • 
Raw  Stooges  Vol  1  (Ger.  Electric)  1 988 
Raw  Stooges  Vol  II  EP  (Ger.  Electric)  1 988 
Search  and  Destroy-Raw  Mixes  Vol  Hi  (Curtis)  1 989 
Iggy  and  the  Stooges  (Fr.  Revenge)  1991 

POP 

I  Got  a  Right  (Invasion)  1983  (Enigma)  1985 
I  Got  a  Right  (Fr.  Revenge)  1987 

IGGY  POP  &  JAMES 
WILLIAMSON 

Jesus  Loves  the  Stooges  EP  (Bompl)  1977 
Kill  City  (Bomp!)  1978® 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Hard  to  Beat  (Aus.  Au-go-go)  1 988 

The  Stooges,  the  debut  LP  by  Iggy  Pop's  self-willed 
band — which  at  the  time  also  included  guitarist  Ron 
Asheton,  drummer  Scott  Asheton  and  bassist  Dave 
Alexander— sounds  like  nothing  else  released  in  1969. 
Moronic  lyrics  and  three-chord  "tunes"  clearly  antici- 
pate the  lowest-common-denominator  populism  of  '70s 
punk.  Tempos  are  a  bit  draggy,  but  all  the  ingredients 
for  what  followed  are  present.  One  of  the  most  super- 
ficially artless  records  ever  made. 

By  contrast,  Fun  House  knowingly  sucks  the  lis- 
tener into  its  raucous  vortex.  This  ingeniously  con- 
structed album  starts  out  menacingly  ("Down  on  the 
Street")  and  builds  relentlessly  to  its  apocalyptic  con- 
clusion (**L.A.  Blues"),  Iggy's  singing— much  more 
expressive  than  on  The  Stooges— veers  from  sullen  pet- 
ulance to  primal  scream  on  songs  of  adolescent  solip- 
sism. Fun  House  comes  as  close  as  any  one  record  ever 
will  to  encapsulating  what  rock  is,  was  and  always  will 
be  about.  Inspired  touch:  Steven  Mackay's  saxophone. 
(No  Fun,  appearing  between  reissues  of  the  two  origi- 
nal Stooges  albums,  consists  of  tracks  from  both, ) 

Raw  Power  is  another  masterpiece,  featuring  the 
stinging  lead  guitar  of  James  Williamson  in  a  reorga- 
nized Stooges.  (Ron  Asheton  had  switched  to  bass  to 
replace  Dave  Alexander.)  With  Williamson  as  co- 
author, Iggy's  songs  are  more  musical  (i.e.,  a  sense  of 
structure  emerged)  in  their  sex-and-death  conflation 
("Gimme  Danger,"  "Death  Trip").  The  title  track  and 
"Search  and  Destroy"  are  only  two  of  Raw  Power* s 
tunes  to  achieve  classic  status  for  staring  into  the  abyss, 
guitar  in  hand.  Heavy  metal  in  every  sense,  the  album 
marked  the  end  of  the  Stooges  as  a  band  concept— Iggy 

635 


hereafter  received  solo  billing — and,  effectively,  the 
first  stage  of  Iggy's  career. 

Setting  the  tone  for  the  vinyl  deluge  that  would  follow 
a  decade  later,  Metallic  K.O.  is  a  semi-notorious,  semi- 
legal document  of  the  Stooges'  final  concert;  at  the  Mich- 
igan Palace,  Detroit,  January  1974.  The  band  staggers 
towards  entropy  as  Iggy  maliciously  baits  the  crowd, 
which  responds  in  kind.  There  are  only  six  songs,  but 
more  than  your  money's  worth  of  bile.  Highlight:  a  ver- 
sion of  "Louie  Louie"  you've  never  heard  before. 

Kill  City  was  salvaged  from  the  period  between  the 
Stooges'  breakup  and  Iggy's  Bowie-inspired  redemp- 
tion. The  songs  plod,  the  sound  is  bad  and  the  vocals — 
recorded  on  weekend  leaves  from  the  hospital  where 
Iggy  was  residing  at  the  time — are  buned.  The  strung- 
out  music  has  a  morbid  voyeuristic  appeal  if  you  enjoy 
wallowing  in  other  people's  degradation;  otherwise, 
avoid  this  nasty  stuff.  After  Kill  City  had  gone  out  of 
print,  the  German  I'm  Sick  of  You  album  collected 
tracks  from  it,  along  with  the  '77  "I  Got  a  Right"  single 
and  two  Bomp!  EPs  (I'm  Sick  of  You  and  Jesus  Loves 
the  Stooges)  of  rough  but  intense  and  worthwhile 
demos.  The  1983  I  Got  a  Right  (and  the  French  vari- 
ation thereon)  is  drawn  from  the  same  pool  of  material, 
containing  an  entire  side  of  Kill  City;  the  subsequent 
Pure  Lust  offers  four  of  the  same  tracks  in  mixes  rang- 
ing from  identical  to  wildly  divergent. 

In  late  '87,  a  groundsweli  of  interest  in  the  Stooges 
(fueled  in  no  small  part  by  the  increasingly  prominent 
and  numerous  Australian  bands  playing  in  Detroit- 
influenced  post-Radio  Birdman/New  Race  style),  re- 
sulted not  only  in  one  of  the  first  single-artist  tribute 
projects — Hard  to  Beat,  a  double  LP  of  mostly  over- 
reverent  Iggyness — but  the  beginning  of  a  spate  of  re- 
issues, predominately  from  renamed  French  labels 
previously  notorious  for  questionably  legal  '60s  reissues 
at  the  height  of  the  mid- '80s  garage  revival. 

Rubber  Legs  offers  six  '73-'74  rehearsal  tracks, 
including  "Cry  for  Me."  Although  a  bit  heavy  on  the 
keyboards  (as  are  many  of  the  "rehearsal"  tapes  to 
follow  onto  vinyl),  the  sound  is  good,  revealing  Iggy  at 
his  rawest  and  most  powerful  along  with  James  William- 
son in  all  his  glory  on  such  new  songs  as  "Head  On" 
and  "Cock  in  My  Pocket." 

My  Girl  Hates  My  Heroin  is  one  of  the  best  of  the 
lot.  Although  mostly  familiar  '73  rehearsal  material 
(with  the  guitars  are  turned  up  and  the  keyboards  turned 
down),  there  are  a  few  surprises,  and  a  studio  mix  of 
"Death  Trip"  that  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  most 
violent  recordings  ever  made. 

Iggy  &  the  Stooges  consists  half  of  earlier,  lower-fi 
studio  run-throughs,  three  songs  of  which  were  previ- 
ously unreleased  in  any  (nominally)  legit  form,  though 
"She  Creatures  of  the  Hollywood  Hills"  (already  fa- 
miliar to  Hard  to  Beat  owners,  thanks  to  the  version  by 
the  unimaginatively  named  Raw  Power)  has  since 
turned  up  several  times  on  bootlegs.  The  three  songs 
that  comprise  the  other  side  of  Iggy  &  the  Stooges  are 
moderate  quality  live-at-the-Whiskey  versions  of  by- 
now-familiar  tracks.  (The  same  recording  of  "Open  Up 
and  Bleed"  also  showed  up,  with  far  hotter  mastering, 
on  She  Creatures,  backing  a  weird  and  spicy  para-funk 
rendition  of  the  title  track. )  What  You  Gonna  Do  again 
excerpts  the  same  show  with  a  fairly  rote  take  on  "Gim- 


m(i)e  Danger,"  along  with  a  minutiae-filled  Ron  Ashe- 
ton  radio  interview  and  the  obscure  title  song, 
horrendously  recorded  in  '68  but  undeniable  testimony 
to  the  fury  of  the  band  even  in  its  formative  stages.  For 
wealthy  novices,  five  of  the  Revenge  titles — Pure  Lust, 
Raw  Power,  Gimme  Danger  (also  available  as  a  pic- 
ture disc),  She  Creatures  of  Hollywood  Hills  and 
What  You  Gonna  Do — were  offered  in  a  limited  edi- 
tion boxed  set  simply  titled  The  Stooges. 

Live  1971  (with  the  same  excellent  cover  photo  as 
What  You  Gonna  Do)  presents  the  Stooges'  least  doc- 
umented and,  to  many,  most  intriguing  phase  (along 
with  the  Hawaiian  guitar  lineup,  of  course):  the  brief 
period  from  late- '70  to  mid-'71  when  Asheton  and 
James  Williamson  dualed  (dueled)  on  guitar.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  sound  quality  is  by  far  the  worst  of  all  the 
recent  records;  muted,  mushy  and  moribund.  For  col- 
lectors only. 

Metallic  2xKO,  the  two-disc  reissue  of  Metallic 
K.O.,  adds  two  previously  unreleased  songs  (plus  the 
previously  bootlegged  "Heavy  Liquid"),  and  a  brief  a 
cappella  poetic  recitation  of  "I  Wanna  Be  Your  Dog" ), 
supposedly  from  the  same  final  gig  (though  exact  dates 
of  certain  tracks  on  both  versions  of  the  LP  are  ques- 
tionable). There's  also  a  somewhat  less  biting/baiting 
chunk  of  interaction  with  the  juiced-up  audience  and  an 
unpolished,  extended  demo  of  "I  Got  Nothin'  "  (later/ 
previously  on  Kill  City).  Besides  the  title  track  (also 
said  to  be  from  that  same  final  show  at  the  Palace), 
Gimme  Danger  offers  a  considerably  crisper  sounding 
if  less  urgent  additional  cut  as  well  as  the  first  third  of 
"Open  Up  and  Bleed,"  backed  by  a  bizarrely  hybrid- 
ized "Heavy  Liquid  (part  one)"/"I  Got  Nothin'  " 
and— oddest  of  all — Iggy  and  James  (unaccompanied), 
paying  musical  tribute  to  James  Brown. 

Presumably  from  the  same  goof  session  come  an 
Iggy/Williarnson  duet  on  "Purple  Haze"  and  "I'm 
Waiting  for  My  Man"  (on  the  French  Raw  Power), 
"I'm  a  Man"  and  a  percussed,  drawn-out  version  of 
Dylan's  "Ballad  of  Hollis  Brown"  (on  Death  Trip). 
With  several  duplications  from  previous  titles,  Haw 
Power  and  Death  Trip  are  disorganized  hodgepodges 
that  mix  tasty  radio  ads  in  with  backing  tracks  lifted 
from  the  original  lost  Raw  Power  mixes, 

The  first  two  volumes  of  Raw  Stooges  offer  some  of 
the  weirdest  Stcogerama  yet.  Purportedly  cheap  pre- 
Elektra  studio  recordings  of  the  songs  soon  to  become 
the  band's  first  two  LPs  (with  a  stray  treat  or  two  thrown 
in),  the  basic  sound  is  incredibly  harsh  and  direct,  not 
nearly  so  developed  or  wickedly  insinuating  as  Fun- 
house,  yet  unnervingiy  affecting  on  an  even  more  im- 
mediate basis.  The  truly  weird  thing  is  how  the  mix  in 
places  simulates  sound  leakage/print-through  bleeding 
from  one  groove  to  the  next,  creating  weird  guitar  ech- 
oes and  premonitory  vocals  throughout  the  set.  Amaz- 
ing stuff,  but  it's  like  listening  to  a  live  show  with  one 
ear  in  the  first  row  and  another  behind  the  outfield  score- 
board.  When  the  elements  hit  an  uneasy  balance,  as  on 
"Real  Cool  Time"  and  "Little  Doll,"  this  is  some  of 
the  very  best  Stooge  music  on  record.  When  they  clash, 
it  still  ain't  too  shabby,  either,  Volume  III,  the  pic  disc 
Search  and  Destroy,  combines  the  famous  suppressed 
mixes  from  Raw  Power  (as  radio  broadcast  in  a  then- 
current  promotion)  with  remixed  and  alleged  CBS  out- 


636 


takes  that  ought  to  sound  awfully  familiar  by  now  to 

anyone  stouthearted  or  singleminded  enough  to  have 

waded  completely  through  the  preceding.          [si/i/abj 

See  also  Iggy  Pop,  Sonic' s  Rendezvous  Band. 

STOP  THE  VIOLENCE 
MOVEMENT 

See  Boogie  Down  Productions. 

FITS 

Life  in  One  Chord  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 987 

Hail  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1988  (Flying  Nun-Rough  Trade) 

1990® 

Missing  from  Melt  EP  [CD]  (Flying  Nun-Arista)  1991  ® 
Melt  (Flying  Nun-Arista)  1991  ® 

Pretty-pop  New  Zealand  outfits  like  Chills,  Clean 
and  Bats  get  more  attention,  but  Auckland's  Straitjacket 
Fits  are  the  most  intense  and  versatile  group  on  Flying 
Nun's  extraordinary  roster.  Where  some  of  the  other 
bands  work  in  a  narrow  scope,  the  Fits  alternate  subtlety 
and  hell-raising,  displaying  muscle  here,  dexterity  there 
and  quiet  longings  everywhere.  Hooks  abound,  and  the 
vocals  (by  guitarists  Shayne  Carter  and  Andrew 
Brough)  are  pretty  yet  masculine.  The  debut  EP  show- 
cases all  these  strengths,  with  the  nicely  strummed  "All 
That  That  Brings"  contrasting  the  paranoid  "She 
Speeds"  and  the  caterwauling  waltz-time  ** Dialing  a 
Prayer." 

The  original  New  Zealand  edition  of  Hail  contains 
ten  new  songs;  the  American  deletes  four,  replacing 
them  with  the  contents  of  Life  in  One  Chord.  On  the 
common  tracks,  Hail  blasts  off  in  fuzzy,  distorted  Mis- 
sion of  Burma-like  power-rhythmed  guitar  buzz  ("Life 
in  One  Chord"-— not  from  the  EP— -is  downright  fierce). 
But  there  are  plenty  of  softer  touches,  including  a  moody 
cover  of  Leonard  Cohen's  "So  Long  Marianne/'  the 
ghostly  organ  on  "Grate"  and  the  gentle  ebb  of  "This 
Taste  Delight"  and  "Fabulous  Things."  Those  im- 
pressed by  the  American  Hail  are  well  advised  to  seek 
out  the  import  so  as  not  to  miss  the  scintillating  "Take 
from  the  Years,"  "Telling  Tales,"  "Dead  Heat"  and 
"Only  You  Knew."  fjr] 

RICHARD  STRANGE 

The  Live  Ris®  of  Richord  Strong©  (ZE-PVC)  1980 

The  Phenomenal  Ris©  of  Richard  Strange  (nr/Virgin)  1981 

RICHARD  STRANGE  AND  THE 
ENGINE  ROOM 

Going-Gone  (Gar.  Sid©)  1987  (nr/Nighhhift)  1 988 

This  former  Doctor  of  Madness  made  two  albums  of 
a  thematic  work  similar  in  concept  to  the  rise  and  fall  of 
a  demagogue  chronicled  by  the  Kinks  in  Preservation 
Act  2,  but  less  meticulously  plotted  and  more  thoughtful 
in  content.  Only  the  vocals  on  Live  Else  were  recorded 
onstage  at  Hurrah  in  New  York;  the  backing  tracks  had 
been  cut  previously  and  played  back  for  the  perfor- 
mance. 

Aside  from  the  obvious  sound/production  quality  up- 
grade, the  second  (til-studio)  version  drops  three  num- 
bers and  adds  five  to  flesh  out  the  concept,  and  sports 


beefier  back-up  (stronger  guitar  plus  some  super  sax 
work  courtesy  of  ex-Secret  Affair  Dave  Winthrop). 
Strange  emerges  as  a  significant  artist  in  the  vein  of 
Ziggy-era  Bowie,  but  tougher  and  minus  the  androgyny. 
The  record  that  marked  Strange's  return  after  a  num- 
ber of  years  is  more  than  welcome,  and  more  than  worth- 
while. Originally  issued  in  Germany  and  then  remixed 
and  released  by  a  Scottish  label,  Going-Gone  was  ev- 
idently recorded  over  quite  some  time  in  half  a  dozen 
studios;  five  of  the  ten  tracks  were  produced  by  Dave 
Allen  (Cure,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  etc.).  Keyboardist  James 
T.  Ford  co-wrote  all  but  two  tracks,  co-produced  (with 
Strange)  a  pair  and  handled  "electronic  hardware"  on 
all  but  one.  The  53  minutes  of  music  ranges  from  mid- 
Eastern  intrigue  ("Damascus'*)  to  Poe-ish  theatrics 
("Fall  of  the  House  of  *U*  ")  to  sentimental  pop 
("Dominoes")  to  ominous,  churning  dance-rock 
("Fear  Is  the  Engine").  The  inner  sleeve  bears,  with  no 
elaboration,  the  legend  "recalled  to  life."  No  kidding. 

Og] 


STRANGE  CRUISE 

See  Visage. 


STRANGLERS 

IV  Rattus  Norvegicus  (A&M)  1977  (nr/Fame)  1982  • 

No  More  Heroes  (A&M)  1 977  (nr/Fame)  1 987  • 

The  Strangles  EP  (A&M)  1977 

Black  and  White  (A&M)  1 978  • 

The  Strangles  EP  (Jap.  UA)  1979 

Live  (X  Cert)  (nr/UA)  1979* 

The  Raven  (nr/UA)  1979  (EMI  America)  1985  « 

Don't  Bring  Harry  EP  (nr/UA)  1979 

IV  (IRS)  1 980  * 

The  Meninblack  (Stiff)  1 981  (nr/Fame)  1 988  * 

La  Folie  (nr/Liberty)  1981  (nr/Fame)  1983  • 

The  Collection  1977-1982  (nr/Liberty)  1982  (nr/Fame) 

1989* 

Feline  (Epic)  1 982  » 
Great  Lost  (Jap.  UA)  1 983 
Great  Lost  Continued  (Jap,  UA)  1983 
Aural  Sculpture  (Epic)  1984  * 
Off  the  Beaten  Track  (nr/Liberly)  1986 
Dreamtime  (Epic)  1987* 
All  Day  and  All  of  the  Night  EP  (nr/Epic)  1 987  • 
All  Live  and  All  of  the  Night  (Epic)  1 988  * 
Rarities  (nr/Liberty)  1 988  * 
The  Evening  Show  Sessions  (nr/Nighttracks-Strange  Fruit) 

1989* 

Singles  (The  UA  Years)  (nr/Liberty)  1 989  • 
10  (Epic)  1990* 
Greatest  Hits  1977-1990  (nr/Epic)  1990  (Epic)  1991  « 

HUGH  CORNWELL  + 
ROBERT  WILLIAMS 

Nosferatu  (nr/Liberty)  1979 

J  J.  BURNEL 

Eurornan  Cometh  (nr/UA)  1979  (nr/Mau  Mau)  1987 
Un  Jour  Parfait  (Fr,  CBS)  1989  • 

D*  GREENFIELD  &  J  J.  BURNEL 

Fire  &  Water  (Ecoutez  Vos  Murs)  (nr/Epk)  1983 


637 


HUGH  CORNWELL 

Wolf  (Virgin)  1988® 

Another  Kind  of  Love  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 988  ® 

PURPLE  HELMETS 

Ride  Again  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1988 
Rise  Again  (nr/el-Anagram)  1 989  • 

Formed  in  1975,  the  Stranglers  became  enormously 
popular  in  Britain  and  Europe  when  they  burst  on  the 
scene  m  1977  with  one  of  the  first  new  wave  albums, 
preceding  both  the  Clash  and  the  Sex  Pistols  to  the 
shops  by  several  months. 

The  first  album  was  produced  by  Martin  Rushent 
(who  continued  to  work  with  them  through  1979's  live 
LP).  Rattus  Norvegicus  includes  both  sides  of  the  awe- 
some debut  single,  "London  Lady"  and  "(Get  a)  Grip 
(on  Yourself),"  as  well  as  other  blunt  gonad-grabbers 
like  "Hanging  Around"  and  "Sometimes."  The  vio- 
lently emotional  lyrics  and  bitterly  spat  vocals  are  sup- 
ported by  Jean- Jacques  Burner  s  almost  impossibly 
deep-throated  bass  grunts  and  Hugh  Comwell's  slashing 
guitar,  with  contrasting  jolly  organ  sounds  by  Dave 
Greenfield  providing  the  only  relief  from  otherwise  re- 
lentless aggression.  A  great  album.  The  UK  edition  ini- 
tially included  a  free  single,  "Choosey  Suzie"  b/w 
"Peasant  in  the  Big  Shitty." 

No  More  Heroes  continues  in  the  same  vein,  but 
drops  whatever  hint  of  restraint  may  have  been  in  force 
the  first  time  around.  Rude  words  and  adult  themes 
abound,  with  no  punches  pulled,  from  the  blatant  sex- 
ism of  "Bring  on  the  Nubiles"  to  the  sarcastic  attack  on 
racism  ("I  Feel  Like  a  Wog")  to  the  suicide  of  a  friend 
("Dagenham  Dave").  Despite  the  increased  virulence, 
the  music  is  even  better  than  on  the  debut,  introducing 
pop  stylings  that  would  later  become  a  more  common 
aspect  of  the  Stranglers'  character.  No  More  Heroes  is 
easily  their  best  album. 

The  Stranglers'  American  label  then  put  out  a 
colored-vinyl  7-inch,  with  "(Get  a)  Grip"  and  "Hang- 
ing Around"  from  the  first  album,  "Something  Better 
Change' '  (from  the  second)  and  that  killer  songs  equally 
powerful  UK  B-side,  "Straighten  Out." 

Tricked  out  with  gray-swirl  vinyl  and  a  limited  edi- 
tion bonus  45  (three  tunes,  including  a  wonderful  gruff 
version  of  "Walk  on  By"),  Black  and  White  lacks 
only  good  songs.  Except  for  "Nice  V  Sleazy,"  most  of 
the  tracks  are  merely  inferior  rehashes  of  earlier  work, 
making  the  LP  easily  forgettable.  (The  subsequent  Brit- 
ish CD  incorporates  the  single's  contents.) 

Four  gigs  in  '77  and  '78  provided  the  basis  for  Live 
(X  Cert).  The  material  is  all  familiar,  but  the  high- 
tension  ambience  and  some  choice  bits  of  Cornwell-vs.- 
the-audience  banter  make  it  an  effective  dual-function 
live/greatest  hits  album.  (The  CD  appends  two  cuts,) 

Borrowing  an  old  packaging  gimmick  from  the  Roll- 
ing Stones,  original  copies  of  The  Raven  sported  a  3-D 
cover  panel.  Inside,  a  political  consciousness  (first  un- 
veiled on  Black  and  White)  flowered,  permeating 
songs  like  "Nuclear  Device,"  "Shah  Shah  a  Go  Go" 
and  "Genetix."  Freed  from  the  relative  mundanity  of 
exploring  interpersonal  relationships,  the  basis  of  most 
of  the  Stranglers'  previous  lyrics,  The  Raven  adopts  a 
global  perspective,  including  the  scathing  put-down  en- 
titled "Dead  Loss  Angeles."  Meanwhile,  "Duchess" 
pioneered  a  surprising  new  direction— -catchy,  level- 


headed melodic  pop  totally  outside  the  group's  general 
sound. 

Released  near  the  end  of  1979,  the  mixed-menu 
Don't  Bring  Harry  7-inch  EP  (wrapped  in  a  delight- 
fully morbid  seasonal  sleeve)  combines  one  song  from 
The  Raven,  a  track  from  Cornwell  +  Williams'  Nos- 
feratu  album  and  live  Stranglers'  performances  of  two 
songs,  including  one  from  Burner  s  Eeroman  Cometh. 

Having  lacked  an  American  label  for  two  years,  the 
Stranglers  signed  with  IRS,  who  assembled  IV,  a  mon- 
grel consisting  of  half  of  The  Raven  and  some  non-LP 
singles,  plus  one  totally  new  track,  "  Vietnamerica. "  As 
a  bonus,  the  album  included  a  four-song  7-inch  similar 
to  Don't  Bring  Harry:  an  actual  track  from  Euromao 
Cometh,  a  different  Cornwell/Williams  selection, 
"Straighten  Out"  and  "Choosey  Suzie,"  from  the  UK 
first  album's  free  45. 

The  Meninblack— previewed  on  The  Raven  (and 
IV)  by  a  song  of  that  name — is  a  hypothetical 
soundtrack/concept  album  concerning  aliens  with  god- 
like powers  that  is  essentially  an  attack  on  organized 
religion.  There's  a  fair  amount  of  non- vocal  instrumen- 
tal content,  lots  of  synthesizers  and  other  keyboards, 
tricky  special  effects  and  little  of  the  Stranglers'  usual 
thrust.  Although  radically  different,  Meninblack  is  a 
departure  for  nowhere.  (The  CD  adds  two.) 

Without  abandoning  their  melodic  pop  explorations, 
the  Stranglers  returned  to  topicality  and  forthrightness 
on  their  next  LP.  La  FoSie  offers  a  striking  juxtaposition 
of  attractive  backing  and  scathing  lyrics.  Subtle,  effec- 
tive, mature  and  energetic-but  no  outstanding  songs. 

Following  a  change  in  British  labels,  a  catalogue 
compilation  called  The  Collection  appeared  in  1982, 
including  almost  everything  you'd  want  from  the  pre- 
ceding albums,  plus  a  couple  of  bonus  single  sides.  A 
great  introduction  for  neophytes  and  a  record  that  should 
be  of  interest  to  anyone  not  owning  absolutely  every- 
thing the  band  has  done. 

A  worldwide  deal  with  Epic  allowed  the  Stranglers 
to  free  themselves  of  past  musical  baggage  and  gave 
them  a  consistent  American  release  schedule.  The  first 
fruit  of  that  arrangement,  Feline,  is  restrained  and  dig- 
nified, but  also  lackluster  and  boring.  (The  US  edition 
adds  the  appropriately  low-key  1981  single,  "Golden 
Brown,"  which  had  also  appeared  on  La  Folie.) 

Aural  Sculpture  is  far  better,  containing  several 
strong  tracks:  "Skin  Deep,"  melodic  rippling-organ pop 
that  recalls  "Duchess,"  and  "Ice  Queen,"  a  simple- 
minded  allusion  to  cinematic  irony  that  has  lots  of  neat 
hooks  and  a  pleasing  chorus,  punctuated  by  brassy 
brass,  Additionally,  "Uptown"  melds  powerful  acous- 
tic guitar  to  a  fractured  melody  and  comes  out  like  a 
Pete  Shelley  song  that  wasn't.  Although  not  fully  sat- 
isfying, Aural  Sculpture  has  enough  quality  merchan- 
dise to  make  it  a  worthwhile  purchase. 

Another  byproduct  of  their  label  switch  was  Off  the 
Beaten  Track,  a  thirteen-track  compilation  of  pre-Epic 
B-sides  and  non-LP  A*s,  Although  a  lot  of  what's  on 
Rarities  really  isn't  that  obscure,  it  does  delve  into  the 
recesses  of  the  Stranglers*  enormous  discography  for 
enough  things  most  collections  will  be  missing  that  it's 
a  worthwhile  investment  (especially  the  CD,  which  has 
half  a  dozen  bonus  tracks)  for  serious  enthusiasts.  The 
two-disc  Singles  covers  the  band's  early  years  ( 1977- 
'82)  with  all  the  A-sides  (and  a  few  of  the  B-sides)  from 


638 


"(Get  a)  Grip  (on  Yourself)"  to  "Strange  Little  Girl," 

The  Stranglers'  steady  march  towards  total  bland- 
ness  continues  on  Drearatime,  an  unfocused  time-filler 
that  randomly  touches  areas  that  resemble  Ultravox, 
Fleetwood  Mac,  Shoes,  Glenn  Miller  and  Johnny  Cash, 
all  with  little  enthusiasm.  Accomplished  but  bereft  of 
ideas  or  concept,  Dreamtime  is  a  soporific,  character- 
less nightmare.  There's  hardly  an  identifiable  trace  of 
the  once-great  band  in  these  grooves. 

The  subsequent  live  album — recorded  at  three  gigs 
in  1985  and  1987 — underscores  the  Stranglers'  paradox. 
Despite  their  recent  wimpo  work,  onstage — banging  out 
such  classics  as  "London  Lady,"  "Nice  'n'  Sleazy" 
and  "No  More  Heroes"  with  a  horn  section — they  can 
convincingly  revive  the  grungy  electric  power  we  used 
to  know  and  love.  The  lengthy  All  Live  draws  heavily 
from  recent  albums;  fortunately,  these  concert  rendi- 
tions improve  on  the  songs,  providing  them  with  a  little 
context.  (Still,  the  notion  of  the  Stranglers  performing 
with  acoustic  guitars  is  not  easy  to  accept.)  Capping 
things  off  is  a  hearty  but  economical  UK-hit-single  stu- 
dio version  of  the  Kinks'  song  which  the  LP  title  para- 
phrases. (The  CD  version  of  the  AM  Day  and  All  of  the 
Night  EP  adds  a  remix,  two  live  tracks  and  something 
called  "VivaVlad,") 

Although  Roy  Thomas  Baker  produced  the  rock- 
'n'rolly  10  (indeed  the  band's  tenth  studio  LP),  things 
didn't  turn  out  all  that  bad.  As  horrifying  as  it  is  to  hear 
this  once-dynamic  group  reduced  to  covering  "96 
Tears"  (and  then  penning  a  tune  called  "Too  Many 
Teardrops"  on  top  of  it),  the  originals  that  otherwise 
comprise  the  record  are  pretty  lively  ("Sweet  Smell  of 
Success,"  "Someone  Like  You").  Except  on  "Man  of 
the  Earth"  and  "Out  of  My  Mind,"  where  he  sounds 
like  Robyn  Hitchcock,  Cornwell  applies  traces  of  the 
group's  old  rugged  personality  to  simple  pop  melodies, 
as  Greenfield  stacks  on  colorful  keyboard  fills  and  a 
three-man  horn  section  chips  in  occasionally.  (Bumel  is 
utterly  out  of  the  picture,  stylistically  speaking:  he  sings 
a  couple  of  songs,  but  anyone  could  have  played  these 
bass  parts.)  With  that  album  out  of  the  way,  Cornwell 
left  the  group  in  August  1990. 

There's  something  to  be  said  for  Greatest  Hits 
1977-19SH)-— -namely,  it's  the  first  bona  fide  Stranglers 
compilation  to  be  issued  in  the  US.  Otherwise,  it  half 
overlaps  the  Singles  collection,  proceeding  from  the  of- 
ten brilliant  UA  years  into  the  paltry  Epic  era,  as  the 
group  succumbed  to  commercial  temptation  with  its  rote 
covers  and  boring  originals.  Still,  the  liner  notes  are 
good  and  the  selection  of  singles— at  least  a  third  of 
them  solidly  great— is  evenhanded  enough  to  make  it  a 
fair  starting  point  for  new  arrivals. 

Solo  work:  Burners  gravel-bottom  bass  and  guttural 
vocals  played  a  crucial  role  on  the  group's  early, 
maximum-aggression  records.  For  his  own  1979  album, 
Burnel  made  a  self-indulgent  political  statement,  com- 
plete with  historical  maps,  slogans  and  polemic  songs 
like  "Eurome&s"  and  **DeutschIand  Nicht  tlber  Alles." 
Using  a  rhythm  box  and  playing  almost  all  the  instru- 
ments himself,  Bumel  invests  the  pedantic  Euroman 
Cometh  with  neither  musical  direction  nor  engaging 
ideas,  making  it  about  as  much  ftm  as  sitting  through  a 
lecture. 

Teaming  with  bandmate  Dave  Greenfield,  Bumel 
then  made  an  album  that  "forms  the  musical  basis  for 


the  film  'Ecoutez  Vos  Murs*  by  Vincent  Coudanne." 
Fire  &  Water  takes  two  approaches — typical  sound- 
track ambience,  relying  on  doomy  keyboard  effects,  and 
songs,  some  with  vocals.  "Rain  &  Dole  &  Tea"  is  sung 
in  Phil  Spector  fashion  by  a  multi-tracked  female  vo- 
calist; "Nuclear  Power  (Yes  Please)"  actually  quotes 
Albeit  Einstein  in  a  remarkably  clumsy  science  lesson; 
"Detective  PriveV  is  a  sensuously  murmured  French 
number.  It's  not  heinously  awful,  but  few  are  likely  to 
give  it  repeated  spins. 

For  his  first  extracurricular  outing,  Cornwell  co- 
wrote,  co-produced  and  co-performed  an  album  with 
American  drummer  (and  former  Captain  Beefheart  side- 
man)  Robert  Williams.  The  collaborative  compositions 
on  Nosferatu  offer  substantive  lyrics,  but  the  atonal 
performances  sound  even  more  dour  than  the  early 
Stranglers.  Two  members  of  Devo  put  in  guest  appear- 
ances, and  there  are  some  Devo-like  effects  worked  in 
but,  if  not  for  an  incongruous  cover  of  Cream's  "White 
Room,"  there  wouldn't  be  any  light  relief  at  all.  While 
it's  nice  that  the  pair  (with  some  assistance  from  Ian 
Underwood)  has  the  instrumental  prowess  to  do  it  all 
themselves,  Nosferatu  requires  more  from  the  listener 
than  it  deserves  (or  returns). 

Nine  years  later,  Cornwell  took  a  dull  stab  at  playing 
lightweight  dance-pop  outside  the  Stranglers'  sphere 
with  Wolf.  (Langer  and  Winstanley  garishly  co- 
produced  two  songs,  which  don't  work  at  all.)  Other 
than  affording  Hugh  the  audibly  meaningless  opportu- 
nity to  play  keyboards,  escape  his  usual  company  and 
fool  around  in  the  studio  with  the  likes  of  Jools  Holland 
and  ex-Tears  for  Fears  drummer  Manny  Elias,  Wolf 
stakes  out  no  significant  musical  terrain  and  contains 
nothing  the  Stranglers  couldn't  have  done  just  as  well. 
(The  EP  adds  three  non-LP  tracks  to  the  album's  lead- 
off  song.)  In  retrospect,  maybe  he  was  just  checking  to 
see  that  he  could  make  a  solo  go  of  it. 

Whether  the  result  of,  or  the  impetus  for,  the  Stran- 
glers' penchant  for  covering  rock'n'roll  standards  (or 
just  an  indication  of  artistic  burnout),  Burnel  and  Green- 
field launched  a  just-for-kicks  sideband  with  Stranglers' 
saxrnan  Alex  Gifford,  ex- Vibrators  guitarist  John  Ellis 
and  Manny  Elias,  On  two  similarly  titled  but  totally 
different  albums,  the  Purple  Helmets  (nice  name  .  .  .  ) 
do  nothing  but  relive  the  songs  of  their  misspent  youth. 
Whether  they're  playing  "Woolly  Bully,"  "I  Can't  Ex- 
plain," "Over  Under  Sideways  Down"  and  "Not  Fade 
Away"  (on  the  live  Ride  Again)  or  "She's  Not  There," 
"Money"  and  "First  I  Look  at  the  Purse"  (on  Rise 
Again,  a  slightly  more  accomplished  studio  concoc- 
tion), the  Helmets  approach  their  chosen  jukebox  clas- 
sics with  the  enthusiasm  of  teenagers  and  the  skill  of 
seasoned  professionals.  [i] 

See  also  Polyphonic  Size. 

SYD  STRAW 

Surprise  (Virgin)  1 989  • 

As  an  unknown,  Straw — one  of  very  few  vocalists 
to  whom  the  description  "honey-throated"  can  be  ac- 
curately applied — swiped  the  spotlight  on  the  Golden 
Palominos*  Visions  of  Excess  from  the  likes  of  Michael 
Stipe,  Jack  Bruce  and  John  Lydon.  On  Blast  of  Silence 
she  provided  grace  notes  to  an  otherwise  confused  prod- 
uct. Her  self-produced  solo  debut,  Surprise,  boasts  a 


639 


guest  list  that  suggests  a  hipper  version  of  the  bloated 
superstar  processions  Peter  Asher  used  to  assemble  for 
James  Taylor  and  Linda  Ronstadt.  As  a  result,  inveter- 
ate family-tree  makers  now  have  a  way  to  connect  ex- 
Slapp  Happy  keyboardist  Anthony  Moore  and  Tom 
Petty  sideman  Benmont  Tench — they're  both  here. 

While  never  less  than  enjoyable  listening,  Surprise 
often  falls  victim  to  the  diffusion  that  invariably  attends 
Big  International  Productions.  It's  slackly  paced,  and 
some  of  the  songwriting  doesn't  do  her  justice — the  non- 
sensical, wanting-to-mean-something  obscurities  of 
"Future  40's  (String  of  Pearls)"  are  obviously  co-writer 
Stipe's,  but  they're  annoying  if  you  pay  attention  to 
them.  On  the  other  hand,  Straw  sometimes  goes  over 
the  top  when  a  lighter  touch  is  called  for— the  gallows- 
humor  wordplay  of  "Sphinx"  would  be  better  served  by 
offhanded  irony  than  belting.  Still,  when  she  hits  it  just 
right,  as  on  Peter  Holsapple's  "Think  Too  Hard,"  she's 
absolutely  undeniable.  [gk] 

See  also  Golden  Palominos. 

STRAWBERRY  ZOTS 

Cars,  Flowers,  Telephones  (Acid  Test)  1989  (RCA) 

1990* 

Despite  the  colorful  name  and  day-glo  artwork, 
smattering  of  righteous  covers  and  the  fact  that  the  Al- 
buquerque quintet  originally  self-released  it,  Cars, 
Flowers,  Telephones  has  almost  none  of  the  cool  char- 
acter one  usually  expects  from  retro-psychedelicatelics. 
(Little  wonder  the  LP  was  reissued  by  a  major  label  and 
promoted  as  part  of  the  imitation-Redd  Kross  '60s  re- 
vival.) Evidently  inspired  by  no  one  so  much  as  Paul 
Revere  and  the  Raiders,  the  Zots  play  pleasant  colle- 
giate power  pop,  like  Blotto  without  the  overt  satire, 
and  mild-mannered  '60s-styled  rock,  using  organ,  wah- 
wah  guitar  and  songs  by  the  Troggs,  Electric  Prunes, 
etc.  in  a  halfhearted  stab  at  elusive  cultural  resonance. 
Feh.  [i] 

STRAY  CATS 

Stray  Cats  (nr/Arista)  1 981 

Gonna  Ball  (nr/Arista)  1981 

Built  for  Speed  (EMI  America)  1 982  • 

Rant  n'  Rave  with  the  Stray  Cats  (EMI  America)  1 983 

Rock  Therapy  (EMI  America)  1986  « 

Blast  Off!  (EMI)  1989» 

Roclc  This  Town:  Best  of  the  Stray  Cats  (EMI)  1 990  4> 

PHANTOM,  ROCKER  &  SLICK 

Phantom,  Rocker  &  Slick  (EMI  America)  1 985 
Cover  Girl  (EMI  America)  1 986 

BRIAN  SETZER 

The  Knife  Feels  Like  Justice  (EMI  America)  1 986  • 
Live  Nude  Guitars  (EMI  Manhattan)  1988  • 

Disenchanted  with  modern  new  wave,  Brian  Setzer 
bagged  his  trendy  New  York  group,  the  Bloodless  Pha- 
raohs, to  form  a  rockabilly  trio  and  abandon  Long  Island 
for  London.  There,  the  Stray  Cats  wowed  'em  with 
exotic  American  appeal,  spearheading  a  rockabilly  re- 
vival that  naturally  became  absorbed  into  new  wave.  Is 
there  a  moral  here? 

Unlike  some  neo-rockabillies,  the  Stray  Cats  don't 
care  about  painstaking  reconstructions  of  moldy  old  re- 
cordings. They  diddle  around  with  non-originals,  while 


Setzer' s  own  early  songs  tackle  topical  events  ("Storm 
the  Embassy,"  "Rumble  in  Brighton").  Setzer's  ex- 
tended guitar  soloing  sometimes  seems  descended  from 
jazz  rather  than  rockabilly,  but  there's  no  faulting  his 
skill  or  the  group's  spirit. 

Gonna  Ball,  released  about  nine  months  after  Stray 
Cats,  finds  the  band  moving  into  R&B  turf.  Musical 
veterans  like  Ian  Stewart  and  Lee  Allen  help  fill  out  the 
sound;  a  strong  producer,  like  Dave  Edmunds  on  the 
first  album,  would  have  helped  even  more.  Setzer  is  a 
better  guitarist  than  singer,  and  some  of  Gonna  Ball's 
songs  resemble  the  music  rockabilly  was  revolting 
against. 

Combining  the  best  of  both  British  albums  and  add- 
ing one  new  cut,  Built  for  Speed  is  a  good  introduction 
to  the  band.  The  US,  generally  not  known  for  humoring 
nostalgic  musical  throwbacks,  sent  it  into  the  Top  5. 
The  Stray  Cats  must  have  been  doing  something  right. 

If  chart  success  is  the  yardstick,  they  continued  to  do 
that  something  on  Rant  n*  Rave,  the  trio's  first  identical 
and  simultaneous  US/UK  release,  and  also  their  last 
record  together.  Again  produced  by  Dave  Edmunds,  the 
effervescent  rock'n'roll  teen  rebellion  of  "(She's)  Sexy 
4-  17"  leads  the  stylistic  parade  (with  one  exception — 
the  beautiful  soul  ballad,  "I  Won't  Stand  in  Your 
Way,"  with  vocal  backing  by  Fourteen  Karat  Soul)  and 
the  rest  of  the  record  falls  neatly  in  line,  recalling  Eddie 
Cochran,  Carl  Perkins  and  the  whole  rockabilly-into- 
early-rock'n'roll  era.  Sure  it's  formulaic  and  derivative 
as  hell,  but  timelessly  enthralling  and  truly  entertaining 
as  well. 

The  Stray  Cats  broke  up  in  late  1984.  While  his 
bandmates  teamed  up  with  guitarist  Earl  Slick  and  is- 
sued a  run-of-the-mill  rock  alburn  the  following  year, 
Brian  Setzer  worked  with  Robert  Plant  in  the  Honey 
Drippers  and  then  released  The  Knife  Feels  Like 
Justice,  a  strong,  varied  LP  that  further  illustrates  his 
multi-dimensional  talent.  The  record  encompasses  un- 
embellished  frontier  rock  ("The  Knife  Feels  Like  Jus- 
tice"), wistful  balladry  ("Boulevard  of  Broken 
Dreams"),  Cochranesque  rock'n'roll  ("Radiation 
Ranch"),  soulful  power  pop  (the  autobiographical 
"Chains  Around  Your  Heart"),  rock  bluegrass  ("Barb- 
wire  Fence")  and  lots  more.  With  tasteful  restraint, 
Setzer  checks  his  wilder  instincts,  avoiding  showy  gui- 
tar work,  verbal  grandstanding  or  self-parody;  maturity 
and  subtlety  are  the  album's  two  most  unexpected  and 
welcome  qualities. 

In  1986,  Phantom  and  Rocker  made  Cover  Girl,  an 
improved — credit  producer  Pete  Solley  and  generally 
better  original  material— but  equally  pointless  and  bland 
second  album  with  Slick.  Then,  prompted  by  a  contract 
they  wanted  out  of,  the  threesome  cut  a  Stray  Cats  re- 
union LP,  Rock  Therapy,  and  redeemed  themselves 
handily.  With  Setzer  back  at  their  helm,  the  rhythm 
section  sounds  good  as  new;  amazingly,  the  fine  record 
picks  up  exactly  where  Rant  n*  Rave  left  off.  Setzer *s 
old-fashioned  originals  blend  seamlessly  with  fine  bor- 
rowings from  appropriate  sources  (Buddy  Holly,  Chuck 
Berry,  Gene  Vincent,  Charlie  Feathers)  and  contribu- 
tions from  his  bandmates.  (The  only  misstep  is  "Broken 
Man,"  a  clumsy  stab  at  bluegrass.)  The  spare  self- 
production  gives  the  record  a  comfortably  loose  feel;  the 
exuberant  air  of  playing  for  fun,  free  of  commercial 
considerations,  adds  a  magical  dimension. 


640 


Where  Setzer's  first  solo  album  was  nearly  eloquent 
in  its  artistry,  Live  Nude  Guitars— produced  in  pieces 
by  Dave  Stewart,  Chris  Thomas  and  others—finds  B.S. 
in  frantic  commercial  overdrive,  foolishly  aping  Billy 
Idol  and  the  Romantics,  mucking  about  in  inappropriate 
settings  and  self-parodic  cliches  ("Rockability"?) 

aad now  this  is  serious — reducing  Eddie  Cochran's 

classic  "Nervous  Breakdown"  to  modem  triviality.  The 
songs  are  crap,  the  performances  routine  and  colorless. 
When  Stewart  begins  laying  on  the  synthetic  horns  and 
driving  female  backing  vocals  at  the  beginning  of  Side 
Two,  you  know  it's  time  to  get  off  this  ride.  (But  if  you 
stick  around,  you  get  to  hear  Setzer's  Mark  Knopfler 
guitar  imitation  in  the  heinous  "Love  Is  Repaid  by  Love 
Alone.") 

The  Stray  Cats'  next  album  is  no  great  shakes,  but  at 
least  Blast  Off!  (well-oiled  to  run  smooth  by  producer 
Dave  Edmunds)  offers  a  modest  and  pleasingly  simple- 
minded  dose  of  the  trio's  standard-issue  rockabilly  froth. 
Redundant  in  the  extreme  but  no  less  enjoyable  for  it, 
these  ten  slices  of  slap'n'wiggle  rewrite  the  group's 
canon  (actually,  "Gene  and  Eddie"  is  stitched  together 
from  the  Vincent  and  Cochran  songbooks)  with  no  in- 
novation but  as  much  enthusiasm  as  ever. 

The  don't-bother-it's-just-some-old  group  ten-track 
Rock  This  Town  compilation  starts  with  "Rock  This 
Town"  (the  trio's  first  US  hit)  and  ends  with  "Runaway 
Boys"  (the  Cats'  first  UK  hit,  two  years  earlier).  In 
between,  the  obvious  tunes  ("Stray  Cat  Strut," 
"(She's)  Sexy  +  17,"  "I  Won't  Stand  in  Your  Way") 
join  some  lesser-known  LP  cuts  ("Bring  It  Back 
Again,"  "Look  at  That  Cadillac,"  "Gene  and  Eddie"), 
with  nothing  at  all  from  Rock  Therapy.  Gone,  cat, 
gone.  tsi/i] 

PETE  STRIDE/JOHN  PLAIN 

See  Lurkers. 

STRIPES 

See  Nena. 

JOE 

Walker  (Virgin  Movie  Music)  1 987  « 
Earthquake  Weather  (Epic)  1 989  * 
Gangsterville  EP  (nr/Epic)  1989  * 
Island  Hopping  EP  (nr/Epic)  1989  « 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Permanent  Record  (Epic)  1988  • 

Having  discovered  that  the  Clash  without  Mick 
Jones  was  not  a  viable  proposition,  and  that  Big  Audio 
Dynamite  wasn't  big  enough  for  the  both  of  them,  Joe 
Strammer  turned  instead  to  film.  In  1986,  Strummer 
began  working  for  director  Alex  Cox,  creating  "Love 
Kills"  (the  theme  song  for  Sid  <fe  Nancy},  starring  in 
Straight  to  Hell  (1987)  and  contributing  to  its  sound- 
track. 

Strummer  also  did  a  credible  job  scoring  and  pro- 
ducing the  mock-Latin  music  for  Cox's  Walker.  Strum- 
mer sings  the  narrative  "Unknown  Immortal**  and 
"Tennessee  Rain"  in  likabiy  rustic  folk  fashion,  adding 
mostly  spare,  relaxing  acoustic  instramentals  that  use 
guitarron,  marimba,  horns  and  piano  to  evoke  the  film's 
Central  American  locale. 


Expanding  his  horizons  beyond  director  Cox,  Strum- 
mer worked  on  the  soundtrack  of  Permanent  Record,  a 
1988  flick  about  teen  suicide.  One  side  of  the  LP  fea- 
tures an  assortment  of  bands  (Stranglers,  Godfathers, 
Lou  Reed),  while  Strummer  &  the  Latino  Rockabilly 
War  (a  small  band  including  ex-Ciicle  Jerk  guitarist 
Zander  Schloss,  who  also  played  on  Walker)  complete 
the  disc  with  four  energetic  vocal  songs  (funk/folk-rocky 
R&B)  and  an  instrumental  theme.  The  old  Clashman 
hasn't  lost  his  touch. 

In  1989,  after  a  large  (and  surprisingly  effective) 
role  in  Jim  Jarmusch's  Mystery  Train,  Strummer  gath- 
ered up  Schloss  and  a  rhythm  section  and  took  an  all- 
music  break  to  record  Earthquake  Weather.  Although 
the  complex  lyrics  are  jam-packed  with  intriguing  names 
and  places  (some  explained  in  a  glossary  on  the  inner 
sleeve)  from  the  cultural  kitbag  of  Strummer 's  intelli- 
gence, the  easygoing  earthy  music  is  simply  lackluster. 
Strummer' s  flat  self-production  and  the  band's  con- 
sciously casual  approach  squash  any  traces  of  life  out  of 
the  songs,  making  this  boring  exercise  sound  like  The 
Basement  Tapes  or  Pat  Garrett  outtakes.  Sloppy  stabs 
at  rock  (and  one  Princely  funk  tossoff)  are  equally  un- 
convincing. Both  of  the  four-song  EPs  built  around  or- 
dinary album  tracks  contain  non-LP  material.  [i] 

See  also  Clash. 


STUMP 

Mud  on  a  Colon  EP  (nr/Ron  Johnson)  1 985 
Quirk  Out  EP  (nr/Stuff)  1 986 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 
A  Fierce  Pancake  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1988  * 

This  wacky  British  quartet  plays  Beefheart-inspired 
avant-pop  with  goodnaturedly  surreal  lyrics.  The  low- 
budget  Mud  on  a  Colon  is  shambolic  and  unfocused, 
with  little  to  distinguish  it  from  scads  of  less-talented 
UK  indie  combos.  But  the  subsequent  Quirk  Out, 
smartly  produced  by  Hugh  Jones,  is  a  delight,  channel- 
ing the  band's  boundless  energy  into  a  more  disciplined 
and  rewarding  direction.  Highlights  include  the  hiccupy 
Yank-bashing  caricature  "Buffalo,"  the  quasi-vulgar 
litany-of-bodily-functions  "Everything  in  Its  Place'* 
and  the  uncharacteristically  melodic,  introspective  "Our 
Fathers.'* 

A  Fierce  Pancake  (the  US  version  reprises  "Buf- 
falo") strips  away  still  more  surface  kookiness,  reveal- 
ing some  memorable  melodies  and  genuinely  inventive 
instrumental  work  (particularly  from  guitarist  Chris 
Salmon).  And,  while  vocalist  Mick  Lynch' s  absurdist 
lyrics  are  as  full  of  puns  and  non  sequiturs  as  ever, 
they're  also  cogent  statements — as  in  "Chaos,"  which 
bemoans  Britain's  sinking-ship  economy  via  a  meta- 
phorical sea  chantey,  and  "Bone,"  which  builds  a  con- 
vincing case  against  human  evolution. 

"Buffalo"  also  appears,  in  a  January  1986  live  ver- 
sion, on  The  Peel  Sessions  EP,  along  with  three  other 
tunes.  M 

STYLE  COUNCIL 

A  Paris  EP  (nr/Polydor)  1983 

Introducing  the  Style  Council  EP  (Polydor)  1 983  » 

Cafe  Bleu  (nr/Polydor)  1984  « 

My  Ever  Changing  Moods  (Geffen)  1 984 


641 


Our  Favourite  Shop  (nr/Polydor)  1985  • 
Internationalists  (Geffen)  1 985 
The  Lodgers  EP  (nr/Polydor)  1 985 
Home  &  Abroad  {Geffen)  1 986  • 
The  Cost  of  Loving  (Polydor)  1 987  ® 
Confessions  of  a  Pop  Group  (Polydor)  1 988  • 
How  She  Threw  It  All  Away  (nr/Polydor)  1988  ® 
The  Singular  Adventures  of  the  Style  Council  (Greatest 
Hits  Vol.  1)  (Polydor)  1989® 

Free  Your  Feelings  (MCA)  1991  <f> 

After  six  years  spent  growing  up  in  public  with  the 
Jam,  Paul  Weller  felt  the  need  to  function  within  a  more 
relaxed,  less  restrictive  framework.  That  in  mmd,  he 
enlisted  the  services  of  former  Merton  Parkas/Dexys 
keyboard  player  Mick  Talbot  to  form  the  Style  Council, 
with  all  other  needed  instruments  to  be  supplied  by 
guests.  Promising  that  the  band  would  be  nothing  if  not 
unpredictable,  the  duo  then  proceeded  to  issue  a  single, 
"Speak  Like  a  Child/'  that  sounded  much  like  where 
the  Jam  left  off.  Another  single,  the  funky  "Money-Go- 
Round,"  preceded  the  four-song  A  Paris  EP,  the  sleeve 
of  which  shows  the  pair  carefully  posed  with  the  Eiffel 
Tower  in  the  background,  looking  like  a  Giorgio  Ar- 
mani ad.  Highlighted  by  the  catchy  "Long  Hot  Sum- 
mer," the  material  is  light,  breezy  summertime  soul, 
owing  as  much  to  Weller' s  pretensions  of  some  sort  of 
continental  flair  as  it  does  to  obvious  referents  like  Cur- 
tis Mayfield. 

The  American  Introducing  the  Style  Council  com- 
bined both  singles  with  the  contents  of  the  UK  EP, 
although  some  of  the  numbers  were  remixed.  Not  re- 
leased in  England,  it  sold  better  there  as  an  import  than 
it  did  in  the  country  of  its  issue. 

Cafe  Bleu  and  My  Ever  Changing  Moods  are 
equivalent  LPs  with  slightly  different  tracks.  (The  rese- 
quenced  US  version  replaces  two  minor  cuts  with  the 
UK  hit,  UA  Solid  Bond  in  Your  Heart  ")  A  scrambled 
assortment  of  soul,  be-bop,  cocktail  jazz,  rap  and  what- 
ever else  Weller  could  think  of,  it's  simply  too  schizo- 
phrenic to  be  a  good  album,  although  it  does  show 
integrity — this  band  is  unlikely  to  be  guided  by  public 
demand.  "Headstart  for  Happiness"  and  "The  Pans 
Match"  (this  time  featuring  Everything  but  the  Girl)  are 
improved  versions  of  previously  released  material;  "My 
Ever  Changing  Moods"  gave  Weller  the  first  US  Top  30 
single  of  his  career. 

The  Style  Council's  second  album  was  also  released 
in  alternate  trans- Atlantic  forms.  Internationalists  has 
a  different  cover  than  Our  Favourite  Shop  and  omits 
the  latter 's  title  song.  Though  still  rather  varied,  the 
alburn  is  much  more  coherent  than  its  predecessor. 
There  are  still  clinkers:  "The  Stand  Up  Comic's  Instruc- 
tions" is  clever  but  awkward,  and  the  rhumba-shuffle  of 
"All  Gone  Away"  would  sound  at  home  in  a  dentist's 
office.  However,  tracks  like  "Walls  Come  Tumbling 
Down!,"  "Come  to  Milton  Keynes"  and  "Boy  Who 
Cried  Wolf"  more  than  tip  the  scales  in  the  record's 
favor  As  ever,  it's  undeniable  that  Weller  means  every 
word,  but  the  continuing  trend  towards  a  crystalline, 
antiseptic  sound  is  unfortunate. 

It  was  obvious  that  the  Absolute  Beginners  film  was 
not  going  to  be  released  without  a  contribution  from 


Weller,  so  the  band  rewrote  "With  Everything  to  Lose" 
from  the  second  album  (itself  already  a  direct  lift  from 
"Long  Hot  Summer")  and  came  up  with  "Have  You 
Ever  Had  It  Blue."  Shortly  thereafter,  the  Style  Council 
issued  a  live  album,  Home  &  Abroad,  a  squeaky-clean, 
all-too-accurate  collection  of  songs  drawn  from  both 
albums  as  well  as  singles.  (The  UK  CD  adds  two 
tracks.)  Considering  that  the  Style  Council  often  put 
live  version  on  their  flipsides  (see  The  Lodgers  EP), 
this  set  seems  to  be  mostly  for  those  who  absolutely 
must  own  everything  Weller  puts  his  name  to. 

By  the  time  The  Cost  of  Loving  was  released,  both 
Weller' s  demi-god  status  in  Britain  and  the  Style  Coun- 
cil's significance  had  plunged.  The  LP — originally  is- 
sued in  limited  UK  quantities  as  a  set  of  two  12-inch 
45s — is  nothing  more  than  a  collection  of  redundant, 
forgettable  jazz/soul  tnfles,  played  very  professionally 
but  bloodlessly,  with  arrangements  that  resemble  Chi- 
cago (the  band)  more  than  anything  else.  The  first  al- 
bum of  Weller' s  career  to  fall  completely  on  its  face 
comes  after  a  lengthy  drought  of  particularly  meritori- 
ous undertakings.  Ousted  by  Momssey  as  young  En- 
gland's favorite  male  pop  icon,  his  creativity  seems  to 
be  waning.  Can  a  Jam  reunion  be  far  off? 

Maybe  not,  but  the  Style  Council's  adjournment  was 
certainly  due.  The  trio  (by  this  point,  singer  Dee  C. 
Lee,  the  talented  Mrs.  Weller,  was  counted  officially  in 
the  lineup)  stuck  together  long  enough  to  make  Con- 
fessions of  a  Pop  Group,  a  presentable  outing  with 
some  of  the  irascible  songwriter's  grouchiest  and  most 
dispirited  lyrics.  Weller' s  general  disgust  at  everything 
in  sight  is  vitriolic  and  undisguised:  the  record's  very 
first  sound  is  a  toilet  flushing.  Ending  the  LP's  brassy 
soul-funk-pop  portion,  the  nine-minute-plus  title  track 
(which  bears  a  frightening  stylistic  resemblance  to  Tears 
for  Fears'  third  album)  offers  a  vindictive,  disillusioned 
dismissal  of  modern  England:  "Cheap  and  tacky  bullshit 
land/Told  when  to  sit  don't  know  where  you  stand/Too 
busy  recreating  the  past/To  live  in  the  future,"  The  rest 
of  the  long  record  is  given  over  to  "The  Piano  Paint- 
ings," a  collection  of  jazzy  songs  with  fancy  vocal  ar- 
rangements (the  Swingle  Singers  guest  on  "The  Story 
of  Someones  Shoe")  and  lots  of  work  for  Talbot's 
magic  fingers.  Capping  things  off  with  a  grandly 
thumbed  nose,  the  LP  ends  with  a  glibly  pretentious 
ten-minute  orchestral  suite  (complete  with  harp!)  whose 
coda  is  a  doo-wop  chorus 

The  Singular  Adventures  is  a  nearly  complete  UK 
singles  recap,  from  1983's  "Speak  Like  a  Child" 
through  "Life  at  a  Top  Peoples  Health  Farm"  (from 
Confessions).  By  scraping  away  the  band's  many  in- 
dulgences and  self-amused  digressions,  the  cogent 
fourteen-track  set  (sixteen  on  tape/CD)  winds  up  being 
an  ideal  souvenir,  a  stylish  scrapbook  loaded  with  great 
songs.  By  early  *90»  Weller  was  off  to  form  the  Paul 
Weller  Movement.  Dee  C,  Lee  was  fronting  a  band 
called  Slam  Slam  (hubby  co-wrote  and  co-produced 
most  of  the  album).  Can  a  Jam  reunion  be  far  off? 
See  also  Jam,  [dgs/i] 


POLY  STYRENE 

See  X-Kay  Spex. 


642 


STYRENES 

See  Paul  Marotta. 


SUBHUMANS 

The  Day  the  Country  Died  (nr/Spiderieg)  1982 

Time  Flies  ...  but  Aeroplanes  Crash  (nr/Bluurg)  1 983 

From  the  Cradle  to  the  Grave  (nr/Bluurg)  1 984 

Worlds  Apart  (nr/Bluurg)  1 985 

EP-LP  (nr/Bluurg)  1986 

29:29  Split  Vision  (nr/Bluurg)  1987 

CULTURE 

Go  Wild!  (nr/Bluurg)  1 987 

Onwards  &  Upwards  (nr/Bluurg)  1988 

All  the  Time!  (nr/Bluurg)  1989 

CITIZEN  FISH 

Free  Souls  in  a  Trapped  Environment  (nr/Bluurg)  1 990 

Unrelated  to  Vancouver's  D.O. A. -related  Subhu- 
mans, these  lower-income  types  from  England's  South- 
west corner  were  one  of  the  original  UK  hardcore  bands, 
carving  a  distinct  niche  directly  between  Pistol-punk 
and  the  subsequent  iconoclastic  thrash  of  Rudimentary 
Peni.  Borrowing  the  aggression,  belligerent  tunefulness, 
social  conscience  and  sneering  vocal  atonality  of  the 
former,  they  magnified  each  by  a  factor  of  three,  releas- 
ing a  series  of  increasingly  impressive  7-inches  (later 
gathered  as  EP-LP),  culminating  in  The  Bay  the  Coun- 
try Died,  a  deliciously  dated  quasi-classic  of  second- 
generation  British  punk. 

Assiduously  documenting  their  career  with  self- 
released  and  shoddily  recorded  live  cassettes,  the  Sub- 
humans'  next  "professional"  release  was  the  eight- 
song,  45  rpm  Time  Flies.  Pointedly  poking  and 
stretching  in  odd  directions,  alternating  moody  dou- 
bletracked  vocals  or  solo  piano  accompaniment  with 
driving  live  numbers,  it  was  a  more  than  appropriate 
intro  to  Cradle — possibly  the  first  post-hardcore  opera. 
Somewhat  akin  to  the  Pretty  Things'  epic  SF  Sorrow 
but  pared  down  and  compressed  to  a  single  unbroken 
side,  the  increased  variegation  in  the  music  (while  fas- 
cinating on  LP)  signalled  an  inevitable  disunion,  ren- 
dering Worlds  Apart  a  sardonic  title  for  their  last  full- 
length  outing.  The  Subhumans'  most  diverse  LP 
interpolates  echoic  post-punk,  pseudo-reggae,  rote  rock 
and  ruttish  roll.  Split  Vision  offers  their  final  eight 
tracks,  actually  recorded  after  the  breakup. 

Vocalist  Dick  Lukas  formed  Culture  Shock*  sound- 
ing in  every  way  like  the  Subhumans,  but  with  less 
angry  verve  and  considerably  more  of  a  ska/reggae  bias. 
That  band's  bassist  then  rejoined  the  Subhumans  drum- 
mer and—- after  a  false  start— guitarist,  with  Lukas  helm- 
ing the  resultant  Citizen  Fish.  fab) 


SUBURBAN  NIGHTMARE 

See  Dwarves, 


SUBURBS 

The  Suburbs  EP  (Twin/Tone)  1 978 
In  Combo  (Twin/Ton©)  1 980 


Credit  in  Heaven  (Twin/Tone)  1 981 

Dream  Hog  EP  (Twin/Tone)  1982  (Mercury)  1983 

Love  !s  the  Law  (Mercury)  1 983 

Suburbs  (ABM)  1 986 

One  of  Minneapolis'  major  musical  resources,  the 
Suburbs  maintained  the  same  lineup  from  their  vinyl 
debut  (and  the  first  single  on  the  extraordinary  Twin/ 
Tone  label),  via  a  1978  nine-song  7-inch  red  vinyl  EP  of 
above-average  punkish  rock'n'roll,  to  the  band's  1987 
dissolution. 

With  their  first  album,  the  Suburbs  began  displaying 
signs  of  incipient  greatness;  singer  Beej  Chaney's  om- 
inous, neurotic  calm  providing  perfect  counterpoint  for 
the  band's  enthusiastic  playing;  guitarist  B.C.  Allen 
adding  tension  with  scrabbly  rhythm  and  violent  lead. 
The  songs  unpredictably  explore  real-world  subjects  like 
"Hobnobbin  with  the  Executives"  and  "Cig  Machine." 
After  demonstrating  what  they  could  do  on  In 
Combo,  the  Suburbs  proved  how  well  they  could  do  it 
with  the  double-alburn,  Credit  in  Heaven,  a  slickly 
delivered  opus  that  refines  the  band's  approach  and 
fairly  bubbles  over  with  creative  concepts,  great  playing 
and  bizarre  songs.  The  Chaney  comparisons  to  Bryan 
Ferry — cool  in  the  eye  of  the  storm — are  amplified  by 
his  blase*  delivery,  but  the  music — powered  by  Hugo 
Klaers'  ultra-busy  drumming — is  something  else,  blend- 
ing cool  funk  with  nervous  disco  and  jazzy  aplomb.  A 
highly  recommended  stunner,  regardless  of  religious 
persuasion. 

Things  heated  up  for  the  Suburbs  in  '82,  when  they 
started  attracting  significant  club  play  for  a  12-inch  of 
the  song  "Waiting."  They  included  that  track  on  the 
Dream  Hog  EP  (in  original  and  extended  remix  form), 
along  with  two  sharp  new  white-funk  tunes  (one  of  them 
about  dance  music)  plus  a  restrained  near-ballad.  When 
they  signed  to  Mercury,  the  label  reissued  it  before  send- 
ing the  'Burbs  into  the  studio  to  cut  a  new  album, 

The  result  of  that  maneuver,  Love  Is  the  Law,  is 
easily  their  best  vinyl  chapter,  a  powerful  and 
personality-laden  set  of  songs  that  incorporate  more  rock 
than  usual,  as  well  as  horns  and  some  of  their  most 
offbeat  lyrics  ever.  ''Rattle  My  Bones"  is  brilliantly 
demento  bebop;  the  superb  "Love  Is  the  Law"  has  the 
most  memorable  hook  in  the  repertoire;  "Hell  A"  took 
one  of  its  verses  from  a  Los  Angeles  phone  booth 
scrawl.  Love  Is  the  Law  is  a  great,  great  album. 

Making  the  probably  inevitable  Prince  connection 
via  the  production  guidance  of  Robert  Brent  (better 
known  as  Revolution  drummer  Bobby  Z),  the  Suburbs 
came  roaring  back  three  long  years  later  with  another 
powerful  record,  albeit  one  whose  character  is  less 
firmly  held  in  its  musical  approach  than  its  lyrics.  Gone 
is  the  antsy,  skittish  urgency  of  yore;  Suburbs  is  utterly 
listenable  (but  not  overwhelmingly  unique),  with 
equally  subtle  nods  to  both  the  band's  traditional  crypto- 
funk  and  Prince's  happy-feet  dance  rock.  Thankfully, 
Chaney  and  keyboardist  Chan  Poling' s  nastily  humor- 
ous lyrics — notably  on  "Every  Night's  a  Friday  Night" 
(  ...  in  hell),  "America  Sings  the  Blues"  and 
"Superlove" — are  as  clever  as  ever. 

That,  unfortunately,  was  the  end  of  the  Suburbs, 
although  they  did  release  a  12-inch  single  ("Little 
Man's  Gonna  Fall"  b/w  "Don't  Do  Me  Any  Favors") 
on  a  local  independent  label  the  following  year.  [i] 


643 


SUBWAY  SECT 

See  We  Godard  &  the  Subway  Sect. 

CHRIS  SUCH  AND  HIS  SAVAGES 

See  Headless  Horsemen. 

N1KK1 

Waiting  on  Egypt  (nr/Abstract)  1982  4-  1986 
The  Bible  Belt  (nr/Flicknife)  1 983 

SUDDEN  &  DAVE 
KUSWORTHs  JACOBITES 

Jacobites  (nr/Glass)  1 984  * 

Shame  for  the  Angels  EP  (nr/Glass)  1 985 

Robespierre's  Velvet  Basement  (nr/Glass)  1 985  ® 

Pin  Your  Heart  to  Me  EP  (nr/Glass)  1 985 

Lost  in  a  Sea  of  Scarves  (Ger.  Whafs  So  Funny  About) 

1985 

When  the  Rain  Comes  EP  (nr/Glass)  1 986 
The  Ragged  School  (Twin/Tone)  1986 
Fortune  of  Fame  (nr/Glass)  1 988  * 

NIKKI  SUDDEN  AND  THE 
JACOBITES 

Texas  (nr/Creation)  1 986 

The  Last  Bandit  EP  (nr/Creation)  1986 

Dead  Men  Tell  No  Tales  (nr/Creation)  1 987  * 

SUDDEN  &  ROWLAND  S. 
HOWARD 

Kiss  You  Kidnapped  Charabanc  (Creation-Relativity) 
1987« 

NiKKI  SUDDEN  AND  THE 
FRENCH  REVOLUTION 

Groove  (nr/Creation)  1 989  (Giant)  1 990  « 

Back  to  the  Coast  (nr/Creation)  1 990  (Rockville)  1 991  • 

DAVE  KUSWORTH 

The  Bounty  Hunters  (Swordfish-Texas  Hotel)  1 987 

BOUNTY  HUNTERS 

Threads:  A  Tear  Stained  Scar  (nr/Creation)  1 989  (Giant) 

1990* 

After  dissolving  Swell  Maps,  singer/guitarist/fonner 
rock  scribe  Nikki  Sudden  released  two  solo  albums, 
Waiting  on  Egypt  and  The  Bible  Belt,  which  basically 
offered  more  of  what  that  band  had  been  doing.  But  then 
he  formed  the  Jacobites — a  core  trio  of  Sudden, 
guitarist/singer  Dave  Kusworth  and  ex-Swell  Maps 
drummer  Epic  Soundtracks  (Sudden's  brother),  plus  as- 
sorted friends — and  began  to  sing  an  altogether  different 
tune.  With  Kusworth  co-writing  the  songs,  Sudden 
promptly  rid  himself  of  all  references  to  his  previous 
career. 

The  Jacobites'  records  all  have  a  similar  woozily 
romantic  format:  seductive  strummed  acoustic  guitar,  a 
thumping,  muffled  rhythm  section  and  Sudden's  whin- 
ing, Dylanesque  vocals.  (Imagine  a  folky  Johnny  Thun- 
ders growing  up  in  the  English  countryside  and  learning 
to  play  guitar  by  listening  to  "Knockin'  on  Heaven's 
Door"  with  a  bottle  by  his  side.)  The  group  pillages 
idols  like  the  Stones,  Neil  Young  and  Dylan  with  such 
loving  devotion — as  on  "Fortune  of  Fame,"  u Where 
Rivers  End' '  (both  on  Robespierre's  Velvet  Basement) 


and  others — that  their  motives  transcend  any  appearance 
of  carbon-copy  revivalism. 

The  duo  made  only  two  fall  albums,  all  recorded 
during  '84  and  '85.  Lost  in  a  Sea  of  Scarves  contains 
outtakes  from  Robespierre's  Velvet  Basement,  which 
was  to  have  been  a  double  album.  The  Ragged  School, 
a  consistently  strong  twelve-song  American  conden- 
sation of  the  UK  albums,  shares  only  three  tracks  with 
the  carefully  annotated  and  sounding-better-with-age 
nineteen-song  Fortune  of  Fame  (subtitled  Big  Hits  and 
Stereo  Landings)  retrospective. 

Parting  company  with  Kusworth  and  switching  to 
Creation  (but  retaining  the  band  name),  Sudden  released 
Texas,  relying  on  his  brother  and  bassist  Duncan  Sib- 
bald  for  primary  assistance.  A  violinist  and  ex-Birthday 
Party  guitarist  Rowland  S.  Howard  make  notable  ap- 
pearances, giving  Sudden's  languid,  atmospheric  South- 
westernisms  the  extra  color  they  need  to  prevent 
sameness.  (Two  notable  style-busting  exceptions  are  the 
Velvetsy  "Glass  Eye"  and  "Such  a  Little  Girl,"  both 
winning  piles  of  melodic  distortion. )  The  Last  Bandit 
EP  pairs  two  album  tracks  with  two  others. 

A  month  after  finishing  Texas,  Sudden  returned  to 
the  studio  and  began  work  on  the  spare  Dead  Men  Tell 
No  Tales,  which  has  almost  no  percussion  and  very 
little  accompaniment  of  any  sort  for  his  guitar,  bouzouki  ' 
and  dulcimer  strumming.  Howard  and  Sibbald  again  put 
in  appearances  and  the  cover  still  credits  the  Jacobites, 
but  it's  basically  a  solo  album — and  an  underwhelming 
one  at  that.  Only  "Girl  with  the  Wooden  Leg"  makes  a 
powerful  impression,  as  Howard's  crazed  guitar  noises 
contrast  with  Sudden's  maudlin  balladeering. 

Howard  takes  a  more  prominent  role  on  Kiss  You 
Kidnapped  Charabanc,  another  largely  drum-free 
record  that  drifts  along  aimlessly  at  quarter-speed.  Nikki 
does  the  singing  and  Rowland  provides  most  of  the  in- 
strumentation; the  duo  split  the  song  writing. 

Judging  by  Groove's  posturing,  halfhearted 
distorto-blues  core,  it's  clear  that  Sudden  continues  to 
suffer  from  delusions  of  Keith  Richardsdom.  Unfortu- 
nately, his  true  roots  show  through  on  "See  My  Rider," 
an  ostensibly  rough-hewn  blues  that's  so  fey  you  just 
know  he's  singing  about  how  many  scarves  his  touring 
contract  requires  concert  promoters  to  provide. 
(Groove,  or  at  least  some  form  of  it,  was  originally 
released — reportedly  without  authorization—by  the  Ital- 
ian Crazy  Mannequin  label,  which  titled  it  Crown  of 
Thorns.) 

The  uneven  and  poorly  organized  Back  to  the  Coast 
has  a  few  really  good  tracks  (like  the  Howard  collabo- 
ration "Crossroads,"  Robert  Johnson  as  heard  by  Nick 
Cave)  in  which  Sudden  makes  a  concerted  artistic  effort 
and  manages  to  roll  his  pretensions  into  a  convincing 
ball  of  transcendent  rock'n'roll,  but  it  also  contains 
whatever  else  he  had  lying  around;  further  lazy  designs 
clipped  from  the  usual  cloth  (where  have  I  heard  "The 
Last  Bandit"  before?),  a  total  toss-off  (the  acoustic 
"Flower  Bed  Romance" )  and  "In  Your  Life/'  a  shitty- 
sounding  slice  of  '60s  retro-organ  punkedelia  that 
sounds  like  an  outtake  from  someone  else's  album. 

Kusworth  lay  low  a  while  after  leaving  the  Jacobites 
in  mid- '86,  spending  his  time  recording  a  solo  album 
(also  credited  to  the  Bounty  Hunters,  the  quartet  he 
leads)  which  was  released  the  following  year.  Marriage 
is  on  Dave's  mind  on  The  Bounty  Hunters,  as  several 


644 


of  the  songs— which  interlock  to  form  a  long,  vague 
romantic  narrative — make  reference  to  weddings,  rings, 
wives  and  other  such  symptoms  of  betrothal.  Showing 
an  affinity  for  the  folky  side  of  Johnny  Thunders,  Kus- 
worth's  thin  voice  is  no  dynamic  instrument,  but  it 
serves  the  material,  as  do  the  energetic  arrangements  of 
acoustic  guitar  and  electric  rock  rhythms. 

Threads  furthers  Kus worth's  quest  for  beauty  in  the 
underbelly.  With  the  addition  of  a  bevy  of  pastoral  in- 
struments (ranging  from  pocket  trumpet  to  harpsichord), 
much  of  the  material  is  redolent  of  that  particular  time  in 
late-'60s/early-'70s  Britain  when  debauchery  gave  way 
to  rusticity  (a  la  Led  Zep  II  crossed  with  Blind  Faith). 
Then  again,  the  volume-heavy  stuff  could  pass  for  Black 
Crowes  outtakes,  so  go  figure.  [ag/i/dss] 

See  also  Swell  Maps. 

SUGARCUBES 

Life's  Too  Good  (Elektra)  1988  « 

Coldsweat  EP  (Elektra)  1 988  « 

Motorcrash  EP  (Elektra)  1988  <!> 

Here  Today,  Tomorrow  Next  Week!  (Efektra)  1 989  * 

ReginaEP  (Elektra)  1 989  <!> 

Illur  Arfur!  (nr/One  Little  Indian)  1989 

Box  of  12-inch  singles  (nr/One  Little  Indian)  1990 

Box  of  7-inch  singles  (nr/One  Little  Indian)  1990 

Box  of  6  CDs  [CD]  (nr/One  Little  Indian)  1990  • 

KUKL 

The  Eye  (nr/Crass)  1984 

Holidays  in  Europe  (The  Naughty  Nought)  (nr/Crass) 

1986 

Not  since  the  Jesus  and  Mary  Chain  made  their  ini- 
tial assault  a  few  years  back  has  a  band  come  out  of 
nowhere  to  generate  as  much  excitement  and  acclaim  as 
Iceland's  Sugarcubes.  Drumming  (by  Siggi  Baldursson) 
and  guitar  work  point  to  such  influences  as  Joy  Division 
and  Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees  and,  in  more  delicate 
moments  (such  as  "Birthday,"  their  debut  single),  bits 
of  the  Cocteau  Twins,  They  also  make  very  interesting 
use  of  an  electronically  mutated  trumpet  and  sound  ef- 
fects. But  the  Sugarcubes'  main  instrument  is  the  amaz- 
ing voice  of  lead  singer  Bjork  Gudmundsdottir,  an  elfin 
character  whose  range  of  pitch  is  only  surpassed  by  her 
range  of  emotions:  one  moment  she's  a  little  girl  so- 
prano, the  very  next  she's  growling  like  a  crazed  animal 
about  to  go  for  the  kill.  Singer/trumpeter  Einar  Orn 
handles  some  of  the  vocals  with  awkwardly  accented 
English,  but  Bjdrk's  background  vocals  usually  steal  the 
show  on  those  tracks. 

What  she  sings  is  noteworthy  as  well:  Freud  would 
have  a  field  day  with  the  childhood/sexual  metaphors  of 
the  lyrics,  most  of  which  are  more  interesting  than  those 
from  bands  whose  first  language  is  English,  Life's  Too 
Good  is  no  letdown  from  the  initial  45s  (both  are  on  the 
LP),  with  eleven  cuts  that  retain  a  signature  sound  but 
avoid  redundancy,  Iceland  is  a  country  whose  little- 
known  rock  scene  has  produced  a  number  of  rather  in- 
teresting, if  not  earth-shattering  bands.  This  one  is  the 
real  thing.  ("Birthday*'  and  "Cold  Sweat"  were  also 
issued  as  CD  singles  with  numerous  B-sides.  Hie  CD  of 
the  album  adds  six  extra  tracks— some  sung  in 
Icelandic— including  an  incredible  alternate  version  of 
"Deus.**) 

Matching  up  to  the  debut  proved  a  difficult  chal- 


lenge for  the  Sugarcubes  on  their  second  album.  Here 
Today,  Tomorrow  Next  Week!  has  a  more  mainstream 
sound,  fewer  memorable  songs,  blander  lyrics  and  en- 
tirely too  much  of  Orn's  overly  affected,  annoying  vo- 
cals. There  are  still  special  touches  no  other  band  could 
offer,  and  tracks  like  "Regma,"  "Eat  the  Menu"  and 
"Nail"  stand  out,  but  there's  nothing  here  that  makes 
one  sit  up  and  take  notice  the  way  Life's  Too  Good  did 
(and  does).  For  a  more  provocative  experience,  try  the 
album's  alternative  version,  Illur  Arfur!  ("evil  inher- 
itance"), issued  abroad  under  the  band's  native  name, 
Sykurmolarnir.  The  tracks  are  identical,  but  sung  in 
Icelandic  (although  lyrics  and  titles  are  provided  in  En- 
glish). The  Here  Today  CD  adds  three  cuts,  one  a 
dumb  spaghetti  western  reworking  of  "Cold  Sweat" 
entitled  "Hot  Meat." 

Most  Sugarcubes  singles  have  been  issued  on  CDs 
with  non-LP  and/or  Icelandic-language  tracks  or  alter- 
nate versions  (it's  always  nice  to  see  non-English  speak- 
ing bands  who  don't  ignore  their  own  tongue.)  For 
hardcore  'Cubes  collectors,  several  years'  worth  of  now- 
deleted  singles  are  available  in  boxes,  available  as 
7-inch  and  12-inch  vinyl  as  well  as  CD.  The  12s  and 
CDs  are  loaded  with  extra  goodies  including  remixes, 
live  takes  and  non-LP  tracks  (such  as  original  Christmas 
songs). 

Prehistory:  In  the  early  '80s,  a  band  from  Reykja- 
vik's bourgeoning  scene — Purrkur  Pillnikk — supported 
the  Fall  on  the  latter 's  Icelandic  tour  (during  which  time 
most  of  Hex  Enduction  Hour  was  recorded),  sporting 
a  similarly  anarchic,  jagged  sound.  Einar  Orn  handled 
Pillnikk' s  lead  vocals  with  Bragi  Olafsson  on  bass. 
When  that  band  ended,  Orn  met  up  with  Bjork  and 
formed  Kuki  (sometimes  K.U.K.L. ),  joined  on  the  sec- 
ond LP  by  drummer  Sigtryggur  Baldursson,  formerly  of 
Theyr. 

The  Eye  is  a  dark,  almost  Teutonic  excursion  into 
rock  chamber  music;  the  sound  is  somewhat  subdued, 
dominated  by  lots  of  woodwinds  (played  by  Bjo'rk), 
bells  and  other  pitched  percussion,  Einar' s  trumpet  and 
heavily  treated  guitar.  Lyrics  tend  towards  the  morbid. 
Holidays  in  Europe  lies  between  the  experimentalism 
of  its  predecessor  and  the  off-center  pop  the  'Cubes 
would  later  become  known  for.  (When  Kukl  broke  up, 
Bjdrk,  Einar,  Olafsson  and  Baldursson  formed  the  Sug- 
arcubes with  guitarist  Thor  Eldon;  Reptile  keyboardist 
Margaret  Ornolfsdottir  joined  after  Life's  Too  Good.) 
All  of  the  pre-Sugarcubes  catalogue  is  recommended  for 
fans  of  the  band  and/or  experimental  rock  (who  don't 
mind  doing  some  serious  record  hunting).  [dgs] 

See  also  Purrkur  Pillnikk,  Reptile,  Tappi  Tikarrass, 
Theyr. 

SUICIDAL  TENDENCIES 

Suicidal  Tendencies  (Frontier)  1983  • 

Join  the  Army  (Caroline)  1 987  • 

How  Will  I  Laugh  Tomorrow  . , .  When  I  Can't  Even  Smile 

Today  (Epic)  1 988  • 
Controlled  by  Hatred/Feel  Like  Shit ...  Deja  Vu  (Epic) 

1989* 
Ughts  . . .  Camera  , . .  Revolution  (Epic)  1 990  • 

Every  once  in  a  while,  a  band  previously  lost  in 
genie  mire  emerges  from  the  crowd  ineffably  different 
and  better  than  the  competition,  Suicidal  Tendencies — a 

645 


Venice,  California  quartet  once  voted  both  Worst  Band 
and  Best  New  Band  by  the  readers  of  F Upside 
magazine — could  have  been  just  another  hardcore  band, 
but  they're  not.  The  first  LP  benefits  enormously  from 
clear  production  (by  Glen  E.  Friedman),  tight,  careful 
playing — fast  and  blurry  m  spots,  but  never  indistinct — 
and  singer/lyricist  Mike  Muir,  whose  intelligence  and 
forceful  personality  invest  songs  like  "Fascist  Pig"  and 
"Suicide's  an  Alternative"  with  wit  and  wisdom.  Sui- 
cidal Tendencies'  other  strength  is  a  facility  for  sudden 
tempo  shifts,  a  gambit  best  used  on  the  great  "Institu- 
tionalized," a  half-sung,  half-recited  alienation  number 
which  powerfully  encapsulates  all  the  punk  sociology  of 
Repo  Man  and  Suburbia  in  four  minutes.  Don't  miss 
this  one. 

After  the  first  album  sold  unbelievable  quantities  for 
an  independent  release,  Suicidal  Tendencies  took  a  lot 
of  time  organizing  a  new  lineup  and  recording  a  second 
next  record.  Following  the  general  hardcore  drift  to- 
wards metal,  Muir,  stalwart  bassist/co- writer  Louiche 
Mayorga  and  two  new  bandmembers  straddle  styles  on 
the  Motorhead-ish  Join  the  Army,  embracing  ominous 
war-pigs  power  and  blistering  crap-guitar  solos,  but  cut- 
ting it  with  sudden  shifts  into  hyperspeed  (or  half  speed 
for  meshing),  punk  vocals  and  a  continuing  dedication 
to  skate-punk  culture.  The  sound  isn't  great,  but  the 
playing  and  energy,  plus  Muir's  exceptionally  strong 
singing,  makes  the  LP  worthy  of  the  band's  exalted 
status. 

Sharpening  the  band's  music  into  an  articulate 
speedcore  rocket,  Muir  and  a  new  set  of  sidemen 
reached  the  major  leagues  with  How  Will  I  Laugh  To- 
morrow, a  powerful  and  intelligent  outpouring  of  alien- 
ation, self-examination  and  identification  with  the  band 
and  its  attendant  culture.  Mike  Clark  (Muir's  songwrit- 
ing  partner)  and  Rocky  George  keep  the  guitar  pressure 
up,  while  Muir  delivers  his  reflective  lyrics  with  typical 
authority.  The  first  side  is  especially  great,  a  breathless 
series  of  well-constructed  explosions,  from  "Trip  at  the 
Brain"  and  "Pledge  Your  Allegiance"  through  the  title 
track  and  "The  Miracle,"  a  denunciation  of  idealism. 
The  flip  kicks  off  with  a  galloping  instrumental  ("Surf 
and  Slam")  and  includes  the  tuneful  and  catchy  "One 
Too  Many  Times. ' '  An  uncommon  example  of  what  can 
happen  to  speedmetal  when  it's  approached  with  imag- 
ination and  originality. 

The  1989  Controlled  by  Hatred  has  two  non-LP 
edits  of  the  previous  LP's  title  track  plus  seven  new 
songs  in  an  unchecked  metallic  vein.  Lacking  the  band's 
usual  precision  arid  clarity,  thick-sounding  tracks  like 
"Master  of  No  Mercy"  and  the  death-metal  cache's  of 
"Waking  the  Dead"  wind  up  blurry  and  indistinct,  with 
Muir's  vocals  stubbornly  battling  the  dense  noise. 

Cogently  observing  that  "I'd  rather  feel  like  shit 
than  be  full  of  shit,"  Muir  roars  like  a  wounded  animal 
on  Lights  .  .  .  Camera  .  ,  .  Revolution,  an  electric 
storm  so  loud  and  bracing  that  tracks  seem  to  echo  over 
the  silence  after  they  end.  As  if  Controlled  by  Hatred 
hadn't  happened,  the  band  whips  up  a  deafening  guitar 
frenzy  (turning  quiet  for  the  beginning  of  "Alone"  and 
switching  to  funk  for  the  first  part  of  "Lovely").  Muir 
covers  his  standard  alienation-nonconformity-loneliness 
topics  with  typical  intensity,  adding  vague  thoughts 
about  political  action  (in  "Give  It  Revolution,"  he  as- 


serts that  "The  greatest  weapon  of  the  fascist/Is  the 
tolerance  of  the  pacifist"),  the  atmosphere  of  violence 
("Disco's  Out,  Murder's  In")  and  televangelism 
( * ' Send  Me  Your  Money' ' ) .  [i] 

SUICIDE 

Suicide  (Red  Star)  1977  +  1981  (nr/Demon)  1 986 

24  Minutes  Over  Brussels  (nr/Bronze)  1 978 

1  /2  Alive  [tape]  (ROIR)  1981 

Ghost  Riders  [tape]  (ROIR)  1986  [CD]  (Fr.  Danceteria) 

19904> 
A  Way  of  Life  (nr/Chapter  22)  1 988  (Wax  Trax!)  1 989  • 

ALAN  VEGA  AND  MARTIN  REV 

Suicide  (ZE)  1980® 

A  mainstay  of  the  New  York  rock  underground  since 
the  early  1970s  (thereby  prefiguring  Soft  Cell  and  all  the 
other  synth-based  duos  as  well  as  an  entire  subsequent 
generation  of  droney  noisemongers),  Suicide  mixed 
Alan  Vega's  blues-styled  vocals  and  Marty  Rev's  syn- 
thesizer (originally  a  broken-down  Farfisa  organ  they 
couldn't  afford  to  repair).  Escaping  the  dingy  clubs  of 
Manhattan,  Suicide  went  on  to  cause  riots  in  Europe 
while  on  tour  supporting  Elvis  Costello  and  later  pro- 
vided the  soundtrack  for  Werner  Fassbinder's  film  In  a 
Year  with  13  Moons.  Often  confrontational  in  nature, 
they  always  provoked  extreme  reactions  by  producing  a 
unique,  obsessively  American  electronic  music  of  enor- 
mous and  enduring  influence. 

Suicide  (1977)  is  a  nearly  perfect  relic  of  mid-'70s 
Manhattan  attitudes,  a  portrait  of  society  grinding  down 
to  self-destruction.  Rev's  powerful  minimalist  repetition 
catapults  Vega's  pained  and  constantly  cracking  voice 
through  indictments  of  Vietnam  mentality  ("Ghost 
Rider"),  broken  romance  ("Cheree,"  "Girl")  and  ho- 
locausts both  public  and  personal  ("Rocket  USA," 
"Frankie  Teardrop").  Stolid  and  restrained,  the  record 
simmers  with  repressed  emotion  and  excellent,  unusual 
performances.  Four  years  later,  the  LP  was  reissued 
with  "I  Remember,"  "Keep  Your  Dreams"  and  "96 
Tears"  added,  as  well  as  a  flexi-disc  of  Suicide  live  in 
Brussels,  taken  from  a  1978  authorized  live  bootleg. 
Recommended,  though  clearly  not  for  everyone. 

Suicide  (1980),  the  confusingly  titled  Vega/Rev  LP, 
was  produced  by  Ric  Ocasek,  who  smoothed  the  sound 
out  to  an  almost  socially  acceptable  level,  (These  same 
sessions  produced  the  duo's  zenith,  1980's  anthemic 
"Dream  Baby  Dream,"  issued  as  a  12-inch  single.) 
Rev's  use  of  electronics  had  grown  more  subtle  and 
complex,  while  Vega's  vocals  seem  tethered  and  un- 
easy. * 'Harlem,"  a  stunning  melange  of  urban  despair 
and  tortured  musicianship,  is  the  album's  most  affecting 
number. 

The  tape-only  Half- Alive  pairs  one  side  of  live  ma- 
terial and  one  side  of  studio  outtakes.  Released  soon 
after  Suicide's  dissolution,  it  offers  no  breakthroughs, 
but  stands  simply  as  a  tribute  to  a  fine,  underrated  band, 
The  live  side  demonstrates  how  much  fun  Suicide  was 
in  concert,  despite  sloppiness  and  Vega's  antagonism 
towards  audiences.  Ghost  Eiders,  another  live  cassette, 
chronicles  the  pair's  1981  tenth  anniversary  gig  in  Min- 
neapolis with  clear  sound  and  a  convincing  perfor- 
mance. 

Long  after  bands  they  inspired  had  achieved  com- 


646 


mercial  rewards  Suicide  never  enjoyed,  Rev  and  Vega 
reunited  to  reclaim  their  dominion  with  A  Way  of  Life. 
Putting  Ocasek  back  in  the  producer's  chair,  Rev  and 
Vega  barely  acknowledge  their  disciples'  innovations, 
and  do  what  they've  always  done  together:  spin  atmo- 
spheric tales  with  throbbing  sequencers  and  dramatic 
Morrisonesque  vocals.  No  catchy  hooks,  no  high-energy 
disco  rhythms,  no  old  soul  covers — just  Suicide,  pol- 
ished but  uncompromised.  "Jukebox  Baby  96"  neatly 
bridges  the  pair's  past  adventures,  while  "Wild  in  Blue" 
offers  a  pounding  reminder  of  industrial  dance  music's 
pre-Mmistry  beginnings.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Martin  Rev,  Alan  Vega. 

ANDY 

XYZ  (MCA)  1 987  • 

Mysterious  Barricades  (Private  Music)  1 988  « 
The  Golden  Wire  (Private  Music)  1 989  ® 
Charming  Snakes  (Private  Music)  1990  $ 

As  the  Police's  mostly  mute  guitarist,  Summers — 
whose  long  and  winding  career  stretches  back  to  1963 
and  includes  stints  in  both  the  Soft  Machine  and  the 
Animals,  not  to  mention  sessions  for  Neil  Sedaka — was 
recognized  as  one  of  rock's  most  versatile  and  venerated 
sidemen.  Additionally,  he  asserted  his  independence  by 
cutting  two  artsy  instrumental  records  with  Robert 
Fripp.  But  whatever  could  have  possessed  him — hubris? 
jealousy?  a  bet? — to  write  lyrics  and  sing  on  a  solo 
album?  XYZ's  laughable  first  line:  "Some  sex  can  be 
better  when  it's  on  the  phone."  Summers'  froggy,  un- 
musical croak  overshadows  his  extraordinary  musician- 
ship, making  him  sound  far  less  talented  than  we  know 
him  to  be. 

Prudently,  there's  no  singing  on  Mysterious  Barri- 
cades, an  attractive  wash  of  sonic  wallpaper  that  con- 
tinues Summers'  tastefully  productive  partnership  with 
keyboardist  and  co-producer  David  Hentschel.  Working 
with  no  outside  assistance,  the  duo  weaves  translucent 
new  age  instrumentals  that  fade  in  and  fade  out  without 
incident,  a  technically  flawless  reverie. 

Besides  scoring  1989's  Weekend  at  Bernie's,  Sum- 
mers expanded  his  artistic  horizons  with  The  Golden 
Wire,  another  co-production  with  Henstschel  that  uses  a 
variety  of  musicians  (on  keyboards,  horns,  bass,  drums 
and  woodwinds)  for  much-needed  rhythmic  muscle  and 
textural  variety.  One  track  has  a  guest  vocalist;  Sum- 
mers breaks  tradition  to  play  a  bit  of  banjo  on  another. 

See  also  Fripp  &  Eno,  Police.  [i] 

SUN  AND  THE  MOON 

See  Chameleons  (UK). 

SUN  CITY  GIRLS 

Sun  City  Girls  (Placebo)  1 984 

Midnight  Cowboys  from  tpanema  [tap©]  (Breakfast 

Without  M®at)  1986 
Grotto  of  Miracles  (Placebo)  1 986 
Horse  Cock  Pheprw  (Placebo)  1987 
Torch  of  the  Mystics  (Majorca)  1990 

They  may  not  be  girls,  but  this  elusive  trio  does  live 
in  a  place  known  as  Sun  City,  Arizona.  (It's  a  bit  north- 
west of  Phoenix, )  Like  the  Meat  Puppets,  they  seem  to 


have  been  out  in  the  heat  too  long.  Their  hallucinatory 
debut  album  contains  seventeen  sketchy  tracks  (includ- 
ing "Your  Bible  Set  off  My  Smoke  Alarm")  that  range 
from  nerve-wracking  noise  instrumentals  to  avant-jazz 
horn  fantasies  to  actual  songs  with  lyrics  and  seemingly 
conscious  arrangements.  "Uncle  Jim"  offers  a  ranting 
monologue  with  jazz  guitar  and  sax;  "My  Painted 
Tomb"  is  a  raga  with  toy  piano;  "Metaphors  in  a  Mix- 
master"  presents  free-form  guitar  improvisation.  Bewil- 
dering, aggravating  and  intriguing. 

Grotto  of  Miracles  continues  the  group's  uncon- 
ventional adventures,  carrying  them  out  of  the  noise 
ghetto  into  the  realm  of  airy  guitar  instrumentals  favored 
by  the  Puppets:  well-rehearsed  Wes  Montgomery 
threads  and  textures.  (The  Girls,  however,  don't  evince 
any  particular  taste  for  local  stylistic  traditions.)  The 
demented  lyrical  concepts  and  offbeat  musical  accesso- 
ries (trumpet,  cello,  antelope  bells,  chimes,  temple 
blocks,  etc.)  preclude  any  overall  resemblance  between 
the  two  groups,  but  openminded  fans  of  the  Puppets 
should  find  things  of  interest  here.  Grotto  of  Miracles 
is  an  ethnic  stew  that  shows  enormous  creative  growth. 

After  that  relatively  restrained  album,  it's  back  to 
perverse  wild-eyed  politicized  insanity  on  Horse  Cock 
Phepner.  Forget  jazzy  guitar  breakdowns,  this  record 
concentrates  on  tuneless  chants  and  foul-mouthed  expo- 
sitions, performed  over  backing  that  varies  from  prom- 
ising acoustic  folk  to  conscientiously  ugly  noise.  The 
maniacally  vulgar  "Nancy  Reagan"  is  spoken  over 
tribal  chanting  and  drumming;  Tuli  Kupferberg's 
"C.I. A,  Man"  (with  new  lyrics  by  the  SCG)  uses  only 
monotonic  piano  and  a  simple  drum  beat  for  accompa- 
niment; the  lengthy  "Without  Compare"  is  a  collection 
of  simultaneous  conversations,  a  grisly  refrain,  a  speech 
about  history,  an  all-play-at-once  bridge,  a  news  report 
and  a  chaotic  fade.  Yeuch!  Amid  such  delicacies  (and 
worse — trust  me),  "Esta  Susan  en  Casa?"  provides  the 
neatest  alternative;  a  brief  but  convincing  flash  of  rock 
salsa.  [i] 


SUNDAY  ALL  OVER  THE  WORLD 

See  Robert  Fripp. 


SUNDAYS 

Reading,  Writing  and  Arithmetic  (Rough  Trade-DGC) 

1990* 

Proffering  a  lighter-than-air  mixture  of  the  Cocteau 
Twins,  Smiths  and  Everything  but  the  Girl,  the  Sundays 
burst  on  the  British  scene  in  a  shimmer  of  catchy  guitar 
pop  and  Harriet  Wheeler's  enchanting  little-girl  voice. 
David  Gavurin  builds  subtle  tension  into  wonderful 
tunes  like  "Can't  Be  Sure"  and  "Hideous  Towns"  by 
picking  out  trancey  guitar  figures  in  songs  that  cry  out 
for  a  satisfying  strum.  Elsewhere,  minor-key  contem- 
plations 0*My  Finest  Hour")  evoke  a  rainy  afternoon 
feel  with  poetic  skill.  Unlike  other  semi-acoustic  bands 
of  this  ilk,  the  London-based  quartet  has  energy  to  spare, 
exploding  into  uplifting  sweeps  of  melodic  joy  ("Skin 
&  Bones,"  "I  Won"),  getting  faintly  funky  ("A  Cer- 
tain Someone"),  even  raising  a  good  cloud  of  mild 
U2-tinged  guitar  smoke  now  and  again.  As  frosting  on 


647 


this  brilliant  debut,  the  band's  lyrics  are  bizarre  frag- 
ments of  opaque  introspection  that  reveal  themselves 
slowly  in  Wheeler's  uncommon  phrasing.  [i] 

SURF  TRIO 

Almost  Summer  (Voxx)  1 986 

Safari  in  a  Living  Graveyard  (Moxie)  1 988  (Can.  Star) 

1989 

The  Surf  Trio  thank  their  idols — Link  Wray,  Jon 
and  the  Nightriders,  Brian  Wilson,  the  Ventures  and  the 
Ramones — for  inspiration  on  Almost  Summer,  and 
those  names  go  a  long  way  towards  describing  the  Port- 
land, Oregon  quartet's  joyful  sound.  Facility  for  Ra- 
monesy  '60s  melody-punk,  surf-twang,  beach  pop  and 
garage-rock  makes  each  track  in  this  sampler  of  delight- 
ful retro  styles  a  different  kind  of  magic.  Exemplary  and 
refreshing. 

The  second  waxing  is  equally  great,  with  such  res- 
onant originals  as  "Hang  Ten,"  "Go,  Go,  Go,"  "My 
Real  World"  and  "Girl  with  No  Name,"  all  written  by 
bassist/singer  Jeff  Martin  or  guitarist/singer  Ron  Kleim. 
The  album's  only  disappointment  is  an  inconsiderately 
rushed  cover  of  Bobby  Fuller's  classic  "Let  Her 
Dance."  [i] 

SUSSMAN  LAWRENCE 

See  Peter  Himmelman. 

BOBBY  SUTLIFF 

See  Wtndbreakers. 

SWA 

Your  Future  if  You  Have  One  (SST)  1 985 

Sex  Dr.  (SST)  1986 

XCIII  (SST)  1987 

Evolution  85-87  [CD]  (SST)  1988  • 

Winter  (SST)  1 989  « 

Damaged-era  Black  Flag  bassist  Dukowski  now 
leads  this  LA  power-rock  quartet  which  unselfcon- 
sciously draws  on  the  sound  of  the  '70s  for  likable,  if 
unchallenging,  original  mamstreamisms  that  stop  well 
short  of  metal.  Former  Hagmate  Greg  Ginn  produced 
the  hard-driving,  intelligent  debut  album  which  revolves 
around  Merrill  Ward,  a  singer  who  can  really  project. 
Sex  Dr.  refines  the  concept  on  a  batch  of  new  tunes, 
penned  mostly  by  Ward.  The  lyrics  are  generally  pre- 
sentable without  saying  much;  tight  group  playing  lends 
the  music — which  favors  Steppenwolf  a  bit — conviction 
and  dignity. 

Replacing  guitarist  Richard  Ford  with  Sylvia  Jun~ 
cosa  (who  simultaneously  led  her  own  band,  To  Dam- 
ascus), SWA  took  a  radically  different  route  on  the  ihird 
LP,  exchanging  the  precisely  focused  rock  for  a  noisier, 
chaotic  smear  of  aggression.  Despite  spots  of  MC5-ish 
excitement  ("Optimist,"  for  instance),  XCOI  is  a  dis- 
appointment, with  SWA's  best  feature — Ward's 
voice — partially  blunted  by  Dukowski' s  blurry  produc- 
tion and  Juncosa's  ceaseless  garbage  riffing. 

Following  Evolution,  an  unnecessary  eighteen- 
song/70-minute  CD  condensation  of  the  first  three  al- 
burns, SWA  found  itself  a  new  guitar  player  (Juncosa 
had  begun  her  solo  career  in  earnest)  and  regained  its 


focus  on  the  heavy-duty  Winter  A  lot  of  the  demi- 
metal  fire  (new  axeman  Phil  Van  Duyne  is  from  the 
Black  Sabbath  bore-a-hole-in-your-skull  school)  is  lost 
in  the  cloth-eared  production,  but  Ward  gets  the  tritely 
bombastic  lyrics  across  with  more  clarity  than  they  de- 
serve, [i] 
See  also  Descendents,  To  Damascus. 

SWALK 

See  Shake. 

SWAMP  OAF 

See  Bags. 

SWANS 

Swans  EP  1 982  (Young  God)  1 990  • 
Filth  (Neutral)  1 983  (Young  God)  1 990  ® 
Cop  (nr/K.422)  1984® 
Swans  EP  (Homestead)  1985 
Greed  (PVC)  1986 
Holy  Money  (PVC)  1986® 
Children  of  God  (Caroline)  1 987  « 
Love  Will  Tear  Us  Apart  EP  (Caroline)  1 988 
Feel  Good  Now  (nr/Product  Inc.)  1988 
The  Burning  World  (Uni-MCA)  1 989  « 
Anonymous  Bodies  in  an  Empty  Room  (no  label)  1990 
White  Light  from  the  Mouth  of  Infinity  (Young  God) 
1991  4> 

SKIN 

Blood,  Women,  Roses  (nr/Product  Inc.)  1987  * 
Shame,  Humility,  Revenge  (nr/Product  Inc.)  1 988 
The  World  of  Skin  (Product  Inc.)  1 988  ® 

WORLD  OF  SKIN 

Ten  Songs  for  Another  World  (Young  God)  1 990  • 

Play  the  Velvet  Underground's  ** Sister  Ray"  at  half- 
speed — go  ahead,  do  it — and  you've  got  Swans  plus  a 
sense  of  humor  and  the  possibility  that,  if  you  just  adjust 
the  speed  control,  everything  will  get  good.  Take  away 
the  sense  of  humor  and  the  speed  control,  and  you've 
got  Swans.  In  all  probability,  you've  also  got  either  a 
high  threshold  for  crunching  pain  or  a  splitting  head- 
ache. Well,  that's  Swans:  downtown  New  York  arties, 
friends  of  the  infinitely  more  imaginative  Sonic  Youth, 
Swans  trudge  through  dragging  tempos,  2/2  meters  and 
low  frequency  mush,  all  the  while  howling  about  alien- 
ation and  despair.  Listening  to  their  records  isn't  like 
banging  your  head  against  a  wall;  it's  like  banging  your 
head  against  the  side  of  a  swimming  pool— underwater. 

Filth  is  all  that  it  promises  to  be:  squalor  without 
catharsis.  The  group  is  so  conceptually  strapped  to  its 
sludge  m,o,  that  this  alburn  is  actually  more  formulaic 
than  any  Top  40  band.  (The  FSlth  CD  contains  the  first 
EP  as  well.) 

Cop  features  new  album  and  song  titles,  a  new  la- 
bel, a  trimmed-down  lineup  and  new  cover  art.  What  it 
lacks  are  new  ideas.  Boom.  Crunch.  Boom.  Crunch. 
Where  Sonic  Youth  makes  great  music  that's  painful  to 
listen  to,  Swans  offer  pain  without  reason.  But  things 
got  better. 

The  1985  EP  featuring  "Raping  a  Slave"  offers  few 
changes  in  the  actual  sounds  the  band  incorporates,  but 
makes  things  more  interesting  by  using  them  in  previ- 


648 


ously  unexplored  ways.  A  marked  improvement  over 
previous  discs,  and  a  good  lead-m  to  Greed,  where 
everything  finally  jells.  New  weapons  are  added  to  the 
Swans'  arsenal,  along  with  a  variety  of  seemingly  in- 
conceivable approaches:  the  harrowing  "Fool"  is  al- 
most all  piano  and  (sung!)  vocals;  several  songs  feature 
female  background  singers  (serving  more  as  an  instru- 
ment than  harmony)  The  closing  "Money  Is  Flesh" 
has  a  two-note  trumpet  part  played  ad  nauseum.  Each 
track  is  a  complete  work  in  itself,  enthralling  and  nar- 
cotizing. 

Holy  Money  is  more  or  less  a  twin  to  Greed,  vir- 
tually identical  in  cover  art  and  musical  approach  (the 
two  LPs  sandwich  a  great  single,  "Time  Is  Money  (Bas- 
tard)"). Instrumentation  is  back  to  basic  guitar,  bass 
and  drums,  but  the  introduction  of  female  vocalist  Jar- 
boe  on  "You  Need  Me"  provides  an  effective  counter- 
point to  leader  Michael  Gira's  basso  profundo.  The 
lineup  was  in  a  state  of  flux;  eight  different  performers 
appear  on  this  album. 

Children  of  God  is  Swans'  finest  moment,  a  diverse 
double  album  of  pure,  primitive,  naked  emotion.  Some 
cuts  simply  pound  the  listener  into  submission,  but  oth- 
ers (generally  those  sung  by  Jarboe),  are  delicate,  gentle 
ballads,  finally  providing  a  reference  point  for  the  more 
thunderous  numbers.  The  lyrics  deal  with  religious  ob- 
session, submission  and  suffering — they  are  stated  sim- 
ply yet  remain  open  to  all  sorts  of  interpretations.  A 
unique  and  powerful  vision. 

After  releasing  a  farethewell-to-the-past  live  album 
(Feel  Good  Now),  the  Swans  entered  a  new  and  more 
accessible  career  phase  with  a  pair  of  slickly  listenable 
but  utterly  useless  covers  of  Joy  Division's  "Love  Will 
Tear  Us  Apart"  (apparently  in  a  cynical  bid  to  get  col- 
lege radio  play)  on  a  1988  EP  that  also  contains  alter- 
nate versions  of  two  Children  of  God  tracks.  The  group 
then  signed  to  a  major  label  and  teamed  up  with 
producer/bassist  Bill  Laswell.  Perhaps  the  best  Leonard 
Cohen  record  he  never  made,  The  Burning  World  ben- 
efits a  great  deal  from  the  world-music  instrumentation 
and  structural  abilities  Laswell  brings  to  it.  The  arrange- 
ments are  uniformly  strong,  the  gentler  sounds  don't 
strike  one  as  a  compromise  and  the  cover  of  Blind 
Faith's  "Can't  Find  My  Way  Home"  is  both  apt  and 
surprising,  A  nice  one  that's  almost  as  haunting  as  it 
wants  to  be. 

Skin  is  a  spinoff  band  of  Gira  and  Jarboe.  The  duo's 
first  release,  Blood,  Women,  Koses,  is  an  LP  domi- 
nated by  Jarboe *s  avant-garde  torch  songs.  The  overall 
tone  is  one  of  quiet  passion,  with  mostly  acoustic  in- 
struments, but  the  occasional  drum  thunder  will  remind 
the  listener  of  just  who  these  folks  are.  Highlights  in- 
clude the  mostly  vocal  and  percussion  "Come  Out"  and 
an  impressive  reading  of  Gershwin's  **The  Man  I 
Love,"  Swans,  yes,  but  they'll  always  be  one  of  rock's 
ugliest  ducklings. 

Following  a  second  sortie  (Shame,  Humility,  Re- 
venge), Skin  combined  both  of  its  records  (minus  a  few 
tracks)  and  reissued  them  as  The  World  of  Skin, 
Around  1990,  Skin  became  the  World  of  Skin;  with  Ten 
Songs  for  Another  World  (released  on  a  label  Gira 
created  to  release  new  product  and  reissue  old  Swans 
material),  they  effectively  close  whatever  gap  existed 
between  it  and  the  Swans.  As  varied  as  The  Burning 
World,  die  album  features  some  amusing  psychedelic 


touches,  as  well  as  a  nice-try  cover  of  Nick  Drake's 
"Black  Eyed  Dog  "  Pere  Ubu  bassist  Tony  Maimone 
and  Mary  My  Hope  guitarist  Clinton  Steele  guest  on  the 
LP  which,  for  all  its  dour  subject  matter,  comes  off 
lighter  and  less  would-be  monolithic  than  anything  Gira 
and  Jarboe  have  previously  done. 

Anonymous  Bodies  in  an  Empty  Room  is  a  live 
(presumably  authorized)  bootleg  of  Burning  World 
material  and  two  new  songs.  jjl/dgs/gk] 

See  also  Circus  Mort,  Lydia  Lunch,  Of  Cabbages 
and  Kings,  Prong,  Ritual  Tension. 

See  Pop. 

inside  (Columbia)  1 986 
Earth  (A&M)  1 989  ® 

Interesting  list  of  musical  connections  for  the  ex- 
Oh-OK  guitarist's  solo  debut,  produced  in  NYC,  Bos- 
ton, London  and  LA  by  Stephen  Hague,  Scott  Litt,  Don 
Dixon,  David  Kahne  and  Dave  Allen,  among  others. 
The  Nebraskan  native  co-wrote  three  songs  with  Pal 
Shazar  (ex-Slow  Children)  plus  one  each  with  Jules 
Shear  and  Adele  Bertei;  performers  include  Aimee  Mann 
('Til  Tuesday),  John  McGeoch  (Magazine,  Banshees), 
two  Bangles,  Jody  Harris,  Mike  Campbell  (Petty 's 
Heartbreakers),  Valerie  Simpson  (Ashford  and  .  .  .  ), 
Bernie  Worrell,  Chris  Stamey,  Fred  Maher  and  Anton 
Fier— again,  among  others.  (Sweet  was  part  of  a  1987 
Golden  Palominos  mini-tour. ) 

For  all  of  this  impressive  name-dropping,  Sweet 
plays  nearly  everything  himself  on  two  tracks,  and  man- 
ages to  maintain  a  consistent  feel  throughout  Inside, 
which  is  a  bit  like  R.E.M.  and  early  dB's  doing  sincere 
power-pop  with  keyboards.  While  most  of  Side  Two  is 
simply  good,  four  of  the  five  tracks  on  Side  One  are 
excellent. 

Recording  Earth  in  Los  Angeles,  Sweet  diluted  his 
England-via-Georgia  sound  with  a  dose  of  SoCal  laid- 
backisrn.  (Ironically,  most  of  the  participants  are  from 
the  East  Coast,  mainly  New  York.)  Dave  Allen  and 
Fred  Maher  co-produced  with  Sweet;  Kate  Pierson  of 
the  B-52's  and  Trip  Shakespeare  chip  in  backing  vocals, 
while  mucho  guitar  is  supplied  by  Richard  Lloyd,  Rob- 
ert Quine  and  Gary  Lucas  (ex-Beefheart).  The  album 
overdoses  on  pleasantness  at  moderate  tempos — please, 
get  obtrusive  already!  (A  snappy  rocker  on  Side  Two  is 
merely  an  aberration.)  Not  bad,  but  a  disappointment 
after  the  promise  of  Inside.  [jg] 

See  also  Lloyd  Cole  and  the  Commotions,  Oh-OK. 

RACHEL  SWEET 

Fool  Around  (Stiff-Columbia)  1 978 
Protect  the  innocent  (Stiff-Columbia)  1980 
...  And  Then  He  Kissed  Me  (Columbia)  1 981 
Blame  It  on  Love  (Columbia)  1 982 

The  proverbial  little  girl  with  the  big  voice,  Rachel 
Sweet  burst  out  of  Akron,  Ohio  in  her  early  teens  under 
the  watchful  eye  of  producer  Liam  Stemberg.  An  inte- 
gral component  (along  with  Lene  Lovich)  of  the  second 
Stiff  Records  signing  blitz,  Sweet  recorded  an  impres- 
sive debut  on  which  Sternberg  figured  prominently  as 


649 


both  writer  and  producer.  In  its  original  English  release, 
Fool  Around  is  a  great-sounding  record  that  has  Sweet 
voicing  Steinberg's  vision  of  the  hip  girl-child.  The 
American  version — remixed,  re-ordered  and  with  two 
different  tracks — has  less  verve. 

Protect  the  Innocent  shows  Sweet  forsaking  Stern- 
berg's  new  wave-^Mw-country  sensibility,  muddling 
about  in  search  of  a  focal  point.  Dolled  up  in  black 
leather  and  singing  songs  that  run  the  gamut  from  Lou 
Reed's  "New  Age"  to  Elvis'  "Baby,  Let's  Play 
House"  to  the  Damned's  "New  Rose,"  Sweet  seems 
the  victim  of  somebody's  half-assed  marketing  goof. 

And  Then  He  Kissed  Me  is  Sweet's  third  horse 
change  in  the  middle  of  a  career  busy  going  nowhere,  a 
Spectorish  stab  at  MOR  rock.  Devoid  of  the  freshness 
that  was  her  most  obvious  asset,  the  LP  contains  her  first 
genuine  American  hit,  "Everlasting  Love,"  a  duet  with 
teen  dream  Rex  Smith. 

Blame  It  on  Love  shows  signs  of  revitalization. 
Though  it  sounds  Tom  Petty-influenced,  Sweet  wrote 
the  entire  album's  worth  of  catchy  material.  She  may 
never  regain  the  youthful  charm  of  her  debut  LP,  but  at 
least  this  LP  shows  her  regaining  control  over  her  mu- 
sical direction. 

The  diminutive  powerhouse  was  not  again  heard 
from  until  early  1988,  when  John  Waters  tapped  her  to 
record  the  title  song  of  his  film,  Hairspray.  Sweet  en- 
tered the  TV  world  in  '89  with  a  daily  show  on  cable's 
Comedy  Channel  and  wound  up  (reportedly)  as  the  voice 
of  Barbie  on  a  Saturday  morning  cartoon.  [jw/i] 

SWEET  TOOTH 

See  Godflesh. 

SWELL  MAPS 

A  Trip  to  Marineville  (nr/Rather-Rough  Trade)  1 979 

(nr/Mute)  1989® 
Jane  from  Occupied  Europe  (nr/Rather-Rough  Trade) 

1980  (nr/Mute)  1989® 
Whatever  Happens  Next . . .  (nr/Rather-Rough  Trade) 

1981 

Collision  Time  (nr/Rather-Rough  Trade)  1 982 
Train  Out  of  It  (nr/Antar)  1 987 
Collision  Time  Revisited  (Mute-Restless)  1 989  * 

JOWE  HEAD 

Pincer  Movement  (nr/Armageddon)  1981 
Strawberry  Deutschmark  (Ger.  Constrictor)  1 986 
The  Jowe  Head  Personal  Organizer  (Ger.  Constrictor) 
1989 

In  existence  for  most  of  the  '70s,  England's  Swell 
Maps  proved  that  a  group  of  intelligent,  fearless,  ver- 
satile people  can  record  five  LPs  and  produce  little  of 
any  lasting  value.  Though  promising  at  the  outset,  Swell 
Maps  (from  a  town  outside  Birmingham)  succumbed  to 
preciousness  and  self-indulgence  with  depressing 
speed.  Significantly,  however,  three  of  the  Maps'  four 
mainstays — Jowe  Head  (bass  /  vocals)  and  brothers 
Nikki  Sudden  (guitar/vocals)  and  Epic  Soundtracks 
(drams/keyboards) — have  continued  to  be  major  figures 
on  the  international  independent  music  scene. 

A  Trip  to  Marineville,  released  with  a  bonus  four- 
song  EP,  finds  our  embryonic  cartographers  dabbling  in 


Pistols-styled  punk  and  more  experimental  noise- 
making,  using  unorthodox  implements.  Despite  their  en- 
ergy and  tenacious  desire  to  produce  something  new, 
the  package  simply  does  not  contain  enough  ideas  that 
work.  The  following  Jane  from  Occupied  Europe 
shows  the  band's  confidence  waxing  while  its  will  to 
organize  wanes.  Since  it's  the  desire  to  organize  sound 
that  fills  the  gap  left  when  avant-gardists  throw  the  rules 
away,  this  proved  to  be  Swell  Maps'  undoing. 

By  the  time  of  the  interminable  two-record  What- 
ever Happens  Next,  mainly  a  collection  of  homemade 
cassette  demos  dating  back  to  1974,  Swell  Maps  were 
rambling  and  floundering.  CoSMsion  Time  consists  of 
about  half  of  Jane  from  Occupied  Europe  plus  an 
assortment  of  singles  and  other  album  cuts.  The  group 
broke  up  in  1980. 

Following  Nikki  Sudden's  success  in  the  Jacobites, 
a  posthumous  compilation  of  singles  and  outtakes, 
Train  Out  of  It,  was  issued.  Two  years  later,  as  the 
group's  first  two  LPs  were  reissued,  Collision  Time 
Revisited,  a  27-song  retrospective  of  rarities,  singles, 
album  tracks  and  unreleased  efforts  (with  brief  adula- 
tory liner  notes  from  Sonic  Youth's  Thurston  Moore) 
appeared,  putting  a  final  cap  on  the  Maps. 

Besides  playing  in  the  Television  Personalities  and 
the  Palookas,  Jowe  Head  has  made  a  couple  of  solo 
albums.  Personal  Organizer  sounds  like  a  low-budget 
Captain  Sensible  record,  with  casual,  accented  vocals 
(in  a  nice,  deep  voice)  and  casual,  accented  music. 
Head  draws  on  cabaret  pop,  '60s  cinema,  dinky  elec- 
tronics, industrial  noise  and  his  own  multicultural  imag- 
ination to  put  together  weirditties  like  "Sudden 
Showe,"  "Lolita"  and  "Nebelwerfer,"  a  gloomy  Ger- 
man-language number  that  quotes  disco  lyrics,  [mf/i] 

See  also  Barracudas,  Crime  and  the  City  Solution, 
Nikki  Sudden. 

SWIMMING  POOL  Q'S 

The  Deep  End  (DB)  1981 

The  Swimming  Pool  Q's  (A&M)  1 984 

Blue  Tomorrow  (A&M)  1 986 

The  Firing  Squad  for  God  EP  (DB)  1 987 

World  War  Two  Point  Five  (DB-Capitol)  1 989  * 

ANNE  RICHMOND  BOSTON 

The  Big  House  of  Time  (DB)  1 990  • 

While  the  snappy  first  album  by  Atlanta's  Swim- 
ming Pool  Q's  generally  follows  the  Athens  sound-— a 
singular  fusion  of  collegiate-ham  artiness  and  post-punk 
desperation — the  Q's  add  a  few  interesting  wrinkles  of 
their  own.  "Big  Fat  Tractor"  favors  "Rock  Lobster" 
whimsicality,  but  "Rat  Bait"  is  an  exhilarating  chip  off 
Captain  Beefheart's  block  with  jarring  rhythms  and 
growling  guitar.  In  "Stick  in  My  Hand,"  the  Q's  apply 
a  heavy  blues  throb  and  aggro-folk  vocal  harmonies 
(guitarist/songwriter  Jeff  Calder  and  organist  Anne 
Richmond  Boston)  to  a  story  of  Southern  religious  fa- 
naticism. What's  more,  they  have  a  great  sense  of  black 
humor,  like  the  comic  masochism  of  "I  Like  to  Take 
Orders  from  You," 

The  Q's  play  it  more  seriously  on  their  second  al- 
bum, blending  intelligent,  evocative  lyrics  with  a  roar- 
ing folk-into-rock  sound.  When  Boston  sings  "The 
Bells  Ring,"  you  feel  like  you're  on  the  Trail  ways  bus 


650 


with  her,  escaping  from  romance,  with  a  walkman 
turned  up  full-blast.  When  Calder  sings  "Pull  Back  My 
Spring,"  you  can  tangibly  sense  the  tension.  Armed 
with  excellent,  semi-regional  songs  and  great  flexibility 
in  arranging  and  singing  them,  the  quintet  fills  the  LP 
with  honest,  heartfelt  music  that  has  inherent  strength 
not  reliant  on  volume  or  dance  beats. 

Blue  Tomorrow  is  even  better,  evidencing  the 
band's  growing  confidence  and  burgeoning  songwriting 
skill.  Mike  Hewlett's  production  finesse  adds  the  audio 
definition  and  power  their  records  previously  lacked;  the 
Q's  take  the  opportunity  to  stretch  their  stylistic  range 
further  afield  than  ever  before.  Boston's  vocals  are 
exquisite — Linda  Ronstadt  meets  Wanda  Jackson  and 
Sandy  Denny — and  songs  like  "Now  I'm  Talking  About 
Now,"  "Pretty  on  the  Inside"  and  "More  Than  One 
Heaven"  show  them  off  to  best  effect.  (For  aficionados, 
a  brand  new  version  of  "Big  Fat  Tractor"  demonstrates 
how  far  they've  traveled  since  that  first  LP.) 

Back  on  DB  Records,  the  Q's  next  issued  a  rocking, 
Cheap  Trickish  single,  "The  Firing  Squad  for  God," 
joined  on  a  12-inch  by  four  diverse  items  recorded  be- 
tween 1982  and  '86.  Although  she  designed  the  cover 
(and  plays  pedal  steel  on  "Working  in  the  Nut  Plant," 
the  oldest  track),  Boston  is  gone  from  the  band,  leaving 
a  stronger  but  less  sensitive  quartet. 

"The  Firing  Squad  for  God"  is  included  as  one  of 
two  bonus  tracks  on  the  CD  version  of  the  unjustly 
neglected  World  War  Two  Point  Five.  Even  without 
Boston  (who  nonetheless  designed  the  swell  cover),  it's 
a  fine  record — an  audacious  song  cycle  outlining  the 
spiritual  downslide  of  post-WW  II  America.  With  equal 
proportions  of  humor  ("The  Lord  of  Wiggling," 
"Sweet  Reward")  and  sadness  ("1943  A.D,,"  "The 
Common  Years,"  "More  Often  Than  Never"),  the 
songs  convey  a  tragic  sense  of  loss,  and  mark  Calder  as 
an  increasingly  accomplished  tunesmith  and  conceptu- 
alist.  Additionally,  the  underrated  Bob  Elsey's  guitar 
work  is  more  inventive  than  ever. 

The  Q's  toured  in  1989  with  Windbreaker  Tim  Lee 
standing  in  for  longtime  bassist  I.E.  Garnett,  who'd  left 
to  join  a  reformed  Atlanta  Rhythm  Section  (!).  More 
recently,  Calder  has  been  dividing  his  musical  attentions 
between  the  Q's  and  the  Supreme  Court,  a  collaboration 
with  veteran  avant-guitarist  Glenn  Phillips  (an  occa- 
sional Q's  guest). 

Meanwhile,  Boston  returned  from  self-imposed  mu- 
sical exile  with  The  Big  House  of  Time,  a  strong  solo 
effort  that  reveals  her  as  a  mature,  confident  pop  stylist. 
In  addition  to  tuneful  new  songs  by  her  ex-Coolie  hus- 
band Rob  Gal  (who  also  co-produced  and  played  guitar) 
and  a  new  Calder  tune,  Boston  breathes  life  into  familiar 
material  by  John  Sebastian,  John  Hiatt  and  Neil  Young. 

[df/i/hd] 


STEVE  SWINDELLS 

See  Hawkwind. 


SWINGERS 

Picking  Up  Strangers  (Am.  Mushroom)  1 982 
Counting  the  Beat  (Backstreet)  1 982 


VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Starstruck  (A&M)  1 983 

PHIL  JUDD 

Private  Lives  (Aus.  Mushroom)  1 983 
The  Swinger  EP  (MCA)  1 983 

The  Sound  of  Trees  (Atlantic)  1 990  4> 

Leading  the  three-man  Swingers  up  from  Down  Un- 
der, ex-Split  Enz  guitarist/composer  Phil  Judd  rejected 
his  earlier,  convoluted  melodicism  for  a  still-quirky  but 
more  compact,  abrasive  approach,  with  phenomenal  re- 
sults. Judd's  eccentric  mental  mixmaster  spews  out  the 
cliches  of  mid- '60s  Anglo-rock  (Beatles,  Stones,  Who, 
Kinks)  wackily  updated,  unreal  and  askew.  His  Dave 
Davies-as-young-schizo  vocals  (often  abetted  by  gib- 
berish falsettos)  deliver  lyrics  almost  too  rock-song- 
banal  to  believe,  surrounded  by  twangy  guitars  that 
resemble  so  many  layers  of  electrified  rubber  bands. 
(The  band  performed  selections  from  both  of  their  LPs 
in  the  1982  movie  Star  struck,  the  soundtrack  album  of 
which  contains  Swingers  tracks  not  found  on  Counting 
the  Beat.) 

Following  the  Swingers,  Judd  made  a  solo  album, 
the  Australian-only  Private  Lives,  partially  produced 
by  Al  Kooper.  Although  the  cover  is  nicely  surreal,  the 
American  EP  that  draws  five  songs  from  it  shows  no 
audible  vestiges  of  his  once-eccentric  outlook,  instead 
offering  forgettable  missives  from  the  mainstream.  Iron- 
ically, the  album's  six  superior  tracks — deemed  unfit  for 
American  consumption  (and  co-produced  by  Judd) — 
reveal  that  the  old  goofball  still  has  a  few  aces  up  his 
sleeve. 

A  bunch  of  years  later,  Judd  made  an  unexpected 
and  quite  welcome  return  as  the  leader  of  Schnell  Fen- 
ster  (huh?),  a  quartet  that  includes  old  Enz-mates  Nigel 
Griggs  (bass)  and  Noel  Crombie  (drums).  This  over- 
looked gem  finds  Mr.  J  as  appealingly  warped  as  ever, 
playing  the  excitable  boy  to  the  hilt  on  askew  anthems 
and  fractured  funk.  Spooky,  funny  and  haunting. 

See  also  Split  Enz.  [tr/jy] 


SWING  OUT  SISTER 

Ifs  Better  to  Travel  (Mercury)  1 987  * 
Another  Non-Stop  Sister  (Jap.  Mercury)  1 987  • 
Kaleidoscope  World  (Fontana)  1 989  * 

Quite  unlike  most  of  the  groups  emerging  from 
Manchester  in  the  late  '80s,  Swing  Out  Sister  follow  the 
path  of  such  neo-smoothies  as  Everything  but  the  Girl 
and  Sade;  jazzy,  horn-colored  pop  that  puts  an  '80s 
techno  veneer  to  the  smoky  aroma  of  late- '50s  night- 
clubs. The  first  album  introduces  the  trio:  Martin  Jack- 
son (Magazine's  original  drummer  and  a  later  member 
of  the  Chameleons),  keyboardist  Andy  Conneil  (for- 
merly of  A  Certain  Ratio)  and  Conine  Drewery  (ex- 
Working  Week).  Drewery  *s  cool,  dry  vocals  perfectly 
suit  such  appealing,  uptempo  creations  as  "Breakout," 
"Fooled  by  a  Smile"  and  "Twilight  World."  Unfortu- 
nately, the  songwriting  is  inconsistent:  if  all  the  material 
were  of  the  same  quality,  It's  Better  to  Travel  would 
be  an  out-and-out  joy.  (Another  Non-Stop  Sister 


651 


matches  three  new  tunes  with  five  remixed  album 
tracks  ) 

Recording  the  second  album  as  a  duo  (although 
Jackson  did  some  drum  programming,  he's  out  of  the 
band),  Connell  and  Brewery  revealed  their  Jimmy 
Webb  jones.  Interestingly,  while  they  got  the  real  Mc- 
Coy in  to  arrange  and  conduct  the  orchestra  for  two 
songs,  those  aren't  the  tracks  that  most  resemble  the  5th 
Dimension  or '  'Mac  Arthur  Park. ' '  ( *  'You  on  My  Mind' ' 
wins  that  award;  Webb's  work  on  "Precious  Words" 
sounds  more  like  Burt  Bacharach.)  By  employing 
Webb's  approach  but  cutting  down  the  syrupy  excess, 
Swing  Out  Sister  reinterpret  a  corner  of  '60s  pop  with- 
out any  sour  aftertaste.  Indicating  one  stylistic  formula 
SOS  should  abandon,  "Waiting  Game"  mixes  elec- 
tronic dance  percussion  with  strings.  The  arrangement 
ill  suits  Brewery's  voice — despite  a  passing  visual  re- 
semblance, Lisa  Stansfield  she's  not.  [i] 


SWOLLEN  MONKEYS 

After  Birth  of  the  Cool  (Cachalot)  1 981 

Every  rock  generation  has  its  hip  hornmen.  As  an 
outgrowth  of  Ohio's  Tin  Huey/Waitresses  axis,  the 
Swollen  Monkeys  (which  featured  Ralph  Carney  of  the 
Hueys  and  Mars  Williams,  later  of  the  Psychedelic  Furs, 
as  well  as  future  Shimmy-Disc  supremo  Mark  Kramer 
on  "noisy  tape  loops")  brought  an  anarchic  new  wave 
sensibility  to  horn-happy  Spike  Jones-influenced  toot- 
ing. Produced  by  Hal  Willner,  After  Birth  of  the  Cool 
is  a  three-ring  circus  of  kinetic  instrumentals  and  loopy 
vocal  songs,  more  silly  than  serious  and  plenty  fun.  If 
They  Might  Be  Giants  had  been  around  a  few  years 
earlier,  the  Swollen  Monkeys  would  have  definitely 
been  their  horn  section.  [i] 


SYLVAIN  SYLVAIN 

Sylvain  Sylvain  (RCA)  1979 

78  Criminals  (Fr,  Fan  Club)  1985 

SYL  SYLVAIN  AND  THE 
TEARDROPS 

Syl  Sylvain  and  the  Teardrops  (RCA)  1981 

To  hear  Syl  Sylvain  nowadays,  you'd  never  guess 
he  was  once  a  member  of  the  dreaded,  subversive  New 
York  Dolls.  For  one  thing,  he's  an  absolutely  winsome 
singer,  the  perfect  punk-with-a-heart-of-gold  who  seems 
to  be  striking  an  "aw,  shucks!"  pose  at  the  mic.  For 
another,  his  records  are  glistening,  rocking  pop  with  no 
hard  edges,  plenty  of  ingratiating  melodies  and  lots  of 
pizzazz.  One  of  the  fun  things  about  Syl  is  trying  to  spot 
all  the  elements  his  eclecticism  has  absorbed.  Over  the 
course  of  these  two  LPs,  he  borrows  from  salsa,  Tom 
Petty,  Phil  Spector,  Gary  Lewis  and  the  Playboys  and 
many  more. 

Sylvain's  solo  debut  features  the  breathless  "14th 
Street  Beat,"  an  ode  to  the  Big  Apple;  the  better-focused 
follow-up  (with  different  musical  associates)  heightens 
the  romantic  angle  with  such  tunes  as  "I  Can't  Forget 
Tomorrow,"  "Just  One  Kiss"  and  "It's  Love."  Pure 
charm. 

'78  Criminals  is  a  compilation  of  singles  Sylvain 
did  with  various  bands,  including  the  Criminals,  follow- 
ing the  Dolls'  collapse.  [jy] 


Brilliant  Trees  (nr/Virgin)  1984  • 

Alchemy-An  Index  of  Possibilities  [tape]  (nr/Virgin) 

1985 

Words  with  the  Shaman  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1985  • 
Gone  to  Earth  (Virgin)  1986® 
Secrets  of  the  Beehive  (Virgin)  1 987  © 
Weatherbox  [CD]  (Virgin)  1989  • 

Plight  &  Premonition  (Venture-Virgin)  1 988  ® 
Flux  +  Mutability  [CD]  (Venture-Virgin)  1989  ® 

Unfairly  characterized  as  a  poseur  since  his  earliest 
days  with  Japan,  David  Sy Man's  obtusely  alluring  mu- 
sic and  muse  rendered  him  one  of  the  most  distinctive 
and  influential  artists  of  the  '80s.  Besides  his  own  work, 
Sylvian  has  collaborated  extensively  with  escapees  from 
the  rock  world  (Ryuichi  Sakamoto,  Holger  Czukay, 
Robert  Fripp,  Bill  Nelson)  as  well  as  jazz  figures  (in- 
cluding horn  players  Jon  Hassell,  Kenny  Wheeler  and 
Mark  Isham). 

Sylvian's  solo  career  began  shortly  before  Japan 
split  in  '82,  when  he  released  the  first  of  two  singles 
with  Sakamoto  (the  second,  1983's  "Forbidden  Co- 
lours," was  part  of  the  soundtrack  for  the  dreary  Merry 
Christmas  Mr.  Lawrence)  very  much  in  the  late- Japan 
style.  With  assistance  from  former  bandmates  Steve  Jan- 
sen  (Sylvian's  brother;  the  family  name  is  Batt)  and 
Richard  Barbieri,  Brilliant  Trees  expands  and  refines 
that  approach;  contributions  from  Czukay,  Sakamoto 
and  Hassell  emphasize  Sylvian's  growing  immersion  in 
jazz  and  more  esoteric  musics,  most  successfully  on 
"The  Ink  in  the  Well'*  and  the  less  structured  second 
side, 

Sylvian  then  embarked  upon  a  perplexingly  compli- 
cated multimedia  project.  He  made  a  Japanese  video 
documentary  called  Preparations  for  a  Journey  (from 
which  a  20-minute  short  entitled  Steel  Cathedrals  was 
released)  based  on  an  exhibit  of  his  photographs  (later 
assembled  into  a  lavishly-packaged  book,  Perspectives)', 
the  video's  ephemeral  (some  might  say  near-comatose) 
ambient  music  was  issued  as  a  cassette  (Alchemy-An 
Index  of  Possibilities),  extracts  of  which  became  an  EP 
(Words  with  the  Shaman),  Now  that's  maximizing 
creative  effort. 

The  ambitious  double-LP  Gone  to  Earth  marks  a 
more  substantial  departure  in  technique.  Although  Jan- 
sen  and  Barbieri  participate,  Sylvian  pursues  a  sparser, 
more  natural  setting,  as  the  strong  presence  of  Fripp, 
Nelson  and  Wheeler  moves  the  music  further  and  fur- 
ther out.  While  some  parts  are  sharply  and  jarringly 
defined,  others  are  like  Music  for  Airports  in  Antarc- 
tica, TThie  first  disc  contains  relatively  conventional 
songs,  contrasting  the  jazzy  'Taking  the  Veil"  with  the 
languid  drift  of  "Before  the  Bullfight/'  the  grating 
Fripp-onance  of  the  title  track  with  the  almost  schmaltzy 
** Silver  Moon**  and  ** Laughter  &  Forgetting" — by  far 
the  most  conventional  "love"  songs  he's  ever  released, 
The  second  disc,  which  consists  entirely  of  lulling,  of- 
ten rhythmless  instrumentals,  could  safely  be  titled 
Gone  to  Sleep. 

While  pursuing  a  more  jazz-oriented  and  acoustic- 
based  direction  with  notable  contributions  from  Saka- 
moto and  Isham,  Secrets  of  the  Beehive  is  significantly 


652 


more  accessible  (reaching  the  VH-1  audience,  "Or-  The  subtitles  of  the  two  pieces  on  Flux  +  Mutability — 

pheus"  became  a  near  hit).  Abandoning  its  predeces-  "A  big,  bright,  colourful  world"  and  "A  new  begin- 

sor's  spaciness,  the  simpler  format  still  manages  to  ning  is  in  the  offing" — fairly  reflect  their  music, 
cover  nearly  as  much  territory.  Weatherfoox  is  a  lavishly  packaged  five-CD  set  that 

Sylvian's  two  albums  with  Czukay  feature  other  contains  Brilliant  Trees,  an  expanded  Alchemy,  Gone 

members  of  Can  (as  well  as  Markus  Stockhausen)  and  to  Earth  and  Secrets  of  the  Beehive,  as  well  as  an 

contain  long,  lulling  instrumentals — not  unlike  exten-  extensive  and  carefully  detailed  booklet.  [i/ja] 

sions  of  Gone  to  Earth  and  Secrets  of  the  Beehive.  See  also  Can,  Japan,  Ryuichi  Sakamoto. 


653 


t    T    T    T    T    T    T    T 


HAJIME  TACHIBANA 

See  Plastics. 

Friendly  as  a  Hand  Grenade  (TVT)  1 989  • 
Strange  Things  (SBK)  1 990  • 

"No  Sell  Out"  (Tommy  Boy)  1983 
Major  Malfunction  (World)  1986 
Stranger  Than  Fiction  (Nettwerk-Enigma)  1 989  ® 

GARY  CLAIL'S  TACKHEAD 
SOUND  SYSTEM 

Tackhead  Tape  Time  (Netlweric-Capitol)  1987  • 

GARY  CLAIL  &  ON-U  SOUND 
SYSTEM 

End  of  the  Century  Party  (nr/On-U  Sound)  1989  * 

GARY  CLAIL 

The  Emotional  Hooligan  (nr/Perfecto)  1991  « 

The  winding  path  of  the  Tackhead  collective  can  be 
a  confusing — if  musically  fascinating — adventure  for 
even  its  most  ardent  followers.  The  concept  originated 
when  the  members  of  New  Jersey  disco/rap  label  Sugar 
Hill's  house  band — Keith  LeBlanc  (drums,  percussion, 
keyboards),  Doug  Wimbish  (bass)  and  Skip  McDonald 
(guitar) — collided  with  British  dub  producer  Adrian 
Sherwood.  Besides  going  on  to  work  with  Mark  Stewart 
and  releasing  singles  as  Fats  Comet,  the  collaboration's 
first  longplaymg  venture  into  the  world  of  overturned 
rhythms,  deconstructed  tunes  and  rearranged  found 
sound  was  released  as  Major  Malfunction  under  Keith 
LeB lane's  name,  presumably  because  the  drummer  had 
already  stirred  much  interest  with  his  provocative  cut-up 
dance  hit  of  Malcolm  X  speeches,  "No  Sell  Out,"  and 
a  similarly  conceived  tribute  to  England's  striking 
miners. 

Enter  Gary  Clail,  an  unconventional  British  MC  who 
specialized  in  adding  twisted  vocals  from  the  mixing 
board  during  Tackhead 's  live  shows.  Tackhead  Tape 
Time  is  effectively  the  group's  second  LP,  with  Clail 
rapping  and  chanting  semi-political  rants  through  what 
sounds  like  a  megaphone.  Abrasive  beats,  funky  guitars 
and  the  frequent  use  of  sampled  speeches  (Margaret 
Thatcher  is  a  perennial  Tackhead  favorite)  make  for  a 
mind-bending/butt-moving  experience . 

Stranger  Than  Fiction  is  again  credited  only  to 
LeBlanc,  but  Wimbish  and  McDonald  make  frequent 
appearances,  Clail  pops  up  once,  and  Sherwood  co- 
produced.  Clearly  political  without  ever  being  overtly 
so,  the  album  is  never  less  than  intriguing,  ranging  from 
the  pure  rhythmic  repetition  of  "Einstein"  to  the  jazz 
feel  of  "Count  This"  and  the  eerie  ambience  of  "Men 
in  Capsules.** 

Adding  Bernard  Fowler  as  lead  singer,  Tackhead 


attempted  to  solidify  into  a  proper  group  with  its  "de- 
but" album,  Friendly  as  a  Hand  Grenade.  Opening 
and  closing  with  the  jaunty  "Ska  Trek,"  living  up  to  the 
title  of  "Demolition  House"  and  pursuing  the  by -now- 
familiar  sardonic  comments  on  the  military  with  the 
infectious  "Airborne  Ranger,"  Friendly  indeed  finds 
Tackhead  at  its  most  coherent. 

Strange  Things  did  indeed  happen  on  the  way  to  a 
major  deal.  After  years  of  tantalizing  avant-garde 
sounds,  Tackhead  launched  themselves  wholeheartedly 
into  the  mainstream  and  completely  lost  their  sense  of 
purpose.  As  angry  black  rockers,  they  aren't  close  to 
Living  Colour;  as  funky  cynics,  they  are  leagues  behind 
Was  (Not  Was).  As  electronic  experimentalists,  they 
are  not  a  patch  on  their  former  selves. 

Gary  Clail,  meanwhile,  remained  back  in  Britain; 
while  he  continues  to  draw  from  the  Tackhead  talent 
pool,  his  vision  is  thankfully  much  clearer.  End  of  the 
Century  Party  is  dub-heavy,  a  white  reggae  record  that 
uses  vocal  samples,  football  chants,  rap  and  narration. 
Clail  may  be  politically  obsessed,  but  he  is  only  occa- 
sionally dogmatic.  His  vegetarian  rap  "Beef,"  which 
reconstructs  a  famed  Public  Enemy  phrase,  was  subse- 
quently revamped  to  launch  a  new  British  record  label 
(Perfecto)  and  became  a  minor  hit.  [tf] 

See  also  New  Age  Steppers,  Mark  Stewart  and  the 
Maffia. 


TAD 

God's  Balls  (Sub  Pop)  1989 
Salt  Lick  (Sub  Pop)  1 990  « 
8-Way  Santa  (Sub  Pop)  1991  +  1991  • 

Hey,  they  laughed  at  Leslie  West,  too!  If  you're 
gonna  wallow  in  the  loud  dumb  excesses  of  '70s  hard 
rock,  this  slow-moving  Seattle  quartet— led  by  large- 
and-in-charge  guitarist/growler/namesake/Idaho  native 
Tad  Doyle — gets  up  as  good  a  head  of  steam  as  anyone, 
and  with  better  focus  and  more  gumption  than  most, 
God's  Balis  (70  percent  of  which  is  bonusized  on  the 
Salt  Lick  CD  and  cassette)  defines  the  band's  face-in- 
the-mud  perspective  in  songs  like  "Satan's  Chainsaw," 
"Behemoth,"  "Nipple  Belt"  (something  mass  mur- 
derer Ed  Gein  actually  owned)  and  "Boiler  Room" 
(source  of  the  LP's  title)  backing  up  Doyle's  rugged 
vocals  with  serious  sludge-guitar  riff/feedback  power, 

Steve  Albini  produced  Salt  Lick,  a  dose  of  angry 
saw-toothed  intensity  that  recasts  Tad  as  a  far  noisier 
behemoth.  In  "Wood  Goblins,"  Kurt  Damelson's 
speeding  bass  sounds  like  a  radioactive  rubber  band; 
throughout  the  seven  tracks,  Doyle  and  Gary 
Thorstensen  peel  off  splintery  guitar  sounds  that  deserve 
the  word  "metal"  more  than  any  deathmongermg  glam- 
pussies. 

8- Way  Santa  was  withdrawn  and  reissued  with  a 


654 


new  cover  after  one  of  the  two  unwitting  cover  stars 
took  exception  to  seeing  her  photo  on  the  sleeve,   [pn] 

B 

The  Power  of  a  Woman  (Comptown-MCA)  1 990  ® 

With  a  guest  endorsement  by  Eazy-E  and  production 
on  two  tracks  by  Schoolly  D,  California's  hip-hop 
blonde  Madonna  busts  her  tough-girl  rhymes  in  an  in- 
effectual little  voice,  but  with  a  lot  of  heart.  Armed  with 
an  uncommon  persona — rejecting  the  culture's  usual  sex 
roles  to  be  one  of  the  boys  who  knows  she's  a  woman — 
Taime  B  (it's  pronounced  Terry)  almost  gets  over  on 
sheer  attitude  (check  "Ruthless  Bitch"  and  "Murder 
She  Wrote,"  both  of  which  are  really  cool  tracks),  but 
she's  doesn't  quite  have  the  juice  to  make  most  of  her 
claims  sound  convincing.  [i] 

YUKIHIRO  TAKAHASHi 

Sarovah!  (Jap.  Toshiba-EM!)  1977  (Jap.  Seven  Seas) 

c.  1 989  • 

Neuromantic  (Alfa)  1 981 
Murdered  by  the  Music  (nr/Statik)  1 982 
What,  Me  Worry?  (nr/Alfa)  1982 
What  Me  Worry?  EP  (Jap.  Yen-Alfa)  1 982 
Time  and  Place  (Jap.  Yen-Alfa)  1 983 
Wild  &  Moody  (nr/Cocteau)  1985 
Poisson  d'Avril  (Jap,  Yen-Alfa)  1985 
The  Brand  New  Day  (Jap.  Alfa)  1 985  ® 
Broadcast  from  Heaven  (Jap.  EMi)  1990  » 

BEATNIKS 

The  Beatniks  (nr/Statik)  1 982 

The  outside  projects  of  Yellow  Magic  Orchestra 
drummer/ vocalist  Takahashi  (not  to  mention  his  col- 
league, Ryuichi  Sakamoto)  suggest  that  there  was  some- 
thing amiss  with  the  band's  format  during  its  existence; 
his  solo  work  is  far  more  amusing,  even  when  the  other 
members  are  involved.  (They  contributed  half  an  al- 
bum's worth  to  his  solo  LPs  and  play  on  lots  more; 
Sakamoto  even  appears  on  the  pre-YMO  Saravah!  LP.) 

Takahashi 's  albums  are  far  less  programmatic  and 
predictable  than  YMO's.  He'll  go  from  a  reggae-style 
version  of  "Stop  in  the  Name  of  Love"  to  a  new- 
romantic  soap  opera  to  tongue-in-cheek  pop  powered  by 
galloping  synths  to  poignant  soul-searching  to  a  loopy 
update  of  Duane  Eddy  guitar  instrumentals.  He  gives 
prominence  to  guitar  (mostly  played  by  YMO  pal  Kenji 
Omura,  although  Bill  Nelson's  e-bow  graces  much  of 
What,  Me  Worry?  and  Phil  Manzanera,  bringing  fel- 
low Roxy  Musician  Andy  Mackay  along  for  the  ride 
with  sax  and  oboe,  is  on  much  of  Neuromantic), 

The  two  1982  albums  are  pleasant  surprises,  with 
playing  and  material  that's  at  once  aggressive  and  arty. 
Murdered  by  the  Music  (from  1980  but  unreleased  in 
the  West  for  two  years)  is  the  more  goofy  and  eclectic. 
The  What,  Me  Worry?  EP  features  three  tracks  from 
the  LP  of  the  same  name— one  with  Japanese  lyrics  this 
time — plus  another  bright  original  and  a  sprightly  cover 
of  an  old  German  tune, 

Selecting  those  songs  that  best  combine  melody  and 
muscle,  Time  and  Place  is  a  strong  live  set  mostly 
interpreting  Takaha&hFs  previous  repertoire  but  also 
adding  some  new  things  (plus  a  version  of  Bacharach/ 
David's  "The  April  Fools").  The  band  giving  it  all  a 


unified  feel  is  keyboardist  Keiichi  Suzuki,  Bill  Nelson, 
Hajime  Tachibana  (ex-Plastics)  and  drummer  David 
Palmer  Interestingly,  Takahashi  doesn't  drum— he 
sings,  plays  keyboards  and  guitar. 

Wild  &  Moody  is  an  LP  of  pretty  songs — mainly 
romantic,  though  a  little  lyrically  offbeat — dressed  (but 
not  tarted  up)  in  electro-dance  clothing.  Nothing  awe- 
some, but  nearly  all  of  it  delightful. 

Poisson  d'Avril  (the  French  idiom  meaning  April 
Fools)  is  the  soundtrack  of  a  film  starring  Takahashi.  (A 
large  poster  of  "Yuki"  is  included.)  He  was  apparently 
seized  by  an  urge  to  become  Butt  Bacharach;  a  surpris- 
ingly large  amount  of  it  is  movie  music,  in  the  style  of 
"sophisticated"  '60s  romantic  comedy.  Enh.  The  best 
of  it  is  represented  on  The  Brand  New  Day,  a  fairly 
representative  survey  of  his  Alfa  material  (i.e.  Neuro- 
mantic through  Poisson). 

The  Beatniks,  a  duo  of  Takahashi  and  Suzuki,  split 
all  the  playing  (including  some  twittery  synth)  and  sing- 
ing on  The  Beatniks.  Suzuki's  vocals  are  better  than 
Takahashi 's  (which  often  resemble  overly  echoed  mum- 
bling). The  lyrics,  most  in  English  and  the  rest  in 
French,  are  moodier  and  less  cogent  than  those  on 
Yuki's  solo  LPs.  Overall,  a  lukewarm  effort.  [jg] 

TALKING  HEADS 

Talking  Heads:  77  (Sire)  1977  » 

More  Songs  About  Buildings  and  Food  (Sire)  1 978  • 

Fear  of  Music  (Sire)  1979« 

Remain  in  Light  (Sire)  1 980  * 

The  Name  of  This  Band  Is  Talking  Heads  (Sire)  1 982  • 

Speaking  in  Tongues  (Sire)  1 983  « 

Stop  Making  Sense  (Sire)  1 984  * 

Little  Creatures  (Sire)  1 985  * 

True  Stories  (Sire)  1 986  « 

Naked  (Sire)  1 988  « 

Talking  Heads — three  conservative-looking  refu- 
gees from  the  Rhode  Island  School  of  Design — first  ap- 
peared on  the  New  York  Bowery  circuit  in  mid- 1975, 
playing  on  a  CBGB  bill  headlined  by  the  Ramones. 
From  the  outset,  it  was  clear  that,  although  the  Heads 
shared  an  attitude  and  commitment  to  self-expression 
with  the  other  bands  then  on  the  New  York  scene,  they 
were  charting  a  course  all  their  own.  That  individuality, 
coupled  with  a  strong  adventurous  streak,  has  resulted 
in  both  critical  and  commercial  success  for  their  group 
albums  and  some  spin-off  projects  as  well. 

Led  by  the  impossibly  high-strung  David  Byrne 
(who  has  mellowed  somewhat  over  the  years),  his  neu- 
rotic but  insightful  perceptions  focus  the  group's  sensi- 
bility. The  core  of  Talking  Heads  additionally  consists 
of  bassist  Tina  Weymouth,  drummer  Chris  Frantz  (now 
her  husband)  and  ex-Modern  Lover  keyboardist/ 
guitarist  Jerry  Harrison,  who  joined  the  trio  in  time  for 
their  first  album.  Together,  and  enlarged  at  times  by 
temporary  adjunct  members,  the  Heads  have  produced 
intellectual  dance  music  and  artistic  pop  of  different 
sorts,  finding  numerous  rewarding  levels  on  which  to 
function. 

Talking  Heads:  77  is  an  astonishing  debut  with  un- 
complicated, almost  low-key  music  supporting  tense, 
bizarre  lyrics,  sung  by  Byrne  in  a  wavering  voice.  He 
sounds  downright  uncomfortable  admitting  rather  than 
proclaiming  the  words,  but  that  only  adds  to  the  edgy 


655 


appeal  of  such  songs  as  "The  Book  I  Read,"  "Psycho 
Killer"  and  "Uh-Oh,  Love  Comes  to  Town." 

The  Heads  began  a  relationship  with  Brian  Eno  on 
their  second  album,  essentially  taking  him  on  as  a  tem- 
porary fifth  member.  On  More  Songs  About  Buildings 
and  Food  (and  the  two  succeeding  LPs),  they  worked  a 
sonic  overhaul,  at  first  adding  elements  to  the  basic 
framework  and  then  ultimately  subsuming  the  founda- 
tion into  a  wholly  new  approach.  Here,  the  use  of  acous- 
tic and  electronic  percussion  fills  previous  spaces;  the 
inclusion  of  Al  Green's  "Take  Me  to  the  River"  indi- 
cated the  band's  deep  interest  in  "black  music"  and 
provided  them  with  their  first  glimpse  of  Top  40  popu- 
larity. The  material  isn't  as  startlingly  fresh  or  satisfying 
as  on  the  first  LP,  but  some  of  the  tracks  work  fine.  (The 
first  two  albums  were  later  joined  on  one  cassette.) 

The  collaboration  with  Eno  shifted  into  high  gear  on 
Fear  of  Music,  moving  rhythm  to  the  front  on  "I  Zim- 
bra,"  and  foreshadowing  the  band's  new  direction.  It's 
a  tentative  step — most  of  the  album  sounds  like  a  re- 
finement of  More  Songs — but  it  draws  still  further  away 
from  their  spartan  origins. 

Remain  in  Light  incorporates  various  outside  play- 
ers (Adrian  Belew,  Nona  Hendryx,  a  horn  section)  and 
makes  a  fully  realized  Great  Step  Forward.  Funk  and 
African  influences  meet  electronics  and  selfconscious 
intellectual  artiness  to  produce  intricate,  occasionally 
stunning  tapestries  that  almost  abandon  song  structure 
but  do  make  a  new  kind  of  sense.  "Once  in  a  Lifetime" 
and  "Houses  in  Motion"  are  among  the  group's  finest 
achievements,  and  the  relationship  with  Eno  seems  at  its 
peak.  But  trouble  was  apparently  brewing,  and  the 
Heads  spent  the  next  year  pursuing  solo  projects,  leav- 
ing the  band  on  hold  and  revoking  Eno's  guest  mem- 
bership. 

The  Name  of  This  Band  is  a  two-record  live  album 
which  showcases  the  group's  best  material  and  recapit- 
ulates the  stages  in  its  development  to  that  point.  Sides 
One  (1977)  and  Two  ( 1979)  feature  the  basic  quartet  in 
the  early  days;  Sides  Three  and  Four  (1980  and  1981) 
chronicle  the  augmented  lineup,  with  Belew,  Hendryx, 
Bernie  Worrell,  Busta  Jones  and  others  adding  a  bril- 
liant funky  flavor.  The  Heads'  second  concert  record  is 
Stop  Making  Sense,  the  one-disc  soundtrack  to 
Jonathan  Demme's  acclaimed  conceit  film  of  the  same 
name.  Not  only  are  the  performances  uniformly  excel- 
lent, but  the  selection — from  **Psycho  Killer"  to  "Once 
in  a  Lifetime"  to  "Burning  Down  the  House" — again 
neatly  recaps  the  various  periods  of  their  career  in  a 
concise,  cohesive  setting. 

Speaking  in  Tongues,  a  perfectly  realized  synthesis 
of  budding  pop  instincts,  powerful  atmospherics  and 
solid  dance  tunes,  contains  some  of  the  Heads'  best 
work,  exemplified  by  "Burning  Down  the  House"  and 
"Girlfriend  Is  Better."  Having  experimented  with  com- 
munal music-making,  the  Heads  reclaimed  their  tight 
control;  while  there  are  numerous  guest  players,  it  is  the 
Heads'  album  all  the  way.  Uncovering  new  areas  of 
ambition,  the  group  commissioned  noted  modern  artist 
Robert  Rauschenberg  to  design  a  novel  plastic  package 
for  the  record  (also  issued  with  a  Byrne  painting  on  a 
more  traditional  sleeve.) 

Nine  simple  songs  played  with  relative  restraint  and 
the  fewest  sidemen  they've  employed  in  a  long  time, 
Little  Creatures  is  ostensibly  the  Heads'  back-to-the- 


mmimalist-roots  rock'n'roll  album,  an  escape  from  pan- 
culturalism  and  artistic  grandiosity.  (It's  not.)  Byrne's 
songs  are  as  straightforward  and  non-Headsy  as  he  can 
make  them;  considerations  of  mundane  topics  (sex,  ba- 
bies, television)  join  his  typically  oblique  character 
studies  and  essays  on  being  and  nothingness.  Were  the 
flimsy  songs  sturdier,  the  album  might  have  been  more 
creatively  successful;  as  realized,  Little  Creatures 
merely  sounds  careless  and  insignificant.  "Road  to  No- 
where" and  "Walk  It  Down"  are  the  winners  in  a  weak 
crop. 

Although  released  in  conjunction  with  Byrne's  film 
of  the  same  name,  True  Stories  is  not  its  soundtrack, 
but  rather  a  new  Heads  LP.  Again  artfully  exploring  the 
complexities  of  modern  culture  in  the  superficially  sim- 
ple context  of  uneinbellished  pop  music,  renaissance 
genius  Byrne  selfconsciously  masks  his  awesome  so- 
phistication to  sing  seemingly  (or  so  one  is  expected  to 
understand)  trivial  ditties.  Some  are  likable  ("Love  for 
Sale"  and  "Wild  Wild  Life,"  for  instance)  enough,  but 
the  conceptual  attitude  that  attends  its  creation  makes 
respecting  True  Stories  impossible.  Unfortunate  though 
it  may  be,  Talking  Heads — with  far-flung  experimenta- 
tion and  groundbreaking  originality  under  its  collective 
belt — can't  possibly  sell  conviction  when  slumming  in 
the  mundane  world  of  tunesmiths  and  working  musi- 
cians. 

After  two  records  of  jus'-us-rock-folks,  the  coura- 
geous exploration  (or  overwhelming  pretension,  as  you 
will)  of  Naked,  recorded  in  Paris  with  Steve  Lilly  white, 
seems  reassuringly  honest.  Each  song  augments  the 
quartet  with  numerous  classy  session  players  in  varying 
combinations:  ex-Smiths  guitarist  Johnny  Marr,  reggae 
keyboardist  Wally  Badarou,  Pogue  accordionist  James 
Fearnley,  saxophonist  Lenny  Pickett,  etc.  Horns  and 
mountains  of  percussion  filter  a  full  set  of  oblique 
Byrnisms  into  merrily  danceable  exotica  that's  not  as 
challenging  as  it  is  uninvolving.  The  CD  adds  "Bill"; 
three  tracks  appear  in  longer  versions  than  on  the  vinyl 
LP.  What's  more,  the  CD  is  "graphics-ready,"  mean- 
ing that  those  in  possession  of  the  needed  equipment — a 
CD  player  with  a  graphics  output  and  a  not-then- 
available  decoder  ($500  or  so)— can  watch  the  lyrics 
and  real-time  instrument  list  on  a  television  screen  while 
listening.  [i] 

See  also  David  Byrne,  Jerry  Harrison,  Tom  Tom 
Club. 


TALK  TALK 

Talk  Talk  EP  (EMI  America)  1 982 

The  Part/s  Over  (EMI  America)  1 982  « 

If  $  My  life  (EMI  America)  1 984  • 

It's  My  Mix  EP  (It.  EMI)  1 984 

The  Colour  of  Spring  (EMI  America)  1 986  * 

Spirit  of  Eden  (EMI  Manhattan)  1 988  « 

Natural  History:  The  Very  Best  of  Talk  Talk  (EMI)  1 990  <l> 

History  Revisited;  The  Remixes  (EMI)  1 991  <b 

Talk  Talk's  first  album  is  slick,  professional  and 
lifeless,  sounding  as  though  it  were  programmed  by 
British  record  company  execs  to  be  a  synth-rock  For- 
eigner. The  London  group  earned  some  early  compari- 
sons to  Duran  Duran  thanks  to  their  double  name, 
producer  (Colin  Thurston)  and  similarly  superficial  ve- 
neer. (The  two  young  bands  even  toured  England  to- 


656 


gather  in  1982. )  But  Talk  Talk  lacked  Duran's  panache. 
Songs  by  singer/keyboard  player  Mark  Hollis  (younger 
brother  of  producer  Ed  Hollis)  are  full  of  melodramatic 
angst  and  amateurish  lyrics;  his  epic  delivery  is  suitable 
but  not  overly  appealing.  In  a  cross-genre  footnote,  the 
album's  best  song  ("Talk  Talk,"  co-written  by  the  two 
Hollises)  had  previously  been  recorded  by  Mark's  1977 
mod-punk  band,  the  Reaction,  for  Beggars  Banquet's 
Streets  compilation.  (The  Talk  Talk  EP  previews  The 
Party's  Over  with  four  selections  from  it.) 

Things  took  a  turn  for  the  better  on  It's  My  Life, 
although  Talk  Talk  still  hadn't  become  an  essential  com- 
ponent of  modern  culture.  While  the  title  song  wins  the 
1984  Roxy  Music  soundalike  award,  other  synth- 
powered  dance  tracks  like  "Dum  Dum  Girl"  reveal 
Hollis  to  be  a  truly  mixed-up  vocalist.  Still,  the  band's 
creative  future  looked  promising. 

Bad  bet.  Except  for  "Life's  What  You  Make  It"  and 
a  gritty  guitar  solo  on  "I  Don't  Believe  in  You,"  the 
first  side  of  The  Colour  of  Spring  is  gruelingly  slow 
and  soporific;  Side  Two  is  sporadically  more  energetic, 
but  the  languid  pacing  still  makes  it  an  endurance  chal- 
lenge. Producer  Tim  Friese-Greene  collaborated  with 
Hollis  on  both  material  and  keyboards. 

Spirit  of  Eden  continues  the  trio's  perverse  slide 
towards  silent  inertia.  The  album's  six  long  tracks — 
which  seem  to  begin  and  end  at  random — drift  along  at 
near-subliminal  volume,  with  very  little  song  structure 
and  almost  no  audible  signs  of  life.  Tasteful  understate- 
ment is  one  thing,  but  the  delicate  shadings — a  choir, 
horns,  reeds  and  Hollis'  ginger  singing — in  this  musical 
cipher  don't  even  create  any  tangible  atmosphere. 

Given  Talk  Talk's  patchy  career,  a  retrospective 
may  not  be  the  wisest  move,  but  record  companies  will 
be  record  companies.  Natural  History  combines  four 
tracks  from  The  Colour  of  Spring,  three  from  It's  My 
Life,  two  each  from  The  Party's  Over  and  Spirit  of 
Eden,  adding  the  non-LP  1983  single,  "My  Foolish 
Friend."  (That  last  song  also  appears  on  It's  My  Mix, 
a  six-track  collection  of  remixed  singles.)  The  Natural 
History  CD  adds  live  versions  of  "Life's  What  You 
Make  It"  and  "Tomorrow's  Started."  History  Revis- 
ited is  an  album  of  remixes.  [ks/i] 


TALL  DWARFS 

Three  Songs  EP  (NZ  Furtive)  1981  {NZ  Flying  Nun)  1985 
Louis  Likes  His  Daily  Dip  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1982 
Canned  Music  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1983 
Slugbucket  Hairybreath  Monster  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun) 

1984 

That's  the  Short  and  Long  of  It  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 985 
Throw  a  Sickie  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1986 
Hello  Cruel  World  (nr/Flying  Nun)  1987  (Homestead) 

1988« 
Dogma  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1987 

CHRIS  JCNOX 

Songs  for  Cleaning  Guppies  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1983 
Monk  HI-AD  1987  [tape]  (NZ  Walking  Monk)  1987 
Not  Given  Lightly/Guppipius  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1989 
Seizure  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1989  4-  1990 
Song  for  1990  4-  Other  Songs  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1990 

TOY  LOVi 

Toy  Love  (NZWEA)  1980 


Snow  White  had  it  easy.  She  only  had  to  deal  with 
seven  little  men  who  whistled  while  they  worked.  New 
Zealand's  Tall  Dwarfs  not  only  whistle,  they  jingle, 
jangle,  gurgle,  grumble,  grunt,  sputter,  bang  on  tables 
and  guitars,  play  crumhom,  clarinet,  clavinet,  spoons 
and  shake  an  angry  bee-colony's  worth  of  tambourine. 
Worse  yet,  as  many  as  three  times  the  population  of 
White's  house  turn  up  for  recording  sessions:  "Noth- 
ing's Going  to  Happen"  (from  Three  Songs,  later  col- 
lected on  Hello  Creel  World,  a  sampler  of  the  band's 
first  four  releases)  features  20  different  players  on  ev- 
erything from  bagpipes  to  cabasa  (a  Cuban  percussion 
instrument). 

The  core  of  the  group  is  Alex  Bathgate  and  Chris 
Knox,  formerly  of  seminal  Auckland  band  Toy  Love. 
The  inspiration  for  Tall  Dwarfs  comes  from  somewhere 
between  the  alienated  dementia  of  the  Beatles'  "Blue 
Jay  Way"  and  comic  horror  movies  on  late-night  TV. 
The  Dwarfs  could  almost  be  accused  of  having  a  Simon 
&  Garfunkel  fixation  for  all  the  melodic  acoustic  guitars 
used  in  their  early  work,  but  then  out  spills  a  mangled 
masterpiece  (such  as  "Paul's  Place"  from  Louis  Likes 
His  Daily  Dip)  where  tremolo  overkill  and  Knox's  sim- 
ple, clear  singing  suggest  a  lovesick  Irishman  trapped  in 
a  bagpipe.  No  matter  how  pretty,  the  Dwarfs'  music  is 
always  strange. 

Tall  Dwarfs  don't  have  a  drummer,  so  they  use  cre- 
ative repetition  of  all  sorts  to  provide  a  percussive  ele- 
ment, from  Canned  Music's  pitterpat  pawbeats  and 
growling  monster  groans  (which  appear  m  "Turning 
Brown,  and  Torn  in  Two")  through  the  harsh  guitar 
saws  and  scat  singing  loops  of  'The  Brain  That 
Wouldn't  Die"  (on  Slugbucket  Hairybreath  Monster, 
also  later  appearing  on  Hello  Cruel  World). 

Most  of  the  group's  material  was  recorded  on 
Knox's  home  Teac  with  neither  EQ  nor  expensive  mi- 
crophones. This  is  strictly  primitive  DIY  psychedelica- 
cies  with  great  green  gobs  of  greasy  grimy  talent  and 
monstrously  surreal  cover  art  (drawn  by  Knox)  to 
match. 

That  same  spirit  of  home  taperism  shows  up  most 
prominently  when  Knox  is  on  his  own.  All  he's  got  is  a 
shy  and  fragile  voice  and  two  hands  that  can  start  a 
multi-track  tape  machine,  tap  impatiently  on  the  table  or 
strum  an  acoustic  guitar.  His  earliest  solo  songs  are 
short  (few  exceed  three  minutes,  most  run  around  or 
under  two),  sensitive  and  bittersweet.  On  Songs  for 
Cleaning  Guppies,  "Sand  Fly"  has  two  voices  whis- 
pering and  humming  against  each  other  like  a  medieval 
madrigal  harmony,  while  "Jesus  Loves  You"  is  an  arty 
Chipmunk  answer  to  "They're  Coming  to  Take  Me 
Away"  and  bears  no  resemblance  to  any  hymn  by  the 
same  title,  "The  thing  that  you  call  hope  is  just  a  legal 
form  of  dope  that  makes  you  happy,"  Knox  recites  as  a 
pulse  of  music  is  played  backward  over  two  layers  of 
recitational  vocals,  one  at  double  speed,  the  other  flatly 
half- whispered.  Only  300  copies  of  Songs  for  Cleaning 
Guppies  were  pressed,  but  material  from  it  resurfaced 
on  Guppiplus,  a  companion  disc  to  the  Seizure  album. 
The  multi-faceted  Seizure  (issued  twice:  the  origi- 
nal cover  shows  Knox  in  zombie  make-up,  the  second 
has  only  utilitarian  yellow  and  black  stripes)  is  sonically 
indistinguishable  from  a  Tall  Dwarfs  album.  It's  got  the 
Dwarfs'  highly  imaginative  percussion  and  the  same 
delightfully  ftizzed-under  sense  of  noise.  It  palpitates  on 

657 


"Wanna! ' ,"  a  track  that  could  be  named  "Rock  &  Roll 
Part  3"  for  its  textural  similarities  to  a  Gary  Glitter 
song.  Seizure  also  continues  Knox's  fascination  with 
gentle  acoustic  balladeering,  as  on  the  percussionless 
"And  I  Will  Cry,"  where  his  voice  is  multi-tracked  into 
a  warm  boy-next-door  lead  against  a  sweetly  soured 
chorus  of  higher  harmonies.  Some  of  Seizure  is  a  cap- 
pella  ("Voyeur");  at  other  times  the  sea  of  grunge  is 
deep  enough  to  drown  in. 

At  the  time  of  Seizure's  release,  Knox  remixed  its 
"Not  Given  Lightly"  for  a  12-inch  single  (Not  Given 
Ligntly/Guppiplus),  the  B-side  of  which  contains  ten 
rarities:  Gupples  tracks,  "Indigestion"  (a  recitation 
done  for  a  compilation)  and  "Wanna  Die  with  You"  (a 
love  song  of  sorts)  from  Monk  III,  a  24-song  cassette 
assembled  from  '83  and  '84  works. 

The  10-inch  Song  for  1990  couples  the  gentle 
sparseness  of  Knox's  early  ballad-oriented  work  with 
more  confident  singing  and  better  production  to  give  his 
very  simple  voice 'n' guitar  songs  greater  richness  and 
substance.  While  "Haze"  is  texturally  akm  to  the 
Beatles'  "Blackbird,"  the  title  cut,  a  sarcastic  bit  of 
patriotic  cheerleading  for  New  Zealand's  1990  sesqui- 
centennial,  highlights  the  nation's  problems  with  typical 
humble  humor.  Fans  of  such  homey  balladeers  as  Dan- 
iel Johnston  or  Mark  Edwards  (My  Dad  is  Dead)  are 
likely  to  enjoy  Knox's  surprisingly  feminist  views  on 
love,  life  and  the  unreality  of  everything. 

Toy  Love's  lone  album  is  a  deceptively  cheerful- 
sounding  collection  that  falls  somewhere  between  power 
pop  and  new  wave.  Despite  efforts  to  minimize  it,  the 
nonconformist  spark  that  would  later  make  the  Tall 
Dwarfs  so  appealing  surfaces  in  songs  like  "Frogs,"  a 
twisted  little  horror  story  of  fuzz-guitar  racings  and  key- 
board blurts  interlaid  with  a  whistle-while-you-work 
chorus,  a  cappella  "Exodus"  theme  and  sound  effects 
(squeeze  toys,  coughs,  objects  failing  to  the  floor,  a 
grumbled  voice)  in  dizzying  array.  The  country- 
bouncing  "Bride  of  Frankenstein"  is  a  wiggling  guitar 
ditty  full  of  yee-haws  (delivered  incongruously  in  New 
Zealand  accents);  "Who's  at  the  Bottom  of  Your  Swim- 
ming Pool?"  lists  dead  rock  stars  and  popular  music 
magazines  of  the  time  to  make  an  anti-rock-culture  state- 
ment. An  interesting  artifact,  but  strictly  developmen- 
tal.  ['el 

See  also  Bats. 

TAPPI  TIKARRASS 

Miranda  {Ice.  Gramm)  1983 

The  band's  name  is  Icelandic  for  "Witch's  Kiss 
Ass,"  but  its  main  claim  to  fame  is  petite  wailer  Bj6rk 
Gudmundsdottir  (later  of  the  Sugarcubes),  who  was  the 
lead  singer  and  a  founding  member  of  this  appealing  but 
limited  Reykjavik  quartet.  Bjork  was  only  in  her  mid- 
teens  when  Tappi  Tikarrass  released  their  sole  LP  (a 
six-track  12-inch  had  appeared  in  '82),  But  the  erotic 
intensity  of  her  delivery  belies  her  years,  and  she  revels 
in  the  operatic  zigzagging — from  spookhouse  cooing  to 
hellish  growling  and  skyscraping  whoops — that  has  dis- 
tinguished her  work  in  the  'Cubes.  Indeed,  her  perfor- 
mances here  generally  eclipse  the  music,  which  is 
haunting  but  melodically  parched  gloom-beat  of  the 
early  Cure/Banshees  variety.  [df] 

See  also  Sttgarcubes. 


TAR 

Handsome  EP  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 989 
Roundhouse  (Amphetamine  Reptile)  1 990  • 

Beneath  a  thick  molten  stew,  Chicago's  Tar  spews 
lurching  tunes  that  hover  and  circle  with  frozen  preci- 
sion. Drawing  several  of  its  members  from  hardcore 
outfit  Blatant  Dissent,  the  quartet  has  remnants  of  riled 
frenzy,  but  Tar  builds  its  music  at  slower  speeds.  Even 
when  the  watts  start  flowing  hard  and  heavy,  Tar  stays 
well  within  song  form,  favoring  a  solid  and  dense  post- 
punk  rock  sound  that's  a  lot  more  generally  accessible 
than,  say,  Wreck  or  any  of  the  Big  Black  soundalikes. 

On  the  six-song  Handsome  (produced  separately  by 
Steve  Albini  and  Iain  Burgess),  Tar's  assault  stresses 
churning  guitars  and  chunky  rhythms,  occasionally  doff- 
ing a  cap  to  '70s  rock,  elsewhere  raving  with  post-punk 
intensity.  On  some  of  the  jolt' n' burn  songs  (particularly 
the  spiraling  standout,  "Mumper")  singer/guitarist  John 
Mohr  wails  with  an  urgency  that  suggests  Jeff  Pezzati  of 
Naked  Ray  gun.  But  in  "Static"  and  the  screaming 
"Mel's"  (remade  from  an  '88  single)  he  establishes  an 
anguished  voice  all  his  own 

Roundhouse  tones  down  the  pace  but  maintains  the 
power  and  intensity.  Burgess  frames  Mohr's  vocals 
rather  than  burying  them  (one  of  Handsome 's  weak- 
nesses), revealing  desperation  in  place  of  stifled  anger. 
Though  not  as  wind- whipped  as  the  EP,  songs  like 
"Glass  Grief"  and  "Les  Paul  Worries"  showcase  Tar's 
agitated  electric  aggression.  [mg/i] 


TAR  BABIES 

Face  the  Music  EP  (Bone  Air)  1 982 

Respect  Your  Nightmares  (Bone  Air-Paradise)  1 985 

Fried  Milk  (SST)  1987 

No  Contest  (SST)  1 988  ® 

Honey  Bubble  (SST)  1989® 

From  the  ashes  of  Midwest  proto  skate-thrashers 
Mecht  Mensch  came  the  Tar  Babies.  But  these  Madi- 
son, Wisconsin  kids  quickly  outgrew  the  hardcore  pee- 
wee  straitjacket  in  which  they'd  been  born.  As  far  back 
as  Face  the  Music,  Bucky  Pope's  guitar  displayed  a 
unique,  lunging  hard-psych  quality  that  separated  the 
Tar  Babies  from  their  brethren.  With  the  eight-song  Re- 
spect Your  Nightmares,  the  band  began  to  insert 
choppy,  neo-funk  highlights  into  their  primal  psych- 
punk  trash  (like  a  thinner  version  of  Texas*  Big  Boys,  or 
the  Minutemen),  and  that  pointed  them  off  in  a  whole 
new  direction. 

Although  there  are  interludes  of  stoned  scutter-pluck 
reminiscent  of  the  Meat  Puppets'  work  at  the  time, 
Fried  Milk  is  most  notable  for  the  overtness  of  its  funk 
underpinnings.  (People  inclined  to  dance  have  been 
known  to  do  so  whilst  this  album  plays.)  Beginning 
with  No  Contest,  they  began  adding  horns  and  a  techno- 
bup  filigree  that  isn't  supremely  appealing  and  tends  to 
swamp  Pope's  guitar  (still  the  Tar  Babies*  central  shaft). 
Live  shows  provided  evidence  that  the  band  was  still 
capable  of  mind-blowing  groove-excess,  but  their  discs 
are  less  successful  than  the  fenkadelic  shit  they  seem  to 
be  trying  to  emulate.  Which  isn't  to  say  that  a  George 
Clinton/Bucky  Pope/Bootsy  Collins/Sonny  Sharrock/ 
Sonny  Murray  collaboration  shouldn't  be  scheduled 
promptly.  [be] 


658 


Ticket  to  the  Dark  (nr/Sire)  1 984 
Liberty  (nr/Sire)  1 985 

Armed  with  an  impressive  resume  (the  Index, 
Shake,  The  Teardrop  Explodes,  Fashion)  dating  back  to 
'77,  singer/guitarist  Troy  Tate  made  his  solo  debut  with 
the  assistance  of  an  eclectic  set  of  musicians,  including 
David  Balfe,  Nicky  Holland,  Virginia  Astley  and 
Woodentop  Rolo  McGinty.  Tate  uses  his  attractively 
husky  voice  and  substantial  songwriting  skill — as  well 
as  deft  electronic  effects  and  complex  arrangements — to 
put  across  ten  melodic  songs  that  approach  modern  pop 
from  several  different  directions.  "Safety  Net,"  "Love 
Is .  .  "  and  "Thomas"  are  the  most  memorable  tracks 
on  Ticket  to  the  Dark,  but  most  of  the  album  is  well 
worth  hearing.  An  exceptionally  good  record. 

Simply  played  by  an  unfamous  guitar-bass-drums 
trio  and  produced  with  equally  effective  restraint,  Lib- 
erty focuses  attention  on  Tate's  best  asset,  his  hand- 
some crooning.  Although  this  sophomore  LP  doesn't 
have  enough  great  songs  ("Sorrow,"  "God's  Puppet" 
and  "Tomorrow  I'll  Be  Gone"  are  the  highlights),  the 
stylistic  consistency  and  Tate's  engaging  personality 
keep  Liberty  appealing.  Stranger-than-fiction  art  note: 
the  squiggly  face  drawn  on  the  back  cover  bears  a  strik- 
ing resemblance  to  Bart  Simpson,  who  hadn't  yet  been 
introduced  to  the  world.  [i] 

TATER  TOTZ 

See  Red  Cross. 

TAXI  BOYS 

See  Real  Kids. 

TAXI  GANG 

See  Sly  &  Robbie. 

ANDY  TAYLOR 

See  Duran  Duran. 

JAMES  TAYLOR  QUARTET 

See  Prisoners, 

TOT  TAYLOR  AND  HIS 
ORCHESTRA 

The  Girl  with  Everything  EP  (nr/GTO)  1981 
Playtime  (nr/Easy  Listeners)  1 981  (nr/London  Popular 
Arts)  1988* 

TOT  TAYLOR 

The  Inside  Story  (nr/Easy  Listeners)  1 984  (nr/London 

Popular  Arts)  1 988  * 

Box-Office  Poison  (nr/London  Popular  Arts)  1986  * 
Arise,  Sir  Tot  EP  (nr/London  Popular  Arts)  1 986 
Jumble  Soul  (nr/London  Popular  Arts)  1986 
My  Blue  Period  (nr/London  Popular  Arts)  1987  • 
Menswear  (nr/London  Popular  Arts)  1 987 
Scrapbook  (nr/London  Popular  Arts)  1 988 

SOUND  BARRIER 

The  Suburbia  Sufte  (nr/Compact  Organization )  1 984 


Tot  Taylor  is  a  Brit-popper  who  loves  Tin  Pan  Al- 
ley. After  EMI  adjudged  his  band  Advertising  (pop- 
rock  plus  punky  perspiration)  to  be  a  non-starter,  Taylor 
convinced  another  commercial  powerhouse  to  take  him 
on  but,  after  three  45s,  GTO  decided  it  had  been  a  big 
mistake.  By  then,  he'd  discovered  Man  Wilson  (who'd 
also  signed  to  GTO)  and  Virna  Lindt;  when  he  and  Man 
were  dumped,  Taylor  launched  his  own  empire,  the 
Compact  Organization.  (GTO,  meanwhile,  has  long 
since  gone  out  of  business.) 

Tot  had  recorded  Playtime  for  GTO,  and  arranged 
to  take  all  sixteen  tracks  of  it  with  him.  The  usual  rhythm 
section  (including  the  odd  bit  of  dribbly  synth)  is  fre- 
quently augmented  by  horns  and  strings  What  saves 
Taylor  from  seeming  an  insufferable  twit  for  presuming 
to  emulate  Porter,  Gershwin,  Rodgers  and  Hart,  Kern, 
etc.  is  his  cleverly  unassuming  and  self-parodic  word- 
play. Sometimes  he  spouts  gloriously  goofy  rock  ("I 
Wanna  Play  the  Drums  Tonight"— Kevin  Ayers  meets 
Sparks),  but  he  also  slips  in  observations  on  the  gray- 
ness  of  the  modern  day-to-day — we  are  all  "Living  in 
Legoland" — for  effective  commentary. 

The  Inside  Story  (which  Taylor  pretty  much  plays 
all  himself)  is  another  delightful  grab-bag;  less  playing 
time  than  Playtime,  but  otherwise  nearly  its  equal.  Tay- 
lor's flaky  charm  is  even  equal  to  his  choice  of  Porter's 
"Ail  of  You"  as  an  album-closer,  in  a  treatment  which 
sounds  sincere  and  true  to  the  original  song. 

Tot  next  composed  a  whole  instrumental  LP,  The 
Suburbia  Suite,  for  the  Sound  Bamer,  and  penned  Slim 
Gaillard's  number  (plus  some  incidental  music)  for  the 
film  Absolute  Beginners.  Then  he  cut  three  new  albums 
in  two  years!  Regrettably,  none  of  them  are  up  to  his 
first  two.  Sometimes  he  tries  too  hard  to  be  witty;  other 
times,  songs  or  arrangements  go  on  too  long. 

Box  Office  Poison  might  appear  more  impressive  if 
it  not  for  its  illustrious  predecessors.  In  fact  its  musical 
execution  is,  if  anything,  more  facile.  "Arise,  Sir  Tot'* 
gently  deflates  his  own  delusions  of  grandeur;  "Austra- 
lia" is  a  longing  toast  to  a  place  we  haven't  destroyed — 
yet;  "Spoil  Her"  is  romantic  strategy  that's  only  partly 
tongue-in-cheek.  (The  Arise  EP  is  a  12-inch  with  four 
of  the  LP  tracks  on  it. ) 

Recorded  with  lots  of  instrumental  assistants,  My 
Blue  Period  is  Tot's  jazz  record;  Aluminum  Pan  Alley. 
The  aptly  named  "The  Wrong  Idea,"  a  strained  attempt 
at  cleverness,  gets  things  off  on  the  wrong  foot.  "The 
Compromising  Life"  is  a  much  better  notion,  and  its 
swell  mute  trumpet  work  is  a  well-executed  example  of 
the  LP's  stylistic  intentions.  Additionally,  "A  Girl  Did 
This"  ranks  with  his  best,  but  Period  just  isn't  consis- 
tent. 

On  Menswear,  Tot  went  to  the  other  extreme  for  a 
DIY  approach  in  his  modest  home  studio.  Lyrically  and 
arrangement- wise,  he  regains  top  form  (sixteen  tight 
little  vignettes)  but,  melodicaily,  his  catchiness  quotient 
is  still  not  one  hundred  percent.  When  he's  on,  how- 
ever, the  LP  ranges  from  good  ("Trouble  in  Store,"  as 
in  department  store)  to  brilliant  ("Waiting  for  My 
Egg,"  a  procrastination  anthem), 

Jumble  Soul  is  a  fourteen-cut  best-of ,  collecting 
some  of  the  first  three  LPs  plus  some  unalbumized  45s 
(including  the  two  non-LP  GTO  A-sides),  the  title  track 
of  The  Girl  with  Everything  (the  7-inch  EP  also  con- 
tains "Modern  Wife"  from  Playtime  and  instrumental 


659 


soundtrack  music  looking  for  a  film).  Scrapfoook  is  a 
limited-edition  boxed  set  for  the  true  Totfan:  two  al- 
bums, a  10-inch  EP  of  previously  unreleased  tracks,  a 
four-song  7-inch  of  new  tunes,  a  cassette  of  radio  inter- 
views and  more.  Whew!  [jg] 
See  also  Advertising 

Strange  Man,  Changed  Man  (Polydor)  1 979 
The  Russians  Are  Coming  (nr/Radar)  1 980 
Pressure  (Polydor)  1 980 
Funland  (Arista)  1981 

Bram  Tchaikovsky  was  a  group  as  well  as  Peter 
Brammell's  nom  de  rock,  but  it  was  the  lack  of  a  sim- 
ilarly strong  second  creative  force  to  him  in  the  band 
that  proved  to  be  its  undoing.  The  ex-Motors  guitarist/ 
bassist/vocalist  had  the  talent  to  make  his  band  work  for 
a  while,  but  couldn't  maintain  its  quality  alone. 

Strange  Man,  Changed  Man  sounds  fresh  and 
punky  (if  rather  trebly) — an  energetic  mixture  of  the 
Byrds,  Springsteen  and,  not  surprisingly,  the  Motors. 
(Nick  Garvey,  one  of  Brain's  ex-bandmates,  co- 
produced.)  The  LP  includes  three  fine  singles  ("Girl  of 
My  Dreams,"  "I'm  the  One  That's  Leaving,"  "Sarah 
Smiles");  the  rest  of  the  material  has  also  worn  remark- 
ably well. 

Expanding  from  a  trio  to  a  quartet  and  doing  the 
production  themselves,  Bram  (the  band)  came  up  with 
a  sophomore  effort  (The  Russians  Are  Coming,  reti- 
tled  Pressure  for  the  cold- war-minded  USA)  that  im- 
proves the  sound  but  has  far  less  consistent  songs,  with 
writing  divided  among  various  combinations  of  the 
members. 

Subsequent  personnel  shifts  left  Bram  (the  man) 
with  neither  satisfactory  writing  partners  nor  an  alter- 
nate (or  harmony)  vocalist  to  shore  up  his  own  short- 
comings. An  attempt  to  pursue  several  ill-advised 
directions  makes  Funiand  (production  again  by 
Garvey)  lifeless.  The  only  times  Bram's  tepid  vocals  cut 
loose  are  on  the  oft-covered  "Breaking  Down  the  Walls 
of  Heartache"  and  an  old  Motors  B-side,  "Soul  Sur- 
render," recorded  as  an  afterthought  by  Bram,  Garvey 
and  deputized  drummer  Hilly  Michaels.  [jg] 

See  also  Motors. 

TEARDROPS 

Final  Vinyl  (nr/llluminated)  1980 

Buzzcocks  bassist  Steve  Garvey  was  a  Teardrop;  the 
rest  of  this  Manchester  outfit  had  ties  to  the  Fall  and 
other  local  legends.  Final  Vinyl  is  very  inconsistent — 
too  much  mucking  about  in  the  studio  rains  the  decent 
tracks  with  spurious  talking  and  noises — but  there  is 
some  fine  music  here  that  hovers  between  the  Buzzcocks 
and  the  Sex  Pistols.  [i] 

TEAR  GARDEN 

See  Skinny  Puppy. 

TEARS  FOR  FEARS 

The  Hurting  (Mercury)  1 983  * 

Songs  from  the  Big  Chair  (Mercury)  T  985  » 

The  Seeds  of  Love  (Fontana)  1 989  * 

660 


Circle  of  One  (Fontana)  1990  <J> 

One  of  the  '80s'  most  astonishing  debuts,  The 
Hurting  introduces  Tears  for  Fears — Roland  Orzabal 
(vocals,  guitar,  keyboards)  and  Curt  Smith  (bass,  vo- 
cals, keyboards) — and  their  intensely  dour,  introspec- 
tive worldview.  Grounded  in  Janovian  primal  scream 
theory  and  other  aspects  of  modern  psychology,  Orza- 
bal's  songs  discuss  only  somber  topics  of  deep  pain  and 
sorrow.  Like  their  titles  ("The  Hurting,"  "Mad 
World,"  "Start  of  the  Breakdown,"  "Watch  Me 
Bleed"),  the  lyrics  are  more  often  depressed  than  an- 
gry. Odd  fare  for  hit  records  with  teenybop  appeal  to  be 
sure,  but  occasionally  anxious  vocals  and  the  eclectic, 
often  remarkable  music  belie  the  dark  thoughts  being 
conveyed.  It's  disconcerting  to  find  yourself  humming 
along  with  such  misery,  but  The  Hurting  is  an  excel- 
lent, mature  record. 

Over  two  years  in  the  making,  Songs  from  the  Big 
Chair  finds  Tears  for  Fears  less  miserable,  more  capa- 
ble of  expressing  anger  and  well  on  their  way  to  major 
stardom.  (The  LP  ultimately  sold  nine  million  copies 
worldwide.)  "Head  Over  Heels"  (grand  pop),  "Every- 
body Wants  to  Rule  the  World"  (haunting  pop)  and 
"Shout"  (measured,  gruff  rock) — all  co-written  by  Orz- 
abal with  others  in  the  group — are  the  best  three  out  of 
eight.  The  music  is  more  ambitious  and  sophisticated, 
allowing  a  few  numbers  to  go  on  too  long  without  gen- 
erating much  impact,  but  the  strong  entrants  are  top- 
notch. 

Emboldened  by  success  and  growing  fanatical  in  his 
perfectionism,  Orzabal  (emerging  as  the  group's  cre- 
ative heavyweight)  saw  The  Seeds  of  Love  through  a 
ten-month  false  start,  two  changes  of  producers  (TFF 
ended  up  doing  it  themselves  with  engineer  Dave  Bas- 
combe)  and  painstaking  byte-by-byte  computer  manip- 
ulation of  the  music.  Rivaling  Tom  Scholz  for  the 
Guinness  studio  slowpoke  record,  he  and  Smith  spent  a 
fortune  fussing  over  eight  tracks  in  earnest  for  seventeen 
months.  Eventually,  they  completed  an  album,  a  suite- 
like  assortment  of  songs  that — with  the  exception  of  the 
immediately  delightful  Beatles  tribute,  "Sowing  the 
Seeds  of  Love"— -are  almost  impenetrable  in  their  del- 
icate complexity  and  maddening  density.  Although  she 
appears  only  on  "Woman  in  Chains"  and  "Badman's 
Song,"  American  vocalist/pianist  Oleta  Adams  steals 
the  show  by  injecting  some  soul  into  these  absurdly 
overintellectualized  exercises. 

Returning  the  favor,  Orzabal  co-produced  and 
played  on  Circle  of  One,  fitting  Adams'  mature  songs 
(mainstream  pop  soul  originals  with  a  theatrical  bent 
and  stirring  lyrics  of  womanly  self-determination)  into 
tasteful  arrangements  that  highlight  the  rich  warmth  of 
her  voice.  [i] 

TENDER  FURY 

See  True  Sounds  of  Liberty. 

TEINAGE  FANCLUB 

A  Catholic  Education  (Matador)  1 990  * 

If  Sonic  Youth  had  spent  more  time  listening  to  Neil 
Young  as  kids,  they  might  resemble  this  unpretentiously 
shaggy  Glasgow  quintet,  which  fishes  memorable  hooks 
and  involving  melodies  out  of  lazy,  thick  pools  of  over- 


dnven  guitar  rock.  Relaxed  and  rough,  A  Catholic  Ed- 
ucation has  a  wonderfully  informal  feel,  surprisingly 
clear  vocals,  cool  lyrics  and  simple  chord-based  songs 
(like  the  solemn  "Everything  Flows,"  the  peppy  "Crit- 
ical Mass"  and  the  anthemic  "Eternal  Light")  that  ably 
withstand  repeated  hearings.  [i] 

TEENAGE  HEAD(S) 

Teenage  Head  (Can.  IGM)  1 979  (Can.  Other  Peoples 

Music-Goon  Island)  1 981 
Frantic  City  (Can.  Attic)  1980 
Some  Kinda  Fun  (Can.  Attic)  1 982 
Tornado  EP  (MCA)  1 983 
Endless  Parry  (Can.  Ready)  1 984 
Trouble  in  the  Jungle  (Can.  Warpt)  1 986 
Electric  Guitar  (Can.  Fringe  Product)  1 988  ® 

Fronted  by  singer  Frankie  Venom,  this  hard-rockin' 
quartet  from  Toronto  owes  more  than  its  name  to  the 
Flamin  Groovies — the  records  are  full  of  non-stop 
crazed  rock'n'roll  songs  about  cars,  parties,  girls,  booze 
and  general  wanton  fun,  all  imbued  with  the  original 
Groovies'  unreconstructed  spirit.  With  nods  to  Eddie 
Cochran,  Chuck  Berry,  Gene  Vincent  and  other  pio- 
neers, Teenage  Head  races  along,  Gordie  Lewis'  guitar 
blazing,  through  numbers  like  "Ain't  Got  No  Sense" 
and  "Kissin'  the  Carpet"  (both  on  Teenage  Head, 
which  was  remixed  and  reissued),  "Disgusteen" 
(Frantic  City)  and  "Teenage  Beer  Drinking  Party" 
(Some  Kinda  Fun).  If  they  were  smarter  and  more 
sarcastic,  T.  Head  might  have  more  in  common  with  the 
old  Dictators;  as  it  stands,  their  sound,  while  hardly 
original,  is  perfect  for  parties  held  in  gymnasiums.  The 
first  three  records  aren't  hip,  but  they  are  solid,  sweaty 
and  convincingly  salacious. 

Given  a  pluralizing,  name-sanitizing  "s,"  the  group 
lowered  its  hysteria  level  on  the  six-song  Tornado,  an 
ill-advised  stab  at  maturity  and  commercial  hard-rock 
acceptability.  Snore.  Endless  Party  is  a  live  greatest- 
hits  rundown  recorded  on  New  Year's  Eve  1983. 

Fortunately,  the  story  doesn't  end  there.  Safely  re- 
moved from  the  Lower  Fifty's  crass  influence,  the  quar- 
tet reclaimed  both  its  spelling  and  sense  of  fun  on  the 
nifty  Trouble  in  the  Jungle,  Covering  Bobby  Fuller, 
Eddie  Cochran  and  Elvis  Presley  amid  a  variety  of 
equally  gonzo  originals,  the  band  shifts  gears  easily 
from  lightly  played  rockabilly  pop  to  electric  punk— 
sometimes  in  the  same  song, 

Electric  Guitar  has  only  one  non-original,  but  self- 
propulsion  does  nothing  to  impede  the  versatile  fun. 
"She  Rips  My  Lips/*  "Can't  Stop  Shakin'  "  and 
"Full-Time  Fool"  are  all  vintage-flavor  rockers,  crisply 
delivered  with  chops' and  spirit;  "Your  Sister  Used  to 
Love  Me"  makes  a  cool  milkshake  of  Dave  Rave's 
relaxed  surf  vocals  and  Lewis'  sizzling  punk  chords; 
"You're  the  One  I'm  Crazy  For"  is  a  spectacular  Ra- 
mones  imitation.  Electric  Guitar  is  convincing  proof 
that  a  neat  and  clean  garage  can  still  rock.  (Daniel 
Lanois  plays  guitar  on  two  tracks. )  [i] 

TEENAGE  JESUS  AND  THE  JERKS 

Teenage  Jesus  and  the  Jerks  EP  {lust/Unlust)  1979 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

No  New  York  (Antilles)  1 978 


Hysteric  (nr/Widowspeak)  1 986  (CD  Presents)  1 986  * 

Teenage  Jesus  pushed  the  anything-goes/anyone- 
can-do-it  philosophy  of  punk  about  as  far  as  it  would 
stretch  without  breaking.  Formed  in  1976  by  onetime 
CBGB  waitress  Lydia  Lunch  and  saxophone/conflict  art- 
ist James  Chance,  TJ  &  the  Jerks  went  beyond  mini- 
malism and  atonality  into  what  Lunch  proudly  called 
"aural  terror";  the  band  cranked  up  a  musical  death 
knell  over  which  she  screamed  her  lyrics  of  fear,  pain 
and  unpleasantness  After  Chance  quit  to  form  the 
equally  abrasive  but  funkier  Contortions,  the  Jerks  sol- 
diered on  as  a  trio,  leaving  their  sonic  bloodbaths  on  the 
No  New  York  anthology  and  the  two  Bob  Quine- 
produced  singles  ("Orphans"  and  "Baby  Doll")  pre- 
served on  the  12-inch  pink  vinyl  1979  EP.  (The  group 
also  issued  a  three-song  12-inch  on  ZE.)  Lydia  ranks  as 
one  of  the  most  creatively  untalented  guitarists  of  all 
time;  her  blistering  walls  of  noise,  while  completely 
lacking  in  melody  or  taste,  possess  an  unremitting  ata- 
vistic ferocity.  Never  a  band  to  waste  the  audience's 
time,  Teenage  Jesus  specialized  in  20-second  songs  and 
ten-minute  sets  (which  some  witnesses  still  considered 
about  nine  minutes  too  long.) 

The  double-alburn  Hysteric  compilation  contains  an 
entire  side  of  Teenage  Jesus  &  the  Jerks:  a  ten-track 
onslaught  that  pretty  much  recapitulates  the  group's  oeu- 
vre,  some  of  it  in  glorious  live-at-CBGB  sound.  Lunch 
went  on  to  numerous  other  bands  and  musical  alliances. 
Drummer  Bradley  Field  popped  up  briefly  as  a  bongo 
player  for  the  Contortions;  bassist  Jim  Sclavunos  be- 
came the  drummer  in  two  of  Lydia' s  subsequent  bands, 
Beirut  Slump  and  8  Eyed  Spy.  [nip] 

See  also  James  Chance,  8  Eyed  Spy,  Lydia  Lunch. 

TEEN  IDLES 

See  Minor  Threat. 

DENIZ  TEK 

See  Radio  Birdman. 

TELESCOPES 

7th  #  Disaster  EP  (nr/Cheree)  1 989 

The  Perfect  Needle  EP  (nr/What  Goes  On)  1 989 

Taste  (nr/What  Goes  On)  1 989 

To  Kill  a  Slow  Girt  Walking  EP  (nr/What  Goes  On)  1 989 

Trade  Mark  of  Qualify  (nr/Rerce)  1 990  • 

The  Telescopes  EP  (nr/Creation)  1990 

Everso  EP  (nr/Creation)  1990 

Celeste  EP  (nr/Creation)  1991 

Violently  coupling  '60s  punk  with  a  Jesus  and  Mary 
howl,  Burton-upon-Trent's  Telescopes  originally  got  on 
the  map  via  their  debut  single  (presaged  by  a  live  flexi). 
While  the  title  tune  of  7th  #  Disaster  only  improves  on 
the  quintet's  formula,  the  other  three  tracks  slither  ten- 
tacles into  neighboring  pies,  demonstrating,  in  particu- 
lar, a  decidedly  un-Dinosaur(Jr)-like  grasp  of  strum/ 
shriek  dynamics.  Perfect  Needle  goes  one  rung  further 
up  the  ladder  of  iconoclasm,  adding  violins  and  slow 
seething  tunes  to  the  distortion,  resulting  in  music  that  is 
no  more  complicated  nor  any  less  aggressive  than  the 
Stooges,  yet  sounds  like  nobody  but  the  Telescopes. 


661 


Taste  reprises  "Perfect  Needle"  from  the  EP,  mat- 
ing it  with  a  set  ranging  from  gentle  fury  to  frantic 
abandon.  The  band's  control  of  aural  mania  and  anger  is 
impeccable  (credit  due  debut-till-death  producer  Rich- 
ard Formby),  but  precious  little  of  the  actual  material 
^equals  preceding  or  subsequent  EPs. 

To  Kill  a  Slow  Girl  Walking  adds  nothing  to  the 
canon  save  a  few  trumpet  bleats — and  more  highly 
memorable  tuneage.  Trade  Mark  of  Quality  is  essen- 
tially an  upper-end  bootleggish  bit  of  live  mayhem  in 
the  dodgy  Fierce-label  series  also  covering  Spacemen  3 
and  the  Pooh  Sticks,  interesting  only  in  its  glimpse  of 
the  band  sans  studio  augmentation.  While  the  muted 
live  buzz  is  unquestionably  less  invigorating  than  their 
"crafted"  material,  the  'Scopes  do  manage  to  kick  out 
several  flavors  of  jam  for  a  tense  and  tasty  megadecibel, 
megadrenaiine  rush. 

Sidestepping  onto  Creation,  the  group's  next  record 
ups  the  pop  content  two  notches  while  decreasing  the 
pain  quotient  to  the  same  degree,  allowing  nuances  pre- 
viously buried  in  feedback  to  surface  Everso  subtracts 
all  remaining  scree  for  a  brief  garage  psych  outing  that 
could  have  graced  their  first  two  records  if  they'd  had 
greater  control — and  politer  manners — back  then.  Pro- 
ceeding from  there,  the  dull  and  faceless  Celeste  totally 
drops  the  band's  personality  and  is  sonically  unidenti- 
fiable as  the  Telescopes.  [ab] 

TELEVISION 

Marquee  Moon  (Eiektra}  1 977  • 

Adventure  (Eiektra)  1978« 

The  Blow-Up  [tape]  (ROIR)  1982  [CD]  (Fr.  Danceteria) 

19904> 

Live,  they  were  the  ultimate  garage  band  with 
pretensions — Television's  influences  were  Coltrane  and 
Dylan  as  well  as  Roky  Erickson — but  on  record  they 
achieved  a  polish  that  added  genuine  strength.  The 
group  evolved  from  the  Neon  Boys  and  initially  con- 
sisted of  Tom  Veriaine  (guitar/vocals),  Richard  Lloyd 
(guitar),  Billy  Ficca  (drums)  and  Richard  Hell  (bass). 
Hell  left  to  form  the  Heartbreakers  with  Johnny  Thun- 
ders, and  ex-Blondie  bassist  Fred  Smith  took  over  his 
slot.  Thus  constituted  (and  significantly  reduced  in 
fringe  aggression),  Television  recorded  "Little  Johnny 
Jewel,"  a  privately  pressed  single  which  many  regard  as 
a  turning  point  for  the  whole  New  York  scene. 

TV  signed  to  Eiektra  and  released  Marquee  Moon 
in  1977.  A  tendency  to  "jam"  onstage  caused  detractors 
(and,  paradoxically,  British  fans)  to  refer  to  them  as  the 
Gratefiil  Dead  of  punk,  but  it  was  the  distinctive  two- 
guitar  interplay  (along  with  Verlaine's  nails-on- 
chalkboard  vocals)  that  set  them  apart.  Verlaine's 
staccato  singing  in  songs  like  "Prove  If  and  "Fric- 
tion" is  impressive,  and  the  long  workout  on  the  title 
track  showed  a  willingness  to  break  away  from  the  so- 
lidifying traditions  of  their  more  selfconscious  contem- 
poraries. 

Adventure  was,  contrary  to  its  title,  smoother  and 
more  controlled  than  its  predecessor,  but  did  not  want 
for  good  material.  "Glory/'  "Foxhole"  and  the  beau- 
tiful "Days"  showed  the  band  to  have  a  firm  grip  on 
their  songwriting.  Television  lasted  about  another  year 
before  splintering.  A  posthumous  tape-only  compilation 


of  live  performances  shows  the  band's  rawer  side  and 
includes  such  concert  cover  staples  as  "Knockin'  on 
Heaven's  Door,"  "Satisfaction"  and  the  13th  Floor  El- 
evators' classic  "Fire  Engine"  (listed  as  "The  Blow 
Up"  and  credited  to  Veriaine,  though  the  song  is  men- 
tioned by  its  true  name  and  source  in  the  liner  notes). 
Veriaine  and  Lloyd  have  both  pursued  solo  careers; 
Ficca  became  a  Waitress.  Richard  Hell  released  records 
and  fronted  bands  under  his  own  name  after  leaving  the 
Heartbreakers.  [jw] 

See  also  Heartbreakers,  Richard  Hell,  Richard 
Lloyd,  Kristi  Rose  and  the  Midnight  Walkers,  Tom  Ver- 
iaine, Waitresses,  Washington  Squares. 

TELEVISION 

Where's  Bill  Grundy  Now?  EP  (no  label)  1978  (Rough 

Trade)  1979 

...  And  Don't  the  Kids  Just  Love  It  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 980 
Mummy  Your  Not  Watching  Me  (nr/Whaaml)  1 981 

(nr/Dreamworld)1987 
They  Could  Have  Been  Bigger  Than  the  Beatles 

(nr/Whaam!)  1982  (nr/Dreamv/orld)  1986 
Then  God  Snaps  His  Fingers  (nr/Whaam!)  1 983 
The  Painted  Word  (or/Illuminated)  1 984 
Chocolat-Art  (Ger.  Pastel!)  1 985 
Privilege  (Fire)  1 989  ® 
Salvador  Dali's  Garden  Party  EP  (nr/Fire)  1989 

Drawing  inspiration  from  '60s  British  pop  and  psy- 
chedelia, London's  Television  Personalities — led  by 
Daniel  Treacy,  with  schoolmate  Edward  Ball  (also  the 
man  of  the  Times,  to  whom  he  became  singly  loyal  in 
the  early  '80s)  and  Joe  Foster  (later  of  Slaughter  Joe) — 
are  a  haphazard  and  amateurish  band  whose  records 
offer  no  slick  musicianship  but  loads  of  brilliantly 
adapted  pop-art  weirdness.  They  started  out  wide-eyed 
and  Jonathan  Richman-like  but  evolved  into  (and  be- 
yond) rambling,  jagged  space  noise  and  various  stripes 
of  time-warped  psychedelia. 

Ball  and  Treacy  began  casually,  recording  singles 
together  as  the  Television  Personalities,  0  Level  and 
Teenage  Filmstars;  Foster  contributed  to  the  vinyl  mini- 
deluge  as  the  Missing  Scientists.  Showing  a  healthy 
awareness  for  1978*s  here-and-now,  they  released 
Where's  Bill  Grundy  Now?,  a  7-inch  EP  also  known 
as  Part  Time  Punks  (after  another  of  its  four  songs), 

The  TVPs  (for  this  project,  Treacy,  Ball  and  a  drum- 
mer) made  their  longplaying  debut  with  And  Don't  the 
Kids  Just  Love  It,  an  altogether  charming  and  guileless 
version  of  Carnaby  Street  pop  given  a  modem  neurotic 
outlook.  Hie  cover  sets  the  period  with  a  collage  that  fits 
together  John  Steed  of  The  Avengers  and  Twiggy.  From 
a  Kinksish  tale  of  boyish  admiration  ("Geoffrey  In- 
gram") to  the  lyrically  acute  "I  Know  Where  Syd  Bar- 
rett Lives/'  simply  and  softly  played  guitars,  bass  and 
drums  support  coy  vocals  sung  in  Treacy  *s  adenoidal 
accent.  Haunting  melodies  and  abundant  wit  make  the 
record  bizarre  but  wonderful,  far  more  eccentric  and 
original  than  the  solemn  neo-mod  rehashers  of  the  same 
era. 

Ball  and  Treacy  then  formed  the  Whaam!  label,  later 
renamed  Dreamworld  after  George  Michael's  people 
took  an  interest.  IE  between  Times  sessions  (which  gen- 
erally included  Treacy),  the  TVPs  moved  from  succinct 


662 


pop  art  and  flower  power  to  trippy  psychedelia  on 
Mummy  Your  Not  Watching  Me,  a  mixture  of  key- 
boards and  low-budget  studio  effects.  Although  some  of 
the  songs  follow  the  first  album's  art-school  template 
( ' Tainting  by  Numbers ' '  and  *  'Lichtenstem  Painting' ' ) , 
others  meander  through  mild  mind  expansion,  in  hom- 
age to  Barrett  and  other  acid-rockers.  The  standout  in 
this  vein  is  "David  Hockney's  Diaries,"  which  also 
demonstrates  the  problems  inherent  in  adorableness  try- 
ing to  be  spacey.  The  shoebox  production  removes  any 
grandiosity  that  may  have  been  intended,  and  what's  left 
sounds  mixed  up  and  silly.  If  it  weren't  for  the  redeem- 
ing pop  tunes,  Mummy  would  have  been  a  real  disap- 
pointment. 

Released  concurrently  with  the  announcement  of  the 
band's  dissolution  (actually,  Ball  and  Treacy  merely 
parted  ways  for  a  while;  the  TVPs  continued  apace), 
They  Could  Have  Been  Bigger  Than  the  Beatles  in- 
cludes reprises  of  previously  recorded  songs  as  well  as 
a  pair  of  prime  numbers — "Painter  Man"  and  "Making 
Time" — by  the  '60s  ultra-mod  Creation,  which  receive 
affectionate  and  respectful  (if  incompetent)  treatment. 
The  album  offers  sixteen  tracks  of  should-have-been- 
good  nostalgic  art-rock,  but  sacrifices  a  lot  of  charm 
with  an  overly  heavy  guitar  sound.  Best  cut:  "The  Boy 
in  the  Paisley  Shirt." 

The  Painted  Word  lists  a  four-man  lineup  and  ac- 
tually features  a  group  photo  (albeit  a  dark,  fuzzy  one) 
on  the  front  cover.  Musically,  the  TVPs  have  drifted  off 
into  spare,  droning  psychedelia  and  ultra-restrained  rock 
that's  hauntingly  beautiful,  like  the  most  delicate  mo- 
ments of  the  Velvet  Underground.  While  less  resonantly 
topical  than  before  (save  for  "Back  to  Vietnam"),  the 
all-original  songs  effectively  convey  a  melancholic 
sense  of  futility,  even  when  superficially  addressing  rel- 
atively jolly  topics.  Highlighted  by  "Stop  and  Smell  the 
Roses"  and  "Someone  to  Share  My  Life  With,"  The 
Painted  Word  is  surprisingly  serious  and  altogether  ex- 
cellent. 

Chocolat-Art  (sarcastically  subtitled  "A  Special 
Tribute  to  James  Last")  was  recorded  live  as  a  trio  in 
Germany  (1984),  and  features  simple  but  effective  per- 
formances of  such  TVP  classics  as  "Silly  Girl,"  "I 
Know  Where  Syd  Barrett  Lives"  (appending  "I  know 
where  Paul  Weller  lives— 'cause  he's  a  hippie,  too") 
and  the  stupendous  "Look  Back  in  Anger."  The  band's 
isn't  always  in  tune,  but  you  know  they  mean  well. 

Recorded  as  a  trio  with  ex-Swell  Maps  bassist  Jowe 
Head  and  drummer  Jeffrey  Bloom  (both  also  partici- 
pants in  Slaughter  Joe),  the  very  wonderful  Privilege 
only  improves  on  The  Painted  Word  with  better  songs, 
production,  singing  and  playing.  Sounding  in  spots  very 
much  like  Pete  Shelley  (especially  on  "Sometimes  I 
Think  You  Know  Me  Better  Than  I  Know  Myself"), 
Treacy  is  a  bad-mood-guy  here  (witness  "All  My 
Dreams  Are  Dead,"  "This  Time  There's  No  Happy 
Ending"  and  "Sad  Mona  Lisa**),  but  he  does  brighten 
long  enough  for  the  pop-art  happening  of  "Salvador 
Dali's  Garden  Party**  (which  winsomely  lists  all  the 
posh  celebrities  in  attendance).  The  music  is  brilliant — 
characteristically  direct  songs  dressed  up  with  just  the 
right  amount  of  keyboards — and  Treacy's  voice  is  as 
boyishly  engaging  as  ever,  [i] 

See  also  Times. 


TELEX 

Looking  for  Saint  Tropez  (nr/Sire)  1 979 

Neurovision  (Sire)  1 980 

Sex(PVC)  1981 

Birds  and  Bees  (nr/lnterdisc)  1982 

Looney  Tunes  (Atlantic)  1 988  • 

This  Belgian  synth  trio — specializing  in  suave  Euro- 
disco — is  at  once  a  bland  dance  machine  and  a  reason- 
ably clever  techno-pop  team.  Deadly  slow  adaptations 
(with  artificial-sounding  processed  vocals)  of  "Rock 
Around  the  Clock"  and  Plastic  Bertrand's  "£a  Plane 
pour  Moi"  make  Looking  for  Saint  Tropez  amusingly 
noteworthy;  the  originals,  while  faster,  are  mundane 
and  one-dimensional. 

Neurovision  takes  the  same  approach,  giving  Sly 
Stone's  "Dance  to  the  Music"  the  full  Telex  treatment 
amid  another  batch  of  boring  originals.  (If  the  group's 
use  of  synthesizers  weren't  as  dull  as  technically  possi- 
ble, their  records  might  be  a  lot  better.)  Sex  adds  a 
novel  element  by  employing  Ron  and  Russell  Mael  as 
lyricists;  the  collaboration  resembles  Sparks'  work  with 
Giorgio  Moroder  in  form,  if  not  content.  Unfortunately, 
Telex's  languid  creations  lack  the  spunk  to  keep  up  with 
the  warped  wordplay  of  "Sigmund  Freud's  Party," 
"Exercise  Is  Good  for  You"  and  "Carbon  Copy." 
(Birds  and  Bees  replaces  three  of  Sex's  tracks  with 
subsequent  singles.) 

Whatever  Telex  did  during  its  '80s  vacation, 
Looney  Tunes  is  a  significantly  different  kettle  of 
ducks.  Treading  a  jokey  electronic  path  somewhere  be- 
tween Art  of  Noise,  Kraftwerk  and  Yello,  the  tno  con- 
cocts simple  dance  grooves  with  absurd  chanted  lyrics 
and  then  starts  emptying  its  bag  of  sound  effects,  chuck- 
ing in  everything  but  you  know  what.  Ironically,  "Spike 
Jones" — named  for  someone  to  whom  the  group  obvi- 
ously owes  a  conceptual  debt  here — is  one  of  the  flimsy 
album's  least  inspired  collages.  [i] 

TEMPLE  OF  THE  DOG 

Temple  of  the  Dog  (A&M)  1 991  • 

Yet  another  twist  in  the  incestuous  Seattle  scene, 
Temple  of  the  Dog  was  recorded  over  weekends  in  the 
fall  of  1990  by  vocalist  Chris  Cornell  and  drummer  Matt 
Cameron  of  Soundgarden  with  the  surviving  members 
of  Mother  Love  Bone.  Meant  as  a  tribute  to  the  late 
Andrew  Wood,  the  album  is  as  good  as  anything  either 
band  has  produced.  The  Temple  has  a  rootsy  side  that 
Soundgarden  doesn't  touch;  freed  from  his  confining 
lovegodhead  image,  Cornell  sings  instead  of  shrieking, 
and  exposes  more  sides  of  his  musical  talent  than  past 
work  ever  suggested.  Sympathetic  but  laden  with  some 
harsh  drug  imagery,  Temple  of  the  Dog  manages  to 
address  its  difficult  subject  without  getting  corny  or 
tasteless.  [ja] 

See  also  Mother  Love  Bone,  Soundgarden. 

TENPOLE  TUDOR 

Eddie  Old  Bob  Dick  and  Gary  (Stiff)  1 981 
Let  the  Four  Winds  Blow  (Stiff)  1 981 
Swords  of  a  Thousand  Men  (Can.  Stiff)  1981 

This  wonderful,  over-the-top  crew  of  rowdies  is  led 
by  the  inimitable  Edward  Tudor-Pole,  whose  wobbly 


663 


vocals  lend  the  proper  air  of  debauchery  to  the  band's 
hard-driving  arias.  Eddie  Old  Bob  Dick  and  Gary  con- 
tains such  classy  trash  as  "Wunderbar,"  "3  Bells  in  a 
Row"  and  "Swords  of  a  Thousand  Men,"  replete  with 
bizarre  concepts,  catchy  melodies  and  loopy  singing. 
The  great  tracks  co-exist  with  some  real  dogs,  but  when 
Tenpole  Tudor  are  on  the  mark,  their  good  humor  and 
rock  energy  are  undeniably  infectious. 

Let  the  Four  Winds  Blow  takes  the  band  (up  or 
down  isn't  an  issue)  to  a  new  plateau,  working  flippant 
pseudo-country  ("Throwing  My  Baby  Out  with  the 
Bathwater"),  mock-funk  ("Local  Animal"),  even  er- 
satz ballroom  schmaltzola  ("Tonight  Is  the  Night"). 
The  Canadian-only  Swords  of  a  Thousand  Men  picks 
the  best  tracks  from  both  LPs  and  wraps  them  in  the 
artwork  from  the  second.  Not  for  the  uptight  or  super- 
cilious, but  John  Otway  fans  will  understand. 

Sir  Edward  then  abandoned  his  fulltime  singing  ca- 
reer for  a  series  of  blindingly  funny  carneos  in  such 
films  as  The  Great  Rock' n' Roll  Swindle  (in  which  he 
sings  "Who  Killed  Barnbi?"  into  a  vacuum  cleaner  han- 
dle), Sid  &  Nancy  (a  great  bit  as  a  hotel  clerk),  Walker 
(a  rare  dramatic  role),  Absolute  Beginners  and  Straight 
to  HelL  He  has  also  done  London  theater.  [i] 

10,000  MANIACS 

Human  Conflict  Number  Five  EP  (Mark)  1 982  (Christian 

Burial  Music-Press)  1 984 
Secrets  of  the  I  Ching  (Christian  Burial  Music)  1 983 

(Christian  Burial  Music-Press)  1 983 
The  Wishing  Chair  (Elektra)  1 985  * 
In  My  Tribe  (Elektra)  1987* 
Blind  Man's  Zoo  (Elektra)  1989  • 
Hope  Chest  (Elektra)  1990<t> 

JOHN  AND  MARY 

Victory  Gardens  (Rykodisc)  1991  <J> 

Hailing  from  Jamestown  in  provincial  upstate  New 
York,  10,000  Maniacs  play  deceptively  challenging  new 
pop  music  with  rustic  folky  underpinnings.  On  the  early 
records,  singer  Natalie  Merchant's  innocent  voice  skips 
lightly  over  gentle  melodies  while  her  five  cohorts  pro- 
vide unobtrusive  reggae-folk-pop  backing.  But  on  closer 
inspection,  all  is  not  so  cozy.  Warped  guitars  slice  in 
and  out,  and  Merchant's  fragmented  lyrics  gently  evoke 
images  of  a  decaying  society  bent  on  violent  self- 
destruction. 

The  five-song  Human  Conflict  Number  Five  EP  is 
simple  and  a  little  underbaked,  but  does  introduce  the 
Maniacs'  early  trademarks:  Merchant's  voice,  strong, 
soaring  melodies  and,  on  a  couple  of  numbers,  lilting 
Caribbean  grooves.  Secrets  of  the  I  Ching  offers  a 
much  stronger  creative  vision;  the  lyrics  serve  up  tastes 
of  Latin  and  Spanish,  and  the  music  ranges  from 
screeching  noise  over  a  pop  hook  to  almost  psychedelic 
power  calypso.  Both  records  present  difficult  ideas  with- 
out compromise  in  a  most  palatable  manner. 

(A  remixed  and  resequenced  compilation  of  the  two 
records — omitting  only  one  version  of  * 'Tension,'*  a 
song  done  on  both — was  issued  in  1990.  Besides  its 
value  for  making  these  rarities  widely  available  with 
fine  sound  and  informative  liner  notes,  Hope  Chest  is 
an  elementary  but  thoroughly  credible  record  that  blends 
nicely  with  the  band's  recent  efforts.) 

The  Maniacs'  major  label  debut  codified  their  sound 


as  never  before,  essentially  dispensing  with  everything 
except  for  neo-traditional  electric  folk.  Although  com- 
parisons to  Fairport  Convention  (Joe  Boyd  produced 
The  Wishing  Chair)  are  somewhat  valid,  the  Maniacs' 
sensibility  and  cultural  references  are  totally  different: 
small-town  Americana  isn't  rural  Great  Britain.  Mer- 
chant's reflective,  impressionist  lyrics  and  clear,  pow- 
erful singing  shine  on  new  songs  like  "Can't  Ignore  the 
Train"  and  new  versions  of  three  tunes  from  Secrets  of 
the  I  Ching.  Honest,  intelligent  and  enthralling. 

Peter  Asher's  slick  production  of  In  My  Tribe,  the 
band's  first  release  as  a  quintet  (following  the  departure 
of  guitarist  John  Lombardo),  is  initially  bland  and  off- 
putting,  but  the  songs'  emotional  depth  and  Merchant's 
awe-inspiring  voice  ultimately  overcome  the  record's 
dispiriting  homogeneity.  The  realistic  view  of  child 
abuse  in  "What's  the  Matter  Here?"  is  as  troubling  as 
Suzanne  Vega's  "Luka";  "Cherry  Tree"  addresses  il- 
literacy with  poignant  understanding;  the  cautionary 
"Gun  Shy"  is  spoken  directly  at  a  brother  who  has 
newly  become  a  soldier.  For  contrast,  the  delighted  fam- 
ily vignette  of  "My  Sister  Rose"  shares  joy  for  its  own 
sake  and  the  cover  of  Cat  Stevens'  "Peace  Train"  offers 
a  Utopian  alternative  to  Merchant's  more  realistic  orig- 
inals. (After  Stevens  joined  other  Moslems  in  calling  for 
the  violent  death  of  novelist  Salman  Rushdie,  the  group 
moved  to  have  "Peace  Tram"  removed  from  the  album, 
but  their  record  company  demurred.) 

Although  the  Maniacs'  music — no  longer  promi- 
nently folk-oriented — seems  mired  m  a  glib  soft-rock 
rut,  Blind  Man's  Zoo's  literate,  sturdy  songs  again  rise 
through  the  bloodless  presentation.  "Eat  for  Two"  con- 
templates motherhood  with  skepticism;  "Trouble  Me" 
addresses  an  elderly  relative  with  compassion;  "Hateful 
Hate"  attacks  colonialism  in  Africa;  "You  Happy  Pup- 
pet" enigmatically  condemns  a  willing  victim  of  ma- 
nipulation. Stimulating  rather  than  overtly  exciting, 
Blind  Man's  Zoo  is  nonetheless  effective  in  its  own 
way. 

Victory  Gardens  is  John  Lombardo  *s  first  album 
with  singer/violinist/co- writer  Mary  Ramsey.  Maniacs 
guitarist  Robert  Buck  and  drummer  Jerome 
Augustyniak — as  well  as  unrelated  oldtimers  Ronnie 
Lane,  Augie  Meyers  and  Joey  Molland— guest  on  the 
collection  of  pristine  electro-folk  originals  whose  de- 
signs are  familiar  but  nonetheless  appealing.  [jl/i] 

TERRY,  BLAIR  AND  ANOUCHKA 

See  Colour  Field. 


TEST  DEPT. 

Beating  the  Retreat  (nr/Som©  Bizzare)  T984  • 
The  Unacceptable  Face  of  Freedom  (nr/Ministry  of 

Power-Some  Bizzare)  1 986  • 
A  Good  Night  Out  (Ministry  of  Power-Some 

Bizzare-RelatMty)1987« 
Terra  Firma  (Play  It  Again  Sam  USA)  1988  * 
Materia  Prima  (nr/Department  One)  1 990 

TEST  DEPT.  AND  THE  SOUTH 
WALES  STRIKING  MINERS 
CHOIR 

Shoulder  to  Shoulder  (nr/Some  Bixzar©)  1985 


664 


TEST  ©OF 

Gododdin  (nr/Ministry  of  Power)  1989  • 

Like  that  other  notable  contemporary  band  of  philo- 
sophical noisemakers,  Einsturzende  Neubauten,  Test 
Dept.  originally  eschewed  all  musical  tradition  to  play 
stunning  ultra-percussion  with  an  industrial  bent.  Like 
their  Teutonic  soul  brothers,  this  enigmatic  British  or- 
ganization uses  large  metallic  objects  and  power  tools  to 
add  stark  modem  realism  to  the  drum  overload,  but  also 
brings  more  structure  and  rhythm  to  the  assault. 

Beating  the  Retreat — two  12-inch  EPs  comprising 
a  single-length  album — adds  occasional  vocal  effects 
(not  singing)  that  do  little  to  vary  the  din,  which  is 
simply  awesome  in  its  intensity  and  singlemindedness. 
But  several  startling  tracks  take  a  wholly  different  ap- 
proach, offering  sparse  ambient  sound  and  effects  that 
blithely  incorporate  real  instruments  like  cello  and  harp. 
Shoulder  to  Shoulder,  proving  the  band's  political 
commitment  and  activism,  gives  half  of  its  running  time 
to  the  90-member  Welsh  choir.  In  one  truly  strange 
exercise,  the  two  seemingly  unconnectable  forces  col- 
laborate on  a  track. 

The  Unacceptable  Face  of  Freedom,  with  an  un- 
wieldy fold-out  cover  Hawkwind  would  be  proud  of,  is 
a  powerful  record,  both  in  its  potent  musical  attack  and 
ongoing  political  convictions.  Real  drums  seem  to  have 
replaced  most  of  the  steel-bashing,  and  the  instrumen- 
tation also  includes  Fairlight-built  orchestras,  taped 
voices  (speaking  and  singing),  sequencers  and  bag- 
pipes. Observations  about  the  state  of  British  life  are 
angrier  than  ever — "Statement"  features  a  miner  giving 
a  firsthand  account  of  picket-line  police  brutality,  while 
recurring  military  themes  in  the  music  drive  the  point 
home  even  harder. 

A  Good  Night  Out  continues  their  forceful  mani- 
festo, although  the  execution  has  progressed  from  the 
tribal  pounding  of  early  work  to  ambitious  performance 
art.  Much  of  the  LP  was  recorded  live  in  London  and 
Amsterdam  in  what  was,  judging  by  the  cover  photo,  a 
huge  multi-media  extravaganza — some  sort  of  Marxist 
military  opera.  Lyrics  which  continue  to  spew  bitter, 
sarcastic  and  intelligent  tirades  against  the  domestic  pol- 
icies of  the  British  Empire  are  more  powerful  than  ever. 
Pretentious  perhaps,  but  A  Good  Night  Out  also  shows 
Test  Dept.'s  abiding  commitment  to  their  beliefs — 
social,  political  and  artistic. 

The  only  information  given  on  the  cover  of  Terra 
Firma  is  a  brief  libretto  for  each  of  the  five  tracks 
(which  range  from  five  to  fourteen  minutes  each).  Try 
"While  the  melancholy  piper  Alistair  pipes  a  lament, 
the  lovely  Nadka  grieves'*  on  for  size.  No,  you  haven't 
picked  up  a  Russian  novel  by  mistake.  The  stories  all 
lead  to  a  concluding  call  for  all  world  citizens  to  unite 
on  firm  ground  (hence  the  title).  The  omnipresent  drums 
shape  four  of  the  five  cuts  (the  one  exception  being  the 
inadvisably  sung  "Dark  Eyes1*),  with  other 
instrumentation-— pianos,  tapes,  horns,  (other  peoples') 
voices ,  etc.- — providing  each  with  a  distinctive  signa- 
ture. Another  ambitious  effort  that  only  Test  Dept.  could 
have  undertaken. 

Gododdin  is  the  result  of  another  collaboration,  this 
time  with  Brith  Oof,  a  Welsh  theater  group,  and  some  of 
the  lyrics  and  liner  notes  are  in  that  beautiful  and  un- 
usual language*  The  performance  from  which  the  album 
developed  is  based  on  an  epic  Welsh  poem,  and  was 


originally  staged  in  an  abandoned  car  factory  in  Cardiff. 
(It  was  later  performed  in  Hamburg,  Germany  with 
sponsorship  from  Mobil  and  Philip  Morris;  a  rather 
ironic  capitalist  twist.)  Despite  the  militaristic  theme, 
the  music  is  more  haunting  and  less  bombastic  than  A 
Good  Night  Out.  A  chilling  work. 

The  live  Materla  Prima,  recorded  around  Europe 
between  1986  and  1989,  contains  much  of  the  same 
material  as  The  Unacceptable  Face  of  Freedom. 

[i/dgs] 

TEX  AND  THE 

Tex  and  the  Horseheads  (Bemisbrain-Enigma)  1984 

Life's  So  Cool  (Enigma)  1985 

TotZiens:  Live  in  Holland  (Hoi.  Enigma)  1986 

One  of  the  wilder  exponents  of  cow-punk,  Tex  and 
the  Horseheads  are  spiritual  kin  to  the  Gun  Club.  And 
while  they  lean  toward  a  very  punky  image  (lead  singer 
Texacala  Jones  dresses  like  a  female  Stiv  Bator;  on  the 
first  album,  the  bassist's  name  is  Smog  Vomit  and  the 
drummer  is  Rock  Vodka),  their  playing  is  fairly  coher- 
ent. Mixing  mutant  blues  (even  a  cover  of  Jimmy  Reed's 
"Big  Boss  Man")  into  the  first  album's  punk-country- 
rock  blender,  Tex  and  the  Horseheads  have  a  convinc- 
ingly strong  sound,  but  are  a  few  pints  short  on  material. 

John  Doe  produced  the  much-better  Life's  So  Cool, 
an  uncontrolled  blues-rock  riot  that  recalls  Exile  on 
Main  Street.  It  starts  with  an  uncredited  quote  from  the 
old  instrumental  "Cat's  Squirrel"  (see  Jethro  Tull's  first 
LP  for  corroboration)  and  then  goes  on  to  such  topics  as 
drinking,  fornication  and  legal  tangles  in  songs  that  are 
substantial  and  thoughtfully  developed.  Texacala' s  sing- 
ing shows  great  improvement;  exciting  guitarist  Mike 
Martt  and  bassist  J.  Gregory  Boaz  also  pitch  in  com- 
plementary vocals.  A  very  impressive  showing  with 
enough  bite  and  spit  to  satisfy  anyone. 

Thanks  to  poor  sound  and  undistinguished  playing, 
the  Dutch  concert  documented  in  Tot  Ziens  is  an  inco- 
herent blur  of  guitar  noise  and  hard-to-hear  vocals. 
Mostly  recapping  the  band's  two  studio  records  (new 
tunes  include  "Cutie  Rudy,"  "Go  West"  and  Oscar 
Brown  Jr.'s  "Snake"),  this  live  record  adds  nothing  to 
the  originals  beyond  Jones'  scurrilous  stage  comments. 

See  also  Divine  Horsemen.  [i] 

TEXAS 

Southside  (Mercury)  1 989  • 

Defying  ail  the  generic  stereotypes  of  contemporary 
Scottish  rock,  this  Glasgow  quartet  (whose  bassist,  John 
McElhone,  was  an  Altered  Image)  plays  decidedly 
American  heartland  folk-rock  with  inflections  of  coun- 
try and  gospel.  Singer/guitarist  Sharleen  Spiteri  has  a 
strong,  handsome  voice  (with  no  discernible  accent), 
and  the  band  provides  crisp,  agile  guitar  backing.  But 
the  songs — mostly  Spiteri/McElhone  collaborations — 
are  bland  archetypal  rewrites  with  more  commercial 
man  artistic  value.  And  not  to  get  jingoist  about  it,  the 
Scottish  perspective  adds  nothing  to  already  well- 
explored  territory.  [i] 

TEXAS  INSTRUMENTS 

IMore  Texas  Instruments!  EP  (Longhead)  1985 
The  Texas  Instruments  (Rabid  Cat)  1 987 


665 


Sun  Tunnels  (Rabid  Cat)  1 988 
Crammed  into  Infinity  (Rocicville)  1 991  ® 

One  of  the  advantages  of  growing  up  musical  in 
Texas  is  that  you  can  play  cowboy  rock  without  getting 
all  stupid  and  selfconscious  about  it.  Austin's  Texas 
Instruments  don't  waste  a  lot  of  time  or  fuss  detailing 
their  stylistic  concepts,  the  unpretentious  tno  just  gets 
on  with  it,  delivering  crisp  post-punk  songs  in  a  dis- 
tinctly regional  dialect.  Over  a  simple  Southwestern 
backbeat,  Dave  Woody  drops  an  occasional  ZZ  Top  lick 
into  his  barbed  wire  guitar  playing,  the  backbone  of 
lyrically  substantial,  reasonably  tuneful  material. 

Following  a  four-song  12-inch  and  a  stint  backing 
Daniel  Johnston  on  his  Continued  Story  cassette,  TI 
made  its  unassumingly  strong  longplaying  debut  on  The 
Texas  Instruments,  an  album  of  good  songs  (like  the 
garagey  "Prussian  Blue")  and  energetic  arrangements 
that  stay  loud  without  turning  abrasive.  Besides  putting 
an  infrequent  Dylan  inflection  in  its  own  songs,  the  trio 
covers  Woody  Guthrie's  "Do  Re  Mi"  and  gives  "A 
Hard  Rain's  a-Gonna  Fall"  an  effective  rattlesnake 
boogie  bite. 

Double-dipping  into  the  Dylan  catalogue,  the  more 
temperate  Sun  Tunnels  (again  produced  by  Spot)  in- 
cludes a  rendition  of  "You  Ain't  Going  Nowhere"  and 
an  amusingly  derivative  original  entitled  "Watch'n  It 
All  Go  Down."  While  only  "Little  Black  Sunrise"  goes 
so  far  as  to  be  acoustic  folk,  the  LP  is  a  lot  less  aggres- 
sive overall,  with  impressive  sophistication  (especially 
rhythmic)  that,  on  some  of  the  harder  numbers,  owes  a 
clear  stylistic  debt  to  the  Minutemen.  An  exciting  step 
down  a  promising  path.  [i] 

See  also  Daniel  Johnston. 


THAT  PETROL  EMOTION 

Manic  Pop  Thrill  (nr/Demon)  1 986  ® 

Babble  (Polydor)  1987® 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987  ® 

Live  (Mansfield)  1 988 

End  of  the  Millennium  Psychosis  Blues  (Virgin)  1988  * 

Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1989  « 

Chemicrazy  (Virgin)  1 990  • 

Sensitize  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 990  • 

The  talented  O'Neill  brothers  left  the  ashes  of  the 
peerless  Undertones  behind  with  few  prospects  for  their 
musical  future.  While  Feargal  Sharkey  began  his  trans- 
formation into  a  boring  California  pop  chanteur,  they 
lay  low,  quietly  scorning  the  business  that  had  shattered 
their  teenage  dreams.  After  several  false  starts,  they 
returned,  with  an  excellent  new  quintet  that  built  on  past 
accomplishments  without  revisiting  them.  Damian 
O'Neill  took  up  bass  for  the  Petrols;  big  brother  Se&n 
(previously  known  as  John)  and  Deny  homeboy  Re£- 
mann  O'Gorma'in  play  guitar;  drummer  Ciaran 
McLaughlin  and  Seattle  singer  Steve  Mack  complete  the 
band,  which  is  politically  aware,  occasionally  abrasive 
and  devoutly  independent. 

Manic  Pop  Thrill  is  an  apt  title  for  the  angry,  ar- 
ticulate rock  melodies  that  span  the  continuum  from 
sweet  balladry  to  PiL/Fall-like  noise.  Mack  is  a  fine, 
controlled  shouter  in  the  Keith  Relf/Steve  Marriott  tra- 
dition; the  band's  combination  of  slide  guitars,  Bo  Did- 


dley  beats,  wild  harmonica  wailing  and  raveup  energy 
recalls  the  early  Stones,  Yardbirds  and  Velvet  Under- 
ground. The  utter  lack  of  nostalgia  or  revivalism  here 
suggests  that,  even  with  all  the  crap  that  masquerades  as 
music  nowadays,  some  things  about  rock'n'roll  will 
never  die.  (The  CD  adds  four  tracks.) 

Produced  by  ex-Swan  Roli  Mosimann,  Babble  puts 
the  issues — mostly  concerning  religion  and  Irish 
nationalism — right  up  front:  " Creeping  to  the  Cross," 
"Big  Decision,"  "Swamp,"  "Chester  Bumette"  and 
others  unleash  the  group's  vehemence  and  informed  rad- 
ical commentary.  Since  the  lyrics  aren't  very  specific 
and  the  singleminded  music  is  ruggedly  invigorating, 
agreement  isn't  a  prerequisite  to  appreciation.  The 
Petrols  could  benefit  from  a  little  more  stylistic  consis- 
tency (everybody  writes,  often  in  very  different  direc- 
tions), but  the  melding  of  real-life  anger  with  germane 
musical  passion  gives  Babble  a  visceral  quality  that  is 
impossible  to  ignore. 

The  June  1985  performances  on  the  Peel  EP  predate 
the  band's  first  album;  songs  include  "V2,"  "Can't 
Stop,"  "Lettuce"  and  "Blind  Spot."  The  full-length 
Peel  album  pairs  that  session  with  a  second  recorded 
later  the  same  year.  Recorded  in  Los  Angeles,  the  nifty 
but  questionable  1988  Live  mini-album  (seemingly  a 
boot,  but  openly  distributed  through  legitimate  chan- 
nels) has  covers  of  Neil  Young's  "Cinnamon  Girl"  and 
Pere  Ubu's  "Non  Alignment  Pact"  alongside  five  of  the 
band's  own  tunes,  from  the  pre-Pop  Thrill  "V2"  to  the 
then-new  "Here  It  Is  ...  Take  It!" 

While  some  of  the  more  restrained  material  on  the 
stylistically  scattered  End  of  the  Millennium  Psychosis 
Blues  (again  produced  by  Rosimann)  is  underwhelm- 
ing, tracks  like  "Sooner  or  Later,"  "Tension,"  "Here 
It  Is  ...  Take  It!"  and  "Groove  Check"-— on  which 
the  band's  Celtic  funk-rock,  complete  with  horns,  is  in 
full  effect — are  gripping.  As  the  music  shifts  gears  to 
suit  their  tone,  the  lyrics  run  alternately  bleak,  resigned 
and  angry  (a  few  of  them,  in  keeping  with  the  militant 
liner  notes,  specifically  topical,  the  rest  more  generally 
directed).  When  it  all  clicks,  the  band's  charging  sound 
and  fiery  ideas  combine  to  make  a  powerful  artistic  state- 
ment. 

Shortly  after  the  album's  release,  Sein  O'Neill 
chose  family  life  over  the  rock'n'roll  jungle,  and  left  the 
band.  Damian  returned  to  guitar,  McLaughlin  emerged 
as  the  leading  songwriter  and  the  Petrols  drafted  a  new 
bassist,  John  Marchini,  who  made  his  debut  on  the  Scott 
Litt-produced  Chemicrazy,  Given  all  the  changes,  it's 
surprising  that  the  album  sounds  anything  at  all  like  its 
predecessors;  unfortunately  what  remains  in  the  absence 
of  Sean's  disconsolate  moodiness  and  Mosimann1  s  loud 
impudence  is  crisply  presentable  but  emotionally  de- 
fused, lyrically  inadequate  and  blandly  commercialized. 
While  the  cool  "Scum  Surfin'  "  proves  that  there  is  life 
after  the  end  of  the  millennium,  Chemicrazy  is  a  dose 
of  the  wrong  medicine. 

Built  around  an  album  track  and  the  non-LP 
"Chemicrazy/'  the  Sensitize  EP  is  a  multi-format  ex- 
travaganza, available  (besides  two  two-track  single  con- 
figurations and  a  three-song  12-inch)  as  a  CD  and,  with 
different  tracks,  a  10-inch  vinyl  platter  in  a  box  with  a 
poster.  [i] 

See  also  Undertones, 


666 


THEE  HEADCOATS 

See  Thee  Mighty  Caesars 


THEE  HYPNOTICS 

Live'r  Than  God!  (Sub  Pop)  1 989  • 

Come  Down  Heavy  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1990  • 

Assembling  a  host  of  1967  psychedelic  fuzz-guitar 
stars — Blue  Cheer,  Cream,  Jimi  Hendrix,  etc. — as  pri- 
mary influences,  adding  a  bit  of  Pretty  Things/Rolling 
Stones  ambience  and  jamming  on  a  frenzied  Stooges/ 
MC5  drive,  this  London  quartet  handily  re-creates  the 
pre-Zeppelin  era  with  more  flair  than  most.  Singer  James 
Jones  knows  all  the  right  moves,  as  does  guitarist  Ray 
Hanson,  who  pulls  off  the  neat  trick  of  overdubbing 
several  different  specific  styles  in  a  single  song.  Com- 
bining four  live  tracks  from  a  UK  EP  of  the  same  name 
and  four  studio  tracks  from  a  pair  of  British  singles,  the 
American  Live'r  Than  God!  album  is  a  swirling  carpet 
ride  of  electrifying  nostalgia,  effectively  digested  and 
powerfully  delivered.  Lacking  overdubs,  the  energetic 
concert  side  sounds  rather  thin  and  monochromatic,  but 
such  studio  creations  as  "Soul  Trader"  and  ** Earth 
Blues"  are  mighty  potent. 

Just  as  the  '60s  greats  gave  way  (commercially 
speaking)  to  junkyard  knockoffs  like  Grand  Funk  Rail- 
road, so  Thee  Hypnotics  moved  the  wrong  way  forward 
on  their  first  full-length  studio  LP.  Abandoning  the 
claustrophobic  atmosphere  and  excitement  of  their  ini- 
tial pose,  they  opted  for  a  bombastic  and  hollow  '70s 
arena-rock  sound — incorporating  funk-metal  and  Cult- 
ish  raunch — that  frighteningly  recalls  such  turn-of-the- 
decade  nightmares  as  Bloodstone  and  Rhinoceros. 
Come  Down  Heavy  is,  pardon  the  cheap  joke,  a  heavy 
comedown,  [i] 


THEE  MIGHTY  CAESARS 

Thee  Mighty  Caesars  { nr/Milbhakes)  1985 

Beware  the  Ides  of  March  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 985 

Little  by  Little  EP  (nr/Media  Burn)  1 986 

Thee  Caesars  of  Trash  (nr/Milbhakes)  1 986 

Acropolis  Now  (nr/Milkshakes)  1986 

Live  in  Rome  (nr/Big  Beat)  1 987 

Wiseblood  (nr/Ambassador)  1987  (nr/Hangman)  1989 

Don't  Give  Any  Dinner  to  Henry  Chinaski  (nr/Hangman) 

1987 

Punk  Rock  Showcase  (nr/Hangman)  1987 
Thusly,  Thee  Mighty  Caesars  English  Punk  Rock  Explosion 

(Crypt)  1988 

John  Lennon's  Corpse  Revisited  (Crypt)  1 989 
Surely  They  Were  the  Sons  of  God  (Crypt)  1 990 

(THEE/WILD)  BILLY  CHILDISH 

I've  Got  Everything  indeed  (nr/Hangman)  1987 

The  1982  Cassetes  (nr/Hangman)  1987 

"i  remember  ..."  (nr/Hangman)  1 987 

Poems  of  Laughter  and  Violence  (nr/Hangman)  1 988 

50  Albums  Great  (nr/Hangman)  1 991 

WILD  BILLY  CHILDISH  AND  BIG 
RUSS  WILKINS 

Laughing  Gravy  (nr/Empire)  1987 


AND 
MING 

Which  Dead  Donkey  Daddy?  (nr/Hangman)  1987 
Plump  Prizes  and  Little  Gems  (nr/Hangman)  1987 
Ypres  1917  Overture  (Verdun  Ossuary)  (nr/Hangman) 
1987 

JACK  KiTCH  AND  THE 
CROWMEN 

Brimfull  of  Hate  (nr/Hangman)  1988 

WILD  BILLY  CHILDISH  AND  THE 
BLACKHANDS 

Play  Capfn  Calypso's  Hoodoo  Party  (nr/Hangman)  1988 

WILD  BILLY  CHILDISH  AND  THE 
NATURAL  BORN  LOVERS 

Long  Legged  Baby  (nr/Hangman)  1989 

THEE  HEADCOATS 

Headcoats  Downl  (nr/Hangman)  1 989 

The  Earls  of  Suavedom  (Crypt)  1 990 

The  Kids  Are  All  Square-This  Is  Hip!  (nr/Hangman)  1 990 

Beach  Bums  Must  Die  (Crypt)  1 990 

Heavens  to  Murgatroyd,  Even!  Ifs  Thee  Headcoats! 

(Already)  (Sub  Pop)  1990® 

Noted  painter/woodcut  artist  Bill  Hamper  considers 
music  a  sideline,  a  hobby.  But  don't  tell  that  to  record 
producer  Rollin  Slim,  or  music  historian/art  director 
William  Loveday  (or  his  colleague,  Chatham  Jack), 
Jack  Ketch  or  ...  Billy  Childish  Idiosyncratic  dyslexic 
poet  of  discontent  and  disgruntlement,  Hamper  orga- 
nized a  mutually  hateful  bunch  into  the  Medway  (named 
for  a  British  river)  poets,  elevating  them  into  the  public 
eye  and  even  putting  the  runts  on  vinyl  before  their 
acknowledged  distaste  for  one  another  melted  the  union. 

In  addition  to  publishing  booklets  by  assorted  mem- 
bers of  the  Medway  cartel,  Billy's  Hangman  imprint  has 
released  a  library  of  several  dozen  volumes  of  his  own 
introspective/socially  accusatory  poems  and  lyrics,  plus 
LPs  by  various  friends  and  co-conspirators,  as  well  as 
Link  Wray  and  Billy's  own  manifold  incarnations.  Chal- 
lenging the  accepted  corporate  policy  of  attempting  to 
sell  50,000  copies  of  one  LP,  the  Childish  strategy  calls 
for  absolute  immediacy  and  absence  of  polish,  constant 
inspiration  (if  not  innovation)  and  the  release  on 
vinyl — in  limited  numbers  for  a  decidedly  limited  (if 
insatiable  and  growing)  audience — virtually  every  mu- 
sical spark,  no  matter  how  bright  or  dull.  In  other  words, 
1,000  copies  each  of  50  different  LPs. 

Following  his  stints  in  the  Pop  Rivits  and  the  Milk- 
shakes, Billy  briefly  retreated  to  svengali  status  in  the 
Delmonas,  but  quickly  hopped  back  into  the  spotlight, 
and  the  attendant  machiavellian  control  that  had  helped 
drive  his  partner  M.  Hampshire  from  the  Milkshakes. 
As  heard  on  its  first  45  and  LP,  the  Mighty  Caesars 
consist  of  the  final  'Shakes  lineup  minus  Mickey,  and 
sound  predictably  like  the  former  band,  if  a  bit  more 
ragged  and  amped  up,  with  one  guitar  substituting  for 
two.  Beware  the  Ides  of  March  introduces  new  drum- 
mer Del  (aka  Graham  Day  of  Medway  stalwarts  the 
Prisoners/Prime  Movers)  for  a  slightly  more  reserved 
and  crafted  set  of  idiopathic  beat  punk,  with  the  best 
track  excerpted  for  the  Little  by  Little  EP.  The  next  two 
albums  only  hone  their  spew,  with  more  of  a  garage  pop 


667 


underpinning;  Acropolis  Now  adds  Fay  (organ,  vocals) 
from  Makin'  Time  and  Sarah  from  the  Delmonas. 

Live  in  Rome  isn't;  reprising  past  Mighty  Caesars' 
highlights  alongside  covers  of  the  Damned,  Pistols  and 
Chuck  Berry,  the  exuberant  crowd  is  dubbed  in,  the 
spontaneous  banter  a  boozy  prank.  Wiseblood  (released 
on  Wreckless  Eric's  label)  is  rougher  (a  la  the  debut), 
whereas  Henry  Chinaski  (subtitled  "Early  Demonstra- 
tion Recordings")  offers  some  of  their  loosest  and  least 
solicitous  performances  of  material  (both  familiar  and 
unreleased)  from  several  periods. 

Punk  Mock  Showcase  collects  fourteen  tracks  from 
previous  LPs,  some  of  them  duplicated  on  Tfausly,  Thee 
Mighty  Caesars  English  Punk  Rock  Explosion,  their 
US  debut,  which  contains  only  one  new  item.  John 
Lennon's  Corpse  Revisited  (with  a  Sgt.  Pepper  "trib- 
ute" cover)  is  all  new,  all  loud,  all  lewd,  all  rowdy — a 
rampant  romp  of  unhinged  punk  trash.  Surely  They 
Were  the  Sons  of  God  is  yet  another  compilation,  and 
the  last  Mighty  Caesars  release  to  date,  with  bassist 
John  Agnew  discovering  a  more  lucrative  career  as 
soundman  for  the  James  Taylor  Quartet,  while  "Del" 
busies  himself  with  the  Prime  Movers. 

Respecting  the  Caesars'  reputation,  Billy  retired  the 
name  until  such  time  as  the  band  (which  all  insist  has 
not  broken  up)  finds  time  to  once  again  play  together.  In 
the  meantime,  Billy  has  focused  on  various  solo 
projects,  duo  projects,  one-off  projects  and  the  ongoing 
nonspecific  project  known  as  Thee  Headcoats.  I've  Got 
Everything  Indeed  is  pure  solo  mono  blues  and  rhythm, 
roll'n'rock  in  the  tradition  of  Jimmy  Reed,  but  reduced 
to  absolute  raw  essentials.  The  1982  Cassetes  [sic]  has 
far  more  of  a  demo  feel,  with  painfully  ragged  tunes 
more  in  an  acoustic  blues  vein;  the  home-recording  hiss 
and  screwy  levels  contribute  to  the  maniacally  insular 
feel,  making  it  perhaps  the  most  personal  Childish  LP  to 
date,  hence  the  "Warning!  You  most  likely  won't  like 
this  record  .  .  .  "  i  remember  fits  stylistically  (if  not 
chronologically)  between  these  two  LPs,  riding  the 
Medway  rails  between  rural  Mississippi  and  the  urban- 
ized Chicago  sound. 

Poems  of  Laughter  and  Violence  is  Billy  in  even 
more  reduced  terms,  reading  his  often  vitriolic  prose 
alone  into  a  microphone,  accompanied  only  by  the 
sound  of  pages  being  turned  and  liquid  being  guzzled. 
Still,  this  is  as  possessed  and  incensed,  as  naked  an  LP 
as  any  punk  classic. 

The  10-inch  Laughing  Gravy  reunites  Billy  with 
Milkshake/Rivit  Russ,  again  bowing  to  the  blues  muse 
for  a  mostly  relaxed,  mostly  acoustic  set  of  tunes  cele- 
brating Delta  traditions. 

Which  Dead  Donkey  Daddy?  pairs  Billy  with  Med- 
way poet  Sexton  Ming  (likeminded  and  similarly  dys- 
lexic leader  of  Auntie  Vegetable  and  the  Mindreaders 
and  solo  artist;  B.  Childish  makes  major  contributions 
as  musician  and  vocalist  on  both  of  his  Hangman  LPs), 
mixing  elements  of  forgotten  blues  with  bleary  Beef- 
heartian  subversive  art,  plus  two  parts  all  things  non- 
pop  and  four  parts  uncaring  self-indulgence,  with  just  a 
niggle  of  music  off  in  the  distance.  Plump  Prizes  and 
Little  Gems  is  a  goofily  selfconscious  distillation  of 
same,  while  Ypres  1917  Overture  is  so  perpendicular 
as  to  be  virtually  unfathomable  in  its  mute  alleyway 
operatics  to  all  but  its  two  principals,  intent  on  con- 
demning all  war  via  the  microcosm  of  Verdun. 


Elsewhere  in  history,  incompetent  British  execu- 
tioner Jack  Ketch  frequently  watched  his  charges  die  of 
strangulation  rather  than  snapped  necks  and,  on  at  least 
one  occasion,  abandoned  his  beheading  axe  for  a  knife 
after  several  unsuccessful  blows.  Reincarnated  as  a  Billy 
Childish  pseudonym  (with  Bruce  Brand  and  Banana 
Bertie,  for  an  original  Milkshakes  reunion  minus 
Mickey  Hampshire),  the  rock  on  Brimfull  of  Hate  is 
punk  with  darkly  arty  tendencies,  riff-simple  but  psy- 
chotically  unblinking  and  devoid  of  roll. 

The  Blackhands  coalesced  after  Nicaragua's  Blue- 
field  Express  declined  Billy's  offer  of  a  UK  release  on 
Hangman,  prompting  him  to  record  his  own  out-of-tune 
New  Orleans-cwm-reggae  version.  Returning  to  the 
blues,  Long  Legged  Baby  deposits  Billy  in  front  of 
Sexton  Ming  and  Big  Russ  for  a  minor  run  through 
familiar  territory. 

Which  brings  us  to  Thee  Headcoats.  Originally  Billy 
Childish,  Brace  Brand  and  either  Alan-  Crockford  (of 
the  Prisoners)  or  John  Agnew,  the  band's  first  LP  is  like 
a  more  assured  Mighty  Caesars,  with  punkier  punk, 
trashier  trash  and  a  major  dollop  of  solid  unadulterated 
country  blues.  The  Earls  of  Suavedom  is  a  more  ob- 
vious LP  that  echoes  past  glories,  but  it  is  far  overshad- 
owed by  The  Kids  Are  AM  Square,  which  branches 
into  new  pop  directions.  The  resurrected  Delmonas  are 
here  redubbed  Thee  Headcoatees,  and  new  bassist  Ollie 
Dollar  has  joined  the  revolving  lineup.  Catchy  as  poison 
ivy,  the  uniformly  excellent  tunes  fall  into  any  number 
of  styles,  not  just  the  same  old  blueprints.  Beach  Bums, 
an  augmented  compilation,  eschews  any  stylistic  esca- 
pades for  a  pure  garage  LP,  including  several  remakes 
with  new  titles  and  lyrics  (in  accepted  blues  tradition). 
Heavens  to  Murgatroyd  (its  CD  "mastered  directly 
from  vinyl")  bows  in  both  directions,  including  new 
pop  wonders  alongside  updated  versions  of  their  own 
and  others'  songs. 

Released  early  in  '91,  Childish's  50  Albums  Great 
(his  fiftieth  LP  only  by  creative  arithmetic)  consists 
mostly  of  "hits"  from  various  post-Milkshakes  phases 
of  his  career,  plus  several  new  tracks  and  a  Billie  Hol- 
iday cover,  all  played  raw  and  solo  with  and  without 
guitar.  Not  his  best. 

In  Billy's  words:  "Half  the  songs  I  steal  ideas  di- 
rect, the  other  half  indirect,  which  is  true  of  everyone. 
Sometimes  I  have  an  idea  of  my  own  ..."  [ab] 

See  also  Delmonas,  Pop  Rivits,  Prisoners. 

THEE  MILKSHAKES 

See  Pop  Rivits. 


THELONIOUS  MONSTER 

Baby  . . .  You're  Bumming  My  Life  Out  in  a  Supreme 

Fashion  (Epitaph)  1 986 
Next  Saturday  Afternoon  (Relativity)  1 987  * 
Stormy  Weather  (Relativity)  1 989  « 

Thelonious  Monster  built  its  rep  on  the  LA  club 
scene  by  playing  lurching,  shambolic  club  sets  (featur- 
ing a  seven-man,  four-guitar  lineup),  but  the  thinly  pro- 
duced Baby  .  .  .  You're  Bumming  My  Life  Out  in  a 
Supreme  Fashion  does  little  to  capture  the  wacked-out 
appeal  of  the  Monster's  live  act.  What  you  get  instead  is 
a  half-assed  grab-bag  of  styles,  some  of  them  effective 


668 


and  others  just  plain  lazy,  unified  by  self-indulgent 
down-in-the-gutter  lyrics  and  frontman  Bob  Forrest's 
whiny  personability. 

Next  Saturday  Afternoon  is  a  bit  closer  to  conven- 
tional rock'n'roll  and  is  the  better  for  it,  unveiling  here- 
tofore hidden  strengths.  The  band,  now  pared  down  to  a 
quintet  (including  Weirdos  guitarist  Dix  Denney  and  45 
Grave  bassist  Rob  Graves)  has  discovered  melody,  pro- 
ducing musically  and  lyrically  impressive  material  like 
"Next,"  "Anymore"  and  "Walk  on  Water." 

The  John  Doe-produced  Stormy  Weather  (the  CD 
includes  all  of  Next  Saturday  Afternoon)  continues  the 
trend  towards  musical  and  lyrical  discipline,  with  sur- 
prisingly graceful  stabs  at  topical  folk-rock  on  "Lena 
Home  Still  Sings  Stormy  Weather"  and  "Sammy  Hagar 
Weekend,"  not  to  mention  straightforward  (and  suc- 
cessful) readings  of  Tracy  Chapman's  "For  My  Lover" 
and  Blind  Lemon  Jefferson's  "See  That  My  Grave  Is 
Kept  Clean."  [hd] 


THE  PURSUIT  OF  HAPPINESS 

Love  Junk  (Chrysalis)  1 988  • 
One-Sided  Story  (Chrysalis)  1 990  <f> 

The  first  LP  from  this  Canadian  quintet  seemed  like 
a  godsend  to  many  aging  rock  fans;  Love  Junk  com- 
bines grown-up  irony  with  obsessive  adolescent  lust, 
setting  it  all  in  a  convincing,  energetic  hard  rock-pop 
crunch.  Lead  singer/songwriter/guitarist  Moe  Berg's 
lyrics  are  simultaneously  literate,  wise,  poignant  and 
irremediably  horny.  The  key  cut  on  the  LP  is  the  wry 
"I'm  an  Adult  Now,"  but  that's  just  for  starters;  Love 
Junk  is  delightful  and  surprising  from  beginning  to  end. 
Berg's  chord  changes  and  structure  bear  the  unmistak- 
able influence  of  Todd  Rundgren,  who  proved  a  most 
simpatico  producer  as  well. 

One-Sided  Story  is  as  disastrous  an  example  of  the 
sophomore  jinx  as  has  been  heard  in  modem  rock. 
Berg's  observations  and  plaints  on  Love  Junk  could 
evoke  any  number  of  complex  responses;  here  he  sounds 
slack  and  whiny.  His  once  daring  wit  is  now  received  in 
the  worst  way.  On  the  opening  track,  when  he  compares 
his  girlfriend's  amatory  technique  to  "greasy  fried  noo- 
dles", well,  it  doesn't  take  a  genius  to  guess  the  hungry- 
an-hour-later  punchline.  The  music  isn't  nearly  as 
inventive  or  memorable,  and  Rundgren's  production,  so 
apt  on  Love  Junk,  is  raw  to  the  extreme.  The  band 
deserves  to  bounce  back  though,  and  Berg  is  too  tal- 
ented to  leave  it  at  this.  [gk] 


THE  SCENE  IS  NOW 

Bum  All  Your  Records  (Lost)  1 985 
Total  Jive  (Lost-Twm/Tone)  1986 
Tonight  We  Ride  (Lost-Twin/Tone)  1988 

Over  a  half-decade  of  existence,  this  fluid- 
membership  gaggle  of  NYC  bohos  has  developed  from 
a  marginally  less  political  arm  of  Mofungo's  Marxist 
art-terrorism  into  a  sometimes  downright  goofy  jug  band 
for  post-mod  beatniks.  Bum  All  Your  Records  might 
be  rough  terrain  for  diehard  capitalists  to  navigate,  but 
the  bracing  orchestration — employing  more  than  two 
dozen  noise-things — makes  for  a  fascinating,  if  occa- 
sionally difficult,  listen. 


Total  Jive  accentuates  the  contributions  of  Mofun- 
go's  Chris  Nelson  (and,  to  a  lesser  extent,  Elliott  Sharp) 
and  takes  a  more  easygoing  approach  to  both  music  and 
subject  matter — at  times  it's  almost  mellow,  man!  With 
ex-dB's  drummer  Will  Rigby  and  Pere  Ubu  bassist  Tony 
Maimone  joining  the  Scene,  Tonight  We  Ride  contin- 
ues this  progression,  with  Nelson  blowing  some  surpris- 
ingly swinging  trombone  on  the  good-timey  '  ^Midnight 
Broil,"  while  the  entire  ensemble  locks  into  a  low-key, 
Grateful  Dead-like  groove  on  "California,"  originally 
performed  by  second  wave  Lower  East  Side  noisemon- 
gers  I  Ride  the  Bus  [dss] 

See  also  Mofungo. 

SOULS 

Get  Lost  (Don't  Lie!)  (SST)  1 987 

The  members  of  this  band  have  been  around  the 
block  a  few  times.  First  there  was  the  Birthday  Party, 
from  the  ashes  of  which  arose  Crime  and  the  City  So- 
lution with  ex-Birthday  Party  guitarist  Rowland  S.  How- 
ard. After  two  years  and  three  releases,  Howard  had  his 
differences  with  singer  Simon  Bonney  and  left,  taking 
his  bass-playing  brother  Harry  and  drummer  Epic 
Soundtracks  (ex-Swell  Maps/ Jacobites)  with  him.  Add- 
ing keyboardist  Genevieve  McGuckin,  he  formed  These 
Immortal  Souls  in  1987. 

Get  Lost  (Don't  Lie!)  is  a  30-minute  mini-LP  that 
works  as  well  as,  if  not  better  than,  any  Crime  and  the 
City  Solution  record.  Howard  can't  really  smg  much, 
but  this  doesn't  require  him  to:  the  shady  lyricism  which 
underlies  all  seven  tracks  would  lose  its  color  if  sung  by 
someone  more  conscious  of  pitch  than  self.  McGuckin 
has  listened  to  plenty  of  Ray  Manzarek;  Soundtracks 
turns  in  brilliant  performances.  Most  of  the  guitar  work 
is  acoustic  strumming,  although  Howard  does  allow 
himself  to  cut  loose  on  "'Blood  and  Sand'  She  Said." 
A  very  impressive  marriage  of  splendor  and  squalor. 

[dgs] 

See  also  Birthday  Party,  Crime  and  the  City  Solu- 
tion, 


THE  TEARDROP  EXPLODES 

Kilimanjaro  (Mercury)  1980  (Skyclad)  1988 

(Fontana-PolyGram)  1990« 
Wilder  (Mercury)  1981  (Skyclad)  1988 

(Fontana-PolyGram)  1990  • 
You  Disappear  from  View  EP  (nr/Phonogram)  1 983 
Everybody  Wants  to  Shag  ...  The  Teardrop  Explodes  [CD] 

(Fontana)  1990* 
Piano  (nr/Document)  1990 

Charming  despite  frequent  bouts  of  pretentiousness, 
singer/songwriter  Julian  Cope  (once  in  a  crypto-band 
called  the  Crucial  Three  with  future-Echo  icon  Ian  Mc- 
Culloch  and  future- Wah!  man  Pete  Wylie)  led  Liver- 
pool's great  psychedelic  hope,  The  Teardrop  Explodes, 
through  two  albums  before  moving  on — in  the  midst  of 
an  aborted  third — to  a  solo  career.  Cope's  influences 
include  everyone  from  Scott  Walker  to  the  Doors  to  Tim 
Buckley,  but  Teardrop's  sound  was  better  than  the  sum 
of  its  parts.  The  group's  problem  was  Cope's  scattershot 
approach — his  songs  are  filled  with  too  many  amor- 
phous, meaningless  and  just  plain  silly  images — and  his 
unanswered  need  for  a  good  editor.  Excesses  notwith- 


669 


standing,  the  Teardrops  created  some  of  the  era's  most 
exciting  music,  exerting  considerable  influence  on  suc- 
ceeding generations — Morrissey  and  the  Inspiral  Car- 
pets being  just  two  examples  of  those  so  influenced. 

Kilimanjaro  is  the  more  focused  of  the  two  albums; 
next  to  it,  Wilder  sounds  like  a  debut,  as  whatever 
restraining  influence  the  band  had  on  Cope  was  re- 
moved, leaving  him  to  write  all  of  the  songs  unaided. 
(The  original  US  and  UK  editions  had  different  se- 
quences and  two  different  cuts  each.  The  UK  album  was 
later  reissued  with  a  different  cover  and  the  addition  of 
"Reward";  the  Skyclad  version  uses  the  reissue's  cover 
but  the  American  track  listing.  The  1990  model  reverts 
to  the  original  cover  but  keeps  the  UK  reissue's  track 
listing.  Lost  in  the  shuffle  is  the  excellent  "Suffocate.") 
In  any  form,  it's  a  lush,  mesmerizing,  appealing  album, 
whose  only  problem  (other  than  the  lyrics)  is  that  the 
songs — most  of  which  have  a  childlike,  dreamy 
quality — tend  to  float  together  with  little  individual  char- 
acter. But  the  ones  that  do  stand  out  are  terrific:  "Pop- 
pies in  the  Field,"  "Treason,"  "Reward"  and  "When 
I  Dream,"  the  last  providing  a  brush  with  American 
radio  success. 

While  better-defined  musically,  Wilder  is  more  con- 
fused lyrically,  though  still  inftised  with  the  band's 
unique  atmosphere  Cope's  flat  voice  serves  to  provide 
instrumental-like  color,  especially  on  "Bent  Out  of 
Shape,"  "Seven  Views  of  Jerusalem"  and  "The  Cul- 
ture Bunker."  The  US  and  UK  editions  had  the  same 
track  listing  but  different  sequences  and  covers;  Skyclad 
again  reissued  the  American  edition  and  Fontana  the 
British. 

The  band  split  up  in  mid- '82  during  the  sessions  for 
its  third  LP,  four  songs  from  which  were  released  on 
You  Disappear  from  View.  The  EP  also  includes  both 
the  original  recording  (on  the  double  7-inch)  and  a 
newly  recorded  string-quartet  version  (on  the  12-inch) 
of  "Suffocate." 

The  four  basic  Disappear  tracks  (including  a  more 
finished-sounding  recording  of  "The  In-Psychlo- 
paedia")  join  seven  others  for  Everybody  Wants  to 
Shag,  a  Cry  of  Love-style  paste-up  of  the  unfinished 
third  LP  that  finds  the  dissolving  unit  as  adventurous 
and  powerful  as  ever.  Mixing  experimental  material 
with  more  familiar  brass-speckled  pop  (as  well  as  early 
versions  of  two  songs  that  found  their  way  onto  Cope's 
brilliant  1984  solo  debut,  World  Shut  Your  Mouth), 
the  album  tacks  on  an  earlier,  brilliantly  psychotic 
B-side  ("Strange  House  in  the  Snow")  but  again  no 
"Suffocate." 

Piano  compiles  the  band's  complete  pre-Kili- 
manjaro  discography  (three  singles  and  three  compila- 
tion tracks).  While  the  first  two  45s  are  weak  enough  to 
make  one  wonder  what  all  the  fuss  was  about,  the  al- 
ternate versions  of  "Books"  and  especially  "When  I 
Dream"  cast  a  charming  new  light  on  the  songs.  Best  of 
the  rare  material  is  the  slinking  "Camera  Camera"  and 
the  paranoid  "Kwalo  Kawlinsky's  Lullaby,"  basically  a 
rhythmless  interstellar  dub  of  "Sleeping  Gas." 

With  an  album's  worth  of  B-sides  and  at  least  two 
Peel  sessions  still  awaiting  circulation,  the  final  chap- 
ter in  the  Teardrop/Cope  reissue  saga  has  yet  to  be 
heard.  [ks/jaj 

See  also  Julian  Cope,  Troy  Tate. 


THE  THE 

Soul  Mining  (nr/Some  Bizzare)  1983  (Epic)  1984  • 
Infected  (Epic)  1986® 
Soul  Mining/Infected  [CD]  (nr/Epic)  1988  • 
Mind  Bomb  (Epic)  1989® 

Burning  Blue  Soul  (nr/4AD)  1981   +  1984 

In  1981,  London  singer/guitarist  Matt  Johnson  (a) 
recorded  an  EP  as  a  member  of  the  Gadgets,  a  hapless 
Bowie-oriented  art-rock  band  in  which  he  played  a  sub- 
ordinate guitar  role  (and  later  none  at  all:  the  group 
continued  on  through  the  '80s,  long  after  he  had  bowed 
out)  (b)  recorded  an  untitled  electro-weird  song  for  the 
seminal  Some  Bizzare  Album  compilation  as  the  The 
(here  a  duo;  a  four-man  lineup  had  issued  a  1980  single 
on  4AD)  and  (c)  released  a  sparsely  arranged  (read: 
unfinished-sounding,  with  percussion  sorely  missing) 
one-man-band  solo  album  of  intermittently  appealing 
pop  songs  and  meandering  tape-collage  instrumentals 
that  revealed  some  intriguingly  offbeat  ideas  (and  had 
two  songs  produced  by  Dome)  but  didn't  exactly  estab- 
lish him  as  a  major  new  talent.  Will  the  real  Matt 
Johnson  please  stand  up? 

Apparently  not.  Although  he  has  since  used  the  The 
handle  exclusively,  Johnson's  career  has  been  nothing  if 
not  unpredictable,  running  from  the  pretty  commercial 
dance-pop  of  Soul  Mining  to  the  harsh  political  realities 
of  Mind  Bomb. 

Following  Burning  Blue  Soul,  Johnson  recorded 
tracks  for  an  LP  (The  Pornography  of  Despair)  in  a 
similar  solo  vein;  it  was  scrapped,  although  some  of  the 
tracks  were  released  on  singles  and  others  turned  up  as 
bonus  cuts  included  with  initial  British  pressings  of  Soul 
Mining  (two  on  a  12-inch  with  "Perfect,"  a  song  done 
for,  but  originally  omitted  from,  Soul  Mining;  five  on 
cassette).  The  fully  produced  Soul  Mining  locates  a 
warm  and  attractive  medium  for  the  The  in  fine  songs 
like  "Uncertain  Smile,"  "Perfect"  (added  to  the  Amer- 
ican edition  of  the  album)  and  "This  Is  the  Day,"  al- 
though Johnson's  eerie  vocal  resemblance  to  Ian 
Anderson  of  Jethro  Tull  is  a  distraction.  Elsewhere, 
though,  Johnson's  adventurous  streak— and  what 
sounds  like  the  spiritual  influence  of  Foetus—results  in 
some  weird  and  not  altogether  entertaining  digressions. 
(A  different  version  of  "Perfect"— with  David  Jo- 
hansen  on  harmonica-— was  released  as  a  single.) 

Three  years  later,  Johnson  returned  with  the  ambi- 
tious and  sophisticated  Infected.  The  eight  metaphori- 
cal songs — addressing  sexual,  social  and  political 
issues— use  a  studio  full  of  notable  musicians  (Neneh 
Cherry,  Roli  Mosimann,  Zeke  Manyika,  Anne  Dudley 
and  others)  for  a  wide  range  of  new  sounds,  some  far 
more  energetic  than  the  The's  previous  work.  So  while 
"Heartland"  recalls  the  low-key  ambience  of  Soul 
Mining,  the  title  track  is  pounding  dance  music,  with 
big  drums  and  broad-brush  production;  "Twilight  of  a 
Champion"  is  *40sish  jazz  noir  that  again  suggests  Foe- 
tus. Overall,  however,  it's  surprisingly  uninviting. 
While  Johnson  strains  to  say  something  important  on 
Infected,  he  fails  to  connect  on  a  most  basic  musical 
level,  (While  the  world  patiently  awaited  the  The's  new 
alburn,  British  Epic  issued  a  joint  CD  of  Soul  Mining 
and  Infected,) 


670 


With  ex-Smiths  guitarist  Johnny  Mair  a  full-fledged 
bandmember  (along  with  drummer  David  Palmer  and 
bassist  James  Eller),  Johnson  elevated  his  conceptual 
sights  on  Mind  Bomb,  a  musically  ambitious  album 
that  contemplates  war,  god,  truth  and  sex  to  the  tune  of 
a  bluesy,  sample-accented  soundscape  that  really  sug- 
gests Foetus  on  valium.  Although  the  whole  album  is 
powerful  and  provocative,  the  unforgettable  "Armaged- 
don Days  Are  Here  (Again)"  demonstrates  an  insightful 
acuity  about  religion's  rising  role  in  political  conflicts. 

[i] 


THEY  MIGHT  BE  GIANTS 

They  Might  Be  Giants  [tape]  (1MB  Music)  1 985 

They  Might  Be  Giants  (Bar/None)  1  986  * 

Don't  Lefs  Start  EP  (Bar/None)  1 987  * 

(She  Was  a)  Hotel  Detective  EP  (Bar/None)  1988  ® 

Lincoln  (Bar/None-Restless)  1988  • 

They'll  Need  a  Crane  EP  (Bar/None-Restless)  1 989  * 

Don't  Lefs  Start  (nr/One  Little  Indian)  1 989  • 

Flood  (Elektra)l  990  • 

Birdhouse  in  Your  Soul  EP  (nr/Elektra)  1 990  • 

Istanbul  {Not  Constantinople)  EP  [CD]  (Elektra)  1 990  * 

Imagine,  if  you  will,  a  modern  all-pop  update  of 
Spike  Jones  and  the  Bonzo  Dog  Band  crossed  with  the 
Mothers  of  Invention,  Residents,  XTC,  Stackridge, 
Tom  Lehrer  and  R.  Stevie  Moore,  Contemplate  the  idea 
of  a  NYC-based  duo  with  a  highly  sophisticated  sense  of 
absurd  humor  which  writes,  sings  and  plays  guitar,  ac- 
cordion and  keyboards.  John  Flansburgh  and  John 
Linnell — They  Might  Be  Giants — might  in  fact  be  ge- 
niuses; their  debut  album  is  one  of  the  greatest  musical 
things  ever,  a  diabolically  clever  and  wildly  eclectic 
collection  of  fully  realized  masterpieces  that  could  not 
possibly  fail  to  entertain  even  the  fussiest,  hardest- 
hearted  idiot.  Literate,  accomplished,  bursting  with 
ideas,  hooks,  puns,  dadaist  absurdities  and  other  neat 
tricks,  TMBG  are  almost  beyond  belief.  By  conserva- 
tive estimate,  roughly  fifteen  of  the  first  album* s  nine- 
teen tracks  (a  revised  version  of  the  rare  self-released 
cassette  LP,  subtracting  eight  items  and  adding  four)  are 
brilliant. 

The  12-inch  (and  3-inch  CD)  Don't  Let's  Start  EP 
takes  a  remix  of  a  They  Might  Be  Giants  highlight  and 
appends  the  mild  peer  fun  of  "We're  the  Replace- 
ments," "The  Famous  Polka"  (uncelebrated,  but  de- 
serving of  recognition)  and  **When  It  Rains  It  Snows,*' 
a  first-cassette  song  omitted  from  the  album.  The  title 
track  of  Hotel  Detective  is  another  LP  cut,  also  re- 
mixed; the  foot-long  EP  also  contains  three  swell  new 
songs  ("Kiss  Me,  Son  of  God/'  "For  Science*'  and 
"Mr.  Klaw"),  another  deleted  oldie  ("The  Biggest 
One'*)  plus  a  bewildering  phone  conversation  about  the 
group. 

Lincoln  maintains  the  duo's  baffling  level  of  inven- 
tion while  raising  the  musical  complexity,  electricity, 
energy  level  and  stylistic  variety.  Playing  mix  V  match 
with  their  instruments,  idioms  and  influences  on  eigh- 
teen songs,  the  Giants  hit  a  few  clinkers  but  also  come 
up  with  such  enduring  gems  as  "Ana  Ngf"  "Purple 
Toupee,"  "They'll  Need  a  Crane,"  "Cowtown," 
"Piece  of  Dirt/*  "Shoehorn  with  Teeth/*  "Kiss  Me, 
Son  of  God"  (rearranged  from  the  EP  version)  and 


"Snowball  in  Hell."  Plucking  intricate  wordplay  and 
uncommon  melodies  from  some  private  creative  ether, 
the  pair  magically  continues  to  explore  a  part  of  the 
musical  continuum  no  one  else  can  locate. 

The  three  no-big-deal  newcomers  that  join  the  title 
tune  on  They'll  Need  a  Crane  also  appear  on  Don't 
Let's  Start,  a  British  rarities  compilation.  So  do  the 
bonus  songs  from  the  Don't  Let's  Start  and  Hotel  De- 
tective EPs  (as  well  as  remixes  of  the  lead  tracks)  and 
other  non-LP  matter,  like  "Hey,  Mr.  DJ,  I  Thought 
You  Said  We  Had  a  Deal"  and  an  irritating  instrumental 
rendition  of  "The  Lady  Is  a  Tramp." 

Moving  to  a  major  label  for  Flood  brought  the  two 
Johns  a  vastly  expanded  audience  as  well  as  the  predict- 
able (and  utterly  undeserved)  critical  backlash.  Another 
deft  pogo  dance  on  the  tightrope  between  whimsy  and 
self-amusement,  Flood  is  an  avalanche  of  bizarre  ideas 
made  mighty  by  the  duo's  gyroscopic  sense  of  what 
makes  a  pop  tune  click.  With  improved  production  re- 
sources (Clive  Langer  and  Alan  Wmstanley  did  an  ace 
job  producing  four  tracks;  the  band  did  the  rest),  the 
Giants  sound  better  than  ever;  the  material  is  equally 
top-notch.  "Birdhouse  in  Your  Soul"  anthropomor- 
phizes a  nightlight;  "We  Want  a  Rock"  tries  to  sell  the 
idea  of  fake  foreheads;  "Particle  Man"  is  a  science 
lesson  set  to  an  oompah  beat;  the  Farfisa-rock  "Twist- 
ing" mentions  the  dB's  and  Young  Fresh  Fellows  in 
lyrics  about  a  spiteful  ex-girlfriend.  In  a  sudden  and 
surprisingly  serious  turn,  Flansburgh  excoriates  a  big- 
oted jerk  in  "Your  Racist  Friend/'  a  righteous  song 
which  does  just  borrow  its  title  from  the  Specials'  "Rac- 
ist Friend." 

The  Birdhouse  in  Your  Soul  EP  adds  "Hot  Cha" 
and  "Hearing  Aid"  (both  from  Flood)  as  well  as  an 
amusing  tune  ("Ant")  about  nighttime  paranoia. 
"Ant"  also  appears  on  the  American  Istanbul  (Not 
Constantinople)  EP,  joining  that  uproarious  geopoliti- 
cal lesson  (written,  in  what  can  only  be  called  proto- 
Giants  style,  by  Jimmy  Kennedy  and  Nat  Simon  in 
1954),  a  droll  lecture  on  the  subject  of  President  "James 
K.  Polk,"  a  brief  soul  goof  called  "Stormy  Pinkness" 
and  a  wild  intercultural  hip-hop  mix  (by  Daddy-O  of 
Stetsasonic)  that  turns  the  title  track  inside  out,  [i] 

THEYR 

Pagadi  he!  (Ice.  S6)  1980 
Utfrymi  EP  (Ice.  Eskvimo)  T981 
Idur  til  Fota  EP  (Ice.  Eskvimo)  1981 
Mjotvidur  Maer  (Ice.  Eskvimo)  1 982 
As  Above  (Enigma)  1 982 
The  Fourth  Reich  EP  (nr/Shout)  1982 
Lunaire  EP  (Ice.  Gramm)  1 983 

While  Theyr — an  English  approximation  of  untrans- 
latable Icelandic  characters — reportedly  means  "thaw," 
it  took  a  while  for  this  pioneering  Reykjavik  band,  fea- 
turing soon-to-be  Sugarcubes  drummer  Sigtryggur  Bal- 
dursson,  to  get  any  heat  going  on  record.  The  debut, 
Pagad  i  hel,  is  little  more  than  lukewarm  jazz-rock 
fusion  with  a  few  damp  detours  into  mew  wave-ish 
boogie  and  vanilla  reggae.  In  a  word,  unlistenable. 

Two  years  (and  two  singles;  the  latter  is  a  sharply 
compelling  four-song  10-inch)  later,  Theyr  was  a  much 
different — and  far  more  compelling — band.  On  MJdtvi- 


671 


dur  Maer  and  its  revised  English-language  counterpart, 
As  Above,  they  kick  out  the  punk-funk  jams  in  the 
serrated,  apocalyptic  style  of  the  Fall  and  Killing  Joke. 
The  dark,  droney  guitar  work  also  shows  strong  traces 
of  Bauhaus  and  Joy  Division,  while  there's  more  than  a 
hint  of  the  Residents'  art-rock  terrorism  in  the  weirdly 
distorted,  declamatory  vocals  and  idiosyncratic  song- 
writing.  The  English  lyrics  on  As  Above  are  the  only 
bringdown — earnest  but  overwrought  tripe,  most  of 
which  is  thankfully  obscured  by  the  band's  inspired  mu- 
sical turbulence. 

Theyr  never  lived  up  to  its  obvious  promise.  The 
Fourth  Reich  is  a  fine  four-track  EP  released  shortly 
before  the  group  broke  up  in  1983.  (A  three-cut  swan- 
song,  "Lunaire,"  ended  the  story;  three  tracks  recorded 
with  Jaz  Coleman  of  Killing  Joke  remain  unreleased. ) 
Baldursson  then  joined  the  notorious  Kukl,  which  even- 
tually mutated  into  the  Sugarcubes.  [dfj 

See  also  Sugarcubes, 

TH'INBRED 

A  Family  Affair  (Toxic  Shock)  1 986 
Kissin'  Cousins  (Toxic  Shock)  1988 
Family  Pack  [tape}  (Toxic  Shock)  c  1 988 

BILLY  ATWELL 

Ferret  in  a  China  Shop  ...  (Bobok)  1 988 

Despite  an  image  that  screams  it-came-from-the- 
swamp  psychobilly,  the  West  Virginia  quartet's  two  al- 
bums consist  of  topical  songs  and  instrumentals  played 
in  a  disciplined  form  of  sharply  thrashed  jazz-rock  which 
can  turn  tight  melodic  corners  on  a  screeching  dime  and 
make  abrupt  rhythm  shifts  amid  a  hailstorm  of  free-fire 
guitar  power  Very  much  in  a  Minutemen/Blind  Idiot 
God  vein,  A  Family  Affair  and  Kissin'  Cousins 
(matched  on  the  Family  Pack  cassette)  find  the  sharp- 
witted  anarchists  angrily  attacking  Christianity,  Satan- 
ism, hardcore  ideologues,  apathy,  American  policy,  etc. 
and  backing  it  up  with  crisply  organized  noise. 

After  Th'Inbred  folded  at  the  end  of  '87  (prior  to 
Kissin'  Cousins1  release),  drummer  Billy  Atwell 
worked  on  his  solo  album  between  stints  with  the 
Rhythm  Pigs,  who  disbanded  the  following  year.  On 
Ferret  in  a  China  Shop,  an  impressively  skilled  and 
surprising  refutation  of  punk,  Atwell  ably  demonstrates 
what  he  can  do  with  guitar,  bass,  keyboards  and  ambi- 
ence instead  of  speed  and  volume.  But  the  meandering 
instrumental  sketches  are  pointless,  and  the  fusion-rock 
songs  bear  a  disturbing  resemblance  to  junior-league 
Police.  Atwell  has  the  tools  to  go  it  alone,  but  this 
album  doesn't  explain  why  he  should,  [i] 

THIN  WHITE  ROPE 

Exploring  the  Axis  (Frontier)  1 985  * 

Moonhead  (Frontier)  1987  * 

Bottom  Feeders  EP  (nr/Zippo)  1 987  * 

In  the  Spanish  Cave  (Frontier)  1 988  « 

Red  Sun  EP  (nr/Demon)  1 988 

Sack  Full  of  Silver  (Frontier-RCA)  1 990  « 

Squatter's  Rights  EP  (nr/Frontier-Reai  Time)  1991 

Psychedelia  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  '60s  or  day- 
glo trousers.  It  is  music  of  an  altered  state,  and  nobody 
sees  the  world  with  a  more  altered  perspective  than  Guy 


Kyser  of  Davis,  California's  Thin  White  Rope.  He  sings 
like  the  leader  of  the  Twilight  Zone  house  band.  With  a 
high,  tangled  voice  that  quavers  between  the  band's 
sinewy  slithering  guitars,  he  has  an  exotic  clip  to  his 
inflection  that  sometimes  chops  phrases  into  stabbing 
bits. 

Thin  White  Rope  exists  in  the  same  general  Westem- 
roots-influenced-rock  genre  as  Green  on  Red  or  True 
West.  On  Exploring  the  Axis,  that  shows  up  in  clean, 
slippery  touches  of  country  guitar  work  and  fuzzy  little 
edges  of  deeper  and  darker  chords.  " Disney  Girl"  lopes 
along  with  Jozef  Becker's  laid-back  drum  pulse  as 
squealy  shivers  of  feedback  slip  between  the  smooth 
flows  of  the  melody.  *  'Down  in  the  Desert"  marches  off 
the  disc  with  a  martial  beat  and  bopping  intensity. 
Throughout  the  LP,  Becker's  drumming  speeds  up  to 
heighten  tension  but  softens  when  the  guitars  or  lyrics 
change  mood.  Laid  between  his  constant  changes  and 
the  warmth  of  Rope's  guitar  (Kyser  and  Roger  Kunkel), 
the  twisted  tales  almost  seem  to  make  sense.  (The  cas- 
sette adds  a  bonus  track,  "Macy's  Window,"  which 
was  later  included  on  Bottom  Feeders.  The  CD  adds 
two  more,  including  a  live  radio  take  on  Suicide's 
"Rocket  USA.'*) 

Thin  White  Rope  is  also  mantra-minded,  setting  up 
a  groove  and  driving  down  it  until  their  amps  threaten  to 
smoke.  That  love  of  repetitive  textures  fueled  by  subtle 
changes  begins  to  show  up  in  Moonhead,  giving  it  a 
smoother  and  more  unified  sound.  The  guitar  interplay 
strongly  suggests  Television. 

On  Spanish  Cave,  the  hoedown  rhythms  and 
acoustic-sounding  bass  of  "Mr.  Limpet"  and  the  Dylan- 
meets-Roky  Erickson  narrative  of  "Ahr-Skidar"  prove 
Rope  aren't  just  country  wannabes,  but  a  band  of  the 
country.  (The  US  and  UK  CDs  are  different.  The  Amer- 
ican adds  one  bonus  track, "Munich  Euiuch";  the  Brit- 
ish appends  the  entire  subsequent  Bottom  Feeders  EP 
as  well.) 

Thin  White  Rope  is  also  dedicated  to  rock'n'roll. 
The  Bottom  Feeders  EP  (four  originals  and  two  cover 
versions)  puts  all  the  dark,  bluesy  guitar  and  frog- 
throated  vocal  delivery  a  raunch  hand  could  want  in 
Jimmy  Reed's  "Ain't  That  Loving  You  Baby";  later 
on,  their  textures  collide  with  a  jackhammer  in  the  loud 
and  searing  rendition  of  "Rocket  USA"  from  the  Axis 
CD.  (The  EP's  version  of  Axis's  "Atomic  Imagery," 
however,  is  different. ) 

After  becoming  the  first  American  indie  band  to  tour 
the  Soviet  Union  in  December  1988,  TWR  released  Red 
Sun,  an  EP  which  reprises  the  most  powerful  song  off 
Spanish  Cave.  That  track  is  joined  by  an  even  more 
chilling  acoustic  demo  of  the  song  with  entirely  differ- 
ent lyrics.  Four  affectionate  cover  tunes  round  out  this 
pure-pleasure  EP:  Gene  Pitney '$  "Town  Without  Pity," 
Marty  Robbins'  "They're  Hanging  Me  Tonight,"  the 
Lee  Hazelwood/Nancy  Sinatra  classic  "Some  Velvet 
Morning"  and  the  instrumental  "Man  with  the  Golden 
Gun,"  all  rearranged  for  maximum  scary  impact  and 
country  heart. 

With  the  major-label  release  of  Sack  Full  of  Silver, 
Thin  White  Rope  staked  a  claim  as  one  of  America's 
most  original  guitar  bands,  It  all  comes  together  here; 
Kyser 's  lyrics  and  vocals  have  never  been  so  direct  and 
shattering  ("Sometimes  I  make  burns  on  my  arms/ 


672 


'Cause  it  moves  that  feeling  from  my  heart  to  my 
arms"),  while  a  widened  instrumental  palette  fleshes 
out  the  group's  sound.  Best  of  all,  the  arrangements 
break  new  ground  on  the  cusp  of  improvisation  and 
extended-form  composition,  moving  from  delicate 
acoustic  sketches  to  howling  feedback  sculptures.  Sound 
like  art  rock?  TWR  obliges  the  comparisons  with  a 
goofy  cover  of  1969's  "Yoo  Do  Right"  by  Can — which 
rums  out  to  be  the  most  primal,  simpleminded  thing  on 
the  album.  This  is  the  sound  of  a  truly  great  American 
rock  band  in  its  prime. 

Squatter's  Rights  is  a  six-song  EP  of  cover  ver- 
sions, only  some  of  which  have  previously  been  issued 
on  tribute  albums.  ['e/ws] 


3RD 

The  Cactus  Album  (Def  Jam-Columbia)  1 989  • 
The  Cactus  Revisited  (Def  Jam-Columbia)  1990  4> 
Derelicts  of  Dialect  (RAL-  Def  Jam-Columbia)  1 991  ® 

Two  years  before  the  talentless  Vanilla  Ice's 
watered-down  pop-hop  and  bogus  claims  of  street  cred- 
ibility made  him  the  sorry-ass  superstar  of  white  rap, 
New  York  City's  3rd  Bass — MC  Serch  (Michael  Ber- 
rin),  Prime  Minister  Pete  Nice  (Pete  Nash)  and  DJ 
Richie  Rich — had  already  demolished  the  fantasy  (a 
clear  corollary  to  the  blacks-can't-rock  prejudice  faced 
by  Living  Colour)  that  race  should  be  a  decisive  factor 
in  determining  musical  style.  A  brilliant  pastiche  of  mu- 
sical samples,  ingenious  on-target  raps  and  found-sound 
junk-culture  humor,  The  Cactus  (produced  variously 
by  Sam  Sever,  most  of  Public  Enemy's  Bomb  Squad 
and  Prince  Paul)  established  3rd  Bass  as  both  legit  and 
talented.  From  the  hysterical  putdowns  of  "The  Gas 
Face"  (a  mark  of  disapproval  which  quickly  gained 
widespread  acceptance)  to  the  heavy  chronological 
drama  of  "Steppin*  to  the  A.M. "  to  the  autobiographical 
"Product  of  the  Environment"  and  "Sons  of  3rd  Bass" 
(whose  bite  of  Blood,  Sweat  and  Tears'  "Spinning 
Wheel"  wasn't  well-received  in  some  circles)  to  the  title 
track's  coy  sexuality  to  Serch's  goofy  Louis  Armstrong 
imitation  of  "Flippin'  off  the  Wall  like  Lucy  Ball,"  The 
Cactus  careens  wildly  from  solid  to  stupid,  but  hits  the 
target  often  enough  to  be  thoroughly  enjoyable. 

With  their  first  album  reaching  gold-level  sales,  3rd 
Bass  issued  a  remix  record,  overhauling  (in  one  case 
updating)  the  lyrics  and/or  sound  of  six  Cactus  tracks 
(including  all  four  singles  drawn  from  it:  "The  Gas 
Face,"  "Brooklyn-Queens,"  "Steppin'  to  the  A.M." 
and  "Product  of  the  Environment"),  plus  the  last- 
named's  B-side,  "3  Strikes  5000,"  Rather  than  just 
recycle  old  material  while  working  on  a  follow-up.  Re- 
visited has  substantial  merit  as  both  an  extension  and  a 
summary  of  The  Cactus.  [i] 

13  ENGINES 

Before  Our  Time  (Nocturnal)  1987 
Byram  lake  Blues  (Nocturnal)  1989 
A  Blur  to  M®  Now  (SBK)  1991  4> 

This  Toronto  quartet  plays  loud  rock-pop  with 
greater  artistic  ambitions  than  most  such  bands,  both  in 
the  literate  lyrics  and  the  broadly  dynamic  instrumental 
designs.  While  singer  John  Critchlcy  (guitar,  key- 


boards) and  guitarist  Mike  Robbins  write  dramatic  songs 
that  cry  out  for  intricate  wide-screen  arrangements,  the 
group's  reliance  on  simple  rock  tools  creates  an  exciting 
tension  between  grand  imagination  and  restrictive  exe- 
cution. (Fortunately,  13  Engines  play  well  enough  to 
keep  the  material  from  sounding  shortchanged.)  If  Be- 
fore Our  Time  has  a  slight  edge  over  the  Neil  Young- 
inflected  Byram  Lake  Blues,  it's  in  the  debut's 
unselfconscious  sense  of  exploration  and  discovery,  but 
both  albums  are  well  worth  hearing.  [i] 

Shitride  (Pravdo)  1 990 

While  reviving  the  ethos  of  a  '60s  new-left 
stereotype — white  guilt,  inchoate  rage,  the  romance  of 
poverty  and  misery — in  its  lyrics,  this  striking  quartet 
from  Lincoln,  Nebraska  slams  three  generations — the 
MC5,  Cheap  Trick  and  Soul  Asylum — of  Midwest  rock 
into  each  other  on  the  powerful  Shitride.  Great  tunes, 
loose* n' lively  hair-raising  electric  music  and  guitarist 
Greggory-David  Cosgrove's  ripping  vocals  load  the  al- 
bum with  bracing  energy  and  an  extraordinary  balance 
of  rawness  and  subtlety.  Except  for  occasionally  insuf- 
ferable lyrics  (the  title  track  is  a  whiny  complaint  about 
the  rock'n'roll  life  that  goes  so  far  as  to  gripe  about 
bartenders  who  withhold  free  drinks;  "EC"  expresses 
solidarity  for  Eldridge  Cleaver  with  the  line  "It's  a  white 
man's  world  for  everybody  but  you  and  me" — yeah, 
right),  this  is  an  extremely  cool  record.  [i] 

THIS  HEAT 

This  Heat  (nr/Piano)  1 979  (nr/Recommended)  1 983 

Deceit  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1981  (nr/These)  1988 

This  Heat  with  Mario  Boyer  Diekuuroh  [tape]  (Fr.  Tago 

Mago)  1982 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1988 

In  1976,  Charles  Hayward  of  Gong  (and  Phil  Man- 
zanera's  Quiet  Sun)  joined  with  Charles  Bullen  and  Ga- 
reth  Williams  to  form  This  Heat.  Though  arising  from 
art-rock  and  the  British  school  of  fusion  jazz,  This  Heat 
quickly  developed  into  an  experimental  band  largely 
dependent  on  tape  loops  and  production  tricks. 

This  Heat  covers  two  years  of  the  band's  history, 
with  both  live  and  studio  cuts.  They  use  guitar,  clarinet, 
drums  and  keyboards,  permuted  with  loops,  phasing 
and  overdubs,  breaking  down  patterns  into  only  faintly 
connected  musical  moments  that  include  artificial  skips 
and  looped  end-grooves.  Though  insolent  and  with- 
drawn, the  music  is  adventurous  and,  in  its  own  peculiar 
way,  engrossing.  The  punnily  titled  Deceit  is  more  co- 
herent and  raucous,  yet  avoids  the  dismal  drones  and 
cacophony  of  other  "experimental"  groups.  Free  of  cli- 
che^, the  music  blends  politics  and  intelligence,  steering 
clear  of  artifice  and  trendiness.  Austere,  brilliant  and 
indescribable. 

This  Heat  with  Mario  Boyer  Diekuuroh,  which 
compiles  tapes  from  1977/8,  features  studio  sessions 
with  the  Ghanian  drummer  who  greatly  influenced  their 
perceptions  of  rhythm. 

Renamed  Camberwell  Now,  the  group  has  contin- 
ued to  release  albums  on  the  Swiss  Recommended  label; 
in  the  late  '80s,  Hayward  issued  a  solo  album,  [sg] 


673 


It'll  End  in  Tears  (4AD-Valentino)  1 984  © 
filigree  and  Shadow  (nr/4AD)  1986  • 
Blood  (nr/4AD)  1991  • 

Not  so  much  a  band  as  a  hip  British  studio  party, 
This  Mortal  Coil  combines  the  prodigious  talents  of 
members  of  the  Cocteau  Twins,  Modern  English,  Dead 
Can  Dance,  Xmal  Deutschland  and  others  in  the  4 AD 
label  stable  to  produce  atmospheric  vignettes,  drawing 
material  from  such  diverse  sources  as  Alex  Chilton,  Tim 
Buckley  and  Colin  Newman  as  well  as  penning  new 
songs.  It'll  End  IE  Tears  mixes  a  few  instrumental 
with  lush  vocal  performances;  though  all  rather  agree- 
able, most  of  it  wouldn't  disturb  a  sleeping  infant. 

Filigree  &  Shadow  is  a  double  album,  with  most  of 
the  work  being  done  by  various  members  of  Dif  Juz,  the 
Wolfgang  Press  and  Simon  Raymonde  of  the  Cocteau 
Twins.  Once  again,  it  neither  rocks  nor  rolls.  Tender, 
light  piano  and  string  arrangements  predominate;  the 
second  side  is  half  over  before  any  drums  enter  the 
picture.  With  very  few  exceptions  (including  Wire  and 
Talking  Heads  covers),  this  is  the  aural  equivalent  of 
herbal  tea  and  would  probably  bore  your  grandparents. 

[dgs/i] 

DAVID  THOMAS  AND  THE 
PEDESTRIANS 

The  Sound  of  the  Sand  and  Other  Songs  of  the 

Pedestrians  (Rough  Trade)  1981 
Vocal  Performances  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982 
Variations  on  a  Theme  (Sixth  Infl)  1983 
More  Places  Forever  (Twin/Tone)  1 985 

DAVID  THOMAS  &  HIS  LEGS 

Winter  Comes  Home  (nr/Re)  1 982 

DAVID  THOMAS  AND  THE 

WOODEN  BIRDS 

Monster  Walks  the  Winter  Lake  (Twin/Tone)  1 985  • 
Blame  the  Messenger  (Twin/Tone)  1 987 

A  song  stylist  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word,  David 
Thomas  is  one  of  rock's  few  truly  one-of-a-kind  artists. 
But  the  Pere  Ubu  vocalist's  first  solo  album  came  as 
something  of  a  surprise.  His  lyrics  and  unusual  compo- 
sitions bring  strangeness  out  of  the  mundane — imparting 
magic  to  everyday  objects  and  activities — aided  by  an 
eclectic  bunch:  Richard  Thompson,  Anton  Fier,  Chris 
Cutler,  Eddie  Thornton,  Philip  Moxham  and  others. 
Each  demonstrates  hitherto  unimagined  aspects  of  their 
talents,  and  Thomas'  otherworldly  voice — animal  noises 
transmuted  into  human  speech — has  never  been  more 
expressive.  A  high  point  of  Thomas'  avant-garde  folk- 
blues-jazz-rock  cultural  synthesis. 

Variations  on  a  Theme,  which  prominently  fea- 
tures Richard  Thompson,  again  mixes  a  bit  of 
everything — including  country,  jazz  and  blues — into 
Thomas'  own  unique  style.  Only  two  tracks  on  this 
musically  sedate,  almost  **  normal  "-sounding  record  re- 
call Pere  Ubu's  general  looniness.  Throughout,  Thomas 
demonstrates  genuine  fascination  with  his  subject  mat- 
ter, as  well  as  an  invariably  novel  perspective.  A  good 
follow-up,  and  one  indicative  of  enormous  artistic 
reach. 

Winter  Comes  Home — which  gives  front  cover 


billing  to  ex-Henry  Cows  Cutler  and  Lindsay  Cooper — 
mixes  intellectual  stand-up  comedy  with  winning  per- 
formances, all  recorded  live  in  Munich  in  1982. 
Cooper's  bassoon  perfectly  suits  Thomas'  tastefully  stri- 
dent vocal  excursions.  Most  notable  is  the  title  track, 
essentially  a  shaggy-dog  story. 

Thomas  reunited  with  Ubu  bassist  Tony  Maimone 
for  More  Places  Forever.  Along  with  Cutler's  drums 
and  Cooper's  one- woman  woodwind  section,  Thomas 
has  all  the  backdrop  he  needs  to  gather  us  into  his  little 
world  and  cast  his  spell.  He  displays  his  love  for  things 
like  insects  and  sunshine,  and  in  "New  Broom"  follows 
some  dust  on  its  journey  Utwfans  finally  get  to  hear  the 
track  for  which  Song  of  the  Balling  Man  was  titled. 

The  new  band  (re)assembled  for  Monster  Walks 
the  Winter  Lake  is  almost  an  Ubu  reunion,  with  Mai- 
mone joined  by  Allen  Ravenstine  on  synths  and  Paul 
Hamann  producing.  The  low-key  music  moves  more 
slowly  than  usual,  with  cello  and  strangely  played  ac- 
cordion often  the  predominant  instruments;  the  increas- 
ingly philosophical  lyrics  containing  recurring  monster 
metaphors.  The  four-part  eleven-minute  title  track  is  a 
real  treat. 

Blame  the  Messenger  was  recorded  with  much  the 
same  lineup  that  reformed  Pere  Ubu.  One  listen  con- 
firms that  they  must  have  been  itching  to  get  back  to- 
gether; the  sound  and  arrangements  are  more  a 
throwback  to  the  band's  earlier  recordings  than  any  of 
Thomas'  previous  solo  work,  thanks  especially  to 
Ravenstine 's  electronic  keyboards.  The  lyrical  fascina- 
tion this  time  is  mostly  with  nature,  particularly  ironic 
when  juxtaposed  with  such  beautifully  unnatural 
sounds.  A  great  record.  [sg/dgs] 

See  also  Pere  Ubu. 


PAT  THOMAS 

See  Absolute  Grey. 


MARC  ANTHONY  THOMPSON 

Marc  Anthony  Thompson  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984 
Watts  and  Paris  (Reprise-Warner  Bros.)  1 989  « 

On  his  debut  LP,  this  hard-to-categorize  maverick— 
born  in  Panama,  raised  in  California— -makes  slick, 
soulful  pop  music  that  manages  to  be  subtle  and  edgy. 
Thompson  gives  free  reign  to  his  poised,  slightly  gritty 
voice  in  a  variety  of  settings,  from  cool  struttin'  ("So 
Fine")  to  moody  romance  ("Love  Cools  Down")  to 
after-hours  elegance  C*  Coffee"). 

Five  years  later,  Watts  and  Paris  sports  a  nastier, 
more  percussive  edge,  with  in-your-face  singing  and 
dense,  oddball  arrangements  obviously  inspired  by 
Prince.  Don't  miss  the  murky  "Monkeytime,"  a  star- 
tling attack  on  Paul  Simon  (**I  taped  the  black  man  so 
let  me  be/South  Africa  been  so  good  to  me1'),  the  hard 
funk  of  *'In  Time"  and  the  screaming  *'I  Never  Prom- 
ised." Tough  and  compelling,  Thompson  is  a  widely 
undiscovered  talent  on  a  major  label.  [jy] 


MAYO  THOMPSON 

See  Red  Crayola, 


674 


A  Product  of  ...  (nr/T)  1 981  (nr/Fame)  1 983 

Set  (nr/T)  1 982  (nr/Fame)  1 984 

In  the  Name  of  Love  (Arista)  1 982  • 

A  Product  of ...  /Set  [tape]  (nr/T)  1 983 

Quick  Step  &  Side  Kick  (nr/Arista)  1 983  • 

Side  Kicks  (Arista)  1983® 

Into  the  Gap  (Arista)  1 984  • 

Here's  to  Future  Days  (Arista)  1 985  • 

Close  to  the  Bone  (Arista)  1987  ® 

The  Richard  Skinner  Sessions  EP  (nr/Nighttracks-Strange 

Fruit)  1987 
Greatest  Mixes:  The  Best  of  Thompson  Twins  (Arista) 

1988® 
Big  Trash  (Red  Eye-Warner  Bros.)  1989  • 

The  name  notwithstanding,  there  are  no  twins  and 
no  Thompsons  in  this  globally  successful  modem  pop 
band.  Once  an  obscure,  loose  collection  of  as  many  as 
seven  Sheffield-to-London  players  led  by  singer/ 
synthesist/song writer  Tom  Bailey,  the  Twins  pared 
down  to  just  Bailey,  New  Zealander  Alannah  Currie  and 
Joe  Leeway  and  became  one  of  the  world's  leading  pur- 
veyors of  occasionally  adventurous,  invariably  dance- 
able  modern  chart  fare. 

All  six  musicians  credited  on  A  Product  of  ... 
manage  to  play  some  percussion  in  addition  to  their 
primary  instruments — sax,  guitar,  keyboards,  etc.  The 
cleverness  and  variety  of  the  tracks,  however,  eliminate 
any  potential  monotony  that  might  have  resulted  from 
the  heavy  reliance  on  rhythm.  And  although  the  music  is 
designed  to  incite  maximum  motion,  there  isn't  one 
track  that  skimps  on  lyrical,  melodic  or  structural  depth. 
The  album  isn't  uniformly  wonderful,  but  the  textures 
and  sounds  make  it  pleasurable  and  energizing.  (The 
1987  Richard  Skinner  radio  session  was  recorded  at  this 
early  stage  of  the  band's  career.) 

Set  adds  one  member  (bassist  Matthew  Seligman) 
but  is  otherwise  not  very  different — in  cast  or  content — 
from  its  predecessor.  Exemplified  by  such  great  num- 
bers as  "In  the  Name  of  Love"  and  "Bouncing,"  Bailey 
and  his  cohorts  prove  that  it  is  possible  to  make  totally 
listenable  dance  music  that  doesn't  beg  suspension  of 
critical  faculties.  Producer  Steve  Lilly  white  and  Thomas 
Dolby  also  pitch  in,  making  Set  a  very  nice  record.  (The 
Thompsons'  first  exposure  in  America  came  via  In  the 
Name  of  Love,  which  consists  of  two  tracks  from  the 
first  LP  and  eight  from  the  second.) 

Building  on  the  popular  dance  sound  of  "In  the 
Name  of  Love"  (in  fact,  deftly  quoting  it  on  the  first 
track,  "Love  on  Your  Side"),  the  three  Twins  emerged 
mature,  motivated  and  commercially  focused  on  their 
third  album,  Quick  Step  &  Side  Kick.  Demonstrating 
varied  and  skilled  songwriting  and  extraordinary  self- 
contained  music-making-— the  trio  plays  almost  every- 
thing you  hear  on  keyboards — the  album  bounces  from 
start  to  finish,  but  no  two  tracks  have  much  in  common 
other  than  a  good  mood  and  a  strong  beat.  (The  Amer- 
ican label  perversely  altered  the  title  and  rearranged  the 
tracks  a  tad.  The  British  cassette  includes  a  bonus  side 
of  remixes.) 

Consolidating  their  stardom,  Into  the  Gap  is  a  vir- 
tual new  greatest  hits  album,  containing  "Hold  Me 
Now,"  "Doctor  Doctor/'  "You  Take  Me  Up"  and 
"Sister  of  Mercy,"  which  were  all  radio,  chart  and  club 


staples  for  many  months.  The  Twins'  strength  is  their 
avoidance  of  repetition;  the  songs  vary  widely  in  tempo, 
style,  instrumentation,  subject  matter  and  vocal  arrange- 
ments. (All  three  sing  ) 

By  Here's  to  Future  Days,  co-produced  by  Bailey 
and  Nile  Rodgers,  the  hit  machine  was  starting  to  run  on 
a  cracked  wheel.  "Lay  Your  Hands  on  Me"  is  brilliant, 
but  "Don't  Mess  with  Doctor  Dream"  is  boring.  "King 
for  a  Day"  is  cute  but  overly  familiar;  "Tokyo"  is 
corny.  And  who  needed  to  hear  a  new  version  of  the 
Beatles'  "Revolution"?  With  all  its  ups  and  downs, 
Future  Days  is  not  significantly  inferior  to  the  Twins' 
best  albums,  but  it  lacks  their  freshness  and  vitality. 

In  April  1986,  at  the  end  of  a  six-month  world  tour, 
Joe  Leeway  left  the  band,  reportedly  to  go  solo,  al- 
though the  results  have  yet  to  surface.  (He  did  front  a 
band  for  one  song  in  the  1989  film  Slaves  of  New  York, 
however.)  Finally  reduced  to  the  titular  duo,  Bailey  and 
Currie  carried  on,  releasing  the  modest  and,  for  the  most 
part,  likable  Close  to  the  Bone,  produced  by  Rupert 
Hine.  Currie 's  lyrics  (Bailey  wrote  the  music)  take  a 
surprisingly  reflective  approach  here,  suggesting  doubt 
and  anxiety  instead  of  the  usual  oblique  contemplations. 
"Gold  Fever"  bitterly  attacks  someone  (wonder  who?) 
for  greed,  saying  "Now  it  bothers  me  to  think  that  I 
used  to  call  you  a  friend."  While  spottily  derivative 
(mostly  of  their  own  work,  but  "Long  Goodbye"  could 
easily  be  mistaken  for  Sting)  and  notably  lacking  the 
group's  characteristic  energy  and  rhythmic  magic,  the 
record  proves  that  the  Thompson  factory  can  turn  out 
quality  merchandise  even  when  the  creative  thinkers  are 
napping. 

The  Twins  left  Arista,  and  the  label  issued  a  hits- 
heavy  remix  album — eight  elongated  dance  versions 
more  suited  to  the  clubs  where  they  originated  than  to  a 
home  stereo.  Bailey  and  Currie  took  some  time  off  from 
the  Twins  (writing  and  producing  songs  for  Debbie 
Harry  and  Jerry  Harrison),  but  their  creative  batteries 
didn't  quite  get  recharged.  Intended  as  an  amused  com- 
ment on  junk  culture,  Big  Trash  is  an  uninspired  waste 
of  time  and  plastic,  a  lame  pairing  of  grade-school 
rhymes  and  bland  music  that  is,  at  best,  self-imitative. 
Reduced  to  simplemindedness  ("Kiss  your  wife 
goodbye/' Cos  you  know  it's  time  to  die/There  are  bomb- 
ers in  the  sky"),  the  once-clever  Twins  sleepwalk 
through  such  nonsense  as  "Sugar  Daddy,"  **T.V.  On" 
and  "Salvador  Dali's  Car"  with  no  apparent  effort  or 
conviction,  ^ 


TRACEY  THORN 

See  Everything  but  the  Girl. 

THRASHING  DOVES 

Bedrock  Vice  (A&M)  1 987  « 
Trouble  in  the  Home  (A&M)  1 989  • 

Another  bunch  of  informed  modern  pop  stylists, 
London's  Thrashing  Doves  mix  and  match  their  varied 
stylistic  borrowings  on  Bedrock  Vice.  "Beautiful  Im- 
balance" takes  spectacular  chart-ready  flight;  otherwise, 
Ken  Foreman's  vocals  merely  echo  Tom  Verlaine, 
Lloyd  Cole  and  Violent  Femme  Gordon  Gano  in  songs 
that  often  seem  transparent  attempts  at  imitating  various 


675 


Bob  Dylan  eras.  Colorful  but  meaningless.  Producers 
on  the  proficient  quartet's  minor  album  include  Chris 
Thomas  and  Jimmy  lovine. 

The  restlessly  diverse  Trouble  in  the  Home  isn't 
any  more  original,  but  at  least  it  has  more  vitality  and 
some  different  second-hand  arrows  in  the  callow  quiver. 
("Another  Deadly  Sunset,"  for  instance,  draws  from 
the  T.  Rex  bop  book.)  But  the  music  is  still  wholly 
lacking  in  purpose  and  conviction,  and  the  lyrics'  cagey 
religious  references  are  too  coy  by  half.  [i] 


THREE  JOHNS 

Men  Like  Monkeys  EP  (nr/CNT  Productions)  1983 

A.W.O.L  EP  (nr/CNT  Productions)  1983 

Some  History  EP  (nr/Abstract)  1983 

Do  the  Square  Thing  EP  (nr/Abstract)  1 984 

Atom  Drum  Bop  (nr/Abstract)  1984 

Death  of  the  European  EP  (nr/Abstract)  1 985 

Brainbox  (He's  a  Brainbox)  EP  (nr/Abstract)  1985 

The  World  by  Storm  (nr/Abstract)  1 986 

Live  in  Chicago  (Last  Time  Round)  1986  • 

Demonocracy:  The  Singles  1 982-1 986  (nr/Abstract) 

1986 

Never  and  Always  EP  (nr/Abstract)  1 987 
DeathrockerScrapbook  [tape]  (ROIR)  1988 
The  Death  of  Everything  (Caroline)  1 988  ® 
Eat  Your  Sons  (nr/Tupelo)  1 990  * 

This  casual  Leeds  trio — Jon  Langford  (guitar;  also 
in  the  Mekons),  John  Hyatt  (vocals,  lyrics)  and  John 
Brennan  (bass }— began  by  specializing  in  discordant 
socio-political  guitar  punk  with  trembling  falsetto  vo- 
cals; their  career-long  use  of  a  rhythm  machine  rather 
than  a  live  drummer  has  lent  a  unique  tension  to  the 
group's  sound.  Some  History  compiles  two  singles 
(from  1982  and  1983)  on  one  12-inch,  and  is  very  much 
indicative  of  the  trio's  approach.  Save  for  a  surfacing 
maniacal  edge,  Men  Like  Monkeys  and  A.W.O.L. 
stake  out  more  of  the  same  turf.  Hyatt's  whining  vocals 
would  grate  in  large  doses,  but  brevity — four  songs 
each — keeps  these  two  records  from  becoming  down- 
right annoying. 

The  Johns  plunge  headfirst  into  dance-rock  on  Do 
the  Square  Thing.  Lyrically  oblique  and  riddled  with 
innuendo,  the  title  track  is,  for  these  thrashers,  an  ex- 
traordinarily slick  piece  of  extended  dancefloor  fodder. 
Surprisingly,  it  makes  a  stronger  impression  than  their 
usual  dirges. 

Characteristics  that  might  be  tiresome  if  abused  are 
kept  judiciously  in  check  on  the  Johns'  first  LP,  Atom 
Drum  Bop.  The  vocals  don't  wander  unnecessarily, 
guitar  lines  are  blindingly  sharp  and  melodic  and  the 
production  is  crystalline.  *  Teenage  Nightingales  to 
Wax,"  "Firepits,"  "Do  Not  Cross  the  Line"  and  the 
odd  ballad,  "No  Place,"  all  help  make  this  the  trio's 
most  fully  realized  endeavor. 

The  two  succeeding  four-song  EPs  both  show  con- 
tinued growth  towards  tuneful  pop.  Without  losing  any 
of  their  bite,  the  A-sides  offer  incisive  comments  on 
some  pretty  heady  subject  matter:  America's  destructive 
influence  on  continental  heritage  ("Death  of  the  Euro- 
pean") and  yuppiesque  self-centered  apathy  ("Brain- 
box").  The  B-sides  are  more  jagged,  and  just  as  strong. 

The  World  by  Storm,  released  with  a  limited  edi- 


tion 7-inch  live  EP,  is  highly  recommended.  The  Johns 
have  honed  their  craft  to  seeming  perfection:  it  will  be 
difficult  for  them  to  improve  on  tunes  like  "King  Car," 
"Torches  of  Liberty,"  "Demon  Drink"  and  the  pre-LP 
single,  "Sold  Down  the  River." 

Langford's  commitment  to  the  Mekons,  as  well  as 
his  high  demand  as  a  producer,  temporarily  put  the 
Three  Johns  on  hold.  But  that  didn't  stop  the  group  from 
releasing  records.  Deraoitocracy  is  a  highly  recom- 
mended compilation  of  singles  and  LP  tracks.  The 
equally  enlightening  Live  In  Chicago — the  Johns'  first 
American  release— -dates  from  June  1985  and  contains 
renditions  (some  of  them  already  issued  on  the  World 
by  Storm  bonus  EP)  of  such  material  as  "Teenage 
Nightingales  to  Wax,"  "Death  of  the  European," 
"AWOL"  and  "The  World  of  the  Workers,"  as  well  as 
a  brief  (and  uncredited)  version  of  Madonna's  "Like  a 
Virgin."  Deathrocker  Scrapbook  is  accurately  de- 
scribed on  the  cassette  insert  as  "some  great  fun  and 
games  recorded  by  a  very  informal  the  Three  Johns 
during  the  1980's."  A  mad  dash  through  the  Johns' 
back  pages — live  appearances,  outtakes,  rehearsals, 
acoustic  one-offs,  etc. — captures  the  three  in  the  ex- 
tremely entertaining  act  of  being  themselves.  High- 
lights: "Conversations  with  Freud"  and  "Cheap 
Computer." 

Although  the  sleeve  credits  utterly  bollix  up  which 
cuts  are  from  where,  half  of  The  Death  of  Everything 
was  recorded  live  in  Leeds  at  the  beginning  of  '88.  The 
rest  of  the  tracks — including  the  Adnan  Sherwood- 
produced  pre-LP  single,  "Never  and  Always"  (a 
straightforward  hard-rock  song  that  sounds  like  PiL) — 
are  recent/new  studio  efforts.  Although  the  Johns'  range 
now  includes  thundering  Glitter-rock  ("Spin  Me 
Round"),  droning  Fallish  poetry  ("The  King  Is  Dead 
(Four  Words  Too  Long)" )  and  a  neat  Captain  Beefheart 
cover,  this  diverse  album  is  a  bit  short  of  the  band's 
familiar  ingenuity  and  fire,  [ag/i] 


THREE  O'CLOCK 

Baroque  Hoedown  EP  (Frontier)  1 982  ® 
Sixteen  Tambourines  (Frontier)  1 983  • 
Arrive  Without  Travelling  (IRS)  1 985 
Ever  After  (IRS)  1 986  « 
Vermillion  (Paisley  Park)  1988  • 

SALVATION  ARMY 

The  Salvation  Army  (Frontier)  1 982 

BEFOUR  THREE  O'CLOCK 

Befour  Three  O'clock  (Frontier)  1985 

One  of  the  brightest  lights  of  new  American  pop 
psychedelia,  LA's  Salvation  Army  debuted  with  an  al- 
bum that  was  liable  to  inspire  young  bands  all  around 
the  world  to  join  in  the  fun.  The  trio's  melodies  have  the 
ethereal  quality  of  a  young  Syd  Barrett;  the  music  is  a 
blend  of  all  the  most  colorful  *60s  sounds,  showing  the 
influence  of  such  groups  as  the  Byrds,  Move,  Hollies, 
Music  Machine  and  others. 

Following  legal  action  by  the  real  Salvation  Army 
(concerns  over  musical  competition?),  the  group 
changed  its  name  to  the  Three  OfClock.  (Three  years 
later,  Frontier  cleverly  repackaged  the  original  album  as 
Befour  Three  O*Ciock. )  The  five  songs  on  Baroque 


676 


Hoedown  have  peppier  vocals  and  equally  engaging 
music.  The  addition  of  ex-Quick/Weirdos  drummer 
Danny  Benair  also  brought  the  quartet  a  harder  edge. 
Don't  miss  their  cover  of  the  Easybeats'  "Sorry." 

Sixteen  Tambourines  is  even  better — an  incredible 
full-length  collection  of  chiming,  memorable  power  pop 
tunes  played  and  sung  as  if  each  track  were  likely  to  get 
played  on  every  radio  station  coast-to-coast.  Slick  and 
inventive  production  by  Earle  Mankey  delivers  the 
songs  (most  co-written  by  guitarist  Louis  Gutierrez  and 
bassist  Michael  Quercio)  in  utterly  engaging  style.  Best 
numbers:  "On  My  Own,"  "Jet  Fighter,"  "And  So  We 
Run."  Absolutely  charming  and  remarkably  memora- 
ble. (The  CD  includes  Baroque  Hoedown.) 

In  1985,  the  Three  O' Clock  signed  to  IRS  and  re- 
leased their  second  album.  Arrive  Without  Travelling 
isn't  quite  as  delightfully  twinky  as  its  predecessor,  but 
it  does  contain  enough  characteristically  lightheaded 
material  ("Her  Head's  Revolving,"  "Simon  in  the 
Park")  to  maintain  the  group's  standing  as  preeminent 
paisley  popsters. 

Ever  After  saw  Gutierrez  exit  the  group  (he's  now 
in  Louis  and  Clark),  to  be  replaced  by  Steven  Altenberg 
without  any  major  changes  in  the  group's  sound  or  di- 
rection. Shortly  after  its  release,  the  group  parted  ways 
with  IRS,  spent  some  time  in  legal  limbo  and  then  signed 
to  Paisley  Park.  Apparently,  Prince  had  heard  and  liked 
them  (not  too  surprising,  since  Around  the  World  in  a 
Day  draws  on  many  of  the  same  influences  as  Three 
O'clock's  records),  though  they'd  never  actually  met. 
With  Jason  Falkner  replacing  Altenberg  and  Ian  Ritchie 
producing,  the  group  recorded  Vermillion,  their  most 
interesting  and  varied  album  to  date,  which  includes 
Prince's  (sorry,  Joey  Coco's)  "Neon  Telephone"— just 
right  for  them — a  lead  vocal  apiece  by  Falkner  and  key- 
boardist Mike  Mariano  (both  great)  and  Quercio' s  six- 
minute  ballad,  "Through  the  Sleepy  Town."  Three 
O'Clock  broke  up  later  that  year.  [cpl/i/ds] 

See  also  Mary's  Danish, 

THROBBING  GRISTLE 

Second  Annual  Report  (nr/lndustrial)  1978  (nr/Fetish) 

1 979  (nr/Mute)  1983 
D.oA  (nr/lndustrial)  1979  (nr/Fetish)  1981  (nr/Mute) 

1983 
Twenty  Jazz  Funk  Greats  (nr/lndustrial)  1979  (nr/Fetish) 

1981  (nr/Mute)  1983 
Heathen  Earth  (nr/lndustrial)  1979  (nr/Fetish)  1981 

(nr/Mute)  1983 

Throbbing  Gristle's  Greatest  Hits  (Rough  Trade)  1 980 
Funeral  in  Berlin  (Ger.  Zensor)  1 981 
24  Hours  [tape]  (nr/lndustrial)  1981 
Mission  of  Dead  Souls  (nr/Fetish)  1981  (nr/Mute)  1983 
Five  Albums  (nr/Fetish)  1982 
Thee  Psychick  Sacrifice  (nr/Jllummated)  1982  (nr/Dojo) 

1986 

Editions  Frankfurt-Berlin  (nr/llluminated)  1983 
Once  Upon  a  Time  (Live  at  the  Lyceum)  (nr/Casual 

Abandon)  1983  (nr/Obsession)  1990  * 
In  the  Shadow  of  the  Sun  (nr/tlluminated)  1 984 
Live  at  Heaven  [tape]  (nr/Rough  Trade)  c.  1 985 
TG  CD!  [CD]  (nr/Mute)  1986  • 

Raised  on  William  S.  Burroughs  and  Philip  K,  Dick, 
and  inhabiting  a  science-fiction-now  world  of  industrial 


depression,  Britain's  prolific  Throbbing  Gristle  pro- 
duced some  of  the  most  confrontational  and  unpleas- 
antly fascinating  music  of  recent  years,  ostensibly  as  a 
means  to  radicalize  the  listener  into  abandoning  bour- 
geois romanticism  for  a  realistic  view  of  life. 

Second  Annual  Report  (the  quartet's  first  release) 
uses  mournful  synthesizer  drones  to  paint  a  grimly  pow- 
erful vision  of  post-industrial,  mid-depression  England. 

D.o.  A.  is  brighter  in  tone  and  more  polished  in  tech- 
nique. Less  cohesive  than  the  previous  album,  D.O.A. 
places  greater  emphasis  on  live  material,  found  tapes 
and  individual  productions  by  separate  members  of  the 
band.  The  music  is  aggressively  anti-melodic,  but  the 
spirit  is  powerful  and  the  surprises  plentiful.  Recom- 
mended for  the  strong. 

Twenty  Jazz  Funk  Greats  breaks  away  from 
D.o.A.'s  stark  bleakness  in  an  attempted  truce  between 
the  group's  radical  attitudes  and  pop  music,  removing 
the  cutting  edge  from  their  calculated  chaos  but  offering 
more  accessibility. 

Heathen  Earth  is  a  return  to  form,  adding  savagery 
to  the  mix,  expanding  TG  leader  Genesis  P-Orridge's 
obsession  with  the  profane  juxtaposition  of  everyday 
symbols  and  motifs.  The  music  is  clean,  vicious,  sharp 
and  occasionally  displays  the  band's  transition  to  ener- 
getic, if  still  outre",  rock. 

Greatest  Hits,  subtitled  "Entertainment  Through 
Pain"  (an  apt  description  of  the  band's  approach),  col- 
lects material  from  the  first  four  albums.  Recommended 
for  a  solid  overview. 

Funeral  in  Berlin  and  Mission  of  Dead  Souls  are 
live  albums.  The  first  features  all  previously  unreleased 
material;  the  latter  is  a  recording  of  the  band's  final 
show  in  San  Francisco.  Those  who  desire  a  lot  more 
Throbbing  Gristle  live  should  check  out  24  Hours,  a 
collection  of  two  dozen  C-60  cassettes  packed  in  a  suit- 
case and  containing  most  of  the  group's  live  shows. 
(Rough  Trade  reportedly  also  offered  a  suitcase  set  of 
33  tapes  around  the  same  time.  Did  anyone  actually  buy 
one  of  these?)  In  1983,  however,  Rough  Trade  bowed 
to  public  pressure  and  made  those  33  cassettes  available 
individually.  Five  Albums  is  more  reasonably  sized,  a 
boxed  set  reissuing  all  the  albums  that  had  previously 
been  on  Fetish. 

Although  the  group  has  been  defunct  now  for  years 
and  its  members  (P-Orridge,  Chris  Carter,  Cosey  Fanni 
Tutti,  Peter  Christopherson)  scattered  into  the  similarly 
uncommon  Chris  and  Cosey,  Psychic  TV  and  Coil,  new 
TG  records — most  of  them  live  (how  can  there  be  any- 
thing left?) — are  still  being  released,  many  only  on  cas- 
sette. TG  CD1,  however,  contains  42  minutes  of 
previously  unissued  instrumental  studio  dribblings  from 
early  '79,  with  reflective  '86  liner  commentary  by  the 
participants.  [sg/O 

See  also  Chris  and  Cosey,  Coil,  Psychic  TV. 

THROWING  MUSES 

Throwing  Muses  EP  (Throwing  Muses)  1 984 

Throwing  Muses  [tape]  (Throwing  Muses)  1 985 

Throwing  Muses  (nr/4AD)  1 986  • 

Chains  Changed  EP  (nr/4AD)  1987 

The  Fat  Skier  (Sire)  1987 

House  Tornado  (Sire)  1 989  • 

Hunkpapa  (Sire)  1989* 

677 


Dizzy  EP  (nr/4AD)  1989® 
The  Real  Ramona  (Sire)  1 991  ® 

If  for  no  other  reason,  this  Boston-based  quartet  has 
its  reserved  seat  in  music  history  for  being  the  first 
American  band  signed  to  the  British  4AD  label.  An 
eclectic  blend  of  jerky  guitar  pop  and  songwriter  Kristin 
Hersh's  unpredictably  eccentric  vocals,  the  early  work 
by  Throwing  Muses  bears  no  resemblance  to  any  other 
group  or  artist  in  recent  memory. 

The  group's  first  two  untitled  releases  are  fairly  ob- 
scure: a  commonly  bootlegged  five-song  7-inch  EP  that 
features  an  early  bassist  and  a  self-released  1985  cas- 
sette that  contains  most  of  the  songs  that  would  com- 
prise the  band's  first  album  (plus  one  that  wouldn't  get 
redone  until  The  Fat  Skier). 

Produced  by  up-and-coming  studio  star  Gil  Norton, 
Throwing  Muses  (the  LP)  is  startling;  attribute  the 
uniqueness  to  Hersh's  remarkable  singing  on  "Hate  My 
Way,"  * 'Green"  and  "America  (She  Can't  Say  No)." 
Truly  one  of  a  kind.  With  fewer  twists  and  turns  than  the 
album's  songs,  the  four-track  Chains  Changed  (with 
one  lead  vocal  by  Tanya  Donelly,  the  group's  junior 
guitar-playing  songwriter)  somehow  has  even  more  im- 
pact. 

College  radio  airplay  and  critical  acclaim  prompted 
Sire  to  sign  Throwing  Muses  and  release  The  Fat  Skier: 
six  songs  on  one  side  and  a  nearly  nine-minute  seventh 
("Soul  Soldier")  on  the  flip.  With  onetime  Violent 
Femmes  producer  Mark  Van  Hecke  behind  the  board, 
the  music  appears  to  be  verging  on  the  formulaic;  the 
record  is  considerably  less  striking  than  the  band's  prior 
output.  It's  still  distinctive,  but  an  injection  of  fresh 
ideas  at  this  point  wouldn't  hurt.  But  House  Tornado 
only  amplifies  the  problems  of  The  Fat  Skier:  with  a 
minimum  of  musical  variety,  songs  run  into  one  an- 
other. What  was,  upon  inception,  avant-garde  has  be- 
come static  and  predictable. 

David  Narcizo's  stiff  drumming  sets  the  tone  for 
Hunkpapa,  a  chilly  and  dull  record  that  could  be  by  any 
number  of  contempo  jangle-pop  bands.  Along  with  the 
uneventful  material,  Hersh's  voice,  no  longer  possess- 
ing any  strong  character,  is  ineffectual  and  a  bit  strident 
at  times;  the  rote  guitar  backdrop  doesn't  pick  up  the 
slack.  Of  Donelly 's  two  tunes,  "Angel"  is  actually 
tuneful  and  appealing;  the  other  merely  provides  a  bit  of 
light  variety. 

The  four-song  Dizzy  EP  (built  around  a  Hunkpapa 
track)  also  contains  the  non-LP  "Santa  Claus"  and  com- 
pelling 1988  live  recordings  of  "Downtown"  (from 
House  Tornado)  and  the  frenetic  "Mania"  (from 
Hunkpapa). 

Produced  by  Dennis  Herring,  The  Real  Ramona 
introduces  new  bassist  Fred  Abong;  the  reinvigorated 
Muses  seem  comfortably  settled  into  a  functional  sound, 
taking  few  chances  but  getting  the  job  done  with  con- 
fidence, enthusiasm  and  none  of  Hunkpapa' s  bland 
aloofness.  Hersh's  songwriting  is  solid  if  not  spectacu- 
lar; Donnelly  contributes  two,  including  the  gentle 
power-punk  of  *  *Not  Too  Soon. "  [ag/i] 

See  also  Breeders. 


THUG 

See  Beasts  of  Bourbon. 


LES  THUGS 

Frenetic  Dancing  (Fr.  Cougnaf  Movement)  1985 
Radical  Hysterie  (Fr.  Closer)  1986  (Gr.  Dikeoma  Diavasis) 

1989 

Electric  Troubles  EP  (nr/Vinyl  Solution)  1 987 
Dirty  White  Race  (nr/Viny!  Solution)  1988 
Electric  Troubles  (Sub  Pop)  1989 
Still  Hungry  (nr/Decoy)  1989 

To  say  that  France  is  not  known  for  cutting-edge 
rock  is  akin  to  noting  that  elephants  don't  generally 
travel  in  Subarus.  The  French  love  synthesizers.  They 
also  love  '50s  music,  like  basic  rock'n'roll,  rockabilly 
and  R&B.  While  les  Thugs  are  French  (from  Angiers, 
to  be  exact),  this  is  one  elephant  of  a  band.  They  sing 
mostly  in  English,  sometimes  in  what  they  call  yoghurt 
(meaningless  syllables  that  only  sound  like  English) 
with  pleasantly  curly  French  accents,  and  play  a  twin- 
guitar  assault  with  nary  a  synth  or  slap  bass  in  sight.  A 
punk  band  in  the  very  earliest  sense  of  the  word,  les 
Thugs'  records  are  a  pre-hardcore  blast  of  pop-rooted 
pounding,  from  the  same  school  as  the  Buzzcocks. 

Formed  in  1984  from  the  ashes  of  a  new  wave  band 
called  Dazibo,  les  Thugs  debuted  with  Frenetic  Danc- 
ing, a  four-track  7-inch  (later  remastered  and  reissued 
as  a  two-song  single).  Following  the  relatively  primitive 
Radical  Hysterie,  the  band  made  Electric  Troubles, 
an  EP  that  comes  as  close  to  perfection  as  a  record  can. 
Hard  without  being  metallic,  packed  with  a  knock-over 
energy  punch,  it's  fueled  by  guitars  that  saw  and  scrape, 
deliberately  undermixed  harmonic  singing  and  pacing 
that  won't  quit.  "Dead  Dreams"  opens  with  a  native 
American  recording  that  crossfades  into  an  Arabic  slink 
of  fuzz  guitar,  then  explodes  in  frenzy.  "Bulgarian 
Blues"  gallops  with  shaking  percussion  that  sounds  like 
a  tram. 

Though  not  reaching  the  same  heights,  Dirty  White 
Race  still  blows  most  other  vinyl  halfway  to  Jupiter.  It's 
mixed  slightly  brighter,  takes  its  guitar  playing  a  bit 
more  seriously  (including  some  isolated  barf-awful 
metal  cliches)  and  makes  fine  use  of  dynamics.  "Hedge- 
hogs" particularly  plays  with  the  loud  and  soft  buttons, 
simmering  down  with  an  angelic  choir  of  background 
vocals  while  an  accompanying  guitar  slinks  in  hard  peals 
of  chime  before  the  band  gears  up  for  a  recharged  sonic 
assault.  The  American  Electric  Troubles  album  com- 
bines Dirty  White  Race  and  the  Electric  Troubles  EP. 

The  Iain  Burgess/Tim  Lewis-recorded  Still  Hungry 
is  les  Thugs'  most  sophisticated  production,  but  that 
doesn't  mean  more  than  a  slight  detour  in  getting  their 
energy  down  your  ear  canals.  With  les  Thugs'  records, 
you  can't  lose.  f'e] 

JOHNNY  THUNDERS 

So  Alone  (nr/R©al)  1978 

In  Cold  Blood  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 983  • 

Diary  of  a  Lover  EP  (PVC)  1 983 

New  Too  Much  Junkie  Business  [topej  (ROIR)  1983  [CD] 

(ROlR-important)1990* 
Hurt  Me  (Fr,  New  Rose)  1984  • 
Que  Sera,  Sera  (nr/Jungle)  1 985  • 
Stations  of  the  Cross  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 987  (CD] 

(ROIR-lmportant)  199Q4* 
Bootlegging  the  Bootleggers  (nr/Jungb)  1990* 


678 


JIMMY  K 

Trouble  Traveller  (Jap.  Meldac)  1 986  • 

& 

Copy  Cats  (Restless)  1988® 

JOHNNY  & 

Gang  War  (Zodiac- DeMilo)  1 990  • 

For  his  first  solo  LP,  the  legendary  New  York  Dolls/ 
Heartbreakers  guitarist  enlisted  the  aid  of  ex-Pistols  Paul 
Cook  and  Steve  Jones,  some  of  the  Hot  Rods,  the  Only 
Ones  and  even  old-timers  Steve  Marriott  and  Phil 
Lynott.  Choosing  material  representative  of  all  his  prior 
musical  phases,  and  aided  immeasurably  by  co-producer 
Steve  Lilly  white,  Thunders  turns  in  reasonably  strong 
performances,  perfectly  employing  his  gutter  guitar  and 
New  York  sneer  in  a  number  of  (musical)  veins,  includ- 
ing greasy  R&B  and  a  tender  ballad.  Not  since  the  Dolls' 
two  records  has  he  sounded  so  lucid  and  involved — So 
Alone  is  Johnny  Thunders  at  his  best. 

Thunders  didn't  release  anything  else  under  his  own 
name  for  five  years  after  that.  The  LP-plus-EP  In  Cold 
Blood  returned  him  to  the  racks,  combining  five  newly 
recorded  studio  tracks — with  just  a  drummer  and  gui- 
tarist Walter  Lure — that  don't  amount  to  much  with  a 
poor  live  Boston  show  taped  in  1982.  (Diary  of  a  Lover 
consists  of  those  studio  cuts  plus  a  subsequent  item. )  At 
Cold  Blood's  best,  Thunders  pounds  out  a  stinging 
"Green  Onions"  that  suggests  his  guitar  skills  aren't 
gone  yet. 

Narrated  in  New  Yawkese  by  the  artist,  New  Too 
Much  Junkie  Business  offers  live,  demo  and  live-in- 
the-studio  recordings  from  1982,  co-produced  by  Jimmy 
Miller,  with  a  variety  of  players  helping  out  on  rendi- 
tions of  everything  from  the  Dolls'  "Jet  Boy"  and 
"Great  Big  Kiss"  to  a  Gang  War  track  and  numbers  that 
overlap  Diary  of  a  Lover.  Most  notable  is  "Sad  Vaca- 
tion," a  tribute  to  Sid  Vicious.  That  song  also  appears 
on  the  French-only  Hurt  Me,  alongside  "Eve  of  De- 
struction," "It  Ain't  Me  Babe"  and  renditions  of  some 
of  Thunders'  best  songs.  (The  Hurt  Me  CD  contains 
five  bonus  tracks.) 

Que  Sera,  Sera  boasts  a  batch  of  solid  new  songs, 
a  solid  rhythm  section  (Keith  Yon  and  Tony  St. 
Helene),  an  illustrious  cast  of  guest  stars  and  a  surpris- 
ingly easygoing,  clearheaded  outlook.  Variety  is  a 
watchword,  as  Stonesy  pseudo-reggae  ("Cool  Opera- 
tor"), sneering  sexist  raunch  ("Little  Bit  of  Whore"), 
restrained  reality  ("Short  Lives/'  wherein  JT  de- 
nounces the  live-fast-die-young  credo),  familiar  Dollsy 
bebop  ("Tie  Me  Up"  and  "Endless  Party,"  co-written 
with  David  Johansen)  and  a  hot  uptempo  instrumental 
("Billy  Boy")  mix  gaily.  In  fact,  the  most  wasted  thing 
about  this  LP  is  the  unnecessary  cover  shot  of  Thunders 
looking  like  the  not-so-living  dead. 

Punk  filmmaker  Lech  Kowalski  shot  and  recorded  a 
pair  of  1982  Mudd  Club  shows  to  use  in  his  junkie 
portrait  feature  (Gringo)  but  didn't,  so  the  music  for  an 
hour  of  them  wound  up  on  Stations  of  the  Cross. 
Backed  by  Lure  and  drummer  Jerry  Nolan,  plus  some- 
one identified  only  as  Talarico,  a  reasonably  cogent  JT 
runs  through  such  songs  as  "So  Alone,"  "In  Cold 


Blood,"  "Chinese  Rocks"  and  "Too  Much  Junkie 
Business,"  punctuating  the  lively  performances  with 
typically  hysterical  inter-song  patter.  Before  ending,  the 
tape  takes  an  odd  detour:  a  hotel  room  conversation, 
participants  unknown,  followed  by  a  solo  acoustic  num- 
ber. 

JT  the  DJ  returns — in  assorted  goofy  voices — to  in- 
troduce the  songs  on  Bootlegging  the  Bootleggers,  an 
uneven  (and  that's  not  just  the  widely  varying  sound 
quality)  compilation  of  1985- '89  live  recordings,  osten- 
sibly drawn  from  assorted  unauthorized  albums.  The 
old,  borrowed  and  sloppy  song  selection — including 
"Personality  Crisis,"  "In  Cold  Blood,"  "Sad  Vaca- 
tion," "As  Tears  Go  By"  and  Dylan's  "Joey"  (the  last 
three  performed  acoustic) — is  great,  but  this  isn't  the 
ultimate  concert  document  Thunders'  solo  career  still 
deserves.  (Note  the  editing  boo-boo  that  swaps  the  spo- 
ken introductions  for  "Pipeline"  and  "Wipeout,"  both 
identified  correctly  on  the  sleeve.) 

Thunders  co-wrote,  produced  and  played  guitar  on 
the  bizarre  Trouble  Traveller,  surrounding  young  Jap- 
anese singer/guitarist  Jimmy  K(urata)  with  such  Anglo- 
American  luminaries  as  Jerry  Nolan,  Glen  Matlock, 
Pete  Thomas,  John  "Irish"  Earle,  Martin  Belmont  and 
Bob  Andrews.  The  modestly  talented  Kurata  is  totally 
out  of  his  league  here.  Faced  with  crisp,  energetic  rock- 
'n'roll tracks — nothing  extraordinary,  just  top-notch 
Thunders  issue — his  echo-drenched  vocals  (in  Japanese 
and  imperfect  English — Eddie  Cochran's  "Nervous 
Breakdown"  merits  especially  bad  pronunciation)  are 
hopelessly  lame. 

Copy  Cats — an  accomplished  joint  effort  with  ex- 
Snatch  vocalist  Pat  Palladin  (who  also  produced  the  LP) 
and  a  bunch  of  their  friends — contains  swell  studio  cov- 
ers of  songs  by  Dion,  the  Seeds,  Shirelles,  Elvis  Pres- 
ley, Chambers  Brothers,  Screaming  Jay  Hawkins  and 
Shangri-Las,  among  others.  Sharing  the  spotlight  for 
once,  Thunders  contributes  solid  musicianship,  imagi- 
native (occasionally  poignant)  performances  and  an 
overriding  sense  of  well-behaved  fun.  Two  songs 
(Mickey  &  Sylvia's  "Love  Is  Strange"  and  "Let  Me 
Entertain  You")  from  the  original  UK  album  were  de- 
leted for  the  American  version,  which  also  has  a  differ- 
ent track  sequence. 

Another  era,  another  partnership:  the  half-studio/ 
half-live  Gang  War  LP  documents  Thunders'  nearly 
forgotten  1980- vintage  sideband  with  ex-MC5  guitarist 
Wayne  Kramer.  Totally  crap  sound  ruins  the  concert 
portion  (mostly  covers),  and  the  studio  sessions  are 
nearly  as  bad.  Obviously  not  taken  from  first  (or  even 
third)  generation  masters,  there  are  a  few  significant 
songs  ("Crime  of  the  Century,"  "M.I.A."),  a  couple 
of  trivial  ones  and  the  rest  is  vocal-less  jams  or  incom- 
plete backing  tracks.  If  the  original  tapes  could  be  lo- 
cated, there'd  be  a  great  single  in  here.  As  it  stands, 
however,  Gang  War  is  a  total  waste. 

Thunders  died  in  New  Orleans  in  April  1991.     [i] 

See  also  Heartbreakers,  New  York  Dolls, 

111  TUESDAY 

Voices  Carry  (Epic)  1985* 
Welcome  Home  (Epic)  1 986  » 
Everything's  Different  Now  (Epic)  1 988  * 


679 


Boston's  underground  scene  has  spawned  some  ex- 
cellent, adventurous  bands,  but  'Til  Tuesday  is  not  one 
of  them.  "Voices  Carry,"  the  quartet's  one  mega-hit,  is 
a  catchy  (if  lyrically  clumsy)  song  that  utilizes  the  full 
extent  of  ex- Young  Snakes  singer/bassist  Aimee  Mann's 
limited  vocal  capabilities;  the  rest  of  the  band's  Mike 
Thome-produced  debut  album  is  surprisingly  unstylish, 
bland  and  unengaging. 

Armed  with  a  Chrissie  Hynde-like  warble  and  an- 
other clutch  of  slow-going  sensitive  torch-rockers, 
Mann  and  her  three  bandmates  issued  a  soundalike 
follow-up,  produced  by  Rhett  Davies.  Although  the  dy- 
namically mixed  sound  is  technically  flawless,  the  play- 
ing is  dull  and  there  aren't  many  melodies  you're  likely 
to  remember.  (The  soaring  "On  Sunday"  comes  close.) 
Mann's  uncertain  singing  and  the  earnest  collegiate  pre- 
tentiousness of  her  lyrics  make  it  hard  to  imagine  just 
what  kind  of  a  home  would  welcome  Til  Tuesday. 

The  fascinating  results  of  life  intruding  on  art,  Ev- 
erything's Different  Now  considers  a  sad  affair  from 
two  separate  angles:  during  and  after.  The  Jules  Shear- 
penned  title  track  expresses  his  joy  at  falling  in  love 
with  Mann;  "(Believed  You  Were)  Lucky"  puts  her 
thoughts  on  their  parting  to  his  music.  Romantic  disap- 
pointment and  loss  dominate  the  album,  through  such 
heartfelt  songs  as  "  T  for  Jules,"  "How  Can  You  Give 
Up?"  and  "The  Other  End  (of  the  Telescope),"  the  last 
written  and  sung  with  Elvis  Costello.  The  music  (again 
produced  by  Davies)  takes  a  polite  back  seat,  supporting 
Mann's  controlled  and  sincere  vocals  without  attracting 
attention.  [i] 


TIMBUK  3 

Greetings  from  Timbuk  3  (IRS)  1 986  • 

Eden  Alley  (IRS)  1988® 

Edge  of  Allegiance  (IRS)  1989  « 

Pat  and  Barbara  K.  MacDonald  are  best  known  for 
their  much-misunderstood  fluke  hit  "The  Future's  So 
Bright,  I  Gotta  Wear  Shades,"  and  for  eschewing 
backup  musicians  in  favor  of  overdubs  on  record  and 
pre-recorded  rhythm  tapes  live.  But  the  Austin-based 
couple  is  more  noteworthy  for  Pat's  songwriting  talent 
than  for  the  mere  novelty  of  their  minimalist  lineup. 
Unlike  the  deceptively  breezy  "Shades,"  MacDonald 
generally  writes  sardonic  slices  of  life;  his  pessimism  is 
consistently  redeemed  by  unflagging  humanity  and  per- 
fectly complemented  by  the  pair's  drawling,  deadpan 
harmonies.  Despite  (or  because  of)  a  fondness  for  me- 
chanical percussion,  the  music  has  a  homey  ambience 
that  balances  frequent  lyrical  archness, 

Greetings,  surely  one  of  the  darkest  albums  ever  to 
have  yielded  a  hit  single,  collects  some  rueful  snapshots 
of  Americana  ("Life  Is  Hard,"  "Just  Another  Movie") 
alongside  enjoyable  lighter  fare  ("Facts  About  Cats/' 
"Hairstyles  and  Attitudes*')  with  impressive  results. 
Eden  Alley  trades  much  of  that  album's  country  twang 
for  a  more  varied  recording  approach  (e»g,,  "Sample 
the  Dog"  does  just  that).  Stylistic  eclecticism  comes  in 
handy  on  Pat's  mini-morality-plays  (the  title  track, 
"Dance  Fever,"  "Rev.  Jack  &  His  Roarnin*  Cadillac 
Church").  Barbara,  meanwhile,  shines  on  her  two  fea- 
tured cuts,  "Welcome  to  the  Human  Race"  and 
"Easy." 

Edge  of  Allegiance  (co-produced  by  drummer  De- 


nardo  Coleman,  Omette's  son)  is  yet  another  small  tri- 
umph of  sane,  thoughtful  songcraft.  The  chipper 
"National  Holiday"  provides  a  facetiously  optimistic 
opening  to  an  album  that  paints  a  bemused  but  bleak 
view  of  an  America  ruled  by  economic  inequity  ( "Dirty 
Dirty  Rice"),  environmental  horror  ("Acid  Rain")  and 
an  atrophied  democratic  process  ("Count  to  Ten"). 

[hdj 


TIME 

The  Time  (Warner  Bros.)  1981  • 
What  Time  Is  It?  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982  • 
Ice  Cream  Castle  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984  • 
Pandemonium  (Paisley  Park-Reprise)  1990  ® 

Prince's  first  major  male  extracurricular  effort,  Min- 
neapolis' six-man  Time  was  an  exceptionally  fertile 
launching  pad  for  several  careers.  Vocalist  Morris  Day 
walked  away  with  the  Purple  Rain  film  and  did  well  as 
a  solo  artist.  Jesse  Johnson  went  on  to  emulate  Prince 
not  only  with  soundalike  records  but  by  mentoring  a 
number  of  other  acts  as  well.  Jimmy  Jam  and  Terry 
Lewis  became  an  awesomely  successful  writing- 
production  team,  scoring  hits  for/with  Janet  Jackson, 
Patti  Austin,  the  S.O.S.  Band,  Force  M.D.'s,  Human 
League  and  many  others. 

The  group's  three  original  albums  alternate  between 
straight,  infectious  dance-funk  tunes  and  extended  jams 
punctuated  by  all  sorts  of  silly  business.  Day's  person- 
ality informs  all  the  tracks,  filling  them  with  sharp- 
dressed  sex-machine  jive,  but  occasionally  allowing  a 
glimpse  of  the  self-effacing  chump  who  realizes  that 
having  an  onstage  valet  (Jerome  Benton)  to  hold  the 
mirror  for  on-site  preening  is  a  satire  on  just  that  smug- 
ness. 

Although  What  Time  Is  It?  boasts  "777-93 11 "  and 
the  pose-heavy  "Gigolos  Get  Lonely  Too,"  Ice  Cream 
Castle  is  the  best  of  the  three,  a  six-track  party  that 
includes  the  signature  dance  groove,  "Jungle  Love," 
which  the  Time  performed  in  a  memorable  Purple  Rain 
club  sequence.  But  loving  is  the  Time's  speciality,  and 
Ice  Cream  Castle  lays  it  on  in  "If  the  Kid  Can't  Make 
You  Come"  and  "My  Drawers."  To  cap  off  this  diver- 
gent LP,  the  title  tune  is  fine  bubblegum  funk-pop. 

In  1990,  a  much-ballyhooed  reunion  brought  the  en- 
tire group  back  together,  somehow  coordinating  these 
stars*  broadly  developed  talents  into  a  solidly  entertain- 
ing record  of  new  material  that  is  unmistakably  Time- 
like.  Faced  with  the  challenge  of  getting  all  those  little 
time-release  pills  back  in  the  capsule,  Pandemonium 
comes  through  like  a  breeze,  fitting  Day's  beseechingly 
egotistical  humor,  patented  Jam/Lewis  dance  grooves 
and  Johnson's  psychedelic  funk  guitar  back  together  as 
if  nothing  had  happened.  [i] 

See  also  Morris  Day,  Jesse  Johnson's  Revue. 

TIMES 

Pop  Goes  Art!  (nr/Whaami)  1982  (nr/Artpopl)  1983  * 

This  Is  London  (nr/Artpopl)  1983 

I  Helped  Patrick  McGoohan  Escape  EP  (nr/Artpopl}  1983 

Hello  Europe  (nr/Artpopl}  1984 

Blue  Period  (nr/Artpopl)  1985 

Boys  About  Town  EP  (nr/Artpopl)  1 985 

Gol  With  the  Times  (Gen  Pastell)  1 985 


680 


Up  Against  It  (nr/Artpop!)  1 986 

Times  T.V.  EP  (nr/Rre)  1 986 

Enjoy  the  Times  (nr/Artpop!)  1 986 

Beat  Torture  (nr/Creation)  1 988  © 

E  for  Edward  (nr/Creation)  1 989  • 

Et  Dieu  Crea  la  Femme  (nr/Creation)  1 990  © 

Led  by  singer/songwnter  Edward  Ball  (original  co- 
conspirator  in  the  Television  Personalities  and  numer- 
ous related  endeavors  under  such  names  as  O  Level, 
Teenage  Filmstars,  etc.),  these  psychedelic  poseurs  set 
out  to  recapture  the  lightweight  pop  sounds  of 'swinging 
England  (circa  1967).  If  you  don't  mind  that  the  Times 
are  totally  derivative  and  enjoy  the  style  they  lift,  the 
group's  early  records  are  a  seamlessly  integrated  genre 
heist,  superb  examples  of  successful  nostalgia. 

The  low-budget  Pop  Goes  Art!  includes  the  mar- 
velously  kitsch  "I  Helped  Patrick  McGoohan  Escape" 
(a  song  the  group  has  repeatedly  re-recorded)  as  well  as 
appropriately  devised  creations  like  "Biff!  Bang!  Pow!" 
and  the  title  track.  (Despite  its  belated  German-only 
release,  Go!  With  the  Times  was  actually  recorded  in 
1980,  prior  to  Pop  Goes  Art!.) 

With  tunes  like  "Goodbye  Piccadilly"  and  "The 
Chimes  of  Big  Ben,"  This  Is  London  offers  convincing 
evidence  that  the  paisley-colored  '60s  are  back.  But  the 
Times  aren't  totally  unconnected  to  the  present:  the 
pointed  lyrics  of  "Whatever  Happened  to  Thamesbeat" 
offer  lucid  insight  into  the  neo-mod  revival. 

After  reading  British  playwright  Joe  Orton's  work, 
Ball  wrote  a  song  based  on  (and  titled  after)  Up  Against 
It,  a  screenplay  commissioned  and  discarded  by  the 
Beatles.  That  song  turned  up  on  the  six-song  Patrick 
McGoohan  EP,  along  with  a  new  version  of  the  title 
track  and  the  "Danger  Man  Theme." 

The  following  year,  Ball  and  Tony  Conway  of  Mood 
Six  wrote  and  attempted  to  mount  a  one-act  theatrical 
condensation  of  Up  Against  It;  in  1985,  they  co-directed 
a  complete  stage  production  of  Orton's  script,  incorpo- 
rating original  songs  Ball  had  written  for  it.  Those  were 
then  issued  as  Up  Against  It,  a  studio  LP  of  discrete 
power  pop  tunes  that  sound  very  noticeably  like  various 
well-known  artists,  including  the  Jam,  Beatles  and 
Bowie.  As  the  songs  are  linked  in  a  narrative  logic  that 
wants  for  an  explanatory  script,  it's  an  okay  album  but 
not  one  of  the  Times'  best.  (Other  than  Ball's  claim  that 
Joseph  Papp's  people  pinched  the  idea  from  him,  this 
project  is  musically  and  practically  unrelated  to  the  sub- 
sequent off-Broadway  musical  of  the  same  name,  scored 
byToddRundgren.) 

On  the  Times'  first  Creation  LP,  Bail  is  joined  by 
Jowe  Head  (ex-Swell  Map/occasional  TVP)  and  two 
members  of  Biff  Bang  Pow!,  including  Creation  boss 
Alan  McGee.  (Ball  also  plays  in  that  group  on  occa- 
sion. )  No  longer  beholden  to  any  specific  era  and  a  lot 
less  innocent-sounding  than  the  group's  old  records, 
Beat  Torture  is  an  uneven  mixture  of  light  pop,  mod- 
erate rock  and  heavy  psychedelia.  While  "Department 
Store,"  the  old-fashioned  "It  Had  to  Happen"  and  the 
strange  "How  to  Start  Your  Own  Country"  are  notable, 
too  much  of  the  record  is  halfbaked  and  disposable. 

E  for  Edward  is  a  Ball  solo  album  in  all  but  name. 
Although  the  set-up  encourages  too  many  wispy  acous- 
tic numbers  of  little  effect,  solitude  seems  to  agree  with 
him.  Highlights  of  this  simple  but  skillfully  produced 
LP  include  the  contemporary  scene  tableau  of 


"Manchester,"  the  witty  T.  Rex  pisstake  of  "Catherine 
Wheel"  and  the  wry  cinematic  parody  of  "French  Film 
Blurred."  In  keeping  with  the  album's  drug-oriented 
title,  the  record  closes  with  "Acid  Angel  of  Ecstasy,"  a 
character  study  hissed  over  oscillating  tremolo  guitar. 
From  there,  it  was  only  a  drop,  trip  and  a  thump  to  the 
Love  Corporation,  a  nom-de-dance  under  which  Ball 
released  a  1990  acid-house  EP.  [i] 

See  also  Biff  Bang  Pow!,  Television  Personalities. 

See  Afrika  Bambaataa. 

SALLY  TIMMS  AND  THE 
DRIFTING  COWGIRLS 

See  Mekons. 

TINA  PEEL 

See  Fuzztones. 

TIN  HUEY 

Contents  Dislodged  During  Shipment  (Warner  Bros.)  1 979 
This  sextet  of  eccentrics  from  Akron,  Ohio  were 
more  eclectic  and  musicianly  than  their  local  colleagues. 
The  Hueys'  stunning  should-have-been-a-hit  version  of 
the  Monkees'  "I'm  a  Believer"  (included  on  the  al- 
bum) was  inspired  by  Robert  Wyatt's  re-arrangement, 
and  the  band  owes  a  nod  to  Frank  Zappa  as  well.  Yet 
their  blend  of  blues,  jazz  and  progressive  rock  is  hilar- 
iously unique,  offering  up  a  warped  vision  of  Middle 
America.  For  Tin  Huey,  "weekends  in  my  Lay-zee 
Boy"  (from  "Hump  Day")  might  be  punctuated  by  the 
discovery  of  a  car  filled  with  doll  heads  ("Puppet 
Wipes");  a  surreal  "Chinese  Circus"  comes  to  town; 
they  even  admit  to  fantasies  of  technological  megalo- 
mania ( '  *I  Could  Rule  the  World  If  I  Could  Only  Get  the 
Parts"— -later  the  title  of  a  mini-LP  by  the  Waitresses). 
After  Tin  Huey's  artistically  fruitful  (but  commer- 
cially hopeless)  one-album  career  ended,  various  mem- 
bers went  on  to  pursue  other  projects,  the  most  notable 
of  which  are  guitarist  Chris  Butler's  creation,  the  Wait- 
resses, and  multi-horn  wizard  Ralph  Carney's  Swollen 
Monkeys,  [jg] 

See  also  Carney-Hild-Kramer,  Swollen  Monkeys, 
Waitresses, 

TIN  MACHINE 

See  David  Bowie, 

TIN  TIN 

See  Stephen  Duffy. 

TINY  LIGHTS 

Prayer  for  the  Halcyon  Fear  (Uriel)  1 986  (Absolute  A  Go 

Go)  1990* 

Hazel's  Wreath  (Gaia)  1 988  * 
Hot  Chocolate  Massage  (Absolute  A  Go  Go)  1 990  * 

While  the  brand  of  fragUe,  childlike  folk-pop  em- 
braced by  this  Hew  Jersey  quintet  has  led  many  a  sin- 
cere young  combo  down  the  garden  path  of  pretension 


681 


and  preciousness,  Tiny  Lights  possesses  the  talent  and 
personality  to  execute  the  style  with  just  the  right  blend 
of  innocence  and  smarts,  as  well  as  a  minimum  of  self- 
consciousness.  In  addition  to  a  fulltime  cellist  (the 
much-borrowed  Jane  Scarpantoni)  and  a  rhythm  section 
that  doubles  on  horns,  the  lineup  boasts  a  distinctive 
frontwoman  in  singer/ violinist  Donna  Croughn,  who 
collaborates  on  the  band's  songwriting  with  guitarist 
John  Hamilton. 

Prayer  for  the  Halcyon  Fear  is  a  delightful  debut, 
alternately  delicate  ("Flowers  Through  the  Air,"  "Blue 
Dot  Cleanser")  and  rocking  ("Zippity-Do-Dah," 
"Chesterfield  Gorge"),  with  a  mildly  psychedelic  sense 
of  play  that  sets  the  band  apart.  (Inexplicably,  this  un- 
pretentious, accessible  record  was  issued  in  the  UK  by 
Psychic  TV's  Temple  label.) 

Hazel's  Wreath  lacks  its  predecessor's  giddy  sense 
of  discovery,  but  is  a  solid  mix  of  solemnity  and  aban- 
don (often  within  the  same  song,  as  on  "Grown-up 
Fish"  and  "The  Bridge").  Following  Hazel's  Wreath, 
Tiny  Lights  recorded  a  third  album,  Know  It  You  Love, 
but  Gaia  folded  before  issuing  it. 

The  band  recut  two  of  the  unreleased  album's  songs 
for  the  wonderful  Hot  Chocolate  Massage,  obviously 
the  work  of  a  mature,  confident  group  that's  eclectic  yet 
consistently  focused,  romantic  without  being  sappy.  The 
combination  of  lilting  pastoral  tunes  ("Moonwhite 
Day,"  "Big  Straw  Hat")  and  heavier  numbers 
("Wave,"  "After  All")  once  again  proves  that  sincer- 
ity needn't  be  dull.  [hd] 


TIREZ  TiREZ 

Etudes  (nr/Object  Music)  1980  (nr/Aura)  1981 
Story  of  the  Year  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 983 
Social  Responsibility  (Primitive  Man)  1987  ® 
Against  All  Flags  (Primitive  Man)  1988  « 

MIKEL  ROUSE  BROKEN 
CONSORT 

Jade  Tiger  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 983 

A  Walk  in  the  Woods  (Bel.  Made  to  Measure)  1 985 

(Club  Soda)  1 985  « 
A  Lincoln  Portrait  (Cuneiform)  1 988 

MIKEL  ROUSE 

Quorom  (Club  Soda)  1984 

BLA1NE  L.  RE1NINGER/ 
MIKEL  ROUSE 

Colorado  Suite  EP  (Bel.  Made  to  Measure)  1 984  « 

The  French  nom  to  the  contrary,  Mikel  Rouse  orig- 
inally formed  his  trio  in  Kansas  City,  relocating  it  to 
New  York  in  1979.  As  a  singer,  Rouse  shows  promise, 
but  Etudes  borrows  far  too  much  from  early  Talking 
Heads  to  be  accused  of  originality  and  is  rhythmically 
monotonous  to  boot.  Following  a  Belgian  LP  release, 
Tirez  Tirez  released  a  12-inch  on  Sire  before  finding  an 
American  label  to  put  out  the  group's  third  album, 

Except  for  bass  (credit  James  Bergman )»  Rouse 
sings  and  plays  (keyboards,  guitars,  drum  programs) 
Social  Responsibility  singlehandedly;  he  wrote  all  nine 
songs  and  co-produced  it  as  well.  Not  surprisingly, 
there's  a  certain  sluggish  insularity  to  the  music,  an 
audible  lack  of  human  interaction.  But  when  Rouse's 
over-educated  structuralism  succumbs  to  the  uplifting 


pop  momentum,  Tirez  makes  for  attractive,  intelligent 
listening. 

Against  All  Flags  is  the  first  Tirez  Tirez  record  to 
feature  a  full  band,  and  the  difference  in  feel  (not  to 
mention  the  filled-out  sound)  is  immediately  apparent. 
Rouse's  writing  here  shows  as  much  heart  as  craft,  and 
the  result  is  a  batch  of  very  engaging  tunes  that  are  still 
compositionally  rigorous.  A  great  pop  record. 

Rouse  also  records  with  a  forward-thinking  chamber 
quartet,  Broken  Consort.  Jade  Tiger  shares  definite  af- 
finities with  the  work  of  Steve  Reich,  and  features  a 
snappy  but  mellifluous  soprano  sax  sound  that  has  un- 
fortunately been  appropriated  by  the  new  age  crowd. 
Succeeding  Broken  Consort  records — A  Walk  in  the 
Woods  and  A  Lincoln  Portrait — find  Rouse  growing 
bolder  and  more  intricate  in  his  compositions.  While 
he's  a  composer  of  undeniable  and  substantial  gifts,  his 
work  has  gotten  lost  in  the  crossdrifts  of  contemporary 
classical  music,  not  really  bare-boned  enough  to  be 
called  minimal  and  too  easy  on  the  ears  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  academic  crowd.  (Initially  released  by 
Belgium's  Crammed  Discs  as  part  of  its  Made  to  Mea- 
sure series,  A  Walk  in  the  Woods  was  joined  on  CD 
with  Colorado  Suite,  Rouse's  joint  album  with  Tuxe- 
domoon  violinist  Blaine  L.  Reininger. ) 

Released  under  his  own  name  on  his  own  Club  Soda 
label,  Quorum  is  an  interesting  but  extremely  dry  solo 
composition  for  Linndrum.  [jy/i/gk] 

See  also  Tuxedomoon. 

TOADSTOOL 

See  Magnolias. 

TOAD  THE  WET  SPROCKET 

Bread  and  Circus  (Abe's-Columbia)  1 989  * 
Pale  (Abe's-Columbia)  1990  « 

Accidentally  caught  in  the  nets  of  a  major  label 
trawling  the  alternative  (aka  college-radio)  waters  for 
hip  credibility  and  the  next  R.E.M.,  this  mild  Santa 
Barbara,  California  quartet  plays  perfectly  competent 
pop  without  a  shred  of  personality.  Except  for  the  silly 
name  (borrowed  from  a  Monty  Python  sketch)  and  a 
close  demographic  resemblance  to  their  target  audience 
of  bright  white  suburban  middle-class  kids,  Toad  the 
Wet  Sprocket  is  as  countercultural  as  skim  milk,  and 
every  drop  as  exciting.  Bread  and  Circus  reveals  gui- 
tarist Glen  Phillips'  passing  vocal  similarity  to  Elton 
John;  when  bassist  Dean  Dinning  joins  in  to  harmonize, 
the  dread  ghost  of  California  lite-rock  lurks  in  the 
grooves. 

With  producer  Marvin  Etzioni  adding  a  mature 
sheen  and  semi-acoustic  restraint,  Pale  turns  bland  pop 
into  dire  singer/songwriter  tepidity,  underscoring  the 
gravity  of  the  marketers*  miscalculation.  Anyone  who 
finds  this  stimulating  needs  to  get  out  more.  [i] 

TO  DAMASCUS 

Succumb  (Ringent)  1 986 

Come  to  Your  Senses  (Ringent-Restless)  1 987 

SYLVIA  JUNCOSA 

Nature  (SST)  1988« 

One  Thing  (Nate  Starkman  &  Son-Fundamental)  1 989 


682 


Originally  a  keyboardist,  LA's  Sylvia  Juncosa 
switched  to  guitar  and  formed  To  Damascus  after  leav- 
ing Leaving  Trains  and  touring  with  Kendra  Smith  and 
David  Roback  in  Clay  Allison.  (She  also  concurrently 
played  guitar  in  SWA.)  Succumb,  her  trio's  ragged  first 
album,  contains  undistinguished  post-punk.  Juncosa' s  a 
carefree,  marble-mouthed  singer  and  a  solid  rhythm  gui- 
tarist but  a  sloppy  soloist  with  few  original  ideas;  the 
rhythm  section  does  its  part  adequately,  but  no  more. 

The  lyncs  on  Come  to  Your  Senses  indicate  Jun- 
cosa's  evocative  talent  for  expressing  alienation  and  dis- 
affection in  unusual  ways;  her  organ  and  piano 
contributions  leaven  the  much-improved  hyperactive 
guitar  smears  (if  not  her  dubious  singing).  The  inclusion 
of  acoustic  creations  with  strings  and  things  offer  help- 
ful variety  but  are  also  limited  in  appeal  by  wobbly 
vocals.  A  creative  focal  point  and  stronger  songwriting 
would  have  helped,  as  Ethan  James'  co-production  fills 
the  LP  with  layers  of  energizing  aggression  that  are  left 
hanging  like  burning  wallpaper. 

With  a  new  bassist  and  drummer  in  tow,  Juncosa 
initiated  her  solo  career  with  Nature,  a  relatively  ac- 
complished guitar  demonstration,  covering  everything 
from  waves  of  psychedelic  noise  to  gentle  acoustic  fin- 
gerpicking.  It's  interesting  to  watch  this  burgeoning  fret 
technician  find  her  feet  as  well  as  her  chops:  "Lick  My 
Pussy,  Eddie  Van  Halen"  makes  it  clear  that  today's 
guitar  hero  doesn't  need  a  penis  to  have  balls.  She 
should  really  refrain  from  singing,  however:  her  uncer- 
tain Onoesque  warble  does  nothing  to  improve  the  in- 
strumental showcases. 

A  change  of  producers  and  sidernen  on  the  thick- 
sounding  One  Thing  gives  Juncosa  new-found  stylistic 
focus  and  brings  her  a  step  closer  to  metal.  But  unfail- 
ingly horrid  vocals  undercut  the  music's  larger-than-life 
potential.  Her  instrumental  skills  steadily  improving, 
Juncosa  desperately  needs  to  hitch  her  britches  to  a  band 
with  a  real  singer  and  a  more  talented  songwriter,  [i] 

See  also  SWA. 


TODAY  WONDER 

See  Laughing  Clowns. 


TOKEN  ENTRY 

Ready  or  Not  Here  We  Come  EP  (Tumstyle  Tunes)  1 985 
From  Beneath  the  Streets  (Positive  Force)  1 987 
Jaybird  (Hawker)  1 988  • 
The  Weight  of  the  World  (Emerge)  1 990  <!> 

Formed  in  1980  as  Gilligan's  Revenge  and  renamed 
in  1984,  Queens'  Token  Entry  has  survived  a  number  of 
lineup  changes  (drummer  Ernie  Parada  is  the  only  re- 
maining original  member)  to  become  one  of  New  York 
City's  most  versatile  and  respected  skatepunk  groups. 
With  vocalist  Anthony  Comunale  (now  fronting  Killing 
Time),  the  quartet  released  the  7-inch  Ready  or  Not  EP 
in  '86:  all  four  tracks  resurfaced  on  the  first  LP,  but  with 
Timmy  Chunks  snagging  the  mic.  Despite  Tim's  off- 
key  moments,  his  exuberance  propels  the  band,  espe- 
cially on  "Look  Around,"  "Over  You**  and  "The 
Edge."  Between  bullets  of  unrefined  energy  lurks  a 
sense  of  melody,  streaks  of  tempo  changes  and  guitarist 
Mickey  NeaTs  metallic  twist. 


Produced  by  Bad  Brains  guitarist  Dr.  Know  (Gary 
Miller),  Jaybird  anchors  the  Token  Entry  rhythm  sec- 
tion and  inflates  the  overall  sound.  Most  of  the  high- 
lights are  on  Side  One:  the  raging  opener  ( "The  Fire"), 
the  infectious  chants  on  "The  Bright  Side"  and  the 
guitars  that  spiral  through  "The  Whip."  The  flipside 
glides  into  a  more  basic  rock  groove  with  some  psyche- 
delics  on  "Pink  Things"  and  the  CD  bonus  track,  an 
off-the-cuff  cover  of  "Bom  to  Be  Wild."  Sticking  with 
Dr.  Know  but  debuting  a  new  bassist  and  a  different 
guitar  player,  Weight  of  the  World  adds  a  bit  of  Chili 
Peppers  thrash-funk  to  Token  Entry's  expanding  stylis- 
tic repertoire.  [mg] 

RUSS  TOLMAN 

Totem  Poles  and  Glory  Holes  (Down  There-Restless)  1986 
Down  in  Earthquake  Town  (nr/Demon)  1988  (Skyclad) 
1989® 

THE  TOTEM 

POLEMEN 

Goodbye  Joe  (Skyclad)  1 990  ® 

The  (intentionally?)  shoddy  self-production  on 
former  True  West  leader  Tolman's  eccentric  solo  debut 
covers  up  any  of  the  guitarist's  potential  vocal  inade- 
quacies in  a  blur  of  flat,  boomy  sound;  there's  enough 
echo  on  the  rhythm  section  to  fill  the  Grand  Canyon. 
(Maybe  that's  where  this  was  recorded.)  Fortunately, 
Toiman's  spirit  and  songwriting  aptitude  are  strong  even 
if  the  audio  is  weak — cheap  bootleg  ambience  only  adds 
to  the  outlaw  fun. 

On  Down  in  Earthquake  Town,  Tolraan  takes  the 
opposite  extreme:  such  production  frills  as  horns,  girl- 
group  singers,  accordion  and  mandolin  give  the  songs 
buoyancy  and  lightness.  Tolman's  voice  is  thin  and 
twangy,  like  a  Fender  Telecaster.  With  songs  about 
"Vegas,"  "Palm  Tree  Land"  and  other  scenes  from  the 
West  Coast  underbelly,  Earthquake  Town  has  a  kind 
of  slouchy  sleaziness,  songs  of  slot  machines  and  crum- 
bling relationships. 

Goodbye  Joe  falls  somewhere  between  its  prede- 
cessors, more  polished  than  Totem  Poles  but  packing 
more  of  a  rock  wallop  than  Earthquake  Town.  Tolman 
finally  seems  to  have  settled  into  a  solo  persona — & 
slightly  nostalgic,  world-weary  Everyguy  who's  willing 
to  let  dreams  and  reminiscences  serve  as  his  adventures. 
The  imagery  of  bends  in  the  road  and  rainbows  mined 
for  pots  of  gold  may  not  be  new,  but  Tolman  gives  them 
resonance  and  authenticity.  [i/kss] 

See  also  True  West. 

ED  TOMNEY/JONATHAN 
BOROFSKY 

See  Rage  to  Live. 

TOM  TOM  CLUB 

Tom  Tom  Club  (Sire)  1981  • 

Close  to  the  Bone  (Sire)  1 983 

Boom  Boom  Chi  Boom  Boom  (nr/Fontana)  1 988  (Sire) 

1989« 

Tom  Tom  Club  provides  light  refreshment  for  Talk- 
ing Heads  Tina  Weymouth  (bass)  and  her  husband  Chris 
Frantz  (drums).  Although  their  friend-filled  albums  ap- 


683 


pear  during  lulls  in  Heads  activity,  the  first  gained  its 
own  momentum  with  two  popular  dance  tracks:  '*  Wordy 
Rappinghood"  and  "Genius  of  Love."  Weymouth  and 
her  three  sisters'  airy  vocals  sound  delightfully  innocent 
over  steady  but  unthreatemng  rhythm.  Close  to  the 
Bone  continues  in  the  same  whimsical  and  sensitive 
vein  (e.g.,  "Pleasure  of  Love").  Both  records  skirt 
cloyingness,  saved  by  the  Tom  Tommers'  selfcon- 
sciousness. 

Two  of  the  four  Weymouth  sisters  dropped  out  after 
Close  to  the  Bone,  leaving  a  less  distinctive  vocal  sig- 
nature. Beware  the  British  version  of  Boom  Boom  CM 
Boom  Boom;  the  band  obviously  did,  replacing  four  of 
its  ten  songs  for  the  domestic  release.  The  new  tracks, 
all  during  the  first  half,  build  up  a  serious  power  surge 
without  sacrificing  danceability.  (One  of  these,  "I  Con- 
fess," is  a  total  overhaul  of  "Mighty  Teardrop"  from 
the  British  album.)  So  if  you're  denied  the  chance  to 
hear  Frantz  declaim  Bob  Dylan's  "She  Belongs  to  Me," 
you  still  get  the  drummer's  audacious  "Challenge  of  the 
Love  Warriors" — heavy  breathing  looped  with 
percussion — and  all  the  Talking  Heads  plus  Lou  Reed 
performing  the  latter 's  "Femrne  Fatale."  The  track- 
switching  had  no  effect  on  Boom  Boom  Chi  Boom 
Boom's  US  success  (minimal),  but  considerably  im- 
proved an  album  that,  like  its  predecessors,  is  as  much 
fun  for  as  deep  as  you  care  to  listen.  (The  US  CD  adds 
one  bonus  track.)  [si] 

See  also  Talking  Heads. 


TONE-LOC 

Loc-ed  After  Dark  (Delicious  Vinyl-Island)  1 989  • 

Never  underestimate  the  power  of  a  solid  left  hook 
or  the  importance  of  a  good  corner  man:  the  nagging 
guitar  figures  in  "Wild  Thing"  (sampled  from  Eddie 
Van  Halen)  and  "Funky  Cold  Medina"  (both  co-written 
by  Marvin  Young,  aka  Young  MC)  helped  make  the 
unmistakable  hoarse  voice  of  LA's  likable  Tone-Loc 
(Tony  Smith)  a  radio  staple  in  1989  and  Loc-ed  After 
Dark  the  second  rap  album  (after  the  Beastie  Boys)  to 
top  the  pop  charts.  The  LP  has  both  of  the  hits  (includ- 
ing an  unexpurgated  "Wild  Thing"),  an  ode  to  pot 
("Cheeba  Cheeba")  and  more  of  the  same  lighthearted 
party  fun,  all  delivered  with  Loc's  engaging  good  hu- 
mor, [i] 


TONES  ON  TAIL 

Tones  on  Tail  EP  (nr/4AD)  1982 

Burning  Skies  EP  (nr/Sifuation  Two)  1 983 

Top'  (nr/Beggars  Banquet)  1984  (Beggars  Banquet-PVQ 

1986* 

Tones  on  Tail  (nr/Situation  Two)  1 985 
Night  Music  [CD]  (Beggar*  Banquet-PVQ  1987  « 
Tones  on  Tail  (Beggars  Banquet-RCA)  1 990  <J> 

Originally  formed  in  1981  as  a  duo  of  Bauhaus  gui- 
tarist Daniel  Ash  and  Bauhaus  roadie-tumed-bassist 
Glenn  Campling,  Tones  on  Tail  was  a  generally  inter- 
esting, shortlived  experiment  in  various  styles.  When 
the  parent  group  called  it  a  day  in  1983,  Ash  chose  to 
make  this  modest  side  project  a  going  concern,  and 
Bauhaus  drummer  Kevin  Haskins  hopped  aboard  to 
make  it  a  fulltime  trio. 


Tones  on  Tail,  a  full-length  album  stitched  together 
from  the  band's  first  three  records — the  initial  self-titled 
EP,  "There's  Only  One"  45  and  the  Burning  Skies  EP 
(Haskins'  ToT  debut) — careens  from  languid,  whis- 
pered rock  to  jumpy  light  funk  to  spare  atmospheric 
soundtracks,  and  offers  very  little  songwnting  content, 
merely  scanty  ideas  in  service  of  largely  pointless  studio 
fiddling. 

But  while  'Pop' — the  trio's  only  actual  album — 
reveals  some  draggy  recidivist  Bauhaus  tendencies,  it 
also  has  real  songs  of  modern  music  that  show  taste, 
delicacy  and  moderate  imagination.  "Lions,"  for  in- 
stance, roams  an  attractively  light  synth-samba  range 
while  proffering  lyrics  like  "Lions  always  hit  the 
heights/'Cause  to  kill  it's  always  the  easy  way  out." 
Say  what?  The  multi-movement  "Real  Life"  blends 
acoustic  guitar  picking  with  hushed  vocals,  angry  lyrics 
and  weird  sound  effects — neo-Yes?  (The  US  version  is 
revised,  with  the  replacement  of  three  tracks  by  subse- 
quent singles,  including  "Go!,"  a  B-side  that  took  off 
in  American  clubs,  and  "Christian  Says.") 

Ash  became  unsatisfied  with  Campling,  however, 
and  after  a  US  tour  in  the  fall  of  '84,  Tones  on  Tail  was 
shelved.  At  this  point,  on  the  heels  of  erstwhile  Bauhaus 
bassist  David  J.'s  departure  from  the  Jazz  Butcher  and 
the  utter  failure  of  Peter  Murphy's  experiment  with  Dalis 
Car,  a  full-scale  Bauhaus  reunion  was  planned.  When 
Murphy  backed  out,  the  three  remaining  members  de- 
cided to  continue  under  the  name  Love  and  Rockets. 

With  the  admonition  *  'don't  rock — wobble, ' '  the  72- 
minute  Night  Music  CD  compiles  sixteen  previously 
released  items,  including  most  of  Top',  half  of  Tones 
on  Tail,  the  wonderfully  bent  dance  kineticism  of 
"Go!"  and  a  horrible,  bootleg-quality  live  "Heartbreak 
Hotel."  Three  years  later,  the  same  basic  assortment  of 
tracks  was  repackaged,  under  the  weary  title  of — you 
guessed  it — Tones  on  Tail,  This  latest  compilation 
(seventeen  tracks  on  CD;  the  cassette  adds  "Rain,"  "A 
Bigger  Splash"  and  "Means  of  Escape")  gets  the  slight 
nod  over  Night  Music,  as  it  has  some  different  tracks 
(replacing  "Heartbreak  Hotel"  with  the  stellar  single 
"Performance"  and  adding  two  others)  and  liner  notes 
instead  of  a  lyric  booklet.  [i/gef] 

See  also  Bauhaus,  Love  and  Rockets, 


WINSTON  TONG 

See  Tuxedomoon. 


TOO  MUCH  JOY 

Green  Eggs  and  Crack  (Stonegarden)  1987 

Son  of  Sam  i  Am  (Alias)  1 988  (Alias-Giant-Wamer  Bros.) 

1990* 
Cereal  Killers  (Aiias-Giant-Warner  Bros,)  1991  4» 

Bands  comprised  of  young  suburban  smartalecks  are 
frequently  too  clever  by  half,  tripping  over  themselves 
in  endless  demonstrations  of  irony.  This  flip  quartet 
from  Scarsdale,  New  York*  however,  is  just  clever 
enough.  Playing  charming,  melodic  guitar  rock  (devel- 
oping a  surprising  hip-hop  consciousness  along  the 
way),  TMJ  carefully  navigates  the  funny-rock  straits 
between  making  jokes  and  being  one,  occasionally 
showing  flashes  of  inspiration. 


684 


Despite  inconsistent  production,  the  unassuming 
Green  Eggs  and  Crack  (assembled  from  four  years' 
worth  of  sessions)  is  a  neat  little  pop  record.  In  a  per- 
sonable boy-next-door  voice,  Tim  Quirk  sings  entertain- 
ing wry  odes  to  "James  Dean's  Jacket,"  bogus 
cartography  ("Map  Like  Mine"),  romance  ("Bored 
with  Love")  and  malt  liquor  ("No  Beer")  that  are  each 
worth  a  smile  or  three. 

Sharpening  both  instrumental  skills  and  songwriting 
wit,  TMJ  hit  their  stride  on  Son  of  Sam  I  Am,  an 
accomplished  rock  album  that  mixes  silly  history  les- 
sons ("My  Past  Lives,"  "1964"),  snotty  social  (un-) 
consciousness  ("Making  Fun  of  Bums")  and  a  poke  at 
fallen  rock  idols  ("Hugo!")  with  an  impressive  melodic 
rewrite  of  L.L.  Cool  J's  "That's  a  Lie"  that  elevates 
dishonesty  to  an  art.  The  1990  CD/cassette  reissue  sub- 
stitutes a  remix  of  "That's  a  Lie,"  removes  the  bor- 
rowed Bozo  intro  to  "Clowns"  and  adds  two:  a  cover  of 
Terry  Jacks'  "Seasons  in  the  Sun"  and  a  tribute  to  the 
Mekons. 

Produced  by  Paul  Fox  (who  did  XTC's  Oranges  & 
Lemons),  Cereal  Killers  organizes  TMJ's  maturing  hu- 
mor and  instrumental  skills  into  presentable  catchy  col- 
lege rock.  Whether  griping  goodnaturedly  about  the 
unfair  seductive  advantage  of  Britons  ("Long  Haired 
Guys  from  England"),  recounting  a  sorry  vacation  story 
("Thanksgiving  in  Reno")  or  revisiting  a  favorite  topic 
("King  of  Beers,"  sure  to  become  a  frat-house  classic), 
the  band's  puppy-dog  personality  makes  Cereal  Killers 
a  lightweight  smileathon.  [i] 


TOO  SHORT 

Life  Is  ...  Too  $hort  (Dangerous  Music-RCA)  1 988  * 

Born  to  Mack  (Dangerous  Music-Jive)  1 989  • 

Short  Dog's  in  the  House  (Dangerous  Music-Jive)  1990  ® 

Without  suggesting  that  he's  emblematic  of  Califor- 
nia's early  slow-to-grow  rap  scene,  Oakland's  Too  Short 
(Todd  Shaw)  is  a  jimmy-come-lately  cliche*  of  routine 
beats  and  halfhearted  generic  sex'n'gold  rhymes.  While 
half  of  the  debut  is  harmless/worthless  autobiography, 
playboy  tracks  like  "Pimp  the  Ho"  and  "CussWords" 
(on  the  X-rated  side  of  Life  Is  ...  )  are  crude  and 
stupid, 

Born  to  Mack  has  slightly  better  tracks  (thanks  in 
part  to  a  scratch  DJ  on  the  job),  but  nothing  more  in- 
tellectually stimulating  to  offer  than  jailbait  troubles  (in 
"Little  Girls")  and  the  ever- willing  big-booty  fantasies 
of  "Freaky  Tales"  (essentially  a  nasty  hip-hop  answer 
to  the  Nails'  "88  Lines  About  44  Women"). 

Too  Short  wised  up  a  bit  on  the  third  album,  keeping 
his  hot  dog  zipped  up  (except  in  the  dubious  joke  of 
"Pimpology")  to  reveal  a  solid  social  conscience,  re- 
peatedly attacking  crack  (especially  in  "The  Ghetto,"  a 
mushy  soul  track  ruined  by  an  absurdly  sung  refrain) 
and  making  a  clever  statement  against  censorship  in 
"Ain't  Nothin*  but  a  Word  to  Me,"  a  two-team  perfor- 
mance with  Ice  Cube  that  intentionally  obliterates  the 
pair's  stream  of  profanity  with  maddening  beeps,  [i] 


TOP  JIMMY  &  THE  RHYTHM 
PIGS 

Pigus  Drunkus  Maximus  (Down  There-ResHess)  1987 


Chris  Moms'  LP  liner  notes  characterize  Top  Jimmy 
as  a  legendary  live  attraction  in  Los  Angeles,  a  true-blue 
white  bluesman  with  a  wide,  star-studded  following. 
(Van  Halen  wrote  and  recorded  a  song  about  him  on 
1984.)  Regardless  of  where  the  burly  singer  and  his 
crackerjack  band  (unrelated  to  the  Texas  Rhythm  Pigs) 
come  from,  it's  easy  enough  to  hear  where  they're 
going — straight  into  the  history  books,  for  playing  blues 
and  old-fashioned  rock'n'roll  with  more  electric  pa- 
nache and  gusto  than  almost  anyone  else  currently  on 
the  scene.  Covering  Merle  Haggard,  Bob  Dylan,  Willie 
Dixon  and  Jimi  Hendrix  with  unwavering  comprehen- 
sion and  equally  enthusiastic  sweaty  abandon,  these  no- 
shit  bar-busters  turn  their  debut  LP  into  a  resounding 
lesson  on  how  it's  s'posed  to  be  done.  Steve  Berlin 
produced  and  plays  sax;  guest  star  Don  Bonebrake  (of 
X)  does  most  of  the  drumming.  [i] 

See  William  Orbit. 

Toure  Kunda  (Fr.  Celluloid)  1981  (Celluloid)  1987  ® 
£m'ma  Africa  (Les  Freres  Griots)  (Fr.  Celluloid)  1 982 

(Celluloid)  1 987  • 
Amadou-Tilo  (Celluloid)  1984 
Casamance  au  Clair  de  Lune  (Celluloid)  1984  ® 
Live  PartV-Ziguinchor  (Celluloid)  1984  • 
Natalia  (Celluloid)  1985® 
81 782  [CD]  (Celluloid)  1986® 
83/84  [CD]  (Celluloid)  1986  ® 
Karadindi  (Celluloid)  1 988  « 

The  international  appeal  of  Senegal's  Toure" 
brothers — Ismaila,  Sixu  Tidiane  and  Ousmane — must 
be  attributed  in  large  part  to  their  soothingly  mellifluous 
voices,  tones  that  wash  over  the  listener  like  warm  milk. 
Of  course,  their  sultry  and  tasteful  integration  of  Afro- 
urban  and  Western  dance  music  have  something  to  do 
with  it  too.  Like  traditional  griot  songs  (they  themselves 
belong  to  the  artisan  class),  many  of  their  lyrics  consist 
of  simple  reflections  on  nature  and  family  life.  But  after 
first  performing  on  such  traditional  instruments  as  bal- 
afon  and  kora,  they  gradually  integrated  electric  guitars 
and  keyboards  into  their  arrangements. 

Their  first  album,  Toure"  Kunda,  contains  beautiful 
melodies  over  reggae  and  Arabic  rhythms,  along  with 
unobtrusive  hints  of  rock  music.  £m'ma  Africa,  fea- 
turing the  music  of  Sixu  and  Ismaila,  has  a  notable 
Jamaican  influence, 

Amadou-Tilo  memorializes  Amadou  Toure",  who 
died  (reportedly  from  exhaustion)  in  1983,  The  group 
next  recorded  an  acoustic  album  of  traditional  songs, 
Casamance  au  Clair  de  Lune,  before  going  high-tech 
(with  Fairlight  synthesizers!)  under  the  sway  of  pro- 
ducer Bill  Laswell  and  his  studio  regulars  (including 
former  Parliament  keyboardist  Bernie  Worrell,  guitarist 
Nicky  Skopelitis  and  drummer  A'fyb  Dieng)  on  Natalia. 
The  live  album,  recorded  at  various  dates  in  Western 
Africa  around  the  end  of  1983,  includes  sparkling  per- 
formances of  songs  from  Amadou-Tilo,  as  well  as  ear- 
lier albums.  The  Toures  are  backed  by  a  female  singer 
and  six  musicians,  playing  keyboards,  sax,  flute,  guitar, 
bass  and  drums.  81/82  and  83/84  are  compilations. 


6S5 


TOURISTS 

The  Tourists  (nr/Logo)  1979 

Reality  Effect  (nr/Logo)  1979  (Epic)  1979 

Luminous  Basement  ( Epic)  1 980 

Tourists  (nr/RCAInfl)  1981 

Should  Have  Been  Greatest  Hits  (Epic)  1 984  • 

In  light  of  Dave  Stewart  and  Annie  Lennox's  sub- 
sequent work  as  Eurythmics,  the  Tourists  were  remark- 
ably low  on  vitality  and  originality,  content  to  rehash 
'60s  American  acid  and  folk-rock.  Symptomatic  of  the 
quintet's  shortcomings,  the  crowning  achievement  of 
their  three  albums  was  a  dull  remake  of  Dusty  Spring- 
field's "I  Only  Want  to  Be  with  You." 

Lennox,  who  later  proved  to  be  a  far  more  expres- 
sive vocalist,  here  sings  with  strength  but  no  character; 
duets  with  guitarist  Peet  Coombes  (the  band's  primary 
songwriter)  resemble  the  Jefferson  Airplane.  Elsewhere, 
the  group  recalls  It's  a  Beautiful  Day,  the  Byrds,  Ma- 
mas and  Papas,  the  Who  and  others.  The  Tourists  were 
so  busy  aping  others  that  if  they  had  had  a  personality  to 
call  their  own,  they  probably  wouldn't  have  known  what 
to  do  with  it.  It's  a  shame,  because  some  bands  have 
successfully  absorbed  and  adapted  these  same  musical 
prototypes  with  much  greater  elan.  At  their  best,  the 
Tourists  could  only  imitate.  (Proof  that  derivation  never 
ends,  The  Tourists'  mod-pop  "Blind  Among  the  Flow- 
ers" could  be  the  stylistic  blueprint  for  the  Primitives.) 

The  US  version  of  Reality  Effect  is  actually  a  mix- 
ture of  the  band's  first  two  British  releases.  Tourists 
(1981)  and  Should  Have  Been  Greatest  Hits  are  com- 
pilations, [i] 

See  also  Eurythmics. 

FRANK  TOVEY 

Snakes  &  Ladders  (Mute-Sire)  1 986  « 

The  Fad  Gadget  Singles  (Mute-Sire)  1 986  « 

Civilian  (Mute-Restless)  1 988  « 

Tyranny  and  the  Hired  Hand  (Mute-Restless)  1 989  • 

FRANK  TOVEY  &  THE  PYROS 

Grand  Union  (Mute)  1991  <t> 

FAD  GADGET 

Fireside  Favourites  (nr/Mute)  1980 
Incontinent  (nr/Mute)  1981 
Under  the  Flag  (nr/Mute)  1982 
Gag  (nr/Mute)  1984 

The  enigmatic  Frank  Tovey  (formerly  known  as  Fad 
Gadget)  is  a  creative  and  unpredictable  writer,  singer 
and  performer  whose  records  all  differ  considerably 
from  each  other;  he's  an  acquired  taste  with  little  con- 
sistency. After  an  eerie  second  45  ("Ricky's  Hand,"  on 
which  Mute  head  Daniel  Miller  contributes  synthesizer 
and  Fad  plays  a  "Black  and  Decker  V8  double  speed 
electric  drill"),  he  released  Fireside  Favourites,  an  al- 
bum that  closely  resembles  early  Human  League.  Ex- 
cept for  the  title  track,  which  bounces  along  cheerfully, 
the  basic  mixture  is  dour  vocals,  heavy,  repetitive  bass 
lines,  solid  drums  and  odd  noises.  Tacky  tunes  like 
"Coitus  Interraptus"  only  cheapen  the  proceedings. 

Incontinent,  which  pursues  the  grubbier  side  of  Fad 
Gadgetry,  employs  more  instrumental  variety  and  better 
production.  Forgetting  tripe  like  "Swallow  It*'  and  the 
charming  title  tune,  some  of  this  is  interesting  enough, 
but  none  is  really  involving;  overall,  the  self-indulgent 
album  rambles  incoherently, 


Taking  a  major  leap  towards  lyrical  and  musical 
maturity,  Under  the  Flag  joins  pristine  production  qual- 
ity with  a  no-nonsense  synth  drive  that  could  pass  for 
dance  music,  and  shows  absorption  of  a  mild  soul  in- 
fluence. (Then-labelmate  Alison  Moyet  sings  on  a  few 
tracks  and  even  adds  saxophone  to  one.)  The  funky 
approach  gives  Tovey  a  direct  and  accessible  sound,  but 
that's  not  necessarily  an  accomplishment — it's  hard  to 
avoid  the  feeling  that  he's  slumming  in  such  relatively 
commercial  seas. 

By  the  time  of  his  first  American  release,  Tovey  had 
retired  his  alter-ego.  The  lively  dance-rock — solid  beats, 
strong  synth  lines,  spurious  electronic  noises  and  occa- 
sional guitar  solos  and  funk  bass — on  Snakes  &  Lad- 
ders alternately  suggests  contemporaneous  Wire  and 
Human  League,  but  Tovey  can  hardly  be  accused  of 
imitating  anyone.  His  sense  of  humor  makes  "Collaps- 
ing New  People"  (retrieved  from  the  British-only  Gag) 
a  satiric  treat;  "Luxury"  and  the  poetic  but  dull  "Small 
World"  display  an  unexpectedly  serious  and  mature 
side. 

The  Fad  Gadget  Singles  offers  eleven  peeks  at 
Tovey's  past,  from  his  overlong  and  rudimentary  1979 
debut  ("Back  to  Nature"  b/w  "The  Box")  and 
"Ricky's  Hand"  to  1984's  "Collapsing  New  People." 
Most  of  these  tracks  are  available  on  albums,  and  none 
are  particularly  essential,  but  new  fans  may  find  it  an 
agreeable  means  to  sample  and  catch  up  on  his  import- 
only  releases. 

Hardened  by  its  grim  indictments  of  political  strife, 
violence  and  modern  urban  life,  Civilian  sends  Tovey 
to  an  adventurous  land  wherein  percussion  and  triggered 
electronic  soundmakers  take  the  lead.  Interestingly, 
rather  than  underscore  the  album's  focus  on  (generally 
not  dance-oriented)  rhythm,  the  mix  allows  vocals  and 
the  scanty  melody  instruments  a  fair  chance  to  compete. 
If  not  for  Tovey's  firm  grip  on  song  structure,  this  rad- 
ical record  might  have  turned  into  an  endurance  test.  As 
it  is,  Civilian  poses  its  intriguing  challenge  without  dis- 
couraging participation. 

Never  one  to  repeat  himself,  Tovey  next  corralled  a 
bunch  of  acoustic  musicians  and  turned  his  attentions  to 
American  labor  ballads.  Despite  the  anomaly  of  an  elec- 
tronic baby  strumming  politely  in  the  folk  woods,  the 
delightful  Tyranny  and  the  Hired  Hand  is  successful 
on  its  own  terms.  Tovey's  courageous  defiance  of  sty- 
listic preconceptions  may  not  have  aided  his  commercial 
career  any,  but  he  deserves  credit  for  exceedingly  fine 
taste  in  both  material  ("Sixteen  Tons,"  "Joe  Hill," 
"Pastures  of  Plenty,"  "North  Country  Blues")  and  ex- 
ecution, [i] 

See  also  Boyd  Rice. 

TOYAH  &  FRIPP 

See  Robert  Fripp. 

TOY  LOVE 

See  Tall  Dwarfs. 

TRAGICALLY  HIP 

The  Tragically  Hip  (MCA)  1987 
Up  to  Here  (MCA)  1989* 
Road  Apples  (MCA)  1991  4» 


686 


An  effective  blend  of  garage  angst,  country  spirit 
and  jangle-pop  uplift,  this  badly  named  quintet  from 
Kingston,  Ontario  made  its  just-left-of-center  Canadian 
debut  on  an  independent  mini-album,  later  given  an 
American  release.  Confident  and  well-articulated, 
"Small  Town  Bringdown"  and  * 'Evelyn"  are  sturdy 
and  catchy  pop-rock,  the  unchallenging  sort  of  quality 
material  that  makes  a  Thursday  night  bar  band  worth 
sticking  around  to  hear. 

The  full-length  Up  to  Here  is  bigger  and  harder, 
sacrificing  some  of  the  melodic  appeal  for  stiff-backed 
guitar  power  and  pretty  routine  heartland  rock.  As  a 
result,  Gordon  Downie  wraps  his  pipes — a  powerful, 
quivery  mixture  of  Michael  Hutchence  and  John  Cougar 
Mellencamp — around  songs  with  interesting  lyrics  that 
are  more  geared  to  arenas  than  taverns. 

Produced  by  Don  Smith,  the  bluesy  Road  Apples 
integrates  the  band's  upwardly  mobile  aspirations  and 
down-home  roots  with  a  bit  more  subtlety  and  convic- 
tion. The  record  is  strictly  commercial  but  frequently 
credible,  with  a  smoky  atmosphere  and  a  funky  swing 
that  makes  tracks  like  "Twist  My  Arm"  and  "Bring  It 
All  Back"  (which  has  a  killer  guitar  solo  that  sounds 
like  Neil  Young  working  the  wan- wan  pedal)  uncom- 
monly tasty.  [i] 

TRAGIC  MULATTO 

Judo  for  the  Blind  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 984 
Locos  por  el  Sexo  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 987  ® 
Hot  Man  Pussy  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 989  • 
Chartreuse  Toulouse  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1 990 

If  you  aren't  totally  repelled  by  the  first  album's  title 
or  indescribably  grotesque  cover  painting,  you  may  find 
yourself  enthralled  by  Tragic  Mulatto's  bizarre  musical 
universe.  The  five  members — whose  names  are  given  as 
Fluffy,  Blossom,  Flossy,  Sweetums  and  A  Piece  of 
Eczema — collectively  sing  and  play  bass,  drums,  trum- 
pet and  sax.  Produced  with  little  sonic  e*lan  by  Dead 
Kennedy  bassist  Klaus  Flouride,  parts  sound  like  jazzy 
Flipper;  an  ominous  rock  rumble  with  jagged  horn  noise 
and  dramatic  vocals.  Some  numbers  are  faster  and  well- 
organized  to  the  point  where  they  resemble  a  '40s  big 
band  on  bad  drags;  others  could  be  an  incompetent  jazz 
combo  vainly  tuning  up  while  someone  soundchecks  the 
microphones. 

A  suspiciously  rechristened  quartet  (Reverend  Elvis- 
ter  Shanksly,  Flatula  Lee  Roth,  Jazzbo  Smith  and  Rich- 
ard Skidmark)  turned  up  for  the  salacious  second  LP 
(pointedly  numbered  VIRUS  69),  a  wild  honking  noise 
party  that  includes  such  brilliantly  titled  scatological  cre- 
ations as  "Swineherd  in  the  Tenderloin,"  "Underwear 
Maintenance"  (a  detailed  paean  to  menstruation)  and  a 
sex  manual  titled  "Twerpenstein."  Strangely,  the  music 
is  really  good,  with  enough  structural  backbone  to  give 
the  songs  non-satirical  legitimacy.  Flatula  the  female 
vocalist  (who  triples  on  sax  and  tuba)  is  wonderful,  and 
the  taste-is-no-obstacle  lyrics  are  funnier  than  a  poke  in 
the  eye  with  a  sharp  stick.  Fans  of  the  vulgar  but  hys- 
terical could  do  worse  than  to  bathe  in  this  delectable 
cesspool, 

Hot  Man  Pussy  presents  a  disheveled  roar  of  im- 
provisational  guitar-and-sax  noise  over  which  Fistula 
(for  it  is  she)  and  the  Rev.  E.  Shanksley  bellow  songs 
like  "She's  a  Ho,"  "My  Name  Is  Not  O'Neill'*  and  the 


outstanding  Blue  Velvet-quoting  "Mr.  Cheese."  The 
incoherent  blur  of  feedback  and  neck-wringing  gets 
fairly  numbing,  but  two  digressions — the  tuba'n*banjo 
closer  ("The  Sheriff  of  Weed")  and  Fistula's  operatic 
vocal  on  "Hardcore  Bigot  Scum  Get  Stabbed" — 
provide  welcome  breaks  in  the  action.  (The  CD  also 
contains  Locos  por  el  Sexo.) 

A  well-rehearsed  cover  of  Slade's  "I  Don't  Mind" 
(with  mondo  guitar  and  a  bit  of  tuba)  gets  Chartreuse 
Toulouse  off  to  an  excellent  start,  and  the  album  rarely 
loses  momentum  from  there,  although  the  shrill  "My 
Mother"  and  the  lengthy  and  monotonous  "Scabs  on 
Lori's  Arm"  are  hazards  to  avoid.  The  solidly  con- 
structed (and,  except  for  "Bathroom  at  Amelia's,"  con- 
ceptually tamer)  songs,  Flatula' s  down-to-business 
Grace  Slick-style  singing  and  the  quintet's  ability  to 
follow  a  musical  road  map  through  a  squealing  storm  of 
six-string  horror  (shifting  into  acoustic  gear  on  a  couple 
of  folky  tracks! )  make  this  psychedelic  trip  one  of  Tragic 
Mulatto's  great  adventures.  [i] 

TRANSLATOR 

Heartbeats  and  Triggers  (41 5-Columbia)  1 982 

No  Time  Like  Now  (41 5-Columbia)  1983 

Translator  (41 5-Columbia)  1 985 

Evening  of  the  Harvest  (41 5-Columbia)  1986 

Everywhere  That  I'm  Not— A  Retrospective  (41 5-Columbia) 

1986 

Formed  in  Los  Angeles  in  1979,  this  talented  quartet 
really  got  rolling  after  moving  to  San  Francisco.  Trans- 
lator's music  encompasses  elements  of  traditional  folk- 
rock,  adding  modern  sounds,  novel  ideas  and  cool 
deadpan  pop — simply  put,  diversity  makes  Translator 
fine  and  often  fascinating.  Singing  guitarists  Steve  Bar- 
ton and  Robert  Darlington  have  a  wide  stylistic  arsenal 
and  each  has  the  ability  to  write  varied  songs  of  quality 
and  endurance.  Heartbeats  and  Triggers,  produced  by 
David  Kahne,  is  a  great  debut  album  with  very  few 
weak  tracks. 

No  Time  Like  Now  contains  another  batch  of  me- 
lodic and  rocking  tunes  played  with  ringing  guitars  and 
attractive  harmonies;  unfortunately,  a  lot  of  the  songs 
don't  wash.  While  "Un- Alone,"  "Break  Down  Barri- 
ers" and  the  title  track  keep  the  musical  faith,  "L.A., 
L.A."  is  a  trite,  gimmicky  digression  and  "I  Hear  You 
Follow"  is  too  reserved.  Others  are  equally  unprepos- 
sessing or  simply  plain.  Stick  with  the  first  album. 

Translator,  produced  by  Ed  Stasium,  is  for  the  most 
part  a  return  to  form.  "Gravity"  is  as  good  as  anything 
they've  done;  other  tunes  maintain  a  tasteful,  invigorat- 
ing blend  of  vocals,  rhythm  guitars  and  intelligent  song- 
writing.  The  biggest  problem  here  is  time:  for  a  third 
album,  they're  not  really  going  anywhere  new  cre- 
atively, and  commercial  success  still  seems  well  over 
the  horizon. 

Perhaps  that  frustration  explains  the  radically  differ- 
ent alburn  that  followed:  the  one-take  guitar  rock  on 
Evening  of  the  Harvest  scarcely  resembles  prior  Trans- 
lator music.  To  be  fair,  this  isn't  your  average  numb- 
skull arena  rubbish,  but  the  muscle  comes  as  an 
unwelcome  shock.  Each  track  includes  (individually 
credited)  guitar  riffing,  but  most  retain  a  trace  of  the 
band's  melodicism  amid  the  audio  clutter. 

Translator  broke  up  in  *86.  The  cawr-sumnwig 


687 


Everywhere  That  I'm  Not  draws  from  all  four  albums, 
adding  one  otherwise  non-LP  bonus:  a  version  of  Jef- 
ferson Airplane's  "Today."  The  track  selection  isn't 
ideal,  but  it's  a  fair  representation  of  this  special  group's 
work.  [i] 

Pop  Art  (Uni)  1 988  • 

Velveteen  (MCA)  1989® 

Little  Magnets  vs.  the  Bubble  of  Babble  (MCA)  1 991  • 

Anyone  harboring  the  illusion  that  American  teen- 
agers have  worse  taste  than  their  British  counterparts 
have  only  to  note  that  this  pathetic  glam-pop  band 
reached  the  UK  Top  5  with  its  first  album  and  topped  the 
charts  there  with  its  second.  The  less  offensive  of  the 
two,  Pop  Art  is  a  flimsy  but  tuneful  put-up  job  built 
around  singer  Wendy  James'  weak  voice  and  petulant 
pout.  Besides  a  lame  rendition  of  Holly  Vincent's  "Tell 
That  Girl  to  Shut  Up,"  the  quintet  makes  a  charmlessly 
selfconscious  stab  at  rockabilly  (Sigue  Sigue  style),  at- 
tempts to  ape  T.  Rex,  Blondie  and  the  Primitives  and 
generally  does  some  of  the  things  worthless  bands  with 
no  imagination  are  known  for. 

Again  jointly  produced  by  Duncan  Bridgeman  and 
Zeus  B.  Held,  Velveteen — which  announces  itself  as 
"Born  to  Be  Sold" — sheds  any  pretense  of  pop  inno- 
cence and  relies  on  crude-sounding  programmed  key- 
boards and  deeply  unoriginal  music.  (In  the  most 
obvious  instance,  "Baby  I  Don't  Care"  is  "Hang  on 
Sloopy"  with  different  words.)  James'  dissolute  voice 
is  already  shot  to  hell,  and  the  album  should  be  an 
embarrassment  to  all  concerned.  [i] 

TRASH  CAN  SINATRAS 

Cake  (Go!  Discs-London)  1 990  4> 

Proudly  reclaiming  the  joyous  pop  sound  of  such 
early- '80s  Postcard  bands  as  the  Bluebells,  Orange  Juice 
and  Aztec  Camera,  this  young  Scottish  quintet  parlays  a 
rush  of  ringing  guitars  and  rich  broguish  harmonies  into 
an  exceptionally  good  debut  album.  Roger  Bechirian 
and  John  Leckie  each  produced  tracks  on  the  pristine- 
sounding  Cake,  adding  an  occasional  light  brush  of  cool 
jazz  to  the  folky  spines  of  the  band's  witty  and  agile 
tunes.  While  there  might  be  a  tad  too  much  Momssey  in 
"The  Best  Man's  Fall,"  songs  like  "Obscurity 
Knocks,"  "Only  Tongue  Can  Tell"  and  "Thrupenny 
Tears"  are  calling  cards  of  a  bright  new  talent.  [i] 

TREAT  HER  RIGHT 

Treat  Her  Right  (Soul  Selects)  1 986  (RCA)  1 988  * 
Tied  to  the  Tracks  (RCA)  1989  • 

PINK  CADILLAC 

Pink  Cadillac  EP  (Alpha-Media)  1983 

Not  quite  a  blues  band,  not  exactly  swamp  trash  and 
too  stylized  for  basic  rock'n'roll,  this  Massachusetts 
quartet  (which  features  David  Champagne,  formerly  of 
Shane  Champagne,  a  Rumour-like  outfit  which  issued 
several  singles  around  the  turn  of  the  decade,  and  Pink 
Cadillac,  a  sharp  rockabilly-cwm-rock'n'roll  trio)  uses 
guitar,  slide  guitar,  harmonica,  ultra-simple  drumming 
and  exotic  taste  in  cover  versions  to  come  up  with  a 
hybrid  that  bears  equally  faint  similarity  to  Creedence 


Clearwater  and  the  Violent  Femmes.  Before  ending  with 
a  James  Blood  Ulmer  (!)  number,  Treat  Her  Right 
explores  some  intriguing  terrain  of  its  own,  hindered 
only  by  lyrics  that  rely  on  tough-guy  cliches  and  get  a 
bit  dumb  in  spots. 

Produced  by  Don  Gehman,  the  stylish  and  self- 
assured  Tied  to  the  Tracks  gives  Captain  Beefheart's 
"Hit  a  Man"  the  Treat  Her  Right  treatment  and  sur- 
rounds it  with  strong  and  memorable  originals  individ- 
ually wntten  and  sung  by  Champagne  ("Picture  of  the 
Future")  and  Mark  Sandman  ("Marie,"  "Junkyard"), 
all  given  added  juice  by  Jim  Fitting's  wailing  harp  work. 


TREES 

Sleep  Convention  (MCA)  1  982 

A  one-man  synth  army  from  San  Diego,  California, 
Dane  Conover  (here  dubbed  Trees)  offers  a  wonder- 
ful collection  of  modern  musical  ideas  and  clever  tunes 
that  efficiently  combine  up-to-date  electronics  with 
old-fashioned  rock  instruments,  tossing  m  inventive  pro- 
duction and  intelligent,  provocative  lyrics,  Sleep  Con- 
vention is  a  stunning  debut  which  shows  remarkable 
originality  and  talent.  That  this  record  died  the  commer- 
cial death  is  not  just  incomprehensible,  it's  criminal. 

[i] 

TREPONEM  PAL 

Treponem  Pal  (RC-Roadracer)  1  989  • 
Aggravation  (RC-Roadracer)  1991  * 

Treponem  Pal  hates  you.  And  your  mother,  your 
family  and,  from  the  sounds  of  it,  everyone  and  every- 
thing else  as  well.  Hatched  in  a  country  with  a  weak 
rock  history,  Treponem  Pal  formed  in  Paris  in  1986, 
taking  their  name  from  a  syphilis  virus.  While  the  quar- 
tet's brutal  sound  is  rooted  in  the  bludgeoning,  beyond- 
metal  grind  of  early  Head  of  David,  Voivod  and  Gore, 
singer  Marco  Neves  (who  says,  in  his  best  broken  En- 
glish, that  "musically  we  enter  in  the  person  we  hate") 
has  a  terrifyingly  distinctive  slasher-movie  rasp  and 
spews  some  of  the  most  aggressive  lyrics  you'll  encoun- 
ter anywhere:  a  track  on  the  first  album  (produced  by 
Franz  Treichler  of  the  Young  Gods)  is  called  "Soft 
Mouth  Vagina." 

Aggravation  offers  an  even  more  deeply  distilled 
breed  of  hate,  honed  by  an  improved  five-piece  lineup 
and  sharper  production  by  Roli  Mosimann  (Swans,  That 
Petrol  Emotion,  etc.).  Once  again  ,  the  band  ventures 
deep  into  the  heart  of  darkness  and  emerges,  dripping 
blood  and  guts,  wielding  an  evil  grin  and  some  horrible 
medieval  torture  device,  harnessing  the  essence  of  fear 
and  loathing  with  a  power  comparable  to  a  Butthole 
Surfers  live  show.  To  underscore  the  album*  s  ambience, 
a  jolting  cover  of  Kraftwerk's  "Radioactivity"  actually 
adds  warmth,  (ja] 

TRIFF1DS 

Treeless  Plain  (nr/Hot-Rough  Trade)  1983 
Raining  Pleasure  (nr/Hot-Rough  Trade)  1  984 
Reid  of  Glass  (nr/Hot-Rough  Trade)  1985 
Love  in  Bright  Landscapes  (Hoi.  Hot-Megadisc)  1986 
Bom  Sandy  Devotional  (Hot-Rough  Trad®)  1986 


688 


Jn  the  Pines  (nr/Hot-Rough  Trade)  1986 
The  Pee!  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 
Calenture  (Island)  1 987  • 
Holy  Water  EP  (nr/lsland)  1 988  • 
The  Black  Swan  (nr/Ssland)  1989  • 
Goodbye  Little  Boy  EP  (nr/lsland)  1 989  • 
Falling  Over  You  EP  (nr/lsland)  1989  © 
Live  Stockholm  (Swed.  MNW)  1 990  © 

Lawson  Square  Infirmary  EP  (Aus.  Hot)  1 984 

Although  based  in  London  since  1984,  this  quintet 
originally  hails  from  Perth,  Australia.  Their  musical  in- 
fluences, however,  are  strictly  American.  Occasionally 
augmenting  standard  rock  instrumentation  with  strings, 
trumpet  and  pedal  steel,  the  Triffids  manage  a  spacious 
country  blues-meets-Tele vision  sound. 

Raining  Pleasure  is  a  lightweight,  lilting  album 
with  some  nice  songs  and  more-than-competent  play- 
ing, but  self-righteous  lyrics  decrying  promiscuity  and 
alcohol  are  pretty  much  ruinous.  The  preachy  "Property 
Is  Condemned"  is  almost  worthy  of  a  TV  evangelist's 
seal  of  approval. 

Treeless  Plain  and  Field  of  Glass  both  have  more 
bite — "My  Baby  Thinks  She's  a  Train"  (from  the 
former)  sounds  like  the  best  song  Tom  Verlaine  never 
wrote.  (Singer/songwriter  David  McComb's  voice  bears 
similarity  to  both  Verlaine  and  Jim  Morrison. )  Most  of 
the  Triffids'  best  early  material  is  on  Love  in  Bright 
Landscapes,  a  Dutch  compilation. 

Gil  Norton's  production  on  Born  Sandy  Devotional 
is  bigger  and  denser  than  that  on  prior  releases;  while  it 
sounds  just  fine  and  is  a  natural  progression,  one  wishes 
that  McComb's  maturing  songwriting  talents  would  be 
allowed  to  stand  on  their  own  a  bit  more.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  it's  kind  of  difficult  for  a  six-piece  band 
(with  additional  backing  on  strings,  keyboards,  vibes 
and  vocals)  to  be  minimalist. 

In  the  Pines  strips  things  back  down;  it  was  re- 
corded on  an  8-track  in  a  wool-shearing  shed  in  the 
Aussie  outback  on  a  tiny  budget,  most  of  which  went  for 
beer,  wine  and  vodka.  A  lot  of  it  sounds  as  though  it 
was  done  live,  and  such  immediacy  suits  the  Triffids 
well. 

On  Calenture,  the  band's  US/major-label  debut, 
McComb's  sensitive,  personal  visions  are  again  all  but 
obscured  by  Norton's  big  league  gloss;  this  time  the 
band's  personality  barely  surfaces.  There  are  plenty  of 
good  songs  here,  mind  you,  they're  just  hidden. 

The  Holy  Water  EP  combines  the  title  tracks  from 
Calenture  and  Raining  Pleasure  with  "Red  Pony*' 
from  Treeless  Plain  and  the  band's  cover  of  the  Beatles' 
"Good  Morning  Good  Morning"  from  the  Sgt.  Pepper 
Knew  My  Father  benefit  album. 

The  Black  Swan  finds  the  Triffids  scrambling  to 
come  up  with  something  new.  The  first  side  dabbles  in 
country,  nightclub  jazz,  off-center  doo-wop,  strangely 
arranged  funk  and  even  pseudo-rap  ('Tailing  Over 
You,"  also  the  title  cut  of  an  EP).  Arrangements  are 
jammed  with  incongruous  drum  machines,  bouzouki, 
operatic  background  vocals  and  electric  cello  (?),  Side 
Two  starts  off  with  "The  Clown  Prince,"  which  at- 
tempts to  combine  flamenco  and  French  cafe*  accordion 
music.  Who  told  them  to  try  so  hard?  Just  sounding  like 


the  Triffids  should  suffice.  Despite  quality  material,  The 
Black  Swan  ends  up  drowning  in  its  own  excesses.  The 
live  LP  is  a  career-spanner:  a  dozen  songs  recorded  in 
Sweden  in  1989. 

Completists  will  want  the  Peel  Sessions  EP:  three 
songs  from  May  1985.  True  fans  should  also  be  on  the 
lookout  for  the  Triffids'  pseudonymous  releases  under 
the  name  Lawson  Square  Infirmary.  The  1984  12-inch  is 
a  bouncy  visit  to  informal  jug-band  music:  six  enticing 
original  folk  songs  winningly  performed  with  low-key 
rustic  rambunctiousness.  [dgs/i] 

TRIO 

Trio  (nr/Mobile  Suit  Corporation)  1 982 

Live  im  Fruhjahr  82  [tape]  (Ger.  Mercury)  1 982 

Trio  EP  (Mercury)  1 982 

Trio  and  Error  (Mercury)  1 983 

Bye  Bye  (Ger.  Mercury)  1 983  • 

Originally  issued  in  Germany  in  1981,  Trio's  Klaus 
Voorman-produced  debut  album  was  updated  to  include 
their  European  million-seller,  "Da  Da  Da  ich  lieb  dich 
nicht  du  liebst  mich  nicht  aha  aha  aha. "  (With  the  lyrics 
redone  in  English,  the  song  was  popular  in  dance  clubs 
outside  Germany  as  well.)  Compared  to  the  rest  of  the 
album,  though,  the  minimalist  hit  sounds  nearly  sym- 
phonic; Trio  is  basically  guitar  and  drums  behind  mono- 
tonal  (but  bilingual)  vocals.  Lyncs  are  obsessed  with 
lousy  relationships  and  steeped  in  black  humor — 
sometimes  just  blackness  without  the  humor.  But  the 
band's  brutally  primitive  sound  announces  itself  first. 

The  cassette-only  Live  im  Friihjahr  82  essentially 
reprises  the  album,  emphasizing  guitar  for  a  hot  sound, 
and  includes  between-song  raps  auf  deutsch.  The  12- 
inch  Trio  EP  consists  of  five  tracks  from  the  album  of 
the  same  name  (including  six-plus  minutes  of  the 
English-language  "Da  Da  Da")  plus  a  later  single, 
"Anna." 

After  that  tentative  step,  Trio's  American  label  took 
the  plunge  with  Trio  and  Error,  which  also  includes 
"Da  Da  Da";  the  new  material — almost  all  in 
English — is  a  little  more  musical  and  only  a  little  less 
downbeat.  But  the  naivete"  is  charming. 

With  Bye  Bye,  Trio  departed  roughly  the  same  as 
they  entered:  simple,  witty  and  sarcastic  in  two  lan- 
guages. A  '50s  revivalist  spirit  informs  the  crazed  guitar 
work  of  "Ich  lieb  den  Rock'n'Roll"  and  a  constipated 
"Tutti  Frutti";  for  those  with  longer  memories.  Trio 
thoughtfully  includes  an  (almost)  reverent  version  of 
"Tooralooralooraloo."  Full-scale  production  on  "Out 
in  the  Streets' '  renders  it  the  most  routine-sounding  track 
Trio  ever  recorded;  others  (e.g.,  the  catchy  "Immer 
Noch  Einmal")  are  as  deliciously  spartan  as  ever. 

[si/i] 

TRIPOD  J1MMIE 

Long  Walk  off  a  Short  Pier  (Do  Speak)  1 982 
A  Warning  to  All  Strangers  (All  Ball)  1986 

Tripod  Jimmie,  an  Erie,  Pennsylvania  trio  starring 
ex-Pere  Ubu  guitarist  Tom  Herman,  inhabits  a  world  of 
hypertense  vocals  and  simple,  rough,  aggressive  rock 
noise — an  underground  '80s  revision  of  the  power  trio 
concept.  Recorded  "live  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,'* 


689 


Long  Walk's  eleven  numbers  display  traces  of  Televi- 
sion, Ubu  and  Talking  Heads — all  essentially  similarly 
minded  organizations.  Powerful  and  disquieting. 

With  better  production  and  playing,  A  Warning  to 
All  Strangers  organizes  the  trio's  music  into  a  concise 
attack  that  occasionally  resembles  the  Minutemen.  As 
diverse  as  it  is  emotionally  intense,  this  anxiety-ridden 
collection  (song  titles  are  given  under  the  heading  "List 
of  Worries")  lurches  from  a  barking  contest  to  a  James 
Brown  funk  breakdown  to  gibberish  without  skipping  a 
groove.  Over  the  rhythm  section's  propulsive  chug, 
Herman's  thrusting  guitar  chords  and  edgily  confident 
shout-singing  emboldens  the  bizarrely  fascinating  lyr- 
ics, making  Tripod  Jimmie's  concerns  seem  very  real 
and  urgent.  [i] 

See  also  Pere  Ubu. 


TRIP 

Applehead  Man  (Gark)  1988  (Clean)  1988 

Are  You  Shakespearienced?  (Gark)  1988  (Clean)  1989  • 

The  Crane  EP  (A&M)  1 990 

Across  the  Universe  (A&M)  1 990  ® 

This  Minnesota  combo  mines  an  eclectic  strain  of 
rustic  folk-pop,  with  an  energetically  quirky  sound 
that's  bohemian  without  being  cutesy.  Applehead  Man 
is  a  spunky  debut,  with  stylishly  visceral  lyrics  and  in- 
ventive melodies.  Though  the  band — here  a  trio — 
doesn't  yet  possess  the  expertise  to  do  full  justice  to 
Matt  Wilson's  surprisingly  sophisticated  compositions, 
the  songs  make  it  clear  that  this  is  a  combo  to  watch. 

Are  You  Shakespearienced?  shows  increased 
depth  and  a  more  distinctive  musical  voice.  With  up- 
graded production  and  the  addition  of  Wilson's  brother 
Dan  as  second  guitarist,  Trip  developed  an  approach 
that's  both  far-reaching  and  personal;  ditto  for  their  odd, 
homespun  harmonies. 

Across  the  Universe  is  a  too-rare  example  of  an 
indie  act  benefiting  musically  from  major-label  treat- 
ment. With  Fred  Maher  co-producing,  the  quartet  tight- 
ens its  sound  while  maintaining  its  identity.  A  new 
version  of  "Pearle,"  originally  recorded  on  Applehead 
Man,  demonstrates  how  much  Trip  has  grown;  the  play- 
ing is  more  confident  and  interactive  than  ever,  with  an 
increased  rock  edge  that  doesn't  detract  from  the  gentle 
charm  of  "Turtledove,"  "Gone,  Gone,  Gone,"  "Snow 
Days"  (sung  by  bassist  John  Munson)  and  "The 
Crane."  "The  Crane"  was  also  featured  on  an  EP  re* 
leased  prior  to  Across  the  Universe,  along  with  three 
dandy  live  versions  of  older  Trip  tunes.  [hd] 

TRISOMiE  21 

Million  Lights  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 987  * 

Works  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 989  « 

T21  Plays  the  Pictures  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 990  • 

Although  Trisomie  21  (whose  lineup  includes  a  full 
member  credited  with  "advice  and  assistance")  has  an 
extensive  back  catalogue  of  records  at  home,  America 
has  only  recently  begun  enjoying  the  French  quartet's 
unsettling  mutation  of  lush  techno-pop  with  industrial 
dance  ingredients.  Alternating  discrete  songs  with  bilin- 
gual semi-tuneless  vocals  and  Herv£  Lomprez's  intrigu- 
ing instrumental,  Million  Lights  is  a  continually 
shifting  soundscape,  combining  keyboards,  guitar,  per- 


cussion, sound  effects  and  other  elements  in  a  nicely 
moderated  loud/soft  pleasant/disturbing  environment 
that  never  turns  somcally  hostile. 

Works,  however,  is  a  hapless  stab  at  suave  conti- 
nental electro-pop  (including,  in  "The  Missing  Piece," 
a  futile  attempt  to  copy  New  Order),  an  awful  album 
that  downplays  the  group's  adventurous  side  to  show- 
case Philippe  Lomprez's  inept  crooning,  a  laughable 
approximation  of  Maurice  Chevalier  imitating  Bryan 
Ferry.  Besides  a  tendency  to  drift  along  aimlessly,  like 
Pink  Floyd  at  its  most  dissolute,  the  spare  and  delicately 
atmospheric  Plays  the  Pictures — a  concept  album 
based  around  movies  and  their  music — searches  out  sur- 
prising contrasts  through  frequent  use  of  incongruous 
samples.  [i] 

Poison  Summer  (Old  Scratch)  1 986  (SST)  1 990  • 

Baby  (SSI)  1988® 

Trotsky  Icepick  Presents  Danny  and  the  Doorknobs  in 

'Poison  Summer7  (SST)  1989 
El  Kabong  (SST)  1989® 

THE 

Poison  Summer  (Old  Scratch)  1 985 

Formed  by  the  unification  of  two  talented  veterans 
of  the  LA  indie-rock  scene — ex- 100  Flowers  guitarist/ 
singer  Kjehl  Johansen  and  ex-Last  keyboardist/guitarist/ 
singer  Vitus  Matar<§ — Trotsky  Icepick  began  life  as  a 
trio  (with  ex-Last  drummer  John  Frank),  striking  a 
workable  stylistic  compromise  between  the  two  frater- 
nal bands.  Rather  than  just  play  airy/edgy  pop  (friend- 
lier than  100  Flowers  and  more  modern  than  the  Last), 
the  group  hit  on  a  Big  Concept:  keep  the  same  title  for 
every  album,  and  change  the  band  name  instead! 

Recorded  two  years  prior  to  its  1985  release,  Danny 
and  the  Doorknobs'  clear- vinyl  Poison  Slimmer  is  a 
neat  little  pop  record — underproduced  and  haphazard, 
perhaps,  but  sprinkled  with  good  songs  (like  the  title 
track)  and  skillfully  varied  arrangements.  (Granted  a 
more  explanatory  title,  this  debut  was  later 
overhauled — replacing  several  tracks  with  vintage 
outtakes — remixed  and  reissued  in  an  inferior  sleeve  as 
Trotsky  Icepick  Presents  Danny  and  the  Doorknobs 
in  'Poison  Summer'.) 

The  second  Poison  Summer,  an  entirely  different 
1986  LP  credited  from  the  get-go  to  Trotsky  Icepick, 
was  recorded  as  a  quartet  in  which  the  arrival  of  a  key- 
boardist allowed  Matar£  to  concentrate  on  guitar.  Har- 
mony vocals  and  improvements  on  every  front— studio 
sound,  twin-guitar  arrangements,  melodies,  lyrics — 
make  the  LP  a  treat,  a  crisply  uncommercial  demonstra- 
tion of  unstylized  pop  with  intelligently  offbeat  lyrics. 

Abandoning  the  name  game  and  dispensing  with 
keyboards  entirely,  Matare*  and  Johansen  then  drafted 
two  new  bandmates— ex-Leaving  Trains  drummer  Ja- 
son Kahn  and  ex-Last  bassist/guitarist  John  Rosewell— 
for  Baby,  a  louder,  thicker  rock  album  of  tuneful  songs 
about  hated  crooners  ("Bury  Manilow"),  lost  loves 
("Mar  Vista  Bus  Stop,*'  the  fingerpicked  folk  of  "Ro- 
bitussin  Rag")  and  the  evils  of  advertising  ("Don't  Buy 
It"). 

Upon  Kahn's  departure  (to  join  the  Universal  Con- 
gress Of),  the  Trotskys  absorbed  another  Last  alumnus 
(drummer  Hunter  Crowley,  a  sorry  substitute)  and  an- 


690 


other  100  Flowers  alumnus  (singer  John  Talley- Jones,  a 
solid  asset).  Thus  constituted,  the  quintet  made  El  Ka- 
bong,  a  well-integrated  blend  of  fascinating  lyrics  and 
intricately  textured  catchy  guitar  rock.  Besides  a  cover 
of  Magazine's  "The  Light  Pours  Out  of  Me,"  TI  takes 
another  swipe  at  rampant  consumerism  ("The  Conve- 
niences of  Life")  and  explores  bizarre  comers  of  the 
imagination  in  weird  character  studies.  (The  CD  has 
three  bonus  tracks.)  [i] 

See  also  Last,  100  Flowers. 


Drop  the  Bomb  (Sugar  Hill)  1 982 

In  Times  of  Trouble  (D.E.T.T.)  1 983 

Saturday  Night.  Live!  from  Washington  DC  (Island)  1 985 

Trouble  Over  Here  Trouble  Over  There  (Island)  1 987  ® 

Trouble  Funk  belongs  to  Washington  DC's  go-go 
scene.  Go-go  is  a  throwback  to  percussive,  endless- 
groove  funk  that  sacrifices  structure,  production  and 
shckness  for  loose  feeling  and  community  involvement. 
The  bands — basically  fluid  rhythm  sections  with  a  few 
added  frills— do  their  thing  while  the  musicians  and 
audience  yell  a  whole  lot  of  nonsense  (like  "Let's  get 
small,  y'all"  or  "Drop  the  bomb!")  The  funk  is  solidly 
Southern,  with  a  strong  James  Brown  flavor  and  tons  of 
sloppy  percussion.  In  no  other  North  American  music 
does  the  cowbell  play  such  a  major  role. 

Chuck  Brown,  father  of  go-go,  developed  it  from 
drum  breakdowns  which  he  used  in  clubs  to  link  Top  40 
covers.  Not  surprisingly,  he  found  people  were  groov- 
ing more  on  these  bridges  than  the  songs.  Go-go  has 
grown  concurrently  (though  not  as  popularly)  with  hip- 
hop,  and  offers  a  spirited  group  alternative  to  beatbox 
isolationism.  The  unsophisticated  grooves  began  to 
break  out  nationwide  in  '85,  and  Trouble  Funk  were 
quickly  established  as  one  of  the  genre's  leaders.  (They 
were,  however,  eclipsed  in  1988,  when  E.U.  had  a  huge 
smash  with  "Da' Butt,"  a  number  originally  created  for 
Spike  Lee's  School  Daze.) 

Drop  the  Bomb  is  a  seminal  go-go  album  because  it 
was  released  by  Sugar  Hill,  home  of  the  uptown  rap  set. 
Virtually  all  prior  go-go  releases  were  on  Washington's 
local  T.T.E.D.  (aka  D.E.T.T.)  label.  Bronx  DJs  used 
to  find  the  discs  and  soak  the  labels  off  to  keep  audi- 
ences (and  competitors)  from  learning  what  they  were 
playing;  Drop  the  Bomb  gave  everyone  a  chance  to  get 
go-go.  It  also  produced  two  classic  tracks:  the  title  tune 
and  the  monster  12-inch,  "Hey  Fellas."  Both  are  wet, 
sticky  and  great  for  dancing.  Spin  them  and  you're  part 
of  the  party. 

In  Times  of  Trouble  is  like  two  separate  albums. 
The  two  sides  of  studio  material  have  nowhere  near  the 
juice  of  the  debut.  The  other  two  contain  long  live  jams 
that  sum  up  the  scene.  The  band  maintains  a  low-tech 
groove,  and  the  four  lead  singers  move  the  jam  along 
with  a  lot  of  assistance  from  the  crowd.  It's  not  like  the 
Godfather  of  Soul's  side-long  live  medleys  because 
Trouble  Funk  doesn't  do  songs:  just  a  hot  bottom,  some 
rolling  percussion,  a  couple  of  tag  phrases  and  a  lot  of 
audience  participation.  The  ultimate  funk  spirit  of  these 
sides  is  intoxicating.  Saturday  Night  continues  the  fun 
with  six  long,  generic  demi-instrumentals  (and  a  couple 
of  shorter  shards)  wisely  cut  live  in  front  of  an  enthu- 
siastically cooperative  crowd.  Cue  it  up  and  move! 


The  title  of  Trouble  Over  Here  is  prophetic,  as 
T-Funk  rides  off  the  rails  in  a  fit  of  misguided  stylistic 
ambition.  With  production  and  performing  assistance  by 
Bootsy  Collins  and  Kurtis  Blow,  the  studio  grooves  are 
gussied  up  in  defiance  of  the  band's  traditional  limber 
unpretentiousness.  The  familiarly  mobilizing  ramble'n- 
'  shuffle  bottom  is  intact,  but  the  attempt  to  turn  the 
grooves  into  songs  busies  up  the  business  and  blunts  the 
infectious  impact.  [jl/i] 

JOHN  TRUBEE  AND  THE  UGLY 
JANITORS  OF  AMERICA 

The  Communists  Are  Coming  to  Kill  Us!  (Enigma)  1 984 
The  Deserts  of  Utah  [tape]  (Space  &  Time)  1985 
Naked  Teenage  Girls  from  Outer  Space  (Restless)  1 985 
Strange  Hippie  Sex  Carnival  (Ger.  Musical  Tragedies) 

1990 

Best  known  for  his  inspired  1984  novelty  single  "A 
Blind  Man's  Penis" — a  deranged  spume  of  dada  vul- 
garity given  an  inanely  straight  country- western  reading 
by  one  of  those  songs-from-your-lyrics  mail-order 
companies — guitarist/keyboardist  John  Van  Zelm 
Trubee,  a  frequent  Zoogz  Rift  associate,  has  assembled 
several  albums  of  his  crank  phone  calls,  puerile  rants, 
rude  noises  and  misanthropically  deranged  musical  ef- 
forts. The  Communists  Are  Coining  to  Kill  Us! ,  which 
collects  up  odds  and  ends  dating  from  the  mid-'70s 
through  the  mid- '80s,  is  intermittently  listenable  but 
more  frequently  an  offensive  embarrassment. 

Well  on  the  way  to  working  out  his  juvenile  fixa- 
tions, Trubee  comes  nearly  correct  on  Naked  Teenage 
Girls  from  Outer  Space,  a  relatively  serious  jazz/rock 
hornsVguitars  album  with  perfectly  reasonable — 
actually  quite  attractive — instrumental  and  a  few  songs 
which  manage  to  avoid  such  previously  typical  subject 
matter  as  genitalia  and  regurgitation.  Even  one  raucous 
noisefest  makes  some  artistic  sense.  If  not  for  the  in- 
clusion of  a  couple  of  obnoxious  telephone  pranks, 
Trubee's  creepy  past  would  seem  to  be  entirely  behind 
him.  [i] 

See  also  Zoogz  Rift. 

TRUE  BELIEVERS 

True  Believers  ( Rounder- EMi  America)  1 986 

Rank  and  File  grad  Alejandro  Escovedo  (guitar/ 
vocals)  and  his  brother  Javier  (guitar/vocals)  spear- 
headed this  unjustly  overlooked  band  and  album — a 
bristling  brew  of  big-beat  rock,  rockabilly-influenced 
rhythms  and  sweaty  oF  noise.  The  stomping  "Hard 
Road,"  sexy  "So  Blue  About  You"  and  the  country 
tang  of  "We're  Wrong"  deliver  what  they  promise, 
meaning  cathartic  rock'n'roll  that  doesn't  insult  your 
intelligence.  Jim  Dickinson  (Replacements,  Panther 
Burns)  produced.  [jy] 

See  also  Rank  and  File, 

TRUE  SOUNDS  OF  LIBERTY 

(TSOL) 

T.S.O.L  EP  (Posh  Boy)  1981 
Dance  with  Me  (Frontier)  1 981 
Beneath  the  Shadows  (Alternative  Tentacles)  1982 
(Restless)  1989* 


691 


Change  Today?  (Enigma)  1 984  • 

Revenge  (Enigma)  1 986  ® 

Thoughts  of  Yesterday  1981-1982  (Posh  Boy)  1987  • 

Hit  and  Run  (Enigma)  1 987  ® 

TSOL  Live  (Restless)  1988* 

Strange  Love  (Enigma)  1990  4> 

OF 

Cathedral  of  Tears  EP  (Enigma)  1984 

Tender  Fury  (Posh  Boy)  1 988  ® 
Garden  of  Evil  (Triple  X)  1990  ® 

True  Sounds  of  Liberty  exploded  out  of  Long  Beach 
in  1978  to  become  one  of  Southern  California's  premier 
hardcore  bands.  Their  first  vinyl  foray  is  a  tough,  po- 
litically inspired  five-song  EP  that  bristles  with  excite- 
ment. Ron  Emory's  thrashing  guitar  provides  a  steady 
foundation  for  vocalist  Jack  Greggors,  credited  on  the 
sleeve  with  '* mouth  and  other  organs."  These  fine 
songs,  like  "Abolish  Government/Silent  Majority,"  are 
super  hot. 

Moving  from  Posh  Boy  to  Frontier,  TSOL  made 
other  changes  as  well.  For  one  thing,  Greggors  changed 
his  name  to  Alex  Morgon;  more  importantly,  the  group 
abandoned  politics  to  join  the  trendy  horror/shock-rock 
movement.  Along  with  a  cover  depicting  the  grim  reaper 
in  a  boneyard,  the  lyrical  themes  of  Dance  with  Me  are 
largely  those  of  B-movie  scare  flicks,  and  nearly  as 
much  fun.  While  other  bands  have  proven  useless  at  this 
genre,  TSOL  succeed  because  their  brutal,  razor-edge 
sound  keeps  its  musical  conviction,  regardless  of  the 
subject  matter. 

Volatility  is  a  TSOL  hallmark.  Beneath  the  Shad- 
ows introduces  a  third  label,  an  added  keyboard  player 
and  a  new  drummer  (plus  a  "new"  vocalist  named  Jack 
Delauge  taking  over  for  Morgon).  Oh,  and  they  also 
sound  totally  different.  Dropping  any  remaining  con- 
nection with  hardcore,  this  newly  refined  approach  takes 
the  group  on  a  neo-psychedehc  trip,  but  with  bonus 
amounts  of  rock  drive  and  character.  A  great  record 
from  an  always  surprising  band. 

Singer  Jack  Takeyourpick  selected  another  surname 
(Loyd)  and  joined  Cathedral  of  Tears,  which  issued  a 
weirdly  commercial  six-song  mini-album — raunchy  gui- 
tars, synthesizers  and  a  danceable  resemblance  to  both 
the  Cult  and  Dead  or  Alive. 

The  aptly  named  Change  Today?  unveils  another 
stage  in  TSOL's  ongoing  impermanence:  a  new  label 
and  two  new  members.  Stalwart  guitarist  Ron  Emory 
and  bassist  Mike  Roche  are  joined  by  Joe  Wood  (guitar/ 
vocals)  and  Mitch  Dean  (drums).  Fielding  a  whomping 
near-punk  rock  sound,  the  foursome  is  aggressive,  co- 
herent and  lucid,  singing  shapeless,  insubstantial  songs 
that  pack  a  sonic  wallop  if  nothing  else.  Not  a  bad 
record,  but  not  a  primo  effort. 

Remarkably  retaining  both  lineup  and  label,  TSOL 
issued  Revenge,  a  powerful  LP  that  shows  the  group 
still  vital  and  active.  The  mixture  of  Alice  Cooper/ 
Golden  Earring-styled  '70s  arena  rock  and  traditional 
LA  punk  (with  a  dollop  of  X-into-the  Doors  on  the  title 
track)  could  have  soared  with  better  (or  at  least  more 
consistent)  material,  but  there's  nothing  wrong  with  the 
self-assured,  energetic  performances.  (Incidentally,  Re- 
venge includes  a  new  song  entitled  "Change  Today.") 
Thoughts  of  Yesterday—a  reissue  of  the  first  EP 


with  the  added  bonus  of  1982's  terrific  genre-defying 
Weathered  Statues  7-inch  EP  and  a  speedier  alternate 
version  of  Dance  with  Me's  "Peace  Thru  Power"— is 
an  essential  document  of  a  once-great  band.  Just  try  to 
keep  from  laughing  at  the  embarrassingly  fawning  liner 
notes  from  label  head  Robbie  Fields.  (A  bunch  of  tracks 
from  punkrockers  Pariah  fill  out  the  CD.) 

By  Hit  and  Run,  TSOL's  mutation  from  hardcore 
standard-bearers  through  progressive  new  wavers  into 
tattooed  blues-metal  boys  was  complete,  resulting  in  a 
record  of  rote  fist-punchers,  vigorously  delivered  but 
tired-sounding  all  the  same.  On  TSOL  Live  (recorded 
at  a  California  date  in  January  '88),  the  band  sloughs  off 
a  full  set  of  Change  Today-forward  originals  as  well  as 
who-cares  covers  of  "All  Along  the  Watchtower"  and 
"Roadhouse  Blues."  Well-recorded,  but  pretty  tepid. 

Emory  left  the  group  during  the  recording  of 
Strange  Love,  and  Roche  took  a  walk  on  the  eve  of  its 
release,  leaving  TSOL  with  no  original  members.  This 
John  Jansen  production  is  a  joke—lame  minor-league 
metal  replete  with  stock  leather'n'love  cliches  and  slug- 
gish playing. 

In  the  late  '80s,  original  TSOL  mouthpiece  (now 
billed  as  Jack  Gnsham)  and  skins-pounder  Todd  Barnes 
reappeared  with  a  metal-gilded  project  of  their  own, 
Tender  Fury.  The  eponymous  debut  (produced  by  Bad 
Religion  guitarist  Brett  Gurewitz)  is  thin-sounding 
punky  (but  definitely  not  punk)  rock,  augmented  on 
some  fairly  hooky  tunes  by  Daniel  Root's  incendiary 
rifftng  and  Barnes'  solid  drumming.  In  all,  a  not-bad 
effort  that  will  come  as  a  surprise  to  punkers  who  never 
thought  they'd  be  hearing  West  Coast  hardcore  legend 
Grisham  croon  the  word  "baby." 

Barnes  and  bassist  Robbie  Allen  are  conspicuously 
absent  from  Garden  of  Evil,  Tender  Fury's  awful 
follow-up,  produced  by  Hunt  Sales.  Half- written  songs 
and  Grisham 's  annoy ingly  hyperdramatic  vocals  sink 
this  effort,  though  the  title  track  is  a  catchy  chunk  of 
no-brainer  hard-rock.  [cpl/i/db] 

TRUE  WEST 

True  West  EP  (Bring  Out  Your  Dead)  1 983 

Hollywood  Holiday  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1983  • 

Drifters  (PVQ  1 984  « 

Hand  of  Fate  (CD  Presents)  1 986 

West  Side  Story  (Skyclad)  1 989 

W  Western  EP  (Skyclad)  1990 

Best  Western  EP  [CD]  (Skyclad)  1990  » 

FOOL  KILLERS 

Out  of  State  Plates  (Mad  Rover)  1 989  * 

True  West  may  have  been  part  of  California's  psy- 
chedelic underground,  but  the  Davis  quintet  definitely 
had  a  sound  and  style  all  its  own.  Drawing  inspiration 
from  Syd  Barrett  (the  band's  first  release  was  a  single  of 
his  "Lucifer  Sam,"  reprised  on  the  EP)  and  Roky  Erick- 
son,  they  played  a  frenetic,  dense  drone  with  crazed 
guitars  and  dramatic  vocals. 

Co-produced  by  guitarist  Russ  Tolman  and  Dream 
Syndicate's  Steve  Wyrm,  True  West  is  a  rough,  mar- 
velous record — five  slices  of  chaos  that  kick  out  nostal- 
gia in  favor  of  powerful  rock  with  a  dark,  threatening 
ambience.  Echo-laden  sound  gives  tunes  like  "Holly- 
wood Holiday"  and  "Steps  to  the  Door"  an  unsettling 
noise/chaos  level  that  considerably  heightens  their  ten- 


692 


sion.  Hollywood  Holiday  contains  the  entire  EP  plus 
three  more-sophisticated  tracks  subsequently  recorded 
with  a  new  rhythm  section.  (New  Rose  later  included 
Hollywood  Holiday  on  its  CD  of  Drifters.) 

Drummer  Jozef  Becker  left  to  rejoin  Thin  White 
Rope;  True  West  recorded  the  Drifters  album  with  his 
not-so-good  replacement.  The  nine  new  songs  (repris- 
ing "And  Then  the  Rain"  from  the  French  LP)  show- 
case Gavin  Blair's  vocals  as  much  as  Tolman's 
inventive,  original  guitar  work.  A  strikingly  good  record 
that  escapes  the  strictures  of  neo-psychedelia  by  incor- 
porating folk-rock  ambience,  Drifters  retains  just 
enough  raw-edged  aggression  to  keep  things  from  get- 
ting unacceptably  melodious.  "Look  Around"  is  the 
clear  standout,  but  other  numbers — "Shot  You  Down" 
and  "Hold  On,"  for  instance — also  marry  engaging 
sound  and  arrangements  to  solid  songwriting. 

After  losing  Tolman  (and  with  him  their  edge),  True 
West  pressed  on  as  a  quartet.  Despite  compensatory 
efforts — the  countryish  Hand  of  Fate  receives  valuable 
guitar  assistance  from  Matt  Piucci  (Rain  Parade)  and 
Chuck  Prophet  (Green  on  Red) — Tolman's  departure 
had  a  major  negative  impact  on  True  West.  The  record 
is  by  no  means  bad,  just  colorless.  A  careful,  nostalgic 
cover  of  the  Yardbirds'  "Happenings  Ten  Years'  Time 
Ago"  lacks  the  energy  surge  needed  to  justify  the  effort. 

True  West  broke  up  in  1987;  West  Side  Story  is  a 
posthumous  patchwork  of  previously  unreleased  studio 
efforts  and  medium-fi  live  performances,  including  fiery 
run-throughs  of  * 'Hollywood  Holiday"  and  the  Stooges' 
"1969,"  While  there  are  a  few  finds  ("Free  Men  Own 
Guns")  among  the  outtakes,  the  generally  disappointing 
material  and  inadequate  sound  quality  make  this  a  mea- 
ger career  appendix. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  1983  demos  (produced,  with 
clear  stylistic  impact,  by  Tom  Verlaine)  that  are  on  the 
Best  Western  CD  are  among  the  band's  most  striking 
work:  an  intense,  lead-guitar-spiked  pre-Drifters  ver- 
sion of  "Look  Around,"  a  clearer  second  rendition  of 
Hollywood  Holiday's  "Throw  Away  the  Key"  (with 
Becker  turning  in  drastically  improved  drumming)  and 
a  fine  studio  take  of  West  Side  Story's  "Burn  the 
Roses."  The  vinyl-only  TV  Western  (any  puns  left?) 
pairs  some  of  those  tracks  with  an  exciting  trio  of  live 
items  from  1985. 

Singer  Gavin  Blair  and  guitarist  Richard  McGrath 
remained  together  after  True  West  and  became  Fool 
Killers.  Out  of  State  Plates  adds  a  country  undercur- 
rent, a  Stonesy  side  and  occasional  acoustic  instrumen- 
tation to  the  remnants  of  True  West's  measured  drama, 
but  winds  up  slow-moving  and  dull,  with  only  a  handful 
of  lively  tunes  to  brighten  the  ride.  [ij 

See  also  Russ  Tolman, 


TRUTH 

Five  Live  EP  (nr/IRS)  1984 
Playground  (IRS)  1985 
Weapons  of  Love  (IRS)  1 987  * 
Jump  (IRS)  1989* 

Leaving  behind  the  constricted  scope  of  Nine  Below 
Zero's  skinny-tie  R&B  revivalism,  singer/guitarist  Den- 
nis Greaves  formed  the  Truth  and  proceeded  to  follow 
the  Style  Council's  lead  in  updating  '60s  soul  (Ham- 
mond organ,  doo-wop  vocal  backing,  shingalmg 


rhythms)  for  an  audience  unlikely  to  know  or  care  that 
much  about  the  originals.  After  the  introductory  Five 
Live  EP,  Playground  is  a  fine  album  of  intelligent, 
tasteful  originals  played  with  real  character  and  a  min- 
imum of  self  consciousness.  Of  special  note:  "Exception 
of  Love,"  "I'm  in  Tune"  (an  exciting  raveup)  and  the 
title  track,  a  straight  rocker. 

Weapons  of  Love  finds  Greaves  suffering  from  bur- 
geoning Robert  Palmer  delusions  and  transparent  com- 
mercial aspirations.  The  bombastic  album  veers  wildly 
from  one  dodgy  style  (INXS,  U2,  etc.)  to  another,  with 
nary  a  glimmer  of  originality  or  dignity.  This  is  the 
Truth,  eh? 

If  you  can  get  past  the  spot-on  Bryan  Adams  imita- 
tion and  the  cliche-addled  lyrics,  Jump  isn't  that  bad  an 
exemplar  of  easy  listening  commercial  rock.  Avoid  the 
bombastic  version  of  Argent's  "God  Gave  Rock  &  Roll 
to  You"  (wasn't  '70s  radio  great?);  most  of  Greaves' 
originals  would  sound  fine  coming  out  of  a  car  radio. 

See  also  Nine  Below  Zero.  [i] 

TRYPES 

See  Feelies, 

MASAMI  TSUCHIYA 

See  Ippu-Do. 

TUBEWAY  ARMY 

See  Gary  Numan, 

MAUREEN  TUCKER 

Flavin'  Possum  (Trash)  1 981 

MOE  TUCKER 

MoeJadKateBany  EP  (50  Skidillion  Wafts)  1 987 

Life  in  Exile  After  Abdication  (50  Skidillion  Watts)  1 989  « 

In  1981,  original  Velvet  Underground  drummer 
Maureen  (Moe)  Tucker  released  a  one-woman  album  on 
her  own  Trash  Records.  The  frantic  guitar  playing  and 
cluttered  sound  on  Playin'  Possum  could  have  come 
straight  from  sessions  for  the  first  Velvets  album,  if  you 
can  imagine  that  band  playing  "Slippin'  and  SlidinY* 
"Bo  Diddley"  and  other  oldies. 

Tucker  subsequently  joined  forces  with  a  label  run 
by  rich'n'famous  rock  dilettante  Perm  Jillette  and  Flo- 
rida's hardworking  Velvet  Underground  Appreciation 
Society.  Motley  as  hell  but  reeking  with  credibility  and 
unpolished  spirit,  the  wonderful  MoeJadKateBarry  EP 
(pressed  on  red  vinyl)  was  recorded  in  six  hours  in  a 
garage  (how's  that  for  poetic  justice).  Jad  Fair  (vocals) 
of  Half  Japanese  and  two  young  locals  (on  bass  and 
guitar)  join  in  for  the  1986  date;  the  five  songs  cover  VU 
obscurities  ("Guess  I'm  Falling  in  Love,"  "Hey,  Mr. 
Rain,"  "Why  Don't  You  Smile  Now"),  a  Jimmy  Reed 
blues  ("Baby  What  You  Want  Me  to  Do")  and  an 
impromptu  instrumental,  "Jad  Is  a  Fink."  In  her  own 
simple  way,  Tucker  has  kept  the  Velvets'  legacy  alive 
better  than  anyone  else. 

With  the  involvement  of  Lou  Reed,  Jad  Fair,  Daniel 
Johnston  and  Sonic  Youth  making  it  an  historically  sig- 
nificant reunion,  as  well  as  a  profound  inter-generational 
meeting  of  prophet  and  disciple,  Tucker's  loose  and 
unpredictable  Life  in  Exile  offers  a  little  of  everything, 


693 


all  performed  and  recorded  with  ramshackle  casualness. 
There's  wall-rattling  noise,  acoustic  folk  ("Goodnight 
Irene"),  rock'n'roll  (a  five-minute  return  visit  to  "Bo 
Diddley"  with  Sonic  Youth's  rhythm  section),  even  a 
whispery  version  of  Reed's  "Pale  Blue  Eyes/'  Tucker's 
charmingly  amateurish  originals  include  a  droning 
guitar/piano  tribute  to  Andy  Warhol.  (A  subsequent 
three-song  single  combines  an  album  track  and  two  out- 
takes  from  the  sessions. )  [si/i] 
See  also  Half  Japanese,  Velvet  Underground. 


TUFF  DARTS 

Tuff  Darts!  (Sire)  1978 

New  York's  Tuff  Darts  will  probably  be  best  re- 
membered (if  at  all)  as  a  re*sum6  item  for  Robert  Gor- 
don, who  was  the  glam-punk  band's  original  singer  in 
1976.  Although  he  did  record  as  a  Dart  on  the  Live  at 
CBGB's  compilation,  Gordon  was  long  gone  by  the 
time  the  band  made  an  album  of  its  own  two  years  later. 
(The  band  was  on  hold  for  part  of  that  time  while 
guitarist/leader  Jeff  Salen  played  with  Sparks.) 

The  Darts — a  junior-league  rock  band  with  a  pen- 
chant for  gangster  clothes — had  a  total  of  two  good 
songs,  both  of  which  are  included  on  the  LP.  Otherwise, 
the  record  ranges  from  simply  bad  to  truly  wretched,  as 
on  the  moronic  "(Your  Love  Is  Like)  Nuclear  Waste." 

See  also  Robert  Gordon.  [i] 


NIK  TURNER 

See  Hawkwind. 


TUXEDOMOON 

No  Tears  EP  (Time  Release)  1 978  (nr/CramBoy)  1 985 
Scream  with  a  View  EP  (nr/Pre)  1979  (Bel.  CramBoy) 

1985 

Half  Mute  (Ralph)  1 980  (nr/CramBoy)  1 985  • 
Desire  (Ralph)  1981  (nr/CramBoy)  1985  « 
Divine  (nr/Operation  Twilight)  1 982 
A  Thousand  Lives  by  Picture  (Ralph)  1 983 
Holy  Wars  (Restless)  1 985  • 
Ship  of  Fools  (Restless)  1986 
You  (nr/CramBoy)  1 987  • 
Pinheads  on  the  Move  (nr/CramBoy)  1987  * 
Suite  en  Sous-Sol-Time  to  Lose  (Bel.  Crammed  Discs) 

1987« 
The  Ghost  Sonata  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1991  « 

BLA1NE  L  RE1NINGER/M1KEL 
ROUSE 

Colorado  Suite  EP  (Bel.  Made  to  Measure)  1 984  * 

BLAINE  L  REININGER 

Instrumental  1982-86  (nr/lnterior)  1987 
Byzantium  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1987 
Live  in  Brussels  82-86  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1987  * 
Broken  Fingers  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1988  • 
Book  of  Hours  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 989  « 
expatriate  journals  (Giant)  1 989  * 

PETER  PRINCIPLE 

Sedimental  Journey  (Bel.  Made  to  Measure)  1 985  • 
Tone  Poems  (Bel.  Made  to  Measure)  1 988  * 


WINSTON  TONG 

Theoretically  Chinese  (Bel.  Crepuscule)  1 985  © 

Pioneers  in  performance-oriented  synthesizer  music, 
Tuxedomoon  started  out  in  San  Francisco  at  the  very 
beginning  of  that  city's  punk  upsurge.  The  mercurial 
aggregate  of  musicians  and  artists  later  relocated  to  Bel- 
gium and  became  a  leading  light  in  the  international 
post-rock  avant-garde.  Sidestepping  the  mistakes  of 
many  early  synthesizer  bands,  Tuxmoon  leavened  their 
attack  with  sax  and  violin  and  were  quick  to  integrate 
electronic  percussion  as  a  true  substitute  for  real  drums. 

Prior  to  their  Ralph  records,  Tuxedomoon  had  re- 
leased singles  and  EPs  on  their  own  label.  No  Tears,  a 
four-cut  EP,  is  an  early  new  wave  DIY  effort,  which 
sounds  coyly  dated  but  still  exciting  at  the  time  of  its 
reissue  seven  years  later.  It  was  immediately  obvious 
that  Tuxedomoon  was  a  step  apart  from  many  other 
bands  of  the  era.  Winston  Tong  had  been  a  mime,  and 
brought  a  theatrical  approach  to  singing;  plenty  of  synths 
and  electronic  percussion  (when  they  were  still  called 
rhythm  boxes)  dominate,  violin  gets  some  use  and  two 
of  the  songs  exceed  the  five-minute  mark.  The  succeed- 
ing Scream  with  a  View  (also  four  songs)  is  noticeably 
more  art-damaged;  itemization  of  instrumentation  cites 
parallel  thirds  guitar,  vocal  concept,  six-part  doo-wahs 
and  CB  interference.  In  retrospect,  this  release  makes 
obvious  the  direction  in  which  they  were  headed. 

Half  Mute  is  a  balanced  assemblage  of  pop  ( "What 
Use?"),  futuristic  chamber  music  ("Tritone")  and  im- 
pressionistic sound  collages  ("James  Whale").  Desire 
is  a  generally  unsatisfying  follow-up,  save  for  a  sneaky 
parody  of  "Holiday  for  Strings"  entitled  "Holiday  for 
Plywood."  Divine,  the  score  for  a  Maurice  Bejart  bal- 
let, jettisons  the  synth  beat  that  makes  their  best  work  so 
attractive.  A  Thousand  Lives  by  Picture  is  a  compila- 
tion of  tracks  previously  issued  on  Ralph. 

By  the  time  of  Ship  of  Fools,  only  Principle  and 
singer/multi-instrumentalist  Steven  Brown  remained 
from  the  original  lineup.  Trading  in  clever  humor  for 
selfconscious  artsiness  (always  just  beneath  the  surface 
anyway),  the  LP  falls  flat  on  its  face,  especially  on  the 
second  side,  where  the  band  proffers  "pieces"  rather 
than  songs;  titles  include  "A  Piano  Solo,"  "Lowlands 
Tone  Poem"  and  "Music  for  Piano  +  Guitar,"  Flirting 
with  both  light  jazz  and  20th-century  classical  styles 
without  getting  much  of  a  grip  on  either,  the  music  is 
about  as  creative  as  the  nomenclature. 

You  is  a  squeaky-clean,  virtually  bloodless  record 
of  meandering  jazz-rock  fusion  with  lots  of  mellow 
trumpet  and  sax  riffs,  Yuck.  In  "Never  Ending  Story," 
we're  told  "This  is  only  the  beginning  of  a  long  story 
that  will  take  many  more  songs  to  tell/*  I'm  not  sure  if 
I've  heard  it  before,  but  I'll  stop  you  anyway.  Side  Two 
introduces  a  Twilight  Zone-style  three-part  yarn  spoken 
with  minimalist  backing.  Skip  it, 

Pinheads  on  the  Move  is  a  two-disc  compilation 
dating  all  the  way  back  to  the  band's  California  begin- 
nings (the  title  song  was  their  first  45)  and  contains 
singles,  B-sides,  rehearsals*  live  tracks  and  jingles  for 
radio  programs.  Most  of  the  material  and  performances 
date  from  1977-'79,  and  the  lengthy  liner  notes  (an 
excerpt  from  an  Italian  book  about  the  band)  provide  an 
intensive  history  lesson, 

Tuxedornoon  continues  to  eschew  the  commercial 


694 


success  they  likely  could  achieve;  meanwhile,  the  mem- 
bers have  undertaken  many  outside  projects.  Violinist 
Blaine  L.  Reininger,  Tuxmoon's  co-founder,  recorded 
Colorado  Suite  with  Mike!  Rouse  of  Tirez  Tirez  in 
1984  as  part  of  Crammed' s  Made  to  Measure  series. 
The  four-track,  28-minute  mini-LP  of  a  performance 
piece  is  similar  to  Philip  Glass  in  its  bright  timbre  and 
repetitive  motifs  but  lacks  Glass'  technique  of  introduc- 
ing changes  so  subtly  that  they're  barely  noticeable. 
This  suite  goes  for  a  little  while  on  one  riff,  then  another 
similar  one,  then  another  and  so  on,  often  with  Rein- 
inger's  violin  counterpoint  dominating.  Not  a  winner. 

Reininger' s  Live  Ira  Brussels  82-86  contains  defen- 
sive, condescending  liner  notes  and  credits  him  with 
vocals,  violin,  keyboards,  Captain  Beefheart  imperson- 
ations and  snide  comments.  Okay.  The  sound — a  well- 
played  synthesized  melange,  not  dissimilar  to  early 
electro-pop  a  la  Ultravox — only  gets  to  be  rough  going 
when  the  vocals  turn  overly  pretentious. 

Book  of  Hours  is  an  intelligent  collection  of  songs 
driven  by  synths  and  guitars,  but  Reininger' s  full-of- 
himself  voice  cancels  out  much  of  what's  in  the  plus 
column.  An  ill-advised  cover  of  Marty  Robbins'  "El 
Paso"  sounds  more  like  a  Las  Vegas  arrangement,  and 
there  are  too  many  cuts  with  plodding  tempos.  Steve 
Brown  of  Tuxmoon  guests. 

expatriate  journals  is  a  compilation  of  this  prolific 
artist's  work,  some  of  it  good  ("Birthday  Song"),  some 
of  it  weak  ("El  Paso"  again),  some  of  it  indicative  of  a 
taste  for  Eurochic  ("A  Cafe  au  Lait  for  Mr. 
MXYZPTLK"  and  "Ralf  and  Florian  Go  Hawaiian,"  a 
song  about  half  of  Kraftwerk  on  holiday).  Overall,  an 
admirable  showcase  for  Reininger 's  versatility. 

About  half  of  Sedimental  Journey,  bassist  Peter 
Principle's  first  solo  record  (also  from  the  Made  to  Mea- 
sure collection),  is  a  video  film  soundtrack.  The  one- 
man  show  is  stylistically  similar  to  the  off-center  pop  of 
the  first  two  Tuxedomoon  albums — lots  of  mild  synth 
dissonance  with  found  voices  drifting  around.  Agree- 
able enough,  but  nothing  the  band  hasn't  already  ac- 
complished. 

Tong's  solo  album,  Theoretically  Chinese,  features 
an  all-star  cast,  including  New  Order's  Steve  Morris, 
ex-Magazine  keyboardist  Dave  Formula,  Jah  Wobble, 
A  Certain  Ratio's  Simon  Topping;  then- Associate  Alan 
Rankme  produced.  Although  literary  name-dropping  un- 
der the  guise  of  inspiration  is  a  little  annoying,  working 
with  a  different  cast  suits  Tong  well.  The  LP  combines 
artsy  dance  cuts  with  deliberate  electronic  tone  poems; 
although  Tong  is  sometimes  strangely  buried  in  the  mix, 
he  seems  in  control  of  the  proceedings.  A  Eurodance 
version  of  Marianne  Faithful's  "Broken  English"  con- 
cludes the  album.  [mp/dgs] 

See  also  Tirez  Tirez. 


24-7  SPYZ 

Harder  Than  You  (In-Effect)  1 989  • 
Gumbo  Millennium  (In-Eff©ct)  1 1 990  • 

Although  largely  hidden  in  the  sudden  explosion  of 
late- '80s  thrash-funk  combos,  this  exceptional  New 
York  quartet  is  virtually  everything  Living  Colour 
would  be  if  Vernon  Reid  weren't  such  an  overachieving 
technician  and  Corey  Glover  didn't  take  himself  so  se- 


riously. Jimi  Hazel  can  play  guitar  in  a  variety  of  speed- 
metal,  jazzbuster  and  post-funk  styles,  but  spends  his 
time  contributing  to  the  songs  rather  than  trying  to  es- 
cape them  with  flash  solos;  the  rhythm  section  moves 
easily  from  junior-gods-of-thunder  to  thumb-popping 
bass  and  irresistible  sacroiliac  adjustments.  Capping  it 
all  off,  singer  Peter  Fluid  sings  his  lyrical  mixture  of 
African- American  culture,  cogent  politics  and  punky 
stupidity  with  confidence  and  power. 

Harder  Than  You  is  a  mighty  and  confident  debut 
that  unabashedly  pays  loving  respect  to  an  influential 
relative  ("Grandma  Dynamite"),  covers  Black  Uhuru 
without  making  a  big  fiiss  ("Sponji  Reggae"),  gets 
dumb  and  dirty  ("New  Drug"),  offers  a  striking  con- 
demnation of  the  anti-democratic  violence  in  Haiti 
("Ballots  Not  Bullets")  and  rocks  from  wall  to  wall. 

Employing  an  uninhibited  stylistic  palette  that  seems 
to  reflect  whatever  springs  into  the  Spyz's  collective 
consciousness  at  any  given  moment,  Gumbo  Millen- 
nium winds  up  retreating  to  opposite  corners  of  rela- 
tively serious  hard-rock  (still  with  pungent  political/ 
personal  lyrics,  but  now  employing  a  thick,  hardened 
metal-cwm-hardcore  sound)  and  flaky  digressions  that 
don't  really  add  up  to  an  album.  Individual  tracks — like 
the  cool  fusion  groove  of  "Dude  U  Knew,"  the  ska-beat 
"Culo  Posse"  and  the  throbbing  world  report  of  "We'll 
Have  Power" — are  fine,  but  the  band  needs  a  strong 
outside  force  to  focus  it  all  into  a  cohesive  package. 
Fluid  and  drummer  Anthony  Johnson  left  at  the  end  of 
'90  and  were  replaced  by,  respectively,  Jeff  Broadnax 
and  Joel  Maitoza.  [i] 


27  VARIOUS 

Hi.  (Susstones)  1987 

Yes,  Indeed  (Susstones)  1989 

Approximately  (Clean-Twin/Tone)  1 990  • 

Debuting  as  a  flip  pop-rock  duo,  Minneapolis'  27 
Various  used  the  magic  of  overdubbing  to  assemble  a 
complete  guitar-band  sound  on  the  amateurishly  inven- 
tive Hi.  Clever  songs  (the  vituperative  "Principal  Per- 
cival"  and  "Tempermental  Artist,"  the  trippy 
"Venetian  Blinds"),  nice  instrumental  touches  and  a 
variety  of  styles  (including  droney  mod  psychedelia  and 
Something  Else-era  Kinks)  suggest  witty  possibilities 
but  don't  quite  add  up. 

Jettisoning  the  first  album's  topical  humor  and  hap- 
hazard approaches,  singer-guitarist-songwriter  Ed  Ack- 
erson  and  drummer  Jed  Mayer  drafted  two  new  members 
and  planted  their  feet  firmly  in  the  '60s  on  the  well- 
produced  Yes,  Indeed.  With  songs  like  "Feedtime  for 
Martin"  and  "Stick  It  in  and  Bake  It,"  the  mild- 
mannered  quartet's  accomplished  mix  of  lightweight  ga- 
rage psychedelia  and  offbeat  Anglo-pop  avoids  overt 
nostalgia  in  favor  of  more  intriguingly  idiosyncratic  de- 
signs. 

Slimming  down  to  a  trio,  27  Various  came  into  its 
own  on  Approximately,  an  ace  collection  of  striking 
songs  and  confident  performances.  Most  of  the  tracks 
aren't  any  more  derivative  than  the  Byrdsy  connotation 
of  12-string  guitars  on  "I  Feel  Damage(d)"  and  "Like 
the  Poison."  But  "You  Look  a  Treat"  revisits  the 
lighter  side  of  Their  Satanic  Majesties  Request  with 
flair,  and  "The  Things  I  Wasn't  Supposed  to  See"  takes 


695 


off  from  a  couple  of  Beatles  songs,  including  "She  Said 
She  Said."  More  than  the  sum  of  its  borrowings,  Ap- 
proximately knows  better  than  to  dwell  entirely  in  the 
past.  [i] 


two-step;  if  that's  not  enough,  the  closing  track  is  an 
extended  feedback  opera  that  purports  to  tell  a  birds- 
versus-bulldozers  environmental  story.  Intoxicating  and 
well  worth  seeking  out.  [ws] 


23 

Seven  Songs  EP  (nr/Fetish)  1982  (nr/llluminated)  1 985 
Tearing  Up  the  Plans  EP  (nr/Pineapple-Fetish)  1 982 
The  Culling  Ss  Coming  (nr/Operation  Twilight)  1 983  (Bel. 

Laylah)  1988 

Urban  Gamelan  (nr/llluminated)  1984 
Just  Like  Everybody  (nr/Bleeding  Chin)  1986 

One  of  England's  most  daringly  experimental  post- 
punk  bands,  23  Skidoo  are  friendly  with  the  members  of 
Cabaret  Voltaire;  the  two  outfits  once  entertained 
thoughts  of  merging.  But  while  23  Skidoo' s  early  avant- 
dancefioor  style  was  similar  to  the  Cabs',  they've  al- 
ways maintained  a  closer  link  to  both  free-form 
improvisation  and  non- Western  idioms,  especially  in 
their  later  work. 

Seven  Songs  (which  lists  eight  tracks,  has  nine  and 
was  reissued  with  twelve)  is  a  near-brilliant  fusion  of 
funk,  tape  tricks  and  African  percussion.  The  band 
switches  gears  effortlessly  between  different-yet- 
accessible  dance  tracks  like  "Vegas  el  Bandito,"  the 
ethnomusicology  of  * 'Quiet  Pillage"  and  sound  collages 
('"Mary's  Operation").  Tearing  Up  the  Plans  contin- 
ues in  much  the  same  vein. 

On  The  Culling  Is  Coming,  23  Skidoo  gets  too 
obscure  for  its  own  good.  The  first  side,  recorded  live  at 
the  WOMAD  Festival,  is  a  mish-mash  of  tape  loops, 
random  percussion  and  primitive  horn  honks  which 
sound  like  dying  animals  and  add  up  to  third-rate  Stock- 
hausen.  Side  Two  utilizes  Balinese  gamelans  (tuned 
gongs  of  a  sort)  and  sounds  better  thought-out.  Urban 
Gamelan  is  a  stronger  album,  livelier  and  less  esoteric. 
As  the  title  implies,  real  gamelans  aren't  used,  but  glass 
jugs  and  carbon-dioxide  cylinders  are.  23  Skidoo  will 
never  enjoy  wide-scale  popularity,  but  they  are  an  ear- 
nest, disciplined  band  which  makes  uncompromising 
music.  Just  Like  Everybody  is  a  compilation,  [dgs] 

See  also  Current  93. 

22-PISTEPIRKKO 

The  Kings  of  Hong  Kong  (Fin.  Pygmi)  1987 
Bare  Bone  Nest  (nr/Spirit-Sonet)  1 990 

Since  debuting  with  a  1985  single,  this  trio  from 
Finland  ("22-ladybug")  has  taken  American  country, 
blues  and  psychedelia  as  leaping-off  points  to  much 
stranger  experimentation.  The  first  album  is  mostly  in- 
fectious garage  pop  powered  by  a  roller-rink  Farfisa 
organ,  except  for  "Don't  Try  to  Tease  Me,"  which 
re-imagines  Hank  Williams  with  a  weird  accent  and 
bizarre  production  values.  Frontman  P.K.  Keranen  sings 
bad  English  in  one  of  the  most  endearingly  odd  voices 
this  side  of  Daniel  Johnston. 

Bare  Bone  Nest  finds  the  band  moving  into  surreal 
fractured-blues  territory  where  Giant  Sand  and  Captain 
Beeftieart  might  be  neighbors.  "Shot  Bayou**  is  a  haunt- 
ing nocturne  with  a  slide  guitar  and  waves  breaking  on 
a  beach;  "Round  Table  Blues"  layers  traffic  sounds, 
tablas  and  a  sampled  Armenian  duduk  over  an  acoustic 
Bo  Diddley  jangle  before  segueing  into  a  dusty  Texas 


TWINK 

See  Bevis  Frond,  Social  Deviants. 
See  D.C.3. 

2  LIVE 

The  2  Live  Crew  Is  What  We  Are  (Luke  Skyywalker)  1 986 

(Luke)  1989  +  1991  ® 
Move  Somethin'  (Luke  Skyywalker)  1987  (Luke)  1989  + 

1991  ® 
As  Nasty  as  They  Wanna  Be  (Luke  Skyywaiker)  1 989 

(Luke)  1989® 
As  Clean  as  They  Wanna  Be  (Luke  Skyywalker)  1 989 

(Luke)  1989  +  1991  • 
Live  in  Concert  (Effect)  1 990  ® 

CAMPBELL  FEATURING 
THE  2  LIVE 

Banned  In  the  U.SA.  (Luke-Atlantic)  1990  ® 

As  the  catalyst  for  a  terrifying  governmental  attempt 
to  censor  ostensibly  obscene  musical  expression — 
making  it  a  crime  in  some  districts  to  tell  a  dirty  story 
with  a  beat — Luther  Campbell,  leader  of  the  2  Live 
Crew  and  owner  of  Luke  (formerly  Luke  Skyywalker) 
Records,  has  followed  Larry  Flynt  into  the  free-speech 
history  books  as  another  crude  sleazemonger  of  trivial 
artistic  merit  whose  prosecution  nonetheless  threatens 
basic  constitutional  freedoms.  What  Miami's  2  Live 
Crew  does  is  hardly  new  (check  old  party  records  by 
Blowfly  or  Redd  Foxx  for  historical  precedents),  but 
rap's  enormous  word-of-mouth  audience  turned  what 
should  have  remained  a  fringe  novelty  for  Hustler  read- 
ers into  a  massively  popular  (and,  unfortunately,  influ- 
ential) pop  phenomenon.  Coupled  with  Southern  fear  of 
a  black  planet,  that  was  all  it  took  to  bring  the  2  Live 
Crew  into  the  crosshairs  of  a  hysterical  judiciary,  result- 
ing in  the  group's  third  album  being  outlawed  in  some 
counties  of  Southeastern  Florida  in  June  1990. 

The  Crew's  amateurish  first  album  sets  the  basic 
parameters:  simple  boomin*  tracks  (the  Miami  sound 
generally  uses  ultra-deep  synth  bass  as  the  rhythmic 
foundation)  with  scratches,  obvious  samples  and  ener- 
getic dance-party  rhymes,  several  of  which  crudely  dis- 
cuss the  group's  hobby  (e.g.,  "We  Want  Some 
B~~sy!!"). 

Besides  his  improving  production  skills,  Campbell* s 
serious  marketing  savvy  emerged  on  Move  Somethin', 
the  first  2  Live  Crew  record  to  be  released  in  both  clean 
and  dirty  versions.  Brother  Marquis  and  Fresh  Kid  Ice 
make  a  game  effort  to  make  the  expurgated  version 
work  (actually,  the  rewriting  isn't  noticeably  awkward), 
but  it  winds  up  being  a  party  without  a  bottle  opener. 

An  emboldened  and  meaner-sounding  Crew  reached 
its  dubious  apex  on  the  overwhelming  As  Nasty  as  They 
Wanna  Be  double-album  and  its  expurgated  single- 
album  extract,  As  Clean  as  They  Wanna  Be.  Although 
the  notorious  **Me  So  Horny  "-—a  catchy  sexcapade 


696 


built  around  a  hooker's  line  bitten  from  Full  Metal 
Jacket — is  fairly  innocuous,  other  numbers  like  "Put 
Her  in  the  Buck"  and  'The  Fuck  Shop"  (which  uses 
guitar  lines  from  Guns  n'  Roses  as  well  as  the  Music 
Explosion)  are  as  obsessively  animalistic  as  the  most 
violent  porno  movie.  That  people  enjoy  such  nauseating 
garbage  is  a  really  sad  comment  on  the  state  of  Amer- 
ican culture.  Clean  adds  a  goofy  frat-styled  parody  of 
Roy  Orbison's  "Pretty  Woman"  and  manages  to  do  an 
occasionally  clever  job  of  sanitizing  "Me  So  Horny" 
and  reworking  tracks  like  "The  Funk  Shop."  Still,  the 
songs  are  about  what  they're  about,  and  the  euphemisms 
leave  little  doubt  as  to  what's  not  being  said. 

With  official  attacks  on  Nasty  turning  the  2  Live 
Crew  into  a  cause  celebre,  the  unrepentant  group  re- 
vamped Bruce  Springsteen's  "Bom  in  the  U.S.A."  with 
specifically  topical  lyrics  and  used  it  as  the  lead-off  track 
of  Banned  in  the  U.S.A.,  which  brought  Luke  under 
Atlantic's  distribution  wing.  Otherwise,  the  album 
jumps  back  and  forth  between  raps  about  the  legal  battle 
(with  relevant  audio  actualities  and  fictional  narration) 
and  the  Crew's  traditional  paeans  to  bodies  and  boning. 
A  very  strange  blend  but,  under  such  weird  circum- 
stances, probably  as  logical  as  they're  gonna  be. 

The  live  album — apparently  the  first-ever  full-length 
rap  concert  LP — is  a  poorly  recorded  cattle  call,  in 
which  Luke  and  the  boys  deliver  a  selection  of  their 
crudest  sex  raps  (plus  a  couple  of  previously  unrecorded 
sure-to-be-classics)  to  an  enthusiastic  Phoenix  crowd. 
(Interesting  choice  of  venue.)  Regardless  of  the  band's 
ultimate  place  in  history,  the  sound  of  an  audience 
cheering  "Head!  Booty!  Cock!"  is  unquestionably  a 
cultural  low.  [i] 

TWO  NICE  GIRLS 

2  Nice  Girls  (Rough  Trade)  1989  « 
Like  a  Version  EP  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  « 
Chloe  Liked  Olivia  (Rough  Trade)  1991  « 

Two  Nice  Girls  began  in  1985  as  the  duo  of  Gretchen 
Phillips  (vocals/guitar)  and  Laurie  Freelove  (vocals/ 
guitar).  Joined  by  Kathy  Korniloff  (vocals/bass/guitar), 
they  won  Austin's  "Sweet  Jane"  contest  with  a  gor- 
geous, meditative  version  that  interpolated  Joan  Anna- 
trading's  "Love  and  Affection"  into  the  Lou  Reed 
classic. 

That  medley  appears  on  the  trio's  delightful  debut 
album,  along  with  a  tasteful  cover  of  Jane  Siberry's 
"Follow  Me"  and  a  batch  of  fine  Phillips  and  Freelove 
originals.  The  Girls'  uncategorizable  sound  draws  on 
folk,  rock,  bluegrass,  cajun  and  jazz,  all  woven  together 
with  great  warmth  and  virtuosity.  (The  sleeve  credits  D. 
Boon  and  Nina  Simone  as  inspirations,  along  with  the 
Shaggs,  Slits  and  Throwing  Muses.)  But  the  group's 
primary  appeal  lies  in  its  angelic  harmonies,  wry  humor 
and  durable  songwriting. 


Freelove,  who  had  written  two  of  the  album's  high- 
lights ("Looking  Out"  and  "Heaven  on  Earth"),  left 
the  group  for  a  solo  career  shortly  after  its  release.  With 
two  new  members,  Two  Nice  Girls  made  Like  a  Ver- 
sion, an  EP  which  reprises  the  album's  hilarious  send-up 
of  heterosexuality,  "I  Spent  My  Last  $10.00  (On  Birth 
Control  &  Beer)"  ("My  life  was  so  much  simpler/when 
I  was  sober  and  queer"),  and  adds  five  covers:  from 
Sonic  Youth's  "Cotton  Crown"  to  the  Carpenters' 
'Top  of  the  World."  Repeating  the  "Sweet  Jane  (With 
Affection)"  trick,  the  Girls  graft  Donna  Summer  to  Bad 
Company  hi  "I  Feel  (Like  Makin')  Love." 

Chloc  Liked  Olivia,  the  new  lineup's  first  full- 
length  album,  takes  a  bold  but  wobbly  commercial  step 
towards  mainstream  acceptability.  By  and  large,  the 
group's  ambitious  adventures  into  rock  production  don't 
work.  While  Korniloff  s  folky-pop  "Eleven"  and  "Ra- 
tional Heart"  receive  subtle  and  sympathetic  treatment, 
some  of  Phillips'  material  goes  very  wrong.  "For  the 
Inauguration"  is  a  clumsy  political  song  that  actually 
employs  a  Bush  impersonator;  slathering  electric  guitar 
on  the  lovely  "Princess  of  Power"  shows  a  lapse  of 
both  taste  and  artistic  logic.  New  Girls  Meg  Hentges 
and  Pam  Barger  both  make  positive  songwriting  contri- 
butions, but  having  four  lead  vocalists  in  the  group  may 
not  be  such  a  wise  idea.  [ws/i] 

SEAN  TYLA 

Yachtless  (Beserkley)  1 977  ® 
Moonproof  (Beserkley)  1 978  • 

SEAN  TYLA 

Just  Popped  Out  (Polydor)  1 980 

From  seminal  pub-rock  bandleader  (Ducks  Deluxe) 
to  early  Stiff  signee  (his  "Texas  Chainsaw  Massacre 
Boogie"  was  the  label's  fourth  release)  to  the  Tyla  Gang 
and  a  solo  career,  guitarist  Sean  Tyla's  been  around.  His 
three  albums  (the  first  two  with  a  steady  band  of  pub 
compadres)  are  hard-rocking  and  honest  but  not  thrill- 
ing, despite  good  playing  and  Tyla's  sincere  hoarse  vo- 
cals. Yachtiess  is  the  raunchy  one,  full  of  lead  guitar 
and  aggressive  drumming.  Moonproof  takes  a  subtler 
attack,  introducing  acoustic  guitar  and  a  more  American 
sound,  but  no  energy  loss.  Just  Popped  Out,  which 
employs  an  amazing  cast  of  pub-rock  characters  (in- 
cluding former  members  of  Ace,  Bees  Make  Honey, 
Ducks  Deluxe,  Chilli  Willi  and  the  Red  Hot  Peppers  and 
Man)  not  to  mention  Joan  Jett  and  Kenny  Laguna,  of- 
fers bitter,  depressed  songs  given  the  best  studio  treat- 
ment of  Tyla's  career.  Comparisons  to  Bob  Segef  s 
gritty  rock  don't  exactly  say  it,  but  both  have  a  com- 
mitment to  personal  vision  and  unfancy,  straightforward 
music.  [i] 

See  also  Ducks  Deluxe. 


697 


UB40 

Signing  Off  (nr/Graduate)  1 980  • 

Present  Arms  (nr/DEP  Infl)  1981  +  1985  • 

Present  Arms  in  Dub  (nr/DEP  infl)  1981  +  1985 

The  Singles  Album  (nr/Graduate)  1 982 

UB44  (nr/DEP  Inf  I)  1982® 

Live  (nr/DEP  Infl)  1983® 

1 980-83  (A&M)  1983® 

Labour  of  Love  (A&M)  1 983  • 

Geffery  Morgan  (A&M)  1 984  • 

The  UB40  File  (nr/Graduate)  1985  • 

Baggariddim  (nr/DEP  Infl)  1985  ® 

Little  Baggariddim  EP  (A&M)  1985  • 

Rat  in  the  Kitchen  (DEP  Infl-Virgin-A&M)  1986  ® 

UB40  CCCP-Live  in  Moscow  (A&M)  1 987  ® 

The  Best  of  UB40  Volume  One  (nr/DEP  Infl)  1 987  * 

UB40  (DEP  Infl-A&M)  1988® 

Labour  of  Love  II  (Virgin)  1 989  ® 

This  eight-man  integrated  reggae  outfit  from  Bir- 
mingham built  its  huge  following  on  an  independent 
label  (the  band's  own  DEP  International)  with  non- 
Rastafarian  lyrics  concerning  social  issues — not  unlike 
what  many  new  wave  bands  addressed — and  an  ineffa- 
ble pop  sensibility.  From  the  get-go,  UB40's  music  has 
held  appeal  far  beyond  the  specialized  market;  they  are 
the  most  commercially  successful  self-contained  reggae 
band  in  the  world.  Quietly  percolating  grooves  gar- 
nished with  sultry  horn  lines  and  centered  around  Ali 
CampbelPs  cool,  Stevie  Wonderesque  crooning  (with 
and  without  sweet  harmonies)  give  UB40  an  instantly 
identifiable  sound — or  formula,  as  you  will. 

On  the  early  albums,  even  the  best  of  the  uneven 
songwriting — as  catchy  as  it  does  get — sounds  samey 
and  is  dominated  by  the  group's  style.  Contrary  to  the 
lyrics'  urgency,  the  music  suggests  that  even  when  "The 
Earth  Dies  Screaming,"  we'll  hear  it  calmly  sipping  tea 
in  a  hot  tub.  In  the  early  days,  the  band's  tunesmithing 
seemed  to  rise  to  the  occasion  only  for  singles  (and 
often,  surprisingly,  for  B-sides). 

The  Singles  Album  is  UB40's  best  English-only 
LP,  even  though  over  half  of  it  had  already  appeared  on 
Signing  Off.  (For  the  quantity-minded,  the  latter  does 
include  a  bonus  disc  with  another  21  minutes  of  music. ) 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  any  non-fan  possessing  a  couple  of 
UB  45s  might  hesitate  before  buying  an  album  by  the 
group. 

Present  Arms  is  notable  for  more  prominent  use  of 
toasting  (which  continued  on  UB44)  and  little  else, 
aside  from  two  solid  singles.  Present  Arms  in  Dub, 
though,  thoughtfully  attempts  an  alternative  to  the  usual 
dub  style,  which  is  generally  just  vocal-less  electronic 
fiddling  of  greatly  variable  quality.  Here,  UB40  drasti- 
cally changed  the  face  of  its  music  to  the  point  where 
some  songs  are  hardly  recognizable;  it's  nearly  as 
though  the  material  were  written  explicitly  for  dub  treat- 
ment. A  for  effort. 


UB44,  in  addition  to  minor  alterations  (more  Latin 
percussion,  sparingly  applied  gurgling  synth),  displays 
wider  lyrical  range  and  increased  verbal  acuity,  but  the 
only  truly  striking  tune  is,  naturally,  a  single  ("So  Here 
I  Am").  It's  not  that  UB40  have  little  to  offer;  it's  just 
that  their  singles  are  the  brightest  spots  cut  from  the 
same  relatively  unvarying  cloth. 

The  group's  first  live  album  was  recorded  on  tour  in 
Ireland  in  1982  and  features  such  tunes  as  "Food  for 
Thought,"  "Tyler"  and  "One  in  Ten." 

In  an  effort  to  export  some  of  UB40's  success  to  the 
States,  the  group's  American  label  issued  1980-83,  a 
selection  of  tracks  from  UB44,  Present  Arms  and  early 
singles.  Not  a  bad  set,  but  not  the  introduction  America 
wanted  to  hear.  What  finally  did  the  trick  was  a  novelty 
of  sorts,  but  one  that  sidestepped  the  band's  shortcom- 
ings as  songwriters.  Labour  of  Love  is  an  LP  of  cover 
versions,  drawing  on  reggae  (and  reggaefied)  hits  from 
a  number  of  diverse  authors.  Neil  Diamond  ("Red  Red 
Wine"),  Jimmy  Cliff  ("Many  Rivers  to  Cross"),  Del- 
roy  Wilson  ("Johnny  Too  Bad")  and  others.  The  re- 
sultant variety  and  melodic  quality  make  the  album 
easily  and  enduringly  enjoyable,  a  rich  mine  of  superbly 
played,  loving  tributes. 

The  entirely  new  original  material  of  Geffery  Mor- 
gan shows  a  vastly  more  creative  UB40  at  work.  Inven- 
tive production,  intriguing  rock  rhythms,  powerful  and 
memorable  songwriting  and  new  outlooks  all  combine 
to  make  it  a  great  record  that  remains  rooted  in  reggae 
but  is  much  more  diverse  than  the  form  generally  al- 
lows. "Riddle  Me"  and  "If  It  Happens  Again"  are  ace 
reggae/rock  hybrids;  "Nkomo  a  Go  Go,"  with  a  pro- 
pulsive dance-rock  beat  and  wailing  saxophone,  shows 
the  full  range  of  UB40's  development.  A  very  impres- 
sive step  forward  from  a  band  who  already  know  the 
formula  for  success. 

The  UB40  File  is  a  repackage  of  Signing  Off,  with 
a  second  disc  consisting  of  all  the  singles  the  band  cut 
that  year.  (It  doesn't  require  a  detective  to  realize  that  it 
merely  reissues — and  not  for  the  first  time— everything 
on  their  original  label.)  Unnecessary,  except  for  com- 
pletists, 

Baggariddim  consists  of  three  new  recordings  (the 
catchy  "Don't  Break  My  Heart,"  "Mi  Spliff"  and  a 
charmingly  reggaefied  "I  Got  You  Babe"  sung  with 
Chrissie  Hynde)  on  an  EP  plus  a  seven-song  album  of 
dub  mixes — with  guest  toasters— from  Labour  of  Love 
and  Geffery  Morgan.  The  one-disc  Little  Baggarid- 
dim offers  the  three  new  items,  plus  "I  Got  You  Babe" 
dub  and  two  additional  numbers, 

Rat  in  the  Kitchen  is  another  spectacularly  accom- 
plished collection  of  originals  that  makes  clear  the 
maturity  of  UB40's  songwriting.  Lyrics  concern  em- 
ployment and  poverty;  "Sing  Our  Own  Song"  vaguely 
discusses  apartheid,  (The  LP  includes  postcards  for  pro- 
testing to  P.W.  Botha  and  contributing  to  Amnesty  In- 


698 


ternational.)  Although  no  tracks  particularly  stand  out, 
Eat  lit  the  Kitchen  bops  from  start  to  finish  with  in- 
fectious warmth  and  top-notch  musicianship. 

Live  in  Moscow,  a  single  disc  recorded  during  a 
historic  1986  Russian  tour,  draws  from  various  periods 
in  the  band's  career  and  includes  "If  It  Happens 
Again,"  "Don't  Break  My  Heart,"  "Cherry  Oh 
Baby,"  "Johnny  Too  Bad"  and  "Please  Don't  Make 
Me  Cry."  The  performances  are  lively,  but  thin,  barely 
adequate  sound  makes  it  more  a  milestone  in  UB40's 
history  than  an  important  contribution  to  it.  The  Best  of 
UB40  Volume  One  compiles  fourteen  British  hits;  the 
CD  adds  four  bonus  tracks. 

Tragedy  struck  UB40  in  November  1987,  when 
bassist  Earl  Falconer  drove  his  car  into  a  Birmingham 
factory  wall,  killing  his  brother  Ray,  the  band's  co- 
producer.  Although  he  was  eventually  sentenced  to 
prison  for  causing  a  death  by  reckless  driving,  he  was 
back  in  the  group  for  the  recording  of  UB40,  a  light- 
weight, restrained  new  album.  "Come  Out  to  Play," 
"Breakfast  in  Bed"  (another  guest  vocal  by  Hynde), 
the  solemn  "I  Would  Do  for  You"  and  "Matter  of 
Time"  make  the  most  of  catchy  pop  choruses,  leaving 
the  remaining  material  to  just  throb  along  pleasantly. 

Moviemakers  do  it,  so  why  not  musicians?  The  se- 
quel to  the  massively  successful  Labour  of  Love  (which 
finally  reached  platinum  status  in  America  five  years 
after  its  release)  contains  UB40's  interpretations  of 
reggae-identified  R&B  classics  by  Al  Green,  the  Chi- 
Lites,  the  Miracles,  John  Holt  and  others.  Although  II  is 
less  convincing  and  harder  to  fit  into  UB40's  commer- 
cial and  creative  arc  than  the  first  covers  album,  several 
tunes — especially  "Here  I  Am  (Come  and  Take  Me)" 
and  "The  Way  You  Do  the  Things  You  Do" — ably 
locate  that  magical  blend  of  song  and  style.  [jg/i] 

See  also  Pretenders. 


U.K.  DECAY 

The  Black  EP  (nr/Plastic)  1979 

For  Madmen  Only  (nr/Fresh)  1 981 

Rising  from  the  Dread  EP  (nr/Corpus  Christi)  1982 

A  Night  for  Celebration  [tape]  (nr/Decay)  1 983 

FURYO 

Furyo  EP  (nr/Anagram)  1 983 

IN  EXCELS1S 

Carnival  of  Damocles  EP  (nr/Jungle)  1983 
Ladder  of  Lust  EP  (nr/Jungle)  1 984 

Theatrical  post-punks  with  an  unfortunately  short 
lifespan,  U.K.  Decay  provided  a  crucial  bridge  between 
such  art-gloom  bands  as  Bauhaus,  PiL,  Theatre  of  Hate 
and  Killing  Joke  and  the  anarchy-punk  camp  led  by 
Crass,  Rudimentary  Peni  and  Flux  of  Pink  Indians. 
Quite  unlike  the  politico/nasty-thrash  image  suggested 
by  their  name,  U.K.  Decay  had  a  classical  bent,  both 
in  frontman  Abbo's  theatrical  intonations  (think 
Shakespearian)  and  the  complex,  almost  stately  modal- 
ities of  the  music, 

The  Black  EP  captures  the  band  in  an  early,  some- 
what immature  state.  The  four  tracks  are  far  more  tra- 
ditional (not  to  mention  humorous)  punk  constructions 
than  their  later,  highly  serious  work.  On  For  Madmen 
Only,  the  band's  sole  album,  Steve  Spon's  five-string 
guitar  produces  a  lucid,  biting  wash  of  sound — akin  to 


John  McKay's  work  on  the  first  two  Banshees 
albums — mated  to  Steve  Harle's  tribal  drum  patterns. 
(Although  he  does  play  on  some  songs,  bassist  Martyn 
"Segovia"  Smith  died  before  the  LP  was  completed.) 
No  matter  how  ambitious  or  full  of  portent  the  group 
gets,  the  record  remains  invigorating;  driving  and  an- 
gular, and  an  inestimable  influence  on  the  '82  positive 
punk  movement  (Sex  Gang  Children,  Southern  Death 
Cult,  etc.). 

Rising  from  the  Dread  is  a  creative  apex.  The  side- 
long "Werewolf"  boasts  ingenious  hair-raising  sonic 
effects,  while  the  other  three  cuts  (especially  "Testa- 
ment") are  nearly  as  good.  U.K.  Decay  went  out  in 
style  with  an  explosive  series  of  final  concerts  in  De- 
cember of  1982. 

Three-fourths  of  the  group  appeared  on  The  Whip 
compilation  as  Slave  Drive,  then  soldiered  on  under  the 
name  Furyo  the  following  year  (with  former  Gene  Loves 
Jezebel  guitarist  Albie  De  Luca  in  Spon's  place),  at- 
tempting even  weightier  and  more  baroque  composi- 
tions. 

Spon  formed  the  sub-par  In  Excelsis,  joined  by  two 
ex-members  of  Ritual.  Though  clearly  reminiscent  of 
both  parent  groups,  In  Excelsis  possessed  neither  the 
cool  intensity  and  compositional  mastery  of  the  former 
nor  the  raw  potential  of  the  latter.  A  few  clever  touches 
(like  the  bell  motif  in  Ladder  of  Lust's  "Bonanza") 
aside,  the  band  proved  a  dead  end.  [gef] 

See  also  Cult. 


U.K. 

Another  Kind  of  Blues  (nr/Gem)  1979 

Live  Kicks  (nr/Stiff)  1980 

Brand  New  Age  (nr/Gem)  1980 

Crash  Course  (nr/Gem)  1 980 

Diminished  Responsibility  (nr/Gem)  1 981 

Endangered  Species  (nr/NEMS)  1982  (nr/Link)  1990 

Best  Of  (1 977-1 981 )  (nr/Abstract)  1 982 

Flood  of  Lies  (nr/Scariet-Fall  Out)  1983 

Demonstration  Tapes  (nr/Konexion)  1984 

Subs  Standard  (nr/Dojo)  1 985 

Gross-Out  USA  (nr/Fall  Out)  1 985 

Huntington  Beach  (nr/UK  Subs)  1986  (nr/Revolver)  1990 

In  Action-Tenth  Anniversary  (nr/Fall  Out)  1 986  * 

Left  for  Dead:  Alive  in  Holland  '86  [tape]  (ROIR)  1 986 

Raw  Material  (nr/Killerwatt)  1986 

A.W.O.L  (New  Red  Archives)  1987 

Japan  Today  (Restless)  1 988 

Killing  Time  (nr/Fall  Out)  1 989  * 

Greatest  Hits  (Live  in  Paris)  (nr/Released  Emotions)  1990 

CHARLIE  HARPER 

Stolen  Property  (nr/Flicknife)  1 982 

URBAN  DOGS 

Urban  Dogs  (nr/Fall  Out)  1983 
No  Pedigree  (nr/Flicknife)  1985 

Alongside  their  contemporaries,  London's  never- 
say-die  U.K.  Subs'  1 977- vintage  punk  sounds  old- 
fashioned,  yet  Nicky  Garratt's  wall-of-sound  rhythm 
guitar  and  Charlie  Harper's  chanted/sung  vocals  make 
for  highly  enjoyable  charged  rock'n'rage.  Maybe  it's 
the  familiarity  of  their  style  that  makes  the  quartet  more 
listenable  than,  say,  the  early  Exploited;  whatever  the 
case,  the  Subs  play  high-energy,  fast-paced  rock  with  a 


699 


social  conscience,  and  that  keeps  them  one  of  England's 
most  successful  punk  outfits. 

Brand  New  Age  finds  the  Subs  bemoaning  alien- 
ation in  the  modern  world  (on  the  title  track)  and  sing- 
ing their  signature  tune,  "Emotional  Blackmail,"  twice. 
Diminished  Responsibility  confronts  such  issues  as 
racism,  rioting,  gangsters,  Paris,  prison  and  urban  de- 
cay. Harper's  songwriting  (in  collaboration  with  various 
members  of  the  band)  shows  lyrical  growth — he's  quite 
capable  of  incisive  lines  and  spot-on  humor — on  En- 
dangered Species,  a  fact  he  almost  acknowledges  on 
"Sensitive  Boys";  elsewhere,  the  bleak  terrain  is  lit- 
tered with  better-expressed  and  subtler  observations 
about  the  world's  ills.  Best  tune:  the  touching  "Fear  of 
Girls." 

Flood  of  Lies  showcases  a  new  lineup  and  has  a 
great  political  cartoon  of  Maggie  Thatcher  on  the  cover; 
the  songs  are  once  again  more  aggressive  ("Violent 
Revolution,"  "Soldiers  of  Fortune"),  but  there's  room 
for  some  humor  as  well  ("Revenge  of  the  Jelly  Dev- 
ils"). Gross-Out  USA,  the  Subs'  second  live  album 
(after  Crash  Course),  recapitulates  the  band's  career  in 
fine  raucous  form  with  sixteen  songs  offered  start-to- 
finish,  just  as  they  happened.  Left  for  Dead  does  the 
same  feat,  adding  to  the  Subs'  live  album  legacy  with  a 
tape-only  release,  recorded  with  yet  another  lineup  in 
Holland.  The  23  songs  overlap  only  a  half-dozen  with 
Gross-Out;  the  performance  is  typically  incendiary  and 
the  recording  quality  not  half  bad. 

Japan  Today  is  the  Subs'  tenth  studio  album  (but 
who's  counting?),  a  more  controlled  and  musical  assault 
than  usual,  recorded  by  Harper  and  five  sidemen,  in- 
cluding ex- Vibrator  guitarist  Knox  and  bassman  Flea 
from  the  Chili  Peppers.  The  sound  is  a  bit  '70s  hard 
rock,  the  lyrical  stance  broader  and  less  cliche'd  as  well. 
An  improvement,  but  not  exactly  a  high  point  in  con- 
temporary rock'n'roll. 

In  mid- '88,  Harper  and  Garratt  reunited  (the  last  UK 
Subs  album  they  had  done  together  was  Endangered 
Species)  in  New  York  to  record  the  likable  Killing 
Time,  a  crisply  produced  example  of  moderate  Clash- 
styled  guitar  rock  with  some  workable  melodies  and 
lyrics  that  don't  take  a  very  strong  stand  on  cars,  cities 
and  women.  Although  the  solemn  piano/acoustic  guitar 
tribute  to  Nico  that  ends  the  LP  is  a  nice  idea  poorly 
executed,  the  record's  overall  lack  of  consistency — 
Harper  shares  lead  vocals  with  Garratt  and  bassist  Alvin 
Gibbs,  and  all  three  contribute  to  the  uneven  song 
collection — is  its  major  flaw.  (The  CD  adds  three  out- 
takes  from  the  sessions.) 

Harper's  first  solo  effort  is  worth  checking  out.  Un- 
like the  Subs'  all-original  music,  Stolen  Property  oddly 
consists  of  traditional  garage  band  standards,  such  as 
"Pills,"  "Louie,  Louie,"  "Hey  Joe"  and  "Waiting  for 
My  Man." 

On  Urban  Dogs,  the  not-so-super  session  of  Harper 
and  Knox  (plus  a  rhythm  section)  plays  highly  charged 
riotpunk  that  sounds  like  a  cross  between  early  Stran- 
glers,  early  Pistols  and  early  Stooges.  Alongside  Knox 
originals  (including  the  Vibrators'  classic  "Into  the  Fu- 
ture," here  retitled  "Sex  Kick")  and  a  couple  of  Harp- 
er's own  raunchy  numbers,  there  are  covers  of  Iggy's  "I 
Wanna  Be  Your  Dog'*  and  the  Dolls'  "Human  Being," 
the  latter  complete  with  soundalike  Thunders  licks.  The 
raunch,  spirit  and  electricity  run  high  from  start  to  fin- 


ish, making  Urban  Dogs  everything  a  great  punk  record 
should  be. 

Harper,  Knox  and  a  drummer  called  Turkey  made 
the  turkey  called  No  Pedigree  with  Anthony  Thistle- 
thwaite  (of  the  Waterboys)  adding  a  little  sax.  Unlike 
the  Dogs'  first  outing,  this  one  is,  for  the  most  part, 
lame  and  uninspired,  a  plodding  mush  of  (presumably) 
originals  and  such  covers  as  "Monster  Mash,"  Marc 
Bolan's  "Children  of  the  Revolution"  and  the  Fugs' 
"Slum  Goddess."  The  only  track  of  real  note  is  John 
Lennon's  "Cold  Turkey,"  sung  by  two  women  dubbed 
the  Raspberry  Tarts.  [cpl/i] 

Tales  of  Captain  Black  (Artists  House)  1 979 

Are  You  Glad  to  Be  in  America?  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 980 

(Artists  House)  1981 
Free  Lancing  (Columbia)  1981 
Black  Rock  (Columbia)  1982 
Odyssey  (Columbia)  1 983 
Part  Time  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 984 
Got  Something  Good  for  You  (Ger.  Moers  Music)  1 986 
Phalanx  (Ger.  Moers  Music)  1 986 
Live  at  the  Caravan  of  Dreams  (Caravan  of  Dreams) 

1987 
America-Do  You  Remember  the  Love?  (Blue  Note) 

1987® 
Original  Phalanx  (Ger.  Moers  Music)  1 989 

MUSIC  REVELATION 

No  Wave  (Ger.  Moers  Music)  1 980 

Called  the  most  innovative  electric  guitarist  since 
Jimi  Hendrix,  James  Blood  Ulmer  is  certainly  worthy  of 
that  challenge.  Joined  by  mentor  Ornette  Coleman,  Ul- 
mer introduced  many  to  the  avant-garde  concept  of  har- 
molodics  with  the  release  of  Tales  of  Captain  Black, 
eight  songs  of  hot  funk  and  boiling  rhythms.  The  pro- 
duction is  somewhat  flat  and  Coleman  upstages  him,  but 
it's  still  an  eye-opening  debut. 

The  exceptionally  fine  Are  You  Glad  to  Be  in 
America?  features  Ulmer 's  first  vocal  efforts  and  re- 
veals a  staggering  understanding  of  the  roots  of  jazz, 
dance  music,  Eastern  polyrhythms  and  harmolodic  tex- 
tures in  a  lively  sound  mix.  Without  Coleman,  Blood 
works  with  fabled  electric  bassist  Amin  Ali  and  the 
stunning  sax  combo  of  David  Murray  (tenor)  and  Oliver 
Lake  (alto);  the  music  fairly  crackles. 

No  Wave  is  an  experimental  album  recorded  with 
the  Music  Revelation  Ensemble  (Ali,  Murray,  Lake  and 
Ronald  Shannon  Jackson  on  drums).  It's  Ulmer *s  most 
inaccessible  work  and  his  least  focused. 

Free  Lanctog  and  Black  Rock  arc  technical  mas- 
terpieces, making  up  in  precision  what  they  lack  in 
emotion  (as  compared  to  Are  You  Glad  to  Be  to  Amer- 
ica?). Working  to  expand  his  audience,  Ulmer  concen- 
trates more  on  electric  guitar  flash,  and  actual  melodies 
can  be  discerned  from  the  improvised  song  structures 
(improvisation  being  one  of  the  keys  to  harmolodics). 

Odyssey  takes  Ulmer  in  a  novel  direction:  working 
with  just  a  drummer  (Warren  Benbow)  and  violinist 
(Charles  Buraham),  he  builds  mesmerizing  but  patchy 
fabrics  of  busy  guitar,  traversing  kinetic  jazz,  bines,  pop 
and  rock  idioms  with  relaxed  power.  Singing  in  an  en- 
gaging rustic  blues  voice,  Ulmer  essays  extremely  tra- 
ditional song  forms.  ("Little  Red  House**  and  "Ait 


700 


You  Glad  to  Be  in  America?"  sound  like  Taj  Mahal.) 
Matching  the  cheery  cover  photo,  this  is  easily  his  most 
accessible,  commercial  and  likable  record. 

Following  a  number  of  European  releases  (including 
the  live-in-Switzerland  Part  Time)  and  Caravan  of 
Dreams,  an  American  live  album  recorded  with  Burn- 
ham,  Benbow  and  Ali,  Ulmer  joined  forces  with  bassist/ 
co-producer  Bill  Laswell  and  Ronald  Shannon  Jackson 
(plus  Nicky  Skopelitis  and  Bernard  Fowler)  to  make 
another  marvelous  vocal  record,  America-Do  You 
Remember  the  Love?,  that  has  even  more  to  offer  a 
mainstream  audience  than  Odyssey.  Half  incisive  in- 
strumentals  and  half  songs  that  skip  extensive  soloing  in 
favor  of  a  group  approach  with  nearly  constant  vocals, 
the  album  unifies  Ulmer' s  many  musical  abilities  into  a 
unique,  mesmerizing  style.  Unfairly  characterized  as 
jazz  by  its  nonetheless  welcome  release  on  Blue  Note, 
this  message  of  discouraged  but  hopeful  patriotism  in- 
stead offers  extraordinarily  adventurous  pop  for  think- 
ing people  with  soul.  [gf/i] 


ULTRA  VIVID  SCENE 

She  Screamed  EP  (nr/4AD)  1988  * 

Ultra  Vivid  Scene  (4AD-Rough  Trade)  1988  * 

Mercy  Seat  EP  (nr/4AD)  1989 

Staring  at  the  Sun  EP  (4AD-Columbia)  1990  « 

Joy  1967-1990  (4AD-Columbia)  1990  • 

Special  One  EP  (4AD-Columbia)  1990  • 

Listen  past  the  pretty  facade  of  Ultra  Vivid  Scene  to 
the  barely  suppressed  screams  within,  and  yourll  find  an 
admirably  subversive  mind  at  work.  Whether  perform- 
ing techno-pop,  ambient  soundscapes  or  Patsy  Cline 
covers,  UVS  wields  the  same  breathless,  desperate  men- 
ace. 

For  all  its  attempts  to  be  perceived  as  a  band,  UVS 
is  still  essentially  Kurt  Ralske,  a  musical  prodigy  of 
sorts  from  Long  Island  who  grew  up  on  jazz  and  clas- 
sical music.  After  quitting  the  Berklee  School  of  Music 
at  17,  he  bought  a  guitar  and  began  playing  in  rock, 
hardcore  and  jazz  bands,  moving  to  London  with  a 
group  called  Crash  (which  soon  did).  He  then  formed 
the  first  incarnation  of  UVS  and  hung  out  with  members 
of  the  Jesus  &  Mary  Chain,  My  Bloody  Valentine  and 
Loop  before  returning  to  New  York  and  signing  with 
4AD. 

Ralske  created  the  elaborate  Ultra  Vivid  Scene  en- 
tirely by  himself,  offering  a  disturbingly  intimate 
glimpse  into  his  evidently  tortured  soul  as  well  as 
his  considerable  musical  talents.  The  bittersweet 
juxtapositions — a  beautiful  melody  with  S&M  lyrics,  a 
bouncy  pop  song  driven  by  hyper-distorted  guitar — 
create  a  tension  that  jangles  even  the  album's  most  se- 
date songs.  Anguished  yet  never  overbearing,  soothing 
without  turning  complacent,  it's  one  of  1988's  best. 

She  Screamed  joins  the  album  cut  with  a  lazy  cover 
of  Patsy  Cline's  "Waikin'  After  Midnight"  and  two 
brooding  originals,  while  a  new  version  of  Mercy  Seat 
transforms  that  song  into  a  towering,  majestic  tour  de 
force;  combined  with  the  LP  version,  the  stalking  "H 
Like  in  Heaven*'  and  a  cover  of  Buffy  Sainte-Marie's 
"Codine,"  it  makes  for  a  devastating  EP. 

Joy  1967-19%  hones  Ralske's  pop  sensibility  to  a 
surgically  precise  point,  Hugh  Jones*  radio-oriented  pro- 


duction reducing  his  quiet  Bolanesque  lisp  to  a  whisper. 
It's  a  far  more  straightforward  pop  album  than  the  debut 
(and  much  less  disturbing),  although  "Praise  the  Low" 
breaks  formation  with  a  beautifully  ambient  neo-Celtic 
arrangement.  The  Staring  at  the  Sun  EP  previewed  two 
album  tracks  with  a  new  version  of  "Crash"  and  a 
lilting  cover  of  Goffin/Mann's  "Something  Better," 
both  of  which  rival  anything  on  Joy. 

Those  who  feared  that  Ralske  had  replaced  angst 
with  joy  were  relieved  by  the  B-sides  on  Special  One 
(the  album's  "hit  single,"  which  shamelessly  lifts  the 
melody  from  Alex  Chilton's  "September  Guris"),  re- 
vealing exactly  the  progress  the  album  lacked.  Sampling 
two  of  rap's  most  commonly  employed  drum  beats 
("Funky  Drummer"  and  "When  the  Levee  Breaks") 
on  "Kind  of  a  Drag"  and  a  radically  different  version  of 
Joy's  "Lightning,"  Ralske  integrates  songs  so  atypical 
to  the  genre  that  the  genericized  beats  work  brilliantly  to 
his  advantage.  [ja] 


ULTRAYOX 

Ultrovox!  (Island)  1977 

HalHalHai  (m/lsland)  1977 

Systems  of  Romance  (Antilles)  1 978 

Live  Retro  EP  (nr/lsland)  1978 

Three  into  One  (Antilles)  1 980  ® 

Vienna  (Chrysalis)  1980® 

Rage  in  Eden  (Chrysalis)  1 981  © 

New  Europeans  (Jap.  Chrysalis)  1 981 

Mini-LP  EP  (Aus.  Festival)  1981 

Quartet  (Chrysalis)  1 982  ® 

Monument-The  Soundtrack  EP  (nr/Chrysalis)  1983  ® 

Lament  (Chrysalis)  1984® 

The  Collection  (Chrysalis)  1984  • 

U-Vox  (nr/Chrysalis)  1986  (Chrysalis)  1990  • 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1988 

MIDGE  URE 

The  Gift  (Chrysalis)  1985® 

Answers  to  Nothing  (Chrysalis)  1 988  • 

BILLY  CURRiE 

Transportation  (IRS  No  Speak)  1988  • 

Stand  Up  and  Walk  [tape]  (nr/Hot  Food  Music)  1 990 

Originally  lost  in  the  gap  between  glam-rock  and 
punk,  Ultravox  became  prime  movers  of  the  electro-pop 
and  new  romantic  movements  when  they  combined  syn- 
thesizer with  the  direct  and  danceable  pop  music  of  the 
new  wave. 

Ultravox! — produced  by  Brian  Eno,  Steve  Lilly- 
white  and  the  group — marries  the  flamboyance  of  po- 
seurdom  to  the  cold  minimalism  of  Kraftwerk,  with 
more  than  a  touch  of  punk's  roughness.  John  Foxx's 
voice  is  typically  distant,  singing  lyrics  that  contain  jum- 
bled images  expressing  passive  dislocation  (a  popular 
Ultravox  theme).  While  synthesizers  are  in  short  sup- 
ply, the  budding  Ultravox  style  can  be  noted  in  "Dan- 
gerous Rhythm,"  the  oddly  passionate  "I  Want  to  Be  a 
Machine'*  and  the  classic  "My  Sex.** 

Ha!Ha!Ha!  comes  closer  to  the  spirit  of  punk,  filled 
with  tight,  straightforward  rockers  outlining  a  spirit  of 
alienation  and  life  free  of  love,  companionship  and  com- 
prehension, Billy  Currie  plays  stunning  electric  violin 
and,  on  the  climactic  * 'Hiroshima  Mon  Amour,**  intro- 
duces full-force  synthesizer  into  Ultravox's  music,  de- 


701 


lineating   the   boundary    between   past   and   future. 
Recommended. 

Systems  of  Romance,  produced  by  Conny  Plank, 
fuses  the  band's  pop  vision  with  spare,  crystalline  elec- 
tronic sound.  Focused  both  lyrically  and  musically  on 
the  fragmentation  of  experience,  the  album  weaves  a 
sinuous  existential  mood  that  suggests  dreams  and  au- 
tumn nights.  Highly  recommended. 

Vienna,  also  produced  by  Plank,  was  marked  by  the 
departure  of  Foxx  and  guitarist  Robin  Simon  (who  had 
replaced  founding  member  Stevie  Shears  after  the  sec- 
ond LP);  Scottish  vocalist/guitarist  (ex-Slik/Rich  Kids) 
Mi4ge  Ure  filled  out  the  new  lineup  and  took  over  the 
group.  Ultravox's  recast  sound  included  a  more  sym- 
phonic use  of  synthesizer,  layered  in  deep  swells  for 
new  heights  of  sonic  density.  Vienna  includes  Ultra- 
vox's  best  hits:  " All  Stood  Still,"  "Sleepwalk,"  "Pass- 
ing Strangers"  and  the  title  track.  The  new  approach 
proved  highly  satisfying  and  successful,  spawning  a 
horde  of  less-inspired  imitators  collectively  referred  to 
as  new  romantics. 

Noting  Vienna's  success,  Island/ Antilles  issued 
Three  into  One,  a  compilation  of  songs  drawn  from  the 
first  three  albums,  including  "My  Sex"  and  "Hiroshima 
Mon  Amour." 

Rage  in  Eden,  Ultravox's  last  outing  with  Plank, 
finds  Ure  sliding  into  operatic  vocals  and  pretentious 
lyrics,  but  the  music — again  displaying  complex  syn- 
thesizer patterns — is  superb,  with  Currie,  Ure,  bassist 
Chris  Cross  and  drummer  Warren  Cann  blending  bril- 
liantly. 

New  Europeans  is  a  Japanese  compilation  of 
B-sides  from  the  Vienna  and  Rage  in  Eden  period, 
added  to  A-sides  "The  Voice"  and  "New  Europeans." 
Though  the  flipsides  are  hardly  top-notch,  they  are  in- 
teresting, and  the  mastering/pressing  provides  excep- 
tional audio  quality. 

The  Australian  Mini-LP  combines  two  rare  tracks 
from  an  early  flexi-disc  ("Quirks"  and  "Modern 
Love")  with  the  contents  of  Live  Retro,  an  excellent 
7-inch  concert  EP  originally  released  in  1978.  (The  Peel 
Sessions  EP,  recorded  in  November  1977,  chronicles 
the  same  era.) 

Quartet  continues  in  much  the  same  vein  as  Rage 
in  Eden,  but  producer  George  Martin  thins  out  the 
sound  too  much,  reducing  the  band  to  a  subordinate  role 
as  backing  for  Ure,  whose  lyrics  are  infused  with  reli- 
gious overtones.  Clear  but  unsatisfying. 

Ultravox  self-produced  Lament,  proving  them- 
selves quite  capable  of  working  without  outside  super- 
vision. The  album  contains  two  of  their  finest  singles, 
"One  Small  Day"  and  "Dancing  with  Tears  in  My 
Eyes,"  amidst  a  host  of  other  suave  and  personable 
excursions.  Lament  further  elevates  Ultravox's  reputa- 
tion as  one  of  the  few  groups  to  capably  incorporate 
synthesizers  and  other  modern  conveniences  into  a  truly 
unique  sound. 

The  six-song  Monument  also  serves  as  the  sound- 
track to  a  concert  videocassette  of  the  same  name.  The 
Collection  is  a  remarkable  compilation  of  the  band's 
post-Foxx/post-Island  singles  ( 1980-'84);  fourteen  cuts, 
including  "Sleepwalk,"  "We  Came  to  Dance,"  "All 
Stood  Still"  and  "One  Small  Day,"  all  stellar  examples 
of  craft  and  creativity.  Not  a  bad  introduction  to  the 
group's  post-Island  work. 


Except  for  a  slightly  increased  guitar  focus  and  the 
large  proportion  of  instrumentals,  Ure's  one-man  solo 
album  (with  a  little  assistance,  mostly  on  bass  and  vo- 
cals) sounds  enough  like  Ultravox  in  spots  to  unsettle 
his  bandmates — it  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  group 
effort.  (Although  few  would  believe  they  would  attempt 
a  laid-back  cover  of  Jethro  TulT  s  *  'Living  in  the  Past' ' — 
downright  bizarre,  but  not  as  awful  as  you  might  imag- 
ine.) "If  I  Was"  has  a  nice  refrain  but  trite  lyrics — 
Ure's  uncertainty  quickly  becomes  aggravating — and 
goes  on  too  long.  If  nothing  else,  this  mix  of  familiar 
synth-rock  and  adventurous  instrumentals  showed  how 
Ure  would  survive  the  end  of  Ultravox;  perhaps  The 
Gift  hastened  that  eventuality. 

Warren  Carm  quit  in  mid- '86  and  has  not  been  heard 
from  since;  the  three  remaining  members  deputized  Big 
Country  drummer  Mark  Brzezicki  to  finish  the  compe- 
tent but  unassuming  U-Vox  album.  All  their  fire  and 
personality  seems  to  have  evaporated.  Ure's  singing  has 
never  been  so  restrained;  the  bland  overall  sound  (punc- 
tuated with  brass  on  two  big  production  numbers)  bears 
only  occasional  resemblance  to  their  past  work,  yet  of- 
fers nothing  especially  new  to  replace  it.  "Follow  Your 
Heart"  is  about  as  good  as  it  gets;  in  an  odd  detour, 
"All  Fall  Down"  is  a  folky  anti-war  drinking  song  with 
accompaniment  by  the  Chieftains. 

Ultravox  broke  up  in  mid- '87,  freeing  Ure  to  com- 
plete his  second  solo  album.  Quite  different  from  the 
group's  work,  Answers  to  Nothing  has  lots  of  lead 
guitar  and  puts  a  surprising  emphasis  on  hyperactive 
bass  guitar  (Mick  Kara,  Level  42  thumbster  Mark  King 
and  Steve  Brzezicki  do  the  honors;  Mark  Brzezicki  is 
the  album's  drummer).  With  the  exception  of  "Dear 
God"  and  other  simple  songs,  Ure  downplays  Ultra- 
vox's  reliance  on  synthesizers,  avoiding  extended  key- 
board chords  and  artificial  sounds.  The  guest  appearance 
by  Kate  Bush  is  more  than  symbolic  of  Ure's  new  aes- 
thetic: Answers  to  Nothing  is  a  relatively  cerebral  jour- 
ney (ignore  Ure's  overly  earnest  lyrics)  that  pursues 
painterly  audio  art  rather  than  pop  hooks  or  dance 
rhythms. 

Currie's  first  record — an  instrumental  collaboration 
with  Yes/Asia  guitarist  Steve  Howe — finds  the  key- 
board/viola player  mutely  ambling  through  songiike 
compositions  that  aren't  that  far  removed  from  Ultra- 
vox,  although  the  overambitious  title  track  is  a  notable 
exception.  Lacking  a  structural  backbone,  the  aimless 
and  fragmentary  "Transportation"  is  mostly  an  oppor- 
tunity for  Howe  to  show  off  some  of  his  stringed  instru- 
ment collection.  [sg/i] 

See  also  John  Foxx,  Gary  Numan>  Visage. 

UNCLE  TUPELO 

No  Depression  (Rockvilb)  1990  • 

Coming  as  close  as  any  recent  band  has  to  translat- 
ing the  spirit  of  American  folk  musk  into  the  rock  id- 
iom, this  St.  Louis  threesome  plies  its  tales  of  tribulation 
and  remorse  in  a  style  that  combines  an  acute  under- 
standing of  country-music  dynamics  with  punky  power- 
trio  punch.  Thus,  the  band's  judicious  use  of  mandolin, 
banjo  and  pedal  steel  guitar  doesn't  detract  from  the 
thrashy  appeal  of  noisy  cuts  like  "Graveyard  Shift"  and 
"Before  I  Break,"  Meanwhile,  the  impressive  original 
"Whiskey  Bottle,'*  a  CD-only  cover  of  Leadbelly's 


702 


44 John  Hardy"  and  the  title  track  (a  '30s  Carter  family 
gospel  tune)  demonstrate  surprising  melodic  subtlety 
that  should  serve  Uncle  Tupelo  well  in  the  future. 

[hd] 

UNDEAD 

Nine  Toes  Later  EP  (Stiff)  1982 
Never  Say  Die!  (Ger.  Rebel)  1 986 
Act  Your  Rage  (Post  Mortem)  1 989 

Guitarist  Bobby  Steele  quit  the  Misfits  m  1980  and 
formed  the  Undead,  a  trio  that  cut  Stiff's  very  last  US 
release.  (Its  title  refers  to  the  accident  that  left  Steele 
with  a  pronounced  limp.)  Never  Say  Die!  combines  the 
EP  with  two  subsequent  independent  singles  into  a  solid 
mini-LP  (eight  songs  in  under  nineteen  minutes).  It's 
gritty,  rocking,  catchy  and  angry  but,  like  the  title  track, 
often  shows  a  positive  attitude.  With  a  settled  lineup, 
the  Undead  might  have  made  a  super  live  record;  these 
documents  are  just  as  good. 

An  insert  in  Never  Say  Die!  claimed  the  Undead 
were  already  in  the  studio  recording  Act  Your  Rage, 
but  it  took  three  years  to  finish.  While  Steele 's  relish  for 
performing  is  consistent,  the  sound,  music  and  lyrics  are 
pretty  uneven,  and  the  best  isn't  exactly  riveting.  Even 
"Put  Your  Clothes  Back  On"  (the  LP's  best  title  and 
premise)  gets  an  A  for  inspiration  and  a  C  for  execution. 

See  also  Misfits.  [jg] 

UNDERTONES 

Teenage  Kicb  EP  (nr/Good  Vibrations)  1 978 

The  Undertones  (Sire)  1 979  « 

Hypnotised  (Sire)  1 980 

Positive  Touch  (Harvest)  1981 

The  Love  Parade  EP  (nr/Ardeck)  1 982 

The  Sin  of  Pride  (nr/Ardeck)  1 983 

All  Wrapped  Up  (Ardeck-Capitol)  1983 

Cher  o' Bowlies  (nr/EMI)  1 986  « 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1986  • 

The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1989  * 

The  best  band  ever  to  come  from  Northern  Ireland, 
the  Undertones  took  a  youthful  adoration  for  the  glam- 
rock  era  and  gave  it  the  stripped-down  simplicity  and 
energy  of  punk  to  create  truly  wonderful  albums  of  pop/ 
rock  (and,  towards  the  end,  soul)  with  a  difference. 
Their  body  of  work  reveals  rapid  creative  growth;  each 
album  clearly  shows  a  different  stage  in  their  develop- 
ment. The  group's  1983  demise,  as  unavoidable  as  it 
was  disappointing,  resulted  from  a  lack  of  sustained 
commercial  success  and  the  inability  to  shake  the  pub- 
lic's first  impression  of  them  as  an  Irish  Ramones. 

Very  young  Derryrnen  when  they  began  in  1976,  the 
Undertones  started  out  writing  simple,  fetching  melo- 
dies with  lyrics  about  teenagehood  and  playing  them 
fast  and  raw  on  basic  guitars,  bass  and  drums.  With 
Feargal  Sharkey's  unique,  piercing  tenor  out  front, 
songs  on  the  first  album  ("Jimmy  Jimmy,"  "Here 
Comes  the  Summer,1*  "Girls  Don't  Like  It*')  are  spare 
and  efficient  pop  gems  that  are  as  infectious  as  measles, 
suggesting  a  bridge  between  teenybop  and  punk,  (The 
US  edition — wrapped  in  completely  different  color  Xe- 
rox artwork — adds  the  crucial  "Teenage  Kicks"  and 
"Get  Over  You"  from  the  band's  first  two  7-inches;  a 
limited-edition  English  10-inch  released  at  the  same 


time  combined  those  two  tracks  plus  a  pair  from  the 
UP.) 

The  Undertones  broadened  their  scope  for  Hypno- 
tised, making  the  sound  clearer  and  more  instramentally 
distinct  while  offering  uniquely  cast  lyrics  telling  stories 
and  describing  characters  with  impressive  skill.  Out- 
standing tracks  include  "My  Perfect  Cousin,"  the  del- 
icate "Wednesday  Week"  and  the  gently  self-mocking 
"More  Songs  About  Chocolate  and  Girls."  Of  the  four 
original  albums,  Hypnotised  has  the  best  balance  of 
sophistication  and  innocence. 

Positive  Touch  introduces  well-placed  horns  and 
piano  (by  Paul  Carrack)  to  the  sound  and  explores  much 
more  ambitious  ground,  in  reflection  of  the  band's  per- 
sonal and  musical  maturation.  While  the  songs  are  not 
all  immediately  catchy,  they  are  ultimately  rewarding, 
displaying  numerous  new  sides  and  levels  to  the  Under- 
tones. An  enormous  artistic  achievement  for  a  band  that 
had  been  playing  rudimentary  four-chord  riff  numbers  a 
scant  two  years  earlier. 

The  Love  Parade  EP — actually  a  12-inch  single 
with  four  songs  on  the  B-side — includes  three  otherwise 
unavailable  live  recordings  tied  together  with  weird 
noises  and  unfathomable  dialogue.  Most  importantly  at 
the  time,  it  showed  the  band  to  be  newly  focused  on 
'60s  soul  psychedelia. 

Perhaps  overly  stung  by  their  commercial  problems, 
the  Undertones  made  their  final  album  with  more  am- 
bition than  concentration.  The  Sin  of  Pride  has  its  bril- 
liant moments — the  soulful  "Got  to  Have  You  Back"  (a 
soul  cover),  "Bye  Bye  Baby  Blue,"  "Love  Parade," 
"Chain  of  Love" — but  the  fear  of  being  thought  of  as 
an  immature  pop  band  drives  them  into  low-key  excur- 
sions that  drift  away  tunelessly,  and  overactive  horn 
charts  bury  the  band's  instrumental  personality.  Also, 
the  sound  quality  is  disturbingly  distant. 

The  English  version  of  All  Wrapped  Up,  the  Un- 
dertones' posthumous  singles  collection,  has  two  discs 
and  features  all  thirteen  of  their  A-sides  plus  seventeen 
flips — 30  magnificent  cuts  m  all.  From  the  entire  four- 
song  Teenage  Kicks  EP  right  up  through  "Chain  of 
Love,"  it's  a  stirring  reminder  of  what  a  truly  marvel- 
ous band  they  were.  The  American  version  has  the  same 
gross  cover  photo  (a  female  model  dressed  only  in  cured 
meats)  but  eliminates  one  disc  and  sixteen  of  the 
B-sides.  Cher  o'  Bowlies,  subtitled  "The  Pick  of  the 
Undertones,"  is  another  compilation  with  some  over- 
lap, but  rather  than  concentrating  on  45s,  the  selection 
of  album  tracks  portrays  the  group  differently. 

The  Peel  BBC  radio  EP,  produced  by  Bob  Sargeant 
in  January  1979,  offers  sloppy  but  wonderful  live  ver- 
sions of  "Here  Comes  the  Summer,"  "Family  Enter- 
tainment" and  two  others.  Combining  that  quartet  of 
tracks  with  repeat  visits  hi  January  '80  and  November 
'82,  The  Peel  Sessions  Album  amounts  to  a  definitive 
live  retrospective,  following  the  Undertones  from  what 
the  liner  notes  refer  to  as  their  "callow,  endearingly 
goofy  period"  through  their  more  proficient  prime 
("What's  with  Terry,"  Gary  Glitter's  "Rock  n*  Roil" 
with  a  nifty  T.  Rex  coda)  to  a  resourceful  horn-free 
preview  of  the  final  album  ("The  Sin  of  Pride,"  "Un- 
touchable , "  "  Luxury" ' ) . 

After  the  Undertones  ended,  Feargal  Sharkey  made 
one  great  1983  single  ("Never  Never")  with  Vince 
Clarke's  otherwise  stillborn  Assembly  and  then  a  not- 


703 


so-great  solo  45  ("Listen  to  Your  Father")  for  Mad- 
ness' Zarjazz  label  the  following  year.  After  a  third 
one-off  single  produced  by  Queen  drummer  Roger  Tay- 
lor, he  linked  up  with  Eurythmic  Dave  Stewart  and  got 
his  briefly  successful  solo  career  underway  with  "A 
Good  Heart."  The  O'Neill  brothers  formed  That  Petrol 
Emotion;  the  rhythm  section  left  the  music  biz.  [i] 
See  also  Fear  gal  Sharkey,  That  Petrol  Emotion. 

UNDERWORLD 

See  Freur. 

UNION 

In  the  Air  Tonight  (Swed.  Radium  226.05)  1 987  (Skyclad) 

1989® 
Financially  Dissatisfied  Philosophically  Trying  (Radium 

226.05-SJcyclad)1989® 
From  Influence  to  Ignorance  (Swed.  Radium  226.05}  1 991 

Iggy  Pop  has  always  insisted  that  the  Stooges  were 
really  a  free-jazz  band  in  rock  drag.  If  you  accept  that, 
then  you'll  likely  find  Sweden's  Union  Carbide  Produc- 
tions to  be  the  best — or  at  least  the  most  authentic — 
band  mining  the  Dee-troit  vein  of  sonic  scrunge.  The 
first  album's  top  tracks  ( *  'Financial  Declaration, ' '  "Car- 
toon Animal")  could  play  hide'n'seek  on  any  late-'60s 
Michigan  compilation  tape  you'd  care  to  make,  while 
the  furthest  out  (like  the  epic  "Down  on  the  Beach") 
owe  more  to  Sun  Ra.  By  adding  howling  horns  (two 
members  double  on  sax)  and  a  non-traditional  rhythm 
section  that  rarely  functions  as  just  a  timekeeper  to  the 
wah-wah  heavy  rock  on  In  the  Air  Tonight,  UCP  neatly 
sidesteps  any  charges  of  revivalism. 

Financially  Dissatisfied  sees  the  quintet  spackling 
yet  more  tiles — both  breathtaking  (haunting,  spare 
piano)  and  grimace-inducing  (cheesy  sitar) — into 
the  gonzo  mosaic.  There's  also  a  little,  urn,  post- 
structuralism  creeping  into  songs  like  "Another  Rock- 
VRoll  Statement"  and  "San  Francisco  Boogie,"  but 
Ebbot  Lundberg's  Drano-gargling  vocals  keep  'em 
firmly  earthbound.  [dss] 

UNITY  2 

What  Is  It,  Yo?l  (Reprise)  1 990  • 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Funky  Reggae  Crew:  Strictly  Hip-Hop  Reggae  Fusion 

(Warner  Bros.)  1 989  « 

With  the  empowering  rise  of  rap,  New  York  has 
again  become  a  potent  conduit  for  Third  World  culture 
to  inseminate  the  pop  world.  Making  explicit  the  per- 
fectly logical  combination  of  reggae  toasting  and  its 
American  derivative,  this  duo  of  Sean  "Cavo"  Dins- 
more  and  Lionel  "Nene"  Bernard  (both  former  mem- 
bers of  the  Toasters,  a  prolific  New  York  ska  crew)  and 
their  band  play  raggarnufftn  hip-hop,  a  kinetic  mix  of 
upbeat  styles  that  jumps  easily  from  saxophone-driven 
ska  to  dub  to  turntable  scratching.  Although  a  bit  glib 
and  weak  in  spots  (Dinsmore's  not  much  of  an  MC)»  the 
diverse  and  imaginative  What  Is  It,  Yo?I  attempts  to 
answer  the  question  with  a  marvelous  bluebeat-plus 
original  ("Shirlee")  and  an  assortment  of  easily  enjoy- 
able hybrids. 

"Shiriee"  got  its  first  airing  on  the  Funky  Reggae 


Crew  compilation,  which  also  includes  tracks  by  Queen 
Latifah  and  Daddy-O,  Mikey  Dread  (co-produced  by 

KRS-One)  and  Tippa  We.  [i] 

OF 
See  Joe  Baiza  &  the  Universal  Congress  Of 

UNKNOWNS 

Dream  Sequence  EP  (Bompl-Sire)  1981 
The  Unknowns  (Invasion)  1982 

THE 
PLANTATIONS 

Way  Down  South  (Invasion)  1983 

Slave  of  Emotion  (Fr.  Closer)  1 985 

Swimming  with  Friends  (Fr.Closer)  1986 

Hot  Georgia  Nights  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 987  • 

The  Outtake  Collection  1978-88  (Fr.  Fan  Club)  1989 

&  THE 
T1NGLERS 

Beyond  the  Dark  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 990  • 

Liam  Sternberg,  Ohio's  answer  to  Phil  Spector,  pro- 
duced the  six  tracks  for  Dream  Sequence  "in  an  air- 
craft hangar."  The  Unknowns  play  pure  '60s  garage 
rock  with  Mosrite  guitars  (displayed  and  mentioned  on 
the  cover  for  added  authenticity),  heaps  of  echo  and 
tremolo,  and  incorporate  various  period  genres  (surf 
music,  Creedence  swamp  choogle,  psychedelia,  punk) 
into  their  songs.  Where  Dream  Sequence  is  slick  but 
boring,  The  Unknowns  shows  them  in  greater  com- 
mand of  their  musical  vocabulary  and  adds  traces  of  the 
Animals,  Yardbirds,  Blues  Project  and  the  Doors  to 
spice  things  up  considerably.  A  rendition  of  Buddy  Hol- 
ly's "Rave  On"  ties  up  a  neat  package  of  heavily  styl- 
ized nostalgia. 

After  the  Unknowns,  singer  Bruce  Joyner  formed 
the  Plantations.  Way  Down  South  abandons  the  literal 
aspects  of  the  Unknowns'  nostalgia  for  a  more  direct, 
unassuming  sound  that  is  still  colored  by  weedy  organ 
and  other  '60s  affectations.  Some  of  the  fourteen  varied 
numbers  are  catchy  and  well-constructed;  others  drag. 
(Appearances  aside,  none  of  the  music  and  only  the 
occasional  lyric  is  particularly  reflective  of  the  land  be- 
low the  Mason-Dixon  line.)  Joyner  is  moderately  tal- 
ented but  needs  stronger  collaborators, 

A  few  years  later,  a  new  set  of  Plantations  (guitarist 
Dave  Greene  being  the  only  holdover)  joined  Joyner  for 
the  seven-song  Swimming  with  Friends,  which  also 
features  guest  shots  by  Steve  Wynn,  John  Doe,  Ray 
Manzarek,  Stan  Ridgway  and  Sky  Saxon.  As  lively  and 
exciting  as  a  wax  museum,  the  music  is  formally  psy- 
chedelic in  nostalgic  intent,  but  stultifyingly  bland,  and 
made  worse  by  Joyner's  vocals,  which  remain  charac- 
terless despite  liberal  amounts  of  echo.  The  lurid  lyrics 
to  songs  like  "Deep  Green  Water'*  and  **The  Darkside 
of  Your  Brain"  are  right  on  the  money,  but  nothing  in 
the  grooves  fulfills  the  titles*  atmospheric  promise,  [i] 

UNREST 

Tmk  of  S.&  (Teen  Beat)  1 987 

Malcolm  X  Pork  {Caroline}  1988 

Kustom  Karnd  Bbdcxptofotion  (Carotin®)  1 990 


704 


Unrest  is  an  exquisitely  versatile  and  eclectic  band 
from  Washington  DC  whose  one  constant  is  vocalist 
Mark  Robinson.  Named  after  Henry  Cow's  second  LP, 
the  group  formed  during  the  heyday  of  Washington's 
hardcore  scene,  but  Unrest's  early  recordings  are  far 
stranger  and  much  more  varied  than  anything  their  con- 
temporaries produced.  Tink  of  S.E.  is  far  too  scattered 
to  lend  itself  to  easy  categorization,  but  it  joins  recombo- 
trash  moves  (truly  fucked-up  covers  of  both  "Wild 
Thing"  and  "21st  Century  Schizoid  Man")  with  the 
sort  of  intensely  personal  insanity  that  rarely  gets  further 
than  an  isolated  cassette  recorder  in  some  miserable 
sap's  bedroom.  Each  of  the  first  album's  covers  were 
individually  crafted  (by  a  host  of  local  artists),  and  the 
results  are  possessed  of  extremely  good  vibes. 

Malcolm  X  Park  follows  in  its  predecessor's  foot- 
steps, veenng  through  songs  as  disparate  as  "Lucifer 
Rising"  (which  sounds  like  a  sputter-punk  update  of 
some  lost  Swell  Maps  tune)  and  a  balls-up  cover  of 
Kiss'  "Strutter."  Recorded  by  the  ubiquitous  Mark 
Kramer,  it  didn't  even  suffer  much  from  the  unpleasant 
sheen  that  "real"  studios  give  many  underground 
bands.  The  third  LP  is  a  similarly  mixed  bag;  the  fact 
that  it's  less  aggressively  "out"  than  its  predecessors 
led  some  jerks  to  decry  it  as  a  loss.  Wise  old  owls 
realized  that  Unrest  was  merely  twisting  the  throat  of 
sounds  more  mainstream  than  those  they'd  throttled  pre- 
viously. What  they'll  do  next  is  anyone's  guess,  [be] 

UNTAMED  YOUTH 

Some  Kinda  Fun!!  (Norton)  1 988 

More  Gone  Gassers  from  the  Untamed  Youth!!!  (Norton) 

1990 

From  the  clothes  they  sport  and  the  cars  they  drive  to 
the  design  of  their  record  jackets  and  the  music  inside — 
yeah,  from  any  angle  but  that  of  real  time,  the  Untamed 
Youth  are  a  '60s  band.  In  an  era  of  drum  machines, 
Fairlights  and  Expose^,  many  might  find  the  concept  of  a 
hotrod/surf  combo  from  Columbia,  Missouri  to  be  friv- 
olous or  downright  silly.  But  the  fact  is  this  hearse- 
driven  quartet  has  made  two  LPs  unrivaled  in  recent 
memory  for  pure  dancing  and  drinking  enjoyment.  Au- 
thentic co-production  by  Billy  Miller  (Zantees/Jticfcy/ 
Norton)  and  Andy  Shernoff  (Dictators/Manitoba's  Wild 
Kingdom)  captures  the  supercharged  atmosphere  cre- 
ated whenever  the  Untamed  Youth  fill  a  teen  club  or 
tavern.  Why  debate  the  modem  relevance  of  motor- 
bikes, girls,  guitars,  Pabst  Blue  Ribbon,  bikinis,  and 
Elly  May  Clampett?  Their  praises  may  have  been  sung 
before,  but  rarely  so  eloquently,  [sm] 

UNTOUCHABLES 

Uve  and  Let  Dance  EP  (Twist-Enigma)  1984 
Wild  Child  (Stiff-MCA)  1985 
Dance  Party  EP  (Sttff-MCA)  1986 
Agent  00  Soul  (Twist-Restless)  1 989  « 
A  Decade  of  Dance  (Restless)  1 990  4> 

There  were  other  R&B-cwm-ska  outfits  on  the  LA 
scene  at  the  time,  but  it  was  only  the  worthy  Untouch- 
ables who  caught  Stiff's  attention  and  wound  up  with  a 
label  deal  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic*  Live  and  Let 
Dance  introduced  the  band's  energetic  dance  attack  with 
a  half-dozen  exciting  numbers,  starting  with  the  unfor- 


gettably catchy  "Free  Yourself."  (One  listen  and  you'll 
swear  you  heard  it  on  a  1980  2-Tone  single.)  The  12- 
inch  also  presents  solid  reggae  and  ska  in  the  UB40 
mold;  the  live  take  of  "(Fin  Not  Your)  Stepping 
Stone,"  however,  asserts  real  individuality. 

Reprising  "Free  Yourself,"  Wild  Child  surrounds 
it  with  ten  other  strong  items,  including  the  similarly 
effective  title  track,  a  cool  version  of  "I  Spy  (for  the 
FBI)" — an  obscurity  also  recorded  by  John  Hiatt — 
produced  by  Jerry  Dammers,  a  slice  of  straight  rap-funk 
(' 'Freak  in  the  Streets")  and  a  synth-tinged  rock  tune 
("Lovers  Again").  Stewart  Levine's  production  could 
be  more  full-bodied,  but  the  sextet's  enthusiasm  and 
precision  keep  things  rocking  from  start  to  finish. 

With  no  new  material  forthcoming,  a  12-inch  com- 
pilation EP  was  released.  Dance  Party  contains  four 
remixed  album  tracks,  including  "Freak  in  the  Street" 
(by  Don  and  David  Was)  and  "Free  Yourself,"  a  tune 
from  the  first  EP  and  a  new  live  funk  workout. 

Agent  00  Soul  (titled  for  the  Edwin  Starr  oldie, 
which  the  group  covers  blandly)  reveals  the  Untouch- 
ables to  be  suffering  from  multiple  personality  disorder. 
On  some  songs  they're  a  brassy  soul  revue  putting  hip- 
hop  moves  to  Rick  James  sex-funk,  elsewhere,  they're 
a  rocked-up  reggae  band.  On  the  ska  beat,  there's  a 
snappy  translation  of  the  Coasters'  "Under  the  Board- 
walk" and  an  inferior  rewrite  of  "Free  Yourself."  Only 
one  of  the  originals  (the  '60sish  "Shama  Lama,"  buried 
in  the  middle  of  the  second  side)  is  really  good;  while 
Agent  00  Soul  has  its  moments,  the  album  doesn't  hang 
together  at  all.  (The  CD  adds  three  bonus  tracks.)  [i] 


UPSETTERS 

See  Lee  Perry. 

URBAN  DANCE  SQUAD 

Mental  Floss  for  the  Glob©  (Hoi.  Ariola)  1 989  (Arista) 

1990* 

Only  in  the  Netherlands:  This  vibrant  pan-cultural 
quintet  was  formed  in  Amsterdam  ia  1987,  by  a  rapper 
(who  speaks  both  Dutch  and  Brooklynese),  a  bassist 
from  the  former  Dutch  colony  of  Surinam  and  three 
Dutchmen.  Atop  the  rapping,  funk  bass,  power  chords 
and  acoustic  slide,  DJ  DNA  adds  the  same  wild-card 
element  to  Urban  Dance  Squad  that  Brian  Eno  provided 
in  the  original  Roxy  Music:  the  band  never  knows  if  it's 
going  to  be  accompanied  by  Mongolian  desert  music, 
Benny  Goodman  or  Chuck  D.  And  although  UDS  comes 
from  a  country  not  widely  regarded  for  its  rock  heritage, 
these  seasoned  musicians  have  played  with  everyone 
from  Jah  Wobble  to  Rufus  Thomas.  And,  like  Fishbone 
and  the  Chili  Peppers,  UDS  never  forgets  to  have  fun. 

For  all  its  semiotic  world-unity  rap-rock  possibili- 
ties, Mental  Floss  for  the  Globe  has  brilliant  flashes 
but  captures  only  some  of  the  band's  potential.  While 
rapper  Rudeboy  scatters  the  occasional  profundity  amid 
weird  slang,  the  band  veers  between  stomping  funk- 
rock  and  swampier  bluesy  grooves,  letting  the  DJ  have 
his  day  on  "God  Blasts  the  Queen"  and  the  throbbing 
"Struggle  for  Jive,"  one  of  the  most  successful  fusions 
of  power-riffs  and  techno-dance  yet. 

In  a  bizarre  discographical  twist,  no  less  than  four 
different  versions  of  Mental  Floss  for  the  Globe  exist 


705 


The  album  was  originally  released  independently  in  a 
limited  pressing,  licensed  to  Ariola  in  Holland  and  Eu- 
rope, and  eventually  Arista  in  the  States — replacing 
copyright-offending  samples  (including  Hendrix,  the 
Stones  and  Captain  Beefheart)  on  each  edition.  The 
American  version  adds  two  hot  European  B-sides  and 
drops  the  inane  "Hitchhike  H.D."  [ja] 

URBAN 

See  U.K.  Subs. 

URE 

See  Vltravox. 

URGE  OVERKILL 

Strange,  I ...  EP  (Ruthless)  1986 
Jesus  Urge  Superstar  (Touch  and  Go)  1 989  ® 
Americruiser  (Touch  and  Go)  1 990  ® 
Supersonic  Storybook  (Touch  and  Go)  1991  ® 

With  a  great  cartoon  cover  and  hypnospiral  label, 
the  first  12-inch  from  this  Chicago  trio  looks  a  lot  better 
than  it  sounds.  The  five  numbers  have  just  enough  pop 
backbone  to  hold  together  as  songs,  but  they're  played 
with  the  abrasive  thrashings  of  a  Small  Black  wannabe 
and  produced  with  every  imaginable  sonic  shortcoming. 
Yuch. 

Jesus  Urge  Superstar  is  a  little  better,  but  the 
band's  intriguing  junk-culture  pretensions  are  still 
buried  too  deeply  within  the  haphazard  Cheap  Trick-as- 
guitar-throttling-noise-punks  attack  to  make  any  impres- 
sion. With  an  unpredictable  mix  that  moves  the  vocals 
all  over  the  place  (pushing  them  way  up  front  on  "Dub- 
bledead"  and  nearly  losing  them  entirely  amid  the  stun- 
guitar  chaos  of  "Last  Train  to  Heaven")  and  the  band's 
undefined  stylistic  personality,  such  promising  titles  as 
"The  Polaroid  Doll,"  "Dump  Dump  Dump"  and 
"Eggs" — despite  occasional  clever  bits — go  right  down 
the  tubes. 

With  clear  production  (finally)  by  Butch  Vig, 
Americruiser— the  CD  of  which  includes  the  previous 
LP  as  a  bonus  of  sorts — makes  further  improvements, 
bringing  the  group's  sound  into  focus  and  toning  down 
the  Overkill  overdrive  to  give  the  self-amused  songs 
(which  aren't  half  bad)  a  chance.  That's  not  to  say 
Americruiser's  a  great  LP — it  ain't  even  close,  and 
some  of  it  is  downright  awful — but  at  least  Urge  Over- 
kill has  found  the  on-ramp  to  music  that  may  yet  amount 
to  something.  [i] 

U-ROY 

Version  Galore  (nr/Trojan)  c.  1973  (nr/Front  Line)  1978 

U-Roy  (nr/Trojan)  1 974 

Dread  in  a  Babylon  (Virgin)  1975  +  1983  (Virgin  Front 

Line)  1990® 

Natty  Rebel  (nr/Virgin)  1 976  +  1 983 
Rasta  Ambassador  (nr/Virgin)  1977 
Jah  Son  of  Africa  (Jam.  Live  &  Love)  1977  (nr/Front  Line) 

1979 

With  Words  of  Wisdom  (nr/Front  Line)  1979 
Crucial  Cuts  (nr/Virgin)  1 983 
Music  Addict  (RAS)  1987» 
Line  Up  and  Come  (Tappa)  1 987 


With  a  Flick  of  My  Musical  Wrist  (nr/Trojan)  1 988 
Version  of  Wisdom  (Virgin  Front  Line)  1990  4> 

Just  as  dub  reggae  anticipated  funk  and  rock  re- 
mixes, toasters — chanting  reggae  DJs — prefigured  rap. 
U-Roy  (Ewart  Beckford)  was  one  of  Jamaica's  first  DJs 
to  graduate  from  sound  systems  to  chart  success  in  the 
late  '60s.  (Indeed,  for  several  weeks  early  in  1970,  he 
had  three  records— "Wear  You  to  the  Ball,"  "Wake 
the  Town"  and  "Rule  the  Nation" — atop  the  charts  on 
Jamaica's  two  radio  stations. )  His  signature  style  is  plain 
and  direct:  he  shrieks  and  chants  over  the  instrumental 
tracks  of  other  hits,  interrupting  and  talking  back  to  the 
vocals.  When  he  first  appeared,  such  musical  antics 
were  unprecedented  on  record,  and  he  became  an  im- 
mediate sensation.  While  it  can't  be  said  that  U-Roy 
invented  toasting,  he's  considered  the  style's  godfather, 
and  an  inarguable  reggae  pioneer. 

Because  U-Roy  isn't  very  active,  his  records  drift  in 
and  out  of  print.  Version  Galore,  which  collects  many 
of  his  first  hits,  is  a  must,  although  far  from  definitive. 
Most  of  his  available  LPs,  in  fact,  date  from  the  mid- 
'70s,  when  he  was  signed  to  Virgin  and  produced  by 
Tony  Robinson.  Both  Dread  in  a  Babylon  and  Natty 
Rebel  are  excellent  samplings  of  U-Roy 's  forceful  toast- 
ing, though  the  sound  and  production  are  smoother,  less 
offbeat  and  startling  than  his  early  work.  (Dread  has  the 
slight  edge  for  featuring  the  wonderful '  'Runaway  Girl" 
and  "Chalice  in  the  Palace.")  Crucial  Cuts  combines 
some  early  items  with  tracks  from  Rasta  Ambassador 
for  an  odd  combination  of  old  and  new  styles  (some  hits 
are  re-recordings)  that  is  inconsistent  but  serviceable. 
With  a  Flick  of  My  Musical  Wrist  is  a  compilation  of 
DJ  music  (by  U-Roy  and  others)  from  the  early  '70s, 

U-Roy  quietly  resurfaced  in  1987  with  Musk  Ad- 
dict, a  collection  of  contemporary  tracks  produced  with 
Prince  Jazzbo.  The  LP  finds  him  in  fine  form,  toasting 
with  authority  and  ease,  and  it  compares  favorably  with 
much  of  his  older  work.  The  song  "Jah,  Jah  Call  You" 
reaffirms  U-Roy 's  Rasta  faith  and  reinforces  the  many 
positive  messages  he's  delivered.  Ironically,  the  record 
got  lost  in  the  flood  of  releases  by  younger  and  hipper 
0js — U-Roy's  musical  descendants—and  attracted  little 
attention.  Line  Up  and  Come,  produced  and  arranged 
by  Tappa  Zukie,  surfaced  around  the  same  time  as  Mu- 
sic Addict,  While  there  are  some  good  tracks,  this  weak 
LP  lacks  U-Roy's  usual  punch  and  spice. 

Version  of  Wisdom  is  an  essential  20-track  compi- 
lation of  two  landmark  U-Roy  albums,  Version  Galore 
and  With  Words  of  Wisdom  (aka  U-Roy) »  showcasing 
him  at  his  creative  peak  in  the  '70s.  Concise  highlights 
(only  one  track  exceeds  three  minutes)  of  this  R&B- 
flavored  cornucopia  include  "Your  Ace  from  Outer 
Space,"  "Rule  the  Nation,"  "Version  Galore,"  "True 
Confession,"  "Words  of  Wisdom"  and  John  Holt's 
"Tide  Is  High."  [bk/aw/i] 


U.S.  SECRET  SERVICE 

See  Sneakers. 


UT 

UTUv©  [tape]  (nr/Oyt)1 981 
UTEP(nr/Ou»)1984 


706 


Conviction  (nr/Out)  1986  (nr/Out-BIast  First)  1987 
Early  Live  Life  (nr/Out-Blast  First)  1 987 
In  Gufs  House  (Blast  First)  1988  • 
Griller  (nr/Blast  First)  1989  • 

UT  was  formed  in  NYC  at  the  tail  end  of  1978,  after 
Nina  Canal  abandoned  Robin  Crutchfield's  band,  Dark 
Day.  Together  with  Jacqui  Ham  and  Sally  Young,  Ca- 
nal produced  rattling  trio  noise  that  was  akin  to  that  of 
other  second  generation  no  wavers  like  Information. 
Swapping  instruments  after  each  song,  UT  were  more 
interesting  to  watch  than  many  of  their  kith,  and  their 
sound  started  coming  together  pretty  quickly.  Lust/ 
Unlust  Records  held  a  release  party  for  their  debut  sin- 
gle in  '80,  but  the  company  folded  before  the  disc  hit  the 
streets;  soon  after,  UT  packed  up  and  moved  to  London. 

There  they  remain,  enjoying  a  certain  amount  of 
success.  The  eponymous  1984  EP  captures  them  in  their 
original  raw  state.  Conviction  is  more  produced,  pad- 
ding some  of  the  band's  acerbic  edge  with  a  near-goth 
gauze.  Early  Live  Life,  recorded  at  various  shows  in 
New  York  and  England  between  '79  and  '85,  offers  a 
nice  assortment  of  rackety  guitar  numbers  and  docu- 
ments a  brief  quartet  lineup.  It's  really  only  with  In 
Gut's  House,  however,  that  UT's  recording  attempts 
have  been  completely  successful.  This  one's  nearly  as 
winning  a  balance  of  pop-conscious  song-structuring 
and  outright-croak  as  Sonic  Youth's  EVOL-period.  Rel- 
atively unknown  in  the  States,  UT  seems  to  have  splin- 
tered some  time  after  the  Steve  Albini-produced  Griller. 
Which  is  a  drag.  They  deserved  far  more  hep  attention 
than  they  got.  [be] 

See  also  DNA. 

UTFO 

"Beats  and  Rhymes"  (Select)  1 984 

"Roxanne,  Roxanne"  (Select)  1 984 

U.T.F.O.  (Select)  1985 

Skeezer  Pleezer  (Select)  1 986 

Lethal  (Select)  1 987 

Doin'lt!  (Select)  1989* 

Bag  It  and  Bone  It  (Jive-RCA)  1990  « 

DOCTOR  ICE 

The  Mic  Stalker  (Jive)  1989« 

For  a  brief  period  in  late  winter  1984/5,  you  couldn't 
leave  your  house  or  turn  on  your  radio  in  New  York 
without  hearing  some  rapper  going  on  about  a  girl 
named  Roxanne.  There  was  " Roxanne 's  Revenge," 
"The  Real  Roxanne,"  "Roxanne  You're  Through," 
"Roxanne's  Mother,"  "Roxanne's  Brother,"  "Rox- 
anne's  Doctor" — even  "Roxanne's  a  Man."  Demon- 
strating the  volatility  of  the  dance  music  market, 
Roxanne  replaced  "y'all"  as  the  word  most  frequently 
used  in  raps,  and  the  term  quickly  passed  into  urban 
slang  for  an  unaccommodating  woman.  Credit  for  this 
fad  goes  to  Brooklyn's  UTFO  (Untouchable  Force  Or- 
ganization), the  trio  who  started  it  all  with  "Roxanne, 
Roxanne,"  a  playful  poke  at  a  good-looking  girl  with 
the  temerity  to  resist  their  suave  attentions. 

From  the  beginning,  Doctor  Ice,  the  Kangol  Kid  and 
the  Educated  Rapper  (later  joined  by  Mix-Master  Ice) 
led  a  charmed  life.  After  winning  a  break-dancing  con- 
test, they  went  on  a  European  tour  with  Whodini  and 
ultimately  found  themselves  on  the  Phil  Donahue  Show, 
which  led  to  an  invite  to  Dustin  Hoffman's  daughter's 


birthday  party.  Before  things  could  get  any  weirder, 
they  released  a  12-inch  of  the  sharp  and  fast  "Beats  and 
Rhymes,"  oddly,  a  better  rap  than  its  follow-up,  "Rox- 
anne, Roxanne"  (both  cuts  were  included  on  the  band's 
first  album,  along  with  "The  Real  Roxanne"  and  "Call- 
ing Her  a  Crab,"  subtitled  "Roxanne  Part  2").  The 
latter's  lyrics  aren't  exceptionally  clever,  but  UTFO  cre- 
ated such  strong  personae  for  themselves  and  the 
stuck-up  Ms.  R.,  while  isolating  such  a  familiar  prob- 
lem (girl  says  no),  that  teenagers  identified  with  them  in 
a  singular  way.  What  the  record  may  have  lacked  in  raw 
power,  it  made  up  for  in  character. 

The  Roxanne  fad  ended,  leaving  the  talented  UTFO 
at  mortal  levels  of  popularity.  The  Educated  Rapper  sat 
out  Skeezer  Pleezer,  but  that  didn't  stop  the  group  (pro- 
duced, as  ever,  by  Full  Force)  from  making  major  ar- 
tistic strides  or  finding  new  subject  matter.  '  'Where  Did 
You  Go?"  and  "The  House  Will  Rock"  combine  rap 
and  soulful  crooning,  while  "We  Work  Hard"  (a  lec- 
ture on  the  subject  of  rap)  has  a  solid  funk  track.  The 
sob  story  of  "Bad  Luck  Barry"  is  pretty  funny,  and 
chants  its  refrain  over  harpsichord! 

Restored  to  full  four-man  strength,  a  more  adult 
UTFO  came  back  harder  on  Lethal,  a  sharp-sounding 
record  with  a  couple  of  good  ideas  but  not  much  lyrical 
imagination.  Dabbling  in  gangster  rap  and  performing  a 
cross-cultural  mating  ritual  with  Anthrax  (on  the  anti- 
drug title  track),  the  crew  demonstrates  a  desire  to  try 
new  things,  but  otherwise  this  is  just  a  trip  to  the  old 
neighborhood.  The  record's  low  point  finds  UTFO 
crooning  "Pull  your  panties  down/ All  I  want  to  do/Is 
put  my  unh-unh-unh  in  you."  Smooth. 

As  steady  as  UTFO's  musical  progression  has  been, 
the  band's  rhymes  have  been  headed  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection. Doin'  It!  puts  more  excitement  and  musical  ac- 
tion than  ever  in  the  grooves  (the  samples  are  really  cool, 
and  the  raps  are  delivered  with  skill  and  authority),  but 
UTFO  comes  on  too  rude  ( "Battle  of  the  Sexes' ' )  and  too 
egotistical  ("Cold  Abrasive,"  "My  Cut's  Correct," 
etc.)  to  be  enjoyable. 

Staying  under  the  Full  Force  umbrella,  Doctor  Ice's 
commercially  minded  solo  debut  offers  a  boring  litany 
of  product  citations  and  crypto-medical  boasting,  occa- 
sionally delivered  inna  toasting  style  with  a  Jamaican 
accent.  The  woozy  anachronistic  soul  sound  of  the  old 
"Love  Jones"  and  the  album's  reggae  borrowings  (Yel- 
lowman  might  want  to  know  about  "Nobody  Move," 
credited  to  Doctor  Ice  and  Full  Force)  give  The  Mic 
Stalker  its  only  workable  personality:  the  straight  rap 
tracks  are  solidly  redundant.  [jl/i] 

See  also  Full  Force,  Real  Roxanne,  Roxanne 
Shantt. 

U2 

Boy  (island)  1 980  « 

October  (Island)  1981  » 

War  (Island)  1983« 

Under  a  Blood  Red  Sky  (Island)  1 983  • 

The  Unforgettable  Fire  (Island)  1984  « 

Wide  Awake  in  America  EP  (Island)  1985  « 

The  Joshua  Tree  (Island)  1 987  • 

Rattle  and  Hum  (Island)  1988  • 

EDGE  WITH  MICHAEL  BROOK 

Captive  (Virgin)  1987  • 


707 


With  a  unique,  passionate  sound,  strongly  individ- 
ual lyrics  and  youthM  guilelessness,  Dublin's  U2  made 
a  big  splash  quickly.  The  quartet  had  released  a  few 
praiseworthy  singles  before  Boy  introduced  them  to  the 
world  at  large,  via  such  songs  as  "I  Will  Follow,"  "An 
Cat  Dubh"  and  "Into  the  Heart."  Powerful  and  emo- 
tional, singer  Bono  (Paul  Hewson)  mixes  a  blend  of 
rock,  Gaelic  and  operatic  styles  with  the  occasional  yowl 
or  yodel  to  lead  the  band's  attack;  guitarist  Dave  "the 
Edge"  Evans  largely  shuns  chords  in  favor  of  brilliant 
lead  or  arpeggio  figures  that  propel  and  color  the  songs. 
Drummer  Larry  Mullen  Jr.  and  bassist  Adam  Clayton 
provide  a  driving  and  solid  (but  sensitive)  foundation, 
completing  Boy's  musical  package,  delivered  to  disc 
with  great  skill  and  invention  by  producer  Steve  Lilly- 
white.   An  unquestionable  masterpiece,   Boy  has  a 
strength,  beauty  and  character  that  is  hard  to  believe  on 
a  debut  alburn  made  by  teenagers.  (Note  to  novice  col- 
lectors: the  US  and  UK  covers  are  entirely  different.) 
Although  it  might  have  been  unreasonable  to  expect 
U2  to  remain  pure  and  ingenuous  indefinitely,  October 
seems  a  bit  overblown  and  oblique  by  comparison.  Al- 
ready showing  signs  of  becoming  a  bit  of  a  sensitive 
auteur,  Bono's  lyrics  abandon  "Stories  for  Boys"  and 
adopt  "Stranger  in  a  Strange  Land."  Lillywhite,  mean- 
while, embellishes  the  magnificent  and  direct  rock 
power  with  found-sound  gimmicks,  piano  and  abun- 
dantly atmospheric  sensuality.  October  does  have  sig- 
nificant virtues:  "Gloria,"  "I  Fall  Down"  and  "Is  That 
All?"  rank  with  the  group's  best  work,  and  several  oth- 
ers fall  just  short,  mostly  the  result  of  incomplete  song- 
writing  efforts.  But,  in  totality,  not  a  great  record. 

War,  on  the  other  hand,  is  tremendous — an  emo- 
tional, affecting  collection  of  honest  love  songs  ("Two 
Hearts  Beat  as  One,"  "Drowning  Man")  and  political 
protest  ("Sunday  Bloody  Sunday,"  "Seconds,"  "The 
Refugee")  given  complex  and  varied,  but  unfailingly 
powerful,  treatments.  The  mix  is  uncomfortably 
skewed — towards  the  drums  and,  on  "New  Year's 
Day,"  bass — but  judicious  addition  of  violin  and  trum- 
pet supports,  rather  than  detracts  from,  the  band's  fire. 
(Bizarre  casting  note:  the  LP's  backing  vocals  are  by 
Kid  Creole's  Coconuts.) 

Taking  advantage  of  U2's  growing  rep  as  a  com- 
manding live  act,  Under  a  Blood  Red  Sky  presents 
them  on  American  and  German  stages,  playing  eight 
dynamic  numbers  drawn  from  all  three  albums,  with 
awesome  strength  and  clarity.  Although  billed  as  a  rnini- 
LP,  the  running  time  exceeds  32  minutes. 

Abandoning  Steve  Lillywhite  in  the  hopes  of  explor- 
ing new  audio  terrain,  U2  made  an  unusual  selection  of 
producer  and  recorded  The  Unforgettable  Fire  with 
Brian  Eno  and  his  Canadian  collaborator,  Daniel 
Lanois.  While  the  record's  lyrical  theme — largely  a 
commemoration  of  Martin  Luther  King  Jr. ,  freedom  and 
individual  heroism  in  general — is  both  commendable 
and  occasionally  articulate,  the  record's  success  as  an 
ambitious  piece  of  pop  music  is  more  mixed,  hitting 
highs — "Pride  (in  the  Name  of  Love),"  "A  Sort  of 
Homecoming,"  "Wire,"  the  title  tune  (all  on  the  first 
side) — as  well  as  an  embarrassing  low — "Elvis  Presley 
and  America. '  *  U2's  predicament  is  that  their  strength  is 
their  strength,  and  the  mare  complex  their  aspirations, 
the  harder  to  convey  their  passion. 

One  doesn't  ordinarily  expect  to  encounter  an  epiph- 


any on  a  budget-priced  disc  of  outtakes  and  ephemera, 
but  Wide  Awake  in  America's  absolutely  mesmerizing 
eight-minute  live  version  of  "Bad"  is  among  U2's  fin- 
est recordings,  and  sent  me  scurrying  back  to  The  Un- 
forgettable Fire  to  hear  what  else  I  might  have  missed. 
Besides  another  live  track,  the  EP  also  contains  two 
worthy-of-release  studio  cuts:  "Three  Sunrises"  and 
"Love  Comes  Tumbling."  Even  when  these  guys  don't 
put  their  best  forward,  what  they've  got  is  still  pretty 
amazing. 

The  Joshua  Tree  (again  produced,  but  with  less 
personality  this  time,  by  Eno  and  Lanois)  helped  elevate 
U2  into  the  commercial  stratosphere,  making  them  one 
of  rock's  all-time  biggest — and  least  creatively 
compromised — money  machines.  (Whatever  the  short- 
comings of  their  records,  pandering  is  not  one  of  them.) 
The  LP  begins  magnificently,  with  three  classic  tracks 
("Where  the  Streets  Have  No  Name,"  "I  Still  Haven't 
Found  What  I'm  Looking  For"  and  "With  or  Without 
You")  that  perfectly  crystallize  U2's  majestic  essence. 
Each  of  the  songs  is  filled  with  atmosphere,  power, 
melody,  instrumental  invention  and  rock  drive,  yet  they 
are  all  strikingly  different.  From  there,  the  album  turns 
oddly  inconsistent.  "Bullet  the  Blue  Sky"  shows  the 
danger  of  listening  to  too  many  Doors  records;  the  semi- 
acoustic  "Running  to  Stand  Still"  has  mood  but  no 
presence;  "In  God's  Country"  puts  the  pieces  together 
just  right,  with  a  haunting,  countryish  refrain;  the  jaunty 
"Trip  Through  Your  Wires"  is  weird  but  intriguing; 
"One  Tree  Hill"  sounds  like  a  good  track  but  collapses 
under  Bono's  Daltreyesque  bellowing  and  Edge's  dis- 
torto  guitar;  "Mothers  of  the  Disappeared,"  while  in- 
tellectually commendable,  lacks  a  cogent  musical 
framework.  Not  as  good  as  it  was  popular,  The  Joshua 
Tree  indicates  both  U2's  strengths  and  weaknesses. 

The  delicate  balance  with  which  U2  had  maintained 
its  artistic  equilibrium  throughout  the  group's  dizzying 
ascent  crumbled  all  over  Rattle  and  Hum,  a  dismaying 
tour  film  shot  by  director  Phil  Joanou  in  1987.  More 
than  anything,  the  documentary  finds  the  messianic 
Bono — no  longer  remotely  capable  of  expressing 
anything  subtle,  honest  or  believable— awash  in  over- 
wrought self-importance,  a  superstar  painfully  con- 
scious of  his  position  and  power.  From  the  egotistical 
introduction  ( '  *This  is  a  song  Charles  Manson  stole  from 
the  Beatles— we're  stealing  it  back")  to  a  hideous  ren- 
dition of  "Helter  Skelter"  through  his  disconcertingly 
authoritarian  delivery  of  "Pride  (In  the  Name  of 
Love),"  the  half- live/half-studio  soundtrack  album's 
concert  tracks  convey  more  of  Bono's  burgeoning  dem- 
agoguery  than  the  band's  thrilling  live  power.  And  after 
the  bracingly  direct  "Desire,"  a  catchy  horn-charged 
tribute  to  Billie  Holiday  ("Angel  of  Harlem")  and  a 
bizarre  collaboration  with  B.B.  King  ("When  Love 
Comes  to  Town"),  the  new  songs  are  not  very  good. 

The  Edge  wrote  the  score  for  political  kidnapping 
film  Captive,  playing  and  co-producing  it  with  Michael 
Brook.  The  instrumental  pieces— a  variety  of  under- 
stated acoustic  guitar/piano  excursions  and  gripping 
synthesizer/electric  guitar  adventures—may  not  be  ex- 
traordinary (despite  the  cool  guitar  work),  but  the  LP 
earned  enduring  significance  for  featuring  the  album  de- 
but of  Sin^ad  O'Connor*  who  sings  "Heroine  (Theme 
from  Captive),"1  [1] 

See  also  Jah  Wobble, 


708 


V    V 


LUC 

Luc  Van  Acker  (Wax  Trax!)  1 986 
Heart  and  Soul  EP  (Wax  Trax!)  1 986 

Belgium's  Van  Acker  (a  member  of  both  the  Re- 
volting Cocks  and  Mussolini  Headkick,  leader  of  the 
short-lived  3  Angry  Poles,  etc  )  is  one  of  the  few  mem- 
bers of  the  Chicago/Brussels  industrial  axis  willing  to 
display  a  gentle  side.  The  cover  of  his  first  solo  album 
(aka  The  Ship)  shows  him  smoothly  decked  out  like  a 
character  from  Fassbinder's  Querelle,  and  the  grooves 
inside  match  the  image — suave,  continental,  but  slightly 
off-kilter  Eurodisco  with  a  certain  quaint  regard  for  lis- 
tenability.  Contributors  include  Anna  Domino  and 
Blaine  Reininger. 

The  12-inch  EP  is  a  compilation  of  two  Belgian 
singles,  including  a  remix  of  the  album's  "Heart  and 
Soul."  [gk] 

See  also  Mussolini  Headkick,  Revolting  Cocks, 

VANILLA  ICE 

To  the  Extreme  (Ultrax-SBK)  1 990  <f> 
Extremely  Live  (Ultrax-SBK)  1991  4> 

No  sooner  had  MC  Hammer  released  his  grip  on  the 
album  chart's  top  spot  then  this  joker  came  along,  jet 
propelled  by  a  catchy  pop  single,  "Ice  Ice  Baby,"  built 
on  the  bass  and  piano  intro  of  Queen  and  David  Bowie's 
"Under  Pressure. '  *  Playing  both  sides  of  the  racial  fence 
with  a  dual  (and  equally  unreal)  image  of  street  tough 
and  non-threatening  all- American,  this  third-rate  rapper 
reached  an  absurd  level  of  popularity,  a  phenomenon 
that  mainly  serves  to  underscore  the  primacy  of  market- 
ing and  prejudice  in  current  music. 

To  the  Extreme  isn't  totally  wretched  (not  that  it's 
good,  but  there  are  worse  hip-hop  LPs  to  be  had),  and 
"Ice  Ice  Baby"  has  the  notable  pop  attributes  of  mod- 
ulated chords  and  a  real  chorus  (Ice  isn't  the  first  rapper 
to  make  that  move,  but  it  is  a  significant  and  valid 
crossover  maneuver  that  bears  further  exploration).  On 
the  other  hand,  the  notion  that  this  is  PG-rated  pap  for 
teenyboppers  is  completely  unsubstantiated  by  the  sex 
and  guns  lyrics;  the  charge  that  Ice  has  watered  down 
the  essence  of  rap  to  make  it  palatable  to  a  non-black 
audience  would  seem  to  be  the  result  of  simple  lameness 
more  than  conscious  stylistic  moderation.  [i] 

DAVID  VAN  TIEGHEM 

These  Things  Happen  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984 
Safety  in  Numbers  (Private  Music)  1 987  * 
Strange  Cargo  (Private  Music)  1 989  • 

In  her  bid  to  become  the  leading  terpsichorean  pa- 
tron of  avant-rock  music,  choreographer  Twyla  Tharp 
followed  projects  with  David  Byrne  and  Glenn  Branca 
by  commissioning  a  score  from  Van  Tieghem,  a  multi- 
imtrumentalist  mainly  known  as  a  drummer  in  the  Love 


of  Life  Orchestra  and  other  New  York  experimental 
ensembles  Working  with  many  local  luminaries,  Van 
Tieghem' s  music  for  Fait  Accompli  (released  as  These 
Things  Happen)  covers  a  wide  range  of  styles,  from 
African-tinged  rhythms  to  obscure  pop.  The  interpola- 
tion of  extraneous  bits  of  found  sounds  (news,  animal 
noises,  etc.)  keeps  things  going  when  the  music  threat- 
ens to  drag,  which — given  its  subordinate  role  as  ac- 
companying earwork — it  frequently  does. 

Excerpts  from  two  subsequent  ballet  scores  and  an- 
other theatrical  project  appear  on  Safety  in  Numbers, 
as  well  as  a  pah*  of  trans-Pacific  computer  collaborations 
with  Ryuichi  Sakamoto.  Ultra-modern  electronic  equip- 
ment and  ancient  acoustic  instruments  blend  harmoni- 
ously into  an  unidentifiable  but  fascinating  sonic  stew 
that  favors  percussion  sounds  more  than  rhythmic  ad- 
venturism. Much  of  the  album  is  spare  and  open,  a 
well-ordered  and  dynamic  backdrop  for  dances — and 
dreams. 

Van  Tieghem' s  unexpected  (and  surprisingly  attrac- 
tive, in  a  cool,  Enoesque  fashion)  vocal  performance  on 
"  Volcano  Diving"  is  in  keeping  with  the  warm  allure  of 
Strange  Cargo.  Co-produced  with  Laurie  Anderson 
collaborator  Roma  Baran  and  others,  the  record  is  lively 
and  upbeat,  evading  wallpaper  ambience  with  invention 
and  enthusiasm.  [i] 

BEN  VAUGHN  COMBO 

The  Many  Moods  of  Ben  Vaughn  (Fever-Restless)  1 986 
Beautiful  Thing  (Restless)  1987  • 

BEN  VAUGHN 

Ben  Vaughn  Blows  Your  Mind  (Restless)  1 988  » 
Dressed  in  Black  (Enigma)  1990  4> 

Having  outgrown  Philadelphia's  punk  scene,  Ben 
Vaughn's  first  claim  to  national  fame  came  when  two 
influential  recording  artists  covered  his  songs.  The  Mo- 
rells  put  "The  Man  Who  Has  Everything"  on  their  1982 
LP,  and  Marshall  Crenshaw  did  the  brilliant  "I'm  Sorry 
(But  So  Is  Brenda  Lee)"  on  Downtown.  For  Vaughn, 
that  was  enough  to  get  him  a  record  deal. 

Although  his  own  sleepy  acoustic/country  rendition 
of  "I'm  Sorry"  is  a  letdown,  the  rest  of  Many  Moods 
is  entertaining  no-Mils  rock'n'roll,  with  clever  lyrics, 
clever  titles  and  catchy  tunes.  Besides  penning  romantic 
ditties,  Vaughn  pokes  fun  at  the  tyranny  of  trendies 
("Wrong  Haircut,"  "I  Dig  Your  Wig")  and  defines 
down-to-earth  suburbanism  ("Lookin'  for  a  7-11," 
"M-M-Motor  Vehicle")  with  implicit  satire  of 
stalemate  Springsteen's  epochal  bombast,  A  trio  (bass, 
drums,  accordion)  provides  raucous  support  for 
Vaughn's  unstyiized  vocals  and  guitar 

Beautiful  Thing  has  a  fresh,  easygoing  feel,  but  too 
much  restraint  can  be  dangerous;  halfway  through  the 
first  side,  this  mild  record  threatens  to  slide  right  off  the 
turntable.  (Hat-sounding  production,  sorely  deficient  in 


709 


highs  and  lows,  exaggerates  that  impression.)  The  LP's 
other  shortcomings  are  its  lack  of  funny  titles  ("Jerry 
Lewis  in  France"  is  as  good  as  it  gets),  the  paucity  of 
overtly  clever  lyrics  (two  exceptions  being  "Shingalmg 
with  Me"  and  "Big  House  with  a  Yard")  and  a  decided 
shortage  of  raveups  (a  crazed  polka  called  "Gimmie, 
Gimmie,  Gimmie"  and  the  peppy  guitar  instrumental 
"Desert  Boots"  notwithstanding). 

Opting  for  the  Combo-free  life,  Vaughn  nonetheless 
made  Blows  Your  Mind  with  instrumental  and  vocal 
contributions  from  his  former  bandmates.  Where  the 
last  record's  lack  of  energy  was  a  drag,  this  one  has  the 
creative  spine  and  sprightly  production  to  low-key  its 
way  into  the  pop  pieasuredome,  somewhere  between 
Jonathan  Richman  and  Yo  La  Tengo.  The  relaxed  love 
songs  (like  "She's  Your  Problem  Now")  are  delightful; 
the  vintage-styled  rockers  ("Darlene,"  the  gentle  in- 
strumental "El  Rambler  Dorado")  are  lively  without 
getting  out  of  hand.  (The  CD  adds  three  songs.) 

Vaughn  undertook  a  four-date  tour  of  East 
Germany — reportedly  backed  by  the  group  Pankow,  al- 
though mat's  hard  to  envision — in  December  1989  be- 
fore releasing  the  star-studded  Dressed  in  Black,  whose 
cover,  for  reasons  unknown,  pictures  Vaughn  in  black- 
face. The  strongly  played  rock  record  features  John  Hi- 
att,  Marshall  Crenshaw,  Alex  Chilton,  Peter  Holsapple 
and  Gordon  Gano  (playing  violin  on  a  slow  acoustic 
ballad  called  "New  Wave  Dancing").  Although  he  runs 
out  of  wit  too  early  to  keep  the  record  afloat,  Vaughn 
does  manage  to  rip  through  the  cool  title  track  and  a 
great  version  of  his  old  "Man  Who  Has  Everything." 
After  that,  it's  down  to  a  Velvet  Underground  quote  at 
the  beginning  of  "Cashier  Girl"  (an  old  idea  that  didn't 
merit  a  return  visit)  and  a  faintly  amusing  ode  to  facial 
hair  ( * 'Growin'  a  Beard" ) .  [i] 


sometimes  heavy-handed  but  always  his  own.  This  re- 
cycling is  creative. 

Continuing  Ric  Ocasek's  association  with  Suicide, 
the  tall  Car  produced  Vega's  third  solo  album,  which 
mostly  abandons  the  simplicity  of  his  early  work  in 
favor  of  propulsive  keyboard-dominated  drone-rock 
played  by  Ocasek  and  a  variety  of  sidemen,  including 
Ministry  and  the  Cars'  Greg  Hawkes.  Vega  mumbles 
like  an  inarticulate  offspring  of  Lou  Reed  and  Jim  Mor- 
rison, but  Saturn  Strip  covers  a  lot  of  ground.  "Video 
Babe"  reasserts  his  atmospheric  rockabilly  sensibility 
(recall  "Jukebox  Babe")  but  with  very  modem  acces- 
sories, while  an  offhand  cover  of  Hot  Chocolate's  "Ev- 
ery 1's  a  Winner"  closes  the  LP  on  an  enigmatic, 
inconclusive  note. 

Just  a  Million  Dreams  finds  Vega  acquiescing  in  an 
almost  routine  rock  milieu,  produced  in  the  main  by 
Chris  Lord-Alge.  Alan's  not  exactly  Mr.  Mister,  but  the 
backing  tracks  are  so  filled  with  typical  synth  sounds, 
electronic  rhythms  and  sizzling  lead  guitar  that  they  pro- 
vide little  or  no  musical  excitement  to  stimulate  vocal 
hysteria.  In  fact,  it's  difficult  at  times  to  believe  that  this 
bland  singer  is  actually  Vega. 

Despite  a  new  collaborator,  the  self-produced  Deuce 
Avenue  reveals  Vega  deeply  out  of  touch  with  musical 
reality — his  own  or  anyone  else's.  Over  Liz  Lamere's 
"drums  and  machines" — impotent  and  dull  backing 
electronic  keyboard  tracks  rooted  in  hip-hop  style — 
Vega  offhandedly  runs  down  shambling  and  pale  imita- 
tions of  his  potent  art-rock  raps,  expending  no  effort  and 
making  no  impression.  (Instead  of  doing  anything  that 
might  have  inspired  Vega  to  better  performances,  Ric 
Ocasek  helped  with  the  crappy  cover  art.)  Vega  is  a 
compilation.  [si/i] 

See  also  Suicide. 


TESCO  VEE 

See  Meatmen. 

ALAN  VEGA 

Alan  Vega  (ZE-PVC)  1980 

Collision  Drive  (ZE-Celluloid)  1981 

Saturn  Strip  (ZE-Elektra)  1 983 

Just  a  Million  Dreams  (ZE-Elektra)  1 985 

Vega  [CD]  (Fr.  Celluloid)  1989  « 

Deuce  Avenue  (Fr.  Musidisc)  1 990  « 

As  the  vocal  half  of  Suicide,  singer  Alan  Vega  was 

an  infuriating  electronic  shaman.  On  his  own,  he  creates 

seductive,  '50s-mspired  music  that  succeeds  with  or 

without  rockabilly  revivals.  Alan  Vega's  impact  is  the 
result  of  its  spare  instrumentation — just  the  singer  plus 
Phil  Hawk  on  guitar  and  drums — and  deceptively  sim- 
ple songs.  "Jukebox  Babe"  transcends  a  stuttering  lyric 
and  solitary  riff  to  engulf  its  idiom  and  then  the  uni- 
verse. "Lonely"  should  be  the  last  word  (or  moan)  on 
that  subject.  The  rest  of  the  album  is  similarly  zen-like, 
and  no  less  enjoyable  for  it. 

The  self-produced  Collision  Drive  has  a  three-piece 
band  and  broader  musical  range.  Besides  the  droning 
rock'n'roll  of  "Magdaiena  82"  and  "Magdalena  83," 
"Outlaw"  flirts  with  heavy  metal  rhythms  and  textures; 
"Viet  Vet"  is  an  extended  narrative  reminiscent  of  the 
Doors.  Vega's  moody  lyricism  has  the  poet's  touch — 

710 


SUZANNE  VEGA 

Suzanne  Vega  (A&M)  1 985  e 
Marlene  on  the  Wall  EP  (nr/A&M)  1986 
Left  of  Center  EP  (nr/A&M)  1 986  « 
Solitude  Standing  (A&M)  1 987  » 
Compact  Hits  EP  [CD]  (nr/A&M)  1 988  « 
Days  of  Open  Hand  (A&M)  1 990  * 

Like  Patti  Smith  a  decade  earlier,  Suzanne  Vega  was 
selected  from  an  "underground"  New  York  scene — in 
this  case,  the  post-rock  neo-folk  crowd  that  outgrew 
new  wave  for  acoustic  guitars  and  sensitively  poetic 
lyrics — and  elevated  to  preeminent  status  with  a  major 
label  record  deal.  Singing  in  a  cool,  wispy  voice,  Vega 
resembles  a  mix  of  Joni  Mitchell,  Laurie  Anderson  and 
Tim  Buckley.  Producers  Lenny  Kaye  and  Steve  Add- 
abbo  assembled  a  number  of  studio  players  to  support 
Vega  in  discreet,  restrained  fashion  on  her  first  album; 
the  unobtrusive  backing  presents  her  songs  clearly 
and  pleasingly.  With  memorable  material  and  little  pre- 
ciousness  or  obfuscation,  Suzanne  Vega  introduces  a 
talented  melodicist  with  plenty  of  potential  for  develop- 
ment. 

Whatever  its  other  merits,  Solitude  Standing  will 
always  be  known  as  the  album  containing  the  enormous 
hit  single,  "Luka."  Vega's  offbeat  first-person  tale  of  a 
child-abuse  victim  is  doubly  disturbing,  both  for  its 
chilling  lyrics  and  her  unclear  motivation  and  intent. 
Captured  with  exquisitely  clear  sound,  Vega's  subtle 


and  inventive  quartet  provides  texture,  dynamics  and 
context  for  the  wan  tales  of  urban  alienation,  preventing 
her  unchanging  voice — soft,  dry,  seductive — from  un- 
duly homogenizing  the  sound.  (Three  years  after  Soli- 
tude Standing's  release,  a  British  production  group 
called  DNA  stuck  an  acid  house  rhythm  track  under 
Vega's  vocals  from  the  album's  "Tom's  Diner"  and 
wound  up  moving  Vega — unexpectedly  but  not,  as  it 
turned  out,  unhappily — into  the  charts  and  onto  the 
world's  dancefloors.) 

The  Compact  Hits  mini-compilation  puts  "Luka," 
"Neighborhood  Girls,"  "The  Queen  and  the  Soldier" 
and  "Left  of  Center"  (a  fine  track  done  for  the  Pretty 
in  Pink  soundtrack  but  not  on  any  Vega  LP)  on  a  British 
CD. 

Gaining  confidence  as  a  performer  and  as  a  pop  star, 
Vega  handily  co-produced  Days  of  Open  Hand  with 
her  synthesizer  player,  Anton  Sanko.  The  increasingly 
courageous  songwriter  tackles  a  variety  of  subjects  here, 
from  the  mundanity  of  voting  ("Institution  Green")  to 
an  artfully  simple  and  emotionally  frank  account  of  vis- 
iting a  gravely  ill  loved  one  in  the  hospital  ( "Fifty-Fifty 
Chance").  With  an  uplifting  catchy  pop  song  ("Book 
of  Dreams")  and  a  handful  of  less  immediate  but 
equally  engrossing  tales,  Days  of  Open  Hand  is  a 
wholly  successful  declaration  of  independence.  [i] 

VEIL 

Surrender  (nr/Clay)  1 985 

Bryan  Gregory's  post-Cramps  project,  the  aptly  ti- 
tled Beast,  were  nothing  like  his  old  group,  instead  at- 
tempting a  gothic  sound  comparable  to  mid-period 
Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees.  Their  three  early-'SOs  45s 
were  of  mixed  quality,  and  Gregory  soon  dropped  back 
into  obscurity.  His  three  bandmates,  however,  moved  to 
the  UK  and  forged  ahead  as  the  Veil,  releasing  an  un- 
derrated alburn  of  dark  poptones  like  "Manikin," 
"Twist"  (both  singles)  and  "Love  in  a  Dying  World" 
(a  Beast  remake).  Vocalist  Andrella's  wispy  voice  and 
quasi-Egyptian  shtick  manage  to  charm  even  when  some 
of  the  material  does  not.  (gef  ] 

VEIL 

See  Game  Theory, 

VELVET  MONKEYS 

Everything  Is  Right  [tape]  (Monkey  Business)  1 981 
Future  (Fountain  of  Youth)  1983 
Rotting  Corpse  au  Go-Go  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 989  « 
Rake  (Rough  Trade)  1990« 

HALF  JAPANESE/VELVET 
MONKEYS 

Big  Big  Sun  [tape]  (K)  1986 

One  of  the  simpler  pleasures  of  the  noisy-post-new- 
wave  thang,  the  Velvet  Monkeys  don't  attach  any  high- 
brow pretensions  to  their  love  of  cheesy  pop  clamor. 
Whatever  irony  their  work  possesses  is  strictly  an  after- 
thought. In  the  band's  earliest  incarnation,  leader  Don 
Fleming  (vocals/guitar)  wrote  songs  with  time-honored 
trash  themes  ("Let's  go  to  the  drive-in  tonight*')  and 
the  Washington  DC  group  played  them  with  the  requi- 
site amounts  of  enthusiasm  and  Farfisa.  Subsequent  al- 


liances with  Half  Japanese  brought  out  the  avant- 
gardisms,  but  nothing  serious  enough  to  catch  the 
attention  of  highbrow  critics,  and  more  power  to  the 
Monkeys  for  that. 

The  1989  Rotting  Corpse  compilation  gathers  the 
band's  previous  high  points  (1980- '84)  into  one  conve- 
nient package.  When  the  Velvet  Monkeys  broke  up, 
Fleming  and  drummer  Jay  Spiegel  moved  to  New  York 
and  formed  B.A.L.L.;  when  that  group  ended,  they 
reformed  the  Velvet  Monkeys,  enlisting  such  new  pals 
as  J  Mascis  (Dinosaur  Jr.),  Thurston  Moore  (Sonic 
Youth)  and  Julia  Cafritz  (ex-Pussy  Galore)  for  the  fake- 
'70s  exploitation  "soundtrack"  Rake.  Given  Fleming's 
new  residence  and  acquaintances,  the  album  is  predict- 
ably more  grungy  and  smartass  than  previous  Monkeys 
records,  but  an  enjoyable  kick  nonetheless.  [gk] 

See  also  B.A.L.I.,  Half  Japanese, 

VELVET  UNDERGROUND 

The  Velvet  Underground  &  Nico  (Verve)  1967  +  1985  ® 

White  Light/White  Heat  (Verve)  1967  +  1985  ® 

The  Velvet  Underground  (MGM)  1969  (Verve)  1 985  • 

Loaded  (Cotillion)  1970® 

Live  at  Max's  Kansas  City  (Cotillion)  1972  ® 

Lou  Reed  and  the  Velvet  Underground  (Pride)  1973 

Squeeze  (nr/Polydor)  1973 

1969  Velvet  Underground  Live  with  Lou  Reed  (Mercury) 

1974® 

VU  (Vetve-PolyGram)  1 985  ® 
Velvet  Underground  (nr/Polydor)  1 986 
Another  View  (Verve-PolyGram)  1 986  « 
The  Best  of  the  Velvet  Underground  (Verve-PolyGram) 

1989<!> 

VARIOUS  ARTISTS 

Heaven  and  Hell  Volume  One  (Communion)  1 990  ® 
Heaven  and  Hell  Vol.  2  (nr/lmaginary)  1991  • 

The  Velvet  Underground  marked  a  turning  point  in 
rock  history.  After  the  release  of  The  Velvet  Under- 
ground &  Nico,  knowing  the  power  of  which  it  was 
capable,  the  music  could  never  be  as  innocent,  as  un- 
selfconscious  as  before.  The  band's  first  album  may 
have  come  on  a  bit  cute  with  its  Andy  Warhol-designed 
banana  cover — indeed,  patron  Warhol's  name  (he  also 
"produced")  was  splashed  around  like  a  talisman — but 
singer/guitarist  Lou  Reed's  tough  songs  and  the  band's 
equally  tough  playing  owed  nothing  to  anybody.  In  per- 
verse subject  matter  ("Heroin,"  "Venus  in  Furs"),  de- 
ceptively simple  musical  forms  and  anarchic  jamming, 
the  Velvets  displayed  the  rebellious  traits  new  wave 
bands  would  pick  up  on  ten  years  later.  Singer  Nico's 
four  vocals  provide  textural  context  and  breathing  space 
between  Reed's  darker  visions. 

With  Nico  gone,  White  Light/White  Heat  is  almost 
unbearably  intense.  John  Cale  recites  a  gruesome  little 
story  ("The  Gift")  over  steamy  accompaniment,  and 
Reed  sings  the  praises  of  methamphetamines  (the  title 
track) — and  that's  the  light  entertainment.  The  second 
side  consists  of  extended,  feedback-wailing  guitar  solos 
("I  Heard  Her  Call  My  Name")  and  graphic  porno- 
junkie  tales  (seventeen  minutes  of  "Sister  Ray").  The 
album  is  as  morally  black  as  its  cover. 

Something  had  to  change,  and  when  the  Velvet 
Underground  next  surfaced,  they  sounded  like  a  dif- 
ferent band.  Calebs  departure  (replaced  by  multi- 


711 


instrumentalist  Doug  Yule)  might  have  played  a  part, 
but  remaining  auteur  Reed  has  since  shown  himself  ca- 
pable of  wide  mood  swings.  The  music  on  The  Velvet 
Underground  is  quiet,  melodic,  gentle  even  when  it 
turns  up  the  juice  ("What  Goes  On,"  "Beginning  to 
See  the  Light")  and — who  would  have  believed  it? — 
moving  ( '  'Jesus , "  "I'm  Set  Free' ' ) .  Only  *  'The  Murder 
Mystery,"  with  its  double-tracked  chatter,  is  guilty  of 
self-indulgence. 

Lou  Reed  and  the  Velvet  Underground  is  a 
bargain-bin  compilation  of  the  first  three  LPs. 

The  group  started  on  a  fourth,  unreleased  album 
before  switching  record  companies.  Sixteen  years  later, 
songs  from  those  sessions  finally  surfaced  officially  on 
VU.  They  show  the  Velvet  Underground  stoking  the 
rock'n'roll  fire  that  blazed  forth  on  Loaded:  "Foggy 
Notion"  is  a  timeless  raveup  of  classical  simplicity 
(though  typically  kinky  subject  matter).  Reed  recycled 
half  of  VU's  material  on  his  early  solo  albums,  but  it's 
charming  to  hear  them  played  forcefully  by  a  function- 
ing band. 

By  1970,  the  Velvet  Underground  was  into  a  whole- 
some overdrive.  Loaded  may  have  seemed  superficial 
in  comparison  to  the  preceding  albums,  but  it  does  in- 
clude Reed's  twin  anthems,  "Sweet  Jane"  and  "Rock 
&  Roll."  Personality  conflicts,  however,  resulted  in  his 
leaving  the  group  before  the  record's  release;  Yule  took 
some  of  the  vocals  and  most  of  the  credit.  Loaded 's 
sweetness-and-light  music  was  the  Velvets'  death 
throes. 

With  its  creative  force  gone,  the  band  shuffled  along 
for  two  more  years  and  even  released  a  British  album, 
Squeeze,  with  no  original  members.  For  new  doses  of 
the  real  thing,  fans  had  to  be  content  with  live  record- 
ings of  past  glories.  Live  at  Max's  Kansas  City  is  a 
low-fi  document  of  the  Velvets'  last  hurrah  in  the  Big 
Apple.  The  band — Reed,  Sterling  Morrison  and  two 
Yules — is  tight  but  mellow;  three  of  the  four  songs  taken 
from  the  first  album  were  originally  sung  by  Nico. 

The  two-record  1969  (from  assorted  late-'69  shows 
in  Texas  and  San  Francisco)  is  more  interesting  in  its 
extended  view  of  the  group  and  choice  of  material.  As 
on  the  Max's  LP,  the  post-Cale  band  is  generally 
relaxed — a  far  cry  from  the  musical  entropy  of  the  first 
two  albums.  The  Velvet  Underground  got  its  ground- 
breaking out  of  the  way  early.  (When  it  arrived  on  CD 
in  1988,  the  album  had  inexplicably  been  separated  into 
two  individual  volumes.  Take  your  pick.) 

In  1986,  British  Polydor  released  Velvet  Under- 
ground, a  five-album  boxed  set  of  the  first  three  original 
LPs,  VU  and  a  bonus  record  of  nine  previously  unavail- 
able tracks,  including  an  early  "Rock  and  Roll,"  an 
instrumental  "Guess  I'm  Falling  in  Love,"  a  studio  take 
of  "We're  Gonna  Have  a  Real  Good  Time  Together" 
and  two  versions  of  "Hey  Mr.  Rain."  Sensibly,  An- 
other View  was  also  issued  separately. 

Having  issued  the  three  original  albums  and  VU  on 
CD  in  1985,  PolyGram  assembled  a  chronological  one- 
disc  studio  career  summation,  The  Best  of  the  Velvet 
Underground  (subtitled  Words  and  Music  of  Lou 
Reed).  What  you  get  is  half  the  first  LP,  the  title  track 
of  the  second,  three  each  from  the  third  and  VU,  and 
Loaded 's  obvious  pair.  A  neat  introduction,  but  a 
skimpy  one. 

With  an  entire  generation  of  Velvets-worshipping 


noisemongers  to  choose  from,  the  first  ten  contributors 
to  what  is  threatened  as  an  ongoing  tribute-album  series 
to  the  band  are  far  from  the  most  obvious.  Nirvana, 
Buffalo  Tom  and  Screaming  Trees  do  the  homeland 
honors  on  Heaven  and  Hell  Volume  One,  leaving 
Ride,  James  (who  deserve  to  be  smacked  for  turning 
"Sunday  Morning"  into  a  song  title  medley),  Wedding 
Present,  Telescopes  and  Motorcycle  Boy  to  interpret 
such  classics  as  "Candy  Says,"  "Run,  Run,  Run"  and 
"She's  My  Best  Fnend"  with  varying  degrees  of  sonic 
and  cultural  distortion.  [si/i] 

See  also  John  Cole,  Nico,  Lou  Reed,  Maureen 
Tucker. 


Tom  Verbine  (Elekfrra)  1979 

Dreomtime  (Warner  Bros.)  1 981 

Words  from  the  Front  (Warner  Bros.)  1 982  ® 

Cover  (Warner  Bros.)  1 984  ® 

Flash  Light  (IRS)  1 987  « 

The  Wonder  (nr/Fontana)  1 990  * 

Television  was  the  satisfying  result  of  a  clash  be- 
tween two  disparate  styles.  Leader  Tom  Verlaine  was 
the  dreamer,  playing  sinuous  guitar  and  singing  in  the 
strangled,  intense  voice  of  a  young  poet.  Guitarist  Rich- 
ard Lloyd  and  the  rhythm  section  of  Billy  Ficca  and 
Fred  Smith  tended  more  to  classic,  bash-it-out  rock- 
'n'roll. When  Verlaine  went  solo,  many  assumed  he'd 
simply  float  off  into  the  ozone. 

Surprisingly,  he  managed  to  preserve  Television's 
delicate  balance  and  even  add  new  elements  on  his  first 
solo  LP.  Two  tortured,  driving  mini-epics — "The  Grip 
of  Love"  and  "Breakin'  in  My  Heart,"  a  classic  from 
the  old  group's  live  sets — blend  flesh  and  spirit  per- 
fectly. The  vividly  desperate  "Kingdom  Come"  has  the 
honor  of  being  covered  by  David  Bowie  on  Scary 
Monsters — how's  that  for  an  endorsement?  There's 
even  a  playful  nonsense  song,  "Yonki  Time,"  indicat- 
ing Verlaine  is  using  his  freedom  to  grow. 

Alas,  with  Dreamtime,  Verlaine  narrows  his  scope, 
seeming  to  retreat  into  the  isolation  of  the  familiar. 
There  are  taut,  anxious  tunes  ("Down  on  the  Farm"), 
lilting  ones  ("Without  a  Word")  and  an  abundance  of 
exquisite  guitar  licks,  but  it's  too  predictable.  A  per- 
former who  trades  in  passion  can't  afford  not  to  sur- 
prise. 

Words  from  the  Front  shows  more  daring, 
although — like  its  predecessor— it  suffers  from  incon- 
sistent material.  "Postcard  from  Waterloo"  proves  that 
Verlaine  can  be  as  romantic  as  Barry  Manilow  without 
sacrificing  keenness.  "Days  on  the  Mountain"  provides 
perhaps  the  ultimate  in  lightheaded  ecstasy,  with  his 
fluttering  guitar  skillfully  imitating  the  ascension  into 
heaven. 

In  some  ways,  Cover  constitutes  a  return  to  the  style 
of  Verlaine's  first  LP.  The  songs  are  short  and  to  the 
point,  without  the  sometimes  florid  expansiveness  of  his 
previous  two  efforts.  On  the  other  hand,  brevity  doesn't 
discourage  Verlaine  from  floating  into  the  ozone — he 
just  does  it  quicker.  For  every  "Lindi-Lu,"  a  fine  jerky 
rocker,  there's  two  like  "Swim/'  a  gentle  evocation  of 
airheadedness. 

Co-producing  Hash  Light  with  Fred  Smith,  Ver- 
laine achieves  an  energetic  rock  sound  that  exudes  new 


712 


realms  of  self-confidence.  Meanwhile,  his  poetry  re- 
mains characteristically  brilliant  In  "The  Scientist 
Writes  a  Letter,"  a  song  taking  precisely  that  form,  he 
writes,  "It's  funny  how  attractive  indifference  can 
be/My  sense  of  failure  .  .  it's  not  so  important/ 
Electricity  means  so  much  more  to  me."  As  Veriaine 
has  developed  and  refined  his  music  over  the  years,  his 
urgent  vocals  and  guitar  playing  (especially  on  "Cry 
Mercy  Judge")  still  carry  the  stylistically  hallmarks  of 
his  old  band. 

Verlaine  and  Smith  continue  their  subversive  tryst 
with  contemporary  rock  on  The  Wonder,  concocting 
muscular,  superficially  routine  arrangements  in  which  fa- 
miliar lines  of  wiggly  guitar  and  other  unsettling  dramat- 
ics drift  in  and  out  of  range.  The  surprisingly  cozy  tone 
of  Verlaine' s  self-amused  vocals  put  his  mildly  offbeat 
lyrics  in  an  entirely  new  context;  combined  with  the  mu- 
sic's dynamic  tension,  mixed  signals  make  The  Wonder 
an  intriguing,  multifaceted  experience. 

See  also  Television. 


VERLA1NES 

Ten  O'Clock  in  the  Afternoon  EP  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1 984 
Hallelujah  All  the  Way  Home  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1985 

(Homestead)  1989® 
Juvenilia  (Homestead)  1987 

Bird-Dog  (NZ  Flying  Nun)  1987  (Homestead)  1988  ® 
Some  Disenchanted  Evening  (Flying  Nun-Homestead) 

1990® 

Named  after  the  French  symbolist  poet  and  fronted 
by  a  classical  music  student,  the  Verlaines  are  based  in 
Dunedin,  New  Zealand,  the  same  hometown  as  the 
Chills  and  the  Clean.  From  the  band's  first  single, 
"Death  and  the  Maiden' '  (inspired  by  an  Edvard  Munch 
painting),  through  their  recent  releases,  poetry  and  high 
art  have  had  a  large  impact  on  singer/songwriter/multi- 
instrurnentalist  Graeme  Downes*  approach  to  rock  mu- 
sic. Besides  his  anguished,  mournful  voice,  the  trio's 
sound  is  characterized  by  furious  electric  guitar  strum- 
ming and  deft  time  shifts. 

The  first  Anglo-American  release,  Juvenilia,  is  a 
compilation  that  offers  an  excellent  overview  of  the 
band's  early  career.  Combining  the  six-song  Ten 
O'Clock  in  the  Afternoon  EP,  "Death  and  the  Maid- 
en" and  three  songs  from  a  Dunedin  scene  compilation, 
this  stunning  anthology  has  a  punkish  immediacy  and  an 
almost  pastoral  freshness.  Dowries*  tales  of  drunkards, 
romantics  and  kids  on  the  dole  are  punctuated  by  feisty 
drumming  and  such  instrumental  flourishes  as  oboe  and 
carnival  organ. 

Hallelujah  All  the  Way  Home  is  the  group's  at- 
tempt at  stylistic  definition  and  refinement.  Although 
ambitious  and  pretentious  (lyrics  harp  on  the  antiquated 
concept  of  the  artist  as  exile),  the  album  is  nevertheless 
grounded  in  Downes*  exquisite  and  inventive  sense  of 
melody,  Bird-Dog  is  a  stronger,  more  realized  effort. 
Augmenting  their  sound  with  horns,  strings  and  piano, 
the  Verlaines  craft  a  truly  memorable  album  that  builds 
from  delicate,  hushed  ballads  to  explosive  rock'n'roll 
burlesque,  "CD,  Jimmy  Jazz  and  Me,"  "Slow  Sad 
Love  Song"  and  "Just  Mum'*  are  standouts,  but  each 
track  seems  to  surpass  the  one  before  it. 

Lacking  the  exhilarating  richness  and  devastating 
melancholy  of  Bird-Dog,  Some  Disenchanted  Evening 


is  more  restrained  and  a  bit  less  confident.  "Jesus  What 
a  Jerk"  and  "The  Funniest  Thing"  are  straightforward 
guitar-pop — solid  and  hstenable,  but  without  the  spark 
of  unpredictability  that  elevated  the  band's  early  work. 
The  album's  coda,  a  piano  ballad  styled  after  Randy 
Newman,  is  actually  the  collection's  crowning  achieve- 
ment; harnessing  a  dapper  melody  to  a  bitterly  sardonic 
lyric  about  failure,  it  reveals  new-found  subtlety  and 
clanty  in  Downes'  writing.  [kss] 

VIBRATING  EGG 

Come  on  in  Here  If  You  Want  To  EP  (Dog  Gone)  1 988 

A  12-inch  of  five  cool  covers  by  an  unknown  band 
on  an  indie  label  would  normally  rate  little  notice,  but 
Georgia's  Vibrating  Egg  has  more  than  just  the  good 
sense  to  dedicate  its  record  to  Leonard  Cohen  and  Viv 
Stanshall.  Raoul  Duplott,  the  unsteady  vocalist  on  these 
amiable  renditions  of  Procol  Harum's  "Whiter  Shade  of 
Pale,"  Roky  Erickson's  "Bermuda,"  an  old  spiritual 
and  two  of  Alice  Cooper's  finest,  is  none  other  than 
Jefferson  Holt,  manager  of  R.E.M.  and  founder  of  the 
Dog  Gone  label,  surrounded  by  a  host  of  pseudonymous 
players.  (Hmm  .  .  .)  Good  fun,  but  Holt  had  best  keep 
his  day  job,  [i] 

VIBRATORS 

Pure  Mania  (Columbia)  1976  ® 

V2  (nr/Epic)  1 978 

Batteries  included  (nr/CBS)  1980 

Guilty  (nr/Anagram)  1 983 

Alaska!  27  (nr/Ram)  1984 

Fifth  Amendment  (nr/Ram)  1985 

Live  (nr/FM-Revolver)  1986 

Recharged  (nr/FM-Revolver)  1 988 

Meltdown  (nr/FM-Revolver)  1988  * 

Disco  In  Moscow  EP  (nr/FM-Revolver)  1 988 

Vicious  Circle  (nr/FM-Revolver)  1989  • 

Volume  10  (nr/FM-Revolver)  1 990  * 

KNOX 

Plutonium  Express  (nr/Razor)  1983 

Like  the  Stranglers,  the  Vibrators  were  considerably 
older  than  the  other  bands  comprising  the  London  punk 
scene  in  1977.  A  rudimentary  quartet  with  a  knack  for 
insidiously  catchy  songs,  the  Vibrators — after  a  brief 
alliance  with  Chris  Spedding,  whom  they  backed  on  the 
first  punk  novelty  record,  "Pogo  Dancing" — 
established  themselves  with  a  stream  of  clever  pop  sin- 
gles that  captured  the  minimalist  energy  (minus  the 
inchoate  anger)  of  their  peers, 

Pure  Mania — with  its  soon-to-be-a-cliche'  color- 
Xerox  artwork  cover — is  a  treasure  trove  of  memorable 
ditties  that  strip  down  pop  in  a  parallel  to  the  Ramones' 
streamlining  of  it.  A  brilliant  record,  cheerful  in  a  loopy 
way  and  filled  with  great  fragmentary  tunes  and  innoc- 
uously threatening  lyrics. 

Recorded  in  Berlin  (briefly  the  band's  adopted  home 
base),  V2  features  new  bassist  Gary  Tibbs  (later  a  Roxy 
Musician  and  Ant)  and  a  more  ambitious  agenda.  While 
some  of  the  material  is  not  that  different  from  the  debut 
LP,  V2  is  pretentious  and  overblown,  following  too 
many  different  cul-de-sacs  to  hang  together. 

Although  trends  quickly  passed  them  by,  the  Vibra- 
tors trundled  on  until  1980.  When  they  split  up,  CBS 


713 


issued  the  Batteries  Included  retrospective,  with  such 
classic  tunes  as  "Judy  Says"  and  "Yeah  Yeah  Yeah." 
Compiling  the  best  tracks  from  the  first  two  LPs  and 
adding  a  couple  of  other  treats,  it's  an  essential  souvenir 
of  the  class  of  '77. 

The  original  Vibrators  (Knox,  Eddie,  Pat  Collier 
and  John  Ellis)  reformed  two  years  later  and  issued 
Guilty,  an  okay  diversion  highlighted  by  the  name- 
dropping  title  song  and  a  remake  of  "Baby,  Baby,"  the 
Vibes'  classic  '77  single.  Though  lacking  the  debut's 
full-throttle  punk  rush,  Guilty  nonetheless  entertains  by 
sheer  force  of  its  elemental  melodic  tracks. 

That  same  year  saw  the  release  of  a  solo  LP  by 
singer  and  chief  songwriter  Knox.  (He  has  also  re- 
corded, with  Charlie  Harper  of  the  U.K.  Subs,  as  the 
Urban  Dogs.)  Unspectacular  in  all  departments,  Pluto- 
nium Express'  banal  contents  are  telegraphed  by  such 
song  titles  as  "Goin'  Uptown"  and  "Love  Is  Burning." 

Alaska  127,  named  after  bassist/producer  Collier's 
recording  studio,  is  the  band's  best  post-reunion  LP. 
The  opener,  a  furious  rewrite  of  "I  Fought  the  Law" 
called  "Amphetamine  Blue,"  sets  the  pace  for  the 
eleven  songs  that  follow,  all  either  likable  lightweight 
pop  or  kick-ass  hard  rock. 

The  excitement  began  to  wane  by  Fifth  Amend- 
ment, which  finds  the  group  plugging  away  at  midtempo 
rock  with  no  distinguishing  marks.  Collier  departed 
soon  after  to  concentrate  more  on  his  bigtime  career  as 
a  producer  (Katrina  and  the  Waves,  House  of  Love, 
Soup  Dragons,  etc.),  but  did  pop  back  around  to  remix 
and  edit  the  band's  live  album.  (His  replacement  was 
engineer/soundman  Noel  Thompson.)  Plucking  songs 
from  all  the  previous  LPs  save  for  Guilty,  Live 
shrewdly  concentrates  on  older,  greatest-hits  material. 
And  while  the  performances  are  quite  good,  you  get  the 
feeling  these  guys  don't  really  have  their  hearts  in  it 
anymore.  Thompson  and  guitarist  Ellis  left  after  Live 
(Ellis  turned  up  in  the  1991  edition  of  the  Stranglers), 
and  the  band  played  on  with  two  new  members. 

Despite  the  optimistic  title,  Recharged  makes  it 
clear  the  Vibrators  have  long  since  run  their  course. 
Hacking  out  simplistic  good-timey  rockers  centered  on 
stale  lines  like  "Heart  of  the  city/Beneath  the  neon 
light,"  they  create  something  that's  not  totally  awful  but 
still  a  major  drag  in  comparison  to  the  good  old  days. 
Volume  10  is  a  slight  improvement,  thanks  to  virtuoso 
show-offy  lead  work  from  yet  another  new  guitarist, 
Nigel  Bennett,  and  some  tasty  sax.  [i/db] 

See  also  U.K.  Subs. 

SID  VICIOUS 

See  Sex  Pistols. 

HOLLY  BETH  VINCENT 

See  Holly  and  the  Italians. 

VIOLENT  FEMMES 

Violent  Femmes  (Slash)  1983  « 

Hallowed  Ground  (Slash)  1984  • 

The  Blind  Leading  the  Naked  (Slash-Warner  Bros.) 

7986* 

3  (Slash-Warner  Bros.)  1989  • 
Why  Do  Birds  Sing?  (Slash-Reprise)  1991  <J> 

714 


The  Mercy  Seat  (Slash)  1987 

The  Blend  (SST)  1987® 

Sonic  Temple  &  Court  of  Babylon  (SST)  1 989  ® 

I  See  a  Noise  (Dali-Chameleon)  1 990  <!> 

DE 

Peter  Corey  Sent  Me  (Dali-Chameleon)  1 991  4> 

III 
Wisconslnsane  (Dali-Chameleon)  1987  • 

The  Violent  Femmes  burst  out  of  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin in  the  early  '80s,  a  remarkably  original  trio  play- 
ing acoustic  instruments  and  singing  intense,  personal 
songs  with  remarkable  candor  and!  love.  Initially  resem- 
bling a  punk  version  of  the  Modem  Lovers,  the 
Femmes—Gordon  Gano  (vocals,  guitar,  songs),  Brian 
Ritchie  (bass)  and  Victor  De  Lorenzo  (drums) — have 
grown  more  uncommon  over  the  years,  fixing  a  flexible 
style  that  resembles  no  other  band. 

On  the  skeletal  first  album,  Gano's  articulate  pas- 
sion and  lyrical  maladjustment  combine  with  the 
charged  (but  not  very  loud)  playing  to  convey  an  in- 
credible sense  of  desperation  and  rage.  "Blister  in  the 
Sun"  and  "Kiss  Off"  are  typical  of  the  anger  seething 
in  the  grooves,  while  "Gone  Daddy  Gone"  and  "Please 
Do  Not  Go"  show  a  more  upbeat  side  still  rooted  in 
extreme  individuality  and  super-ego.  The  disc's  best 
couplet:  "Why  can't  I  get  just  one  fuck?/Guess  it's  got 
something  to  do  with  luck."  (There  are  two  bonus  tracks 
on  the  CD.) 

Hallowed  Ground  takes  a  much  different  approach, 
displaying  Gano's  religious  fervor  and  connecting  with 
traditional  American  folk  music.  The  cast  includes  a 
banjo  picker  and  autoharp  strummer,  as  well  as  a 
horn 'n' clarinet  section;  the  material  encompasses  tragic 
balladry  ("Country  Death  Song"),  old-timey  spirituals 
("Jesus  Walking  on  the  Water,"  "It's  Gonna  Rain"), 
mild  be-bop  ("Sweet  Misery  Blues")  and  demented 
jazz-funk  ("Black  Girls").  Not  as  pointed  as  the  first 
album,  it  nonetheless  showcases  an  inquisitive  band 
deeply  committed  to  self-expression,  regardless  of  the 
consequences. 

The  third  LP  was  produced  by  Talking  Head  Jerry 
Harrison  with  conscious  mainstreaming  intent.  Of 
course,  the  Femmes  at  their  most  commercial  are  still 
pretty  radical,  although  "I  Held  Her  in  My  Arms"  does 
sound  unnervingly  like  Bruce  Springsteen.  As  if  to 
prove  their  orneriness,  a  vituperative  attack  on  "Old 
Mother  Reagan"  and  the  similarly  anti-authoritarian 
"No  Killing"  demonstrate  an  undying  rebellious  spirit. 
But  it's  another  type  of  spirit  that  invests  the  bluesy 
"Faith"  and  the  Stonesy  "Love  &  Me  Make  Three," 
keeping  god  in  the  grooves  alongside  Marc  Bolan,  who 
gets  worked  over  with  a  misbegotten  Headsish  version 
of  "Children  of  the  Revolution,"  The  Velvet  Under- 
ground fares  better  on  "Good  Friend,*'  a  Femmes  orig- 
inal that  uncannily  echoes  Lou  Reed, 

The  Mercy  Seat  is  an  energetically  electric  album 
by  Gano's  all-gospel  side  group.  Backing  big- voiced 
(but  mini-skirted)  singer  Zena  Von  Heppinstall  in  a 
lineup  with  a  bassist  and  drummer,  he  plays  guitar  and 
joins  the  choruses  of  such  numbers  as  "I  Am  a  Pilgrim" 
and  "I  Don't  Need  Nobody  Else  (but  Jesus)," 

De  Lorenzo  co-produced  and,  with  Ritchie,  pro- 


vided  most  of  the  instrumental  backing  on  Wlsconsln- 
sane,  a  loopy  extravaganza  from  singing  dairy  state 
keyboardist/flautist  Sigmimd  Snopek  III.  (Snopek's  pre- 
vious albums — solo  and  with  his  eponymous  group,  go- 
ing back  to  the  late  '70s — were  subsequently  reissued 
by  his  new  label.)  While  their  contributions  to  such 
seno-comical  Midwest  maunderings  as  'The  Rose  of 
Wisconsin,"  "Thank  God  This  Isn't  Cleveland"  and 
'Tm  So  Tired  of  Singing  About  the  Sky' '  tend  to  be  lost 
in  the  slick  production,  the  LP  is  a  cute  theatrical  di- 
version. 

Snopek  returned  the  favor  by  playing  keyboards  on 
3,  the  Femrnes'  first  new  LP  in  three  years.  Settled  into 
a  comfortable  creative  torpor,  the  trio  revisits  familiar 
terrain  with  easy  confidence  and  very  little  evident  ar- 
tistic ambition  or  effort:  the  loudly  electric  arrangement 
of  'Tool  in  the  Full  Moon"  is  about  the  extent  of  the 
record's  adventures.  (The  swaying  jazzy  feel  of  "Out- 
side the  Palace"  and  the  rock  beat  of  the  vengeful 
"Mother  of  a  Girl"  make  them  3's  only  memorable 
tunes.)  Gano's  songwriting  and  delivery  have  their  usual 
odd  character  and  some  of  the  old  passion,  but  the 
Femmes  don't  seem  to  be  making  much  progress  or 
impact  in  any  direction  here. 

Ritchie's  solo  debut  ("dedicated  to  Sun  Ra,  Son 
House  and  my  son  Silas")  shows  off  his  diverse  musical 
interests,  from  topical  blues  to  avant-garde  exotica  and 
beyond.  Joined  by  various  players,  he  sings  and  handles 
guitar,  banjo,  flute,  recorder,  accordion  and  other  in- 
struments, leaving  most  of  the  bass  chores  to  Cynthia 
Bartell  of  T6tes  Noires.  (He  and  De  Lorenzo  had  earlier 
produced  her  group's  Clay  Foot  Gods  LP.)  Not  all  of 
the  excursions  work  equally  well,  but  The  Blend  cer- 
tainly proves  that  Ritchie's  talents  extend  far  beyond  his 
role  in  the  Femmes. 

Using  a  wide  variety  of  instruments  (from  conch  and 
ocarina  to  bass  flute,  baritone  sax,  Arabic  tabla  and 
kalimba),  Ritchie  and  his  four  talented  sidemen  still 
manage  to  sound  entirely  organic — even  a  little 
plain — on  Sonic  Temple  &  Court  of  Babylon.  While 
the  folky  music  has  a  nice  rustic  feel,  Ritchie's  lyrics  are 
far  less  friendly.  In  an  artless  but  adequate  voice,  he 
fires  off  splenetic  attacks  on  Christianity,  American  mo- 
res, capitalism  and  someone  who  deceived  him,  taking 
time 

to  praise  Sun  Ra  and  marvel  at  life  within  some  Arabic 
castle.  (Imagine  the  arguments  he  and  Gano  must 
have  .  .  .  ) 

With  the  country fied  sarcasm  of  "Religion  Ruined 
My  Life"  and  the  Middle  Easternisms  of  "2  Tongues, 
2  Minds,"  I  See  a  Noise  repeats  two  of  Ritchie's  pre- 
vious themes,  but  he  applies  far  more  wit,  humor  and 
imagination  this  time.  Playing  down-to-earth  music — an 
acoustic  and  electric  mix  with  easy,  direct  appeal — he 
offers  wry  and  funny  (often  autobiographical)  commen- 
tary on  such  topics  as  death,  babies  and  Ernest  Hem- 
ingway. Easily  the  best  of  Ritchie's  three  albums. 

The  last  Ferame  to  strike  out  on  his  own,  Victor  De 
Lorenzo  sings  (sort  of),  drums,  percusses  and,  for  one 
song,  plays  guitar  and  keyboards  on  Peter  Corey  Sent 
Me,  an  intriguing  and  thoughtfully  artistic  effort  that 
resembles  the  Bonzo  Dog  Band  in  dada  spirit,  if  not 
humor.  No  two  tracks  are  alike  (except  perhaps  in  their 
literate,  idiosyncratic  lyrics  and  eloquently  understated 
execution);  the  stylistic  compote  of  country,  noir  jazz, 


spoken  musical  comedy,  12-bar  African  chanting,  folk, 
Talking  Headsy  rock,  continental  balladry,  etc.  unfolds 
to  reveal  many  delightful  surprises.  [i] 

VIPERS 

Outta  the  Nest!  (PVC)  1984 

How  About  Somemore?  (Midnight)  1 988 

Not  So  Pretty  ...  Not  So  New  [tape]  (Midnight)  1 988 

Nest  in  Peace  (Skyclad)  1 989 

Rather  than  discuss  the  relevance  or  validity  of  the 
entire  garage-rock-cwm-psychedelic  revival — bands 
who  dress  up  like  1967  and  play  tambourines  and  fuzzed 
guitar — I'll  just  note  that  New  York's  Vipers  were  one 
of  the  leading  lights  of  said  movement.  Suffice  to  say 
Outta  the  Nest  sounds  precisely  like  your  (best/worst) 
memories  of  mid- '60s  American  rock,  from  the  Seeds  to 
the  Standells  to  the  Shadows  of  Knight.  The  Vipers 
write  good  tunes  that  sound  properly  dated  and  play 
them  with  equally  stylized  vim.  The  production  could 
be  better,  but  that's  the  idea.  As  they  sing  in  the  lead-off 
track,  "Nothing's  from  Today."  (Five  years  later,  a 
remixed,  remastered  and  expanded — by  two  LP  tracks, 
plus  a  bonus  7-inch  of  two  more — edition  of  the  Vipers' 
first  album  was  issued,  in  a  new  sleeve  and  on  white 
vinyl,  as  Nest  in  Peace.) 

In  the  meantime,  a  new  lineup — retaining  only  gui- 
tarist David  Mann  and  singer  Jonithan  Weiss — made  an 
all-original-material  second  album,  which  was  released 
in  a  limited  edition  with  a  bonus  three-song  EP  and 
quickly  reissued  with  a  different  cover.  Taking  its  cues 
from  both  the  Yardbirds  and  the  Raiders  and  making 
blatant  derivation  sound  like  the  latest  invention,  How 
About  Somemore?  is  every  bit  as  cool  as  Nest,  with  the 
added  benefit  of  far  better  production.  Not  So  Pretty 
,  .  .  Not  So  New,  a  20-track  cassette  of  previously  un- 
released  demos  and  outtakes  dating  from  1981  to  1985, 
has  mediocre  sound  quality  but  loads  of  otherwise  un- 
available Vipers  originals.  [i] 

VIRGIN  PRUNES 

A  New  Form  of  Beauty  2  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 981 
A  New  Form  of  Beauty  3  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1981 
A  New  Form  of  Beauty  4  "Din  Glorious"  [tape]  (Rough 

Trade)  1 982 

A  New  Form  of  Beauty  1-4  (It.  Rough  Trade)  1 982 
...  if  I  Die,  1  Die  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982  (Rough  Trade) 

1990® 
Heresi©  (Fr.  I/Invitation  au  Suicide)  1982  (Fr.  Baby-New 

Rose)  1987 

Over  the  Rainbow  (Fr.  Baby-New  Rose)  1 985  « 
The  Moon  Looked  Down  and  laughed  (Touch  and  Go) 

1986« 
The  Hidden  Lie  (Live  in  Paris  6/6/86)  (Fr.  Baby-New 

Rose)  1986* 

PRUNES 

Lite  Fantastik  (Fr.  Baby-New  Rose)  1 988 
Nada  (Fr.  Baby-New  Rose)  1989 

GAVIN  FRIDAY  AND  THE  MAN 
SEEZER 

Each  Man  Kills  the  Thing  He  Loves  (Island)  1 989  • 

PRINCESS  TINYMEAT 

Henstory  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 987 


715 


Dublin  weirdoes  with  androgynous  names  and  a  pre- 
dilection for  semi-melodic  rock  and  conceptual  lyrics, 
the  Virgin  Prunes  (one  of  whom,  original  guitarist  Dik 
Evans,  is  the  Edge's  brother)  released  two  intriguing 
45s  before  embarking  on  the  ambitious  "A  New  Form 
of  Beauty"  project  (the  concept  being  the  beauty  of 
being  different — and  by  metaphor,  sounding  different). 
Following  a  7-inch  (part  1),  the  10-inch  A  New  Form 
of  Beauty  2  contains  two  ominously  dark  and  abrasive 
assaults  (including  incestuous  classic  "Come  to  Dad- 
dy") plus  a  quieter  abrasive  doodle;  the  12-inch  Beauty 
3  pairs  a  frightening  occult  opus  "Beast  (Seven  Bastard 
Suck)"  with  a  three-tune  suite,  "The  Slow  Children." 
The  "Die  Glorious"  cassette  features  highlights  from  a 
Dublin  gallery  performance,  mixing  early  PiL-style 
semi-songs  from  the  three  previous  EPs  and  all  sorts  of 
taped  sounds  to  very  unsettling  effect.  The  Italian  A 
New  Form  of  Beauty  1-4  lays  out  the  entire  series  on 
two  albums,  making  it  easier  to  grasp  the  gist  of  the 
concept. 

Produced  by  Colin  Newman,  If  I  Die  offers  hard- 
edged  but  delicate  pop  ("Ballad  of  the  Man")  and  an- 
themic  post-punk  ("Walls  of  Jericho")  contrasting 
challenging,  long  winded  opuses  with  skewed,  angular 
instrumentation  and  ponderous  vocal  recitations  ("Bau- 
dachong,"  "Caucasian  Walk").  A  complex  band  of 
many  minds  (not  to  mention  three  lead  vocalists),  the 
Prunes  stake  out  unique  ground,  straddling  art  and  mun- 
danity  with  style  and  skill.  Difficult  but  fascinating.  The 
CD  adds  an  '82  goth-dance  single,  "Pagan  Lovesong." 

Commissioned  to  create  a  work  based  around  the 
theme  of  insanity,  the  Prunes  came  up  with  Heresie,  a 
boxed  set  of  two  10-inches.  One  disc  shows  the  more 
experimental  side  of  the  band,  varying  from  the  dense, 
neo-mdustrial  "Rhetoric"  to  a  sing-song  ditty  ("Down 
the  Memory  Lane");  the  other  disc  contains  an  excel- 
lent five-song  set  taped  live  in  Paris.  Over  the  Rainbow 
is  an  odds-and-ends  compilation  of  previously  unre- 
leased  and  rare/compilation  tracks  up  to  1983,  high- 
lighted by  the  awesome  "Red  Nettle"  (which  consists 
of  a  majestic,  sampled  chord  movement  repeated  for 
two  minutes).  The  CD  version  includes  all  of  Heresie. 

The  Moon  Looked  Down  and  Laughed,  produced 
rather  unimaginatively  by  Dave  Ball  (ex-Soft  Cell),  is 
an  unpalatable  mishmash  of  Bowiesque  glitter  and 
music-hall  camp.  Gavin  Friday's  vocals  are  over- 
wrought; several  songs  plod  along  painfully,  going  no- 
where and  taking  forever  to  get  there.  Jim  (Foetus) 
Thirlwell  guests  to  little  effect. 

A  chasm  soon  grew  between  main  singer  Friday, 
who  wished  to  explore  more  romantic  cabaret  music, 
and  bassist  Strongman  and  drummer-turned-guitarist 
Mary,  who  just  wanted  to  be  a  rock  band.  Both  sides  got 
their  wishes  when  the  Virgin  Prunes  called  it  a  day  in 
mid-'86.  The  Hidden  Lie  is  an  unnecessary  posthu- 
mous live  album,  although  it  does  contain  a  large  per- 
centage of  otherwise  unissued  material.  Strongman  and 
Mary  continued  to  release  records  under  the  truncated 
Prunes  moniker,  but  with  little  success  and  limited  ar- 
tistic viability. 

Friday  went  down  a  much  different  road.  After  tak- 
ing a  breather  to  paint,  open  a  nightclub,  record  a  12- 
inch  single  of  the  Stones'  "You  Can't  Always  Get  What 
You  Want"  with  buddy  Simon  Carmody  and  explore 
his  new  roots  (the  cabaret  tradition  of  Brel,  Piaf  and 


Brecht/Weill),  he  began  an  extremely  promising  solo 
career.  Taking  cues  from  Tom  Waits,  the  mercurial 
crooner  and  his  piano  sidekick  the  Man  Seezer  came  up 
with  Each  Man  Kills  the  Thing  He  Loves.  Producer 
Hal  Willner  gets  the  most  out  of  the  skilled  ensemble 
(which  includes  guitarist  Marc  Ribot,  bassist  Fernando 
Saunders  and  drummer  Michael  Blair),  the  lush,  time- 
less songs  and  Friday's  voice  which,  finally  given  the 
spotlight  denied  him  by  the  democratic  Prunes,  has 
never  revealed  so  much  emotion.  A  highly  recom- 
mended album  with  passion  and  drama  to  spare. 

Going  by  the  name  Princess  Tinymeat,  early  Virgin 
Prunes  trans vestite  drummer  Haa  Lacka  Bintii  has  made 
a  number  of  singles,  collected  on  the  Herstory  album, 
that  rival  his  former  band  in  the  weirdness  department. 

[i/dgs/gef] 


VISAGE 

Visage  (Pol/dor)  1 980  « 

The  Anvil  (Polydor)  1982® 

Fade  to  Grey-The  Singles  Collection  (Polydor)  1 983 

Visage/The  Anvil  [tape]  (nr/Polydor)  1 983 

Beat  Boy  (Polydor)  1984® 

STRANGE  CRUISE 

Strange  Cruise  (nr/EMI)  1 986 

Formed  around  cult-figure  fop  Steve  Strange  (Har- 
rington), Visage  began  as  a  part-time  group  uniting  the 
formidable  talents  of  Ultravox's  Midge  Ure  and  Billy 
Currie,  Dave  Formula  and  John  McGeoch  (both  then  in 
Magazine)  and  ex-Rich  Kid  drummer  Rusty  Egan  for 
the  ultimate  in  dance-oriented  new  romanticism.  Visage 
is  filled  with  rich  humor  and  sound  puns  in  addition  to 
solid  musicianship  on  guitars  and  synthesizers;  how 
could  anyone  not  crack  a  smile  over  the  Ennio 
Morricone-styled  homage  to  Clint  Eastwood,  "Malpaso 
Man,"  or  the  self-mocking  "Visa-age"?  Added  to  the 
humor,  the  fine  music  automatically  deflates  Strange's 
colorful  pretensions. 

Unfortunately,  those  pretensions  dominate  The  An- 
vil, wherein  Strange  attempts  to  wring  every  mannered 
drop  of  angst  and  meaning  out  of  his  lyrics  and  vocals. 
Luckily,  the  rest  of  Visage  perform  as  strongly  as  ever, 
although  in  a  far  darker  mood  than  before. 

Continuing  their  dance-geared  version  of  Heaven 
17-styled  electro-funk,  Beat  Boy  finds  Visage  (com- 
prising, this  time,  Strange  and  Egan  joined  by  the  Bar- 
nacle brothers  and  Andy  Bamett)  readier  to  rock,  using 
plentiful  guitar  on  the  endless  title  track  (and  elsewhere) 
to  color  the  inexorable  rhythms  and  repetitious,  vapid 
lyrics.  The  songs  are  incredibly  (and  annoyingly,  if 
you're  paying  attention)  long,  but  there  are  still  eight  of 
'em,  with  a  total  party  time  of  over  45  minutes, 

Fade  to  Grey  is  the  most  concise  proof  of  Visage's 
merit,  compiling  nine  catchy  slices  of  dance-rock  (two 
remixed  for  the  occasion)  and  an  otherwise  unreleased 
(and  utterly  unnecessary)  cover  of  Zager  &  Evans*  "In 
the  Year  2525."  "Pleasure  Boys/'  "We  Move"  and 
"Night  Train"  are  among  the  best  efforts,  showing  that 
conciseness  can  surely  be  an  asset. 

When  last  heard  of.  Strange  had  formed  Strange 
Cruise  with  Wendy  Wu,  ex-lead  singer  of  the  Photos, 
and  released  an  eponymous  album.  [sg/i] 

See  also  Magazine,  Rich  Kids,  Ultravox, 


716 


VISITORS 

See  Radio  Birdman. 

VIVA  SATURN 

See  Rain  Parade. 

The  World  We  Live  In  (Optional)  1 982 

Voice  Farm  (Ralph)  1987 

Bigger  Cooler  Weirder  (Morgan  Creek)  1991  • 

On  The  World  We  Live  In,  San  Francisco's  Voice 
Farm  was  a  trio — two  guys  who  appear  on  the  front 
cover  dressed  only  in  their  underpants,  and  a  less- 
exposed  female — employing  synthesizers,  vocals  and 
acoustic  percussion  to  weave  moody  instrumentals, 
some  of  which  are  paired  with  incisive,  intelligent  (and, 
in  one  case,  horrifying)  lyrics.  The  band's  dynamic 
range,  from  hauntingly  beautiful  to  startlingly  intense, 
and  stylistic  variety — encompassing  movie-music 
vagueness,  machine  noise  and  disco  bump,  as  well  as 
direct  song  forms — surpasses  many  other  all-electronic 
bands,  and  makes  this  a  totally  fascinating  album  with 
nary  a  dull  moment.  Producer  David  Kahne  did  his  usual 
ace  job,  and  whoever  thought  of  covering  the  Jaynetts' 
venerable  "Sally  Go  Round  the  Roses"  also  deserves  a 
compliment. 

The  radically  different  Voice  Farm  finds  the  group 
reduced  to  its  core:  Myke  Reilly  (keyboards/percussion/ 
voices)  and  Charly  Brown  (vocals/keyboards).  Aided 
by  an  assortment  of  backing  singers  and  a  guitarist,  the 
two  are  firmly  in  vocal/song  mode,  pairing  their  rhyth- 
mic sonic  adventures  with  witty,  pointedly  satirical  lyr- 
ics about  intriguingly  offbeat  modern  subjects.  (A 
relatively  straight  cover  of  the  Supremes'  "Nowhere  to 
Run"  doesn't  add  anything  to  the  song  or  the  record.) 
The  accomplished  assemblages  overlay  the  dance  beats 
with  synthesized  effects,  found  sounds,  spoken- word 
tape  manipulation  and  other  ear-catching  ephemera  for  a 
diverting  album  that  has  more  club-play  potential  than 
home  turntable  longevity.  [i] 

VOICE  OF  THE  BEEHIVE 

Just  a  City  EP  (nr/Food)  1 987 

I  Say  Nothing  EP  (nr/London)  1987  +  1988  « 

Let  It  Bee  (London)  1988« 

Built  around  American  singing  sisters  Tracey  Bryn 
and  Melissa  Brooke,  London's  Voice  of  the  Beehive  is 
a  delightful  clash  of  two  sensibilities:  California  girl- 
bop  and  English  buzz-pop.  With  the  exception  of  two 
tracks,  the  material  on  the  two  UK  EPs  is  repeated  on 
the  band's  sole  album;  throughout  Let  It  Bee,  principal 
songwriter  Bryn  throws  together  catchy  guitar  tunes  that 
are  at  once  ditzy,  raunchy  and  ironic.  She's  shameless 
enough  to  add  a  misogynist  twist  to  the  "Beat  of  Love" 
("There  are  all  kinds  of  ways  to  get  banged*' ),  but  she's 
also  willing  to  show  some  vulnerability  ("Sorrow 
Floats").  In  the  Beehive's  lexicon  of  love,  girls  are 
bitches,  boys  are  cruel  and  everyone's  a  fool:  "Trust 
Me"  is,  in  fact,  a  warning.  Bryn's  fascination  seems  to 
be  the  flipside  of  good  times — life  isn't  a  party,  it's  the 
slightly  drunk  and  miserable  walk  home  alone  after- 
wards, [kssj 


VOIVOD 

War  and  Pain  (Metal  Blade)  1984  • 
RRROOCAAARRR  (Noise  Snf!-Combat}  1986  • 
Thrashing  Rage  EP  (Noise  Int'l-Combat)  1986 
Killing  Technology  (Noise  Int'l-Combat)  1987  © 
Dimension  Hatruss  (Noise  Snfl)  1988  © 
Nothingface  (Mechanic-MCA)  1 989  © 

Montreal's  Voivod  is  a  thrilling  anomaly,  staking 
out  a  unique  terrain  on  the  postmodern  frontier.  While 
often  classified  as  metal,  what  this  group  of  French  Ca- 
nadian weirdoes  does  is  better  described  as  dark  pro- 
gressive rock  with  a  strain  of  conceptual  sci-fi. 

Beginning  the  band's  album-by-album  concept — the 
adventures  of  a  futuristic  warrior  entity  called  the 
Voivod — War  and  Pain  is  a  crude,  careening  blast  of 
youthful  energy,  post-apocalyptic  Mad  Maxisms  and 
prickly  power-thrash  reminiscent  of  Motorhead.  Excit- 
ing tracks  like  "Voivod"  and  "Black  City"  possess  a 
raw,  neo-bluesy  quality  that  overcomes  the  poor  pro- 
duction quality. 

RRROOOAAARRR  takes  Voivod's  original  style 
to  its  logical  extreme/dead  end,  offering  a  homogeneous 
wall  of  cathartic  riffing  and  Denis  "Snake"  Belanger's 
most  tortured  vocal  articulations.  While  "Korgiill  the 
Exterminator"  is  convoluted  enough  to  be  memorable, 
the  rest  of  the  album's  white-noise  metal  is  a  blur  that 
leaves  no  substantial  impression.  A  change  was  both 
imminent  and  necessary.  (The  picture-disc  EP  consists 
of  four  tracks  from  the  album.) 

Killing  Technology  brought  Voivod  into  maturity. 
Soaking  up  disparate  influences  (especially  progressive/ 
psychedelic  rockers  like  Pink  Floyd  and  Van  der  Graaf 
Generator  and  post-punk/industrialists  like  Killing  Joke 
and  Einstiirzende  Neubauten),  Voivod  formed  a  fresh, 
dissonant  sound,  merging  metal's  power  with  these 
other  genres'  experimental  imperatives,  and  doing  it  bet- 
ter than  anyone  since  Chrome.  Like  the  Voivod  himself 
(who,  at  this  point,  ventures  into  the  unknown  vastness 
of  space),  the  album  reveals  a  band  making  a  success- 
ful, brave  transition  from  primitivism  to  futurism.  The 
CD  and  cassette  include  two  bonus  tracks. 

Each  subsequent  release  has  exponentially  contin- 
ued this  upward  climb  in  quality  and  imagination.  Di- 
mension Hatruss  conceptually  capsulizes  the  rise  and 
fall  of  an  alien  universe,  primed  by  complex  songs  that 
flirt  with  melody  yet  retain  all  of  Voivod's  previous 
energy.  With  the  appearance  of  electronics  and  Snake's 
new-found  singing  abilities,  this  is  an  excellent  album. 

Nothingface  is  Voivod's  most  interesting  achieve- 
ment to  date,  showcasing  a  full-blown  melodic  sensi- 
bility, vibrant  production,  the  integration  of  sampling 
technology,  guitarist  Denis  "Piggy"  D' Amour's  in- 
creasing stature  as  the  Robert  Fripp  of  alternative  metal 
and  a  stunning  rendition  of  Syd  Barrett's  "Astronomy 
Domine."  The  haunting  "Missing  Sequences"  is  only 
one  of  many  high-quality  songs,  all  mated  to  the  band's 
most  serious  (subjects  range  from  ecology  and  alchemy 
to  existentialism)  and  deftly  composed  lyrics  yet.  [gef] 

VOLCANO  SUNS 

The  Bright  Orange  Years  (Homestead)  1 985 
Ail-Night  Lotus  Party  (Homestead)  1986 
Bumper  Crop  (Homestead)  1 987  * 
Farced  (SST)  1 988  * 


717 


Thing  of  Beauty  (SST)  1 989  • 

Career  in  Rock  (1/4  Stick-Touch  and  Go)  1 991 

When  Mission  of  Burma  ended  in  1983  only  drum- 
mer Peter  Prescott  continued  to  play  loud  rock  music. 
On  The  Bright  Orange  Years,  his  tno  with  bassist  Jeff 
Weigand  and  guitarist  Jon  Williams  takes  energetic  folk- 
rock  with  sturdy  Midwest  melodies  and  overplays  it  into 
a  punky  mixture  of  Cheap  Trick  and  Hiisker  Du.  The 
record's  sound  could  be  sharper,  but  there's  no  mistak- 
ing the  talent  in  songs  like  "Jak,"  "Balancing  Act"  and 
"Cornfield,"  which  pitches  a  noise  piano  solo  into  the 
mixture. 

The  ghost  of  Burma  looms  in  Williams'  mindblow 
guitar  on  AU-Night  Lotus  Party,  a  less  tuneful  album 
(credit  Prescott' s  reduced  music- writing  role)  that  is 
still  pretty  rewarding.  The  Suns  reach  into  new  regions 
with  "Cans,"  a  crypto-rockabilly  raveup;  "Walk 
Around,"  a  Ramonesy  punk  rush;  "Sounds  Like 
Bucks,"  a  distorted  crypto-ballad;  and  "Dot  on  the 
Map,"  a  Wail  of  Voodoo-styled  slice  of  Americana 
gone  off  the  deep  end. 

Prescott  reclaimed  creative  control  on  the  Suns'  third 
album,  which  also  unveiled  a  new  incarnation  of  the 
trio.  (Williams  and  Weigand  left  in  March  '87.)  Al- 
though lyrics  continue  to  reflect  Lotus  Party's  fascina- 
tion with  the  social  and  cultural  mundamties  of  rural 
life,  Bumper  Crop  more  closely  resembles  the  first  LP 
in  song,  sound  and  style. 

Adding  trumpet,  found-sound  samples  and  guest 
contributions  of  sitar,  violin  and  cello  to  the  trio's  bag  of 
tricks,  the  uneven  Farced  has  more  instrumental  depth, 
if  not  artistic  subtlety,  than  the  previous  records,  and 
even  fits  an  industrial-strength  noise  assault  ("Belly  Full 
of  Lead")  into  the  usual  roaring  post-pop.  But  the 
band's  melodic  sense  comes  and  goes;  too  many  of  the 
songs  dissolve  into  a  cacophonous  blur. 


David  Kleiler,  a  guest  on  Farced,  became  the  Suns' 
cool  new  guitarist  (and  astute  songwriter)  on  the  ex- 
tremely consistent — in  both  style  and  quality — four- 
sided  Thing  of  Beauty.  Recommitting  itself  to  wall- 
shaking  tuneful  overdrive,  the  trio  antes  up  nineteen  fine 
new  numbers  (with  clearly  audible  clever  lyrics)  plus  a 
great  cover  of  Eno's  "Needles  in  the  Camel's  Eye"  that 
both  credits  and  honors  an  obvious  inspiration.  [i] 

See  also  Big  Dipper,  Dredd  Foole  and  the  Din. 


VOX  POP 

See  JeffDahl  Group. 


You  and  Your  Sister  (Record  Collect)  1 989  • 

When  an  unpretentious  band  happens  along  with  so 
much  talent,  it  makes  you  wonder  why  those  who  have 
to  mask  their  inabilities  behind  style  and  gimmicks  even 
bother.  Formed  m  the  early  '80s  by  future  Silos  founder 
Walter  Salas-Humara,  this  pop  quintet — based  either  in 
Gainesville,  Florida  or  Bloomington,  Indiana — was 
strictly  a  local  Florida  phenomenon  (circulated  on  a  pair 
of  cassette  albums)  until  Salas-Humara  returned  to  pro- 
duce (and  guest  on)  You  and  Your  Sister,  a  wonderful 
album  which  brought  the  group's  semi-acoustic  magic 
to  national  attention.  Robert  Ray  and  Dale  Lawrence  (a 
veteran  of  the  Gizmos)  write  remarkably  catchy  and 
intelligent  songs  in  a  number  of  mildly  inflected  ac- 
cents, performing  them  all  with  unadorned  eloquence — 
and  a  touch  of  obsession — on  guitar  and  accordion,  with 
a  polite  backbeat  to  push  them  along.  Buddy  Holly 
would  have  been  proud.  [i] 

See  also  Gizmos,  Silos. 


718 


Nah  =  Poo— The  Art  of  Bluff  (nr/Eterna!)  1 981 

The  Maverick  Years  '80~'81  (nr/Wonderful  World)  1982 

Hope  EP  (nr/Eternal)  1983 

Come  Back  EP  (nr/Eternal-Beggars  Banquet)  1984 

A  Word  to  the  Wise  Guy  (nr/Etemal-Beggars  Banquet) 

1984® 

Weekends  EP  (nr/Eternal-Beggars  Banquet)  1 984 
The  Way  We  Wah!  (nr/WEA)  1 984 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 

PETE  WYLiE 

Sinful  (Virgin)  1 987  • 

One  of  the  most  significant  and  underappreciated 
groups  of  the  punk-era  Liverpool  scene,  Wah!  (and  tit- 
ular variations  thereon)  functions  as  a  vehicle  for  extro- 
vert Pete  Wylie.  On  Nah  =  Poo,  Wah!  sounds  like 
Emerson,  Lake  and  Palmer  with  nipper  (though  equally 
flamboyant)  arrangements.  Wylie  sings  melodramati- 
cally on  stirring  but  superficial  material  like  "The  Death 
of  Wah!"  and  "Seven  Minutes  to  Midnight."  The  man 
may  (as  he  intimates)  be  a  fraud,  but  at  least  he's  an 
entertaining  one, 

A  Word  to  the  Wise  Guy— a  full  album  and  a 
bonus  12-inch — contains  more  of  Wylie 's  flighty  excur- 
sions into  soul,  pop,  funk  and  anything  else  he  happens 
across.  Although  not  very  consistent,  it's  an  unpredict- 
able and  generally  likable  collection.  Come  Back  has 
two  versions  of  that  ace  track  (also  on  the  LP)  plus  a 
couple  of  other  items.  Weekends  contains  an  alternate 
version  of  that  album  track  as  well  as  a  demo  for  it  and 
two  other  odds  and  ends  from  Wy lie's  sprawling  career. 

The  Way  We  Wah!  is  a  retrospective  of  WyhVs 
single  successes,  from  "Hope,"  "The  Story  of  the 
Blues'*  and  "The  Seven  Thousand  Names  of  Wah!*'  to 
his  reading  of  Johnny  Thunders'  poignant  "You  Can't 
Put  Your  Arms  Around  a  Memory." 

Wylie's  first-ever  American  release,  the  delightful 
and  commercial  Sinftil  drops  the  Wah!  front  and  finally 
acknowledges  his  solo-ness.  He  takes  credit  for  vocals, 
guitar,  harmonica  and  "odd  bits**;  the  only  other  con- 
tributor listed  is  vocalist  Josie  Jones.  Colorful  wide- 
screen  production  (suggestive  of  the  Motors  a  bit) 
frames  the  peppy  melodies  ("Break  Out  the  Banners/* 
"If  I  Love  You/*  the  memorable  title  tune)  and  unpre- 
dictable lyrics  ("Train  to  PiranhaviHe'*),  making  the 
ambitious  Sinful  a  rewarding,  fully  realized  effort  re- 
flecting Wylie's  unique  perception  of  pop  music  and  the 
world. 

The  Feel  Sessions  contains  four  Wah!  songs,  re- 
corded live  for  British  radio  in  August  1984.  (jy/i] 


WAILERS 

See  Alpha  Blondy,  Bob  Marley, 


WAITRESSES 

Wasn't  Tomorrow  Wonderful?  (ZE-Poiydor)  1 982 

S  Could  Rule  the  Worid  If  I  Could  Only  Get  the  Parts  EP 

(ZE-Polydor)  1 982 

Make  the  Weather  EP  (nr/Polydor)  1 983 
Bruiseology  (Polydor)  1983 
The  Best  of  the  Waitresses  (Polydor)  1 990  <!> 

Ohio  composer/guitarist  Chris  Butler  invented  the 
Waitresses;  fellow  Akronite  Patty  Donahue  gave  the 
group/idea  its  voice.  From  an  original  germinal  joke 
(before  Butler's  spell  in  the  more  avant-garde  Tin  Huey) 
and  an  appearance  on  a  local  Ohio  compilation  LP,  the 
Waitresses  grew  into  a  well-known  New  York-based 
sextet  (including  ex-Television  drummer  Billy  Ficca) 
churning  out  danceably  funky  pop  tunes  spiked  with  a 
few  twists  (not  the  least  of  which  is  Mars  Williams' 
searing  and  satirical  sax).  Furthermore,  Donahue's 
persona — she  doesn't  sing  so  much  as  carry  a  simulta- 
neous conversation  and  tune — developed  into  the  arche- 
typal young,  white,  middle-class  woman  trying  to  sort 
out  her  identity  while  beset  with  standard  societal  con- 
ditioning on  one  hand  and  specious,  voguish  "alterna- 
tives** (the  Sexual  Revolution,  the  Me  Generation)  on 
the  other.  The  Waitresses'  combination  of  musical 
aplomb  and  lyrical  acuity  makes  the  first  LP  at  once 
funny,  sad  and  universally  true. 

The  American  I  Could  Rule  the  World  EP  contains 
a  TV  sitcom  theme  ("Square  Pegs"),  a  wonderful  Yule- 
tide  rap  track  ("Christmas  Wrapping"),  a  live-for-TV 
take  of  an  old  Hueys-era  Butler  tune  and  more.  The 
related  English  release,  Make  the  Weather,  is  some- 
what different,  most  notably  lacking  "Christmas  Wrap- 
ping." 

Bruiseology  was  recorded  amidst  serious  personnel 
tension.  (Donahue  subsequently  quit,  was  briefly  re- 
placed by  Holly  Vincent,  but  later  rejoined. )  Although 
Butler  penned  another  batch  of  witty  and  wise  songs 
about  the  exigencies  of  modern  womanhood — perhaps 
less  pointed,  but  not  far  removed  from  those  on  the  first 
LP — and  the  playing  and  production  are  fine,  the  for- 
mula doesn't  wear  all  that  well.  [jg] 

See  also  Swollen  Monkeys, 

TOM  WAITS 

Closing  Time  (Asylum)  1973 

The  Heart  of  Saturday  Night  (Asylum)  1 974  • 

Nighthawb  at  the  Diner  (Asylum)  1 975  « 

Small  Change  (Asylum)  1976  • 

Foreign  Affairs  (Asylum)  1 977  • 

Blue  Valentine  (Asylum)  1 978  * 

Heartattack  and  Vine  (Asylum)  1980 

Bounced  Chech  (Ger.  Asylum)  1 981 

Swordfishtrombones  (Island)  1 983  * 

Rain  Dogs  (Island)  1985  e 

Anthology  of  Tom  Watts  (Asylum)  1985  • 


719 


Franks  Wild  Years  (Island)  1 987  * 
Big  Time  (Island)  1988® 

Armed  with  one  of  the  most  distinctive  voices  in 
popular  music — a  gravely,  smoke-scratched  rasp  that 
crosses  Joe  Cocker  and  Louis  Armstrong  at  the  end  of  a 
particularly  bad  bender — Tom  Waits  has  spent  the  past 
two  decades  writing  and  performing  some  of  the  most 
fascinating  and  creatively  stimulating  music  around. 
Bnnging  acute  intelligence  to  a  seemingly  casual  (and 
dissolute)  sensibility,  Waits'  lyncs  read  as  if  they  were 
written  in  some  eene  collaboration  with  the  lies  of 
(depending  on  the  LP)  Mickey  Spillane,  Charles 
Bukowski  or  Captain  Beefheart 

Waits'  career  genencally  divides  into  two  periods: 
the  melodic,  barroom  jazz-poet  sound  of  his  Asylum 
years  (1973-' 80),  and  the  harmonic  dissonance  of  his 
Island  releases,  beginning  in  1983.  But  within  such  pa- 
rameters, Waits  has  repeatedly  changed  direction  and 
kept  things  interesting. 

The  debut,  Closing  Time,  shows  the  young  Cah- 
fornian  at  his  least  confident  and  most  vulnerable, 
searching  for  a  sound  but  having  his  work  whitewashed 
by  Jerry  Tester's  formulaic  production.  While  his  art- 
istry and  originality  are  evident  in  such  emotive  tracks 
as  "I  Hope  That  I  Don't  Fall  in  Love  with  You"  and 
"Martha,"  the  album  is  polluted  by  attempts  to  shoe- 
horn Waits  into  a  bland  singer/songwriter  mold.  Over- 
burdened by  acoustic  guitars  and  occasional  backing 
singers,  the  songs  don't  focus  enough  on  Tom's  expres- 
sive lyrics  or  vocal  talents. 

The  similar  Heart  of  Saturday  Night  is  entertaining, 
but  relatively  faceless.  As  with  Closing  Time,  the  ma- 
terial Waits  sings  straight  melts  into  the  mush  of  mid-'70s 
AOR.  Nevertheless,  the  album  bears  the  first  hints  of  the 
highly  stylized,  jazzy,  after-hours  persona  that  would  be- 
come Waits'  trademark  (shaped,  in  part,  by  producer 
Bones  Howe — Waits'  collaborator  for  the  remainder  of 
his  Asylum  stay)  4  'Diamonds  on  My  Windshield' '  is  the 
first  good  example  of  Waits'  narrative-lyric  technique, 
backed  only  by  an  upright  bass  and  high-hat/snare 
combo,  The  moving  title  track  reveals  a  more  emotive 
and  intimate  side — one  that  would  prove  equally  signif- 
icant during  his  Asylum  years. 

The  double-live  Nighthawks  at  the  Piraer  is  the 
quintessential  pre-'80s  Waits  LP,  portraying  him  as  a 
hep  and  humorous  sleazy  nightclub  act  playing  the  fic- 
tional Rafael's  Silver  Cloud  Lounge.  The  small- 
audience  intimacy  and  Howe's  sparing  production  are 
key  factors  in  the  LP's  success.  From  the  introspective, 
metaphorical  "Emotional  Weather  Report"  to  the  bach- 
elor anthem  "Better  Off  Without  a  Wife,"  Waits  sells 
this  show  on  sheer  character  Milking  his  rapport  with 
the  audience  for  all  it's  worth,  he  throws  out  one-liners 
and  local  cultural  references  like  a  hip  Henny  Young- 
man.  As  it  established  a  solid  identity,  Nighthawks  was 
a  turning  point  in  Waits*  career,  and  a  good  place  for 
neophytes  to  begin. 

Small  Change  and  Foreign  Affairs  are,  overall,  his 
strongest  Asylum  releases.  Both  sessions  were  recorded 
and  mixed  live  in  the  studio — complete  with  orchestra — 
and  possess  the  perfect  balance  of  compositional  matu- 
rity and  production  expertise,  allowing  the  strings'  lush 
romanticism  to  augment  the  songs  rather  than  over- 
shadow them.  Small  Change  contains  his  most  fervent 
tracks  ("The  Piano  Has  Been  Drinking  (Not  Me)"  and 


"Tom  Traubert's  Blues"),  as  well  as  "Step  Right  Up," 
a  jumpy  ode  to  snake-oil  salesmen  everywhere. 

Foreign  Affairs  tugs  on  the  heartstrings  with  the 
piano-bar  ballad  "Muriel"  and  the  music-box  beauty  of 
"A  Sight  for  Sore  Eyes";  the  scat-like  "Barber  Shop" 
complements  the  circus-barker  call  of  "Step  Right  Up  ' ' 
Best  of  all,  however,  is  "I  Never  Talk  to  Strangers,"  a 
duet  with  Bette  Midler,  "Burma-Shave,"  a  tale  of  un- 
fulfilled dreams,  comes  in  a  close  second. 

Blue  Valentine,  while  a  satisfying  enough  album, 
seems  a  bit  short  on  originality  when  set  in  career  con- 
text Side  One,  for  instance,  reads  like  a  Waits  how-to 
manual:  one  part  strings  ("Somewhere"),  one  part  jazz 
poetry  ("Red  Shoes  by  the  Drugstore"),  one  part  piano 
ballad  ("Christmas  Card  from  a  Hooker  in  Minneapo- 
lis"), one  part  colorful  narrative  ("Romeo  Is  Bleed- 
ing"), and  one  part  sultry  blues  ("$29.00").  Side  Two 
is  more  of  the  same. 

Heartattack  and  Vine  is  the  bluesiest  of  Waits' 
albums,  highlighted  by  the  Chicago-electric  sound  of 
the  instrumental  "In  Shades"  and  the  killer  Hammond 
organ  sound  that  runs  throughout  A  bit  of  this  blues 
touches  several  of  the  other  tracks  (most  notably  the  title 
cut  and  "Downtown"),  reprising  an  infrequently  used 
ingredient  in  Waits'  now-consistent  recipe.  Also  con- 
tributing to  the  LP's  power  are  the  raucous  "Til  the 
Money  Runs  Out"  and  the  tender  "Jersey  Girl"  (far 
better  than  Springsteen's  subsequent  cover), 

Bounced  Checks  is  a  German  compilation  that  over- 
looks Closing  Time  but  does  contain  some  previously 
unreleased  tracks,  including  "Mr.  Henry,"  alternate 
versions  of  "Jersey  Girl"  and  Blue  Valentine's  "Whis- 
tlin'  Past  the  Graveyard"  and  an  amusing  spoken  ver- 
sion of  "The  Piano  Has  Been  Drinking"  which, 
recorded  live  in  Dublin,  might  as  well  be  a  different 
song.  With  the  subsequent  release  of  Anthology, 
Bounced  Checks'  enduring  value  is  in  its  unreleased 
material  rather  than  as  an  Asylum  collection 

Released  after  a  long  hiatus  during  which  he  changed 
labels,  the  self-produced  Swordfishtrombones  trans- 
forms Waits  from  a  bourbon-drenched  barfly  to  an  au- 
tonomous and  eccentric  ringmaster.  Gone  are  the 
romantic  piano  ballads  and  jazz  trios,  replaced  by  ad- 
venturous arrangements  of  creepy  marimba  rhythms, 
pleasing  dissonance  and  creative  absurdity.  The  album's 
anthem  is  undoubtedly  "16  Shells  from  a  Thirty-Ought- 
Six"  in  all  its  twisted  glory;  "Frank's  Wild  Years"  and 
"Down,  Down,  Down"  are  also  prime  cuts, 

Rain  Dogs  is  Waits'  best  Island  release;  it  picks  up 
the  previous  LP's  trail  but  is  consistently  more  intoxi- 
cating. Working  with  the  finest  musicians  he's  ever  as- 
sembled (plus  guest  appearances  by,  among  others,  the 
Uptown  Horns,  Keith  Richards  and  Tony  Levin),  it's 
highly  percussive,  laced  with  quirky  guitar  and  gar- 
nished with  unusual  brass.  Such  diverse  cuts  as  "Cem- 
etery Polka"  (with  Farfisa,  trombone  and  parade  drum), 
"Blind  Love,"  (virtually  a  country  cover  of  ** Jersey 
Girl,"  complete  with  fiddle  and  Keith  Richards*  twang- 
ing) and  "Jockey  Full  of  Bourbon"  (a  conga-driven 
rhumba)  give  it  a  wonderful  sense  of  schizophrenia. 

Anthology  is  an  excellent  sampler  of  Waits'  Asy- 
lum years:  thirteen  of  the  best  tracks  from  every  album 
except  Nighthawks, 

Franks  Wild  Years  ("Un  Operachi  Romantico  in 
Two  Acts*')  formed  the  basis  for  a  stage  show  that 


720 


toured  traditional  theatrical  venues  in  1988.  In  small 
ways,  the  alburn  harks  back  to  Rain  Dogs  ("Hang  on 
St.  Christopher,"  for  instance,  is  akin  to  that  album's 
"Clap  Hands"),  but  in  a  real  sense  it's  entirely  different 
from  any  of  Waits'  previous  work  Most  importantly,  it 
succeeds  as  a  concept  album  about  a  character  who  es- 
capes from  "Rainville"  to  travel  the  world,  seeing  Ve- 
gas, New  York  and  parts  unknown.  Waits'  idiosyncratic 
production  employs  vocal  treatments,  chameleomzing 
his  already  unmistakable  voice  into  assorted  colors  and 
textures. 

The  soundtrack  for  the  documentary  film  of  the  same 
name,  Big  Time  draws  most  of  its  songs  from  Rain 
Dogs  and  Franks  Wild  Years  It  also  includes  "Red 
Shoes"  (an  adaptation  of  the  similarly  named  track  on 
Blue  Valentine)  and  two  new  cuts.  "Falling  Down" 
and  "Strange  Weather."  As  no  other  such  collection 
exists,  Big  Time  is,  in  a  sense,  a  compilation,  but  the 
versions  on  it  are  so  different  from  their  studio  equiva- 
lents that  it's  more  like  an  adjunct  to  the  three  preceding 
albums. 

In  recent  years,  Waits  has  done  quite  a  bit  of  acting, 
appearing  in  The  Cotton  Club  (1984),  Down  by  Law 
(1986),  Candy  Mountain  ( 1987)  and  other  films,  [rs] 

DAVE  WAKELING 

See  (English)  Beat,  General  Public. 

WALKABOUTS 

The  Walkabouts  EP  [tape]  (Necessity)  1 984 

22  Disasters  EP  (Necessity)  1985 

See  Beautiful  Rattlesnake  Gardens  (PopLlama  Products) 

1987 

Cataract  (Sub  Pop)  1 989  * 
Rag  &  Bone  EP  (Sub  Pop)  1990  * 

This  talented  Seattle-area  combo  produces  smart, 
no-nonsense  folk-rock.  22  Disasters  and  See  Beautiful 
Rattlesnake  Gardens  belie  their  low-budget  origins 
thanks  to  pointed  song  writing,  focused  instrumental  per- 
formances and  Chris  Eckman  and  Carla  Torgerson's 
committed  vocals,  which  energize  such  impressive  tunes 
as  "Laughingstock"  and  "Jumping  Off." 

The  group's  two  Sub  Pop  releases  (collected  on  a 
single  CD)  feature  upgraded  production  and  more  con- 
fident playing.  The  full-length  Cataract  resonates  with 
rueful  Americana  on  such  tracks  as  "Whiskey  XXX," 
"Hell's  Soup  Kitchen"  and  "Long  Black  Veil"  (not 
the  traditional  song),  marking  the  Walkabouts  as  a  dis- 
tinctive band  with  loads  of  potential.  The  six-song  Rag 
&  Bone  adds  a  keyboard  player  to  the  original  four- 
person  lineup,  and  makes  good  use  of  the  expanded  cast 
with  consistently  imaginative  arrangements,  from  the 
honky-tonking  of  "The  Anvil  Song"  to  the  acoustic 
hush  of  *  'Medicine  Hat. "  [hd] 

TODD  WALKER 

See  Defenestration. 

WALKiNGSEEDS 

Skullfuck  (nr/Probe)  1987 
Upwind  of  Disaster,  Downwind  of  Atonement 
(Communion)  1 989  • 


Shaved  Beatnik  EP  (nr/Giass)  1989 

Sensory  Deprivation  Chamber  Quartet  EP  (nr/Glass) 

1989 
Bad  Orb  .Whirling  Bail  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 990  ® 

Led  by  singer  Frank  Martin  and  guitarist  Robert 
Parker,  Liverpool's  Walkingseeds  bring  mischievous 
intelligence  and  a  taste  for  the  underside  of  '60s  pop 
culture  to  their  wanton  psychedelic  guitar  throttles. 
The  first  album  offers  a  noisy  listen-in  to  the  band's 
learning  process;  Upwind  of  Disaster,  while  still  en- 
thusiastically sloppy  and  prone  to  bum  notes,  proffers 
conceptually  witty  songs  ("Imperious,  Vain,  Selfish 
and  Wilful"  [sic],  "Louie,  Louie,  Louie,"  "28IF," 
named  for  a  license  plate  pictured  on  the  Abbey  Road 
cover — now  is  that  groovy  or  what?)  that  make 
strange  sense  and  production  by  Kramer  that  keeps 
the  roar  boiling  (boar  roiling^)  If  the  band's  sound 
falls  somewhere  between  Motorhead  and  the  Quick- 
silver Messenger  Service,  that's  seems  just  about 
where  it  seems  headed.  (The  CD  adds  two,  including 
a  cover  of  the  Blue  Oyster  Cult's  "Transmaniacon 
MC") 

While  the  title  track  of  the  four-song  Shaved 
Beatnik  12-inch  embraces  Seedsy  American  retro- 
psychepunk  to  good  effect,  the  quartet* s  endless  version 
of  Cream's  "Sunshine  of  Your  Love,*'  "New!  Im- 
proved! Blue  Cheer"  and  "Dirty  Water  (From  a  Dirty 
Pond)"  all  come  rocking  out  of  a  grungier  garage.  Skip 
this  one. 

With  production  and  playing  by  the  Be  vis  Frond,  the 
Walkingseeds  again  run  haphazardly  hot  and  cold  on 
Sensory  Deprivation  Chamber  Quartet  (aka  the 
Dwarf  LP),  an  intermittently  entertaining  ("People  of 
the  World  Rise  Up  and  Die,"  a  tuneful  slice  of  political 
nonsense,  is  the  best  track)  mini-album  that  contrasts 
acoustic  guitars  with  tube-blowing  overdrive,  crude  pop 
with  brain-burrowing  crunch. 

Bad  Orb-Whirling  Ball  ties  up  all  the  stylistic 
loose  ends,  hitting  a  noisy  but  clear  nostalgic  acid-rock 
stride  with  strong  material  like  "Gates  of  Freedom," 
"Broken  Cup,"  "Caged  Beatnik"  and  the  Beatles' 
"She  Said  She  Said,"  which  easily  endures  the  rough 
handling.  Kramer's  incisive  production  here  keeps  the 
level  of  Parker's  guitar  distortion  inside  functional  lim- 
its; Martin's  singing  is  likewise  less  ragged — and  thus 
more  enjoyable — than  usual.  Except  for  the  needless 
repetition  encouraged  by  excessive  song  lengths,  Bad 
Orb  is  a  really  good  disc  [i] 

WALKING  WOUNDED 

Walking  Wounded  (Stonegarden)  1 986  • 
The  New  West  (Chameleon)  1987  • 
Raging  Winds  of  Time  (Chameleon)  1989  « 
Hard  Times  (Doctor  Dream)  1991  « 

JERRY  GIDDENS 

Livin'  Ain't  Easy  (Mountain  Railroad)  1 989  • 

If  you  can  get  past  the  bombastic  self-importance 
and  drama  in  Jerry  Giddens*  voice,  the  rich  Western 
folk-rock  originals  on  the  studio  side  of  Walking 
Wounded's  debut  album  are  catchy,  crafty  and  well- 
played.  Recorded  in  a  Hollywood  club  as  a  percussion- 
less  trio*  the  acoustic  live  side — which  repeats  three  of 
the  flip's  studio  songs  and  adds  four  more — is  entirely 
dominated  by  Giddens'  overzealous  delivery. 


721 


Formalizing  a  four-man  selection  from  the  small 
pool  that  played  on  the  first  LP,  Walking  Wounded 
sounds  solidly  commercial  but  less  striking  on  The  New 
West.  Giddens'  singing  isn't  quite  as  pushy,  but  the 
material  and  electric  arrangements  aren't  as  memorable, 
so  the  overall  progress  is  slight.  The  LP  includes  one 
song  redone  from  Walking  Wounded,  the  CD  appends 
the  whole  thing. 

Raging  Winds  of  Time  unveils  a  potent  new  lineup, 
including  guitarists  Eddie  Munoz  (ex-Plimsouls)  and 
Roger  Prescott  (ex-Pop),  in  between  stints  together  as 
Train  Wreck  Ghosts,  Chalo  Quintana  (Havalmas)  is  the 
LP's  drummer.  The  tastefully  charged  music  is  quite 
good;  unfortunately,  Giddens  is  still  the  singer  (although 
he  has  improved  a  lot)  and  grimly  earnest  songwriter 
(his  topic  here  is  poverty  and  gang  violence),  a  concen- 
tration of  creative  power  which  restricts  his  talented 
bandmates  to  supporting  roles.  [i] 

See  also  Havalmas,  Plimsouls,  Pop. 


WALL  OF 

Wall  of  Voodoo  EP  (Index-IRS)  1980 

Dark  Continent  (IRS)  1 981 

Call  of  the  West  (IRS)  1 982  * 

Granma's  House  (nr/IRS)  1 984 

Seven  Days  in  Sammystown  (IRS)  1 985 

Happy  Planet  (IRS)  1987® 

The  Ugly  Americans  in  Australia*  (IRS)  1 988  ® 

ANDY  PR1EBOY 

. . .  Upon  My  Wicked  Son  (Doctor  Dream)  1 990  ® 
Montezuma  Was  a  Man  of  Faith  EP  (Doctor  Dream) 

1991  • 

Los  Angeles'  Wall  of  Voodoo  makes  junk  music 
that  can  be  extremely  entertaining  as  long  as  you  don't 
expect  too  much  from  it.  Working  in  the  same  general 
cinematic  groove  as  Devo,  only  taking  their  cues  from 
Westerns  and  film  noir  rather  than  science  fiction, 
Voodoo  generate  a  stiff  (though  human)  sound  that 
furnishes  a  vivid  backdrop  to  Stanard  Ridgway's 
semi-catatonic  vocals.  Poised  uneasily  between  ma- 
chine music  and  rock'n'roll,  Wall  of  Voodoo  embod- 
ies the  conflict  between  old  and  new  for  the  serious- 
minded:  classy  Halloween  music  that's  scary,  but 
pleasantly  so. 

The  four-song  EP  includes  a  wacked-out  version  of 
Johnny  Cash's  "Ring  of  Fire."  The  band  displays  more 
polish  on  Bark  Continent,  with  tunes  like  "Back  in 
Flesh"  and  "Full  of  Tension"  benefiting  from  color- 
fully morose  guitar  and  keyboards. 

Call  of  the  West's  execution  is  livelier  and  more 
articulate,  but  just  as  spooky.  It  contains  the  now-classic 
"Mexican  Radio,"  which  crystallizes  the  band's  loopy 
approach  in  one  memorable  number. 

Ridgway  left  Wall  of  Voodoo  in  1983  for  a  solo 
career;  the  band  decided  to  replace  him  and  continue. 
The  1984  compilation  album,  Granma's  House,  con- 
tains all  of  Voodoo's  best  tracks,  from  "Ring  of  Fire" 
to  '  *  Mexican  Radio . ' ' 

Unveiling  new  singer  Andy  Prieboy  and  a  new 
drummer  (Joe  Nanini  had  departed  in  the  interim),  Wall 
of  Voodoo  returned  to  action  with  Seven  Days  in  Sam- 
mystown, their  first  new  album  in  three  years.  Ridg- 


way's absence  forced  a  major  rethink  of  the  band's 
sound  and  purpose;  the  record  is  adequate,  but  some- 
what short  of  character  and  thus  uncompelling.  "Far 
Side  of  Crazy"  (ostensibly  about  John  Hinckley,  Jr.) 
and  a  dirgey  cover  of  the  old  mining  song  "Dark  as  the 
Dungeon"  are  quite  good,  but  the  rest  falls  short.  And 
Prieboy's  failed  attempt  to  mimic  Ridgway  (on  "Big 
City")  is  a  major  faux  pas. 

The  vanishing  Devo  left  a  wide  open  field  of  in- 
formed weirdness,  but  a  uniformly  costumed  Voodoo 
failed  to  make  anything  more  of  the  opportunity. 
Happy  Planet  reveals  an  intact  sense  of  humor  left 
dangling  by  an  utter  lack  of  demented  invention.  The 
band  works  over  the  Beach  Boys'  "Do  It  Again," 
converting  it  to  their  idiom  but  adding  nothing  sub- 
stantial which  would  make  it  worth  hearing;  the  rest  of 
the  album  likewise  takes  aim  at  assorted  cultural  arti- 
facts but  lacks  the  requisite  inspired  oddness  to  make 
the  songs  truly  original. 

The  Ugly  Americans  in  Australia*  is  a  rambunc- 
tious live  disc  recorded  in  Melbourne  and  (here's  where 
the  asterisk  comes  in)  Bullhead  City,  Arizona.  Stripped 
of  studio  comforts,  the  quartet  (plus  keyboard  guest) 
gamely  confronts  old  material  like  "Far  Side  of  Crazy," 
"Mexican  Radio"  and  "Ring  of  Fire"  and  introduces 
several  newies.  (The  cassette  and  CD  add  "The  Grass  Is 
Greener"  and  "Pretty  Boy  Floyd.") 

Prieboy's  solo  album  starts  off  with  a  witless  but 
powerful  rendition  of  Canned  Heat's  classic  "On  the 
Road  Again"  (hence  the  LP  title)  but  then  sticks  to 
smart,  full-bodied  rock  with  Devoesque  accents  and 
offcenter  lyrics  for  a  while.  (The  low  point  comes 
early  on,  with  "Tomorrow  Wendy,"  a  totally  stupid 
number  about  mortality  sung  with  Johnette  Napolitano 
of  Concrete  Blonde.  Not  surprisingly,  she  liked  the 
song  enough  to  cover  it  on  her  band's  Bloodletting.) 
From  there,  things  spin  further  out,  as  Prieboy  (whose 
personal  stylistic  orientation  seems  more  Oingo 
Boingo  than  Wall  of  Voodoo)  kicks  out  the  concep- 
tual jams  with  macho  jive  ("Man  Talk")  set  to  dra- 
matic round'em-up/move-' em-out  music,  cocktail 
party  chatter  over  a  driving  piano  line  on  "The  New 
York  Debut  of  an  L.A.  Artist  (Jazz  Crowd)"  and,  on 
one  of  two  CD-only  tracks,  an  operatic  extravaganza 
entitled  "Maybe  That's  Not  Her  Head."  Strange  but 
entertaining.  The  EP  contains  three  non-LP  tracks,  in- 
cluding a  duet  with  Napolitano  on  "Whole  Lotta 
Love."  [jy/i] 

See  also  Hitman  Hands,  Stan  Ridgway. 


WANDERERS 

Only  Lovere  Left  Alive  (nr/Polydor)  1 981 

This  brief  liaison  between  members  of  Sham  69  and 
ex-Dead  Boy  Stiv  Bators  set  the  stage  for  the  subsequent 
Lords  of  the  New  Church,  and  resulted  in  one  album. 
Although  begun  as  a  Sham  69  record  (with  Bators  re- 
placing singer  Jimmy  Pursey),  contracts  prevented  its 
release  as  such;  under  the  Wanderers  name,  it  attracted 
almost  no  attention. 

It  deserved  a  better  fate.  Presenting  legible  rock  with 
a  strong  political  bent,  Only  Lovers  Left  Alive  brings 
together  loads  of  influences  that  had  never  been  present 


722 


in  either  faction's  background,  and  synthesizes  a  varied, 
well-produced  angry  assault  that's  more  radical  in  stance 
than  music.  In  any  case,  the  album  is  noteworthy  for 
including  a  courageous  rockified  version  of  "The  Times 
They  Are  A-Changin' . "  [i] 

See  also  Dead  Boys,  Lords  of  the  New  Church,  Sham 
69. 


Points  on  the  Curve  (Geffen)  1 984  • 
To  Live  and  Die  in  LA  (Geffen}  1 985  • 
Mosaic  (Geffen)  1986® 
The  Warmer  Side  of  Cool  (Geffen)  1 989  © 

Huang  Chung  (Arista)  1 982 

Despite  the  exotic  name,  this  posh  British  band  plays 
familiar  post-Ultravox  pop — with  saxophone  instead  of 
keyboards  and  less  of  a  heavy  dance  beat — on  Huang 
Chung.  The  talented  and  proficient  quartet  lacks  only 
an  identity  and  the  first-rate  songs  that  might  have  made 
it  memorable. 

Points  on  the  Curve  unveils  several  major  changes, 
including  the  new  spelling,  a  different  label  and  a 
shmmed-down  trio  lineup  (no  more  sax),  now  focused 
on  singer  Jack  Hues.  "Dance  Hall  Days"  has  dumb 
lyrics  but  a  good  rhythmic  sound  and  a  strong  hook; 
"Wait"  has  dumb,  awkward  lyrics  ("evidently/there's 
a  difficulty")  but  a  clever  arrangement  with  synthesized 
strings  and  chimes  for  punctuation.  Elsewhere,  they  es- 
say dance-funk  and  Foreigner-like  pomposity.  Having 
banished  its  facelessness,  Wang  Chung  is  revealed  in  all 
its  mediocrity. 

And  then  there  were  two.  Drummer  Darren  Costin 
formed  a  band  called  Heroes  which  released  an  LP 
(Here  We  Are)  in  1987.  The  remaining  members  of 
Wang  Chung  (Hues  and  multi-instrumentalist  Nick 
Feldman),  meanwhile,  wrote  and  recorded  the  sound- 
track for  the  movie  To  Live  and  Die  in  LA. — a  good 
title  song  plus  lots  of  expendable  atmospheric  instra- 
mentals. 

That  same  slender  lineup,  aided  by  drummer/ 
producer  Peter  Wolf,  a  horn  section  and  a  stack  of 
backup  singers,  created  Mosaic,  another  stylish  and 
trivial  synth-dance  (plus  the  horrific  ballad  "Betrayal") 
pursuit  which  happened  to  contain  one  catchy  and  clever 
number,  "Let's  Go,"  and  the  monster  hit  single/video 
clip  "Everybody  Have  Fun  Tonight."  (Which  Tom 
Jones  reportedly  sang  in  his  act  for  a  while,  changing 
the  lyrics  to  "Everyone  Tom  Jones  tonight!") 

After  a  long  vacation,  Wolf  shifted  to  keyboards  and 
produced  The  Warmer  Side  of  Cool,  a  smoothly  bland 
collection  of  relatively  restrained  retreads  (a  little  Po- 
lice, a  lot  of  Wang  Chung)  that  can't  muster  a  single 
track  as  irritatingly  catchy  as  "Everybody  Have  Fun 
Tonight."  Although  Feldman's  lyrics  make  Hues' 
sound  positively  brilliant,  neither  man  has  anything  of 
substantial  artistic  value  to  offer.  Only  two  songs — 
"Praying  to  a  New  God"  and  "What's  So  Bad  About 
Feeling  Good?" — are  worth  a  fig,  so  you  can  safely  turn 
the  record  off  after  eight  minutes  without  missing  much. 
I  can't  imagine  why  anyone  would  actually  want  to  own 
this.  W 


Needle  Time!  (nr/lsland)  1977 

Out  of  London's  exploding  early  punk  scene  came 
this  novelty — an  album  that  reached  local  shops  within 
24  hours  of  the  start  of  its  recording!  The  band  wasn't 
anything  extraordinary— just  amateur  working  class 
thrash'n'bash — but  the  speedy  creation  of  the  record 
made  quite  a  stir  for  a  few  moments.  The  record  came 
packed  in  a  mailing  envelope  covered  with  stickers  and 
rubber  stamps;  the  insert  sheet  includes  a  complete  log 
of  the  21  hours  it  took  to  finish.  Bizarre.  [i] 

See  also  Social  Deviants. 

WARTIME 

See  Henry  Rollins. 

WASHINGTON  SQUARES 

Washington  Squares  (Gold  Castle)  1987  ® 
Fair  and  Square  (Gold  Castle)  1 989  • 

Outfitted  with  uniform  berets,  conservative  suits, 
black  sunglasses  and  acoustic  guitars,  these  three  New 
Yorkers  escaped  a  post-punk  background  (ex-rock  crit 
Lauren  Agnelli's  former  band  was  Nervus  Rex;  Tom 
Goodkind's  varied  career  on  the  local  scene  included 
such  '70s  bands  as  U.S.  Ape;  Bruce  Jay  Paskow  was  in 
the  Invaders)  the  to  shoulder  the  untendered  responsi- 
bility of  being  the  nouveau  in-crowd's  answer  to  Peter, 
Paul  &  Mary. 

Despite  the  inexcusably  pretentious  folk-beatnik 
pose,  the  band's  evident  sincerity  and  their  attractive 
harmonies  give  the  first  album  its  own  inherent  validity. 
But  the  lyrics  are  simpleminded,  and  the  trio's  treatment 
of  two  traditional  songs  isn't  very  nice.  Ex-Television 
drummer  Billy  Ficca  and  producer  Mitch  Easter  (on 
piano)  help  out. 

Winningly  produced  by  Steven  Soles,  Fair  and 
Square  pushes  the  Squares  further  towards  a  musical 
personality  they  can  legitimately  claim  as  their  own. 
Alongside  well-chosen  and  adequately  performed  cov- 
ers of  Leonard  Cohen  and  Hoyt  Axton  (the  classic 
"Greenback  Dollar"),  some  of  the  originals  are  quite 
good.  "Join  Together"  is  a  rousing  populist  anthem  that 
should  have  circulated  in  the  '60s;  "The  Other  Side  of 
Sin"  rediscovers  folk-rock  with  reedy  innocence  and  a 
voice  that  frighteningly  resembles  Freddie  Mercury  in 
spots.  But  when  the  pose  dominates,  as  in  a  precious 
tribute  to  Neal  Casady,  the  whole  thing  goes  out  the 
window.  (And  why  dredge  up  Quicksilver  Messenger 
Service's  wretched  "Pride  of  Man"?)  [i] 

WAS  (NOT  WAS) 

Was  (Not  Was)  (ZE-lsland)  1981  » 

Born  to  Laugh  at  Tornadoes  (ZE-Geffen)  1 983  • 

What  Up,  Dog?  (Chrysalis)  1988  • 

Are  You  Okay?  (Chrysalis)  1 990  <f> 

Shattering  the  imaginary  divisions  between  "black 
music"  and  "white  music,"  Detroiters  David  (Weiss; 
sax,  flute,  keyboards,  vocals)  and  Don  (Fagenson;  bass, 
keyboards,  guitar)  Was  use  undated  soul  and  funk  as  a 
flexible  backdrop  for  their  alternately  serious  and  sar- 
castic commentary.  The  historical  problem  with  a  lot  of 
dance  music  has  been  its  rabid  dissociation  from  intel- 


723 


lect;  more  than  almost  any  other  group,  Was  (Not  Was) 
obliterates  that  gap  The  first  album's  material,  while 
drawing  on  such  familiar  sources  as  Grace  Jones  and 
Stevie  Wonder,  blends  in  enough  humor  and  cleverness 
to  make  virtually  every  song  an  original  gem,  including 
the  disco  hits  "Out  Come  the  Freaks"  and  "Tell  Me 
That  I'm  Dreaming"  (which  includes  mutilated  found 
vocals  by  Ronald  Reagan).  The  remarkable  cast  of  play- 
ers is  a  disparate  mix  of  rock  and  funk:  among  the  many 
contributors  are  Wayne  Kramer  (ex-MC5),  Larry  Fra- 
tangelo  (P-Funk),  Bruce  Nazarian  (Brownsville  Sta- 
tion) and  Frank  McCullers  (Wild  Cherry). 

Born  to  Laugh  at  Tornadoes  is  a  conceptual  tour 
de  force,  a  cavalcade  of  incongruous  guest  vocalists. 
Among  the  stars  on  parade:  Ozzy  Osbourae,  Mel 
Torme,  Mitch  Ryder  and  Doug  Fieger  of  the  Knack. 
Also  in  attendance:  Wayne  Kramer,  Marshall  Cren- 
shaw,  Vinnie  Vincent  and  many  others.  The  Was  Bros, 
originals  typically  mix  wiseacre/devolution  lyrics  with 
muscular  soul-funk-rock,  making  the  album  enjoyable 
on  at  least  three  levels — powerful  dance  music,  cleverly 
worded  smart-aleckdom  and  super-session  bizarreness. 

Kings  of  cross-fertilization,  Was  (Not  Was)  have 
worked  with  an  eclectic  variety  of  artists;  mostly  on  his 
own,  Don  Was  has  produced  Bonnie  Raitt,  the  B-52's, 
Bob  Dylan  and  Iggy  Pop.  In  the  late  '80s,  they  put  their 
own  group  back  in  gear,  reuniting  with  singers  Sweet 
Pea  Atkinson  and  Sir  Harry  Bowens  and  a  stack  of 
sympathetic  sidemen  to  implement  their  imaginative  vi- 
sion of  dance  music.  Beginning  with  "Somewhere  in 
America  There *s  a  Street  Named  After  My  Dad,"  which 
has  a  relaxed  Steely  Dan  feel,  and  ending  with  the 
mondo  bizarro  "Dad  Fm  in  Jail,"  which  owes  more  to 
the  Butthole  Surfers,  What  Up,  Dog?  encompasses  the 
broad  stylistic  palette  of  the  pair's  past  experiments  and 
proceeds  outward  from  there.  Among  the  highlights:  a 
lively  overhaul  of  "Out  Come  the  Freaks"  with  new 
lyrics,  the  hysterical  "Earth  to  Doris,"  the  poshly  soul- 
ful "Love  Can  Be  Bad  Luck,"  an  "Under  the  Board- 
walk" rewrite  co-penned  by  David  Was  and  Elvis 
Costello  and  the  funky  paleontology  of  "Walk  the  Di- 
nosaur." The  resequenced  CD  also  boasts  a  cushy  bal- 
lad sung  by  Frank  Sinatra  Jr.,  a  crisp  cover  of  Otis 
Redding's  "I  Can't  Turn  You  Loose"  and  two  others. 

Are  You  Okay?  puts  musical  innovation  on  the  back 
burner  to  concentrate  on  offbeat  lyrics  ("In  K  Mart 
Wardrobe,"  "I  Blew  Up  the  United  States,"  "Elvis' 
Rolls  Royce")  and  an  endless  stream  of  guest 
vocalists — Leonard  Cohen,  Syd  Straw,  Iggy  Pop,  the 
Roches  and  rapper  G  Love  E,  who  puts  his  stamp  on  an 
otherwise  straight  (albeit  updated)  cover  of  the  Temp- 
tations* "Papa  Was  a  Rolling  Stone."  David  Was* 
numb  delivery  of  the  spoken  "I  Feel  Better  Than  James 
Brown"  puts  a  bizarre  twist  on  the  sarcastic  lyrics,  De- 
spite the  album's  narrower  stylistic  focus.  Are  You 
Okay?  again  demonstrates  how  dance  music  can  be 
enormous,  captivating  fun,  even  for  confirmed  couch 
potatoes.  [sg/t] 

WATERBOYS 

A  Girl  Called  Johnny  EP  {nr/Chfck©n  Jazz)  1 982 

December  EP  (nr/Ensign)  1(983 

Th©  Waterboys  EP  (Ensign-Wand)  1983 


The  Waterboys  (nr/Ensign)  1983  (Ensign-Chrysalis) 

1986® 
A  Pagan  Place  (Ensign-Island)  1984  (Ensign-Chrysalis) 

1987® 

This  Is  the  Sea  (island)  1985  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1987  • 
Fisherman's  Blues  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1988  • 
Room  to  Roam  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1990  © 
The  Best  of  the  Waterboys  '81  -'90  (Ensign-Chrysalis) 
1991  4> 

Edinburgh-born  singer/guitarist/pianist  Mike  Scott 
formed  the  Waterboys  in  London,  singing  bombastic 
folky  rock  derived  in  equal  parts  from  U2,  Bruce  Spring- 
steen and  Bob  Dylan.  On  The  Waterboys  (and  its  five- 
song  American  condensation,  later  supplanted  by  a 
belated  issue  of  the  entire  LP),  Scott,  saxophonist  An- 
thony Thistlethwaite,  an  organist  and  various  rhythm 
players  squeeze  every  ounce  of  drama  into  his  preciously 
poetic  lyrics  and  pseudo-epic  melodies.  Enough  of  a 
selfconsciously  sensitive  artiste  to  confuse  extended 
song  length  and  artistic  depth,  Scott  comes  off  as  a 
modestly  talented  blowhard. 

Having  reused  three  of  the  eight  songs  (in- 
cluding the  Rupert  Hine-produced  "A  Girl  Called 
Johnny")  from  the  early  EPs  on  The  Waterboys,  two 
more  (including  the  torturous  I-read-a-book-so-now-I- 
understand-history  "Red  Army  Blues"-— all  eight  min- 
utes of  it!)  were  recycled  on  the  wretched  A  Pagan 
Place,  a  horrific  realization  of  Scott's  grandiose  vision. 
With  Welsh  keyboardist  Karl  Wallinger  and  a  drummer 
joining  the  Scott/Thistlethwaite  nucleus,  the  Waterboys 
overlay  mountains  of  acoustic  guitars,  horns  and  vocals 
to  build  majestically  Spectorcsque  sand  castles 
("Church  Not  Made  with  Hands,1'  4'A  Pagan  Place") 
that  are  as  flimsy  as  Scott's  sophomoric  lyrics.  If  Jimmy 
Webb  had  happened  into  the  studio,  an  ultimate  remake 
of  "MacArthur  Park"  would  have  been  inevitable,  (In- 
cidentally, one  of  the  record's  backup  singers  is  Eddi 
Reader,  later  the  voice  of  Fairground  Attraction, ) 

An  overambitious  variety  of  production  styles— 
piano-based  simplicity  on  "Spirit/*  vocal  gimmicks  and 
"Penny  Lane"  horns  on  "The  Whole  of  the  Moon," 
the  Pagan  Place-styled  title  track  and  the  insufferable 
amped-up  guitar  rock  of  "Don't  Bang  the  Drum"  and 
"Be  My  Enemy"— leaves  This  Is  the  Sea  an  unfocused 
mess.  Scott's  melodic  sense  (if  not  his  lyrics)  is  actually 
improving,  although  habitual  overstatement  makes  it 
hard  to  notice. 

Wallinger  went  off  to  form  World  Party  and  Scott 
(who  had  sung  "Old  England  is  dying"  on  Thte  Is  the 
Sea)  moved  to  Ireland  and  formed  a  new  band  with 
Thistlethwaite  (now  playing  more  mandolin  than  .sax). 
In  a  remarkable  case  of  self-willed  ethnic  trarumb&tan- 
ttation,  Fisherman's  Blues  (which  ironically  include* 
the  song  "World  Party" }  unveiled  the  Waterboys  Mark 
II,  a  neo-traditional  Irish  folk-rock  group.  Without  raid- 
ing questions  as  to  Scott's  sincerity,  entitlement  or  mo- 
tivation, wholesale  appropriation  of  a  cultural  that  still 
has  genuine  practitioners  remain*  a  fairly  dubious  (al- 
beit not  unknown}1  bmin  for  a  band,  Where  the  Pogues 
concocted  an  original  identity  from  old  ingredient*,  the 
Waterboys  merely  copy  what  they've  heard,  But  in  fair- 
ness, the  album  is  entirely  bad:  the  Van  Morrison- 
stylings  arc  superficially  attractive,  and  rollicking 
like  "And  a  Bang  on  the  Ear,"  "Has  Anybody  Here 


724 


Seen  Hank?"  and  "When  Will  Be  Married?"  make  fine 
use  of  the  folk  idiom.  The  Waterboys  don't  bring  much 
originality  to  this  music,  but  they  imitate  it  well  enough 
to  get  by.  (The  CD  adds  a  pair  of  acoustic  instrumental 
featuring  Steve  Wickharn  on  fiddle.) 

Scott's  identification  with  Ireland  gets  even  more 
intense  on  Room  to  Roam,  a  sprightly  mixture  of  fid- 
dle, tin  whistle,  accordion,  mandolin.  With  appropri- 
ately rustic  melodies  and  dreamy,  romantic  subject 
matter,  the  Waterboys  strive  desperately  to  be  a  youth- 
ful pop  version  of  the  Chieftains.  Scott  pledges  his  troth 
to  the  Emerald  Isle  in  "Islandman"  (one  of  the  album's 
two  incongruous  electric  rockers;  there's  also  a  swanky 
ballroom  ballad)  and  celebrates  the  town  in  which  the 
LP  was  recorded.  Okay,  okay,  we  believe  you!  But  the 
alburn's  best  track  is  a  straight  rendition  of  the  genu- 
inely traditional  "Raggle  Taggle  Gypsy,"  an  exercise 
which  underscores  the  shortcomings  in  Scott's  own 
song  writing  and  the  overall  redundancy  of  the  group. 
Room  to  Roam— fiddle  tunes  notwithstanding— misses 
the  point  of  folk  music  by  a  country  mile.  [i] 

See  also  World  Party. 

See  Green  on  Red. 

BEN  WATT 

See  Everything  but  the  Girl, 

JOHN  WATTS 

Sec  Fischer-Z. 

WAVES 

See  Katrina  and  the  Waves. 

WAXING  POETICS 

Hermitage  (Emerge)  1987 
Manakln  Moon  (Emerge)  1988  • 
Bad  Time  Story  (Emurgo)  1 990  • 

On  its  first  album,  this  sturdy  power  pop  quartet 
from  Norfolk,  Virginia  had  the  benefit  of  co-production 
by  Mitch  lamer  and  R.K.M.'s  Mike  Mills  (who  also 
contribute*  piano  on  one  song).  Keeping  things  plain 
and  simple,  Hermitage  e*cncw&  my  strong  personality 
or  overt  influences  to  walk  a  unpretentiously  straight- 
forward line  through  the  tuneful  New  South, 

Exchanging  the  casual  clothes  of  the  first  album's 
portrait)*  for  more  format  black  leather  jackets,  the  Po* 
ctieh  also  hardened  their  musical  stance  on  the  nicely 
varied  and  spunky  Manakbi  Moon.  The  songs  are  .still 
tuneful,  hut  lyric*  about  death  and  ghosts  are  matched 
by  a  semi-tough  heartland  rock  sound  with  strong 
rhythm?*  and  gritty  guitar,  Displaying  a  propensity  for 
offbeat  coven*,  the  Poetics  on  Bno's  "Needles  in 
the  Camel'*  Kye"  and  give  it  a  credibly  underrated 
reading  (The  CD  add?*  i  bonus  track, ) 

A  and  unsettling  Investigation  of  the  Poetics* 
maturing  musical  obsessions.  Bed  Time  Story  ambi- 
tiously into  atmospheric  tough-edged  rock- 
*n*fo!l  mid  country,  From  such  moody/edgy  originals  as 
"The  Attic  or  the  Underground"  to  an  ominous  version 


of  Wreckless  Eric's  " Semaphore  Signals,"  this  provoc- 
ative record  is  unlikely  to  help  anyone  sleep  easier  The 
House  of  Freaks  help  out  on  "Jet  Black  Plastic  Pistol"; 
the  CD  adds  a  live  recording  of  "The  Tram  Kept 
a-Rollin'."  [i] 

WE  ARE  TO  EAT  YOU 

S  Wish  I  Knew  EP  (nr/AII  the  Madmen)  1987 
Everywhen  (TVT)  1 989  • 

Pure  pop  lives  in  the  luscious  textures  of  this  snazzy 
London  quartet.  Despite  the  stupid  name,  We  Are  Go- 
ing to  Eat  You  have  a  magic  formula,  blending  Julie 
Sorrel's  cool,  heavenly  voice,  Paul  Harding 's  bracing 
guitar  chords  and  catchy,  other-worldly  tunes,  largely 
written  by  drummer  Chris  Knowles,  once  the  only  male 
in  a  pop-punk  band  called  Hagar  the  Womb.  While  the 
12-inch  EP  is  decent  enough,  Everywheii  is  a  gas,  with 
"If  You  Believe,"  * 'Glory"  and  "Each  Life  a  Mys- 
tery" achieving  a  state  of  three-minute  grace.  File  with 
Buzzcocks,  Primitives,  Darling  Buds.  [jy] 

T@n  Deadly  Kisses  (nr/PIay  It  Again  Sam)  1 987  • 

The  Black  Alburn  According  to  the  Weathermen  (Play  It 

Again  Sam)  1988  • 
Beyond  the  Beyond  (Bel.  Play  It  Again  Sam)  1 990  (Mute) 

1991  4> 

Besides  being  one  of  the  few  contemporary  techno 
dance  bands  to  draw  its  primary  synthetic  inspiration 
from  Kraftwerk,  this  hybrid  California/European  duo  is 
nearly  alone  in  bringing  an  easy  sense  of  humor  to  what 
is,  at  least  in  a  sense,  industrial  music.  With  samples 
and  repetitive  rhythmatics  connecting  the  Weathermen 
to  far  more  abrasive  club  fiends,  the  clever  and  ingrati- 
ating Ten  Deadly  Kisses  blends  light,  repetitive  blip- 
rock  and  loopy  lyrics  into  a  meeting  between  Yello  pop 
(less  the  continental  snootiness)  and  Wall  of  Voodoo. 
Neat  stuff, 

The  Black  Album  is  heavier,  harder  and  crazier,  a 
rock  record  played  on  synthesizers  that  produce  dinky- 
bop  squiggles  as  well  as  more  aggressively  weird  noises. 
In  place  of  the  first  LP's  monotonous  grooves,  the  music 
here  moves  around  a  lot,  while  the  vocals  run  from  a 
quietly  kinky  sotio-scxual  conversation  between  "Bar- 
bie and  Ken"  to  the  melodramatic  sci-fi  nightmare  of 
"Twisting  Doorknob"  to  the  ominous  whisper  of  "Pun- 
ishment Park, "  Lurid  fun,  that  never  stops  grinning.  The 
Black  Album  offers  solace  to  those  looking  for  new 
thrills  now  that  Devo  is  out  of  the  running, 

Miles  better  than  either  of  those,  however.  Beyond 
the  Beyond  is  a  hard-driving  and  penetrating  critique  of 
contemporary  America  with  the  engrossing  qualities  of 
a  short-story  collection  and  the  humor  of  an  underground 
comic,  Whether  attacking  mindless  culture  ("Custom 
Brain"),  American  adventurism  abroad  ("Heatseek- 
er")  or  tele vangel ism  ("Freedom  or  Slavery"),  the 
Weathermen  make  their  points  with  accuracy  and  abun- 
dant wit;  when  they  shift  their  sights  to  tell  odd  little 
stories  of  personal  degradation  ("Such  a  Beautiful 
City,"  "California  or  Bust,"  "Muzak"),  the  panoply 
of  pop  culture  reference  points  make?;  them  even  more 
entertaining,  PI 


725 


WEATHER  PROPHETS 

Almost  Prayed  EP  (nr/Creation)  1986 

Why  Does  the  Rain  EP  (nr/Elevation-WEA)  1 987 

Mayflower  (nr/Elevation-WEA)  1987 

Judges,  Juries  &  Horsemen  (Creation-Relativity)  1 988  • 

Hollow  Heart  EP  (nr/Creation)  1 988 

Temperance  Hotel . . .  (nr/Creation)  1 989  (Giant)  1 990  ® 

As  a  vehicle  for  singer/guitarist  Peter  Astor,  the 
Weather  Prophets  of  the  four-song  Almost  Frayed  12- 
inch  were  proponents  of  ultra-mild  pop,  exceedingly 
pleasant  trifles  with  provocatively  off-center  lyrics, 
Lenny  Kaye's  production  on  Maylower,  the  quartet's 
longplaying  debut,  put  some  starch  in  the  Prophets' 
sound,  bringing  the  rhythm  section  into  play  but  keep- 
ing things  tastefully  light  and,  if  anything,  faintly  coun- 
tryish.  Aster's  singing  is  likewise  more  forthcoming, 
but  Mayflower — and  Why  Does  the  Main  (a  12-inch 
containing  an  LP  track,  a  sloppy  BBC  session  version  of 
"Mayflower"  and  a  cool  instrumental,  " Annalea" )-— is 
still  a  few  volts  short  of  captivating.  Only  * 'Naked  as 
the  Day  You  Were  Born,"  an  organ-based  three-chord 
number  that  seems  to  be  straining  towards  a  minor  frea- 
kout,  hints  that  the  band  would  not  always  be  limited  to 
such  politeness. 

Dropping  guitarist  Oisin  Little  from  the  lineup  (al- 
though he  still  plays  on  half  the  tracks),  the  Weather 
Prophets  made  the  uneven  Astor-produced  second  al- 
bum as  a  rocking  trio.  Despite  a  few  individual  ex- 
ceptions (like  the  sublimely  emotional  "Born 
Inbetween"  and  the  hip  distorto-pop  of  "Hollow 
Heart"),  Judges,  Juries  &  Horsemen  is  a  meander- 
ing and  uninvolving  indulgence  in  need  of  clear  direc- 
tion. One  interesting  item  is  the  intense  '60sish 
"Thursday  Seems  a  Year  Ago,"  in  which  bassist 
Greenwood  Goulding's  organ  work  clearly  prefigures 
Inspiral  Carpets  et  al. 

Temperance  Hotel  collects  up  some  of  the  Proph- 
ets' best  scraps:  a  half-dozen  charming  BBC  radio  ses- 
sion tracks  from  1986,  four  B-sides  (including  "Chinese 
Cadillac"),  two  demos  (one  a  nifty  version  of  the  gos- 
pel "I  Saw  the  Light")  and  both  sides  of  a  bizarre  single 
("Odds  &  Ends"  b/w  "Stepping  Lightly  on  the  Ancient 
Path")  that  was  included  in  early  UK  copies  of  Judges, 
Juries  &  Horsemen.  Not  only  is  this  compilation  as 
enjoyable  as  either  of  the  band's  proper  albums,  it's  no 
more  stylistically  disparate  than  the  second.  (The  CD 
adds  a  pair  of  1989  live  recordings:  "Hollow  Heart" 
and  "Chinese  Cadillac,")  fi] 


WEDDING  PRESENT 

The  Peel  Session  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit}  1986  « 

George  Best  (or/Reception)  1 987  » 

Ukrainskf  Vistupi  v  Johna  Peela  (nr/Reception)  1 988 

(nr/RCA)  1 989  « 
Tommy  (nr/Reception)  1988  « 
Why  Are  You  Being  So  Reasonable  How?  EP 

(nr/Reception}  1 988  « 
Janice  long  Evening  Show  EP  (nr/Night  Tracfa-Strang* 

Fruit)  1988* 

Kennedy  EP  (nr/RCAJ  1989 
Bizarro  (nr/RCA)  1989  (RCA)  1990  • 
Brassneck  EP  (nr/RCA)  1990 
Corduroy  EP  (nr/RCA)  1990 


When  the  Smiths  stepped  down  as  England's  reign- 
ing indie-pop  superstars  in  1987,  Leeds'  Wedding 
Present — led  by  semi-insufferable/semi-witty  singer/ 
songwriter  David  Gedge — was  conveniently  poised  to 
fill  the  vast  cultural  void  that  created  with  a  carefully 
cultivated  package  of  music  and  attitude,  a  balance  of 
arrogance  and  insouciance,  archness  and  populism,  art 
and  artlessness.  The  quartet's  initial  work — catchy, 
rushed,  loud  guitar  pop  singles  reeking  of  the  Smiths, 
New  Order  and  Joy  Division — could  not  have  been  more 
certain  to  win  the  hearts  and  minds  of  self-obsessed 
sensitivos  lost  in  a  collegiate  world  of  romance  and 
books  if  a  computer  had  swallowed  up  a  decade's  worth 
of  classic  records  and  spewed  the  best  bits  back  onto 
tape.  In  a  sense,  the  Wedding  Present  represents  the  last 
hurrah  of  the  new  wave,  the  ultimate  sublimation  of 
independence  for  commerce. 

All  that  said,  however,  the  Wedding  Present  have 
made  some  eminently  likable  records,  displayed  an  in- 
ordinately good  sense  of  humor  and  generally  managed 
their  career  with  wonderfully  mischievous  unpredict- 
ability. 

After  releasing  a  boisterous  Peel  Session  EP  (re- 
corded in  February  '86),  the  Wedding  Present  named  its 
first  album — for  no  discernible  reason— after  soccer  star 
George  Best,  who  appears  on  the  cover.  With  guitarist 
Pete  Solowka  strumming  away  as  if  his  right  hand  were 
on  fire  and  the  unfussy  rhythm  section  keeping  energetic 
pace,  Gedge  delivers  his  offbeat  flumes  of  small-scale 
perception  ("Everyone  Thinks  He  Looks  Daft,"  **ItTs 
What  You  Want  That  Matters,"  "My  Favourite  Dress/' 
"Shatner")  in  an  artless  semi-singing  voice  that,  while 
unlike  Morrissey's  (especially  in  the  avoidance  of 
moaning),  is  similarly  idiosyncratic  and  cavalier  with 
regard  to  melody. 

Inspired  by  Solowka  \s  father  and  employing  a  guest 
vocalist/balalaika  player  and  a  mandolinist,  the  group 
then  took  a  detour  into  traditional  Ukrainian  folk  music 
(including  'Those  Were  the  Days/1  a  1968  hit  for  Mary 
Hopkin)  on  the  Ukrainskl  Vistupi  v  Johna  Peela  LP, 
It's  sort  of  fun  in  a  let*s-go-exploring  sense,  but  the 
augmentation  as  well  as  the  material  makes  it  difficult  to 
consider  as  part  of  the  band's  oeuvre,  and  the  intent—- 
genuine or  simply  willful—is  equally  hard  to  pin  down, 

The  archly  titled  Tommy  summarizes  the  band's 
first  two  years,  with  .singles  ("This  Boy  Can  Wait/* 
*4Once  More/*  the  pre-LP  version  of  "My  Favourite 
Dress1*)  and  radio  sessions  from  *BS  and  *86,  The  Jan- 
ice Long  radio  session  was  recorded  two  numth#  after 
the  Peel  tracks,  SOITOJ  of  which  ah»o  appear  on  Tommy, 

The  betwecn-albuma  EP  of  **Why  Arc  You  Being 
So  Reasonable  Now?'*  contains  a  French  variation  on 
the  title  track ,  m  acoustic  version  of  Gtorg«  Best\ 
"Give  My  Love  to  Kevin/*  the  group'*  contribution 
("Getting  Better")  to  Sgt  Pepper  Knew  My  Father 
and  another  non»LP  track, 

It  took  American  noise  producer  Steve  Albtni 
(whose  four  tracks  were  i&sued  in  the  UK  »  Br*#ftntck 
and  added  to  the  American  CD  and  cattle  of  the  oth- 
erwise uneventful  Btearro,  a  mature  effort  that  Horcly 
lacks  George  Best**  nt$!tj  to  the  Wed- 

ding Present  off  it*  increasingly  pmnou*  perch.  While 
Gedge 's  offhand  nuninaikm*  tre  utilt  delivered  in  tome* 
thing  of  Ian  Curtis-fanHttxt«d0or  voice,  the  of 

Solowka  burning  out  amplifiers  an  exciting  dte- 


726 


traction  and  is  far  more  enjoyable  than  his  usual  cloying 
jangle.  Kennedy  is  a  12-inch  that  surrounds  the  title 
tune  (a  Madchester-styled  Bizarro  preview)  with  three 
non-LP  cuts.  [i] 

WEEKEND 

See  Young  Marble  Giants. 

WEEN 

God  Ween  Satan— The  Oneness  (Twin/Tone)  1 990  ® 

The  things  nerdy  misanthropes  do  when  they  think 
no  one's  listening.  Kicking  off  their  why-stop-at-fifteen- 
tracks-when-thereVstili-tape-left?  debut  double-album 
with  a  shrieking  diatribe  entitled  "You  Fucked  Up," 
New  Hope,  PA's  Dean  and  Gene  Ween  (aka  Mickey 
Melchiondo  and  Aaron  Freeman)  play  around  in  a  dada 
sandbox  of  made-up  voices  and  devolved  musical  idi- 
orns  for  more  than  an  hour.  Fortunately,  the  duo's  silly 
sonic  supermarket  isn't  all  crude,  cacophonous  or  soph- 
omoric:  poorly  disguised  musical  skills  and  a  sharp 
sense  of  parodic  humor  make  God  Ween  Satan  (pro- 
duced by  Andrew  Weiss  of  Rollins  Band)  an  entertain- 
ing, if  unpredictable,  shaggy  dog  story  that  can  go  from 
delightful  genius  to  infuriating  annoyance  in  seconds. 
From  the  remorseless  munchkin  dink-pop  of  "Don't 
Laugh  (I  Lo ve  You)"  to  a  funky  cover  of  Prince's 
"Shockadeiica,"  a  two-line  demento  jazz-blues  ("I 
Gots  a  Weasel")  to  overweight  Hawkwind  metal 
(* 'Mushroom  Festival  in  Hell"),  breezy  reggae 
("Nicole")  to  fake  flamenco  ("El  Camino"),  the 
Ween  Mi-eat-any  thing  ethos  confronts  an  enormous 
agenda  and  comes  up  a  winner.  There's  even  a  Beastie 
Boys  send-up  ("Old  Queen  Cole")  and  an  incisive 
nineteen-second  Springsteen  parody  ("Old  Man  Thun- 
der"). Give  up?  Just  holler  Ween!  (ij 

WEIRDOS 

Who!  What?  When?  Whtre?  Why?  EP  (Bomp!)  1 979 

Action  Design  EP  (Rhino)  1 980 

Condor  (Fronting  1990  * 

W«ird  World  1 977-1981  Tim©  Capsule  Volume  On© 

(Premier)  1991  » 

The  Weirdos  were  arguably  the  first  and  best  entrant 
in  late- '70s  Lo#  Angeles  punk.  The  crunching  power- 
house wallop  of  *4 Destroy  All  Music'*  (the  band's  first 
45)  and  the  incendiary  '*( We've  Got  the)  Neutron 
Bomb1*— a  classic  US  punk  singled—provided  a  con- 
vincing reply  to  tho$e  who  dismissed  the  efforts  of 
Southern  California  youth  in  1977,  Unfortunately,  the 
quintet  splintered  before  the  Weirdos  began  making 
longer  records,  leaving  the  Dcnney  brothers  (singer 
John  and  guitarist  Dixl  and  guitarist  Cliff  Roman  to 
curry  on,  employing  various  sidemen  with  stellar  but 
less  poignant  results, 

With  ex-Quick  ( later  Three  O'clock,  etc, )  drummer 
Dtuny  Benftir,  the  six-song  Who?  Whtt?  When? 
Wtaft?  Why?  is  w  appealing  blend  of  punk,  psycho- 
billy  (a  cover  of  Hunk  Mizasel's  *50s  obscurity, 
"f tingle  Rock")  and  rock  with  unsettling  lyrics, 

Action  only  four  selections  to  the  Weir- 

dot1  ( Including  t  pedestrian  rendition  of  the 

"Break  on  Through**  K  but  **The  Hideout*'  finds 
the  at  their  most  sinister,  offering  a  lowricJers* 


invitation  to  dark  places.  The  silly  "Helium  Bar"  is  a 
frantically  irreverent  pogothon. 

Although  the  Weirdos  split  soon  after,  the  group 
never  completely  vanished.  They  did  reunion  shows 
throughout  the  '80s  and  made  semi-regular  home  re- 
cordings. In  '88,  the  Denneys  formally  relaunched  the 
Weirdos.  The  all-new  Condor  features  original  drum- 
mer Nickey  Beat  (Alexander)  and  Cliff  Roman  in  a 
part-time  role,  playing  a  bit  of  synthesizer  and  sharing 
bass  chores  with  Flea  (on  loan  from  the  Red  Hot  Chili 
Peppers).  This  inconsistent  LP  suffers  from  the  long 
layoff,  but  the  old  flair  for  mildly  subversive  rock  sur- 
faces on  such  head-rushing  hyper-punk  zaniness  as  "Cy- 
clops Helicopter"  and  the  more  conventional  "Shining 
Silver  Light." 

Weird  World  is  a  compilation  of  early  45s,  demos 
and  other  unreleased  items.  [jr] 

See  also  Lydia  Lunch,  Thelonious  Monster. 

WENDY  AND  LISA 

Wendy  and  Lisa  (Columbia)  1 987  • 
Fruit  at  the  Bottom  (Columbia)  T989  • 
Eroica  (Virgin)  1990<j> 

On  their  maiden  voyage  away  from  former  fiihrer 
Prince,  ex-Revolution  guitarist  Wendy  Melvoin  and 
keyboard  player  Lisa  Coleman  delivered  a  generous 
helping  of  smooth,  likable  tunes.  The  lyrical  department 
is  a  little  shakier,  sometimes  veering  into  bathos — "The 
Life,"  "Song  About"  (guess  who).  But  the  composi- 
tions show  flashes  of  harmonic  and  structural  daring, 
and  there's  no  faulting  Wendy  and  Lisa's  chops:  they 
play  almost  all  the  instruments.  Respectable,  if  not  Rev- 
olutionary. 

Succeeding  albums  have  shown  Wendy  and  Lisa  to 
be  musically  restless.  Fruit  at  the  Bottom  is  a  virtual 
song  cycle  about  falling  in,  out  of  and  again  in,  love. 
Holding  to  that  theme,  the  lyrics  are  almost  simplistic, 
and  the  danceable  pop-funk  has  little  of  the  musically 
progressive  tendencies  of  the  pair's  debut.  The  fear- 
lessly and  humorously  titled  Eroica,  on  the  third  hand, 
dives  into  a  rococo  whirlpool  of  textures,  with  deeper 
lyrics  to  match.  Dense  sonic  layering  and  impression- 
istic imagery  exude  a  *6Qs»revivalist  fragrance;  the  am- 
biguous emotions  the  words  call  up  are  less  bound  to 
stylistic  convention.  And  Wendy  and  Lisa  still  play  al- 
most all  the  instruments.  More  than  respectable,  [si] 

See  also  Prince, 

WEST  INDIA  COMPANY 

See  Blancmange, 

JOHN  WETTON 

See  Phil  Mamamm,  Roxy  Music. 

WE'VE  GOT  A  FUZZBOX  AND 
WE'RE  GONNA  USE  IT 

We've  Got  o  Fuzzbox  and  We're  Gonna  Use  It  EP 

(nr/Vindaloo)  1986 
Bostin'  Steve  Austin  (nr/Vindaloo-WEA)  1 986  • 

FUZZBOX 

W©V«  Got  a  Fuzzbox  and  We're  Gonna  Uw  Itll 
(V1nddo0-G0fM  1 986 


727 


international  Rescue  EP  (nr/WEA)  1 989  ® 
Big  Bang!  (Geffen)  1 989  ® 

These  four  young  misses  from  Birmingham  took 
over-the-top  hairdos,  colorful  clothes  and  a  devil-may- 
care  amateurish  attitude  straight  into  the  British  Top  30 
with  their  five-song  debut  EP.  (All  of  the  songs  are  one 
side  of  a  12-inch;  the  flip  uses  the  vinyl  only  as  a  me- 
dium for  scratched-in  portraits  of  the  group.)  Proud  of 
their  lack  of  instrumental  prowess  (rightly  so — it's  a 
main  part  of  their  appeal),  WGAFAWGUI  simulta- 
neously exploits  and  satirizes  the  prurient  tabloid  men- 
tality on  great  cuts  like  "X  X  Sex"  and  "She."  And 
isn't  "Aaanrggghhh!!!"  a  totally  inspired  title?  Musi- 
cally, the  songs  are  built  around  rudimentary  drums  and 
guitar  (yes,  they  do  use  their  fuzzbox),  occasional  bass 
and  unbridled  enthusiasm.  A  real  breath  of  fresh  air. 

The  quartet's  splendid  name  was  truncated  to  just 
Fuzzbox  for  the  retitled  American  release  of  Bostin' 
Steve  Austin,  which  actually  has  music  on  both  sides. 
Along  with  two  songs  redone  from  the  EP,  the  well- 
played  record  includes  the  world's  worst  version  of  Nor- 
man Greenbaum's  "Spirit  in  the  Sky"  and  a  bunch  of 
new  originals  that  waffle  between  Banglish  girl-group 
harmony  pop  ("What's  the  Point,"  "Love  Is  the  Slug," 
"You  Got  Me")  and  chanted  dancebeats.  In  a  far  more 
professional  setting,  Jo's  distorto  guitar  drones  along 
nicely  at  varying  levels;  arrangements  also  feature  sax 
and  keyboards.  "Preconceptions,"  which  might  have 
been  a  poppy  X-Ray  Spex  number,  ends  the  album  on  a 
bewildering  note,  instructing  listeners  to  "pay  less  at- 
tention to  the  packaging  and  listen  to  the  voice!" 

After  proving  that  they  could  adapt  their  bubblepunk 
to  major-league  record-making  without  sacrificing  their 
inspired-amateur  spirit,  the  quartet  made  an  abrupt 
about-face  on  Big  Bang!,  which  recasts  Fuzzbox  as  a 
slick  dance-pop  vocal  group,  with  the  spotlight  on  bud- 
ding sex  symbol  Vickie.  Though  the  album's  smooth, 
heavily  programmed  sound  (no  musician  credits,  but  the 
women  apparently  did  little  or  no  playing)  seems  a  com- 
plete repudiation  of  Fuzzbox's  DIY  roots,  "Pink  Sun- 
shine," "Fast  Forward  Futurama"  and  "International 
Rescue"  (all  co-written  by  Liam  Sternberg)  are  big, 
brassy  fun  nonetheless,  and  demonstrate  scads  more  per- 
sonality and  humor  than  most  commercial  girly-pop. 
Still,  it's  sad  to  hear  Fuzzbox  go  straight— though  a 
remake  of  Yoko  Ono's  "Walking  on  Thin  Ice"  dem- 
onstrates a  few  remaining  quirks,  (dgs/i/hd) 

WHAT  IS  THIS 

Squeezed  EP  (San  Andreas)  1984 

What  Is  This  (MCA)  1 985 

3  Out  of  5  Live  EP  (MCA)  1 985 

Wild,  muscular  rock-funk  with  a  demented  outlook » 
LA's  What  Is  This  bears  more  than  a  passing  resem- 
blance to  the  Red  Hot  Chili  Peppers,  but  that's  no 
mystery— guitarist  Hillel  Slovak  formed  What  Is  This 
after  leaving  the  Peppers,  whom  he  rejoined  after  mak- 
ing Squeezed.  Chris  Hutchinson  and  Jack  Irons  (who 
later  played  briefly  with  Redd  Kress)  ride  a  fearsome 
rhythm  behemoth,  and  Alain  Johannes  and  Slovak  both 
provide  offbeat  songs  ("Mind  My  Have  Still  I"  isn't 
even  the  weirdest),  unnervingly  mental  vocals  and  psy- 
cho guitar  licks,  making  Squeezed  a  gutWbutt-shaking 
experience  you  won't  soon  forget, 

728 


Cut  as  a  Slovak-free  trio,  What  Is  This  (produced 
by  Todd  Rundgren)  is  a  less  invigorating  move  towards 
the  rhythmic  rock  mainstream  Some  of  the  excitement 
remains,  but  not  enough.  The  subsequent  EP  adds  live 
versions  of  three  numbers  to  a  pair  of  album  cuts,  [i] 

See  also  Red  Hot  Chili  Peppers, 

CARON  WHEELER 

See  Soul  II  Soul. 

AND  THE 

When  People  Were  Shorter  and  Lived  Near  the  Water  EP 

(Trace  Elements)  1 987 
Uncle  Ben  EP  (Shimmy-Disc)  1988 
Bobby  (Shimmy-Disc)  1 989  • 

Not  quite  an  artsy  avant-garde  ensemble  and  not 
exactly  a  wacky  party  band,  this  Brooklyn  sextet— led 
by  singer  Kim  Rancourt~-specializes  in  anarchic  trash- 
ings  of  pop  marginalia.  The  group's  first  two  releases—- 
both four-song  7-inch  EPs — consist  of  enjoyable  if 
somewhat  aimless  cover- version  deviltry.  The  first  fea- 
tures a  hopped-up  rendition  of  Ray  Da  vies'  "Dandy"  (a 
hit  for  Herman's  Hermits)  as  well  as  a  rock  adaptation 
of  the  Gettysburg  Address  (!).  Uncle  Ben  takes  similar 
swipes  at  Herb  Alpert,  the  Singing  Nun,  Eric  Burden 
and  the  Buoys;  on  the  last  two  (Burden's  psychedelic 
non-classic  "A  Girl  Names  Sandoz"  and  the  Rupert 
Holmes-penned  Top  40  cannibalism  epic,  * 'Timothy11 ), 
WPWS&LNTW  finally  work  up  enough  musical  steam 
to  endow  their  output  with  something  more  substantial 
than  theoretical  interest. 

Bobby,  the  band's  first  full-length  album,  is  a  col- 
lection of  fifteen  Bobby  Goldsboro  covers*  many  of 
them  unrecognizable  as  such  in  these  interpretations. 
Depending  on  your  frame  of  reference,  it's  cither  a 
deeply  ambivalent  treatise  on  the  duality  of  popular  cul- 
ture or  a  colossal  in-joke  by  artsy  bohas  with  too  much 
free  time  on  their  hands,  Bobby  isn't  exactly  an  affec- 
tionate tribute,  but  it's  not  a  complete  joke,  either,  (The 
Bobby  cassette  includes  the  contents  of  Uncle  Ben;  the 
CD  adds  two  more  tracks  to  that  pairing, ) 

In  late  1990,  Shimmy-Disc's  planned  release  of  the 
band's  Porgy—an  album  of  tunes  from  Pttrgv  and 
5«5-~ was  temporarily  held  up  due  to  legal  objections 
by  the  Gershwin  estate  and  was  not  issued  until  mid- 
'91.  {hdl 

WHIRLWIND 

BlowiW  Up  a  Storm  fnr/Chiswick)  1 977 
Midnight  Blue  (nr/ChiswJck)  1980 

This  London  quartet  (named  after  a  Charlie  Rich 
Sun  recording)  was  one  of  the  first  Kngltah  rockabilly 
bands  to  emerge  at  a  time  when  the  music  press*  was 
looking  for  the  "next  big  thing"  after  punk.  On  tt% 
debut,  Blowltt*  Up  a  Storm*  Whirlwind-  whether  by 
design  or  simply  limited  competence'  Differ*  up  a  bare- 
bones  style,  with  little  or  no  concesKum  f«  the  advance- 
ment in  recording  quality  since  the  urigtnaK.  The 
instrumentation  in  *cmt -traditional  (one  lead  guitar,  one 
mtited-b«-strings  riiythm  guitar,  eiectnc*  tm»  and 
snare  drain)  and  wati  with  mi  overdubbing, 

resulting  in  i  sound  that  can  charitably  be  thin. 


While  painstakingly  trying  to  recapture  the  simplicity  of 
early  rockabilly  recordings,  Whirlwind  never  manages 
to  re-create  the  frenzied,  fiery  abandon  that  is  really 
what  it  was  all  about. 

Midnight  Blue,  recorded  over  two  years  later, 
shows  the  group  past  its  hang-ups  about  purity:  the 
sound  is  filled-out,  the  drummer  plays  an  entire  kit  (al- 
beit with  amazing  clumsiness  at  times)  and  pedal-steel 
guitar  even  finds  its  way  onto  one  track.  While  an  im- 
provement over  the  first  LP,  Midnight  Blue  still  fails  to 
present  any  clear  reason  why  anybody  would  want  to 
listen  to  it,  when  both  the  originals  and  far  more  imag- 
inative updates  like  the  Stray  Cats  are  available. 

A  decade  later,  singer  Nigel  Dixon  unexpectedly 
popped  up  as  the  vocalist  for  Paul  Simonon  new  band, 
Havana  3  A.M.  [ds] 

See  also  Clash. 

Whiriywirld  EP  (Aus,  Missing  Link)  1 980 

On  their  four-song  12-inch  (original  copies  of  which 
included  a  bonus  45),  Whirlywirld  combines  guitar, 
bass,  drums  and  electronics — not  synthesizers — to  make 
lots  of  staccato  noise  over  which  Ian  "Ollie"  Olsen  can 
dispense  his  own  brand  of  doom  and  gloom.  This  sort  of 
amelodic  anger  has  to  be  compelling  to  succeed,  but 
Whirlywirld  aren't  and  don't.  Surprisingly,  when  the 
pioneering  Melbourne  quartet  (considered  locally  to  be 
Australia's  home-spun  Suicide)  gets  relatively  conven- 
tional on  the  final  track,  the  savagery  of  their  ska  styling 
does  indeed  make  you  sit  up  and  take  note. 

Keyboardist  Olsen,  whose  pre-Whirlywirld  band 
also  boasted  future  Birthday  Party  guitarist  Rowland  S. 
Howard,  scored  and  served  as  musical  director  of  the 
1987  film  Dogs  in  Space,  which  starred  INXS  singer 
Michael  Hutchence.  A  reformed  Whirlywirld  contrib- 
uted two  songs  to  the  soundtrack,  one  with  Hutchence 
as  their  vocalist.  Hutchence  and  Olsen  subsequently 
launched  a  side  project  called  Max  Q,  [jg/i] 

See  also  INXS. 

JAMES  WHITE 

See  James  Chance, 

WHITE  ZOMBIE 

Psycho-haod  Blowout  (Siltnt  Explosion)  1986 
$oui-Crush*r  (Sltenl  Explosion)  1987  (Caroline)  1988 
Make  Them  Die  Slowly  (Caroline)  1 989  • 
"God  of  ThumW  EP  (Caroline)  1989 

These  trashy  troglodytes  began  life  as  a  high-density 
cross  between  the  Birthday  Party  and  Black  Sabbath, 
just  one  of  the  noisy  grunge-rock  outfits  common  around 
New  York  In  the  late  '80s.  But  then  the  quartet's  brutish 
strain  of  lysergic  madness  bloomed  into  something  far 
more  distinctive. 

Although  the  dank  Psycho-feead  Blowout  EP 
evinces  «ome  potential,  the  album  isn't  gripping  enough 
to  truly  terrify,  On  SouI-Crusher,  however*  corrosive 
monstrcwitiei  with  titles  like  "Ratmouth,"  "Drowning 
the  Colossu*"  and  "Scum-Kill* '  cower  in  your  subcon- 
scious, pounding  for  release,  A  vague  scent  of  the  blues 
permeates  Tom  Five's  dissonant  guitar  scrawl,  white 
Rob  Striker  sing*i  like  he  has  razor-sharpened  tonsils 


— a  strangled  off-key  yowl  to  rival  the  young  Foetus  or 
Nick  Cave.  In  addition,  his  bizarre,  stream-of-con- 
sciousness  lyrics  (a  sample:  "Ze  wheels  o'  fire/a  dou- 
bleman  defier/a  motor  and  I/regenerate  I  am  your  final 
Pompeii/o '  etched  in  acid/like  a  shack  of  hate")  are  the 
work  of  a  finely  demented  mind. 

Make  Them  Die  Slowly  is  markedly  different  from 
its  predecessor.  New  guitarist  John  Ricci,  who  left 
shortly  thereafter,  dispenses  with  Five's  squealing  Beef- 
heartisms  in  favor  of  ominous,  stripped-down  tiffing, 
like  the  mosh  segments  of  Slayer  songs.  Sean  Yseult's 
bass  throb  is  nearly  inaudible,  weakened  by  Bill 
Laswell's  trebly  production,  but  the  songs  deliver  the 
goods,  especially  the  almost  funky  "Disaster  Blaster" 
and  the  viciously  inexorable  "Acid  Flesh." 

The  *  'God  of  Thunder' '  1 2-inch  more  than  makes  up 
for  the  LP's  production  inadequacies.  Capturing  the  full 
grotty  fury  of  their  live  gigs,  the  three  Daniel  Key- 
produced  tunes  (a  great  Kiss  cover,  an  improved  remake 
of  "Disaster  Blaster"  and  one  ace  new  cut)  scour  the 
pants  off  their  other  recordings.  And  the  liberal  use  of 
samples  (from  Phantasm,  pom  flicks  and  Kiss  Alive) 
points  White  Zombie  in  a  colorful  new  direction. 

[gef] 

AND  THE 
SAVAGES 

Barrence  Whitfield  and  the  Savages  (Mamou)  1 984  * 

Dig  Yourself  (Rounder)  1985 

Call  of  the  Wild  EP  (nr/Rounder  Europa-Demon)  1 987 

Ow!  Ow!  Owl  (Rounder)  1 987  * 

Live  Emulsified  (Rounder)  1 989  * 

Lefs  Los©  It  (Fr,  New  Rose)  1 990  • 

The  music  young  New  Jersey  native  Barry  White 
had  in  mind  was  entirely  different  from  the  bass  soul 
cooing  of  his  namesake  so,  when  the  Boston  University 
student  decided  to  shout  gutbucket  R&B  with  a  swing- 
ing band,  he  became  Barrence  Whitfield.  On  the  spec- 
tacular first  album,  backed  by  a  frisky  quartet  of  young, 
greasy  roadhouse  rockers  (including  a  couple  of  ex- 
Lyres),  he  stakes  his  reverent  claim  to  the  priceless 
hipshake  legacy  of  Screaming  Jay  Hawkins  and  other 
venerable  titans  of  primal  rock'n'roll.  Whitfield  is  a 
tremendous  vocalist  with  a  bloodcurdling  falsetto,  the 
enthusiasm  of  a  drunk  amateur  and  the  easy  control  of  a 
seasoned  pro.  The  Savages-*— especially  saxman  Steve 
LaGrega-— keep  pace  on  wacky  old  numbers  like  "Bip 
Bop  Bip/'  "Mama  Get  the  Hammer"  and  "Georgia 
Slop,"  contributing  likely  originals  to  this  raw  adven- 
ture that  hardly  seems  like  it  was  recorded  in  1984, 

The  brief  but  exhilarating  Pig  Yourself  adds  a  little 
surface  sheen  and  showband  politesse  to  the  proceed- 
ings, but  still  contains  a  weekend's  worth  of  sweaty, 
sexy  excitement.  "Juicy  Fruit/*  "Geronimo's  Rock*' 
and  "Breadbox"  fit  all  the  pieces  together  in  a  sweet 
frenzy,  but  the  remaining  tracks  are  almost  as  good* 

Whitfield  recorded  Call  of  the  Wild,  a  six-song  12- 
inch  released  only  in  the  UK,  with  an  entirely  new  set  of 
Savages,  revamping  the  sound  with  piano  and  organ  as 
well  as  a  slicker,  steadier  rhythm  section,  Not  as  wildly 
thrilling  as  either  previous  record,  this  takes  a  tamer 
posture  and  reduces  the  fun  accordingly;  Ben  Vaughn's 
bluesy  but  lightweight  "Apology  Line"  indicates  Whit- 
field's  moderate  direction  here.  The  American  0w!  Ow! 


729 


Ow!  album  expands  the  EP  with  four  more  tracks  re- 
corded around  the  same  time.  It's  likable  enough — this 
man  can  sing — but  seriously  short  in  the  funkalicious 
spirit  that  makes  the  earlier  ones  so  precious. 

Some,  but  not  all,  of  Whitfield's  old  fervor  is  back 
on  Live  Emulsified,  an  enjoyable — though  only  occa- 
sionally inspired — approximation  of  a  Savages  club  set, 
recorded  with  some  of  the  same  sidemen  in  California 
and  Texas  at  the  end  of  1987  and  the  beginning  of  '88. 
With  a  broad  selection  of  tunes — including  a  bunch  not 
previously  vinylized — this  may  not  be  the  great  live 
album  that  Whitfield's  doubtless  got  in  him,  but  there 
are  plenty  of  worse  ways  to  spend  45  minutes.  (The  CD 
and  cassette  contain  three  bonus  tracks.)  [i/hd] 

WHODIN1 

Whodini  (Jive)  1 983 
Escape  (Jive)  1984® 
Back  in  Black  (Jive)  1986® 
Open  Sesame  (Jive)  1 987  ® 
Greatest  Hits  (Jive)  1 990  ® 
Bag-A-Trix  (MCA)  1991  <!> 

This  trio  (originally  a  two-man  crew)  from  Brook- 
lyn does  something  very  original  and  exciting  within  the 
context  of  rap,  blending  in  wit  and  variety  to  make 
entertaining  records.  On  their  debut,  Jalil  Hutchins  and 
Ecstacy  (John  Fletcher)  worked  with  three  different 
producers — Thomas  Dolby,  Cormy  Plank  and  the 
Willesden  Dodgers — to  come  up  with  an  '80s  version  of 
"Monster  Mash"  ("The  Haunted  House  of  Rock"), 
two  bouncy  history-of-rap/rap-is-good  numbers  ("Mag- 
ic's Wand"  and  "Rap  Machine")  plus  a  couple  of  al- 
ternate versions  and  three  more  cuts.  Although  the 
moderate-tempo  big-beat  gets  a  bit  numbing,  the  pair's 
sharp  lyrics  and  straightforward  delivery,  plus  countless 
bits  of  electronic  flotsam  and  jetsam  prevent  serious 
tedium. 

Escape  brought  Whodini  under  the  talented  studio 
wing  of  Run-DMC  co-producer  Larry  Smith,  who  cre- 
ated a  smooth,  semi-spare  sound  and  did  a  lot  of  the 
writing  as  well.  With  fewer  quirky  synthesizer  accents, 
the  action  centers  on  raps  about  the  urban  nightmare 
("Escape  (I  Need  a  Break)"),  failed  romance 
( '  'Friends" )  and  New  York's  24-hour  lifestyle  ( *  'Freaks 
Come  Out  at  Night"),  as  well  as  other  more  egocentric 
topics.  Airy  without  being  simple.  Escape  is  appealing 
and  innovative. 

With  Grandmaster  Dee  (celebrated  on  an  Escape 
song)  officially  expanding  Whodini  to  a  threesome, 
Back  in  Black  is  a  blunter  record,  with  less  reliance  on 
fancy  production  and  more  concentration  on  varied,  or- 
ganic arrangements.  However,  while  Whodini *$  music 
has  gotten  noticeably  stronger,  their  lyrics  are  stagnant: 
all  eight  cuts  cover  familiar  rap  ground  with  no  special 
outlook  and  only  intermittent  cleverness. 

The  centerpiece  of  the  lively  Open  Sesame  teams 
the  trio  with  the  original  bad  girl  of  rap,  Millie  Jackson* 
(A  pre-LP  12-inch  offers  six  different  mixes  of  "Be 
Yourself,"  a  busy  statement  against  mindless  confor- 
mity, a  message  which  is  reprised,  after  a  fashion,  on 
the  LP's  "For  the  Body.")  Elsewhere  along  this  mor- 
alistic ride,  Whodini  praises  mom  ("Early  Mother's 
Day  Card"),  recommends  lusty  human  devotion  as  an 


alternative  to  drugs  ("Hooked  on  You")  and  toots  per- 
sonal responsibility  ("You  Brought  It  on  Yourself"). 
Behind  the  board,  Smith  touches  on  all  of  hip-hop's 
current  sonic  trendsetters,  from  L.L.  Cool  J  to  Full 
Force  to  Rick  Rubin  to  Run — DMC,  making  Open  Ses- 
ame an  exciting  sampler  of  rap  styles.  Whodini  may  not 
have  a  sound  of  their  own,  but  they  synthesize  with 
flair.  [i] 


BOY 

Wide  Boy  Awake  EP  (RCA)  1 983 

Ex-Ant  bassist  Kevin  Mooney  formed  and  led  Lon- 
don's Wide  Boy  Awake,  an  exciting  interracial  quartet 
which  only  released  some  singles,  the  first  two  of  which 
were  collected  on  this  eponymous  American  12-inch. 
Hard  to  classify,  the  Wide  Boys  offer  clever  wordplay 
and  a  preponderant  funk  beat  on  "Slang  Teacher," 
while  square-dancing,  into  wonderful  country-tinged  pop 
for  "Bona  Venture."  Elsewhere,  they  try  scratch  cajun 
and  dance-rock,  [i] 

See  also  Adam  and  the  Ants. 


JANE  W1EDL1N 

Jane  Wiedlin  (IRS)  1985® 
Fur  (EMI  Manhattan)  1988  » 
Tangled  (EM!)  1990* 

Free  of  the  Go-Go's,  guitarist/singer/songwriter 
Wiedlin' s  first  record  is  stylistically  eclectic  to  a  fault, 
and  stresses  goody-goody  lyrical  concerns  too  bluntly, 
But  it's  also  substantial,  attractive  and  joyously  reflects 
her  new-found  artistic  freedom.  "Blue  Kiss"  is  an  ador- 
able love  lament;  "Somebody's  Going  to  Get  into  This 
House"  is  sturdy  dance-rock.  "Where  We  Can  Go" 
could  have  been  done  by  her  former  band,  while  the 
moody  "Modern  Romance0  would  better  suit  the  Mo- 
tels. Wiedlin  isn't  the  world's  strongest  vocalist,  but  her 
enthusiasm  and  sincerity  largely  compensate, 

With  perky  synth-pop  production  by  Stephen  Hague 
(ex-Naked  Eye  Rob  Fisher  played  and  programmed  the 
keyboards),  the  similarly  diverse  Fur  moves  Wiedlin 
into  a  slickly  modem  mainstream*  relying  on  her  sweet, 
vulnerable  voice  to  balance  the  impersonal  arrange- 
ments. Wiedlin fs  aspirations  to  be  a  junior  dance  diva 
(on  the  pro-animal  title  song)  and  suave  ballad  crooner 
(on  "The  End  of  Love,"  "Whatever  It  Takes"  I  are  still 
futile;  the  album *$  only  winners  ire  bouncy  fizz-pop: 
"Inside  a  Dream,"  "Rush  Hour**  and  "Give!" 

In  1989,  Wiedlin  made  an  adorable  screen  appear- 
ance as  Joan  of  Arc  in  Bill  &  Ted's  Excellmt  Adventure 
and  then  cut  her  third  album.  Tawgkd  is  am  unsubtle 
attempt  to  make  a  woman— artistically  speaking"  of 
her,  with  an  unclothed  cover  photograph,  lusty  lyrics 
(on  the  idiotic  title  track  and  "World  on  Fire*')  ami 
loudly  generic  rock  backing,  Wiedlin's  desire  to  shake 
her  innocent  lirtle-giri  image  is  understandable,  but  she 
sounds  adrift  and  embarrassed  on  this  charmless  record. 

See  also  Go-Go* $*  \\\ 


WILD  BILLY  CHILDISH 

See  7%**  Mighty  Cmmrs. 


730 


The  Joy  of  It  All  (nr/RefSex)  1  984 

Dust  (Big  Time)  1987 

Sometime  Soon  (Slash)  1988  • 

Take  Me  for  a  Ride  EP  (nr/Chapter  22)  1988 

Tales  Like  These  (Slash)  1  990  • 

A  guitar  band  from  the  English  Midlands,  the  Wild 
Flowers  mate  the  Ramones'  breakneck  speed  and  Tele- 
vision's guitar  interplay  with  Echo  &  the  Bunnymen's 
intensity  and  attack  on  The  Joy  of  It  AIL  Poorly  re- 
corded for  a  tiny  label,  the  album  disappeared  quickly 
as,  so  it  seemed,  did  the  band  when  founding  guitarist- 
songwriter  Dave  Newton  left  to  start  the  Mighty  Lemon 
Drops. 

Replacing  Newton  with  David  Atherton,  the  quartet 
recorded  a  couple  of  singles  during  '86;  adding  three 
more  tracks,  that  made  Dust.  With  the  exception  of  "A 
Kind  of  Kingdom"  (which  Hugh  Jones  produced),  the 
recordings  are  again  pretty  awful,  but  the  band's  energy 
can't  be  denied.  While  the  guitars  play  off  each  other 
with  reckless  abandon,  Mark  Alexander's  bass  darts  in 
and  out  between  them.  Television  is  still  the  best  refer- 
ence point,  especially  as  singer  Neil  Cook  tends  to 
shamelessly  ape  Tom  Verlaine. 

Sometime  Soon  is  the  Wild  Flowers'  first  fully  re- 
alized album,  and  it's  intense  from  start  to  finish.  The 
songs  are  virtually  all  vitriolic  putdowns  of  the  girl  who 
left  the  guy  behind,  and  Cook's  vocals  are  so  filled  with 
bile  you  can  almost  picture  the  veins  popping  out  of  his 
neck  as  he  sings  them.  The  guitars  bark,  bite,  scratch 
and  yell  at  a  furious  pace.  Angry  music,  ideal  for  people 
nursing  a  deep  hurt. 

The  Take  Me  for  a  Ride  EP  features  two  very  dif- 
ferent versions  of  one  of  Sometime  Soon's  less  caustic 
numbers  (one  all  electric,  the  other  featuring  an  acoustic 
lead)  plus  three  non-UP  cuts  more  in  keeping  with  the 
album's  nasty  tone. 

Tales  Like  These  was  recorded  in  California  with 
Matt  Wallace,  who'd  just  finished  the  Replacements' 
Don't  Tell  a  Soul.  Perhaps,  like  the  Mats,  the  Wild 
Flowers  felt  the  need  to  slow  down  a  bit;  musically  it's 
far  more  varied  than  Sometime  Soon,  But  the  subject 
matter  hasn't  changed  much;  either  these  guys  really 
know  how  to  hold  a  grudge  or  they're  doormats  for  a 
whole  procession  of  hellish  women.  Let's  hope  they 
work  it  out  before  things  get  too  ugly.  [ds] 

See  also  Mighty  Lfmon  Drops. 

WILD  GAME 

See  Green 


WILD  SEIDS 

Liv©  Is  Grand  (life  in  Soul  City)  EP  (Azmrf)  1984 

Brov©  C!«0n  +  Rttwmnt  (Jungfo)  1  986 

Mud,  tim  *  Shame  (  Jungto)  1  987  (Pa»port)  1  988  • 

MICHAEL  HALL 

Quarter  to  Thn*  (ftaord  Cotbd)  1  990 

KRIS  MCKAY 

What  Lovt  findurw  (Arf«sta)  1990  * 

Austin,  Texts*  Wild  Seeds  hud  an  immensely  lik- 
able, lough  and  fwmgy  guitar-pop  sound,  but  the  heart 
»il  of  the  band  was  Michael  Hall's  songwrittng.  A 


former  music  journalist,  Hall  took  the  rock'n'roll  ethic 
of  good  times,  lonesome  trains  and  love  gone  wrong  and 
spun  it  into  lusciously  twisted  personal  narratives  in- 
scribed with  poetic  literacy.  Throughout  the  Wild  Seeds' 
albums  and  into  his  solo  work,  Hall  has  cultivated  the 
persona  of  an  Everyman  befuddled  by  an  America  gone 
sour;  he's  constantly  searching  for  truth,  justice,  a  wife 
and  two  kids,  yet  he's  repeatedly  thwarted  by  forces 
bigger  than  himself. 

The  first  EP  is  a  mere  skeleton,  with  weak  jangly 
guitars  and  ragged  performances  muffling  the  tunes. 
Hall  returned  with  an  entirely  new  lineup  for  Brave 
Clean  4-  Reverent,  an  album  so  monstrously  well- 
crafted,  well- written,  well-played  and  just  plain  good- 
feeling  that  it  may  make  you  wonder  why  you've  ever 
settled  for  less.  "Sharlene"  is  a  raucous,  Springsteen- 
style  rocker  about  a  girlfriend  who  just  happens  to  be  a 
transvestite  ("my  baby  walks  like  a  queen");  "A  Girl 
Can  Tell"  exposes  the  lies  in  a  relationship.  "Shake 
This  World,"  the  album's  closer,  best  sums  up  Hall's 
hopes  and  fears:  "Now  I  did  shake  this  world  like  a  man 
shakes  a  tree/But  the  leaves  came  tumbling  down  and 
buried  me," 

Mud,  Lies  +  Shame  applies  slightly  slicker  road- 
house  production  to  another  smart  and  elegant  collection 
of  songs.  "Debi  Came  Back"  and  "You  Will  Be  Mar- 
ried to  a  Jealous  Man"  make  excellent  use  of  Hall's 
trademark  romantic  irony,  and  "I'm  Sorry,  I  Can't  Rock 
You  All  Night  Long"  is  as  feisty  as  its  title.  But  there's 
a  feeling  of  forced  democracy  going  on,  and  the  album 
peters  out  towards  the  end;  when  second  vocalist  Kris 
McKay  takes  the  reins  for  the  closer,  "All  This  Time," 
her  affected  country  belting  undercuts  the  aw-shucks 
endearment  of  Hall's  singing. 

After  the  Wild  Seeds  broke  up,  Arista  groomed 
McKay  as  something  of  a  folk-rock  interpreter,  but 
What  Love  Endures  is  weighed  down  by  Barry  Beck- 
ett's faceless  AOR-lite  production  and  an  indistinct 
batch  of  songs  (a  cover  of  Billie  Holiday's  "Don't  Ex- 
plain" notwithstanding).  Hall,  meanwhile,  hooked  up 
with  Walter  Salas-Humara  of  the  Silos,  who  co- 
produced  Quarter  to  Three,  Hall's  song  writing  is  as 
strong  as  ever  (especially  "Congratulations"  and  "Roll 
Around  Heaven  This  Way"),  but  the  restrained  acoustic 
arrangements  occasionally  prevent  the  songs  from  build- 
ing to  the  emotional  peaks  the  Wild  Seeds  so  master- 
fully reached.  While  it's  hard  to  argue  with  a  guy  who 
can  turn  out  a  line  like  "I  want  to  wake  at  dawn,  long 
after  our  best  years  are  gone, ' '  Hall  sounds  as  tired  as  an 
old  man,  as  though  he  has  finally  allowed  his  disap- 
pointments to  get  the  best  of  him*  [kss] 

WILD  SWANS 

Th®  ?m\  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strang®  Frvit)  1 986 
Bringing  Horn®  the  Ashes  (Sire-Reprise)  1988  * 
Space  Flower  (SJrw-R©prise)  1990  * 

Led  by  onetime  Teardrop  Explodes  organist  Paul 
Simpson,  Liverpoors  Wild  Swans  had  already  existed, 
broken  up  (leaving  a  Zoo  single  and  a  posthumously 
released  1982  radio  broadcast),  spent  four  years  in  linibo 
and  then  reformed  by  the  time  of  its  first  album.  Behind 
Simpson's  splendid  deep  voice,  the  trio  plays  derivative 
suave-pop  on  Bringing  Home  the  Ashes ,  artfully  mix- 


731 


ing  up  a  blend  of  the  The,  the  Smiths,  Echo  &  the 
Bunnymen,  Aztec  Camera  and  others  that's  enticing — 
but  unsatisfying. 

With  producer  Ian  Broudie  playing  guitar  and  organ 
and  two  guests  from  the  Icicle  Works  (guitarist  Ian  Mc- 
Nabb  and  drummer  Chris  Sharrock),  Simpson  and  stal- 
wart bassist  Joe  Fearon  turn  mildly  psychedelic  on 
Space  Flower.  Flavorfully  titled  songs  like  ''Vanilla 
Melange , "  " Chocolate  Bubblegum , "  '  Tangerine  Tem- 
ple" and  ''Melting  Blue  Delicious"  aren't  nearly  as 
colorful  as  they  sound,  but  Broudie  helps  give  the  neo- 
retro  rock-pop  a  handsomely  textured  identity  the  Wild 
Swans — evidently  destined  for  very  modest  cultural 
significance — can  call  their  own.  [i] 

SCOTT  +  THE  WALLS 

Scott  Wilk  +  the  Walls  (Warner  Bros.)  1 980 

BONE  SYMPHONY 

Bone  Symphony  EP  (Capitol)  1983 

Encountering  the  line  between  artistic  influence  and 
stylistic  plagiarism,  Scott  Wilk  grabbed  a  copy  of  Elvis 
Costello's  Armed  Forces  and  blithely  pushed  ahead. 
Parts  of  his  record  are  uncannily  accurate  impressions; 
the  cover  design  and  group  photo  do  nothing  to  reduce 
the  Costello/ Attractions  allusion.  Funny  thing,  though — 
the  album  is  really  good!  If  you  can  ignore  its  derivative 
raison  d'etre,  you'll  find  powerful,  well-crafted  songs, 
impressive  playing  and  production  and  an  overriding 
sense  of  cohesion.  An  unexpected  but  disconcerting 
thrill. 

With  two  new  bandmates,  Wilk  switched  to  techno- 
dance  in  Bone  Symphony,  whose  lame  five-song  EP 
mixes  the  sounds  of  Devo,  Oingo  Boingo  and  Ultra  vox 
without  distinction,  [i] 

WILL  AND  THE  BUSHMEN 

Gawk  (Mustang)  1987 

Will  and  the  Bushmen  (SBK)  1989  • 

Formed  in  Mobile,  Alabama,  but  later  based  in 
Nashville,  this  nifty  pop  quartet  did  two  inspired  things 
on  its  first  album:  write  a  tributary  bio-song  entitled 
"Neil  Young"  (they  had  already  eulogized  Alex  Chil- 
ton  on  a  pre-LP  B-side)  and  get  Mississippi's  Tim  Lee 
and  Randy  Everett  to  co-produce  three  tracks.  Other- 
wise, the  modest  Gawk— -in  the  Windbreakers*  style, 
but  not  as  moody  or  as  instrumentally  accomplished—- 
merely has  great  tunes,  excellent  harmony  vocals  (by 
guitarists/songwriters  Will  Kimbrough  and  Sam  Baylor) 
and  a  solid  dollop  of  the  innocent  spunk  that  greases  the 
wheels  of  young  talent. 

Although  there's  nothing  wrong  with  Will  and  the 
Bushmen,  there's  nothing  really  right  about  the  bandfs 
major-league  debut,  either.  Most  noticeable  on  remakes 
of  the  three  best  songs  from  Gawk,  producer  Richard 
Gottehrer  fits  the  group's  music  into  the  tasteful  kind  of 
arrangement  that— like  a  tomboy  in  her  first  dress- 
gently  discourages  youthful  ebullience.  ft] 

LUCINDA  WILLIAMS 

Romblin'  on  My  Mind  (Folkways)  1 979 
(Folkways-Smithsonian-Rounder)  1991  * 


Happy  Woman  Blues  (Folkways)  1980 

(Folkways-Smithsonian-Rounder)  1991  © 
Lucinda  Williams  (Rough  Trade)  1988  © 
Passionate  Kisses  EP  (Rough  Trade)  1989  • 

Louisiana-born  Lucinda  Williams  sings  poignant 
songs  in  a  rich,  world-weary  voice,  drawing  on  blues, 
folk,  country  and  rock,  but  resisting  all  pigeonholes. 
Her  first  two  albums  went  largely  unnoticed,  but  have 
been  reissued  in  light  of  her  growing  notoriety.  Rara- 
blin'  on  My  Mind  is  a  warm,  lively  album  of  blues, 
gospel  and  folk  covers,  including  three  Robert  Johnson 
songs.  (The  album  title  was  shortened  to  Ramblin'  for 
its  1991  re-release;  a  cassette  edition  available  from 
Folkways  in  the  intervening  years  was  named  Ramblin' 
Early  Blues.) 

While  Ramblin'  shows  off  Williams'  affecting  vo- 
cals and  her  roots — from  the  bayou  to  the  church  choir 
to  the  Opry — the  more  rock-oriented  Happy  Woman 
Blues  proves  her  to  be  an  evocative  song-crafter  akin  to 
Gram  Parsons  and  Ernmylou  Harris.  Smoke-stained 
bars,  open  roads  and  a  heart  that  never  learns  are  well- 
worn  subjects,  but  Williams  rewrites  them  in  a  way  that 
is  both  contemporary  and  uncynical. 

Williams  later  recorded  for  CBS,  which  decided  she 
wasn't  marketably  country  or  rock  enough  and  dropped 
her.  She  continued  touring,  honing  a  collection  of  songs 
that  became  Lucinda  Williams.  Her  second  debut  is  a 
near-perfect  album  of  originals  (plus  a  wrenching  ver- 
sion of  a  Howlin'  Wolf  number)  played  with  a  band  led 
by  guitarist/co-producer  Gurf  Morlix,  This  is  an  un- 
flinching self-portrait  of  a  woman  with  mythic  powers  to 
remake  herself  and  the  world  ("Changed  the  Locks"), 
to  sketch  working-class  portraits  worthy  of  Tobias  Wolff 
("The  Night's  Too  Long'1)  and  to  let  her  hair  down  for 
a  zydeco  romp  ("Crescent  City").  But  mostly  she's  a 
lover;  "Side  of  the  Road"  (a  poetic  declaration  of  in- 
dependence within  a  committed  relationship)  and  the 
meditative  and  erotic  "Like  a  Rose"  are  both  especially 
moving, 

Passionate  Kisses  reprises  that  catchy,  earnest  plea 
for  happiness  from  the  album  and  adds  tracks  from  her 
lean  years:  three  songs  recorded  live  at  an  LA  radio 
station  plus  an  '83  demo  featuring  Taj  Mahal  on  guitar 
and  harp.  Not  a  place  to  begin,  but  a  bctwecn-albums 
snack  for  fans,  (w&f 


ROBERT  WILLIAMS 

See  Strangle  rs. 


VICTORIA  WILLIAMS 

Happy  Come  Home  (Gtffwi)  1987 
Swing  the  Statue!  (Roygh  Trad*)  1  990  • 

By  virtue  of  her  now-ended  marriage  to  singer  Peter 
Case  and  other  friends  in  high  musical  placca,  Victoria 
Williams*  career  has  been  a  bit  gi&pcct  in  some  quar- 
ters. She  ist  however,  a  deeply  talented  (if  erratic  i  song- 
writer and  posHOMor  of  a  mo&t  distinctive  voice,  On 
Happy  Ome  Home,  producer**  Anton  Pier  and  Stephen 
Soles  make  the  mistake  of  burying  William*  in  a  mas* 
sive  studio  effort;  Williams  sound*  like  an  avalanche 
survivor,  vainly  trying  to  climb  out  from  under  Mtara. 
drum  machines  and  horn  sections,  Ttte  pair's  only 


732 


of  insight  was  hiring  Van  Dyke  Parks  to  do  string  ar- 
rangements on  three  songs — the  album's  best,  especially 
the  charming  fairy  tale,  *TC."  Parks  and  Williams  are 
kindred  souls:  childlike,  fanciful  and  impatient  with  pop 
formats.  With  luck,  they'll  work  together  again. 

Co-produced  by  Michael  Blair  (percussionist  and 
multi-instrumentalist  with  Tom  Waits  and  Elvis  Cos- 
tello),  Swing  the  Statue!  is  a  vast  improvement. 
Williams  sounds  like  she's  in  control  here.  Her  often- 
remarkable  lyrics  can  be  heard  this  time,  and  her  rangy 
voice — an  intoxicating  blend  of  little-girl  breathiness 
and  old-lady  crackle  and  wisdom  that  is  definitely  an 
acquired  taste — is  well  out  in  front.  (As  is  her  idiosyn- 
cratic Christianity,  in  the  gospel-country  "Holy  Spir- 
it,") There  are  a  few  annoying  moments,  like  the  cutesy 
"Wobbling"  (about  a  baby  bird)  and  the  repetitious, 
screechy  "On  Time."  But  songs  like  "Tarbelly  and 
Featherfoot,"  with  its  haunting  piano  refrain,  the  wry, 
chilling  "Summer  of  Drugs"  and  the  moving  "I  Can't 
Cry  Hard  Enough"  triumphantly  unveil  Williams*  per- 
sonal vision.  [ws] 

WENDY  O.  WILLIAMS 

See  Plasmatics. 

JAMES  WILLIAMSON 

See  /##.v  Pop,  Stooges. 
MARTY  WILLSON-PIPER 

See  Church. 


WIN 

See  Fire  Engines. 

WIND 

Where  If  s  at  with  the  Wind  (Cheft)  1 982 
Guest  of  thft  Staphs  EP  (Cheft)  1 984 
Living  in  a  New  World  (Midnight)  1986 

Playing  exuberant  power-pop  with  abundant  talent 
and  a  solid  grounding  in  '60s  AM  radio— from  mereey- 
bcat  to  folk-rock  to  summery  soul— this  Miami  trio 
made  a  wonderful  debut  with  the  winningly  unpolished 

Where  If  s  At.  The  marvelous  fourteen-song  collection 

of  beguiling  originals  not  only  re-creates  the  sound  of  a 
simpler  time,  but  captures  the  giddy  innocence  of  mu- 
sical self-discovery,  as  if  this  were  all  new, 

The  Wind  then  relocated  north  to  Queens,  New 
York,  stopping  in  North  Carolina  long  enough  to  have 
Mitch  Easter  co-produce  the  six-song  Guest  of  the 
Stopto  at  his  studio,  Although  the  charming  rush  of 
cluttered,  busy  arrangements  and  overstuffed  lyrics  oc- 
casionally renembles  Let's  Active  or  the  dB's—- 
especially  when  the  rhythms  turn  off  the  main  road  and 
the  guitars  and  vocals  go  on  a  harmonic  lumptge— « 
"Delaware  89763"  is  a  *60$  wveup  in  the  style  of  early 
Manfred  Mann, 

fronting  a  new  four-piece  lineup,  songwriters  Lane 
Steinberg  (vocals/guitar)  and  Steven  Katz  (vocals/bass/ 
keybowtis)  mix  XTC  the  Lovin*  Spoonful,  British  In- 
vasion bunds  and  numerous  other  classic  antecedents  on 


the  self-produced  Living  in  a  New  World,  an  ambitious 
but  lighthearted  pop  gem  of  great  songs,  witty  (occa- 
sionally funny)  lyrics  and  pretty  harmonies.  [i] 

WINDBREAKERS 

Meet  the  Windbreakers  EP  (Big  Monkey)  1 982 

Any  Monkey  with  a  Typewriter  EP  (Big  Monkey)  1983 

Terminal  (Homestead)  1 985 

Disciples  of  Agriculture  (Fr.  Closer)  1 985 

Run  (DB)  1986 

A  Different  Sort ...  (DB)  1 987 

At  Home  with  Bobby  and  Tim  (DB)  1 989  • 

Electric  Landlady  (DB)  1991  @ 

& 

VACATION 

I  Never  Met  a  Girl  I  Didn't  Like  (Midnight)  1 985 

MATT  P1UCC1  & 
TIM  LEE 

Can't  Get  Lost  When  You're  Goin'  Nowhere  (Restless) 
1986 

BOBBY  SUTLiFF 

Another  Jangly  Mess  EP  (nr/Tambourine)  1986 
Only  Ghosh  Remain  (PVC)  1987  • 

TIM  LEE 

What  Time  Will  Tell  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1 988  * 

Mississippi  singer/guitarists  Tim  Lee  and  Bobby 
Sutliff  gave  their  band  a  terrible  name  (one  hopes  the 
reference  is  to  jackets  ,  .  .  ),  but  they  do  bring  some- 
thing distinctly  unique  to  the  power  pop  genre,  reflect- 
ing more  of  an  American  than  English  influence  with 
strange  melodic  turns  and  a  ragged  Southern  vocal  style. 
Following  the  group's  introductory  salvo,  a  1982  debut 
7-inch  on  their  own  label,  Mitch  Easter  produced  Any 
Monkey  with  a  Typewriter,  assisting  the  trio  instru- 
mentally  as  well.  (Richard  Barone  of  the  Bongos  also 
appears  on  the  record.)  The  six-song  12-inch  is  ama- 
teurish but  well  worth  hearing. 

Recorded  as  a  duo  with  help  from  Easter  and  others, 
Terminal  is  a  brilliant  raw  pop-rock-folk  record  with 
insidious  melodies,  fuzzed-out  guitars  and  bristly  lyrics, 
all  delivered  with  unselfconscious  sincerity.  An  appro- 
priately atmospheric  version  of  Television's  "Glory" — 
produced  by  and  played  with  the  Rain  Parade — led  to 
Lee's  side  projects  with  Parader  Matt  Piucci  (as  Gone 
Fishin*).  (A  planned  outing  with  another  Rain  Parader, 
Steven  Roback-— announced  as  Distant  Cousins — didn't 
actually  take  place,) 

The  engaging  Run  is  another  collaboration  with  Eas- 
ter, who  had  by  then  become  a  virtual  (non-writing) 
bandmernber*  and  longtime  associate  Randy  Everett,  A 
bit  less  quirky  than  prior  releases,  the  electrically  ener- 
gized pop  could  have  been  mixed  more  evenly,  but 
that's  not  a  major  distraction.  Although  the  coolest  song 
concept  is  Lee's  anxiety-ridden  * 'Braver  on  the  Tele- 
phone," Sutliff* s  "Visa  Cards  and  Antique  Mirrors" 
runs  a  close  second, 

Sutliff  and  Lee  then  went  their  separate  ways,  leav- 
ing the  latter— no  sign  of  Easter  this  time— alone  to 
make  the  final  Windbreakers'  LP,  which  he  co-produced 
with  Everett.  A  Different  Sort  offers  another  striking 
set  of  unsettling  lyrics,  powerful,  inventive  playing  and 


733 


production,  and  emotional  singing.  From  the  bells  on 
"Knowing  Me"  through  the  affecting  piano  on  "We 
Never  Understand"  to  the  pained  roughness  of  "Forget 
Again,"  Lee  demonstrates  his  multifarious  talents  and 
abundant  creativity. 

The  French-only  Disciples  recaps  the  Windbreak- 
ers' career  up  through  Terminal. 

The  low-budget  Paid  Vacation  LP  Lee  cut  in  1985 
with  Howard  Wueifing  (an  ex-Slickee  Boy  bassist  who 
led  the  Washington-area  Nurses  in  the  late  '70s  and  then 
worked  with  Half  Japanese)  offers  sketchy  previews  of 
three  Windbreakers'  songs:  "Run"  (from  Run)  and 
"Fit  In"  and  "Forget  Again"  (from  A  Different  Sort). 
Besides  a  cover  (Tommy  Hoehn  and  Alex  Chilton's 
"She  Might  Look  My  Way"),  the  LP  also  contains 
Wueifing  singing  his  own  originals,  one  of  which  ("The 
Week  You  Were  Mine")  is  quite  lovely.  Unfortunately, 
muffled  sound  and  indifferent  performances  limit  the 
value  of  this  seven-song  artifact. 

Lee  and  Piucci  recorded  the  unexciting  Gone  Fishin' 
LP  together  in  Mississippi  in  February  1986.  While  the 
arrangements  mix  things  up  effectively,  the  pair  co- 
wrote  only  two  tracks — the  rest  are  individual  efforts. 
The  creative  collaboration  is  unproductive:  meandering 
acoustic  doodles  with  electric  guitar  overdubs,  poorly 
sung  rock  tunes  and  dusty  pop  songs  that  suffer  from  the 
incompatibility  of  their  voices.  The  nerdy  organ  on  the 
joint  "Lift  It  Up"  suggests  a  possibly  functional  period 
approach  that  is  otherwise  ignored  on  the  LP. 

SutlifPs  first  post- Windbreakers  record  is  a  wryly 
titled  British  12-inch  magically  produced  at  the  Drive-In 
by  Easter,  who  also  plays  drums  and  some  guitar.  (On 
his  own,  Sutliff  recorded  one  cut  in  Jackson,  Missis- 
sippi with  Tim  Lee  and  a  rhythm  section.)  His  pretty 
voice,  piercing  guitar  solos,  understated  keyboards  and 
Beatlesque  pure-pop  sensibility  combine  to  make  An- 
other Jangly  Mess  a  state-of-the-art  exposition  on  the 
genre.  The  equally  spectacular  Only  Ghosts  Remain 
repeats  the  HP's  five  songs  and  adds  six  more  (including 
a  spiffy  cover  of  Richard  Thompson's  "Small  Town 
Romance")  of  equal  quality,  four  of  which  employ 
Wueifing  as  bassist. 

Left  to  his  own  devices  on  What  Time  Will  Tell 
(relativity  speaking:  members  of  Let's  Active,  the  Bon- 
gos and  the  Wygals  all  lend  a  hand),  Lee  comes  up  with 
another  winner.  His  first  actual  solo  album,  produced  by 
dB-turned-Wygal  Gene  Holder,  offers  sparkling,  occa- 
sionally beautiful  guitar  pop  and  richly  resonant  lyrics 
about  romance  and  life  (mentioning  religion  a  bunch  of 
times)  in  the  South.  Trimming  his  tendency  to  experi- 
ment, Lee  plays  his  songs  (and  one  by  Faye  Hunter) 
with  straightforward  arrangements  and  evident  craft. 

Sutliff  and  Lee  reunited  in  1989  to  tour  and  record 
the  self-produced  At  Home  with  Bobby  and  Tim»  a 
solid  and  confident  album  as  comfortable-sounding  as 
its  title.  Although  their  relationship-oriented  lyrics  run 
the  emotional  gamut  from  "Just  Fine"  to  "111  at  Ease," 
the  pair—backed  by  a  crisp  rhythm  section  and  key- 
boardist Mark  Wyatt  (on  loan  from  Great  Plains }*-» 
easily  blend  songs,  winsome  vocals  and  guitar  parts  like 
they'd  never  been  apart,  Highlights:  the  hostile  "On  the 
Wire,"  the  Feelies-ish  **Down  to  It**  and  the  folksy 
'^Closer  to  Home,**  (The  At  Home  CD  also  contains 
Terminal. ) 

Like  a  pair  of  old  Stratocasters,  the  WindbreaJters' 


sound  continues  to  gain  richness  and  roundness  with 
time.  Produced  by  Russ  Tolman,  Electric  Landlady 
has  some  of  the  duo's  most  immediate  and  resonant 
creations,  played  and  sung  with  rare  pop  insight.  Clos- 
ing a  circle  of  sorts,  the  Windbreakers  do  a  new  version 
of  SutlifPs  "The  Devil  and  the  Sea,"  a  song  which 
Tolman  recorded  on  his  '90  LP.  [i] 

WIPERS 

Is  This  Real?  (Park  Ave.)  1979 

Youth  of  America  EP  (Park  Avenue)  1981  (Restless) 

1990® 

Over  the  Edge  (Brain  Eater)  1983  (Restless)  1987 
Wipers  (Enigma)  1985 
Land  of  the  Lost  (Restless)  1 986 
Follow  Blind  (Restless)  1987® 
The  Circle  (Restless)  1988® 
The  Best  of  Wipers  and  Greg  Sage  (Restless)  1 990  • 

Straight  Ahead  (Enigma)  1985 

Led  by  singer/guitarist  Greg  Sage,  Portland,  Ore- 
gon's Wipers  began  as  a  trio  playing  heavy  rock  that 
flirted  with  hardcore.  The  first  LP  is  kind  of  primitive, 
allowing  high  velocity  and  volume  to  obscure  (but  not 
hide)  a  competent  collection  of  songs  with  introspective 
and  intelligent  lyrics.  Raw  and  abrasive,  but  well  above 
the  usual. 

Youth  of  America,  a  six-song  album  with  a  transi- 
tional lineup,  shows  refinement  and  bears  some  resem- 
blance to  early  Stranglers  but  for  Sage's  weird  guitar 
work  on  some  long  instrumental  bridges.  The  title  track, 
a  ten-and-a-half-minute  monster,  is  worth  noting;  a  sim- 
ple, repetitive,  colossal  anthem,  then  (as  now)  the  ul- 
timate Wipers*  effort. 

Over  the  Edge  is  as  appealing , with  some  of  Sage's 
most  memorable  songs.  The  thick  title  track,  the  sim- 
mering "Doom  Town'*  and  the  roaring  **So  Young'1 
define  the  Wipers'  sound— dense  and  methodical 
chunky  aggression  with  heavy,  cloudy  guitar  so  full  it 
gains  a  Hendrix-like  flavor.  The  LP  also  includes  the 
zippy  "Romeo/*  which  adds  a  weird  country  twang, 

Sage  recorded  his  solo  album  as  a  fundraiser  of  sorts 
while  looking  for  a  new  label  for  the  band.  When 
Enigma  picked  up  the  Wipers,  the  label  released 
Straight  Ahead  as  well.  Side  One  sounds  much  like  the 
group,  but  Side  Two  is  just  Sage  and  his  guitar  making 
atmospheric  space  pieces— haunting  and  strange 
consciousness-expansion  compositions  like  "Astro 
Cloud.11  The  therapeutic  music  is  so  ethereal  that  it's 
over  before  you  notice  it,  An  unexpected,  intriguing 
work, 

Wipers  is  a  live  album  which  highlights  a  I9S4  tour 
and  includes  three  excellent  tracks  never  recorded  in  the 
studio,  ending  with  the  epic  "Youth  of  America/'  The 
sound  is  honest,  the  playing  true. 

Land  of  the  L<wt»  the  Wipers*  firm;  new  album  in 
three  yours*  shows  they  didn't  get  rusty,  **Way  of  Love" 
and  "Mottling  Left  to  y»i*e**  add  i  oatitin  to  the 
charging  rocfcers  fed  by  Sage's  ire-breathing  guitar. 
"lust  Say,"  on  the  other  hand*  on  a  pretty,  lilting 
guitar  line  like  a  quiet  waterfall.  A  return, 

Follow  MM  «  bit*  with          hypnotic 

guitar  rifting  and  much          challenging         piits. 
Perhaps  the  first  "moody"  Wipers  LP,         Davkfecm'i 


734 


prominent  bass  sets  up  subconscious  undercurrents — in 
much  the  way  Joy  Division  once  did — for  Sage  to  sing 
over.  "Any  Time  You  Find"  is  what  you  might  get  if 
you  plugged  Sage's  solo  atmosphencs  into  the  Wipers' 
repetitive  style  Yet  another  quality  LP  from  one  of 
America's  best-kept  secrets 

The  sixth  and  final  Wipers  studio  album  sounds  fa- 
miliar enough  to  seem  like  business  as  usual,  but  this  is 
one  band  that  went  down  fighting.  The  scorching  opener 
("I  Want  a  Way'*)  and  the  tumultuous  title  track  are 
typically  exciting  rockers,  but  the  LP  also  includes  one 
of  their  rare  pop  songs,  the  excellent  "Time  Marches 
On."  Even  more  breathtaking,  The  Circle's  last  three 
tracks  are  unlike  anything  in  the  group's  past:  the  som- 
ber, slow  shudder  of  "Goodbye  Again"  flows  into  the 
surprisingly  tender  "Be  There"  and  then  into  the  beau- 
tiful closer,  "Blue  &  Red."  With  that  unexpectedly 
introspective  tear,  the  Wipers'  long  career  ended. 

Sage  compiled  the  1990  retrospective  and,  like  many 
artists,  favors  his  more  recent  albums.  While  nearly  half 
of  the  tracks  (thirteen  on  LP,  sixteen  on  tape  and  CD) 
are  from  Land  of  the  Lost  and  Follow  Blind,  there's 
only  one  item  from  the  seminal  Youth  of  America. 
(The  complete  exclusion  of  the  first  LP  is  due  to  litiga- 
tion.) But  Sage's  sequencing  is  excellent,  and  he's  in- 
cluded rarities  like  the  blistenng  '78  debut  single 
("Better  off  Dead")  a  long-forgotten  compilation  track 
(from  Sage's  Trap  Sampler)  and  other  goodies.  If  not 
a  definitive  history,  The  Best  of  Wipers  and  Greg 
Sage  is  nevertheless  a  perfect  introduction  to  one  of 
America's  best  independent-label  bands.  [i/jr] 


WIRE 

Pink  Flag  (Harvest)  1 977  (Restless  Retro)  1 989  • 
Chairs  Missing  (nr/Harvest)  1 978  (Restless  Retro)  1 989  • 
154  (Automatic-Warner  Bros.)  1979  (Restless  Retro) 

1989* 

EP(nr/Rough  Trade)  1980 
Document  and  Eyewitness  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1981  (Mute) 

1991  « 

And  Here  It  Is  ...  Again  . . .  Wire  (nr/Sneaky  Pete)  1 984 
Wire  Play  Pop  (nr/Pink)  1986 
Snakedrill  EP  (nr/Mute)  1986  (Mute-Enigma)  1987  * 
The  Ideal  Copy  (Mute-Enigma)  1 987  • 
Ahead  EP  (Mute-Enigma)  1 987  « 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 
A  Bell  Is  a  Cup  Until  It  Is  Struck  (Mute-Enigma)  1988  • 
Kidney  Bingos  EP  (Mute-Restless)  1988  * 
Silk  Skin  Paws  EP  (nr/Mute)  1 988  (Mute-Restless)  1989  • 
If  s  Beginning  to  and  Back  Again  (Mute-Enigma)  1 989  • 
The  Peel  Sessions  Album  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1989  (Strange 

Fruit-Dutch  East  India)  1991  • 
On  Returning  (1 977-1 979)  (Restless  Retro)  1 989  * 
Manscape  (Mute-Enigma)  1 990  <l> 
Life  in  the  Manscape  EP  (Mute-Enigma)  1 990  • 

In  the  beginning,  this  self-taught  South  London 
quartet  were  as  much  atavistic  thrashers  as  many  other 
bands  of  the  time,  yet  they  quickly  honed  a  genuinely 
expressive,  "minimalist*'  style  that  made  them  one  of 
the  most  influential  bands  of  the  class  of  '77,  profoundly 
touching  such  descendants  as  R.E.M.,  the  Minutemen, 
Big  Black  and  Sonic  Youth.  The  21  tracks  of  Pink  Flag 
show  Wire  still  in  the  process  of  arriving  at  an  identity- 
disjointed,  angry,  defiantly  odd.  Abrupt,  too:  as  bassist 


Graham  Lewis  described  their  attitude  to  song  length, 
"When  the  text  ran  out,  it  stopped.**  (This  worked  to 
chilling  effect  with  the  harrowing  narrative  of  "Reu- 
ters.") Yet  this  primitive  approach  didn't  prevent  Wire 
from  including  two  conventionally  tuneful  rockers 
("Mannequin"  and  "Ex  Lion  Tamer")  as  well  as  what 
just  might  be  the  prettiest  song  by  any  (so-called)  punk 
band,  "Fragile  "  (Since  Wire  will  not  play  such  old 
stuff  themselves,  a  New  York  area  band  named  Ex  Lion 
Tamer  faithfully  reproduced  the  LP's  songs  onstage  as 
Wire's  chosen  opening  act  on  their  1987  US  tour.) 

In  January  1978,  shortly  after  the  release  of  Wire's 
first  album,  the  group  recorded  a  John  Peel  session, 
which  was  issued  almost  a  decade  later.  The  selections 
include  "106  Beats  That"  from  Pink  Flag,  "Practice 
Make  Perfect"  and  "I  Am  the  Fly"  from  Chairs  Miss- 
ing plus  the  non-LP  "Culture  Vultures."  The  subse- 
quent Peel  album  adds  the  results  of  a  repeat  visit  in 
September  '78,  previewing  tracks  from  154;  and  Sep- 
tember '79. 

Chairs  Missing  is  more  mature  than  Pink  Flag, 
moving  decisively  beyond  any  simple  punk  pigeonhole 
with  much  greater  scope.  As  on  its  predecessor,  amid 
the  anger  of  "Being  Sucked  in  Again,"  the  bile  of  "I 
Am  the  Fly,"  the  neurotic  anxiety  of  "Too  Late,"  even 
the  ironic  detachment  of  "French  Film  Blurred,"  sat  the 
pretty  if  abstruse  "Outdoor  Miner." 

On  154,  producer  Mike  Thome  became  more  inte- 
gral than  on  the  first  two  LPs,  acting  almost  as  a  fifth 
member,  using  keyboards  and  studio  technique  to  con- 
tour the  sound.  That  was  Wire's  development — stylized 
and  smoothed  out — although  still  dissonant;  more  ab- 
stract and  detached,  with  the  venom  and  sardonicism 
more  subtly  conveyed.  Thus  refined,  this  brilliant 
groundbreaking  band  adjudged  their  experiment  com- 
plete and  broke  up,  with  guitarist  Bruce  Gilbert  and 
bassist/vocalist  Graham  Lewis  creating  Dome  and 
vocalist/guitarist  Colin  Newman  pursuing  a  solo  career. 

The  1980  EP  is  a  bizarre  45  rpm  12-inch:  one  side  is 
titled  "Crazy  About  Love,"  but  the  anxiety  (among 
other  things)  conveyed  over  a  haunting,  repeated  off for 
more  than  fifteen  minutes  suggests  something  other  than 
the  usual  meaning  of  the  phrase.  The  flip  is  a  power- 
house remake  of  the  single  "Our  Swimmer"  plus  "Cat- 
apult 30"  (strange,  pulsing  doings). 

Document  and  Eyewitness,  two  live  discs  (one 
full-length,  the  other  an  eight-song  quickie  which  plays 
at  45  rpm),  owes  its  raunchy  sound  as  much  to  Wire's 
disdain  of  musical  niceties  as  to  dodgy  recording.  Au- 
dience sounds  and  other  incidental  noise  are  left  in;  for 
aficionados  only.  And  Here  It  Is ...  Again .  .  .  Wire 
is  a  career  retrospective  containing  singles,  album  tracks 
and  live  cuts.  Wire  Play  Pop  likewise  compiles  seven 
old  tracks,  but  limits  its  scope  to  Wire's  extraordinary, 
trailblazing  A-sides,  including  "Dot  Dash,"  "I  Am  the 
Fly,"  "Mannequin"  and  "1-2-X-U." 

In  1986,  seemingly  out  of  nowhere  (well,  Mute  UK, 
anyway)  popped  the  Snakedrill  EP.  These  were  indeed 
new  tracks,  but  the  portent  was  mixed;  the  two  on  the 
A-side  ("A  Serious  of  Snakes"  and  "Drill")  are  en- 
grossing, dangerous  music,  while  the  pair  on  the  back 
are  interesting  without  being  eyebrow-raising  impres- 
sive. If  they'd  gotten  back  together,  they  must  have  felt 
they  had  something  new  to  say.  But  did  they?  The  Ideal 
Copy  declared  Wire  was  plugged  in  again,  for  real.  It's 


735 


a  varied  bill  of  fare,  in  some  ways  resembling  a  more 
mature  Chairs  Missing,  with  highlights  ranging  from 
the  breezily  melodic,  rhythmically  busy  "Ahead"  to  the 
slow,  relentlessly  fearsome  "Feed  Me"  (an  awesome 
Graham  Lewis  vocal)  to  the  topical  funk  (!)  of  "Am- 
bitious." Perhaps  it's  not  brilliant — maybe  "merely" 
excellent? 

The  Ahead  EP  contains  two  remixes  of  that  track, 
plus  three  live  cuts,  two  previously  unreleased,  includ- 
ing the  strange  a  cappella  "Vivid  Riot  of  Red."  Those 
three  live  (from  Berlin)  cuts,  as  well  as  the  entirety  of 
Snakedrill,  are  appended  to  the  CD  and  cassette  of  The 
Ideal  Copy. 

In  a  sense,  A  Bell  Is  a  Cup  is  to  The  Ideal  Copy 
what  154  was  to  Chairs  Missing — a  stylized  set  of 
dreamscapes  and  consciousness  streams  (though  it's  not 
as  musically  sedate  as  Newman's  own  Commercial 
Suicide).  Some  of  it  has  extensive  lyrical  wordplay, 
with  the  accent  on  play  (a  new  attitude  for  Wire  that 
Newman  developed  on  his  own  singing  fish  LP);  a 
prime  example  is  "Kidney  Bingos,"  which  also  hap- 
pens to  be  one  of  the  most  melodious  tracks  Wire's  ever 
recorded.  Other  tracks  offer  vignettes,  yet  the  subjec- 
tivity of  view,  with  its  associative  images,  is  continually 
emphasized.  It's  arguably  Wire's  most  ruminative  al- 
bum, and  while  immersion  in  it  won't,  as  "Silk  Skin 
Paws"  suggests,  "wring  your  senses" — that's  more  a 
job  for  Chairs  Missing — it  will  twirl  your  lobes  a  time 
or  two.  An  album  to  live  with.  (The  five-song  Kidney 
Bingos  EP  includes  live-in-London  takes  of  "Drill"  and 
"Over  Theirs,"  as  well  as  two  versions  of  the  brooding, 
intense  "Pieta,"  which  deserved  to  be  on  the  LP  but 
would  not  quite  have  fit  in.)  The  Bell  CD  adds  the  four 
extra  items  from  Kidney  Bingos,  which  is  also  avail- 
able on  a  separate  3-inch  CD. 

The  Silk  Skin  Paws  EP  consists  of  three  numbers 
from  Bell  Is  a  Cup  in  remixed  or  alternate  versions  plus 
the  otherwise  unreleased  "German  Shepherds." 

Various  releases  made  1989  a  big  year  for  re- 
evaluating  Wire's  work.  On  Returning  is  a  31 -track 
redaction  (22  on  LP  and  cassette)  of  the  group's  EMI 
years;  while  the  selections  are  arguable,  a  dilettante 
would  prefer  one  of  the  previous  collections  and  a  fan 
would  own  the  original  albums.  (On  Returning  does 
include  the  non-LP  singles  "Dot  Dash"  and  "A  Ques- 
tion of  Degree.")  The  live-in-the-studio  Peel  LP  in- 
cludes three  sessions'  worth:  early  '78  (one  track  from 
the  first  LP,  two  from  the  second  and  the  otherwise 
unreleased  "Culture  Vultures"),  late  '78  (four  tracks 
from  154)  and  late  '79  ("Crazy  About  Love").  Inter- 
esting but  not  essential. 

It's  Beginning  to  and  Back  Again  (aka  IBTABA) 
began  as  live  recordings  (from  Chicago  and  Portugal), 
but  the  tracks  were  subsequently  rebuilt  almost  totally  in 
the  studio.  Whatever  was  intended  at  the  outset,  all 
that's  left  from  the  original  live  takes  on  some  of  the 
tracks  is  room  ambience!  Five  songs  from  Bell  and 
Copy  (plus  the  non-LP  B-side  "German  Shepherds**) 
are  all  notably  improved  here,  with  more  authority, 
punch,  breadth — you  name  it.  The  other  four  songs — 
including  the  single,  "Eardrum  Buzz,"  which  appears 
in  two  different  versions — are  also  excellent. 

As  Pink  Flag  was  the  band's  perverse  take  on  punk, 
Manscape  is  its  subversion  of  alternative  dance-rock. 
Busy  syncopated  rhythms  amid  synthetic  keyboards — 


sometimes  providing  strings  and  horns — predominate. 
Lewis  takes  a  more  active  role  in  singing,  yet  that 
doesn't  mean  an  escalation  of  sonic  abrasiveness.  While 
the  textures  are  fairly  conventional,  they're  still  unset- 
tling enough  to  accompany  Lewis'  ire  ("I'm  going  to 
torch  it  with  you  on  the  top");  elsewhere,  a  subdued 
mood  suffuses  uneasy  lullabies  with  Newman's  thought- 
ful, but  often  stark,  lyrical  fragments.  "To  the  third  rate 
butcher's  dance-hall  mix  .  .  .  I'll  say  goodbye,"  in- 
deed. (The  EP  contains  three  mixes  of  "Manscape"  and 
two  non-LP  tracks  (one  good,  one  so-so). 

Wire's  first  three  albums  have  been  reissued  on  CDs, 
all  with  extra  tracks.  Pink  Flag  adds  "Options  R,"  a 
non-LP  B-side,  while  Chairs  Missing  has  two  non-LP 
Bs  ("Go  Ahead"  and  "Former  Airline")  plus  the  clas- 
sic menacingly  jaunty  non-LP  A-side,  "Question  of  De- 
gree." 154  has  four  otherwise  unalbumized  tracks: 
"Song  1,"  "Get  Down  1  &  2,"  "Let's  Panic  Later" 
and  "Small  Electric  Piece." 

Drummer  Robert  Gotobed  left  the  band  following 
Manscape;  the  remaining  three  continued  on  as  WIR. 

Ug] 
See  also  Dome,  A.C.  Marias,  Colin  Newman. 

TRAIN 

In  a  Chamber  (41 5-Columbia)  1983 
Between  Two  Words  (41 5-Columbia)  1 985 
Ten  Women  (41 5-Columbia)  1987  ® 
Wire  Train  (MCA)  1990* 

Like  former  415  labelmates  Translator,  San  Fran- 
cisco's Wire  Train  plays  exceptional,  character-filled 
modern  folk-pop,  using  strong  songwriting  as  a  basis. 
(The  two  groups  also  shared  producer  David  Kahne, 
whose  brilliant  efforts  contributed  greatly  to  both's 
records.)  Wire  Train  achieves  its  style  with  a  full- 
blooded  guitar  attack,  echoey  vocals  and  strong,  rushed 
drumming.  In  a  Chamber  has  wonderful,  memorable 
tracks  like  "Chamber  of  Helios"  and  "I'll  Do  You"; 
lesser  creations  at  least  sound  just  as  good.  A  great 
debut  album. 

Between  Two  Words,  despite  Kahne 's  absence  and 
a  version  of  Dylan's  "God  on  Our  Side"  that  uninten- 
tionally trivializes  its  earnest  concerns,  is  equally  mem- 
orable. Not  all  of  the  songs  work,  but  those  that  do — 
"Last  Perfect  Thing,"  "Skills  of  Summer,"  "Love, 
Love" — exhibit  folk-derived  melodic  beauty  and  an  un- 
easy emotional  perspective  that  is  not  easily  ignored. 
The  writing/singing/guitar-playing  duo  of  Kevin  Hunter 
and  Kurt  Herr  doesn't  display  a  lot  of  range  or  depth, 
but  gives  the  group  an  unmistakable,  invariably  pleasing 
identity. 

Herr  was  replaced  prior  to  Ten  Women  and  his 
absence  from  the  record  is  immediately  evident.  While 
the  crystalline  pop  production  and  Hunter's  sandy  voice 
give  the  record  a  familiar  patina,  the  slower-paced  songs 
are  pretty  but  routine.  Where  the  band  once  soared  on 
rich  guitar  interplay,  Wire  Train  here  lacks  character 
and  conviction. 

The  sudden  arrival  of  a  new  album  in  1990  ended 
whatever-happened-to  speculation  as  the  same  quartet, 
assisted  by  Pettymen  Benmont  Tench  and  Mike  Camp- 
bell and  others,  returned  with  Wire  Train,  Hunter's 
Southwestern  Dylan  affectations  predominate;  at  the  low 
point,  "Oh  Me  Oh  My"  fits  an  obnoxious  vocal  iraita- 


736 


tion  into  "Rainy  Day  Women" -style  carousing  and 
pointedly  includes  "Is  it  rolling,  Bob?"  However, 
4 'Simply  Racing' '  is  a  Stonesy  chugalug  and  the  record's 
most  striking  song  ("Should  She  Cry?,"  a  catchy  breath 
of  pop  air)  owes  no  stylistic  debt  outside  the  band's  own 
past.  [i] 

W1SEBLOOD 

See  Foetus  Inc. 


BOB  WISE/MAN 

See  Blue  Rodeo. 

WITCH  TRIALS 

See  Dead  Kennedys. 

JAH  WOBBLE 

The  Legend  Lives  On  . . .  Jah  Wobble  in  "Betrayal" 

(nr/Virgin)  1980  (Blue  Plate)  1990  * 
VXE.P.EP  (nr/Virgin)  1980 
Jah  Wobble's  Bedroom  Album  (nr/Lago)  1983 
Tradewinds  (nr/Lago)  1986 

DON  LETTS,  STRATETIME  KEITH, 
STEEL  LEG,  JAH  WOBBLE 

Steel  Leg  v  the  Electric  Dread  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 978 

JAH  WOBBLE,  JAKi  LiEBEZElT 
AND  HOLGER  CZUKAY 

How  Much  Are  They  EP  (nr/lsland)  1 981 

JAH  WOBBLE  +  ANIMAL 

A  Long,  Long  Way  EP  (nr/lsland)  1 982 

JAH  WOBBLE-THE  EDGE- 
HOLGER  CZUKAY 

Snake  Charmer  EP  (Island)  1 983 

JAH  WOBBLE  &  OLLiE 
MARLAND 

Neon  Moon  (nr/lsland)  1985 

After  falling  out  with  John  Lydon  and  Keith  Levene, 
bassist  Jah  Wobble  (John  Wardle)  left  Public  Image 
Ltd.  and  launched  an  on-again-off-again  solo/collabor- 
ative career.  He  also  played  in  a  group  called  the  Human 
Condition  and  did  a  brief  stint  as  a  London  taxi  driver. 

Wobble's  anti-musical  playfulness  on  The  Legend 
Lives  On  is  matched  only  by  his  horrid  vocals.  But  then 
again,  that's  the  appeal:  the  return  to  the  DIY,  no-rules 
punk  tradition.  Wobble  accentuates  his  reggae  preten- 
sions, fiddles  with  electronics  and  overdubbing  and 
plays  shadowy,  threatening  bass.  If  nothing  else,  Wob- 
ble has  anti-style. 

V.I.E.P.,  which  sounds  like  outtakes  from  the  al- 
bum sessions,  reprises  the  LP's  "Blueberry  Hill." 
Twice.  "Sea  Side  Special"  is  notable  for  its  profession- 
alism and  use  of  brass.  But  the  EP  is  for  completists 
only. 

Far  more  indicative  of  Wobble's  real  talent  is  the 
four-song  12-inch  made  with  Can-men  Jaki  Liebezeit 
and  Holger  Czukay  in  1981 .  Manifesting  a  dour  modern 
landscape,  Wobble's  bass  buttresses  the  dark  tunes  with 
style  and  precision  that  balance  his  earlier  solipsistic 


sloppmess.  Freed  from  ego,  Wobble  teeters  at  last  to- 
wards art. 

Unlike  previous  Wobble  projects,  A  Long,  Long 
Way  is  sweetly  pop-like,  treading  on  Joy  Division  ter- 
ritory (with  assistance  from  guitarist  Dave  "Animal" 
Maltby).  Especially  interesting  is  "Romany  Trail," 
which  mixes  *  'Peter  Gunn' '  jazz  with  modern  sensibil- 
ities. Top-notch. 

The  Bedroom  Album  was  recorded  alone — you 
guessed  it — in  the  master's  chamber,  with  Animal  pro- 
viding the  only  outside  contact.  A  cross  between  a  legit 
solo  studio  job  and  the  kind  of  one-man-band  who  plays 
on  street  corners,  the  LP  finds  Wobble  building  unstable 
and  atmospheric  polyrhythmic  instrumentals  over  which 
he  intones  ponderous  lyrics  with  only  the  barest 
glimpses  of  melody  or  meter.  The  lengthy  record  re- 
quires a  lot  of  patience,  but  is  not  without  undercurrents 
of  charm  or  appeal. 

In  collaboration  with  producer  Francois  Kevorkian, 
Czukay,  Liebezeit,  Animal  and  U2's  guitar  star  (among 
others — Wobble  certainly  appears  to  make  friends  eas- 
ily), he  pounds  out  far  slicker  dance-rock  on  Snake 
Charmer,  but  it's  all  for  naught,  as  the  record  is  over- 
staffed and  overstuffed,  mixing  repetitive  rhythms  with 
extraneous  sounds  to  achieve  audible  boredom. 

Wobble's  1978  pre-PiL  12-inch  with  Keith  Levene, 
filmmaker  (and  future  Big  Audio  Dynamite  member) 
Don  Letts  and  someone  called  Steel  Leg  is  a  bizarre 
assemblage  of  dub  reggae  and  noisome  doom-funk  that 
has  Levene  playing  drums  and  guitar  while  Wobble  adds 
bass,  synth  and  vocals.  Whew!  [sg/i] 

See  also  Public  Image  Ltd. 


WOLFGANG  PRESS 

The  Burden  of  Mules  (nr/4AD)  1983 

Scarecrow  EP  (nr/4AD)  1984 

Water  EP  (nr/4AD)  1985 

Sweatbox  EP  (nr/4AD)  1 985 

The  Legendary  Wolfgang  Press  &  Other  Tall  Stories 

(nr/4AD)1985» 

Standing  Up  Straight  (nr/4AD)  1 986  • 
Big  Sex  EP  (nr/4AD)  1987 
Bird  Wood  Cage  (4AD-Rough  Trade)  1 988  • 
Kansas  EP  (4AD-Rough  Trade)  1 989 

Ever-changing  and  always  challenging,  London's 
Wolfgang  Press  is  one  of  the  most  enigmatic  groups  on 
a  generally  enigmatic  label.  Known  better  for  their  styl- 
ish Alberto  Ricci  record  covers  than  their  music,  the  trio 
comprises  Michael  Allen  (vocals/bass)  and  Mark  Cox 
(keyboards) — both  of  whom  had  been  in  Rema  Rema 
with  Adam  Ant  collaborator  Marco  Pirroni  before  trans- 
muting into  a  pre-Press  quartet  called  Mass  which  re- 
leased a  1980  single  on  4AD — and  Andrew  Gray 
(drums). 

The  Burden  of  Mules  is  dark  and  cacophonous,  an 
angry,  intense  slab  of  post-punk  gloom  that  is  best  left 
to  its  own  (de)vices.  Scarecrow,  however,  makes  the 
most  of  the  band's  better  attributes  with  spotless  pro- 
duction by  Cocteau  Twin  Robin  Guthrie.  Allen's 
almost-spoken,  heavily  accented  vocals  sputter  through 
a  mix  of  up-front  bass,  rhythm  guitar,  synthesizers  and 
creative  percussion.  Some  dreary  moments  remain,  but 
a  send-up  of  Otis  Redding' s  "Respect"  reflects  the 
lightened  mood. 


737 


Water  continues  the  band's  evolution,  but  in  a  to- 
tally different  direction.  Over  minimalist  backing,  Al- 
len's vocals  turn  baladeensh;  Frank  Sinatra  sifted 
through  Joy  Division.  A  track  called  "My  Way"  is 
curiously  reminiscent  of  Burt  Bacharach. 

Continuing  to  work  with  Guthrie,  the  Wolfgang 
Press  sounds  fully  mature  and  more  musically  adept 
than  ever  on  Sweatbox.  The  EP  strengthens  and  con- 
firms their  fundamental  approach:  the  deconstruction 
and  reconstruction  of  pop  conventions  in  their  own  im- 
age. Put  through  the  Wolfgang  Press  breakdown  pro- 
cess, Neil  Young's  "Heart  of  Gold"  becomes  "Heart  of 
Stone,"  in  effect  creating  an  original.  Sweatbox  also 
establishes  the  group's  mastery  of  moving  instrumen- 
tals.  The  Legendary  Wolfgang  Press  compiles  the 
three  EPs  onto  one  disc,  with  some  songs  remixed 
and/or  edited  from  their  original  form 

Musically,  Standing  Up  Straight  is  as  challenging 
and  inventive  as  the  band's  other  work,  adding  indus- 
trial and  classical  instrumentation  to  the  creative  arse- 
nal. "Dig  a  Hole,"  "Hammer  the  Halo"  and  "Rotten 
Fodder"  are  the  best  the  Wolfgang  Press  has  to  offer — 
dark  and  thoroughly  uncompromising — on  a  record 
which  is  not  for  the  easily  intimidated.  Also  of  interest 
is  the  enclosed  lyric  sheet,  a  multi-fold  affair  in  which 
lyrics  are  presented  as  artistic  design  elements. 

The  Wolfgang  Press  continue  to  astound  and  delight 
on  the  Big  Sex  EP,  four  tracks  that  clearly  demonstrate 
just  what  it  is  that  makes  this  band  so  special.  "The 
Wedding"  is  weighty  and  primal;  "The  Great  Leveller" 
is  desperate,  insistent  and  the  closest  the  Press  will  likely 
come  to  a  real  pop  tune.  The  oppressive  "That  Heat" 
has  wonderful  blasts  of  distorted  guitar  throughout, 
"God's  Number"  is  virtually  all  drums,  with  the  nov- 
elty of  female  soul  backing  vocals.  Daring  music  for 
daring  times. 

Bird  Wood  Cage  maintains  the  trio's  habit  of  in- 
serting fascinating  bits  of  business  into  superficially  for- 
bidding songs.  Allen's  highly  strung  dramatic  vocals  (a 
gruffer  Nick  Cave,  perhaps)  and  the  measured  tracks' 
plodding,  trancey  construction  may  discourage  easy  ac- 
cess to  the  Wolfgang  Press'  world,  but  the  band's 
thickly  laid  atmosphere  envelops  all  sorts  of  effective 
ingredients:  female  backing  vocals  on  "King  of  Soul," 
wah-wah  guitar  on  "Kansas,"  dub  reggae  effects  on 
"Hang  on  Me  (For  Papa)."  Making  the  most  of  under- 
statement, the  Wolfgang  Press  fills  Bird  Wood  Cage 
with  intrigue. 

Mixing  up  geo-political  concerns  on  the  Cyrillic- 
titled  Kansas  EP,  the  Wolfgang  Press  begins  "Assas- 
sination K./Kanserous"  with  a  banjo  picking  out 
"Yellow  Rose  of  Texas"  and  then  proceeds  into  a  pas- 
tiche of  spoken-word  tapes  about  JFK  before  opening 
into  a  remix  of  the  Talking  Headsy  track  (from  Bird 
Wood  Cage)  for  which  it's  named.  The  HP's  two  other 
songs  pursue  a  more  muscular  sound  than  usual;  "Twist- 
er" takes  its  cues  from  Suicide.  [ag/tr] 

WONDER  STUFF 

The  Eight  Legged  Groove  Machine  (Polydor)  1 988  • 
Hup  (Polydor)  1989® 

Arrogance  and  mean-spiritedness  are  not  two  traits 
you'd  normally  offer  as  key  ingredients  for  a  successful 
pop  band.  But  then,  most  pop  bands  don't  have  half  as 


many  hooks  as  this  Birmingham  foursome.  With  its 
clever  self-explanatory  title  and  cnsp  production  (by 
ex- Vibrator  Pat  Collier),  The  Eight  Legged  Groove 
Machine  is  a  fine  showcase  for  the  Stuffies'  memorable 
British  punk-pop,  which  is  stylistically  not  all  that  far 
removed  from  Collier's  old  band.  The  record's  fourteen 
nuggets  (each  clocking  in  at  under  three  minutes)  offer 
ingratiating  melodies  and,  on  such  tracks  as  "It's  Yer 
Money  I'm  After,  Baby,"  "Give,  Give,  Give  Me  More, 
More,  More"  and  "Unbearable,"  some  of  the  most 
comically  selfish  and  snotty  lyrics  you're  likely  to  en- 
counter. The  CD  and  cassette  add  four  tracks,  including 
the  essential  "Astley  in  the  Noose,"  a  death  wish  ded- 
icated to  one  of  the  '80s  most  plastic  pop-singing  icons. 

Again  produced  by  Collier,  Hup  finds  the  Wonder 
Stuff  getting  serious  and  attempting  to  diversify  stylis- 
tically, incorporating  psychedelia  ("Let's  Be  Other 
People"),  acoustic  folk  ("Unfaithful"),  bluegrass 
("Golden  Green"),  even  a  spot-on  PiL  soundalike 
("Good  Night  Though")  into  its  ever-pissed-off  reper- 
toire. Although  commendably  ambitious,  Hup  lacks  the 
peppy  charm  of  the  debut  and  contains  some  cloying 
filler. 

When  last  heard  from  (on  the  1990  "Circlesquare" 
single),  the  Stuffies  were  heading  m  another  direction 
altogether,  successfully  embracing  the  fashionable 
Manchester  trance-dance  corps.  Go  figure.  [db] 

WOODENTOPS 

Straight  Eight  Bushwalcer  EP  (Hoi.  Megadisc)  1 986 
Well  Well  Well . . .  (Upside)  1 986  * 
Giant  (Rough  Trade-Columbia)  1986  ® 
Hypno-Beat  (Upside)  1987« 
Wooden  Foot  Cops  on  the  Highway  (Rough  Trade- 
Columbia)  1 988  ^ 

In  this  era  of  retro-rock,  revivals  and  ripoffs,  it's  not 
easy  to  find  truly  innovative  pop  music.  That's  what 
makes  this  quintet  from  Peckham  so  special — they  lit- 
erally defy  categorization.  Led  by  the  exuberant  Roio 
McGinty,  the  Woodentops  employ  only  the  barest  of 
essentials — vocals,  keyboards,  acoustic  guitars,  bass 
and  rudimentary  drums. 

The  first  two  records  chronicle  a  string  of  five  bril- 
liant singles.  The  Dutch  EP  collects  six  tracks,  "Move 
Me,"  like  many  of  the  Woodentops'  songs,  builds  to  a 
manic  crescendo  before  collapsing  into  a  wall  of  sound; 
"Well  Well  Well"  is  held  together  with  skittering  drums 
and  pulsating  keyboard  chords;  "It  Will  Come"  rushes 
along  in  a  flurry  of  guitar,  piano  and  good-natured  may- 
hem. The  Woodentops  tend  to  throw  caution  to  the  wind 
on  their  B-sides,  and  the  three  here  explore  all  sorts  of 
new  territory.  Wei!  Well  Well  adds  two  more  B-sides 
(from  12-inch  singles)  and  substitutes  a  longer  version 
of  "Well  Well  Weil"  that  has  incredible  keyboard  and 
drum  breaks.  (When  that  record  was  subsequently  is- 
sued on  CD,  it  was  retitled  The  Unabridged  Singles 
Collection.) 

The  Woodentops'  long-awaited  debut  album  proved 
to  be  more  than  worth  the  wait.  Giant  is  a  bright  hand- 
ful of  pop  gems  hallmarked  with  the  band's  special 
sound.  They've  filled  out  musically  with  the  addition  of 
trumpet,  marimba,  strings  and  accordion,  and  the  songs 
are  more  structured.  But  that  in  no  way  detracts  from 
their  originality.  You're  not  likely  to  hear  more  inno- 


738 


vative  pop  than  "Hear  Me  James,"  "Love  Affair  with 
Everyday  Livin'  "  or  "Travelling  Man."  An  incredible 
first  album. 

Recorded  in  Los  Angeles  at  the  end  of  1986,  Hypno- 
Beat  draws  its  material  from  singles  and  Giant  and 
reveals  that  the  Woodentops  play  three  times  as  fast 
onstage  as  they  do  in  the  studio.  You'll  work  up  a  sweat 
just  listening  to  this.  The  CD  adds  the  contents  of 
Straight  Eight  Bushwaker;  the  cassette  also  contains 
an  extra  pair  of  live  recordings. 

Wooden  Foot  Cops  on  the  Highway  finds  the  band 
suffering  a  bit  from  a  lack  of  fresh  ideas  and  the  loss  of 
keyboard  player  Alice  Thompson.  Some  good  songs 
appear  (e.g.,  "In  a  Dream"  and  "What  You  Give 
Out"),  but  there  is  little  distinction  between  this  album 
and  Giant.  Some  bands  survive  for  years  (even  dec- 
ades) by  making  the  same  album  over  and  over;  the 
Woodentops  deserve  a  better  fate.  [ag] 


WORKDOGS 

See  Gibson  Bros. 

WORLD  DOMINATION 
ENTERPRISES 

Let's  Play  Domination  (Product  Inc-Caroline)  1 988  • 
Dub  Domination  (nr/Product  Inc.)  1 988 
Love  from  Lead  City  (nr/Product  Inc.)  1 989 

012 

Lefs  Get  Professional  (nr/Flicknife)  1 984 

The  disturbing  noise/chaos  level  achieved  by  this 
angular  Ladbroke  Grove  (London)  trio — formed  by 
singer/guitarist  Keith  Dobson  after  the  dissolution  of  his 
previous  band,  012 — is  indeed  something  marvelous. 
The  astonishing  high-pressure  racket  of  Let's  Play 
Domination's  opening  salvo  ("Message  for  You  Peo- 
ple") may  send  you  rushing  to  the  turntable  to  see  if 
your  stylus  is  accidentally  gouging  a  hole  in  the  platter. 
Besides  sturdily  unsettling  originals,  the  album — clearly 
a  stiff-upper-lip  cousin  to  Big  Black,  Birthday  Party  and 
other  punishing  pain-inflicters — includes  a  relatively 
straight  rendition  of  L.L.  Cool  J's  "I  Can't  Live  With- 
out My  Radio"  as  well  as  deranged  interpretations  of 
Lipps,  Inc.'s  "Funkytown"  and  a  U-Roy  number.  As 
Dobson  layers  on  the  scathing,  slithery  guitar  and  sings 
in  a  plain,  serviceable  voice,  the  rhythm  section  lurches 
and  pounds  in  a  tight  phalanx;  producer  Dave  Allen 
captures  the  entire  meltdown  with  thrilling  clarity. 

Judging  by  their  12-inch  singles,  all  of  which  con- 
tain alternate  mixes,  WDE  is  big  on  remixes,  which 
makes  the  release  of  Dub  Domination — eight  album 
tracks  given  studio  massages — no  big  surprise.  Love 
from  Lead  City,  packaged  to  look  like  a  bootleg,  with 
no  information  or  credits,  is  a  crude  live  record  (with  no 
hint  of  an  audience's  presence)  that  features  spare  but 
crushing  renditions  of  such  headbutts  as  "Funkytown," 
"Message  for  You  People"  and  the  political  "Asbestos 
Lead  Asbestos,"  a  song  originally  from  O12's  album. 

[i] 


WORLD  OF  POOH 

See  Barbara  Manning. 


WORLD  OF  SKIN 

See  Swans. 


Private  Revolution  (Chrysalis)  1 986  ® 
Goodbye  Jumbo  (Ensign-Chrysalis)  1990  ® 

For  all  intents  and  purposes,  Wales'  Karl  Wall- 
inger  is  World  Party  on  Private  Revolution,  which  he 
recorded  at  home  after  leaving  the  Waterboys.  (World 
Party,  the  group,  thus  far  seems  to  be  only  a  touring 
band.)  He  sings,  plays  guitars,  keyboards  and  uses 
samples  to  create  a  refreshingly  unique  musical  back- 
drop that  probably  owes  more  to  the  psychedelic-era 
Beatles  than  any  one  other  source,  yet  never  actually 
sounds  like  them.  The  music,  in  fact,  serves  like  a 
kind  of  free-flowing  pop  soundtrack  to  Wallinger's 
lyrics — a  hybrid  of  '60s-hippie  and  '80s-new-age  ideas 
about  ecology  and  self-knowledge.  (Though,  thank- 
fully, they're  not  quite  as  silly  as  that  sounds.)  High- 
lights include  a  terrific  cover  of  Dylan's  "All  I  Really 
Want  to  Do,"  and  a  cameo  by  Sinead  O'Connor. 
Leave  your  cynicism  at  the  door  and  you  may  find 
yourself  trading  in  your  black  leather  jacket  for  love 
beads.  In  a  word:  groovy. 

While  Goodbye  Jumbo  doesn't  have  the  seamless 
flow  of  Private  Revolution,  it  does  have  a  handful  of 
great  songs,  especially  the  single  "Way  Down  Now" 
and  "Put  the  Message  in  the  Box."  You  won't  think  of 
the  Beatles  so  much  here  as  you  will  the  Stones  and  Van 
Morrison,  particularly  when  Wallinger  repeats  lines 
over  and  over  a  la  Vanbo  on  a  bunch  of  the  tunes.  And 
who  do  you  think  of  when  you  hear  a  title  like  "Sweet 
Soul  Dream"?  (Sinead  guests  on  that  song,  while  Wire 
Tram's  Jeff  Trott  adds  slide  to  three  others.)  [ds] 

See  also  Waterboys, 


BERNIE  WORRELL 

Funk  of  Ages  (Gramavision)  1 990  « 

P-Funk  keyboardist  and  composer  Worrell's  synthe- 
sizer basslines  helped  redefine  modern  funk,  a  fact  that 
wasn't  lost  on  the  legions  of  stiff  new  wave  white  boys 
suddenly  possessed  by  the  need  to  get  down.  Hence, 
when  David  Byrne  fell  under  that  compulsion  in  the 
early  '80,  he  enrolled  Worrell  in  the  extended  Talking 
Heads  family.  Stints  with  the  Golden  Palominos  fol- 
lowed, and  Worrell  even  became  a  Pretender  for  one 
LP. 

Funk  of  Ages  finds  him  in  a  rare  spotlight,  jamming 
with  Maceo  Parker  and  Bootsy  Collins,  calling  on  the 
many  friends  he  made  during  years  of  session  work:  Sly 
and  Robbie,  Keith  Richards,  Chris  Spedding,  Vernon 
Reid  and  Jerry  Harrison  are  only  part  of  the  all-star  cast. 
And  because  the  man's  a  genius,  the  result  sounds  like 
an  exuberant,  no-holds-barred  funk  party  rather  than 
another  tired  supersession.  At  its  best,  the  songwriting 
has  real  bite;  at  the  least  it  carries  a  strong  groove. 
Things  falter  a  bit  when  Byrne,  as  affected  as  he's  ever 
been,  turns  up.  Other  than  that,  Funk  of  Ages  lives  up 
to  its  title.  As  revolutionary  as  Worrell's  work  has  been 
(and  continues  to  be),  the  borderline-goofy,  uniquely 
P-Funkitized  party  atmosphere  that  it  evokes  is  some- 
thing you  don't  hear  much  of  these  days.  [gk] 

739 


WRECK 

Wreck  EP  (Play  it  Again  Sam  USA)  1 989 
Soul  Train  (Play  It  Again  Sam  USA)  1990  ® 

This  Chicago-based  trio  of  Milwaukee  natives  (in- 
cluding Die  Kreuzen  vet  Keith  Brammer  on  bass)  slams 
harsh  guitar  power  into  abrupt  Minutemen-styled  mate- 
rial on  its  first  two  records,  creating  a  hectic  rush  of 
jagged  electricity  within  sturdy  song  structures. 

A  lot  less  brutal  than  other  current  Steve  Albini  pro- 
tege's, Wreck  doesn't  make  much  of  a  case  for  itself  on 
the  rather  generic-sounding  four-song  12-inch.  With 
bracing  covers  of  both  the  Fall  (a  great  version  of  "Var- 
ious Times")  and  the  Sensational  Alex  Harvey  Band 
(an  okay  rendition  of  "Ribs  and  Balls"),  Soul  Train 
covers  more  ground  and  demonstrates  real  growth  po- 
tential. Shouter/guitarist  Dean  Schlabowske  is  a  com- 
manding frontman,  but  the  lumbering  rhythm  section's 
struggle  to  find  its  rightful  place  in  the  songs  occasion- 
ally frustrates  his  efforts.  [i] 

WRECKLESS  ERIC 

Wreckless  Eric  (nr/Stiff)  1 978 

The  Wonderful  World  of  Wreckless  Eric  (nr/Stiff)  1 978 

The  Whole  Wide  World  (Stiff)  1 979 

Big  Smash!  (Stiff-Epic)  1980 

The  Pee!  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1988 

Le  Beat  Group  £ledrique  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1989 

At  the  Shop!  EP  (Fr.  New  Rose)  1 990  • 

CAPTAINS  OF  INDUSTRY 

A  Roomful  of  Monkeys  (nr/Go!  Discs)  1 985 

LEN  BRIGHT  COMBO 

The  Len  Bright  Combo  Present  the  Len  Bright  Combo  by 

the  Len  Bright  Combo  (nr/Empire)  1 986 
Combo  Time!  (nr/Ambassador)  1986 

On  the  front  of  his  first  LP,  the  grinning  "Wreck- 
less"  Eric  Goulden  wears  a  badge  proclaiming  "I'm  a 
mess,"  and  a  drop  of  the  needle  on  the  disc  confirms  it. 
Led  by  producer  Larry  Wallis  (himself  an  ex-Pink 
Fairy),  a  motley  crew  whose  previous  employers  in- 
clude Ronnie  Lane,  Marc  Bolan  and  Ian  Dury  slosh 
together  some  mangy  guitars,  slurpy  sax  and  cheesy 
organ  to  surround  the  strangled,  semi-sodden  vocals  of 
this  lovable  scruffy  runt  from  Brighton.  All  too  often, 
though,  catching  the  bits  of  perception  and  knowing 
desperation  requires  clearing  the  sonic  mud,  not  to  men- 
tion deciphering  Eric's  drawl. 

All,  that  is,  except  on  the  brilliant  "Whole  Wide 
World,"  produced  and  mostly  played  by  Nick  Lowe. 
As  if  noticing  that  Lowe's  well-defined  pop  sense 
seemed  to  bring  out  Eric's  best,  a  series  of  producers 
then  tried  to  clean  up  and  dress  up  his  sound.  The  next 
album's  roster  was  only  slightly  less  rag-tag  (Holly- 
wood Brats  holdovers  and  ex-Man  man  Malcolm  Mor- 
ley),  helmed  by  Pete  Solley.  This  time,  though,  a 
balance  was  obtained  between  Eric's  innate  looseness 
and  the  clarity  and  sheer  musicality  needed  to  adequately 
present  his  tunes.  As  a  result,  The  Wonderful  World  is 
a  rollicking  good  time  propelled  by  Eric's  trademark 
guitar  chug. 

No  hits  were  forthcoming,  though,  and  Stiff  appar- 
ently decided  to  clean  Eric's  act  up  further,  as  is  evident 
from  the  new-material  first  half  of  the  double  set,  Big 


Smash!.  Fresh  faces  in  the  band  (who  also  collaborated 
with  him  on  songwriting)  and  decidedly  more 
commercial-minded  production  unfortunately  seemed  to 
have  sanded  off  all  of  the  Wreckless  edges  (The  stand- 
out tune,  "Good  Conversation,"  is  one  he  wrote  alone; 
it's  also  the  nastiest.) 

Clearly  establishing  his  merits  once  and  for  all,  the 
other  half  of  Big  Smash  is  an  irreproachable  distillation 
of  the  first  two  LPs  and  a  batch  of  singles.  That  disc  had 
previously  been  issued  separately  in  the  US  as  The 
Whole  Wide  World,  indicating — even  to  those  who 
might  have  otherwise  dismissed  him — Eric's  surprising 
resonance,  not  to  mention  his  squandered  and/or 
squelched  potential.  (For  collectors  of  odd  discs,  the 
first  LP  was  also  issued  as  a  brown- vinyl  10-inch,  with 
two  songs  fewer.) 

Dropping  the  "Wreckless"  and  reverting  to  his 
given  name,  Goulden  returned  in  1985  as  leader  of  Cap- 
tains of  Industry,  a  trio  including  ex-Blockhead  bassist 
Norman  Watt-Roy.  The  group's  sole  release,  A  Room- 
ful of  Monkeys  (guest-starring  Mickey  Gallagher,  an- 
other ex-Blockhead,  whose  roller-rink  organ  is  actually 
the  most  prominent  instrument  on  many  tracks),  makes 
it  clear  that  his  five-year  absence  did  nothing  to  dull 
Erie's  spirit  or  his  talent.  Considering  that  Goulden  pro- 
duced himself,  it's  a  surprisingly  disciplined  effort,  mix- 
ing the  craftsmanship  of  Big  Smash  with  the  spontaneity 
of  earlier  efforts.  With  songs  that  are  as  pungent  as  ever 
(including  the  uncharacteristically  serious  reggae-tinged 
"Food  Factory"),  Eric  sings  them  confidently  (and  in 
tune!).  A  resounding  comeback  by  an  estimable  talent; 
why  it  wasn't  greeted  as  such  by  the  British  public  re- 
mains a  mystery. 

Noting  that  professionalism  didn't  get  him  anything 
but  good  marks,  Eric  went  low-fi  again,  fronting  the 
three-man  Len  Bright  Combo  (no  one  named  Len  Bright 
is  involved;  the  other  two  members  are  ex-Milkshakes) 
on  two  wonderful  albums,  giving  swell  tunes  like 
"You're  Gonna  Screw  My  Head  Off"  and  "Someone 
Must've  Nailed  Us  Together"  cleanly  played  garage- 
raveup  treatment  that  suits  them  as  well  as  the  pop  ar- 
rangements on  A  Roomful  of  Monkeys. 

Though  Captains  of  Industry  and  the  Len  Bright 
Combo  demonstrated  that  Eric  had  finally  gained 
enough  self-control  to  hone  his  raw  talent  into  consis- 
tently satisfying  music  without  putting  himself  at  the 
mercy  of  unsympathetic  producers,  his  subsequent  re- 
leases make  it  clear  that  this  was  just  a  phase.  Reverting 
to  the  Wreckless  moniker,  Goulden  teamed  with  a 
French  rhythm  section  to  record  Le  Beat  Group  $lec- 
trique,  a  casually  delivered  set  that — despite  its  title — is 
the  most  minimalist  and  least-rocking  studio  disc  in  his 
catalogue.  Though  it  lacks  the  musical  cohesion  of  the 
preceding  group  efforts,  it's  a  charming  little  reminder 
that  Eric  can  still  sound  like  a  mess  when  he's  in  the 
mood.  The  brief  "Fuck  by  Fuck"  could  be  interpreted 
as  misogynistic,  but  it's  more  likely  that  Eric's  just  try- 
ing to  be  annoying. 

The  six-song  At  the  Shop!  is  even  more  spare,  with 
Eric  and  three  barely  audible  French  sidemen  perform- 
ing live  at  New  Rose's  record  store  in  Paris.  (Actually, 
the  solo  acoustic  rendition  of  "Semaphore  Signals,"  as 
well  as  the  two  similarly  realized  CD  bonus  tracks — 
"Depression  (Version  Francaise)"  and  "Boney 


740 


Maronie" — were  "found  in  the  warehouse.")  Eric's 
liner  notes  indicate  that  he's  finished  trying  to  tailor  his 
music  to  suit  mainstream  recording  standards.  An  en- 
joyable keepsake  to  be  sure,  but  Goulden's  sloppmess- 
for-its-own-sake  ethos  does  not  bode  well  for  his  artistic 
future  Ijg/hd] 

WURZEL 

See  Motorhead. 

The  End  of  an  Ear  (Columbia)  1971  (nr/CBS)  1980 

Rock  Bottom  (Virgin)  1974  (Blue  Plate)  1990  • 

Ruth  is  Stranger  Than  Richard  (Virgin)  1975  (Blue  Plate) 

1990® 
Rock  Bottom/Ruth  is  Stranger  Than  Richard  (nr/Virgin) 

1981 

Robert  Wyatt  (it.  Rough  Trade)  1 981 
Nothing  Can  Stop  Us  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 981 

(Gramavision)  1 986  • 
The  Animals  Film  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982 
Work  in  Progress  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1984 
1 982-1 984  (Rough  Trade)  1 984 
I'm  a  Believer  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1984 
Old  Rottenhat  (Gramavision)  1 985  ® 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 987 
Compilation  (Gramavision)  1 990  <!> 

MATCHING  MOLE 

Matching  Mole  (nr/CBS)  1972 

Matching  Mole's  Little  Red  Record  (Columbia)  1 973 

Having  first  come  to  prominence  as  founding 
drummer/vocalist- with  Canterbury's  Soft  Machine, 
Bristol-born  Robert  Wyatt  is  one  of  the  English  art- 
schools'  most  notable  (and  best-loved)  musical  alumni, 
retaining  that  genre's  spirit  of  musical  adventurousness 
without  indulging  in  the  bloated  pretensions  that  side- 
tracked many  of  his  contemporaries.  In  the  unselfcon- 
scious  experimentalism  of  his  post-Softs  work,  and  in 
the  political  commitment  of  his  more  recent  material, 
Wyatt  has  served  as  an  inspiration  for  a  new  generation 
of  socially  conscious  British  artists. 

End  of  an  Ear,  Wyatt's  first  solo  LP,  was  recorded 
right  before  he  left  Soft  Machine  and  basically  continues 
in  that  group's  freewheeling  avant-jazz  spirit.  Wordless 
scat-sung  originals  are  bookended  by  two  lengthy  ver- 
sions of  Gil  Evans'  "Las  Vegas  Tango." 

The  four-man  Matching  Mole — the  name  is  a  pho- 
netic adaptation  of  the  French  translation  of  "soft 
machine" — recorded  two  albums  of  meandering  (and 
occasionally  charming)  pieces,  mostly  instrumentals. 
The  spotty  Matching  Mole  is  mainly  a  Wyatt  showcase; 
the  more  driving  Little  Red  Record  (produced  by  Rob- 
ert Fripp)  is  a  collective  effort,  but  both  are  weighed 
down  with  the  sort  of  aimless  noodling  that  helped  give 
progressive  rock  a  bad  name. 

Following  a  crippling  fall  that  left  him  permanently 
wheelchair-bound,  Wyatt  recorded  Rock  Bottom,  pro- 
duced by  Pink  Floyd's  Nick  Mason,  and  the  self- 
produced  Ruth  Is  Stranger  Than  Richard.  Both 
records  are  idiosyncratic,  mixing  woozy  experimenta- 
tion ("Little  Red  Riding  Hood  Hit  the  Road,"  which 
appears  in  two  utterly  different  versions  on  Rock  Bot- 


tom, and  Ruth's  "Muddy  Mouse,"  a  collaboration  with 
Fred  Frith)  with  charmingly  pastoral  nursery  rhymes 
("Sea  Song,"  "Alifib,"  both  from  Rock  Bottom). 
Ruth  is  the  better  focused  of  the  two,  and  includes  the 
remarkable  "Team  Spirit,"  which  hints  at  the  political 
outlook  that  dominates  Wyatt' s  later  work.  I'm  a  Be- 
liever and  the  live  Peel  Sessions  also  contain  material 
from  this  period;  both  feature  Wyatt*  s  droll  non-LP  read- 
ing of  the  Monkees'  Neil  Diamond-penned  classic. 

Wyatt  lay  low  for  the  remainder  of  the  '70s,  finally 
reemerging  at  the  turn  of  the  decade  with  a  series  of  four 
audacious  Rough  Trade  singles.  Those  eight  sides  (two 
of  which  are  performed  by  artists  other  than  Wyatt)  are 
collected  on  the  Italian  Robert  Wyatt,  and  form  the 
basis  of  Nothing  Can  Stop  Us  Though  basically  a 
compilation  with  only  one  original  composition,  Noth- 
ing Can  Stop  Us  is  a  cohesive  and  incredibly  moving 
statement,  with  Wyatt' s  fragile,  plaintive  vocals  breath- 
ing new  life  (and  political  content)  into  material  as  di- 
verse as  Chic's  "At  Last  I  Am  Free,"  the  obscure 
American  gospel  tune  "Stalin  Wasn't  Stallin',"  the  folk 
song  "Caimanera"  (aka  "Guantanamera")  and  the  dis- 
quieting lynch-mob  protest  "Strange  Fruit"  (most  as- 
sociated with  Billie  Holiday).  Though  Wyatt  personally 
adheres  to  a  fairly  ruthless  strain  of  Stalinism,  you'd 
never  know  it  from  the  compassion  and  empathy  that 
radiate  from  every  groove  of  this  record. 

Nothing  Can  Stop  Us  was  subsequently  re-released 
with  the  significant  inclusion  of  the  Elvis  Costello/Clive 
Langer-penned  "Shipbuilding"  (produced  by  Costello, 
Langer  and  Alan  Winstanley),  as  subtle  and  insightful 
an  anti-war  song  as  anyone's  ever  written.  The  album's 
US  version,  released  in  1986,  ditches  the  poet  Peter 
Blackman's  reading  of  his  "Stalingrad"  and  adds 
"Shipbuilding,"  plus  its  British  12-inch  B-sides  (inter- 
pretations of  Thelonious  Monk's  "Round  Midnight" 
and  Eubie  Blake's  "Memories  of  You")  and  cover  art. 

The  Animals  Film  contains  Wyatt' s  appropriately 
harsh  instrumental  score  for  a  harrowing  documentary 
chronicling  institutionalized  human  cruelty.  The  four- 
song  Work  in  Progress  is  similar  in  approach  to  Noth- 
ing Can  Stop  Us,  with  a  reworking  of  Peter  Gabriel's 
"Biko"  and  Spanish-language  folk  songs  by  Victor  Jara 
and  Pablo  Milanes.  The  American  1982-1984  combines 
the  contents  of  Work  in  Progress  and  the  British  *  'Ship- 
building" 12-inch. 

The  completely  self-penned  Old  Rottenhat  is  a  per- 
ceptive, beautifully  performed  and  ultimately  bleak 
view  of  ongoing  political  struggle,  more  specific  than 
Nothing  Can  Stop  Us  but  equally  emotive.  Though 
many  of  Wyatt's  lyrics  veer  towards  the  doctrinaire,  his 
singing  is  as  quietly  passionate  as  ever.  (The  1990  Com- 
pilation is  merely  a  CD/cassette  pairing  of  Old  Rotten- 
hat  and  Nothing  Can  Stop  Us.) 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  was  recorded  in  September 
1974  and  contains  "Soup  Song,"  "Sea  Song,"  "Ah- 
fib"  and  "I'm  a  Believer."  [hd] 

See  also  Everything  but  the  Girl. 


WYGALS 

Honyocb  in  the  Whithersoever  (Rough  Trade)  1 989  « 

Though  this  New  York  combo  has  been  around  in 
one  form  or  another  since  the  mid- '80s,  it  took  leader 


741 


Janet  Wygal  and  her  drummer  brother  Doug  (both  ex-  wards  (as  on  the  title  track).  A  fine  record  by  an  under- 

Individuals)  four  years  to  release  an  album  under  the  recorded  band.  [hd] 

family  name.  By  that  time,  ex-dB  Gene  Holder  (who  See  also  Individuals. 

had  produced  both  of  the  Individuals'  releases),  had 

joined  as  guitarist/producer,  helping  to  refine  the  band's 

once-sprawling  sound  into  a  refreshingly  nonformulaic  pffiTg  WYLIE 

brand  of  guitar-based  art-pop  that' s  aurally  attractive  but  -     J?V , 

never  sappy.  On  Honyocks  In  the  Whithersoever,  bee  Wah' ' 

tracks  like  "Eat  a  Horse,"  "Creature  Comforts"  and 

"Slap  Me  Like  a  Wave"  balance  Janet's  mischievous 

wordplay  and  offhandedly  impassioned  vocals  with  in-  STEVE  WYNN 

ventively  layered  melodies  that  even  sound  good  back-  See  Dream  Syndicate. 


742 


X    X    X    X    X    XX 


Los  Angeles  (Slash)  1 980  ® 
Wild  Gift(Slash)  1981  ® 
Under  the  Big  Black  Sun  (Elektra)  1982  ® 
More  Fun  in  the  New  World  (Elektra)  1 983  • 
Ain't  Love  Grand  (Elektra)  1 985  • 
See  How  We  Are  (Elektra)  1 987  ® 
Live  at  the  Whisky  A  Go-Go  on  the  Fabulous  Sunset  Strip 
(Elektra)  1988® 

KNITTERS 

Poor  Little  Critter  on  the  Road  (Slash)  1 985 

EXENE  CERVENKA  + 
WANDACOLEMAN 

Twin  Sisters  (Freeway)  1 985 

EXENE  CERVENKA 

Old  Wives'  Tales  (Rhino)  1989  ® 

Running  Sacred  (Rhino  New  Artists)  1 990  ® 

JOHN  DOE 

Meet  John  Doe  (DGC)  1 990  • 

Named  after  the  band's  hometown,  X's  debut  album 
is  identifiable  as  a  forerunner  of  hardcore;  the  simple, 
unrestrained  energy  often  threatens  to  crush  the  "real- 
istic" tunes  ("Sex  and  Dying  in  High  Society,"  "Nau- 
sea," etc.),  but  never  does.  Certainly,  the  elements  that 
give  X  their  majesty  on  later  LPs  are  already  present: 
Billy  Zoom's  vibrant  rockabilly/Chuck  Berry  guitar 
licks,  DJ.  Bonebrake's  thundering  drums  and  arresting 
vocal  harmonies  by  Exene  Cervenka  and  bassist  John 
Doe,  strongly  reminiscent  of  early  Jefferson  Airplane. 
Doors  organist  Ray  Manzarek  produced  the  first  four 
albums;  on  Los  Angeles,  the  band  saluted  him  by  cov- 
ering "Soul  Kitchen." 

Wild  Gift  constitutes  a  great  leap  forward,  bringing 
Los  Angeles'  action  blur  into  sharp  focus.  Zoom's  in- 
geniously simple  guitar  transcends  its  influences,  and 
the  Doe/Exene  harmonies  attain  a  knifelike  sharpness. 
Also,  their  songs  are  frequently  as  incisive  as  their 
voices:  "We're  Desperate,"  "In  This  House  That  I  Call 
Home"  and  "White  Girl,"  a  spooky  ballad,  ambitiously 
peer  into  unglamorous  realities  without  either  diminish- 
ing or  inflating  their  subjects.  Wild  Gift  was  such  a 
success  as  an  independent  label  release  that  the  band's 
jump  to  a  big  company  (where  greater  success  has  iron- 
ically eluded  them)  was  practically  inevitable.  (In  1988, 
the  first  two  X  albums  were  issued  on  a  single  Slash 
CD.) 

Though  Under  the  Big  Black  Sun  primarily  refines 
the  techniques  of  Wild  Gift,  it's  no  disappointment. 
Bonebrake's  drums  just  get  harder  and  harder,  while 
Doe  and  Cervenka  continue  to  expand  their  prowess  as 
singers  and  songwriters.  "Motel  Room  in  My  Bed" 
revives  the  sleaze  motif  of  earlier  LPs;  'The  Have 
Nots"  skillfully  separates  compassion  from  mawkish- 


The  problematic  More  Fun  in  the  New  World  is 
the  work  of  a  band  filled  with  energy  and  ideas,  but 
unsure  how  to  apply  them.  As  a  result,  this  thoroughly 
respectable  LP  is  too  much  like  Big  Black  Sun  to  be 
fully  satisfying.  Sizzling  tracks  such  as  "Make  the  Mu- 
sic Go  Bang"  and  "I  Must  Not  Think  Bad  Thoughts" 
would  have  worked  fine  on  that  previous  disc,  which  is 
a  bad  sign  for  a  band  accustomed  to  growing  by  leaps 
and  bounds.  In  "True  Love  Pt.  #2,"  X  wonders  about 
its  own  relationship  to  American  mainstream  music 
without  arriving  at  a  clear  answer.  After  the  LP,  they 
attempted  to  make  contact  with  Top  40  by  covering 
"Wild  Thing"  and  fell  flat. 

An  album  by  the  Knitters — a  part-time,  mostly 
acoustic  band  consisting  of  X  (minus  Billy  Zoom), 
Blaster  Dave  Alvin  and  a  stand-up  bassist — proved  to  be 
a  glimpse  into  the  future  when,  in  early  '86,  Zoom  left 
X  to  form  his  own  band  and  Alvin  gave  up  the  Blasters 
(at  least  temporarily)  to  replace  him.  Critter  on  the 
Road  records  a  sincere  but  futile  attempt  to  imitate  sev- 
eral varieties  of  folk  and  country  music,  from  traditional 
to  swing.  The  material  mixes  cleverly  cliche-laden  orig- 
inals (and  an  acoustified  version  of  "The  New  World" 
for  anyone  who  didn't  realize  what  a  weak  song  it  is) 
with  Merle  Haggard  and  Leadbelly  covers;  Doe/Exene 's 
wistful  "Love  Shack"  is  the  record's  standout. 

Ain't  Love  Grand,  the  original  lineup's  final  album 
together,  is  a  hot  (if  styleless)  rock'n'roll  record  that 
cuts  the  crap  to  bang  out  unprepossessing  raveups  like 
"Burning  House  of  Love."  On  most  songs,  lead  vocals 
are  taken  by  Exene  or  Doe  alone;  the  partial  elimination 
of  their  harmonies  is  a  distinct  improvement,  as  is 
Michael  Wagener's  loud,  gimmick-free  production 
style.  The  biggest  boner  here,  a  misbegotten  amateurish 
cover  of  the  Small  Faces'  "All  or  Nothing,"  indicates 
that  X — or  at  least  some  portion  thereof—has  never  had 
a  clue  about  rock  music's  heritage. 

X  rebounded  from  the  loss  of  guitarist  Billy  Zoom 
with  a  vengeance  on  See  How  We  Are.  Dumping  Wa- 
gener's metal  flourishes  for  the  less  flashy  approach  of 
producer  Alvin  Clark,  this  polished  platter  cooks  wick- 
edly on  desperate  rockers  like  the  lead-off  "I'm  Lost" 
then  tugs  at  the  heartstrings  with  "You,"  an  old- 
fashioned  love  lament  even  non-fans  should  appreciate. 
The  standout  track,  however,  is  "4th  of  July,"  penned 
by  Dave  Alvin.  A  wide-screen  tale  of  terminal  alien- 
ation that  holds  out  little  hope  of  redemption,  "4th  of 
July"  matches  the  epic  sweep  of  "Born  to  Run." 

The  two-record  Live  at  the  Whisky  A  Go  Go  makes 
a  good  case  for  the  band  onstage,  showcasing  pithy 
axework  by  Alvin's  successor,  Tony  Gilkyson  (ex-Lone 
Justice).  A  studio  album  of  new  material  would  have 
been  more  welcome,  though.  (Note  that  this  is  not  the 
soundtrack  of  X's  rarely  seen  feature  film,  The  Unheard 
Music.)  With  that,  X  went  on  indefinite  hiatus. 

Cervenka' s  poetry  gets  an  airing  on  one  side  of  Twin 


743 


Sisters,  a  record  she  shares  with  Wanda  Coleman  (who 
has  released  several  spoken-word  album  on  her  own). 
An  excess  of  pretense  and  a  shortage  of  wit  make  the 
rocker's  efforts  pretty  heavy  sledding,  with  the  most 
notable  moments  being  "Peas  and  Beans"  (which  be- 
littles synth  bands)  and  three  pieces  penned  by  her  late 
sister  Mary. 

After  X  retired,  Exene  made  a  record  with  Tony 
Gilkyson,  who  produced,  co-wrote  and  played  guitar 
and  mandolin  on  Old  Wives'  Tales.  Dominated  by  her 
strong  vocals  (harmonizing  in  familiar  ways  with  Gilky- 
son and  others),  the  tasteful  and  varied  mixture  of  folk, 
country,  recitation  and  sturdy  rock  isn't  that  great  a 
stylistic  leap  from  the  essence  of  X  ("He's  Got  a  She" 
is,  in  fact,  a  carbon  copy),  although  the  lyrics  aren't 
exactly  what  the  group  generally  required  ("He  carved 
his  initials  in  her  uterus"?). 

Running  Sacred,  again  imaginatively  produced  by 
Gilkyson  with  much  the  same  support  staff,  spans  a 
wider  range,  with  more  artistic  ambition.  There's  a  gen- 
tle acoustic  guitar  lullaby  ("Clinic"),  straight  country- 
rock  ("Will  Jesus  Wash  the  Bloodstains  from  Your 
Hands")  and  full-throttle  electric  rap-rock  ("Real  Es- 
tate," written  by  bassist  Duke  McVinnie).  Not  every- 
thing works,  but  the  discovery  of  new  ways  to  sing  and 
new  things  to  sing  about  vaults  Cervenka  into  her  artis- 
tic own,  allowing  her  some  distance  from  the  dormant 
band.  Passing  the  album's  acid  test,  John  Doe  sings 
backup  on  "Missing  Nature"  without  stirring  up  the 
faintest  memory  of  their  longtime  partnership. 

Before  making  his  solo  debut,  Doe  threw  himself 
into  a  successful  acting  career,  ably  appearing  in  such 
films  as  Slamdance,  Salvador,  Roadhouse,  Border  Ra- 
dio and  Great  Balls  of  Fire.  It  was  a  wise  move,  con- 
sidering the  abject  failure  of  Meet  John  Doe. 
Attempting  to  make  a  looselimbed  countryish  rock 
record  without  the  off-key  camouflage  of  Exene' s  voice 
or  roaring  punk  noise,  Doe  (with  producer  Davitt 
Sigerson — who  seems  clueless  here — and  a  host  of  sup- 
porters, including  guitarist  Richard  Lloyd)  winds  up 
spinning  his  wheels  on  a  bunch  of  hangdog  songs  (most- 
ly originals,  but  also  one  by  John  Hiatt  and  some  old 
Cervenka  lyrics  Doe  finished  off)  that  don't  suit  his 
homely  singing  and  undefined  personality  enough  to  be 
convincing. 

At  the  end  of  1990,  to  prove  they  hadn't  actually 
broken  up,  X  (with  Tony  Gilkyson  on  guitar)  played 
four  shows  in  Los  Angeles.  [jy/i] 

See  also  Blasters,  Divine  Horsemen. 


X-Aspirations  (Aus.  X)  1 979  (Aus.  Ultimate)  1 990 
At  Home  with  You  (Aus.  Major)  1 981 
And  More  (Aus.  White  Label)  1 989 

Not  LA's  X  nor  the  current  Japanese  X  (heavy  metal 
girls  caught  in  an  explosion  at  the  makeup  factory),  this 
X  operate(d)  in  Australia,  inventing  late-' 80s  NYC- 
style  post-punk  in  the  waning  years  of  the  '70s, 
X-Aspirations  couples  deep  riff  repetitive  rhythms  with 
scattershot  guitar  and  anguished  vocals  for  a  "punk"  LP 
unlike  any  other,  appropriate  for  a  band  as  distant  and 
isolated  from  the  media  focus  as  one  could  conceivably 
get  without  leaving  the  planet.  In  later  years,  Feedtime 


made  a  point  of  acknowledging  their  debt  to  early  X;  the 
band's  influence  is  still  readily  apparent  in  Australia's 
Red  Eye  and  Aberrant  stables.  (The  reissue  is  remixed 
and  adds  a  song.) 

At  Home  with  You  is  a  more  approachable  album, 
transforming  the  debut's  belligerent  punk  into  a  sort  of 
fringe  rock,  but  still  featuring  the  high-phlegm  Killdoz- 
ery  vocals  of  Steve  Lucus.  And  More,  recorded  fol- 
lowing the  '88  death  of  first-LP  drummer  Steve  Cafeno 
and  related  fund-raising  reunion  shows  with  second-LP 
drummer  Cathy  Green,  delivers  a  crowd-pleasing  punch 
of  punk  aggro  and  attitude,  including  an  updated  but 
not-so-dissimilar  skin-shredding  blare  culled  from  the 
first  album.  A  milestone  band,  overlooked  but  hardly 
forgotten,  [ab] 


XCLAN 

To  the  East,  Blackwards  (4th  &  B'way)  1 990  ® 

Threatening  but  never  delivering  a  heavyweight  po- 
litical message,  this  deeply  Afrocentric  Brooklyn 
group — a  conceptual  attempt  to  cross  Marcus  Garvey 
with  George  Clinton — parks  entertainment  on  the  back 
burner  to  make  vague  statements  about  history  and  cul- 
ture with  impressively  crisp  professorial  diction.  Evi- 
dently better  able  to  express  their  esoteric  views  in 
interview  format,  X  Clan  couches  its  debut  album  in 
meaningless  argot  (calling  their  efforts  "vanglorious" 
instead  of  rap,  and  referring  to  any  dissenter  as  "sis- 
see"),  repeatedly  making  reference  to  Africa  without 
any  clear  point.  Typical  of  the  quartet's  semi-hollow 
posturing,  Professor  X  announces  "Vanglorious:  this  is 
protected  by  the  red,  the  black  and  the  green"  in  a 
ponderous  theatrical  voice  at  least  a  dozen  times 
•  throughout  the  record.  That's  a  message?  [i] 

XMAL  DEUTSCHLAND 

Incubus  Succubus  EP  (Ger.  Zick  Zack)  1 982 

Fetisch(nr/4AD}1983« 

Tocsin  (nr/4AD)  1 984  « 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1986 

Viva  (nr/Phonogram)  1 987  • 

The  dense,  throbbing  rock  of  this  Hamburg  quintet 
may  be  too  strong  for  some;  on  "Incubus  Succubus," 
the  title  track  of  a  three-song  12-inch,  semi-tonic  vocal- 
ist Anja  Huwe  bellows  and  shrieks  with  dark  drama 
while  the  band  drones  and  pounds  out  an  unbelievably 
heavy  track  behind  her,  a  horror  movie  cross  between 
Siouxsie  and  the  Banshees  and  Hawkwind. 

The  lineup  for  Fetisch,  recorded  in  England,  in- 
cludes Huwe  and  three  other  women  (guitar,  keyboards, 
drums)  plus  a  male  bassist.  With  a  slightly  toned-down 
attack,  Xmal  Deutschland's  drone  loses  some  of  its  al- 
lure, and  a  full  album's  worth  of  onrushing  chaos  and 
numbing  noise  is  more  tedious  than  gripping.  The  CD 
adds  three  songs  from  a  subsequent  12-inch. 

Also  recorded  in  London,  but  this  time  with  main- 
stream producer  Mick  Glossop,  Tocsin  tempers  the 
band's  ugly  side  with  economy,  variety  and  restraint. 
They're  still  loud  as  hell  and  do  sound  in  spots  like 
Hawkwind  but,  at  this  point,  they're  also  at  a  nexus  with 
Joy  Division,  using  bleak  noise  to  convey  a  variety  of 
moods.  With  the  subtlety  and  dynamics  that  were  pre- 


744 


viously  lacking,  Tocsin  reveals  Xmai  Deutschland  to  be 
cogent  and  invigorating 

The  Peel  EP  was  recorded  in  April  1985  and  con- 
tains four  selections.  [i] 

See  also  This  Mortal  Coil. 

Germ  Free  Adolescents  (nr/EMl  !nfl)  1978 

Translucence  (nr/UA)  1980  (nr/Recelver)  1990  ® 
God's  &  Godesses  EP  (nr/Awesome)  1986 

One  of  the  most  exciting  groups  of  its  time,  X-Ray 
Spex  was  at  once  an  ideal  and  atypical  punk  band.  While 
boasting  as  much  raw  aggression  as  any  of  its  peers, 
X-Ray  Spex  used  a  distinctively  different  means  of 
delivery — augmenting  Jak  Airport's  obligatory  buzzsaw 
guitar  with  Rudi  Thompson's  (Lora  Logic's  replace- 
ment) even-more-abrasive  sax  and  giving  center  stage  to 
Poly  Styrene  (Marion  Elliot),  a  talented  teenager  who 
yowled  witty  lyrics  with  all  the  delicacy  of  a  cat  in  heat. 

X-Ray  Spex's  one  LP  collects  some  of  the  ace  sin- 
gles that  made  them  such  an  early  punk  standout,  al- 
though it  doesn't  contain  their  classic  first  outing,  the 
wild  "Oh  Bondage,  Up  Yours!"  Styrene 's  songs  focus 
on  the  artificiality  of  modern  life;  hence  such  titles  as 
"The  Day  the  World  Turned  Day-Glo"  and  "Warrior  in 
Woolworths."  Whether  the  tune  is  a  ballad  or  a  crazed 
rocker,  the  band  surges  as  if  there  were  no  tomorrow. 
And  for  them,  there  wasn't.  A  masterpiece! 

Styrene  always  seemed  one  of  punk's  most  dispos- 
sessed souls,  so  perhaps  the  solo  album  that  followed 
the  band's  dissolution  (which  sent  two  members  off  to 
form  Classix  Nouveau)  should  be  viewed  as  a  last  stab 
at  finding  some  sense  of  place  in  musical  terms.  A  feel- 
ing of  alienation  still  prevails:  Translucence  is  so 
smooth  and  coolly  delivered  that  one  could  easily  miss 
the  dark  side  in  the  lyrics.  Jazzy  cocktail-hour  backing 
combines  with  Styrene' s  childlike  visions  to  make  the 
music's  effect  most  elusive. 

Styrene  subsequently  left  music  completely  to  join  a 
British  Hare  Krishna  sect,  but  resurfaced  commercially 
in  early  1986  with  a  delightful,  well-adjusted  12-inch 
EP.  Jak  Airport  arranged  two  of  the  four  originals  com- 
prising God's  &  Godesses;  the  record's  main  musicians 
are  Mick  Sweeney  and  Paul  Inder.  The  anti-cult  "Trick 
of  the  Witch"  has  hauntingly  echoed  vocals  and  a  driv- 
ing rock  beat;  synthesized  log  drum  and  sitar  give  the 
jazzy  mantra  of  "Paramatma"  fascinating  color,  "Big 
Boy  Big  Toy' '  attacks  the  nuclear  arms  race  with  humor 
and  urgency.  Welcome  back,  Poly — please  make  more 
records!  [jy/wk/i] 

See  also  Essential  Logic. 

XTC 

3D  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1977  +  1978 

White  Music  (Virgin  fnfl)  1978  (Virgin-Epic)  1982 

(Virgin-Geffen)  1984* 
Go  2  (Virgin  Infl)  1978  (Virgin-Epic)  1982 

(Virgin-Geffen)1984« 
Drums  and  Wires  (Virgin)  1979  (Virgin-Epic)  1982 

(Virgin-Geffen)  1984* 
Generals  and  Majors  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1980 


Black  Sea  (Virgin-RSO)  1980  (Virgin-Epic)  1982 

(Virgin-Geffen)  1 984  • 
Towers  of  London  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 980 
5  Senses  EP  (Can.  Virgin)  1 981 
Senses  Working  Overtime  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 982  ® 
Ball  and  Chain  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 982 
English  Settlement  (nr/Virgin)  1 982  (Virgin-Epic)  1 982 

(Virgin-Geffen)  1984® 
Waxworks/Beeswax  (nr/Virgin)  1982  (Virgin-Geffen) 

1984 

Mummer  (nr/Virgin)  1 983  (Virgin-Geffen)  1 984  • 
The  Big  Express  (Virgin-Geffen)  1 984  • 
The  Compact  XTC— The  Singles  1 978-85  [CD]  (nr/Virgin) 

1985® 

Skylarking  (Virgin-Geffen)  1986  ® 
Dear  God  EP  (Virgin-Geffen)  1987  [CD]  (nr/Virgin) 

1988® 

King  for  a  Day  EP  [tape]  (nr/Virgin)  1988 
Oranges  &  Lemons  (Virgin-Geffen)  1 989  • 
The  Mayor  of  Simpleton  EP  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 989  * 
Explode  Together:  The  Dub  Experiments  78-80  [CD] 

(nr/Virgin)  1 990  ® 
Rag  &  Bone  Buffet  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1 990  (Virgin-Geffen) 

1991  • 

MR.  PARTRIDGE 

Take  Awa//The  Lure  of  Salvage'  (nr/Virgin)  1980 

DUKES  OF  STRATOSPHEAR 

25  O'Clock  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 985  ® 
Psonic  Psunspot  (Virgin-Geffen)  1 987  • 
You're  a  Good  Man  Albert  Brown  EP  (nr/Virgin)  1 987 
Chips  from  the  Chocolate  Fireball  [CD]  (nr/Virgin)  1987 
(Geffen)1988® 

XTC  has  never  been  easy  to  categorize.  At  first  they 
seemed  like  one  more  high-spirited  new  wave  band, 
gleefully  trampling  on  rock  conventions  set  the  day  be- 
fore. On  White  Music,  XTC  delights  m  dissonance, 
unresolved  melodic  lines  and  playful  lyrics;  guitarist 
Andy  Partridge's  hiccupping  vocals  are  matched  by 
equally  nervous  music.  Amid  hyperactive  material  like 
"Radios  in  Motion,"  "This  Is  Pop"  and  "Spinning 
Top,"  only  a  version  of  Bob  Dylan's  "All  Along  the 
Watchtower"  shows  respect  for  the  past.  (Packaged  in 
an  appropriately  stereographic  sleeve,  the  3D  EP  is  a 
12-inch  of  "Science  Friction"  and  two  other  songs;  the 
White  Music  CD  appends  all  three  tracks,  as  well  as 
four  early  B-sides.) 

The  follow-up,  Go  2,  is  even  further  out.  The  songs, 
mostly  by  Partridge,  excoriate  conformism  and  other 
hang-ups  in  kaleidoscopic  imagery;  the  music  is  alter- 
nately herky-jerky  and  menacing.  (If  that  sounds  too 
coherent,  a  bonus  12-inch  EP  called  Go+  pulverizes 
five  of  the  album's  tracks  with  retitled  dub  remixes.) 
Probably  XTCs  least-known  record,  Go  2  yielded  no 
singles  whatsoever,  although  the  insidiously  wonderful 
"Are  You  Receiving  Me?,"  released  the  same  month  as 
the  LP,  was  later  added  to  its  CD. 

The  band  settled  down  on  Drums  and  Wires,  prov- 
ing they  could  make  commercial-sounding  music  with- 
out sacrificing  their  considerable  intelligence.  The 
departure  of  organist  Barry  Andrews — replaced  by  gui- 
tarist Dave  Gregory — seemed  to  take  some  helium  out 
of  the  arrangements.  XTC's  funhouse  world  on  Drums 
and  Wires  is  more  accessible,  but  still  booby-trapped: 


745 


"Making  Plans  for  Nigel"  (deleted  from  the  Virgin- 
Epic  US  edition),  "Real  by  Reel,"  "Life  Begins  at  the 
Hop"  (a  spectacular  single  added  to  US  editions  of  the 
album,  both  of  which  have  different  track  sequences 
from  the  original  LP),  "Scissor  Man,"  "Complicated 
Game."  Released  in  1991,  the  US  CD  puts  back  "Ni- 
gel" and  "Day  in  Day  Out"  (the  UK  LP  track  initially 
deleted  in  favor  of  "Life  Begins  at  the  Hop")  and  ap- 
pends two  obscurities — "Chain  of  Command"  and 
"Limelight" — from  a  1979  single  given  away  with 
early  copies  of  the  album.)  As  Mr.  Partridge,  a  sepa- 
rately released  "solo"  album,  'Take  Away'/'The  Lure 
of  Salvage,'  finds  Andy  playing  more  games  with  tracks 
from  Drums  and  Wires.  "This  used  to  be  some  XTC 
records,"  the  sleeve  notes.  "It  is  now  a  collection  of 
tracks  that  have  been  electronically  processed/shattered 
and  layered  with  other  sounds  or  lyrical  pieces."  (Ex- 
plode Together  combines  this  record  with  Go+  for  a 
complete  retrospective  of  XTC  in  dub.) 

Black  Sea  refines  Drums  and  Wires'  approach. 
Heedless  of  fashion,  XTC  builds  up  the  music  with 
multiple  strains,  undanceable  rhythms,  intricate  inter- 
play and  gloriously  literate  lyncs.  The  dazzling  result  is 
the  band's  finest  achievement  up  to  that  point:  an  album 
that,  like  its  songs  ("Respectable  Street,"  "Generals 
and  Majors,"  "Towers  of  London"),  unsentimentally 
employs  the  past  to  make  new  statements.  (The  CD 
appends  three  B-sides,  all  of  them  included  on  Bees- 
wax.) 

English  Settlement  continues  in  the  same  vein  but 
succumbs  to  rococo  excess.  (Five  songs  were  pruned 
from  the  original  British  two-record  set  to  fit  it  onto  one 
US  disc,  but  the  1984  Geffen  reissue  returned  it  to  two. ) 
Partridge  evidently  feels  compelled  to  match  musical 
sophistication  with  like  words;  he  unfortunately  outdoes 
himself.  His  prolix  lyrics  on  offbeat  but  straightforward 
topics  (war,  paranoia,  even  love)  read  better  than  they 
sing  and,  as  recorded,  must  be  read  to  be  understood. 
English  Settlement  tilts  like  an  over-frosted  wedding 
cake.  That  it  doesn't  quite  topple  is  a  tribute  to  the  band. 

XTC's  most  winning  material,  much  of  it  written  by 
bassist  Colin  Moulding,  invariably  turns  up  on  their  EPs 
and  45s.  5  Senses  gathers  a  few  non-LP  sides  (including 
"Smokeless  Zone"  and  "Wait  Till  Your  Boat  Goes 
Down")  from  1980  and  '81.  But  that  EP  was  soon 
superseded  by  Waxworks— Some  Singles  1977-1982, 
which  cleverly  assembles  the  band's  45s,  almost  all 
originally  drawn  from  albums,  on  one  superb  LP.  The 
accompanying  second  disc,  Beeswax — Some  B-Sides 
1977-1982,  collects  their  non-LP  B-sides— not  death- 
less music,  but  inventive  as  always  and  decidedly  un- 
pretentious. The  advent  of  new  technology  a  few  years 
later  yielded  The  Compact  XTC,  an  eighteen-song  CD- 
only  singles  compilation  which  picks  up  all  of  Wax- 
works and  then  continues,  starting  with  "Great  Fire" 
and  running  up  through  "Wake  Up."  (A  B-sides  and 
rarities  collection — Rag  &  Bone  Buffet — followed  five 
years  later.) 

With  drummer  Terry  Chambers'  departure,  XTC 
next  found  themselves  in  a  precarious  position  with  their 
British  record  label,  which  was  reportedly  hesitant  to 
release  another  brilliant  but  uncommercial  album.  That 
hitch  delayed  the  appearance  of  Mummer  for  quite 
some  time.  As  far  removed  as  it  may  be  from  the  quirky 
pop  that  originally  characterized  XTC's  music,  it's  a 


lovely  record,  resplendent  in  a  quiet,  rural  sound  and 
ethos.  Co-existing  with  the  invigorating  whomp  of 
"Great  Fire"  and  the  loud  rock  and  disgusted  lyrics  of 
"Funk  Pop  a  Roll,"  there's  Partridge's  rustic  "Love  on 
a  Farmboy's  Wages"  and  Moulding 's  lazy  "Wonder- 
land," offering  a  perfect  summery  escape  from  the  pres- 
sures and  excitement  of  rock.  Mummer:  Music  for 
Picnics.  (The  CD  has  six  bonus  cuts — all  Partridge 
songs — including  two  from  the  UK  Dear  God  EP.) 

Continuing  on  as  a  trio,  The  Big  Express  returned 
XTC  to  the  world  of  urban  reality,  disgruntled  songs 
about  life  in  the  big  city,  celebrating  the  alternative 
("The  Everyday  Story  of  Smalltown")  but,  more  sur- 
prisingly, again  playing  full-blast  rock  rather  than  bu- 
colic lyricism.  "All  You  Pretty  Girls,"  incorporating  a 
British  folk  idiom,  is  as  catchy  a  number  as  they've  ever 
done;  and  the  record's  overall  sense  of  recharged  enthu- 
siasm is  quite  infectious. 

Partridge's  regrettable  post-release  sniping  notwith- 
standing, XTC's  collaboration  with  Todd  Rundgren  on 
Skylarking  yielded  an  album  as  good  as  any  in  their 
catalogue.  The  songs  are  thoughtful,  winsome,  intro- 
spective and  melodic;  Rundgren's  likeminded  produc- 
tion (and  sequencing)  brings  them  out  in  a  cavalcade 
that  is  resonant  and  memorable.  Moulding 's  best 
numbers — "Grass,"  "The  Meeting  Place"  and  "Big 
Day" — address  (respectively)  sex  al  fresco,  illicit  ro- 
mance and  the  dangers  of  marriage.  Partridge,  mean- 
while, worries  about  making  ends  meet  in  "Earn 
Enough  for  Us"  and  space  junk  in  "Another  Satellite." 
Adult,  provocative  and  plainly  brilliant.  (A  pre-LP  UK 
12-inch  of  "Grass"  b/w  "Extrovert"  and  "Dear  God" 
focused  unexpected  attention  on  Partridge's  controver- 
sial song  about  religious  skepticism.  Those  three  num- 
bers were  then  released  as  an  Amencan  EP,  adding 
"Earn  Enough  for  Us."  Finally,  the  album  was  with- 
drawn and  reissued  with  "Dear  God"  replacing  "Mer- 
maid Smiled,"  as  it  does  on  the  CD.  The  British  Dear 
God  EP,  available  only  on  CD,  is  entirely  different  from 
the  Amencan.) 

With  demerits  for  an  unpleasant  electro-drum  sound 
and  an  overzealous  arrangement  or  three,  Sides  1  and  2 
of  Oranges  &  Lemons  are  very  nearly  Skylarking' s 
equal.  Unfortunately,  it's  a  double  album,  and  there 
isn't  much  in  the  second  half  (beyond  "Pink  Thing,"  a 
magical  ode  to  a  baby)  to  rave  about.  Producer  Paul  Fox 
helps  the  trio  tip  its  sonic  hat  to  the  Beatles  while  giving 
full  attention  to  the  band's  usual  soaring  melodies  and 
inimitable  lyrics.  (Moulding  wrote  just  three  of  the  fif- 
teen songs;  while  none  is  on  a  musical  par  with  his  best, 
the  frank  admission  of  immobilizing  insecurity  on  "One 
of  the  Millions"  carries  an  unnerving  ring  of  sincerity.) 
Making  another  wonderful  and  lasting  contribution  to 
the  XTC  classics  library,  Partridge — in  an  obviously 
joyous  mood — welcomes  a  child  into  the  "Garden  of 
Earthly  Delights,"  reaffirms  the  old  hippie  faith  in  "The 
Loving"  and  dismisses  intelligence  as  a  romantic  ne- 
cessity in  "The  Mayor  of  Simpleton." 

Some  EPs:  The  Generals  and  Majors  and  Towers 
of  London  12-inches  each  contain  three  non-LP  tracks. 
Two  of  the  three  songs  added  to  the  Senses  Working 
Overtime  12-inch  (and  subsequent  3-inch  CD)  appear 
on  Beeswax;  the  leftover  is  Moulding' s  electronic  in- 
strumental, "Egyptian  Solution  (Homo  Safari  Series 
No.  3)."  The  Ball  and  Chain  12-inch  has  two  B-sides 


746 


that  turn  up  on  Beeswax,  plus  a  Partridge  remix  of  the 
full-length  English  Settlement's  "Down  in  the  Cock- 
pit." King  for  a  Day  is  a  cassette  single  joining  that 
Oranges  &  Lemons  track  with  three  oldies,  including 
"Generals  and  Majors"  and  'Towers  of  London."  The 
Mayor  of  Simpleton  is  a  3-inch  CD  of  a  second  track 
from  the  1989  LP  joined  by  a  pair  of  home  demos  and 
another  tune. 

Partnered  with  producer  John  Leckie,  XTC  under- 
took a  pseudonymous  side  project  in  1985  as  the  Dukes 
of  Stratosphear.  The  day-glo  watches  and  peace  sym- 
bols on  the  cover  of  the  carefully  appointed  satirical  25 
O'Clock  mini-album  match  the  six  Rutlesque  rewrites 
of  '60s  classics  like  "I  Had  Too  Much  to  Dream  Last 
Night."  Unfortunately,  the  gaily  psychedelic  put-on  is 
so  clever  and  careful  that  it  winds  up  less  funny  than 
notable  for  its  accomplishment.  The  full-length  Psonic 
Psiinspot  downplays  the  pose  with  a  far  lighter  parodic 


touch — the  most  prominent  touchstone  is  White 
Album-era  Beatles — and  basically  amounts  to  a  very 
casual  XTC  LP  with  an  intuitive  '60s  feel  rather  than  a 
conscious  art  context.  By  not  striving  for  specific  imi- 
tation and  merely  enjoying  the  romp,  the  Dukes  have  a 
better  time,  and  so  do  listeners. 

Although  Psonic  Psnnspot  was  issued  on  its  own 
CD,  it  was  also  paired  with  25  O'Clock  and  released  as 
the  CD-only  Chips  from  the  Chocolate  Fireball.  Com- 
pletists  can  also  rest  easy  about  the  You're  a  Good 
Man  EP,  as  it  merely  contains  a  pair  of  selections  from 
each  of  the  group's  two  records.  [si/i] 

See  also  Robert  Fripp,  Shrlekback. 

See  Clan  ofXymox. 


747 


Y    Y    Y    Y    Y 


YACHTS 

Yachts  (Radar-Polydor)  1979 

Yachts  Without  Radar  (Radar-Polydor)  1 980 

Liverpool's  Yachts  were  capable  of  alternating  a 
scaled-down  version  of  pomp-rock  (faster,  more 
cheaply  tricked  out,  no  instrumental  exhibitionism)  and 
'60s-influenced  rock  with  leader  Henry  Priestman's 
cheesy  organ  sound.  And  that  in  the  service  of  humor- 
ously melodramatic  caricatures  of  the  usual  boy/girl 
lyric  fodder:  love  by  letter  ("Box  202"),  unfair  roman- 
tic competition  (" Yachting  Type/'  "Semaphore 
Love,"  etc.).  Despite  sympathetic  production  by  Rich- 
ard Gottehrer,  Yachts  sounds  a  bit  tinny,  and  the  group 
was  unable  to  equal  their  mini-classic  Stiff  debut  single 
("Suffice  to  Say"),  though  the  potential  to  do  so  is 
evident. 

Not  being  taken  seriously  because  of  funny  lyrics 
may  have  taken  its  toll;  on  Without  Radar,  the  jokes 
and  even  the  previously  solid  songwriting  sound  as  thin 
as  Martin  Rushent's  uncharacteristically  poor  produc- 
tion, [jg] 

See  also  Christians,  It's  Immaterial. 


YAZOO  (YAZ) 

Upstairs  at  Eric's  (Mute-Sire)  1 982  ® 
You  and  Me  Both  (Mute-Sire)  1 983  * 

Yazoo  (known  as  Yaz  in  the  US)  was  one  of  En- 
gland's most  interesting  synth-pop  duets,  mostly  be- 
cause of  the  sharp  contrast  provided  by  vocalist  Alison 
Moyet's  incredibly  rich  and  soulful  voice,  a  more  pow- 
erful and  emotive  sound  than  one  generally  expected  to 
hear  paired  with  high-tech  instrumentation  in  those 
days.  Along  with  ex-Depeche  Mode  synthesist/ 
songwriter  Vince  Clarke,  Yazoo  represented  a  stylistic 
breakthrough  that  proved  influential  in  the  development 
of  electronic-based  dance  music. 

Unfortunately,  while  Upstairs  at  Eric's  is  admira- 
ble for  its  experimentalism,  it  contains  just  one  really 
striking  song  (the  beautiful  ballad,  "Only  You"),  some 
moderately  interesting  quirky  pop  ( "Too  Pieces, '  *  *  'Bad 
Connection"),  two  solid  dance  numbers  ("Don't  Go" 
and  "Situation")  made  tolerable  by  the  band's  talent 
and  strengths  and  one  truly  awful  piece  of  tape-looping 
("I  Before  E  Except  After  C"). 

You  and  Me  Both,  on  the  other  hand,  offers  a  better 
selection,  from  Moyet's  defiant  and  atmospheric  "No- 
body's Diary"  and  funky  "Sweet  Thing"  to  Clarke's 
bouncy  "Walk  Away  from  Love."  There  are  some  se- 
rious low-points  to  be  sure,  but  in  general  it's  a  more 
even  and  exciting  album,  further  exploring  the  blend's 
possibilities. 

Given  the  dynamic  tension  of  the  partnership,  it  was 
hardly  surprising  when  Moyet  and  Clarke  decided,  after 
two  albums,  to  go  their  separate  ways:  he  to  form  the 


Assembly  (later,  Erasure)  and  she  to  a  successful  solo 
career.  [ks/i] 

See  also  Erasure,  Alison  Moyet. 


Cottage  Industry  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1984 

Weakling  Lines  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1984 

Prick  Up  Your  Ears  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 984 

When  I  Am  a  Big  Giri  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 985 

Cutting  the  Heavenly  Lawn  of  Greatness  . . .  Last  Rites  for 

the  God  of  Love  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 985 
Temple  of  Convenience  EP  (nr/ln  Tape)  1 985 
Fun  on  the  Lawn  Lawn  Lawn  (nr/Vuggum)  1 986 
The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1987 

Like  In  Tape  labelmates  the  Creepers,  this  Leicester 
quartet  (later  quintet)  displays  some  Fall  influence  (al- 
beit less  harsh)  and  makes  things  easy  for  record  buyers 
by  combining  several  releases  onto  a  single  disc.  When 
I  Am  a  Big  Girl  reprises  the  first  three  EPs  in  their 
entirety  and  has  such  highlights  as  "Cottage  Industry," 
"Prick  Up  Your  Ears'*  and  "Starling  Pillowcase  and 
Why"  which,  like  the  rest  of  the  record's  songs,  are 
unpolished,  raw  pop  gems  with  smartass  lyrics. 
Cymbal-less  drums  and  chunky  bass  lines  form  a  foun- 
dation for  modest  guitar  work  and  Derek  Hammond's 
deadpan  baritone.  Great  fun. 

Cutting  the  Heavenly  Lawn  of  Greatness  adds 
some  well-placed  psychedelic  embellishments  and  a  lit- 
tle (but  just  a  wee  bit)  more  production  to  the  homespun 
sound.  Lyrics  are  sharp  as  ever;  "Home-Ownersexual" 
is  the  clever  tale  of  a  bored,  dissatisfied  housewife; 
"Stealing  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord"  decries  religious 
hypocrisy.  Some  earlier  tracks  pop  up  again  in  new 
versions,  and  the  LP  also  contains  the  title  track  from 
the  Temple  of  Convenience  EP.  Sadly,  Yeah  Yeah 
Noh  disbanded  upon  that  release  but  left  behind  a  cat- 
alogue of  great  records,  permeated  with  real  DIY  spirit, 
warmth  and  humor. 

Fun  on  the  Lawn  Lawn  Lawn  is  a  posthumous 
collection  of  various!  sessions  for  John  Peel's  radio  pro- 
gram. (Yeah  Yeah  Woh  were  one  of  his  faves.  One 
session,  from  January  1986,  was  also  released  by 
Strange  Fruit. )  It  includes  versions  of  most  of  their  best 
tracks  ("Home-Ownersexual"  is  listed  as  "Another 
Side  of  Mrs.  Quill")  and  a  few  songs  that  are  otherwise 
unavailable.  [dgs] 


YELLO 

Solid  Pleasure  (Ralph)  1980  (Mercury)  1988  * 
Claro  Que  Si  (Ralph)  1981  (Mercury)  1988  • 
Bostich  EP  (Stiff)  1982 


748 


You  Gotta  Say  Yes  to  Another  Excess  (EleSctra)  1 983 

(Mercury)  1 988  © 
YelloEP(Eiektra)1983 
Stella  (Elefdra)  1985  (Mercury)  1988  • 
The  New  Mix  in  One  Go:  80-'85  (nr/Mercury)  1 986  • 
One  Second  (Mercury)  1987  ® 
Flag  (Mercury)  1988® 

Switzerland's  Yello  (Boris  Blank,  singer/lyricist 
Dieter  Meier  and  Carlos  Peron — all  non-musicians  in 
the  finest  Brian  Eno  tradition)  harnessed  the  synthesizer 
to  become  one  of  the  most  important  and  creative  bands 
working  in  the  medium. 

Solid  Pleasure  is  a  record  of  their  exploration  of  the 
studio  and  instruments,  surging  with  discovery  and  in- 
novation. On  this  LP,  Yello  are  dark  experimenters  of 
the  highest  order,  treading  fearlessly  through  a  perilous 
forest  of  electronics.  The  music  is  a  confident  cross- 
pollination  of  lighthearted  pop  and  avant-garde.  In- 
spired. 

Claro  Que  Si  continues  Yello 's  adventurous  inno- 
vation, but  applies  it  to  dance  music  with  stunning  re- 
sults. Meier's  vocals,  though  limited  in  range,  slide 
blissfully  against  Blank's  synthesizer  and  backing  vo- 
cals and  Peron 's  tape  effects  to  create  a  pop/disco  album 
full  of  evocative,  warm  tunes,  evincing  a  dynamism  rare 
in  this  sort  of  music.  And  they  stay  far  away  from  pre- 
tensions, too. 

Bostich  presents  new  versions  of  songs  from  the 
albums,  with  an  otherwise  unavailable  track,  "She's 
Got  a  Gun,"  added  to  the  US  edition.  Remakes  aren't 
normally  essential  listening,  but  Yello  proves  they're 
one  of  the  few  bands  capable  of  transfiguring  old  ma- 
terial rather  than  rehashing  it,  and  with  exquisite  intel- 
ligence at  that. 

Signing  to  Elektra,  Yello  made  You  Gotta  Say  Yes 
to  Another  Excess,  which  contains  some  of  their  most 
accessible  dance  music,  although  it  would  be  far  from 
accurate  to  call  Yello  commercial  or  mainstream  at  this 
point.  "I  Love  You"  pushes  a  pulsing  electro-beat  and 
whispered  vocals  vaguely  about  driving,  throwing  in 
screeching  tires  to  underscore  the  point,  "No  More 
Words"  recites  the  title  over  herky-jerky  rhythms  and 
little  else;  "Great  Mission"  is  a  suave  dramatic  travel- 
ogue. The  23-minute  EP  that  followed  contains  re- 
mixed, extended  versions  of  three  LP  tracks  plus 
"Bostich." 

Revealing  a  slimmed-down  Yello  of  just  Meier  and 
Blank,  Stella  adopts  more  of  a  Euro-disco  sound,  drop- 
ping the  reliance  on  electronics  and  most  of  the  weird- 
ness  to  play  it  relatively  straight.  Meier's  vocals  have 
gone  from  wondrously  strange  to  cloying;  several  guest 
musicians  provide  vocals,  piano,  drums  and  guitar, 
making  this  a  most  routine  and  non-intriguing  release. 

Meier  and  Blank  split  the  chores  on  One  Second 
simply:  Boris  composed  and  arranged  the  music,  Dieter 
wrote  and  sings  the  lyrics.  Guests  include  Shirley  Bas- 
sey  and  ex- Associate  Billy  Mackenzie,  who  provided 
lyrics  for  two  cuts  and  vocals  for  one.  Continuing  down 
the  conservative  path  indicated  on  Stella,  Yello  pushes 
a  reserved,  suavely  textured  sound  that  is  dance- 
oriented,  but  not  overpowered  by  rhythm.  Polite  Latin 
accents  on  a  few  songs  provide  character;  continental 
excursions  and  adult  pop  fill  out  the  program.  A  pleas- 
ant, debonair  waste  of  time.  Structurally  and  stylisti- 
cally, Stella  is  virtually  a  re-run  of  One  Second  (sans 


Bassey),  and — with  the  notable  exception  of  the  bracing 
dramatics  of  "3rd  of  June** — equally  enervating. 

The  New  Mix  in  One  Go  is  a  two-record  compila- 
tion that  includes  remixes,  remakes  of  old  songs  and 
even  some  entirely  new  material.  [sg/i] 

Yellow  Magic  Orchestra  (Jap.  Alfa)  1978  (Horizon-A&M) 

1979® 

Solid  State  Survivor  (Jap.  Alfa)  1979  (nr/Alfa)  1981  ® 
Public  Pressure  (Jap.  Alfa)  1 980  ® 
X<*>  Multiplies  (Jap.  Alfa)  1980  (nr/Alfa-A&M)  1980 
Xoo  Multiplies  (A&M)  1980 
BGM(A&M)  1981  ® 
Technodelic  (Alfa)  1981  ® 
Service  (Jap.  Alfa)  1983 
After  Service  (Jap.  Alfa)  1 983 
Naughty  Boys  (Jap.  Alfa)  1983  • 
Naughty  Boys  Instrumental  (Hoi.  Pickup)  1 985 
Sealed  (Jap.  Alfa)  1985 

For  the  technology-minded  Japanese  (who,  after  all, 
do  have  their  own  musical  logic  and  traditions),  the  rock 
medium  most  suited  to  adaptation  rather  than  bland 
mimicry  has  been  electronic-oriented  pop.  By  their  third 
LP,  YMO  represented  to  Japanese  kids  a  heterodoxy 
almost  equivalent  to  the  Sex  Pistols  and,  in  Japan  at 
least,  many  times  their  commercial  success. 

None  of  the  three  members  were  musical  neophytes 
at  YMO's  outset.  While  recording  his  first  solo  LP, 
session  keyboardist  Ryuichi  Sakamoto  met  drummer 
Yukihko  Takahashi,  who'd  not  only  cut  his  own  album 
but  had  been  a  member  of  the  Sadistic  Mika  Band  (Ja- 
pan's well-known  art-rock  export  of  the  early  '70s  who 
made  three  LPs  for  UK  Harvest)  and  its  offshoot,  the 
Sadistics.  The  pair  met  bassist/producer  Haruomi 
Hosono,  a  veteran  of  two  historically  important  Japa- 
nese bands,  while  he  was  cutting  his  fourth  solo  LP. 
(He's  done  more  since  but,  unlike  his  two  bandmates, 
Hosono' s  solo  records  have  never  been  released  in  En- 
gland or  America.  The  1986  Video  Game  Music  em- 
ploys the  electronic  sounds  of  arcade  games.) 

Despite  the  pedigree,  YMO's  first  LP  is  merely 
inane  electro-disco,  distinguished  only  by  efforts  at  did- 
dling video-game  blips  and  squonks  into  songs.  Solid 
State  Survivor  (their  second  Japanese  LP,  issued  intact 
but  out  of  chronological  sequence  in  the  UK)  is  a  qual- 
itative leap  forward:  clever  instrumentals  and  excellent 
electro-rock  tunes  with  terse,  sharp  English  lyrics  by 
Chris  Mosdell.  Takahashi' s  flat,  inflexible  vocals  are  a 
mixed  blessing — no  silly  histrionics,  but  an  air  of  cool 
detachment  that's,  at  least  initially,  off-putting. 

X»  Multiplies  has  two  more  fine  tracks  in  the  same 
vein,  but  the  rest  of  the  original  Japanese  half-hour  10- 
inch  is  given  over  to  mostly  unfunny  comedy  skits  (and 
two  humorous  tries  at  Archie  Bell  and  the  Drells' 
*  'Tighten  Up").  In  the  UK,  the  LP  of  the  same  name 
adds  the  aural  vid-bits  from  the  first  LP,  but  the  US 
release  retains  only  the  title  and  the  two  good  cuts,  the 
rest  being  the  best  part  of  Solid  State  Survivor.  Public 
Pressure  is  a  live  album. 

BGM  and  Technodelic  are  both  mixed  bags.  On  the 
plus  side,  they  explore  new  (for  YMO)  stylistic  areas — 
"Strawberry  Fields"  gone  synth,  Germanic  bleep  strut- 
ting, bleak  Anglo  synth-rap — but  little  on  either  is  as 


749 


distinctive  or  just  plain  entertaining  as  Takahashi's  or 
Sakamoto's  solo  work.  Hosono's  production  (the  first 
six  YMO  LPs,  as  well  as  discs  by  Sandii  and  the  Sun- 
setz,  Sheena  and  the  Rokkets  and  others)  has  clarity  but 
lacks  the  snap  and  depth  that  would  make  these  two 
records  come  alive. 

Service  is  a  frustrating  record;  it  alternates  YMO 
tracks  with  cuts  just  as  long  as  the  songs  by  the  comedic 
(?)  theater  group  S.E.T.  As  impenetrable  as  it  is  to 
those  who  don't  speak  Japanese,  even  those  who  do 
might  be  annoyed  at  the  non-musical  interruptions.  It's 
doubly  irksome  because  the  songs  are  excellent.  Wisely, 
Naughty  Boys  has  equally  good  songs  without  the  com- 
edy. The  melodies  on  both  discs  are  much  more  acces- 
sible and  consistently  pleasing  than  any  of  the  previous 
YMO  LPs,  with  no  noticeable  shift  in  songwriting  bal- 
ance. (Beginning  with  Service,  Peter  Barakan,  who's 
written  lyrics  for  Takahashi's  LPs,  supplies  them  to 
YMO  hi  place  of  Mosdell.  Also,  YMO  produced  these 
two  albums  as  a  group.) 

After  Service  is  a  double  live  set,  but  the  name  has 
more  to  do  with  the  order  of  its  release  than  its  content, 
drawing  on  previous  records.  Sealed  is  a  four-disc 
boxed  set.  [jg] 

See  also  Ryuichi  Sakamoto,  Yukihiro  Takahashi 


YELLOWMAN 

Mister  Yellowmcm  (Greensleeves)  1 982  * 

Live  atSunsplash  (nr/Sunsplash)  1982 

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng  (Greensleeves)  1 983  ® 

King  Yellowman  (CBS)  1984  * 

Nobody  Move  Nobody  Get  Hurt  (Greensleeves)  1984  « 

Galong  Galong  Galong  (Greensleeves)  1 985  * 

Going  to  the  Chapel  (Shanachie)  1 986  • 

Rambo  (Moving  Target)  1 986  • 

Yellow  Like  Cheese  (RAS)  1 987  « 

Don't  Burn  It  Down  (Shanachie)  1 987  « 

Blueberry  Hill  (Rohit)  1 987  • 

Yellowman  Sings  the  Blues  (Rohit)  1 988  « 

Yellowman  Rides  Again  (RAS)  1988  * 

One  in  a  Million  (Shanachie)  1 989  • 

Party  (RAS)  1 991  « 

YELLOWMAN  AND  FATHEAD 

Bad  Boy  Skanking  (Greensleeves)  1 982 

YELLOWMAN/CHARL1E 
CHAPLIN 

The  Negril  Chill  [tape]  (ROIR)  1988  [CD]  (Fr.  Danceteria) 
1990<f> 

YELLOWMAN  AND 
GENERAL  TREES 

A  Reggae  Calypso  Encounter  (Rohit)  1 987  * 

Albino  reggae  toaster  Yellowman  (Winston  Foster) 
parlayed  his  unusual  looks  and  talent  into  overnight  suc- 
cess. His  music  is  versatile  and  engagingly  comic  in  a 
dancehall  style  Like  his  counterparts  in  American  rap, 
he's  often  swaggering,  boasting  about  his  toasting  and 
his  luck  with  the  ladies.  Because  his  strut  is  goodnatured 
and  backed  up  by  fierce  turntable  work  (his  improv  and 
rhythm  are  extraordinary),  he's  extremely  convincing, 
and  has  become  quite  a  sex  symbol. 

More  than  two  dozen  Yellowman  albums  flooded 


the  market  in  the  early  '80s.  Many  are  so-so  live  sets, 
collections  of  singles  and  outtakes,  Jamaican-only  re- 
leases, or  team-ups  with  other  DJs.  The  listing  above 
contains  only  some  of  his  most  widely  available  LPs. 

Mister  Yellowman,  the  album  that  helped  launch 
his  international  fame,  remains  among  his  best.  Nearly 
every  cut  is  strong,  including  "Mister  Chin,"  "Two  to 
Six  Supermix"  and  the  My  Fair  Lady-inspired  "Yel- 
lowman Getting  Married"  (in  the  morning).  While  they 
often  come  close,  none  of  his  other  records  equal  this 
consistency  and  easy  versatility. 

Ziraggiiznmggugiizisnggiizeng,  for  instance,  isn't 
even  in  the  same  league.  For  one  thing,  it's  misleading 
(if  not  mistitled):  seven  of  ten  cuts  are  actually  duets 
with  another  DJ  (Fathead).  They  make  an  okay  team, 
but  their  rapport  is  mostly  in  a  rub-a-dub  style,  and  the 
record  bogs  down  as  a  result.  Best  is  the  title  tune,  a 
solo  toast  to  the  music  of  Michigan  and  Smiley 's  "Dis- 
eases"; worst  is  "Who  Can  Make  the  Dance  Ram,"  a 
reworking  of  Sammy  Davis  Jr.'s  "Candy  Man." 

Admirably,  CBS  tried  to  encourage  Yellowman's 
versatility  when  he  signed  with  the  label,  but  the  result- 
ing King  Yellowman  is  another  mixed  success.  Most  of 
Side  One  is  fine  ("What  Dat,"  for  instance),  but  the  flip 
is  a  mess.  Yellowman  meets  Material  for  "Disco  Reg- 
gae," tries  to  "Reggae  Calypso"  and  finally  covers 
Frankie  Ford's  pop  hit  "Sea  Cruise."  All  of  these  fu- 
sion attempts  go  wildly  astray. 

Less  contrived  versatility  is  evident  on  his  later  Sha- 
nachie albums.  Nobody  Move  is  a  bit  spotty,  but  the 
strong  cuts  are  really  great.  The  title  track,  as  well  as 
"Strictly  Mi  Belly"  and  "Why  You  Bad  So"  are  all 
cookers,  guaranteed  to  make  you  rock  and  groove.  Ga- 
long is  also  worth  investigating,  for  it  features  an  anti- 
Michael  Jackson  number  called  "Beat  It";  "Reggae 
Win  a  Grammy,"  Yellowman's  report  on  his  trip  to  the 
awards  ceremony;  and  "Skank  Quadrille,"  a  toast  to 
Bunny  Waller's  "Walk  the  Proud  Land." 

Going  to  the  Chapel,  on  the  other  hand,  lags  a  bit 
and  is  less  consistent,  although  a  variety  of  rhythms  are 
featured  and  the  title  cut  is  a  wacko  cover  of  the  Dixie 
Cups'  "Chapel  of  Love."  Track  for  track,  Don't  Burn 
It  Down  is  stronger,  full  of  energy  and  fire  from  first  cut 
(the  title  song,  a  ganja  anthem)  to  last  (the  consum- 
mately rude  "Dry  Head  Adassa"). 

As  the  '80s  progressed,  so  did  Yellowman's  label- 
hopping.  Rambo,  on  a  Celluloid  subsidiary,  is  a  noble 
experiment  featuring  Robert  Lyn  on  piano,  Sly  Dunbar 
on  drums  and  Robbie  Shakespeare  going  heavy  on  the 
bass  synthesizer.  The  backup  is  unusually  high-tech  for 
a  Yellowman  record,  but  he  raps  up  a  storm,  pushing 
the  music  aggressively  forward  like  the  character  com- 
memorated in  the  title  track.  (There's  another  appropri- 
ate cut  called  "Computerize.")  Yellow  Like  Cheese 
returns  him  to  rootsy  form:  less  dance-oriented  and  with 
sparser  musical  backup. 

Despite  rumors  of  ill-health,  Yellowman  has  contin- 
ued to  churn  out  records.  While  Don't  Burn  It  Down 
contains  some  of  his  typically  lewd  slack  lyrics,  there's 
some  real  fun  and  noteworthy  selections  that  aren't 
dirty.  The  title  track,  for  example,  is  an  anthemic  pro- 
test against  the  burning  of  ganja  fields.  He  condemns 
violence  against  women  on  "Stop  Beat  Woman"  and 
offers  a  political  opinion  about  the  South  African  situ- 
ation in  "Free  Africa."  He  delivers  his  lyrics  in  a  step- 


750 


lively  rock/rap  mode  geared  to  nie  up  his  listeners, 
which  he  invariably  does. 

In  typically  nasty  fashion,  Rides  Again  contains 
"Want  a  Virign,"  "AIDS"  and  "Girl  You're  Too 
Hot."  Yet  after  such  repellent  doggerel,  Yellowman 
can  draw  a  card  showing  his  politically  conscious  side 
with  "Ease  Up  President  Botha,"  or  reveal  his  sensi- 
tivity with  an  ode  to  late  reggae  singers  ("In  Mem- 
ory"). 

Recorded  live  in  concert  (1987)  at  the  Negril  Tree 
House  in  Jamaica,  the  Negril  Chill  is  an  actual  dance- 
hall  session  between  Mr.  Yellow  and  conscious,  roots- 
culture  DJ  Charlie  Chaplin.  It's  an  authentic  slice  of 
life,  as  the  listener  becomes  part  of  and  a  witness  to  the 
casual  banter  between  these  two  contrasting,  yet  equally 
talented  DJs. 

One  in  a  Million  (the  material  on  which  dates  from 
1982)  contains  two  of  his  earliest  hits,  "Operation  Erad- 
ication" and  "Them  a  Mad  Over  Me."  [bk/awj 

YOBS 

See  Boys. 

YO  LA  TENGO 

Ride  the  Tiger  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1 986 
New  Wave  Hot  Dogs  (Coyote-Twin/Tone)  1 987  ® 
President  Yo  La  Tengo  (Coyote)  1 989  * 
Fakebook  (Bar/None)  1990  • 

Walk  to  Delphi  (OKra)  1 990  • 

Led  by  Hoboken's  Ira  Kaplan  (vocals/guitar)  and 
Georgia  Hubley  (drums/vocals)  plus  whomever  else 
they  team  up  with,  Yo  La  Tengo  (named  for  the  cry  of 
the  Spanish-speaking  outfielder)  nicely  weds  the  under- 
ground noise-rock  impulse  and  the  fannish  cover-band 
vibe.  Rather  than  doing  the  eclectic  dilettante  bit,  Kap- 
lan, Hubley  and  company  work  their  influences  into  a 
surprisingly  cohesive  and  satisfying  whole. 

Ride  the  Tiger,  produced  by  ex-Mission  of  Burma 
bassist  Clint  Conley,  benefits  from  Dave  Schramm's 
sterling  guitarings  which,  like  Kaplan's  reedy  (as  in 
Lou)  vocals,  underline  Yo  La  Tengo' s  vintage- Velvets 
connection.  The  band  also  covers  Ray  Davies'  "Big 
Sky,"  but  it's  originals  like  "The  Cone  of  Silence"  and 
"The  Forest  Green"  that  make  Ride  the  Tiger  such  a 
pleasure. 

New  Wave  Hot  Dogs  suffers  a  bit  from  Schramm's 
absence,  but  it's  more  consistent  than  its  predecessor, 
with  distinctive  originals  ("House  Fall  Down," 
"Blocks  from  Groove  St.")  and  a  dead-ringer  cover  of 
Lou  Reed's  "It's  Alright  (The  Way  That  You  Live)." 

Gene  Holder  produced  and  plays  bass  on  the  excel- 
lent President  Yo  La  Tengo  (contained  on  one  CD  with 
New  Wave  Hot  Dogs),  a  strange  and  noisily  electric 
hodgepodge  (two  songs  were  recorded  live  at  CBGB; 
the  material  comprises  YLT  originals  as  well  as  an  An- 
tietam  song  and  Bob  Dylan's  "I  Threw  It  All  Away") 
that  somehow  holds  together.  Kaplan's  "The  Evil  That 
Men  Do"  appears  twice:  as  a  concise  and  twangy  '60s 
guitar'n'organ  instrumental  and  as  ten  mind-blowing 
minutes  of  onstage  feedback  fury. 

Schramm  and  a  standup  bassist  joined  Hubley  and 
Kaplan  for  Fakebook,  a  delightful  low-key  collection 


of  (almost  all)  covers.  While  reaching  across  time  and 
space  to  dredge  up  an  eclectic  stack  of  tuneful  arcanities 
from  the  Kinks,  Flying  Burrito  Brothers,  John  Cale, 
NRBQ,  Cat  Stevens  and  the  Flamin  Groovies,  the  group 
also  lends  an  interpretative  ear  to  such  lower-profile 
contemporaries  as  The  Scene  Is  Now  and  Daniel 
Johnston.  In  a  minor  conceptual  coup,  Yo  La  even  cov- 
ers itself,  re-recording  a  song  each  from  the  prior  two 
albums.  The  simple  but  imaginative  arrangements  are 
ideal  for  Kaplan's  gentle,  amateurish  singing;  Hubley 's 
harmonies  likewise  contribute  to  the  friendly  folks-at- 
home  ambience. 

The  charming  album  by  Dave  Schramm's  band — a 
quartet  with  Fakebook  bassist  Al  Greller,  ex-Human 
Switchboard  drummer  Ron  Metz  and  a  keyboard 
player — mixes  literature  and  countryish  folk-rock  to  il- 
luminating effect.  Besides  being  a  deft  and  tasteful  gui- 
tarist, the  group's  namesake  is  a  winningly  plain 
Dylanesque  singer  who  makes  the  most  of  his  modest 
vocal  skills.  That  the  Schramms  can  set  Emily  Dickin- 
son and  Charles  Baudelaire  poetry  to  jaunty  original 
music  (only  on  three  songs — other  than  a  Tom  Paxton 
cover,  the  rest  of  the  record  is  self-penned)  and  get 
away  without  seeming  pretentious  is  only  one  reason  to 
seek  out  Walk  to  Delphi.  [hd/i] 

NEIL  YOUNG  (AND  CRAZY 
HORSE) 

Neil  Young  (Reprise)  1968* 

Everybody  Knows  This  Is  Nowhere  (Reprise)  1 969  • 

After  the  Gold  Rush  (Reprise)  1 970  « 

Harvest  (Reprise)  1 972  • 

Time  Fades  Away  (Reprise)  1 973 

On  the  Beach  (Reprise)  1974 

Tonight's  the  Night  (Reprise)  1 975  • 

Zuma  (Reprise)  1975  • 

American  Stars  'n  Bars  (Reprise)  1977 

Decade  (Reprise)  1 977  • 

Comes  a  Time  (Reprise)  1978  • 

Rust  Never  Sleeps  (Reprise)  1 979  * 

Live  Rust  (Reprise)  1979* 

Hawks  &  Doves  (Reprise)  1980 

Re-ac-tor  (Reprise)  1981 

Trans  (Geffen)  1 982 

Neil  and  the  Shocking  Pinks:  Everybody's  Rockin'  (Geffen) 

1983 

Old  Ways  (Geffen)  1985 
Landing  on  Water  (Geffen)  1986  • 
Life  (Geffen)  1987* 
This  Note's  for  You  (Reprise)  1988  • 
Freedom  (Reprise)  1989  • 
Ragged  Glory  (Reprise)  1990  • 

Dirty  rock'n'roller  and  hippie  narcissist.  Rockabilly 
hepcat  and  techno-troubadour.  Folkie  romantic  and 
bluesy  bad  boy.  Neil  Young  has  been  all  of  these 
things — and  more — in  the  course  of  a  solo  career  that's 
approaching  the  quarter-century  mark.  While  his  output 
during  the  '80s  was  particularly  erratic,  he's  always 
placed  art  above  commercial  success  or  the  need  to  ac- 
commodate fan  expectations.  Unpredictable  and  often 
infuriating,  Young  is  never  (well,  hardly  ever)  boring, 
a  state  of  grace  few  veteran  musicians  can  claim.  Hold- 
ing to  his  lyrical  axiom  that  it's  better  to  burn  out  than 
fade  away,  Young  is  one  of  the  only  oldtimers  to  make 


751 


real  peace  with  punk-rockers  half  his  age,  finding  reju- 
venation in  their  fountain  of  wild  youth.  Indeed, 
Young's  reckless  path  demonstrates  far  less  self  con- 
scious orthodoxy  than  many  so-called  alternative  bands. 
And  virtually  alone  among  his  aging  peers,  Young's 
intensity,  his  ability  and  inclination  to  throw  off  cas- 
cades of  violent  guitar  fury,  hasn't  softened  one  iota. 

The  self-titled  solo  debut,  released  in  the  wake  of 
Buffalo  Springfield's  demise,  explores  a  style  he  hasn't 
tried  since.  Apart  from  "The  Last  Trip  to  Tulsa,"  an 
awkward,  overlong  acoustic  epic,  the  album  features 
dense,  heavily  produced  pop  tunes,  swathed  in  layers  of 
overdubs.  Though  "The  Loner,"  "I've  Been  Waiting 
for  You,"  etc.  now  seem  a  bit  overdone,  their  emo- 
tional urgency  comes  through  loud  and  clear. 

Everybody  Knows  This  Is  Nowhere  marked  the 
first  of  many  radical  shifts,  turning  to  the  raw,  driving 
rock  many  feel  still  suits  him  best.  Backed  by  Crazy 
Horse,  who  display  the  ratty  fervor  of  punk  years  before 
the  fact,  he  yowls  and  whines  with  exhilarating  aban- 
don, cranking  out  jagged,  overwrought  guitar  solos  like 
his  life  depends  on  it.  The  catchy  "Cinnamon  Girl" 
makes  a  good  single,  but  the  extended  melodramas — 
"Cowgirl  in  the  Sand"  and  "Down  by  the  River" — 
offer  the  biggest  thrills. 

Enjoying  increased  exposure  after  signing  on  with 
Crosby,  Stills  and  Nash,  Young  achieved  prominence  as 
a  solo  artist  on  After  the  Gold  Rush,  a  mixed-bag  of 
noisy  raveups  (the  infamous  "Southern  Man,"  which 
inspired  Lynyrd  Skynyrd's  "Sweet  Home  Alabama"), 
brooding  folk-pop  ("Tell  Me  Why")  and  sappy  ballads 
("Birds").  Harvest  temporarily  sealed  his  fate  as  a 
mainstream  favorite,  thanks  to  the  lightweight  country- 
fled  chart-topper,  "Heart  of  Gold."  The  rest  of  the  al- 
bum ranges  from  a  dreadful  orchestral  reverie  ("A  Man 
Needs  a  Maid")  to  a  tortured  electric  lament 
("Words").  Both  LPs  were  later  issued  as  a  double- 
play  cassette. 

Obviously  spooked  by  the  tender  trap  of  success, 
Young  abandoned  his  perch  at  the  top  of  the  heap  with 
Time  Fades  Away.  A  live  album  of  all-new  material, 
this  sloppy,  sometimes  excruciatingly  rough  noisefest 
has  the  primal  directness  of  John  Lennon's  Plastic  Ono 
Band.  From  the  title  track  (his  own  "Subterranean 
Homesick  Blues")  to  the  aching  ballad  "Don't  Be  De- 
nied," Young  serves  notice  he  will  not  grow  old  grace- 
fully. 

The  restlessness  continued  with  On  the  Beach.  Af- 
ter the  snappy  leadoff  track  "Walk  On,"  Young  offers 
edgy,  dispirited  tales  of  social  decay  ("Revolution 
Blues"),  music-biz  cynicism  ("For  the  Turnstiles") 
and  other  fun  stuff.  Often  riveting,  but  a  downer.  Yet 
it's  a  barrel  of  laughs  compared  to  Tonight's  the  Night, 
Young's  most  hellish  album  ever.  Featuring  guitarist 
Nils  Lofgren  and  the  Crazy  Horse  rhythm  section  of 
Ralph  Molina  and  Billy  Talbot,  it's  a  chilling  meditation 
on  excess  and  death,  recorded  two  years  prior  to  its 
release.  The  ghostly  title  cut  concerns  the  1973  heroin 
death  of  a  roadie;  "Come  on  Baby  Let's  Go  Down- 
town" (to  score  drugs),  an  older  track,  is  sung  from  the 
grave  by  onetime  Crazy  Horse  guitarist  Danny  Whitten, 
who  overdosed  in  1972.  Young  and  crew  sound  drunk 
and  exhausted  throughout.  Essential. 

The  gloom  lifted  with  Zuma,  a  solid,  floor-shaking 
return  to  gritty  rock.  Backed  by  Crazy  Horse  (now  with 


Frank  Sampedro  on  rhythm  guitar),  Young  howls  the 
down-home  blues  ("Don't  Cry  No  Tears")  and  uncorks 
some  of  his  most  expressive  guitar  work  since  "Cowgirl 
in  the  Sand"  ("Cortez  the  Killer").  Following  a  1976 
album  with  Stephen  Stills,  his  concentration  began  to 
drift.  There's  a  precious  honkytonk  feel  to  many  of  the 
tracks  on  American  Stars  *n  Bars  (a  collection  of 
tracks  recorded  between  '74  and  '77  with  various  line- 
ups), although  "Like  a  Hurricane"  is  a  classic  guitar 
showcase  and  the  fascinating,  barely-in-tune  ballad 
"Will  to  Love"  finds  Neil  likening  himself  to  a  fish 
swimming  upstream. 

The  three-disc,  two-CD  Decade  makes  a  persuasive 
case  for  Young  as  one  of  the  most  consistently  adven- 
turous artists  in  rock.  Besides  all  the  "hits,"  it  includes 
a  generous  helping  of  strong  previously  unreleased  stuff 
and  presages  the  boxed-set  explosion  ten  years  later. 

After  pausing  to  tend  his  gentler  side  on  Comes  a 
Time,  a  largely  forgettable  outing  with  prominent  har- 
mony vocals  from  Nicolette  Larson,  Young  got  back  in 
the  groove  with  Rest  Never  Sleeps.  Joined  by  Crazy 
Horse,  he  turns  in  some  unusually  strong  ballads 
("Thrasher,"  "Powderfinger")  and  rocks  like  the 
devil,  especially  on  "Hey  Hey,  My  My  (Into  the 
Black),"  his  enthusiastic  response  to  punk.  Live  Rust 
is  a  career-spanning  double  live  set  that  includes  lethal 
versions  of  "Cortez  the  Killer,"  "Like  a  Hurricane" 
and  "Tonight's  the  Night,"  pushed  over  the  edge  by 
Crazy  Horse's  blazing  assault. 

Hawks  &  Doves  finds  Young  back  on  folk  and 
country  turf,  offering  a  few  incisive  tunes  amidst  the 
throwaways.  The  jaunty  title  track  looks  askance  at  mil- 
itarism and  jingoism,  a  concern  echoed  in  the  acoustic 
"Captain  Kennedy."  On  Re-ac-tor,  Young  and  Crazy 
Horse  reach  down  deep  to  get  that  big  nasty  electric 
noise.  The  material  isn't  consistent — nine  minutes  of 
the  disposable  "T-Bone"  strains  one's  patience — but 
"Shots,"  "Southern  Pacific"  and  others  crackle  with 
passion  and  hot  licks. 

Young  then  flipped  out,  and  embarked  on  a  series  of 
genre  exercises  that  seem  more  arbitrary  than  heartfelt. 
Trans  presents  Neil  as  electro-man,  complete  with 
synths,  vocoders  and  songs  about  computers  and  future 
shock;  the  new  version  of  his  Buffalo  Springfield  classic 
"Mr.  Soul"  is  particularly  odd.  Everybody's  Rockin' 
salutes  rockabilly  with  a  lightweight,  good-natured  set 
of  originals  and  oldies,  including  "Mystery  Train"  and 
"Bright  Lights,  Big  City."  Then  he  went  back  up  the 
country  for  Old  Ways,  down-home  silliness  highlighted 
by  a  campy  cover  of  "The  Wayward  Wind"  and  guest 
shots  by  Way  Ion  Jennings  and  Willie  Nelson.  Landing 
on  Water  suggests  he'd  been  listening  to  the  Cars,  add- 
ing synths  and  artificial  rhythms  to  standard  rock-band 
sounds.  Ill-considered  garish  production  spoils  some  de- 
cent tunes. 

Just  when  it  seemed  he'd  completely  lost  his  mar- 
bles, Young  reunited  with  Crazy  Horse  and  made  Life. 
While  the  LP  doesn't  have  the  slash-and-burn  abandon 
of  Zuma — overblown  arrangements  and  production  get 
in  the  way — "Mideast  Vacation,"  "Cryin'  Eyes"  and 
others  have  a  tough  edge  not  glimpsed  in  years. 

After  one  more  stylistic  detour — for  a  pointless  set 
of  big-band  blues  (co-billed  with  Bluenotes)  on  This 
Note's  for  You — Young  settled  back  into  his  best- 
known  grooves.  Freedom  has  a  spooky  acoustic  saga  of 


752 


social  strife  ("Crime  in  the  City"),  a  harsh  reinterpre- 
tation  of  "On  Broadway,"  strung-out  ballads  and  thun- 
dering electric  commentary  ("Rockin'  in  the  Free 
World"),  among  other  hearty  tracks.  Has  the  "real" 
Neil  Young  returned? 

Moving  from  the  topical  to  the  personal,  Ragged 
Glory  offers  additional  encouragement.  Crazy  Horse 
thrash  away  like  there's  no  tomorrow  as  Young  pulls  all 
sorts  of  exciting  noises  from  his  guitar  on  "Country 
Home,"  "Love  to  Burn"  and  others.  Although  widely 
regarded  as  his  best  in  a  blue  moon,  it  isn't  perfect.  A 
few  tracks  don't  work  and  the  offhand  sloppiness  occa- 
sionally seems  forced.  But  Ragged  Glory  does  offer  a 
bracing  reminder  that  Neil  Young  can  still  shake  the 
rafters  better  than  most  anyone  else.  Long  may  he  rave. 

The  essentials:  Everybody  Knows  This  Is  No- 
where, Time  Fades  Away,  Tonight's  the  Night, 
Zema,  Decade,  Rust  Never  Sleeps,  Ragged  Glory. 

Oyl 
PAUL  YOUNG 

No  Parlez  (Columbia)  1 983  * 
The  Secret  of  Association  (Columbia)  1 985  « 
Between  Two  Fires  (Columbia)  1 986  ® 
The  12"  Tape  EP  [tape]  (nr/CBS)  1986 
Other  Voices  (Columbia)  1990  4> 

Q-TIPS 

Q-T5ps  (nr/Chrysalis)  1980  (nr/MFP)  1986 

From  the  ashes  of  London  neo-soulsters  the  Q-Tips 
emerged  Paul  Young,  whose  smoky  voice,  singing  a 
mixture  of  classics  and  originals,  quickly  put  him  in  the 
British,  and  later,  American  charts.  The  choice  of  songs 
on  No  Parlez  ranges  from  the  prudent  ("Love  of  the 
Common  People,"  "Wherever  I  Lay  My  Hat  (That's 
My  Home),"  both  of  which  are  magnificent)  to  the 
surreal  (Joy  Division's  "Love  Will  Tear  Us  Apart," 
which  Young  slowly  mangles  beyond  recognition).  A 
few  of  the  new  compositions  are  swell  as  well.  The 
Royal  Family  (his  band)  and  the  Fabulous  Wealthy  Tarts 
(singers)  supply  sympathetic  backing;  Laurie  Latham's 
wide-screen  production  is  appropriately  lush  but  never 
abandons  the  rock  basis  that  anchored  classic  Motown 
records  of  the  '60s.  Young's  first  solo  outing  is  prom- 
ising: a  solid  pop  album  by  an  especially  good  singer. 

The  Secret  of  Association,  Young's  follow-up  as  a 
big  star,  shows  a  far  more  judicious  selection  process  at 
work,  resulting  in  an  exquisite  collection  that  mixes 
appropriate  covers  with  originals  he  co-wrote.  Items  like 
"Bite  the  Hand  That  Feeds,"  "I'm  Gonna  Tear  Your 
Playhouse  Down"  and  especially  Daryl  Hall's  "Every- 
time  You  Go  Away"  showcase  Young's  carefully  con- 
trolled vocals  and  Latham's  exceptionally  subtle 
production.  Each  clearly  articulated  sound  functions 
perfectly  in  the  arrangements,  resulting  in  seamless, 
emotionally  resonant  pop-soul  creations. 

Parting  company  with  Latham,  an  increasingly  self- 
confident  Young  co-wrote  most  of  the  songs  and  co- 
produced  Between  Two  Fires  with  Hugh  Padgham  and 
keyboardist  Ian  Kewley.  Although  lacking  the  finely 
honed  impact  of  The  Secret  of  Association,  a  few 
tracks  (e.g.,  "Wonderland,"  "A  Certain  Passion," 
"Some  People")  and  the  generally  high  level  of  appeal- 
ing quality  prove  that — in  this  case,  at  least— it's  pos- 
sible to  tamper  with  success  and  not  upset  the  apple  cart. 


Between  Two  Fires  wasn't  a  big  commercial  suc- 
cess in  the  US,  so  he  reversed  the  formula  for  Other 
Voices.  Instead  of  one  production  team,  there  are  four 
different  producers.  Instead  of  Young  co-writing  all  but 
two  of  the  songs,  he  co-wrote  three  and  used  covers  for 
the  rest.  The  result  is  Young's  most  polished,  least  co- 
hesive and,  oddly,  most  experimental  album,  since  the 
producers  seem  willing  to  try  almost  anything  to  get  him 
a  hit.  While  that  mostly  means  smothering  him  in  an 
adult-pop  sheen  or  a  wash  of  programmed  rhythms,  it 
also  leaves  the  door  open  for  a  jazzy  duet  with  Chaka 
Khan,  a  fast-rockin'  stab  at  Free's  "A  Little  Bit  of 
Love"  (he  murders  it)  and  a  beautiful  reading  of  the 
Chi-Lites'  "Oh  Girl" — the  album's  most  basic  and 
least-produced  track — which  became  a  hit.  If  any  lesson 
was  learned  from  all  this,  it  should  bode  well  for 
Young's  next  album.  Forget  the  layers  of  extraneous 
production  and  let  the  guy  sing. 

The  cassette-only  EP  contains  12-inch  mixes  of  five 
singles,  including  "Wherever  I  Lay  My  Hat,"  "Love  of 
the  Common  People"  and  "Everytime  You  Go  Away. " 

[i/ds] 

ROB  YOUNGER  AND  THE  RIFLES 

See  New  Christs. 

YOUNG  FRESH  FELLOWS 

The  Fabulous  Sounds  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  (PopUama 

Products)  1984» 

Topsy  Turvy  (PopLlama  Products)  1 985  • 
The  Men  Who  Loved  Music  (PopLlama  Products-Frontier) 

1987® 

Refreshments  (PopLlama  Products-Frontier)  1 987  • 
Totally  Lost  (Frontier)  1988  * 

Beans  and  Tolerance  (PopLlama  Products-Frontier)  1 989 
This  One's  for  the  Ladies  (Frontier)  1989  « 
Includes  a  Helmet  (nr/Utility)  1 990  • 
Electric  Bird  Digest  (Frontier)  1 991  « 

MIGHTY  SQUIRRELS/NEW  AGE 
URBAN  SQUIRRELS 

Ernest  Anyway  and  the  Mighty  Squirrels  Sing  the  Hits  of 
Johnny  Kidd  and  the  Pirates/Five  Virgins  (PopLlama 
Products)  1 986 

SQUIRRELS  GROUP 

What  Gives?  (PopLlama  Products)  1 990  • 

JIMMY  SiLVA 

Remnants  of  the  Empty  Set  (PopLlama  Products)  1 986 

JIMMY  SILVA  AND 
THE  EMPTY  SET 

Fly  Like  a  Dog  (PopLlama  Products)  1 987 

SCOTT  MCCAUGHEY 

My  Chartreuse  Opinion  (PopLlama  Products)  1 989  [CD] 

(East  Side  Digital)!  989  • 

From  the  back  cover  of  Fabulous  Sounds:  "A  col- 
lector's disc  of  the  sounds  that  we  in  the  Pacific  North- 
west live  and  play  by — a  high-hearted,  mediunvfi 
recording  of  such  nostrums  as  the  whistle  of  a  ferryboat, 
the  hoofbeats  of  the  rodeo,  the  roar  of  racing  hydro- 
planes and  the  musical  beat  of  our  symphonies  and 
jazz."  Nostrums?  From  the  narrated  grooves:  mild  fri- 
volity like  "Power  Mowers  Theme,"  "Teenage  Dogs 


753 


in  Trouble"  and  "Rock  and  Roll  Pest  Control,"  played 
by  an  adaptable,  skillful  pop  trio  with  folly  hi  their 
minds  and  a  tune  in  their  hearts.  Perfect. 

Topsy  Turvy  only  contains  songs,  but  that's  no  haz- 
ard in  light  of  such  bright,  well-played  numbers  as  the 
traveloguish  "Searchin'  U.S.A."  and  "You've  Got 
Your  Head  on  Backwards,"  a  "Tobacco  Road"-styled 
beat  raveup  borrowed  from  the  estimable  Sonics.  Armed 
with  a  winsome  sense  of  nerduiess  (check  out  the  teen 
angst  of  "Hang  Out  Right")  and  a  finely  tuned  grasp  of 
Culture  101  ("The  New  John  Agar"),  the  Seattle's  four 
Fellows  (bassist  Jim  Sangster's  arrival  allowed  singer/ 
bassist  Scott  McCaughey  to  switch  to  guitar)  put  a  hu- 
morous spin  on  everything  they  touch  here,  but  not  in 
such  a  jokey  way  that  they  can't  be  taken  seriously. 
Another  delightful  outing.  (One  BSD-label  CD  manages 
to  contain  the  first  two  albums  in  their  entirety.) 

The  characters  assassinated  by  The  Men  Who 
Loved  Music  (entitled  Chicago  19  on  the  spine:  ask  for 
it  by  name  in  your  local  record  store)  include  an  assort- 
ment of  old  tube  stars  (on  "TV  Dream"),  a  rueful  tune 
about  "Hank,  Karen  and  Elvis"  and  the  white-funking 
"Amy  Grant."  But  there's  nothing  cruel  about  these 
iconic  invocations — it's  just  the  Fellows'  way  of  saying 
"hey!"  The  self-deprecating  quartet's  best  LP  so  far 
boasts  winners  in  a  number  of  mocking  styles,  e.g. ,  the 
stomping  "Get  Outta  My  Cave"  (a  perfect  song  for  the 
Troggs  to  cover),  "I  Got  My  Mojo  Working  (And  I 
Thought  You'd  Like  to  Know)"  and  the  blues-rocking 
"I  Don't  Let  the  Little  Things  Get  Me  Down."  Despite 
their  growing  underground-band-makes-good  coolness, 
they  can  still  admit  to  selfconscious  geekiness  on  the 
power-popping  "When  the  Girls  Get  Here."  (The  21- 
song  Men  Who  Loved  CD,  with  Henry  Winkler's  face 
on  the  disc,  appends  the  previously  unreleased  "Happy 
Death  Theme"  and  everything  but  the  remixed  version 
of  the  first  LP's  "Young  Fresh  Fellows  Theme"  from 
the  subsequent  Refreshments  mini-album.) 

Refreshments  gathers  up  seven  outtakes  and  rari- 
ties, including  "Back  Room  of  the  Bar"  (recorded  for, 
but  omitted  from,  Topsy  Turvy),  "Beer  Money"  (in- 
cluded on  the  Men  Who  Loved  Music  cassette), 
"Young  Fresh  Fellows  Update  Theme"  (an  obscure 
1985  single)  and  the  previously  unissued  "Broken  Bas- 
ket." 

McCaughey's  songs  on  Totally  Lost  give  the  Fel- 
lows the  straightest,  least  inventively  kooky  things 
they've  ever  done.  The  LP  is  by  no  means  bad,  merely 
underwhelming.  Despite  flashes  of  familiar  lyrical  ab- 
surdity ("The  Universal  Trendsetter,"  "Take  My  Brain 
Away,"  "I'd  Say  That  You  Were  Upset"),  simplifica- 
tion, with  a  damaging  ah*  of  haste,  eliminates  a  lot  of  the 
band's  ebullient  personality  in  favor  of  guitar-rocking 
forthrightness.  Some  of  the  music  preserves  the  ambi- 
tious cross-pollination  ("Picky  Piggy,"  "No  Help  at 
All,"  "Little  Softy"),  but  Totally  Lost  as  a  whole  is 
disappointingly  serious  and  unimaginative.  The  CD  sub- 
stitutes a  longer  version  of  "Totally  Lost  Theme"  and 
adds  "You're  Not  Supposed  to  Laugh"  and  "World 
Tour  '88." 

Lead  guitarist  Chuck  Carroll  de-Fellowized  himself 
after  Totally  Lost,  leaving  the  "3  Young  French  Fel- 
lows 3"  to  cut  a  limited-edition  official  bootleg  vari- 
ously known  as  Beans  and  Tolerance  or  Simply 
Wonderful,  Wonderfully  Simple  (thanks  to  the  lack  of 


a  cover  or  label:  the  only  identifying  marks  are  crypti- 
cally scratched  in  the  vinyl  around  the  center  hole). 
Recorded  quickly  with  more  enthusiasm  than  care,  the 
twelve  cavalier  tunes — most  in  a  gritty  and/or  psyche- 
delic '60sish  vein— add  up  to  a  joyous,  rock'n'rolling 
studio  party  with  massed  backing  vocals,  one-take 
chaos,  meandering  guitar  solos,  bum  notes  and  every- 
thing else  that  such  great  undertakings  require. 

Guitarist  Kurt  Bloch  (also  of  the  Fastbacks),  the 
newest  Fellow,  rocks  out  like  crazy  and  contributes  three 
cool  tunes  to  the  loudly  melodic  This  One's  for  the 
Ladies.  Although  the  LP  is  a  bit  slow  coming  out  of  the 
gate,  it  picks  up  steam  with  kicky  pop  hooks,  electric 
power  and  deft  arrangements.  A  bare-bones  version  of 
Ray  Davies'  "Picture  Book"  stands  out,  as  do  such 
sturdy  originals  as  "Middle  Man  of  Time,"  "Miss 
Lonelyhearts,"  "The  Family  Gun,"  "Lost  Track  of 
Time"  and  the  forlorn  country  corn  of  "Deep  Down  and 
Inbetween,"  on  which  Replacements  guitarist  Slim 
Dunlap  guests. 

Includes  a  Helmet,  released  on  Billy  Bragg's  Util- 
ity label,  is  an  eight-song  retrospective— a  sketchy  but 
effective  introduction  that  contains  few  of  the  songs 
mentioned  above  but  is  still  worth  hearing  if  you  don't 
own  all  the  records.  (Collectors'  alert:  Helmet  includes 
the  otherwise  unreleased  "A  Thing  Like  That.") 

With  Dennis  Diken  of  the  Smithereens  pounding  the 
skins  (and  members  of  the  extended  Fellows  family 
pitching  in),  Scott  McCaughey's  lightweight  solo  record 
contains  more  evidence  of  his  flip  wit  and  bizarre  imag- 
inings than  the  band's  recent  LPs.  (Not  to  mention  a 
delightful  version  of  the  Dixie  Cups'  "People  Say.") 
With  unpredictable  musical  variety  ("A  Sobering 
Thought,"  for  one  especially  weird  example,  shifts  be- 
tween film  noir  and  Imagine-era  Lennon,  adding  garden 
shears,  a  hammer  and  a  wacky  guitar  solo  to  further 
confuse  things),  My  Chartreuse  Opinion  offers  mod- 
erate fun  without  guilt.  (The  CD  adds  four  tracks  by 
Jimmy  Silva  and  two  songs  on  which  McCaughey  is 
blandly  backed  by  the  Ben  Vaughn  Combo.) 

Related  (inbred?)  projects:  As  the  Mighty  Squirrels, 
the  Fellows  back  singer  Rob  ("Ernest  Anyway")  Mor- 
gan on  a  brilliant  1986  dual-concept  album.  One  side 
covers  pre-Beatles  classics  (intentionally  overlooking 
the  best-known  "Shakin'  All  Over"  and  "Please  Don't 
Touch")  by  Johnny  Kidd  and  the  Pirates.  The  flip,  per- 
formed by  a  mixture  of  musicians  dubbed  the  New  Age 
Urban  Squirrels,  attacks  representatives  of  the  later  '60s 
(e.g.,  "Hair"  and  "Spirit  in  the  Sky"),  which  they 
devolve  into  cocktail  lounge  laxative  sleaze. 

The  second  Squirrels  LP,  a  mad  assortment  of 
Fellows-speckled  lineups,  covers  and  recording  circum- 
stances, is  total  genius.  For  such  an  irreverent  assault  on 
pop  music,  What  Gives?  (some  of  it  retrieved  from 
obscure  45s  and  compilations)  has  great  playing  and 
production,  excellent  vocals  by  Morgan  and  enough  re- 
visionist imagination  to  cover  a  dozen  such  undertak- 
ings. After  a  rollicking  rendition  of  a  gospel  standard,  a 
spunky  revamp  of  Gilbert  O'Sullivan's  doggy-do  "Get 
Down,"  a  chaotic  monster-heavy  assault  on  Bill  With- 
ers' "Lean  on  Me"  (dissolving  into  Alice  Cooper's 
"Eighteen"),  a  relatively  straight  version  of  Paul  Re- 
vere and  the  Raiders'  obnoxiously  pushy  "Let  Me!" 
and  the  positively  inspired  (Wizard  of)  "Oz  '90"  med- 
ley, the  handful  of  Squirrel  originals  merely  ice  this 


754 


monumentally  entertaining  cake.  The  perfect  antidote  to 
all  fifteen  volumes  of  Have  a  Nice  Day! 

Bay  Area  singer/guitarist  Jimmy  Silva,  a  longtime 
associate  who  has  written  and  recorded  with  the  Fel- 
lows, gets  the  favor  returned  on  his  second  album,  Fly 
Like  a  Dog.  McCaughey  contributed  to  the  songwrit- 
ing;  the  entire  band,  alongside  Dennis  Diken,  ex-Beau 
Brummels  Sal  Valentino  and  Declan  Mulligan  and  oth- 
ers provide  the  instrumental  backing  for  Silva' s  charg- 
ing rock  tunes.  (Although  the  Fellows  don't,  Diken  and 
Valentino  also  appear  on  Silva' s  first  LP  which  is,  none- 
theless, memorable  and  unpretentious  power  pop.)  Two 
tracks  from  each  are  graciously  included  on  Mc- 
Caughey's  My  Chartreuse  Opinion  CD.  [i] 

See  also  Fastbacks. 


YOUNG  GODS 

The  Young  Gods  (nr/Product  Inc.)  1 987  (Play  It  Again 

Sam)  1989® 

L'Eau  Rouge-Red  Water  (Play  It  Again  Sam)  1989  • 
The  Young  Gods  Play  Kurt  Weill  (Play  It  Again  Sam- 
Caroline)  1 991  « 

Few  bands  that  can  rock  as  hard  as  Switzerland's 
Young  Gods  are  so  crafty  at  sampling  technology. 
Where  most  mediocre  industrialists  mix  drum  machines 
with  real  guitars,  this  trio  (who  took  their  name  from  a 
Swans  song)  utilizes  an  inhuman  live  drummer  and  a 
sampler  that  produces  an  incredible  array  of  crunching 
guitar  riffs  and  cybernetic  keyboard  tones.  That  Franz 
Treichler  (the  only  constant  God)  sings  almost  exclu- 
sively in  husky  French  is  their  next  biggest  asset,  adding 
a  palpably  sensual  and  exotic  edge  to  the  electronic 
forays,  while  Roll  Mosimann's  stimulating  production 
is  so  essential  he's  practically  a  fourth  member. 

After  the  excitement  provoked  by  the  thunderous 
1986  single  "Envoye!"  (included  on  the  CD  of  The 
Young  Gods),  the  eponymous  debut — an  arid  collec- 
tion of  martial  beats — is  a  minor  letdown.  One  tune, 
"Jimmy,"  has  the  same  rush  of  exultant  energy  as  "En- 
voye!"  but  an  incongruous  cover  of  Gary  Glitter's  "Did 
You  Miss  Me"  doesn't  aid  the  cause. 

Everything  comes  into  sharp  focus  on  L'Eau 
Rouge,  which  offers  a  dense,  enthralling  mix  of  neo- 
metallic  riff-driven  chargers  and  subtly  symphonic  cre- 
ations. From  the  opening  carnival  cabaret  strains  of  "La 
Fille  de  la  Mort"  to  the  rampaging  "Longue  Route" 
and  "L'Amourir"  singles  (the  latter  on  the  CD  only), 
Treichler 's  gravely  leer  and  existential  dissertations  fit 
this  guitar-heavy  material  like  a  leather  codpiece.  And 
who  could  fail  to  appreciate  the  audacity  of  men  titling 
an  album  and  writing  a  song  in  honor  of  menstruation? 

[gef] 

YOUNG  MARBLE  GIANTS 

Colossal  Youth  (Rough  Trade)  1 980  • 

Testcard  EP  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1981 

The  Peel  Sessions  EP  (nr/Strange  Fruit)  1 988 

WEEKEND 

La  Variete  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 982  (Rough  Trade)  1 990  • 
Live  at  Ronnie  Scotfs  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 983 

GIST 

Embrace  the  Herd  (nr/Rough  Trade)  1 983 


Cardiff's  Young  Marble  Giants — singer  Alison  Stat- 
ton  and  the  Moxham  brothers,  Philip  (bass)  and  Stuart 
(guitar,  organ) — managed  to  stay  together  long  enough 
to  produce  one  oddball  album  before  apathy  got  the 
upper  hand.  Using  few  overdubs,  Colossal  Youth  re- 
creates the  mythical  ambience  of  a  beatnik  coffeehouse. 
Station's  gentleness  and  the  soft  accompaniment  con- 
tribute to  a  hushed  mood  that's  either  soporific  or  en- 
chanting, depending  on  your  point  of  view  (or  blood 
pressure).  Minimalism  never  had  such  polite  advocates 
before. 

Following  YMG,  Station  joined  Weekend,  a  trio 
with  guitarists  Simon  Booth  and  Spike  hi  which  she 
sang  and  played  bass;  the  session  players  on  La  Variete 
are  uncredited.  Well  ahead  of  the  mid-' 80s  pack,  the 
group  tried  to  concoct  a  jazz-pop  genre  that  a  larger 
range  of  musical  modes  than  such  a  concept  might  sug- 
gest. La  Variety  offers  a  good  outline  of  Weekend's 
intentions,  as  a  song  that  starts  out  in  YMG  mode  gets 
transformed  into  a  full-blown  samba,  complete  with 
horn  section.  While  not  all  of  Weekend's  experiments 
here  are  similarly  successful,  the  LP  is  unique  and,  for 
the  most  part,  delightful.  After  Weekend,  Booth  went 
on  to  form  and  lead  the  longer-term  and  more  main- 
streamed  Working  Week.  Station  returned  to  Wales  and 
didn't  really  resurface  until  the  late  '80s,  in  partnership 
with  Ian  Devine. 

The  gist  of  the  Gist  is  Stuart  Moxham,  although 
Embrace  the  Herd  involves  assistance  by  Phil  on  three 
tracks  and  contributions  from  other  friends,  including 
Statton.  Embrace  the  Herd  is  a  lovely  little  record  that 
makes  good,  careful  use  of  unfancy  electronics  as  well 
as  guitar  in  fragile  pop  songs  and  atmospheric  (but  not 
all  that  vague)  instrumentals  that  benefit  from  Mox- 
ham's  rare  mix  of  roaming  imagination  and  modest  sim- 
plicity, [jy/gk/i] 

See  also  Devine  &  Statton. 


YOUNG  MC 

Stone  Cold  Rhymin'  (Delicious  Vinyl)  1989  • 

Having  made  himself  invaluable  to  Delicious  Vinyl 
by  cleaning  up  Tone-Loc's  too-funky  lyrics  on  the  chart- 
topping  "Wild  Thing"  and  co-writing  "Funky  Cold 
Medina,"  London-born  University  of  Southern  Califor- 
nia economics  grad  Marvin  Young  helped  himself  to  a 
hit  with  "Bust  a  Move,"  a  goodnatured  romantic  tale 
with  funny  lyrics  and  a  rhythm  track  built  mainly  on  a 
bass  line  for  effortless  pop  accessibility.  Putting  a  more 
adult  spin  (except  for  the  high-schooled  "Principal's 
Office,"  another  smash  single)  on  the  same  kind  of 
friendly  middle-class  raps  that  made  stars  of  Jazzy  Jeff 
and  the  Fresh  Prince,  Young  MC  smooths  the  hardness 
out  of  hip-hop  and  the  colorful  colloquialisms  out  of 
B-boy  rhetoric.  If  Stone  Cold  Rhymin'  too  frequently 
succumbs  to  PG-rated  blandness,  Young  instills  this  un- 
challenging  platter  with  enough  winning  personality  to 
make  a  good  time.  [i] 


YOUTH  &  BEN  WATKINS 

The  Empty  Quarter  (nr/llluminated)  1 984 

BRILLIANT 

Kiss  the  Lips  of  Life  (Atlantic)  1 986 


755 


Blue  Pearl  (Big  Life-PolyGram)  1990  <t> 

Three  years  after  opting  out  of  Killing  Joke,  dread- 
locked  bassist  Youth  teamed  up  with  former  Hitmen 
vocalist  Ben  Watkins  (now  also  versed  in  keyboards, 
drams  and  guitar)  to  record  The  Empty  Quarter,  the 
soundtrack  to  a  play.  Forceful  and  musically  intelligent, 
with  layers  of  disembodied  sound  lunging  and  pulsing  in 
and  out,  it's  a  striking  collection  of  dramatic,  largely 
electronic  instramentals  that  bear  some  of  Killing  Joke's 
fury,  mixed  with  subtlety  and  artsiness.  Surprising. 

Equally  unexpected  is  the  sound  of  the  trio  Youth 
subsequently  formed  with  vocalist  June  Montana  (ex- 
Dream  Academy  backing  singer)  and  guitarist/ 
keyboardist  Jim  Cauty  (who  played  with  Zodiac 
Mindwarp  and  was  a  leading  album/poster  designer  in 
the  '70s).  The  Stock- Aitken- Waterman  team  produced 
the  dismal  Kiss  the  Lips  of  Life,  revealing  the  cynical 
Brilliant  to  be  into  high-tech  dance-rock  and  neo-soul 
that  could  just  as  easily  be  by  the  Thompson  Twins, 
Swing  Out  Sister  or  Bananarama.  And  what  this  bunch 
does  to  James  Brown's  "It's  a  Man's  Man's  Man's 
World"  is  sad. 

After  Cauty  had  gone  on  to  fame  and  fortune  as  Bill 
Drummond's  partner  in  KLF,  Youth  teamed  up  with 
unpleasantly  deep-voiced  American  singer  Durga  Mc- 
Broom,  and  produced,  played  on  and  programmed  Blue 
Pearl,  a  muscular  but  mediocre  dance  record.  [i] 
See  also  Justified  Ancients  ofMu  Mu,  Killing  Joke, 
Zodiac  Mindwarp. 

YOUTH  OF  TODAY 

Can't  Close  My  Eyes  EP  (Schism)  1985  (Caroline)  1988 
Break  Down  the  Walls  (Wishing  Well)  1 986  (Revelation) 

1988 

We're  Not  in  This  Alone  (Caroline)  1 988 
Youth  of  Today  EP  (Revelation)  1990 

Before  he  began  devoting  his  energies  to  the  Hare 
Krishna  parade,  singer/lyricist  Ray  Cappo  (aka  Ray  2 
Day)  was  a  cult  hero  in  New  York's  positive  core  and 


straight-edge  punk  communities.  Playing  with  aggres- 
sion and  conviction,  Youth  of  Today  preached  self- 
discipline,  scene  unity  and  standing  up  for  one's  beliefs, 
taking  a  hardline  stance  against  the  consumption  of 
drugs,  alcohol  and  meat. 

The  Youth  crew's  first  release,  Can't  Close  My 
Eyes,  was  a  locally  distributed  7-inch  of  rousing  energy 
if  little  ingenuity.  Each  song  consists  of  hyper-speed 
assaults  broken  by  slow  and  heavy  mosh  sections  that 
kick  back  into  another  bout  of  rage.  Despite  the  monot- 
onous ebb  and  flow,  there's  a  certain  inspirational  value 
to  lyrics  like  "Voice  your  opinion/Just  don't  sit  still/ 
Speak  your  mind/ At  your  free  will."  The  Caroline  edi- 
tion is  a  remixed  12-inch. 

Break  Down  the  Walls  typifies  New  York  straight- 
edge style,  with  chants,  jetting  momentum  and  self- 
awareness  messages.  But  Cappo 's  indecipherable 
closed-throat  rasp  makes  the  LP  hard  to  endure  and  its 
intentions  hard  to  understand.  The  remixed  1988  reissue 
contains  one  added  track. 

Without  sacrificing  intensity,  Cappo' s  voice  is  tame 
enough  on  We're  Not  in  This  Alone  to  blend  with  the 
music  and  have  the  lyrics  come  through  loud  and  clear. 
The  band's  improved  playing  introduces  dynamic 
realms  that  were  unknown  on  previous  efforts.  Songs 
address  animal  rights,  friendship  and  social  justice. 

Youth  of  Today  splintered  after  that  second  album. 
Cappo  joined  the  Krishnas  (not  exactly  a  band)  and  later 
fronted  Shelter,  a  Krishna  hardcore  group;  guitarist  John 
Porcell  formed  Judge.  The  1990  release  is  a  posthumous 
three-song  single  of  their  last  recordings,  ironically 
some  of  their  best  material.  [mg] 

YOU'VE  GOT  FOETUS  ON 
YOUR  BREATH 

See  Foetus  Inc. 

YUNG  WU 

See  Fee  lies. 


756 


ZANTEES 

Out  for  Kicks  (Bompi)  1 980 
Rhythm  Bound  (Midnight)  1 983 
The  Zcmtees  EP  (Midnight)  1984 

A-BONES 

Tempo  Tantrum  EP  (Ger.  Exile)  1 986 
Free  Beer  for  Life!  EP  (Norton)  1 988 
Life  of  Riley  (Norton)  1991 

The  Zantees,  a  New  York-based  rockabilly  combo 
named  after  an  episode  of  Outer  Limits,  aren't  overly 
serious  about  their  music,  which  makes  Out  for  Kicks 
delightfully  irreverent.  Singing  and  playing  with  a  spirit 
money  can't  buy  and  synthesizers  can't  replicate,  they 
easily  make  the  oldies  ("I  Thought  It  Over," 
"Cruisin',"  three  others)  their  own;  the  originals  ("Gas 
Up,"  "Blonde  Bombshell,"  six  others)  sound  like  old- 
ies. A  futile  gesture,  perhaps,  but  a  grand  one.  Poor 
recording  quality  adds  atmosphere.  (Bassist  Rob  Norris 
graduated  to  the  Bongos.) 

With  one-take  loose  sound  on  Rhythm  Bound, 
method  singer  Billy  Miller  barks  out  such  ethnic  'billy 
originals  as  "Tic  Tac  Toe"  and  "Money  to  Burn." 
Drummer  Miriam  Linna  (previously  a  charter  member 
of  the  Cramps)  also  vocalizes  on  a  couple:  "I  Need  a 
Man"  and  "I'm  Ready."  The  guitar-picking  Statile 
brothers'  proficient  chromatic  single-string  playing  pro- 
vides a  dual  carburetor  rhythm  thrust. 

The  subsequent  12-inch  combines  two  tracks  from 
the  second  album  with  a  pair  of  blazing  live  oldies  (one 
sung  each  by  Miller  and  Linna). 

Besides  publishing  the  luridly  wonderful  Kicks  fan- 
zine and  running  the  Norton  Records  label  (home  of 
Hasil  Adkins  and  countless  Link  Wray  reissues),  Miller 
and  Lmna  currently  lead  the  rocking  A-Bones.  Tempo 
Tantrum  is  a  four-song  10-inch;  Free  Beer  is  a  six- 
song  12-inch.  [si/i] 


FRANK  ZAPPA  AND  THE 
MOTHERS 

See  Captain  Bee/heart  and  the  Magic  Band. 

PETER  ZAREMBA'S  LOVE 
DELEGATION 

See  Fleshtones. 

ZARKONS 

See  Alley  Cats. 

ZEITGEIST 

Translate  Slowly  (DB)  1985 


REIVERS 

Saturday  (DB-Capitol)  1 987  • 
End  of  the  Day  (DB-Capitol)  1 989  ® 
Translate  Slowly  [CD]  (DB)  1 989  * 
Pop  Beloved  (DB)  1 991  ® 

Out  of  Austin,  Texas  came  Zeitgeist,  two  guys  and 
two  girls  making  moody,  melodic  and  occasionally  stun- 
ning folk-rock  with  a  deep  debt  to  the  '60s — although 
there's  plenty  of  modern  angst  and  a  rootsy  feel  more 
western  than  country.  On  Translate  Slowly,  John  Cros- 
lin  and  Kim  Longacre  work  up  a  Byrdsy  guitar  drone 
and  evocative  vocal  interplay  that  either  lulls  with  a 
tepid  sonic  wash  ("Cowboys")  or  explodes  with  brood- 
ing fury  ("Things  Don't  Change")  and  hot-breath  pas- 
sion ("Araby").  Croslin's  dry-as-dust  vocals  mix  equal 
measures  of  desire  and  distance,  but  Longacre' s  classi- 
cally trained  harmonies  soar  on  a  remake  of  Willie  Nel- 
son's "Blue  Eyes  Crying  in  the  Rain." 

Forced  to  abandon  the  Zeitgeist  name  by  a  Minne- 
apolis percussion  ensemble  that  had  it  first,  the  quartet 
chose  an  equally  inappropriate  new  handle.  (Capitol 
stickered  the  second  LP  with  the  band's  former  name. 
DB  returned  the  favor  by  stickering  copies  of  Translate 
Slowly  with  a  wry  mention  of  the  new  name  but  later 
switched  the  artwork  and  reissued  it  as  a  Reivers  record, 
putting  three  bonus  tracks  on  the  CD.) 

Both  sides  of  the  Don  Dixon-produced  Saturday 
begin  with  hard-edged  Pylonesque  syncopation,  but  oth- 
erwise the  LP  consists  of  unpretentious  guitar  pop  sug- 
gesting 10,000  Maniacs  with  less  idiosyncrasy  The 
band's  personality  hinges  on  appealing  vocals;  ironi- 
cally, a  nutty  instrumental  ("Karate  Party")  is  one  of 
the  record's  standouts.  The  ability  to  change  gears  from 
delicate  melodicism  ("Electra")  to  driving  rock  ("Wait 
for  Time,"  "Secretariat")  is  a  definite  asset.  (The  CD 
adds  a  bonus  track. ) 

End  of  the  Day  finds  the  Reivers  moving  into  adult- 
hood with  grace  and  ease,  dropping  much  of  the  early 
discs'  otherworldly  wispiness  in  favor  of  a  more  mea- 
sured, down-to-earth  feel.  The  approach  is  well-suited 
to  Croslin's  bittersweet  songs,  which  reflect  grown-up 
dilemmas  ("It's  About  Time,"  "Cut  Above")  and  ir- 
retrievable losses  ("Star  Telegram,"  "Discontent  of 
Winter")  with  insight  and  empathy.  The  vocal  interplay 
between  Croslin  and  Longacre  truly  blossoms  here,  and 
Longacre  shines  on  her  solo  showcases  (including 
"Lazy  Afternoon,"  a  Broadway  show  tune  originally 
performed  by  Barbra  Streisand).  There's  also  yet  an- 
other nifty  guitar  instrumental,  "Dude  Man  Hey." 

[kh/i/hdj 

ZERO  BOYS 

Vicious  Circle  (Nimrod)  1982  (Toxic  Shock)  1988 

DATURA  SEEDS 

Who  Do  You  Want  It  to  Be?  (Toxic  Shock)  1 990 

757 


Vicious  Circle  is  yet  another  example  of  how  US 
hardcore  seemed  to  peak  coast-to-coast  in  '82.  With 
attention  focused  on  the  well-established  scenes,  how- 
ever, who  would  have  expected  an  album  this  loaded 
with  intensity,  zeal,  smarts,  hooks  and  chops  to  come 
from  Indianapolis?  The  young  quartet  is  surprisingly 
tight,  and  recording  quality  is  impeccable,  zooming  past 
like  an  amplified  dragster.  ''Civilization's  Dying"  (with 
commentary  on  the  then-recent  shootings  of  John  Len- 
non,  Ronald  Reagan  and  the  Pope),  ''Dirty  Alleys/Dirty 
Minds"  and  "Hightime"  all  zip  by  fast  and  hard  (yet 
crystal  clear),  while  others  like  "New  Generation"  and 
"Livin'  in  the  8Q's"  are  real  "My  Generation"  calls  to 
arms. 

The  Zero  Boys  petered  out,  reuniting  from  time  to 
time  to  tour  but  not  doing  any  further  recording.  Two 
members  joined  Toxic  Reasons;  singer/guitarist  Paul 
Mahern  emerged  recently  with  another  sharp  hand,  the 
power-poppy  Datura  Seeds.  Recorded  as  a  quartet,  Who 
Do  You  Want  It  to  Be?  is  a  diverse  and  substantial  LP 
with  impressively  tuneful  songs  and  spunky  delivery. 

The  reissue  of  Vicious  Circle  has  six  bonus  cuts 
tacked  on  (and  this  is  vinyl!),  including  three  from  The 
Master  Tape,  Vol  1  compilation.  [jr] 

ZONES 

Under  Influence  (nr/Arista)  1 979 

This  offshoot  of  Midge  Ure's  pre-Rich  Kids  Scottish 
pop  outfit,  Slik,  had  strong  players,  two  of  whom — 
guitarist  Willy  Gardner  and  keyboardist  Billy 
Mclsaac — wrote  good  songs  and  one  of  whom  (Gard- 
ner) had  an  attractive  if  limited  vocal  style,  like  a  young 
hybrid  of  Mick  Ronson  and  Dave  Edmunds.  But  what  to 
do  with  it  all?  Pop?  Hard  stuff?  Commercial  new  wave? 
Reggae-pop?  The  Zones  try  a  little  of  everything  on 
Under  Influence  without  any  forceful,  unifying  person- 
ality, despite  passing  nods  to  Mott  and  the  Skids  (which 
two  Zones  later  joined).  No  bad  cuts,  but  only  one  rises 
from  enjoyable  to  exciting.  [jg] 

ZOV1ET  FRANCE 

Hessian  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 982  • 

Garista  [tape]  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 982  <}> 

Norsch  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 983  * 

Mohnomishe  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 983  « 

Eostre  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1984  * 

Popular  Soviet  Songs  and  Youth  Music  [tape]  (nr/Red 

Rhino)  1985 

Gris  (Ger.  No  Man's  Land)  1 985 
Misfits,  Loony  Tunes  and  Squalid  Criminals  (nr/Red  Rhino) 

1986 

Lohland  [tape]  (Hoi.  Staalplat)  1987 
A  Flock  of  Rotations  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 987 
Shouting  at  the  Ground  (nr/Red  Rhino)  1 988  • 
Look  into  Me  (nr/Charrm)  1 990  • 
Just  an  Illusion  [CD]  (Hoi.  Staalplat)  1 990  • 

One  of  the  most  idiosyncratic,  original  and  reclusive 
groups  in  new  music,  Newcastle's  Zoviet  France  issued 
most  of  its  early  records  with  bizarre  handmade  covers, 
using  nontraditional  materials  in  lieu  of  cardboard. 
(Even  as  the  records  have  appeared  on  CD,  the  group 
maintains  its  fondness  for  odd  packages:  Just  an  Illu- 
sion comes  in  a  balsa  box.)  As  far  as  the  music  inside 


of  the  sleeves,  Zoviet  France  uses  textures  and  repetitive 
structures  (delay  boxes  come  in  useful  here)  to  hypno- 
tize the  listener,  playing  minimal  percussion  and  lots  of 
low-tech  electronics. 

Hessian,  a  12-inch  45  in  a  screen-printed  cloth  bag, 
is  enthusiastically  primitive  and  abrasive,  with  percus- 
sion and  feedback  as  well  as  silly  chanting,  hyperactive 
bongo  playing  and  the  shrill  piping  of  flutes.  Originally 
issued  only  on  cassette,  Garista  lacks  percussion,  oc- 
casionally gets  very  silly  indeed  and  is  also  very  murky 
and  industrial  sounding.  Besides  being  self-indulgent  in 
parts,  the  recording  quality  is  poor 

Norsch,  a  12-inch  45  wrapped  in  embossed  tinfoil, 
is  the  most  powerful  of  Zoviet  France's  early  record- 
ings. Side  One  begins  as  screechy  nightmare  marching 
music  punctuated  by  tape  fragments  of  some  militaristic 
speech,  fading  into  a  nimbly,  ominous  bad  trip.  Side 
Two  starts  with  dreamy  Arabian  drones  then  goes 
pound-happy,  with  moaning  and  rudimentary  synthe- 
sizer howls. 

Mohnomishe  and  Eostre,  both  double-album  sets 
(each  available  as  a  single  CD),  virtually  abandon  per- 
cussion in  favor  of  dense  atmospheres  of  echoey  ambi- 
ent electronics,  conjuring  up  images  of  thick  fog. 
Packed  in  masonite,  the  former  (which  evinces  a  grow- 
ing Can  influence)  sets  you  on  a  coastal  highway,  pro- 
pelled along  by  subtle  sequencer  action.  As  dogs  bark 
and  cars  drone  by,  repeating  blocks  of  sound — perhaps 
mangled  guitar — come  at  you  in  hypnotic  waves.  Inside 
the  plastic  and  tissue  packaging,  Eostre  traps  you  on  the 
docks  as  mammoth  ships  sail  slowly  by,  clanking  and 
rambling  through  dense  sheets  of  mist;  whoever' s  sing- 
ing on  the  deck  sounds  awfully  weirded  out.  Great  stuff. 

In  1985,  to  catch  up  with  an  increasing  backlog  of 
material,  the  group  issued  a  diverse  and  haphazard  three- 
hour  double-cassette,  Popular  Soviet  Songs  and  Youth 
Music.  The  set  contains  some  of  the  band's  best  mate- 
rial and  some  of  its  worst,  sometimes  right  next  to  each 
other.  The  Zoviets  followed  that  with  the  10-inch  Gris, 
their  most  carefully  thought-out  and  best  produced  work 
yet.  The  side-long  title  track  blends  entrancing  layers  of 
repeating  voices,  synthesizers  and  guitar,  while  the 
other  side  is  great  electronic  music,  making  effective 
use  of  a  sequencer. 

Misfits,  Loony  Tunes  and  Squalid  Criminals  is 
better  recorded,  finally  achieving  commercial  quality 
standards.  "They're  Eating  the  Passengers"  is  probably 
the  closest  the  group  has  come  to  a  song,  with  tapes  of 
hijackers  played  over  attractive  pulses,  chimings  (mod- 
ified piano?)  and  restrained  percussion.  A  Flock  of  Ro- 
tations is  uneven,  with  some  annoying  tracks  of 
feedback  pinging  through  electronic  delays. 

Although  the  recording  quality  is  poor,  the  second 
side  of  the  Lohland  cassette  is  spectacular,  about  40 
minutes  of  voices  singing  and  howling  through  flangers, 
delays  and  chorus  boxes. 

Zoviet  France  reached  new  heights — in  music,  in- 
strumental diversity  and  production  polish — with 
Shouting  at  the  Ground,  a  double  album  which  in- 
cludes "Shamany  Enfluence,"  a  very  long  piece  that 
might  be  their  finest  effort.  Nearly  as  impressive,  Look 
into  Me  contains  an  even  longer  magnum  opus  (the 
26-minute  "Cair  Camouflet"),  a  combination  of  indus- 
trial grinding,  modified  guitar  and  electronics.  Other 
tracks  apply  electronics  and  tape  loops  with  far  more 


758 


sophistication  and  impact  than  the  earlier  albums.  Just 
an  Illusion  continues  in  the  same  vein,  with  longer 
mood  pieces  and  shorter  adaptations  of  Middle  Eastern 
and  Oriental  music.  [si] 

Man  Ah  Warrior  (nr/Klik)  1 974  (Mer)  1 977 
MPLA  (Jam.  Klik)  1976  (nr/Front  Line)  1 978 
Tapper  Roots  (nr/Front  Line)  1 979 
Peace  in  the  Ghetto  (nr/Front  Line)  1 979 
In  Dub  (nr/Front  Line)  1979 
Black  Man  (nr/Mobiliser)  1979 
Raggy  Joey  Boy  (nr/Mobiliser)  1 982 
Earth  Running  (nr/Mobiliser)  1 983 
Ragamuffin  (nr/World  Enterprise)  1986 

Though  Tapper  (Tappa)  Zukie  isn't  active  as  a  per- 
former in  the  reggae  mainstream,  his  toasting,  which 
combines  staunchly  Rasta  lyrics  and  heavy  roots  accom- 
paniment, has  always  enjoyed  an  audience.  His  rock 
notoriety  was  boosted  in  the  late  '70s  via  an  association 
with  the  Patti  Smith  Group;  Man  Ah  Warrior  was  re- 
issued by  Lenny  Kaye  on  the  Mer  label.  Cuts  like  "Sim- 
pleton Badness,"  "Viego"  (the  Jamaican  sound  system 
where  he  got  his  start)  and  "A  Message  to  the  Pork 
Eaters"  fill  the  LP  with  dread,  seasoned  with  irony  and 
humor.  Not  to  be  missed. 

MPLA  is  likewise  classic  and  Tapper  Roots  is  al- 
most as  good.  Peace  in  the  Ghetto,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  lackluster  and  uninspired;  despite  the  inclusion  of  the 
single  "Phensic"  (retitled  "Dangerous  Woman"),  the 
rhythms  are  flabby,  the  toasting  less  interesting.  Parting 
company  with  Virgin/Front  Line,  Zukie  returned  to  Ja- 
maica. 

Black  Man  is  sturdy,  as  is  the  first  side  of  Earth 
Running,  which  features  "The  General,"  a  tribute  to 
the  late  General  Echo.  (Side  Two,  however,  has  two 


unconvincing  disco  cuts.)  Raggy  Joey  Boy  has  more 
singing  than  toasting. 

Since  the  mid- '80s,  Zukie  has  been  working  mainly 
as  a  producer,  helming  Dennis  Brown's  "Death  Before 
Dishonour"  and  Gregory  Isaacs'  "Hard  Drugs,"  as  well 
as  U-Roy's  Line  Up  and  Conte  LP,  one  track  of  which 
( "It's  About  Time' ' )  actually  features  him.  [bk/aw] 

ZULUS 

Down  on  the  Floor  (Slash)  1 989  • 

Reuniting  three  members  of  Boston  dance-novelty 
Human  Sexual  Response,  this  quartet  dispenses  with  the 
jokes  on  its  Bob  Mould-produced  debut.  Unfortunately, 
it  didn't  also  dispense  with  Larry  Bangor,  an  insuffer- 
able singer  with  an  unpleasant  voice  and  a  predilection 
for  theatrical  posturing.  (Imagine  Danny  Elfman  sing- 
ing in  Perry  FarrelFs  stead,  or  the  other  way  'round.) 
Rich  Gilbert's  clever  guitar  moves  range  from  loudly 
melodic  rock  to  disjointed  intricacy,  but  he  only  con- 
tributes to  the  album's  pointless  profusion  of  personal- 
ities. 


ZVUKI  MU 

Zvuki  Mu  (Opal-Warner  Bros.)  1989  * 

This  Russian  band,  produced  in  Moscow  by  Brian 
Eno,  sparked  Western  comparisons  to  Talking  Heads 
and  Captain  Beefheart.  Maybe.  But  perhaps  they  were 
overwhelmed  by  Eno's  enthusiasm  for  ambient  music; 
Zvuki  Mu  is  awfully  enervating.  Translations  of  the 
lyrics  on  the  inner  don't  improve  things,  either:  "300 
minutes  of  pleasure  with  oneself"  is  admittedly  an  odd 
way  of  referring  to  masturbation  (besides,  this  album  is 
only  40  minutes,  ho  ho  ho),  but  there's  nothing  com- 
pelling, nothing  that  cuts  here.  [jg] 


759 


SOURCES 


For  more  information  on  non-mainstream  music,  the  following  publications — all  available  by 
subscription — are  recommended,  as  are  the  two  retail  establishments  at  the  end: 

Option:  This  excellent  and  substantial  bi-monthly  covers  a  wide  range  of  alternative 
musics,  from  underground  to  exotic.  The  articles  are  generally  good,  there's  always  plenty 
of  reviews  and  the  ads  are  well  worth  perusing.  Sonic  Options  Network,  2345  Westwood 
Blvd.  #2,  Los  Angeles  CA  90064. 

The  Big  Takeover:  Jack  Rabid' s  writing  is  the  backbone  of  this  stimulating  and  readable 
fanzine,  which  has  extensive  interviews  with  bands  and  a  lot  of  provocative  record  and 
concert  reviews.  249  Eldridge  Street,  New  York  NY  10002. 

Flipside:  Los  Angeles'  leading  punkzine  has  been  going  for  over  a  decade,  and  remains 
as  unspoiled  and  enthusiastic  now  as  it  ever  was.  Lots  of  interviews  and  a  great  letter  section 
covers  the  international  scene  in  addition  to  California.  Box  363,  Whittier  CA  90608. 

Rockpool  Newsletter:  This  bi-weekly  trade  publication  has  plenty  in  it  for  non-industry 
types.  It's  not  a  fun  read,  but  contains  dope  on  new  releases  and  the  state  of  the  independent 
label  scene.  83  Leonard  Street,  New  York  NY  10013;  212-219-0077. 

CMJ  New  Music  Report:  This  expensive  weekly  trade  magazine  oriented  towards 
college  radio  reviews  lots  of  new  records  in  departments  devoted  to  imports,  hip-hop, 
reggae,  worldbeat  and  metal.  The  business  stuff  is  boring,  but  the  coverage  of  new  records 
is  timely  and  knowledgeable.  245  Great  Neck  Road,  Great  Neck  NY  11021. 

Bucketful!  of  Brains:  This  amazing  British  fanzine  approaches  culty  bands  from  the 
Saints  to  Thin  White  Rope  to  the  Bevis  Frond  from  a  record  fanatic's  perspective.  A  great 
source  of  information  with  a  strong  stylistic  axe  to  grind,  this  is  the  kind  of  magazine  that 
will  inspire  you  to  buy  lots  of  vinyl.  19  Adela  Avenue,  New  Maiden,  Surre^  KT3  6LF, 
England.  : 

The  Source:  America  really  needs  a  serious  hip-hop  magazine,  but  this  will  have  to  do 
until  one  comes  along.  Not  quite  a  trade  magazine  and  not  exactly  a  fanzine,  this  slick 
monthly  has  scene  reports,  news,  features  that  are  occasionally  solid  and  stimulating  and 
record  reviews  that  never  quite  get  around  to  saying  anything.  Not  yet  there,  but  worth 
watching.  594  Broadway,  New  York  NY  10012. 

Q:  This  English  monthly  is  everything  a  rock  magazine  should  be.  Largely  insulated  from 
the  hyper-trendy  bullshit  that  makes  the  weeklies  (Melody  Maker,  New  Musical  Express)  so 
maddening,  this  thick  glossy  takes  a  more  responsible  attitude,  waits  to  see  what's  worth 
covering  and  doesn't  forget  the  past.  Great  features  and  endless  reviews  that  could  sometimes 
be  better  written.  PO  Box  500,  Leicester  LE99  OAA,  England. 

See  Hear  is  a  unique  store  that  carries  nothing  but  music  books  and  magazines — from  hip 
imports  to  tiny  fanzines.  They  publish  a  catalogue  and  do  sales  by  mail.  59  East  7th  Street, 
New  York  NY  10003. 

Midnight  Records  has  an  extremely  cool  store  in  New  York  but  also  publishes  a  big  mail 
order  catalogue  for  those  in  other  environs.  PO  Box  390,  Old  Chelsea  Station,  New  York  NY 
10011. 


761 


Ira  Robbins  co-founded  Trouser  Press  magazine  in  1974  while  completing  an  electrical 
engineering  degree;  he  was  Publisher  and  Editorial  Director  of  the  music  monthly  until  it 
ceased  to  exist  ten  years  and  96  issues  later.  He  has  edited  and/or  contributed  to  a  number 
of  books  on  rock  music,  and  has  written  about  music  and  video  for  countless  publications 
large  and  small.  Bom  in  New  York  City  where  he  resides  with  his  wife,  Regina,  three 
cats — Erasmus,  Katie  and  Bobo — and  far  too  many  records,  Robbins  has  been  a  rock'n'roll 
fanatic  ever  since  hearing  Del  Shannon's  "Hats  off  to  Larry"  on  the  radio  in  1961. 


763 


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